"What's going to happen now?" Colten said from his hiding spot. Seina joined him, forgetting about recapturing him for the moment in order to hide. Her mistress possessed frightening power, capable of leveling galaxies with a finger flick.
"Beats me."
Despite the odds against her, the Wicked Queen kept her cocky grin, eager to jump into the fray. Seina envied such confidence. Lothaire would have never spoken to the Wicked Queen disrespectfully.
"Stand ready. We might need your assistance," Kaguya said in her mind.
"S-sure," Seina replied telepathically to her sire. Blood connected them, giving them an unbreakable bond. It was a bond that the queen vampire could abuse if she so wished, forcing Seina to act against her will. While she still hadn't needed to use it, the threat lingered like a blade ready to drop. Seina wasn't sure what she could do, but she'd keep her eyes open for any opportunities.
"Is she crazy? Why hasn't she transformed yet?" Colten said in dismay. "Facing a Devil Princess without powers is beyond suicidal!"
The Four Devil Princesses studied their foe, none eager to make the first move. That fact their enemy still hadn't transformed had them on edge, fearing a trap.
"Who is this Wicked Queen, anyway?" Seina whispered to her fairy pet.
"Legends say she's the cruelest ruler Starlight Dream has ever had. Somehow, she corrupted fairies against their dark nature and abused them terribly. Although, all that seems like crap and utter nonsense compared to the reality before us. This Wicked Queen's the real deal!"
"Yeah, Charity can't imagine Arisu ruling anything!" The delinquent's fairy partner said, joining them. "She's too impatient."
"So, she's a good guy?" Colten asked, hope creeping into his voice.
"The best!" Charity paused, considering. "With some eccentricities. She likes beating people up."
"That's amazing. I never thought I'd see anyone defy our dark princesses," Colten said.
"She's still doomed, though," Neir said, creeping up on them. "It's four against one, against the Devil Princesses. Nobody could stand against that!"
But a twinkle flashed in the Wicked Queen's partner's eye. "We shall see."
Arisu, however, seemed unconcerned as the four Devil Princesses moved to surround her, Seina getting queasy as each radiated unbelievable power. Each magical girl alone might actually be a match for her mistress.
Yet, the Wicked Queen remained firm. After a come-hither gesture, she thrust out a red brooch, not unlike what Takako had done. Her opponents, however, attacked before Arisu even began her transformation chant, eager to obliterate her. Only Mistress Kaguya stayed behind, watching her teammates make the first move. The masked magical girl acted first, her sword slashing out to impale the Wicked Queen in the heart. But Arisu caught the blade with her brooch, deflecting the blow. With a knee, she blocked a punch from below and slammed her head into the girl wearing a fireman's outfit.
"Change Change, Magical Love Dress Up!" In a flash, Arisu transformed into a rather pretty red dress.
"You little." Blood gushed from the nose of the girl in the fireman's outfit. Colten named her Yuuka. Apparently, she'd assumed this encounter would be easy.
"Oh well." The girl with the unnerving, feverish eyes, Reiko, said. "It'd be a pity if you died before I made you suffer for the indignities you put me through!"
"It seems being trapped for hundreds of years didn't diminish your skills." The last, who Colten named Mei, said. Apparently, she was the Devil Princesses' leader. Which surprised Seina, considering her master's independent nature.
"How long are you planning to blab about pointless old grievances?" Arisu replied. "Quit talking and fight."
"You! Change Change, Magical Love Genocide Dress Up!" Yuuka said, finally getting serious. "I'm going to enjoy stealing your life, stealing your hope! You've walked into despair and soon oblivion. I'll steal away any chance of a happy afterlife, either!" The two exchanged blows, Arisu using her ruby-tipped staff to deflect the Devil Princesses' broadsword.
"You can't beat us by yourself. Shall I show you why? I'm not like when we first crossed paths," Reiko said. "I wish for every atom in Arisu's body to burn like a thousand suns. Every nanosecond is its own hellish lifetime."
Fear stabbed into Seina's heart as Reiko's very words came into being, the Wicked Queen's body lighting up like a furnace. The pain wracking her features was terrible to behold. Yet, when Yuuka rushed forward to finish her, she howled in pain as a sudden punch to the ribs crumbled her. Before Reiko could react, the Wicked Queen laid into her with body blows and kicks. Instead of being cowed by the unbelievable pain she was suffering, it only egged her on instead. What a monster.
"Impossible," Reiko said, her eyes fearful as her ribs shattered from a sudden body blow to the chest. She stumbled back, her breathing pained and labored. "You can't do this!"
"Can't I? Is that the best you wished for? You don't think I know pain?" Arisu bared her teeth, eyes ablaze. "Compared to what you've caused in my absence to the cosmos, this is nothing. It's penance for my failure."
