Praedari Magica: The Hunters of Magic

by Blazorna Ibara

The government is secretly aware of the existence of witches and magical girls, and are seen as threats. To eliminate both, Welkin was formed. They send out those who hunt Magical Girl and Witch alike without magic. For better or worse, the Praedari have joined the Incubator's cycle. OC-centric for now. rated M for language, violence and mild adult themes. SYOC Open

6. Am I the Monster?

Am I the Monster?

~Praedari-Alpha~

"The wards are that way." Izumi said as she pointed to the left towards the stage area.

"Alright." I acknowledged. "Got your radio?"

"Yeah, and I made sure the others got them too. But I didn't think you'd bump into Sakura-san." my partner stated before grinning a little. "Is she moving in with us?"

"I haven't decided yet." Kyouko said with a frown. "I'm tagging along to see how things work with you guys."

Izumi narrowed her eyes while looking at the redhead skeptically.

"Riiight…" she droned flatly.

"Okay, we should split up into two groups." I said. "This place is pretty big."

"Why? We know which way to go." Kyouko questioned.

"I'm with Red on this one." Nozomi said.

"Civilis." I said.

"Eh?" the pair said in confusion.

"Praedari call civilians 'Civilis' when on the field." Izumi explained. "Anyway, we need to find out if there's anyone here so that we can keep them safe."

"Why should we do that?" Nozomi pressed. "Why not just leave them be?"

"Rather they be killed by me?" I questioned in a serious tone. "Protocol dictates that any Civilis who comes into contact with a Praedari are to be eliminated to maintain secrecy."

"I-Isn't that a little overboard?" Kyouko asked.

"Definitely. Luckily I never encountered any innocent people like this, so my hands are clean of their blood." I replied with relief.

"Okay, I get it now, we're to look for anyone and scare them off, right?" Nozomi summarized.

"That or trap them in a room." Izumi pointed out. "Anyway, I suggest that Itou-san, Sakura-san, and Enoshima-san go as one group, while Sho-kun and I go as the second."

"That could wor-" I said before being cut off Kyouko.

"I rather would stick with Sakamichi, since he's the only one here that I know!" she interjected while glaring at the blonde.

Izumi had a look of annoyance on her face.

"Listen here, Sho-kun and I can cover for the other better than the rest." she said.

"Well, I think that the same is true for us, as well!" Kyouko countered.

Nozomi groaned and looked at the two girls.

"Listen here, now's not the time to argue. Sakura, Izumi, Fuuko and I can go by ourselves. So you can go with the others." she pointed out with a sigh. "That or you two go together as your own pair."

Both Izumi and Kyouko glared at each other in silence before looking over towards me.

"Fine…" the two relented.

I looked at the two girls in confusion.

Why were they arguing like that just now?

~Welkin-Eligere~

"You know what one of my favorite things to do is?" the magical girl asked me.

"No, you haven't told me anything about yourself at all." I pointed out.

"It's playing cupid." the green haired girl said, ignoring what I just said. "Love does make people do the craziest things. It's one of the more entertaining things I can implant into people."

I listened to the magical girl as she examined her fingernails closely.

"However, my influences are only temporary." she admitted with a frown. "I only do a simple push, all they do after that is of their own volition."

"So, you don't have absolute control over people." I mused.

"Damn straight, but that's fine with me." she admitted casually. " Regardless, they still go in the direction I want them to go."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"To make things interesting." the greenette replied before looking towards me. "I don't want things to go my way easily. Still, we got her to deal with as well.":

~Praedari-Delta~

I bounced my rifle against my shoulder as I heard the explosions getting louder with each passing minute.

It was then that several Yakuza came into view with a Praedari telling them where to shoot with rocket launchers. No doubt about it. That was Omega. However, what they were shooting at was surprising.

It was a weird figure wearing a black robe with the hood raised. However, the figured had black wings, large enough to support both the owner and two flailing yakuza, one in each hand.

The figure weaved past the explosive rockets that were fired its way while throwing one of the two yakuza to intercept one right in front of her, only to fly straight through the cloud of gore and fire. The figure began spinning while plummeting towards the group as the Praedari began firing with the two desert eagles he summoned in a flash of light.

The figure stopped, revealing that it used the remaining yakuza as a shield to absorb the bullets before it flung the man with all its strength towards Omega.

He immediately dived forward just before the yakuza collided into the street with a surprising amount of force, actually causing the pavement to cave under the force of the impact with a large web of cracks around him.

The Praedari rose up to look at the witch while clenching his fists.

"Those fucking assholes, leaving me to fucking deal with this motherfucking witch…" he cursed loudly.

Yep, that's definitely him.

I lowered my rifle and held up my hand. It's obvious that this witch was agile and fast. But how would it fare against my armband? Underneath my helmet, I smirked as the armband began glowing.

I then raised my arm above my head before snapping my fingers, causing the witch to immediately be flung backwards while every upper window and neon light shattered in every direction.

Omega and the Yakuza looked around before I raised my rifle to shoot at the witch briefly.

"Need some help boys?" I asked.

~Praedari Upsilon~

I growled as I stared at the window on the display. I can't believe what I was seeing.

Detailed profiles of all the Praedari, both current and former. There were hundreds of names, each categorized underneath one of the twenty four letters of the Greek alphabet. However, there were three windows that I had pulled up that caught my attention. I began with the one that I found first.

The current Praedari Alpha. Sakamichi Shotaro, age 17, male.

Son of two former Praedari. Father, Sakamichi Keisuke was a former Praedari Pi. The Mother, then Hifumi Setsuna, was, coincidentally, Praedari Alpha as well. The two were partnered together and were very effective. Eventually they married and retired. Three years after the birth of Sakamichi Shotaro, both parents were killed by a rogue Praedari who held a grudge against Setsuna. The culprit was eliminated soon after.

Was taken in by the head of the Japan Welkin branch, as neither parent had surviving relatives. At age five, the kid was subjugated to a specialized regimen to raise him into becoming a Praedari. Displayed an aptitude of observing and calculations at a young age. When eleven years old, Shotaro was sent to work with a Yakuza organization, in order to destroy it. Details of what happened are classified, however, it ended three years later with the entire Yakuza group completely annihilated, while Shotaro was very much alive. Since then, he has refused to kill any Civilis, unless they are connected to the Yakuza in anyway.

The accompanying photo in regards to that event was greatly disturbing.

A thirteen year old boy was covered head to toe in blood while holding a rifle. He was sitting on top of a pile of corpses with a frown on his face. It was obvious he didn't enjoy it, but at the same time, held no remorse in those red eyes of his. Definitely the eyes of a killer, since all Praedari have them after all.

I shook my head and resumed reading.

"Went through basic training afterwards, and was officially recruited as a Praedari at age 14. Before being assigned to be the partner of Kuwabara Narumi, he worked under Praedari Upsilon, until Upsilon was killed by a witch on Shotaro's first field mission. This was also when he first met the magical girl known as Izumi, who would ally herself with him soon after meeting.

Lately, Shotaro has recruited two more magical girls. Digamma has proposed to try an approach to see if magical girls can be utilized as weapons. However, Project Polaris has shown tremendous promise compared to this unorthodox approach, leading one to question Digamma's reasoning.

Project Polaris… What was that? Welkin wasn't all that willing to divulge in sharing secrets, even amongst its own employees. The records of every Praedari was one such secret that only the best of hackers can find outside of those authorized to view them.

I'll dig deeper into that later. I closed Sakamichi's profile, and went to the next one.

I looked at the name and gawked before I pulled up the current Alpha's profile again.

What the fuck…

Subject # 877

Clone that was reportedly created by a magical girl's wish to have a female version of some child she once met to exist. Well that explains why they look so similar, obvious differences aside. At first I thought they were twins. Found wandering in a park without clothes, apparently seven years old at the time.

Was given the name of Sakamichi Airi due to DNA matching Sakamichi Shotaro, with only enough genetic variation to have her be female. However, due to her origin she had no education besides knowing how to speak Japanese. Was taken into Welkin custody soon after discovery. Was trained to become a Praedari while kept under careful observation for any potential threat.

I sighed as I shook my head. First Shotaro's history, and now this magic born clone.

Has shown no hesitation towards killing any kind of living being, despite showing obvious disdain of the action. Has been selected to become an executioner due to this and her armband ability.

Has been showing potential of undergoing Exalt.

Exalt… I heard a rumor that there was something that could happen to a Praedari if they eliminated enough witches. The ability to activate new armbands and tell what they can do with a single look.

The third window I had wasn't of a profile of a Praedari, rather, it was some classified details regarding the armbands themselves. I closed Airi and Shotaro's profiles before focusing solely on the final window.

The design of the armbands were created by a magical girl who wanted to have regular humans stand a chance against witches. However, Welkin used her and once the final product was completed, the magical girl was eliminated. The armbands were created based on research on soul gems and the magical energy they produce. The artificial magic generator that Welkin developed was used to create the armbands, or rather, activate them. Created by collected grief seeds being ground up into a fine powder before being mixed into molten steel. This ensures the magical conductivity is present and to have it work properly. Once the molten mixture is poured into molds and hardens, it's then exposed to the magical energy. It is then stored until given to a new recruit.

The way the absorbed magical energy works is that it requires the presence of a soul. Soul gems house the soul, therefore they're able to create that very energy naturally. The energy found in the armbands lie dormant until it is exposed to a living being. This will cause the armband's energy to imprint on the being's life energy, therefore making it only usable solely by that very being. Praedari who tried using another's armband will be incapable of using it. Also, the ability in which the armband provides is determined by the soul it imprinted on, therefore should one use more than one armband, the abilities of both will be the exact same.

