*
With her bright orange hair like fresh tangerines and large che- I mean white suit fitting of her professional aura, it's almost a waste that we have to kill her.
"Alcide Delilia. Burn this name into your mind until you die." (Alcide)
She was furious, her 2 spiraling horns behind her neck had grown in length to reach a metre long each. Shining topaz scales begin to cover her knuckles and arm as well as a pair of bright orange wings on her back. Vanishing in an instant, a large force shakes the earth around us, including from the ceiling.
"Second skill [The gap of impermanence is a cage] - techniques Magia retainment, super hollow propulsion."
I rushed forward in the same way to meet her attack head on, as my body increases in speed, my vision reinforced by my magical girl augmentation get used to the velocity with kinetic vision. All this time, I've always relied on my superior strength and speed. They are both A grade, low A grades actually. I just needed one more stat to get A grade for my magical girl effectiveness to attain an A grade. Then maybe, I could stand with my comrades with more pride.
I'm no fool, at the same time I am a fool. I am a self aware fool, I see my mistakes but I cannot take them back. I have overrelied on my raw stats, never bothering to improve my proficiency with hand to hand fighting. So when an opponent finally matches or overtakes my stats, this is what happen.
As usual I reach out for a cross to the face, Alcide dodges my fist as if having predicted the future. She does it with ease and moves minimally to reduce the time taken for her counter attack, she punches my neck in that instant. My kinetic vision had gotten used to it, viewing it all under the veil of slow motion. Correction, I was the only one in helpless slow motion as she counterattacked with ease.
I used 50% of my well to enhance myself since I had 50% retainment in Magia retainment, I could now expend 50% of my well without really expending it... For a while. It fries my body a little on the inside, but it is all I can do. Yet it is still not enough. My body is sent flying and my vision blurred, a chunk of my neck was taken out as my vision spins, darkens and flashes. What is happening?
"Kaori!" (?)
I could hear the screams of my comrades, though I can't tell who it is. But I understood, I mus tbe lying down in some corner with blood rapidly dripping out of my wound. She hit the carotid artery after all, and my technique wasn't helping. Magia retainment kept the magical particles in my body, it saved me on cost in exchange for large amounts of power, but it was essentially cooking me.
I push my body back up like a zombie, my posture was destroyed and my nerve connection was also severely damaged. I was moving my body with magical particles, at this rate I was no different than a zombie. I didn't take any martial arts class before the Disaster, I have no idea what to do about an enemy that was stronger than myself. She was merely standing there, as if in disgust and pity. Well, I don't really care how you feel about me. I swear to kill you as well.
100%, a bright light engulfs my feeble body. My body is so packed with strength, it goes beyond the low A grade territory and more. My second skill affects movement, that includes speed and strength. My strength and speed nearly doubles under this enhancement. I bring my aching body up, my neck was now rapidly healing and my aura was leaking out. I don't even have an A grade well, so my aura was completely faint, almost invisible. It was the aura of a complete weakling. Even Alcide knew that, her eyes conveying nothing but pity.
Even if this was my limit, I have a burning wish. No matter how passionate this wish is, it wouldn't matter to my enemy. Even so, I have to move. Even if my desires and motivation were worthless, I have to keep at it, I have to continue fighting. I cannot stop my will nor my wish. This is the path, I've decided on. Even if it ends in death.
I put strength into my legs, a familiar stance I've always used. I've always relied on brute force, so I just put all my strength into my limbs and do a leaping punch. I can't make this predictable anymore, I'll aim at her side. Not front nor back, but her waist. I keep my eyes on hers, determining not to giveaway my aim with my body language. She was vastly more experienced, she could probably tell where I was going to attack next even if I wasn't so obvious about it.
Stopping right before Alcide, I sent all the momentum into the ground with my legs, lowering the centre of my gravity before launching my fist into her waist. She blocks it with her left elbow while counterattacking with her right arm. I saw through it since I knew it wouldn't go so smoothly with a single punch and blocked with my left elbow. While my attack didn't do much to her elbow, hers sent my entire body flying off. It was like a fight between an adult and a toddler. Like our weight classes were different and that there was nothing I could do.
Kyou ran in to thrust her sword into Alcide, but it shattered upon contact, and Paridia's white beam attack might as well had not existed. It must have taken Kyou all of her courage to run here, from what I could tell she was slower than me. And while Paridia was slightly faster than me, she wasn't suited for close combat. I was taking the brunt of the enemy's attention. Paridia's Oblivion Magia wouldn't work due to Alcide Primal Dominion. A demi human related magic technique.
While Alcide was sending her fist into my face at astounding speeds, I bring up both my arms to block it. Meanwhile I could hear in the background.