"Wow." Seina watched in wonder. What determination! It made Seina feel small and inadequate. This girl won't have allowed the vampires to walk over her and insult her. They'd run in terror at even offending her.
"You!" But Reiko didn't even get to finish her insult, her skull shattering as a fist drove into her head. She collapsed, Seina was uncertain if she even lived. Arisu sighed in relief as Reiko's wish evaporated, stretching her neck and limbs for the next fight.
"Well, are you coming after me one by one, or are you gonna make this interesting?" Arisu said.
"So you've regained your full power," Mei said, scowling behind her mask. If she cared about her fellow Devil Princess getting possibly killed, she didn't show it. "A monster to the end, as usual."
"What are we to do?" Yuuka said, warily eyeing the Wicked Queen.
"Well?" Mei said, turning towards the only Devil Princess who hadn't entered the conflict yet.
"Go all out. She's not the only monster in this cosmos." Her mistress said with a slight shrug. "You almost won in the last timeline. And Seina's not here to help her."
"Huh? What does that mean?" Seina wondered at these words, confused.
"Don't forget your loyalties, my ward," Kaguya said in Seina's head. "What happened in that other timeline doesn't matter! It's already evaporating like smoke. I made you. Never forget that."
"Yes, my mistress." Seina bowed her head, shamefaced.
"Shall I show you true terror? Dark form change," Mei said, darkness enveloping her. She became a dark angel, wings creating a pattern of distortion and despair with each bat.
Yet the Wicked Queen remained unafraid, inviting the challenge instead. Charity appeared on her shoulder, ready to fight. "Already pulling your ultimate form? Tsk, that's no fun. Usually, you pull that out in the final quarter of the fight."
"I'll tell you this, Devil Princesses. Today, your madness stops." Huh? Did Charity know something? The fairy's body glowed and morphed into a golden eye. It plopped into her partner's hand. Her brooch opened, and she thrust the key into it.
"Huh? Fairies can do that?" Neir said, baffled.
"Love Change! Fate Crush! The fool is too stupid to realize she can't win!" While everything about Mei was darkness, Arisu was the polar opposite, an embodiment of goodness, odd as that sounded.
The pair eyed each other, circling as they sized their opponent up. Yuuka watched with glee alight in her eyes, ready to cause some mischief. Kaguya watched the scene with her arms crossed, her expression unreadable.
"Woah." Seina watched, transfixed, as the pair exchanged blows, their speed almost impossible to track. In an eye blink, thousands of exchanges passed between them. Both landed on the ground with terrible wounds. Arisu held her stomach from a wound deep enough to make her insides fall out. Mei wobbled on her feet, her left arm a blackened husk.
But the dark magical girl's healing kicked in, her arm already restored as she extended it. Arisu, however, wasn't healing as quickly, her expression tight as she found it difficult to keep herself together.
"My darkness is too deep for you to penetrate, Wicked Queen?" Mei said. "Seems like Kaguya wouldn't even need to help me."
"What's happening?" Seina asked.
"Simple, whelp," Yuuka said, tone gleeful. "Mei's power is destruction. Any atoms she destroys aren't coming back. Mei can even kill a magical girl with a single blow."
"Um, we aren't going to stand by, are we?" Colten whispered to avoid Neir's hearing.
"What?" Was her fairy friend insane? That would be suicide!
"Look, you're the one who always complains about how everyone is trying to destroy everything and cause needless suffering," Colten replied. "Well, your dark mistress and her buddies are the source of everything wrong with the multiverse!"
"No, she isn't," Seina said, jumping to her mistress's defense. "She's just free. I doubt she cares about what anyone does."
"Yet, the Devil Princess's mandate is to cause suffering everywhere. Remember Takako, she came, at their behest, to make you hurt people!" Colten said, a stubborn tilt to his head. He wouldn't let this go.
"Okay, but what do you expect me to do about this?" Seina lowered her head, ashamed. "I'm useless. What can I do?"
"Believe in yourself. You are stronger than you know," a kind and understanding voice said. Who was this future Seina? What made her so powerful?
"Die." Her blade flashed as Mei lashed out to finish the Wicked Queen. But the Devil Princess howled as Arisu vanished from sight before jabbing her hard in the ribs. The holy magical girl's vengeance was nasty as she pummeled Mei into a paste.
"You!" Mei recoiled, leaping back to a safer distance.
It'd been a feint, Arisu not as injured as she'd pretended. "Victory has dulled you, Mei. Did you really think I'd make winning that easy? Quit playing around and fight me seriously. You're boring me."
