Shihan scowled in frustration as she watched the golden Magical Girl standing defensively in front of them, standing between them and the chaos beast.

Hana of the Dawn was a cipher, an enigma that had haunted her dreams.

Memories of the devastating battle against her three years ago replayed in her mind. Shihan had been training to be a strong and capable martial artist long before becoming a Magical Girl. But even with her years of training and hard-won strength, she had been woefully unprepared for Hana.

Their clash had been brief and unceremonious, and Shihan was incapacitated before she could even land a solid blow. She'd been treated like target practice by Hana of the Dawn before being frozen in place on a rooftop by a Magical Girl clad in ice and shadows. She could only watch helplessly, steadying her ki while overwhelming hordes of chaos beasts flooded through the streets below. In the end, she had barely managed to break free and crawl to safety, barely able to move and barely conscious.

The Zhou Ling incident was a disaster, and the mere memory of it filled Shihan's heart with a familiar bitterness and frustration.

Three unknown Magical Girls, including the girl standing in front of her, had assaulted the city amid the worst Chaos Event the Jewel of the East had seen in over a decade. They had taken down defenders all over the city at a time when they were sorely needed, dooming thousands to death and destruction. Dozens of Magical Girls had been injured or killed in the ensuing carnage, including her beloved mentor, Mikage no Kimi.

And yet, the authorities saw it to forgive Hana, the sole survivor of the three. The Phoenix Council had let her off with a slap on the wrist despite the clear danger and irresponsibility she had displayed. It had been a coincidence, they said. No Magical Girl or civilian had directly died by her hands, they said. A misunderstanding, they claimed.

It was no such thing. It was a fucking disgrace.

Shihan's Aura flared as she watched the blonde Magical Girl, her fists clenched tightly as she stared down the chaos beast. The small girl's massive weapon was clearly inspired by firearms from Earth and was likely custom-made. Its barrel spun rapidly as a cluster of golden lights glowed at its tip, reminding Shihan of a high-end microwave.

"Say hello to Hana's little friend," the Magical Girl hissed.

But before Hana of the dawn could fire a single shot, a disturbance prickled Shihan's senses. Her Aura flashed purple as she sensed a change in the beast's mana field. She didn't know what it was doing, but it was significant and likely bad news.

'We have to move!' Shihan's instincts screamed.

"Incoming!" she roared, dashing forward and grabbing Aria. "Get down!"

Her movement was a blur as she practically clotheslined Ocean's Whisper with her other arm, diving off the roof. They soared through the air, the roar of a powerful explosion exploding behind them. The heat from the blast was scorching, sending waves of pulsating heatwaves across the rooftops.

But her instincts didn't stop there.

Something stirred in Shihan's chest, and she knew what she had to do. Acting on impulse, she used her aura and began to disperse the bulk of her ki, coating both of her companions in a protective layer of condensed energy.

A moment later, a tornado of sickly, red flames appeared above them, engulfing the street in a roaring inferno. Shihan braced, reaching out with her ki and infusing it into the ground. Just as the fireball exploded, she transformed the earth below them into solid rock, creating a sphere of hardened stone to protect them from the force of the blast.

Ocean's Whisper hacked and coughed, her eyes watering as she took in the smoldering destruction all around them. It was a sight to behold, the cobblestone streets torn up and scorched, smoke billowing through the air and obscuring their vision.

"Ingenue! She's still down out there!" the tall, nymph-like Magical Girl cried out, turning to Shihan with a panicked look.

Shihan tensed, her gaze shifting to the building where her companion had last been seen. But before she could move, the scene in front of them turned into a mess of

swirling motion.

Another deafening explosion erupted, enveloping everything in a blinding white flash. Shihan grunted, instinctively pouring her lumina into the barrier around them.

She could feel it straining and buckling under the pressure, her concentration wavering.

As the flash subsided, Shihan's blood froze at the sight before them.

Hana of the Dawn stood unscathed, her golden Aura gleaming as she stood defiantly before the beast, her massive gun held in front of her like a shield. She looked as if she had hardly moved an inch, her expression steely and determined.

But the chaos beast had a massive, gaping hole in its chest. For a moment, Shihan hoped dearly that the battle might have been over.

The shadowy man looked down at its chest, almost out of confusion. Then Its winged, man-like form shimmered, somehow appearing more substantial than before. Its tendrils fanned out, forming a wall of spiked death that surrounded the Golden Magical Girl.

If Hana was intimidated, it didn't show. Her weapon morphed and transformed, splitting apart and forming a longer, thinner barrel that glowed bright yellow. Its barrel spun at an accelerated rate, humming as it whirred to life.

"Reverse the current. Reign supreme — Ardeur Sucrée," Hana hissed, leaping back as a rapid-fire barrage of sparkling golden bullets erupted from her weapon. The bullets spiraled through the air, each shimmering like candy as they converged on the beast.

