A Magical Anomaly
Chapter 10
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Choice Made:
[x]Answer
[[x] Continue the hunt into the rift. You're tired, and hurting. But the rift should hopefully be worth it.
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Effects:
* -EXPOSITION
* - Satsuki Ayame Number acquired (Look at you, already getting girls' numbers on your first meeting. Smoooth~)
* - Combat ended, Sufficient Time passed, Weapon charges reset
* -Tier 2 Rift opened and Entered
*
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POV: Azure
Despite Aya's claims, she wasn't brooding.
She was reflecting.
And she'd come to a rather annoyingly obvious conclusion.
Something was wrong.
Something had changed.
Maybe it was how easily her Stellar Sabre had been shattered… The katana, despite being named a sabre, was a Rare Item. One she'd spend a lot of mana credits to obtain, and then even more to upgrade as high as she could.f
Honestly, it was more like an Ultra Rare item in its current iteration then a Rare one.
But it had been broken.
By one punch.
And worst of all! She couldn't even remember who had done so!
She polished it harder, pressing all her frustration into the rag she was using to oil the blade.
Of course, she didn't need to do so. The System kept all of her weapons in the most perfect conditions. Perfectly sharp and durable.
The Director had said that she'd gone berserk. Again. And the only ones who did that to her were Nulls.
Filthy, dirty, thieving Nulls!
They'd taken her home. Taken what was hers… taken her family.
Was it her fault she hated them so? No. They were getting what they deserved.
They chose to break into her home.
They chose to murder her parents when they'd been caught.
She was only returning what was owed.
She shook her head. Focusing back on her reflection in the blade.
It looked older… cuter…
Her Magical Girl form wasn't always what she liked to walk around in… it was softer then her normal look.
She wasn't a bodybuilder rippling with muscle. But she liked the toned look she'd slowly built up over the years.
Being the Senshow High's ace in most sports did that to you after a few years.
She'd worked hard. Built up an exterior as icy as she could to focus entirely on building her strength up for revenge.
But she'd not been able to stop a single damn Null!
A newbie according to Aya's ribbing too!
Though even she didn't remember the Nulls face, or any of her features.
She scoffed.
If that didn't set off any red flags, then she didn't know what did.
It had taken a few days to repair her blade. Lilly had worked hard on fusing the shards together with magic. But even then she'd had to substitute a few pieces that were missing.
It was weaker now… no longer classed as a Rare type weapon. Even its stat bonuses had dropped… But she wouldn't throw it away.
It had been with her most of her Magical Girl life. Her first store bought weapon.
An alarm sounded and she slipped the blade into its sheathe after wiping it clean.
The door opening as Aya appeared, probably looking for her.
The two of them walked towards the command room. The reinforced walls of the underground bunker complex meeting them as the floor clicked with her heels.
She turned to Aya.
"Any idea why the alarm was tripped?"
Aya in her usual carefree self shrugged. Not a sign of worry on her face as she smiled brightly at her.
Where she got the energy, she had no idea. One of the many mysteries of this base.
"Maybe a rift opened?"
It was possible… the breach was only a few days ago though, so there shouldn't be enough charged mana in the city to cause a rift to open…
A pair of black gauntlets slamming into her blade flashed before her eyes.
If it was that damn Null though… who knew…
The two of them sped up. Or at least she did, Aya kept pace with the ease all Red's did at physical activity.
The reinforced doors leading to the command room hissed open as they approached, sliding into the walls on soundless tracks before closing behind them.
The Director's wide figure stood next to the holographic table, the city displayed in all its blue and white glory as he sipped on a cup of something. A frown on his face as he inspected it.
He looked up as they approached. Expression shifting from pure annoyance to annoyed but grateful… Maybe?
He was surprisingly hard to read, even after working with him for a few years.
"Girls." - They gave their own greetings, Aya being her usual over enthusiastic self and shouting across the room.
Some of the command staff laughed, the commander just rolled his eyes, but his lips curled up slightly.
"Mana surge set off Prophets sensors… we're still tracking it down but we have it somewhere in the warehousing district."
The table shifted as the two of them leaned on it, map moving and then expanding to show off the entire warehousing district. A hundred identical warehouses all arranged into rows of ten.
"It's… big. A massive surge of mana occurred, all at once. Almost on the level of a mid tier breach. It's not a breach, at least Intel doesn't believe so. But its definitely odd."
The map shifted again, going from a hundred warehouses to ten.
"That's about as close as we'll be able to narrow it down then. Damn it."
He grunted, sipping on whatever he as drinking as he looked up from the map.
A thought occurred to her, and she growled a little as it settled.
"Was it the Null?"
The Director seemed almost amused by her anger. Her glare was probably rather sharp. But her didn't even raise an eyebrow at her.
"Unknown. Though Nulls can't produce that much mana, especially newly converted ones."
Aya chimed up as she tilted her head.
"Are you sure about that?"
The Director shook his head and sighed.
"No. Most Nulls except the first couldn't cast magic straight from converting… this one seems similar to one that's at least a week old… Very skilled in combat at the very least. You've read the report?"
She of course nodded.
Aya just sheepishly tapped her fingers together in a somewhat cute gesture as she looked away… damn it Aya.
The Director continued, not looking surprised in the least.
"Summarised, She's probably skilled in single combat, evidenced by how she took down Azure, she took no damage. At all. She also took no damage against the Interlopers. No blood or anything left behind. And then on top of that, she has some sort of perception alteration. Memory wiping or at least something that distorts people's perception of her. We believe she uses force based weaponry from a damage analysis… but all we've managed to retrieve are Mesmer and Scout corpses."
He put a hand to his face and sighed.
