*
Was it her will stat or her endurance stat? Her body's resistance to a sharp weapon is insane, completely inhuman. It was as if she was a being beyond my comprehension, but that would just be a convenient excuse. The exceedingly simple and even more despairing truth... Was that she was straightforwardly stronger than my blade.
The will stat is generally the fine layer of dense magical particles that covers one's skin and clothes, the layer is incredibly thin so it is weak to physical attacks but also incredibly dense and concentrated so it can properly ward off magic attacks. That is what the will stat is, the magical girl's magic defense and magic attack. It generally increases as one improves their control over magic.
If the will stat is a thin and dense barrier, the endurance stat is the magical particles permeating all over the rest of the body, increasing the flesh's physical resistance and regeneration. That is why those with higher endurance stats can regenerate from injuries faster and come out of stronger attacks unscath. Both stats solidly held their individual roles, there were as many types of magical girls as there are stars after all.
Back to the battle, my blade had finally impaled her, the first sign of the possibility to damage her. It was rather bleak, but hope was there nonetheless.
"GAHAGHHH!!!!?!!!!!"
Just as I took advantage of that moment to thrust my blade into her, she exploited her own flesh's hardness and resistance to my blade and used it as an opening to launch a decisive counterattack. Even though she missed the first try by slashing at my illusion... She simply extended her blade into my body...
Blood profusely drips out of the stab wound... The sword's enchantments drastically slows down my regeneration... If I don't heal... Losing blood would be very dangerous... Magical girls can survive without a lot of things by substituting them with magic... But at this rate, I'm gonna round out of magic too.
No, there is no time for that. I have to save Gerald... Even if I have to lose all the blood in my body... I'm not used to this pain... It hurts excruciatingly and it's robbing me off any space to breath... But if I get to take Triney down with me...
The light in our surroundings all gather towards me. By all of it, I meant everything. Nothing was left visible in this realm. If I want to stand a chance... To stand beside Gerald, I must be capable of at least this much. I will overpower the dreaded cursed enchantment on her sword by converting the light to more magical energy to regenerate my body. I need more... More... More... More... More... More... More...!!!!!!
It's not enough just taking all of these! I need even more beyond that! By absorbing the light and converting it into magical energy, I can reinforce myself further and grow stronger. But other than the light I've created, where else can I get light?
"... You're surprisingly tenacious for a mage." (Triney)
"... At these kinds of times, my friend would say something like this. It's because I'm a magical girl!!!"
While the absorbance of light is rather slow, the realm wasn't running out any time soon. It looks like The Eye God had prepared such a perfect battle field that was suitable for anyone. In the end I've evn absorbed my sword into my body to heal off the wound quicker... The curse laced on her sword is too fearsome, it could even disrupt the natural flow of magical particles in a magical girl's body... It simply overpowered the will and endurance stat without any resistance. It sliced through any defences I had like soft tofu.
It brought me back to my senses, it didn't make sense to fight in a new way I've never done before. I was originally a long ranged fighter, compared to a melee magical girl, even Kaori who I was imitating would look like an amateur. I threw a light bomb in front of my eyes and leaped back diagonally to the right... I was planning on utilizing my passive that prevents me from being blinded... But her movement itself was way too fast. Just as I threw it, she had already moved forward between the bomb and myself, since it exploded behind her she wasn't affected in the least bit.
"You must underestimate me to think I would let you go after you came nearer." (Triney)
Without pause, she took a wide swing, her arms pulsing as it tears through the air with a deafening roar... No, the sound of the wind only came after she swung. By the time the unexpectedly calming scream of the wind entered my ear drums... I had been bisected. It was so quick that I failed to react in any adequate manner. In this realm, we had moved faster than sound. All sound was relieving here... Because it marked the end of an attack. A sign of a remnant of humanity in me, being used to sound coming immediately after an action.
My body quickly worked on regenerating itself, so the blood didn't come bursting out. But I already know. She didn't even activate the curse on her sword this time. She knows that I know. My defeat is imminent.
"... I would really like to take you in, but my entire city is on the line." (Triney)
"mhmm."
"You accepted it pretty quick huh. For an A grade, I thought you would struggle more." (Triney)
"..... Maybe those others I've met... Perhaps they will prevail. As for me... I'm not talented like they are... I've merely been in the business for longer... Yet I see no way of winning this. "
My cheeks loosen, a wry smile blooms as I stare at her in the eye. Realisation dawned on her, but she doesn't put her guard up. No, it's because she understood that she knew there was no more to fight.
***
Ahhhh... I wonder when it was, the last time I had a taste of normalcy. I desperately clung onto this feeling... Of being human, unable to accept change.
20 years ago.
