*(Kaorin)
"... And you would know how she thinks?"
"Not really, but I can guess. For one thing, there is a loophole in laws that have been set internationally. Can you really be considered a magical girl with human rights without your license?" (Frena)
"..."
" No...way..."(Myuu)
"You can't believe it even after we directly told you? You were sold by your own authorities to work as soldiers... Those officials of yours don't care if they lose a few soldiers, they have too much faith in that Eye God...
It's utterly pathetic, but we took it as fees for some eternal security guards. You want out right? You'll have to get through me, unfortunately that's impossible. "(Frena)
Her drab black cape flew violently in the strong elements that permeated through the destroyed lodgings. It seemed like my mind was playing tricks on me as her presence seemed to be growing larger and more overbearing, and it returned to normal the instant I blinked. There was not much to say. Her medals and badges glimmered a hue of gold under the setting sun, sparkling like stars in the night sky of her jet black uniform and cape. Her hair was a mix of dark brown and dark grey, yet it had an ephemeral white glow to it.
Her expression was perfectly hidden under the darkness, the silhouette of her nose could be vaguely made out, and her eyes gave off a faint glow like that of a cat's in darkness. Due to that, I could tell she was staring directly at me. It felt like time had stopped as my heart stayed in placed and my joints creaked, my muscles didn't there to move an inch as the sweat from my temples dripped down my cheek.
She was right, the reason we haven't died is because she's been going easy on us, keeping us alive and unharmed while toying around. Her speed is S-grade... She could move more than 10 times faster than us... 10 would be the minimum. If she wanted, she could have shot bullets with her skill and sent them at a much faster velocity than our dodging speed. The fight would have been over in an instant.
"In any case, were you the one that cause it? Those tendrils look awfully familiar. "
"... No, if I try I could probably take down a small country in a similar way, but nothing as autonomous and wide ranged as The Great Disaster. I was living a peaceful retirement life when that happened. "(Frena)
" Then let's hope your skills have dulled. [Clean cleave clatter] -technique-, beauty buried in the flesh ->50%. Second skill unleash, [ephemeral severance]. "(Izumi)
A long curved blade shot out of her scabbard and into her right hand, her palm and fingers gripped tightly to the handle as they accustom themselves to its texture. The silvery shiny blade that already had a smooth and flawless surface began to glow uncontrollably. It was like a dazzling star on par with the sun as it burned fiercely, melting away some of the ground Izumi was standing on. It was red hot, yet it sat right at home inside her determined grip. It gave off a pressure that spilled forth in every direction, blowing her brown ponytail all over the place.
"... A gamble huh. Yes, all of you can only afford to gamble now. I've given a way out, but you threw it to the ground like dirt. Go ahead, your attacks can't touch me." (Frena)
"Well now I have to do it since you've said it. [Enhance sense] - full coverage. [Judged journey]" (Kenzi)
"I doubt any more words are necessary. [Geoprincess], [Unbearable storm]." (Fiel)
"?!??...cloning...no, a debuff... Debuffs?! " (Frena)
The magical girl's in front of her had split into 3 before swaying left and right, her feet felt as unstable as her vision, causing her body to shift around trying to find a comfortable spot. That was not all, there was also a vague feeling present. Where? She didn't know, her temples ached and her legs are gradually moving apart into a chaotic position. She could not concentrate, but she was still aware of it. With so many years of being a magical girl and fighting numerous underground wars, it was a given how alert her body had become to survive.
Something was missing in her body, she could not sense where it was or what it was, as if it wasn't there in the first place. Yet, she could feel nothing but an immense sense of having something amiss. She felt it before, a different type of attack that came from the samurai girl as she understood. Izumi's second skill has caused it, an attack on her soul body.
Even with the existence of magic, it followed the same steps and the same conclusion with science. After thousands of years of advancements and research, it could not prove the existence of an omnipotent god or of the afterlife. Magic that replicated such supernatural-related phenomena are just that, replicas. Whether these things existed naturally could not be investigated or found. So the existence of spirits or the soul was still a mystery.
Whether the soul had been there all along and Izumi seperated a piece of it from Frena, or that Izumi's magic skill had recreated a soul for Frena to act as her weakness was unknown. It could have followed widely known knowledge about souls, that it was apart of the human psyche and produced it, or the spirit may have been there all along. Regardless, Frena had read through it and guessed correctly after Fiel had finished talking.
***
How did I get here...? How did I get here... Yeah, how did I get here... No, that didn't matter. I was once an orphan in a tragic time, I persevered for my goals and arrived at this point in time. There is nothing more to it, I worked hard. Harder than anyone else, and I did it. My journey has completed and I've fulfilled my goal, all that was left was to enjoy a life of retirement. Too bad, The Great Disaster had to happen and an old buzzer like me had to be called back just to bring order.
Humans... Have gone very soft. I suppose it shouldn't be anymore of a surprise after that statement, I've lived for a few hundred years and been through more wars than I care to count. Wars kept under the sheets, wars too despicable and beyond nauseating for the general public that were in a state of unawares about magic. People used to be more capable, more strong mentally even if their lifespans were shorter. They lived as they wanted, how they wanted and did all they could.
Of course people are pretty much the same in modern times, they want to live as they want but they can't. Expectations, requirements, it was for the better for the whole of humanity to advance but not for the individual. They've become too dependant. Even then, it is now the norm. I can recognise it, compared to the humans of this era, my own thinking is simply the one that is 'less human' now.
