"And all the players are here!" Kaguya said, arms spread wide. "To witness my rebirth!"
"I see Reiko's death doesn't bother you," Seina replied, mouth in a firm line. "But I suppose she was never a friend."
"Never,she served our purpose."
"Tsk, figures." Takako clicked her tongue. "But what do you get out of this? You realize what your partner is?"
Just thinking about it made Seina's blood boil. Of course, that blight had returned to haunt her. This creature was responsible for everything she and everyone else had suffered.
"It matters not." Mei unsheathed her weapon, its steel glinting starlight from the countless pinpricks of light above. "To obtain what I desire, I'll sacrifice anything. Kill anyone."
"Why not work with us, then? We can help you." Seina said. "No one else needs to die!"
"Empty promises," Mei replied, tone emotionless. "The Fairy Queen couldn't help me, and neither can you."
"Then maybe it wasn't meant to be, dumbass," Arisu said, finally speaking. "You gets to a point where you need to accept reality, Mei. What makes you think Kaguya can fulfill your greatest wish?"
For the first time, Mei showed genuine emotion, clenching her teeth behind her metal face mask. "It doesn't matter. How could you understand what I've suffered?"
"We've all suffered! I've had a hard life, too." Seina said. "But you can't allow your pain to define you."
"Diligence wouldn't have wanted this. She…" But Charity didn't get a chance to finish.
"Enough." Mei's eyes hardened. "Your words are meaningless. You oppose me, and now you must die."
"There you have it. Seems like Mei wants war. Ready to play, my heroes?" Kaguya stepped back, vanishing into nothingness.
"Hey!" Seina said. Where was she going?
"Typical Kaguya, letting others do her dirty work," Arisu said, summoning her staff. She covered her face with a cloth mask. "Fine by me. I'm looking forward to trashing this traitor."
"Yeah! I don't care what your reasons are," Seina said, summoning her staff. "The nightmares stop!"
"You realize we got lucky with Reiko, right?" Emiyo said, sighing. "But never mind. I'm seeing this through."
"Pain is no excuse," Himari said. "We all have hardships we must bear. You have no right making life worse for everyone else just because you're suffering."
"I don't need to give some pithy speech about justice. I want to kick your ass so I can live peaceful days of just reading manga!" Takako said, her ribbon dancing around her.
"Useless." Mei's cold eyes stared at them, levitating herself into the air. "Shall I show you true terror? Dark form change."
Darkness gathered around the girl, her usually black armor gaining another dimension of despair. Ebony feathered wings spouted from her back with white tips. There, the imperial Devil Princess floated above her enemies, a god giving judgment no those foolish enough to oppose her. An aura of evil washed over everyone, choking them with her pure malevolence. It drove the breath from Seina's lungs, making her legs tremble with fear. What was this magical girl? Had she discovered a level of power above the rest of them? Like Reiko, Seina sensed something sick about this new form. It was a perversion of a magical girl.
"Erase," Mei said, extending a hand.
Pain filled Seina's entire being, overloading her senses. Years passed, agony became her entire being. Or was it only seconds? Seina could hardly tell either way. Through stinging eyes, Seina forced them open. Darkness surrounded her, making her wonder if she was dead. No, that wasn't true. Pinpricks of light caught her attention, making Seina realize she was still in Starlight Dream. The force of the blast must have blown her clear. But she froze when she realized she'd made an incorrect assumption.
"What?" Chunks of what remained of Starlight Dream floated suspended in space. A quarter of the planet was just gone, vaporized to dust. Only the spike holding Kaguya's body remained intact, an eternal line protruding from the piece of rock. Light shot from along its cracks, the core of Starlight Dream undamaged by the blast.
"You did well to survive, girl." Terror spiked down Seina as she gazed up to see Mei floating above her, gazing down at an insect that foolishly opposed her.
"Stop this insanity! You'll destroy everything!" Seina pleaded. Hadn't enough people died already?
But Mei only snorted in contempt. "Nothing about it was worth saving." Seina gasped as reality seemed to melt and shimmer from the magical girl's mere presence. Reality itself couldn't contain the Devil Princess's monstrous power, nor did she care to restrain it.
But Mei cared little about her pleas, raising her sword for battle. Seina tensed, ready to fend off whatever attack the Devil Princess planned on mounting. It'd been a naïve assumption. With impossible speed, Seina found Mei's blade posed to cleave her in half. Steel clashed as Seina raised her staff to deflect the blow, but reality tumbled as their weapons clashed. The starlight scattered to the solar winds, the universe-shattering to pieces from the sheer might of Mei's sword.
