*
A small smile escapes Himei's lips, she looks to towards Miwa with a gentle gaze like a mother looking at her child. Well, despite the perky fox ears on her head, Himei actually viewed the ArcMaidens like little pets. Just because they were a little stronger than all the other humans, they had this sort of confident and childish dignity you wouldn't find anywhere else. It would take her a second to disable their magic and subjugate them...
But she wouldn't do that. Instead, she would graciously rule. Her days were filled with business and boredom, so for a while now that Miwa had entered her throne, a burning anticipation had sat quietly in her chest. The throne room was a room of pure white, white walls, white ceiling, white floor. It was a little traumatic for Frey to look at it, so she left her throne like this on purpose to cause distraught in Frey.
Even Frey who was an S grade magical girl with a rebellious spirit and a portion of the sun's power was like a little playful neighbour that visited her every now and then. For better or worse, she viewed all of her subjects as her children, as long as they were in the Sanctuary's borders, she would treat them as such.
Well, some of them were really messed up children though, commiting crimes against humanity and breaking the law as well as disrupting peace. Perhaps it was safe to say she treated them like 'her children', but in reality she had obviously distanced herself somewhat from what an obviously horrible idea it was.
"I... I think i want to hang out with the others more. I want to find something I can do for them. Despite ascending into ArcMaidens, I think some of them could use the company." (Miwa)
".... Hmpfff that's... They're not children, you know? The youngest estimate was around 18... But it's possible they're around 21 already... " (Himei)
Miwa took a step back as she gazed into Himei's eyes, as if she was trying to get her to understand solely through eye contact. But... Himei wasn't so boorish as to use her skills and read Miwa's mind right now.
" Humu, I'll see what I can do... Anything else...?" (Himei)
Her short hair bobbed against its natural position as her face lit up.
She tried to cover it up and look natural, but the curvature of her lips and the movements of her eyelashes couldn't escape anyone's notice. Himei on the other hand... Easily concealed her emotions. No one knew her age, her origin... Maybe it was easier to say that everyone who did has already passed on.
Despite being magical girls, there wasn't anyone who actually stayed around for a few thousand or more years. Maybe a couple of strange hermits could hit the 2000 year mark, otherwise these individuals if they existed haven't seen much sunlight and would be impossible to find.
As for Frey... She wasn't that old at all, she might have even been born within this latest century. She poured her resentment towards the facility and the progenitor's cult towards Himei, after all Himei implicitly supported them for the sake of increasing the number of magical girls in her faction. Frey had... Gotten a few civilians caught up and killed, so Himei practically sent her back in the shape of a bean. With all her limbs, skin and organs carved out and inverted except for her brain.
She was used to such dreary sights herself so she wondered if the Rising Knight order would gain resistance to such incomprehensible horrors. Not all of them were remotely awful individuals. Liberation, for the sake of freedom and goodwill, to improve lives. Even though they were rebelling against her, after crushing them so many times they were reduced into an extra police force that operated in the centre region of The Sanctuary.
"If you don't have anymore things to say, leave." (Himei)
She might have leaked a little of her irritation as Miwa's expressions rapidly shifted to a hint of fear then panic. She swiftly turned on her foot and sauntered away. She wore her heart on her sleeve, it was a little cute but too much and it got irritating as well, was what Miwa thought... Himei adored the ArcMaidens particularly the most, she simply dredged up a bad memory.
Every now and then she might free Frey and get her to do some errands, but... She would permanently leave her in the shape of the bean otherwise. For something as insolent as her, it was better to pack her well and circuits full of activated magical particles and have her explode. If she reversed the natural flow of magical particles and shoved in as much of it as possible, Frey might possibly activate her skill to channel all of it in, if not the high energy of the activated magical particles would erode at her flesh, her well and her circuits.
Unlike the flesh, the well and circuits wouldn't regenerate at all normally. It might fix itself a little over the months, but nothing noticeable. It might take years or decades for a full repair. The only reason Kaori could withstand the torrent of activated magical particles in her body, was that she could use her radar like passive to perceive her surroundings and the insides of her body. She could categorise the excess energy and move it in a way that wouldn't erode at her wells and circuits. Instead it is channeled into the flesh, but her regeneration was equally boosted to make the net damage 0.
***
Miwa held up her palm at the divine knight while Sufia used her eye to temporarily stop their movements. Sufia's evil eye skill was canceled by each of their respective abilities but that cancelling itself took just enough time. Small orbs the size of ping pong balls materialise and then multiply. 4 became 16 then 64 then 256. It didn't stop, the number swelled to around 4 million in 2 moments, 2 moments bought by Sufia raising her evil eye's output outrageously high for a second. Their coordination was unperturbed and swift.
The tengu and the divine knight stared the orbs down in cold sweat, as if looking at the orbs would cause them to fizzle out of existence. She fired. She had been deliberately allowing the divine knight to absorb more and more magic. It was like a feedback loop. She threw magic, the divine knight shot back, her magic grows in strength and she shoots it again. This cycle continued until it rose to the desired strength. Now she multiplies it so much that it covers the sky. In an instant every single or shot off at the same 2 targets, expanding into the beams with the width of a king sized bed, but it all converged into a single beam.
A continuous stream of energy poured repeatedly, hammering the surroundings of the two and what little magic defences they had. She was the maiden of destruction, this was her specialty. Raw continuous damage. She readied a second and third volley easily, seeing that the enemies were struggling to break out much less survive under the first attack. If they somehow managed to escape, she shoots more. A forth then a fifth volley was prepared.
