Disclaimer: The works of Urobochi Gen (namely, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, among other things) belong to him. I do not claim any ownership over their characters, concept, or story, their franchise, etc. This is purely fan work.
Chapter 11:
What is the best way to fight a war when your side is outclassed and outnumbered in almost every way? When the enemy has more power, more resources, more people?
While there is no one correct answer, typically the only way to break through such a situation was through the use of critical thinking. Perhaps the most common answer would be guerilla or hit-and-run tactics, or perhaps focusing on exploiting the enemy's weaknesses. But of course, there is a lot more than just that. You could conduct diplomacy to create alliances. Psychological warfare or propaganda were also options to lower the enemy's morale or even convert enemies into allies. One could disrupt the enemy's economy and supplies, denying them the ability to maintain their armies. Even just strategically retreating, perhaps to move to a more favorable position, was an option. But in all situations, one must adapt, improvise, and exploit everything you can at your disposal to intercept and harass the enemy until victory is in sight.
While Jeremy was not currently fighting such a disadvantaged war, the applied concepts were very similar even when fighting Brixus, and especially even more so when Brixus clearly had more power and avenues of attacks than he did. And while he did have the experience of using all the tactics mentioned above, if you were to ask Jeremy his preferred tactic, he would argue that you shouldn't be relying on just one tactic. But with that said, he would also follow that up by saying that he would always find himself retreating anyway. After all, he was always running away, just to survive. Even if he wasn't exactly proud of it, he had already said it before: if it was running away, he wouldn't lose to anyone.
But he couldn't do that here, so he could only do the next best thing.
From the very beginning of this battle, Jeremy had been using hit and run tactics. Unlike the mostly stationary Brixus, Jeremy frequently took cover, evaded attacks, and launched counterattacks whenever possible. Jeremy knew it would be impossible for him to win in a straight up confrontation, and as he was compelled to hold Brixus off here, he was obligated to force this into a battle of attrition. If there was one fortunate thing about this, it was that this was the norm for fighting Brixus, so Brixus didn't seem to have noticed anything wrong initially. But even Brixus had started to suspect something was wrong, and the amount of cover he had left was quickly dwindling.
And now that Brixus's power had gone wild, Jeremy had no choice but to expend significantly more energy just to keep up and evade the innumerable attacks. In less than a minute, he had already consumed all the energy he had painstakingly siphoned in the earlier part of the battle. But on the other hand, more attacks also meant more targets to steal from—as long as he didn't make a mistake and get hit directly by them, that is. And that in itself was already a big problem, because it was getting more difficult to even take the time to absorb whatever he could.
With a couple quick slashes of the longsword, he cut an opening through the mass of tentacles as they approached. Leaping through, he slashed in a circular arc one more time to hold back the approaching tendrils before following it up with a thrust right at Brixus, producing yet another white beam spearing at his target, which accurately made its way through the gaps and struck the target. But this time, an invisible spherical barrier had flashed around Brixus the moment the spear had struck, not only blocking the attack but allowing Brixus to move uninhibited. With the current power he was outputting, that particular avenue of attack wouldn't work anymore, and using something with more power would only deplete his already low reserves.
The simplest way to conserve magical energy was to just not use it. Jeremy had expected the barrier to appear at some point, and so in his left hand he deliberately picked from his storage and pulled out an FN P90 submachine gun. It wasn't borrowed from Homura, but something he had taken himself some time ago. Jeremy had all kinds of weapons in his inventory that he knew how to use, but he generally preferred melee weapons. They were far more conductive to use with magic, and the larger size and mass made it easier to make conduits and inscriptions for magical purposes. Bullets, on the other hand, were small and were typically only used once each. So while he could also make magical bullets, he didn't do it often due to the ratio between cost and time per use, preferring to prioritize his time for other purposes. If Jeremy wanted more power in a ranged attack, he would've taken out a bow, or even a rocket launcher, both of which had projectiles that had larger mass and size compared to a bullet. Even a throwing weapon could be used instead. There were a plethora of options he could use.
But for the current purpose, a submachine gun would be fine. He fired in controlled bursts as he ran. With so many tentacles about, there was no reason for sustained fire due the mass of quivering limbs and tendrils which blocked everyone's vision. And while bullets were normally dangerous due to being launched at extremely high speeds that gave them high penetrative power, the goal wasn't to break, pierce, or even damage the barrier; instead it was being used for suppressive fire. After all, the barrier flashed every time it was struck. It wouldn't perfectly block Brixus' vision, Jeremy knew, but it was still better than nothing. And in that regard, the FN P90 was a good choice, having a high rate of fire with very low recoil, which made it fairly easy to fire in one hand.
Previously, he hadn't bothered to use a gun because he knew that Brixus could very well react to the shots if he saw them coming. The worst case scenario would be Brixus throwing out wide area spells that could cover a massive area, instead of the usual concentrated slashes. Jeremy could deal with those on a normal day, but it took more energy to avoid or break through such an attack, not to mention the bullets would just get swallowed up in the meantime. Now though, with Brixus's power going berserk and focused on the attack and letting the now active automatic barrier blocking attacks for him, it was far more useful for Jeremy to trigger the barrier with a gun.
With the suppressive fire, Brixus' attacks actually increased in number. But fortunately, or perhaps expectedly, the accuracy had indeed been reduced, which in the end gave him some breathing room to cut down the tentacles with his longsword and flying blades while also making it much easier to siphon off as much energy as he could.
Of course, his guns also couldn't last forever. They would run out of ammunition, or they would jam or malfunction, or a tentacle would get a lucky hit in, destroying the weapon. But all that was fine. After all, just like with his melee weapons, he could also replace the guns.
But it wasn't like Brixus would just let him shoot without retaliation, either. They both knew he was trying to suppress the attacks to lower Brixus' accuracy. Brixus had a rather easy answer to that.
On the arms and limbs of many of the tentacles, sensory organs began to sprout. Eyeballs, ears, noses, and much more began to appear, all feeding back information back to Brixus. At this point, the number of tentacles was nothing but a hindrance to Jeremy, as Brixus no longer needed to see Jeremy himself. Not only that, there was practically nowhere to hide or take cover anymore. With a renewed fervor, Brixus launched attack after attack while the tentacles continued to hound him from every possible angle. Jeremy, in response, also began shooting down sensory organs, but the rate at which he shot them down was not fast enough.
