*
Putting on my uniform, I could feel the weight of my footsteps as the burned smell of soot filled the morning air. I've recovered enough of my body that I could use a little magic. I would say my physical stats boosted by magical particles have also partially returned. Now I wouldn't get killed by a fellow magical girl's sneeze, though it'll still be plenty dangerous.
Making my way through some of the debris, roughly 30% of the buildings around this area have collapsed, it was fortunate that the enemy attacks must have been contained to limit the casualties to 6. A new route had to be taken in order to avoid the burning debris, nearby buildings may collapse and the smoke make it hard to see and pass through.
Entering an alleyway on my right between some buildings, I was supposed turn left twice and then right to continue on my way. It was a bit dimly lit, though the lively flames outside the alley lit the end of the alleyway with flickering light. Turning a left turn, I was about to resume my journey when an unfamiliar girl turned around the corner to face me.
Trigerring my ability to a higher degree, I could sense the amount of magical particles an individual holds. It isn't precise to the point where I can quantify it, but if it was a simple matter to see who was stronger, that would be a breeze. Pretending to lower my guard, I walked closer without pause as if not noticing the ominous magical girl staring at my soul. I had to silence and calm my heart beat, keep a poker face and keep moving.
The slightest error and she may caught on to ambush me, I wouldn't leave it up to fate to see if she was an ally or not. This was my third week here, you would think I recognise the usual commuters of my route to school, this girl was not one of them. That begged the question, where she was going. Usually people have a clear destination and wouldn't think to head towards my direction, it was just the usual residential area.
The important facilities being the top secret areas they are for holding confidential materials, they would usually be located near the centre way they could be properly guarded. If this person was a visitor, they would go towards the centre region too, where my school was right on the outskirts of. If I intimidate this person and run for it, maybe I could get help from the centre region. As the most important area, the magical girls on guard there should be strong as well, they could at least hold off the invaders until a suitable subjugation squad forms.
In school, we had also learned the military and regional infrastructure, that includes a simplified version of our power hierarchies. Unexpectedly, the strong served the weak here. The weak, usually only weak in combat but dominant in other fields such as research, quality of life improvement and weapon development. As a relatively normal sized magical girl force in the world, the Eye god faction has enough personnel to invest and develop in most fields of magical research. Enough emphasis is placed on roles that our forces are deployed in the appropriate avenues to display their talent. Even one magical girl guard should be enough to protect me, they are small in number but are B rank in their grade effectiveness and can be typically found near the most important facilities. There should be C ranks guards at more common places, those shouldn't be underestimated too,...
I just want to live. Even if I have to sacrifice the lives of others and use these guards as meatshields. I have no power right now, and may not ever with my weak skills. I've seen firsthand the capabilities of an S-rank, why the hell would I fight an unknown unranked enemy? I don't want to die.I don't want to die.I don't want to die.I don't want to die.I don't want to die.I don't want to die.I don't want to die.I don't want to die.I don't want to die.I don't want to die.I don't want to die.I don't want to die.I don't want to die.
"Oh ho~? Were you thinking of running? Are you that kind of a person? One who wouldn't squish an ant even if they entered your bowl of food? I hate ants, they should all die for being the worthless insects that they are. Die." (?)
Her stature was shorter than mine, yet her face held a cynical smile that seemed to have experienced more things than I ever did. It exuded the confidence of a veteran, a veteran of exterminating others and standing upon their corpses. Snow white hair gently fluttered in the windless alleyway, we were exactly at a spot where passerbies could not see, their view blocked by the large grey blocks of civilisation.
She donned a white collar that rose up to half the length of her neck and was attached to a lab coat like article, only that chains would chink and rattle at various edges of the cloth, only to collide and rub against the ground as if dragging a dead body. Under her opened white chained coat was a top that was typically seen on medieval nobles, with a flat frilly black collar around her collar bones, the top stretched upon her small chest like a velvety soft red cloth before ending abruptly in the form of a black belt.
Below the belt with various metallic attachments that seemed like badges and medals of achievement, was smooth black dress that reached her shins and ended in a translucent grey with black murals on it. It seemed like mist would come out as she spoke and her haughty words made one feel like their heart was stabbed with a blunt knife. Her dark blue irises contrasted with her white hair, giving more accent to her vibrant expressions-and the expression right now was one of ecstasy.
"...!?!!?!"
Without noticing it, she had closed the distance in an instant and placed her arm upon the area around my wound.
"You're thinking of running away aren't you? Little insect~hehheh, taste the pain of underestimating me. A low A ranker like me doesn't have enough strategic value to take over a stronghold, but killing enemy militants without a loss should be commendable no? "(?)
