Chapter Thirty-Six: Bloodstained Resolve

The enforcers moved in close formation up the stone stairs of the mountain shrine. They passed red torii gates one after the other, the great wood arches blurring together as they ran on and on without tiring. Oriko's eyes moved left and right as she noted the lines of light connecting the torii, a shimmering, barely perceptible force that bound them. "So this is Miss Kobi's rejection magic. Just as formidable as Kyubey said. There's no gaps at all."

"Want me to break it?" Izumi asked. She hefted her hammer casually, studying the barrier briefly as they continued to run.

"No, there's no need," Oriko said. "Not right now. Let's walk the path Miss Hoshino has given us. Climbing this mountain without using these steps would be wretched, even for us."

"So why does she leave the steps unsealed?" Kochiyo asked.

"Because she wants this battle. It is has some kind of meaning for her," Oriko said. "But there's no need for us to worry about her delusions. We just kill her."

Kirika grinned. "Of course."

They soon reached one of the places where the narrow path widened and opened up onto a flat, cramped area with some simple amenities. Benches, vending machines, and traditional buildings that sold food and souvenirs. Normally a space like this would be filled with tired tourists and worshippers, resting after the climb and refreshing themselves. The enforcers slowed to a halt as one. Oriko's eyes widened slightly as she noticed the headless corpse of a teenage girl slumped down in the shadows of one of the houses. "My, my."

The enforcers fanned out, moving carefully through the space. They had never worked as a single formation before this day, but they all had enough experience to know what to do. Every angle was covered. There was no possible avenue for unexpected attack.

Tai tilted her head back as the enforcers approached her from behind. Another dead girl was at her feet. She shouldered her blade. "Ah, it's you guys. Well, whatever. Where are my people?"

"They're behind us," Oriko said. "Not everyone could evade Miss Tomoe's power as easily as you. Or rather, I'm sure many of them were dragged into it."

"Useless assholes," Tai said.

"Assuming you won't be joining with us, you should fall back," Oriko said. "You're rather exposed for an important leader."

"Don't tell me what to do." Tai snorted. "If that witch wants to deal with me, she'll come down herself. No one else she has will cut it."

"On your head be it," Oriko said. She opened her mouth to say something more, then blinked, her eyes widening. The entire group tensed up as they detected a tremendous amount of magic being released. The enforcers broke as one for the cover of a nearby restaurant, gathering in close formation around Sakamae.

Tai simply stood in the middle of the pavement, looking up at the sky. "The hell is this shit?"

The flying swords passed over them in an instant, throwing up strange shadows before vanishing from sight as they streaked down the mountain. The sickly light of the morning sun bled from their silver edges.

"A long-ranged wide-area attack," Oriko said. "I imagine your precious subordinates have been caught up in it. I doubt the consequences are pretty."

Tai snorted. Then she turned on her heel and took off, running back down the mountain.

"That would have broken my barrier," Sakamae said bluntly. "I don't recall agreeing to go up against stuff like that."

"It's fine," Oriko said. "That's within my range of expectations."

"You're so goddamn useless," Nahoko said. "If you can see the future, can't you predict something like that?"

Oriko smirked. "Well, I'm very sorry, Miss Abukara. But my prescience is a limited thing. Frankly, why would I care what happens to five or ten of Miss Ajibana's lackeys?"

Izumi smirked. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"The problem is how often that attack can be repeated," Kochiyo said. "If we're trapped in the areas defined by that barrier, it could easily be used on us as well."

"We have a few minutes," Oriko said. "I know what's happening here. There's no problem." She narrowed her eyes. "The more immediate problem is approaching."

The enforcers spread out again as they sensed the bright presences coming down the mountain.

"Hitherto there's been nothing but a few sentries," Kochiyo said. "This is a real force. We have no reason to fight."

"Let's just kill them," Kirika said.

"Yeah, no kidding," Izumi said. She raised her hammer. "God knows if Osaka are any use at all."

"No, we need to save our strength. So we pull back," Oriko said. "Here and now."