At this point, running also wasn't agile enough to keep avoiding all these attacks. He could slow down time, but the energy expenditure for that was very high, especially when used over long periods of time. He could also give himself a boost through various magical means, whether it be enhancements or boosters, but in the end he opted for a different method. Instead of spending energy, he plundered the energy at specific locations in his surroundings, even beyond the point where they froze, allowing him to recover more energy. Frost and ice started appearing all over the battlefield, creating all kinds of platforms and ramps on which Jeremy could skate, hop, and jump from. He could even create temporary floating platforms (which of course were still affected by gravity), or create curved structures that would allow him to quickly change directions, all of which allowed for high speed three dimensional movement that seemed to defy gravity. But perhaps the best part was that he could once again create cover that he could use without much cost.
However, because the ice was only a by-product of his magic rather than created by magic, they could be rather fragile. They barely did anything to impede Brixus' attacks, and sometimes landing on a platform would just cause it to shatter. But for Jeremy, that was okay. As usual, he would simply adapt. Not only that, he was more than aware of which ones would shatter and which ones could take the impact and hold his weight just long enough for him to move; he was the one creating them, after all. It also increased the unpredictability of his movement to his enemies, as they would have a hard time knowing just how he would move or if he would crash through a platform. Furthermore, broken ice shards could even be used as projectiles if necessary. And the best part was that it was storming and raining today, so when compared to dry air, it was a lot easier for him to create the frozen platforms.
As he skated, he also let loose a stream of paper, flying and tumbling out behind him in all directions. Some of them, drenched with rain, fell to the ground immediately, while others floated in place or even flew out on their own, and still more launched themselves at the tentacles, exploding or binding they did. The slips of papers served a slew of different purposes, from acting as talismans, placing magic circles, acting as sensors, or even simply acting as chaff, and much more. But regardless of where they ended up or what they were used for, many of them got disintegrated instantly by the tentacles that were chasing after him. Even so, that was to be expected. Certainly, just like bullets, he was treating them as disposable assets. But paper was much easier to come by, and still had far more surface area compared to a bullet. And when combining printing technology with magic… Well, it was easy to mass produce whatever he needed, and the easiest way to fight numbers was with numbers.
In the end, even with all the new tricks he was pulling out, he was still using a very similar strategy to before, just far more advanced. He was still cutting his way through, absorbing as much energy as he could, hiding and running as much as he could, pushing his weapons to their limit as they continued to get chipped, damaged, and deteriorated with every attack.
Now that he was continuously leaving trails of paper all over the battlefield, it was a lot easier to expand his awareness of his surroundings in his head than before, giving him a good understanding of the entire battlefield. The more information he had, the easier it would be for him to correctly adapt to any situation.
Jeremy generally always kept his immediate vicinity under surveillance at all times, which was in part why his awareness of his surroundings was quite good. It was a good way to passively react to even unexpected threats at any moment. As Brixus had put it before, Jeremy's spatial awareness was so far beyond what Brixus had ever seen that anyone who knew wouldn't try to sneak up on him. Of course, there were limitations, and the degree as to what he detected or how much attention he cared to pay to it depended on the situation, but in a life threatening situation like the one he was in now, he wouldn't limit his senses in any way. At the very least, it was more than good enough to allow Jeremy to dodge and cut away tentacles coming in from literally all directions, even while blind. In other words, he had considered it more important than his sight.
For a moment, Jeremy considered also calling it his SAS, but shook that thought from his head. It was a far more advanced system, so it should have a slightly more advanced name, he thought. And he was getting distracted again. He acknowledged the thought and brought his focus back to the battle.
Right now, he could see the entire battlefield in his mind, every little detail that he could want to see. He had seen Kyubey arrive at Madoka's position, but it was not his business to interfere. What happened was now up to them. It also seemed that the girls had begun panicking over the movement of Walpurgisnacht. Their voices too were coming in through his earpiece which had been tuned in to their telepathy, but for the most part he left it alone. They were still too inexperienced if they were already panicking from that much, but that was to be expected—after all, they were still middle school girls, not battle hardened veterans. On one hand, he felt that it wasn't dangerous enough for them that he had to tell them what to do—after all, one day, he wouldn't be around anymore, so in such a situation they would have to figure it out by themselves. But on the other hand, Walpurgisnacht closing in on his location was a bit concerning, because it brought the fight too close to Brixus, which could exacerbate the fighting for everyone else. He absolutely did not have the power to damage or knock it away right now, not without taking too many risks. And he definitely did not have the leeway to fight both of them off at the same time.
Then steal more power. Leech it. Are you not a thief?
The self deprecating thought flashed across his mind once again, presenting him with an option. Certainly, given enough time, he could do such a thing. But there was a better option for him. After all, the manipulation of energy was something he had practiced a lot, just so that he could reliably use magic. And as it involved both stealing and diverting, what better way than to redirect one of Brixus' stronger attacks?
He finally interjected himself amongst the magical girls' complaints, trying his best to quickly take control of the situation. And after telling Homura off for trying to sneak onto the battlefield, he did his best to maneuver into a good position, taking great leaps about and practically flying in an erratic manner he did. He had already marked down a couple good spots in his head where it would allow him to easily redirect attacks with minimal collateral damage, but making a beeline towards them was also no good as it was very predictable and thus easily interrupted, not to mention if he got there too early and waited there, he'd be dead. He was in a situation where he couldn't afford to stay still for even a short moment, with all the tentacles chasing after him.
He had already decided to redirect one of Brixus' slashes. It would not be easy, with how quickly they lasted, but in terms of power and ability it might have been his best option for dealing with Walpurgisnacht. There was a time before where he wasn't sure how their powers would affect each other—after all, their powers were similar in that they were chaotic, even if the principle behind them were different. But fortunately, as he had redirected their attacks against each other before in a previous timeline, he already had some idea. To put it simply, it ranged anywhere from actually working, to being utterly useless, or even detrimental.
The calculations were already done. He just needed to time everything right.
