Editing City Series:Volume5b Chapter19 (section)

===Beretta’s Write Bring: Entry in Heavy Barrel Sourire’s Memory Bank===

Yes!!

Strength fills my fingertips. I can even feel the slight armor attached to the ends of the nails.

I can do this. I clench my fist and find my spear there. I grab it and move.

The enemy is right in front of me. I can’t miss!!

<While standing up, I swing my spear up with all my might, scoring a solid blow to the side of the dragon’s giant canine tooth, breaking it.

With a great noise, the fang flies through the air and the dragon’s head changes course as if pursuing the broken tooth.

His face drops down next to Sourire with enough force to shake the ground and scatter clumps of dirt.>

Whew, that was exciting. And you got my combat dress all dirty, you moron.

I need to stand up. Where’s my shield?

<It is still in my left hand.>

Okay, let’s do this.

Rosetta was right. I am a Knight Striker.

I might be weak, but I still want to protect someone.

That willpower is what I need, so it allows me to move. I’ll never accomplish anything sitting there worrying over whether I win or lose without actually doing anything about it.

Knight Strikers protect people; they don’t worry over whether or not they can protect people.

So I need to move. I need to find my answers. What does it mean to protect people? What is the strongest power for me? I need to figure that out.

<My vision rises up all at once.

We are now at the site of the burned-down inn. That means the dragon knocked us nearly 400 yards away.

But the Barrel is almost entirely functional and the power output has even risen somewhat.

The engine roars as it bathes in moonlight.

The dragon responds to that noise by rising up to our left and opening his eye wide.

His black pupil focuses in on us and his forehead wrinkles in a very human way.>

Okay, okay. We’re not getting any recovery time. Time to start fighting again.

At the very least, I’m not about to lose to you and die.

First, I’ve gotta stop you and protect the people of Bourgogne.

“Rosetta, keep a solid grip on the luggage and sit in the cushion-like thing at the center of the secondary cockpit. That’s actually the nicest component of this Barrel.”

<“Sorry. All this movement made your stripped-off skirt-”>

“Just sit down. I’ll also apply some inertial damping, so just sit still.”

I started running without waiting for a response. The Heavy Barrel was moving differently from before. But of course it was. I felt a world of difference in myself compared to about 10 seconds ago.

<A few paces bring me to the road.>

Running down that road will bring me to that mountaintop shrine.

That’s fine. I want to buy some time and the forest isn’t the best place for some intense fighting. I can’t think of any reason to stop running now.

<The dragon runs alongside me in the forest on the left. He knocks down the trees, sending them toward the road.>

Really!? Those are gonna be in the way! I’ll fire the three surviving divine cannons on the left side!

I need to hit those falling trees!

<My shouting willpower becomes flaming arrows that express my rage. They produce a solid sound as they are fired.

They fly in a slight curve and crash into the rapidly falling trees. The trees are instantly burned to ashes.>

I splinter them with a shield bash and keep going while raising my speed.

In my mind, I can run even faster than this. I trained my body a lot living in Herlde. No matter how stingy and harsh reality could be, it was bound to throw me at least a small bone.

I move forward and think.

I wonder how much power I have right now.

<Sourire runs faster than the dragon. The wire cylinder legs were said to be overpowered during development, but they are giving me exactly the power I need now.>

I can do this! I can!! What was wrong with me before? Just look how well I can use a Heavy Barrel.

<nowiki><I</nowiki> feel my armor slicing through the night air.>

That reminds me of how I could feel the rain while piloting Protected Empress. No, it had always been that way. I’m just aware of it now. Now I know exactly what it means to Write Bring into a Heavy Barrel. It’s no longer just some vague idea.

I run.

I can feel that action alone directly linking my body, my willpower, and my emotions to the machine.

My emotions explode, my willpower sharpens it, and I can’t stop. The Heavy Barrel uses that strength and sharpness to decide how much of its power it can give me.

<The dragon changes course. He bursts out onto the road behind me.>

That won’t cut it. Flying is the only way you can catch up to me.

<The previous collapse is visible on the far end of the mountain road.

As soon as the dragon sees that, he spreads his wings.

And he flies.>

Are you going to do the same thing as before!?

Fine. You don’t own the sky. My willpower and emotions are strong.

Let’s do this, HLT-001X XX-HL Mk. II – Sourire. I don’t know if you can repeat what you did when you fought off this black dragon before, but I’ll show you my full power. So you do the same for me, okay? If you were built to protect people and if you were given the strongest power to do that…

“Armor Transformation: Normal Mode → Full Power Attack Mode – Sign.”

I shift the power output mode to max.

“Power system entering full power mode – Sign.”

I further open up the part of the power system used for attacks.

“Full Drive ready – Sign.”

Ether light emerges from my entire body, even over the combat dress. I am ready to enter Full Drive mode.

Sourire’s Over Emblem is Haute Ange. That was created during the Age of Flight and it allows the Heavy Barrel to fly.

So I imagine it.

I strongly and sharply imagine impressive wings blossoming from my back and me soaring up into the sky.

I imagine myself holding the greatest power I can think of.

If there is anything more to say, it has to be this.

Begin Full Drive of all armaments and all abilities to respond to this enemy attack. Begin counterattack.

“Beginning Full Drive activation – Sign.”