Peril's Origin - A Magical Girl Quest [Complete]

50 EXP spent
236 remain

Orux and Dragul spent EXP

---

The first thing you do is hunt down Dragul. Out of all the potential opponents you want to have a go against in the near future, he is probably the only one you can actually measure your progress on. Mainly because you never even saw either Elisabeth or Argus fight, and have the suspicion that both outclass you anyway.

Dragul however, you knew him since the beginning; you know he is supposed to be stronger than Orux, but not better. Even if the two of them became stronger since, that sounds like the best.

Maya and Paoras are definite no's in terms of sparring, the mother because she is pregnant and the daughter because you do not want to hurt her at all. Dragul is a smug ass, so beating him up is fine; Orux would probably not mind a good spar either, but you do not feel like having a rematch.

As for Lu, the only other person you could ask, you already found yourself barely able to land a single hit on her recently. After sealing most of your weapons for speed, that is. Defeating her will require you to get much better.

So yes, Dragul it is. Finding him is not difficult, especially because you meet him more often ever since you started to hang out... well no, go out with Orux. He shows his usual fanged grin when he sees you. "Your paramour is out on patrol, as you should know."

You shrug at that and grin right back. "I'm not here for Orux right now, though. You and I never actually had that spar you threatened me with back then." At the word 'spar', many of the surrounding Demons become attentive.

Dragul's eyes subtly wander around even while he sighs and shakes his head. "Very well. At this point, I quite doubt there is much ambiguity about it, though who can say for sure?"

You know there are dedicated fields for training and such, and are unsure what to make of the crowd quickly making room around you both. Dragul's brow furrows, though he merely snorts. "It seems we have an audience." He materialises a weird-looking spear in his hands and you quickly follow up.

"As stolen flame sets fate ablaze, I rise as Magical Girl Defiance!"

And with the light sparkling around your form, your magic sight also returns. You can see a red aura surrounding your opponent, babbling like a river. A river of what, you rather not think about; however, his spear is curious. It draws in surrounding mana before spitting it back out, similar to your own spear's blade. Curious.

However, with the Handle forming in your hand, you quickly snap it into spear-mode and charge. You are too close for him to react fast enough.

(Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +51 dice, +80 First Strike = 451 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +51 dice, +80 First Strike = 451 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +51 dice, +80 First Strike = 451 Total Damage

1,353 Unified Damage
Dragul: +375 Base Damage, +88 dice, +188 Seen it Coming = 651 Total Damage Reduction

702 Final End Damage
Dragul Health: 4,800 - 702 = 4,098
Vampire would trigger, but Heidi is full)

Despite your quick charge however, you merely manage give him a few cuts; he is quite sturdy, though first blood is yours. Literally, unfortunately; you only barely manage not to stop in surprise at the thin rivulets of crimson showing in the tears in his suit, especially because he is not stopping either.

(Bloodthirst Spear: +1000 Base Damage, +121 dice, -250 Not Trying to Kill You = 871 Total Damage

Attack Negated
Riposte!

Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +168 dice = 488 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +168 dice = 488 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +168 dice = 488 Total Damage

1,464 Unified Damage
Dragul: +375 Base Damage, +4 dice, -50 Drawn In = 329 Total Damage Reduction

1,135 Final End Damage
Dragul Health: 4,098 - 1,135 = 2,963)

He stabs for your chest with speed that surprises and almost overwhelms you; less than your own, but unexpected. Yet you manage to step aside in the nick of time, the tip cutting through one of the cape-like ribbons fluttering from your shoulders.

Then you bring up a foot and, just as Lu taught you, place it on the spear as it is still next to you; Dragul's eyes widen, but he can not stop you from pushing his attack down and into the ground. He quickly steps back to pull his weapon out, but that gives you an opening for a counterattack.

The problem is that he still does not care for his new injuries and swings the weapon around before fully recovering, surprising you again.

(Bloodthirst Spear: +1000 Base Damage, +51 dice, -200 Quick Swing = 851 Total Damage

Reaper's Will sealed, ApT reset
Attack Negated

Riposte!

Stopped. Mr. Smug gives up.)

The only reason you manage to catch it is because you seal your lightsaber; with the speed boost, you can angle your own spear to make his slide off; as you pull yours back to counter, he quickly steps back and drops his weapon. "I lose."

You halt the assault millimetres from his chest and let the remaining magic run out, pulling back your weapon. You have a few specks of blood on your outfit, but most of it is on Dragul. "Sorry about your suit." He only now seems to notice, slightly surprised; you feel guilty about injuring him like that, but the feeling weakens when he merely shrugs.

"I will take care of that shortly. Though it is quite interesting that our weapons have similar properties." He eyes Aetheric Tide curiously and you consider your own weapon as well. It is true.