Like with magical girl's bodies and soul gems. The armband also is connected to the soul of whatever it imprinted. Should the user perish, the energy of the armband will cease to work ever again. If removed, then the armband will simply cease function altogether until it is in close proximity of the user's soul once more. This dormancy triggers within a distance of two meters or the user is unconcious.

There are several occasions where the armband's ability is able to be passed onto a different user. However, every confirmed instance lasted until the previous user became deceased. Details of how this works, but the ability of the armband plays a role. Confirmed abilities capable of this feature are Enslave, Resonate, and Synch.

Alpha uses Enslave, while the recently deceased Zeta had Resonate.I however have Synch.

Resonate allowed Zeta to temporarily use the same ability of a different armband within a hundred meter radius. Synch is similar, but different.

Some would argue that Synch is also perhaps the most dangerous armband for its user next to the current Sigma's armband, and for good reason. The power to flawlessly mimic one's moves and abilities or that of an armband ability, but also copy that person's memories.

I can't tell what memories were originally my own from those that were copies. There were so many names that felt so familiar… so much suffering I've felt, despite never going through it. The only way that I can keep my sanity and sense of self was to let go of my previous, eroded, identity, and give myself a new name.

I decided to go by my Praedari call sign, Upsilon, the only thing that I am consistently called by most people. Still, these memories of mine affected my view on life. From the old me, I was once naïve, thinking that the people where I lived cared for me.

Heh, soon learned the truth when I was almost poisoned to death thanks to that cult leader deciding that mass suicide would bring salvation. After that, I went to a different country, and then there was that war I was caught in the middle of a year later there…

Wait a second, did all that really happen to me or not? Argh...Fuck these memories… At times I wish I suffer long term memory loss just to start fresh all over again.

I shook my head to clear my head before focusing upon the screen.

I scrolled down to see a link at the bottom of the page. Curiosity getting the best of me, I opened the link, only to reveal a list of all the current abilities of the active Praedari, and a summary of each one with a ranking from E to S. I decided to look over the list, to learn what each Praedari was capable of doing. As I browsed, my eyes widened upon noticing that three of them had not one, but TWO abilities listed.

Gamma, Iota, and Beta.

I noticed a memo next to each of them, indicating that those three were part of Project Polaris.

Those two words again…

What the hell IS that exactly? What could give them the capability to have two different armband abilities when it's stated that it's impossible for that to happen in the first place?

Looking at the list once again, I noticed two abilities belonging to other Praedari that caught my attention.

Omega's Arsenal is a B+ rank ability, while Alpha's Enslave is simply A. Interesting to note, yet that wasn't that important. Neither of them were noted to be the strongest,

Two of the other abilities however were labeled as S rank.

Reject and Negate

Reject was stated to be a versatile ability, from reversing injuries that were inflicted upon the user, to repelling bullets. Essentially the perfect defense.

Negate… an ability that nullifies both magic and armband abilities at the user's command. Even any special abilities that a witch could do that isn't physical is useless. Considered to be the ideal armband ability for Praedari. Used by one of the executioners.

~Praedari Alpha~

Izumi and Kyouko remained quiet as they both flanked me on both sides as we went down the hallway towards the dressing rooms. Why were they acting like this?

"Sho-kun." Izumi spoke up, breaking the silence. "Are you into girls like her?" she glared over towards Kyouko.

I immediately froze and stared at her, dumbfounded by this. My helmet may hide my face, but my body language was obviously broadcasting my reaction perfectly to the magical girl.

"What are you saying?" I asked.

"I trust that you genuinely want to break that cycle, and you've been gathering help from everyone who is willing to." Izumi explained before sighing. "But, I'm starting to wonder that you've got some kind of…ulterior motive gathering magical girls. Why do you take in those who don't have anywhere to go?"

I lowered my head and chuckled softly.

"I guess you could say there is. Just not in the way you'd expect." I replied before raising my head a little. "I am able to sympathize with those who are all alone with no family. Takes one to know one."

Izumi looked at me with a worried look.

"Don't worry, I do what I do so that others don't suffer like I did as a child." I reassured her before putting a hand on her shoulder. "You've helped me become who I am today. And I can't ever thank you enough for that."

Izumi blushed deeply before smiling sheepishly.

"Well, I remember that when we first met, your mind was only that of a solider, plus you didn't show a lot of emotion besides shock, pain, and confusion." She reminisced. "Took you a year and a half before you finally learned to relax like a normal person."

"Now's not the time to talk about the past." Kyouko interjected, startling both of us. "We need to haul ass, remember!"

"You're right, Sakura-san, we better get going." I said in agreement. When I turned to look at the redhead, I saw a mix of loneliness and what looked like jealousy present on her face.

I matched my speed with her and gently patted her shoulder.

" You're amongst friends here." I reassured her.

"I know." she said flatly before smiling softly. "Anyway, what are you going to do after all this?"

"Go to sleep." I replied instantly.

"And from my guess, the little glutton will just gorge before going to bed herself." Izumi said bitterly.

"Izumi." I said in a stern tone.

The blonde fell silent while her face saddened upon how I addressed her.

I am starting to wonder if this is going to be a frequent occurrence between those two.

~Puella Magi-Nobunaga Himari~

I looked away from the leading Jyo, seeing Usagi close behind me as we all ran from the witch that was in pursuit.

"We're almost there!" the black magical girl announced before turning to her left. Usagi and I followed while the witch struggled to make a turn, actually skidding slightly before stopping. That bought us some more time and a little distance.

When I appeared, I was surprised by what I was seeing.

Three witches, two of which were focused upon two Praedari and two girls who looked like magical girls as well. The third was holding her head in agony. Laying nearby the dragonic witch was another magical girl, only this one was laying in a puddle of blood with her legs cut off.

"Thought you said you were done here." I heard Sekai say

"Let's just say I have renewed interest after hearing after seeing this thing." Jyo replied before leaping to the side. Usagi and myself followed suit, allowing the witch to charge through without us getting in the way.

The cat like plush turned around to roar loudly at the newcomer, who in turn did the same.

The snake turned her head over towards me with a perplexed look on her face.

"When were you a magical girl?" She asked me.

"Is it normal for witches to talk?" I asked Usagi in turn.

"Don't just ignore me.." the snake said with a frown before turning her attention towards the dragon. "And are you going to just stand there as I get an innocent bystander involved?"

The rabbit witch roared before charging towards the gigantic plushy. The razor sharp fangs were bared as the mouth extended to such lengths that the stitching of the lips looked like they would've snapped at any moment. It then plunged the upper incisors into the nape of the feline's back, causing red blood to gush from the entry.

"NO!" the snake screamed as she charged forward towards the rabbit. "I WON'T LET YOU KILL HER!"

She held out her hand as a magical girl outfit appeared on her human half, covering her modesty before various ribbons erupted from the ground, ensnaring the rabbit.

I don't get what's going on, but the sight on the magical girls' faces showed that this wasn't a normal sight that was happening.

The snake then clenched her fist and pulled it to her chest, causing the ribbons to pull the rabbit witch back from the injured feline as it collapsed to the ground.

"Listen here everyone, I'm offering a temporary truce so that this uninvited guest is dealt with." she declared while glaring at the rabbit.

"Why should we work with a witch?" I heard Sekai ask skeptically. "For all we know is that this could all be a trap."

"I have no vendetta against you Praedari or magical girls. You all attack me because I am seen as only a monster." the half-human replied.

"Then why do you fight, Lamia?" the man who was next to Sekai asked in a strained tone. "It makes you a monster if you're doing this for no reason."

"No Reason? You're wrong about that." the witch said with a snarl. "Humans are the real monsters. I fight solely to survive!"

"How can we be sure you won't be a threat if left alone." Anzu asked. "Have you eaten any humans?"

Lamea fell silent briefly before baring her fangs at the magical girl.

"Why do you fight exactly?" she retorted. "Is it for your own sake or because it's your 'responsibility' to stop 'evil' beings like myself?"

The red magical girl clenched her fists before charging forward towards the snake.

However, a winged figure landed between the two, forcing Anzu to stop in place.

"Stop right there." the dragon said before turning towards the snake. "Why are you protecting that witch, Lamia?"

"Because she's one of us." the snake replied. "A soul that can stand amongst both a curse and despair."

"Don't group me with you." the other witch replied bitterly. "I refuse to be associated with a murderer."

"Like you're one to talk. Anyway, I wasn't including you, ." Lamia retorted. "Have you ever considered that there could be others besides just you and me?"

The dragon didn't say another word, her eyes widened in shock at what she just heard.

"That's right, there's more than you realize. However, most keep to themselves. There are those who strive for more, like myself." the snake continued with a smirk before looking around to the rest of us.

"Besides, For the sake of my, no, our race's survival, we will eliminate all magical girls and humanity."

~Praedari- Delta~

The witch didn't crash into the ground as I hoped. Instead, it recovered through an aerial summersault. When it was upright, the hood was down, revealing the face to everyone.

It resembled a girl who looked like to be in the mid-teens, with soft platinum white hair that was short in length. Her skin was pale, almost deathly white, yet soft and delicate. The whites of her eyes were a jet black, but with ruby red irises. The way she looked with those wings was of an beautiful angel then of a grotesque witch.

She looked over towards me, and frowned before darting through the group of yakuza, the tips of her wings slicing through the chests of some of them like blades before stopping immediately when Omega stepped in the way, pointing his two desert eagles at her.

