Magical Girl Mechanical Heart

"Well, they were pretty fun, right Eliza?" Chloe asks me, turning around and walking backwards into our new living room for a few steps before collapsing onto the couch.

"I don't know if I'd describe Castalia as 'fun,' exactly, but yeah," I agree. "Luna seemed nice."

"It's kind of a weird thing to focus on, but I'm honestly super stoked I get to practice my ASL chops," Chloe says. "I was really afraid those skills were starting to atrophy."

"Where'd you learn that, anyway?" I ask, glancing around our dorm. We barely even got a chance to check the place out before heading off to lunch, but it's a surprisingly nice place. Weird to think that I'm going to be living here for a while.

"Oh, I had a deaf friend in middle school. I learned it to talk with her, but we just sort of… drifted apart a little early in high school."

"What happened?" I ask.

"Eh… I'd rather not talk about it," Chloe answers, guilt and worry wafting off of her. Seems like it's a story, but if she doesn't want to share I guess I won't press her.

"Fair enough," I allow, walking over to check the fridge. Spacious. Definitely a little too spacious. Because it's empty. "You think we should go buy food?"

"We should, but we just got back. I don't really want to go out again already," Chloe waves me off. "Let's do it later tonight."

"Sure," I agree, closing the fridge door. Well, we made it. We moved in. Now what?

Well, there's always more training, Minerva chimes in. There's nothing quite like hanging out with Castalia to humble a girl.

I know, right? Just being near all that energy coming off of her is kind of terrifying. I can't imagine actually living with her most of the day. It's probably good that her roommate can't sense that kind of stuff.

She was fun. Kind of sassy. I like her!

Yeah, I'm glad Castalia gets a good roommate. She seemed really excited to have a friend.

Yep. So… training?

Training. Hell yeah. I feel like I need to do something a little more active after all that sitting around and talking. Wanna go patrol the closest liminal zone?

Let's do it!

"Well, if we're not shopping for dorm stuff, I'm gonna head out for a few hours," I tell Chloe. "Any particular time you wanna buy food?

"Huh? Leaving already?" Chloe asks. "We can like, put the TV up and veg out on the couch. Watch some shows. Relax at our brand-new place. Something like that."

"That's not really how I relax," I admit. "It seems fun, but maybe another time?"

Chloe makes an exaggerated pouty face.

"Well, if you have to, she sighs. "The grocery closes at eight, so make sure you're back before seven."

"Will do," I agree, and step out of the dorm. I rummage through my pockets to make sure I still have my keycard and start walking away from campus.

Check the app, dummy. We don't even know if we're going the right way.

Oh, right. I pull out my phone and open the convergence tracker app. It's nothing special; it's exactly the same one that mundane humans use, but there isn't really a better way to figure out where the closest liminal space is other than calling up Uma'tama directly, and I don't see any reason to bother them. Looks like there's a decent chunk of reports for a convergence just east of here, and a quick double-check of the GPS confirms that traffic is being completely rerouted away from the area.

Convergence sites are interesting. You'd think you'd be able to see them from miles away, because they're dark as night even in the middle of the day, but for whatever reason it's only possible to see the liminal space once you physically go there. As you approach more closely, the day will get darker and darker, even if it looks like it's light out just a few steps behind you. It's hard to notice the exact moment you enter the liminal space proper, but anybody watching you from outside will see you suddenly disappear. Satellite images of active convergence sites look exactly the same as when there isn't a convergence going on, with one notable exception: not a single person or animal is visible within the entire radius. When the convergence comes, everything with a soul vanishes. We're lucky they get foreshadowed upwards of a day in advance, or who knows how many people we would have lost to them.

I'm so incredibly tempted to just fly there. I can't believe Castalia's flight is energy-positive. That's absolutely crazy.

I know, right? She's perpetually maintaining her incarnate form on top of it. I don't understand how anyone can be that happy.

Our flight might not be self-sustaining, but that just makes it better to train with, right? I bet we can do tandem flight the same way we cast tandem spells. We just have to stay focused on each other.

Worth a shot, I guess. But not until we reach the liminal zone. I don't want people to see us.

Spoilsport.

What, do you want people to know who we are?

Kind of? Maybe? I don't know. I mean, we're sorta giving up on the whole secret identity thing, right? We may as well commit. Or, if you're really adverse, we just change somewhere private and then fly there.