3…2…1… Now.
He discarded both weapons in his hands and moved to redirect the attack. It was probably more technically impressive than bare-hand sword stopping, even if it didn't look as much. At least there, the only thing you really needed was good timing. Really good timing, he supposed. Here, it was a very similar idea, but with even more steps. Instead of catching a blade on both sides with your hands, you had to catch it from only one side. And since he couldn't touch it with his bare hand, he had to magically grip it from above. If magic hadn't been involved, it would've been akin to slapping the side of a blade being swung down on you and grabbing it in the same motion from above even as the blade tried to keep moving down. Taking into account that there is no way a person's fingers could move and wrap around a blade from above faster than a blade being swung down, it would be almost, if not outright impossible, to do normally. And even catching it wasn't the final step. He wasn't trying to stop or slow down the attack by catching it. He had to bend the attack, redirecting it to the target, without letting the blade lose much momentum, and only letting go when the angle was right, which was only one reason why he was gripping it from above.
The slash had lasted for only an instant. He had curved that attack in that very same instant, slamming it into Walpurgisnacht. It was probably faster than anyone there could react. Even Brixus was already moving to launch his next strike, unable to stop it in time to prevent Jeremy from taking advantage of it. And that he did, using it to redirect the attack into the colossal witch, aiming to hit the exact same spot he had redirected the first attack into.
And then he was on the run again, with the tentacles having caught up. He could only check the results in his mind as he instructed the girls to keep it pinned down again, based on what he could pick up from his senses. Fortunately, it was actually even more effective than he had expected. Not only had it sent Walpugisnacht flying, he judged that the first attack had probably broken through the witch's barrier. Perhaps even disintegrated it, considering the nature of Brixus' attacks. The attacks from the girls definitely also helped in weakening it, too, although it was impossible to tell just by how much. Either way, with the barrier having been destroyed, the second attack had damaged the witch directly. It was also good news for the girls, since without the barrier the girls would have a much easier time fighting it. Being able to damage it would definitely help their morale.
Brixus, on the other hand, seemed to have gotten incensed at his attacks being used. His attacks grew far more focused, coming out faster, more numerous, more accurate. It would probably be too difficult to redirect a third one into Walpugrisnacht for the time being, so Jeremy had to focus all the more on evasion once again.
However, it was shortly afterwards that it happened.
There was a sudden, dull pain at his hip. He definitely had not taken a hit there, but even if he had he would've been able to adapt immediately. However, that pain was immediately followed by his body refusing to listen to him for just a millisecond. Was it the lack of energy? Impossible, he had been keeping an eye on it and rationing it this whole time. Certainly it was low, but he should've had a reasonable amount. Was it fatigue? The stress? Or perhaps something else? It didn't make any sense, but there was no way to take the time to check in the heat of the moment. And so, without the control of his body, he fell.
The next moment, with a flush of magical energy he forcefully regained control of his body and immediately took action, swearing as he did. Jeremy twisted and contorted his body in every way he could to avoid the incoming tentacles, but despite his efforts one of them still struck his leg. He immediately lost the use of his leg as it got corrupted, swelling and bulging and turning black and blue as it sent intense signals of pain through his nervous system, right up until he shut off his leg from his senses. But it was already too late, and he was pierced all over—and then all went black.
"This can't be happening," Homura blankly stared at the SAS. What had even caused Jeremy to trip all of sudden? It did not seem like the kind of mistake he would have made. Was it just an unfortunate accident?
Her first instinct was to reach for the sand timer on her arm. But even then, she still hesitated. What was she waiting for? She didn't know. Madoka was still fine, and Walpurgsnacht was more or less not a big issue right now. Her two main goals had finally already been achieved in this timeline, so there was no reason to start over yet again, was there?
"Wait, what's going on?" Mami's voice came through the telepathy. It was then Homura realized that they had heard her earlier declaration of shock just now.
"It's nothing, just focus on your fight for now!" Homura insisted, trying to retake control over the situation. Would it be okay to step out and try to help Jeremy? Did she have any reason to?
Wouldn't it be better to just run away with Madoka now that her initial goals had been achieved?
No, she reasoned. Madoka wouldn't be happy. The whole reason she was doing this was to have Madoka reach a happy ending.
No, that wasn't the only thing. She couldn't accept this kind of ending either. She just wanted to help him out in some way, but she didn't know how. It didn't matter if Brixus was everyone's enemy or not, she simply wanted Jeremy to survive too. At some point, he had already been included on her very small list of people she wanted to survive.
"Wait, what happened to Jeremy?" Sayaka's panicked voice came on over the telepathy. "We have to help him!"
"Don't!" Homura ordered. "Keep Walpurgisnacht tied down and defeat her first! We can't afford to let her loose!"
It was pretty obvious at this point that the other girls were aware that something had happened to him and that he was in trouble. However, what could they do? If they let Walpugisnacht get up and fight again, everything would instantly turn hopeless. The only thing she could think of was going out to help him herself. She didn't know how, but she had to do something.
"I'm going to help Jeremy." She said, looking at the shocked girl next to her. Her words caused the girl to blink, bringing her out of her shock.
"Homura-chan, you…"
Homura didn't wait for her to finish. "Don't worry. I'll take care of everything. So whatever you do, never make a wish with Kyubey, got it? Just focus on your job with the Sasu and everything will be fine."
Madoka could only nod mutely in response. Having received her acknowledgement, she turned towards Kyubey. "Out of consideration for your offer to help, I won't do anything for now. But if I find that you've turned Madoka into a magical girl when I come back," she glared at the offending incubator. "I'll kill you."
She knew it was a meaningless threat, but she had to say it anyway.
Kyubey merely whipped its tail back and forth once, its beady unblinking eyes merely looking back in her direction without any care or remorse. "I won't make any promises. The decision is Madoka's after all, not mine."
Homura harrumphed in disapproval, but there was nothing else she could say. And so, she stepped out, a Howa Type 64 battle rifle in her hands. Chambered with 7.62×51mm NATO rounds, the heavier rifle definitely packed more power per shot than the 5.56×45mm NATO Howa Type 89 assault rifle that she usually used. It was more unwieldy in her hands, but that was fine. She could handle it.
