"Catalyzer?".
If I remember my chemistry class correctly, 'catalyst' are substances that accelerated the rate of chemical reactions, but Sauriel said 'Catalyzer'.
[Is it any different? it has more or less the same etymology, but then that would mean that the kid caused all of this?].
I'm still trying to think what exactly does that terminology means while running, it doesn't take long before I arrive at the destination 'Stanley Park', a small park that is near my high school where I sometimes come to kill time, I know that this is the location because a fight has already broken out between a group of devils and Aquamarine.
*huff.. huff* I pant is a try to recover my breath.
[Running 4 blocks really is no joke].
The park is a complete mess, is littered with trash and leaves, it seems that Aquamarine has already beaten some of these trash devils because I can see some of their 'corpses' lying around cut wide open while the sprinklers are showering some of them with water.
There are a total of 6 Trash devils of various shapes and colors they are not as big as the one in the alleyway but could still eat me whole, they are charging right towards Aquamarine while she is retreating towards a nearby wall. There's is also another type of devil, it looks like a giant vine bush, it is covered in leaves but you can look inside it, its thorny vines are moving, giving motion to its massive body with the size of a 3 story building.
This devil doesn't have a mouth or eyes instead, there are purple flowers that resemble sunflowers peppered through its body, the flowers are closing and opening in a pulsating wave pattern and are rotating in random directions from their stems as if they were searching for sunlight, the ones that aren't rotating are 'looking' directly at Aquamarine.
[It really is creepy looking for an oversized bush].
The bush devil sometimes shoots leaves at Aquamarine while maintaining a certain distance from her, 3 trash devils are also closing in on her, the one at the front is just charging in while the other 2 are at the sides trying to circle her. If I had to guess, the bush devil is keeping her from just running away while commanding the other 6 trash devils to attack.
[They're really are not that dumb once they have a leader, then again so are people].
The trash devil at front pounces towards Aquamarine while openings its giant maw, she dodges to the left letting the trash devil crash into the wall behind her, while the devil looks stunned she starts running towards the closest devil, it notices Aquamarine's intentions and prepares to attack by slowing its charging speed and locking its eyes on her.
Aquamarine jumps into the air with the intent to pass over the devil, the devil in return also leaps towards her, mouth wide open ready to bite when suddenly.
*tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk,tsk,tsk*
The sound of a sprinkler working.
Aquamarine extends her hand towards the now functioning sprinkler that is on the ground behind the trash devil.
The drops of water stop in the middle of the air, she then clenches her fist and does a pulling motion, the suspended droplets start flying towards her. The water takes the form of a curved blade while traveling towards her at high speeds, there is a collision with the leaping trash devil on the way to her, the water blade cuts in half the trash devil, which falls to the ground spilling its contents.
[She knew that was going to happen??? that's just cold!!!] I decide to take a closer look, I am just taking light steps forward as to go unnoticed.
The bush devils extend one of its vines and whips it towards Aquamarine, the move sends a few thorns the size of large kitchen knives flying at an alarming speed.
Aquamarine 'catches' the water blade from earlier in mid-air, the force of the water colliding makes her stop moving forward and she starts falling, she grabs half the water with her right arm and 'pushes' it in front of her, the water extends thin and wide, just enough to cover her, and then she shouts with a somehow calm tone.
"May the winter protect us all from the scorching sun" the water suddenly freezes in mid-air, creating some sort of clear ice wall, the barrier starts falling and the thorns collide with it, they penetrate deep into the ice but stop before reaching Aquamarine.
Aquamarine finally lands cleanly on her feet, her ice barrier shatters as it hits the ground, the melted ice particles fly all over the place swindled by the wind.
[I'm I supposed to do that??? that was perfect apart from not doing the hero landing] I've been slowly approaching the battle, I'm now at the perfect distance where my fanatism and fear for my life are at equal values, the perfect sweet spot.
"You finally show yourself" Sauriel appears in my field of vision, it's flying towards me, its wings are barely functional since Sauriel is wobbling a lot while in the air.
[I still think the wings look pathetic, they are too small, why even bother to fly at that point?].
"You been waiting for me?" I say, I'm wondering as to why would they be waiting.
"Not really, it would be fine either way" say in a teasing tone.