I'm not sure if we're giving up on the secret identity thing. That Luna girl knows about me, sure. That'll probably spread through school. But she doesn't know about you.

Uh… so you want to keep only me a secret? That's not fair.

It's not, no, but… ugh. Sorry. You're right. I still just think this is weird.

Well I won't say it isn't weird. I just think it's time we stop caring about that more than we actually have to. It certainly seems to work well for Castalia, right?

I guess I can't deny that. If we want power, there's no one better to emulate than Castalia. Still… I kind of just want to walk. We'll transform in the liminal space. We're not really in a rush, after all.

I guess just deciding we're going to be open about it doesn't make it easy.

…Yeah. Yeah, it really doesn't.

Still, I enjoy the walk. As much as my human form fundamentally can't be as comfortable as my incarnate form, I've always enjoyed the simple pleasures of movement and exercise. A walk isn't much of a workout, but it helps clear my head. My head is generally pretty hard to clear, so I'll take all the help I can get.

I ignore the signs marking off the evacuation area and wander into the liminal zone, breathing in the extra magic in the air. There we go. That feels more natural.

"I Wɪʟʟ Nᴏᴛ Fᴀɪʟ," I promise, and my transformation begins. My body unravels into light, pure magical power coalescing to replace it with something far more perfect. My magical girl outfit—jacket and combat boots and all—forms around me out of thin air. Fully formed and properly clothed, I announce myself to the world.

"Fᴜʀɪᴏᴜs Aᴠᴇɴɢᴇʀ Sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴏʀ Fᴜʟɢᴏʀᴀ."

Okay. Let's fly!

I release power into the air and the magic embraces me like a warm blanket, curling around me and unshackling me from the ground by the strength of my will. Flight is one of those spells that Earth Guardians learn to use without relying on incantations whenever possible, as it rarely requires the extra boost in power but always appreciates the added flexibility of pure emotion-casting. Magic, after all, is will. Incantations and spell circles can be used to direct it, to force it into specific shapes and patterns to get the exact effects requested. But while doing so makes the spell more focused, more concentrated, and more powerful, it loses out on the purity of that transition from desire directly to reality.

I move up, because I feel that I wish to. In my case, I direct my anger, rejecting physics for its stubborn, inconvenient rules that I deserve to disobey.

And I direct my fear, fleeing from the cold calculations of gravity and the limitations of the Earth, desperately reaching for a better way that could be stolen at any moment.

Red and green entwine, carefully mixing in a volatile brew. Minerva lives in the back of my mind, both me and not me. Focus on her too much, and our thoughts split apart, one source of magic fighting against the other as our natures and desires clash.

But focus on me not enough, and I slip away, disappearing from conscious thought along with the power I provide. I can so easily be swept away by the winds of your mind.

And when the roles are reversed, I can so easily be brushed aside by yours.

But together…

Together… we're unstoppable.

We rocket forwards, rapidly accelerating to speeds I'd never have dreamed of alone. This whole time, we've each been using half our soul. Half our power. For so long we've been training and fighting with a handicap we never knew about, and it has finally been removed. We have finally been unleashed!

"Tᴡɪɴ Fᴜʟᴍɪɴᴀɴᴛ Tʜᴜɴᴅᴇʀ!" we roar into the silence of the liminal space, summoning my staff and launching a double bolt of lightning out at one of the infinitely repeating buildings of this realm. The wall explodes with devastating force, shards of brick clattering in every direction as I admire my work. Not bad for a basic spell. Not bad at all. I really can use Minerva's magic at will. Now I have to figure out how best to weave it into my combat style…

"Fulgora-san? Oh! You are the noise. What are you fighting?"

Huh? I turn and spot a familiar Earth Guardian standing on the ground, looking rather bewildered in my general direction.

"Amaterasu?" I blink.

"Just Su-san, please," she answers. "Are you in danger?"

"No, Susan," I answer. "I'm just training. Practicing. Haven't seen any monsters or anything."

"Oh, that is good," she nods, hopping up onto the roof of a nearby building to get closer to me.

"What are you doing out here?" I ask, a little uncomfortable. I know Uma'tama called this girl in to help us, but I don't really know her at all. The animal ears on her head remind me a bit too much of the Corrupted. I wonder what her deal is.

"I am patrolling," Susan shrugs. "I am looking for witches."