"Where the fucking hell do you think you're going, bitch?" he asked.

The angel tilted her head in confusion before reaching towards his helmet. The Praedari's response was him opening fire immediately. The witch didn't even flinch as the countless bullets entered her chest, only to keep moving her hand forward. Omega jumped back once the hand was to close, causing the witch to look at him in curiosity. She began moving forward as the bullets were pushed out of her chest from within as the wounds healed, signifying that they were ineffective, even where the heart would've been located.

The Praedari stepped back with each step the witch took, and in a flash of light, replaced his handguns with an assault rifle. He fired upon the witch once more, emptying the entire magazine. Once again, the same result as before. The witch then ran towards him as he summoned a RPG, closing the distance quickly. Once close enough, she wrapped her wings around Omega, preventing him from using the newest firearm. I noticed that she was only slightly smaller than him, perhaps by a difference of three to five centimeters.

"Please let me see your face, Praedari Omega-san." the witch pleaded in a soft, gentle tone.

Damn… I would've used my armband again, but I couldn't risk killing Omega.

"What the fuck? What the hell did you do, bitch?" the Praedari demanded as he looked like he was frozen in place. "Why can't I fucking move?!" after that, even his mouth stopped moving, standing in complete silence

The witch slowly raised her hands up to the helmet before feeling it gingerly, as if looking for something.

"I just used my power on your weapon to make it inert." she explained softly before finding a button and pressed it. The helmet sent a burst of static as the radio was activated. Startled, the albino-esque witch removed her finger, turning off the radio before resuming gliding her fingers all over his helmet.

I looked over towards the Yakuza, who were aiming their guns wildly while looking at the Praedari in concern and tending to the wounded. It was obvious that they couldn't see what was going on, but Omega didn't tell them to shoot at him, since he didn't, perhaps couldn't say anything.

The witch pressed another button, this time hearing the sound of the chin guard receding into the helmet for removal. At this, the witch's face lit up in joy.

"I'm just going to take this off for a moment." she said. "Don't worry, I promise that I won't hurt you."

The witch slowly removed the helmet, exposing Omega's face to her while raising her wings a little to hide the head from my sight. True, if I wanted to see Omega's head or face, I could simply remove my helmet, but I didn't want to risk being struck down while it's off.

I walked around to get a better view, and was surprised to see the witch lowering her wings as she replaced the helmet onto Omega's head with a blush on her face.

"Sadly I don't have a name to go by…" the witch confessed. "But I shall accept any name you give me. I will become your weapon in killing that loathsome Praedari Alpha."

I froze in place at what I just heard. It was hard enough to admit that she was capable of talking, but the way she was acting… It was like she has fallen for him or something!

She wrapped her arms around the Praedari in an embrace.

"You're worthy of being our king." she said softly while nuzzling her face into his chest. "One who opposes the enemy without mercy."

I take that back. This witch WAS in love. You have to be a complete idiot not to notice. But still, the more she acted this way, the more I wondered if she was a magical girl instead of a witch. I bet this upcoming question I had was also running through Omega's head.

What the fucking hell is going on?

~Praedari Alpha~

The sound of something slamming caught our attention.

"Where did that come from?" Kyouko asked.

"Over in that direction." Izumi said before pointing towards a door.

"Hold on, I'll go check it out. " I said to the pair before turning around. "You two stay here."

I slowly went towards the door, my gun at the ready. I leaned against the side of the door before mentally counting down from five. Once I hit zero I turned and kicked the door open, in which I was greeted by a scream followed by a metal folding chair being swung down on my head.

Helmet or not, there was enough force to knock me to the ground instantly.

"SHOTARO!" I heard Izumi cry out as a pair of footsteps ran over towards me.

I slowly began to rise up, only to be grabbed by the back of my helmet and dragged inside the room before the door slamming loudly.

"I apologize about that Alpha, but I had to make it look like you were attacked." a female voice said.

"Dammit… " I cursed under my breath while getting up. When I raised my head, I was looking into a black reflective visor of an otherwise cobalt blue helmet of a Praedari.

My blood became cold right there as my heart stopped in fear. Praedari with outfits that aren't black signify one thing: They're executioners. And should you meet one in the field, and it's you they're wanting. Only two words can describe what that means: You're fucked.

"I'm not going to put up a fight." I said before kicking my rifle that laid on the ground away.

"That's good to hear." the executioner said before she reached a hand out towards me. I closed my eyes, waiting for the kill to happen. Damn… I guess the chief just set me up to eliminate me for breaching protocol, and the worst of it is that Kyouko, Izumi, Fuuko, and Nozomi were going to be eliminated because of me.

However, before I came to terms, I felt my helmet being removed, causing me to open my eyes in a mix of confusion and curiosity.

"You're a lot cuter than I expected." the executioner admitted. "But you're definitely the one I'm looking for."

"Eh?" was all I could say in my newfound confusion.

The cobalt blue Praedari looked at my helmet and shook her head while giggling a little.

"Thought I was here to kill you?" she asked. "Don't worry, it's actually the opposite."

"Eh?" I said again.

"Look, the chief overheard Omega ranting about getting payback for something you've did to him on the radio." the executioner explained. "And that guy is a dangerous person to piss off. You pretty much signed yourself a death warrant with him."

"Kinda was hoping that witch killed him right about now." I said dryly.

"Still, I am here to eliminate Omega should he make an attempt to take your life." the Praedari continued. "There will be no orders from the chief to Omega forbidding him from killing you."

"Not surprised, but nobody does it because it just blows away any trust other Praedari have for that person." I added. "And that basically guarantees your own death in a fight against a witch."

" As expected from a Praedari that has been in the field for a long time." the executioner said. "I have been informed on your special orders to recruit magical girls. As such, that makes you valuable to the chief, enough to warrant additional protection. "

"Is it just you?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"No, my partner will join up in time." she answered.

"Anyway, What do I call you by?" I asked.

"Praedari Chi." the executioner replied. "And for the record, I am not on your side. Unlike our superior, I view you as a traitor for what you're doing... I personally would make sure every last drop of blood is drained from your wretched body, but I can't because of my orders."

I nodded and held my hand out for my helmet.

"Alright then, May I have my helmet back then, Chi?"

~Welkin- Digamma~

Sampi followed close behind as we left the Armory. On my ear currently was a headset that I use to keep in contact with communications. The report they gave me about Omega wanting payback for something Alpha did was an amusing, yet serious situation to I had to deal with immediately.

"So, what do you plan on doing with this new development?" she asked.

"I'm going to be using that for progressing both Project Polaris and my experiment with Alpha." I explained. "Omega is completely loyal to us, and we can use that to manipulate him. I am going to nominate him for Project Polaris while giving him orders that are similar Alpha's."

"Similar to Alpha's?" Sampi questioned before gasping in shock. "You don't mean!?"

I turned around and grinned at my fellow Eligere.

"I will admit this is somewhat reckless, but if we keep Omega on a tight leash, he could become our trump to deal with the Harbinger." I confessed before crossing my arms in front of my chest. " Welkin is tasked the removal of threat both Puella Magi and witches bring. If we control either, or both of them, then that threat is not only diminished, but also harnessed for our benefit."

"I see… but why set it up like this?" Sampi asked.

"I want Omega to harbor anger towards Alpha. Plus he's apparently one who will go to the ends of the earth to get even. He isn't stupid either, so I must be painstakingly subtle with some of my moves." I explained. "However, if I make it so that there's so many obstacles that Omega can't achieve this goal by himself in a stealth approach, he'll have no choice but for direct confrontation. I specifically chose my executioners for this approach. I'll personally contact Omega to tell him his orders."

"You're definitely a devious one, Digamma." Sampi admitted. "And I'll accept Omega into Polaris, I am the one spearheading it after all."

"I've been wondering, what is Project Polaris anyway?" I inquired.

"All in due time, my friend." she replied with a smirk. "But I'll say this, the Triumvirate sees more potential in Polaris than this little experiment of yours."

I frowned before turning my back towards Sampi.

"It has only just begun. This is something that needs time, long term planning, and patience to yield the best results." I pointed out. "The wait will be worth it. However, a few adjustable variables can help speed things a little bit."

~Puella Magi - Akemi Homura~

I grimaced while pulling out another feather that I could reach from my back. I used the commotion to escape the witch and that man in black after I fired a few warning shots at him. The bizarre ability that man displayed was something I didn't expect, but that wasn't the thing that concerned me the most. It was the witch.

It was smart, and could still move when I froze time. However, it wasn't what I was worried the most about. What unnerved me was that one moment where it looked between the man and myself before focusing solely on him instead of me. The way it looked at me made it look like its attack on me was some kind of warning.

Then were the feathers that were embedded into my back. They were placed in places that would not be lethal, but would still affect me through blood loss.

I leaned against the wall while breathing heavily. My body began to feel heavier with each breath I took. My eyesight began to blur as I slumped to my knees. Damn… I lost too much blood now… I can't…focus…

My body became limp as it became too weak to stay upright in any manner. I collapsed to the ground on my side, the pain from the many wounds on my back starting to become dull as I slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

"Hom…wh…ppen…ou..!"

That was the last thing I could make out was a familiar voice before I finally succumbed to the overwhelming exhaustion.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in an all too familiar landscape, or rather, battlefield. The flooded ground, the ruined skyscrapers that were floating midair, and Walpurgis Nacht in the distance.

I lost count how many times I've been here.

"How many times are we going to meet like this?" I heard a voice ask tiredly. "You should've realized by now that you can't escape her trap."

