Heidi let out a deep sigh as she slumped down on a park bench; it had been two weeks since her return from the past. Granted, four weeks for her because she poked around some places, but who counted those?
Things had been hectic, her newfound power surprising those around her almost as much as Orux' arrival. After being sent to a few doctors after being gone for nine months, as well as a gynecologist for obvious reasons, everything slowly returned back to being somewhat normal. Or at least as close as they could be with a Demon basically living with them.
She had gone out to take a walk. Heidi was not entirely sure why she wanted to be alone, but neither her father nor her fiance stopped her.
She had much to think about; 2019 was still going and school would start again in but five weeks, setting her up for the last two years before graduation. A war was raging everywhere, one that she so desperately wanted to see end without knowing how.
"Heavy thoughts, dear? You look so droopy," a soft voice offered from nearby; looking up, Heidi found the most peculiar sight.
Someone with a figure somewhere between girl and woman, with green and blue hair that felt somehow familiar.
What was more, she had never seen this person before. Heidi did not feel threatened or anything that harsh, but there was a slight spark of confusion at the sight in front of her. Something she hardly even realised was there.
When she did not answer immediately, the woman chuckled and slid onto the bench next to her without hesitation. "Care to talk about it?"
"...no." She did not feel like being polite, but her dismissal only prompted a shrug.
"Well, that's fine. Mind if I talk to you about a few things? I have wanted to do that for a long time." The stranger put enough emphasis on the one word to make it clear something was up.
Heidi perked up a little, muscles tensing in expectation of an attack. "Do I know you?" However, her question only led to a bout of musical laughter; the woman closed her eyes and laughed freely, gathering exactly no looks as Heidi suddenly realised there was no one but them here.
"Of course you do, Adelheid. Or Defiance, whichever you prefer." The mention of her Magical Girl persona, which this woman should have no business knowing, almost made Heidi transform. The wink the stranger shot her gave her pause, though. "You've known me all your life. I have always been here, and I always will be."
It took a moment for Heidi to process this; the final realisation only came when the woman next to her audibly tapped a foot against the solid ground below.
Time traveler she was, realising just who sat next to her made Heidi take a deep breath to collect herself.
"Gaia."
It was not a question, they both knew it to be true. Gaia, the deity that was Earth. Embodying the entire planet, she had sculpted all life on it and continued to tend to every being in her biosphere. A goddess had come to speak with her, taking a human-looking avatar for ease of conversation.
Gaia only smiled before gently putting a hand on Heidi's shoulder. "Not to worry, you aren't in trouble. I only just found some time to actually talk to you after so long." Seeing and knowing that her statement confused the girl, she squeezed lightly and continued: "You have to know, for a million years I didn't have all the pieces to this puzzle you threw at me. Suddenly I notice one of mine outside of my domain and there you are, long before my humans even were."
She chuckled over the dumbfounded expression on Heidi's face, courtesy of realising that Gaia had been watching her entire journey. "It was an interesting exercise, trying to piece together what was going on; I knew you time-traveled from a later point, but not from when or what was going on then. Some impressions I got, but not the whole picture." Gaia gleefully motioned with her hands at this point, rather more enthusiastic than Heidi had expected her to be.
"You gave me more pieces as time went on, though not necessarily in the right order," the deity continued with a smile. "But it was fun to figure this out, and now... now I have the last pieces. It all started and ended two weeks ago." She looked around. "I pulled a few subtle strings to get you here and alone because it feels like we should have that talk. Nobody told you yet, did they?"
When seeing and knowing the child's confusion, Gaia's smile turning from mischievous to motherly, exuding warmth as her hand wandered to the top of the girl's head. "Good work, Heidi. You did great."
These few words made all resistance crumble; the returned time traveler relaxed into Gaia's touch, only to soon be pulled into an embrace that she also melted into. It was true that nobody had actually praised her; everyone was glad she was back, awestruck about her exploits and so on, but nobody actually praised her for having done well. So she just enjoyed the deceptive warmth of Gaia's magical body and rubbed a few tears out of her eyes.
"It's fine," Gaia cooed. "I won't lie and say I understand, but it's fine. You did good, and you will do better." She giggled, stroking Heidi's back while speaking softly to the girl: "If you were in a different headspace, I'd offer you to become one of my WEAPONs in a heartbeat. You won't take it, I know. Getting to revive after being killed is a neat boon, but you're not the type to do whatever I tell you to."
"Yeah...." Heidi did not know what else to say; Gaia already knew everything about her anyway. Having the Will Of The Earth present however, she considered asking a question that had been on her mind ever since first hearing about Gaia and her WEAPONs. Before she could however, the planet already answered: "Yes, they call me mother. You can call me that too, if you want. In a way, I am."
Heidi considered, but slowly shook her head in the end; she only had one actual mother and calling anyone else that felt wrong.
Gaia did not mind. She did, however, chuckle. "Heh, I guess? But... I think you deserve at least a little reward, so how about this? It's been about ten years and I got to her soul recently. All cleaned up and ready to be reincarnated, but... I think I'll wait." The explanation only gathered a confused noise, which prompted Gaia to actually spell it out: "Your mother. I do have about a ten-year buffer of souls waiting for reincarnation, and all human souls are mine. But I won't reincarnate her just yet."
She rubbed Heidi's back one last time and let go with a gentle smile. "Once you decide to have your first child, I will let her reincarnate. You shall have her back; she will not remember having been your mother, but it will be her soul."
Heidi could only stare at the avatar of god, flabbergasted. Once she actually processed what Gaia had said, she felt her eyes begin to sting and water, but did nothing to stop it. Then she hugged her, this time out of her own volition.
No words were spoken, but Gaia knew of her gratitude nonetheless. She only smiled and let the girl cry.
Amanda followed her friend's shout with the usual precision, instincts she still got used to guiding her every step. Her lance was held aside and Irene's White River gently floated after them, though the other girl herself was everything but gentle at the moment. Any more angry lines in her face and she might as well have been fuming at the mouth.
Amanda had no idea what exactly angered her friend so much; Irene spotted someone looking at them as they... worked, so to speak. It could not really be called work, seeing that the two of them mainly just patrolled for trouble. Magical Girls, them. Who would have thought that two months ago?
A moment later, the fast chase slowed to a crawl as Irene looked around the intersection of back alleys they stood in. "Where... where..." Amanda carefully eyed her surroundings before doing the same to Irene; her friend appeared much more angry than she ever saw her before. "I know it's bad that we were seen, but what's with you?"
The white-clad girl turned with a scandalised expression, eyes somehow both wide and narrow at once. "She had a camera. And she took pictures of you! I'm not having that! Follow the Waves!" At once, a second Irene appeared next to her. Or rather, a second White Soul. Both of them looked at her grimly, their expressions promising bloody murder.
Then they heard a camera go off and some muffled cursing, to which both instances of the enraged girl turned. The camera-carrier was leaned around a corner, having a camera aimed at them. She also wore a fancier outfit and held what might be a stave. Amanda's eyes widened at the realisation. One of them. One of their own.
""There you are~"" two voices called with an edge of danger, making the other girl's eyes widen before she pulled behind the corner and ran.
While Irene now ran to mete out punishment, Amanda, no, Red Rose followed out of curiousity. She had never seen another Magical Girl, so perhaps they could get along... somehow? She usually did not like talking to new people, but maybe Irene would warm up to her... somehow. Or at least only hurt her a little.
The chase continued through a few more alleys and into a less populated part of town before Irene finally cornered their target in an abandoned garage. "Got you now!" "Time to pay~"
Amanda followed a moment later, only to see the White Rivers closing in...
(The White River: +500 Base Damage, no dice = 500 Total Damage The White River: +500 Base Damage, no dice = 500 Total Damage
1,000 Unified Damage
Both attacks negated)
...and for the newcomer to effortlessly slap each River aside as if it was a solid object. She moved at a speed Amanda had trouble following, her movements little more than flashes; one Irene paused in surprise while the other sneered. The girl appeared unhappy, her silvery attire a little rumpled by the chase. She was older than them by a few years, much taller as well.
No one spoke for a moment, then another voice chimed in: "Is this going to continue?" It made Amanda turn her head, and the Spell loosed from her lips before she even fully comprehended what she saw: "Sudden Death!"
She barely registered the three black wings and pale skin when her lance lashed out.
(Sudden Death: Negated)
But the figure simply slapped it out of the way with a large staff that had a cross at its tip. It was a woman, clad in a torn black dress and so tall she had to duck under the ceiling. She considered both of them for a long moment, but did nothing else as her gaze wandered to the serene figure in front of them.
In a way, those two had a similar theme match as Amanda and Irene; it was an idle note she made while the weapon quickly returned to her hand. Now that there were two on two, well, three, the standoff continued a moment longer.
With neither side forthcoming, Amanda stifled a sigh before tapping the ground with her weapon's butt. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" The girl gave her a weird look, then looked down at her camera. The other, non-human girl looked back and forth between them with a raised eyebrow. "Why exactly are we still here? If you have what you came for, we should leave."
"Sure, it's just... I'm kind of afraid to turn aside? You know, with those two and all." Neither of them could follow the conversation as the silver girl fidgeted. "I mean I know they aren't dangerous just yet, but, you know?"
A beat.
"I don't."
And the silver girl simply sighed. "Of course you don't, Lu. Look, it's-" "Hey, Amanda asked you a question." "How about you answer her, hm?"
Irene took over with two voices, forming some spikes with her viscous weapon to intimidate the other side; no one paid them any mind. The silver girl exchanged a glance with her dark partner, then shrugged at them. "I came to take pictures to sell."
That would be an explanation, but it also made little sense. "You're the same as us," Amanda found herself saying with narrowed eyes. "Going public with this will expose you, too." There was a moment of confused staring, then the other Magical Girl snorted and shook her head. "Ohh, nope. No, silly, I'm not going to sell them now. Anyway, gottagobye!"
She darted over to the dark girl, grasping her hand even as both of them deflected another run of the White Rivers, then called out something that Amanda could not hear properly. It felt weird on her ears, powerful yet wrong.
And then they were gone, as if they had never been there.
Both of them stood there dumbfounded, looking around for where they might have gone to. Irene dismissed her clone while grumbling, the appearance slipping back from insane to cute. She was good at that, considering she was barely eleven.
. .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . .
It was these events that ran through Amanda's mind as she watched the images on her data mine. She had not thought of this girl in years, the war effort and... other problems giving her little time to reminisce. It was little more than a footnote in her life.
Yet, the memories came back when she heard that someone sold pictures of White Soul and her in their preteen-time, when Magical Girls were still hiding their nature as best as they could. She knew there were only few of those remaining, the war having destroyed most and her having finished the job after Irene's betrayal. She just could not look at them anymore.
"No, silly, I'm not going to sell them now."
Amanda considered to do something about this, but then she saw the highest bid and her lips curled into a smile. "Well played."
She would leave this be; seeing that it was her likeness being sold however, she would ask for a twenty percent cut from the seller. And, perhaps, she could get out of this girl how she had known so early on.
Only Rei must never find out about this, or she would never hear the end of it.
Her arrival was not greeted with anything big; she simply landed in a train station. There were a dozen different tracks leading outside, though they appeared slightly off. Wider than what she was used to, the trains themselves much larger to accomodate passengers of varying sizes. A handful of people were going through the motions below, Heidi being on a platform further above. Several other platforms were aligned with it, with the occasional portal opening and closing.
"Ah, welcome," a chipper voice greeted her. Heidi turned and found herself close to a receptionist, who smiled brightly. "Welcome, young lady. I don't think I have seen you before; what brings you here?"
Her behaviour was the slightest bit patronising, though Heidi decided to just blame it on trying to be friendly. She stepped closer so they did not have to raise their voices. "I'm meeting the Duchess."
The statement was taken with a curious hum while the woman noted it down in some kind of book. She was a pretty girl, even Heidi could say that; unblemished skin, silky hair, a nice figure. And horns. A long pair that wound around her head, almost forming a halo; her ears were long and pointed, so she was a half-elf.
The other woman nodded at herself once she was done writing. "I see, so a political occasion?" She did not appear wary, though it was difficult to say.
Heidi simply shook her head though, her next words being the first to coax some surprise out of the half-Demon: "No, seeing old friends. Could you tell me which way to go?"
She stared at her wide-eyed for long moments, then dainty fingers pointed at an extensive map displayed near the exit. "You can find what you need there; it is in English, too."
"Ah, thanks. Anything else you need from me?" The girl quickly had her sign something about when she appeared and how long she would stay, then she was free to go. With her back already turned, she could not see the receptionist's eyes going even wider; the older woman stared at her signature, 'Defiance', in realisation and ran for the phone.
After a few minutes spent studying the map, Heidi had an idea of where she wanted to go. Orux had told her which dimension she had to jump to, but no details about where she needed to head from there.
As it turned out, that slip of paper she gave Maya had led her fiance to her; their mutual friend gladly sent him to contact her.
Heidi wandered the capital city's streets by foot; she could have taken some of the busses or trams, or even the gravity road that carried people around. In this case however, she felt more like going slow and getting a feeling for the place. It was thrumming with all kinds of magic, harmoniously interwoven in a symphony where one would expect a cacophony.
Half-demons of all kinds wandered around, some throwing her curious glances. There was some play-fighting going on here and there, couples made out a little out of sight... after a few minutes, she found that this was not much different from home. It just had a decidedly demonic touch to it in both appearance and behaviour.
The city itself appeared mostly elven in its architecture, though there were some sections consisting of gleaming spirals as well. Fairies, too, made their home here. Between these two, the sturdy yet impressive stone buildings gave a weird contrast that somehow worked by not working.
It felt like a melting pot, and it definitely looked like one.
Shaking her head, Heidi brought her thoughts back to what she had been told by Orux. He had stayed here after leaving the UD several years earlier, after the first few weeks on Reluxus. Aside from her continuous indignation about the fact he went there however, she was also curious about this. Not one but two of their old friends had risen in the ranks to fill great voids.
And apparently, the Satans chose Dukes and Duchesses based on how well someone aligned with their own field of influence. They just elevated someone they found suitable and gave them their tasks.
Maya took her family and claimed, or was granted, the area around the Unaligned Front, guarding Hell's back and conveniently being far away from the war. She mostly gathered information on the side, having been granted the title of Duchess for having a loyal army at her call at any time.
Dragul, on the other hand, was residing in Hell proper. 'The Blood Count', they called him these days, though he was a Duke nonetheless and in charge of migration into Hell. Orux had not spoken to him in a long while, though they always got along when they met. He also had some notions about his old friend abusing his position to snag many of the Dark Magical Girls, which amused Heidi.
Both of them had stepped up under harsh competition until recently; with the rise of Magical Girls and most unaware of how difficult of an opponent they could be, many Dukes and Duchesses fell prey to humanity. Of the dozens that once lived in Hell, merely four remained. Maya at Hell's back, Dragul and Ashamon within, and Matilda leading the frontier toward the Elven and Fairy domains.
As interesting as it was though, that was not of concern right now.
Heidi wandered through many different places, but nobody stopped her on the way. The further she went however, the more similar it felt to home. Paper ads loomed over the streets, students complained about their homework as they walked by, adults of various kinds were hurrying this way and that. Same as home, just tilted in how it looked; the place and people both.
Even though the station she arrived in already stood close to the city center, the Duchess' mansion, Heidi wandered for half an hour. By that point however, the imposing building loomed high above her, easily several hundred metres high and at least as wide. She could not help but whistle.
When she reached the main gate a minute later, the guards were standing at attention before a child. At least she appeared like one, standing maybe a metre tall, with curious wide eyes. Small, batlike wings were folded on her back and a heart-tipped tail swished back and forth.
The child saw Heidi and waved cheerfully. Just to be sure, the visitor looked behind herself and found no one there; when she turned back, she already received a surprise-hug that also had surprising strength to it.
She had wondered if she could get past the guards by just appearing like she belonged there, but the fact this child seemed to have sway over them might just make it a non-issue.
"Hey there," she greeted the girl, who pulled back to smile at her; the lavender-coloured tail became straight and balanced her on the ground so they could stand at eye-level, long hair of a wine red floating in the breeze.
"It's nice to meet you at last; mother gave out a standing order to report your arrival to us immediately, so we knew you were on your way. I'm Lilith." She quickly babbled at Heidi, who could not help but smile and nod.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Heidi. Your mother is Maya, right?"
"Yup, come on, she is waiting. And big sis and everyone else, too!" The little one held out a small hand and returned to her feet, quickly leading Heidi through the soldiers; no one moved until they were out of sight.
The walk to the castle took a while as they passed through extensive gardens tended by various kinds of people; they then forewent the elevators for the stairs, just so Lilith could show her around the place. Heidi marveled at the infernal architecture, reminiscent of medieval castles yet so much larger.