"How Retrieval managed to lose a Paladin corpse, I have no idea. But it's best we assume she took it down by herself too. Her Fae probably helped, and I imagine it was a surprise attack. Assumptions are dangerous though. Orders are simple. Find what caused the mana surge, if it's a rift, enter and close it, if it's the Null, we want to talk to her. So no killing."
She wanted to argue that a Null couldn't be brought into the base… but The Director had final say either way. So she held her tongue. He probably noticed the way she shook her head a little, but he didn't comment.
And so, that's how Aya and She found themselves hopping over rooftops towards the Warehouse district. Her HUD telling her that they were a little over five minutes out at their current pace.
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POV: Filia
It took a few minutes, mainly because the voices had a lot of questions, and you needed to try and filter what was best.
It was kind of strange honestly… it was less voices, and more whispers. Some said small phrases. Other's long questions. One even asked why.
You were stumped on that.
What did it mean, why?
Why was she kidnapped?
Why did you find yourself in this situation?
Why did you ask a voice in your head that might be a sign of you being schizophrenic if it had a question to ask?
You just decided to ignore that.
The question of asking for her contact information came up… and idly asked Elly if there was a way to not have your number tracked… you assume that being a villain and sharing a trackable number to people was probably a bad idea.
'If you're willing to relinquish ten shards, Number 20 can upgrade your phone in such a way that tracking would not work on it, magical or otherwise.'
You nodded at her. Mentally telling her to remind you of that when you were done here.
You pass the paper to Satsuki, and she raises an eyebrow at the questions.
You decided to pick five or so… you could always ask more later… maybe.
"You… Want to be my friend or ally? And you want my contact number?"
You nod at her, and she hums quietly.
"I suppose having a Magical Girl at my beck and call would be rather useful."
You give her a blank look and she giggles. The sound airy… but not annoying or grating like you kind of expected from someone so… does upper class make you sound weird?
"I kid. I could always use more friends. Allies are plenty for one of my stature… friends are much harder to come by. If you're willing to expect little from me, then I shall accept your offer of friendship."
You take that as a yes and give her a Number 20 bow. She rolls her eyes at your theatricalism and waves dismissively at you.
"Yes, yes, I may be of a rich family, but that does not mean you need to bow. Ugh, we're friends now. My details… right."
She pats down her dress, looking for a pocket or something, and when she finds it, she pulls out a phone. The screen's smashed, but all she does is wince.
The phone still works, and the two of you trade numbers.
She spends a moment or two more on the phone. Flipping it in her hand before putting it into her pocket with a slice blush.
"Ahem, as for if I can make it home safely, I shall be fine… Fathers on his way and… well… he's probably bringing the entire estate guard… Why… why do you overreact so…"
She sighs and shakes her head. Looking up at the roof with a look that speaks of pure exasperation.
When she looks back at you, she shakes her head.
"No need to call the authorities either. Father will have done that now that he knows where I am… and as for this… ice swordsman? I don't believe I know them by name… but it could be…"
She hums in thought, pulling her phone back into her hand and tapping rapidly on it.
"It could be that he's Frost? He used a greatsword, correct?"
You nod.
"In that case, if you could prove that he's been apprehended, or killed, he does have a bounty on him."
You remember the ashes, and the absorbed sword, and then wince a little.
"I assumed so… Then I'm afraid I don't know him in much detail, other than reading reports of what he has done… I tend to stay away from such… lowlifes."
Idly, you wonder if your Villainous self would be considered a lowlife…
Nah. You're cool.
"I believe that's enough questions about myself now. You are a Magical Girl correct?"
You nod, partway through on emphasising the Villian part of that, but she cuts you off before you can.
"Then can I assume you're capable of dealing with that?"
She points towards the double doors. And you stare at the swirling hole in reality.
What?
'Oh, the rift opened when you pulled that rather… I don't want to say impressive as that might encourage you to do such recklessness again, but it was an impressive manipulation of your core…'
You didn't tell me.
'A lesson. Using such a powerful ability that drains that much mana will cause any nearby rifts to open. We also appear to have attracted attention in the form of Magicals. Two in fact. I would give them… ten minutes until they reach this warehouse, assuming they know that it's this one in particular that the surge occurred from.'
You sigh internally. Rejoicing over the time limit. It's probably not a good idea to hang around for the Magical Girls to appear. Even if your pride tells you to fight them.
You're already hurting from stopping time. And your Cores feel like lead spheres rather than magic… spheres?
Basically, you shouldn't fight if you're not at mostly full strength, the only reason you won against Azure was that she was enraged, and your Void core kicked in to boost you as needed.
You start heading towards the rift. Typing a quick message into your phone for Satsuki to hide or leave in general.
She looks a little… angry? To have to leave, but you assume thats pride or something.
She still does anyway.
A thought occurs… you don't know what to do about this rift?
'Rifts are different then breaches. A breach can be closed from outside. But it absolutely requires a Fae or similar entity to do so. Think of it as a stable hole in reality that can only be closed by one of significant power… though there are records of powerful Saint class Magical Girls with the ability to close them as well. A discussion for a later time. A rift on the other hand, is more akin to a pocket dimension. The pocket fills with Interlopers until it reaches critical mass. And then the rift opens and spits them out into reality. A powerful creature in that dimension is embedded with a core, and once that core is destroyed, the dimension collapses, returning everything to its home dimension in the process.'
So you just need to destroy the core creature?
Elly nods. Mentioning how you probably don't need to deal with all the grunts here. They're all tier one and won't be able to bypass [Babr-e Bayan]'s barrier no matter how hard they try. So you nod. And cautiously step into the swirling hole in space.