Seina screamed, clutching her head. She caught glimpses of people, worlds, and entire histories, only for them to pop like a soap bubble, lost to the void. Hundreds of worlds filled her vision before they lost their substance. Much to Seina's horror, she realized what was happening. Mei's attack had cleaved apart a piece of the multiverse, and the Devil Princess had only been playing with her.
"No, please! Don't do this!" But Seina's desperate pleas fell on deaf ears as the Devil Princess wailed on her, each blow coursing unimaginable pain through her body. Tears welled in her eyes at the senseless destruction, her pain seeming a drop in the bucket compared to the senseless destruction this monster caused. Every bone in Seina's body shattered as Mei delivered a sudden kick to her midsection.
"Now, do you understand the pointlessness of this battle?" Mei said, watching the wheezing Seina with complete dispassion. "You fought for nothing. You led a pointless battle, Seina. Your entire existence is pointless."
"No!" But Seina fought to regain a battle pose, ready for another round. "Too many people are counting on me."
"How childish. Do you know what my battles as a magical girl have taught me? That existence is fleeting. See how I snuffled out the lives of countless trillions in seconds? Nothing about this existence matter. It is only pain and suffering. In fact, you could say I'm doing them a service by ending their pathetic existence. I'm breaking the circle of Karma. What's the point of life and rebirth if it only means pain?"
Irrational anger washed over Seina, boiling her blood. Everyone had something in their past that brought them pain. Heck, Seina suffered one of the worst days of her life only a couple of days ago. But people learned and grew from it. Mei had no right to cause such pain for her selfish reasons.
"That's insane." Power rushed through her as Seina's conviction grew strong. "You've let your pain define your existence but forgotten everything wonderful about life." The sound of her sister Seiko laughing echoed in her ears. That love urged her to fight and win.
But Mei cared little for Seina's words, raising her blade to cleave her childish opponent to nothing. She grimaced as beams of energy shot from nowhere, blasting her back.
"Too true!" Takako said, her ribbon dancing around her. "Who wants to dwell on their pain their entire life? Besides, there are still too many cool mangas left to read!"
"Erase." Mei charged again but hit nothing but empty space as dozens of illusionary Seina appeared to confuse her. They giggled and danced around, mocking the Devil Princess for her mistake. Each Seina copy blew apart from a single swing of Mei's blade, but they'd only been a distraction. The Devil Princess grimaced as Takako and Seina struck her as one, staggering her back as their fists stuck into her armor. While doing minimal damage, they'd hurt her. A single swing of Mei's blade drove them back, Seina's head ringing from the sheer after-effect of Mei's aura.
The Devil Princess wailed on them harder, their atoms screaming in agony from each blow. But they fought back. Seina summoned hundreds of bubbles and Takako used her ribbon to guide them with an invisible wind. But Mei danced around each bubble as Takako threw them in an unpredictable pattern. The Devil Princess was too agile, dodging even when Seina's friend teleported her bubbles across the battlefield. Whenever one approached, it just burst to pieces from an exertion of Mei's malevolent will. To demonstrate the hopelessness of their plight, Mei snapped her fingers, and each of Seina's bubbles popped harmlessly.
Impossible. What was this power?
"Simple. I'm not like other magical girls. No gimmicks. I am a force of nature, that's all." Mei replied to the unasked question.
Dread seeped into Seina's bones, wondering if they'd entered a hopeless battle. The other Devil Princesses, while powerful monsters, weren't immune to her tremendous strength. But Mei made her seem like a harmless breath of air trying to blow down a mountain. Was this it? Had Seina finally met her match?
"Gah!" Mei yelped in pain as one of Seina's bubbles exploded against her head, blowing her back. She shook her head, trying to regain her senses. More bubbles appeared from nowhere, blasting the Devil Princess back. What was going on? Another trick from Takako?
"You're too reliant on your raw strength," Emiyo said, using her hoop to guide Seina's bubbles like a conductor. "You're nothing but a blunt instrument." Seina got it. Her friend had pulled her bubbles from the past for this surprise sneak attack.
"Tsk." Mei scowled from behind her mask. Much to Seina's dismay, her bubbles popped on an invisible barrier as Emiyo tried repeating the trick.
"Look out!" But Seina's warning came too late.
A pained gasp escaped Emiyo as she stared at the sword impaled through her chest. Her body convulsed, and a dark mist leaked from the wound. The mist reversed course as Emiyo reversed time on her mortal injury. But she succumbed to the pain, the former lieutenant's body joining limp as her life force died.
"Emiyo," Seina said, her voice quiet and hoarse, unable to believe her eyes. Takako only stared, struck with wordless horror.
"How about I show you my power?" Mei said, all conversation. "Destruction. My ability allows me to destroy anything. Like your bubbles, for example, or a magical girl's life."
