*
*BANG! *
Like a gunshot ran through her, her heart began to beat from the adrenaline flooding her mind.
"... It's working?!" (Pelenia)
It was strangely simple, how her mind worked was an enigma to Pelenia. Envisioning Pelenia in danger jolted Lastia's blood into action, despite how Lastia was unable to feel Pelenia's gratitude from her story. It was like arranging a complex puzzle, the fear of losing Pelenia which would result in her own death, the subsequent concern over Pelenia's life itself. It naturally led her mind down a path that came to value Pelenia, she was a firm individual who saved her more than once.
'Ah, so this is {Gratitude}...' (Lastia)
The potency of the healing spiked, giving the decomposition of her body no time to catch up. This was a secondary effect of {Gratitude}, when the recipient of healing understand the nature of Pelenia's healing, they contribute their own magic to it. Synchronisity was achieved, with less worry about her body's integrity, {Feed} rapidly expands to encapsulate the last bit of the city.
She lifts her body up, the weight of {Feed} felt immense on her mind, but she ignored the aching and stood up. There was no longer any black smoke in this city, the healing she received only continued to increase... In accordance to the scale of {Gratitude} burning in her heart. There was absolutely no complexity to this sensation wrapping her heart.
"I won't let you get hurt, leave it to me." (Lastia)
Just heal like you usually do, just stay safe in the back. Her feelings were bare, but they were too unusual for Pelenia to understand. She can feel the efficacy of her magic creeping up and stopped after a certain point. {Feed} was now contributing to {Gratitude}, new blood cells and oxygen was rapidly being supplied to ensure her body wouldn't lose out to the decomposition. Her own regenerative power was dimmed due to the excess of magic, so {Gratitude} acted as the regenerative factor in its place.
A unthinkable sight, Lastia was now standing. She didn't even have the energy to lift a finger just a few moments before, but now she could grip her fists and fight. The black smoke was completely eliminated, naturally this would summon its source, another Remnant. The black smoke's relation to it was the same as {Feed} to Lastia. That much she could ascertain after entering the first building.
"Listen up Pelenia... I don't know how long this healing power will be heightened by our synchronicity, but from here on a true and true Remnant is going to materialise and attacks us.
I'll subjugate it with the magic I've stolen from it." (Lastia)
"... Alright, we don't have much of a choice here. When you set out to erase the black smoke and I tried to save you, the provocation to it was inevitable. " (Pelenia)
So, she was resolved form the start, perhaps due to this place being her home turf. From how she was speaking, it was possible that she was born here too. Highschool was only 3 years, she enrolled here and met her senior Lavaliy in year 1...now she's either in year 2 or 3. This city was devoured by that Trace only a year or 2 ago. The black smoke was still light in the air surrounding the city, most of it was contained in the buildings likely to camouflage its presence from satellite imagery.
The stoppage of trading and traffic should have alerted the adjacent territories though... As well as the stark lack of presences in the roads. The windows too, the black smoke was so densely concentrated inside the buildings that the windows only show an entrance to a world of pitch black. How were the other territories not alerted?
No... There is clear intent in seizing the flow of goods to this place. The people who live on the outskirts of this zone serve as visual camouflage, but surely they would report the strange findings. In other words, people are aware. The people of other territories and the people living in the outskirts... Those living in the outskirts were made to stay, so as to not provoke the Remnant further, they were essentially hostages or sacrifices, whichever was more convenient when the eventual time arrives.
Goods such as essential rations, water and electricity would be provided to those living in the outskirts, from the outside the flow of goods have not seized, only reduced... They never made it further in due to the presence of the black smoke, from outside they would still enter around a fifty kilometres of territory. Or were the resources brought back after making a trip in, allowing those on top to pocket those resources? They still made a lost by giving it to the residents for free... So it can't be for personal gain. Everything was coming together.
Trade and traffic had not seized, it only reduced drastically, to the common folk it was indiscernible. Whether it was a disguise or not, this sustaining of the outskirts residents would be under the initiative of humanitarian aid, governors of surroundings territories, perhaps every governor knew about the existence of magical girls. The one in this territory must have perished though.
Trace related matters would always be solved by magical girls, perhaps they are one of many trivial worries a governor would have. Some might not even take it seriously. Then their natural disposition is to keep up this 'humanitarian aid' guised mass sacrifice, in order to keep the Remnant there, in hopes that someone else will take care of the problem. If necessary, they might even send in some sacrifices themselves. This forms an unending loop, if everyone hoped someone else would take care of the problem, no one would do anything.
A hole opened in space and black viscous smog began to spill out. Air was sucked in, in exchange. {Feed} was sucked in. Like a toxin, it invaded.
Good, this was convenient. If the opponent could be defeated before it even showed up, that would be the best even.
Lastia pointed her index at the hole, with the small creak of her wrist she spoke.
"{Feed}." (Lastia)