A heavy frown creased Kiyojiro’s lips as he watched the mysterious magical girl leave them. For whatever reason, the girl bothered him. A dark miasma seemed to cloak her, suffocating everything around her.
Botan seemed just as disturbed, suppressing a shudder. “Do we think we can trust her?”
“Trust her to at least fight against Kaguya, at least.” But he trusted her little further than that. What timing. His charge didn’t need another enemy at this point.
And here I am, doing nothing, as usual. It’d been ridiculous when the Prime Minister had charged him as Seina’s bodyguard, a girl who could flick him to death. But he’d taken the assignment seriously like no other. Seina didn’t know it, but that girl had saved his life. He owed her a debt he could never repay. Kiyojiro would do everything to help Seina along in her life’s journey.
Kiyojiro slumped down to the stone floor, releasing a deep sigh. It was moments like this when he really hated his job. The waiting to see if Seina would return alive was excruciating.
“Hey, I’m sure they’ll be back. Your Seina’s pretty tough. Not surprising, considering she’s my brother’s partner.” Botan said, trying her best to reassure him. Colten’s death had changed her. Despite their venomous arguments, she really loved her silly little brother.
“Yeah.” Kiyojiro gave a slight smile. Still, he stewed in his uselessness. I’d do anything to help her, pay any cost!
“Huh?” Botan stared in confusion as Kiyojiro suddenly stood up and walked away. “Where are you going?”
But Kiyojiro ignored her, walking through a chamber into another cave. Despite Starlight Dream’s devastation, a significant portion of the planet had survived. These tunnels seemed to continue on forever. Botan flitted around him nervously as he continued to go towards some destination only he seemed to know.
“This core of Starlight Dream, what is it?” Kiyojiro suddenly asked. “Like, where did it come from?”
“What?” Botan blinked, flummoxed by the sudden question. “Beats me. It’s always been here.”
“But there must be legends,” Kiyojiro said, taking a sudden right turn. They arrived at a dead end, an empty stone chamber.
“Well, some say that Starlight Dream’s core is the remnant of the first fairy queen’s heart. She died in an ancient battle with her great enemy, the Xosa.”
“The great enemy scampered away, mortally wounded, and was never seen again. The fairy queen died, but, in her dying words, she commanded her children to use her dying body to construct the cosmos with her very heart being the center of this new creation.”
“Fascinating.”
“It’s all rubbish if you ask me,” Botan replied with a snort. “Like, if the fairies existed before creation, where did they come from? And command her subjects to create the planets and stars from her flesh? If she’s dying, why should she care what happens afterward?”
“So, does this mean Starlight Dream’s heart has its own consciousness?” Kiyojiro said, searching along the wall with his fingers.
“Who knows? Probably not. If it does, it’s never spoken to me.” Botan gasped as her human companion found some hidden latch on the wall, opening a secret door.
“Even since I’ve come to these caves, I’ve sensed some force. It’s guided me, leading me to this very spot.”
“Really?” Botan said, eyeing the bright chamber ahead of them nervously. “Is that really such a good idea?”
“I don’t know.” Kiyojiro entered the door without hesitation. Whatever was happening, he’d see it to the end.
---
“Darn it!” Seina said, howling as another Kaguya clone landed a clean blow on her, their sword biting into her shoulder. The copy paid back the insult in full, exploding in dust as Seina’s sword slashed it apart. But fifteen more clones appeared, charging at her from various directions.
Prime Kaguya, of course, just watched the scene in amusement as her army wore her opponent’s down, delighting as she sucked them dry with her draining aura alone without having to do much. When a copy fell, she only cut her hand and summoned four more with her blood.
While weaker than the original, the copies proved an irritating obstacle, as they used a myriad of tricks to attack their prey. One cloaked herself in illusion, making herself impossible to track until it was too late. Another just threw herself on Seina’s blade, obstructing it to make it easier for her sisters to attack. Several tried psychic attacks, confusing their opponent with glamors and illusions.
