She looked over each of us, head tilted slightly up, just enough that she was quite, literally looking down at us. The newest magical girl to appear was wearing, at best, what I would consider attire fit for a parade. She wore gloves, a red coat and all. As if all attention had to be on her. She even had a cap on her head.

  “You’re taking far too long.” She stated, her voice clear. “We have a schedule to keep, and you seem to be the only one having issues here.” She continues.

  “Not my fault!” The tribal magical girl yells back. “This whole district is just stupid, why is it even split into so many nodes!?”

  The girl just sighs in response. “You know that isn’t the issue, right? We were tasked with taking this district and if we fail, it is our heads that will be on the platter.”

  Silence was her response. Along with a downward glance, a subtle clenching of her hands.

  “Either way, the fact that your being held back by rabbits of all things, is the real disgrace. Even if one of them has teeth.” Her gaze falls on me, and the tribal magical keeps her mouth shut.

  I consider moving, making an alpha strike, but… where do I even begin. In the distance, I could see Liche, she was bleeding, her body covered in small wounds. A figure wearing a cloak was nearby, a knife in hand, and a crossbow at her side. At the far back, Joan stood near the entrance, helping to protect the police and bolster my remaining forces.

  In this short chaotic brawl, the number of soldiers on my side had dwindled, and only one or two had survived. The pair of knights were covered in worrying gashes and wounds. Cobalt was no better, with his weapon in an especially dire state.

  Our positions didn’t quite help. We were too spread out. The main staircase was flanked by statues wielding spears. Preventing Joan from going to the sides and only going forward or back. If she went forward, she would run into the tribal girl and likely die. At my back was the center of the forecourt, where the newest magical girl had appeared, right at the base of yet another statue, a large minotaur wielding an axe that was looking out towards the street.

  As for Liche and the final magical girl, both of them were near the entrance to the forecourt, where a set of ramps led to an outer court, around where we fought the horrors from earlier. Not that the statue ever came into the equation before, but now… Each of us were pinched, at best Liche could get away, but there was no cover if she ran, and her opponent could shoot her down. I was sandwiched and Joan was trapped. This might actually be checkmate…

  “After all…” The newest addition to this fight says with a patronizing sigh, even adjusting her cap. “They lack the protection of a uniform, and thus, die… just… like…” I made to move, the tribal girl moved in unison, all the while the speaking magical girl raised her fingers up, as if to snap them.

  At the back, Liche made for the speaking magical girl as well, ignoring the cloaked magical who chased just behind.

  The next few seconds would determine everything… whether we live, or die…

  In a flurry of activity, it all happened so fast. I raised my gun, finger on the trigger. Her hand was raised above her head, the tribal girl was at my side axe in hand, Cobalt had moved to intercept. Liche was coming from the back, her entire left arm covered in a purple-ish black energy, almost like a long-sleeved glove. Just behind her, the cloaked magical girl raised her crossbow to strike…

  The world shook. Each of us stuttered. My finger pulled down, the bullet fired, going wide. Liche tripped, and a bolt soared over where she was, crashing into the stone. The tribal girl went unsteady, only to roll under Cobalt’s wide swing, arriving at my back. Whereas the magical girl at the center of it all turned her head and stared into the distance. Frozen.

  Each of us looked over, the wind began to howl, but not in a natural way. In the distance, a great twister had come into being. Right around where the lower quarter would be, the slums. It became the center of the world as everything gathered toward it, and it alone.

  “Is that one of the four!?” A shout broke through the rising scream of the wind. I felt myself being inexorably pulled forward. Light posts began to sway and groan.

  Then I heard it, a rumbling crackle and crack. The sky, obscured by all the snow drawn in by the wind lit up. The tornado was crackling with energy, snapping and hissing as more and more electricity seemed to gather.

  I could almost hear over it all a loud cackle, a manic laugh that seemed determined to bring the whole world down with it. In the midst of this storm, through all the debris, the constant flashes of lightning, I could just barely see a figure in the distance. Beating against the storm, lightning rippling out from their fingertips.