Before they made it to wherever their destination was, something jumped at Heidi from a sidepath. She knew it was coming, turned to meet it, and paused when she saw what it was. An all too familiar half-elf, flying her way with the widest grin. Heidi caught her with ease, being herself caught in an almost bone-crushing hug right after. "Finally! I have been waiting for weeks!"
Paoras had not changed much, if at all. Five thousand years had passed for her, yet the biggest change Heidi saw on her was a different haircut. "Hey Pao, sorry about that." Heidi squeezed the half-elf for a bit, neither of them speaking while Lilith waited patiently. "I was busy catching up on everything at home, and getting used to having my fiance living nearby... and to having a fiance."
She let her friend down, who immediately fell into step by her side with a chuckle; they walked at a sedate pace now, Paoras offering her an understanding nod. "I get that, and I'm not mad. Took me a while to get used to it during my first marriage, too."
That made Heidi curious, who cast a glance at her old friend. "You're married?"
"Yup!" She cheerfully raised a hand and counted on her fingers, then gave up immediately after. "Uh, I can't tell you how often I was married, but let me tell you that it sucks being with a mortal. I'm not going to stop marrying them if I like them enough, though. At the moment, I have three husbands and two wives with me."
Heidi's owlish look was noted and prompted an amused giggle. "What, did you really think we're monogamous here?" Paoras shook her head at that, though she did raise a finger in thought. "Well, okay, those who want to be can do that. I make sure everyone I am with is fine being with others at the same time, though."
At this point, she had to realise that while Paoras had not changed physically, she definitely became mature over time. The child she used to be was nowhere to be seen, though her general cheer apparently remained, much to Heidi's relief.
Lilith giggled behind them and provided more information: "Most of the humans here are monogamous, it is so-so with the Elves, and it is quite normal for Fairies to have polyamorous relationships. What few Nightmares and Angels live here are almost exclusively with mother, though."
After taking that in and wondering how they had all the races here, Heidi had to turn her head to the child in wonder; she appeared like a kid, but the way she spoke and with Paoras right there... "How old are you?"
"Hm?" Lilith tilted her head in thought. "Let's see, my birthday was a few weeks ago, so I am fourty-nine now. You're pretty sharp." Her tone of voice could have made it a jab or a compliment; considering how Paoras chuckled, it may even be both.
"She is mother's daughter alright," the half-elf supplied with a smile. "Gets a quint of power every time she hugs someone new."
Heidi made an understanding sound and thought back at finding out about that little tidbit. Orux mentioned it in passing, and she really wondered how she never made the connection.
Maya grew stronger with each child she had. She had never mentioned it, even to her, keeping the secret until she grew powerful enough to be a monster in her own right.
Shaking her head, the young woman looked between the two sisters curiously. "I guess that makes sense. Is it okay to ask what mix of races someone is here?"
Paoras just shrugged, her good mood not subsiding in the slightest. "Don't worry about that, we're all quite open on that end. It's fine to ask, as long as you accept if someone doesn't want to tell you. Lilith is a full-blooded demon, though." Her sister nodded along without seeming to mind being spoken about.
Heidi nodded and looked around, taking in the tasteful carpets and furnishing; it really felt like a castle, except that the lighting was electrical and there were other modern appliances here and there.
There was one thing she did have to know, though. "Where did you get all the Elves and Fairies from?" She remembered the first Fairy, though she forgot his name or whether she ever asked for it.
The Demons considered her for a long moment; Lilith did not say anything and let Paoras speak up, though: "We buy slaves from other parts of Hell, mostly. Have done it for millennia now; mother does her best to get them out there quickly, and we give them counseling if they aren't in a good headspace. Then we let them have a choice how to gain their freedom."
"First option is ten years of work," Lilith then continued while Heidi listened curiously. "Not slave labour or something like that, just work. They get a proper place to sleep and food and anything else they need. The other option is to bring two children into the family, with any willing partner among the lot of us."
Heidi paused and took a deep breath, then she cast a look at Paoras, who whistled in faux innocence. "I am mostly surprised about the fact I actually am surprised. I really should have expected that. So men have an advantage there?" She figured that if they got the choice, it should be fine.
"Maybe a bit," the half-elf offered thoughtfully. "They still have to stay around until the kids are born and confirmed to be healthy. Honestly, most of them stay either way at that point. Those who leave are usually those who have spouses and children to return to."
She then chuckled and threw a wink at Heidi. "You'd love one of the more recent ones we got our hands on. We were bringing in all the humans we could get our hands on, but most of them kinda didn't believe the whole thing at first. So this one guy, when mother herself explained the deal, chose the kids and said he wanted her to bear them."
"Wait, seriously? What was he thinking?" The Magical Girl could not help but ask. Paoras shrugged and Lilith piped up instead.
"We don't know, but most of us agree he probably wanted to reveal it as a plot or something by making Maya retract the 'anyone' part about which partners could be chosen. Mother loved his courage and now they are married."
They all shared a laugh over the tale; Heidi could believe it easily, having known Maya for a while. The Succubus had not changed all that much.
There was a lull in the conversation that went on for a little while.
Then Paoras stopped walking, the other two stopping as well. The Demon gave Heidi a sharp look now. "Thinking of it, thank you for not warning us about the disaster on Hope." Her voice dripped with sarcasm, making the human girl avert her gaze sheepishly. "If mother hadn't made sure we weren't roped into that mess by virtue of guarding the other side of Hell, I would have greeted you with a hearty punch instead."
"Yeah, uh, sorry." Heidi continued not to meet her friend's eyes. "I forgot about that."
Paoras just sighed and dropped the matter, then she started to walk again. "Anyway, we're working on a proper census these days; it doesn't help that new children are born every other day, but we're getting there. Our family is big, Heidi," she offered in response to the raised eyebrow. "It is mostly a guess for the exact number at the moment, but we know Mother had a little more than twenty thousand children of her own. Would have been more, but she got busy with politics a long time ago."
She heard that before, but it was still impressive. Though hearing sweet and childish Paoras talk like an actual adult was also a little jarring; she made sure not to mention that.
"And all of us had a few as well. I carried sixty babies to term over the years, and most of the others had as many or more; then our children had children and so on. At the moment, we're guessing something close to a hundred million within the family, maybe a few million less if we're pessimistic about those who are born mortal."
Heidi kept quiet for a long moment, considering what to say. Then she sighed and threw her friend a look. "First of all, your family tree is a Greater Nightmare." Both sisters broke into giggles immediately; Heidi waited until they finished laughing before asking her other question: "Secondly, how do you keep track of a family that big, and with so many others thrown in? Orux said this domain is huge."
Paoras shrugged over that, her mirthful expression turning a little lost. "I'm pretty sure you said it long ago: that's how mamas are. Mother somehow remembers every name and face, every single descendant she has. I think it is part of her trick where she can draw on all of our powers for a little bit."
Heidi was tempted to ask, but figured she should not; powers were always a thing people might not like to talk about, and that one felt rather self-explaining anyway.
The half-elf kept thinking and added something else a moment later: "Everyone else just goes with their direct family and lives here; maybe you think differently, but I love meeting new family I never knew I had. Of course there are some of us who stand out, like the first half-whatever, like me." She paused and thought of something, then broke into a bright smile. "Oh, you'll love Ellen; she is our first half-human sister and became a Magical Girl just a few weeks ago. A cute Myth Maker. Remember that guy who propositioned mother I told you about? He's the father."
Heidi blinked in surprise at the change of subject and wondered why Paoras appeared so natural as a proud big sister. "I'm looking forward to meeting her... at some point. Right now, I am here for you and Maya, not to see everyone you think I should meet."
There was another lull in the conversation once Paoras nodded.
They passed by an asian girl with pure white hair and a downcast expression soon after; she appeared to be on a stroll, but quickly stepped aside and lowered her head once she noticed them. Her white dress was simple but conservative, covering every bit of her skin.
"Hey Shan," Paoras greeted the girl, who perked up slightly. They stopped once more, with Lilith slowly walking up and taking the human's hands while greeting her. She slowly returned the gesture, but was not hugged like Heidi had been before.
Interestingly, the other girl stood about as tall as Heidi herself, maybe a little taller. "G-Good afternoon," she greeted timidly, to which the demonic sisters smiled at her.
"I'll come check on you later, right now there's an old friend visiting," Paoras told her while motioning toward Heidi; some curiousity went her way, but the other girl quickly lost interest. Her expression had gained some life, though the smile she showed them was rather smug.
"Okay. I will go down to the kitchen for food now, if you excuse me." The sisters waved as she wandered off.
Heidi had held her tongue despite how sensitive she was to that kind of behaviour; when Paoras and Lilith sighed, she knew she chose correctly. Something was not right with this one, and she could not help but ask: "Who is she?"
"Hm? Oh, that was Shan," the older sister supplied. "She is one of the slaves we got out of Hell; mother went to fetch her herself. Honestly, she was in a pretty bad place." Paoras looked in the direction the asian girl had wandered off to, thoughtful. "And for that, her recovery is going pretty well. She was barely responsive when we brought her here, and we are past the worst of the tantrums and everything. She fights against her depression like a beast."
"She wouldn't eat unless we brought her food until last month," Lilith offered in addition, but Heidi had already understood what they were trying to tell her.
Paoras nodded along with her sister and gave Heidi a nudge. "I wouldn't call her defiant, not like you are, but she is plenty stubborn. We can probably let her live on her own in a few weeks; you two would get along great."
"I see what you're trying to do," Heidi told her friend flatly. "And I will think about talking to her some other time. Anyone else you insist I should meet immediately?" She exaggerated a little, but her friend did not complain.
Instead, Paoras smirked and shook her head. "None aside from those with mother; well, one, but Ichi isn't around today."
"...and who is that supposed to be?" Her friend had a look that screamed mischief and Heidi was on her guard immediately.
Lilith provided the answer to her question, though; she bounced up and down with a stray beat of her wings for effect, beaming: "It's Lady Grey! She loves to spend time here, and the children love her; she is great!"
Heidi blinked at the two and rubbed her eyes. After everything else, she really should not be surprised about this anymore. The thought of having a chance to meet her idol was enticing nonetheless; she had always wanted that.
Right now however, she was not here for Goddess Grey. "Well, maybe some other time. How big is this place?"
"Not much longer, don't worry."
As promised, their odyssey soon ended at a vast door that Paoras opened with a casual shove, leading to the handful of people inside perking up. No one appeared on edge, but Heidi figured that they were all alert; everyone relaxed when they saw who it was.
There were two obvious half-Fairies, dark and pale in their complexion. One had herself buried in a book but was peeking over its edge, the other played around with a miniature dragon sat on the table in front of her. Of the men, both stood tall and could not be more different. One appeared old and very much like a human; the other was young, with one black wing for an arm and the other one on fire.
Moreover, the entire room rang with ambient mana and power, several auras together with Lilith's and if she saw that right, the girl with the tiny dragon kept emitting a steady stream of it from her entire body.
"Soo," she let out while looking around, her mind trying to piece the sight together. Maya was there as well, clad in what appeared to be a nightgown; the Succubus closed her mouth, having been in the process of greeting her, though she did get up from her seat.
Then Heidi began to point, first at Paoras. "Half Elf." Then at Lilith. "Full Demon." Then at the two obvious ones. "Half Fairy." Followed by the winged man. "Half Angel." And at the old man. "And if this is what I think it is, half Nightmare."
Silence hung in the air for a long moment. Demons looked between Heidi and their mother, the latter of which had a mischievous smile on her face. Maya merely kept silent and closed the distance between them, wrapping the human girl in a gentle embrace. "You were always a smart girl, sweetie. Perfectly right, my elite guard has one member of each heritage. We technically have one more spot for anyone who married into the family, but it isn't occupied right now."
That part about the guard was not exactly what she thought, it being more that Maya wanted to show off, but Heidi took it. She could not stop herself from quipping, though: "I count two half-Fairies."
"Oh, yes." Maya turned them both, her ethereal hands hugging Heidi instead so they could both face into the right direction. "Dahlia with her wyvern is in the guard. Lilie always worked better as a hitwoman, the few times I do need one at least."
That explained that. Heidi immediately took a closer look at the one pointed out to be Lilie, mentally comparing her to the baby she remembered. She had a hard time associating the womanly features she saw now with the pudgy cheeks and wide eyes.
In turn, Lilie also studied her with interest, but whatever thoughts she had were unreadable to Heidi. No Helena, though.
She considered to ask where the other twin was for a moment, then she remembered that five thousand years of war could definitely claim some lives and decided not to go there. Instead of that, Heidi raised a hand in greeting, to which Lilie nodded quietly.
Meanwhile, Maya chuckled and motioned for everyone else. "Take a seat, sweetie; we have a lot of catching up to do. But, introductions first." She motioned for her children to come forth. "You already met Lilith, you know Paoras and Lilie on a technicality. I hope you brought time."
Heidi just rolled her eyes and forewent the obvious answer, to which Maya huffed softly. "Oh, right. That pun was unintended. Either way, let us start with Lilie. The last time you met her she was still a baby after all."
Forth came a short woman, head at the height of Heidi's abdomen. About average height for a fairy, but with pale white skin and sharper features than most of them. Her dark hair fell gently as Lilie hovered upward so they were at eye-level, offering a small hand to shake. Heidi took it, grinning at the other woman. "Good to see you all grown up. Is everyone in this family either spooky or cute?"
"You forgot attractive," Paoras chimed in slily before her sister could respond, arms folded under her sizable bust.
Heidi just gave her a dismissive look and a wave. "Sorry, giant tits alone don't make you attractive. Maybe if you were twice the height you actually are." Her words prompted stifled laughter from Dahlia as well as open snickering from Lilie, and made the busty half-elf pout. Lilith petted her head with a kind smile.
"A word of advice," the old man entered the conversation in a gruff but calm tone, walking closer. Heidi noted his bare chest and the throngs of muscles shifting with every motion, his mana ringing of nightmarish screams mixed with flame. "You should not begin discussions like this where we live, even in a teasing manner, unless you are willing to actually hear the subject matter discussed. I hear humans are... less inclined to matters we brush off without a second thought."
Now it was Paoras who giggled, as did Maya. Heidi just eyed the yet unintroduced man for a moment, then flicked her gaze over the others. "Such as?"
He grinned, a soft, almost grandfatherly smile. "The fact incest is not taboo in this domain, as long as no children spring forth from the act. Most of us have opinions on our siblings' attractiveness." He gently squeezed Heidi's shoulder while the Magical Girl sighed.
"You people. I, I really should say I'm surprised, but I'm not. Anyway, thanks for the warning." Heidi shook off the moment of exasperation under snickers from various people, then held her hand out. "Anyway, name's Heidi, or Adelheid if you want to be formal. Please don't be formal."
He took it with a measured chuckle, shaking with surprising strength. "Shura, firstborn of Mother and a Child of Nightmare. I walk the path of the blade and tutor the young ones in the art. If you ever wish for a spar against a peer opponent, skill against skill, be sure to call for me."
Heidi squeezed harder in turn, grinning as much as he was. "Oh, really? Pretty high opinion you have of yourself there." Their handshake continued, turning into a contest of either side increasing the pressure until the other gives.
"Quite. If it is but skill at the blade, I find even Goddess Grey wanting."
"Pff, I don't believe you. We're getting that settled sometime soon."
"As you wish. To have a new opponent on par with her will be delight-" crack
The sound was audible, making every last person not involved in their handshake tense. Shura blinked down at Heidi, then opened his hand; hers quickly turned into an ugly purple, but the girl kept calm and studied it. "Demonic strength sucks, you know?"
A moment later, Maya had snatched the broken hand and applied soothing magic to it. The other half-fairy, Dahlia, fluttered closer to inspect Heidi curiously. "That must hurt." Her voice held little inflection, though she hugged her tiny dragon close to her chest as she spoke. Heidi shrugged.
"I had worse."
She immediately got swatted by Maya, whose smile had receded into a frown. "And you are not going to do any of the usual reckless things where I can see them, understood? Sparring is one thing, but getting yourself hurt for no reason is going to give me a heart attack sooner or later."
There was a certain sense of pressure on her words, delivered in the resolute tone of a mother expecting compliance. Heidi, being Heidi, was not impressed. "I'll try, but no promises. You know me by now." Then she turned back to Daliah and held out her left hand, the right one still being in Maya's clutches while the Duchess grumbled. "Dahlia, was it? Nice to meet you."
"O-Oh. Yes, hello. It is a pleasure." The other woman averted her gaze while her dragon slithered out of her grasp and began to sniff Heidi. "And, well, to answer your earlier question, any offspring of either Succubus or Incubus will be supernaturally attractive, pretty, cute, any such thing. I am not sure where you get creepy from, though." She spoke slowly, not meeting Heidi's gaze.
