*
The assault team had considerably downsized, leaving the others behind, only 5 ArcMaidens were left along with the 3 heroes and the 4 king candidates. Some of the commanders were still around, but they would soon depart to assault the enemy's military formation.
They flew over the city at a far faster pace than before due to the multiple stops they made along the way, this was to compensate for the time wasted. At their current pace, it would only take 50 seconds which was 4 times lesser than what they would have initial spent. The landscape gradually became less dense as they flew past countless civilians and buildings that dotted the land like stars. However, the frequency of these stars began to dwindle as their numbers drop to leave a more sparse scenery, akin to how light pollution decreases the number of visible stars under the sky.
They were reaching the other edge of their dense urban environment, where the population density begins to dwindle. The castle was located at the other end of the previous African continent, inching a little into the previous South American continent. At this velocity, the air she breathed out would rapidly swim past her body, forming an uncomfortable vacuum in her throat. While magical girls can substitute sustenance and oxygen with magical particles, it is nonetheless psychologically disturbing to experience. So she held her breath as her body dived towards her destination.
The cold vacuum in front of her was devoid of warmth as she infiltrates the gap between the air. Her comrades trail through the skies alongside her, on a one way trip to fulfill their destiny, to bring the prophecy to life. There has still been no definite king amongst the 4 candidates, none have dropped out and none have given in to fear. They showed admirable attitudes and competency in this operation. With no confirmation on who was the true king, there was no telling about what exactly set them apart from other people's ability to command the heroes.
In the first place, was the prophecy even true? They were most likely just meat shields for the real members of the operation, the ArcMaidens. There is no arguing against that, getting extra help who were likely stray A grades to help in an assault was very attractive. 25 seconds have passed, only 1000 km was left to go. Sure enough, they encounter the remaining Demonic Heavenly Kings. 3 of them show up.
When facing a larger force, it was better to divide them up into a few bottlenecks and to utilise the environment and knowledge they had to deal with those bottlenecks. For example, if the only entrance to a cave was a single opening that led to a narrow tunnel, invading forces would only be able to send however many soldiers the tunnels could fit. It was far more feasible to deal with these circumstances than an all out retaliation in the open.
Even if a Heavenly King was stronger than the average S grade magical girl, it wouldn't do to face the combine might of humanity. That is why they have split up the heavenly Kings to face the 4 invading forces. Even so, 5 of them were sent against the Sanctuary, it meant that they were seen as a sizeable threat, perhaps more so than the other factions. The brief intervals of travel where they don't encounter enemies was likely due to the internal organisation of their military, allocating their heavenly king's to fight which of the respective factions that were here.
"... We can't spare any more resources here. I'll continue the fight with De Lan and the heroes. Some of the King candidates will have to stay back to help out.
Now. Those of you with the resolve to face the final challenge step up. The rest of you assist the ArcMaidens in dealing with these heavenly kings. Really, we only need one of you. " (HuoLi)
The Heavenly Kings were nowhere in sight, we were entrapped in some kind of skill that allowed this discussion. The sky was darker than black and the space was barely filled with air to allow her speech to traverse. Naturally, no one was pondering about the space at the moment, their thoughts focused around this whimsical prophecy that had brought them all the way here.
"... There's nothing to think about, I'll be taking the Demon King's head." (Kaede)
Kaori was... Many things. One of them was someone who loved her friends and her home. If it was to protect all of that, even though Kaori was a complete stranger to her... She would do it. Kaori's passion birthed the burning ember of respect in Kaede's heart. If it was just this much even Kaede would be absolutely confident that it was true. She had always been second guessing herself, doubtful of her own interpretation of Kaori, all the way up until this point.
In this one split moment, she was proud to declare that she was Kaori. Karell opened her palm, examining her skin as her thoughts dived deeper into the recesses of he consciousness. What exactly did she value? What was she hoping to get out of this? It was as if there was a swirling obstructive storm in her mind at that very moment. Why? Why was she finding it so difficult to decide?
That was the case until she heard Kaori's answer. What a fool, she likely didn't even give it any thought before answering... At the same time, she began to adore that foolishness. Such a notion... It caused her body to energise, to feel the impact of adrenaline rushing into every area of her muscles. Of course, this was the one true way, what the hell was the point of getting cold feet right before the end? She came here to slay the Demon King, to ensure humanity had a continued future. To simply live on, that is reason enough.
"... I'll help you, you're too weak to do this by yourself. We'll settle the score one final time this way." (Karell)
She crossed her arms as she declared so. She hadn't done much since the start of the operation, leading up to feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction of the status quo, this was a golden opportunity.
" I'll support the battle here, you take care of the Demon King. Leave this side to me." (Neli)
As reliable as ever, Kaede nodded to her in respect. While she did betray the whole point of being a kind candidate by staying behind, she was essentially ceding the seat to Kaede while quashing any worries she might have on this battle. The commanders were mostly all gone, facing off the militaries of the demon army. Now only the king candidates could step down to provide support here.