The others nodded, moving back the way they had come. They'd sensed the incoming attack in time, and once stirred, they ran fast and confidently. But once presence approaching from behind burned brighter than any other. Oriko gritted her teeth. "Faster!"

Tsuya jumped onto the rooftop of the resturant, her sky-blue cloak fluttering in the breeze. "Get back here, scum!" She leapt after them with incredible speed, closing the distance between her and her enemies while jumping from roof to roof.

Oriko waved a hand, sending three vine spheres flying towards Tsuya. Kochiyo followed up by stopping for a moment to aim her two silver crossbows, sending two bolts flying towards the blue-clad girl from below.

Tsuya's eyes narrowed as she followed the incoming attacks, blocking the bolts with the thick black sheath she was carrying. She jumped, spinning in mid-air to avoid the spheres, before drawing her sword and slashing down towards the running girls. The curved silver blade glowed as a wave of bright blue magic erupted from it, crashing down towards the girls below.

Sakamae turned and planted her feet, the air rippling in front of her as if it was trapped in a heat-haze. The flying wedge of light smashed against that haze and vanished in an instant. "Useless."

Tsuya landed and rolled away, sheathing her sword again as she rose. She held the black sheath in front of her as she faced the enforcers. "Fleeing from one girl? Is this all you enforcers have?"

"Ignore her!" Oriko shouted. There were a few meters before they'd reach the stairs again. There was no problem.

"Screw her," Izumi said. She turned, sliding to a halt as she faced down Tsuya. "Why don't we just goddamn kill her?"

"Now we're talking," Tsuya said. She drew her sword swiftly as the enforcers momentarily hesitated, caught between retreating and turning to fight. She drove her blade into the ground, magic erupting from her body as she released her power. "I needed that time."

"Idiot." Oriko scowled as the shimmering barrier surrounding the area tightened and spread, a gate of magic that blocked the way down the stairs. "Izumi, get back here and break the barrier. The rest of you, pick her off!"

"She's not alone!" Toku screamed as she charged, her eyes even as she closed on the enforcers. She was followed by a dozen other magical girls, weapons raised and ready to fight.

Tsuya smirked, the scar on her cheek shifting. "It ain't that easy to break Riko's barrier, least of all when I've given it some love. So, you ready to go, scum?" She sheathed her sword again, holding the sheath up with her right hand and staring down the enforcers.

"Honestly," Oriko said. "I didn't want to get blood on my dress before we'd reached Kahoru, and you go and do something like this." She smiled pleasantly. "It's like you all want to die."

The two groups joined battle in a head-on collision, those with melee weapons locking blades and fighting for ground while the long-ranged girls searched for targets and poured on fire from behind. The enforcers were heavily outnumbered, but they fought with fearless confidence, using their superior magic to fend off the relentless assault. Kirika cast her circle of magic and plunged into the fray, her claws slashing shallow wounds into the arms of her enemies as she ran from target to target, searching for an opening. But Tsuya matched Kirika's movements, using her projectile attacks to drive the black-haired girl away from vulnerable targets again and again.

"You're irritating!" Kirika snapped. She charged headlong towards Tsuya, claws poised to gut the scarred girl.

"Thanks for the compliment, you dog," Tsuya said. She blocked the slashes with her hard black sheath then drew her sword, slashing the silver blade down towards Kirika's head.

Kirika rolled away, deftly avoiding the attack. She smirked as she saw an opening, springing in towards Tsuya's chest.

Tsuya gripped her black sheath just below the rim with her left hand, swinging it sharply sideways and parrying Kirika's claws just before they ran her through. She tilted her sword, swinging it towards Kirika's exposed flank.

Kirika threw herself backwards, rolling out of range before coming to a stop with her claws planted in the ground. "I see. It might be fun to cut you."

"Only one person has ever cut me," Tsuya said, smirking. "You don't stand a chance. Let's go, girls. These scum are nothing at all!"

Oriko snorted, raising her hands. Her long sleeves fluttered in the wind as she directed her flying spheres straight forwards, blocking attacks her allies couldn't see and forcing enemies away from the vulnerable flanks of her group. "Sakamae, watch your left, please. Nahoko, keep a defensive stance!"

