Rei blinked, staring at the distributor who had just made her that offer. Before she could say anything, Kanoshi spoke up.
Kanoshi immediately set to work, blocking swipes from the creature as much as he could. Its claws could reach all the way around, stretching to easily reach Sayaka at full force, even when she was stood on its back, hacking away. Kanoshi did his best to protect her while he could, and it wasn't long until the others joined the fight. Tsukune from a distance, targeting the eyes with his artillery. Zhou started using his songs to gather and hurl debris from the down at the thing, and Yuuri provided cover with his smoke while also firing at the eyes with his own weapon.
"Hey now! She's obviously in a pretty vulnerable state right now, you'd be taking advantage of her by getting her to make such a big life decision like this!" He protested.
Blade sighed, "Normally, I would agree with you, Kanoshi Kyousuke. However, these are special circumstances. She can remember monster attacks, living in an area without any active magica. It's a matter of time until she'd end up getting seriously hurt, or killed, and with no magica here she'd just stay dead no matter what. She's got loads of potential, though. Her type of demon magic is exactly the right sort to be amplified through becoming a magical girl... Her raw power levels are nearly to the level of yours!"
"Will she end up outranking me?" Kanoshi asked.
"No, of course not, I just said that she's nearly to your level, not at or exceeding it. And she won't really rank up unless she starts traveling, the monsters that do pop here won't be nearly enough to really climb her. But, they will be enough to make having her defeat them worth it. She's practically already living the life of a magical girl, but not reaping any of the rewards. It's only fair she gets the opportunity," Blade said, "Right, Rei Akabane?"
"I'd like the chance to actually defeat those things, rather than just incapacitating them," Rei said, "And I know that I'm emotionally vulnerable right now, but those monsters have nothing to do with it... Honestly, I can't imagine any reason that I shouldn't go ahead and do it. It's not like it will even matter very much if I died. I'm only even studying these things because I'm interested in them... I'm not exactly the sort of person to want to keep holding on at the end of the world."
"It's not the end of the world, though," Tsukune said, "We're already adapting to the new and frightening way of the world with monsters and magic in it. That's not the end at all."
"Actually, she's kind of right," Blade said, looking up at Sayaka, "I make sure all of my magica know that, so clearly my comrades are just as bad at their jobs as I thought! Of course, I always knew I was the superior distributor. I have consistency, unlike Oh One lucking out with his immediately high-ranking magica... No offense to you Kanoshi Kyousuke. In any case, yes. The arrival of monsters to a world almost always signifies that it's beyond all hope, it's beyond saving. Monsters are a bastard product of magic and negativity given form. Worlds with enough magic to create monsters, but not enough to create magica, are almost always doomed. Sometimes, light finds its way back to those worlds and they recover, but not often. Magica are the only means of defense against these things. In some worlds, magica are able to bring enough hope to rescue the world. In most cases, all we can do is extend the lifespan of a doomed world."
"Extend the lifespan of a doomed world?" Yuuri questioned, "That's bullshit! There's no way that this world is doomed, we're getting stronger faster than the monsters are!"
"Of course you are," Blade said, "The death of a universe is not a sudden thing. This world would be declared dead at the time when monsters have wiped all major industrial areas off the map and eradicated at least ninety percent of sapient life. Without magica, that would happen about one hundred years after the arrival of monsters, because humans are pretty tough! With magica, though, that number can be extended to about one thousand, if not more. By the time that the phrase 'it's the end-times' can kick in, everyone you care about will either be a magica too, or be dead. It's not something to really be concerned about. Of course, this is just what I've heard, and observed in less-interesting universes. For all I know, none of this could be relevant to your particular universe at all."
"Would have been nice to know that we were in the actual apocalypse," Zhou mumbled.
"Jesus Christ, suck it up," Sayaka hissed at them, "It's not a big deal! I mean, it's a thousand years off at this rate. Would you really think you were living in the endtimes in the year 1000, if somebody told you about the idea of y2k then? No, it doesn't fucking matter yet. That's really not something you need to worry about."
