*
The tension had nowhere to go but to keep escalating, building up a silent pressure that could explode at any moment. Though wordless, Kaede understood if the rest were furious with her. No matter what intentions De Lan had, it was plain that it looked like she was merely trying to save Kaede. They were in the middle of foreign territory, if a magical girl got mad and decided to kill her here... The rest wouldn't have the leisure or will to stop it.
She was in such a vicarious position where she worried her companions would turn on her. But she meant everything she said. Her heart wouldn't quiet down in that situation, and there might have been other ways to go about things... But she was always making such mistakes. Regretting her decisions had become commonplace, she shamefully thought so and was disgusted with herself. Why couldn't she fit in better? When the entire world was at stake at that.
She shut her eyes for split moment, seeking to refresh her mind. Perhaps when she lifts her eyelids once more, everything will be over. Would someone take this small opening to kill her? She opened her eyes again, there were rushing through an urban landscape after passing through the ravine formed under what used to be the demon's fortification.
Occasionally what seemed to be a police force would try to snipe them, combining the powers of Sufia to reveal the presence of snipers and Miwa's attack spell, they eliminated the oncoming hidden snipers that they would have otherwise encountered. Buildings of grey stretch on from the ground to the sky, while strange squarish carts lined the perfectly paved roads... This style of architecture was similar to that inside the labyrinths of the Sanctuary...
Thin bamboo like structures made of steel line the tarred roads as the coarse grey foundation of buildings reveal their uneven textures under the moon light. The smell of smoke and life intertwined in the air as the nostalgic honking of horns permeated the infrastructure. A modern environment from the pre-disaster era. While Kaede wasn't able to appreciate such a sight, a feeling of unease struck some of the magical girls.
How could the demons have such familiar technology? Nevermind having inspired technology, it was all completely the same. They reached the halfway point between the front lines and the Demon King's castle. Roads were blocked off near them, rerouting cars to other areas of the country. The scenery was abbhorent, such an environment should have been annihilated when The Great Disaster came.
A meeting point of 2 vigorously clashing feelings, conflicting thoughts welled up in Kaede's mind. As someone lacking the memories of the romanticised past, someone who could only receive the thoughts of others that framed it like a dream of paradise, the ugly emotion of envy was making her spine rot, her throat parched as her magical particles began acting up out of agitation. Her aura rose a few more metres into the air.
At the same time, there was pity. Humanity had lost what was precious to them and it affected countless lives. They lost their progress, as if thousands of years of development had vanished, there is no denying that the present state of society is but a mere imitation of ideal. An ideal that no longer existed, the modern people could not achieve the utopia they wanted, now the post-disaster people want to achieve that flawed past state of themselves. The demons have all of it, the beauty and comfort of the mdoer urbanity, in truth Kaede wouldn't want them to lose it all and end up like humanity.
Like a conflicted soldier in war, she hesitated as she likened the enemy to herself. She simulated her attachment to these ideal modernity of hers that she can never observe in the demon civilisation, it would hurt if all of it was taken away. But at the same kind, the Demon King was threatening to eradicate humanity. If forced to choose...
'I haven't lived much yet... Why should I give up my life?' (Kaede)
She whispered at the back of her throat, declaring her stance under the tranquility of a barren street. The distant roads were filled with the fervour and clamour of an anxiety filled evacuation. They were migrating away from the potential warzone.
"... I don't want to stepped on anyone's toes or deal with some kind of political aftermath... So I'll just ask here. What's the stance on civilians?
For us... For at least the ArcMaidens, we can stamp on them like ants." (Miwa)
She wore a navy blue cloak that covered her in all directions like a cowboy's cloak along with a matching blue skirt. She was shorter than the average magical girl which gave off a feeling of being a junior, but she was undoubtedly one of the ArcMaidens. The selection process for that kind of title or the training required to achieve such a level of strength would betray all of those expectations. The ridge of her nose wrinkled in frustration, she knew what she was doing.
She threw the buck to HuoLi. By affirming this kind of information... She was shifting responsibility to whoever answered the question... Which would be directed at HuoLi. She felt incredibly disgusted with herself for doing so, her stomach felt diseased as it rumbled and stirred under her stress. Her elbows shivered under nobody's watchful eyes, but her expressions were as clear as day. The silence of the crowd... Meant that they were also depending on an answer from HuoLi.
On one hand, even if they did cause the extinction of the demons, other monsters will be born in the wild through natural causes and might evolve into demons. On the other, it would greatly cripple the demon species' ability to pose a threat towards humanity. The meeting was too rushed for the finer details like this to be discussed, they were operating on an assumed timer. They had to eliminate the Demon King before the Warlord defending the frontlines buckles under the pressure. They were slowly losing the frontlines.
"... Kill them. We don't have time to scour their entire country but at least for those that enter our sights on the way to the Demon King, we can annhilate them without losing speed. Prioritise the defeat of their king. They haven't sent out the elites of their army yet, expect to see them in a few moments.
When one of the Demonic Heavenly Kings arrive, a few of us will attack and hold them back while the rest of us advance. I heard their strong in combat, don't rely too much on your augmentations. " (HuoLi, leader of the Demon King Assault Operation)
The rest of the party nodded to her, assenting their agreement. They all began to put their forward to resume their march once more.