"They are a little different in how they work, but do roughly the same thing," you agree in the end. He nods while dematerialising his weapon, a gesture which you follow. The crowd whose cheers you completely ignored disperses at that, though Dragul receives a few amused pats on the shoulders, to which he frowns.

You barely manage not to laugh at the sight.


With Dragul having left to replenish his blood, which you are not going to think about, and you having nothing else to do, you go about practicing for a while. Conundrum is a nice little thing, though you have the feeling it is best used in scenarios where you have time to prepare. Still, it turns you from falling over from a stiff breeze into someone able to at least take a few small hits.

As, for example, you could tell that Dragul's strikes had enough force to drop you if even just one had connected. He must have grown stronger since the day you met him, Orux would not stand a chance otherwise.

Anyway, you spend a few hours fiddling with Conundrum. As is, the spell covers you with a defensive shroud; with your new senses, you can also tell that when hit by a strong attack, all the mana in your shield concentrates in the top layer to make it slide off; this concentration is what creates the glow. The stronger the attack, the more your shroud concentrates itself, a process that is not limited by how much force it can stop, at least not directly. The defensive power does not increase from meeting a more powerful attack, you notice, but it tries to do so. Which creates an even brighter glow.

So you ask some people for help, have them test your shroud, and carefully take note of how the mana moves. Then you will it to move and it complies quite well after some practice and testing.

"I see, so this is why people are fleeing this place." You turn your head and find Elisabeth standing at the field's edge; looking around, you find it deserted. Oops?

"Uh, sorry? I was testing something." She chuckles, though you are mostly embarassed at the moment; you did not even consider what infrequent flashes of bright light would do to the Demons around, especially those watching you work.

"Nevermind that," the base commander reassures you as she walks closer. "I saw as much. Lucifer is teaching you to work on these things on your own, no?" You nod, which prompts a smile. "I see; naturally, you also deserve praise for actually practicing when you would not have to. Such discipline is quite remarkable."

"Come on, it's not that big." You still feel your cheeks grow hot, though; people back home rarely praised you for discipline in particular, mainly because you could never really show any in everyday life.

Maybe being a Magical Girl and standing where you stand is not so bad after all. Not with the Unified Darkness specifically, but at the cusp of battle. You still do not like the idea, but you also never felt so good about yourself as you did recently.

Maybe you should take yourself down a little; being good at battle is not something you should be proud off. And with her right here....

"Hey, Elisabeth?" She nods at you to continue, but her motions halt for a moment when you do: "Do you mind sparring with me? I'm curious how I compare." Not at all is the answer, but you can at least try.

The Demon ponders your question for a long moment, then she sighs. "I did not expect this when I stepped out of my office, but a good spar should help me quite a bit as well. Do not bother holding back against me, Adelheid." On the last word, a golden sword with flaming blade materialises in her hand. "I will not require it."

You are suddenly much less sure about this, but will not back down; it irks you a little that she treats you like a weakling even if you are in comparison, and so you bring out Aetheric Tide to start the attack.

(Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +612 dice = 932 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +612 dice = 932 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +612 dice = 932 Total Damage

2,796 Unified Damage
The Ashen Maiden: +2500 Base Resilience, +1503 dice = 4,003 Total Damage Reduction

Attack Ineffective)

You stab for her center of mass, but the dark magic pulsing within Elisabeth easily catches the tip of your spear; more does not manage to even pierce her garb. Your eyes widen, then narrow, while your opponent wears a serene smile as she swings for you; the flames recede and coat the weapon instead, making it glow.

(Ember of the First Flame: +4000 Base Damage, +15 dice, +50 Unstoppable (False), +2667 Horrific Speed Gap, -5000 Spar Not Slaughter = 1,732 Total Damage

Attack Negated)

Even though you manage to deflect her initial strike well enough, you can tell it will not suffice. Your magic surged so strong yet could not leave a scratch, and she is so much faster than you.

But that does not stop you. The moment her blade leaves your spear, she is open. Her smile remains even as you immediately exploit the opening to counter.

(Riposte!

Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +637 dice, +480 Defiant Against the Darkness = 1,437 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +637 dice, +480 Defiant Against the Darkness = 1,437 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +637 dice, +480 Defiant Against the Darkness = 1,437 Total Damage

4,311 Unified Damage
The Ashen Maiden: +2500 Base Resilience, +169 dice, -500 What Is That Power?! = 2,169 Total Damage Reduction

2,142 Final End Damage
Elisabeth Health: 125,000 - 2,142 = 122,858)

To both your and her surprise, the next strikes have more weight to them, though they are not heavier. You can feel your power surge, can see it fill the air in visible and audible static as you strike back against someone you can never hope to defeat as you are.

But just because you are outmatched, does not mean you will not give this your everything and more. Elisabeth's robe is torn open where your spear impacts, drawing three bloody lines over her torso. You use the moment of surprise to jump back a half dozen metres, but your opponent is still looking at herself. Then she looks at you, her expression unreadable due to the mask covering everything from the nose upward. Your magic howls.

