The sun emerged in the horizon with great reluctance, as though frightened of the slaughter to come, unwilling to herald it. But, Reika knew, that was nonsense. Whatever their end, the sun would set and rise as it always had, to melt their rotting flesh and scorch their bones. But Dark Fall will have to kill us first.
Dream and Fortune hurried to their positions, but Reika trod slowly across the battlefield, inspecting all the defenses and preparations one last time. If there were any problems now, anything she had failed to consider, there would no longer be any time to correct it, but Reika wished to maintain her focus on the defenses. If all went according to plan, this would be a long battle, one with scarce relief.
Closest to Last Light's walls were those who would not take part in the fighting but still wished to bind their fate to the Rainbow Rose, knowing that if the Precure were defeated here, death would be inevitable: Bavarois, Crepe, Montblanc and Donuts, rulers of four of the five Fairy Kingdoms; Princess Pumplulu, coming from the north alongside the Blue Rose's army; Lady Azukina, spouse of the new sovereign of the Sweets Kingdom, Tarte. Greatly displeased, Mephisto huffed and puffed as he walked circles near the village's entrance, and Reika had little hope of keeping him away from the fighting for long. They were joined by Blue, whose greatly diminished powers would serve only as a last resort, for fear of attracting Mirage's wrath, the last thing they would need to deal with during the coming battle. By his side stood Cure Pine and all the fairies that had chosen to leave the Rose Garden, their fates similarly entwined to that of the world. Pine eased their fears, cared for them, but there was no sign of Cure Blossom herself. It seemed to Reika that she chose to stay true to her decision to watch the world die and do nothing.
Noise, Salamander and Syrup remained back in the reserves for now, but Reika would make use of their powers in time. It would be unsafe to take to the skies now, before chaos fell over the battlefield and they could fly with safety. For now they would wait alongside Princess Candy and the pegasi riders of Märchenland. Only once Beauty was confident that Dark Fall's magic and projectiles could not reliably hit them would she deploy them. That only meant that rather than certain death they would face almost guaranteed death. This was the truth of command, she had learned, but knew she would still learn just how heavy this burden was. Before this is over I will have to send men to their deaths. She would not even be able to look them in the eyes, so that this at least could be a small comfort. It would be a cold calculation, a logical assignment of which deaths would outweigh life.
Before the end, she would have to command her own friends to die. If there was no other way, if it came to something so dreadful, she wondered, could she order Candy to sacrifice herself, or Miyuki, Yayoi, Akane…? Or Nao, Nozomi, Iona…
She walked past the first of the palisades - the last line of defense, one she prayed would never have to be manned. Closest to Last Light, it was the least defended, the trench directly in front of it the only thing that would keep Dark Fall from reaching Last Light. If they advance this far, then we are doomed.
Here the heaviest of artillery was stationed: four of Labyrinth's immense cannons, each operated by a dozen of Hideaki's hand-chosen agents, at all times making precise calculations and adjustments to the cannons. In mere minutes Dark Fall would be within range, but after they fired it would be almost an entire hour before they could discharge again. Here, far from the fighting, only some hundreds of soldiers stayed behind to defend the cannons and trebuchets, in case Zakenna arrived from the sky. Almost no trace remained of the camps that had been here until hours ago. All had given way for the instruments of war required to wage battle, all the stocks of weaponry and ammunition and food that - Reika prayed - would last them the battle.
Already the supply trains were in motion, bringing meals from the rearguard to the front. The fronts were to hold as long as possible, constantly shifting the soldiers who would bear the brunt of Dark Fall's assault with fresh reinforcements; the enemy's superior numbers meant they could afford losses that the Rainbow Rose could not, so Reika knew it was paramount to preserve their forces. Exhaustion would be the death of them all, for the Zakenna would always fight on, would never relent. If Belzei had a mind for tactics - and Reika had to assume that he did - then he would find it very rewarding to unleash his airborne monstrosities to descend upon the supply lines. She gave command of the supplies to Bolt, Satellite, Continental and Hosshiwa, reinforcing them with Wave, Sunset, Reverie, Flare and Ange, while Bunbee of Nightmare offered to join them, perhaps assuming it would be safer than the frontlines. These were not glorious duties, but important nonetheless. Reika knew better than to just place all her available forces in a line to meet a matching line of enemy forces.
She crossed another line of palisades, this one reinforced with stone and watchtowers. Here were stationed the majority of reserves, mainly hailing from the Desert Lands, Märchenland and Majorland; though they were far from the frontlines and unable to reach them immediately, they were flexible enough that Reika intended to keep them in constant flux wherever they were needed. The Blue Rose had faced Dark Fall in the Garden of Light, and instructed Reika on their methods: they mustered not only overwhelming numbers but devastating magic and alchemy. To keep her soldiers in tightly-packed formations, then, would be suicidal, and scattering them somewhat would render Dark Fall's own artillery less effective, whereas the Zakenna would have no choice but to advance towards their defenses in huge black masses. She trusted Melody, Rhythm and Beat to mobilize these troops as necessary, while Muse would be commanding from here, alongside Queen Candy and her pegasi. Though Nico had argued that she wished to fight alongside Miyuki, she was asked to stay behind to defend the queen, and, though unhappy, consented.
After Reika crossed the next line of defenses, she saw only an open field before her, for the next walls were far in the distance. Here, she knew, in the center of the battlefield, everything was likely to be decided. To the east were the Blue Rose's camps and reserves, and, most importantly, their heavy cavalry, led by Cure Aqua. Unlike the Desert Apostles' lighter cavalry, better suited for skirmishes and harassment, the plan here was to unleash the Blue Rose's cavalry after the defenders had given ground and abandoned the frontlines. The Zakenna would then give chase, believing the battle was going in their favor, but the Roses would unleash their combined, devastating might: cavalry and magic, the aerial might of Salamander and Noise, the most destructive of Labyrinth's creations. Thousands of horsemen and heavy infantry would be kept at the ready to flank Dark Fall once they overextended, as, far into the Roses' own fields, they would receive little support from their own artillery.
Here was also where the most blood would be shed. Already the land had been scarred by the preparations for battle, but this would pale before the horror that would befall these fields. The devastation brought about by the Death of the Stars would seem so little, and this would become a nightmarish charnel pit, thousands upon thousands of corpses underneath the sky, for this sacrifice would be inevitable. If it won them the battle, if it saved the world, then it would be worth it, or at least Reika wanted to believe it was worth it, but what would that mean to the dead?
But if we fail, then we will all die anyway.
For now, these fields remained green, if a sickly hue. They were mostly empty, the majority of the troops concentrated elsewhere, but here and there Reika caught a glimpse of stragglers still moving north. Another long wall awaited her further ahead, this one considerably better-guarded, and every fifty meters a precarious tower had been erected from crude wood, serving as storerooms for supplies and, if needed, a safe place for soldiers to rest until called forth again, or to treat their wounds, when possible. Most likely it wouldn't be. Here the witches of Märchenland gathered under Majorina's command, tasked with repelling any magic that Dark Fall sent towards them. Queen Hikari had led most of the available magicians in strengthening magic defenses outside the palisades, but they would not last forever. Reika feared Dark Fall's sorceries more than anything else, as she couldn't know what exactly to expect. Worse, they prevented her from deploying her Rose's own arcanists more aggressively, as she anticipated she would need them to counter the enemy's own magics.
Finally, she crossed the last trench before the northernmost one where Dark Fall's onslaught would be most brutal. Some hundreds of meters north, the fronts had been established; primarily Selfish troops led by Regina and loyalists of the old regime led by Jonathan. They were bolstered by Choiarks and the infantry the Apostles could muster, and assisted by battalions of archers and arcanists. Sword awaited her by an improvised command center, circled by mirrors that would grant Reika knowledge of the battle as it proceeded, without the need of messengers. Not far from there, all remaining troops were ready to reinforce the frontlines wherever they might be needed: though they were soldiers sworn to the Rainbow Rose, it was Moonlight who led them, so that she could lend her talents to whichever segment of the defenses was in need of aid.