"Emiyo." Tears spilled from Seina's eyes, unbidden. While she hadn't known the haughty girl for long, they'd been friends, comrades. Like Ume, Seina had been helpless to save her friend. This was too much. How could they defeat this monster?
"Anyone else?" Mei said to the void. "Coming to rescue your friend in another futile, heroic gesture?"
"Destroy. That's all you can do," Himari said, appearing from nowhere. Her voice was quiet, devoid of any emotion. "Little wonder Arisu considers you unworthy of being a magical girl."
Despite herself, this struck a nerve, and Mei scowled. "That halfwit thug shouldn't talk. As if she's any better."
"But no more. I won't allow you to kill anyone else," Himari said.
"Really?" Mei said, amused. "A failure of a magical girl fighting against a Devil Princess?"
"You're right," Himari said, her words frigid ice. "I hid, too scared to fight back against your cruelty. I sometimes cried myself to sleep, hating my powerlessness. But no more."
Then, Himari became everything. She filled the sky, encompassing the entire universe. She became all existence, every atom. Mei's composure broke, a wave of uncertainty washing over her. She hadn't expected this meek girl to have such a powerful ability. Himari had finally shown the true extent of her power.
Reality shook as the two titans clashed, unleashing their terrible power against each other. Seina could only watch in awe as the shockwaves from the impact of their exchanges blew her back. Invisible blows bombarded the winged magical girl, overwhelming her with their ferocity. But Mei refused to back down, her blade tearing furrows into the fabric of reality. The multiverse rumbled as Himari screamed. Colorful ribbons of rainbow trickled across space.
"We need to help her," Seina said, grimacing as a shockwave almost knocked her senseless. More ribbons of rainbow crisscrossed across space-time as the Devil Princess tore apart their friend. Despite her higher form, Himari couldn't match the devilish magical girl. At this rate, the void would consume everything if they didn't stop this battle.
"What now?!" Takako said, voice verging on total panic. "This is beyond anything we can face! Just getting close could vaporize us!"
"We must!" Seina gripped her staff tight.
"I was afraid you'd say that." Takako rubbed her temple before beaming. "I'm in. Besides, you get numb to these hopeless battles after a while."
Her friend's expression turned serious. "But how can we approach? We might get crushed like an ant by accident."
"Lucky you've got a clairvoyant on your side," Arisu said, appearing from nowhere. She looked in terrible shape. Her left arm hung limply, her red dress torn to bloody rags.
"What happened to you?" Seina said, shocked.
"While I was helping your friend escape the chaos, Kaguya ambushed me. Kiyojiro is safe, but that demon put a number on me. Escaped too, but she won't interfere."
"That's something I guess." Seina sighed, relieved her bodyguard was okay.
"But I will not lie," Arisu said with uncharacteristic seriousness. "The future looks bleak. It'll likely choke us to death before we even get close. The slightest slip will scatter your atoms across the cosmos."
"We can't abandon Himari," Seina replied. "I'm ready, regardless of what happens."
"Can we stop fretting and go already?" Takako said, shrugging. "I'm tired of fearing the future."
"My kind of girls," Arisu said, her mouth extending into a wolfish grin. "Stay close on my heels."
Weapons in hand, they charged forward into the chaotic whirlwind, primal winds battering against them. Seina cringed, skull throbbing as colors and images dazzled her eyes with confusing and ever-shifting patterns. But they fought forward, Arisu guiding them through the worst of the cosmic storm.
When they approached the battlefield proper, they found both combatants beaten and battered. Mei bled from the stomach, her wound refusing to heal. Her opponent, Himari, existed as only vapor among the void, her essence beaten beyond its limit. When her eyes settled upon her rescuers, they were frightened but hopeful.
Himari howled, releasing a gale that rocked the cosmos as it struck the winged Devil Princess. But Mei's blade only batted it aside, unbothered by such a weak attack. But it'd only been a distraction, leaving Mei open to the true attack.
"Gah." Mei howled as Arisu's staff impaled itself into her gaping wound, screaming in utter agony as the Wicked Queen's holy magic tore her insides apart.
A fist pummeled the Devil Princess in the face as Seina unleashed her pent-up indignation, bashing her with everything she had. Takako blasted their opponent with beams that seared the eyes, leaving black scorch marks across the Devil Princess's skin. Yet, it still wasn't enough.
Seina screamed as a backhand crushed her skull, staggering her. Arisu charged to her aid, but it was a futile gesture. The Wicked Queen screamed as Mei's blade almost gutted her with a slash too quick for the eye to follow. More beams shot against Mei, but their effectiveness proved minimal against such a foe.
"Is that really all you have, heroes?" Mei said, her wings flying her to a superior height.
"Damn it. If only I still had my Sunrise form." Arisu spitted blood, annoyed.
