*
Starting with small skirmishes on the surface and under, deaths weren't really high as most magical girls were averse to death. When mortality is the default of organisms in the world, an existence like a magical girl has to keep witnessing it. Whether it was because they were long lived, or their own life was highly sought after for its prized bounty, one has to get used to death. Either way, it subconsciously held most back, not wanting to look at death.
Of course, there was the opposite end of the spectrum. An exotic being that thirsts for blood, one that sends itself into utter rapture on the battlefield and may attack both friend and foe. Those are put down first by both sides whether it be in a war or a trivial conflict, to the others it is but a mercy to those who have lost themselves. After all, what difference would they have from the grotesque monsters if they were to forsake their humanity?
Demon beasts, magic beasts, monsters, demons, wraiths, nightmares, they have been given many names across the span of millennia or however long magical girl animes have existed. They often use magic or a power similar to magic, that is how they pose a threat to monsters and become the marked targets of magical girls. In the end, both types of existences, magical girls and monsters aren't suppose to exist. To exploit or defy natural phenomena and throw the already fragile balance of the world off equilibrium, in the end it forced the both of them to affirm one another's existences.
What would happen if a magical girl lives long enough? Enough to amass absolute power and nearly wipe out the monsters to near extinction? The magical girl's fight each other. Pacifist, averse to death or not, blood thirsty, patriotic, determined, a magical warfare is as just as a normal war, as gruesome as a normal war,and it is as catastrophic as a normal war. Casualties are not out of place, in fact it was more normal right now. For me to be in fear.
It no longer has anything to do with my very first attacker Ray, looking at it from afar, I never had the qualities of a magical girl. I'm just some normal guy who really liked magical girls. In the end, did I even think before I assumed people who used magic are immediately magical girls? What if they had a different name? Such loose goals like wanting to be a magical girl... An cute ally of justice... Just what we're these goals... And that flimsy determination... In the face of death?
Exposing oneself to the battlefield doesn't desensitise oneself to death, it just traumatises them. What the hell did I think would happen? My feet and hands are trembling... I can't even walk! I'm rooted to the ground like a pathetic tree... No matter how much I tell myself to be brave, nothing changes.
Unlike back then, I could at least run from my problems and indulge in anime. This frozen state of mine, is not part of the fear. It's hopelessness, utter despair that nothing I do will matter in this fight. I would just get chased if I run, even if magical girls fight to a draw, they switch opponents and the battle changes too, making sure one side dies. There is too much, yet too little for me to move.
A small impact struck the surfaces of my knee, ah... They gave out and slammed across the floor. I... Don't want to die!
***
"... Yo. It's time to die. Did you bring back up?" (Frey)
Her jet black hair wavered in the wind as if it was the Rising Knight Order's glorious banner. Her descending figure was like that of a fairy's as her expression kept calm for the whole way when dropping down the hole. From below, it seemed like she was blending into one with the sun's radiance shining forth, the hot pinkish tint of the underside of her hair shone even brighter than usual. She arrived, in the middle of the labyrinth to pick a fight.
"Yeah. Her name's Triney." (Kanou)
A dark-greyish haired girl ambles forward in her dark green hood with a cyan haired girl. The dark-grey haired girl, Kanou had her usual forest green cloak on with a black top and grey miniskirt, along with black trousers under the mini skirt. Each article held on with it an array of sparkling badges and metal attachments that shimmered like pearls. In particular, the leather vest over her black shirt had gold engravings with countless magic enhancements applied. She wore her usual tan leather boots with small metallic edges, which clicked against the ground as she walked.
The cyan haired girl had a short snow white jacket that only reached her waist and stuck as if there were invisible attachments flexing the article. It looked like how the chest part of a bunny costume was held up, small rods inside the jacket held it up and kept it in a particularly curved shape. Under that jacket was a black puffy dress, decorated with layers of frills near the bottom and a translucent covering over her abdomen.
Between her waist and hips was a large skirt like metal plate armour that only covered the left and right side of her body, they looked more like advance rocket thrusters as they extended to the ground in a cuboid like shape. Adorning her legs that seemed to shine under the light was low-heeled shoes, each shoe seemed to have a small piece of crystal attached to the front and bottom of it. Her voice rang like a mix of both noble and coarse, it conveyed her intent clearly.
" Die. [Paraphernalia Dominion]" (Triney)
Words that weren't suppose to mix seemed to be uttered, however they were very much what she meant. Shooting at unimaginable speeds from her palm was a black chair leg that ended with 4 sides, they twisted as the continued to expand in mid air and conjured enough force to evaporate a small building, the pitch black texture of the chair becoming unusually red.
Raising her palm to face the chair leg striking at her at unimaginable speeds, Frey's composed disposition wreaked discomfort in her foes. At the first observation of her raised palm, Kanou had activated her usual skill and a knee made explosive contact with Frey's cheek once more.
[Pain is for the still] a skill that forcibly makes Kanou land an attack on the opponent in an instant from any location, an instant being a measurement beyond any speed except for stopped time.
