*
I look at her dim eyes losing its previous glimmer, it drifts off into a land beyond this one as she kept her gaze to the ground. Whatever she was seeing, it must be more interesting than whatever's happening here.
"Neli, what happened here when I was gone. You're a Sanctuarian right? You lived in the same labyrinth as I did before the war right?"
I turned my attention to the other person instead. The white and light pink fabric of her inner clothes greatly lit up the edges of her dark green dress, her hair was tied into a single bun at the back followed by a large ponytail. Her slight imposing aura didn't grab my attention before, but now it held it in its calm and composed grasp.
"Well... My country was displaced around here so yeah. I would say I spent half a year in the village above with my friends, then a couple months in the labyrinth." (Neli)
She blinked for a moment in surprise at my curiosity of her origin, but the slight warmth emanating from her heart to travelling through her veins persuaded her to make a quick decision. Despite having a super rough start, we both held back from killing each other and gained more depth in our understanding of each other. It was through the lens of battle as certain battle styles and techniques told about how the user reached that point.
"... I see, then your original country?"
"... Seeing your face, if I told you we might have a fight...." (neli)
Colour drained from her eyes as she smiled lifelessly at my question. Hearing her answer as such, I could roughly tell where she was from anyway. Though it wasn't that big of a deal since my own knowledge of Kaori's origin... Is more akin to a footnote in a history textbook than a memory. As such, the mood got a little awkward out of something trivial and meaningless.
"My bad, I was just curious since we were able to converse. Setting that aside, what happened here when I migrated to Central? "
".... What happened.... What happened indeed...?" (Neli)
Shockingly, a smooth stream of fluid slid from her cheek to her neck as she spoke. She bit her lip in a massive frown as thoughts visibly flew through her head.
"I... I don't know... I don't get why I'm crying either." (Neli)
She grit her teeth harder as she tried to stop her tear ducts from releasing. Her smooth palms wipe away at her cheeks, desperately attempting to erase a shameful sight of hers. Albeit much more lenient than mine, I realised she shared the same situation. The culprit had erased her memory of what happened.
It wasn't anything too complicated, if she didn't know what happened despite showing such a physical effect, then it meant that her mind was affected one way or another. A memory suppressing trauma or magic. If it was trauma, her head may feel like it was splitting or some other suppressive mechanism would show up. Assuming it's magic would make it easier to assess what happened. Well, assuming any of my problems was caused by magic would indeed make anything easier...
The entire time, Barius was sat nearby. I had looked out for any reactions from her, but since there was nothing I'll assume Neli was mostly right. An unknown even that affects the both of them. It must have been very serious. It was also odd that Barius tried to kill me. Betraying her magic grade, despite her having a larger well than me, I was easily able to override her time stop with my movement magic.
That meant that her magic defense was in a weakened or non-enhanced state. Whatever it was, it usually wouldn't be possible for me to gain priority over the environment if we were to fight. Hmmm.... Perhaps... I can't pin down the exact reasons, but I can roughly deduce what was happening. Though if my hypothesis was correct, it meant that the enemy was extremely powerful. Clearly this wasn't their natural state, it was a magic induced one.
"Barius, where are the others? "
Seeing as I was no longer interrogating about the present matter, a soft sigh of relief escaped her gasp as her face lightened up. She felt like a stone statue until now but she finally began to move.
" Kenzi and Garion are leading their own units under me, though they are in different departments. Kenzi is in the utility and intelligence section while Garion is on direct assault." (Barius)
I'll just pretend I understood everything that she was saying... With no information on the social hierarchy here, perhaps it's best if I just kept quiet.
"... Do you know where the enemy is? "
She shook her head in silence. As if she was trying to deceive me one more time, she formed a crooked smile. But taking all the recent clues, she seemed to be currently exuberant as she answered my question. It was unlikely to be a lie, it meant that I had to find the enemy myself. Tch, shouldn't there be an Arc maiden or something? With a faction this large, there should be at least a couple of S grades for every region. Just how did this happen...
With nothing much to do, I had Barius and Neli bring me to a place where I could rest up. While Neli was still suspicious of Barius, Barius had oddly been courteous and welcoming. She wasn't going to kill me in my sleep now, was she? It was in a building of concrete which was rather rare now that we weren't in Central. Due to manpower issues, most of the labour force was focused on mass producing commodities like soap or processed food. Non perishables like furniture and housing didn't receive nearly enough attention.
One of the first buildings reinforced by concrete and proper interior design was the hospitals, as such interior firms are mostly working with hospitals and other government buildings like branch offices and polished lobbies. And surrounding those were an encircling barrier of hotels and restaurants. Though these were owned by the rather high end businesses here, there was still a visibly lower level of construction due to cutting down on materials and cutting corners with the execution.
Some of the building's poorly cared for construction weren't even hidden. Large and unsightly mounts or indents were ubiquitous in some of their walls as scaffold wasn't used to hold up the concrete nor was the concrete smoothen out. Only the pivotal buildings ostensibly had proper architecture and decoration. With certain walls boasting a painted finish and a mellow while vibrant interior.
