"Woah!" Seina grunted as the sheer might of Kaguya's newfound power threw her backward. Even trying to approach the demonic monolith was a feat in itself. Seina feared she'd get blasted into dust from Kaguya's mere presence.
"Try this then." Takako unloaded her twin pistols, each firing rounds that summoned monstrous black holes that gulped up everything around them, even time and magic. Kaguya grunted in annoyance as they pierced past her shields and left gaping holes in her magical defenses. Much to Seina's dismay, they did little against the monolith itself.
"Nice try, but not good enough."
"Gah!" Takako howled as a knife pierced through her back, making her cough up black blood. "What?"
A giggling Kaguya leaped from behind her, pleased by the bloodshed. What the heck? Wasn't she fused with the Needle of the Cosmos?
"More Kaguya?" A pit went down Seina's spine as dozens of Kaguya's appeared from nowhere. They surrounded their prey, quite pleased with themselves.
"I see. Since Kaguya can't move, she needs clones to defend herself," Takako said.
"No, little ones." The real Kaguya's booming voice said. It pierced their eardrums, making the magical girls wince. "Think of them more like antibodies to purge the multiverse of an unwanted infection." Seina gasped as hundreds, then thousands, of grinning Kaguya appeared to accost them.
"Well, crap." That was all Takako could say before the countless vampire queens swarmed them.
Blood misted in space as Seina's mighty wand blasted into the endless swarm. Thankfully, each Kaguya only shared a tenth of the original's power. But that didn't diminish their threat, Seina howled as a swinging knife cropped away a piece of her calf.
Thousands of Kaguya died in droves as Takako summoned shining suns to char their attackers into dust. But the swarm cared little about their individual lives, hurling themselves into certain death to hurt their prey. Hundreds used their bodies as shields to protect their sisters from the sunlight.
"Dang, they're relentless," Takako hissed as dozens of knives drove into her flesh, each just missing a vital point. Her pistols blasted apart her attackers, but they kept coming.
"Behind you!" Seina shouted, her tone frantic. Takako dodged by a hair as a sudden time warp opened to swallow her whole.
"That was close." Seina's undead heart beat a million a minute. It seemed Kaguya wasn't content with attacking them with her countless clones. The Great Vampire had ruthlessly used them as a distraction for her real attack.
"Woah!" Seina screamed in pain as her left arm got caught in a time warp, watching in dread as it aged billions of years in milliseconds, turning her undead flesh taut and rotten.
"Got you!" Paliah said, placing a hand on her destroyed arm. Seina gasped in relief as it resorted to normal, de-aged back to health.
"Thanks," Seina said, amazed by her Colten's future counterpart's time powers.
"No time for that, duck!" The knight pushed Seina's head down, and the area above them just vanished. It wasn't merely an empty point in space, but a void in the fabric of reality. She didn't want to imagine what that'd do to her.
"Not bad, how about this?" Random beams shot from the tower's surface, each a jagged tear in reality. Time slowed around each beam, making them impossibly difficult to dodge in succession. Blood pooled in Seina's mouth as six daggers stabbed into her chest as the clone Kaguyas used the distraction to pounce.
"Gah!" But Seina refused to be cowed, clones burst into mist as she swatted them aside. She used her superior speed to be a demon of the battlefield, mowing down each obstacle in her path. Takako fought defensively, summoning supergiant black holes to keep their opponents at bay.
But the Kaguyas seemed beyond endless, twelve thousand replacing each one lost. Heck, they didn't even seem interested in fighting. They were more interested in harassing the trio fighting against their mistress. A Kaguya laughed as she stuck a knife through Seina's ribs and leaped away instead of pressing her advantage.
"Hey, take us seriously!" Takako said, annoyed. She growled in frustration as the Kaguyas laughed despite being blown to pieces.
There seemed no limit to the amount of clones Kaguya could create. And they still hadn't even scratched Prime Kaguya yet. Could they even damage it? Hadn't someone said not even the Devil Princesses could scratch the Needle?
Despite their dire situation, Takako only gave her typical cocksure smile, spinning her twin pistols. "How about we go on the offensive? Let's smash this stupid tower to pieces!"
"Okay, I'll create a path." Seina threw herself into the fray, reality rippling as she released every restraint to her power. Kaguya clones burst into flames from the mere touch of her destructive aura. Paliah and Takako followed her lead, carving up anyone she'd missed.
"Hey, careful!" A familiar voice said. Seina glanced down to see Colten clinging to her skirt.