She knew it would be too dangerous for her to get close to Adonis, even with her ability to stop time. It was already clear to her that her reaction time was not fast enough to surpass what Adonis could do. Thanks to the SAS, she was also aware that regular guns wouldn't do much to Adonis. She had seen Jeremy using small firearms, mostly SMGs, to little effect. She didn't know if his bullets were enhanced with magical power or not, but she didn't want to take any risks. What she needed was power, distance, and time. And she was certain she had all three.
With time stopped, she set out.
It didn't take long for her to reach the battlefield where Jeremy had been fighting. It was one thing seeing it on the SAS, but now that she was here in person, seeing the state of the ruins that used to be part of the city was shocking.
There were massive craters all over the ground, filled with shards of ice, paper, and debris. All the buildings in the surroundings had basically been turned into dust, leaving behind only rubble submerged in chunks of ice in their wake.
The world was frozen, in all meanings of the word.
It sort of reminded her of the time when she had first fought Jeremy, where he had also freezed the world back then. Except someone had run all that through a blender afterwards.
Then there were Adonis' attacks, mostly consisting of those black, murky tentacles. Many of them originated from the man himself, but there were also a large number of them that had shot out of the ground in a very large area around him. If he had been attacking her with all of these tentacles, she wasn't sure how she would be able to avoid them all. As it were, with time stopped it almost felt like she was walking into an evil forest that sprouted out of the remains of city ruins, with trunks and branches that could corrupt anyone at even the slightest touch, reaching high up into the sky before they all curved down and in towards where Jeremy was. And the forest itself was inhabited by gross abominations made up of red flesh, muscle, and bone that left behind bloody trails in their wake. Just their appearance made her want to throw up, but she did her best to suppress that urge.
She gingerly stepped through this forest, carefully making her way through while trying to avoid all contact with everything. But even as she got within effective range of her rifle, there weren't many openings through which she could fire at; there were just too many tentacles in the way. But what else could she do? She couldn't risk much else, so she began to set up. Explosives were placed, magazines were emptied, rockets were fired. The projectiles all sped towards Adonis, stopping in midair moments before contact. It was then she quickly left the battlefield, not wanting to stay even another second longer in that place.
Fortunately, it was not like the entire city was in ruins. The battle had been localized in just that area, and it seemed that Jeremy had made sure to limit the collateral damage by limiting his movement to a certain area. This meant there were still buildings standing in some areas of the city, including in the direction of where the civilian shelter was.
Homura made her way to a distant one, far away from both enemies, Madoka, and the civilian shelter. It was a distance that one would normally need binoculars or a telescope to see, but with magic that was a nonissue. And it was only at that distance that she felt safe enough to finally allow time to flow once again.
Immediately, a thunderous cacophony of sharp cracks and bangs sounded out, completely without warning or preamble. Moments later, the shockwave slammed into her despite the distance she was at. It was as if the air itself was torn asunder by the sheer force of everything she had launched at Adonis. She could even see the tentacles waving out from the force of all the blasts, although they didn't seem to be damaged.
The explosions contained so much power that it demanded the attention of just about everyone on the field. Everyone seemed to still for a second as they tried to make sense of what had just happened. If it weren't for the waving tentacles and the still falling wind and rain, she almost would've thought that the world had frozen in time once again, despite the fact that she had not used her sand timer.
Walpurgisnacht, of course, wasn't particularly affected by the sound, and was the first to move once again, retaliating against the magical girls that fought to keep her restrained. Or perhaps, she didn't even care to begin with, and had just continued fighting regardless of the explosion. In hindsight, Homura felt that she probably should've warned the other girls, but repeated cycles of fighting alone had trained her into getting used to fighting alone.
Yells and shouts began overflowing over the telepathy link, but none of it registered to Homura. She was busy staring at the location where Adonis was at, trying to confirm the effects of her attack. Jeremy had once stressed that Adonis was at least on par with Walpurgisnacht. It was a bit of a difficult concept to wrap her mind around since he was so much smaller in size and also seemed to be human, but after seeing what had happened so far today she understood that he might not have been exaggerating. And so, she wanted to be as careful as possible.
The smoke had cleared fairly quickly, what with the rain and wind and all. There was a massive crater where she had launched her attack. And at the center of it all, there stood Adonis, looking none the worse for wear.
She was half expecting it after being told how dangerous he could be, but even so she was still disappointed about the lack of damage. She had thrown everything she could think of at him, and for what?
That was when Adonis, very slowly, turned his head in her direction.
Their eyes met. Homura panicked internally; she was at a distance where there was absolutely no way a normal person would've been able to see her. Furthermore, she had done all the attacks while time had stopped, so how did he immediately know where she was?
And then he snorted, turning back to Jeremy as if she was of no concern to him.
The only thing she could feel afterwards was frustration and despair.
Walpurgisnacht was a witch that represented helplessness. It was so far beyond the comprehension of the average person that perhaps that the best way to explain it, ironically enough, was that it was just merely something that existed. It did not know fear, it did not know anger. Its mere presence simply brought destruction—a calamity in physical form. It was rumored amongst magical girls that it was a being so strong that it did not need a labyrinth to hide, but perhaps it could be said it was so strong precisely because it was the embodiment of making one feel helpless.
An endless feedback loop. It was too strong for any magical girl to be able to handle, and it grew stronger the more helpless others felt around it, feeding off said feeling of helplessness.
When a new group of magical girls appeared to confront it, it could only cackle and laugh. She knew it would be just the same as before. They could not win. She would teach them a lesson, and once they've realized how helpless they were, she would take them in herself and have them become actors in her play.
Perhaps lesser known to all was that she was not just a witch of helplessness. She was the stage constructing witch, the witch that would eventually turn all the world into a stage. And when everything is nothing more than a play, then unhappiness would be eradicated. All the tragedy of the world would no longer be real, but instead merely just another scene in her play.
That was why when she was attacked, she did not care. In time, even these magical girls would learn how futile it was. When she was bound and pinned, she did not care. She laughed at their attempts to destroy her. It was only when she felt like moving again did she carelessly exert a fraction of her power to break the binds.