The human girl pointed her thumb at the half-Angel of the group, noting how some others tensed. "So for one, there is a guy whose one hand is a wing and the other on fire. Maybe it's just that we don't have stuff like that at home, but that is a teensy tiny bit creepy. You and Lilie, too; but that might just be dark-looking girls strong enough to rip most people to shreds creepy." The tension faded somewhat, and Heidi looked around. "Did I say something?"
"Nah," Paoras jumped in there, nodding toward her burning brother. "But most people call Agni creepy for what he is and not what he looks like."
"What... oh, right. Forgot about that." She did forget about angelic and demonic stances on procreating with the other. Then she cast a look at her old friend. "...have you forgotten who is among my best friends?
"Fair enough."
Before Heidi could turn back to the last person she had yet to introduce herself to, Dahlia spoke up again. "Um." Her deathly pale skin turned purple the moment she had Heidi's attention, which the human girl realised was a blush. "To backtrack a little, um, it is true that we inherited beauty from Mother. But there are so many of us, and after so long we are at a point where outsiders like you are far more interesting. I was thinking, maybe I could make a sculpture of you? I, uh, do that." She fell silent, her dragon finally hopping over and flapping its wings before settling on Heidi's shoulder.
The Magical Girl stared at her for a moment, then tilted her head ever so slightly. "Is that some kind of weird euphemism I don't get? Just making sure," she cut off the immediate denial. One hand went up to pet the curious dragon, deft fingers running over warm scales. "I really don't need misunderstandings here, especially now that I'm engaged."
"O-Oh, congratulations." Dahlia immediately darted closer and wrapped Heidi in a tight hug, voice growing warmer. "I'm glad to hear that!"
A moment later, Paoras and Lilith followed their sister into the hug. Then Maya embraced all of them with her ethereal arms, leaving Heidi in the middle of a gaggle of cheering girls. She just sighed. "Why is it that everyone is more excited about it than I am? It's not even official yet and I'm not going to marry anytime this year or next year." She just received some giggles and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I don't mind dropping by to be your model, Dahlia."
"Careful, most of her sculptures are corpses or fucking."
"I just like the aesthetics, and not all of them!"
"Just giving the girl a fair warning~"
"Nothing about this is fair, I'm not making her model in the nude if she doesn't want to!"
Much to her surprise, Paoras' teasing actually drew out a flurry of emotion from the previously aloof Dahlia. Mainly embarassment and denials. Heidi kept quiet so as to not make it worse for the poor girl. She already assuaged any worries with her responses anyway.
After a little further banter, Heidi threw Maya a look. "Hey, supermom. Go save your daughter already." Her comment drew laughter from everyone, including the mother in question; Paoras finally let off Dahlia and was then deposited elsewhere by ethereal hands that grabbed her under the armpits. The hugpile dissolved and Heidi could finally step free, approaching Agni.
He did not appear happy at her approach, but she did not give that much attention. Despite his fidgeting however, he offered her a friendly nod once she got close. "I would offer a handshake as well, but do not want to hurt you. It is a pleasure none...the less?" His introduction trailed off as he regarded the hand Heidi held out to him with a grin.
"I'm fireproof, don't be shy." A cheshire grin split her face while the confused hybrid looked between her and her hand several times. Then he reached out slowly, the flames running over his hand coiling forward to consume her as it came close. Except that it faded away before even touching Heidi's skin, dispersed. Their fingers touched and Agni marveled at the flesh-and-blood person whose hand he held. Heidi squeezed camly and shook. "Nice to meet you, Agni."
"...likewise."
She let go and looked him up and down, then turned back to stage-whisper at everyone else: "Is he usually like that?"
She got shrugs in return and Lilith spoke up: "Agni is Agni, he doesn't like people much. He makes funny faces if you surprise him, though."
Heidi huffed at that and turned back to the man in front of her, who was still looking at his blazing hand. She could not help but ask: "Actually, doesn't that hurt?"
He shook his head slowly, eyes wandering back to Heidi. "Not anymore. It used to be painful when I was little, but I got used to it. Mother was likely in more pain than I. I hear she insisted on holding me despite being set on fire anytime she does."
"Oh?" That was news, something which made Heidi round on Maya, who appeared completely unfazed. "So I'm not allowed to be reckless, but you set yourself on fire regularly?"
The Duchess just smiled back. "If the alternative is to refuse holding my baby right after he was born? Yes."
She left it at that and Heidi simply sighed. "Madmen and madwomen, any and all." Then she grinned at the Succubus. "But that's why you're so great." For as weird as she was, Maya cared more about her family than most. That was something Heidi appreciated. She would definitely come back, maybe bring her friends some other time.
Duchess Maya and her Guard You Better Behave When Visiting Them
(Unified Darkness / Thirteenth Hell) Duchess Maya
A.K.A. Mother of Twenty Thousand
Stats
Health: 2,043,600
Base Damage: 103,955
Base Resilience: 20,411
Magic Modifier: 102,755
Affinity: Life | Nurture | Family | Love
Weapon
Ethereal Arms
Level 40
Attacks Per Turn: 10
Affinities: Life
Ability: No-Intercept | Pin | Grapple
Spells
Surging Vitality
Level 40
Base Heal: 3,600
Magic Modifier: 800
Affinity: Life
Ability: Overheal | Mass Heal | Instant Recovery
Abilities
Absolute Fertility
Level 15
-Impregnation attempts are always successful; bringing a child to term takes only 10% of the time it normally needs
Broodmother
-Every time Maya births a child, increase her Health by 100, Base Damage and Magic Modifier by 5, and Base Resilience by 1. (20,391 Increases)
-Maya's children grow to adulthood twelve times faster than they normally would, reducing the time required from years to the same amount of months.
Family Matters Shush now, none of that. This family is all I ever wanted and more, I am so happy I could cry.
-Maya is immune to Auto Kill effects and all of her descendants take 99% less damage while fighting on the same field as her; if one of them dies anywhere, all remaining descendants deal doubled damage against their killer for as long as Maya lives. This effect may stack.
Flight
Level 29
-Can take to the air and fly at up to 280mph.
High-Speed Combat (lvl 4)
-Maya can track and react to opponents moving at up to 360mph.
(Maya) Paoras
A.K.A. Big Sister / Flame Devil
Stats
Health: 8,000 (320,000)
Base Damage: 5,000
Base Resilience: 600
Magic Modifier: 1,500
Affinity: Iron | Family | Flame
Weapon
Crusher
Level 50
Attacks Per Turn: 6
Affinities: Iron
Ability: Knockback | Smash | Primordia
Spells
Iron Shell I will not allow it! (Single-target)
Level 15
Base Boost: 2,250
Magic Modifier: 325
Affinity: Iron
Ability: Boost-All | Damage Block
Tiny Juggernaut
-Paoras may ignore lethal damage once per battle. If an ally would be hit by a lethal attack, she may step in that attack's way even if she normally could not, as long as she is in range to do so.
Protector's Will
-Multiply Health by Irony Tide's level. Paoras' Health resets back to full each turn and she is immune to Auto Kill effects.
The First Line I am the oldest of us all. I am where any assailant starts and falls.
-Scale to Target effects targeting Paoras deal 1 damage in all cases. She may intercept attacks against anyone that shares her bloodline as a free action and with a 1000% damage increase.
Draconic Vanguard
-Paoras may substitute her basic attacks with casting Dragon Breath. This does not count toward her Spell limit.
Irony Tide
Level 40
-Paoras may support an ally and add her stats to theirs, forming a single unit with them; she does not take any actions of her own while doing so.
(Maya) Lilith
Stats
Health: 25,000
Base Damage: 5,655
Base Resilience: 8,600
Magic Modifier: 2,000
Heartful Wave A powerful, lavender beam attack that comes from the heart... on Lilith's tail.
Level 10
Base Damage: 23,500
Magic Modifier: 3,000
Affinity: Hugs
Ability: Ordnance | Detonate | Ray
Abilities
Share a Shard of Happiness
-Lilith may increase any one stat except ApT by 1 for each time she hugs someone new. (Points gained: 53,655)
Gentle Heart's Serenade
Level 4
-Allies fighting by Lilith's side double their ApT. Governs Health and Base Resilience.
Flight
Level 7
-Can take to the air and fly at up to 60mph.
High-Speed Combat (Lvl 1)
-Lilith can track and react to enemies moving at up to 90mph.
(Duchess Maya) Dahlia
A.K.A. Draconic Priestess / Team Taxi
Stats
Health: 2,000
Base Damage: 6,000
Base Resilience: 600
Magic Modifier: 20,000
Affinity: Darkness | Dragon | Abyss
Weapon
The Pale Wyrm
Level 40
Health: 20,000
Base Resilience: 500
Attacks Per Turn: 9
Affinities: Darkness | Dragon
Ability: Auto Assault | Autonomous Combat | Proxy Caster | Auto Revive
Spells
Black Spark Rays of dark lightning surge through the area.
Level 30
Base Damage: 12,000
Magic Modifier: 9,000 (90,000)
Affinity: Darkness
Ability: Total Charge | Disintegrate | No-Intercept
Transcendent Retribution Cast forth pure blackness to envelop all in your way.
Level 30
Base Damage: 6,000
Magic Modifier: 6,000 (90,000)
Affinity: Abyss
Ability: Total Charge | Unstoppable | Apocalypse
Greater Translocation Open the black between dimensions to pass through, and take many more with you. This Spell can not be proxy-cast.
Level 25
Base Damage: N/A
Magic Modifier: 500
Affinity: Darkness | Abyss
Ability: Mana Charge | Channel | Target by Modifier | Dimension Hop
Abilities
Arcane Specialist
Level 20
-Dahlia may use any number of actions to charge a Spell. If a Spell finishes charging while she has actions left, reset her Spell limit.
Wellspring of Mana
-All allied Magic Modifiers are doubled and reroll results below 25% of the increased maximum.
Draconic Flight
Level 22
-Both Dahlia and her Pale Wyrm may take to the air and fly at up to 210mph.
High-Speed Combat (Lvl 3)
-Both Dahlia and her Pale Wyrm can track and react to opponents moving at up to 270mph.
Dragonforce (Active)
-Seal Wellspring of Mana for seven days when this Ability is activated; it can not be activated while Wellspring of Mana is sealed.
-The Pale Wyrm transforms into the Pale Drake; its Health is multiplied by 30, Base Resilience by 20, and Base Damage by 10. It gains Overwhelm and Auto Max Charge. The transformation lasts for up to ten turns; killing the weapon cancels it immediately.
Guardian Beast
-The Pale Wyrm automatically interposes itself between Dahlia and an incoming attack whenever possible.
(Duchess Maya) Shura
A.K.A. The Sword Saint
Stats
Health: 90,000
Base Damage: 12,000
Base Resilience: 1,500
Magic Modifier: 6,000
Lightning Blade Dance With lightning running through the steel, even distant opponents may be blown away.
Level 40
Base Damage: 80,000
Magic Modifier: N/A
Affinity: Horror | Sword
Ability: Ricochet | Hypersonic 2 | Catastrophic Damage
Abilities
Affirmed Existence
-Increase Resilience by 50% of incoming damage. Reduce Resilience increase by (10% - Story, 20% - Myth, 30% - Legend, 40% - Epic, 50% - Divinity).
Swordsman's Pinnacle They say that once you reach high enough on the mountain that is the art of the blade, the path ahead is but an endless sea in front of you. I dove through that sea and reached the stars beyond.
-Shura may sacrifice two actions to negate an opponent's action, including spellcasting and attacks normally not possible to negate (but which do not carry Anti-Parry or Unblockable). If his own attack is negated or dodged, Shura immediately regains two actions.
Wind Step
Shura may sacrifice an action to immediately close into melee range.
Yin to Yang
-Whenever he casts Lightning Blade Dance, Shura's ApT reset.
Perfect Opening
-Counterattacks carry Supremacy.
Gloria of the Challengers
-Shura is immune to Overwhelming Presence. If an enemy he fights possesses an Overwhelming Presence, all of Shura's stats except ApT are multiplied by 3.
(Duchess Maya) Agni
A.K.A. Abomination / Unholy Regent
Stats
Health: 66,000
Base Damage: 4,000
Base Resilience: 660
Magic Modifier: 8,000
Affinity: Darkness | Light | Fire
Weapon
Sun's Grasp
Level 20
Attacks Per Turn: 6
Affinities: Light | Fire
Ability: Burn | Full Combo
Hell's Heaven Within darkness is light, and within light is darkness
Level 40
Base Damage: 400,000
Magic Modifier: N/A
Affinity: Darkness | Light
Ability: Planet Cracker | Heavenslayer | Hellslayer
Abilities
Presence of Darkness
Level 30
-Increase allied Resilience by 3,000, reduce enemy Resilience by 3,000. The former can only be bypassed by Unstoppable.
Infernal Heritage
-Anyone affected by Agni's Burn spreads the effect to all other living beings within 5m of them; this resets all Burn-effects already active, but can only spread from whoever originally got the effect from Agni himself.
Holy Heritage
-Agni heals for 33% of his Health each turn. If Health is full or filled by that effect, Total Damage of his basic attacks is increased by the remaining healing power for that turn.
Intimidating Presence
-The target of Agni's focussed attention receives Sanity Damage whenever they attack Agni.
Down Skill
-May sacrifice one attack's entire Danmaku-damage to negate an opponent's action; can only be taken off actions for the same turn.
Technically not part of the guard, but here is her sheet as well.
(Maya) Lilie
A.K.A. The Legacy of Two / One Woman Death Squad
Stats
Health: 4,500
Base Damage: 4,500
Base Resilience: 750
Magic Modifier: 36,000
Affinity: Darkness | Book | Death
Weapon
Fey-Bonded Claws
Level 30
Attacks Per Turn: 11
Affinities: Darkness | Book | Magic | Strength | (Love)
Ability: Spell Boost | Auto Max Charge | Slash Hell
Spells
New Moon's Shine A beam of pure dark that reaches far and constantly brings pain.
Level 30
Base Damage: 9,000
Magic Modifier: 30,000
Affinity: Darkness
Ability: Mana Charge | Slaughter | Total Armor Destruction
Starburn Emit the aura of a dying star
Level 35
Base Damage: 7,000
Magic Modifier: 175,000
Affinity: Death
Ability: Mana Charge | Omnipresent | Sudden Death
Transposition Move around at high speed, in any direction you desire. Teleport-range is 10m per level.
Level 30
Base Damage: N/A
Magic Modifier: N/A
Affinity: Book
Ability: Teleport | Dimension Shunt | Omni-Caster (lvl 4)
Abilities
Fiendish Grasp
-If Lilie touches her target while casting New Moon's Shine, it automatically charges for half the maximum Magic Modifier on top of the existing charge; the Slaughter-debuff is applied for her Total Damage instead of Total End Damage, even if the attack is ineffective, nullified, absorbed, or the like.
Recursion of Death
-If Lilie kills an enemy with a Spell, she may immediately cast another Spell as a free action. This Ability is not triggered by DoT-effects.
Fey Skill
-Lilie may sacrifice three actions to negate an opponent's action, including spellcasting.
Flight
Level 24
-May take to the air and move at up to 230mph.
High-Speed Combat (Lvl 3)
-Lilie may track and react to opponents moving at up to 270mph
Arcane Growth
Level 15
-Whenever Lilie kills an enemy with basic attacks, she immediately makes a modifier roll unaffected by outside effects and heals for 15% of the rolled amount, even beyond her maximum. She sheds excess Health after battle.
It was a castle. Because of course it was a castle. She was not even in Hell proper, but of course they would live in a castle.
Heidi wondered how she could expect anything else, the only surprise having been that she had gone to Reluxus of all places. Before her towered a structure of white stone that, from the look of it, someone had attempted to pretty up with flowers in various places. The result felt more off-putting than reassuring, a sensation which Heidi could deal with less easily than attempted intimidation.
Two humanoid Demons in plate armour guarded the main entryway while Imps darted this way and that; Heidi doubted that this particular place needed the guards for anything except appearances.
No one in this Local Dimensional Cluster, barring a few exceptions, would break into the home of Magical Girl Goddess Grey. There were many easier, less painful ways of committing suicide.
"Hold," one of the guards called to her as she neared. "Please state your name and business, ma'am."
The young woman could not help but blink, not having expected to be addressed so politely before even revealing who she was. She held her aura suppressed to appear less threatening, which meant that these two should not be aware of her true power.
Then again, no ordinary human would brazenly walk up to this castle while dressed like she was, in a turquoise one-piece with a greyish white jacket ending in long sleeves and long ribbons that appeared like a cape. The whole ensemble fluttered softly in the wind while both men bowed their heads in greeting.