"Why won't you tell me how I can save Madoka?" I countered. "You said you know how things are supposed to happen."

"I can't do that." the voice countered. "Regardless, we were never supposed to have met in the first place."

I frowned before looking around. I spoke with this magical girl multiple times, however, she never showed her face because the few times I saw her in person, she always wore a hooded cloak or robe to conceal her entire body. She never gave me a name, except for "Variance" . As for how she remembers me despite going back in time several times since I first met her, it's because of her magic.

"What do you want this time?" I asked.

"It's the Praedari," the voice answered. "Their presence has grown more prominently this time around. However, an opportunity for you has presented itself to save your beloved Madoka."

"What do you mean?" I pressed, skeptical of her words.

"You have two options, one is to work with both Alpha and Omega to create a coalition to bring down Walpurgis, but at the sacrifice of every one of your friends, excluding Madoka. The other is to find whoever trapped you and sacrifice yourself."

I honestly didn't like either of those options. While I have long gotten used to seeing familiar faces dying over and over again, I still feel sadness when I see them die. I try to do what I can, but I can't save everybody.

I remembered my first encounter with Sakamichi Shotaro.

He was originally a civilian of my age when we met. He was interested in why I "flickered" into thin air in the middle of a bridge one night with him right behind me. He may not have been much help, but I honestly found it refreshing to meet a new, friendly face after so long. He interacted with mostly Mami and myself, but mostly Mami whenever she wasn't doing her patrols or with Madoka and Sayaka. He sadly died after stumbling into a witch's labyrinth. When I arrived with Mami, we were horrified by what happened to him.

He was barely clinging to life, despite having his lower body gone from below the waist and his arms torn from the elbows. His last words were a confession of love towards Mami, which was sadly unrequited. That aside, the fact that she lost a good friend was too much for her to handle, causing her to turn into a witch.

After that, I was forced to go back after Sayaka turned into a witch, killing Madoka when she and Kyouko attempted to bring their friend back to reason.

The second jump had me reunite with Sakamichi, but this time he was completely different. He was cold and cruel now, therefore putting a divide between us. This also was the first time I encountered the silent Dante Caruso. His parents were murdered by a magical girl, and he in turned was forced to kill her in order to survive. He wasn't the most trusting person because of that, keeping his distance between himself and anyone he learned was a magical girl. Madoka was able to befriend him and managed to learn what happened to him. I don't know what happened to Sakamichi, but Caruso died when Walpurgis appeared, killed by one if its countless familiars. I was forced to kill Madoka before she became a witch.

The third jump that had me encounter Sakamichi once again was when I started to notice that there was more changes than just new people appearing. Sakamichi was more like he was the first time I met him, but having experienced his own tragedy. He lost his parents in an accident, orphaned at an young age. Due to this, he shared an affinity with both Kyouko and Mami, whom lost their families as well.

Those three knew each other quite well before I even arrived, enough that the two were alright with him knowing that they were magical girls and supporting them the best he could. However, Sakamichi lost his will to live after losing his closest friends: Mami by being devoured by Charlotte, and Kyouko sacrificing herself to stop Sayaka's witch. He committed suicide by walking off the roof of a building after Madoka failed to try reasoning with him.

Dante however was already dead in this timeline, having been killed with his parents. Madoka blamed herself for having everyone she knew die. When Walpurgis came, she was too distraught to even make a contract, resulting in her being killed by a loose signpost impaling her through the head.

The fourth was when unfamiliar magical girls started appearing, as with new witches. Fuuko and Izumi were the first two I had met this time around. They came with the intentions of taking over Mami's territory. Fuuko was accidentally killed by Sayaka, who partnered herself with Mami. Izumi however retreated and bumped into Sakamichi. This incarnation was a complete stranger who just recently moved to town. Learning that Izumi had no place to call home, he invited her to stay with him and Caruso, who was his roommate.

Oriko and Kirika appeared this time around, while Kyouko was with Yuuma. The events happened almost exactly like the first time I encountered them. Despite knowing what would happen though, there was one difference: another magical girl who was working with Oriko, Katsura Misaka.

Misaka was a dangerous one. She mainly worked to "preserve" the system that the Incubators use, but she aligned herself with Oriko solely to prevent Madoka from becoming a witch, which would have removed her "sole purpose" as a magical girl. She managed to kill Madoka easily, because she never appeared before, giving her the element of surprise.

I never found out the outcomes of the others afterwards, as I jumped as soon as I discovered Madoka's corpse.

The fifth was when the Praedari first appeared.

The first incarnation of Praedari were simply a small group of teenage girls who wanted to protect the town from witches and "evil" magical girls. Sakamichi was a girl this time around, who addressed herself as "Shotaro" as a codename. This was also when I first encountered Nozomi, who was a member of these "Praedari". Fuuko and Izumi were both members as well.

I somehow was discovered by them, and reluctantly became a member of the group after being constantly followed. I couldn't evade them for long, as I couldn't risk overusing my magic.

Kyubey became involved not long after and turned Fuuko, Nozomi, and Sakamichi magical girls, while Izumi declined.

I honestly thought that this time around I could finally succeed and protect Madoka. However, Sakamichi proved to be the one who ruined everything in the end. This was by him, I mean her, being the killer of Caruso's parents, becoming corrupted by her power. Caruso himself killed Sakamichi in self-defense.

Fuuko fought with me against Walpurgis, but she was too weak to truly help, easily overwhelmed by a familiar. Nozomi however left town after learning about Sakamichi's death, and the group disbanded. Like I attempted to prevent every time, Madoka made a contract, which meant she was doomed to become a witch after defeating Walpurgis.

The following jumps had the Praedari consistent, but as different incarnations each time.

More and more people showed up, friend and foe alike, sometimes their role was reversed. I also saw romances between them of various pairings. From homosexual lovers to those that could be seen as immoral, such as what would be called harems in anime or manga, I saw quite the variety. I also found myself in a situation of this nature on occasion.

Every jump I had taken has caused more and more irregularities. However, there was one jump that revealed the cause of so many changes. It was created by a magical girl's wish. I don't know who came up with the wish, but I was told by this robed being of what it was.

The wish was there to be effective alternatives for regular humans to fight back against witches without relying on the Incubators or magical girls.

Since then, I have been trying to find this magical girl for two reasons, the first is to see if I can use her magic to defeat Walpurgis Nacht while protecting Madoka. The second is to learn how and why she "trapped" me.

"Well, those are the two options you have to simply end things this time around." Variance said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "However, either won't free you from the trap."

"You make it sound like there's another option." I said coldly.

"There are many unseen possibilities for you to act upon still." the disembodied voice replied casually. "For example, have you actually considered the possibility that acting upon this alone isn't helping?"

"I tried that already, but it doesn't change the outcome." I replied. "Besides, sharing that kind of knowledge only brings ruin."

"What about if you brought someone along on your jumps?" Variance questioned. "As I've told you the first time we met, you're in a trap. While most things are the same, with so many anomalies, you should consider the possibility that perhaps the 'rules' have been bent a little to accommodate them."

I fell silent, processing what I was just told.

A cunning witch that can move while time's frozen. A man in black that is able to summon conventional weapons like he was using magic and able to fight a witch. These could be seen as anomalies… Perhaps Variance has a point there. Maybe I could do something that I couldn't do before while being 'trapped."

~Praedari Delta~

"I've had it with this bullshit! It's not worth the money!" one of the Yakuza said before he turned and ran. Many looked over at Omega, many giving him looks of anger or dissatisfaction before they too left, taking the wounded with them, while others dumped those who were dead.

"WE WON'T FOLLOW A LUNATIC WHO JUST STANDS THERE WHEN HIS SUBORDINATES ARE GETTING SLAUGHTERED!" one of them screamed at the top of his lungs.

Wow… Yakuza were all about loyalty and honor, but these guys must have been simply hired thugs. Sucks to be them now, as they're all on Omega's shitlist now. Might as well do something.

I walked past Omega before raising my fingers in the direction of the fleeing men. Before I could make a move, all of them stopped in place before coughing up blood while collapsing to the ground.

"Spineless bastards." I said bitterly before turning my attention towards Omega. "Oi, witch, did you kill them? And what about the one you're dry humping?"

The witch tuned her head away from Omega towards me.

"My lord is very much alive. I simply used my powers to simply immobilize his body, save for vital functions. As for the others, I simply imploded their internal organs because they deserted milord."

I growled before lowering my hand.

"You're lucky I don't want to hurt my comrade." I said angrily. "Otherwise I'd pump lead into your fucking ass already."

The witch simply smiled.

"I can tell that milord values loyalty greatly." she replied before slinking around before she was behind Omega, her arms around his neck as her wings wrapped around his body. "As such, I have only slain those who planned to betray or abandon him."

I fell silent as I eyed the witch, processing why I just heard.

"I can tell you don't have such thoughts." the witch continued before looking at me directly. "I have a question. Will you help in killing the one called Alpha?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Kill Alpha? Count me in." I said without hesitation. "I rather work with a witch than to babysitting those magical bitches he's collecting…"

I grinned under my helmet when I saw the witch look at me in curiosity.

"I never wanted a partner who was soft." I stated before looking at Omega. "Omega, if you don't mind me becoming your partner, I can tell you everything on that fucking prick and those magical girls of his. But it's your call."

~Witch- Lamia~

I looked at Sentire Valere while pulling back harder, forcing the feral witch further back from the injured cat.