For the sake of my pride, I look towards Aquamarine, she dodges the approaching trash devil by doing a backflip, before landing she does a mid-air roundhouse kick, sending a water blade that cuts into the side of the trash devil, it looks as if it wasn't enough to beat it, she still has a poker face, but it's breathing heavily.
Aquamarine does another kick, this time a sidekick that sends a 'bullet' of water at high speed, the water perforates the trash devil and it stops moving, she turns to look at the devil that crashed into the wall.
"Anyway, have you decided on becoming a magic-".
"Aren't you supposed to help her?" I point at Aquamarine, she is fighting the trash devil by enveloping her hands in water and throwing consecutive punches. I notice that before every punch lands, the water in her hands freezes making her punches more effective, the ice then turns back into the water when she retracts her punch, repeating the process.
Still, she looks tired, she is keeping the poker face, but her movements seem to become slower as time passes.
"There's a limited amount of help I can provide, and I already reached my limit a long time ago".
"Explain" I said in a demanding tone.
[I mean you are called a guardian angel at least guard something].
"I provide the guidance necessary for her to become one of the best in her field, I don't have any offensive or defensive capabilities, after all, I'm only the angel of guidance" Sauriel does a little loop in the air in the air looking proud of himself.
[Why are you proud of being useless here? well, it's not like I'm any better in this situation].
I look again at Aquamarine, she has finally disposed of the 3 charging devils and now seems to be holding a battle stance, she still panting as to recover her breath from the previous encounter.
"She's a veteran right?".
"Indeed she is".
"Then why she looks so tired, I heard that veteran magical girls can beat upwards of 20 devils at the same time?" That is something I commonly read in the media, and even was confirmed by Miko1
[So why is she so tired? ].
"There's a lot of causes for her current state, but the main one is that she is hiding the kid from earlier" Sauriel points its paw at the wall opposite of Aquamarine.
There there is a dome made of flowing water, the water is coming from the center of the dome, a silhouette of a kid can be hiding inside it.
"Aquamarine is concealing the kid with aether infused water from her weapon, but the constant use of her weapon is extremely draining even for people her caliber".
"Is there any way for me to help??" I ask, I feel like I have the necessity to help in this situation.
[Maybe she's is pushing herself because I specifically asked her to help the kid, I didn't expect for there to be that many devils, but I'm still somewhat responsible for this situation, right?].
"I guess there's one".
"What is it??" I look straight into the eyes of Sauriel.
"Become a magical girl" it says in an imposing tone.
I look at Aquamarine once again, she is manipulating water from another sprinkler, making collect in her right hand, she then does a punching motion that sends a jet stream of high-pressure water towards the bush devil, the bush devil in reaction grabs one of the smaller trash devils with its vines and uses it as a shield.
Once the jet stream ended the bush devil throws the corpse of the devil towards her. she dodges but stumbles a bit before regaining composure.
[Ok time to think, she could win alone because she is obviously better than the devils, but it is a battle against time not against them, the bush devil seems to know this and is playing defensibly, I could make a difference if they were only trash devils around, but I doubt I could even survive a battle against the real threat of the bush devil] I start pondering about what to do, then an idea pops into mind.
[She is struggling because she trying to conceal the kid, if I can rescue him then Aquamarine would be able to take as much time as necessary to take down the bush devil] I turn towards Sauriel thinking about a common cliché and ask.
"If I become a magical girl, will I get a boost to my physical abilities?" I don't know that for sure, although Aquamarine does incredible acrobatics, it could be that she is just that awesome.
"Yes, it's not a lot, but it's noticeable and the boost will become bigger over time" the explanation makes sense from an objective standpoint.
[I don't think I can save the kid without becoming a magical girl, that's just too dangerous for me, I can outrun trash devils in short distances if I don't panic, but the thorns projectiles of the bush devil could definitely cath me and one-shot me instantly if they hit a vital organ] I strengthen my resolve.
"Ok, I accept the offer" I said reluctantly, thinking of the consequences of this decision, but I stop as I'm sure they are too many to even count, and I'm determined to not let the Kid or Aquamarine die.
[It is really my fault isn't it? my dumb hero syndrome probably just got in the way of how things are supposed to be, so I should at least try to set things straight, but I'm probably overthinking it].
[But what if I'm not?] is a phrase that always pops up no matter how much despised it so I just decide to do what I always do, push forward.
"Glad you accepted, Amy Rochelle".