Part 1
Meanwhile, at the entrance to Seisen, the director continued trading blows with Fausto without breaking a single sweat.
"What an annoying guy," the Nulvoid said mockingly. "But… do you really have time to waste here, while your precious institution is under attack?"
Vergil smiled with absolute confidence.
"This school is home to the finest Astra Core users in Japan and the world. They'll take care of any problem."
"How shameless," Fausto replied. "Leaving everything in the hands of others."
Vergil shrugged calmly.
"I trust them completely…" he said, his gaze hardening. "My duty isn't to fight for everyone, but to guide them down the right path."
He struck the ground with his cane.
The pressure that erupted was so intense it forced the herald to his knees, one knee sinking into the earth.
"And if anyone stands in my way…" Vergil continued, as the cane slowly transformed into a sword, "I will eliminate them without hesitation."
Fausto twisted his lips into a crooked smile.
His body dissolved into a curtain of dark smoke and vanished in an instant.
Vergil lifted his gaze toward the moon, regaining his usual composure.
"I'll let you escape for now," he murmured, adjusting his top hat.
"I can't miss the grand finale."
Jake kept flying around the gigantic mecha, but his craft had begun spewing smoke from the accumulated damage.
"Get out of there, American. Your turbine is smoking," Shizuki warned over the intercom.
Inside the cockpit, red alerts flashed nonstop. When Jake refocused on the visor, the missile sensor began emitting continuous warnings.
"Damn it! That thing's going to take me down!"
With a quick motion, he activated the ejection system. His seat blasted out of the cockpit just in time.
Seconds later, his mecha took a direct missile hit and exploded in midair.
"Great… I really hope they don't charge me for that," Jake joked as he slowly descended under his parachute.
The Juggernaut then shifted its attention to Shizuki and began charging a laser from the modules on its shoulders.
"Where do you think you're looking?"
Akari's voice rang out clearly across the entire testing field.
The massive mecha tried to turn, but to everyone's disbelief, there she was—standing tall, wearing a radiant smile, a crimson aura enveloping her body.
"Paw Paw Punch!"
The blow was devastating.
The Juggernaut's energy barrier shattered, breaking into a thousand fragments like fragile glass.
Inside the cockpit, Li Meiyun watched as the indicator dropped from 100% to 0% in a single hit.
"Incredible…" she murmured, unable to take her eyes off the monitors.
"PRIMARY TARGET REESTABLISHED! ANNIHILATION MODE!"
The Juggernaut opened all its launchers once more and unleashed a rain of missiles at Akari.
"Excellent work, Shizuki. You'd better pull back," Touma's voice echoed through the communicator. "Akari's back in the game."
The Brit nodded with a calm smile.
"You owe me a café outing, and you know it."
"As you command, Your Majesty."
Shizuki withdrew from the field as Akari weaved through the missiles, deflecting some with precise strikes.
"Is that all you've got, you piece of scrap?" Akari shouted, taunting the mecha.
"Touma-sama, I'm detecting an abnormal increase in electrical density and energy contamination in the Juggernaut's right arm" —Ellie reported through the glasses.
"I see… it's planning to use the rail cannon again."
Akari stood facing the colossus, watching as its arm began to charge with dark energy, lightning striking the ground around it.
"Akari, be careful. According to my data, this version of the rail cannon will be even more devastating."
"Thanks, Touma… then it's all or nothing."
She closed her eyes and pressed her fist against her chest, feeling her heart pounding fiercely.
Brave Heart… my heart races with excitement.
Tum-tum!
No… it's racing because of my desires.
Tum-tum! Tum-tum!
The faces of her family and friends crossed her mind as the crimson energy grew out of control.
Akari… why do you want to become stronger?
Tum-tum! Tum-tum! Tum-tum!
"I want to protect everyone…" she murmured.
"RAIL CANNON CHARGED."
"EXECUTING EXTERMINATION STRIKE."
"RAILGUN."
Akari opened her eyes.
"That's my wish…"
All the crimson energy in her body gathered into her fist. She launched herself at full speed straight toward the Juggernaut's attack.
"Brave Heart! Hope Fist!"
Both fists collided in midair. Neither gave even an inch.
"WARNING! OVERHEATING!"
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
Little by little, the Juggernaut's arm began to give way.
"Bring it down!" the crowd shouted in unison.
"You can do it, little sis…" Makoto murmured.
"Come on, my daughter, I believe in you" said her mother.
"Don't give up!" Hina shouted with all her strength.
"Fight for your future!" Mirai exclaimed.
"Show it who's boss!" Jake added.
"You can do this…" Shizuki whispered.
Finally, Touma removed his glasses and watched the clash of powers with determination.
"Come on, Akari… show them all the flame that burns inside you."
"WARNING! WARNING!"
Inside the Juggernaut's cockpit, everything was chaos.
Alarms overlapped one another, indicators plummeted, and the core vibrated violently.
"WARNING! CRITICAL STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY!"
For an instant… time itself seemed to stop.
CRACK.
A dry, unnatural sound ran through the colossus's right arm.
The structure began to fail; glowing cracks spread like spiderwebs across the metal, unable to contain the energy coursing through it.
Akari's fist kept advancing without stopping.
The shockwave was released in a brutal explosion.
The Juggernaut's arm completely disintegrated, reduced to incandescent fragments that were blasted away in every direction.
The crimson energy continued its path, slicing through the air like an unstoppable spear…
and when it struck the sea, it split it in two, raising a wall of water that parted to either side of the blow.
An absolute silence took hold of the place.
The Juggernaut's body lost its balance. Its systems collapsed one after another, and the gigantic mecha dropped to its knees with a deafening crash, kicking up waves and dust all around it.
At the center of the field, Akari remained standing, her fist still extended, her crimson aura slowly dissipating.
It was all over.
Inside the colossus, darkness reigned.
The Juggernaut—once an unstoppable machine—had been stopped once and for all.
"Professor Duval… the Juggernaut has completely shut down," Li's timid voice echoed through the stadium speakers.
The moment those words were heard, the stadium erupted in a roar of euphoria.
Akari's family embraced one another tightly, overwhelmed with relief, some of them even in tears.
Inside the cockpit, still shrouded in darkness, Li heard the creaking of warped metal.
Then, a ray of moonlight slipped inside.
Akari had torn open the access hatch with her bare hands and was extending one of them toward her, wearing a sincere smile.
"I'm glad you're okay," she said softly.
The young Chinese girl didn't hesitate for a second. She leapt toward her and hugged her tightly.
"Thank you so much! I thought it was the end for me," Li said, breaking into tears.
"It's all right… it wasn't your fault," Akari replied, gently stroking her head.
Meanwhile, from a distance, Touma watched the scene, unable to hide his relief.
A spark of determination reflected in his eyes that night, just as the ambulances arrived at the scene.