"Listen close to these words, Sentire Valere." I said firmly. "We witches are hunted and killed by magical girls for our grief seeds, and our familiars are usually left alone until they are witches themselves. The Praedari, the ones dressed in black, they eliminate us simply because they see us as only monsters! Are you willing to protect those who will kill you out of greed and fear?!"

Just as I finished, I was blinded by a familiar flash of light before I felt a heavy blade cut into my left shoulder. Relinquishing my hold on the feral witch, I looked over my shoulder to see the magical girl I fought earlier looking at me with a bored look. The blade was now embedded into my body, causing blood to stain my dress while the legless magical girl dangled from her weapon. God I don't know what's heavier, her or that cleaver of hers.

"Come on, this is getting bored!" she whined. "I want to be hurt more!"

"How did she get over there?!" I heard the red magical girl cry out in disbelief. "Her legs are cut off!"

"Teleportation." the one called Cutter Jyo replied bluntly. "Surprised she is back to normal so soon. Thought she was traumatized for certain."

The male Praedari only shook his head.

"You severely underestimated Jeri then." he said.

I growled as I reached behind my shoulder and dug my fingers into the back of one of her hands with enough force to break the skin easily. Jeri didn't yelp in pain, instead shamelessly moaning in pleasure.

"Mmmm… That's better." she cooed. "But this wasn't as nice as what Jyo did to me. Shame she didn't do much more when I pretended to be in agony."

"Well, I know who not to go after anymore." Jyo said dryly. "Masochists like her are just killjoys to me."

"DAMN IT! GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!" I screamed on the top of my lungs before grabbing the protruding part of the blade and pushing it back while ignoring the wounds that came from grabbing the edge of the blade. Before I managed to move it, the weapon vanished completely as Jeri teleported away.

I heard a screech of agony as I turned to see the witch I was trying to protect once again being assaulted by the rabbit. It obviously took advantage of the opening that I gave it and went in for the kill. Damn it… I already am pushed far enough already, I know I can't do much more without passing out. My arm was now unusable thanks to Jeri cutting into my shoulder deep enough.

"Damn it." I cursed weakly before turning to face Sentire Valere.

The draconic witch was silent, however she looked at me with a skeptical glare.

"So, are you really against me or not, Sentire Valere?" I asked. "You saw what just happened to me. The same thing can and will happen to you in the future. "

"What do you plan to do by all this Lamia?" she asked before taking to the air as the feral witch began to tear into the body of the downed feline witch.

"As I said, I plan to keep our kind alive." I muttered softly.

The body of the feline witch started to evaporate in various places, indicating that it was most likely deceased now. I looked around at my adversaries, noticing that the masochist now was on top of the feral witch with her weapon embedded deep within its back. The red magical girl and Jyo both ran over towards the fight. The white one slowly skated towards me.

"So, are you going to kill me or not?" I taunted. "I am a witch after all."

She didn't reply immediately, instead raising one of her legs and held it to my throat.

"Do you truly intend on eradicating humanity?" she asked firmly. "Depending on your answer, you could lose your head."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Listen here. I meant every word I said." I replied without hesitation. "I believe you magical girls only act out in greed, and you killing me only will prove my point."

The magical girl frowned before lowering her foot.

"You're not like the other witches." she said.

"How so?" I inquired.

"You're…aware…" she replied.

I smiled a little as I leaned forward and brought my good hand up to her face. She took a step back in response. Obviously she was weary of me still.

"You know… You're pretty cute now that I have a good look at you." I said while smiling. "Anyway, I have no further business here. I failed, and that witch isn't worth my time either."

"What do you mean?" the white magical girl asked.

"It means I'm leaving." I stated before slithering backwards to one of the plush buildings. I slammed the end of my existing tail into the building, causing cracks to appear before shattering to reveal two magical girls.

"Okay… this really isn't my day." I muttered in annoyance.

"I remember you!" one of the newest magical girls stated while pointing towards me. "You're that snake bitch!"

My eyes widened when I recognized the redhead. Of all the places to run into her again. I would love to abduct her so that I can have my way with her, but I am too weak for that now. It was hard enough to keep up a strong front, especially with my newest injury.

"Been a while, my pet." I said while cracking a smile. "I see you brought some friends this time."

"Uhh, Sakura-san, please tell me that witch spoke." the other magical girl asked nervously. "Otherwise I think I'm going insane."

"Yeah, the witch spoke." the redhead said with a frown. "It's a sex-crazed maniac to boot."

I smirked in amusement. I can't deny that fact, because I am one after all.

~Praedari- Xi~

I kept silent as I went towards the music venue, where the supposed hive was located. Over the radio, I overheard Delta's declaration of betrayal.

To think that Alpha's partner was going to backstab him. Betrayals like that were rare but not unheard of. Praedari in the past have done this kind of thing, and Welkin doesn't do anything about it.

My current partner was a prime example of that. . Even before becoming an executioner, she already had quite the reputation of deliberately betraying or killing her own partners with no remorse just to make ends meet. Chi wasn't one to be trusted, even if given orders. She disobeyed them if they had any form of confliction to her beliefs. And knowing her. She'll kill Alpha once she learns how he fights.

The thought about Alpha reminded me about Digamma's orders. How was I supposed to seduce him? And form a band? As in music? My thoughts went back to Alpha's special orders. The old man was using him like a guinea pig. And I wouldn't be surprised if he did something similar with witches.

I came to my senses upon walking straight into the front door. I must have been too engrossed in thought.

I opened the door and slipped inside quickly. I froze when I noticed what was standing before me. One, two, three…

Not one witch, but a goddamned, mother fucking trio of them… in almost matching hooded robes to boot.

"Hey, is that a Praedari?" one of them asked while tilting her head. This one had some kind of black antennae protruding from the top of her head through some holes in the hood.

"Looks like one, but aren't they black?" another asked. This one looked completely human, with no physical anomalies present, aside from a row of protruding knife blades coming from the slits in the sleeves of her forearms.

The last one, who was the tallest of the trio, came forward and nodded. What made her stand out was the shark fin protruding from her back, as well as a gray shark's tail whose lower tip dragged across the ground

"True, but from what Lami-chan told us, there are some that are different colored." she pointed out.

I got into a fighting position while flexing my fingers. I looked to the pair of weapons I had strapped to my back. Two prototype weapons Digamma wanted me to have tested.

"Relax, Praedari-san." the shark said calmly while holding her hands up to show no hostility. The sleeves came down, revealing her hands to be webbed like a frog's with white talons. They looked look like they were made out of the same composition as a tooth.

"Who are you?" I questioned.

"You can call me Same." the robed figure said. "After all, I am a shark as you can see, hands aside."

"And the others?" I pressed.

"Secare." the bladed one said firmly while the knife blades flexed inwards at an overlapping manner backwards before returning to their original position. It was pretty freaky to see something inorganic move in such a fluid manner akin to the flexing of fingers.

"I'm Rokuro Kana." the third one said politely before bowing.

"I've never seen witches like you before." I said warily. "Especially ones who can talk."

"Are you familiar with a witch called Lamia?" Same asked.

"I've heard of that one." I admitted.

"Good. That makes things easier for me to explain." the shark witch said. "We are all witches who were awakened by Lamia."

I was silent as I listened to Same.

So, these are the witches that were born from Lamia's bite.

"What do you want?" I asked once the witch was finished.

"We came to retrieve Lamia-san." Secare said before stepping forward. "If you intend to get in our way, I'll slice your throat here and now."

"I came here because of a report of there being multiple witches." I stated.

"So, there are others besides us." Same pondered verbally. "Listen, so long as you don't get in our way, we won't harm anyone here."

I only nodded. It was obvious that these witches just arrived like myself, and it was best to avoid unnecessary conflict if possible. It was weird talking about something along the lines of a fragile truce.

"I will abide to your wishes, so long as you don't harm any Praedari or magical girl you come across." I said while pointing towards the trio.

"Fair enough." the shark said in agreement. "I will understand if any of them try to attack us, but we will abide as well."

"Dammit, I was hoping to slice something to ribbons." Secare said in mild annoyance.

"I think feral witches are fair game." Kana said with uncertainty.

"Feral witches?" I asked.

"That's what we call witches who are incapable of being awakened." Same explained. "Those that mature from familiars are usually ferals. They view us awakened as prey after all."

I was intrigued by that fact. Witches preying upon their own kind.

"How can I tell if one is a feral or awakened?" I questioned. Best to ask now to avoid any issues.

"Awakened or those who have the potential to be one will display some form of awareness." Same replied. "That should be enough to tell them apart from feral witches."

I nodded before relaxing a little. It was surreal to converse with a witch like this, but at least I know they won't attack me. They had the upper hand in both power and numbers. Even with my training, armband, and the prototype weapons, I would not stand a chance against three witches at once. If they wanted me dead, they would've done so sooner.

I began to move. I couldn't waste any more time. While I could press more information from these witches, I had more important issues to attend to.

"Remember our agreement." Same said as I walked past her.

"I will, so long as you keep your end." I added before we went our separate ways.

Boy, I am going to have a lot of explaining to do in my report after this is all over.

~Praedari- Alpha~

I double checked to make sure my helmet was on properly one last time before opening up the door to step out into the hallway. Chi followed close behind.

"I'm alright…" I announced, only to trail off upon seeing a hole in the wall with what looked like a half human, half snake witch wearing a magical girl outfit.

In the background there was a gigantic rabbit plush bucking around in the labyrinth, which was a plush city. It was trying to get two magical girls off its back before another half human witch, this time with dragon like features, slammed right into its side. Then a magical girl who looked like a cyborg race queen came rolling in to deliver a right hook into the witch's face. The two magical girls that I was with turned their attention towards me.