"I know that, damn it," Nahoko said. She stepped backwards, holding her trench knives defensively in front of her as Toku charged forwards. "This isn't easy!"

Toku grinned, releasing an explosive punch towards Nahoko's face. Her gloved hands split the air as Nahoko swayed away. "What's wrong? You guys were all fired up just now!"

Nahoko twisted the knife in her right hand, stabbing towards Toku's left arm. Those punches weren't normal. Normally she'd have some leeway to work with against an enemy with no weapon, but she could read the force of those blows. One hit would be too many.

"Izumi, any progress?" Oriko shouted.

"This thing is goddamn hard," Izumi shouted. She slammed her hammer into the barrier binding the entrance again. The invisible wall trembled without breaking, slight cracks appearing. "This is a waste of time!"

Oriko frowned, unleashing a barrage of flying spheres towards Toku's face. "Okay. Then get back here. We'll fight this out."

"That's what I was waiting for!" Izumi said. She turned without hesitation and charged towards the battle.

Toku swayed back away from Nahoko's knives, throwing a precise barrage of punches with both hands. Each and every punch struck one of the vine spheres, shattering it in one hit. "Fight until you die. That's the end of this!"

Izumi shot straight past Nahoko, slamming her hammer down towards Toku's head. "Here I go, bitch!"

Toku crossed her arms above her head, absorbing the crushing blow from the hammer without flinching. She stepped back and countered with a searing right straight. "Not bad."

Izumi blocked the punch with the haft of her hammer, her eyes widening as she was pushed back slightly from the sheer force of the blow. She planted her feet defiantly, attacking again and again with her hammer.

Toku smirked, turning aside the hammer again and again with her unyielding gauntlets before counter-attacking with forceful punches. She too planted her feet as they exchanged blows capable of breaking rock, neither willing to back down.

"Nahoko, search for openings on the flanks," Oriko said. "You're more effective there."

Nahoko wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve, nodding tightly. "Ok." She darted back into the fray.

Oriko frowned as she analysed the situation, her fingers spread as she continued to control her flying spheres. The girls she had been given were strong. Even against these numbers, she wasn't worried. But Kyubey had warned the enforcers to avoid Toku and Tsuya if it was possible. Toku had wished to become someone who could protect others. Tsuya had absurdly wished to pass a middle school entrance exam. Neither of them had significant karma or unusual wish magic. But for all that, Kyubey said, they had been chosen by Kahoru because they were simply strong. The truth of those words were right before Oriko, here and now.

She sighed and smiled, gathering her magic for a redoubled assault. Perhaps that was for the best. There was no meaning in defeating weaklings.

Ritsuko stood on one of the trees surrounding the rest area, watching the battle from a safe distance. "No faces I remember. But I suppose that makes sense."

The enforcers seem strong, Hitomi said. As do Kyoto, especially the sword user and the glove user.

"Enforcers are selected for their ability to fight others," Ritsuko said. "This is the purpose they were chosen for. But all the same, there's no law or reasoning behind this intervention. It's simply arbitrary."

From my perspective, the enforcers always are arbitrary, Hitomi said.

Ritsuko snorted. "You're wrong. There are a handful of justifications for us to act, matters pertaining to the greater good. Serial killing, attempting to inform normal humans about the magical world, attempting to control demons, and so on. Outside that, the enforcers do nothing, no matter how strange or cruel the acts other magical girls commit. That is the code I've protected for so long. That is the way things should be."

It isn't how things are, though.

Ritsuko gritted her teeth. "Nothing Kahoru did on that night violated our law. Or if that was a violation of the law, I should first turn my spear on myself, since I fought other magical girls just as she did." She gripped the trunk of the tree tightly with her right hand. "But can it be right for me to turn my weapon on other enforcers instead?"

You're strong, stronger than anyone, Hitomi said. You can fight without killing, right?

"Hardly. My negation turns everything into nothing," Ritsuko said. "Against magical girls, it's a lethal weapon I can barely control. I always fight with the willingness to kill my enemy if need be."

That's wrong. Fighting to kill each other is wrong.

