Radiant Wings

Radiant Wings (光まとう翼) was a third movement in the World War between the Imperial Army and the Mille Mirage allies. This movement, led by Prince Olivert Reise Arnor, was revealed on 26 August S.1206.

The Radiant Wings succeeded in their goal to stop the ones pulling the strings behind the World War on 1 September S.1206 with the deaths of Giliath Osborne and Ishmelga.

Flagship
Following the end of the Erebonian Civil War, Prince Olivert called in former Reinford Group chairman Gwyn Reinford for consultation regarding a new iteration of the Courageous. The cruiser was developed in utmost secrecy in the Lakeside Laboratory in Liberl.

Its construction was a collaborative effort of Gwyn Reinford, Professor G. Schmidt, Professor Albert Russell and Queen Alicia von Auslese II. The project was funded by Prince Olivert and Gwyn Reinford, as well as Emperor Eugent Reise Arnor III's private funds.

Olivert's disappearance
Preparations for Radiant Wings came in jeopardy when the Courageous, on board Prince Olivert Reise Arnor as well as Captain Victor S. Arseid and Toval Randonneur, exploded on 18 July S.1206.

Unaware to the rest of the world, the crew miraculously survived the explosion thanks to a 24-second defensive gravitational barrier implemented by bomber George Nome. Enforcer Bleublanc, who has considered Prince Olivert his rival in beauty since their meeting in Liberl in S.1202, also assisted in rescuing the group by teleporting them out of the explosion radius. In the accident, Olivert lost his left eye and Victor his left arm.

Reveal
Radiant Wings was publicly revealed on 26 August S.1206. A secret meeting of the Mille Mirage force was interrupted by collaborators of Operation Jormungand. When the fights on the Pantagruel's deck started to escalate and Mille Mirage leader Musse Egret initiated her final resort plan, supreme commander Cassius Bright remarked that there could be a third outcome.

Ditching his invisible cloak, a brand-new Courageous II emerged between the other airships. The flagship lined up next to the Pantagruel and Prince Olivert declared his goal to eliminate the Erebonian Curse. On the other side of the ship, holograms of Giliath Osborne and his collaborators appeared, revealing the date of they would launch their attack on Calvard: 1 September S.1206 at noon.

Allies
The Radiant Wings quickly gained the support of groups Prince Olivert has previously worked with in one way or another who were left unsatisfied by the prospect of total war.

Allies include, but are not limited to: staff, students and alumni of both Thors Military Academy and Leeves Branch Campus; Princess Alfin Reise Arnor and Elise Schwarzer, who had been previously saved by Class VII; the bracers from Liberl Prince Olivert had previously traveled with and helped solve the Orbal Shutdown Phenomenon crisis; the Special Support Section from Crossbell who believed that joining the Radiant Wings movement was the best way to liberate Crossbell from imperial occupation.

Operation Shining Steel
On 30 August S.1206, following the conclusion of the Third Rivalry, the Black Workshop's secret weapon, Tuatha De Danann was revealed to the world. Alongside it, five Salt Pales appeared all around Erebonia conveying spiritual energy to it in order to create an impregnable barrier. Serving as Osborne's base and as the location of the Final Rivalry, infiltrating it was necessary in order to put an end to the Great Twilight.

As such, the Operation Shining Steel (翼の閃き作戦) was planned on the 31 August S.1206 where five teams would assault the Salt Pales in order to destroy the barrier while during that time, Thors Class VII would be dropped into the fortress allowing Rean to finish the remaining three Rivalries with Testa-Rossa, El-Prado and Ishmelga.

The operation started shortly after noon when the Imperial Army and the Mille Mirage clashed with each other, with teams led by Estelle Bright, Lloyd Bannings, Angelica Rogner, Duvalie and Aurelia Le Guin breaking through the Salt Pales and defeating theirs respective guardians.

Following this, the Courageous II approached Tuatha De Danann, upon which the Glorious appeared with numerous assault ships. All of the ships were shot down by the Courageous II, causing a second wave of defenders consisting of Aions, archasisms and Magic Soldats to appear; these too were also repulsed. The Courageous II was able to drop off the assault team without much incident.

Rean successfully completed the Rivalries against Cedric, Rufus and Osborne, completing the Great One. Ishmelga began corrupting him, prompting Rean to head to the atmosphere to stop Ishmelga's influence. Before he could do so, Franz Reinford appeared once more and reminded Rean to use what he learned from the Holy Beasts. Rean soon recalled Argres's blessing, using his friends' thoughts and the Cage of the Earth to remove Ishmelga from him and Valimar.

Ishmelga soon manifested into an incomplete Great One called Ishmelga-Loge, which could be destroyed in the current dimension. After a brutal fight, Ishmelga-Loge was destroyed, causing Ishmelga to flee to another dimension as a thought-form. Rean pursued and destroyed Ishmelga. With the demise of the Ebon Knight, the Great Twilight was averted and the Erebonian Curse is completely dispelled.