"Huh," she could not help but comment while pulling back one of her sleeves. "This really is different." She produced a piece of writing and held it out to the nearest guard, having held onto it for half an hour. "Magical Girl Defiance, visiting your boss. I got this from Duchess Maya, she said that makes it easier to drop by unannounced."
She could have just walked in, but she was visiting friends. Behaving properly would not kill her this one time... not doing so might, though. Depending on how the owner of the place found her just barging in.
Either way, the mention of Maya had both guards stand at attention, surprise only barely visible. The closer man gingerly took the short letter and inspected it carefully. Then he folded it again and held it back out. "Of course, ma'am. If you allow, I have never heard of your name among our Magical Girls?"
His question was rather clear and Heidi merely shrugged as the latter vanished back into her sleeve. "That's because I'm not one of yours. I'm unaligned. Which way?"
The guard nodded thoughtfully, but quickly turned upon hearing her question. "Ah, down the main hall and up the staircase. I can call an Imp to lead you to Lady Grey's chambers, though she might be busy at this time of day."
Heidi eyed the man with confusion while he looked around for one near enough that he did not need to shout for; it took her a moment to realise the misunderstanding. Once she did, she cleared her throat to get his attention; the other man kept his eyes on the road now, though he was definitely listening.
"When I said 'your boss', I meant Elisabeth."
"Oh." He paused for a moment before bowing his head. "Oh! My apologies, ma'am. Visitors usually attend Lady Grey. We are set up in the west wing, you merely need to take a left beyond the main staircase and follow the corridor."
Heidi nodded at that and made to walk past the guards. "Got it, thank you." They did not stop her and her steps soon vanished down the vast hall.
Meanwhile, Heidi took in the bright furnishings; she recognised some craft similar to that in Maya's castle, likely gifts from the Succubus. Demons of various shapes wandered around, most dressed as butlers and maids, but some in armour or robes carrying the insignia of the Ashen Legion. Some threw her curious looks, but no one questioned her presence as she walked down the soft, steel-grey carpets.
Who would have thought that Elisabeth ended up founding Goddess Grey's personal combat unit?
The thought of having her idol this close made Heidi a little giddy, but she put that aside for now; she could meet the second most powerful Magical Girl some other time, right now she was here for an old friend.
The further she walked in the direction she had been given, the less she saw any servants; in turn, people of the Ashen Legion became a bit more numerous as they patrolled the area.
At this point, Heidi let go of her aura and saw the nearest Demons flinch when it washed over them; crackling weakly, challenging, but not directly hostile. They were not enemies, but neither were they allies.
More eyes were on her when she entered a vast main chamber holding a training field in its center; several dozen Demons were situated here, with two untransformed Magical Girls watching them spar.
Some actually interrupted their session to turn to the new arrival, whose eyes lazily wandered over the training as she strolled into the hall; she could take any of them and she knew it.
Moreover, the person she had been looking for was right there, overseeing one of the many spars; her eyes were hidden behind a blindfold, just as they were in the past. Even her type of dress had not changed, though she held herself a lot more confidently these days. She did not need to see her eyes to know when their gazes met, seeing how she stilled and tension became almost palpable in the air.
Then both women smiled and walked toward each other; Heidi specifically ignored the fact she marched straight through two ongoing spars; the swings of two heavy blades, a warhammer, and a spear were deflected with the flick of a wrist, an elbow, a low kick, and a weak push respectively.
"I see you have not changed at all, dear friend." Elisabeth chuckled softly at the sight of her subordinates' expressions. "Few are so brazen when the Ashen Legion is involved, but I would expect no less from our Dragonslayer."
Heidi just shrugged with a single huff and ignored how quiet the room had gotten at the mention of her de-facto title. She took note of the fact the Unified Darkness apparently still remembered her, though. "Dragons have nothing to do with that and you know it. I heard you're here, so I dropped by."
"Unannounced, of course."
She did not appear unhappy about the visit, or mad. Heidi merely grinned. "Naturally."
Some other Demons had left the room, but she paid them no mind and shook Elisabeth's hand. "Anyway, are you sure you want to talk right here?" They did stand in the middle of a rather large group of people after all.
Surprisingly however, the now ancient Demon smiled leniently and nodded. "I mind them not. We are sworn to loyalty and honour, all as one. Unless you wish to speak of secrets, we need not reconvene elsewhere."
Her words brought a smile out of Heidi, who waved the other woman off. "You really changed a lot." They remained standing there and the Ashen Legion around them quietly realigned their positions, so that the ongoing spars were held at a distance from them.
Elisabeth's facial expression, or what of it could be seen, did not change. She merely made a motion encompassing the room. "Much has changed since last we met."
"Like you talking about my past exploits so openly?" Heidi raised an eyebrow, though her joking tone and the grin she wore took any sting out of the words. "Don't pretend you aren't, Maya is spreading the word as well. 'The Dragonslayer returned' and all that stuff."
She could feel something washing over her as the sounds around them fell quiet entirely, saw new magic thrumming all around. But Heidi did not let it show and made a dismissive motion at the amused Elisabeth. "She already admitted she wants to see my presence back, so you don't need to hide it."
"Very well," the taller woman agreed with a nod. "And while we speak of hiding...." She trailed off when Heidi shook her head.
"Yeah, I know."
(Countless Arms: +1000 Base Damage, 5802 dice = 6,802 Total Damage
Attack Negated
Weapon caught)
Heidi felt it the moment it happened, a single sword sailing through the air toward her with pinpoint accuracy, aimed right for the back of her head. Yet to her, it moved deceptively slow as she took a single step to the side, hand reaching up just as the weapon would have hit her.
Her fingers closed around the sword's handle and she gave it a swift flick, the momentum imparted in it twirling her around on her heel twice.
When Magical Girl Defiance came to a standstill, her cape-ribbons fluttering softly, she stood face to face with Magical Girl Goddess Grey. The other human held a wide grin, arms crossed. Her garb was the same black and red composition Heidi had seen and admired on TV so long ago.
The two stared at each other for a long moment while the room as a whole watched. Heidi held the single blade pointed to the side, easily able to tell it was of incredible quality and sharpness even from the corner of her eye.
Then she raised the sword to eye-level, noting the faint motes of mana still clinging to it. "You lost something," she told the other Magical Girl calmly. Then, in a single smooth motion, her arm snapped down and the weapon left her hand, sailing back toward its owner while spinning like a buzzsaw.
(Stolen Sword: +1000 Base Damage, 5802 dice = 6,802 Total Damage
Attack Negated
Weapon caught
Highlander Clause is in effect. Defiance and Goddess Grey are reduced to Inhuman Skill toward each other (and only each other) until they fought for supremacy.)
She was under no delusion that Grey could not have stopped her from making such a telegraphed throw, but this was not an actual fight. Moments later, as the weapon drew close to slamming into Grey's face, she kicked up one foot and hit it at the handle, redirecting her sword's trajectory to going up.
From there, she easily fished her weapon out of the air and held it to the side, just as Heidi had before. "Sorry about that," she greeted cheerfully, "I just wanted to see it for myself. You're the real deal after all."
Everyone else in the room sans Elisabeth let out the breath they held. Then many expression turned to confusion when Grey dropped her weapon with a clutter and darted forward to glomp her guest. "I finally got a peer of my own to compete with! Today is the best day ever!"
Notably, to Elisabeth's amusement, was that Heidi herself was likely the most flabbergasted by this turn of events. After a momentary pause, the younger woman sighed and shook her head, at a loss for words. She still wrapped her arms around Grey, though. "You heard of me?"
"Yep, totally did." The other woman grinned as she held her guest at the shoulders, looking her over. Then her eyes wandered to Elisabeth. "That's her, right? The girl you talk about every month or so?"
Heidi missed the Demon's nod because she realised to her renewed surprise that her and Grey were about the same height, with the other woman being maybe the slightest bit shorter. She could anticipate her friend's response and react to it, though: "Why is it that people keep talking about me?"
"I wonder why," the Demon answered while both women turned to her again; she had one finger lying on her cheek and an unhealthy dose of sarcasm bubbling in her voice: "Could it have been the Death Squad you beat on your own, or maybe the Archangel you defeated one on one, or, Hell forbid, the Dragon you killed?"
Grey giggled at that while Heidi sighed once more. Then she shook off the other woman and made to stand normally again. "Anyway, I wasn't planning on trying to meet you just yet, but that's no longer in the cards. I'm Heidi, nice to meet you."
She held out her hand, which the other Magical Girl shook cheerfully. "Yep, nice to meet you too. I heard someone unusual came visiting Liz, so I came to check. Just call me Ichi." She kept shaking her hand in excitement, though. "Oh, this is so great, I haven't had a peer in ages, probably since around the time we all lost to Amanda! Do you wanna spar?"
"No."
"Huh?" The excitement abated and Ichi let go of Heidi's hand out of surprise.
Heidi herself slowly shook her head, eyes never leaving her new acquaintance. "Sorry, but no. It's flattering that everyone seems to think so much of me, but this won't work." Then she grinned, more daring than she set out to be. "I can't beat peer opponents fair and square and if I pull out all the stops to win anyway, chances are they're dead."
"Ah," Elisabeth interjected as she understood the problem. "I see. You would get frustrated and angry if you held a spar you can not win, if it is not meant for practice."
"Yeah, pretty... much."
Heidi almost stumbled over the words when she turned back to Ichi. Who had pushed out her cheeks and lowered her eyelids, crossing her arms and turning sideways. She was pouting at Heidi.
The visitor took in the sight for a moment, then she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. If you want to act like a child," at which point she started patting Ichi's head, "then I'll treat you like one. There there, don't throw a tantrum just because I'm not playing with you."
She almost wished she had taken her phone along, as having a picture of the gobsmacked expressions all around would have been great. Ichi herself just pouted harder, then huffed and turned back to face Heidi fully. "Eh, I don't like it, but I guess I get it. I'm always open for a spar if you want to, though. Or a romp, if you prefer?"
The roles had been reversed again and Heidi was the one to be surprised. She blinked at Ichi in bewilderment, who looked her over with a playfully critical eye. "You are a cutie and I don't think anyone would mind." A glance was cast back to the other two Magical Girls, who gave her a thumbs up. "Yep, looks fine. No dates though, that's for girlfriends only."
Elisabeth likely was the only one who noticed the way Heidi's features hardened for a moment. The latter took a deep breath and stood silent... then she flicked Ichi's forehead, to a surprised sound from the other woman. "I appreciate the offer, but no. I am straight. I am monogamous. And I am taken. Okay?"
Ichi nodded quickly and raised her hands defensively. "Sure, sorry. I didn't know you already have someone. But-"
"You better not start any offer about threesomes."
Ichi quickly closed her mouth with an audible click, Heidi sighed, and Elisabeth chuckled in barely restrained mirth.
This was not the kind of visit she had expected, but she brought some time to spend with her old friend. If only this had not also made to destroy a good half of her early teenage dreams, she would call it a good day.
It was time to change the subject. With a deep breath and one hand carding through her hair absentmindedly, Heidi turned her attention back to Elisabeth. "How did you two meet, anyway?" She could have sworn that most of the Demons surrounding them were scurrying closer, curious. Even the Magical Girls became attentive.
Ichi just scratched the back of her head and giggled weakly. "Hehehe, well, I, uh, I don't really remember anything special. Liz just showed up at my doorstep and swore her loyalty a few years ago. Then I thought hey, that would be a neat thing and we built the Ashen Legion together, and here we are."
There was some muttering around them while Heidi frowned and glance back to her old friend, whose expression remained unreadable with the blindfold on. Elisabeth made a dismissive motion with one hand. "I have not forgotten the words you spoke to me so long ago, friend. When Goddess Grey herself was suddenly in my reach, I knew it was time for some change."
Yet her other hand clenched into a fist; the first gesture drew attention away from it, but Heidi noticed. She knew Elisabeth well enough to tell, from a time where she was less capable of hiding her true feelings. Even now that she stood as a true master of the art, some tells remained. Heidi kept silent about it, though. Understanding the Demon woman's intention, she nodded and made to change the subject again, but this time Ichi intervened with a smile: "Now I get to ask, how did you two meet? Liz always tells us how many great things you did, but she never goes into how it all started."
She almost hopped in place, giddy to learn more; Heidi threw her friend a look, who shrugged. "I know you and your pride. Go ahead if you wish."
Ichi had been looking between the two and Heidi knew they had a bit of an audience, but she ignored that. After a moment of thought, she shrugged and decided to just explain. "Right after I got my powers, I blasted myself into the past and landed on Sheol. Without knowing how exactly my magic works or how to get back or even just how to aim it. A scout team picked me up, I beat one of them to not become loot, and they brought me back to Charon's Keep where Liz was in charge.
"Then I basically worked for her in exchange for a place to stay, a teacher, and time to figure out how to get home. I didn't really have a choice, but it worked out. Her approach to getting in someone's good graces worked wonders," she could not help but snark at the end, "who would have thought people like you if you're nice to them." Elisabeth giggled softly, as did Ichi.
Then however, the other Magical Girl looked her over again and tapped her foot on the floor. "Okay, that's kinda scary to imagine, being trapped in another time. But I don't get why you didn't have a choice. You could have just fought your way out... right?" She already began to trail off when she saw Heidi's dumbfounded look; eyebrows raised almost to her hairline, eyes wide open.
The younger woman blinked at her once, twice, then breathed out slowly. "Are you stupid?" Her question sent several people in the room to their feet to defend their confused lady's honour, but then Heidi frowned again and rounded on Elisabeth. "Wait, what else didn't you tell her about-oh fuck you too!" The Demon's grin told her all she needed to know, though her outburst led to some more angry muttering about having no respect.
Ignoring anyone else, Heidi sighed deeply and turned back to Ichi, who waited for her to speak. "Okay then, listen up. I'm not an Epic like you. I'm no Legend or Myth or anything up there. I'm a Story Maker, and my only trick was time travel when I started." She ignored how wide Ichi's eyes grew at the news. "When I arrived on Sheol? I could barely, barely beat a single one of those foot soldiers Hell has tens of millions of. So no, I couldnt 'just fight my way out'."
Her piece said, Heidi frowned at Elisabeth, but was distracted when Ichi invaded her personal space to look at her from up close. "You, you mean it? A Story Maker?"
"Yes?" Her question might come off as a little more aggressive than she meant it to be. Heidi stood proud of how far she made it despite everything, so if someone refused to believe her on this, she would likely get mad.
Then however, her exasperation was buried in a renewed hug. "Wow, you're even more amazing than I thought! A Story Maker that makes it this far, that's incredible! Tell me more, tell me everything! Who else did you meet? I wanna know!" Likewise, the angry mutters had turned into curious, sometimes even excited chatter.
Heidi tried to dislodge the bouncy woman from herself but had no success. Then Elisabeth decided to make it worse for her: "Duchess Maya, for one. When she was still a humble healer."
The resulting squeal almost shook the castle. At this point, Heidi realised she would not leave anytime soon.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
A long afternoon of tea and snacks, tales of the past, and some light sparring with the Ashen Legion later, Heidi and Elisabeth were walking on the upper castle wall. They were on their own, even the Imps having been instructed to leave them alone.
She had proven herself second to none of the Demons under Elisabeth's command, a few exchanges with the woman in question revealing that they stood close enough in power for Heidi to need her extended bag of tricks in an actual fight.
As it were, Heidi was content with the day. "She's different than I imagined her to be," she finally told her old friend. Elisabeth nodded sagely, a soft breeze caressing her face; she took off the blindfold once Heidi said her goodbyes to everyone else. A chance to converse in private, for secrets to be shared.
Heidi knew it, too. She remembered. "So, why did you really join her?"
Elisabeth kept quiet, the expressive flames in her eyeballs shrinking to pinpricks of light; she took a deep breath before unclasping her robe. With each clasp that opened, the old Demon explained: "I have never forgotten you, not even in all this time. Your time with me marked something I could hardly explain in words, even today. I, I still miss Argus, it still hurts." Her eyes began to quiver with tears, but she blinked them away. A black robe dropped to the floor, followed by a red chemise, and Heidi took a sharp breath.
Elisabeth's entire torso was covered in scars. Small patches of them, marks of shallow slices, points where only tips had punctured her flesh. They came in various shapes and sizes, standing out even against her pale skin.
"I got these wounds when my battlegroup scaled Elysium's wall," she began softly. "We were greeted by a wall of steel, more blades than I ever saw in one place. She danced among them, greater than anything but you. Tired, worn down from countless repelled assaults, unyielding." A hand gently ran over the old scars. "I thought I would die that day. Without achieving anything in my last moments, where this human girl threw her every breath into battle to stave off the inevitable."