"That is unexpected." She sounds calm, then turns to face you more clearly. "Interesting, but was that all?" You just growl and switch your weapon to Reaper's Will. If she wants to see everything you can give, she can have it.

However, she is already charging you this time.

(Stygian Tempest Sealed, ApT reset

Ember of the First Flame: Attack Negated
Ember of the First Flame: Attack Negated

Stardust Striker Sealed, ApT reset (one ApT spillover from last negation, only 4 ApT)

Ember of the First Flame: Attack Negated)

Too fast for you to fight; you seal your scythe and quickly deflect Elisabeth's next swing, then the second that comes faster than you thought anyone could reverse direction; it makes you stumble forward, though sealing your sword gives you the speed you need to leap over the third swing.

You tried to cut through her sword twice, but the burning sheen on it made it hard for your lightsaber to find purchase without sliding off itself. You even imagine having heard Star Wars music for a moment there.

Mid-air however, it is impossible to dodge or deflect the next swing. So you growl and meet it blade first.

(Ember of the First Flame: +4000 Base Damage, +1173 dice, +2667 Horrific Speed Gap, -5000 Spar not Slaughter, -1420 Vorpal = 1,420 Total Damage
Intercept!
Reaper's Will: +400 Base Damage, +660 dice, -200 Bad Position, +3000 Superslayer, +600 Defiant Against the Darkness, +2230 Vorpal = 6,690 Total Damage

Reaper's Will wins.
Damage exceeds 3-1 ratio, Ashen Maiden's resistance negated.

Reaper's Will: +6690 Intercept Damage, +524 dice, +3000 Superslayer, +600 Defiant Against the Darkness = 10,814 Total Damage
The Ashen Maiden: +2500 Base Resilience, +1635 dice = 4,135 Total Damage Reduction

6,679 Final End Damage
Ashen Maiden Health: 122,858 - 6,679 = 116,179

Ember of the First Flame is broken
Abrade triggers)

Your magic lashes out the moment your blades meet, a stalemate existing for perhaps an instant; your lightsaber adjusts to Elisabeth and aims to end her, her own tempered swing not even slowing you down. This time her blade is cleaved through and even the protective magic surge does not stop it from tearing into her. Black cloth rips where you cut, but all she gives you is a pained grunt.

You do not actually see a wound with how quickly the return strike comes, the surprise about having injured her so much leaving you too late to react.

(Ember of the First Flame: +4000 Base Damage, +758 dice, +2667 Horrific Speed Gap, -3500 Weapon Broken, -1500 Careful Subjugation = 2,425 Total Damage
Defiance: +100 Base Resilience, +426 dice, +802 Conundrum = 1,328 Total Damage Reduction

1,097 Final End Damage
Defiance Health: 900 - 1,097 = -197

Heidi is down)

She slams the pommel of her sword into your stomach, bending you over her outstretched arm; that moment of surprise cost you dearly.

Pain flares through your center and continues to do so even when you are slowly lowered to the ground. Remembering something from gym class, you weakly attempt to stop yourself from curling up around your injured center and raise your arms; you do not know why it helps, but it does. The pain remains, but it becomes less horrible after a few seconds. You can even breathe more or less normal.

"I will say that this hurt more than I expected it to," Elisabeth notes from right in front of you; looking up, you find her towering as usual, though she is inspecting an already cauterized cut going right over her flank. "I believe we should both have a word with Maya shortly." Without any care for the fact you just did this; if she notices your stunned surprise, she does not say anything about it. "Can you stand?"

You mutely shake your head, unwilling to trust your legs so quickly. Elisabeth sighs and points down at the ground below you. "I figured as much. Ashen Rune" And as she speaks, darkly burning strands of mana float from her fingertips and all around you. They draw a familiar rune on the ground you sit on, from which you can see a connection snap into place. It leads into the distance, where you can see another rune glimmer.

Elisabeth follows your gaze with a lightly pained smile. "I will have to remove that one later. The number I can set in total is limited, but I try to keep a little buffer for situations like these. We should go before we draw a crowd."

You nod and both of you transfer over to Maya's office, where the Succubus immediately starts to fuss over you.


After getting patched up and receiving a stern talking to about challenging people out of your league, Maya lets you go. Elisabeth has to stay longer because healing her will take a while; she does not complain and even apologises for the trouble to the lesser Demon, though Maya waves it off.

You really wonder about her at times; Demons in charge are usually not like that.

A familiar voice draws you out of your thoughts: "I heard you challenged the Ashen Maiden."

Looking up, you find Orux walking toward you in the corridor; he is grinning toothily, though you can tell that is just his expression of amusement by now. In hindsight, asking one of the strongest Demons on base for a spar was not a good idea. Not that it will stop you from doing it again, though maybe without the temper tantrum.