"Beauty," Moonlight greeted her. "The scouts are safely back within our perimeter. The shield wall at the frontlines is sturdy, although the western flank strikes me as somewhat thin on ranged support. I've positioned a detachment of Montblanc javelineers to be ready to reinforce them as necessary. Hopefully Regina can hold."
"I trust her," said Reika, a statement she never expected to make. "What do you make of the center?"
"Chocolat leads the center. A good choice. It is a curious situation, though. The center is both essential and expendable: by this I mean that if the center cannot hold at all, then all will fall apart, but that if Cure Chocolat can slowly and surely give some ground, the east and west fronts can crush the Zakenna in a double envelopment. On the other hand, if they are the first to fall, I fear the center won't withstand a flank."
"Chocolat was given orders to gradually yield ground," said Reika. "If Dark Fall advances recklessly, then they'll find jaws snapping shut on them."
"They will not be reckless," said Makoto. "This is as much a deciding battle for Dark Fall as it is to us. They will certainly surprise us, so adaptability is key."
"I know. I do not underestimate our enemies. But I believe in our cause and our efforts. We may yet prevail."
"Another thing. Our scouts could not come close to Dark Fall," said Makoto, "and in the dark of the night they could not make a detailed account of the enemy composition."
"I have fought the Zakenna," Moonlight said. "They are spiritual beings, if corrupted, and thus not bound to a single form. That makes them dangerous enemies."
Reika nodded. She would rely on Moonlight's experience, as she had done before. But now she was not merely following, providing a small measure of support that Moonlight certainly didn't need. Now she was to lead. Now her decisions mattered. Though she had led Mirage's armies before, and definitely had taken a position of leadership among her fellow Precure before, never had her words held such weight, such importance in the face of catastrophe. Such responsibility…
By now Nozomi and Iona were just waiting for Dark Fall's arrival. How long exactly it would take for the assault to begin, Reika couldn't tell: many unmanned defenses still stood between the Zakenna and the Rainbow Rose's fortifications, so it was possible that they would hinder the enemy advance for some time. Minutes, hours? The anticipation made her restless. She looked through her mirrors for signs of Dark Fall's approach on the horizon, but she saw nothing. She inspected the frontlines one last time, more to reassure herself, and saw the tight formations of shields and spears at the ready to halt Dark Fall's first charge. It was imperative that they were not overwhelmed from the start: no doubt Belzei's first blow would be devastating, but if the defenses could withstand it, stabilize, then they had a chance.
"Beauty," a soldier called from behind; she didn't notice his approach, such was the attention the mirrors demanded of her, Sword and Moonlight. "This woman wishes to speak with you. She said it was urgent, and Pine vouched for her."
She turned back. Bandaged, still not recovered from the wounds she suffered in the Garden, Blossom stepped slowly towards Beauty. If Moonlight was displeased, she didn't show it, and watched Blossom's approach in silence.
"The Rose Door is opened," she said. "Once you give them permission, the non-combatants at Last Light can take shelter inside the Rose Garden. If this is the end, and I do believe it is, I would not repeat Flora's mistake. Nor could I. As a goddess, she might have had her reasons to turn her back on the world when the stars went out millennia ago. I am not a goddess. I am only human. If some lives may be saved, even if just for a time… I have no choice."
"Thank you," said Reika. "I was uncertain you would join us, help us."
"So was I," Tsubomi admitted. "I have only powers I have borrowed from Flora, and even then I am not a great warrior to use them to your aid in any meaningful way, though I'll try. I have left behind instructions on how to shut the Rose Door. Forever. Whoever takes refuge there will be safe from death, but will never leave. They will live the rest of their lives in peace, but the Garden is a refuge. It is not a hope. Humanity will never rebuild. Though some thousands may be spared a gruesome fate, the world will still perish. You understand that, right?"
"I don't intend to lose this battle," said Reika. "But if we fail, if we fall, then I will accept this… If all we can achieve is sparing some people the torment of Dark Fall's torture, I'll take it, gladly."
"Good. I only wanted us all to be in agreement. Come, follow me, please. I can only do so little, but I will do it. Your defenses will not hold like this; I can help you with that, if nothing else."
"Blossom," Moonlight called to her just before she stepped towards the northern defenses, past the archers and watchtowers. "I… We, uh, when we last… I'm sorry. I'm glad you're here."
Silence. They could not spare even mere seconds, now, but Reika allowed them this one moment.
"Me too. It wasn't right what I said to you. I can't unsay it. Just as I can't undo all the harm I've done. I can do one thing right, though. Let's go."
They followed, Tsubomi moving as though she knew her way already. Upon Reika's orders, the soldiers standing just behind the palisades and the spiked trench gave way. Blossom stopped just at the edge, just where the front lines would meet Dark Fall. Past it were caltrops, spikes, magical traps and caches of Starfire concealed within towers rigged to collapse. Even further, shimmering like sunkissed glass, the translucent magical wall conjured by Queen Hikari flickered in all colors of the rainbow. All of this, Blossom said so casually, would not possibly hold. What would, then? What could match Dark Fall's strength?
She knelt, placing her wounded hands on the wooden palisades; they were not sturdy walls, that was certain, but there would be no time to build true defenses, and allowing Dark Fall to advance past the Neutral Lands would leave the greater part of the continent at their mercy. The stakes cut through Tsubomi's palms, her blood spilling over the wood. Crimson poured from her hands, more blood than a person could ever shed, covering the palisades, spreading through their surface, spilling onto the deep trenches just beyond.
And then the blood bloomed. As flowers, first, then vines, thorns, the trench made a frightful sight by the enormous briars that spread throughout their length, long vines writhing and sharp spires protruding from the vegetation given birth by blood and magic, like carnivorous plants, but larger, fiercer. The palisades themselves were entirely enveloped by greenery, as far as Reika could see, and soon the green turned dark, becoming thick walls of blackish thorn, and with a frightful hiss the earth itself split open so that immense roots could sprout and form walkways, parapets. Upon seeing the magic entirely remake the defenses, Reika immediately shouted commands for her archers to approach, to quickly man these walls so that they could take aim at Dark Fall as they approached, before giving place to the spearmen. They were not exceptionally tall walls, nor strong, but they were more than what their efforts had been able to create. And they might be enough to even the odds.
Tsubomi fell, her eyes shut. Yuri carried her gently, confirming she was still alive, though only barely. Reika thanked her even though she was unconscious, and bid Sword and Moonlight to return to the command center. She would join them shortly; she was the first to ascend the walls, careful not to touch the thorns. All the soldiers around her were silent, tense. All she heard was their strained, stressed breathing. Beauty looked one last time at the distant horizon and the heavy clouds gathering there. Dark Fall was an hour away, or thirty minutes, or ten. That was beyond their power. There were no more preparations, no more planning. All that remained was for their strength and their resolve to prove sufficient to shield the world, their world, and all they treasured in it.
Her eyes never looked away from the horizon. Saki held her hand tightly, and at any other time this might have put Mai at ease. Not now. Now the wind was unusually still, but a chill took the air all the same. From atop the thicket walls of the western front, Egret had a great view of the northern fields, soon to be overrun by Dark Fall. Far away, the black clouds seemed thicker than before, and closer. No rain cloud had ever been so dark, though; these had the color of smoke, and spread across the sky more like ink than anything else.
Mai focused on her own breath. Her body was so tense that she found herself often forgetting to breathe, to blink. She gulped, the gesture making her all too uncomfortably familiar with her unbearably dry mouth, and her own tongue felt like an intruder. Her legs were shaking. And her heart… When she took notice of its frantic beating, she began to pant, her own breaths following her heartbeats.
And yet the horizon was unchanged.
