Multiverse Cross Ex

Tokyo Megafloat.

It had been a normal day, really.

Floating peacefully across the seas, people went about their daily routines as usual.

Well, not entirely carefree—

Tokyo Megafloat was always on alert.

After all, the invaders could open a rift in space at any moment and launch an attack.

Of course, Tokyo Megafloat lacked the military strength that Ataraxia had.

Each region's float was equipped with unmanned city defense systems, but ultimately, Ataraxia bore the main responsibility for defending Megafloat Japan.

Following the Another Universe Conflict, Ataraxia had become the forefront of anti-AU technology—

A research institution dedicated to developing both human resources and R&D.

More than just a university, Ataraxia was also a joint establishment incorporating high schools and middle schools.

Naturally, this was all thanks to Dr. Nayuta.

That wasn't to say that Tokyo Megafloat lacked its own military force.

While their army mostly consisted of human military personnel, they still had a respectable arsenal of firearms and trained soldiers.

But even they knew—

Modern weapons were useless against this particular enemy.

All in all, it had been what you would call a normal day.

Despite the looming threat, people still carried on with their lives.

However, that all changed when—

[Warning.]

Uuuuuuuuuuu!

The air raid sirens blared across the entire megafloat.

Immediately, Tokyo Megafloat switched to defensive mode.

Of course, they were well aware that, even with their military forces, they couldn't do much against supernatural enemies like these.

That's why they had prepared an underground shelter for emergencies.

The moment they detected an enemy presence, evacuation procedures began immediately.

But—

All of this would be for nothing.

Because with just one shot from their battleship—

BOOOOM!

A beam of light struck Tokyo Megafloat squarely—

Destroying one-third of the entire structure.

The attack specifically targeted residential areas.

And unluckily for those still evacuating—

Screams echoed. Buildings crumbled. Bodies were flung through the air.

Amidst the chaos—

A teenager stood frozen, his entire body trembling.

His peaceful life…

Just like that, it all came crumbling down.

How had it even started in the first place?

It all began after the Second Universe Conflict.

His mother had owned a research facility in Ataraxia, so as a child, he had also lived on that float.

But seven years ago, he had been chased out of the research facility and forced to move to Tokyo Megafloat.

Though it was only for a short time, he had lived there with his big sister—just the two of them.

However, she too had soon enrolled in Ataraxia, leaving him to live alone.

Only those with special permission could enter Ataraxia.

He wasn't even allowed to get near it.

Every month, there was a public lottery, selecting a few dozen people for a field trip to Ataraxia.

But he had never been chosen. Not even once.

At some point, he began to suspect that he was excluded from the lottery altogether.

But still—he kept applying.

He had sent countless emails to his mother, but he never received a reply.

For a while, he and his big sister still exchanged messages—

But as time passed, she became busier, and they gradually grew distant.

But now—

"Kch—Dammit!"

A B-rank Magitech slammed its fist into him—

However, he had just barely managed to activate his Life-Saver barrier in time.

Unlike others, his Hybrid Gear was mediocre at best—

Lacking any real combat capabilities.

That was why he had been chased out in the first place.

Additionally—

He didn't even know how to fight.

Yet, seeing the indiscriminate slaughter of those who hadn't been lucky enough to escape—

It suffocated him.

He knew he shouldn't be here.

He knew he wasn't cut out for this. He knew he shouldn't be fighting, but still—

He thought he'd be fine.

Or so he believed. But still—

"Kuaack—!"

A second blow connected.

This time, he wasn't fast enough.

The impact slammed into his Life-Saver barrier, launching him backward like a ragdoll—

CRASH!

BOOM!

His body tore through the air before smashing into a nearby building, debris exploding on impact.

He'd gasp for breath as he soon heqtd gunfire rattling through the streets—

TATATATATATA—!

He wasn't fighting alone.

Tokyo Megafloat's military forces were pushing back, holding the line to buy time for civilians to evacuate.

Even now, their soldiers rained bullets on the advancing machines, trying to slow them down—

But they all knew.

Conventional weapons wouldn't be enough.

"Boy! Hold on just a little longer!"

A desperate voice came through his comms—the commander of Tokyo Megafloat's defense forces.

"We've sent word to Ataraxia! They'll be here soon! Please—please, just hang on!"

"Ack—cough!"

Kizuna groaned, blood in his throat, his body still planted into the shattered wall.

The cracks spread around him as he forced himself to breathe—

And then, through ragged breaths, he whispered—

"A-alright… I'll do… my best."

The truth was—

He wasn't even fighting.

To push them away from the residential districts before more lives were lost.

And as much as his body screamed in agony, he couldn't stop.

The military was assisting him, focusing fire on any Magitech that turned toward him.

But even as they held their ground, their mothership loomed on the horizon.

"M-Move—! My body—!"

Kizuna groggily pushed himself up, limbs trembling as he stumbled out of the rubble.