Its shadowy tendrils lashed out, slashing and twisting as it struggled to dodge the incoming onslaught. But despite its movements, Hana's bullets found their target again and again, tearing through its already-injured body and tearing it apart.

Its dark form flickered and twisted as it suddenly shifted back into its original monstrous form. Its massive, ethereal wings flapped angrily as it stood unsteadily on the ground, its eyes locked on Hana's darting form.

Then, it calmed itself almost instantly, reforming into its man-like shadowy form.

Shihan tensed, sensing a dramatic shift in the battle.

"Tactical assessment completed. Secondary form enables displacement into subspace. Executing luminal overdrive," Hana stated stoically, her eyes never leaving the beast.

She sprinted forward, her golden form a blur as she zoomed over to the chaos beast and leaped forward, her hands raised. She gracefully spun over a tendril lashing out at her. She summoned a dozen rifles around her that fired point-blank at the creature.

"Setup complete. Assault mode: Blazing Sun."

The beast staggered back, roaring in agony as it took multiple hits from Hana's blistering assault. It thrashed and writhed, its form shimmering and distorting as its power output skyrocketed.

Before anyone could react, it flicked a tentacle into the air, throwing Hana back like a ragdoll. She slammed into a building, causing the entire structure to collapse in a wave of dust and debris.

"Hana!" Ocean's Whisper shouted, her trident appearing in her hands as she sprinted toward Hana of the Dawn.

Shihan's eyes widened as the beast barreled forward, its body pulsating with an eldritch light as its form shuddered and twisted with a sickening crunch. The sheer amount of power it was outputting was staggering, her aura feeling like it was getting sucked right out of her.

Shihan clenched her fists, staring at the battle as her heart pounded in her chest.

Ocean's Whisper wasn't there that day. She could never understand what it was like to suffer the consequences of Hana of the Dawn's actions. She glanced over at the young Flameburst Aria, whose narrowed gaze was locked on the battle. She was clearly conflicted about the situation, but there was no time to talk it out.

Instead, Shihan focused her attention on Hana of the Dawn. The blonde Magical Girl seemed more than capable of handling the situation. Still, for some reason, something was holding her back. Despite having an advantage in this fight, she was slower than Shihan recalled. Hana could not have been more than eleven or twelve years old when she handed Shihan her defeat. The fact that she seemed to have even regressed in speed and skill made no sense.

As the beast approached the cloud of dust, Shihan grit her teeth and flared her aura.

She had to help. She had no love for Hana of the Dawn, but she had come and saved Flameburst Aria. It would be wrong to let her die here while Shihan sat by and did nothing. Exhausted and battered as she was.

Gritting her teeth, Shihan suddenly charged, weaving around the outstretched tendrils and dodging and blocking their rapid-fire assault.

"Senko no Ken: Kai!" she snarled, her body contorting as she drove her hands forward, blasting the beast with a deadly blast of ki.

The chaos beast screeched as the energy impacted its form, knocking it back and sending ripples of pain through its shadowy body.

She had barely leveled herself as the creature launched its next attack, blasting toward her at full speed.

It was so fast Shihan could barely keep up. But she stood her ground, dancing around the strikes with all the agility and training she could muster.

'The beast is learning!' her thoughts screamed.

She was fighting on the defensive, barely able to counteract its relentless assault. It had somehow tightened its movements from their initial clash, its blows sharper and faster, its movements deft and graceful.

But just as the beast seemed to have the upper hand, a faint, mechanical humming caught her attention.

Suddenly, the monster was launched into the air, a series of rapid-fire blasts knocking it backward. Hana of the Dawn burst from the shadows, two small firearms in her hands that had clearly taken inspiration from Earth's weaponry. They were much sleeker and smaller, but Shihan knew they were more than meets the eye.

Hana gracefully twisted in mid-air, firing a rapid-fire barrage of golden light.

Shihan lunged, using a sweeping roundhouse kick to knock the beast aside and redirect its energy. She flipped forward and executed a blistering double-palm thrust, channeling a burst of energy into the impact.

As the chaos beast spiraled away, Hana appeared beside her, her gaze cold and calculating. "Hana of the Dawn gratefully accepts your aid," she stated, her voice as hollow as before.

"Save it for someone who gives a fuck," Shihan retorted, her eyes burning with frustration and resentment.

However, Hana of the Dawn remained unruffled, turning her attention back to the chaos beast. It rose to its feet unsteadily, its shadowy form twisting and pulsating as it transformed.

In a sudden, explosive burst of speed, Shihan rushed forward, her punches and kicks blitzing the monster as she channeled all her energy into a flurry of punches.

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She had failed at executing her Shadow Dance's finishing move earlier, but now she had someone significantly more powerful than her for support.