"No. That's another contrivance of modern society," Ritsuko said. She closed her eyes. "There are times when a person fights ready to die and willing to kill. That is a noble act." White light erupted from her as she gathered her magic. "Why did Kahoru have to fight in such a holy place? It pains me to see this ancient shrine desecrated."

I think there are bigger problems here than the shrine, Hitomi said. So many people are going to die pointlessly.

"It's their right to fight and die," Ritsuko said. She summoned her spear, her fingers closing around the long haft of her weapon. "But neither party fights for a worthy cause. I will judge them all and end this war. If that means killing others, I'll do it."

Who gave you the right to judge, though?

"Kyubey, long ago," Ritsuko said. "I am the head enforcer of this country." She jumped from the tree, landing in the heart of the forest on the mountain and sprinting towards the battle. "A matter like this is well within my jurisdiction."

I'm sure you must know yourself, given he started this war, but Kyubey isn't any kind of moral authority.

Ritsuko gritted her teeth. "I'm going into battle, you know." She raised her left hand as the barrier came into sight, unleashing a wave of negation. Her power shot through the trees, disintegrating the trunks of several and bringing them crashing down. The barrier was torn apart. "I don't have time to waste chatting with a naïve waif like you!"

Hitomi paused for a moment, checking her retort. Then good luck.

Ritsuko plunged straight towards the centre of the battle between the two groups, her naginata raised and ready to cut through whoever crossed her path. "This is as far as this goes!"

"Retreat!" Tsuya shouted. She broke away from Kirika, jumping backwards and putting some distance between her and the newcomer. She sheathed her silver sword smoothly, staring down Ritsuko. "Who are you fighting for? Kahoru? Homura?"

"Let's take a step back here," Oriko said to her subordinates. She frowned at Ritsuko. "I would rather like to know the answer to that question myself. You shouldn't be here."

"Who the hell is she?" Izumi asked. She half-glanced at Ritsuko as she backed away, still tracking Toku out of the corner of her eye. "She seems weak."

"I'm Ritsuko Higashikuni," Ritsuko said. She planted her feet between the two groups, adjusting her grip on her naginata. "No further introduction is necessary."

Izumi blanched. "She's an ally, right?"

"Are any of you conscious of the great history of this place?" Ritsuko said. "The weight of over one thousand years of imperial patronage that supports and dignifies this head shrine?"

"To be blunt, we're not interested," Oriko said. "But you can blame Miss Hoshino for the choice of battlefield."

"We are fighting here precisely because it's a special place," Tsuya said. "This is a treasure of Kyoto. Why would we let Osaka despoil it?"

"Sorry, but we're not from Osaka," Oriko said. She watched Ritsuko carefully. "Peace will be restored when Miss Hoshino dies."

"No, we'll find peace by killing all who'd invade our city," Tsuya said. "Wherever they're from!"

Ritsuko snorted. "And so for such absurd reasons, you defile a holy place with blood. So be it. Let me say this. I am no one's ally." She looked between the two groups. "So I will end this battle with my own hands."

Tsuya closed her eyes. "So that's your answer. But Kahoru guessed as much." She raised her right hand, gesturing to her subordinates. "We're retreating."

The Kyoto group backed away slowly, weapons cautiously raised, before turning one after the other and running back the way they had come. Tsuya and Toku stared down the enforcers for a second before turning and racing after their subordinates.

"We will also retreat," Oriko said. "If we can get through this barrier. That was my intention from the very start."

Izumi scowled. "So that's it? We're just running away?"

"Of course," Oriko said. She met Ritsuko's gaze. "It's wise for us to husband our strength for the most important battles to come. That's all."

Ritsuko lowered her spear, her eyes cold. "Get out of my sight."

Kochiyo tilted her head, looking down the mountain again. "What is that presence?"

Ritsuko reacted instantly as she sensed the strong magic approaching from below. She threw up her left hand, gathering her power in a wave. The air twisted around her palm, a fierce wind pulling leaves from the trees and raking across the stone floor around her. Within moments a great empty sphere was spinning in front of her, bleeding raw magic.