"I don't think that I'll live to see that," Rei said, "Regardless of if I became a magical girl or not. If becoming one can help postpone the end of the world, then I may as well do that. Make something useful of myself while I have the chance."
"In that case," Blade said, "I need your direct verbal consent, Rei Akabane. Will you become a magical girl?"
"Yes," Rei said, "I will."
"Very well then," Blade said. Its ears and its tail flicked about, then there was a bright flash of light. None of the magica present had ever actually witnessed the christening of another magica before, but as it turned out, there wasn't really much to see. When the blinding flash dissipated, Rei was simply standing there. Well, not quite Rei now. Blade revealed her name, "Welcome to the world of magic... Pretty Fighter Ribbon Wire."
 |
| Pretty Fighter Ribbon Wire |
"Ah, I see," Rei observed, looking down at her hands. Her weapon took the form of long talons at the end of her fingers, reaching out from the oversized sleeves. Her outfit resembled a kimono, but pulled up short, puffed out, ruffled. The red irises overtook her whole eyes, and there were curly, draconic horns sprouting from her head, "I'm an electric dragon themed magical girl, I guess. But why is my name Pretty Fighter Ribbon Wire? Couldn't there be something more fitting?"
"That's just how Blade names its magica," Sayaka explained, "For example, I'm Pretty Fighter Ribbon Red. Its kidnapped magica is Pretty Fighter Ribbon Stripe."
"Oh, I see," Rei said, "If I'd known that, maybe I would have waited for some other distributor to come along..."
"Rude!" Blade exclaimed, "I'll have you know I'm a wonderful distributor and all of my magica are very happy to have me!"
"...I'll admit it, yeah," Sayaka said, shrugging one shoulder as she twirled a tuft of hair in her other hand, "Blade is pretty great."
"You'll admit that you like the alien creature that made you into a magical girl, but you won't even admit that you like us, your actual friends?" Kanoshi questioned.
Sayaka just turned and glared at him.
"Akabane," Tsukune said, having transformed into his own magical boy form, "Look? We've both got horns."
"We do!" Rei exclaimed, showing some amount of excitement, however subtle, for the first time since the magica had arrived, "I think that's pretty cool..."
"Yeah me too," Tsukune agreed, slightly shuffling in place, "And you have electric powers right? I have fire powers. That makes us kind of the same! Right? Cause, my magical boy name, it's Infernal."
"You're right," Rei agreed, also making the same, strange shuffling motion where she stood. Kanoshi decided this just had to be a special form of communication between emotionally cagey people, or something along those lines. He wasn't going to question it.
"And it's a good thing we got that sorted out, too," Blade said, looking up at the ceiling, "Because I think that a certain sort of creature that starts with an M and ends with onster has decided to pay this fine ghost town a visit!"
"Oh, shit," Zhou said, and transformed immediately, then turned back to Rei, "What's the quickest way out of the building?"
"We don't need to be quick," Rei said, then glanced over to Apollo, "I'll tell you the whole story when we're done, okay? I know you won't remember any of it."
"Thanks, Reicchi," Apollo said, giving her a salute.
"Anyway," Rei said, starting to stroll leisurely back towards the ladder up into the school. In the meantime, everybody else had also transformed, "Does being quick matter? As long as we defeat it, the damage is undone, yes? That's how it works?"
"It is," Yuuri said, falling in right behind her, "And I guess you're right, that we don't need to be quick about it, but we kind of do try to get things sorted out sooner rather than later."
"Well," Rei said, "It isn't like there are any consequences left, if you fail in a place like this. The monsters don't bother the school. Outside of it, there's not even anybody left."
"There's nothing here," Sayaka said simply from the back of the line, "Everything's already been destroyed and everybody's gone. Except for you and Apollo... This town does make it seem like the apocalypse after all."
"Yeah," Rei agreed, "I mean, this is where it all started..."
"Akabane," Sayaka said, "You know, with what happened here..."