Elisabeth met Heidi's gaze, the flames in her eyes having turned into two tiny firestorms. Her voice lost its softness and became as steel: "She did not even notice me in her endless dance with death. Never noticed I was still alive and unable to move. I saw it, Heidi. I saw her final moments before she died. Defiant until the last moment. So much like you, yet oh so different. You both have something that inspires those around you." Heidi made to interrupt and ask about what she just heard with Ichi's death, but stopped herself and let her friend continue. "So I made my choice, too; I could not help you when you needed me so long ago, too weak."
Elisabeth crouched and picked her garment up, fingers stroking the soft cloth even while she kept holding Heidi's gaze. "So I swore to myself that I will grow stronger still. Beyond just following orders in a war that I will never see end. Until the day I die, I will now follow my heart. Until the day I die, I will protect this inspiring star to the best of my ability."
The flames flickered and faded once more, leaving behind an old soldier and a fallen champion. Elisabeth gently pulled her chemise and robe back on while Heidi made sense of what she heard.
"I do not wish for anyone to know this. My loyalty is no longer to the Unified Darkness, but to her. If she leaves the war, so will I. If she joins the Light, so will I. No matter where or how, as long as she will have me, I will follow." She fell silent while pulling the robe over her head, giving Heidi more time to digest what she learned.
Silence reigned between them. Heidi had her eyes closed in thought while her old friend became presentable once more. The two of them then looked out into the distance, watching Reluxus.
In the end, Heidi broke the moment by wrapping her arms around Elisabeth, who stiffened before reciprocating. "Thank you for understanding," she muttered softly.
Heidi simply patted her back and squeezed a little tighter. "No need to thank me. We're friends and we will stay friends."
They held each other for long moments, basking in the simplicity of their ancient bond. When they separated, Heidi yawned loudly and sighed. "Ugh, I have been up for far too long. I should get home and catch some sleep. See you around, Liz."
She waved lazily, putting additional emphasis on the nickname Ichi pushed onto Elisabeth; not that it bothered the older woman, who simply smiled and waved back. "Stay safe, Heidi."
The casting of a spell later, Elisabeth stood alone under the evening sun. Feeling lighter but also heavier than she had for a while, more conflicted than she had in centuries. Her first real friend returned at last, on top of everything else she gained in recent years... and she had to lie to her.
She leaned onto the battlements and stared into the distance, where somewhere, she knew, Gabriel still hid with a group of survivors she gathered. A woman that had cost Elisabeth many of her treasured troops, and likely even her own brother; she never learned who placed the killing blow so long ago, but she could guess. She was in charge of tracking Gabriel down and prevent her from escaping Reluxus.
No one but a select few knew, not even the Dukes and Duchesses were aware that the Avatar of Light remained alive. It had taken years of harrying and would likely take even longer, but they would get her in the end.
Elisabeth was not happy having to lie to her friend, and she still considered Heidi to be one. In this regard however, her feelings made her choose against that friendship.
She dearly hoped it would hold through this or, preferably, for her old friend to never find out.
Founder of the Ashen Legion Goddess Grey calls them 'her minions'
(Unified Darkness / Thirteenth Hell Goddess Grey) Elisabeth
A.K.A. The Gatekeeper / Commander of the Ashen Legion / Anime Eyes
Stats
Health: 150,000 (750,000)
Base Damage: 6,000
Base Resilience: 3,000 (15,000)
Magic Modifier: 2,700
Ember of the First Flame
Level 30
Attacks Per Turn: 11
Affinities: Darkness | Honour
Ability: Unstoppable | Burn
Spells
Abyssal Layer
Level 50
Base Boost: 50,000
Magic Modifier: 10,000
Affinity: Darkness | Improvement
Ability: Boost-Self | Damage Block | Damage Barrier | Auto Max Charge
Ashen Rune A moment of meditation is required to set a new rune, glowing in harmless flames. The number of runes that can be set at the same time is twice this Spell's level.
Level 40
Base Damage: N/A
Magic Modifier: N/A
Affinity: Darkness | Citadel
Ability: Instant Manufacture
Infernal Armoury Imbue your comrades with the essence of Hell's power, so that their weapons may carry glory.
Level 30
Base Damage: N/A
Magic Modifier: N/A
Affinity: Improvement | Honour
Ability: Boost-Other | Upgrade | Target by Level
Abilities
Ashes to Ashes
Level 30
-Elisabeth's Burn-effects can stack any number of times and last twice as long; they are applied on every hit and even if her attack is ineffective, except if it is dodged.
Dust to Dust
-Each time Elisabeth kills an enemy, she heals for 50% of their maximum Health. While within her Sanctuary, she may heal beyond the maximum from any source, shedding excess Health after battle.
Runic Cornerstone
-Any two Ashen Runes may be connected with straight lines; any thusly marked area becomes a Sanctuary. Elisabeth may change the connections at any time at will, as well as remove a Rune entirely. Enemies directly on a Rune have their Current Health cut in half each turn.
Sanctuary
-While within her Sanctuary, Elisabeth's allies deal doubled and take halved damage; allies may use her Runes to teleport to any other Rune connected to their starting point. Everyone inside is always aware of hostile elements within the Sanctuary, though not their exact position. Hostile Presences are halved in effectiveness.
Inhuman Skill
-Elisabeth may sacrifice two actions to negate an opponent's action.
Intimidating Presence
-The target of Elisabeth's focussed attention may not expend actions for anything except attacking.
Gloria I have seen that child win glory, and owe even my own life to her. It is time I put in some actual work, so that I can look her in the eyes upon our next meeting.
-While inside of her Sanctuary, Elisabeth's Skill requires merely one action to use. All allies within count as possessing Inhuman Skill unless they have a better version. The limit of active Ashen Runes is increased to thrice the regular value, and she may place up to half her ApT in runes each turn.
A Prayer Named Glory Five thousand years and yet I could do nothing but get smashed into a wall and bleed. Oh brother, why is it that the young and mortal shine so much brighter than us? Even if she was dying, she stood to the last. So much like her, I can see now why she would be the idol. Perhaps it is time to reconsider my allegiance....
-Abyssal Layer automatically throws back an equal amount of damage on anyone whose attack against her does not pierce at least the Damage Block. Elisabeth's Sanctuary, once created, counts as a World Sphere with all its effects. Elisabeth's Health and Base Resilience are multiplied by five while inside of it.
Battlefield Modifier
Infernal Bulwark
-Elements consisting entirely of Demons can not break.
"It was quite the surprise indeed. You could have been a bit more polite to the guards."
Before her sat a woman whose presence could be felt even though it did not affect Heidi; a Valkyrie with grey hair and pure white wings, her armour foregone for a comfortable robe. Lucifer, or Lucy, as the human woman called her, carefully sipped from a cup of tea after her quip.
Heidi, her own silvery white hair bound into a tight ponytail, lowered the cookie she had been looking at and shrugged. "Sorry about that. Old habits, and I got used to it during my time with the UD; being commanding helps keep idiots from dumb ideas; I'm tiny in comparison to them, so a few thought they could muscle through me."
The younger woman finished her explanation by taking a bite out of the cookie after all; her eyes widened in surprise at the soft texture and faintly sweet taste. "That'sh good," she told the other two people present while chewing quickly to take another bite.
The third person sat at this table was only perceived by her, or rather only she could actually see them. It had been quite the pleasant surprise to encounter them here of all places. While without an actual face or what could be called a physical body, Neverwas nonetheless enjoyed the tea. Wherever it went.
Lucifer chuckled and nodded toward the seat that was empty for her, long since used to the Lesser Nightmare's presence. "I am sure he will be happy to hear that."
"Wait." Heidi quickly swallowed and turned her attention to Neverwas. "You made those? Teach me, I can't bake to save my life!"
An ethereal chuckle echoed through the room, audible only to Heidi herself. The Nightmare's headless hood moved a little. "I would not mind teaching you, friend. Baking is a nice pastime for when I am not busy sorting through documents and reports. Quite relaxing. Perhaps during your next visit?"
Heidi quickly nodded her agreement. "Sure, that's fine with me." Then another thought made her look from Neverwas to Lucifer curiously. "You two get along pretty well, don't you? How did you meet?"
The Nightmare nodded, as did the Valkyrie. "It took some getting used to," the latter mused before answering her other question: "Our meeting was a chance encounter some three or four hundred years ago. I will spare you the details, but Neverwas has been here with me ever since." She took another sip from her tea and smiled at the seated Neverwas. "We grew quite close."
"Convincing the remainder of her staff that I mean no harm was more difficult," Neverwas added after Lucifer finished. "But they came around over the years. You would not believe the difference that a few baked goods can do." The last bit came with another chuckle which Heidi shared; she currently had another cookie in her mouth and could attest to their quality.
Once she was not chewing on sweets for a few seconds, Heidi responded to her friends: "I see, that's good to hear." Then she averted her gaze sheepishly. "Though, uh, Lucy? With how the guards reacted and what I see, I can kind of tell you've got a strong presence, but I still have no idea how far you made it.
Her words were a bit of a jumble, but neither of the two minded it. Lucifer chuckled and took another sip from her tea. Her eyes were directed elsewhere, but Heidi could not say for sure where.
"I... became Selector not too long ago, together with a dear friend; it was already planned, but the loss of Grand Selector Hildr made the Legion forward the ceremony by a few decades." Heidi raised an eyebrow at that, not too surprised about the revelation; what bothered her was the other name she just heard.
"Hildr? She made Grand Selector?"
The now revealed Selector nodded. "Yes; she did speak of you in the past, now that I think of it. It is a shame you could not meet her again, though maybe you will do so anyway in due time." Lucy paused before sighing. "She went with Gabriel and fell on Reluxus. I think that is part of the reason they crowned me Grand Selector immediately after my appointment. Losing our Grand Archangel and the Grand Selector was a heavy hit to morale."
Lucy lowered her head slightly and closed her eyes for a moment, then she shook off whatever heavy thoughts she might have had; Heidi figured she should not interject at this point and let her friend speak. "It is a great honour either way, though also a great burden. As Grand Selector, I took command of the entire Valkyr Legion."
She sighed and refilled her tea. "You have met Bell on the way here?" A nod from Heidi, who was munching on a cookie again. "She is working directly under me and in charge of the Valhallan theater. Quite young for her position with about four hundred years, but she makes up for her lack of experience with impressive intelligence and foresight."
The human made an understanding sound and swallowed once more. "Wow, that's pretty high for both of you. Mind if I ask something ignorant?" When her friend motioned for her to continue, Heidi asked her current question: "What does the 'Grand' actually stand for?"
This brought Lucifer up short; the Angel blinked a few times and considered her response, not having expected this particular question. "Hm. In general, Heaven handles the hierarchy that way. Archangels and Selectors can be anyone, but it is a blessing only the oustanding receive. And of those, the most outstanding is the Grand Archangel and Grand Selector."
Which drew a parallel with the UD's creed of individual power that Heidi did not bring up. She merely listened as her friend explained: "Gabriel held her title for two millennia; due to her wisdom, ability, and kindness, everyone agreed to have her take command of not just Heaven's Host as is customary, but of the entire Unified Light."
Lucifer leaned back with a sigh, gulping down everything in her cup in one swing. "I still can not understand how she did it all by herself," she admitted to the two of them. "Father and I already run ourselves ragged overseeing False Heaven, and she also had a close eye on the Elven and Fairy affairs all on her own. I was on her command staff for a long time, I know she barely delegated anything to others."
Neverwas quietly pushed a tray of cookies closer to Lucifer as she complained; moments after she finished, she immediately grabbed for it and stuffed her face in a manner most of her underlings would have found improper. A display of frustration only they were allowed to see.
Heidi merely listened and could only offer a weak smile. "Well... Gabriel was crazy to do it all by herself. Delegating is important, too." She took up another cookie to nibble on as well. "I think you'll do fine. Your father was Michael, right?"
"Yes, he is. Is something the matter?"
Heidi shook her head in response. "Not really, just curious." She had heard about it in passing before, and it made for a good distraction from both work and the friend that was now lost. Which reminded her that she had to talk to Gabriel sooner or later.
Now however, her mind returned to another lost friend. As if the Angel had read her mind, she carefully eyed Heidi. "If it is alright, would you be willing to tell me more about my predecessor? You have been spending much time with her, yes?"
She nodded, though curiousity got the better of her: "It's weird, though. Lu was an enemy of all that you stand for; why are you so interested in her?"
At that, Lucifer only shrugged and fell into her own thoughts. Neverwas, however, took up the conversation in her stead; from how Heidi's head turned to him, the Angel knew it as well. "From what we spoke about before, Lucy sees not only her deeds, but also her reasons. Fallen Lucifer lived a painful life and grew accordingly, thus her successor can not cast judgement on her this easily. She wants to bring new glory to their name not only for herself, but to be the person her predecessor was never allowed to be."
Heidi nodded slowly as she listened, considering what was said about her friend. She sighed and poured herself some more tea as well, then leaned back. "Okay, ask. I'll tell you if I know."
Greatest of Valhalla The true Avatar of Victory
(Unified Light/False Heaven) Grand Selector Lucifer
A.K.A. Lucy
Supreme Commander of the Valkyr Legion I am Gabriel's successor, there is no denying it. I refuse to let the light she fought so hard to preserve be extinguished. No matter the cost, no matter what I need to give for that. No matter how long or how hard I have to fight.
How ironic. I succeed the duty of the greatest warrior of the light, while my name once belonged to its greatest enemy. She would laugh about it, too. No, both of them would.
Stats
Health: 420,000
Base Damage: 16,500
Base Resilience: 6,000
Magic Modifier: 990
Ragnarök's Call
Level 20
Base Damage: 200% Target's Maximum Health
Magic Modifier: Target's Base Resilience + Magic Modifier
Attacks Per Turn: 3
Affinities: Victory
Ability: Match-Target | Planet Cracker
As this weapon is made primarily, or rather exclusively, to target Divine Beings, its first Ability only affects strong Existences such as Epic Magical Girls and Dragons. In all other cases, the damage is 500x its level (10,000) and the Magic Modifier is 0.
Spells
Radiant Dawn Bathe in Heaven's shine!
Level 50
Base Damage: 15,000
Magic Modifier: 10,000
Affinity: Hope
Ability: Boost-Self | Prime Evil Slayer | Smite | Negate Slayer | Vorpal
Flight
Level 33
-May take to the air and fly at up to 320mph
High-Speed Combat (Lvl 4)
-Grand Selector Lucifer is able to track objects moving up to 360mph.
Selector's Armor For one always is the first to the fray, so that all others may follow in their wake.
-If Grand Selector Lucifer is in combat with a chosen enemy, any attack or hostile effect from other sources is nullified. All incoming damage is reduced by 50%. Hope Amidst War triggers twice each turn.
Daystar
-While Radiant Dawn is active on Lucifer, her counterattacks become Unstoppable and carry Demonslayer at tenfold effectiveness.
Peering Down From The Heavens
-Grants immunity to Auto Kill effects. If any opponent on the field of battle possesses power equal to or greater than a Class 5 Demon, Grand Selector Lucifer is aware of them and knows where to find them.
Hope Amidst War
Level 30
-All allies heal 3,000 Health and remove a Body Damage Modifier each turn. Every four turns, Grand Selector Lucifer's Base Damage doubles.
Effortless Dodge
-Grand Selector Lucifer may sacrifice one action to dodge an incoming attack.
Overwhelming Presence
-Enemy forces take 1,500 damage each turn. Allied forces deal an additional 2,500 damage.
Valkyr's Decree
-The first time Lucifer dies in a fight, she revives at full Health after the responsible attack has ended. While battling on Valhalla, all of her stats, including ApT, are increased by 400%.
Bloodsoaked Legacy The name I carry is indeed heavy. Yet it is also an honour for me to carry such a grand warrior's name, and to redeem it!
-Lucifer may heal beyond her maximum Health; while she is on the field of battle, allied Presences and Auras are tripled in their effectiveness. Lucifer may make a free counterattack after dodging, and her first attack with the Champion's Blade each turn is Unblockable.
It felt like a regular deployment at first, at least to her. She had done this thousands of times, killed thousands of Angels, and turned the tide on hundreds of battles. Yet, somehow, Lucifer knew that this day would be different.
It was Valhalla once again. She disliked fighting the Valkyries on principle, what with them being mostly exempt of her presence unless she engaged them directly. Although, if she was honest with herself, part of the reason was that her successor would be one of them.
She floated far above the UD's staging ground, wings turning lazily as her eyes scanned the horizon. The forest had recovered, even the parts that burned where Adelheid had unleashed the horde one and a half millennia ago; even her magically enhanced sight could not make out much below the foliage. For all she knew, there could be no defenders hiding there; it might as well be millions.