She focused on the world beyond her own heart and breath. Men and women holding shields and spears trembled, so ever so often Mai heard the painful squeak of metal. They would look to the sides, to their comrades, as though they wished to find some solace in a friendly face. Mai wondered if she might catch a glimpse of Regina, but she was elsewhere, it seemed. Nile was at the ready just by the archers, to give them the command to take aim and let loose, for whatever good that might do. And at the base of the walls, Cure Pinceau led a group of spearmen - freed from the mirror that had been her prison for over a year now, she had found the remaining Precure only to hear that a dreadful battle awaited her. It was more than a bit depressing.
Thunder seethed in the distance, but there was no light. There was only a lengthy rumbling, the very earth quivering as the darkness above was finally reaching the defenses, and would soon obscure even the sun. It was not quite black as night, but closer to it than a morning should ever be.
"Stay with me, no matter what," Saki whispered. Mai only nodded. Her chattering teeth kept her from speaking coherently. The shadow enveloped her, and she made the mistake of looking up one more time. The enormity of those dark clouds made her feel meek, frail, hopeless.
Dark Fall's vanguard appeared on the horizon suddenly, stretching east and west as far as Egret could possibly see. From so far away she could see little of the Zakenna, only dots and lines slowly moving towards the south. So small, they appeared at first, but more and more were revealed, thousands upon thousands, and even then that was but a fraction of their might. Soon they were close enough that Mai could hear their march: a cacophonous sound, heavy, overwhelming, punctuated every few seconds by deeper, louder booms. Something larger stirred within their ranks, partially obscured by the dark clouds. Two great living shadows, they appeared, towering over the landscape. The larger one was closer to the western defenses, but the other, though distant in the northeastern horizon, moved in a far more disturbing manner, almost human, but malformed, its body torn and crumbling, its limbs stunted. A blood-red crescent crowned its head, while the other creature was unadorned, its face frozen in a dark shriek.
Mai recognized them, of course, those two titans that marched alongside the Zakenna. Akudaikan and the Dark King, scourges of the northern lands, fiends born of primordial darkness and the coalescence of untold damned souls. But they had died, vanquished at one another's hand… Dark Fall would not have halted its conquests if either of those fell kings were in truth alive. They did not move like living beings, seeming instead to bleed their own forms forward, slouching and collapsing in huge chunks of thick shadow. They were husks. What diabolic necromancy could be animating their remains, what dark powers did Dark Fall wield to create such abominations?
She felt the courage of those around her fail. Even the Precure had not been able to destroy them when they warred, so what hope did common men and women have to stand against those towering monstrosities? Sword hands trembled, bows and arrows fell to the ground, then knees as the strength of the defenders around her was extinguished. Dark Fall's advance stopped just before the magical barrier that Queen Hikari and her mages had created, but Mai had no doubt that those defenses would not last long when faced with such ruinous power. Neither will our spirits last.
A voice made itself louder than all others; magic made it echo throughout the walls, and Mai heard it as clearly as though the voice approached her directly. Rosetta demanded their attention in a voice burdened by gentle strength, her words carrying the serenity of determination.
"We will hold," she declared, "no matter what steps out of the darkness. Raise your weapons. Gather your courage. This is not the time for fear: ours is the hour of bravery, of faith in ourselves and in all who have taken our sides. The smothering tide of death and evil cannot match the lights we've mustered here. Lights from the south, lights from the north, eastern and western lights. Hold, and do not give in to your fears! Not one of us here is fighting alone today, alone against the darkness."
Alone. Yes, we are not alone. Bloom's hands were cold, but Egret felt safer with her touch than anywhere else. They had been apart, once, separated by Dark Fall, but even then they were not alone, never alone. She lifted her head to look at the horrors straight ahead.
The thing that had been the Dark King pummelled against Hikari's magic; the wall took on the lights of a million colors, all of them at once, shimmering even as darkness fell upon it. The Dark King shrieked an elegiac howl, the penitent cry of a million death knells. Again it struck the barrier, twice, thrice, until at last it began to shatter, shards of luminous glass raining down on the Zakenna. The Dark King's own fist was shredded to bits, dripping blood and ink on the ground below. The Zakenna, too, assaulted the barrier, sliced apart and torn into wisps of light, their bodies igniting into holy flames upon touching the luminous walls.
Hundreds poured in through the gaps, then thousands, their ranks uneven, black waves encroaching, spilling over the land. Nile shouted a command: archers drew their arrows, mages muttered their chants, shattered their runes, gestured in anticipation, all awaiting for the order to let loose. Not yet, Egret thought. She called for the wind, and it answered, whistling around her, scattering dust in spirals as she prepared for the right moment.
Blasts of arcane light illuminated the battlefield where the Zakenna charged; explosions made ashes of them, bombarded them into nothingness, halted their advance. Those who survived these first defenses ran through the small towers that marked just one hundred meters north of the walls. They collapsed at once, exploding into white fire, soon turning into rainbows of flame that crackled triumphantly, wooden structures falling upon the Zakenna, crushing them, igniting them, barring their way. Lights commanded the sky once more as four immense spears of fire brighter than sunshine were launched towards the center of Dark Fall's ranks; Labyrinth's artillery, unleashed now to protect the world and all within it. What remained of the northern fields were raging flames, smoldering wood and stones, craters still aglow, heat radiating through the air, all in a display of color that was as awe-inspiring as it was nightmarish.
Dark Fall's advance had been slowed; now the Zakenna struggled to move past the debris, through the magical defenses still exploding everywhere, through the haze of red, blue, yellow, purple…
Now.
Thousands of arrows darted through the sky, and thousands of javelins with them, joined by lightning bolts, by tongues of fire, by pure light and force, by shards of ice and rock. Egret called for the fiercest of winds she had ever known, her heart tempestuous, all storms at her command. She joined her magic with Bloom's and spun a gale of petals and thorns towards their enemies.
Lights, lights everywhere, and screams and fire and horror. How could Egret see this as anything but the end of the world? All this magic unleashed at once, together, all this power focused in one point… And the sound, by far the most frightening thing of all. She heard nothing but the long, unrelenting quake of the world coming apart, frayed and torn by the magic of a thousand Precure, a thousand monsters, a thousand wizards.
Her ears rang. They would not stop, and neither would the noise. If anything it only intensified; whereas an explosion would die down, this did not. There was no rest, there was no relief. Egret screamed, unable to hear her own voice, or Saki's, or anything. The battlefield itself had become a living nightmare, shadows convulsing against the light. For the longest time, there was nothing ahead but the single most devastating use of magic since the world itself was weaved into being.
Black pierced through the Starfire, through the myriad lights. Winged Zakenna took to the skies not unlike locusts, and on the ground, some dozens of Zakenna that withstood the onslaught now neared the walls. Soon they were hundreds.
And then they were thousands.
Dream watched the Zakenna emerge from the devastation, the earth still torn asunder in deafening ruin. They were close enough now that she could see their armaments; long claws, primarily, but some held axes, spears, and many were clad in heavy armor that kept them lagging behind the other monsters but allowed them to entirely disregard the arrows that rained down on them. From the smoke and light, Zakenna ran bearing large shields to shelter themselves and their companions from the Precure's assault. Next to the shield-bearers, Zakenna carried with them vials of foul substances, long rods with glowing red tips, swords ablaze with black flame.
The noise of devastation at last began to soften. Nozomi readied her Fleuret, just as Komachi at her side. Little now stood between them and the Zakenna: caltrops barely slowed them down, and though they fell into the trenches, impaled by the stakes at the bottom, ravaged by briars or devoured entirely by monstrous flora, the dead were simply trod upon by those that followed. Soon they were at the walls, throwing themselves at the thorns, climbing even as their bodies were shredded like black rags.
"Now, stand your ground!" Iona bellowed, bracing for the coming impact. Dream readied her blade.
A tide fell upon them. Dream sunk her sword into the head of the first Zakenna to reach the wall, then twisted her body, moving into a sweeping slash to bisect the next. Mint's barriers kept the countless Zakenna just an inch from her, but their sheer numbers quickly overwhelmed her magic. Nozomi's body felt pressed against Komachi's, Iona's, overwhelmed from all directions. The first creatures that advanced towards her simply threw themselves at the defenders, crashing against their spears and swords, battered on their shields. With each that fell dead, however, one more husk cluttered the walls; though the Zakenna themselves were incorporeal, spiritual beings, the bodies they inhabited remained. Rags and blackened flesh, scraps of metal and stone, all left behind.