Rage flashed in the masked magical girl's eyes. It took some considerable effort for her to master her emotions. "You don't realize just how powerful I've become. I can destroy the entire multiverse if I so wished."
"I know." Arisu's eyes hardened. "You tried that in the future. You abandoned yourself to your true nature, a petulant child smashing the game board because things didn't turn out how you wished. And I'm saying enough. People shouldn't have to suffer because you're unhappy, Mei."
Seina could tell the Wicked Queen had hit a raw nerve but questioned the wisdom of poking a murderous, destructive monster like Mei.
"Don't let her get to you, Mei," Kaguya said. "She's pushing you so you'll stop thinking and become more predictable. My powers are impeding her ability to predict the future, but I doubt there's a more battle-hardened fiend anywhere."
"Stay out of this, Kaguya!" Mei snapped back before regaining some semblance of calm. "But thank you for your assistance. I appreciate you not budging into my fight. Like it matters, I've wounded and cornered her. Once I push her, she'll snap."
"Just don't break yourself in the process," Kaguya said with surprising sincerity.
"And I've got you." With an extension of Yuuka's hand, Mei's injuries miraculously vanished like they'd never existed. "I'll steal away the rest of your injuries, too. She can't argue that the Devil Princesses aren't a team."
"You talk about fighting alone but then use your teammates to help you," The Wicked Queen said with a derisive snort. If this development troubled her, she didn't show it. "Just fight me all at once if that's your plan. Quit wasting my time."
With an eye blink, Mei was already lunging for the killing blow. But Arisu surprised her, catching the sword thrust with her bare hand. While tearing a deep line into her hand, it stopped the blow centimeters from her heart. With a twist of the Wicked Queen's hand, the blade shattered into dust. This sudden twist of fortune didn't halt Mei's advance, jabbing at the Wicked Queen with her broken sword like a dagger.
Arisu slipped aside, but Yuuka suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed her shoulder. Immediately, the Wicked Queen froze like a statue. Mei ripped deep gorges of flesh as the Wicked Queen stood helpless.
"Sorry, Wicked Queen, but I stole your speed," Yuuka said, guffawing. "You aren't going anywhere." If this sudden break in the sanctity of their battle bothered Mei, she didn't show it, continuing to torture Arisu with brutal precision.
"So much for the mighty and terrible Wicked Queen," Neir said with a snort. "Only a dead fool. The Devil Princesses are an inevitability. Nothing can fight their will!"
"Now that's not fair!" Colten said, outraged. "Seina!"
"I… but…" Seina floundered, hating getting put on the spot.
"Hey, kid," Arisu said through gritted teeth. "How long are you going to listen to Kaguya's lies? That you don't matter and can't change anything?"
"Huh? I can't defy my mistress!"
"Bullshit. You're the master of your destiny. You've seen these maniacs. What do you think's gonna happen when they win? See Mei here? She's the most depraved of the lot. She wants to destroy everything."
"Excuse me," Mei said, bristling and pausing her attack.
"You heard me. When Kaguya revealed she couldn't do squat about remaking the cosmos, you didn't care. Your life sucks, so why destroy everything?"
"Sorry?" Yuuka said, taken aback at this. "You can't rebuild the cosmos, Kaguya?"
"Of course not! You might not realize this, but Kaguya already has her full power. You'd think she'd reset everything already," Arisu replied.
"Uh…" Yuuka floundered. "Well, I suppose. But everyone's gone for good. Where's the fun anymore? You don't really want to destroy everything, right, Mei? I'm part of the cosmos!"
"It doesn't matter. Don't let her distract you." Mei drove her broken blade into Arisu's heart, twisting it with gleeful sadistic delight.
"You... You aren't answering the question." While in horrible pain, the Wicked Queen only grinned in triumph.
"You son of a bitch! You aren't, are you!" Yuuka pointed an accusatory finger at Mei, forgetting about keeping Arisu trapped. "And you're going along with this, Kaguya?"
"Yeah, what's going on here, mistress?" Seina said, furious.
Cornered on all sides, Kaguya only sighed. "I'm just going with whatever Mei wants. I couldn't care less about creation either way."
"That's our purpose? To destroy everything?" Nier's eyes widened when he heard this, trembling like a leaf.
"Mei!" Yuuka was really hopping mad now.
"Silence." Yuuka gasped as a blade impaled her heart, part of her body disintegrating as her life got destroyed into nothing. Mei only stared at her fellow Devil Princess with cold eyes. "And don't bother trying to steal anything from me. Your pitiful powers are nothing compared to me."
"You!" Yuuka opened her mouth for a retort but died screaming as Mei ripped her body to shreds.
Her own teammate?! Seina opened her mouth in shock, stunned by this cold-hearted betrayal. Weren't they friends, allies?