But even a play required excitement. A one-sided beatdown that led nowhere just to show how strong she was could only last so long. And so, she decided to step it up a little bit, allowing more actors—fellow magical girls who have now known the truth and become the clowns that they were—step up onto the stage that she had set. She casually tossed buildings to and fro at the girls as she danced through the air, surrounded by her actors as they made fools of themselves.
She felt no sadness when these clowns were destroyed. If anything, it was far more ironic, more amusing to have magical girls kill magical girls. And their deaths merely meant that their role in the script had ended. As long as magical girls continue to challenge her, she would never run out of clowns.
But there was something nearby that very much caught her attention. There were two people that seemed to be fighting each other, but that was not important. It was the feeling she was getting from the area that made it a very attractive scene. She could feel the helplessness roiling off in waves from that area, and the chaos so similar to her own nature was even more delectable. It was the first time she had experienced something like this. Perhaps by instinct, perhaps by desire, it made its way over, wanting to partake and make them part of her play.
Rolling her way over, she cackled with glee, raising a building into the air with the intent of tossing it into the mix so that she could also partake. But just as she launched it, a wave of chaos slammed right into her. A second wave bisected the launched building before she could react, crashing into her right where the first one had hit. She was launched back with those two attacks and was sent crashing into the ground.
For the first time in a long time, Walpurgisnacht felt pain. It came with a strange, rippling, churning sensation she was unfamiliar with, neither sharp nor dull. It was a very unusual feeling, unlike any other pain she had felt before.
But Walpurgisnacht did not care.
Everything was merely part of the play. Therefore, the pain was merely a part of the script, nothing more than an illusion.
And so, she carried on, cackling as she always did.
It was like swimming in radioactive acid, the way the torrent of chaos burned through all his senses, through his body, melting, dissolving, eating away at his memories and his form, turning it all into one, big giant mush of flesh..
In a daze, the being that was once Jeremy laid on the ground, impaled yet again by many of the black murky tentacles where his enemy had managed to strike him. Around him various explosions could be heard, muffled by his own failing senses.
His own consciousness had retreated to a small space within him not yet corrupted by the chaos his enemy had brought upon him.
Well, isn't this familiar, Jeremy thought sarcastically. Is this the second time where I've lost almost all functionality, all within the span of a few weeks?
If there was something that was different from the time he had tried to save Sayaka however, it would be the fact that even now he had no energy to fight back at all, and the tentacles that corrupted his existence could even touch on his memories, able to bring up ghosts of the past.
Get up... so that you can fail again and run away.
The figure of an old mercenary, wielding a massive sword nearly as big as he was, who had given him support whenever he needed it. The figure of someone the size of a child; one despite being nonhuman had entrusted her life to him. The figure of a small and petite young woman, wielding an eastern styled single edged curved blade somewhat resembling a katana but not a katana, who had confided in him her secrets. The figure of a young man, who helped him from the shadows.
Hundreds of figures, all crowding around in the sanctuary that he retreated in, disappointed and angry at him.
Aren't you supposed to be good at running away? Get up and run!
Jeremy knew they were not real. He knew that the words they spoke were not real. He knew that they would've never said such words. It was the chaos at work, muddling his memories. But even so, he felt that he should still apologize to them. Something told him that he would lose his sanity, his sense of self, if he ignored them. Or perhaps it was just his emotions completely running out of control, no matter how much he tried to reign them in.
Get up! After all of us had already died, you can't just kick the bucket like this now! Get up and run!
Sorry kid, Jeremy apologized to the young man who shouted at him, even as the world around him grew dark. If you guys hadn't protected me, you guys would still be alive.
No longer could the burning sensation be felt, now replaced by cold darkness as even his senses had been removed from him as he retreated and hid within the small space that was his only hellish sanctuary.
Master, you have to move or you'll die, so get up!
I'm sorry, Jeremy apologized to the child-like creature. I was a failure of a master.
Jeremy. Even if you're killed, I won't let you stay dead, so get up.
Sorry Iris, Jeremy apologized to the young woman. You were the only one who, instead of being saved by you, I was the one unable to save you.
Get up, Jeremy. So that you can fail again.
The voices whispered.
Despite it all, Jeremy could only give each one of them a smile, ignore their words, and apologize for what had happened long ago, as his core self slowly tried to find a way to recover.
"Jeremy!"
Shouts and gasps of horror rose when the rest of the girls finally noticed what had happened to Jeremy. Perhaps ironically, it was Homura's attempt at helping that had drawn more attention to exactly what had happened to him.
Their eyes widened with shock. Never had any of them imagined that this could have happened.
Their role had been to stall Walpurgisnacht while Jeremy fought Brixus, and, if possible, defeat Walpurgisnacht and support Jeremy. And they almost had it, too. But something strange had happened on Jeremy's side. Homura had even stepped out to assist, despite his warnings.
But nothing seemed to have helped.
And to make matters worse for them?
Perhaps it was the massive explosion that Homura had created. Perhaps it was the fact that Jeremy had fallen. Or perhaps, it was the chaos and helplessness that emanated in massive waves, or even all of that combined— it was just a moment of distraction and Walpurgisnacht had broken free once again, somehow feeling even more powerful than ever. Even the gash running down its front from the attacks that Jeremy had redirected was slowly closing up.
As Jeremy's enemy, after mostly ignoring the blast of Homura's attacks, merely just looked down at the defeat of his most bitterest friend and enemy, some of the girls nearly lost it there and then, nearly falling into despair. But somehow they held on, clinging to the words of encouragement that Jeremy had spoken to them before, clinging to a false hope even as it slowly died before them, refusing to believe that Jeremy was down, and continued to doggedly fight as hard as they could, even as exhaustion was beginning to settle in and take hold of their bodies. But the feeling of hopelessness was definitely sinking into all of them.
"Madoka," Kyuubey said quietly as it sat next to the girl whose name it just spoke aloud. "You do know that at this rate your friends will lose, right? If you want to save them, all you have to do is make a wish..."
The girl called Madoka was already barely in the right mind. "...a wish?" she repeated mindlessly after it, her mind still in shock at the scene displayed on the SAS.