"...are you alright?" You do your best to get rid of the thoughts and nod.

"Yeah, Maya already patched me up. It's just, I lost my temper back there." You quietly admit it as the both of you begin to walk side by side. "I've been trying to get a grip on it for years, and it actually got better recently, but I just couldn't take being unable to even scratch her."

He makes a noncommital sound and places a hand on your shoulder, then guides you to the nearest rune. "How about we find a place to sit down in peace? Unless you wanted to have a rematch with me, what with challenging Dragul and the Ashen Maiden on the same day."

You just smile weakly and let him lead you. "Not planning to. Having some time to think sounds nice, though."

And so you make your way far out onto the plains surrounding the Keep, close to where you fought the Death Squad. Nobody is around and the two of you quietly climb a small hill to sit down on, with you leaning against Orux' side.

By now, you at least managed to order your thoughts. That is why you begin to speak once you are both settled: "I hate that part of me. I can't for the life of me take people being in a stronger position than myself. Teachers, civil servants, enemies. I can't stand it, and then I get angry and say things I don't want to. Or do things I don't want to. Not really, at least. The only reason Elisabeth might not have a scar over her whole torso is because Maya is already tending to her, and I like her."

He lets you talk and listens, which you are quite grateful for; a sympathetic ear is a great help. At this point however, Orux asks you a question: "You mentioned that it got better recently. Do you mean since coming here?" You nod sullenly, making him continue to ask: "In which way did it get better?"

This draws a sigh from you. "It's, I... I don't snap at people in conversation anymore. At least not as much, and not as viciously. Maya taught me some tricks and I somehow got a better grip on myself; maybe being under threat of death is what it takes for me to learn the lesson."

At this point, Orux cautiously wraps an arm around you to pull you in; you let him and listen when he speaks: "I would not say it is that. May I do some theorising?" You blink and turn your head, finding a curious look directed at yourself. He waits until you nod. "From the sound of it, what you despise is not having power of your own. Perhaps the act of accumulating such power in the recent months made the issue less pressing."

"That's not it," you note despite some part of you wondering if he might be right. "Before all of this, some of my friends were many times more powerful than me and it never mattered."

"Did those friends ever attempt to order you to do something based on that power, though?" You pause, the question being both reasonable and horrifying to think about. It is a UD kind of thought, as neither Anna nor Steffie would use their magic to threaten you. But if they had? If Steffie had told you to respect her because she is a Magical Girl, how would you... stupid question, you would have shouted at her.

He does not say anything when you quietly lower your head, merely squeezes you closer for a moment. It is actually pretty nice, sitting outside together on a warm and sunny day; if only you had better topics to talk about.

"I understand that this bothers you a great deal," Orux finally notes without meeting your eyes, "but I trust that you can find a way. From what I saw so far, I can tell you have a strong will. It is already mostly fine in normal conversations by your own words, so the only actual problem I see is that your feelings get the better of you in combat. Any opponent who knows about this would mercilessly exploit it."

"Yeah. I'll see about getting it under control." You merely mumble, unwilling to keep talking. He does not let up, though.

"Perhaps it will help if you try not to suppress, but to guide these feelings of yours?" You blink and he explains softly: "I know this particular feeling well enough, the impotent rage at being too weak to stand a chance. Too weak to do anything at all." Just his words raise your own anger, but it is aimless and you manage to quell it. He did not notice anything at all: "Pretending it is not there will only help in few cases. Perhaps you should try to use it instead; if it is so strong that you could never truly get it under control, channel it where it is needed instead. Keep a calm mind and a furious blade, is what I mean."

You have the feeling he could have worded that better, but the general idea makes sense. You lean back and take a deep breath. "I think I get it."

No more is said for a while as the both of you brood in silence. Then you look up at Orux and speak a quiet "Thank you". He merely grunts at that, still holding you in his arm. He actually looks a little different now; the crystals on his skin shifted and gleam weakly in the light, making it less spiky than it used to be.

"How is life in Hell?" You spoke about it before, but the question remained on your mind. He never gave any particular details and you never asked.

Orux thinks for a moment and you wait patiently until he speaks.

"Hell is an infinite dimension, and that is how it feels like. We actually live in only a small part, though it is not set where we arrive on birth. I heard some accounts of Demons that came into being far away, having to travel years and decades in a random direction to find us. Chances are there are many more of them. Some particularly unlucky Demons spawn in the middle of someone's private chambers; some have you enslaved or killed for having been there."

You listen closely, fascinated and horrified at the same time. He frowns and looks up. "That last one is a rare occurence, though. Most give you some leeway if you merely just arrived, unless you are an Imp. If people see a new Demon appear nearby, someone is probably going to take them aside and give them a few general tips, or they approach another for the same. It only takes days to integrate into our society, and unless one is born particularly powerful, it is unlikely they end up anywhere but the legions."