"Fuuh~... Blade territory." (Kyou)
In a single slash, a single moment, an infinitely small time frame, she cut her blade into the air between me and Alcide and slammed Alcide's face with the flat side of the blade. Riding the momentum, she flung Alcide by pushing along the blade even further and throwing all her strength into it, causing Alcide's body to me smashed into the wall. She decides to take out Paridia after recovering from that attack, rushing beyond us and into the back line. Paridia was no longer safe, but in hindsight neither were we.
The both of us rushed towards Alcide while Paridia does a back step before flashing a bright light. Even if Alcide could block magic, she could still get blinded by light. We each bring up our hands to block the light as we approached Alcide with our magic ready.
"Blade territory!" (Kyou)
"100%! Reigning drill cross punch!"
Blade territory as its name suggested was a technique related to the blade, whether it was a dagger, short sword, katana, double edges sword, great sword or any thing with an edge, everything became one and the same under this technique. It was only available to those that have mastered their weapon to some degree as they needed to have familiarised with their weapon as if it had become part of their body. There was a more advanced version of this technique that was almost mythical in nature.
These were the 3 advanced techniques that used the specific combination of magical particles and body technique to execute. Oblivion Magia, Primal Dominion and Blade territory. One countered the other like scizzors paper stone, but depending on how itvs used the reverse situation can occur. After all, after everything was said and done, these are techniques.
They are not absolute nor are they godlike in nature, they are forged manifestations of hard work and achievement, a status of those the clawed their way up. While Magical girls could start with their parameters ranging from E to B grade, everyone ultimately had their limits. Most being C or B grade. Getting a stat or 2 to A grade is already an achievement that made one a cut above the rest. Though not as monstrous as S grades or the unfathomable God magical girls.
Blade territory, for an instant the world would seem still as she drew her blade, the glimmer of its metallic sheen under her nose was the only indicator that time still moved. For a slight moment, it was as if her body and the sword had joined to become one, a smooth drawing motion is performed and it results in a slash that happens in an instant.
It was a technique that cannot be used successively, requiring immense rest and time inbetween each one. As it forces the body to go beyond its limits, it was a pure technique that surpassed time for a single moment to slashed in an infinitely small duration. At the same time, this forced movement caused all the body's nerves and muscles to be strained to the limit, it started hurting for Kyou just to breath. Not to mention having done it twice today.
The blade shot forward with all her magical particles, and it pierced-... Her skin. It shattered, after all it was made of weak material from the surroundings. Kyou's enchanting skill couldn't reinforce it endure Alcide's hardness. Alcide's body and defenses had been reinforced by her dragonoid skill, it gave her the partial characteristics of a dragon. So it already had a meagre amount of resistance to magic, but not only that it was incredibly hard physically as well. It was truly an absurd defense that protected her from anything, even if it was not the best at one thing it was proficient enough to drive us into a corner.
My fist landed on her cheek, blowing her head away with the rest of her body attached. She tumbled a little before setting herself back up. Paridia runs behind us to a safe position. This was it, my Magia retainment is only 50%,so in a short while the other 50% is about to disappear. I must take advantage however miniscule it is, and achieve victory. Time to move on to the final part of my plan.
"You... What are you doing..." (Alcide)
Using my Stick, a magic item unique to myself.... I take her magical particles and use it as my own. It was basically stealing her well, and even though it was akin to cooking my own body from the inside, it would weaken her and strengthen myself.
"Gah! Hahh!"
I spat blood over the ground, I can't falter now. Not when I can still see and mvoe clearly. My head really hurts like hell right now so I don't have time to think. But it's simple with such an evil looking person in front of me. Kill. Kill to survive. Kill to protect. There are many reasons that could form in mind right now, it was like a typhoon of ideas that was unable to settle one. But my body begins to move on its own. It was clear what I had to do. It was unnecessary if I had the resolve to do it or not, I have to if I want to survive.
We step closer once more, slowly closing the distance. No to call it slow was a massive understatement, from the viewpoint of bystanders we would have disappeared in sight. We were only slow to each other since we were moving relative to each other's speed. It hurts, it really does. It was like a searing pan to the brain, but I must endure. I was moving faster and she was moving slower. We were slowly approaching the same speed.
We both launch our right fist... Here's arrive first. A hard impact blows away chunks of my face, but I leave it to my healing and proceed with my attack. My fish lodged through her cheek and impact her teeth. Her eyebrows raised in surprise at my tenacity. It was obvious wasn't it? Was I getting use to the pain? Usually one would flinch or retreat after such an attack from the opponent. But I have nothing but these fists. My enhancements aren't as effective as hers, I don't have any flash energy beams to gun her down. I don't have any special blade techniques to cut her down.
All I have is this weak insignificant body.