His body ached, his breath ragged, but he had no time to wallow in pain.

He found himself halfway up a semi-high-rise building, debris crumbling beneath his feet.

And from here—

He could see everything.

Flames.

Smoke.

Screams.

The scent of gunpowder filled the air, mixing with the stench of firearms and burning metal.

The once serene Tokyo Megafloat—the place he had called home—

Had become a battlefield.

"Kuh! Dammit!"

The situation was far worse than he had thought.

He had been told to hold on.

To wait for reinforcements.

But what was he actually supposed to do?

What could he possibly accomplish like this?

He felt pathetic. He had spent so much time whining, deeming his gear to be useless—

So much time running from the past. He could have trained.

But instead, he had chosen ignorance.

He had the power. Yet he refused to use it.

How utterly ridiculous.

Most people would kill for the chance to wield a supernatural ability—To be blessed with power.

But not him. He had shunned it after being deemed a failure.

And now, when he needed power the most.

When he could have saved them—

"Kuh—!"

However, at that moment—

And then, as though to wash away his despair. A deep-blue shimmering light split the airspace above Tokyo Megafloat.

The glow was almost ethereal, a stark contrast against the destruction below.

And from within that beautiful fracture, a sleek humanoid machine emerged.

Then, it had raised a single finger. And at that moment—

[Glorious]

A halo appeared behind the machine, slowly spinning like a disk.

Just as Kizuna stared at the sight, a voice suddenly echoed through his comms.

"Kid! Good work!"

A voice crackled through Kizuna's comms, snapping him from his trance.

"I've received additional intel! That machine is our backup from Ataraxia! And listen—do not move from your spot, if you don't want to die, that is–!"

"Old man—?"

Kizuna held his breath, gripping his comms as his gaze returned to the machine.

And then, what he saw next—Was blue.

A flood of blue. The halo had spun faster, and… beams of light rained down.

The sky turned blue.

A barrage of beams—glowing with blue light—shot out from the spinning halo.

Each beam of energy split apart, locking onto multiple targets—

Blue Heads on the ground.

Albatross units in the air.

One by one, the beams chased down each enemy with deadly precision.

Striking them down without causing excessive destruction.

After all, the frames and the machine itself was useful even to them.

Hence, Mitsuya had gunned them down without over-excessively destroying them.

It was a display of overwhelming control.

Inside Cross—

"Haah… Haah…"

[Operation time reduced by 2 minutes.]

[Enemy reduction rate: 62%...]

[Counting down…]

[57%...]

Mitsuya was drenched in sweat.

His body ached, his breath ragged—but there was no time to stop.

Since he didn't have much operational time left, he had chosen this approach.

The moment he arrived, his eyes had darkened at the sheer devastation before him.

Even Navi's calculations on the casualties made him sick to his stomach.

So at this point—

Screw Reiri's pleading.

This was personal.

[Enemy reduction rate: 32%...]

"That's enough for now. Let's eliminate the mothership first."

"I can't disarm knowing that thing is still above us."

[...]

Mitsuya slowly turned Cross to face the battleships—

More than twenty of them, looming like predators in the sky.

"Navi. Initiate attack function: Heavenly Scream!"

[Understood.]

[Attack Function: Heavenly Scream.]

[Sequence 1. Phase begin]

From Cross's Eleventh Main Cannon, a weapon that harnesses electricity as its core—

[Tachyon Auto Recycler… Reset.]

[Kusanagi Reject… On.]

The cannons per-say weren't actually cannons themselves.

[Gravitational Drive—Online.]

They were in the form of attacks that were powerful enough to become cannons in their own right.

And Mitsuya had named them thus.

[Primary energy threshold exceeded: 72% capacity.]

[Stabilization protocols—suspended.]

"Remove all safety locks."

[Sequence 2: Final Resonance…]

[Safety locks… removed.]

[Electromagnetic Cannon: Stabilized.]

[Heavenly Scream—Amplified.]

[Compression rate: 98%—Releasing containment locks.]

For the second time, Dimension Cross was about to unleash its cannons.

The humanoid machine stretched its hand forward, fingers tightening, as a mechanical whirr echoed.

Electromagnetic waves coiled around Cross's arm, crackling like chained lightning.

Slowly, its fingers spread open, sparks arcing between them before clenching into a fist.

The lightning twisted, condensed, and solidified.

An arrow was born.

[Final Lock Removed—]

The brilliant blue halo always behind Cross spun once more.

Cross, now in its final sequence, drew back the lightning-forged arrow.

"Navi. Heavenly Scream: Fire."

""[Dimension Break. Heavenly Scream—Activated!]""

Cross unleashed its arrow, the earth desecrated, waters and waves howled. Black and white reversed, and the heavens screamed.

KRRRRRRRRTTTTTTCCCCCHHHHHH—!