  Instantly, a face and a name came to mind, slowly converging with the vague shadow of a figure I saw. It had to be éclair. She was literally dueling a twister, a literal force of nature. Though… it didn’t look like she was winning.

  It didn’t help that as the twister grew, so too did its power. I felt it pulling me. Threatening to rip me off my feet. Each and everyone of us had to steady ourselves as the winds screamed out, as the pull grew ever greater. Even Cobalt was no exception as he was pulled towards the great twister.

  Then it happened. Was it a trick of the eye? Something else? Even from here, it was almost too eerie how much I could perceive. The figure, coat wildly flapping in the wind, practically flying as they leapt from debris to debris. Leapt into the sky, raised their hammer. A voice, a cry carried out over the storm. Over the screaming wind. Over the trembling earth.

  A single shout, a single word that pressed out over it all. “POWER!”

  A flash of white blinded me. An instant of nothing but white, and before I could even blink away the tears and refocus my vision, I heard it. The sound of crackling, like the world’s largest batch of popcorn being cooked. A long droning series of cracks and pops that grew and grew, until…

  I barely got a glimpse through blurry tear-stained eyes. A moment where the twister had engorged, as if it had become morbidly obese, having glut itself on who knows what. Then… it exploded upward and outward. A great blast that sent us all onto our backs. Every window crackled, shattered, as the shockwave carried out. My ears rang. Blood trickled down my neck. Everything sounded muffled as I stared in both awe and terror that even broke through the ice.

  The sky above was red with blood. Crimson lines, like a vast spider web covered the central district. Caught in those lines, were countless creatures and beasts, their blood literally dripping down onto the earth below. Here and there, were cocoons, that swayed in the wind, at the very center, standing above it all, was a single figure who bathed in the light, who sat upon the web like it was their domain.

  Far above, blotting out the bloody moon, if only just, was a vast fortress. It hovered above us, a near constant stream of monstrosities flew out, and through holes in the vast net, into the city below. At least, they had… their bodies fell, right into net, being eviscerated and diced, or caught and mangled by the unassuming threads. From above, a near uncountable number of bats fell from the sky, their bodies soaked in blood. They hit the ground with a sickening crack, but still they squirmed, wriggled, many far larger than a bat had any right to be.

  As they righted themselves, they let out horrible screeches and flew back out, hovering just below the web, preparing to feast on whatever was caught in the web or fell through.

  But that wasn’t the end of it. In the commercial district, a large tree was growing, its branches intertwined with the web, countless tendrils and limbs reached for the sky. Grabbing and pulling what prey they could.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Inside the industrial district, a great plume of smoke obscured the skyline. Inside of which, I could see countless motes of flame, gazing out with hungering eyes.

  I couldn’t help but think… What was with this city? Why is it so strange?

  And I wasn’t the only one to voice that.

  “That shouldn’t be possible!” The magical girl at the center of it all spoke out. “How is this city so strong!? They shouldn’t have been able to kill one of the four, not so easily! Not when she had used her strongest magic!”

  I could tell her companions thought the same, and it was then that I saw a chance. I forced myself up, catching the eye of the magical girl. Her eyes widened for an instant, her teeth grit. She raised her hand, while I rushed forward, not having the time to load a new bullet.

  Then I heard it. A crack, a series of rolling snaps. Followed by a series of clangs.

  Her eyes drifted to behind me. My eyes didn’t follow, no, they were stuck on the statue behind her.

  My mind churned. A startling realization hit. I’d been played. That man didn’t need me. Not at all. And just like that, the statue swung its axe down, the blade whistled, the cloaked figure shouted out, but it was far too late, the girl, was cut in half.

  A confused exclamation left her lips as the axe cut through her, as if she couldn’t understand why she seemed to be falling. She hit the ground with a wet thud we could all hear with the storm dead and gone, replaced with a yawning silence. Her eyes fell on her severed half, her mind processed what happened. For a moment, fear took hold, her mouth opened, for what reason, I didn’t know, if only because…

  The statue stepped forward. A bronze hoof smashed down. With it came the sound of shattering glass. So quiet, and yet, so very loud.