Shihan tensed, activating her Signature for her upcoming strike. She only had one chance to nail her Kage no Mai's ultimate technique, and she couldn't miss.

Her Signature Motif was, in some ways, one of the most impractical Signatures a Magical Girl could have asked for. Its all-in nature made her vulnerable, leaving her wide open for a counterattack. As with all Signatures, it tied to her origin and history in awakening as a Magical Girl.

For Megumi, formerly of House Osaki, there was only one path and one way to strike. She could never afford to look backward.

Her soul burned brightly as she disengaged from the beast. A telltale shimmer off in the debris to her caught her eye.

Shihan blinked at the shimmer, before sighing deeply and turning to look at the Magical Girl by her side.

"Look," Shihan sighed deeply. "I don't like you or anything, but if we're going to fight together, I need to know you have my back. You better have it covered, got it?"

A brief flicker of confusion flashed across Hana's eyes before quickly returning to their stoic state. "Hana acknowledges your concern. Leave it to her," she replied, raising her two small firearms as their barrels began to glow.

"Don't miss your chance. I'm going to create a situation where it has to pick one of us. It's probably going to be you, so be on your toes. If it focuses on me, I hope you have something that can bring it down," Shihan urged her. Then, she shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet.

"Missing the target is never a possibility for this one," Hana mused, a hint of confidence entering her voice.

Shihan nodded, satisfied, and channeled her strength, her aura flaring to life around her.

Her muscles coiled and tensed, her breathing evening out as she honed in on the chaos beast. It glared at them menacingly, its shadows stretching through the streets and buildings around them, twisting into grotesque shapes.

Shihan closed her eyes, breathing deeply, and activated her Signature.

"Kintsugi!"

With a burst of speed, the magical girl broke into a sprint, her limbs a blur as she sprinted towards the beast in an instant.

Kintsugi — the art of filling a damaged piece with gold, enhancing its beauty, and giving it a second chance at life. It represented her life story: a tale of broken pieces. But with time and determination, she had filled the cracks and made her and her loved one whole again. And this was her Signature.

Her speed and strength increased inversely to her active luminal aura. By suppressing her lumina, her physical abilities multiplied at the cost of leaving her vulnerable.

It was a powerful and risky technique that only her mentor had ever seen her use. It required intense mental and physical control and had a severe time limit.

But in times like this, it was the only chance she had.

The other property of allowing her to reactivate and condense her aura made it uniquely suited to the Kage no Mai's finishing move. A fact her mentor had keenly noticed when training her.

Her footsteps thudded, her punches and kicks launching into a thundering frenzy as she unleashed every ounce of her power. The world around her disappeared into a blur as her energy swirled and coalesced, the destructive power of the Kage no Mai forming around her fists and feet.

Hana of the Dawn reacted almost in time to her movements, transforming her guns into a massive cannon. The gun emitted a sharp whining sound, growing rapidly in size as a glowing sphere of energy formed at its muzzle. The beast hissed, erupting into flame that forced Shihan to leap away. Then, without a word, it raised one arm and summoned hundreds of shadowy tendrils aiming for Hana of the Dawn.

'Now,' Shihan thought with bated breath.

She planted her right foot and dropped into a handstand, kicking off the ground in a split-second pivot and leap as a dozen tendrils converged on her.

"Now!" she shouted toward the side.

They had been silent and relying on Ocean's Whispers abilities, but she had not missed their subtle signs. The telltale shimmer of Ocean's Whispers illusions gave away their location. Shihan watched with relief as they sprung into action.

She grinned as she saw Ingenue's signature chain whip arc through the air from the shadows like a bolt of lightning, wrapping tightly around the beast's torso.

Her momentum carried her into a spin kick, and she channeled her energy into the impact as she drove her heel into the chaos beast's side.

As she landed, a bright red-orange aura washed over them as Flameburst Aria appeared on top of a nearby rooftop.

Aria plucked away at her instrument, her energy wrapping around Shihan and Hana. Their auras reacted instantly, becoming brighter and stronger as the Valorous Strings technique spread through the street.

"Miss me?" Ingenue smirked as she winked and blew a kiss, her segmented whip tightening around the beast.

Shihan couldn't help but laugh in relief as her friend reappeared, alive and well.

In an instant, Ingenue whipped her chain back, propelling herself backward in a leap.

"Now, everyone! Once more with feeling!" Ingenue cried out as she flung her chains into the air.

Hana's weapon glowed intensely as she raised it in front of her, and Ocean's Whisper appeared in front of her with a splash of water, brandishing her trident.

The supportive energies of Aria and Ocean's Whisper surged forward, building upon each other, adding their strength and power to her own.

Shihan leaped into the air, channeling her energy into her palms as Hana of the Dawn baited the tendrils toward herself. Through pure, unfiltered power alone, it was clear the beast had determined Hana of the Dawn was the greatest threat and focused its attacks on her.