Glass smashed by her feet. A foul-smelling smoke rose, a thick dark brown that made her cough. It was the stink of sewage, of rotting flesh, of filth. The Zakenna crossed it unimpeded, however, and Dream stabbed at them as well as she could, but each fiend she felled was followed by two others, then three, then more that she could count. More than she could stand. She felt their claws on her, hands trying to pull her down, bodies attempting to simply climb over her.
Iona called to her, took her hand. White fire wreathed the two, burning away the Zakenna that piled atop them. She sent the Starfire towards the Zakenna beneath the wall, the impact blast sending gusts that blew off the smoke. What was revealed then was dire; shields and spears struggled to guard the wall, as the soldiers standing on the edge, despite their heavy armor, were simply dragged to the bottom to disappear in the sea of Zakenna, their brief screams silenced as blood, entrails and unrecognizable body parts leaked from in between Dark Fall's troops. Where one sentinel fell, another took their place, but they were dying faster than the Zakenna.
An arrow volley felled hundreds approaching the walls, just in time. Reika's doing. Their climb was slowed just enough for the gaps in the formation to be filled, for Nozomi to shout orders at Mint to focus her magic not to shield the guardians on the walls but on the northern ground, to halt the advancing Zakenna. They lasted only seconds before crumbling, but seconds were now more precious than ever. Without constant reinforcements, the Zakenna that were cut down were not immediately replaced, and those brief moments of respite were just enough to find some measure of stability. For now, a stalemate was the best they could hope for.
Throughout the wall, fires had started, but Kanae's magic kept them from spreading. This was enough, for the time being. Strained, Komachi struggled to maintain all the barriers needed to hinder the Zakenna, but she was not the only mage here. Some managed to slip through the cracks or overrun them and cross the overfilled trenches by climbing up the remains there, but in small numbers they were repelled by the shield walls, and whenever arrows and stones were propelled towards Dark Fall's legions, their numbers would appear just a little bit more manageable.
"Fortune," Dream called to her, stepping back and letting a Majorland soldier take her place. "I leave this section of the walls to you, Komachi and Kanae. I will see how the defense goes elsewhere."
"Understood. We have things in control right now."
Now, for how long will that hold true? She was in no rush to find. Nozomi moved along the wall, taking notice of where the defenses were weakest and where the Zakenna were attacking in greater numbers, before signaling a command for reinforcements or support from Beauty. It was fortunate that they could rely on the mages brought from the north by the Blue Rose: without their aid, the Precure alone could not muster the magic they needed to stall the Zakenna.
She thought of the two huge monsters in the shadow. Akudaikan and the Dark King, but not quite… She could no longer see the latter, but the former had not moved since Labyrinth's artillery bombarded his surroundings. Nozomi tried to identify his massive form behind the infernal devastation, but could not. As Dark Fall's initial charge lost its momentum and the allied and enemy fronts were locked in constant combat, the hiss of magic and artillery had grown quiet, replaced by screams, by clanging metal, by the sounds of death. Nozomi couldn't tell how much time had passed. Seconds or minutes had become confused, senseless notions. Only volleys of arrows followed some sort of rhythm, a way for Nozomi to trace the passage of time.
She found Uta and Nemu holding back armored Zakenna, unable to even dent their shields, but, in turn, they were kept at bay by the strength of the shield wall, then thrown back into the trenches. Further west, Prince Pop of Märchenland commanded humans and fairies of his realm alike, and, ferocious, Rose fought as if for three soldiers at once, throwing herself at any Zakenna that braved the thorns and spears, loudly cracking their bodies with each swing of her fists. Even Namakelder fought somewhat valiantly, though only with backup from Choiarks.
Nozomi breathed in the ashen air. She tasted iron and cinders, felt blood on her face, all over her body. Little of it was her own. Only now could she begin to realize just how costly Dark Fall's first charge had been: bone splinters were left over the walls, and bloodstains as well. Severed limbs and heads, corpses haphazardly tossed aside so that fresh troops could take the place of the dead. She gave the order for the bodies to be taken away, though few were free to do so, for every soldier was needed in the defense. The Zakenna didn't care to fight atop their own corpses, but the defenders here did. Dream couldn't quite count just how many had died, which head belonged to which torso. More than we can afford to lose. Yet more would be lost before the hour was done, to say nothing of the day, the battle…
But they had survived the first minutes. Whether this was cause for horror or relief was beyond Nozomi's understanding. She watched a Märchenland soldier die, dragged by a hook through his face into the trenches, now overflowing with the dead of both sides. Nozomi stepped in to take the man's place.
She fought until her knuckles bled, then grabbed a spear off the hands of a dead woman, and with it she fought until the shaft snapped in half and the splinters pierced her palms. Even after that Yuko continued to fight, desperately trying to blind herself to the death that surrounded her. She now held a huge steel tower shield, and bashed any approaching Zakenna, sending them falling into the trenches. She spat her own blood, and when one portion of the wall seemed safe enough, she rushed to find another to defend, taking the place of an exhausted soldier. She could fight for longer than most, so she had to.
Princess and Lovely were not too far from her. They fought well together, perhaps better than even Yuko expected of Hime. She showed no fear, fought cautiously but skilfully, and when Chocolat was not available to give commands, Princess did so in her stead with no hesitation. Most importantly, she accepted Yuko without demanding any explanation or apology for her behavior the previous night, nor attempting to talk about it. No words were needed. Neither fear or despair could change the fact that if this was to be their end, they would face it together.
The dark clouds seemed closer than ever before now, the same as the smoke of the Roses' devastation. March's winds could not scatter the clouds and the darkness, leaving the defenders no choice but to face whatever would come from it. As the black mist descended on her and swallowed her whole, Yuko raised her shield as all light was suddenly gone and monstrous shrieking came from every direction.
Beasts crashed against her shield, half a dozen of them at once, trying to knock her off the wall. Yuko pushed back, bashing at them and their frail forms; these Zakenna were almost entirely their long thin wings, their bodies small and stunted. Their fangs and talons were not strong enough to do more than lightly scratch someone, but quickly Yuko realized that was not why they had been unleashed, nor why they flew towards the defenders with suicidal glee.
Some had glass baubles hung from their tiny feet, or were tied around their necks. Within, strange concoctions swayed as the Zakenna flew around, and, when they collapsed against the wall or against its guardians, the vials would shatter, some exploding into clouds of fire and others spilling acid and poison. They corroded holes into Yuko's shield, larger than her fist, but what the substances did to human skin was far more gruesome. What little Yuko could see around her was chaos and carnage, men and women burned alive or trying to hold their skin from dissolving, in vain. They had to abandon the walls. Yuko shouted the command for anyone who could hear, and, leaping away from the wall, hoped that she was followed.
The dark cloud was not so thick on the ground, but it was still a horrifying sight, just some meters above Yuko's head. She breathed somewhat clean air again, filled her lungs with it, but felt that her body still burned from the inside. Around her, more soldiers had abandoned the walls, some leaving their equipment behind in their desperation to escape. Yuko, however, saw no sign of Hime or Megumi.
She coughed black blood. With no one else around to give commands, Yuko screamed for the Saiarks to come to the walls, to cover Dark Fall's advance, for the Saiarks did not need to breathe, and poison would do nothing against them. She looked up at the dark cloud, whirling slowly as it continued to advance over the walls.
Red light flashed just behind her, and Passion warped alongside Peach, Whip and a few scattered soldiers. Some of the skin on Peach's palm had sloughed off, and Whip cried for someone to bring her bandages. Passion, meanwhile, approached Honey. Her stare was half-dead from the horrors she had witnessed.