"Shotaro!" I heard Izumi cry out in surprise. " Are you okay?"

"I am, just bumped into a fellow Praedari." I reassured her. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Great… This REALLY isn't my fucking day…" the snake witch cursed bitterly.

"Uhh, Sakura-san, Izumi, please tell me that witch spoke." I asked nervously. "Otherwise I think I'm going insane."

"She said the exact same thing, word for word…" the half-snake stated while pointing to Izumi. "Yeah I can speak."

At that moment, the talking witch was shoved to the side by black blur as it pounced on me.

"SHOTARO-SENSEI!" Usagi cried out in joy as she glomped me. I staggered backwards from the force of the impact, barely managing to keep myself from falling down.

"GET OFF OF HIM YOU TRAMP!" Izumi snapped loudly.

"Now's not the time, Usagi." I said while raising my free hand to pat her back. "Where's Pi?"

"Right next to Sekai-nee. She's been protecting him with her barrier." she replied. "I would've helped, but my knives got broken on a previous mission."

"I told you to go with something sturdier." I said before getting an idea. "Take the sword from my belt."

"Eh? Are you sure?" Usagi asked while letting go of me.

I nodded and drew the sword with the blade down before offering it to her.

"Finally, now I can be useful!" she said in excitement before taking the weapon. She held it in a reverse grip before charging forward into the hole, once again shoving the witch to the side.

"Izumi, Sakura-san, we need to move." I said before turning to face Chi. "I guess you'll just be watching."

The blue Praedari nodded before leaning against the wall of the hallway.

"I'll make sure that this witch won't make any sudden moves at least." she said while pointing to the half snake witch who glared back in anger.

"If you value your life, move aside." I told the witch while aiming my rifle to her head.

Begrudgingly, the half-snake obeyed and did as I commanded. Izumi and Kyouko went in first, with the redhead looking at the witch briefly as she smiled. The redhead shivered for some reason at this before moving faster, as if to get away from the witch. I went in last, stopping when the witch stopped in front of me.

"That armband of yours." She said while looking down at my armband. "It's definitely his. How did you get it?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked in confusion. "And didn't I tell you to stand aside?"

"How can you use the very same Enslave?" she pressed, ignoring me completely. "Only your commander has that power."

Enslave?

What the hell is she talking about?

"So, you were left in the dark, Alpha." Chi mused. "Enslave is the armband ability of the Chief, otherwise known as Digamma."

"Damn it. I don't have time for this shit!" I snapped.

"I'll cut to the chase then." the executioner said in annoyance. "Your armband is not truly yours. It was loaned to you by the Chief."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I never heard of Praedari being able to pass on their armbands to others. Weren't they supposed to only work for their owner? If this was all true, why wasn't I told about this from the start?

"Time's a wasting." Chi said before pointing to the hole as it began to slowly close.

I growled and looked at the witch.

"MOVE IT!" I barked before pushing her to the side as I went inside.

"Sheesh, you don't need to act so bossy." the witch retorted.

I ignored her and ran over towards Izumi, who was already tending to the male Praedari who was laying on the ground., her hands over his torso Kyouko had already entered the fray with Usagi.

"Hey, you're alright?" I asked while kneeling right next to him.

"I will be, thanks to Izumi-san. I'm more concerned about Jeri, though." Pi replied. "She maybe having fun right now, but she had her legs cut off by that black magical girl, Jyo. She may have lost a lot of blood already."

I nodded and looked over towards the fight.

"HEY, JERI!" I cried out. "DO YOU WANT YOUR LEGS BACK ON?"

In a flash of light, a legless magical girl appeared right next to the still recovering Pi.

"I was having fun, you know." she said in slight annoyance. "Can you really put my legs back on?"

"I can't, but my friend can." I said while looking towards Izumi. "She's really good with healing magic."

"Is she quick?" the foreign magical girl asked.

" She can be when needed." I replied.

"I can get started right now." Izumi announced as she removed her hands from Pi's chest. "But I'll need a grief seed because it'll take a lot of magic to reattach both legs."

"Understood." I acknowledged before opening one of the pouches to pull out a grief seed. I nodded before handing it over to her. "Before I go in, could someone fill me in what's going on here."

"Pure pandemonium." Sekai replied as she looked over her shoulder. "Wish we could've met under better circumstances, sensei."

"Same here." I admitted. "Now what's going on exactly?"

Sekai began to fill me in on what was going on. As I listened to her, I looked over towards the injured snake, Lamia. She remained in place, starting to look weary. Tenkimaru told me that she was able to regenerate very quickly, being able to shrug off serious burns like they were nothing. I was stunned to learn that the serial killer killer, Cutter Jyo ,was a magical girl, and was working with the twins in a manner similar to how Tenkimaru and Jeri were.

Apparently Jyo's magic allowed her to have the perfect counter to the magic of a magical girl she is focused on. Jeri actually admitted she was genuinely surprised that she had her legs cut off, despite vastly enjoying the otherwise indescribable, excruciating pain.

The two other unfamiliar magical girls appeared, claiming that they met up with Usagi and the idol Himari, who found herself in the middle of this, and actually welcomed it in stride. I immediately looked over to see said idol watching from the sidelines, as if looking for some kind of opening. Why was she in such a dangerous place?

As for the witches. The dragon one was also able to speak, but was apparently at odds with Lamia. Lamia was here for the now dissolving witch, only to run into Pi and Jeri first and engaged in combat. The feline however was apparently killed by the rabbit that the others were currently fighting. Then there was Sister El Ripper Von O'Fuzzy McFangson the Fifth, Ph D, aka Ripper-chan. The familiar was currently missing, apparently disappearing the same time that Jyo left the fight.

After I was brought up to speed as best as Sekai could, I rose up and handed her my rifle followed by four magazines for it.

"Sakamichi-sensei… This is your favorite rifle, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, and I need you to protect Izumi while she tends to Jeri." I informed her while rising to my feet." Also, Izumi, I need you to let the others know that the labyrinth is on our side.

I reached over my shoulders with both hands to grab two of the slung guns.

They were special rifles that were designed by Welkin. While capable of firing like their regular counterpart, these guns also doubled as melee weapons. You know how an axe head is shaped when you look at it from above when held upright? Well, imagine the axe head being much longer and with a hole that lets it double as a gun barrel. The ZX-2 as the guys in R&D call it. But we Praedari gave it a more appropriate name.

The Gunaxe. That's what we call them despite not really looking like axes. Despite the heavier weight, they are pretty popular with Praedari who are marksmen that are also adept in melee combat. The stock of the gun was designed to be held both ways, complete with a retractable trigger so that the trigger finger is incapable from firing the gun when used as a melee weapon. Dual wielding them as guns isn't advised, due to the recoil, as with any other rifle or gun in general. However, I don't plan to use them like that in the first place. I may be better with guns at a distance, but it doesn't mean I am helpless in close quarters either.

I shouldered one of the gunaxes and looked at the rabbit witch.

I just have to say this right now. The timing can't be any more perfect.

"It's rabbit season!"

With that, I charged forward, both gunaxes held at my side.

~Witch-Lamia~

I watched on as the new male Praedari charged forward with his peculiar guns. He called out to the magical girls, telling them to clear the way for him. They obliged as he threw one of the guns, having it spin slightly before the bladed end embedded itself into the feral witch's flesh. The female Praedari closed in afterwards, using the sword she now had to slice one of the legs with ease before leaping back a little as the witch turned in an attempt to bite her. She had to back step several times, each preceding bite afterwards getting closer and closer to her.

Before the witch succeeded, the two red magical girls came in from different sides, the older one punching the witch in the face with her gauntleted fist, while the one I met before came from the opposite side plunging her spear into its chest.

The witch screeched in pain as it was forced to start rolling against the ground from the force of the punch.

"Thanks you two." the Praedari said gratefully.

"It's not over just yet." the race queen said.

The Praedari nodded and looked towards the witch as the male went right next to her.

"Glad you're keeping your cool right now, Usagi." he said to her.

"It's only because I have a weapon now, Shotaro-sensei." she admitted. " So, should we do Bullet Blader?"

"Been a while since we did that." he pointed out. "And Sekai has my rifle."

"Divide Shot? Or Steel Diet?"

"Steel Diet."

Both nodded to one another soon after that before turning their attention towards the witch.

Usagi began bouncing in place while rolling her head as if to loosen her neck before crouched slightly.

Shotaro pressed a button and then aimed the firearm he had towards the witch as it got back to its feet.

"Mark." he said.

"Synch." she replied.

"GO!"

Shotaro immediately charged forward with Usagi close behind. The witch opened its mouth to bellow, only for the marksmen to open fire upon the witch, firing shot after shot into its mouth. The witch staggered backwards as blood flooded out of its mouth. Shotaro stopped while Usagi moved on, moving faster towards her adversary. She then crouched while holding the blade upright, thrusting it straight into the throat and began pulling on the sword as hard as she could, slicing through the flesh while moving down towards the beast's belly, eventually going into a slide while pulling out the blade once hitting the chest. As she did this, her comrade fired in short bursts, keeping the witch off balance and allowing Usagi to escape.

"Our turn!" the race queen cried out as she and the white magical girl came up towards Shotaro.

"All yours, ladies." the Praedari said while stepping back.

"Shall we get the show on the road Anzu?" the white magical girl asked.

"Ready when you are Akiza." the red one replied with a smirk before pounding her fists together.

