*
From E grade to C grade, her magic rapidly rose, then it breached B grade and finally... The very edge of A grade. Final skill activation was finally possible, it took a gargantuan amount of magical particles such that it was necessary to at least be A grade to access the magic without dying.
"[Hereafter I loft of wish, the fated end thy cataclysm springs]." (Vegaltari)
The ultimate fate of all of existence, with a beginning, there will be an end. Even with immortality, there was always a start point and an eventual end point. Whether they would lose their immortality in some unfortunate circumstance, or if they would lose it by natural means somehow, there would always be a set of conditions that signalled their end. That was the effect of this skill, to bring about the effects of someone's end, to brutally bring into reality the conditions that would spell one's demise.
Negation of immortality via organic means, whether it was bringing up past memories that would make the target voluntarily disable their invulnerability, or conjuring something that did not exist or no longer existed to remove the very reason why the target had immortality... As for Barius' case... It brought about an amalgamation. For all of her life, she had been chasing a phantom, a rival that did not exist.
The girl she had been chasing the back off from the far past, the magical girl that shone irritatingly like the blinding sun... The target of perfection... The model of perfection... An existence with perfection of a 'higher degree', it synchronises with Barius' soul, as if leeching and sucking out her 'perfection' to power itself up higher than her. No, rather than stealing her power... It in and of itself is an effect of her final skill, as long as [Veritas of justitia: PERMANENT JUSTICE OF AN INVIOLABLE BASTION] was active... The being before her would be set as a target of 'perfection' as well.
Rather it was Barius own mind that makes it so, an inescapable fate. Her own 'end' is marked by the existence of a 'perfection' beyond her. Vegaltari's skill simply brings it forth and coats her body with it. This was the main reason why her status within the destroyers remains in stagnancy. No one was curious enough to want to witness their 'end'.
"I see. The target of your... Affection? Envy? Wrath... Frustration. So complex, yet so intricately woven, like a key for your very heart. No, even beyond that. It's like a key that slots into and unravel your very soul.
Of course, only something this complex can achieve this effect. Like this, [Hollow calamity]. " (Vegaltari)
A sword as thin as a thread yet held the pressure that could birth a universe, materialised in her palm. It was heavy, bursting almost. Vegaltari felt like if she released her tight grasp over its handle, it would explode with enough force to erase a universe. Of course it wouldn't hurt her, but that was the initial power of the burst... As she contemplated her new abilities gained from 'perfection', it felt like the blade itself was rapidly catching up to her own body, soon it would be powerful enough to overpower her body's durability...
When Barius faced her, her face was but a blur, only ash grey locks of worn out hair draped the silhouettes head like a withered curtain. Her figure is dressed in a dirty greyish white dress, and her limbs weren't so pristine like the gleaming sheen of a jade anymore. Rather, they gave the impression of shaven and processed wood, akin to a old wooden puppet or a worn out doll. Yet Barius felt it, she felt that this being was more 'perfect' than herself, which would negate her own 'perfection' just by existence. As 'perfection' stood above all, it's like a status buff that could only be granted to one person in the same universe, like a localised universal law but also more closer to a title buff.
So this was the ugliness in her own heart, she always set up a model of perfection, someone she could admire and chase endlessly in a run. This was the model as it was definitely not the actual individuals in question. A model of her mind, a model she was replicating inside her own body to use 'perfection' like a tool.
5 hits, then 5 million. An innumerable number of punches slams into Barius' body in the same instant, a decisive helplessness takes over. Every bit of her body, her flesh, they receive indiscriminate Destruction... A single moment of folly was enough, a single second to a god magical girl was practically an unconditional surrender. The punches split the atoms themselves and then the subatomic particles, broken, split beyond nay resemblance of the former body... 'Perfection does not have a body', located in every universe was a copy of Barius' dormant soul. An integral existence to the universe ever since she achieved her final skill.
Her physical body was gone, so all that was left was spiritual. All god magical girls can exist without their physical body, in that expect of spirituality they had indeed achieved the divine even if they weren't born as such. Then, the way to eliminate them was not only to destroy their physical body, but also their soul, while overcoming their rate of regeneration. In actuality, the opponent who received the effects of 'perfection' had also eliminated her soul. Then what was left behind?
If it was a rule made by the universe, it could be violated by 'perfection'. But if it was a rule made by her own magic, her own 'perfection' aiding the opponent, then there was nothing Barius could do. These were the flawless conditions that signaled her demise, brought about by Vegaltari's final skill. Then this was her end. The opponent hadn't even used the blade summoned by her copy of [Hollow calamity], she was done in by mere punches and ultimately her own magic. That was simply how it went, ruined by her own mechanisms...
Yet, there she was. Her pristine body without a single wound or frayed hair. Her white jacket had a divine grandeur that seemed to blind those who could not tolerate her perfection. The model, the user, and her end. This was the end of Barius' perfection', the effect of Vegaltari's final skill was to organically end someone's immortality... So she stopped relying on her final skill. What Vegaltari killed was the 'perfect' Barius and not the ordinary 'Barius', in other words the girl with glowing porcelain skin and elegant eyelashes here was... The leftovers.
An A grade magical girl, who could not tolerate the edge of the universe. She would be shredded up by this very realm in a moment, the physicality of this realm could be described as 'infinite pressure as time and space lost meaning' . But nothing happened.