"We're fucked up there," she told Honey. "I don't know what to do about that kind of alchemy, and I lost contact with Chocolat. The Zakenna are about to swamp us, too… Our archers have no visibility whatsoever through this damned cloud."
"If we can evacuate the walls," said Honey, "we can have the archers fire at them knowing they'll only be striking enemies. I thought Cure Happy was with you?"
"No, she joined March," Passion told her. "To try and at least scatter the poison… What do we do now?"
I have no idea, was what she thought at once. But Setsuna was quivering with fear, about to cry, struggling to even stand on her feet. There would be no one to tell them what to do, no one to help, no one to mount the defense… Yuko was not fit for this, but she found no one nearby she could rely on.
"There's still too many of our own soldiers at the walls," said Yuko, "and the longer they stay there, the quicker they'll die. We have to get back there. We have to help everyone get out."
"If we abandon the walls-"
"If we don't, we'll all die," Yuko responded. "Come, with your powers we can get out quickly."
"H-Hold on! It's a great strain to warp many people at once. I don't know if I can withstand doing so more than a few times."
"A few times is good enough," said Yuko, offering her hand to Setsuna. With some reluctance, she grabbed it. Both their hands were slippery, rough with scars. "Are you ready? Let's make it quick."
Yuko felt her brain split in two, her body simultaneously atop the walls and beneath them, but soon she saw herself immersed in the foul vapours of Dark Fall. Half a dozen soldiers cowered underneath their shields, taking flimsy stabs at the winged Zakenna swarming them. Yuko twirled a luminous ribbon, the dazzling lights driving the Zakenna way, strings reaching for their diminutive legs, taking hold of them and violently bringing them crashing towards the ground. Quickly she held onto the frightened soldiers, and called for Setsuna to take them out.
Back in the pure air, Yuko retched clumps of black sludge, while Setsuna had begun to bleed from the corners of her eyes. After a brief pause to catch their breath, they returned to the wall, this time just next to a Saiark that admirably held back a crowd of Zakenna. It would not endure long, so Yuko made the best use of the time it afforded them: she slipped past the dead and found Megumi, her leg badly broken and bleeding, leaning against the thorns, swinging wildly at any Zakenna that drew near, while with her other hand she covered her face. Yuko ran to her, and, again, returned to safety.
"Are you okay?" She asked of Megumi, the two of them coughing loudly.
"I thought I would die there," she said, and placed a hand on her wounded leg. "There's glass shards all inside it, I feel… I'm sorry, I can't… Can't keep fighting like this."
"We'll have someone take you to safety until you recover," said Yuko. She didn't fail to notice the dread in Megumi's visage, her realization that she would still have to fight on. Though a Precure could make a quick recovery, there was no way Lovely would be truly well again in time to keep battling… But what choice did any of them have? "And Hime? Did you see Hime?"
"I lost track of her," said Megumi. "When the cloud fell on us, when the poison took over everything, Hime ran towards nearby troops… To shield them, save them. She must have been… Not too far from where I was, but I couldn't see anything past a few meters directly ahead of me."
"Hime…"
"Maybe her magic can buy them time," said Megumi, "but if they don't leave quickly, I don't know what'll happen to them. The Saiarks may hold the Zakenna back for some time, but not long."
"Alright. Passion, come."
"I can't," she said, falling to her knees. Her eyes were entirely red now. "I can barely see. My guts… They feel like-"
"I know what they feel like," said Yuko. Every word she spoke made the taste of blood and bile fill her mouth. "We have to try anyways."
"I'm not saying I don't want to," Setsuna wheezed. "I can't. It's inside me, the poison. It's inside you too. Like it went through our skin…"
Yuko looked back at the walls. She could still hear the screams of those trapped there; some managed to escape, fumbling down the stairs and needing immediate assistance, but not all. But somewhere within the cloud, she swore she could see a faint light, a gentle blue…
"I'll look for Hime," said Yuko. "Help clear a way."
"Don't be stupid," Setsuna told her. "You're falling apart. If you go back there, you'll die."
"I know," Yuko said. It was strange. She should be frightened. She should be running. But she just could not. "I didn't expect to survive this day, you know. But I suppose there are worse ways to die than trying to save a friend."
"Yuko…" Megumi looked up at her. "Go on. Save our Princess. Please."
She did not bother with a response. There was no time. Dashing past soldiers stumbling in a daze, spitting out pools of black bile, she made her way to the stairs. She breathed the clean air one last time, for as long as possible, filling her lungs with it. Then she slipped past the thorns and briars and into the mouth of hell.
The Zakenna circled above them like a flock of vultures, but Alice knew those creatures would not wait for them to be dead before they started to eat at them. They stank of rot already, their bodies wrapped in filthy, blood-stained rags. Alice focused her barriers on the skies, hoping to repel and destroy those creatures, knowing too well that they would simply bypass the defenders at the frontlines to descend upon the lesser-guarded rear, the supply trains and the archers and mages. She sent a messenger to Regina, urging her to warn the rest of the Rainbow Rose to pull back some of the reinforcements and have them help guard these weaker positions that would come under assault from the skies.
Only the arrows that rained down on the Zakenna could thin their numbers enough for the walls not to be overwhelmed by them. They fell like death's rain on the endless ranks of Dark Fall, but always there were more enemies than arrows, and while the first moments of battle saw each archer slay one Zakenna, the ones that approached the walls now were heavily-armored, carried huge shields with them, raising them high to defend themselves and all around them. This was something that Alice realized she was unused to: enemies that could fight in true unison, as an actual army. Evil, she knew well, was often unwilling to cooperate, a weakness that could always be exploited, but now they were assaulted by an organized enemy that had put just as much thought into their tactics as the Precure had.
Black arrows rained down on them. Alice raised her arms to shield all those who fought near her, arrows breaking against her magic. She could not fight like this, but she was but a single soldier, so if her magic could save as many lives as possible, that was the best use of her time and strength. But even so, despite all their preparations, despite all their efforts, there were just too many Zakenna, more than she and her soldiers could ever possibly stop. They flew high above their heads, but Rosetta saw no opportunity to retaliate, as there were just as many Zakenna demanding their full attention on the walls. Fires started to spread along the walls, and fell concoctions blasted them to pieces, allowing Zakenna to flood through the openings.
Chaos had descended upon the defenses so quickly and so overwhelmingly that Alice had found little time and chances to hear of how the battle might be proceeding on the other fronts; a dark cloud descended upon the center, and all contact with Chocolat had been lost, but the eastern flank remained a mystery. Alice thought of Akudaikan, then of the Dark King, drawing ever near the walls, slowly lurching onwards, drawing upon himself all the magic and artillery fire directed at the legions of Zakenna, like a lodestone of the arcane. His body would melt and crumble but would reform as the Dark King shrieked in agony, his undead form frozen in pain, each of his movements so lengthy, so unnatural. When he first appeared through the darkness, his beastly form a harbinger of doom, Alice had presumed him to be Dark Fall's great weapon, but he was deployed in a different manner entirely, less a soldier in his own right but a diversion, meant to draw fire and arrows so that the Zakenna beneath would move on unimpeded.
Not at all how I expected Dark Fall to fight, as though each man fought for himself… This patient, measured assault, reminded Alice of the Precure and their allies. But this should have been no surprise: after all the successes that the Precure had won, all the enemies they'd vanquished, it was simply impossible for Belzei and Elisio to have underestimated them, to not have thoroughly prepared for this, made use of all the time they had… The Rainbow Rose had weeks to prepare, while Dark Fall had years.
Alice stepped back, calling for Wolfrun to oversee the defense for the time being. It seemed to bring him some sort of satisfaction to have the chance to fight alongside his brethren, to show their worth. Just hold the line for now, Rosetta told him. This was not the time for reckless heroics.