Both crouched slightly before charging forward as fast as they could. As Anzu charged forward, all of the exhausts began emitting blue flames as she became a red blur, circling around the witch. The beast began to recover from its previous wounds in the form of stitching appearing amongst the cut, however, it began moving involuntarily as the race queen began her assault.

The blows were too fast to see, but there was obviously enough force into each one to cause the witch to move from one side of the ring to another, only to bounce in another direction before it can recover. However, the more the witch moved, the red flame gradually began emitting a blue flame that grew more intense with each passing second. After several more hits, the witch was forced to a standstill before the ring vanished as Anzu stopped in place. She looked upwards while her entire body now engulfed in flames. However, despite being on fire, she wasn't bothered at all by it.

"AKIZA!" she cried out.

During Anzu's assault, the white magical girl made a path of ice up to the air, creating a ring of ice above the witch. While she skated at a much slower speed, the bottom of the ring however had many large icicles pointed towards the witch. She stopped where she first came up and smirked before stomping a foot onto the ring.

The ring broke apart as the icicles darted inwards, impaling the witch from many directions. Akiza then leaped off the remaining ramp and did a summersault, meanwhile generating a crescent blade of ice that connected with the feral witch's face, slicing it open slightly.

"It's time!" the white magical girl called before landing next to the blazing race queen.

" TUNDRA INFERNO!" she cried out as she charged forward with her partner. At a synchronized speed, the two continuously leaped and attacked the witch with various kicks and punches, with Anzu attacking directly with her flaming fists while Akiza enhanced her kicks with blades of ice. After what seemed like an eternity, both stopped next to Usagi and Shotaro with their backs towards each other, but with a little space between them. Anzu flicked one of her wrists, causing the blue flames to disappear instantly, revealing herself to be perfectly unscathed.

The rabbit roared as the icicles shattered. Despite all the injuries inflicted upon it, it still stood.

"Damn, that's quite the tenacious one." Shotaro muttered. "All that punishment and it still keeps going, and going, and going."

"Perhaps we need to keep the pressure up." the magical girl in black suggested as she stepped forward. She had an eager smirk on her face as she summoned a scythe in her left hand. She focused upon the witch before starting to bounce the weapon off her shoulder. "I'll go alone."

With that, the black magical girl held out her right hand as it began emanating a black mist around it.

"Normally I'd not do this, as it kills the fun, but I'm not in the mood for guessing games." she said before clenching her fist.

Jyo charged forward as the witch finally recovered enough to notice her.

"Ein Nacht!" she declared while holding out her right hand once again, this time holding three soul gems that wasn't her own as they materialized . A violet magical circle appeared in front of her as she ran right into it. When she came out on the other side, her scythe had transformed into a rapier while she donned silver shin guards, breastplate and gauntlets. On her forehead was what looked like some kind of visor with slits for sight if it was brought down. Overall, it gave the magical girl a look similar to a European knight.

"Zwei Nacht!" she said before another magical circle materialized in front of her, only this one red and more musical in appearance. When she ran into this one, a clone emerged as soon as she came out of it.

"Drei Nacht!" this next one generated a green star this time that spun in place. The clone charged through this one as the original dodged it. The clone's entire outfit was replaced with what looked like a blue and red dress that was based off a jester's outfit, with the upper part of the dress being skin tight while wearing stockings underneath the short skirt. To complete the look was the unmistakable hat one thinks of when they think of a jester. The rapier it wielded was instead replaced with a red mace with blue spikes.

"Fusion Magic: Walpurgis Jaeger!" the pair declared in perfect unison.

The original Jyo picked up speed as she held the rapier up with the intention to pierce the witch as it started to charge forward as well. Once close enough, the magical girl leaped up and drove her spear into the left foreleg, causing the witch to stagger as its opponent leaped to the side. The clone swung her mace in an upwards manner once she closed in, causing the monster's head to jerk upwards upon the weapon connecting with its chin.

"You made a mistake to attack while I was around." Jyo said to the witch as she was on a black magical circle that up in the air, angled downwards over the witch. The magical girl looked at the witch before getting into a crouch. A few more of those circles appeared around the witch in a dome shape around the beast. The clone jumped back and landed on the closest circle before she too got into a crouch.

The original held out her hand as another rapier appeared.

"I aim to single handedly take down Walpurgis Nacht, one of the strongest witches known." she declared before both she and the clone leaped towards their enemy. Both landed on the witch's back before attacking with their weapons before using it as a springboard to a different circle. "You are built to take punishment, and dish it back tenfold once the foe's exhausted. So how about you take this?!"

The clone leaped first straight towards the witch's mouth as it opened to roar in anger. Laughing maniacally, she swung her mace as hard as she could straight into the bladed incisors. One of the oversized teeth snapped like a twig, causing it to fly straight towards a certain bystanding magical girl.

I couldn't help but notice several of the magical girls and Praedari watch in shock as the blade impaled the only magical girl who didn't fight in anyway.

"HIMARI!" Usagi cried out as the tooth pierced straight through the girl's head, erupting through the back of the head with gore splattering out of the exit wound. It was a sickening sight, but what happened next caused me to reel back.

~Praedari-Xi~

I clenched my fists upon seeing Chi just standing there, looking at her phone, obviously on her favorite social media site.

"Didn't I tell you to wait for me at the rendezvous point?" I snapped.

"Oh bite me." my partner retorted without looking up. "I got bored and decided to have some fun with that naïve bastard."

"If you've killed him. I swear…" I seethed.

"He's very much alive." Chi replied dismissively. "He went into the wards with those magical pets of his."

I could tell that she was hiding something.

"What did you do?" I pressed before grabbing her by the throat.

"Chill, Xi." the blue Praedari said. "I just enlightened him on his armband."

"That info was not supposed to be divulged to him." I said. "Listen here, what you did there was akin to treason. Why shouldn't I kill you right now?"

"Lamia was the one who pointed it out first." Chi stated calmly.

I growled before letting go to take the phone off her.

"Also, it's unprofessional for you to text on the job." I chided while pressing the pointed tips straight into the phone, causing the screen to crack and become unusable after I clenched my fist to crush it.

"YOU BASTARD!" Chi snapped at me.

"Listen, our orders are to guard Alpha from any Praedari who don't approve of his methods." I reminded her. "We have to cooperate with one another as well-."

"God… I'm fucking tired of hearing all this cooperation bullshit of yours, Alpha." Chi interrupted me before getting into a fighting stance.

"How many times have I told you that I don't go by that title anymore?" I asked before flexing my fingers again.

"Who do you stand with, you prick?" Chi questioned while pointing towards me. "Should we ever find ourselves at a crossroads, will you stay with Welkin? Or will you go with him if he chooses the enemy over us?"

I fell silent as the cobalt Praedari spoke.

" Figured as much." she said while crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I know you truly are a fake human."

"So what if I was born from a magical girl's wish?" I questioned. " It doesn't change the fact that I'm just as human as yourself. DNA tests confirm that fact."

"I don't care. I'm going to kill you." she said before holding up her arm in front of me as it began glowing.

"Of course, you have the ability of Soul Crush." I recalled calmly. "You can effectively rip the soul out of anything with out and destroy it with your own. That makes you the ideal anti-magical girl Praedari, and a competent executioner. "

An pair of ethereal white arms began to manifest from Chi's shoulders as they came forward, embedding themselves into my chest where my heart was. I shivered as I felt them enter me, though I didn't do anything to stop them at that moment.

She had a firm grasp on my soul now, but I had nothing to fear. There is a reason why I was her partner after all.

"Allow me to show you why I am the executioner." I announced.

~The Civilis~

The robed being had left me alone, saying she had other matters to attend to. I decided continue watching this gruesome battle unfold, as I haven't awaken yet.

Kyouko's side was all but destroyed, though two kept on fighting. Both were magical girls, an auburn foreigner, and another that I recognized as the idol known as Himari! to the public.

"WHY WON'T SHE JUST DIE?!" one of their enemies cried out as he plunged the third knife into the idol's chest.

"Because I don't want to." she replied before pulling one of the protruding knives out of her chest before plunging it into his neck, killing him right there.

The auburn swung her gigantic cleaver that was as large as herself, cutting many in her wake as various limbs were sent flying. Her face showed on of anger.

"They'll pay for what they did to Tenki…" she growled before charging forward.

"Go do what you want, Jeri," Himari! said solemnly before charging forward towards the old man who just stood there with a smirk on his face.

"Ah, the one who revealed the way for humanity to harness the Incubator's system. You have my gratitude for allowing Welkin to achieve our goals. " he said humbly before bowing in respect.

"By ruining our lives and turning the entire world against magical girls?!" the idol screamed before a girl in cobalt blue appeared with a man in black slung over her shoulder. Before she realized it, the girl held up a silver handgun and fired several shots straight into her head.

"Chi, I see you've found Omega." the old man said, ignoring the magical girl's collapse before turning his attention towards the man.

" Yeah, but he wasn't willing to comply." she confirmed. "What now?"

The old man chuckled.

"Feed him to Walpurgis' familiars." he said callously. "He failed to be of use, and actually refused to kill that one witch."

"What about his armband?" she asked.

"Remove it and hand it to one of the Polaris, they can make better use of it than we can." he said.

The blue girl nodded and walked off while the old man went towards the downed idol and grabbed the girl's necklace and removed it.

"The only way to remove you from the fight is to separate that soul gem and get it out of range." He spoke before turning her attention towards the auburn, rather the head that was on the ground, the face carved out with a sword, allowing one to see the insides.

"The other heretics have all been dealt with." the one responsible announced as he sheathed his sword. "What must I do next?"