"Tch, you'll lose anyway. I'll stay behind here to help out. Don't come crying while your body's all battered up later." (Kaitmei)
A little distance away, someone's fist tightens up under her sparkling red gauntlets. With nowhere to go, her frustration welled up. Was this really the best plan? She questioned. But her eyes remained sharp, and her mind maintained its coolness as she looked toward the future.
"... Good luck, I'll count down until the dispelling of this realm. When that happens, run without looking back. Go at a speed of 100 000." (Titania)
Kaede looked towards her, concluding that she was the magical girl responsible for this extra time to plan. What an amazing skill, but it doesn't seem to do anything for combat. At least not directly. She gives her a nod, indicating that she was ready, which the rest soon followed.
"Alright. On go, 3...2...1...Go!" (Titania)
The black sky vanished to reveal the iridescent moon which gave off an alluring light. They turned towards the right direction and rushed forward, leaving craters in the ground as they flew forward faster than rockets. It hadn't even been a full day since, but Kaede's strength and speed stat had now reached the baseline of A grade. It might have been the spar with Barius, but at last...
Name: Higuresawa kaoru
Title: Kaorin(Fully Retained Magia)
Magical girl effectiveness level: B(A)
Perimeters:
- Physical: A(S)
- endurance: B(A)
- speed: A(S)
- will: B(A)
- well: B(A)
She begins to catch up with the original, she could sense her journey coming to an end. It might me today or tomorrow, or it might never come. Such a vague premonition stirs inside her heart to no end, she's nervous. But at the same time, there is no fear. Destiny? Fate? There isn't such an ambiguous explanation to her lack of fear at this current stage, it was simple and basic pride. Her pride as a magical girl, it drives her on, gives her the confidence to confront challenges like the Demon King.
If it is facing the Demon King to protect the world, then she could confidently exclaim that Kaori would do the same. As such, there is no reason to hesitate! No reason to doubt! The remainder of her journey is a straight path forward, win. Her thoughts catch up to her as regain awareness of her surroundings. It was dangerous to daydream while being deep in enemy territory, but her comrades should have drawn out all of the Demon King's remaining forces. Now all that's left should be the Demon King himself.
They arrive in 10 seconds, a gargantuan structure stood in their way. Before the construct in front of them, they are nothing but ants. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say, the Demon King's castle was actually a continent size bastion. It had a purplish red surface that was more purple in nature, as if it was oozing with a layer of poison that coated every bit of its surface.
"... Watch out, the wall is covered in toxic antimagic created by demon sorcery. It continuously sheds like the mucous membrane of a fish or similarly like some organs in the human body.
It may cause a snowball effect by rolling down from the top, we have no definitive measurement for its height. Expect there to be some floods as we find the entrance.
Also as you can tell... It's the very size of this structure that we could confidently estimate the distance between here and the frontline. Be on guard, we're now at the final stage of the operation. Let's win. " (HuoLi)
HuoLi's armored plates clattered above her combat dress, which seemed like a inversion of the traditional shrine maiden dress. These uniforms where the base colour was black and the secondary was red, we're magic artifacts granted by the Eye God. Every ArcMaiden sported an apparel of a similar fashion. Under it was her actual combat dress.
Combat dresses were practically part of our body parts, so our regeneration and durability extends to our combat dresses, repairing wear and tear or completely preventing. What was unusual was how the artifact granted by the Eye God, it was a magic object on a level different from a Stick, so it could only be described as an artifact.
It was able to stay completely intact despite HuoLi's fight with Myuu, there was a reason why Sticks or other lesser magic items weren't typically clothes, there was the usual of how they were fragile and would stop working due to getting destroyed in battle. To this aspect, these shrine artifacts were simply incredible, being able to withstand S grade attacks and recover from reality alteration...
But Kaede knew better than to attribute someone's strength to their clothes. Strength was the combined ability of everything one has to offer, so naturally that includes all of their magic arsenal. She was told that she could be better than what she was currently. So to herself... The most important thing would be effort. It was a dangerous slope to traverse, she could slip and end up worse than before at any time. But with her base stats reaching Kaori's, she was finally near the end.
"Is it impossible to break through the wall?" (Kaede)
"Nope. But it'll be a complete waste of magic. That toxin is harmful even to S grades, it melts our skin at a rate fast enough to catch up to our regeneration, no matter how different our Endurance stats are.
If a normal human was exposed, they would quickly die of shock from blood lost, when it inevitably melts open half their body.
Here's the worse part, it greatly dampens our magic. So yes, theoretically we could pump so much magic destruction that the antimagic toxin couldn't catch up, but it would be a massive waste. " (HuoLi)
"... How do we find the entrance? " (Karell)