She ran along the walls, further to the east. The fighting was brutal and thick wherever she went; defenders held the walls even when bombarded by poisons, and when the walls were lost, they would fight them on the ground, setting the thorns ablaze rather than let the Zakenna take control of the walls. Scorp led a group of Nightmare's soldiers who chose to stand alongside Despariah even as she pledged her support to the Precure, and Cure Symphony led Majorland's sentinels, taking great care to have the wounded taken away from the frontlines. They still had an abundance of reserves, that was the only consolation Alice could find. The only hope that they might outlast Dark Fall. It was as small a hope as she had dared to feel when the stars went out.
She found Regina at the frontline, her Dragon Glaive striking fear even into the Zakenna, who parted like splitting seas when faced with that dreadful spear. Alice called for her attention, summoning her own shield to guard the new queen of the Trump Kingdom; impervious to any harm Dark Fall sent her way, Regina was bold enough to climb atop the Zakenna that piled high in the trenches. Alice followed, and together they felled dozens upon dozens of Zakenna, ignited into ashes by the full power of the Glaive, unleashed in huge lashes of fire. And then, for an instant, there was stillness, almost peace. Dragonfire raged and crackled, but the battlefield itself was empty, at least directly around the two. Alice had almost forgotten what it was like not to have countless thousands of foes rushing like a black tide towards her. They soon returned to the wall, where a satisfied Regina breathed with great relief and sighed loudly, deeply.
"We fight well together, Rosetta," Regina told her. "Heart always spoke highly of you. Indeed, she never lies. But I am pretty certain you were tasked with holding the western half of the front."
"Wolfrun is commanding in my stead, for now," she said. "I needed to contact you, and the last two messengers I sent you were killed."
"What is it, then?"
"We have to start making preparations to fall back," said Alice. To Regina it might well seem like an absurd notion, given how well she was holding up here, but elsewhere their defenses were failing.
"Are things that bad?"
"We won't be able to rely on long-range support for much longer. The Zakenna have the skies, and their heaviest weaponry is close enough to bombard us. And the Dark King… That fiend is half-destroyed, an undead aberration, but there are overwhelming dark magics all around him. I fear what might happen when he reaches us."
"We can't fall back," Regina said. "Not yet. The center of our lines are… Well, to put it bluntly, there won't be a center much longer. Chocolat is probably dead, and it seems no one has been able to take command in her absence because Beauty has not heard a word from the defenders there since… Since that black cloud fell on them."
"All the more reason for us to retreat. Find more favorable ground."
"If we give ground, then the center is truly doomed. The Zakenna will take our walls and strike at the survivors from their flanks; if we lost the center like that, without them being able to prepare for their own retreat, then that'll be too heavy a blow to survive. We need to stay strong. Give them time to recover, to prepare to fall back. That cloud… It's worse than poison, my messengers told me, from what they've heard from survivors. Enters through your skin. There's still too many soldiers at the walls, holding the center, so if we abandon them to their own luck, thousands will die."
"But Chocolat is likely dead, you said it yourself," Rosetta argued. "No one is commanding them. What hope do we have, then, that they'll be able to properly retreat, rather than just break and flee in utter chaos?"
"There's not much hope, I suppose," said Regina. "What fate befalls them is out of our hands… All we can do is carry on. Give them as much time as we can."
"Regina…"
"Ha! I suppose that sounds absurd coming from the Selfish Princess herself! The Selfish Queen, even, for I've committed the greatest of all sins, killing my own father. I almost don't believe it either, myself… But, for once, I'm willing to put my life on the line for the sake of others. Truly the world must be ending."
"It's not absurd," Alice declared. "Mana trusts you. She saw something in you. I see it, too…"
"Now, don't get sentimental on my ass," said Regina. "I have the authority to deliver you to Dark Fall via catapult, you know," she looked over the wall, to the Dark King drawing ever nearer, shaking the earth as he went. "I love war. I love fighting and killing. Never thought I'd be doing it for a good cause, yet here we are. Impending death… Something about it makes me forget all cares. So, Cure Rosetta, will you take my hand and side with me in slaughter?"
The mirrors had turned red with blood and carnage, black with soot and smoke. As the battle proceeded, they had grown hot to the touch, splintered with cracks. Reika paced back and forth, relaying commands as necessary and discussing matters with the rest of the commanders, but still she felt like she could never do enough. Could not be everywhere, could not respond to every problem, could not save everyone.
"Should we send our reserves to the center front?" Queen Hikari asked.
"No," Muse retorted. "The Precure we have sent must suffice to bring the center back into stability. It would be wasteful to send troops into uncontrolled chaos and think that pure numbers will revert the situation."
"I trust Moonlight," said Aguri. Sat by the arranged mirrors and sipping tea, she appeared oddly serene. "The reality of command is relying on such trust, for certainly a general cannot be everywhere at once."
Do I not trust my friends as much as I should, then?
"A difficult lesson to learn," said Aqua. "All my dearest companions are fighting; my utmost desire is to have a horse brought to me so that I can ride to the front and fight with everyone. Were I but a few years younger, I would be doing so already."
"And why are you not?" Hikari asked her.
"I'm not so arrogant as to think that I alone can win a battle. And only those who are truly alone cannot rely on others to fight the battles they cannot. Dream, Rouge, Lemonade, Mint, Rose… They shall all do their duty and they will do it well. I would like to help them, but I must put my faith in their strength and their resolve."
"A woman alone cannot win a battle," said Sword, "but she can change its course. If I did not believe that, then I would have kept Alice by my side. Do not speak so lowly of what a single person can do."
"It was not my intention," said Aqua. "I know that, if you could fight, you could exert such great change. I am not as great a warrior as brave Cure Sword, however, so I remain here."
"Quell your tempers," Reika demanded. "All of you. We must not lose focus now. Moonlight will salvage the center to the best of her ability, and then we'll see about reinforcing its defenses. How goes the eastern front?"
"As well as when you last saw it," said Aguri. "Dream and Fortune are still holding on and have not yet had to give any ground," though it had been only some minutes since Reika last inspected the situation through the mirror herself, anything she heard about her friends was a great relief. But Happy and March are still unaccounted for. "Diamond and Liz also report that, unlike the other fronts, they have not been harassed by Zakenna from the skies."
"And the west?"
"It appears Regina is taking a… Rather active role in the fighting," said Sword. "We've not received many messengers, though. The forces there are withstanding heavy, constant blows, and seem unable to spare any time or manpower. And Sorcielle has warned me that with Zakenna descending upon them, the mages and archers won't be able to provide much help to the frontlines."
"We can assign resources and troops from the east, then, since they are holding on there," proposed Muse.
"Not while the husk of Akudaikan is on the march," Hikari remarked. "If Dark Fall takes notice of a cessation of volleys and magical barrages, they can opt to pressure this newly weakened front instead."
"True," she admitted. "Majorland still has considerable reserves. I can command Beat, Rhythm and Melody to lead them west and reinforce Sorcielle."
"Very well," said Beauty, looking into the closest mirror. She saw so many figures locked in combat that she couldn't count them, couldn't even tell them apart. "If we can relieve them somewhat, that'll help Regina hold her position. Now, though… Hideaki informed me that Labyrinth's artillery is making the final preparations to fire once more. However, given our complete lack of visibility of the center front and the risks involved in calling artillery fire so close to our own defenses, Labyrinth will only be able to whittle down Dark Fall's numbers."
"I suggest we bid them to wait until we have a more favorable shot," said Aqua. "To kill some hundreds of Zakenna, even some thousands… That will not halt the rush of reinforcements, and the fighting has grown so thick and toilsome at the fronts that we won't even be earning them any time. The artillery would be better served covering their retreat."
"Can we already consider retreat?" Asked Muse. "If our first line of defense could only last an hour before having to fall back, then what hope do we have to make it through the day, let alone the night?"
"No, we cannot," said Sword. Reika knew how much it hurt her to say so, knowing it meant keeping Alice where the fighting was most dangerous. "Dark Fall has barely slowed down. If we cannot offer further resistance then they will simply tread over us. We cannot forget that even though it is key to our victory that we strategically give ground, all ground once given can never be taken back. Each step back is a step we will never take forward in battle. Our sole advantage is being on the defensive: our enemy has to come to us. Only when we can truly no longer fight on must we give the order to fall back, and understand that when we do so, not all will be able to retreat. Some will have to stay behind and die."