However, there was once thing that caught her eye. One tiny detail that told her all she needed to know.
On top of the central castle boxing in the UD forces, there stood a figure. No wings covered her back and none of the Valkyries bothered her even as they passed by. Clad in the same turquoise and silvery white she always wore when she passed by throughout time, there she was. Magical Girl Defiance, yet more than three millennia before the advent of humanity.
"So it is time," she murmured to herself. Her fingers tightened around the Blood Soaked Cross, but then relaxed again. She had known this day was approaching, had been counting for decades already. She knew her successor would exist, and so her own existence was to end one day.
Despite that, however, Lucifer had long since made up her mind. She would die as she lived, a menace to the Light. If this was the day, then she would sell her life to as high a price as she could.
She had often considered to bow out, to simply leave this war behind and settle down. She had considered to explore motherhood after meeting Maya, who had made herself a name in Hell over time. She had considered to... retire.
But the hollow feeling in her chest, the white-hot pain in her entire body gnawing at her every thought, only kept at bay by endless wrath; she could not stop, never could, never would. Heidi had taught her how to change, and Lu knew at heart that she might have been able to. Maybe she could have found something else to dedicate herself to. But that was a maybe, one which she never risked.
But, as it was, Lucifer was tired after such a long time of battle. Yet it was all that kept her mind off the flames and darkness within herself, and the pain that still echoed ever since her fall.
She did not feel that retirement was possible. Nonetheless, Lu was grateful for all the memories she could make with her dear friend, be it in her own time or the future she would never know otherwise. Heidi had even appeared to see her off.
So, with her mind as eased as it could ever be, Lu began to search for her target. Now that she knew it was a trap, she could tell the man displayed himself a little too openly on purpose; not enough to draw her attention normally, but noticeably enough once she knew what to look for. He appeared to inspect the castle defenses during a short time of respite.
Then the next tide of Demons began to march and the purifying light they normally feared was neutralised with her own presence.
The moment they hit the defenders' lines was the moment she angled her wings and dove; rapidly gaining speed, Lucifer homed in on her target as his wings failed him, spearing him through the heart in passing; she was long past before the defenders could react.
Yet, Lu did not even attempt to turn around once she passed enemy lines. She had done this many times and even pushed past the occasional ambush laid out for her upon turning, but today she knew to be different. So instead, she pushed further inland.
All around her, thousands of Valkyries broke through the foliage. She could spy the armour of Heaven's First and Second Hosts in their midsts, together with the arcane shine of at least ten thousand Fey following. Lu grinned and slowed down to let the first volley pass where she would have been flying. Angelic presences were snuffed out by her own the moment they stopped suppressing them.
She turned in mid-air with thrust from her third wing, still able to see her friend in the distance; Adelheid had turned to keep watching her, but made no other motions. Nodding, Lu focussed back on the situation before her. Her mind discarded fleeing as an option; with that many, they would tire her out before she made it to safety. There were probably more waiting for her, too.
Instead she raised her weapon and dove to meet the defenders, angling herself to give as little surface area as possible. Her Blood Soaked Cross made the Fey's magic fizzle out before it ever hit her and all the additional volleys roared right past her.
Then she reached the Valkyries and began to dance amidst them. As prepared as they were, as fast as their elite acted, they could not shake the moment of horror when their wings truly began to fail them. Their two wings could not match the maneuverability a third wing gave her.
The cross swung around in rythmic motions, severing heads and wings wherever she aimed; some got away with deep cuts and bleedings, but she paid them no mind. More filled the open spaces, arms grabbing for her while swords, spears, axes, and so many others aimed to tear her wings.
Lu took note of the strategy and coyly pulled her wings out of their reach at the last moment each time. She was fighting outnumbered and the Valkyries began to cease under their allies' spellfire when she kicked them into its way. Heaven's Host merely ignored the magic as it failed to hurt them, continuing their assault as she ran circles around them with her superior speed and abused them as shields from their allies.
Then instincts screamed at her and her cross caught a blade millimetres before her face, redirecting the strike. The wave of displaced air that followed told her enough, together with the almost overwhelming presence of light.
The entire field seemed to pause for an instant when she and Gabriel locked gazes. She could see the regret in her assailant's eyes, perhaps even a hint of sadness in her posture. Perhaps she had even slowed down enough for Lu to react. She would never know.
However, Lucifer smiled. An honest smile. "Thank you." Her words were quiet, but nonetheless heartfelt. The other Angel's eyes widened, then bugged out in pain when Lucifer's cross ran over her ribcage. Gabriel received a kick to the stomach and dropped like a stone, though her wings soon regained their strength and stopped her descent.
Lucifer considered the arrayed Angels and went to hunt the First Host some more; she quickly took up speed, leaving Gabriel behind for the moment. Valkyries moved in again while Heaven's elite began to fight back, but they all knew this battle would just keep going. Lu's skin and flesh regenerated almost as fast as they hit her, every drop of blood soon returning when her cross drew more.
Then one got a hold of her bad arm, running a dagger through the wing; the Valkyrie died a moment later, but her weight pulled the weapon down and through the membrane. Another trickle of pain added itself to the constant agony, but she did not give to it. She had felt so much of this during her life, this was nothing in comparison.
Her advantage of movement gone, she continued to cut them up where she could; yet more and more got a hold of her wings, at first not long enough to matter, but soon capable of tearing into them. One of them she recognised, exchanging grim looks as she first got a hold of her waist as her presence began to wash over everyone, having been suppressed up to this moment to surprise her.
Looking down and finding the face of her old friend made Lucifer feel at ease somehow. Leliel, determined and angry as she was, would not let go that easily.
And then they all felt the magic up top, saw the giant forms dropping from the heavens; Lu found grim faces around her and quietly saluted their bravery. She saw Gabriel rush off, leaving the blast zone together with as many of her own as she could save; yet Lu had taken her toll, rupturing wings where she could. Most of them would not make it.
Under a gargantuan effort, she shook off her attackers one last time; only Leliel managed to hold on, but was unable to stop her from flipping the Blood Soaked Cross up. Lucifer aimed it like a javelin, eyes on one of the few fleeing Angels. One more she wanted to take.
Then, in an instant of consideration, her mind flashed to her friend. Adelheid was still watching and stood in about the exact same direction. Leliel had a hold on her, so she had no time to do anything else.
With what strength Lucifer had left, she aimed further upward; then her arm lashed out, propelling the cross into the sky at ludicrous speed. Her final deed done, she let herself drop and ran her good arm around Leliel's shoulder. "It's fine," she told her friend, who looked perplexed at the action. "If you're coming with me, I'm not scared of wherever we are going next. Thank you, Leliel."
Leliel's eyes widened. Yet, whatever her response would have been, it was taken away when the two Angels began to burn one last time.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
The Valkyries were vaporised together with Lucifer, as were the Fairies; Heaven's Host may have remained alive, if buried under the rubble of the meteor, but the following ten definitely ended them.
Gabriel hated what they had to do this day. Five thousand Valkyries, ten thousand Fairy Battlemages, no less than fifty death Squads, and a tenth of Heaven's first two Hosts respectively. Even she had come as a last reassurance to Lucifer's end this day.
All but the Death Squads and a few stragglers were gone now, their ashes having joined the one opponent they came to defeat. The empty crater deep below spoke of it, and the shockwave that hit them a moment later reaffirmed what they already knew.
It was over. Lucifer was gone.
Gabriel's eyes reluctantly fell on Adelheid, whom she herself had granted permission to observe despite her subordinates', especially Leliel's, doubts. To her surprise, the human girl held the fallen Angel's weapon in hand; her expression remained unreadable, though the tears soaking her face were anything but.
Despite herself, Gabriel felt a pang of envy toward the dead.
She was an Archangel, one who stood head and shoulders above even her fellow Archangels. She led Heaven's Host despite not yet having obtained the title of Grand Archangel.
And yet she felt this way. Despite all the things she had and could have, Gabriel was missing such a simple thing. She wondered, by herself, whether there would be someone to remember her not as Archangel Gabriel, the strongest warrior of the Light... but simply as Gabriel. She was realistic enough to know even she would not live forever; yet she was sad to imagine having no one close enough to remember her for her.
The human below firmly grasped Lucifer's cross and offered her a thankful nod. Then she was gone, as if she had never been there to begin with.
Now Gabriel was alone with her thoughts once more. Her thoughts and the hope that perhaps Adelheid would remember her as the person she was; with how everyone else put her on a pedestal, this one young woman was the closest she had to an actual friend in a long time.
Heads turned when she stepped into the command centre, her presence making itself known even without looking. The air thrummed with her power, beckoning all of them to try stopping her.
Naturally, Gabriel did not look up; she already knew who it was. "Have a seat, friend." The Angel said no more, yet she knew she had been heard.
With just these four words, all suspicion left the humans around her; hands left weapons at the reassurance that the Grand Archangel called her a friend. Adelheid herself followed the invitation quietly, uncaring for the force of Gabriel's own presence.
The two exchanged a look once her old friend was seated; Adelheid appeared little different to the handful of times she had seen her over the ages.
"So. Any reason you're reading here of all places?"
The human's question made Gabriel consider her 'reading material', which was really just paperwork. She softly marked the current page and put it down. "It is quite calm."
"Meaning, everyone here doesn't try to kiss your ass at every opportunity?" Gabriel could not help but chuckle over the crude words; some of the staff quickly hid smiles as well, she noted from the corner of her eye, but her friend also gathered some looks from the senior officers. Adelheid saw it too, throwing stinkeyes right back until they turned away.
Gabriel only shook her head at that, but decided not to comment. "As I said, it is quite calm. Interacting with humans, I still feel I can learn a great many things. There are some interesting individuals here as well." At that, her mind went to that one particular soldier; one of the few who did not put her on a pedestal.
"Really, now?" Her friend raised an eyebrow, to which she nodded. "Sounds like people I'd want to meet... too bad that I don't have the time for that."
Gabriel was old enough to hear the code out of her words. They both knew that this young woman, of all people, never lacked time for anything. Something was up and the old Angel narrowed her eyes at Adelheid to tell her she was understood.
The Magical Girl frowned, but then shook it off and cast a curious look her way. "So, anything interesting happen recently?"
It was oh so tempting to press for more information, but Gabriel doubted that she could get it out of her friend ahead of time. So she took the distraction and shared what few interesting details her life had over the years. Adelheid offered bits of her own life in turn, noting that she was engaged and had started visiting everyone.
Her expression grew melancholic as she continued on that line, though. When the younger one had stopped in thought, Gabriel gently reached over to put a hand on her shoulder. "What is going on?"
Once she got the quiet response, she really wished she never asked: "I... I saw Lu off just yesterday." The younger woman remained silent and Gabriel wondered what to say; she had no real friends beside this one anymore and her knowledge of social norms for interaction with humans was limited on top of it.
Most of all however, she still recalled that day vividly herself. "I am sorry I asked."
Heidi shook her head quietly, though her attention was diverted for a moment when the command staff began to fall into chaos.
Gabriel herself looked around to find out what happened, but most of what she read on their screens made no sense without context; she only understood that an attack was happening. Confirmations and estimations were ordered over the radio while those in command whispered with each other.
"Don't be, it was my choice to come here so soon. This... had to be done, too. It's time for me to leave." With this, she got up; Gabriel followed, filled with sadness that her friend would leave so soon. "Sorry, I... I can't stay longer." But she swallowed it down when she heard how troubled her friend sounded.
Quietly cursing her bleeding heart, Gabriel gave Adelheid an understanding smile and nodded. "It's okay. Surely we will meet again in the future."
However, her reassurance only made Adelheid's expression worse. Before the Angel could figure out what was going on, her friend hugged her waist with surprising force. In the same moment, sirens began to sing.
When she let go, her face was unreadable even to someone as ancient as Gabriel. She looked up at the Angel and gave her a weak smile.
Her bare whisper was almost lost amidst the chaos, yet she heard it. One word that made her eyes widen: "Farewell."
Adelheid turned to leave then; Gabriel's attempt to stop her was interrupted by one of the human officers approaching her hurriedly. "Ma'am, Hope is under attack!"
In the few moments it took to process the news, Gabriel understood. She let her friend go and pretended not to realise she was crying. By the time Heidi had vanished, she was already busy making sense of the situation. The Counter Force soon began to move.
The Avatar of Light
(Unified Light / False Heaven) Grand Archangel Gabriel
Supreme Commander of the Unified Light The Avatar of Light
Stats
Health: 750,000
Base Damage: 11,000
Base Resilience: 3,000
Magic Modifier: 1,100
Flight
Level 51
-Grand Archangel Gabriel is capable of flying at 500mph.
High Speed Combat (LVL 6)
-Grand Archangel Gabriel is capable of tracking objects moving up to 540mph.
Flash of Light
-When Blinding Light is cast, reset Gabriel's health to max.
Moment of Revelation
-When Gabriel lands a killing blow on an enemy, auto-kill all other enemies within striking range that have less health than her original victim.
God Felling Blows
-Each consecutive strike against an enemy has twice as much base damage as the last attack. Her regular attacks may ignore Edge of Mortality after three hits, Beyond Good and Evil after seven, and Blue and Orange Morality after twelve.
Subjugation of Evil
-Operates as Overwhelming Presence. Any opponent aligned with the Unified Darkness have all of their stats reduced by half. Should they have Evil as an affinity, they are automatically paralyzed while Gabriel is on the field.
Overwhelming Presence
-Gabriel's enemies cannot heal or recover health when she is on the battlefield.
Avatar of Light
Level N/A I am more than just the light... I am Hope incarnate!
-Heals all Allies to max Health at the start of each turn. All enemies take 50% of their current health in damage at the start of each turn. All affinities of a morally negative alignment are suppressed. All Affinities of a morally Positive alignment gain a 600% increase in all stats. Grand Archangel Gabriel cannot be damaged unless by a Class 5 Demon or Greater. This immunity can be overwhelmed by an offensive power of 15,000 or greater.
Supremacy of the Light All it takes to hold back the darkness, is a single spark of light...
-Spell-based damage heals Archangel Gabriel instead of damaging her. Any Class 3 or lesser demon that enters the same combat zone as Archangel Gabriel is automatically killed.
No response; the girl in question simply kept directing her weapon with her mind, leading it through various motions and at speeds Anna could not follow. Her friend had done this many times over the last hour, quiet and without much emotion on her face. As before, Anna knew, she would follow this up by fighting together with her weapon against imaginary opponents, using merely her fists and feet while the blade moved independently.
It was an interesting idea. Her friend had been playing with her magic for months, finding more and more interesting ways to apply it. Aside from turning herself into two separate opponents, Heidi had also demonstrated an incredible fine control and speed at which she fought.
Yet her enthusiasm was not there; she kept on thinking and experimenting, but Anna rarely saw her smile these days.
Even more concerning, she had stopped being defiant toward the teachers entirely; her behaviour already became less aggressive when she returned from her journey, but these days Anna barely saw her speak out at all.
The young Practitioner knew something was not right and today was the day she would find out. Orux knew, but he refused to tell her when she asked. Which meant that she had to do it by herself.
"Heidi!"
Her call made the Magical Girl blink; her weapon stood still in the air and then snapped back into her hand when she turned her attention to Anna. "Yes?"
She sighed and stepped closer to her friend, giving her a stern look all the while. "What's up with you? You barely hang out with us, you don't have any energy, you're... you're not yourself. What happened?" Anna almost stumbled over her words as she tried to convey her own concern. She did not like seeing Heidi like that.
Her friend blinked again and lowered her gaze with a sigh. The stave fell to the ground with a clatter when she let go of it. "Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind."
"Then tell me, I'm your friend!" Anna almost whispered, her stern facade falling away as she grabbed Heidi by the shoulders. "I want to help." When Heidi remained quiet, she asked the question she had been dreading to ask: "Do you want to join the war, like Steffie?"
Thankfully, the other girl quickly shook her head. Yet the words that followed were not reassuring: "No. Don't worry, I won't throw my life away for that."
A moment passed in silence, then Heidi sunk to the ground; Anna went with her, sitting in the dirt next to her friend as she stared at nothing in particular.
When Heidi spoke, she listened. "I, I had a lot of time to think. It's been months, maybe years for me, I haven't really been counting. I'm definitely older than eighteen now, at least. I practiced and practiced and practiced to see if there is anything I can actually do, but...." She paused and threw the blonde by her side a miserable look. "Anna, this war isn't going to end.