"Oh," I say. "Well, that's not a bad idea. Best of luck, Susan."

"Hrm," the girl frowns. "Fulgora-san. I do not know how to explain this. But my name is not Susan. You are saying it wrong. Please call me Su. San. I do not like to be rude but I would appreciate if you say my name correctly."

"Oh," I say again. "Well, sorry Su… san. I wasn't trying to be rude either. I'm not very good with languages."

"Yes, I agree," Amaterasu nods. Wow. Is she sure she doesn't like to be rude?

I mean, we're the ones who have apparently been saying her name wrong for the past few months.

And she could have told us at any time before this!

I think she maybe tried to?

"Fulgora-san," Amaterasu says, one of her wolfish ears flicking in irritation. "You are training, yes? If you wish, I would be interested in a spar."

"A spar?" I ask.

"A spar," she confirms, summoning her daggers in each hand.

Hmm. That… might be a good idea. I haven't done sparring since I was a kid, though. Still, I need practice fighting humanoid targets… even if those targets often move like monsters. But Su is a mix of both, huh?

"Well, alright, I suppose," I agree. "What brought this on? Do you not need to patrol?"

"Eh, 'patrol' is… not quite right word," she shrugs. "I am looking for a fight. Curious to see how strong you are when your bones aren't all broken."

"Sure," I concede, floating down to the roof she's on. "First to touch?"

"No," Amaterasu sneers. "First to concede."

And then she lunges, quick as lightning. Thankfully, lightning is my whole thing. My staff in both hands, I deflect each of her strikes before swinging a counterattack that she nimbly ducks under before attempting a jab towards my face.

Woah! Not exactly a 'spar' sort of attack there!

I move my head to the side and smack her arm for the attempt, but it barely slows her down. My heart is already pounding, adrenaline kicking everything into high gear. You want to get nasty, huh? Fine. I came out here to practice my spells anyway.

"Sᴏᴜʟ Fʟᴀsʜ!" I shout, forcing Amaterasu back with a burst of magic as everything seems to slow down around me. She's fast, but I'm no slouch myself. I'm not going to lose to her. I'm afraid of losing to her. Losing to her means that all this power I got was for nothing. All the improvements I've made weren't worth a damn thing. Because she's not strong enough to stop those monsters either, and she knows it!

Amaterasu keeps up with my pace, but not my power. She deftly parries my flurry of strikes, but I can tell it's wearing on her, using up more of her magic than mine. I could keep this up and win, but why draw it out? Why give her the chance to find some way past my guard?

"Lɪɢʜᴛɴɪɴɢ—" I begin, taking a wild swing with all of my strength, the follow-through leaving me open. Amaterasu notices immediately, and moves to counter.

"—Aʀᴄ!" I finish, and my attack flashes back in the opposite direction, a second burst of explosive thunder that knocks the dagger Su desperately brought up to parry clean out of her hand. It spins into the air, disintegrating into magical particles a few feet away before reappearing in her grip to barely let her block another blow. A crack of thunder releases itself from my weapon when she does, though, and this finally knocks her back, sending her tumbling away.

It's time.

It is. I take aim, looking down my staff like the sights of a gun.

"Fᴜʟᴍɪɴᴀɴᴛ Tʜᴜɴᴅᴇʀ!" Minerva and I shout, the bolt of red and green lightning shrieking towards Amaterasu. I see her scowl, clicking her tongue in annoyance an instant before the bolt would hit.

"Fʟᴀsʜ Dᴀɴᴄᴇ!" Amaterasu declares, and in a blinding burst of movement she's in my face again, seemingly having teleported through my lightning and back into melee range. Suddenly I'm on the defensive, a rapid series of attacks from Su suddenly interrupted when she once again disappears.

Behind us!

I duck another dagger strike, swinging a counter in her direction before she disappears again, ruthlessly pressing the offensive.

Holy crap she is fast!

You're allowed to swear, you know.

Nah, I'm like… twelve or something. It feels weird.

Everything about you is weird. Two more parries and then we turn this around, yeah?

I'm ready.

One. Two.

"Sᴛᴏʀᴍ Bᴀʀʀɪᴇʀ!" we shout, letting the spell absorb Amaterasu's next attack as we swing recklessly to break her assault. Fear and anger catch her need as we finally land a solid hit to her ribcage, the physical force and burst of energy from our incarnate weapon ravaging the side of her body. She jumps back, making space, and I follow Minerva's lead, letting her instincts pull my staff up to fire.