But Seina persisted, each encounter increasing her knowledge of her new abilities. It honed them to a deadly point as her foes hounded her into a corner. Her new abilities allowed her to summon bubbles with a thought now. They circled around her, acting as a barrier. While the emptiness of the void diminished their sunlight, each clone still died with a touch. Still, Seina remained unsatisfied, knowing she possessed other abilities she hadn’t unlocked yet.
To Seina’s astonishment, Arisu was faring much better in her fight. Despite the odds against her, a broad grin extended across her face. Instead of taking to the defensive, the Wicked Queen fought the seemingly endless clones head-on, and they trembled at her ferocity. Seina watched in amazement as clones burst to pieces from Arisu’s fighting aura alone, many shattering to avoid her relentless charge.
I can’t stay here, either. I needed to take the fight to Kaguya. Otherwise, she’ll only needle us to death!
Seina charged forward, steel slashing forward to devastate the dozens of Kaguya charging at her. Many died, but most slipped away unharmed. She used this opening to swipe at the stationary Kaguya, ignoring the painful bites of her clones as they tried to obstruct her.
“Not a bad plan. Pity it won’t work.” Prime Kaguya said, unconcerned, as Seina slashed her blade to decapitate the vampire with a single stroke. Much to Seina’s confusion, the Vampire Queen seemed perpetually out of reach. Even the bubbles she shot at her couldn’t seem to catch her. Meanwhile, Kaguya’s clones continued to use their crystal blades to hack Seina into pieces.
“What’s going on?” Seina sped up even faster, her movements a blur even to her. Even so, her blade missed by a mile. Kaguya only smiled, amused by her opponent’s futile efforts.
“You’re chasing after a shadow,” Arisu said, appearing from nowhere to pulverize the clones harassing Seina. “Kaguya’s only pretending to hang out in the open. She’s using her reality-warping powers to increase the distance between us and her.” Arisu said, amused.
“That little!” Kaguya was playing games with them again, making them waste their energy chasing after a shadow. Seina scowled, annoyed with her ally’s nonchalance about this dire situation. Didn’t the girl realize the stakes of the situation? But then she paused, considering something she found odd.
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“I thought we weren’t in reality? There shouldn’t be anything to manipulate!” The answer dawned on Seina. “Is she creating pockets of reality around her?”
“Yes, I can sense the time she creates. After all, space can’t exist without time.” Arisu replied, keeping her voice quiet. “Follow my lead.”
The observation gave Seina some ideas, a wedge she’d use to deliver the killing stake into Kaguya’s undead heart. At least, she hoped that would work. Otherwise, she wasn’t sure how she’d destroy something capable of regenerating from an atomic level.
Acting as one, both magical girls struck from opposite angles. Seina kept her sword ready, slashing from an angle difficult to dodge. Of course, the vampire queen did, but Seina sensed the space-time her ally had mentioned. She threw her blade, summoning a tiny bubble in the space Kaguya had created to speed her sword’s advance. Arisu joined the effort, her staff attacking low. Forced to dodge, it put their opponent in perfect position for Seina’s thrown blade. But Kaguya proved nimbler, just slipping away by a hair.
“Not bad. You fight as a well-oiled team.” Kaguya said, impressed despite herself. “I’ll need to.” She grunted in pain, black blood oozing from a sudden knife in her shoulder. She dodged away from several more incoming blades, but each seemed keenly aimed, most always hitting their mark. The vampire’s blood floated in nothing, sitting solidly still like it had gotten frozen in ice.
“Bathiko?” Seina said, looking around as she recognized the distinctive knives. Whatever the twisted magical girl was, she always made Seina’s teeth ache in her presence.
“That’s right. I’m here to finish the final Devil Princess.” Bathiko said, appearing from nowhere. “Don’t bother dodging, monster. I’ve marked you for death.”
“Thanks for coming,” Seina said, relieved.
“Not bad, you’ve even aimed around Kaguya’s reality bubbles,” Arisu said, impressed.
“I can find any weakness,” Bathiko replied. “And don’t thank me yet. I’ll destroy you once I’m finished with her.”
“Friendly sort. Is she aiming to get her ass kicked?” Arisu said, annoyed.
“She hates magical girls. Not sure why, really.” Seina said. Why must Bathiko always be so prickly?