This was one reason why Kyuubey considered emotions to be completely useless and unnecessary. It could render the being unfit to think things properly... but at the same time, it would make it easy to exploit.
"Noooo!" The girl who called herself Homura screamed. It seemed like the realization of how futile everything was had finally settled in as she looked frantically between Adonis and the young man who had been killed, unsure of what to do. Kyuubey thought that if it was in the same position as her, it would have never left and prioritized stopping the girl called Madoka. Tending or even trying to someone who was already dead would be pointless, especially after how futile her attacks had already been proven to be, but it seemed like once again, emotion made her unable to make a wise decision. But that was a good thing for Kyubey, it supposed.
It seemed like a lot of things were going in its favor today, all thanks to the very thing called 'emotion' that humans so desperately clung to. It was rather ironic, Kyuubey thought.
"Yes," it said, goading Madoka. "All you have to do is make a wish, and then you can save your friends there."
"I..."
That was when the figure of Jeremy, who should well have been dead, who should have been unable to move, pinned to the ground as he was, got up.
Even in the darkness, Jeremy grabbed and pulled.
This wasn't the first time Brixus had struck him down like so. It wasn't the first time that he endured the shouts of those already long dead. If it had been ages ago, it would've felt like pure torture, but now, even as they shouted at him he could at least give them a slight smile even as he apologized. It's not that it was any less painful. He had just long accepted it for what it was.
It was, however, the first time where he still had people to protect in the real world.
Do you really have to protect them? Why not just let them die for your sake once again?
Wrong, Jeremy thought, denying himself. It's not that he had to protect them. He just wanted to protect them. They were just kids, but they held a lot more potential than he had.
And most of all—
He wanted to prove his best friend and enemy wrong, that humans were not irredeemable.
They all just needed more time. Time, and guidance in the right direction, neither of which they originally had. If Jeremy could sigh, he would've.
Although the corruption as all sorts of chaos was applied to his body was painful, the curse that was the undeniable truth pained him all the more.
The many friends who had fought and died by his side to keep him alive today...
He could have saved them.
But because of his own weakness, they died.
Had he really gotten any better since? Would he even be able to protect these girls and save(defeat) his friend(enemy)? Jeremy wasn't confident, especially not now. He was stronger than he used to be, and yet at the same time he was still as weak as ever. Maybe he really should've just ran. At least that way, he would've had a much better chance to survive, and make it back home.
The ghosts whispered, Get up, so that you can fail and run away again.
Hahaha, Jeremy chuckled with helplessness. Fine, fine, I'll get up now. I still haven't figured out exactly what I can do right now, but it's better than nothing, right?
In a torrent of fire his senses were returned to him. Pain lanced through his limbs as he forced his torn and beaten body upright, still run through by the black, murky tentacle-like limbs of chaotic energy that Brixus used to run him through. Somehow, he was able to resist the corrupting nature of the chaotic limbs through sheer force of will—at least, just barely enough to keep his body intact enough to be able to move. Perhaps his form was already unrecognizable, but Jeremy couldn't tell. Grabbing a hold of one of the offending limbs of chaos as it burned whatever was left of his hand, he ripped it out of his body.
Seeing this, Brixus retaliated, and his arm was pinned by another tentacle-like limb, rendering it unable to move.
The world seemed to still as it watched the corrupting form that was Jeremy stand up and resist Brixus' attacks. It was barely recognizable as human anymore, with blackened flesh and skin bulging outwards, melting, reforming, burning, freezing, bubbling and popping like it was some sort of grotesque figure made up of boiling liquid tar instead of flesh.
In short, a monster.
The girls watched with a strange horror as the form that was Jeremy continued to resist Brixus' attacks, only to continue to be impaled again and again. It was hardly a valiant fight— at this point, it was hard to tell friend from foe, between the human who fought with all his strength to vanquish the enemy and the monster that resisted it to its very end.
Then Walpurgisnacht struck, and the girls were forced to fight back for their lives, even as tears streamed down their cheeks as they grieved for their fallen ally who was no longer human.
The words of a wish were caught in her mouth as she watched the horrifying...thing that Jeremy had been turned into.
She so desperately wanted to save him, save the young man who had most definitely saved her friends so many times before.
Even if he constantly denied it, she was sure he was a hero.
But his words kept repeating themselves in her mind.
Kaname Madoka, he had said. I will never forgive you if you make a wish for me.
Well, that was fine. Saving him would be enough for saving her friends. She didn't need to be forgiven.
Madoka, I'm serious, he had said. I don't care if you decide to make a wish for anyone else, but I will never forgive you if you wish for me.
She never fully understood his meaning, even now. But she did understand that she didn't want him to hate her forever. He was a good friend, a friend to all of them. But even so—
"Madoka, if you don't hurry it will be too late." Kyuubey said as it sat beside her.
As yet another loud explosion sounded, the battered holographic body of Mami Tomoe suddenly smashed into the ground on the SAS and didn't move again.
As Mami-san weakly raised a hand as she tried to get back up, Madoka finally made up her mind—her hesitations were only causing more of her friends to get hurt.
"I wish—"
The words caught and died in her throat. Kyubey looked at her expectantly as Madoka could only raise her own hands to her neck in confusion.
"I wi—"
She couldn't even finish the second word this time when her jaw froze against her will and her throat contracted, catching the words once again.
"What the…" Kyubey blinked, looking at her. "Wait a moment, a spell? Since when?"
From those words, Madoka finally realized. Jeremy had actually used a spell to enforce the promise she had made with him. But that was fine. She had already made up her mind. If she couldn't make a wish for Jeremy, she could at least wish for her friends—
But before she could try again, a dazzling glow enveloped them all.
Hey, Kyoko.
Probably, the reason your father got so mad,
was because of your lack of faith.
It's not you that he hated, though, but rather two things:
His frustration for realizing that the faith he had so strongly believed in hadn't been the cause for people gathering to listen to his sermons, and perhaps most importantly,
his frustration at having been unable to guide you through his faith, causing him to lose his temper.
Because, after all, you were most definitely his precious daughter—
A radiant light had cradled everyone and everything. It was soft, warm, and comforting. Somehow, the light reminded Kyoko of words that Jeremy had spoken to her before.