"Colten? What are you doing here?" Seina asked, alarmed.
"What? And let you run into danger alone? Never! Besides, I refuse to get shown up by that Paliah guy!" The fairy glared daggers at the knight in question.
Despite the dire situation, Seina snorted a laugh. She cradled him in her free arm, holding him nice and snug. "Hang on, this will get ugly quick!"
"Oh, moving on the offensive, eh? Come then. Smash me, if you can. I…" Kaguya paused. Despite being a mask of immobile stone, the face showed visible confusion. "What was that?"
"Huh?" Seina blinked. What was going on? Had something happened?
Before Seina could ponder what this meant, Prime Kaguya forgot the strange incident and made her clones changed tactics, each charging into Seina like a battering ram. While her aura destroyed many on touch, they quickly overwhelmed her. Bone crunched as one clone's skull collided with her chest. Others slashed at her with invisible whips, tearing her undead flesh into bloody strips. But Seina remained undeterred, smashing through them anyway. Her wand tore a path of destruction as each blow obliterated hundreds of clones.
Takako offered assistance, summoning tornadoes of whirling flame to burn clones to an ashy crisp. While Paliah's contributions were less flashy, his sword watched her back. No Kaguya seemed capable of blindsiding Seina with the knight protecting her.
"Left, now," Paliah said. Without question, Seina followed his instructions. She almost hadn't been quick enough. Clones got caught like flies in amber in a field of frozen time before dissolving as they aged to dust.
"Not bad, how about this?" Kaguya said. Seina leaped back as each clone opened their arms wide like they were offering themselves to the heavens. More on her game, Takako opened fire, creating a path of destruction through the clone army. But it still wasn't enough. Seina's eyes widened as the path to her goal seemed to stretch into eternity, bleeding into the starry expanse like some twisted melting painting.
"What?!" Seina said, her voice squealing in panic. Billions of contradictory images filled her mind, overloading it past its breaking point. Seina found herself alone in an endless sea of color and discord. She drowned in her loneliness, reduced to a puddle of confusion and despair.
"Gah!" Seina jerked as something slapped her in the face. She winced as a white paw struck her harder.
"Get yourself together, Seina," Charity said. "Only you can do this!"
"Charity? What are you doing here?" Seina shook herself, trying to regain her bearing. Her undead heart skipped a beat as she saw friends floating in the nothingness of space, eyes vacant.
"Dang it, that sucked," Colten said, grimacing and shaking his head. Charity had slapped him awake, too. "Kaguya's being so unfair!"
"Some vampires can create illusions. Is that what she did?" Seina asked.
"Come to interfere again, have we, Charity?" Kaguya said, more amused than annoyed.
"Why aren't you bothered by this?" Colten scowled, squinting like someone was flashing a bright light in his eyes. Seina was lucky she was a vampire. She didn't have to worry about pounding headaches.
"Arisu and Charity have faced worse," Charity replied, somewhat smugly. "The trick is to demolish delusion like a sledgehammer."
"That's the plan?" Did the Wicked Queen beat all obstacles with pure bullheadedness?
"You can win, but only if you believe. Hope. Love. Both are the magical girls' ultimate power!" Charity said.
Despite Charity's brave words, despair gripped Seina's undead heart like a vice. Kaguya had merely been toying with them. As the Great Vampire, she possessed the power of all vampires. It made her almost invincible. Besides, what did Seina know about love? Her parents had betrayed her to save their skins. She'd never really had friends either, especially after selling her soul to Kaguya. What was she even doing here?
Charity eyed them with concern before her body sagged as well, defeated. "Charity's sorry. She forgets you aren't Arisu. She's spent too many years around delinquents. Charity has forgotten, not everyone has the Wicked Queen's do-or-die spirit." Pure anguish crossed her features, looking so lonely that Seina instinctively pulled the fairy into a hug.
"Thank you. After Charity's long imprisonment by the Devil Princesses, she's forgotten what it's like to touch someone."
"They had you trapped?" Seina said, furrowing her brow.
"Oh, yes. They sealed Arisu away and threw Charity in prison for hundreds of years. And did other things, for their amusement." The fairy said, her tone going dark.
"Hey, I had nothing to do with that," Kaguya said, somewhat peeved. Seina jerked back in surprise, not realizing a Kaguya clone had been eavesdropping. "Blame Mei. She took delight in hurting former enemies!"
But this only reminded Seina how much she despised such pointless cruelty. And yet, Kaguya was worse. She was fickle and careless, uncaring about who got hurt. Instinctively, Seina knew there'd be no justice for anyone if Kaguya became a goddess. Charity's forlorn expression only flared Seina's temper further, her hands shaking with her fury.