"I know," Rei said, grabbing the ladder and turning to look at Sayaka, past the magical boys, "It's hard for you to be here. It's hard for me too, but with you showing up, I need to face it now. Natsuki is dead. She's not MIA. The list says she's MIA, but I saw her die in front of my eyes. I don't know why they didn't find her body. But she's dead. The person I cared about most... And hiding out here, I could ignore it, without anybody from the outside world. But you're here. And I know how you survived, now. Nobody she got to could live under normal circumstances. Natsuki's gone."
"Ah-" Sayaka made a sort of surprised, strangled sound. The others thought for a second that it was because of something Rei said to her, but the look of utter shock on Rei's face said differently. They turned around.
There was something very wrong, seeing Pretty Fighter Ribbon Red without a head, without the ribbons around her twintails that really emphasized her magical name. It didn't take long for them to locate it, hanging glassy-eyed in the talon of the monster who had just broken through the roof. The monster which had just attacked the school, where Rei had claimed they never attacked. The monster which was level seven, and had attacked Red. Killed Red-
But, Kanoshi realized, her body was still moving. Not twitching, not having final spasms, but drawing her weapon. Turning, and adeptly but blindly, cutting into the talon of the beast. Slicing through one, but also cutting into the cheek of her own head. She pulled the weapon back, and let her head fall to roll across the floor. Kanoshi scrambled to scoop it off the ground on a sudden, impulsive hunch, to place it back on her neck. He still had some healing power from the last fight, so he siphoned it into her, and watched as the wound healed over, tying her head to her body once more and bringing the light back into her eyes.
"Jesus Christ, Red!" Yuuri exclaimed, firing smoke in the monster's direction before it decided to retaliate again, "What the fuck was that!?"
"How should I know?" Sayaka questioned, positioning herself to leap into the air, "This thing's level seven and there's just the six of us, we have to get to work! We can figure this shit out later..."
"Maybe you should sit out?" Zhou questioned, "Since you were just beheaded and all?"
"I'm alive, so I'll fight," Sayaka snapped in his direction, then jumped, using the end of her axe to dig into the monster's skin, swinging around to land on its back. Kanoshi flew up to follow her, and got a good look at the beast. It was as large as the entire school, its claw now holding onto the ledge of the hole it had punctured into the basement. It was a gigantic, leathery mass, its skin a putrid shade of purple. It had a multitude of eyes on one side, and that was the only indicator of a front or backside to the thing. Three pairs of arms, or legs, they looked the same, all long and spindly and ending in those awful claws which had somehow not killed Sayaka.
Kanoshi immediately set to work, blocking swipes from the creature as much as he could. Its claws could reach all the way around, stretching to easily reach Sayaka at full force, even when she was stood on its back, hacking away. Kanoshi did his best to protect her while he could, and it wasn't long until the others joined the fight. Tsukune from a distance, targeting the eyes with his artillery. Zhou started using his songs to gather and hurl debris from the down at the thing, and Yuuri provided cover with his smoke while also firing at the eyes with his own weapon.
Rei, meanwhile, started in with the same method as Sayaka, slicing at the beast, though from a different location.
"Hey, Wire!" Sayaka called out after Kanoshi narrowly protected her from another slice. The monster really seemed to be focusing on her, "Why don't you use some of that 'extra strong' magic of yours instead of just doing the same sort of shit I'm already trying and failing at? Roast this fucker! The skin's too thick!"
"I don't know if-" Rei protested, but she was interrupted.
"Just fucking do it!" Sayaka shrieked, and it suddenly showed through that she was actually shaken by her near-death experience, and afraid that this same monster could get to her again. She wasn't thinking straight. She was terrified. But she was the veteran, so Rei thought maybe she'd know something that she didn't. So Rei used her magic. The monster roared out in pain, but didn't yet fall. Sayaka screamed, and fell over sideways, then rolled off of the monster's back.
"She's fine, just keep fighting!" Blade spoke, and though it wasn't shouting, its voice was heard by all of the magica who needed it. Kanoshi hesitated, but he could only afford to for a second before he needed to block another attack. He started funneling the healing power he was gathering from the strikes into Sayaka, trying to undo the damage that had been done by Rei's electric attack. He, too, thought that it would be a bad idea to use that magic, but assumed that Sayaka knew what she was doing, or maybe that she planned to jump away at the last minute.