"Castalia's training is real deal, huh?" she hisses, rubbing the injury with her knuckles.

"She's Castalia," I answer simply. "Fᴜʟᴍɪɴᴀɴᴛ Tʜᴜɴᴅᴇʀ!"

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Amaterasu teleports out of the way, but not directly into my face like last time. She just watches, sizing me up.

"Have you seen her fight?" she asks. "I struggle to believe she is as good as they say."

"I've seen her in battle," I confirm, tracking her but refraining from firing for now. "She really is that strong."

"And yet she does not fight," Amaterasu hums. "Not anymore. Is that not ultimately weakness?"

"Like… what, philosophically?" I ask. "I don't know. She can blow up a city so probably not. What does it matter?"

"I left my life behind to come here. To see the strongest human," Amaterasu frowns. "But the ones I lose to? They are not her. It is upsetting. I need to be stronger."

Hmm.

"I can empathize," I agree. "It's not my emotion, but I need to be stronger, too."

"Then do not rest," Amaterasu says. "Push yourself."

"…The hell do you think I'm doing right now?" I scowl.

"Don't make me wait to exhaust your entire toolkit," Amaterasu growls. "Use your Catharsis or go home."

What!?

Is she crazy!?

"I thought this was a spar," I answer incredulously. "If either of us brings out a Catharsis everyone is going to walk away fucked up."

"How many times have you used your Catharsis?" Amaterasu asks. "Once? And when you did, it wasn't even enough. It was pathetic!"

"You trying to piss off a red mage?" I scowl, but who am I kidding? Of course she is. The question is why. "Where do you get off calling me weak anyway? Didn't Uma'tama have to send Aurora to pick up your unconscious ass after you got in another fight you couldn't win? Who kicked your butt so hard you feel the need to take it out on me?"

"Do you want to become stronger or not?" Amaterasu snaps. "Gʟᴇᴀᴍ Bʟᴀᴅᴇ!"

Don't lose focus.

I know, I know! I start to incant as her incarnate weapons erupt with light, nearly doubling in length as magic coalesces around them.

There, there, and there. Jump right.

I said I know!

"Fᴜʟᴍɪɴᴀɴᴛ—!"

"Fʟᴀsʜ Dᴀɴᴄᴇ!"

"—Pʀɪsᴍ!"

I sweep my staff in a circle around my feet, creating crackling mines of geometric lightning moments before Amaterasu teleports back into my face. I'm already dodging as the traps go off, letting Amaterasu take a trio of explosions to the face as she expects to dodge a lightning bolt. I swing my staff to follow up, but she still manages to block the strike with both weapons, panting heavily as the magical electricity still crackles through her damaged body.

"Fine," she hisses. "If you won't, I will. Cᴀᴛʜᴀʀ—"

"Hey!!!"

A furious shout rings out from the street, and I turn to spot the judgemental glare of a familiar ten-year-old.

"What are you idiots doing!?" Veritas snaps. "Aurora sent me to find you because there's a swarm happening, but you're just beating each other up for no reason! Come on, we have to go!"

Oh shit, a swarm! What awful timing. Even Amaterasu swaps her attention immediately, dropping her attempt to use the deadliest move in an Earth Guardian's arsenal against a fellow member like a fucking psychopath. She doesn't look happy about the interruption, but at least her priorities aren't completely insane.

"Well, this works as training too," she huffs. "What direction?"

"That way!" Veritas points. "Will one of you carry me? I'm not as fast as you."

Amaterasu practically vanishes, sprinting off while ignoring Veritas' request.

I don't really want her touching my teammates anyway, after all that. I hop down to where she's standing and hold out my hand for our usual carry method. She clasps my arm wrist-to-wrist, and I raise us into the sky, rocketing forward towards the apparent fight. I hope Aurora's staying safe. She definitely made the right call sending Veritas to come find me, but she's potentially in serious danger even being near a swarm while alone. Sure enough, as we get closer, it's easy to spot both her and the swarm: a giant wall of fire separates the two, monsters furiously snarling and chomping at the flames in a blind, maddened need to attack the source of magic.