"I may not be Arisu, but I swear I'm finishing this if it's the last thing I do," Seina swore with her entire spirit.
"Yeah, we've had enough of you!" Colten said, pointing a paw at their foe.
"Ho ho? Is that right?" The vampire queen thought Seina powerless, a child lashing out at something she couldn't stop.
"We can," Seina gasped as an angelic figure grasped her hands. It was the other Seina, only this version wasn't transparent. How was this possible? Won't contact with her past self destroy her or something?
"I'm not here. You're right. I can't risk going into the past." Other Seina said. "It would unravel the fabric of everything. But that doesn't mean I can't help. I heard your plea for help, so I'm giving it to you."
"How?"
"There's almost nothing left of my timeline now," other Seina said, her tone forlorn. "But don't worry about us. What's important is defeating the last Devil Princess. I don't need my power anymore, so I'm giving it to you. Though, this is somewhat reckless."
"But that's insane! Wouldn't that only destroy her, too?"
But her counterpart only responded with a gentle smile. "According to Mr. Kiyojiro, feeding you my power would only cause a feedback loop that would destroy us both. But we found a workaround. It involves both of you."
"Me?" Colten said, confused. "What can I do? I'm only a fairy partner. I'm just a cheerleader!"
"You are each other's inspiration. Believe, and you can win," Seina's alternate self said.
A light flashed in Seina's head as she realized what her other self meant. Hadn't Arisu combined with her partner to achieve power beyond imagination? But Seina barely knew Colten. But they didn't share a strong enough bond to achieve such a transformation!
"Ah, so that's your game," the Kaguya clone said, amused.
Seina backed a step as every Kaguya clone eyed her with a malevolent grin. They had grown in number since Seina had turned away from them, filling the horizon beyond number. Each held a blade glistening with dark energy in their hands.
"I've had my fun, so how about we end this?" the Kaguya clone said. Before Seina could even blink, time slowed down to an agonizing crawl. She gasped in horror as thousands of blades stabbed at her at a speed she couldn't even begin to match. With Seina stuck in frozen time, she didn't have a chance to defend herself. Agony filled her as countless blades pierced her flesh. Brave little Colten did his best to protect his partner's vital organs. But it was all for naught, as dozens of knives stabbed through her heart, debilitating her.
A strangled cry escaped Seina's lips before she became motionless. Kaguya had used her vampiric nature against her. While a wooden stake was preferable, anything piercing a vampire's heart immobilized them, making them easy prey for a killing decapitation.
"Seina," Colten said, his voice weak as he clutched at his partner's chest. Tears stained Seina's bloody dress as he tugged at her tight.
"And that's that," the Kaguya clone said, gesturing at her fallen foes. "That makes me the ultimate, uncontested being in the multiverse!"
"Are you happy?" Charity snapped back. "Was it worth the pain and torment you caused?"
"No, probably not." A rare somberness entered the vampire queen's voice. "But I had no choice. I need to survive!"
"Survival isn't enough, you know!" Charity replied.
The Kaguya clone only shrugged. "It's too late for regrets now, you know that. I made my bed many centuries ago. I'm a monster. There's no changing that. All that's left is to claim my ultimate prize."
"No, you won't!" Blood stained Colten's pure white fur as he tugged at the knife impaled in his partner's chest. Each blade tore deep into her flesh, almost impossible to pull out. Yet, the fairy persisted, refusing to surrender.
"You've ruined everything! You spoiled my partner, and made her think she's a monster, killed my only family and my home, and you've brought no end of torment to the multiverse." Tears dripped onto Seina's chest as Colten did the bloody deed, just barely pulling a singular knife free. Unfortunately, he had at least several dozen more. Still, he continued to struggle on, anyway. "I won't let you get your way! Never!"
"Colten," Seina rasped, touched by her partner's courage.
"Brave, but pointless." Several thrown blades impaled Colten, his tiny body becoming a fluffy red pincushion. Yet, Colten persisted, grunting as he pulled free another knife. The fairy refused to allow anything to deter him from his goal. While his spirit was fierce, his body couldn't match the demand, and he collapsed onto his partner, too savaged to move.
"Colten." Seina fought against the paralysis. Anything to help her partner, but it was no use. Like Colten's efforts, they'd been ultimately pointless.
"I'm sorry, Seina," Colten said in a ragged breath. "I failed to protect you. If only I'd been stronger."