If pushed to say, I was the sporty kid. I wasn't really a tomboy... Okay, maybe a little, but it was a healthy mix! Back when I was really little... I barely played better. We were all around 5 and 6 years old, during the usual gathering at the tiny makeshift football field right outside the kindergarten, I was more akin to a template dyed in my parents colours. The only thing unique about me back then was my likes and dislikes in food... Hahah, maybe I was a little picky.
But everything else was average. Like most others, I didn't bother to put in much effort to what I was doing, I went along with the flow and walked to wherever it took me. That included the activities we had, whether it'd be some trivial games or sports that we decided to play spontaneously. I didn't run much and stuck to my position like a leech. Similar to everything else, it was a spontaneous and random thought that popped into my head. 'The wind feels good today. Maybe I should run.'
Perhaps facing the anxiety that came with taking the first few steps, I actually waited for a while. The wind suddenly felt cold instead of warm and my knees felt heavy and rooted to the ground. So I carefully waited until... The person from the opposing team came close to my position with the ball. I timed it so that I ran while I was still closer to my own goal and rocketed straight for the ball, a small kick was all it took to grasp it out of the person's control.
Of course my thoughts weren't really that detailed at that time. The only thing I had on my mind was the desire to run with the ball. I twisted my body as I pivoted, then I kicked it towards their goal and began the dribble... Well, I was mostly capitalising on everyone else's shock and made it to the opponent's half of the field before getting it snatched from me just as easily as I did.
Before that, to put it bluntly... I was deadweight. I would just stand there at my position and watch the ball go past me... Positions didn't really matter when our field was so tiny... We were kids after all, so they made the field small and didn't really assign positions. They just ran to the ball and crowded that half of the court for the majority of the game...
By the way, I had short black hair back then and was always dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. Well, I didn't change my fashion sense until the later half of elementary school. Point is, I was really plain. It was only then that I suddenly became more popular, though they might have thought I was a guy who was good at sports... My name had been mentioned much more in passing... Or maybe they were just talking bad about me behind my back... In any case, the comment that really got to me was a minor praise 'wow I didn't know you could run like that!'
It was exceedingly plain, but it really got to me. It got me thinking, nah I didn't put much thought into it at all. I just wanted to be praised more, so I became more active and fit. I did a weekly jog and participated more actively in our class activities. By the time a few years had passed, I picked up a couple sports and was really active during our physical education. Huh... Maybe I was the only who thought I wasn't a tomboy...
It was simply one of many other games... A mistake that unfolded itself. As usual, I ran. I ran like it was all I could do, even though I picked up a little bit of ball handling skills. Feeling the wind brush past my skin was the best, so I gave every game my all. My teamate had gotten hold of the ball and began to move forward, though she didn't take it seriously and was quickly blocked.
'If she had run faster, she would have gotten past them. Well, it's up to me now.' My hubris had affected me in a way I never anticipated.
"Hey! Pass it here! I'll get it across and let you score!"
Her name was Melia... She had declared herself my rival but was always put into the same team that I was in. Perhaps it was how I overshadowed her as a player... That my comment had caused all her frustrations to burst out. She refused to pass the ball backwards where I was open, instead she twisted her body skillfully and circled around the players blocking her. Quickly getting over my surprise, I caught up to her, my heart beating faster than usual as I was shocked by her moves.
It felt like my position as the best player on the team... Was being challenged. So I ran close to her... And without noticing, I collided into someone in front of us who fell onto her. Needless to say, the blame for her sprained ankle was entirely put on my, even if it was caused by the bodyweight of the opposing team's player. I suppose that was what started the downfall.
My pride and my name was smeared through the mud after that. I had wanted to apologise after we fell, but looking at her glare had incited my own anger. A rather ugly expression came out and I missed my chance to reconcile. For everyone else, it was justified. The horrible treatment that came, in ways that were petty or could not be seen. Rather than stealing my belongings, she soiled them in dirt and trash and placed them under my table, at times there were even dead animals and the stench of it permeated the classroom.
Well, it all occurred in a single day though. She was the only one who dared to do such blatant harassment as the most that the others could muster was perhaps just scribbling on my table, but not for long. I don't know where or how she got the dead carcass of an animal, presumably a raccoon and put it under my table. But needless to say, my pride wouldn't allow it. The place that she would least expect an attack... Right in front of a teacher.
I ran to her, my usual run tainted with a thirst for revenge. But I wasn't particularly that strong, I had trained my legs more than my arms. So I wrapped my arm around her neck and pulled her while twisting her body, so she lost her balance and pulled both of us onto the ground. Then I sat atop and began the rest of the assault. I punched her nose as hard as I could and tried to strangle her, then I lifted my body with precise squatting experience and let go of that control... Landing my entire bodyweight on her torso.
I continued with a few more punches even as people tried to pull me away. It was completely irrational but... It was the exact same principle as back then... I did what I felt like doing, and when I did I gave it my all.