Oriko's eyes widened. "Scatter and avoid the line of fire right now!" She ran sideways herself, diving towards one of the low wooden houses by the side of the road.

The enforcers broke and ran for cover without any semblance of discipline whatsoever. Every one of them could sense the sheer magnitude of the attack Ritsuko had casually summoned with one hand.

Ritsuko fired the sphere of negation straight towards the entrance to the open area. The edge of the blast scored away a circular layer of stone before ripping straight through a torii gate just as her target was framed within the red wood.

Homura materialised less than a foot behind Ritsuko. She had her back turned to the green-haired girl, her white wings glowing and stretching outwards. "So you survived," she said. She turned to face her enemy, bow raised.

"A brat like you never had a chance to kill me from the start." Ritsuko turned in the same instant, pointing her spear straight at Homura's neck.

Oriko picked herself up from the ground, brushing her long skirt with her hands. "We're leaving. Now."

The enforcers moved quickly, scattering through the gaps Ritsuko had torn in the barrier.

Homura's eyes widened as she saw Ritsuko's face. "So you really did steal Hitomi's body." She glanced at the lonely ring still on Ritsuko's right hand. "I see. So that's how it is."

"Last time, you forced a draw because I was in bad form," Ritsuko said. "But now I can use my full power. Let's settle this."

Homura snorted. "I didn't come here to fight with you."

"Because you thought I was dead, right?" Ritsuko said. She narrowed her eyes. "As a neutral party, I'll end this stupid war. Defeating you is just the start."

"Didn't you hear me the first time?" Homura said. She raised her head, glaring at Ritsuko. "I didn't become here to fight you." She vanished in a flash of light, materialising behind Ritsuko.

Ritsuko turned in an instant, swinging her naginata as she spun. But Homura turned with her, back to back, then vanished again, materialising up the path that led higher up the mountain. Ritsuko turned back and scowled, raising her left hand. "Get back here, you coward!" The wind twisted as she unleashed a blast of nothing.

Homura's white wings glowed with light as she took flight, crossing the open rest area within moments and flying up the torii-bound stairs again. Ritsuko's shot fell short of her, crumbling the stone flooring into so much grey dust.

Ritsuko gritted her teeth. She ran forwards, kicking off the ground and taking flight herself. The wind pressed against her face as she accelerated, racing up the stairs after Homura. "When I catch you, you're so dead!" She raised her left hand, gathering her power again as she flew up the stairs, searching for a clear shot.

Homura glanced back over her shoulder as she flew, measuring the distance between them. She turned back and concentrated on dodging as she shot past Tsuya and Toku, her passage dragging a strong wind behind it that threw up their hair.

"So that's Homura," Tsuya said. She threw herself aside as Ritsuko shot after Homura, landing hard on the cold stone steps. "We need to get back to the boss!"

Toku nodded tightly, picking herself up.

The torii gates rushed past Homura in a crimson blur. She pulled back her bow back, dodging sideways as a storm of wind crashed towards her from behind. Six of the torii were dashed away by Ritsuko's power. Homura fired an arrow, twisting the purple bolt in mid-air. The shot curved over her shoulder and shrieked towards Ritsuko.

Ritsuko cut through the flying arrow with a single stroke of her naginata, gathering her power again. They exchanged a rapid barrage of fire as they raced up the mountain, both dodging and weaving to avoid being torn apart by each other's magic. Ritsuko bit her lip in frustration. "Have you no shame, coward?"

Homura twisted to face Ritsuko for a moment, firing an arrow straight towards the white magical girl's chest. Then she vanished in a flash of light, reappearing twenty meters up the stairs.

Why are you so fixated on Homura? Hitomi asked.

"She's one of the ring-leaders of this stupid war!" Ritsuko shouted. She gathered her magic, raising her left hand. She fired her negation again and again, blasting holes in the air in front of her. The wind surrounding her intensified as the air itself fought to close the gaps she was tearing in the world, dragging her forwards even faster.

There are others, but you're chasing Homura. Hitomi paused for a moment. Don't tell me you came here because of Homura?