"Don't bother," she immediately continued when Anna opened her mouth to respond. "You wanted to say you're sure it will end soon, right?" The prediction gave her pause; it was what she had wanted to say, and so she only gave a mute nod. Heidi took it as her cue to continue: "Well, guess what? They have been saying that everywhere. Back when it all started, the Fairies said it. The Demons said it when Heaven and Hell joined up. The Angels keep saying it. The Elves said it when they got involved. And now look at us; we're still in this shit, why do you think it's going to stop now?"
There was more pain in Heidi's voice than Anna had ever heard before; they had known each other for years, but the unbreakable girl next to her never looked so miserable. Anna had no words; she could only take her friend's hand, who squeezed it desperately.
She continued a moment later; now that she began talking, more words just kept coming: "I, I thought I can just not care about all of this and flip it the bird. Stay true to myself and all. For a while I even believed it myself."
A hollow laugh, but Anna only listened, quietly prompting her friend to let it all out. "Most don't even realise, and if they do, they never thought about what it means: however this war turns out, at least one race will likely face genocide. Be it Dark Star or the Fairies, or maybe even the Elves. The difference in ideology is what started this war, and by this point everyone hates each other. It can't stop until one side lies broken."
She had half a mind to argue that it was fine if the Light stood victorious, but her friend was engaged to a Demon and had different values these days; they discussed this before and Anna knew now was not the time.
Nonetheless, Heidi's withering glare made her shiver, despite not being directed at Anna herself. Magic crackled all around them, giving her goosebumps. "There is going to be no winner in this war. Only two factions of losers. One side will 'win', sure, but that doesn't bring the trillions of dead back. Fuck anyone who thinks there is moral superiority in any of this madness!"
She calmed down after that, shoulders slumping. To Anna's surprise, her friend had begun to cry; she quickly wrapped her in a hug, uncaring for the risk of being crushed by Heidi's increased strength.
"I, I thought a lot," the Magical Girl admitted against her shoulder. "There are so many heroes of the Light, but who does the Dark have? I considered... to join them for good, and to spearhead the UD's victory, then keep Earth as mine and safe, then influence things from within. But that doesn't work. The Dark Lord's power goes from one to the next, and it kills the one holding it if they're not aligned with the UD's current goals. Any unsuitable candidate just dies, so of course nothing will change for them. The only Dark Lords that live are those who agree with all the bad views the UD holds, not a change for the better. It will stay that way for as long as the UD exists."
The torrent of words made Anna cringe; there were some dangerous thoughts she really wanted to address, but felt that it would only make things worse if she did. She kept quiet, wondering if the conclusion to this was the Light's victory like she thought.
"But... what am I supposed to do then? Join the Unified Light? Become one more in such a long line of fools that fight this war until they die? What's the meaning of that if all of them and even Gabriel herself couldn't do any more than keep up the status quo? I don't want that, I don't want to throw my life away like that. Not for a fleeting chance."
As Heidi began to sniffle, Anna started to understand the bigger problem. They all knew the horror that lay in war, but only intelectually. Yet her friend had lived it; even though she remained with the stance that she owed nothing to the people in charge and made her own decisions. Yet her own kind heart made her want to help, want to do something.
Finally, Heidi's posture faltered entirely and she slumped against Anna, who simply held her as best as she could. "I, I have all this p-power, and it's s-still not enough to make a diff-fference at all." The hiccups got worse and Heidi began to cry uncontrollably, leaving no more room for words.
Anna did her best to stroke the troubled girl's back, wondering what there was to say. What could she say?
To her dismay, she found she had no words.
Perhaps someone else would find the right words, or have the insight to put Heidi at ease and allow her to make a choice? She wondered if there was a person like that.
The Crestfallen Time Traveler
(Unaligned) Magical Girl Defiance
Adelheid Schmeling The Greatest Story Maker
A.K.A. Heidi / The Dragonslayer
Stats
Health: 1,500
Base Damage: Variable
Base Resilience: 100
Magic Modifier: 1,950
Stardust Striker
Level 20
Base Damage: 1,500
Affinities: Interference
Ability: Auto Max Charge | Supremacy | Laser
Stygian Tempest
Level 20
Base Damage: 700
Affinities: Defiance
Ability: Ray | Unstoppable | Sudden Death | Anti-Infantry
Aetheric Tide (on character portrait)
Level 35
Base Damage: 1,400
Affinities: Interference
Ability: Slash Hell | Riposte | Vampire | Unerring
Reaper's Will
Level 20
Base Damage: 1,000
Affinities: Defiance
Ability: Vorpal | Abrade | Superslayer
Spells
Voyage Slip through the layers of reality, be it either in space or in time
Level N/A
Base Damage: N/A
Magic Modifier: N/A
Affinity: Defiance | Interference | Story Maker
Ability: Journey | Dimension Shunt
Argent Star Silvery spheres that hunt and destroy your enemies
Level 30
Base Damage: 1,950
Magic Modifier: 600
Affinity: Interference | Defiance
Ability: Homing | Omni-Magic | Purge | Anti-Air | Perpetual Caster
Arcane Slash Wrapped in magic, this strike will not miss. Reaches one metre beyond melee-range of current weapon
Level 20
Base Damage: 3,000
Magic Modifier: 500
Affinity: Story Maker
Ability: Unblockable | Echo | Trans Smasher | Dragonslayer
Abilities
That Which is Forbidden
Level 10
-Count as fulfilling any requirement for any Ability, personal or otherwise, at all times. Governs Health
The Weapon's Secret
-The Handle is always present as the base of the current weapon, and carries Base Damage equal to half of Stygian Tempest or Aetheric Tide, whichever is higher. Weapons can be switched for free, but only once per action. Active effects on weapons are removed upon switching.
-Defiance may seal one of her weapons for the remainder of combat to reset her ApT and increase MM by 100%.
Inhuman Agility
-Defiance can perform feats of agility that beggar belief.
Rage Against Fate You think that's enough to stop me?
-Nullify opposing Auto Kill effects, mental effects, and Slayer-Abilities within 80m.
-Defiance remains alive for the next two turns after her Health falls below 0; should she heal back above 0 in that time, or the person responsible for this Ability triggering be killed by her, her death is prevented.
Overwhelming Presence [Locked]
-Defiance is capable of negating spells, and opposing Magic Modifiers are set to 0.
High-Speed Combat (lvl 4)
-Defiance can track and react to opponents moving at up to 360mph
Unmatched Skill
-Spend a single action to nullify an opponent's action.
Defy the Rules
-Treat any instance of attributive Abilities like Silent, Intangible, or Indestructible as if they were not present. Defiance can safely perceive all forms of the Conceptual Language.
Guardian's Excellence
-Defiance is aware of all attacks within 20m of herself and may ignore the Anti-Parry Ability.
Meaningless Slaughter
Level 30 There is no point to it all....
-Complete immunity to damaging non-attacks as well as Overwhelming Presence-effects. Increase Defiance's ApT by 30% per enemy she fights, and decrease the level of opposing movement-related Abilities by 30.
The Handle
A metal bar about one and a half metres long, with a glowing red section in its center. This is the base of all other weapons and, technically, the only weapon Heidi possesses. Of note is that because this functions as the base for all others, all of its Abilities are active on each weapon, though only on the parts that are The Handle.
-Priority-1: Jolts of magic that let Heidi get around having to process information and deciding how to act; basically allows her to act instantly with the full knowledge of what is going on
-Indestructible: The entirety of the Handle's exterior. It holds all the squishy parts of different modes and their blueprints within its unbreakable metal shell.
-Mode Shift: Upon a mental command, the weapon can switch forms; the core itself elongates or shrinks itself depending on the form, and forms the additional parts out of mana; switching removes active effects on the current weapon, buffs and debuffs alike
--the lightsaber is a special case, as the blade is not solid; all the additional solid parts are inside of the casing
-Telepathy: Allows to move the weapon via telekinesis; not much momentum aside from what it already has, though; the mind-link also gives a feedback for how heavy an impact is
--due to Unmatched Skill, Heidi can adjust momentum a lot more freely than this Ability normally allows
-Levitate: Allows to supply motive force in a given direction; not particularly much in general, but enough to stand and move at walking speed in the air.
-Return: The weapon immediately surges back into Heidi's hands from wherever it is; does not work when not in the same dimension as her weapon; it always takes the shortest free path, and moves very fast
Stardust Striker
A turquoise to green blade that mostly consists of mana aside from the grip. While Reaper's Will has a greater amount of mana, it is innately harmful. Stardust Striker instead is calm and inherently calms the roaring current that is Defiance's magic. This calming effect also makes it a great focus to channel the magic with.
-Auto Max Charge: Due to calming the flux of mana Heidi draws from, she can pull out a lot more of it at her usual pace, with the usual maximum as a guaranteed minimum amount. This also affects spellcasting while the weapon is active.
-Supremacy: Heidi's magic actively interferes with defensive effects her attack comes in contact with, shutting them down to let her strike pass before letting them go back up
-Laser: The blade serves as a limitless battery that Heidi can charge with mana. At 20 charges, the mana in her attack begins to spill over and form into an energy wave which grows bigger the longer it is charged.
--releasing the charge without attacking saturates the surrounding area with excess mana; this boosts modifier rolls, but can be debilitating in higher concentrations (like drugs)
--massive Laser charges will take a toll on Heidi, to the point where she can no longer stand depending on the strength of the discharge
Stygian Tempest
A double-bladed scythe with barbed blades that is easy to rotate and swing in a continuous circling motion.
-Ray: The scythe is easy to swing in a circling motion, allowing the attack to be kept up. It also subtly boosts Heidi's ability to keep up the motion while moving.
-Unstoppable: Both blades are coated in a magical field that reaches several centimetres past them in all directions. When this field comes into contact with an opposing force, it sharpens itself in response to finely cut into it from the best possible angle.
-Sudden Death: Complete shutdown of whatever enemy thing would stop the scythe from dealing damage the moment it is encountered, otherwise inert.
-Anti-Infantry: This creates a malevolent surge of magical power whenever weaklings are encountered; even the weapon refuses to fail against small fry.
Aetheric Tide
A straight lance with a triangular, glowing blade on one end and two long ribbons attached to the other end. The ribbons are sturdy enough to allow throwing her weapon and holding onto them for a somewhat increased hit range. If need be, they are also sturdy enough to strangle enemies if Heidi gets in a good position for that.
-Slash Hell: A surge of speed that allows Heidi to attack several times instead of just once, packing five hits into a single 'strike'.
-Riposte: Passively increases Heidi's eye for exploitable openings, and makes it easier to find correct parrying strategies to make use of those openings. Also yields a burst of speed whenever such an opening presents itself (read, an attack was parried).
-Vampire: This ability lets the blade glow; it sucks life force out of wounds it causes.
-Unerring: Adds a subroutine into the spear that constantly calculates enemy movement patterns and environmental influences on them. It nudges Heidi to adjust her aim in order to guarantee a given strike to hit wherever she intents for it to land, allowing even called shots to specific body parts. This subroutine can not account for active interference with a given attack or any significant reaction from the target, though.
Reaper's Will
A lightsaber with a bright blue blade. This blade is magical and not solid, but rather a constantly returning burst of magic that pulses so fast it appears constant. The weapon has an off-button which turns off the blade, allowing to conceal it more easily.
-Vorpal: The blade itself is technically not sharp, but so incredibly hot that what it touches does not get Burn or Melt but simply melt away and the edges are sealed up; if this happens any faster than at crawling speed, it is a clear cut.
-Abrade: The blade wears down armour and other defensive effects it impacts, weakening the structure of an enemy's protection.
-Superslayer: Malevolent and defiant; there is devastating energy woven into each burst of mana that forms the blade. It immediately adjusts to whatever it attacks and ruptures it.
Weapon Exploits
-Passive:
--Major Improvement of reflexes and reaction time (Priority-1)
--Modes previously destroyed can be reequipped; they can just be reformed because the core is still there (Mode-Shift)
--Impact-feedback allows Heidi to more accurately gauge how sturdy her opponent or their weapon is (Telepathy)
--So much as touching Stygian Tempest's blade can lead to injuries once Unstoppable is active; even the blunt sides can take fingers and transfer the weapon damage when slapped into someone's face
--Stygian Tempest leaves grievous Body Damage Modifiers upon successful hits because the field ruptures any wounds the blades carve into comparably large gouges.
--Due to Defy the Rules, opposing instances of Unstoppable in an Intercept-conflict are treated as Juggernaut and thus no longer automatically break past Heidi's half of the conflict. Due to Stygian Tempest possessing Unstoppable, she can automatically win against someone else who attempts to combine Intercept and Unstoppable
--Due to Unerring, Aetheric Tide can be used as a completely accurate throwing weapon. Binding Telepathy and Levitate into this grants Heidi a surprising reach with it as well. Vampire and Slash Hell do not trigger on a throw.
--Reaper's Will damages melee weapons during intercepts, can easily falsify Cleave when winning, and potentially even break weapons while parrying if Heidi hits them correctly
--Reaper's Will can easily leave Body Damage Modifiers if the weapon actually deals damage
--due to how Reaper's Will works, it can even parry attacks that can normally not be parried, such as manabolts (Fairy basic attack) or lasers (Solid Core's Purifier Beam)
-Active:
(General, works for most or all modes)
--String several attacks together like a multi-hit (each attack still costs an action)
---Switch the weapon mode in-between the above to add different Abilities to the attack
--Negate attacks during an Intercept-conflict, cancelling the conflict
--Use Levitate/Telepathy to let Heidi take to the air on top of her weapon
--Employ tactical mode-switching to remove debuffs from the weapon (careful, also removes buffs)
--maneuver the weapon behind the enemy and use Return, then Levitate/Telepathy to run them through from behind (Unstoppable (False) due to speed, Backstab (False))
--Impale an enemy on Stardust Striker and switch to Aetheric Tide, or impale them on either of the former and switch to Stygian Tempest, to inflict nasty Body Damage Modifiers by the expanding weapon being within the enemy's body.
--Hold Laser-charges with Stardust Striker and hold them active even while swinging the weapon to negate attacks, or while casting spells
---Hold the charge active even while traveling with Voyage
--point Stardust Striker's Laser-shockwaves into the correct direction instead of everywhere in the swing arc
--falsify the Armor Pierce line with Stardust Striker's Laser
---while below magic spillover threshold, focus energy into the sharp edges of the blade (below 5 charges is Armor Pierce, 5 to 20 is Juggernaut)
---while magic spills over, forcibly focus the AoE; lessens the AoE-rate by 1/3 for False Juggernaut, by 2/3 for False Unstoppable
--Use Stygian Tempest in an overhead-spin to attack all enemies within its range in a single attack
--spread Aetheric Tide's Slash Hell's hits from one target to other nearby enemies
--use additional actions to negate each attack in a multi-hit for a Riposte-trigger each on Aetheric Tide, the counterattacks folding into each other
--increase Aetheric Tide's glow to create a light source
--Hold back and sustain the speed-boost of Slash Hell so the hits function as separate attacks and overlay into later actions; increased speed is added together
Additional damage to each hit as follows:
+50% Base Damage "Blender Initiated" (one speed-boost still going)
+100% Base Damage "Blender Ongoing" (two speed-boosts)
+200% Base Damage "Blender Full Swing" (three speed-boosts)
+300% Base Damage "Unstoppable Blender" (four speed-boosts, max)
[more is technically possible, up to the number of ApT available, but becomes more difficult and would injure the user]
Voyage
This Spell warps space and time to the point they form a gate between two places and/or times; it stops reality from readjusting itself until Heidi and whoever she takes along went through. The portal moves toward her unless conciously stopped, though it is barely visible to most; it adjusts to the size of whoever is to pass through, though Heidi can only take a handful of people along. Touching them directly makes it easier.
Using Voyage effectively requires to adjust to how time counts itself, as its increments are different from any human-made ones. Once one is proficient however, predicting the 'code' of a future or past point becomes easy.
-Journey: Adds the capability to pass through time, as well as a notable teleportation from one spot to another. Heidi's Journey, due to being inferred by a sidestep to the general rules, breaks the Gloss that normally prevents time travelers from interacting with other times on accident; she can stop it from doing that, but it requires concious effort.
-Dimension Shunt: Adds the capability to pass through dimensions, reaching up to four dimensions beyond the current one.
Exploits
--Time Dodge: The 'feeling' of specific moments follows a pattern that Heidi can work out and follow; once she knows it, she can predict how a specific time in the future will feel and send herself there to dodge an incoming attack, even some that have Undodgeable or Unblockable
--Instant Closing: Journey comes with a weak teleportation-effect; used correctly, the Spell allows Heidi to close into melee-range against distant opponents
Argent Star
Casting this spell forms a silvery sphere somewhere around Heidi, roughly the size of her head. It quickly takes up speed as it shoots toward the target Heidi designates for it.