And with that, now that the way was clear anyway, Rei was continuing to use her magic. It was making an impact, albeit, not an especially huge one. The monster was slowly roasting, but that didn't impede its combat ability. It made an odd and somewhat disgusting noise, then hurled something from its eyes. Kanoshi swooped about to block the one globule that was flying straight in Tsukune's direction, but he couldn't get the other bits. Yuuri dodged easily, though, and Zhou blocked the bit flying at him with a chunk of building. Where the glob collided with Zhou's debris, the concrete and metal seemed to simply disappear, dissolving away entirely on impact.
Kanoshi doubted it would have such an immediate effect on a magica, they were made of tougher stuff than that, but it would certainly hurt and would definitely scar. Even with Kanoshi's magic, he could only occasionally heal somebody well enough that the injury wouldn't even leave some sort of scar behind. That was the thing, with being magical. Pain was only reduced a bit, and scarring would still happen, the big difference was just that they could recover from much more severe injuries.
Even more severe than Kanoshi originally believed, now that he'd witnessed Sayaka live through being thoroughly beheaded. The strange thing about it was that her head certainly was dead for as long as it was detached. He saw it in her eyes. What could the explanation for that be? He couldn't think too hard about that right now. Tsukune, with his large weaponry, was the least mobile or able to defend himself of the present magica, so Kanoshi shifted his focus to protecting him over any of the others. Even Rei could at least move around.
Kanoshi was blocking enough high-power attacks from the monster that although his teammates continued to be injured, he could fix them up with ease. Occasionally Yuuri or Rei would fail to dodge, but they'd hardly have time to wince before Kanoshi had their injuries healed. As he got the hang of his powers, they'd evolved, giving him the ability to tell even without looking when people around him were in need of healing magic. Though it took a while, much longer than any of the fights that Kanoshi had actually yet been involved in since he wasn't steady in his abilities at the time of the level 8 endurance monster's appearance, the beast was eventually felled.
As soon as the thing fell over dead, Kanoshi and Yuuri rushed to Sayaka's side, while the others gathered the orbs that the monster dropped and made sure that they were out of the way of the repairs that needed to be made to the buildings. Magica could in fact get trapped inside the auto-repairs, and while escape wasn't difficult, it did cause some damage that wouldn't be resolved. Most magica who actually cared made sure not to let that happen.
Blade was sitting next to Sayaka when the others arrived to check on her, and she was back in her civilian attire, sitting up but clearly disoriented.
"Are you okay?" Yuuri asked, holding a hand out only partially in her direction, not sure what to do about this, "Why did you do that?"
"I dunno," Sayaka said, coughed once, then shook her head, "To both questions, I dunno. I guess I just wanted to get rid of the monster that almost killed me as quick as possible, so I didn't even think that Wire's magic could backfire like that."
"Yeah, about that," Kanoshi said, "How, did you survive that...?"
"I'll explain it," Blade said, then turned and glanced at Sayaka, "And, why you can't transform again right now, either. I'm sorry, Red. This is... The single lie by omission that I've told you. The lie we've all told all of you."
"A lie...?" Sayaka questioned, eyes widening as she inched, still seated, away from Blade, "What? What the fuck did you lie about?"
"We never explained anything about the way that you, as a magica, would die," Blade said, "We were open with the fact that it could easily happen, and the fact that it could be seriously painful for you, and all of that. Everything about how awful dying would be after entering the world of magic. But we never told you the one thing that would probably make you refuse to become magica. Magic isn't meant for happy people. And the thing is, once you're magical, there isn't actually any way to willfully die."
"Huh?" Sayaka asked.
"You felt it, right?" Blade prodded, then glanced at Yuuri too, "And you too, Yuuri-kun. The question mark. When you hurt it, it's an overwhelming pain. Worse than anything you've ever felt. That's a defense mechanism, actually. That's the thing. The only way for you to die is for that mark to be completely severed apart. Cut in half. Or, not in half, but you know. The line of the mark, if broken, will kill you. And because of the pain, you can't do that to yourself. It's not possible. Even the toughest person in the world couldn't actually, physically continue causing themselves harm when in that much pain."