“She smells bad,” Arisu said with a sniff, despite it being impossible to smell her in the void. “I don’t like her.”
“It’s mutual,” Bathiko replied, summoning more knives.
“Just tricks.” Kaguya only smirked. “Your knives only scratched me. You’re not a magical girl, are you? No light exists within you. That’s why you can’t hurt me.”
“Shut up. My darkness will swallow you whole! Evil Change.” Bathiko cried, eyes blazing. She hugged herself, an aura of darkness gathering around her. Dozens of elegant yet misshapen wings spouted from the girl’s back. Each feather seemed darker than the void, shimmering with an odd light.
“What is she?” Bathiko’s existence repelled even the void, the embodiment of nothingness. Even Mei and her madness didn’t tear apart Seina’s insides this much. The twisted magical girl seemed even more antithetical to life than the vampire queen.
“I’m darkness incarnate. The bane of magical girls.” Bathiko said, smirking. “Once you’re dead, Kaguya, all fairies will gain their freedom.”
But Kaguya didn’t seem that concerned, more amused than anything. “Shame I’m not a magical girl. You sure you’re not picking a fight you can’t win?”
“It doesn’t matter! You’re dead!” Bathiko charged forward, blades lashing out at her opponent. The Vampire Queen danced around the battlefield, but none of her reality-warping tricks worked. Each of the dark magical girl's attacks landed, the rain of blades breaking past her defenses.
Amazing. She’s really doing it. But the dark magical girl’s attacks continued to be ineffectual, the wounds inflicted healing before the blade even exited her skin. Much to Seina’s horror, she realized the battle was futile. Bathiko’s powers were useless against such overwhelming darkness.
“You can’t manage this alone,” Seina shouted. “We need to work together to stop her!”
A blade slit across the vampire’s queen’s throat, but Kaguya only smirked in response. “What? No!” Bathiko set her jaw in a hard line. “You’ll just stab me in the back! You magical girls are all the same!”
“Huh?” Seina said, surprised. “When have I shown I’d ever do that?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Bathiko said, stubborn as ever. “I’m doing this alone. I’m the hero this cosmos needs, not you!”
“Hero, eh?” Kaguya said, amused. “I think you’re more like me.”
“Shut up!” Bathiko drove another knife into the vampire’s heart, but Kaguya only shrugged it off. “Shut up!”
“Get over yourself,” Arisu said. Crossing her arms. “Let us help you already.”
“No! This is my battle!” Sweat gathered across her forehead as her attacks continued to be useless. A nasty smile grew across Bathiko’s features. “Fine. I’ll show you all true power! And why I was chosen to save fairykind!”
“What the.” Seina stepped back as non reality continued to distort, each flutter of Bathiko’s eldritch wings increasing the distortion.
“I can find anything.” Cracks continued to form in the nothingness around the dark magical girl. “I’ll find a way to kill you all!”
“You fool,” Arisu said, darting away from a crack that’d appeared just behind her.
“What’s happening?” Seina said, rushing to her friend’s side.
“She’s disrupted the natural balance of the void. It’s returning everything to the primal chaos.” Arisu replied.
“I don’t understand. Aren’t we standing in nothing?”
“It’s going further than that.” Genuine worry crossed Arisu’s features. “Bathiko’s collapsing all the cosmos into itself. Nothing has become everything, and everything has become nothing!”
“I didn’t think she’d be this desperate,” Kaguya said, genuine worry entering her voice. “Seems I’m not the threat anymore.”
“Fine. I realize what I must do.” Bathiko said, her voice booming across the chaotic space. “I won’t allow you Devil Princesses to stand. Magical Girls, either. If I can’t win. I’ll find a better alternative. I’ll use the very cosmos as a bludgeoning weapon.”
“Are you insane?!” Seina said, hair whipping into her face from the force of the cosmic winds.
“Tsk,” Arisu said, scowling. “Is this really her best plan?”
“I didn’t think she’d go this far to defeat me,” Kaguya said, joining them. “Time and space are blending together. I can’t tell what’s even possible anymore.”
“Thanks for emptying the cosmos of life, Devil Princess,” Bathiko said. “It gives me plenty of ammunition.”