"[First step to perfection]." (Barius)
Her primary skill, her beloved magic that had been there since the very start... If the edge of the universe' physical mechanics could be said to be an extension of fluid dynamics, then she could control. The amount of pressure didn't matter, this was similar to Kaori's second skill which 'moved' a target no matter how much resistance there was. She arrived back at the very start, a beginning with endless points aligning into a tale. Akin to the countless water molecules, the infinite expanse of the universe threatening to turn her into juice... Her final skill deactivate, removing her opponent's 'perfection' and [Hollow calamity(imitation)]. They had returned to square 1,but now... Barius was also without her final skill.
She was no longer a god magical girl, she was no longer anyone special. After all, how could she be? She will defeat Vegaltari with her ordinary self using an ordinary way. She summoned a sword made out of water and wielded in her hand. She froze her on body in time, making it invulnerable to outside stimuli, that included the edge of the universe a sit was ultimately an external condition of the field. As such, her first skill... Was somehow fending off infinite pressure without the stats of a god magical girl...
"How..." (Vegaltari)
"... I will kill you with my hands. You can guarantee that." (Barius)
Ignoring her opponent's inquisition, she declared her enemy's fate as if it was the most natural thing in the world, almost mocking Vegaltari. It was meaningless theatrics, something Kaori would do. Her second skill is useless, so she can only use her first. With an A grade well, she conjured water beyond infinity. Her blade silently tears through the world, unimpeded by the environment's fearsome condition. She wonder what her opponent's thoughts are now, she was demonstrating the impossible. Just as a certain prophet was a magical girl who could walk on water, she will demonstrate a miracle, her victory.
Manually achieving perfection, she enchanted the water in her body to go beyond infinity, beyond the divine. It made no sense, but magic made no sense. With the past sensations of 'perfection', she recreates that state with her first skill... And achieves it. A pseudo 'perfection' that imitates all of its traits without the model, it was not immortality or invulnerability. It was simply neglect. Her body neglected the laws of the universe, it existed outside its domain.
"First skill final technique - transcendance beyond the boundary." (Barius)
She swings her blade once, and lacerations appear all over Vegaltari's body. Vegaltari returned an attack in kind, sending a blade of magic more durable than the universe flying at Barius. The blade reached its destination immediately... And passed through her. It was as if she hadn't existed. A power above 'perfection', she needed at least this much if she wanted to achieve her dreams. She walked closer and arrived right in front of Vegaltari. It was clear no matter how much she tried, no attack would ever land on Barius.
Was this a level above god magical girls. Thinking about all of this so much had done enough to hurt her brain, perhaps it was easier to stop thinking... In resignation, she stood still. Her heart rate went down and her blood wasn't pumping as fast. She waited for her eventual end.
"... Rather than fight the opponent yourself, did you wanted to get saved instead?" (Barius)
A cold voice echoed in that endless expanse, her words were stiff yet a hint of warmth had slipped through. Like an autumn sun peaking through the leaves, tickling Vegaltari's skin. She had always believed that she wanted to fight and defeat Arasovi, to clear her regrets, to prevent any more regrets from forming in the future. A chain of cowardice that never stopped, that was the result. Of course she wouldn't be satisfied, of course she would use this battle as a pretext to prove to herself that she got stronger, before finally fighting Arasovi. She believed Arasovi was invincible, and that only she could defeat her.
This lead to solitude. From a lack of courage to self isolation, it was all excuses. Excuses she made, and excuses she forced herself to accept. With her vision blurring and a long lost sensation of warmth slipping down her cheeks... She cried out.
"I...! I want to be saved!! I don't want to be here anymore! I don't want anymore worlds to be destroyed because of me! I want Arasovi to be dealt with!" (Vegaltari)
In this aspect she must also surpass Kaori. To forgive someone who had led worlds to their end, she's definitely sure Kaori had never done something like that before. In her mind, she was smirking to herself in overwhelming glee. But on the surface she kept a straight face with her wealth of experience anyway. Repressing this childish stint, she continued to speak.
"Then wait. Kaori and Ledia will beat them. Your 2 strongest that is." (Barius)
"How... How could you have such faith in them?" (Vegaltari)
Despair constricted her heart like a viper, squeezing until she was out of breath and her lungs creaked. But an odd sensation took hold upon hearing Barius' words.
"Like how you believe Arasovi is unstoppable, we have our own little magical faith. Irrational but beautiful." (Barius)
"... Alright." (Vegaltari)
She no longer had to will to muster anymore words. What worth is there to belief? Naturally, it would rank below conviction, below complete certainty of an outcome. Before she could ponder any further, the space before her blurred and warped around her, swallowing Barius and herself in darkness for an instant before releasing them. Perhaps it was inapt to call it darkness, in this place where light is too slow to reach their corneas and space is stretched until it could no longer, it would be more accurate to say space had stopped existing around them for a single moment.
Rather, for a single instant they weren't allowed to interact with their surroundings... Their locations had simply shifted that fast, akin to teleportation. But they could feel the space around them warp for a moment. When she came to, they were multiple other magical girls floating around, none of them were familiar.
"... Hmpf, I gather she wasn't a problem?" (Barius)
"Wasn't a problem?! I could have vanished at anytime! But I shifted the 'flow' of her destruction magic's targeting, forcing it to miss!
Getting deleted isn't something on my bucket list... " (Kaori)
... Her mind froze. So Arasovi really was defeated... But now, surely she would receive her judgement...
" What's with her? " (Kaori)
"... She surrendered. " (Barius)
She should just accept her fate. Someone stronger than Arasovi had arrived after all... Would she make it painless?
"Is that so...? I see." (Kaori)