[Damnation overshock], making contact with the opponent, Kanou is able to disrupt their magical particles and disable any skill mid-cast.
"I won't hold back anymore. [Infinite resolve]" (frey) Twisting her already outstretched palm in an unnatural manner, it looked like her hand had gained 2 more joints when she simply weakened parts of her transformation and broke the bones herself. When one becomes a magical girl, their body is forcibly augmented by magical particles for optimisation in combat. Kaorin's body transforming into a female body could be seen as part of the augmentation.
In any case, Frey had stopped the flow of magical particles in her own body through sheer magical particle manipulation which required tremendous will. It was similar to holding your breath but a few hundred times more difficult. Stopping the flow of magical particles caused the augmentation to stop applying to some parts of her arm, allowing her to break the bones from pure strength and ridiculous twisting, causing her palm to face Kanou this time.
[Damnation overshock] had 3 limitations; Kanou had to have made contact with the enemy; it only works on skills in middle of activation; and it only affects the outside of people's body so it doesn't reverse magical girl transformations after the transformation is done. All of this meant that normal skills were still valid after her use of [Damnation overshock], if Frey's aim is aligned, which it is, if she activates a second attack, which she will, the attack will come through.
As if pouring flames onto herself, Frey's [Will of the dying sun] took form, a torrent of bright yellow orange like a tsunami slowly grew in size as time went on. By this time, the other magical girls had given way to fight somewhere else, or are simply watching their leaders fight from a safe distance. This tiny concentration of repose could only be allowed as most magical girls were oppose to fighting to the death.
Once one of the leaders win, that leader either attains victory or gets challenged by the enemy side's soldier. Whether it'd be fighting a singular soldier or a whole group would be up to that present situation. It could even be a mere whim. Of course, if too many fought the leader at once, her own soldiers would assist her.
Stopping her skill, Frey looked back on to Triney, Kanou appearing with a bit of her cloak burned off at her side. 'So she can also use it to escape huh. Action priority is too troublesome, but with her level I could even tank it. What's more dangerous is that I don' t know the other one's abilities... '(Frey)
With that small exchange, came the next one. Kanou once again headed for kill right after the cheek smash. She walked forward at a slow pace, transforming her base form into the next as she took each step. In total, a magical girl should have up to 3 forms, unlocking one after unlocking a magic skill. By unleashing the hidden potential of the complex magic circle inside their body, they form their newest skill,and the magic circle forming their costume is also slightly altered for the next form.
People who have mastered all 3 skills would usually be able to also master switching forms at will. Going back to the base form costs less magical particles, at the same time slightly restrains the magical girls. Only warriors at the peak like these S-grade magical girls could notice the difference in power for each form.
Taking a step, Kanou's leather boots turned into metal as her forest green hood and cloak vanished into thin air. Her gauntlets also seemed to have gained a metallic shine as the shiny silver and gold engravings on her leather vest vanish to form a slight greyish glow. The faint glowing of her armour was nearly unnoticeable as it was in fact a super thin barrier that hardened her defenses.
Frey took a step forward too, her hair usually let down freely started to glow into a bright white before morphing into a shape with lesser width. It had changed into a ponytail. A small halo like structure gently floated above the right side of her head, with 8 accompanying floating spike triangles, making the halo a sun insignia of sorts.
Taking another step, the pattern on her gauntlets shifted drastically to form complex geometric shapes and lines, giving its a design a 'cluttering' sensation. Metallic greaves that adorn the top of her foot and boots materialise in a dark greyish lustre. A second sun-like insignia appears on the left side above her head, in fact it had the same height as her, causing it to float above her body in a daunting manner.
As magical girl forms change, they gain the chance to acquire new passive skills, though not always successful. Kanou's was kinetic armour, while the sun insignia allowed Frey's flames to increase in power immensely when passed through the centre of their halos.
Neither side was giving in, so Triney started to set up the battle field. Massive cuboid like black structures arose from the ground, their top ends curved a slight bit like the legs of a chair. They stood erected like menacing pillars that threatened to pierce the sky, slightly reminiscent of the Great Disaster.
Similar structures of a smaller size shot forth faster than missiles, obliterating the air around it in the form of massive explosions as they reach ever closer to Frey. Both of Frey's arms outstretched, fired flames of unbelievable proportions into the 2 halos of her sun insignias, disintegrating the missiles and everything else caught in its surroundings to nothing.
" [False furniture]! " (Triney)
Her bright cyan hair wavered from the pressure of Frey's flames, she screamed her skill name under the searing heat as invisible and fake pillars become mixed into the moshpit of destruction. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out. In fact it seemed to only have made Frey irritated as flames raged about next to her to melt and disintegrate anything that remotely comes close. Even the illusions and the undetectable ones melted on the spot, it was an unbelievable amount of heat that a pyromancer magical girl would not be able to conjure so easily or so quickly.
They would usually take a while to charge up this much potent energy and heat, on the other hand Frey melted everything instantly as it came close. It was as if she was the sun itself, unperturbed by any small tricks.