He sighs and shifts his weight a little, then squeezes you again. "Back in Hell, everyone is on edge. People to trust, friends, are few and everyone watches everyone for an attempted stab in the back. Reputation is a two-sided sword, too; if you are known as a straightforward person, some might scheme to trick you. Being known as untrustworthy or a backstabber is worse, though." At this point, Orux actually laughs. "Once it becomes known that you often fail to uphold an agreement or actively work against the other side, chances are someone will take your head as a precaution."

You wince and lean a little closer into his side; he may not need comfort, but you are willing to return what he offered you before. "It sounds like a hard life."

"It is what it is," he answers you without much feeling. "It surely could be better, but we manage." After that, Orux gives you a curious look. "Would you tell me about life on Earth next?"

"Sure."


You spend the next few days taking it slowly; Elisabeth is not angry about what happened during your spar, but you apologise anyway. Dragul shows up fine the next time you see him as well.

Talking to Orux remains fun aside from the heavy topics, and you even have some time to play with Maya's children in-between. That is, before you go back to practicing with Conundrum; it is already going well, but you want to do the flash faster.

More importantly however, you try to work out how to implement Orux' suggestion. Fighting someone more powerful than yourself is hard for more than the obvious reasons; if you get so angry you stop thinking, you might easily get caught in a trap.

So you need to practice to stay focussed, which you start with Lu after a few days. She is not happy about having to belittle you on purpose, but does so after you explained the idea. It is not the same, though; knowing that you asked her to do this makes the anger less potent. You still get some practice in controlling it into whatever it was you did with Elisabeth, though. Your swings come harder, stronger, and with them roars or static or other noises. Though they only appear with Lu, not with anyone else you ask to help out.

Moreover, you begin to channel the anger into consideration; the reckless charges become less as days pass, replaced by carefully measured feints and brutal exploitation of the resulting openings. Or, they would be brutal if Lu were not catching all of them.

The point is that it works in theory. In practice however, you know only one person aside from Lu and Elisabeth who is strong enough and unlikely to take offense if you get too angry: General Argus.

You could ask Elisabeth for another spar, but injuring her as you did made it clear that is too dangerous; if you had hit her head, she might even be dead.

So it is that toward the end of the week, you seek out the assault's frontline commander; he is in the middle of a match against no less than ten of his subcommanders, but easily manages to shield himself from every single strike before dishing out devastating counters. You watch him carefully, but can find no gaps in his defenses; he moves fluidly and with great strength.

When the last of his underlings is defeated and retreats to rest up, you approach the knight. "General Argus? Do you have a moment?" He turns to you almost immediately, inclining his head in greeting.

"Ah, young Defiance. Did you need something?" The 'young' bothers you a little, but he is factually correct; you are but a child in comparison to his half-millennium.

Shaking that thought off, you explain: "Would you spar with me? I am testing some things and wanted to see how I compare." Argus actually looks you over for a long moment, already transformed as you are.

"I heard that you challenged my sister as well," he notes. "Was there any particular reason to do so?" Which means people ended up seeing it after all. Well, might as well be honest.

"Same reason, really. Things went a little out of control though, or I would have asked her again." Speaking the next sentence actually pains you from how tight you clench your fist: "I know I can't beat you, or injure you as much for that matter."

A moment of silence, then Argus' posture relaxes the slightest bit. "I see. Go ahead then, I was curious about the infamous Magical Girl anyway." He raises his sword and shield as he had in the previous spar, and you already saw that he is faster than you.

So you begin, this time a little differently. He wants to see your powers? Well, you can do that! "Argent Star!"

The orbs form immediately and blast off as you mark Argus as their target, though he only carefully watches them. You can already see it, the way they spark and almost eagerly fly toward him; it is the same as with Elisabeth, just as you hoped. A grin spreads on your face while you change your weapon to Aetheric Tide.

When the spheres close in however, he quickly brings up his greatshield and lets them explode against it.

(Argent Star: +325 Base Damage, +81 dice, +812 Defiant Against the Darkness, x8 Purge = 9744 Total Damage
Argent Star: +325 Base Damage, +81 dice, +812 Defiant Against the Darkness, x8 Purge = 9744 Total Damage
Argent Star: +325 Base Damage, +81 dice, +812 Defiant Against the Darkness, x8 Purge = 9744 Total Damage

29,232 Unified Damage
Block!
Tip of the Spear (99% reduction): 292 Total Damage
Chasm's Aegis: +12500 Base Damage, +5217 dice = 17,717 Total Damage

Attack blocked)

You can tell something is wrong before the actual explosion even happens; a forcefield projects itself from Argus' shield and severely weakens your spheres; they barely have any power at all when they impact, the shield easily dispersing the malevolent mana.

