June 2021

  ***

  Sol danced around the Enraged which came for her. She was no longer the scared little girl she was four years ago – now she was wielding her spear with confidence. She knew how to turn it for nonlethal hits with the flat of the blade, and she knew exactly where it would go when she swung it around.

  Most of her acquired knowledge came from training with Bellona Azure, who at this very moment was busy with her own pack of Enraged a few meters away.

  They stepped in to stop an outbreak in the middle of the Shibuya Scramble – it was common for 2000 people to cross the street here at once, which meant that an attack with poisonous needles yielded the most Enraged the city ever saw.

  An Enraged came at Sol and she stepped aside, swinging the spear downwards and stopping at a perfect distance to have its blade eat a mere millimeter into the poison needle stuck in the turned civilian’s hip – then, with a quick twist of the handle, the needle was rapidly pulled out of the man’s flesh, falling to the ground, the same as the person it corrupted mere moments ago.

  “No! No, no!! You’re ruining everything!” a shrill voice could be heard over the chaos of battle. Sol’s head turned to the source, and she saw their nemesis: The Fell Enchantress, standing in the middle of a freshly created pack of Enraged, which acted unusually docile around her.

  Pointy ears, purple skin with black hair and glowing, iris-less red eyes were her striking features, and she looked at the Magical Girls in front of her with scorn.

  “I’m so close to perfecting the formula! I will not have my sister’s minions stop me!”

  The woman from another world grabbed her staff and gestured. Multiple of the Enraged were affected by an involuntary bloodletting – just enough for the Enchantresses’ spell, luckily not enough to kill them.

  The blood gathered and took the shape of multiple swords in the air – they floated, turning their points towards the assembled Magical Girls. Some towards Sol and Bellona, and a few pointed into the sky where Luna and Minerva Crimson provided support. With another gesture from the Enchantress the blades rushed towards the colorful defenders. Sol spun her spear to knock the blades aside without an issue, just like her mentor, Bellona. Due to it being daytime, Luna was limited to defensive spells, which came in handy as she erected barriers around herself and her own mentor, Minerva.

  There was an eerie silence after the blades were deflected.

  I don’t think she’d go to all that trouble just for a few weak projectiles….

  Just as Sol made her observation, the blades rose up from the ground, all pointing towards Sol and rushing her way. She blocked them all, or so she thought, before Bellona rushed to her side.

  “Sol, there’s one in your blind spot!” The blue Magical Girl deflected the red projectile barely, leaving a shallow cut on her cheek.

  “Thank you, Bellona!”

  “Just watch yourself- “

  Bellona’s expression suddenly went blank.

  “Bellona?!”

  Sol wanted to touch her mentor’s shoulder, but she let out a scream as the cut on her cheek opened - the red swords all liquefied and entered Bellona’s body through the wound. The blood vessels all over her skin started to exhibit a purple glow as she was affected by the same poison as the Enraged.

  Her head moved in jittery motions as she focused Sol and tried to thrust her halberd through the younger woman’s chest – Sol could barely block the blow and was propelled backwards a long distance by the sheer power of the blue Magical Girl.

  The Fell Enchantress let out a loud, maniacal laugh and threw her hands in the air.

  “Yes! Yes, finally! The result that I’ve been laboring for all these years! Absolute control, even over people blessed by formidable magic defenses! With this no one will ever doubt my ability to lead our kingdom!”

  After her little outburst she took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh before she coldly spoke her command to her newest soldier:

  “Bellona… kill these other ‘Magical Girls’.”

  Minerva looked on from the sky and gritted her teeth as she saw Bellona pointing her weapon at the younger Magical Girls.

  “Sol! Luna! Leave this to me. I know how to handle her.”

  Bellona seemed to accept that challenge and immediately rushed at Minerva. The Magical Girl in red used her earth magic to create a long, extended handle for her cane sword and started to use it as a spear to keep Bellona at distance – and to even the playing field a little with their weapons of choice.

  “Go for the Enchantress! Everything is under her direct control!” Minerva shouted – before Bellona’s next attack sent her flying into the fa?ade of a nearby building, with the mind-controlled assailant immediately following.

