*
"Do you have any idea... What you are doing...?" (Demon King)
His voice oddly high, as if it was that of a young boy's, his masculine tone never went away. At least that was her own limited impression of the Demon King.
"I do... I have resolved myself to go through with it to the very end. To the end of this life, when it inevitably burns out." (Kaede)
"..." (Demon King)
He contemplated over her words as he layed in the ruins of a smashed up building. Plenty of surrounding structures have long collapsed since the battle started, the closest buildings no longer had any semblance of walls or pillars. He mulled over it and could only find himself puzzled. She seemed to imply that she was going to die... So why...
Why did she declare war explicitly on the Demon King by stealing his well? She has plenty of enough power at C grade to live comfortably in human territories... Her work would be more light than every normal human, she could live in peace. But she threw it away, and for what? Stealing his well meant that there was now a permanent marker on her, he could find her at any moment with [Demon King constitution].
"Why... WHY DO YOU STAND IN MY WAY!! It can't be just for my well!!! What the hell are you after!" (Demon King)
He couldn't make sense of it, the others as well. Everyone her believed that she had done enough, that she was going above and beyond in putting herself in danger. What was her goal in the first place? Barius thought about it a little but dismissed it on the basis that Kaori was a shallow airhead. Neli on the other hand was focused on recovering the well, because it would help her comrade, Kaori. They never thought to look further into her character before... Because that was Myuu's job...
They all turn to stare at Kaede, their stares blank and calculating. The Demon King was the one on death's door this time, so they had all let their guards down... Except for Kaede.
"Life. I am looking for my own life, my own way to live. I will gladly risk it in battle in search of it. After The Great Disaster, I had more than a year to think. After that experience..." (Kaede)
Her cheeks crumple against her skin as she thought about all her confusion and all the pain that she experienced. How it deeply penetrated her heart to realise she wasn't Kaori, how her previous identity was completely shrouded in the unknown. How the laws of the ego swapping magic prevents her from finding out... She hasn't swapped back to her original body, so she could safely conclude that it wasn't a time based contract. Even if it was, she must have broken the contract.
"So I thought... I wanted to do whatever I want, but at the same time I don't want to inconvenience others. I wanted to experience life without taking away from the value of other's lives...
You make it really hard to keep to this rule of not taking lives... But fortunately... You're not human. " (Kaede)
"...!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (Demon King)
In a fit of silent rage, the Demon King jumps forward with all his might. For a moment it seemed as if he had vanished, as if he had become faster than any other speed shown during the battle... Barius steps up ready to defend her, but Kaede stops her with a hand gesture. She then leaps forward as well. Her newfound strength permeated her body and her skin burned against the wind, the Demon King appears before her vision now that she has achieved maximum velocity.
In her palms, she materialises her favoured void rapier. Its reach is far longer than the Demon King's claws. Effortlessly, it impales her enemy before he could even get close to her. Right in the heart, she returns the favour. Colourless blood drips from the corners of the Demon King's lips, his words taut with malice.
"I promise... To end humanity." (Demon King)
"Unfortunately... I have to oppose your convictions... Because I fell in love with human life." (Kaede)
"... I see... A frail weakling like you... Can still house such a burdensome thing..." (Demon King)
With no more energy to keep his body together, a partially spiritual being or a monster like him... Would have his magical circuits dissipate into thin air first. As a monster, his body's functions are deeply tied to his organic parts, as such when one part is gone the rest will follow suit in its collapse. A blue flame erupts from within his body and gradually engulfs the rest of his body, completing his death with a fiery send off. Every bit of him turns into Ash and vanishes into the wind.
"... How is your body feeling? Your well should have recovered by now, right?" (Barius)
She steps closer, her expression skillfully contains her emotions behind a mask of chalk and flowers. She displays a smile, her lips curves back gently. Truthfully, she wanted to talk about what just transpired... And what Kaede meant by her love for human life. Because... Neli may not understand, but...
Kaori didn't love humanity. She specifically loves magical girls. Of course, it may just have been needless semantics. After all, everyone was submerged in the whole atmosphere that they created. Kaede had red blushing cheeks after such a serious scene, revealing a large sliver of how she really felt after that scene.
"Ah...! Uhh... I'm fine! I'm fine! There's some compatibility issues, but my body is basically salvaging out of someone else's well to fix itself. The leakage is about 100th of its previous size." (Kaede)
"... I'm so glad it went well... I was afraid to lose you again..." (Neli)
In her heart, she was still mulling over what she said to the Demon King. She loves human life? She was practically a new born, including the manufactured memories, she would only be a year and a half old... Such a flimsy love born from such a flimsy being... Can such a thing truly be called love? Her appreciation for life only went so far based on her own experiences. The others have lived about 12 times longer than her, wouldn't they be 12 times more fitting than her?