"That's..." Kanoshi was nearly speechless to hear it.
"Any other injury," Blade said, "You can recover from. The location of your question mark has one other function, besides the matter of what ability you retain in human form. It's what animates your body, not your brain, anymore. So any part of your body that's still physically connected to it can move. Red has the advantage of having a midsection mark in that she can generally continue with any severed limb or, even her head. Smokescreen, with an arm mark, has the disadvantage where losing that arm would leave, basically, only his hand functional. So, yes. We didn't tell you. Becoming a magica gives you an Achilles Heel. One weakness, and you can't exploit it yourself. And it's also why dying as a magica is such a painful thing. I'm sorry. We don't generally mention this fact, because..."
"So many magica never would have done it if they realized that they could only die if somebody, or something else killed them," Sayaka clarified, "But, why didn't you tell me?"
"Well," Blade said, "Technically, for explaining this fact to you guys, I'm going to get in trouble. It's not allowed, not one of our rules, it comes straight from the ones who sent us here. I know it wouldn't have changed your mind. Probably the opposite. But, I mean, Yuuri-kun..."
"I probably wouldn't have done it if you told me before, you're right," Yuuri said, turning away and glaring at the ground, "Can't do anything about it now, and I mean, I'm more willing to stick around now that there's a purpose to my violence and all. At the same time, though, lying like that. How do I know it really is the single lie you things have told us? You act like you care and like we're your friends, like we're partners, but you can't even be upfront about the impact it has on our actual lives? That you're not just pulling us into the world of magic, but in doing so, chaining us to the world of the living like that?"
"I wouldn't say it's chaining," Blade said, "Monsters attack indiscriminately, so they can still kill you. And Skorgles doesn't actually care about the rules, so you can bet that almost any magica killer knows exactly what they're doing. Obviously we'd rather you knew, both because we do want your informed consent in becoming magica, and because not knowing your own weak point, and your invincibility otherwise, is quite the strong disadvantage, you know?"
"I understand," Sayaka said, "But... I'm also your magical girl. You can't expect these others, who don't even have a reason to care about you, to trust you after this."
"I'm not about to trust SC or Oh One either," Yuuri said, "None of them. I don't care if they were ordered not to tell us, they could have broken the rules. Skorgles did. I'm not saying I want any of you to be more like it, cause I know that it's a fucking awful distributor, but. What's the worst that can happen to you for breaking the rules, if that one's still around and active?"
"Skorgles..." Blade sighed, looking down, "Never acted like this before. As soon as we got to this universe, though, you humans started rubbing off on it. It's been convinced into a final act of hedonism. After this universe is finished, it won't be coming with us to the next one. During our performance evaluations, it will be erased from existence, just the same as the universe that it made its mistakes in. I... Probably won't be erased for telling you, but if you spread the information too far, or I tell too many others..."
"Rukkun," Sayaka said, "No matter how upset you are, you wouldn't want them to be erased, would you?"
"You've killed people for less," Yuuri snipped back, "Why shouldn't I spread the information, make sure everybody knows? If you're telling the truth that it'll be a millennium before the world ends, I'd say that's still a pretty good lifespan for you."
"A millennium is just a fraction of my intended lifespan," Blade said, "This is my first true universe. The only one I've been to with humans who have free will and complex emotional thought. Killing me now would be like killing a baby. There's so much more I have to do! So many more friends I have to make!"
"Friends to make and to lie to," Yuuri said.
"Ruka-kun!" Kanoshi admonished him, "You'd really kill a baby?"
"Blade is not a baby! It's probably even lying about its natural lifespan," Yuuri protested, "And I wouldn't even kill it directly, that's not even possible! But don't you think that magica deserve to be aware of something like this? Isn't that worth letting one shitty cat get killed when all this is over?"
"I don't want to lay down my life for magica who aren't even mine," Blade said, its ears twitching, "I'm not a monster. I'm not so cruel that I'd value myself over other lives. But at the same time, you're all doomed anyway. More doomed than I am. And I'd still sacrifice myself for those I actually care about, if it came to that. But right now? It's not imperative. And you wouldn't be saving anybody who really matters."