"Hey, don't say that." Gentle tears leaked from Seina's eyes. "You're stronger. Stronger than me. You're a true friend."
"Seina, thank you." Colten crawled over to her open palm and grabbed it. Despite his weakness, he gave it a firm squeeze. "I love you."
"I love you, too. I don't deserve you." Only the fairy seemed to see beyond her hideous condition. A warmth grew inside her heart, burning like the sun. It hurt, but it made her happy. Take it, a voice seemed to say. Should she? Would it even do any good?
"Do it. Take it," Colten whispered. Had he felt the power, too? Sudden strength seemed to fill one of her limbs. She pulled Colten close to her heart, and the warmth exploded into a light bright enough to engulf the multiverse.
"Impossible! No one gets this many miracles. No one!" Clone Kaguya cried in utter disbelief.
"Ugh, what?" Takako said, stirring from her stupor. "What's with the bright light?"
"Heh, I knew she could do it," Paliah said as his eyes fluttered open. "Seina always destroys every obstacle in her path."
"Huh?" Seina stared down at herself, mesmerized. She shone like a star, gentle pink light illuminating everything around her. Her outfit had changed, becoming a pure pink flower with white accented petals. A golden halo floated behind her, making a figure of pure radiance.
"Pretty cool, huh?" a voice said in her head.
"Colten?" Seina realized what had happened. She'd joined with her partner, their power becoming one. Somehow, the gift from her future self had allowed her to obtain this form.
"Use this power wisely," the echo of her future self said, then went quiet, Seina suspecting her future self had sacrificed everything to make this miracle possible. No longer did her vampiric thirst bother her, sated by the very love of everyone around her. Had she discovered an alternative source to feed off of?
"No! It can't be! Impossible!" the clone Kaguya said, fuming.
"Look at that! You're screwed now!" Takako taunted. "We're about to kick your ass!"
"Yeah, let's finish this," Paliah said, drawing his blade and preparing for battle.
"No! This can't be the end. I refuse it!" the clone Kaguya said, her face twisting into a distorted mask of hate and frustration. "I'll end it all before I let you win!"
"No," Thousands of clones just evaporated into dust as Seina spoke these simple words. Enough was enough already. And she directed her ire at the obelisk that bore the vampire queen's face. She opened a palm and a piece of gnarled wood with a pink gem floating within its curled head appeared within it.
More clones appeared to block her path, countless beyond number, but they exploded with a mere gesture of Seina's hand. She marveled at her ability. She'd never had such control over her powers before.
"Well, duh. You have me helping you!" Colten said, his voice smug.
"What would I do without you?" Seina replied. Clones tried attacking her from behind, but piercing bullets blasted them to pieces. Her friends had her back, and it pushed her forward.
"No!" Kaguya flailed as she failed to stop Seina's advance. Once, she'd gotten lucky and locked the super magical girl in another time lock. But Seina only gestured with her staff, and the trap burst to pieces. Nothing would deter her from her goal. Anything Kaguya threw against her, Seina only muscled through. Kaguya tried other tricks, warping space-time to make the distance between her and Seina's group an impenetrable gulf. Even that didn't slow Seina down, becoming a smear of pink across the boundless landscape as she increased her speed.
"Impossible. There must be something you can't break!" Kaguya said, desperation entering her voice as Seina approached the almost infinite Needle of the Cosmos. Too late, the vampire queen realized the dangers of fusing with the stationary obelisk.
"You're finished!" Seina said, reality rippling as she delivered a punch to destroy the heavens. She recoiled in pain as the impenetrable magic protecting the Needle deflected her blow. The momentary distraction allowed the countless clones to pounce, each blade poised to cut her to ribbons.
"Then just keep trying," Paliah said, his holy blade tearing a path of destruction through the clones. "Beat it down until it cracks to pieces!"
"Yeah, we got this," Takako's twin pistols summoned bursts of brilliant sunlight that caused the clones to burst into ash.
"Never! I've got the power of both my future and past self." Kaguya said. A beam lanced across space, and Seina just dodged past it.
What can I do? Kaguya's become invincible! She's the perfect merger of both worlds!
"Is she though?" Colten asked. "She's a living paradox, nothing close to stable!"
"Could it be that simple?" Seina wondered. "Takako, can you find any weaknesses?"
"On it!" Takako fired a barrage of bullets into the Needle's structure, only for Kaguya clones to burst into dust as they took the bullets to protect their main body. They continued to hamper their plan, countless clones clinging to the Needle to make it impossible to hit its surface.