He charges in the instant it takes for your eyes to narrow. The greatsword being swung for your side in an obviously tempered strike.

(Chasm's Fang: +12,500 Base Damage, dice suppressed, +8334 Horrific Speed Gap, -20000 Trying Not To Kill You = 834 Total Damage

Attack negated.
Riposte!

Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +611 dice, +800 Defiant Against the Darkness = 1,731 Total Damage

Attack negated.)

It is perfectly aimed, except that you could step back even if he came at you with his full speed; a little slap with your spear's head sends the blade past you.

Then Argus leans out of your own stab as easily as you leaned out of his; his armoured elbow slaps the spear so far off-course that you can not correct to continue the attack before he is long past you and the magic used up. You whirl around to find the man a metre from you, guard up.

Scratch not being able to grievously injure him. You can not even put a dent in Argus. At least he is not gloating, though you almost wish he was. Reigning in your anger is difficult, but you manage; then you dart at him again.

(Let's not bother. Attack negated)

But he simply uses your own trick against you, letting the spear slide off his sword; then he swings and you quickly consume the scythe to lean out of the way and flick backward. This is completely absurd and you are sure he knows it, too.

For one long, agonising moment, you consider to refuse admitting defeat. This would continue a little longer and end with you on the ground and in pain again, same as with Elisabeth. You would do it anyway, but Maya worries about you. So you wrestle down the urge for her sake, barely. "Do you accept my surrender?"

He nods and you both dismiss your weapons. "Quite interesting." Argus takes a step toward you, though you can not really tell what he is thinking until he tells you: "You display potent skills. Nurture them further and we may have a different result at a later time."

You blink, but he has already turned around and walked away. Okay then.


"I heard that Argus is a man of few words," Dragul supplies the following day. "A well-liked commander, though. He often charges at the front of his own forces and many of them look up to him."

Originally, it was just Maya and you taking a stroll; the Succubus is already showing, but dragged you out on a pleasant walk anyway. Then you came by the vampire and started to talk. Considering that basically everyone heard about your little scuffle with Argus at this point, the topic was only natural.

You can not remember having seen any spectators when going against him, either. Then again, your focus was on the man himself, seeing that you knew there would be no outside interference. Same as with his sister.

"I heard the same. My little ones say they met him in town and he took the time to actually answer their questions when they approached him." Maya appears thoughtful, though your own thoughts are more on those two. After talking with Orux so much, you began to wonder.

"Hey, mind if I ask you something?" Both Demons turn their attention to you and incline their heads, almost reflexively. You ignore that and ask: "I was wondering, what do you actually want to do with your lives?"

Maya stops walking first, though Dragul only takes a few heartbeats longer. They both look at each other, then the vampire nods before they turn back to you and step back from the trickle of people passing by. You follow them curiously, noting how Maya has a hand on her belly in thought.

"That's a good question, now that you ask." The vampire eyes both you and the Succubus carefully, but there is no suspicion in his gaze. "I have not yet thought much about it. Why would I, when I first need to survive long enough to gain power and influence?"

"It's the same with most Demons, I think," Maya adds and sighs. "I want power as well, though not for the sake of having power. I want to create a place where my family can live and thrive." As expected, though the honest admission brings a smile to your face.

"That is as good a goal as any," Dragul notes. "I would agree that most of us want power for one reason or another. You have it easier because your magic is more suited for a supportive role. Mine is as well, but sadly not as much and so I am in the front instead of the back." That is a surprise; going by Maya's expression, she did not hear about this before, either.

"What's your power about?" You can not help but ask, as usual; Dragul does not seem to mind, though. He closes a hand to a fist and opens it thoughtfully.

"My power is to turn any whose blood mine mixes with into followers loyal to me, but also to grant them greater strength. Not the kind of power that is helpful in battle, but I kept it a secret for good reason." You can see that; if he can bind people stronger than himself, a lot of people would feel threatened. Actually, this whole concept sounds not particularly nice. You frown.

"I will be honest, I can imagine a lot of horrible things you could do with such an ability. But if you had a squad of your own, you could probably make them stronger; they might do it willingly if it gives them a better chance to survive." You doubt he will ask, but maybe the thought to do so will take root if you suggest it. At least you hope so.

You just hope he will not do anything too bad.


By the end of the week, you actually found some time to exercise with your new team again; things are working out quite well, though the Hell Beasts need a bit of convincing to allow saddles on their backs. Formations go smoothly and you have the fleeting sensation that they practiced while you were busy elsewhere.

Not that you are complaining.

As you exercise with everyone however, you start to realise something. Though you mostly go with refreshing your transformation every once in a while, it keeps active throughout the day. All Magical Girls are on a time limit in that regard, though each one has a different limit. Yours is at least six hours, from what you notice that day.