"Dɪᴠɪɴᴇ Bʀᴇᴀᴋᴇʀ!" Amaterasu roars, leaping over the flames and crashing headfirst into the mass of monsters still pouring from the portal I can barely see open in the distance. Oh hell, this is going to be a bad one.

"Defensive tactics!" I order Veritas. "This is going to be a long fight, got it?"

"Got it!" she agrees.

"Then remind them whose planet this is!" I tell her, hurling her forward to back up Amaterasu. "Drop the wall, Aurora!"

"You made it!" Aurora gasps with relief, looking back at us as she finally, exhaustedly stops the flames, letting Veritas fly through where they just were unharmed.

"Incredible job, Aurora!" I praise her, coming to a stop in the air directly in front of her so I can make sure she's protected. "Rest a bit! We'll need you soon."

"Y-yes ma'am!" she agrees.

Let's fuck 'em up!

"Tᴡɪɴ Fᴜʟᴍɪɴᴀɴᴛ Tʜᴜɴᴅᴇʀ!" Fulgora and I declare, her staff still a perfect implement for my ranged attack spells. Rage against and fear of these deadly beasts fills my heart in equal measure, my magic piercing through target after target without running out of strength.

Hey wait a minute, when did you start controlling my body?

Don't know! You want it back?

Yes, but let's roll with it for now. Better to use your tactics while we're fighting from the backlines with Aurora.

Fair enough. Veritas and Amaterasu have no hope of holding back the tide, as much as that tide is only trying to devour the closest target it can see. There are so many monsters that they block the way of their fellows, rushing down the infinite streets of the liminal space like a tide of white water rapids, clogging the entire channel from sidewalk to sidewalk. Some are inevitably pushed past our front line, forcing Veritas back so she doesn't get surrounded. But Amaterasu doesn't retreat. She fights like a wild beast, ripping open enemy after enemy in a perpetual dance of dagger, tooth, and claw. There's no way that's sustainable, right?

"Amaterasu, fall back!" I shout at her.

My only response is a wordless roar, my order completely ignored. Damn it! I don't have the time to handle her issues, I need to focus on supporting Veritas, who is a considerably weaker combatant. Firing more bolts into the swarm, I hear Aurora take a deep breath behind me.

"I'm good to fight," she assures me.

"Take another minute," I order. "It'll get worse before it gets better."

We settle into the flow of battle, every second one step from a crisis that we must constantly outpace. My targets are selected and eliminated one after the other, my terror over Veritas' constant endangerment directing every bolt to strike hard and true. Aurora eventually joins the fray, handing out empowerments and general crowd control that slowly starts pushing the fight in our favor. A single swing of Veritas' lance can crush several monsters at once, but so many are pouring out of the portal at once that it's hard to keep up.

The best strategy for dealing with a swarm is to push forward to the Dark World portal itself and hold ground there. The portal acts as a natural chokepoint, one that can't simply be destroyed by giant monsters or wayward spells, and this funnels the enemies into a single killzone, drastically cutting the risk of getting flanked. But we have to get there first, and it's a long slog.

Step by step, we walk forward. To my surprise, Amaterasu doesn't seem to be getting herself into trouble; she seems somehow more alive in the thick of the fight, her orange magic glowing with strength as she walks a razor's edge with death.

Alright, my turn again.

Agreed.

I take control from Minerva, flying to ground level and taking up a combat position next to Veritas to help her spearhead forward, cutting our way towards the portal. Aurora takes over my role as coordinator, leaping onto a nearby building to get a good view of the fight and call out important targets as needed while supporting us from afar. Side by side with Veritas, we can cover each other's blind spots while we force our way to our objective, making steady progress until soon the portal is only a few buildings ahead of us.

And then, without warning, it explodes.

A massive fireball billows out of the portal, flinging chunks of charred monster corpse in every direction. The monsters turn to the sound—and the massive wave of magic accompanying it—giving us an easy opportunity to clear some space. A couple monsters close to the portal jump back in, wanting to eat whatever happened to be inside, and seconds later their broken corpses are flung back our way. The next monster that tries to return to the Dark World is stopped in its tracks, hanging precariously in the air as it flails and kicks at nothing.

A single hand has emerged from the portal, red crystal claws wrapped around the beast's throat. With a crunch and a snap, the claws squeeze the life from the beast, tossing it casually forward before the rest of the figure emerges from the black mist, draped in a floor-length cloak that covers its entire body.