Sunrise form?
"That's why you get for surrendering power, Wicked Queen. Kaguya told me all about it. You couldn't bear to kill a friend, so you sealed her away instead. Pathetic. Your kindness doomed the multiverse." Mei said.
"Shut up," Arisu replied, unimpressed by the Devil Princess's insults. "I don't abandon no one in my protection. That's the code I've already followed as guardian of Daini Kameido Junior and the cosmos. I don't expect a psycho like you to understand."
"Well, it matters little now," Mei said. "Once I end this nightmare of a multiverse and become GOD, maybe you'll be reunited with your old friends."
"Is that what Kaguya promised you? A brand new multiverse?" Arisu said, incredulous. "She's a vampire. All she ever promises are empty oaths."
"It was worth a try. If not, I'll happily embrace the void." Mei replied. "The void beacons me."
"How could a vampire recreate the multiverse?" Seina asked, incredulous. "They're parasites!"
"Not if she absorbs the essence of Starlight Dream," Arisu replied. "It's what Slithcar tried, much to his regret."
"If life has taught me anything, you can fix what's broken now," Seina had seen her people restore what the vampires had destroyed firsthand. Every day, they restored society for a better future, so their children had better lives than they did.
"Is that what you think?" Mei broke into uproarious laughter. It contained no warmth and mirth, only hatred. "You know nothing about pain, child."
"But!" Seina screamed as a blow caved in her chest cavity. Mei wasn't interested in killing Seina. She wanted to hurt this upstart for talking back to her better.
"Seina," Himari said, rushing to her friend's aid, only to howl as a sword stabbed through her essence, dissipating it.
"No." Seina's voice wavered, her pain forgotten by her heartache. With Himari gone, reality returned to normal, exposing them to the void.
"Tsk," Mei said, annoyed. "I'm not even certain I killed her."
"Bastard!" Takako unleashed everything after the Devil Princess, summoning countless orbs across the sky. Each exploded, sending random beams that seared everything in their path. But Mei only flicked a wing, dissipating each beam with ease. Takako had pushed her abilities too far, sagging from pure exhaustion. Mei turned her back to the girl in utter contempt.
"Seems it's only you and me now, Wicked Queen," Mei said, turning towards the only threat remaining. "And from your expression, you don't see any hope in your future, do you?
"Just fight already. Enough posturing," Arisu replied, inviting the Devil Princess to fight with a flick of a finger. But the Wicked Queen's staff shattered to splinters from the force of Mei's blade. The next swipe almost gutted Arisu, the elder magical girl dodging the fatal blow by a hair.
"It's over. I've won, Wicked Queen," Mei said, satisfied with herself.
"No," Seina said, stunned. After everything, after every hard-fought battle, they fail now? Never! It meant Ume and Emiyo died for nothing! "You won't win!"
Seina charged, not caring how reckless or useless her attacks were. She refused to surrender. Mei dodged with casual ease, but Seina only fought harder. Blood stained her dress as the Devil Princess slashed and stabbed her, but Seina continued fighting. She couldn't lose, not after everything!
"Useless," Seina screamed as the blade stabbed through her, coughing blood. Mei's cold eyes stared into her, enjoying the helplessness of her prey. It'd only take the slightest exertion of her power to erase Seina forever.
"No!" A blade stabbed through the Devil Princess's chest. Even Arisu was surprised by the sudden appearance of Seina's rescuer. A kick drove the Devil Princess back, freeing Seina from her blade's bite.
"Colten, Paliah!" Seina said, her voice a whisper as her partner cradled her.
"Of course, you're my partner, Seina," Paliah replied, smiling down at her.
"What are you?" Arisu said, somewhat baffled. "Your magic, it's like a magical girl, but you're a fairy too?"
"I'm Seina's guardian," Paliah said, turning his blade towards their foe. "Anything else is immaterial."
But Mei only released a derisive snort. "And now you're the protector of nothing."
"No, Seina, Paliah, flee!" Arisu said, but she was too late.
"Before Seina could even blink, a sword was already stabbing into her, glowing with malevolent energy. But the pain stopped, blinking in confusion as she found herself in another location altogether. What the? Seina froze as it revealed a horrible truth to her.
"Gah!" Paliah coughed blood, the Devil Princess's blade impaling right through his heart.
"Not quite what I intended, but I look forward to seeing your partner broken after your death, fairy."
"No! Colten!" But Seina was too late, her best friend vaporized as the Devil Princess unleashed her power onto him. Only strands of white hair remained as the last fragments of a loyal friend.
"Colten, no! Colten, no! Colten, no!" Seina clutched at her head, repeating those two words in a never-ending manta. Reality shattered as her entire world died.