"And how are you going to stop me?" Yuuri questioned.
Blade sat there in silence for a moment, but it wasn't long before it spoke up again, "I want to convince you that it wouldn't do enough good to be worth snuffing my life out when it's barely begun. But if you really insist on spreading this information, then I'm afraid I would have to physically restrain you. I am capable of that, you know. We have abilities that can only be used in the effort of preventing our own magica from going rogue."
"I'm not yours, though," Yuuri said, "I doubt those abilities would even work on me."
"They would," Blade said, "I have permission, specifically for the four of you, because Red works with you so often. I need to have the authorization to supervise this entire group. So, why not just do things peacefully?"
"You're bluffing," Yuuri said.
"I don't think it is, Ruka-kun," Kanoshi said, frowning in Yuuri's direction, "It's... Not a big deal. Eventually, enough magica will figure it out on their own anyway."
"By the time that happens..." Yuuri trailed off.
"It would be too late, right? But the thing is, you don't have any way of spreading the word to non-magica anyway," Kanoshi said, "You wouldn't prevent anybody, anyway. And don't try to act like it was the fact it's a disadvantage to people who are already magica that made you want to spread it. I know you better than that."
Yuuri didn't answer, and Kanoshi knew that he was correct. He didn't necessarily want to be correct; After all, it was depressing that Yuuri's thought process was that others shouldn't get trapped, as he did, in a situation where a suicide attempt was basically impossible. Kanoshi hated that one of his students had a mindset like that, hated that he was so well aware of that mindset. Yuuri was a self-destructive young man, the type who honestly would be seriously disappointed at the idea that if he decided to die, he couldn't. Like he hadn't been through, made it through one of the worst childhoods Kanoshi had ever seen.
What, Kanoshi wondered, could possibly be worse? Be awful enough to prompt somebody who soldiered through so much to commit suicide? What could Yuuri be anticipating would do that to him?
"I don't want..." Yuuri mumbled, "To be like you, Blade. I don't want anyone to find out that I knew about this and didn't tell them. I don't want to betray my friends. I don't have a lot of those. They're important to me. Too important to risk it by keeping this shitty, dangerous secret for you."
"I know," Blade said, "I understand. Because I feel the same way. I don't want to keep the secret either, and I do consider my magica to be my friends. But I was ordered to. Hopefully, others can understand that, like me, you were ordered to keep the secret."
"What if I tell people I figured it out on my own?" Yuuri asked, "What if I say that I realized it, that time when I cut my own arm, and then now, when the only part of Yamaguchi-chan that still has fresh burn marks is her question? That nobody had to explain it to me?"
"Most people won't really realize you're smart enough to do that," Blade said, "I think you would have, if I didn't say it. But, come on. You know who you are. Will other people believe you?"
"Okay, so, maybe not!" Yuuri exclaimed, "But Yamaguchi-chan is smart, I can say it came from her, or she can tell people instead! They'll believe her!"
"But then it traces back to me even closer," Blade said, "Then it's one of my own magica saying it. And even if it makes sense, it's still a lie. You'd have to be able to lie really convincingly. And I wouldn't even know if I was in trouble, until everything was already done. We can't even push the boundaries then pull back if it doesn't work. If the folks in charge find out, at all, then I'm done for. And I can't even know if that's the case ahead of time. So, please. Help me."
"...Okay," Sayaka said, then turned and locked eyes with Yuuri, "Don't worry about it, Rukkun. The information will get out on its own soon enough. You won't need to lie for Blade."
Yuuri understood the meaning in that look, and he nodded in understanding.
"Anyway," Blade said, moving on and brushing against the side of Sayaka's arm, "Red, you can't transform until that burn's healed up. It won't leave a scar on the mark, so it will get better, it'll just take a few weeks. You'll also notice that Kyousuke-san's healing had no effect on that bit. Usually, it just takes a certain amount of magic to heal an injury. But to heal something like that... Well, he would need to absorb an attack with double the intent of the one that caused the injury. If the intention was to kill for the sake of killing, then to heal it, he would need to absorb an attack that was meant to kill out of a burning hatred, or something with similarly strong emotional motivation."