"I did not make that suggestion lightly," said Aqua. "But we cannot fight in such unfavorable conditions. When our soldiers fall back, I can have my cavalry flank Dark Fall."
"This is a trick we can only utilize once," said Makoto. "If we do not deploy your horsemen when it's most profitable, then we are lost, because we will not have a chance to do so again. It is not yet time to even speak of abandoning the outer walls. They have to withstand the night."
"When will it be time, then? Hundreds have died already."
"When thousands have died, then we will have bled enough," said Makoto. "That is the harsh truth of it."
Reika thought of Nozomi and Iona, Miyuki and Nao, of so many others… She restrained her own feelings as best as she could, but inside they overwhelmed her. If Nozomi died, would she ever know…? There would be no time to count the dead, much less identify them, and such a large battlefield would make it difficult to find anyone in particular. She shuddered, and looked at the deep darkness in the horizon. If they lost the center, that horrible magic would come for them, too. They could not yet retreat. Not without striking a blow against Dark Fall, not without finding an advantage over Belzei's own strategizing. He has more tricks. If we fall back now without being able to force his hand, then our destruction is certain.
"Sword is right. I will have Hideaki focus Labyrinth's artillery upon the Zakenna on the eastern front. It is there that we are winning; we press this advantage and trust our friends to overcome the odds elsewhere."
"We have put our trust in you," said Aguri. "Yours is the deciding voice. If that is what you have determined to be the best course of action, then we will follow it."
Somehow that compliance caught Reika by surprise. She had not expected Aguri to simply heed another's commands; right now she was nothing like the Aguri that Reika had met in the Phoenix Tower, long ago. Either the Crown had changed her, or time had. Yet a part of Reika wished she would disagree. Even now she felt unprepared to shoulder such responsibility. But she could not be selfish now and deny what was demanded of her simply because she was afraid. We are all afraid.
With orders given, Reika returned to her waiting, her watching. She wished to hear from Chocolat once more, despite all odds, to be told that things were again within their control… But war, of course, never cared to entertain her insecurities. And so she waited until she was called once more, this time not by her commanders but by Blue, who slowly stepped towards the mirrors.
"How goes the battle?" The god asked.
"We are still alive, for the time being," Reika said. "It appears we may yet hold on for the day. We have lost about as many lives as our worst predictions expected we would. More death than we can afford, but not so much that we can be said to be losing."
"This must be hard for you."
"I loathe those who could ever find this easy," she told him. "Even knowing what to expect, what we would face and lose, life is not merely part of a cold equation. But no other course is left."
"Yes. Yes, of course," he appeared conflicted. "I know what it is like to send men and women to their deaths. Even with my heart hardened by millennia and divinity. It is what most wounded my brother, when he lost his home of Labyrinth. That he could not save all who defied Moebius and begged for his help."
"Why did you come here?" Reika asked bluntly. "You have already done enough. We know you have no help to offer. If you simply came to indulge your curiosity and wax lyrical of how much you've been through, I have neither the time or the patience to hear."
"No, of course not. I have caused enough problems already, I know. But I have felt today powers that I've not felt in eons. The magic of Flora, wielded by Cure Blossom, that is the most evident… But the magic of mirrors, too. My brother's magic."
"What do you mean?"
"There is much that can be said of my brother that is unkind, but he is not blind, and he is not stupid. He is watching this battle just as I am. He will notice Flora, and more importantly… He will notice that Labyrinth fights with you."
"He judges Labyrinth lost. What will this change?"
"Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. I have not truly known him for thousands of years. I don't know if time has softened him or made him worse than he was when he plunged the world into darkness, unleashing the lingering powers of Ophiuchus. The Serpent Star has taken the skies once more, a sign of the power he has granted Mirage. The sight of Labyrinth reborn may draw his attention. And if something good remains in him…"
"Does anything good remain?"
"I don't know. I wouldn't dare presume anything anymore. As a god, I am nothing. But as a brother… Of course I want there to be hope for Red. Perhaps a fool's hope… But I am a great fool. Even he might see the error of his ways."
"Then you may continue to put your faith in that hope," said Reika. "If it holds true, then I shall be grateful. But we've long ceased to rely on gods. You may remain by our side as long as you don't get in our way."
"Of course. Thank you. Let us hope, then, that we all find our faiths to be rewarded."
The world smelled of blood and brimstone, the air crackling with arcane powers that shimmered in deep violets bleeding into the darkened skies. Riko watched reality itself fray and tear, twisted by vast, apocalyptic powers. That the world had not ended felt like the wrongest thing imaginable, the greatest of abominations. The ground by Riko's feet was scorched in spirals of cinder aglow with lingering magic; she sent her powers to the sky, to the flocks of Zakenna that fell upon them, hissing and shrieking as they swooped, as they bit, as they died. Still more followed, coming from the depths of the dark clouds, from beyond smoke curtains on the horizon. They descended like a tourbillon, and everything else disappeared; Riko could not see Sorcielle by her side, nor the Montblanc fairies only some meters ahead.
Sharp claws dug at her skin and the blood she shed would float around her, spun by overwhelming arcane forces. Her blazing fists crushed the Zakenna's limbs, her flames purged them from the sky, but their numbers were unending. Worst of all was that there were so many of them that Riko couldn't even begin to tell what might be going around her, which way was north and which was south, much less how the battle would proceed. Now she could do nothing but try to survive. Dizzy, she cloaked herself in biting winds that clutched the Zakenna and tore their bodies apart like old, worn fabric. Her veins turned purple; repugnant, they bulged, and Riko's own blood was wrong somehow, the strain of the powers she wielded had become too great for her own body.
To her surprise, when she could see clearly again and the Zakenna no longer swarmed her, she was still alive. Huge gleaming chains reached to the skies and pinned down the fiends above, just before a surge of lightning ran through the chains and left the beasts smoldering. Lemonade and Peace fought together well, almost as well as Rouge and Sunny, whose blazes combined to form a great sphere shining like a star down to earth, but though its light should be blinding, Riko could see clearly, and only the eyes of the Zakenna were seared. From the south, reinforcements came bearing the banners of noble houses of Majorland; their arrows, precise, felled the Zakenna that withstood the magic, while their raised shields helped keep their allies safe from monstrous talons. By the time Riko collapsed on the scorched ground, the Zakenna were gone, the skies now darkened only by thick rainclouds. Riko sighed - in truth she wished to scream, but she failed to find the strength for that. She fell by Lulu's side, her mechanical body badly damaged but functional enough for her to pick up her own fallen parts.
She couldn't tell how much time had passed. It could well have been an instant, or it could have been forever. Her body was sore all over, and she couldn't bear to stand up. An odd-colored goop oozed out of her mouth, and it tasted like blood; her blood, stinking of hextree resin, burnt paper and aftermagic. As she settled and rested, she watched her veins, and to her relief they soon returned to normal, if somewhat darker than usual. Sorcielle came to her, her own face red with blood. Perhaps Riko was just imagining things thanks to the thrill of not dying horribly, but she thought she saw Sorcielle smile.
"You fought well," she said.
"I'm happy I did not disappoint you."
"Of course you did not. The progress you have made is astonishing. More than that, the strength of your will is undeniable. Most mages would not have survived what you have done, infusing their own bodies with so much magic."
"Yes, well, I did fear I might die," she confessed. "I feared we all would die."
"We still have time for that," said Sorcielle. "You've earned some rest, though."
"You mean I'm in no condition to continue fighting."
"My, you've grown quite perceptive indeed. Yes, I fear you might just drop dead if you attempt to do anything as demanding as that display of yours. You're no use dead, unless you can reanimate your own corpse, I suppose. Return by sunset, if we're still alive by then."
"And if you're not?"
"I'm sure someone will have instructions for you. Lemonade, Sunny," she called to them, "you are dismissed as well. I'll see you again tonight."