" [Inevitability that ebb and flows in life]" (Demonic Heavenly King)
A foreign voice enters their minds, as if announcing his presence. Ahh, these magical girls aren't normal at all. Withing the Sanctuary itself, even within humanity, there is constant infighting. These magical girls are used to combat not just with monsters but also other magical girls. Saying a strange prose at the start of battle, that was obviously a skill right?
The noise and panic of the distant evacuation abruptly vanished. The far off distance became a wall of grey fog.
"... What the hell's going on, my radar isn't working beyond 5 kilometres! It's like there's a wall of magic and... Nothing beyond that!" (Kaede)
Turning around, HuoLi shouted.
"...?! Our surroundings were assimilated!! It's an Obli-" (HuoLi)
Before she could finish her words, a large truck crashed into her body. With their preconceived notions fostered as they were magical girls... They assumed the truck wouldn't be able to harm her even after they saw it crash into their leader... But HuoLi was nowhere to be found.
"What the hell kind of skill is this... I can't see anything. Aren't there too many effects for a single skill? " (Sufia)
She wore a black hoodie with a gold pandent that hung around her forehead on a circlet. Its rim was gold with a green gem shaped like a perfectly symmetrical eye in the centre. Under her black hoodie is a white dress, her brunette hair peaks out of her hoodie as she complains. Nobody was blaming her for that, in truth there were others who wanted to cry abuse too, but the fear had gotten stuck in their throats.
Kaede hopped into the air, her momentum carrying her against the hold of gravity as she felt her scalp break through air resistance. When she used her first skill to stabilised her position and keep herself afloat, her hair bounced from the velocity and landed back down. She looked down at the other magical girls who only stared back in horror. She should be safe up here, why are they-
At speeds unimaginable for any aircraft on earth, a large commercial plane cleaves through the nearby buildings with its wings in an instant and crashed into Kaede. As if it was a cascade of misfortune, more and more of them were being hit by trucks moving at incomprehensible speeds that exceeded their reaction time. The vehicles that arrive, crash into a victim and become totalled while the victim vanished, began increasing. Some even starting to get multiple victims.
"... This is ludicrous, we haven't even located the enemy. If this... If this wasn't an Oblivion Magia but merely a normal skill... There might be no way to find them. They could be hiding outside this pocket dimension made to look like the city." (Kanou)
"... There's no way for something this convenient to exist, or we would have been wiped out at the start. Break out. One of you, annhilate this pocket dimension's walls and we'll face the enemy. " (Ruby hero)
Garbed in brilliant saturated red crystals, her battle dress was lined with shards from head to toe as well as a small tiara that only a half circle base that hung off the right side of her head. She also had a ruby crystal jaw protector, a piece of ornamental armour that hung from her ear that wrapped the air down her jaw and at the side of her chin a microphone from a set of headphones.
She spoke with a calm inflection that seemed to cool the minds of those around her. It splashed their minds with cold water that stung, peeling their eyes open to look out for enemies. A replacement leader for the operation, since they lost HuoLi they were practically hysterical headless chicken, it was time for her to step up. She had an abundance of experience dealing with demons and their trickery.
Kaede took the skies and was also promptly defeated. There weren't any conditions, the enemy was simply toying with them, how chaotic. Still, there was some interval between the attacks. The enemy needed to specify the target which led to these time intervals, their numbers had served as an advantage. Rei, Miwa, De Lan, Kanou and HuoLi had already been taken out. The only ArcMaidens left were those that have been deemed 'weak' by the enemy. Triney, Titania and Sufia.
"...and that will solve everything? Got it." (Triney)
She lowered her hips as she reached out towards the floor, she tapped the ground once.
"[Extremity of the materialistic end]." (Triney)
A chilling voice rose out of her rosy lips, her calm anger could be felt from her words alone as the entire cityscape surrounding them began to glow in the colour of her aura. A truck rushed towards but for once, the opponent's magic failed to take a victim. The road caved under her and formed a barrier. The truck was obliterated by its collision against the road. From front to back, it had been squished into a thin plate that broke into numerous fragments.
"... It's connected. I turned this realm into my 'weapon', my 'furniture'. I felt the car coming before it arrived, I feel your gaze, heavenly king.
This is a fictional world that operates on its own rules. Everyone here is a normal human compared to the vehicles, meaning they die immediately after getting hit. But the world has to obey its own rules, so that truck couldn't break the road's asphalt.
Lastly, this is a fictional world, a Prava Phantasia. When it ends, the events here are recorded as real. But it can't end... After all, all of your enemies are still alive, aren't they? " (Triney)
The sky shatters like glass to reveal a humanoid figure, some of its bones were strangely enlarged, taking up an uncomfortable amount of space as their ribs connect to their pelvis. An undead type monster. When one thinks of the traditional monsters which imitate monsters by assimilating their flesh, living or dead, why would humans be left out of this phenomenon?
Vampires, werewolves, angels and devils, there were many humanoid type demons or monsters that exist by taking in human flesh. These particularly higher level species also have components other than human flesh and an absurd amount of magic. Many theorise... But a simple answer to that would be... Demon flesh. Artificially creating more demons with the flesh of actual demons.
Well as far as it goes, there is no such thing as artificial. They recreate what happens naturally in the wild, these are still genuine demons... And a Demonic Heavenly King no less...
Sprawled across the ground was the unconscious bodies of her comrades. Off to a rough start already, even though they've only encountered a single heavenly king.