*
Witchcraft... Or blood magic. That would make more sense considering the absurdly conplex intricacies of a skill's magical circle and the difficulty in observing the magic circle inside someone else's body. On the other hand blood magic mainly used blood as a catalyst to put 'commands' into magical particles, it uses minimal magical particles and has more versatility compared to the skills of a magical girl.
It's only disadvantage is that it's conducted on the outside of the body, meaning that there was a chance that anyone could memorise your blood magic and copy it. It also has less potency than a magical girl's magic out of the sheer quantity used in a skill. So that was what I used, blood magic. I harnessed minimal magical particles, and in exchange I trade it with my lifespan. Gaining the ability to wield Magia Retainment: perpetual.
I could feel the strength welling up inside of me, at the same time... I can't feel how much my body has broken down due to my loss of my sense of touch... My pain has been gone all this while as well... The reason why no magical girl has decided to go past their own well capacity... Is because their body couldn't handle. Their body has already decided how much they can take naturally by filling itself up as much to the brim as possible, anymore would begin to erode at our flesh and kill us from the inside.
"... Huh... So you're breaking down even though you've offered your lifespan... I guess it is the price to match an S grade." (Kanou)
She doesn't smirk or make anything expressive with her face, her off handed comment was just that. It was like she was presenting facts despite the reality of my impending doom. And it was too late for her to care now. I jump forward at speeds I've never experienced before, though it was slower than last pace it was still faster than my base speed. I throw a cross with my fist, twisting my wrist, waist and shoulders to get out as much force as possible.
She uses her magic to move her own body to places that can intercept my attacks, so despite reversing the speed dynamic we had, she still had her skill to work with. Just as she blocked my right, I slipped my left under for a lower strike. As I had to shift my posture to throw that left punch, she took the opportunity to grab my collar and threw her own at my face.
"Kagh!!!"
"Urghh!!!" (Kanou)
She brings her right arm closer to her body to block my next strike, but I side stepped further to her side to strike her bent shoulder. At the same time she lands a kick at my neck, throwing my body into the ground. I rolled back before standing back up, her leg strike annihilating the ground where I was previously at. I predict her next right cross before she even uses her skill, barely slipping by it with the skin of my teeth. If I had strayed further than that, she would have realised and altered the course of her punch. I had to time it so she doesn't know that I was dodging, and being faster than her has made that easier.
I could feel it. Maybe it was because it was unnatural, maybe someone had used their skill, or maybe it was something else entirely that I couldn't understand. But I could sense my body breaking down... Ah, it was because I was moving less weight. I'm moving significantly faster not because of Magia Retainment:perpetual, but because I've lost so much mass that I need less energy to accelerate...
I guess either way, I will die. Then would it be better to let her kill me? She was the governor of a city and labyrinth, far more important than anything I could accomplish... My fingers finally trembled in a long time. Ever since I woke up, it has never done that. I wonder why? Why is my entire being shaking with so much fervour? Not to mention the swirling heat in my beating chest... It feels like I'm doing something wrong. That I'm doing something that I will regret...
But if she's under The Eye God, was there any choice in the beginning? I threw my fist once more with all the force I could conjure, with my lessened body mass breaking down from the excess magic energy, I looked more like a corpse than anything. But I haven't let go of any magic I've been stealing from her Oblivion Magia, it was ALL still under my control. Only now it has become denser inside my mangled flesh, but it's fine. I can't feel pain, I can keep going. I can use magic to move my corpse. I can use my skill to preserve my soul.
She skillfully uses minimal energy, directing her skill at my thrown fist. Her 2 fingers enclosed together was enough to ruin my stance and deflect my attack, albeit barely. It was like a love tap, but it was enough to send all the energy away and the recoil to creep back into my body. With the magical particles becoming denser and denser in my steadily decreasing body mass, I was also breaking down faster. She was going to win.
Well, that was if I let her kill me like I was a scarecrow. I send my knee up with blinding speed, shattering her elbow by crushing it into the wrong direction of her joint. She grits her teeth in the pain and jumps back, leaving a crater in the ground as an indication of her panic stricken state. But I wouldn't let her rest, I got closer before she noticed and lodged my leg into her torso. It has been so horrible decomposed, leaking a brownish crimson around purple pulsating flesh. It was also thinner than normal and cut through her abdomen like a knife as a result.
As my leg was stuck inside her, she couldn't escape immediately as a result. That tiny instant that she needs to remove my leg was enough for me to knock her out. A swift knuckle to her cheek, she turned to face me in anger and a slight tinge of fear, a fear that her end was coming. I see... No wonder she was so careful. More careful than anyone I've fought. More experienced and powerful too.
She was just like me, a being of unadulterated self preservation. But I was the first to step over that line and escape it. It was not something anyone would want to be. When your mind is fully concentrated on one thing, you begin to become blind to other things. I understand. I understand precisely how afraid she is that she would squander this much power and still wish for a peaceful life. What she wished for, is life.