But as Hana pulled back her weapon and shifted it into rapid-fire mode to deal with the tendrils, Shihan was already ready.

Her hands pulsated with a brilliant violet light as she swung her fists, starting the sequence with a superman punch aimed squarely at the beast's center. Her fist connected with a sickening crunch, tearing through its flesh as she held nothing back.

"Kiah!"

With a flash of blinding violet light, her body blurred into motion, becoming a shadowy blur, unleashing a series of devastating attacks at the stunned beast. She carried the momentum of her punch into a vertical heel drop, followed by a spinning back that pierced through its man-like form.

Its shadowy body twitched and writhed as its skin sizzled and burned from the explosive power coursing through her. She pulled her leg out with a flourish and backstepped as Hana opened fire with her massive cannon, releasing a charged beam of golden energy that staggered the beast.

Shihan crouched low, readying herself as Ingenue whipped her chain, spinning the beast into the air, allowing it no respite or chance to breathe.

As she kicked off the ground and rocketed into the air, Shihan felt a strange sense of harmony in their movements, her instincts and sense of timing aligning with the rhythm of the battle.

'Incredible,' she thought to herself as she released her suppression on her lumina, letting her aura roar to life like a slingshot.

She took a brief moment to marvel at the breathtaking purple swirling around her, but soon, she was right back into the action.

"You're clear!" Aria cried out from the rooftops, her energy thrumming through the air around them.

Shihan could feel her entire body pulsing and roaring, almost as if the very fabric of reality was bending to her will. The energy intensified, and the space warped around her as she moved into her final assault, channeling every ounce of power she could muster.

"Kage no Mai — HISSATSU!"

She rocketed through the air, a torrent of violet light following in her wake as her body became a whirring tornado of power. She raised her fist, driving it directly at the chaos beast's body and slamming it through it.

She distinctly felt a chaos core shatter as she made contact, sending ripples of crackling energy through its shadowy form.

Her momentum carried forward, and before she could even think to slow herself down, she was propelled high into the sky above. She relaxed her body, feeling her adrenaline beginning to ebb and flow as her momentum carried forward into weightlessness.

As she hovered there, her senses returning to normal, she glanced back down at the others below.

She hadn't worked with them in combat before, save for Ingenue. None of them had.

And yet, they had seamlessly clicked together as if they had trained and fought together for years.

Shihan breathed deeply, taking in the crisp night air and the full view of the distant cityscape. Despite the devastation and ruin all around her, there was still a quiet beauty in the night sky, its stars and moon shining brightly. Even with the disturbing cracks in the sky around her, it felt oddly comforting, like a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She let herself relax and revel in the peace and quiet after a night full of chaos and action.

Until suddenly, a prickling sensation washed over her.

She gasped, tensing up as a shudder passed through her body. It was the same feeling she had experienced earlier, tipping her off to the chaos beast's attack on her teammates.

A sinking pit formed in her stomach as her aura flared, and her body hummed with the familiar buzz of an incoming attack.

In a split-second, she looked down and saw... nothing. The chaos beast had slumped over, its energy field nearly completely depleted. It seemed as if they had successfully landed a fatal blow.

So, what was causing this feeling?

She flared what little remained of her aura, flying down towards the ground.

Its chest and shoulders were blown apart from Shihan's attack, with the center of its body cracked and blackened.

Shihan landed on the ground, her eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Is it... dead?" Flameburst, Aria whispered, her hands trembling as she gripped her instrument.

"Can't be too sure," Ingenue replied, her gaze suspicious as she approached cautiously.

As she spoke, Hana of the Dawn straightened suddenly, her eyes widening with realization. She grabbed her gun and launched herself into the air, flying towards the roof where Flameburst Aria and Ocean's Whisper had stationed themselves.

"Get back!" the blonde Magical Girl screeched, her voice harsh and coarse. "It's a trap!"

Her warning was too late.

Just as everyone turned towards her, the chaos beast's eyes glowed orange, a brilliant light enveloping its shadowy form. Ingenue's chain whip flew back toward her as the beast stood, its form twisting and distorting into an eerie glowing silhouette of a human girl with long hair and flowing robes.

Without a word, a powerful burst of orange energy erupted from the girl's body, slamming straight into Shihan in a full frontal blast.

Shihan cried out, thrown back and blasted across the rooftops until her back connected hard with a solid stone wall.

She let out a groan of pain, struggling to sit up as the energy rippled through her body, spreading her ribs and tearing at her flesh.

'Sor...ry...' a distant, faraway voice whispered in her ear as the pain consumed her, dragging her consciousness under. 'I... I'm so sorry...'

Everything faded to black, and the world dissolved into a dreamy haze, the sounds and sights melting into a blur.