Did you know, that power can be gained from faith?
Even a sect of magic draws power of faith; it is often called holy magic, but in truth all it really runs on is sheer faith. The more strongly one believes in something, the stronger the magic gets. You don't even have to believe in a god; all you need is to believe in something regardless of the facts.
I see, Kyoko thought. Is this what you were talking about?
Kyoko thought back to earlier, just before the battle had begun, when Jeremy had that strange conversation with one he called his enemy... and his friend.
Yeah, humans suck. Jeremy had said. I'm not really any better. But these girls? I think they have the potential. Sure, it could just as easily go the wrong way… but that's always the case, isn't it? For you, for me, for anyone, really. I'm sure there's even a possibility where one of them could end up saving the world.
What is this feeling? Kyoko thought as she was enveloped by the light. If this is your faith... It's really warm.
As the words came to her mind, she decided.
Despite the terrible situation they were in, she believed.
Believed, that they all could make it to the end; believed, that Jeremy would be all right.
Holy magic.
The thing that used to be Jeremy was no longer able to move, pinned as it was, so it casted magic.
The type of magic that had always been its weakest, was casted.
After all, its normal reserves were already destroyed, corrupted by chaos, dissipated by entropy, destroying its own body from the inside out.
But the power of holy magic relied on faith rather than self. It did not need reserves of magic power. And so, it tried to cast holy magic.
Restore.
The magic fizzled out, barely having any effect on its body.
Barrier.
The magic failed to block even one of the offending limbs that the enemy struck it with.
Heal.
The magic couldn't even recognize what there was to heal, and failed.
Purify.
The chaotic corruption tore the magic apart instead.
...
What did it believe in?
Always wandering alone, surviving over countless battlefields…
The only thing that had kept it going was the hope that one day, it would return, and reunite the one he loved.
A hope it clung onto endlessly even as it grew further and further from its grasp.
It had been an unshakable wish, a promise to himself that he wouldn't break, but the current state of the battle it was in, and of its body, had broken even that.
What little faith did it have left?
Yeah, humans suck, it had said. I'm not really any better. But these girls? I think they have the potential. Sure, it could just as easily go the wrong way… but that's always the case, isn't it? For you, for me, for anyone, really. I'm sure there's even a possibility where one of them could end up saving the world.
Ah. Certainly, it believed in those 5 girls.
But did it really?
They were pitiful, innocent girls with their own problems, which have led to their own demise many times before.
But—
They certainly had faith in it.
And it still believed in them.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before it.
It was definitely hallucinating.
It was impossible for her to be here.
Even amongst the shadows that yelled at it, she had never once appeared.
Jeremy, I don't blame you for anything that happened, she said with a slight smile. I believe that one day, you will definitely return. So, go. Get up, and do what you have to do.
Ah. Ah, ah, ah, Ahhhhh!
If it had the capability to cry, tears would have been shed, streaming down what was left of its eyes. If it could speak, a single name would have left what was left of its lips.
Lenora!
And then, the magic it had been trying to cast had finally succeeded.
The light only lasted for a few seconds, but when everyone could see again, before them stood Jeremy.
His form was recognizable once again even if barely so, tattered and beaten as he was. The cloth that had been wrapped around his eyes was noticeably missing, but it just went to show his once again functioning eyes as they wearily blinked and took in the scene before him.
The girls all breathed a huge sigh of relief at the sight, many having tears in their eyes, even as they continued fighting off Walpurgisnacht.
"Holy magic, huh? That was quite some power. I never took you as the fanatical religious type." Brixus said, as he eyed his friend and enemy. "That's the strongest I've ever seen you cast from holy magic. Don't you usually use just about everything else?"
"It was because I believe." the young man before him merely announced. "That's why, I can't die here."
Brixus frowned. He thought that he had broken him already, but Jeremy's will when it came to certain things was ridiculously stronger than ever, in spite of his cynical nature.
Knowing Jeremy, it had to be related to Lenora. Maybe it really wouldn't be inaccurate to call him a Lenora fanatic. Of all things to have happened, of course he had to unexpectedly pull out an impossible miracle literally out of nowhere. Holy magic was absolute bullshit whenever it worked.
While Brixus knew Jeremy wasn't really a true holy magic user, it was undeniable that he had used it just now. And the best way to defeat a holy magic user was to break their belief and weaken their spirit.
"Believe? It's been an impossibly long time since you've left Lehrail, Jeremy. Do you still think she'll even still be alive if you ever managed to get back?"
"I'll make it happen. She believes in me too, after all. And... The girls here also believe in me, just as I believe in them."
Brixus stared down at the indomitable young man before him. As per usual, Jeremy never moved as expected. Despite having agreed on the day they would fight, he was somewhat disappointed in Jeremy's overall performance, so he decided to go hard. And when Jeremy slipped up instead of fighting properly, he took every advantage of that, not holding back. He had tried to disrupt his magic with sheer chaos, but his faith managed to overcome that. He had tried to deform his body until it was incapable of anything, but the holy magic had undone it all. He had tried to corrupt his mind and thoughts with more chaos, but he had failed. Jeremy had somehow weathered through it all.
But...
The enemy before him was also exhausted, completely out of magic. There was absolutely no way he could cast anything in his current state.
"Do you really think you can win against me and Walpurgisnacht here, exhausted as you are?"
"It's not if we can do it, we have to do it. And winning or losing have nothing to do with it."
Jeremy slowly but surely raised his arms, falling into a stance. His arms went wide and open. Brixus recognized it as one Jeremy often used to control the flow of energy.
Off to the side, a confused mutter of the word "Taichi?" could barely be heard from one of the girls, but Brixus paid it no mind.
"Then so be it," Brixus said.
He leisurely launched a single tentacle.
Jeremy redirected it with one hand, not minding physical contact this time, despite it warping his hand slightly black.
Neither of them moved particularly quickly. Neither of them showed any sign of impatience as they impassively stared at each other.
Slowly, gradually, more tentacles came in for the attack. Jeremy redirected each and every one, his hands and arms getting darker and mired with each parry… until the tenth one, which finally got past his meager defense and stabbed him through the side. And so the corruption began once again.