It's her. The healing red mage. The Corrupted that was strong enough to simply scare Minerva into running away without a fight. The one that helped Anath after she smashed my brother's workplace and nearly killed him!

"Mmm," she grumbles, glancing between us and the many monsters we're still trying to destroy. "Irritating."

"You!" Veritas shouts at her. "What were you doing in there? Did you cause this swarm!?"

"I have no reason to answer any of those questions," the red mage responds, turning around to face the portal, leaving us with the monsters. The ones who haven't already turned to attack her don't bother, continuing to try and get at us. A couple more monsters leap out of the portal while the Corrupted examines it, jumping straight by her without attacking as well. She pulls out a small, squarish device and starts to fiddle with it. Damn it, she's just ignoring us!

She presses a button on the device, and immediately there's a tangible shift in the air, a slight change in the flow of the slow breeze so constant to the liminal space. The mist of the Dark World portal slowly starts to fade, and though a few more monsters manage to leap through, it's only a few moments before it disperses to nothing.

The portal… is gone. What? How?

"Remarkable," the red mage hums, fiddling with the device some more. And slowly, the portal forms anew, blooming back to its former size and resuming the rush of beasts. The red mage nods to herself, and then steps back in, pushing past a couple monsters before vanishing to the other side. What the hell? What is all this? Can she create and destroy portals? Did they seriously find an artifact that powerful?

The panic helps fuel us as we mop up the remaining monsters, the flow from the portal slowing down to a crawl. It must be another fifteen minutes before we finally finish off the last of the damn things, all four of us left panting and gasping for breath. And yet still, that portal remains. We could potentially call Uma'tama to close it, but… could that Corrupted just reopen it again from the other side?

No. We can't let them keep that kind of power. There's no telling what they'd do with it.

"Veritas, Aurora," I call out. "Deactivate your incarnate forms and start meditating. We might need you back at full strength at any moment."

"What?" Aurora blinks.

"We're waiting for that witch, right?" Veritas says, her face hard.

"We are," I confirm. "You saw what she did. We can't let her just open whatever portals she wants. Do you agree, Su-san?"

The wolf girl has already collapsed onto her back, gasping for breath, but with a long sigh she deactivates her incarnate form and sits up, giving me a nod.

"Yes," she says. "I would prefer to fight her myself, but this is too important for pride. We know exactly where she will be. Let's take her down."

"It's possible she can use that device to make a new portal somewhere else," I point out. "So she might not be coming out of this one. But I figure, at minimum, we can stake the place out for a couple hours and call in Uma'tama if nothing else shows."

"It's reasonable for a swarm portal anyway," Amaterasu agrees.

So we wait. Unlike everyone else, I remain in my incarnate form, focusing on maintaining my emotional state well enough that I can still recover without transforming back. I figure that if Castalia does it, it's probably worth doing, right? Less than an hour later, I spot movement from the portal. It's time.

"Get ready everyone," I order, standing up. Everyone around me powers up and encircles the portal, waiting for the Corrupted to emerge. And sure enough, she does. Stepping out, she immediately glares at us, her beady red eyes gleaming from within the black sclera, a tangible weight of hatred pressing down on every one of us in turn.

"…I was hoping you would have departed by now," she grumbles.

"It's sort of our job to deal with people like you," Veritas snaps back.

"Really," the woman answers flatly. From within the hood of her cloak, I can see pointed, elvish ears tipped with red crystal flashing in the darkness. "And here I thought it was your job to protect the world."

"It is," Veritas snaps. "So hand over the artifact you used to make that portal and we might let you off easy!"

"Veritas," I warn her. "Do not provoke her. Let me do the talking, please."

The Corrupted's eyes flick to me, and I fail to suppress a shudder.

"You are the one who barely defeated Anath," she comments. "I must admit to not being in the best mood. I suggest you let me go on my way. I will not promise a conflict between us will end bloodlessly."

"I've gotten a lot stronger since then," I tell her, "and I'm not alone. The four of us can defeat you. But you were an Earth Guardian once, right? It doesn't have to come to that. You must know creating portals to the Dark World is wrong."

"It is not an act devoid of consequences," the Corrupted agrees, "but you seem to have handled those consequences just fine. That is, ultimately, all you are good for. It would be foolish of me not to take advantage of it."

