Tyr, still unconscious despite Mizuha’s attempts to wake him, suddenly transforms into an stone egg-shaped object with a dragon-like design on it, which drifts down into Mizuha’s hands. She recognises it as a smaller version of the statue in her shrine which Tyr originally emerged from when they first met.
At the IPF headquarters, more of the giant Gears which have been landing around the world have been detected in orbit. Ky and his subordinates attempt to have them shot down using a defence satellite, however, one of the targets survives everything they throw at it. The mystery target collides with the satellite, destroying it, and Ky’s subordinates predict that if it continues on to collide with the earth the damage from the impact will wipe out all of humanity. They finally manage to get the target on screen, but the scene changes before we see it.
Back in London, Mizuha and Anji see one of Zepp’s ships passing over them, and Potemkin lands in front of them with a squad of soldiers and asks them to come with him. On board the ship, they meet Gabriel and learn that the ‘target’ the IPF identified is the ‘mothership’ Gabriel referred to in the previous chapter – actually a relic from the Holy War built to create and ferry Gears. While long dormant, the ship had recently reawakened and begun creating the Gears which had been seen falling to Earth. Gabriel explains that the ship is being guided down to Earth as a result of Mizuha’s powers, and the only way to stop it requires them to put Mizuha into a deathlike state until another solution can be found. Anji argues that the combined force of his Zetsuen, Mizuha’s power and Zepp’s weaponry should be able to destroy the ship outright, but is forced to accept that without Tyr’s help they don’t have the firepower to make it work.
Spending what she thinks will be her final conscious moments on Zepp, Mizuha talks sadly about her own stupidity in picturing the flying island as something from a dream and wishes Tyr would wake up. One of her tears falls on the stone egg, and there is a blinding flash of light.
To chapter 9 summary