"What?" Akane protested. "No, I can still fight."
"Yes, I know, but I want you well-rested and with watchful eyes to fight in the dark. Besides, we can't accomplish much right now. Our magic will just hit our own men; best to preserve your strength for when it's needed and useful."
"Then let us go to the front lines, at least," said Urara. "Our friends are fighting there."
"And they'll need your support later tonight," Sorcielle did not relent. "But not now."
"I understand your frustration," Riko attempted to help Sorcielle somewhat, "I would like to be fighting alongside my friends. It's scary to be here, not knowing what's happening in the frontlines. But Beauty cannot alter her strategies for the sake of our fear and our need to know. We'd best do our parts. For the sake of everyone we love, who are relying on us."
None of them were pleased to acquiesce, but with two voices instead of just one urging them to remain cautious, they chose to listen, and headed back to camp for a meal, some rest, and bandages. It was almost a bad joke, Riko felt, to expect that some hours of repose would be enough to rejuvenate warriors who had almost died, but hours was all they could afford. As Riko was leaving, she saw Sorcielle and some assistants make calculations for more precise long-range support, to try and avoid hitting their allies at the front. This was not how Riko had ever imagined war would be; somehow it was worse. As she walked away, she thought of Iona, fighting at the front; thought of Kanade and Aoi, everyone. She thought of Kotoha and Mirai.
She looked up at the dark clouds in fear. Thunder hissed, and she quickened her pace.
Running through the vile cloud and its smothering black, Yuko found herself remembering, in desperation, half-forgotten pieces of trivia as to how long a human being could survive without air. Surely a Precure must withstand a few more minutes than the average person. That was her hope, but as she sought Hime, she realized she had no idea how long she could bear this increasingly agonizing asphyxiation, much less how much time had passed. It was as though the world was gone; indeed, Yuko wondered if she might even actually be alive, because this could certainly pass for hell.
Mostly she stumbled upon the dead; their faces a red horror as they bled through all of their pores and orifices. But there were those who were still clinging to life, but there was nothing Yuko could do for them. They were already dead, either because they breathed in the poison or because their maimed limbs wouldn't let them move. Not all of the red was blood drawn by the poison, but from wounds the Zakenna inflicted. Yuko walked past them, knowing they were already dead men. Instead she sought those she could still save. She sought Hime.
Yuko followed what she thought was light, and with each footstep she felt wet, soft things underneath. Her own body was hot, heavy, tiring fast. Even so she managed to go on, despair and horror proving that Yuko was stronger than she believed, stronger than she ever wished to be. Until, at last, she saw daylight through the cloud.
Hime. Azure light cut through the darkness, as clear as a blue morning sky. Yuko found Princess with her arms outstretched, her magic a bubble of safety and purity that stretched along a large portion of the wall, wherein a hundred soldiers lingered, perhaps even more. Yuko stepped inside as though she walked past a silken curtain. Strained as she was from the effort, Hime managed to smile.
"Thank goodness," said Yuko. "Megumi managed to escape with me. But you…"
"It hurts," she said, "holding on like this. There is no way out. All around us, the walls have fallen to the Zakenna, and there is no escape. A Precure can withstand the poison long enough to retreat, but anyone else…"
"There has to be some way," Yuko said. "This is a curse of some sort, conjured by Dark Fall, and every curse can be dispelled, somehow… I can try. I must."
Yet she did not know how. She had watched Hime and Iona save Miwar by taking the Starfire into their own bodies, but this was not the sacred magic of the Precure that they could command so easily… This was darkness, this was poison, this was beyond Honey. But she breathed in the pure air all around Hime, and knew that her magic must do some good, if she gave it her all, if she offered her life…
She reached into the deep black and felt its weight and its cold on her palms. Fade, she thought, to no avail. Vanish, vile shadow, but the shadow did nothing but bite at her fingers until they bled. She did not recoil; Yuko had bled enough already, and left fear far behind her. Her hands turned warm with the magic she wielded for life and light, washing over her wounds and covering them, healing them. Her chest hurt, clutched and smothered by the toll of wielding such magic when she was already hurt, tired. Hime called out to her, but Yuko heard nothing save for her own heartbeat and thoughts. She closed her eyes; the darkness made her think of the night sky for comfort. The stars…
Yuko felt the way she always felt when she conjured her magic, that ineffable force and vitality that flowed within her and quickened her heartbeat. But now she understood that feeling like never before. She felt the stars within her. She watched them sparkle and, in turn, they watched over her, even when she couldn't see them. This, the oldest of powers, the magic that gave birth to the Precure, to her… All through her life since she became a Precure she relied on this power, but only now realized that this power was her. She was no intruder to the starscapes and the cosmos she saw so oft revered, but part of it. The stars felt closer now than they had ever been before. Born of this starlight and stardust… She opened her eyes, and the clouds were farther than they had been before, and with inhuman hisses it shrank away, slowly returning whence it came.
Her light demanded the curse be banished; no darkness could contend with the power of the stars. Yuko felt something crackle within her, and her heartbeat grew frail, until she could barely feel it, but she carried on against the darkness as living vessel of the stars. As long as the Precure have the stars above them, she had heard time and time again, their powers are unmatched. That was no lie. The blood they had shed these past years bringing back the stars to the night sky had been worth it, every last drop of it. Directly in front of her she saw the twisted tangle of vines and briars and the Zakenna that desperately climbed atop it, clawing at Hime's barrier to try and reach Honey. Princess commanded the soldiers to flee to safety, but they did not turn; instead they chose to stay to fight with the Precure, to bleed with them. We will not abandon you, they cried out. We will not leave you to die.
Spears repelled the Zakenna; as the clouds moved further away, the endless tide of monsters besieging them revealed itself. Their lines met the Rainbow Rose's last defenders in a clash of steel and claws, but Yuko held on firmly in place, her magic both warding off the curse and keeping everyone around her fighting as though they were not wounded, were not afraid. Because, if only for a moment, they were not.
Hime fell to her knees. The Zakenna found passage back to the walls now that no magic would impede their charge. Locked in place, Yuko did not have the strength to yell at her companions to flee and save themselves, much less to run away herself. Through the thorns and thickets the Zakenna at last reached them, but though they were directly before her, though death was in front of her, Yuko did not feel as though her efforts were a waste. She did not even waste her last moments watching the Zakenna. She looked instead to the skies. The darkness had passed. The black clouds spread and withered until only the grey of rain clouds was left. At once the world was washed of blood and dirt and poison as rain wept down on it. Yuko's own blood nearly blinded her as it cascaded down her bangs, and she felt its taste on her lips, it and clear rainwater.
One last time the shield wall resisted the Zakenna. One last time roared the thunder of war. A ruinous light shone right behind them, bright as lightning. The Zakenna banged against shields and spears, rumbling the very earth beneath Yuko's feet. Then the raindrops took the colors of rainbows as all lights shone down on the walls at once; Parfait leapt past the shield wall, crashing against the Zakenna in a flurry of colorful sparks that burned down the fiends to white ashes and smoke that glowed behind the rainwater and blood. Then Parfait's brother followed, and with them came Whip and Custard, and a cascade of Apostle arrows.
Only then did Yuko allow her strength to leave her, her fingertips numb and her legs failing her as she fell to the ground and scarlet fell over the thorns. More men rushed to the walls, retaking control of it for now. She crawled towards Hime, found her still trying to rise, still trying to fight, even as she coughed something thick and black and her wrists were twisted. Just before she felt someone take hold of her, Yuko whispered in Hime's ear, uncertain if her words could even be heard, but not caring, because she knew Hime could always understand her.
"We did it, Hime," she said. She wanted to cry, but even that was beyond her now. "We fought. We lived… We endured… The morning…"
"We did," Hime said with great effort. Then she closed her eyes. "We rest, now. Yes… Rest."
Rest, Yuko thought, closing her own eyes in response. But the stars are not done with us yet. Not as long as we breathe.