So when it keeps holding up, you decide to test the limits and tell Lu you might not be up for training the next day. She is skeptical, but also intrigued by the concept of transformation time limits. You know detransforming is enough to refresh it, so one can retransform immediately afterward; however, you need to know your limit for that first.

You go about the rest of your day transformed and end it on the weird sensation of trying to sleep while hearing your magic sing songs of battle. It takes a while-

-and ends as abruptly when your transformation breaks. Everything is quiet all of a sudden and exhaustions settles in your body; not the usual kind, but a deep tiredness that makes you barely able to move your limbs. Right, you forgot there was a penalty for letting the transformation run out.

Turning your head and beholding the fact it is still dark outside however, at least you know your time limit now, after using some mental math. It seems to be only physical exhaustion, though that does make your mind a little hazy as well. The backlash made you wide awake.

Now you have to hope you are not too tired to actually fall asleep.

-------------

You are not of much use this day, but it should be enough to do something

[] Take a long bath, maybe you can wash off the exhaustion somewhat

[] Find someone to hang out with

[] Have your training sessions anyway


[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it


+10xp Bled the Vampire
+30xp Actually Scored a Good Hit on Elisabeth
+25xp Brave Enough to Challenge Argus
+10xp Advent of Blood
+5xp Training From For Hell

EXP gained: 80
Total EXP: 316


(Unlocked Level 3 Character Sheet: Dragul)
(Unlocked Level 4 Character Sheet: The Ashen Maiden)
(Unlocked Level 5 (Max) Character Sheet: Orux)
(Unlocked Level 4 Character Sheet: General Argus)
(Found Heidi's Transformation Time Limit: 18 hours)


Unlocked Soft Exploit:
-falsify Dazzle or Blind by artificially making the outer shroud flash really bright, as if it was hit by a titanic attack; also activates by itself when hit by such an attack [Conundrum]

It is incredible how much one can get used to, you muse as you rest your head on the basin's edge. When you first arrived, you never thought being naked in such close proximity to Demons would ever become enjoyable. Now here you are, in the same water as several dozen other infernal women, not all of them exactly humanoid and only few of them mistakable for a human.

Seeing those actually makes you wonder, though; if there are Demons who look like humans, those could be able to infiltrate Earth. If they manage to get around outing themselves with their alien mindset, at least.

Scary thoughts, that. Yet thinking is basically all you can do; the exhaustion faded over the hours, but it was still half a night spent awake; sleep would not come.

On the other hand, being known around the Keep does have more perks than you assumed. As for example, the fact two other women are currently busy cleaning you up. They offered by themselves when you mentioned not feeling up to much in conversation earlier, an offer which you decided to take. After making clear you meant cleaning off dirt and sweat, with cloth, no tongues involved.

You are not sure how to feel about the fact one of them was quite obviously disappointed.

Either way, both of them treat your body with obvious care and actually clean it much more thoroughly than you would have done yourself; your feet are scrubbed properly, your hair is combed out and washed bit by bit, even your fingers are given a lot of attention; on that last count, only once she points it out do you realise you actually have callouses from your weapons now. Only light ones, but they are there.

"It's astonishing", the one busy with your silvery mane mutters; you open your eyes and look up at where she sits behind you, but she does not react.

So you ask: "What is astonishing?" Your question makes the woman flinch and quickly blink down at you. Any denial dies on her lips when she sees your gaze, though.

"Ah, I hope you take no offense, but it is just still hard to believe for such power to rest in such a fragile body." She gently cards through your hair, the slightest bit of pull on your head from the gesture. "Few of us are like that, yet you stand head and shoulders above most." Her words were probably meant to placate you, though the insight into her thoughts is more interesting. You nod and close your eyes again anyway.

A lithe finger rubs over your toes moments later and your other... 'assistant' adds to the conversation: "There is even a certain beauty in it, I believe."

"Oh, do tell?"

You just let them talk for now, wondering where it might go. Much to your joy, they continue working over your body as well.

"It has something poetic, I feel. Fragile yet strong, a flower which could never have bloomed in Hell. Exotic in her appearance, yet also familiar in a way. The same for her power. Do you see what I mean?"

You get the part about appearance, considering both women tending to you are in the mostly human-like category. Though it does surprise you that Demons could find beauty in such a concept. Then again, this one might be an outlier. Even when the one tending your hair agrees thoughtfully, the possibility remains.

Your feet are let go off and you sink them back down into a more comfortable position afterward. It is a novel experience to have someone else do the washing, something you did not have since you were a little girl.

So you enjoy it while it lasts.


After spending about an hour soaking after being methodically cleaned, you feel quite refreshed and immediately go to waste the remainder of the day

The remainder of the week is spent training as before, though both with your team and one on one with Lu. You make some more progress on your path to mastery, but it becomes less a matter of learning and more a matter of practicing. You can use your magic in small bursts and other ways to disrupt attacks already, but neither can you do it reliably, nor have you figured out how to improvise with it on the fly yet. All the tricks you practiced, like the shockwave, work alright.