I lower myself into a more combat-ready stance.

"…I take it that means you don't intend to surrender," I say.

"Why would I ever surrender from a winning position?" she threatens. "I will offer once more. Leave. I have no wish to fight any of you. You are nothing but pitiable fools who have wrongly convinced yourselves that there is some benefit to being in my way."

"Not happening," I answer, summoning my weapon. Amaterasu and my girls all nod in agreement.

"So be it," the Corrupted says, unclasping her cloak and tearing it from her body to reveal a truly twisted, inhuman form. Several different joints on her freakish legs lead to massive clawed talons for feet. Her arms split into three different pairs, each with only two or three fingers, and across her entire body are jagged, horrific red crystals jutting out of her torso in every direction, veins of shining crimson running through her skin like trails of blood. She wears baggy pants and no shirt, her only form of modesty being a series of bandages wrapping up her stomach and chest.

"I Wɪʟʟ Nᴏᴛ Tᴏʟᴇʀᴀᴛᴇ Tʜɪs."

A crimson glow engulfs her, absorbing her cloak as the transformation stone on her body begins to shine. Piece by piece, her body is enveloped in a new outfit, her monstrous legs getting wrapped up in black dress pants. A white button-up shirt is next, coalescing over her body and settling awkwardly over the sharp crystals jutting every which way out of her torso. Her arms press together, the three sets of two fitting together so seamlessly that the only indication that they aren't just a normal set of two arms is the eight fingers present on each of her hands. When the shirt finishes settling, a men's business jacket appears over it, sliding onto her frame as a tailored fit. When everything is in order, a crimson red tie wraps itself around her neck, tucking perfectly into her buttoned jacket.

She stands tall—inhumanly tall, with her legs fully extended—and calmly adjusts her cuffs.

"Fᴜʀɪᴏᴜs Sᴀᴠɪᴏʀ Rᴇᴠᴏʟᴜᴛɪᴏɴᴀʀʏ Nᴀɴᴀʏᴀ."

All of us were prepared for it, but the burst of magic that explodes out of her at her transformation's completion still nearly bowls us over, forcing me to take a step backwards or be toppled by the shockwave. She takes the opportunity to summon her incarnate weapon, a bright white violin-like instrument with red strings in one hand and the bow to play it in the other. Huh. That's… an odd weapon. But a vaguely familiar one.

Didn't… didn't the rogue Earth Guardian who intervened in a war and slaughtered dozens of people use a viola?

"Rᴀɴᴄᴏʀᴏᴜs Dɪʀɢᴇ," the Corrupted growls, sliding her bow across the strings of her weapon and unleashing a painful scream directly into each of our souls. Veritas and Aurora both collapse outright, the agony biting deep within us, and even I stagger back. Amaterasu, however, barely hesitates, leaping forwards and aiming to cut the women open. The Corrupted—Nanaya, I suppose her name is—steps almost contemptuously to the side and knees her in the gut for her attempt, continuing to play her song all the while.

I have to back her up! Pushing past the pain, I jump forward to get in range to swing my weapon. The air is so thick with rage that it seems to tint the world the slightest bit red, and my magic seems to come all the easier as the waste radiating off of Nanaya's incarnate form is enough to power spells all by itself. Not that I can allow her magic to infect my own; that would be very bad. I'll need to be careful with how I take advantage of it.

The magically induced pain claws at us to stop, but Amaterasu and I work together to flank her, attacking from both sides despite the way our bodies feel like they're about to shatter into pieces. Nanaya dodges our first two attempts, but my weapon's range keeps me away from any potential counterattacks, letting me press the assault until we finally force her to skip a note, ending the spell. Veritas and Aurora both gasp for breath behind us, but they manage to stand up, preparing to fight.

"Lɪɢʜᴛɴɪɴɢ Aʀᴄ!" I declare, pressing the attack with an empowered double-swipe. Nanaya brings up her viola and blocks each strike in turn, seeming completely unbothered by the impossible shift in momentum my spell provides. Amaterasu tries to capitalize on the opening, bringing her daggers in to stab at a weak point, and Nanaya answers by dismissing her bow, grabbing Su's wrist, and shoving it back so the hilt of wolf girl's own weapon smacks her in the face.