People need someone, an authoritative figure to decide things for them, or at least pretend to. Otherwise they would destroy themselves, with the sheer amount of people in the population that's larger than before, the likelihood of a person causing chaos to disrupt society increases. I had to go out, I suppose. To be a leader. It was simply their norm now, to have a governing body, to have someone to blame and follow.
***
"Restrain her! I need this to hit!" (Izumi)
She held her katana over her head, ready for an overhead slash. Her fingers trembled and the skin of her palm opened from the friction and pressure of the sword. It felt heavy, heavier than anything she's ever lifted in her life. Even heavier than trying to lift a mountain without transforming into a magical girl, it was building up pressure and heading towards releasing it as an attack, so it wasn't so heavy at first. It became heavier in short exponential bursts, the original weight of the sword wasn't changing so she could force her body to hold it up, but it was still giving a mental effect that resembles a crushing pressure.
"GHHHGHHHHH!!!!" (Izumi)
There was no circumventing the load causing such stress on her mind, her heart and breath stopped as she stares fixedly at Frena, her vision slowly fading to black as seconds pass by. She could still partially see, icicles, rocks, vines, many elements born from magic attempt to hold Frena down, but just as the general herself claimed, it was useless. They merely dissipated upon having contact with the general's body.
***
Hmpf, it's simple to see that they are at their wits end. Though, something still feels weird. I've located where they recreated or severed my soul to and have protected it with a coating of my first skill. Just as I gave them ample time to try their best, I've also use this time to make my own preparations. I'm not sorry, they'll have to die ugly deaths...
... No, something seems even more strange now. My reaction speed... It can still keep up but it's magnitudes slower... The brown haired girl over there, she mainly fights by enhancing her own senses. Perhaps she figure out she could enhance her body with it, what constitutes a 'sense'? The body is full of sensory neurones. If we go further, we could interpret the entire nervous system and then the entire body as a sense organ. I can see traces of her magic, her newly acquired second skill on my body....?! My speed grade is now a C... Was it a debuff... Or
***(Kaorin)
Time seemed to have slowed down, I didn't fail to catch a thumbs up from Kenzi. Was this her way of compensating what happened earlier? Well, those matters are trivial now. My perception has sped up to an insane amount, checking my speed grade gave a S reading... It's probably temporary. I'll take advantage of it then, and bring out my everything.
'Fu~'. I exhaled deeply, shifting my knees to arc perpendicular to the ground, my thighs parallel. I moved my arms to a comfortable position, for some reason I felt much more capable just with this reaction speed boost. I felt as if I could attack anything in my sight just with the pressure of my punch.
I lift my left arm to my front, bunched up into a fist and partially covering my body from any future attacks. Then I lift my right arm into a punching position, my right elbow bent and pulled to my back. I've already expanded a lot of magical particles when I fought with Kenzi, so this all that's left. 2% allocation to maintaining transformation, 80% to first skill [Hollow calamity] into my whole body. The ground gave out under my legs, shifting deeper into the soil. No worries, when I jump this small setback will be covered in less than a blink of an eye.
"Izumi!! Swing when I get near!!!!"
"..." (Izumi)
Her arms could not handle the strain, she continues to stare fixedly at general Frena. I can only trust that she heard what I shouted. Of course, shouting where the enemy could hear was not a good idea, but there was no choice. Everyone was going full power, this was the time to go serious and put all my power into it. It looked like a tidal wave, there was no telling what else was in it other than dark forest green. Numerous giant cones... Spikes were attached over its surface. It came forth from the opposite direction, Myuu had gotten there and launched it to restrict Frena's movements. I'll follow up with my new speed and power.
Lowering my centre of gravity, I shot off faster than anything I could think of. Pulling it back, I shoved it into the front from its new position. I punched forward at Frena with all my strength and magic power. At the speed I was going, it looked more like she was flying into my fist as I got closer. The moment it made contact, a bright light eclipsed the dim lights of dusk and engulfed the entire battle field.
..... My fist was caught in it, but even before that my wrist bones had already powderised. The coating of my magical power protected my skin just fine like any other magical girl's power. But the insides was another story. It felt solid. My fist hit something solid, as if having punched a rock. Of course rocks would get obliterated, but this was different. My full power strike didn't budge it one bit, as if I had hit space itself. There was nothing blocking it from hitting Frena, yet it did.
[Hollow calamity], I packed the remaining anti-magic inside my body into the spot I punched on Frena. My fist sunk in a little, the heat from it escaping like steam. Soft... And warm... Body heat. I made it past her defenses but all my power had simply disappeared. Packing my remaining strength into my legs, I leaped back to a distance. The light had diminished and the explosion had dissipated into smoke. The smoke cleared up in an instant, as if sucked up by an invisible vacuum.
In the centre of it all, General Richovik Urstl Frena. Completely untouched, has only used her first skill. She stared back at us with a scowl on her face, as if a bug had fallen into her drink. It was a simple glare with her brows twisted and eyes glimmering under the last embers of the setting sun. Her mouth was too lazy to open and simply formed a frown in disappointment. Her eyes shone gold, as if she was something more than human. Though she was undoubtedly a magical girl, just like the rest of us.