-Homing: Upon casting, Heidi marks targets for each sphere; this requires her being able to properly perceive them, to know where they are. The sphere will keep following the designated target no matter where it goes, excepting that they leave their reach for too long or teleport away; else it follows everywhere, but does have a certain turning radius due to possessing momentum and inertia. It attempts to dodge obstacles.
-Omni Magic: The spell produces five spheres instead of one.
-Purge: The silver light is quite aggressive against differently aligned magic; the more different things there are, the more potent it becomes to assure they are eradicated. Spheres explode once they encounter something foreign, as long as it is at least as big as a grown man's fist or directly magical in nature. The explosion has a reach of roughly 1m in diameter, which equals a radius of 50cm.
-Anti-Air: Spheres expand a little as they fly, which increases their radius a bit. Each sphere also produces a magical backlash from active Flight-Abilities to strengthen the damage it deals.
-Perpetual Caster: Once the Spell is cast, an echo of it lingers around Heidi for a few turns; it surges every few seconds to recast before fading as it uses itself up.
Exploits
--Note: due to how Purge works, Argent Star can be negated via the Skilled-line with the right approach despite being a spell
--(Passive) Cluster Killer: if the sphere's explosion hits several enemies simultaneously, Purge triggers on all of their combined Affinities
--(Passive) Blanket Trigger: Anti-Air counts every use of the Flight-Ability, even if the user remains on the ground while doing so or creates another effect with it entirely; in particular, ongoing soft exploits of Flight trigger it as well.
--Spread Targeting: Heidi can assign each sphere to target a different opponent
--Mines: Homing allows to set the target as a coordinate in space instead of a living being to set up a mine, or an area relative to something else to keep spheres following it around. Two or more spheres can be assigned to the exact same area to make them merge, folding damage and modifier rolls into one stronger attack
--Second Barrage: Heidi may spend an action to route more active magic into Perpetual Caster's echo for an immediate recast, using up one of them in the current turn instead of waiting for the next.
Arcane Slash
Heidi coats her current weapon into a faint magical shroud that warps space. Upon attacking, the targeted enemy is hit no matter what they attempt to prevent it as long as they remain in the same dimension. The shroud can target enemies up to 1m beyond the equipped weapon.
-Unblockable: The mother of all aimbots, in that it works by warping space; a melee-slash is made and contorts space around it to hit the intended target. The warping property makes the strike move around attempted Intercepts or negations, and follows even if the target moves out of reach after the spell is already going.
-Echo: The magical shroud resonates with Heidi and sometimes produces an echo of the strike that lashes out less than a hearbeat after the actual attack. This can repeat any number of times, though the magic is fickle and never really lets it be a consistent effect.
-Trans Smasher: The magic refuses to bend in the slightest, even against those greater than Heidi herself; it corrodes the opposing Existence until it breaks in, then passes by unobstructed.
-Dragonslayer: Spikes the strike's mana, thus amplifiying its cutting power and sending damaging shocks through the target, whenever it encounters said target holding a Dragon-Affinity. Any defensive property tied to that Affinity is simply cut through.
Exploits
--(Passive) Natural Overlap: Layering the spell over a multi-hit only attaches its effects to the first hit; if Echo triggers in this situation, it layers itself over an additional hit per trigger. The same happens to applications of Ray.
--All in One: Heidi can layer the spell over a regular attack, and is even capable of forcing Echo to carry a replica of the weapon attack without making another one.
--Spread Recall: Each proc of Echo can be made to target a different enemy, as long as they are in range.
--Just Die: By putting more force into Trans Smasher's corrosion, it affects even beings without a heavy Existence malevolently. The spell's damage is cut in half, but any Existence lesser than Heidi's own takes the Critical Existence Failure malus for 100% of their maximum Health to their defensive string.
That Which is Forbidden
Fools reality by emulating Affinities or traits required to access particular Abilities. Does not do anything to Shop-prerequisites because everything in the Shop is already accessible.
(Passive Exploit: Heidi appears as Rule or Death when targeted by Supremacy/Kingdom and Sudden Death; the same goes for every other Ability that is blocked by specific Affinities. Also treats her as specific Affinities which bypass opposing personal Abilities.)
Inhuman Agility
Increases Heidi's flexibility to levels most humans are unable to ever reach and that even sees many Elves wanting. Magically augments her jumping height to several times the usual limit, adjusts her muscles so she can actually move mid-jump, and improves Heidi's sense of balance by an order of magnitude. Of note is that her flexibility is a permanent change and thus applies even while untransformed.
The Weapon's Secret
Most already covered under weapons; the weapon-sealing temporarily consumes a mode to free up magic and grant a short burst of speed; with some time out of combat, consumed modes are recreated.
Rage Against Fate
This Ability has an outward and an inward effect.
Outward is an aura that interrupts and disrupts all Slayers (normal and Super), Auto Kill effects, and mental influences within its reach (not sealing, disrupting after they actually activated and before they can afflict anyone); the affected area glimmers like hot air and feels a little oppressive for opponents to be in. Allies feel themselves lighter, slightly less affected by pain and injury
Inward is a Save from Death in the form of battle continuation; if Heidi's Health goes below 0, a bit of her mana is converted into life energy to keep her body alive and specifically prevent complete desintegration or mutilation from any source; it is fickle and only lasts up to thirty seconds, but it allows her body to go along with the force of her will instead of breaking down; if regular life force is added in high enough quantities to replace the imitation (Health goes above 0), the body returns to normal functionality. Heidi still takes damage as normal, falling further below 0, and can be healed by outside sources as normal.
The mana of the enemy responsible for the body's 'death' is held onto; if they are killed by Heidi, their whole life force is pulled out of them to heal Defiance back to full Health (this also removes all Body Damage Modifiers).
(Note: The timer does not count the current turn, no matter how far it progressed. If this triggers on turn 1, then turn 2 and 3 are where it holds; it would then break at the end of turn 3.)
(Note: the Save can trigger any number of times in the same battle, provided that Heidi returns to positive Health in-between)
(Passive Exploit: Augments Overwhelming Presence a little further within its aura reach, affecting even opponents used to the fear it induces more seriously)
(Passive Exploit: allied morale is not as easily broken because of the mental boost; positive modifiers for being inspired are more common)
(Semi-Active Exploit: once the timer starts, Heidi can break her own body's limitations to hit harder (i.e. use force that snaps her own bones and muscles for bonus damage) against her 'killer', as long as she can fight through the pain of it [technically strain damage])
Overwhelming Presence
Heidi's presence disrupts the flow of mana in the area. Inherent magic attempting to augment anything an enemy of hers does is dispersed before it can even take effect. Spells, which are of a stronger existential weight, lose that weight instead of fizzling out and can be parried or deflected as normal. This only applies for Defiance herself as the origin of this presence.
(Passive Exploit: Due to how a spell's conceptual weight is scrambled away, it can be parried. At the same time, with the conceptual weight gone, Defiance can intercept it like a normal attack.)
High-Speed Combat
This Ability intersects with Heidi's perception and speeds it up, as well as improves her reaction time.
(Semi-Active Exploit: Heidi can slip attacks in-between enemy movements and interrupt them (e.g. cut off their arm in the wind-up for a swing, or cut through a bow's string))
Unmatched Skill
Magic reinforces Heidi's ability to "parry incoming attacks", no matter how this is required. This Ability additionally improves her body against blunt force trauma and kinetic energy to ensure she can actually parry vastly stronger attacks without getting hurt by the shock even a deflected attack would lead to
(Note: Heidi's kit is focussed on melee combat; she is capable of using this Ability at range to negate attacks made against other people, but it is more difficult for her. All such ranged negations require twice the action cost, but this only covers the case of Heidi not being able to close into melee range before the to-be-negated attack lands.)
(Note: The Skilled-line can be bypassed with significant enough damage. Higher tiers of Skill require more to be bypassed. Unmatched Skill as possessed by Defiance can negate attacks of up to 1.2 billion damage, but no more.)
(Passive Exploit: This Ability grants a soft immunity to Body Damage Modifiers incurred by shockwaves or strong impacts; it is not perfect, but holds quite long. In addition, Heidi receives +500 DR against blunt attacks or kinetic energy)
(Semi-Active Exploit: Due to Unmatched Skill in particular requiring the ability to dictate physics, Heidi possessing it allows her to fool reality into believing Heidi actually can make her own physics for a few stunts, such as bashing someone with the flat side of her sword without repercussions, or manipulating the ratio at which force is transferred between two colliding objects.
Defy the Rules
This augments Heidi's entire existence so that attributive effects no longer hold effect on or against her. Together with the emulated divinity from That Which is Forbidden, it can even filter the Conceptual Language into something she can safely perceive and understand.
-Ignored are:
--Hypersonic: Whenever someone begins using a technique or effect with Hypersonic X on the field, Heidi is adjusted to have HSC X unless her own HSC is already that high or higher.
--Intangible: The moment one of Heidi's attacks or Spells hits an Intangible target, this Ability throws up a magical field that hits not the physical body but the essence of the enemy, basically targeting their entire 'actual body' at once.
--Silent: Improves Heidi's ears; she can hear magic instead of just the effect it has on regular physics. In most cases, this is just a faint noise which can easily fade into the background. For Silent however, she can hear the sounds the magical effect would normally swallow because they go through this effect first instead of immediately vanishing.
--Invisibility: Same as for Silent; an augment for the eyes that allows Heidi to see magic. All magic is now more colourful to her. Anything invisible is unveiled because its entire outline and colouring is visible to her eyes, traced and counter-coloured by the magical field keeping it invisible.
--Indesctructible: Whenever an indestructible object is encountered by Heidi's attacks, her magic lashes out and flash-corrodes that property for the instant it is hit by her. For that one moment, it becomes destructible and may break. Afterward, it or its parts (if broken) are once again indestructible.
--Unstoppable's effect on Intercepts: Where Unstoppable would normally just plunge through an opposing attack, some of the previous augments add an existential weight to all of them that 'blunts' it, basically reducing it to Juggernaut for the duration of the Intercept-conflict. This does not confer enough existential weight to trigger Existence Bonuses.
--Size-based Defenses: Not technically ignored, but reduced. Size-based defenses grant damage reduction against anything smaller than the colossal being themselves. Heidi's magic, when encountering an opponent sufficiently large, runs off her strikes and tears greater wounds; it does not scale to the target, though. The size of the extension is set, lowering the defense by one step. Large Enemy, the first step, is ignored; the next step is treated as being Large Enemy instead, and so on.
(Passive Exploit: Heidi posseses a higher sensitivity to magic; she can actively listen to magical effects and determine which race they belong to by hearing alone. Fairy magic sounds the most melodic, angelic magic has a certain reverence, demonic magic sounds rough and deep, Dark Star magic is sizzling and heated, elven magic is calm and thrumming like drums, human magic is plain weird and keeps making cartoon or anime sounds, and is completely individualised for Magical Girls)
(Passive Exploit: Mana residue lingers for a while, meaning that Heidi can tell if someone magical was around a place for some time by just listening to the echoes)
(Passive Exploit: Grants perfect sight in magically dense environments, no matter the light level or attempts to obscure her vision. Heidi can find ranged casters by following their Spells' contrails, or other magical effects)
(Passive Exploit: target-vision; bodies of magical beings are quite distinct, so Heidi can see people and monsters even through vision-impairing effects, walls, and the like (regular humans are immune, except if they carry active Brand Craft or such). Untransformed Magical Girls have lingering mana around them. She can identify them, and has an easy time finding Type-3s because their regular bodies are magical constructs)
(Passive Exploit: Heidi has a much easier time finding weak points in magical structures, and any kind of magical ambush; also good at detecting hidden Brand Craft (not what it does, just that it is there))
Guardian's Excellence
This works as a limited battlefield awareness which pings Heidi whenever an attack is made or enters the area within 20 metres of her. Unless someone attacks however, it does not do anything; neither does it tell her where the attacker is if the attack enters from outside the Ability's range. Traps are exempt from this awareness. Whenever an attack holds Anti-Parry, her magic ignores the property which makes it impossible to parry.
Meaningless Slaughter
This Ability permeates Heidi's entire body
-First is a defensive property that makes Heidi nonexistent as a target for any and all harmful Overwhelming Presence-effects. It also disperses every damage not carried by an actual attack, making it simply fade away. Any effects that came with it are dispersed as well (such as flames being snuffed out when attacked by Burn). This also emits a growing integrity field which holds Heidi's body together as her speed increases.
-the inner magic augments Heidi herself, focussing her magic to short-circuit her nerves entirely; it creates a set of magical nerves that transmit information in both direction instantly, then increases her reaction time and speed; it observes Heidi's Battle Zone, meaning all enemies she could immediately engage in combat through any means, and adjusts the increase based on their number
--Her ApT adjust immediately; defeated foes and new arrivals adjust the count, though she loses 'spent' actions first (2 used and lowered by 3 technically costs her only 1 action)
--The ApT-boost is summed up before being applied; meaning that 3 enemies give her 90% bonus ApT, not three times 30%; if the final increase is not an integer, it is rounded down
-In addition, the observational part is capable of detecting Abilities related to movement speed or teleportation; whenever one such Ability is detected, it reaches out even beyond Heidi's Battle Zone toward such an opponent, then flows against the flow of power that actualises its effect to slow it, be it physical or magical; depending on the other Ability's strength, it is either reduced or completely cut off by the power in Heidi's interference. This is effectively a Downgrade-effect.
(Note: The reduction of Ability levels requires an Ability to actually possess a level; unleveled Abilities are unaffected. In addition, spells carrying the Teleport-Ability are also unaffected despite arguably falling under this.)
(Note: Due to being entirely magical in nature and dependant on magic, Heidi's increased speed is completely nullified for as long as she is under a Dispel-effect.)
(Passive Exploit: the integrity field includes a weak soft resistance to Body Damage Modifiers, which grows more powerful the stronger the field becomes in reaction to Heidi's growing speed.)
(Active Exploit, "Parallel Thought": While combat is handled over the magical 'nerves' she uses for her horrifying speed, Heidi can still use her regular nerves and even put some of her mind to think while the rest of her fights without any loss of martial prowess)
(Active Exploit, "Disjoint Combat": Using the 'Parallel Thought' exploit to actively control her weapon telepathically at all times while she fights, weapon and owner can act as separate entities in battle, each able to utilise Heidi's full ApT.
While doing so, Heidi's Base Damage is reduced by 75% due to fighting unarmed, and her weapon's Base Damage is reduced by 25% due to Levitate being unable to supply as much force as she can. Enemies fighting the weapon are unable to read the (nonexisting) wielder's body language and thus have trouble anticipating or negating it, but certain Abilities and exploits are unavailable.)
Other
This includes anything else which might be relevant.
-Transformation: Heidi's transformation phrase is "As stolen flame sets fate ablaze, I rise as Magical Girl Defiance!"
--With it comes a feeling that roughly equals a defiant outcry against the world and its rules; by replicating that feeling on her own and then replicating the way it makes her magic flow, Heidi can transform without saying the phrase
(Of note, Heidi's magic actively wants her to transform and lash out against the world; as such, it readily flows as needed whenever she is in the right state of mind and gives it a push)
-Affinities: Heidi's Affinities are Defiance and Interference.
--Defiance: Due to this, her general temper, and her willpower, she is capable of pushing past pain and most Body Damage Modifiers.
---It also grants the "Defiant Against X" modifier against powerful opponents, or opponents Heidi perceives as powerful. The stronger the opponent, the greater the modifier. Strong Magical Girls of higher growth are likely to trigger an additional spike of damage due to their own Existence weighing in and reinforcing the defiance.
--Interference: This grants a great aptitude with the Skilled-line of Abilities, as well as obtaining them.
---It is also related to Heidi's temper and attitude, which often makes her jeopardise her own plans and goals (i.e. she interferes with herself)
--Defiance + Interference: Heidi is particularly vulnerable to Affinities related to enforcing order, but also resists all Affinities related to ruling. Chaos and related Affinities are likely to be immune to her modifiers.
---This particular combination of Affinities is capable of resisting World Sphere effects. With Dragons in particular, it even plugs the hole in reality that is them, which hampers their racial Abilities to the point of outright nullifying them in certain cases.
---of note however, this also means Heidi's magic is quite unwilling to do anything it does not want to; directing it in specific ways is basically impossible, which makes casting spells wordlessly impossible while she is transformed
-Suppression: Heidi is capable of suppressing different parts of her kit, even in combat
--Heidi can suppress her modifier roll by holding back on the additional magic that normally flows into her strikes
--Heidi can suppress the outward effects of both of her Super Abilities; Rage Against Fate's aura by pulling it back in, similarly to her modifier roll, and Meaningless Slaughter's short-circuiting of movement-related Abilities by actively pushing it back whenever it moves to lash out.