Another week, maybe two. Lu agrees that you are close to reaching proficiency with all of it.

One day however, she has you do one last sequence before calling it quits early; orange fog masks the horizon, coloured by the evening sun. You both sit down at the roof's edge as you do most days, though you can tell Lu is nervous. Her wings twitch slightly and the little smile she often shows these days is absent.

It takes a moment of deliberation before you decide to let her do the first step. If she wants to tell you something, she will do it eventually. Until then, you enjoy the sight. It takes a while.

When Lu speaks, she utters only a single word at first: "Heidi." Her voice is calm, but you can see the way her wings keep twitching; you only turn your head and wait patiently, but the question that follows is not among what you expected: "Do you know how an Angel falls?"

You shake your head; you wondered and even considered asking someone, but forgot about it months ago. It never felt particularly important and you had bigger things to worry about.

Lu sighs and lowers her head, refusing to meet your gaze. "Demons and Angels are natural enemies. One is anathema to the other, to the point that Angels can not survive in Hell and Demons can not survive in Heaven." She pauses and you give an unseen nod. Lu seems to look for words and stays quiet for several moments before continuing her explanation: "Us Angels are born from prayers of other races, and Demons are born from other races' broken promises."

You were aware of that and she knows it. Lu shivers and shakes herself slightly. "Angels can not pray to create more Angels. Demons can not break their promises to create more Demons. But demonic prayers will not bring forth Angels either , and an angelic promise broken will not birth a Demon."

You carefully scoot closer and put a hand on her arm, which your friend ignores as she continues: "For Angels, the breaking of a promise is taboo. The very first thing we learn, may we be of Heaven or Valhalla, is to only promise what we can absolutely keep, and to watch our choice of words as to not accidentally promise anyone anything at all." You are starting to understand where this is going and your eyes begin to widen in realisation.

"So that's all it takes? One promise?" You take a shaky breath; that is harsh, much more so than you expected.

Lu nods solemnly. "One of at least some importance, but we are taught to not take any risks."

You want to ask what happens during the fall, but whatever it is your friend sees before her mind's eye, it is nothing good. You gently reach up to squeeze her shoulder at that. "It's okay, I get it."

Lu stays quiet for a long time, and you stay by her side.

Night falls before your friend speaks again: "I'm sorry. After you were so forthcoming about yourself and your race, I felt I should tell you about myself, but...." You squeeze her shoulder again and she trails off.

"It's fine, Lu. You don't need to tell me if you're not ready." You accompany it with another squeeze and lean against your friend. You spoke about humanity and sometimes even about Angels, though much less often. Moreover.... "I didn't tell you much about myself, either." Then you have an idea. "If you're more comfortable that way, we could exchange them?"

Lu considers that for a moment before shaking her head. "Not now, no." She sighs, but a weak smile makes it onto her face. "It is difficult to work through all of it, but I will see whether I can ready myself for a proper exchange. Thank you."

"No need to thank me," you return immediately and turn your squeeze into a one-armed hug. "You're my friend."

You miss the glint of surprise in her eyes due to the darkness.


That evening ended with many thoughts on your mind, many questions and few answers. You left them behind during team training, though; your troops are finally in good marching order and can swiftly switch between formations. The Hell Beasts are getting comfortable with the idea of carrying riders and your Dark Stars have a good grasp on when to cast what to support your combat strategies.

All in all, you are quite content.

After the session however, you come by Maya on a walk; the Succubus' belly already grew quite sizable again, you notice. Then you already receive a warm smile and a soft hug before Maya looks you over. "I heard you work my poor daughter hard. How is she doing?"

For how she worded that, Maya appears to be quite happy with the matter; you shrug. "She's doing fine; too young to be my second, but she is good at working with basically any one of the others. How are you doing yourself?"

Maya takes the change of topic in stride and lovingly strokes her belly. "Quite wonderful. I think I might have multiples again, and can not wait to finally see them." After a moment however, your friend makes a face. "Though the Ashen Maiden told me to hold off on further pregnancies until the first push is over. Something about me having to be at full capacity just in case."

You eye her with a note of exasperation, but also amusement. "You might be the first person I ever heard complaining about not being pregnant often enough." You both snicker about the comment.

Once she leaves you alone with your thoughts after some chatting, you realise your next day is a day off; which means you have time off.

-------------
Pick two:

[] Hang out with Lucifer

[] Visit R&D and try picking up a few tricks for your Brand Craft

[] Acquisition some sweets and find someone to read a book to you

[] Orux is free and so are you, time for a date


[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it


+10xp The Most Relaxing Bath Ever
+25xp A Tragedy Long Past
+25xp A Tragedy In The Making

EXP gained: 60
Total EXP: 376