  She was dead. Her body crushed under the bronze hoof.

  It was so sudden, so inexplicable that it felt like the world had slowed to a stop. Then came a clang, and it came roaring back, ticking madly away, as if time had no meaning. Flowing like a raging river. I about faced, as hard as I could. The bronze statues lining the entrance took up formation on the stairs, their spears lowered down. They stepped forward in perfect formation, with inexorable force.

  Their spears punched into the monsters, uncaring for my soldiers as the survivors found themselves skewered and brought low, what was left of their frames were crushed under their boot. My knights pulled aside, avoiding their march, and the tribal girl pulled back, even as the beasts went feral.

  My ice-cold mind gave me the clarity to know what to do. Even as I felt the outrage and indignation build in my belly and up my throat. Burning at it like bile. Instead, I swallowed it, and with a bellyful of fire, I surged forward.

  I swung wide at the tribal girl while she retreated, throwing her off balance. Cobalt followed just after with his damaged blade. With nowhere to go, nowhere to escape, she chose to press forward. Her axe came in, hard and fast. Cobalt tried to abort at the last minute as her axe smashed into his sword, and following a loud snap and crack, the top half of Cobalt’s blade went soaring away into the periphery.

  I followed in with my bayonet, I thrust, but she easily blocked. I pivoted and kicked, crashing my foot into her shield, sending her stumbling back. With her pushed back, I had enough space to comfortably pull the trigger sending out another discordant cry out into the world, only to explode out into a thousand different voices as shards of ice sprayed and pushed the girl further back.

  She tried to retreat, but Cobalt pursued and I hung back. I took aim, unloading my rifle into her, trying to get an opening. The two other knights finally broke through the mass of frenzied beasts, both wielding their thrusting blades swung out, not to cut, but bash in coordinated fashion, cutting off her retreat.

  Rapidly, the trio had her hemmed in, even with his blade broken, it was still plenty sharp, and plenty heavy. Taking the chance, I ran forward, slipping in from just behind Cobalt. Cobalt surged, forcing her to take the blow head on with her shield. Pinned, I slipped under Cobalt, bayonet held forward. Seeing me approach from the front, she tried to shift, but the pair of knights came in, their blunt blades cracking into her sides.

  It was enough to throw her off balance, her shield was pulled to the side as Cobalt yanked, my bayonet closed on her exposed stomach. She reeled, or tried to back off, but it was too late. I was too close.

  Right before my bayonet met her belly, it slipped up, sweeping past her chin, and following right behind it, came the butt of my rifle. It cracked into her chin. The blow jerked her head back.

  The feeling was, strange. Like something had absorbed part of the blow. She wildly swung her axe in my direction, but I easily moved around the strike and hit her again with the butt of my rifle, this time in the side of her head.

  Again, something blocked me, but only just, and I felt it crackle under the blow.

  She tried to block my follow-up, to push me back, but a kick to the knee unsteadied her more, even as I felt like I was kicking an iron plate. Granting me a chance to rear back and bash her, right in the nose with the butt of my rifle. Which was just enough to send her to the ground.

  Once down, I kept going, until I felt something give. With a shattering sound, and dissipating light, where a tribal girl had sat, was now, just a normal woman, her age, probably around mine.

  I paused, rifle held upwards, ready to beat her again, she gasped, her chest moving, her nose bloody and smashed. With a heave and cough, she sputtered out blood but otherwise seemed unconscious.

  Glancing back, I could see Liche sporting a new bolt sticking out from her shoulder, but otherwise, no other bodies. And the now mashed body of the other magical girl. All the while, the bronze soldiers were making quick work of the remaining monsters.

  One dead, one incapacitated, and another fled. None of us looked too out of shape, so, that was a win. Only… Now I had to deal with these things.