The sky had darken before I noticed, and since there wasn't any air conditioner or fans to ventilate, most buildings had large squarish holes for windows. The better buildings had a wooden covering or curtains to block them out during the day. I couldn't exactly trust them now, so I pretty much stayed awake until now. I'm a magical girl, I don't know how sleepiness feels like, so it didn't bother me so much. I stared out the primitive thick concrete window, resting my arms over its wide surface like a coffee table.
In the empty deafening atmosphere of th night, I looked on at the half moon in the distant sky. Its distinct white glow granted the world a sliver of its luminance, I reach my arm forward as if reaching for the moon. It wasn't anything special, I was simply passing the time by playing around. I grasped at the air as if I had stolen the moon, my fingers clasped down on each other tightly to eventually gather in my palm. Its merciful expression like a glistening white pearl enveloping the world in a white veil.
"Hm. Hm. Hm hm~".
I play around with my vocal chords, relying solely on my sense of hearing as I couldn't feel the vibrations in my own throat.
"Hm~ Hm. Hm. Hm~ hm~"
I continue trying my best to hum, each time it felt like I was putting my entire body into it as I attempted to control my voice. My mind felt like it was strained, struggling to make sense of what I was attempting.
" hmhmhm~ hmhm Hm hmhmhm~"
... I use my vocal chords to communicate out of instinct. But going out of my way to sing wasn't one of those instincts, I couldn't do it naturally. I had a tune in my head that I was trying to make into sound, but the irregular rhythm of my heart and mind impedes it. My throat was more confused than anything, casually letting out sounds that were too loud or too soft to hear. I guess this was just another one of those things I can't experience.
I bit my lip in the oppressive quietness of the room as I continued to stare at the moon. What was waiting for me? What can I see in this wide world of magical girls? I guess I held something like such a tiny amount of hope, holding my faith blindly like that. Was it wrong? I can't tell. I'm scared of it. The future possibilities. But it's not like I can do anything about it. All I can do is walk into it. A slave to fate.
All this while, I used my passive in this little 'night break' of mine to check. Deduce if Barius and Neli were actually sleeping or waiting for me to, so they could kill me in my sleep. Neli was sitting up, and... Barius was right outside the door...
A few distinct soft hits were dealt onto the door. Right before a soft but well pronounced voice rang out through the door.
"Can I... Come in?" (Barius)
At this point, there wouldn't be any point in questioning every little thing. If I constantly lived life on edge I would die from stress like a hamster. In the first place, would an enemy really ask for permission?
".... Come in."
A whistling sound escapes as the door softly shifts to the side, her figure visible under the moon light peaking through the window. This was a simple place of residence with only a wooden bed and desk. I shifted over to give her space to sit on my bed. I find it hard to believe if a magical girl was too scared to sleep alone, but I might as well investigate it now. At the side, I sneakily applied a barrier on my body with my second skill. If I had used the first skill, it would create a large wind that would catch her attention. This was easier to conceal.
"... How are you liking this place?" (Barius)
"... I think it's fine. A single bed and a desk was all I needed, there was even a pencil and paper in the drawer for me to draw on. It was fun to pass the time like that."
She projected a smile and her eyes wondered around the room. Her waist slightly fidgety as she ponders what to say next. To say the least, it felt extremely unnatural and off-putting to observe such manners from her. Her original intense and disciplined disposition held a deeper impression than this. What did she say at that time? To trust her...?
I'll just keep it in mind and see how things pan out. Finally, her face turns toward mine. I interrupted as she took in a breath.
"I won't mince my words. What is your goal. Why are you here."
A mix of expressions swirl around her face as hundreds of thoughts rushed through her mind. The one question she didn't want to face, the one question that would drive everything disarray. Anyone could tell how much she was hiding from her eyes alone, her irises were swimming like crazy under her cornea. Her mouth periodically opens like a fish out of water, her soul floating out of her body.
"... I wish I remembered." (Barius)
At last, a serious answer paired with the face of her resolve. I can't tell if she was lying or not, unless it was blatantly outright enough for me to see the signs. But she has finally thrown away the mask of a fool. It's similar to the circumstance with myself, but I feel it is also different. After all, she's not a severe amnesiac like me. Only selective memories pertaining to the culprit's details have been omitted. She fully remembers the rest of her life before the incident that made her like this.
I don't know how she was originally like, but I took the bait she laid. She said she was my rival and I agreed with her in my facade, meaning that I can no longer reveal my own memory loss lest my facade crumbles. When she finds out, when the culprit finds out, I lose the initiative. Even if the culprit technically knows my past by extension of working with Barius, that is no longer who I am.
I need to lay my own bait, the only problem was that I knew nothing about the old Kaori. With existing and limited info, I have to overturn the tide of battle. What a tall order, I won't lose.