“...Your true power is not one you can see with your eyes. It allows others to entrust their powers to you. It is your very existence...”
Elexis practically spat those words out.
It was far too brilliant of a comeback. Elexis had been one step away from a total victory, yet Koutarou had turned the tables on him. Koutarou's power far exceeded Elexis's imagination. If he had borrowed his power from others, then just how much did those people trust him? What's more, it wasn't just one person. Considering his strength, Koutarou should have borrowed his strength from many others. Elexis couldn't see himself gaining the help of that many. And so he was forced to admit that his capacity didn't compare to Koutarou's.
“Then I will take pride in that true power. And I would never betray the trust placed in me”
If Koutarou's true power was as Elexis said, then it meant that Koutarou was himself, as were the girls of room 106 themselves, and the bond formed between the ten was a real one.
“...It's our win, Elexis”
So Koutarou took pride in that bond. And he wouldn't betray that bond.
Koutarou wasn't alone.
He always had nine girls at his side.
“Not yet, Koutarou-kun!”
Elexis punched a red button installed in the corner of Warlord's control panel.
As he did, the control seat separated from Warlord and flew backwards. The button Elexis had pushed was an emergency eject.
“Oh no?!”
“Even if I can't defeat you, there are still ways to win against you!”
To Elexis, leaving behind the soldiers was a painful decision. However, in the current situation, it would be next to impossible to retrieve them. The chance of Warlord defeating Koutarou and Shizuka alone was slim to none. That's why Elexis had no choice but to choose to escape.
“I see, you're after Theia!!”
“That's right! Fighting you directly is not the only way of fighting!”
However, this wasn't just to protect himself. If he could capture Theia who was fighting in space, then she would be more than enough to negotiate. Though it would be limited to those who survive, but Elexis could retrieve the soldiers later.
“I won't let you get away!!”
“You're too late!!”
The moment Koutarou got ready to attack Elexis, the control seat he was sitting in opened a space-time hole and entered.
“I won't let you leave on your own!!”
Koutarou activated the emergency boosters on his armor and chased after Elexis. He was going to plunge into the still space-time hole as well.
“I told you that you're too late!”
However, just before Koutarou was about to enter the hole, Warlord that had been left on the surface exploded.
And the space-time hole disappeared right in front of Koutarou. As a result, Koutarou simply passed through where the hole had been.
“Damnit! In that case...!”
Though he had let Elexis get away, Koutarou wasn't about to give up. He quickly activated the armor's comms and was trying to contact Theia and Ruth who were engaged with the enemy ships.
“The connection to the network has been cut. Communication is not possible”
“What?!”
However, the artificial intelligence in his armor let him know that communication was impossible.