“If you do this, nothing will be left!” Figments flickered in Seina’s vision, the past, present, and future blending into countless worlds and possibilities together.
“I can protect what life remains. I know what I’m doing,” Bathiko said, stubbornly tightening her jaw. “Stay out of this, magical girl.”
“I don’t know what this girl’s deal is, but I’m kicking her ass regardless,” Arisu said, charging forward.
“Wait,” Seina said, eying Kaguya nervously, unsure if the monster would stab them in the back while battling Bathiko’s insanity.
But this only earned a curious eyebrow from the Vampire Queen. “You really think I want this? Get going already.”
“Fine!” Seina joined Arisu in her forward change, ready to do whatever it took to stop this madness.
Much to her surprise, the vampire’s draining aura had vanished. Was the vampire helping them out, or was her aura unable to pierce the chaotic space? Direction, even time, seemed useless here. A thousand Seina joined her to face a thousand more Bathikos. Or was it one Seina against half of Bathiko? Her head hurt, struggling to understand what was happening. In a place where anything was possible, it also meant nothing was possible. But Arisu ignored all this, smashing into the mad magical girl’s ribs.
“You dare!” A beat of Bathiko’s ever-increasing amount of wings summoned a torrent of energy, using unreality as a weapon. It tore poor Arisu to pieces, her entire existence unraveling.
“Arisu!” Seina leaped to action, summoning a bubble around her friend. But it popped before it formed, unable to withstand the power of the reality-shifting tides.
“No!” Seina stared wide-eyed in horror as her only ally burst into fragments of mist, disappearing into nothing.
“See, magical girl. This is the power you face,” Bathiko said, arms extended as she raised herself high above everyone. Her body shimmered as she gathered everything into herself, her existence expanding as everything became her. “This is the best path forward I could find. The best path for everyone. Fear not. I will spare your world. They will live a better reality, free of suffering and magical girls.”
“Enough of that!” Seina gritted her teeth. “Magical girls are supposed to protect everything, not destroy!”
“She’s really doing it,” Kaguya said with a shocking amount of calm. “Shame, it still won’t be enough to kill me.”
“What?” Bathiko said, eye twitching.
“Of course, you malformed magical girl. As long as a thought of me exists, I can’t die.” Kaguya replied. “Do your worst. You’ll never be rid of me!”
Reality circled around Bathiko’s head, every possibility visible within her twisted halo. She had assented to a position beyond a magical girl, beyond even godhood. Bathiko had made herself the totality of reality and the only thing that was real was her. How could anyone stop that?
“We’ve really walked into it this time.” A familiar voice said.
“Colten?” And there her partner stood, wearing his knight form. Seina wasn’t sure if it was a hallucination or an actual manifestation of her friend. At this point, it was hard to care either way.
“Partner, we can’t win this. Arisu’s gone.” Seina said, head low. She watched as Bathiko extended a hand and blew the Vampire Queen to pieces, her atoms scattered to the winds. It’d been so easy.
Her partner gave the dark angel an inquisitive look. “I bet we could do something similar if we put our minds to it.”
“What?” Seina stared at Paliah in shock.
“We won’t, of course. Our power has always been to protect.” He continued. “That’s been our purpose from the beginning. That’s why we were granted this power to begin with.”
“I suppose so. But how? Our enemies just destroy, destroy, destroy. Everything's wrecked beyond repair!” Seina said, tormented by her uselessness.
A hand grabbed her and squeezed tight. Paliah smiled at her, and the doubt evaporated into mist. It didn’t matter how powerful Bathiko had become. They would protect everyone!
“Bathiko!” Seina said, shouting at the mighty magical girl creature. She wondered if her opponent was even a magical girl, to begin with. Even the Devil Princesses weren’t this vile.
“You’re still here?” Bathiko said, voice booming. “I assumed the cosmic winds would have erased you by now.”
“Never,” Seina said, brandishing her blade at her impossible foe. Fear and doubt were behind her. “We won’t allow this to go any further.”
“You’re a fool. You face the inevitable.”
“Maybe so. But we’re not giving up. Not until it’s done!” Without hesitation, she leaped against her foe, ready to face whatever doom awaited her.