  All the statues had come to life around the company building. The statues by the door barred the way, their spears lowered and with every step they pressed back the beasts, right into the minotaur with the axe. With every swing, it cleaved through them with ease.

  The minotaur was clear a bronze rank yet… the sheer presence it had made me think that I wouldn’t be a match for it. How much magic had it absorbed, just how strong was it?

  Such questions, went unanswered, if anything, it just put me on greater edge. After all, there was no reason for the head of the company to send me here if he had these things guarding it. Was this just a flex, or was he making a statement? Perhaps both?

  If he hadn’t activated the statues, or if they hadn’t moved, it is highly likely we would have died… and I didn’t like that one bit.

  We moved aside, with Joan still standing by the entrance, her worried gaze on Liche even as she panted and gasped for air. Clearly having overexerted herself, her magic emptied, gone. The bolt was stuck fast in Liche’s shoulder, and I had no desire to open that can of worms. Not without Joan being able to heal it, as for the unconscious magical girl?

  “What are you thinking?” Liche asked, seemingly fine after her ordeal. Though, at a second glance, I could tell she was shaken. She was keeping her eyes off the bolt, and she kept glancing back at the bronze minotaur.

  “I don’t know.” I answer honestly. “Maybe we could recruit her?” I follow up with, and Liche just shrugs, or tries to as the bolt in her shoulder causes her to wince in pain.

  Eventually, the statues clear the area, and the beasts stop appearing. They move to bar the stairs again, and as they take up formation, they open up, giving us a path forward.

  “I suppose we should get some rest. Tonight, should be over.” I say, not quite believing it to be true. Especially as my eyes gaze up to the fortress in the sky, surrounded by flying beasts. Liche doesn’t argue, the pair of us make our way up, captive in tow. My knights follow as well, though, not without a little bit of trouble. As Cobalt approached, the statues shifted, as if ready to strike. Only, after a long look did they go back to staring forward silently.

  Before even reaching the top of the stairs, Joan leapt down to Liche. The pair worked on pulling the bolt up and bandaging it once we were inside. And using what energy she could recover to slowly fix the wound. Inside, the police were at work around the radio, and from the sounds of it, they were getting actual intel back.

  With the storm gone, the interference must have stopped as well. After making sure our spoils were locked in the employee lounge storage room, I went over to the police.

  “How’s it looking?” I asked, their faces were grim.

  “Not good… Command lost contact with all the checkpoints, and worse, they’ve lost contact with the headquarters.”

  “The headquarters? You mean the police station?”

  “Yeah, it should be fine, but command is calling for anyone free to go check it out.” He looked at me when he said that. A look I knew all too well.

  “You’d like to go, is that it?”

  “If possible, yes. Grim can handle herself, but it’s better to be safe.”

  I nod along. “I can agree, but… I already promised her I’d give the place a looksee when it calms down here. It doesn’t help that you all look battered and exhausted.” None of them opened their mouths to argue. They were still shivering, their extremities almost blue. It had been freezing outside, and they still were, to an extent, human.

  Which was an odd thought to have, on reflection…

  Shaking my head, I press on. “So, I’ll see about heading over in a minute, why don’t you too head to the break room and get something warm to drink.”

  They shared a glance before coming to a decision. “Grim sent us, so we’ll trust you.” One says.

  “Don’t let her down.” Another of them says, and with that the group heads over to the break room, leaving me standing by the entrance.

  I sigh and reach for my pouch. It was nearly empty. In the mess earlier, I didn’t have the luxury of pacing my shots. It was rather shocking how quickly I could eat through my supplies. I had a few spare bullets, not including the new ones I haven’t even used yet. They weren’t good for wide open spaces like that.

  As for coinage… Well, the monsters before gave plenty of coins. Not so much the beasts from just now. None of them were even bronze ranked, which seemed a bit odd considering their strength and durability.

  Hopefully, my van parked out front was still in good condition… If not, well, maybe I could borrow a police car?

  With such thoughts in mind, I looked outside…

  But first, a quick bite before I go.