"Jesus," Sayaka scoffed, wrinkling her nose, "And what if the original attack did have strong emotional motivation?"
"Then," Blade said, "You just have to wait. It's not like it's that important. A healer still couldn't save you if an attack was going to kill you, no matter what the intent. The only real reason to heal an injury like that would be to let you get back in the fight sooner. and if you got hurt in that way to begin with, it's probably for the better that you take some time off of fighting."
"What I want to know," Rei said, having approached the scene after retrieving the orbs intended for her and Sayaka, since having the same distributor meant they didn't both need to reap the rewards, "Is why this thing attacked the school, when none of them have before."
"It didn't know how things work around here," Blade said, "Because it didn't form here. While you were fighting, I checked the site. This particular monster... A level seven leather-skin power type was meant to appear in Moscow today. This monster isn't from here. It was sent here, somehow."
"How can you tell?" Tsukune asked, also having arrived.
"No, it's right," Zhou answered before Blade got the chance to, "If it formed here, we would have noticed it sooner. And when it broke through the roof, there was a wave of magic that came off of it. A wave of... Magica energy."
"Why would a magica do something like that?" Blade questioned, not to anybody in particular, "Even the magica employed by Skorgles, the worst of the worst, the truly evil who kill anyone and anything... They still work to kill monsters. They still help. They still need orbs! And magic power!"
"A magica is doing it because the monsters just don't have any way to combat the website themselves," Tsukune concluded, "Somebody will always play Devil's Advocate. I can't say that this means the website will always be inaccurate. It probably takes a good chunk of power to do something like this, and if the magica responsible was anywhere in the rankings, they'd already be caught doing this. That must mean they don't have a ton of access to magic, so they can only port these monsters occasionally."
"Teleporting one here of all places, though..." Rei mumbled, "Why? And why now? Could this person have possibly known that you were going to be here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Tsukune asked, changing back to his human form and crossing his arms with a heavy sigh, "Future Style also showed up here, undetected. That's the same sort of magic. Whoever transported Future Style, also transported that monster. They confirmed our presence and our destination through her. And the time we spent in Future Style's vision was also an excuse for that person to build up enough power by the time we got here, to actually send that unexpected monster."
"I see..." Sayaka mumbled, staring at her own knees now, "It wanted to kill me. It targeted me immediately, and afterward, too. I was obviously the target. Whoever this person is..."
"Maybe it's two people," Zhou said, "Another magica could have some sort of undeniable command magic. That would be a kind of horrifying team-up, and also explain how everything that happened here... did."
"I'd say that's likely," Tsukune said, "And there's one positive thing to be gained from this information here, though. Blade, it was kind of you to let us all be privy to the top secret information. And the fact that the monster used the element of surprise to behead Red, instead of attack her mark, means that these conspirators don't actually know how to kill magica, even though they wanted at least one of us dead."
"I shouldn't have come here," Sayaka said, standing up with her fists clenched, "I should have known better... Now I've nearly died in this place twice," She was shaking as she spoke, her voice for once in her life betraying a quiet sort of fear over her usual, loud demeanor, "Why did I come back here? Why did I think I should come with you?"
"I don't know, Sayaka," Yuuri said, sincere as he addressed her so directly, using only her first name to try and show that it was all he could think to say, "But maybe, if you hadn't come, you really would have died. That monster would have been sent to Tokyo, while all the rest of us were down here. It would have just been you and Rokujo-nee."
"Maybe," Sayaka admitted, "But part of me thinks that monster was sent to me, in a place like this, to send a message."
"What message?" Kanoshi asked.
Rei decided to give an answer, "The message that Box is still alive, and she's not finished with her classmates yet. Right?"
Sayaka didn't confirm or deny it, but it was obvious that she agreed anyway as she finally got to her feet and started to walk away, "You guys can wrap things up here. Make sure that it really was a bum lead. I'm going back home. To Tokyo, to Kaiba-nee. Away from here."
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