"Idiot! As if that would be true!" Ritsuko closed on Homura from behind, sweat beading her brow. "But since I'm here, I'm the only one who can stop her."

They passed several stopping points and minor shrines as they darted ever upwards, shooting past the confused magical girls there before they could react. Homura's eyes widened as she turned and flew up another stair-case. Aiko was walking down towards her, axe held casually in her right hand.

"She's waiting," Aiko said, her words barely caught on the wind as Homura flew straight past her. She planted her feet, gripping her axe with both hands and swinging with her whole body as Ritsuko followed Homura.

Ritsuko blinked as the axe rushed towards her, gripping the haft of her naginata with both hands and blocking the swing. They crashed into each other, both falling with their weapons pressed rigidly against each other. Ritsuko sprang away, blood flowing from her palms where the sheer shock of parrying the axe blow had torn her hands open. "Why the hell are you getting in my way?"

Aiko scrambled up, retreating several steps up and raising her axe to guard. "It's about place, ya know." She smirked. "Kahoru is the main character who's gonna save everyone from everything. Homura's the villain who's trying to stop her. You're just a useless side character, so I was told not to let you go up there."

"If you've gone mad, I'll put you down like a dog," Ritsuko said. The blood on her hands faded away as she healed her own wounds.

"I'm just doing the stuff Kahoru asked me to do," Aiko said. "Until the end of everything. You can do whatever you like down there. Kahoru's said that much. Go play all you like. But you're not gonna take another step up this staircase."

"Wasting my time," Ritsuko groused. She raised her left hand, the wind spiralling around the palm of her hand as she gathered her power. "Just disappear!"

Aiko swung her axe futilely towards the wave of magic. It struck her head on, reducing her to motes of light within moments. Aiko appeared on the other side of the stairs, hugging the wall as she charged down towards Ritsuko.

"Nice trick," Ritsuko said. She thrust her naginata forwards, her weapon erupting and crossing the distance between them within seconds.

Aiko threw herself sideways, yelping in pain as she took the spear-point in her left shoulder. Her axe fell from her nerveless fingers as blood poured from the jagged wound. She gripped the haft of the naginata tightly with her right hand, so tightly her fingernails tore into her palm and drew blood.

Ritsuko's eyes widened slightly, then she threw her left hand up urgently. The wind rippled around her left hand as she gathered her magic for the finishing blow.

Aiko smiled through the pain. "Lotus Garden!"

The wind erupted towards Aiko. In the same heart-beat Ritsuko collapsed forwards, felled in an instant by Aiko's formless sword. She fell awkwardly onto the cold stone stairs, her entire body going limp.

Aiko threw herself across the stairs again to avoid the void that reached to swallow her, slamming bodily against one of the torii gates. The back of her costume was torn open by the wind that rushed past her and a thin layer of the skin beneath was raked away, exposing the pinkish flesh beneath. Aiko fell to her knees and breathed out as the naginata evaporated. She pressed her right hand against the gaping wound in her shoulder. "God damn it. That was too goddamn close." She ran her left hand through her hair. "An inch to the left and I'd have been ash." After a moment's rest, she gathered herself, narrowing her eyes at Ritsuko's fallen body as the white costume began to fade away. "Get up. You're in there, right? So get up."

Hitomi opened her eyes.

Homura breathed out as she reached the very top of the mountain. The highest shrine wasn't really of any significance. It was a crowded place, with monuments and small wooden imitations of the great torii gates scattered around. Yurino sat underneath the shrine, while Riko stood to one side and Chiaki on the other side. But Homura's eyes raced straight to Kahoru as the silver-haired girl looked down from her position on top of the roof of the shrine. She raised her bow, took aim, and fired, twisting the arrow in mid-air as she aimed for Kahoru's heart.

"Aegis." The great ball of silver hanging in the air above Kahoru pulsed in response to her words, tendrils of liquid metal spiralling inwards and surrounding her in a bubble that blocked the arrow. "Riko, Chiaki, head on down with Aiko. Osaka is coming. Stop them with your full strength."

"Yes, Miss Hoshino," Riko said. She hesitated for a moment, glancing at Homura. Then she turned and ran towards the stairs, dodging oddly from paving stone to paving stone.