But a sly smile crossed Takako's lips, undeterred. "Fine, be that way. Let me try something else. Paliah, I need your help."
"Oh?" the white knight said as he took a clone's head.
"Send this bullet back in time." Without warning, she shot at Paliah.
"Gah!" Paliah flinched, his sword just catching the projectile. It vanished as it touched the blade. "Give me a warning next time, Takako!"
"What? And give away the plan?" Takako said, all innocence. She smirked, her eyes lighting with triumph.
"Curse you! You!" Kaguya said, lost for words. "So that's what that was?!"
"What happened?" Seina asked.
"I sent the bullet back about four minutes ago. Hit just as I predicted it would," Paliah replied.
"And now I know your weakness, Devil Princess," Takako said. "Don't let her impossible power fool you. She's on the verge of crumbling to dust." Seina asked why, but Takako refused to elaborate, waiting for Seina to get it. What was with these riddles?
While annoyed, Seina thought it through. Then, a light flashed in her head, hitting herself for forgetting something that obvious. "Didn't Kaguya mention earlier she was using the Wicked Queen's power to combine her two selves together?"
"Yes, she did," Takako replied. "But she overlooked something. To free her real body, Kaguya has caused untold suffering to weaken the Wicked Queen's power. The power she's depending on to keep her paradox stable."
Pure panic crossed over the stone form of Kaguya's face, realizing just how badly she'd overlooked such a crucial fact.
Takako pointed a finger at a point below the face. "Hit there. That's the weakest point. Your ability can break anything, right? Use it to shatter what remains of the Wicked Queen's power."
"No! I won't let you!" The Needle trembled as the Devil Princess unleashed her every reserve of power. Seina gasped as time fractured, countless fragments of possibility appearing before her. It was utter chaos, as everything possible happened at once. She screamed as she died countless painful deaths, but also screamed in triumph as she experienced countless victories over her foe.
"It's too much!" Seina screamed, her senses overloaded as countless billions of experiences bombarded her.
"No, I got you!" Paliah cried, his grip binding her like an anchor in time. "We almost have her!"
"Yeah, we got this!" Takako said, holding the white knight's other arm. Together, Paliah guided them through the chaotic time. After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the towering summit of the Needle.
"No!" Kaguya tried summoning more clones to protect herself, but her whirlwind of chaotic time only tore them to pieces. They weren't strong enough to survive in the time vortex she'd created.
"Enough is enough! We're getting the peace we deserve!" Seina said. Her staff pointed at the weak point Takako had found. Light gathered within its gem, taking in all the love and friendship the three friends had shared on this crazy day. While their time together had been brief, an unbreakable connection had formed between them.
"Do it, Seina. Finish her!" Colten echoed in her mind.
"It's over, Devil Princess! We're tearing that tower down!" Takako said, pointing her white pistol at the Needle.
"Finish this!" Paliah said, giving both this friend's hands a reassuring squeeze.
"Ready?" Takako said, giving Seina a cocksure smile.
"Always!" Seina said, smiling back.
"Heart's Finale!" The multiverse rumbled at the sheer magical weight of the two magical girls combined attack. Kaguya tried everything to divert or corrupt the incoming rainbow-colored beam, anything to save her stony skin. Each girl's beam power perfectly complemented the other. Seina's half was pure raw strength, steadfast in its courage. Takako's was clever and slippery, always a trick behind a trick. Together, they were indomitable, unstoppable.
"Gah!" The beam tore through the Needle of the Cosmos like brittle glass, shattering into countless grains of powder. Takako's power destabilized Arisu's magic, while Seina's acted like a hammer with the weight of the cosmos behind it.
"No!" Cracks formed around Kaguya's stone face as her existence collapsed from the sheer impossible paradox. Past and future collide, causing a fatal error in history. But anguish turned to resignation as each stone fragment faded away.
"So, I'm finished, eh?" Kaguya said through faded, raspy words before uttering a dry chuckle. "Finally, finally."
"Kaguya," Despite everything, the Devil Princess had been a mentor of sorts to her.
"No, it's fine. It's what I deserve. But now I can finally rest." Despite being only fragments of a crumbling stone, its expression seemed forlorn. "I wish I could have seen Arisu again before the end. She's the only person who's ever really given a damn about me. Tell her it's been fun. I won't ask for forgiveness. I'm well beyond that. But tell her, she'll always be a friend." Resigned to her fate, Kaguya allowed herself to fall into nonexistence as the paradox destroyed the last Devil Princess for good.