"Finally! That girl was such a bother." Mei said, whipping her blade clean with a handkerchief. "We never needed her, really. But still, she was useful in containing you, Wicked Queen. Destroying you will be a breeze now."
"Tsk," Kaguya said, annoyed. "Impulsive as usual. You're doing Arisu's work for her. Have you ever considered she manipulated the situation so that you would destroy your own ally? She shares Charity's mind, a devious and meticulous fairy that one."
"You didn't stop me," Mei snapped back. "It doesn't matter. Arisu's as good as dead anyway."
Kaguya glared back, not liking being talked back to. But then she shrugged and turned away. "Do as you wish. You're a big girl, after all."
"That's right…" Mei redirected her blade at the still-prone Wicked Queen. "I think I've had my fun. You think you're smart for pushing me into killing Yuuka? But it's a trifle, pointless victory. You're finished, Arisu."
But the Wicked Queen only smiled back. Mei's eyes twitched when she saw, reflected in Arisu's eyes, not fear but triumph.
"You've lost! You've always lost! You're a faded memory from a dead age. We destroyed everything you've ever built, Wicked Queen! We smeared your name. You're feared and hated across the cosmos now, Wicked Queen. I'll make sure not even a memory of you remains!"
But Arisu took Mei's rant in stride, doing stretches and bouncing up and down. Instead of cowed or insulted, she looked ready for a fight. "Are you going to fight or waste time blabbing about useless junk?"
While Mei fumed, this only earned a slight smile from Seina's mistress. "Typical Arisu. I've missed this spirit of yours. Even the terrible Slithcar feared you by the end. Make the show interesting."
Mei didn't even give Kaguya a chance to finish, her broken blade flashing with impossible speed. But Arisu stood her ground, steel clashing as a staff intercepted the blow. But this proved only a slight respite, the staff shattering into splinters as dark energy coursed through it. This victory proved short-lived as a fist impacted the Devil Princess's face.
The battle turned ugly quickly, parts of Arisu's body crumbling to dust as Mei ripped her apart. But the Wicked Queen refused to die, no matter how Mei beat her. The onslaught was terrible. It reduced Arisu to a collection of barely held-together organs under the Devil Princess's onslaught.
"Am I boring now, Wicked Queen?" Mei said, gloating over her fallen foe. "I've done it. I've finally conquered you!"
"Do something," Colten whispered. "This is your chance! She's completely distracted."
"I… can't." An urge gripped her, ordering her to do nothing. It was a voice she dared not disobey. She was powerless.
"No, you aren't yet. Let me help you." Another voice said. "Believe, have courage. Break free of your bonds. It's what you've always wanted, right?"
"I…" Yes, that was true. While she'd given up her humanity for freedom, it had only ended with her trapped in another cage, an inescapable one of her own making. A tiny paw gripped her, holding her tight. It brought barely a registrable warmth. Yet, it filled her like a gushing river, an inferno that refused to be quenched.
"Why do you always stick by my side, Colten?" Seina's voice barely rose above a whisper. "I don't deserve it. I'm a monster."
"Because you're my partner." The fairy replied. "I could tell the moment I met you during that botched slave rescue attempt."
"I don't understand." But a paw only gripped her hand tighter.
"I know. But just know I'll never abandon you. I've got a plan."
"Seina, don't you dare." Kaguya's voice was vengeful now, promising immediate destruction if she dared try anything. It sought to break her resolve, to make her subservient. Yet, somehow, it didn't matter to her.
"Oh, by the way, this might destroy you," Colten said, tone apologetic. "I have no clue how your vampiric nature will cross with my magic. Sorry."
"Wait, what?!"
"Don't worry about it," Colten extended a paw. In a flash of brilliant light, a sparking broach appeared cupped in Seina's hands. She spent a moment gazing into its multifaceted depths, captivated. She jumped as Mistress Kaguya appeared before her, expression furious.
"Traitorous whelp!" The queen vampire said. "I brought you out of poverty and despair, parents who despised you." But Seina refused to heed her words.
"Die," Mei launched her sword at the Wicked Queen's exposed brain, hoping to finish her for good. Seina knew what she needed to do. The words whispered to her from a voice not unlike hers.
"Change Change, Magical Love Dress Up!"
"What?" Mei stared in shock as a fist intercepted her broken blade, deflecting it back. Furious, she slashed at the newly born magical girl, aiming to obliterate her with a single stroke. But a wand blocked the blow, metal scraping against metal.
Seina's pink, star-shaped dress fluttered as she entered a repose, her battle stance at the ready. Her crescent head wand gleamed a starry pattern, its depths reflecting an entire solar system. "Call me, Seina, the Twilight. And your madness ends here."