"Ok." Chiaki stared at Homura, but the dark-haired girl didn't so much as look at her. She shook herself and followed Riko, tracing the quiet girl's steps exactly.

Homura had already created another arrow before the first was blocked. She fired again, then again, then again, sending shot after shot hammering into Kahoru's pulsing shield.

"What are you hurrying for?" Kahoru asked. More and more quicksilver was drawn away from the sphere as the bubble shielding her was constantly shredded by the purple arrows. "Ritsuko won't come here, you know. So let's take this slowly. You have things to say to me, right?"

Homura's reply was another arrow, shot directly towards Kahoru's face.

Kahoru sighed as the silver in front of her shattered, reforming within moments. "So you won't speak or move? I guess you have that much situational awareness. Then I'll go." She raised both hands. "Quicksilver Lance!" A dozen long spears erupted from the liquid ball above her, crashing down towards Homura. They curled and twisted wildly through the air, converging on Homura's chest.

Homura's wings glowed as she redirected the lances. The silver blades crashed down around her, breaking the stone floor open in several places. She could barely hear the sound of snapping threads, as if taut wires had been cut and fell away. The floor around her feet was covered in tiny scratches. The light of the sun barely reflected from the dozens, hundreds of silver threads that surrounded her, criss-crossing the shrine and clustering around every available surface. She was in the centre of a deadly spider-web, a maze of metal threads that cut like swords.

Kahoru smirked as she continued to bombard the younger girl with her flying lances. They were redirected again and again, crashing down around Homura, but that didn't matter. Each and every lance snuck closer to her target, while Homura's arrows were weakening. "Honestly, I give you an exciting stage like this and this is the best you can manage? This is our first and last true battle, Homura. Why don't you try and enjoy it a little more?"

Homura gritted her teeth, sweat beading her brow. The onslaught of lances was unrelenting, and even her wings were withering before it. If she could just move. If she could take flight. If only she wasn't trapped in this maze. But that shouldn't matter. She was stronger. She should be able to win, even without using her wings to fly.

Kahoru threw her head back, looking down at Homura. "Were you always this weak?" She threw her right arm down as if swinging an executioner's axe. A score of lances erupted from the sphere, shooting straight towards Homura's chest. They were reflected one after the other, crashing down around Homura, but the final lance forced its way through, scoring Homura's shoulder and drawing blood before twisting away.

Homura grimaced in pain as blood welled up from the wound, staining her jacket red. She fell forwards slightly, closing her eyes. That pain was an awakening. "No. Thanks for reminding me." She vanished in a flash of light, materialising behind Kahoru. The silver threads twisted around her, cutting dozens of shallow wounds in her limbs and face. But she ignored the pain and nocked a purple arrow, drawing her bow back and taking aim in a single smooth motion. That action was pure and unflinching. More so than ever before, she simply placed her entire being into the simple act of drawing back her bow and firing. Blood welled up from her wounds as the arrow crashed down.

Kahoru jerked as the arrow slammed into her shield from behind, bending the silver forcefully and hammering into her back. She staggered forwards, doubling over before catching herself a moment before she fell from the roof. "Yes. That's more like it. That's how you need to be." Her sphere erupted, another rain of lances flying towards Homura.

Homura teleported away, the threads tearing into her again. There was no need to fear pain. She knew what it meant to struggle against overwhelming odds. She knew what it meant to lie in a pool of her own blood. And she knew what it meant to defy a force of nature. If she fought now as she'd fought then, she'd never lose to Kahoru or any other human. It hardly mattered if her body was torn apart in the process. "I will protect Madoka!" She shouted those words, pouring her soul into them. They reminded her why she was here, why she'd endure, why she'd win. It always for Madoka's sake.

Kahoru rose and twisted to face Homura, raising her right hand. "I'll tear her from her throne."

Homura spread her wings, wildly unleashing her power in every direction at once. Thread after thread snapped, torn away by the violent excesses of her magic. "No. I won't let you." She pulled back her bow-string. "I'll end you here and now."