"Dismember this one thoroughly and scatter her fragments as far apart as possible from each other before she awakens. And make sure that the head is not left in one piece. She must not have any means of making noise of any kind." the old man instructed before grinning. "Humanity has finally prevailed, and I shall lead them into the new era that's to come."

I woke up in a cold sweat.

What the hell are these dreams?

Who or what was that robed girl?

Welkin?

Stop my own sister?

What does my little sister have to do with these exactly?

I sighed as I looked at the time.

Damn it… I have stuff to do tomorrow. And now I am wide awake.

~Praedari Alpha~

I growled as I turned my attention back towards the witch after the black magical girl ceased her attack and stepped back as the clone dispersed into a black miasma. The witch rose to its feet before opening its mouth to roar loudly.

"Damn…" I cursed. "Just our luck…"

"Shit, that didn't go as planned." the black haired girl said in a similar tone of voice before heading towards the corpse of the civilian.

I couldn't blame her for that, it was a genuine accident, and that stuff unfortunately happens.

I stepped forward again, clenching the gunaxe's stalk as I held it for melee once more.

This witch was obviously a resilient type. However, we can't let the momentum stop now.

"I need some backup!" I cried out as I began charging in.

"Mind if we join in?" I heard Pi cry out from behind me.

"Aim low, and keep it off balanced." I instructed. "I'm going high."

"Alright." came his reply.

"What about us?" I heard Sekai asking as the twins caught up to me.

"Slash Storm." I replied. " Afterwards, aim for the face and attack once I give the signal."

"Gotcha." Usagi said before raising her sword as she and her sister picked up speed.

Before we got close enough, a swarm of familiars appeared from the sides, causing everyone to stop in place as they surrounded us.

"DAMMIT!" I cursed before all four of us put our backs to one another.

"I was wondering why the familiars weren't around." Sekai muttered. "Guess they were regrouping untill this moment."

I looked over towards the witch as it looked towards us furiously.

"Did not expect this." I said before switching in how I held my weapon, taking aim at the swarm. "I think I'm almost empty."

"I know I don't have enough rounds either." Sekai added while aiming the rifle as well.

"Sorry I got you guys into this mess." Pi apologized.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Not your fault, man. Tonight has been really crazy for me." I said in amusement. "From going outside because I couldn't sleep and running into a cute girl, followed by meeting Yakuza and that jackass Omega. This just makes this one hell of a story at the."

"Yeah, that does sound like quite the story." Sekai said in amusement. "Though I think my night is a close second. Dealing with an Idol, working with a psycho, and encountering talking witches. What's next?"

The familiars came closer towards us while the witch watched on, obviously taking the time to recuperate.

"CAN SOMEONE PLEASE COME HELP US?!" I cried out. "IZUMI?"

"Anytime now, Jyo." the twins cried in unison.

"You too Jeri." Pi shouted while raising his fists.

I looked over my shoulder and my eyes widened.

"Just how many witches are there?!" I cried out as I saw four new witches coming into view.

The rabbit was a problem by itself. I don't know about those talking ones, but they don't seem to be wanting our heads at the moment. But one thing was for certain.

The magical girls were all ensnared by some kind of webbing that came from the fingertips of another half human like witch. It was one that would be called an arachne. Think of a centaur, but with a spider body instead of a horse's. I couldn't see her human half, having it concealed in a robe. The spider half was simply a glossy jet black spider body lacking the face and mouth.

"Tch, to think you had so much trouble, Onee-chan." the spider girl spoke.

The half snake looked over towards the arachne and glared in anger.

"I didn't ask you to show up, Spinnan." she retorted.

"Please, we're here because time is of the essence." the one called Spinnan replied. "They're coming."

"Who do mean by 'they' exactly?" the snake questioned.

The second one was much more human like, the only thing that gave away that it was a witch was the ebony goat horns that protruded from the top of her head through holes in her hood.

"You wasted your sweet-ass time to play with the humans and magical girls, and you've attracted its attention!" the horned witch spat out in anger.

The third one was probably the most intimidating, due to having what looked like a pair of silver futuristic cannons coming from the back while what looked like the barrel of a Gatling gun at the end of a cybernetic tail that swayed from side to side.

The fourth witch however was looking in my direction before opening up her snow white wings.

She raised her hands and lowered her hood, revealing her face to me.

She had long platinum blonde hair and white skin that looked soft. Her eyes were black with sky blue irises, they glowed briefly before widening in shock. The way she looked reminded me of an angel.

"Shotaro…" she said, obviously recognizing me before she extended her wings.

I looked back to the rabbit witch and the familiars, and grimaced upon seeing how close they were. The witch began marching towards us, most of its wounds fully healed now except for its broken tooth.

"DAMMIT!" I screamed before I began opening fire upon the familiars, trying to keep them away from us.

"Guess we can't stand around any longer." Pi said before his fists erupted into flames while Sekai began to fire as well. Usagi however stood in place, watching the angel witch.

I cursed when I emptied my clip, readjusting how I held my weapon so that I can use it for melee.

"Damn it." I cursed before looking towards Pi and Usagi. "Let's go in, guys."

They both nodded before we started getting ready to charge. At that moment, a storm of white feathers rained down from above, each one impaling a familiar in the head. The sight caused Sekai to cease fire immediately.

"It's that angel witch." Usagi announced.

I nodded and looked around as the black blood of the familiars seeped through the corpses and blanketed the ground.

"This isn't good." I said.

"Their blood's acid, so don't get any on you." Sekai announced. "I'll make a bridge so you guys can go help the others."

"Don't need to worry about that." Pi said. "Jeri, now's not the time to be playing around!"

"Aww, but I was having fun!" the auburn magical girl said in disappointment.

"Don't think you can break free from my webbing." Spinnan stated.

"Who said I was going to do that?" the magical girl asked.

I turned my attention towards the rabbit witch.

"Pi, Usagi, go help the girls, since I know one magical girl can't handle that many witches alone. Sekai and I will deal with the rabbit." I instructed the others.

I looked over at the rabbit and remembered my remaining weapon that I haven't used yet.

I slid the gunaxe into the holster on my back before grabbing the one I've saved for last.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the shock sword. I know, weak name, but it works.

Another Welkin made weapon. It was a sword that had a built in generator that allowed the blade to become electrified. I don't know the voltage exactly, but it's definitely not lethal to humans. However, the shock it delivers prevents any stubborn foes stabbed by it to do anything. Simple yet very effective.

"Seriously?" Sekai asked when she saw my weapon. "You suck with swords, remember?"

I nodded and held it handle first to Usagi.

"But I know someone who doesn't." I said.

"Thanks, Shotaro-sensei." she replied while accepting the weapon. She took her current sword and slipped it into a loop on her belt before twirling her newest one to get a feel for it.

"I see where you're going with this." Sekai said before tossing me my rifle and a magazine clip.

I fumbled slightly in catching my gun and missed the magazine completely, having it land next to my feet.

"Just wish Fuuko and Nozomi would show up soon." I said before pocketing the magazine and focused upon the witch as it began charging towards us.

"Time to show everyone what we Praedari can do." I announced.

With that, Pi and Usagi charged towards the magical girls and half human witches while Sekai's armband glowed. I turned my attention towards the rabbit and aimed at it.

"Time for round two." I said before emptying what was left of the current magazine into the witch's face.

When I was reloading the rifle, I heard a soft voice speak in confusion from behind me.

"Nya?"

---

"There are other anomalies besides witches like Lamia."

"Cohabitation between witches and humans?"

"You seriously don't have a name?"

"There's a magical girl that doesn't have a soul gem."

"Why am I here?!"

"You've been led astray by them, Caruso."

"Where the hell did you hear that name?"

"You've been selected to join Project Polaris."

"Hold on… did you say a male witch?!"

"You mean there's literally nothing we can do against that witch?!"

If someone rejects a system yet embrace it at the same time? What would the outcome be of this contradiction? What can be born of a magical girl that rejects everything magical?

Next time: Antithesis

"Phantasma."

---

I've been asked recently if the OC submissions were still open by a few people, and yes they still are open.

Remember those three Praedari call signs I mentioned who would have something extra to them if someone submitted for them? Well, I finally revealed which three they are, and what the bonus is exactly.

Gamma, Iota, and Beta. And they each get two armband abilities.

I haven't created any OC's myself for those roles, but they are pretty crucial for the plot. For those interested in getting one of them, there's the catch with the second armband ability. I decide what the second ability is, to coincide with how the process works in the story. However, it'll be one that compliments the one you come up with in some way, as long as the ability isn't overwhelmingly powerful.

Let's use Tenkimaru, aka Praedari Pi, and his armband ability, Flare, for an example. If he had a second ability, it'll be most likely something in regards to enhancing strength or speed. Due to Tenkimaru being a boxer, he could utilize the second armband ability to make his fiery fists even more devastating.

Oh, also I have a poll on my profile in regards to how you guys imagine the Civilis. Whether or not this helps shape the identity of the Civilis is the mystery.

Now onto something important that I must address.

As some of you may know, I have another story, The Troubles of a Misplaced Hero. I started Praedari Magica not long after I put Misplaced Hero on a hiatus because the beta didn't have the time anymore to help out. I got a new beta for that story so I am going to resume writing new chapters for it. Don't worry, I am not abandoning this story. Just don't be surprised if the chapters are either shorter in length and/or being uploaded on a slower basis.

Take care, and don't be afraid to submit more OC's.

Oh, also, Same's name is pronounced Sa-me, as in the Japanese word for "shark".