She thought about it for a bit, then she realises she still had other things to do, to accomplish. It's fine to put it off for later, if she doesn't feel like thinking about such serious things, then she didn't need to... That has always been the case... Right? She had some hesitance in the end, but she decided that it was best to move on from it. After all, she was just some file and rank B grade magical girl. She wasn't anyone on the special stage like The Eye God and the Dragon God.
At this time, the sky had gone completely dark. The air was still warm due to the friction caused by their battle and their bodies were coated by sweat and blood.
"Do you think the Rising Knight Order would have a shower? And some bedding to top it?" (Neli)
"I don't know... Well, they should have it, but I don't know if they'll let you guys use them. Let's look for Jiyu back at the office. Can they really refuse if we use our superior strength on them?" (Kaede)
"... I rather not use something like violence to threaten for some basic amenities... Can't we be more... Elegant? " (Barius)
"... I would prefer that too... But I would kill for a shower! Figuratively... " (Kaede)
Their blank gazes trained onto her, hurting her. Sometimes, a lack of reaction would also be harmful... She takes note, readying herself for the future.
Giving a Faint smile, Neli starts walking away, into the direction of the headquarters. Oddly enough, it was because of her magic that kept disorienting her, that she became really good at keeping track of directions. Without Jiyu, she would have been the one leading the group. Each of her footsteps releases a crisp scratch onto the soil, leading the way into the darkness. Their auras continue to light up the ground that they stood on as they traversed the townscape.
Silence was deafening, if not for her own breath and her heartbeat she would have assumed that something was plugging her ears. Each of their steps echoed into the night like tiny ripples forming in a pool, only to collide against one another and disappear. A soft breeze rushes by, brushing against her exposed skin. She was still in the base form of her combat dress, it was sleeveless and her arms and shoulders were bare. As a magical girl, she didn't really ever feel too cold, so it barely passed by her thoughts.
"Why are we walking?" (Kaede)
"Jiyu could be nearby. We're looking for her around here while walking towards the headquarters. We still need someone to unlock the doors after all..." (Barius)
The one who pursued perfection, that was one of the clearer memories that resided in Kaori's mind and was now possessed by Kaede. To her, the past that she shared with Kaori was far more interesting than something like her future. So what if I am hated by the Demon King? One more person wouldn't change much. She already had to pay back the progenitor with revenge, adding another person felt like nothing to her at this point.
Just what did they think of her? She desperately wanted to know, to fill in the gaps left by her past. But she also didn't want to be constricted by a possibly nonexistent past... How contradictory, how awful... She thought. She felt that her being was inherently inadequate, never able to match up to her ideals. At the same time, she understood that these expectations of her own were imposed on the basis of her past experience, her manufactured memories.
She stopped taking heed of things she couldn't change, things she couldn't experience. Silently, she walks with the rest, her thoughts masked by the night.
***
"Fuuh~... This is so refreshing..." (Barius)
"Yeah... I didn't think I would see a bathhouse again in this lifetime... I'm glad they invested in sanitation after food..." (Neli)
"..." (Kaede)
"Why are you sitting all the way there?" (Jiyu)
"..." (Barius, Neli)
She sat over at another corner while the rest were next to each other, her irregular heartbeat adding to the flush on her cheeks induced by the heat. There wasn't a shower area next to them, so they had went in straight into the heated pool. It was scaldingly hot with a constant intake of water spewing steam around the opening, it took a bit of time to get her skin used to it. To the others, it was akin to an 'onsen', though she had no idea what that was.
She only knew that it was better to practice prudence here... Perhaps, they already knew. It was just Jiyu, a person that Kaori hasn't met, that didn't know. Kaori when untransformed, was a guy. Her heart sank like an anchor went she realised Barius and Neli was aware of it... In a way, she was still being rude by entering the place. She could have waited for them to be done, but she also wanted to wash off the grime that gathered from the battle.
Her urges won out, so she was shamefully sitting away in a corner while keeping her eyes on the ceiling. When she heard Jiyu's question, she shut her eyes tight, waiting for judgement.
"... Eh? I see... Then she's here because..." (Jiyu)
"It's fine. We've had a long day, we can leave him alone." (Barius)
An odd turmoil brewed up in her heart over those words. Why was she feeling like this? What gave them the right to say Kaede was a guy despite him not even knowing his previous identity? They did... After all, they knew Kaori as well. Her own thoughts were as scalding as the water... Then... She realised she was just lonely. She stopped caring what they thought of her and swam nearer. Her eyes strangely resolute.
"... Guess she made a choice..." (Neli)
A gentle smile wrapped around Neli as Kaede's blush got worse. It was as if the temperature of the water cleared her head of impurities, her thoughts stopped being a jumbled mess as she thought over her next few words.
" I... I... I... I'm getting out..." (Kaede)
The heat strangely got to her head, so she decided to leave first.
"Can magical girls even overheat?" (Jiyu)