Finally, she feels something stir within her attack range. Something was moving against her laser.
"[Axis of sanctification(power), fall]" (Divine knight, Meli Candaflagra)
Without paused, the magic barrage disappeared all at once. Then tengu was protected behind the divine knight, but now one failed to notice the wisp of wafting smoke arising from its body.
" FIRE!!!!!" (Miwa)
She stocked up 5 more volleys for a grand total of 8.
"FALL!!!!!" (Divine knight)
The divine knight refused to use the rebound function of her skill which reflected absorbed energy. After all, if she did, Miwa's current stock of 8 volleys would only increase in power. They scaled up the enemy's attack instead of what they were fully capable off. The tengu vanished at once, a flash step skill. It was an instantaneous movement skill, but Sufia saw through it with her evil eye. She kept her back to Miwa's and used her evil eye to attack, sending a large ominous black beam that radiated a malicious atmosphere, as if evil had taken the form of destructive energy.
Miwa prepared 5 more volleys, she was getting quicker too. Each volley of a 4 million quantity of 101% enemy attack scaled attacks condensed into a single white orb that glowed endlessly. This was where Miwa's second passive came in. If need be, she would shower in her own attack, her second passive would allow her to see everything moving inside her energy beams. It was 100% directed destruction, by simply giving an instruction she could exclude herself and her allies from taking damage.
She fired a single volley backwards at the tengu. The divine knight took a while to absorb all the energy, while the energy assaulted her from all directions, she could only absorb it from one, her front. While she absorbs the energy, she wouldn't be hurt by the energy assaulting her back, but if she stopped absorbing, she would get showered by searing pain immediately. She had to take her time and finish absorbing all of it. She wouldn't be harmed but neither would the enemy be able to harm her as long as she keeps absorbing.
Roughly 30 minutes of sped up time later(adjusted to the perception of a S grade magical girl) , this deadlock continued with Sufia protecting Miwa's back and Miwa attacked relentlessly not allowing either enemies to get close. Triney finished her fight in around 10 minutes but she found she couldn't do much other than fight off the tengu. She used most of her magic on the zombie, so she recovered while parrying away the tengu's attacks. The divine knight stayed in place for the entire time, not daring to take another step.
The divine knight attempted to operate her own Oblivion Magia, but... It was ruthlessly shattered down by a single volley. Miwa couldn't activate her second skill from this distance she would need to touch the enemy... Which was kinda counterintuitive with her being a long range attacker and all. The Tengu had wind manipulation, flash step and mind overriding charisma, but the charisma attack couldn't get close to the party while Miwa's volleys could.
Since they enemies weren't attacking with anymore than necessarily, Miwa acclimated to creating volleys in an instant. It was a drain on her well, so she didn't make anymore than 10 at once. Even 4 million units for one orb took its toll on Miwa who had roughly 100 million units in capacity. She had plenty of time to recharge and Triney was there to fend off attacks during cool downs, so they weren't in any particular danger.
The divine knights 2nd and 3rd skill might have been attack skills, putting them out of use against Miwa's attacks. On the other hand, Miwa and Sufia were below average in their augmentations compared to other S grades. There wasn't enough in their wells to use their finals skills, yet it was too risky to use those at the start. They wouldn't want information to leak and enemies to form strategies around them.
Sufia who had slightly more leeway used her second skill. It was an added danger perception, warning her to use future sight to observe the danger and gave her just enough time to prepare for it. Just then...
A white flash whizzed past them. Just for a short instance when it stopped to attack, there she was. Kaori with a new ponytail and a wedding dress like combat dress. Her rapier shined brilliantly white like the pure driven snow or the lightning that cut through the night sky. When they first see it, it was already on the other side of the tengu's body. She then moved on to the divine knight, a single attack blew away Miwa's relentless volley attack which was a constant energy barrage that swallowed the divine knight whole.
At the same time, the rapier pierced the divine knight in the head in one swift motion. Shockingly... The divine knight turned her eyes to look at the new arrival, a smile creeping on her face. Physical reflection, that was the effect of her second skill, all damage is instantaneously healed and then sent back to the attacker. A hole punctured into Kaede's head right at where she struck the enemy, but... She didn't take out her rapier. The hole didn't really puncture her head either, it was as insignificant as a pimple to her body's defences.
The divine knight was right in that it reflected the initial attack, she couldn't see Kaede coming so it had to be an automatic activation. The magic's condition was to reflect all damage received, even fatal attacks that could kill the divine knight... No wonder she was an S grade, but...
An infinite amount of attacks in a single instant pierced and thrashed into the divine knight's body. She reacted to the first few by bring up her sword, but it was shattered in 3 hits before her armour became more and more fractured. The attacks were properly being reflected into Kaede, but her own defences simply shrugged them off.
She raised her damage just enough to stab through the divine knight's body and armour like paper, but not enough to damage herself. In fact she lowered her output and merely attacked more. The physical reflections were like tiny needle picks that she began to not even feel.
After a while, the divine knight's magic ran out. Automatic activation + relentless attack, she wasted her enemy's magic on purpose but in her barrage of infinite blows that took a single second to finish... The enemy died before she even noticed. When she was done, her rapier resumed glowing a pristine white. Not a trace except for the countless ragged clothes, armour shards, a little bit of blood and shards of her precious sword was left.