... What should I do? Something's about to happen... What can I do? All I have is my First Skill and my combat dress. No choice now, I'll use the magical particle regulator, the life support pole as a shield. As it was attached to my elbow, I need to pull and push it to wherever I went, so it was always in my hand. Bending my back to get my torso away from the opponent's hand, I pushed the pole in front of me to defend from the attack. Making use of my ability, I formed a shield of wind to protect my body.
Right now though, my magic was so weak that a mere punch from the opponent could penetrate through it and kill me. It was only to serve as a shield against the ensuing explosion. Unfortunately, she was too fast. The moment I bent my back, her attack commenced. An attack like no other collided with my frail body sending it flying across the whole of the alleyway and more. I could feel my brittle bones get ground into powder as my flesh smashed against the edge of the building. It wasn't even a direct hit since I lost my balance and the impact sent me towards the side, yet it was so fast that the pole detached from me and detonated.
The self destruction of it stopped the attack and I barely keep a sliver of my life. But what's the point of being alive if I can't even move and fight back? This magical girl stuff isn't for me... I keep getting attacked and nearly dying. Just what kind of fucked up stressful lifestyle is this... Is this why I was sent to a relatively nice looking labyrinth like this...
To emulate city life in order not to go insane on the surface... Ughhh my body feels so numb it hurts, but if I felt all the true pain my body is suppose to feel from this impact, I would go insane or die from a shock to the mind. The magical particles in my body... They make my flesh numb to pain yet it feels so absolutely unbearable....
UghhhhhAghhh!!!!! I can't move and my whole body hurts, tears are blocking my sight and I can't fight... Isn't this too much... Ughhh, damn it, how am I ever going to recover like this! My days with Myuu were cheerful sure, but being weak sucks. Being helpless, being useless, being hopeless. Damn it! Ughh, now that I've descended down this rabbit hole of despair I can't climb back up. I'm also stuck in this alleyway, covered in dust and dirt, blood and other fluids. It wasn't a sudden spurt of blood or vomiting but a gradual flow like a fountain coming from my throat. I could feel myself drowning in my own blood and the taste of it mixing with my saliva, spit, digestive fluid and other unknown grime is nauseous. Dammit, dammit, dammit.
I... I just wanted to be a magical girl. Not a hero nor anything of that sort, I just wanted an exciting life of fighting monsters as a cute girl and hiding it from my friends during school life, possibly watching them in awe and admiration of my performance on TV. DAMMIT, ughhhh, I'm thinking of dumb things while the enemy is calmly walking towards me. My facial muscles spasm and my nose starts inhaling more than usual. The racing of my heartbeats drown out my thoughts as an explosion of feelings overwhelm my mind. I can't afford to endure it, the enemy is right in front and I'm just breaking down.
A fist plunges through the building to the side, as if growing out of the wall to knock out the enemy. The concrete and fist doing a number on her, sent her to conduct a quick retreat.
"Looks like I'm too late huh." (Kanou) Her nonchalant attitude of sending a mortal enemy packing really pissed me off. But more than that, I was angry at my own weakness.
"Why... Why does this keep happening to me?.. Dammit why... Why the hell do I keep getting attacked... Why do you always appear so late!!"
I could see it even through the tears, all she had left for me was pity. My mind unstable, I said she was late though the battle only lasted for a few seconds before she arrived. I'm getting attacked without reason or rhyme, I really can't take it anymore. More than anything, Kanou's usual cold demeanor had changed to one that of a pitying attitude. I don't need pity, I need power. It's not logical for someone else to happen to be able to give power, this was all irrational impotent rage and the spilling of my despair at being an utterly weak, insignificant magical girl. My bones were all crushed, at this point I was drowning in a pool of my own disgusting fluids.
"... I'll take you to the hospital" (Kanou)
Taking a handkerchief out of nowhere, she wiped my face as she prepared a teleportation crystal. Carrying my half dead body through the whirling white oval in the air, I was quickly treated and given a new magical particle regulator, one that isn't as inconvenient to carry around as the large life support pole. They have halved the size so it could be carried in a sling bag and attached to a wrist pad. The anti-magic spread to the rest of my body like cancer, though it's spread thin so it was easy to overpower with healing magic and stabilise my life. My recovery time had extended from 2 weeks to 3 months. They tried to recover my body to the best of their abilities, I'm not in mortal danger anymore but my whole body was now riddled with slow, excruciatingly painful wounds while the anti-magic is still present in my body.
My natural recovery was slowed down due to my wounds, but the anti magic would soon be purged from my body. The projected 3 months was the worst case scenario, it would actually range from 3 weeks to 3 months. For now I need to work hard, so I can be the magical girl I want to be. I want to be strong and protect my own way of life. My condolences to the dead from this attack, may you rest in peace, for I will show my mettle and win. Roughly a year from now, things will change.