It felt like I was look into a mirror. But that would have been so uncanny and bizarre. But it wasn't in reality. Because she's no longer a mirror for me. I didn't wish for life, I was searching for it. With my own bare hands I dig until my appendages got bloody. I clawed desperately until I could no longer claw. At the end of this, even if I kill her I won't find it. But that's fine. It was okay. It was normal.
If magical girls were truly immortal, there would be countless S grades roaming around as everyone had trained for countless years before me. In conclusion, we were still part of a food chain despite our transcendental powers. Who would be our predator? Obviously- other magical girls. So it was natural for it to end this way, magical girls have been killing each other since the sawn of humanity!
Then there's no choice! If I were to be stuck in a stalemate I would need something that goes beyond life preserving! Life destroying. Something that easily made me stronger, strong enough to defeat the enemy.. And I would bear the cost, the sacrifice of it all. That was how I've gone beyond my originally self-imposed role of a self preserving magical girl, I threw it away to gain more power.
Kanou launches her fists and legs in quick succession, I twist my arm up to side step and deflect her blow in a similar manner to how she did. My right arm grabs her other arm that she was about to swing with my superior speed, before aiming my knee at her torso. She brings up her own leg at the same time, clashing hers into mine. But my arms were in a better position that was restraining hers, so I pulled on both my arms and swung my leg further up... Into her chin.
"... What... Is it now...? "(Kanou)
She looks into the sky. Small pink petals rain down as if the great expanse of grey could cry tears of pink. They gather into numerous fuzzy piles of softness akin to fluffy cotton that belonged in bedding. She had an ominous premonition, that she would be flooded in this sea of petals.
"... Cherry blossom. I used to see these with my family every year. I wonder if they're doing well." (Kanou)
She had a forlorn far away look as she spoke. It was likely that she became an orphan when The Great Disaster happened. It wasn't uncommon, The Eye God had likely worked with and used the cult as personnel to capture these orphans and perform magic experiments on them. No one speaks it out loud or gets close to this deduction, but most people could tell something was up.
"You understand what it means don't you?"
I stare at her with a look of conviction, my heart beating far faster than any speed before. It felt like it would pop out of my chest and tear through my chest at this rate, but my hot blooded passion wouldn't stand down. I thought I was about to have a heart attack, but then I realised... I couldn't feel my own heart beat. All the excitation was an imitation by my mind.
"... Yeah. You're surprisingly kind, it's an odd thing to say. But you wear your intentions on your face, it's way easier to read than if it was on your sleeve..." (Kanou)
I couldn't speak up for some reason, as if a large stone had just clogged up my throat. I didn't intend to hide my emotions in the first place. I was trying to show them. I was trying to display my resolve in an attempt to convince her from the very start. Because whether anyone would like it or not, fighting an S grade is insane. I actually wanted to avoid that but it escalates too fast.
"..."
" Do you get why we have Hanami every year? Why we watch these things pointlessly fall onto the ground...?
Of course you do. I don't get how you would know about it, since you supposedly lost your memories. But you got it f*king right." (Kanou)
A tinge of ridicule welled up on her face, but she quickly realised and tries to hide it for some reason.
" Then... You don't have a way out either... Is there really no way you could disobey The Eye God and team up with me? "
She busts out a loud and dry cackle, for a moment I thought she was going to die from tuberculosis.
"... Hahaha! So you were anxious after all. You've been either irritated or serious the entire time, I assumed that I was fighting a robot who couldn't feel fear. I mean, who willingly fights an S grade?" (Kanou)
She grins showing one side of her teeth as if she had read the most amusing book in the world. Then her face turns serious once more.
"... No way to save me now, I used too much blood to fuel my magic. You only used a little to kick-start yours instead of actively fueling it with more blood like me...
You can just release all the energy you collected. I bet it would really surprise The Eye God. She likely expects you to save me by sacrificing yourself, so I would win no matter what... Beat me and surpass her expectations. " (Kanou)
"..."
" Now... Please don't make that face. This was bound to happen sooner or later, I'm just glad my unofficial disciple was the one to beat me. " (Kanou)
My cheeks warped and my lips didn't know what to do so they quivered uncontrollably to match my bunched up eyelids. My tears drop onto the ground, it really hurt but I had to do it. Knowing she was part of Kaori's life, for some reason I'm the one who felt the most sad. Since she was an orphan who had no one to return to, she was the better sacrifice. Not that I had any family to return to either. Perhaps that was what she was thinking? I don't know... But I don't want to do it...
I... Why did I have to learn about this flower from Myuu... Would Kanou have struggled on longer if I didn't make these? If I didn't turn my excess aura into these petals with my skill? They symbolised mortality. The coming and passing... I initially wanted to Bury both of our dying bodies under these... I thought I was going to die too. But she was right, if I released the energy all at once I could leave it to my natural regeneration to patch me back up. But it would literally result in a bomb that would disintegrate Kanou.
I... Have to do it.