Aurora's orbs join the melee, with Veritas close behind them. Summoning her viola's bow back to her hand while Amaterasu reels, Nanaya pulls back the string like it's the sort of bow you'd expect to see in a fight, summons an arrow of energy to nock, and fires a shot towards Aurora. Veritas intercepts, and the red energy explodes against her shield, stopping her in her tracks and giving Nanaya time to hook my staff with the bends of her viola and kick me in the side of the head. I turn my backward stumble into a handspring to prevent myself from falling on my ass, jumping back into the fray at the same time as Veritas. Time to step it up.

"Aʙʀᴇᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ: Hᴇᴀᴠᴇɴ's Hᴀᴍᴍᴇʀ!"

"Rᴇᴍᴇᴍʙʀᴀɴᴄᴇ Bᴜʀsᴛ!"

"Dɪᴠɪɴᴇ Bʀᴇᴀᴋᴇʀ!"

"¡Cᴏʀᴀᴢᴏ́ɴ Lʟᴀᴍᴇᴀɴᴛᴇ!"

"Rᴇᴠᴇɴɢᴇ Bᴜʀsᴛ," Nanaya says in answer to all four of our spells, blasting Veritas, Amaterasu, and Aurora's orbs away from her to cancel all of their attacks. The shockwave hits me, too, but with a scream of raw power I push back against it, shoving more and more rage into my Abreaction until it finally smashes through and fucking hits her. The blow lands square in the side of her chest, and I hear something crack as I knock her off her feet and fling her a little ways back.

She grits her teeth, sliding to a stop. The strike was strong enough to damage her magical outfit, the crystal spikes coming out of her torso having ripped her suit open from the inside. Each side of the fight now bloodied, we cautiously size each other up, my group moving back in position to flank her and keep taking advantage of our superior numbers. Only Aurora stays back, using the brief lull in the fight to pass around some magical enhancements.

"¡Fᴜᴇʀᴢᴀ Aʀᴅɪᴇɴᴛᴇ!" she incants, a red glow settling over Veritas, Amaterasu, and myself, strength returning to our bodies. For a brief moment, Nanaya's eyes flick Aurora's way, but then she returns her gaze to me, one hand brushing over the ruined parts of her suit.

Without warning, she suddenly discards her weapon, tossing it casually over her shoulder before ripping her own sleeves apart, her shirt and jacket bursting open as she separates her freakish arms back into three sets of two. It startles me for a moment, but then I rush her and she jumps directly at me in turn. Veritas and Amaterasu converge on her from behind, ready to once again force her to commit to a spell that one of the three of us can almost certainly bypass or overwhelm. It takes a lot out of me to do them, but I've still got a few more Abreactions in me, ready for when they're needed. Nanaya curls her freakish hands into fists, winding them up for a punch, and I prepare my counter.

"Sᴛᴏʀᴍ Bᴀʀʀɪᴇʀ!" I say, planning to catch her attack and disable her enough for the others to strike. But the moment I start to speak, one of Nanaya's huge, twisted legs kicks against the ground with the force of a gunshot, suddenly changing her momentum entirely. She streaks past me and my useless shield, leaping right towards—

"Aurora!" Veritas and I both shout, terror blooming inside me.

Aurora reacts immediately, bringing up her brass knuckles and recalling her orbs to defend herself. As fast as Nanaya is, the girl still manages to duck and step forward, aiming for a devastating gut blow. It's a wonderful move, an expert response to an unexpected situation, but no matter how much I want to praise her my little genius has nothing on the pit of anger that is Nanaya. One of her spider-like arms snatches Aurora's wrist, yanking the attack off course. Another hand grabs her other wrist, pulling it to the opposite side. And two more hands grab the back of Aurora's head, shoving her face down hard into Nanaya's rising knee.

The crack and the spray of blood are louder than my thunder.

We all charge, but before we get there Nanaya has enough time to toss the child into a wall, discarding her just as casually as she did her own weapon. Aurora slams into the brick, falls to the ground, and her incarnate form dissolves into motes of light. Her human form doesn't move. I'm not even sure if she's breathing.

It wouldn't be the first time catastrophic damage to an incarnate form killed a Guardian outright.

I don't have time to process any of it, though, because Nanaya jumps right towards an enraged Veritas next, intending to cull us one by one. There's no hesitation. No mercy. Only brutal efficiency, because this madwoman never considered herself to be fighting a battle in the first place.

She's fighting a war.