"Are we really going to repeat this again?" Brixus asked in annoyance.
Jeremy merely made to grab the offending tentacle with his hands, not bothering to try pulling it out. And then, he spoke. "I invoke the laws of this world."
Brixus narrowed his eyes for a moment, but then he realized what Jeremy was doing as the young man continued to speak. In that moment, astonishment settled in instantly. It was an incantation for a spell. And it wasn't just any spell.
The use of magic was generally a manacrafter trying to manipulate the world. They impose their own logic onto the world to make things obey their will. A manacrafter could cast a spell to create a wall of fire, but it wouldn't be a natural one. It would run entirely based on the caster's magic powers, and it would still be affected by laws of the world. A magical wall of fire would be severely diminished if it was raining, for example.
Even the magical girls and monsters(witches?) and what not from this world followed this rule. Using their soul as the basis, they imposed their logic on the world to fight.
But what if instead of imposing one's logic onto the world, one enforced a law of the world instead?
For example, 2+2 will always equal 4. This was a universal truth. Any attempts to say otherwise were merely the delusional attempts of man to impose their own logic on the world. 2+2 would always equal 4, and the outcome would never, ever change.
Therefore, any attempt to enforce a law of the world would always result in an outcome that could not be controlled. It would be beyond what anyone could handle, even for an esteemed genius sage. There was not a single sane person who would try such a thing.
"You wouldn't dare—" Brixus shouted. He tried to retract the tentacle, but Jeremy held on fast as he continued to incant. He tried to pierce the body with more attacks to interrupt it, but Jeremy couldn't be stopped anymore. And so, Jeremy reached the final word of his incantation, signifying his intent.
"Equilibrium."
And then the world went white.
It was a blinding flash of light that came with deafening silence. Neither the rain, the wind, or even any sound from anyone's attacks could be heard. The only thing that anyone could hear was a high pitched noise reminiscent of what one might hear after an explosion—except there was none this time.
Unlike the time when Jeremy used holy magic where it was surprisingly warm and comfortable, this light hurt. Everyone shielded their eyes completely out of instinct, but it didn't last particularly long.
Homura brought her arm back down after the light had dissipated, and as the tinnitus sound gradually faded out, the sound of rain and wind was all that rushed in to fill her ears.
It was strangely quiet. The battlefield was so eerily quiet that it almost made it feel like the intense fighting that had just gone through was a lie.
"Wait, what's going on?" Sayaka finally asked over the telepathy. "Did we win?"
Homura looked over the battlefield. There was no trace of Walpurgisnacht or Adonis anywhere to be seen.
"I… think so?" Madoka said with uncertainty. "I don't see Walpurgisnacht or Adonis anywhere on the Sasu, it's like they completely disappeared all of a sudden."
"Yeah! That means we did it!" Kyoko cheered.
Homura herself could not really believe it. It was so sudden, so unexpected. Surely it must be a trick, she thought. After all that drama and tension, it was over, just like that? She barely felt like she was able to do anything, and just like that, Madoka was safe and had survived this timeline?
One of their enemies must be hiding somewhere, ready to jump out and prove everyone wrong.
And yet, even looking out over the wasteland of a battlefield, the only thing that met her gaze was the rain falling on the empty ruins. No Walpurgisnacht, no Adonis, no fighting. There was no one present.
"Is the Sasu able to check underground or in hidden places?" She finally asked. She really had to make sure it was all over.
"Yeah, I checked already. I can't find them anywhere." Madoka replied.
So, was it finally over?
Homura slumped over with relief. It wasn't quite what she was expecting, but in the end, everything was finally over. Now, she and everyone else could safely go back home, live a more peaceful life, and throw a farewell party for Jeremy before he left—
"It's just," Madoka said hesitantly. "I also can't find Jeremy anywhere, either."
Wait, what?
How could he disappear just like that?
Well, it didn't matter for now. Maybe he didn't have a choice, or it was something he had intended to do all along. Either way, what was important was that she had finally succeeded in her original goal. Madoka had been saved and had not become a magical girl, and Walpurgisnacht had finally been defeated, and there were no more enemies left to worry about. Everything was finally back on the right track.
So why did she feel so hollow inside?
A/N: I know I said 2-3 weeks, but I ended up taking twice as long. Oops.
But hear me out, halfway the hotel stay was over and so I had to spend another 2 weeks or so moving everything back and cleaning up the house. I didn't even have the time to touch my PC at all during those 2 weeks, so obviously no work could be done. I have a proper excuse this time, okay *runs away*
Anyway, on to the chapter itself. Probably about a third of this entire chapter had already been written like 10 years ago? Yeah. I don't know if anyone even remembers, but in a previous AN I said that this started off as a crackfic crossover between puella and my own og fic that a friend made me write. Actually, a number of the chapters in this fic recycled scenes from that crackfic.
But it's not like it made writing this chapter any easier; if anything, I had to rewrite a lot of parts to make sure it would fit in with the current direction of the story. A lot of things changed over the course of writing this story, and I have a higher focus on making the chars being themselves, so of course they wouldn't always follow the original plan I had laid out. That's just how it is.
In any case, I have some headaches and a lot of stress and exhaustion from irl stuff, so I really need to take a break. Idk when the next update will come. I do want to finish this fic, but who knows how long that will take. I guess we're getting closer and closer to the end though. Look, we already fought Walpurgisnacht already. I don't think I'm going to do any more time resets either.
I'd ask you guys to leave a comment or something to tell me how I can make this better so far but nobody's reading this anymore anyway so lmao
Anyway, random omake:
"Holy magic, huh? That was quite some power. I never took you as the fanatical religious type." Brixus said, as he eyed his friend and enemy. "That's the strongest I've ever seen you cast from holy magic. Don't you usually use just about everything else?"
"It was because I believe." the young man before him merely announced. "That's why, I can't die here."
Brixus frowned.
"That's so cringe, bro. Do you even hear what's coming out of your mouth?"
"Oh shut up, I know how cringe it sounds!"
"don't care + didn't ask + L + ratio"
"Where did you even learn about shitty memes from the 2020s!? I'm the one who's supposed to know them better than you!"