  ***

  “Tch, you dare to even look at me?”

  Sol and Luna followed Minerva’s command, facing the sorceress herself. Of course, she was surrounded by the Enraged, so the two of them had to knock out multiple attackers coming at them before removing the needles, slowly working their way towards their enemy.

  “You are nothing but pawns in our great succession game! You are nothing compared to me! Do you understand?!”

  The two didn’t listen. They may have been regarded as pawns by their patron, but to the people in this world, they were idols. They were Magical Girls. A source of inspiration for every young girl in the world.

  With that determination in their hearts, they advanced towards the Fell Enchantress, letting out war cries. Luna covered Sol’s back, encasing the area with barriers and keeping the Enraged out, thus cutting the sorceress off from her reinforcements.

  Sol readied her spear and could see fear in the eyes of her enemy as she repeatedly thrust it in her direction. The Enchantress deflected her blows with her staff and let out an angry shriek.

  She took a few hops back and drew a dagger – at first Sol thought she’d be foolish enough to try and attack a spear wielding enemy with that small blade, but to her horror the Enchantress cut her own arm.

  Dark blood spilled onto the ground, and with another incantation, more of the blood blades were created.

  “These may not be able to control you… but I’ll just need to cut you to ribbons!” she announced, then half a dozen crimson swords rushed Sol’s way.

  She deflected them by spinning her spear, though one broke through and cut her arm – she grimaced, immediately readying herself for the next onslaught. The Enchantress didn’t give her any breathing room and staggered the attacks of the blades, sending them after her in sequence. Beads of sweat formed on Sol’s forehead as she couldn’t break her focus for even a single moment, lest she would be impaled by the swords.

  “Sol? Sol are you good?”

  Luna had her back to the scene and couldn’t see her predicament as she was focusing on keeping up the barrier.

  “Little… busy!” Sol managed to say through clenched teeth.

  Luna closed her eyes and shifted focus for her barrier magic on only one of her hands. She breathed heavily as she turned around, examining the situation. Then she stretched out her free hand, groaning audibly under the strain of the sustained magic as she caught the next few blades with another barrier. A small trickle of blood came out of her nose.

  “Go get her!” she shouted, then the Enchantress impaled her right shoulder with a crimson blade in retaliation.

  The barriers collapsed and the Enraged broke through, raising their claws to rip Luna to shreds.

  Sol’s hands trembled. Everything around her had come to a standstill at that moment. To her left she saw Luna on the ground, her shoulder pierced by a blade while the Enraged were mere millimeters from tearing through her chest. However, everything stood still: the Enraged, the other blades that were on their way to impale Sol, and the Enchantress herself.

  Finally, a warm fluid ran over Sol’s hands, and she looked up her spear’s shaft, to where her blade was deep in the Enchantresses’ chest, piercing her heart.

  “I... impossib… impossible!” She spat, with blood spewing out of her mouth.

  “You are mere… pawns…”

  All strength left her body, and she slumped over. Only as Sol pulled the spear back the otherworldly woman collapsed on the ground, staining the white stripes of the crossing in an almost black shade of red.

  The red blades fell to the ground and dissolved – as did the one stuck in Luna’s shoulder. The Enraged surrounding them turned back into normal people who grimaced and pulled painful needles from various places on their bodies.

  Luna got up and cleared her throat.

  “Right, listen up everyone: You have just been saved by the Celestial Sisters! But! And that’s a big but! We don’t know if this place is really safe. So, evacuate in an orderly manner, please!”

  She pointed towards the large street to the north.

  “Please, everyone, walk this way and await further instructions from law enforcement! Thank you!”

  The confusion persisted, but slowly the people turned towards the large northern street and shuffled its way.

  Sol walked up next to Luna, pointing at her pierced shoulder.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Hurts like hell! But I’m alive. That was a mighty good thrust, Sol.”

  Her partner turned her way and gave Sol a wink.

  In that moment they saw two familiar figures approaching. Minerva waved towards them excitedly while Bellona held her eyes to the ground – very obviously embarrassed by what happened to her.

  “Woah! Luna, you have a hole!” Minerva exclaimed with a shocked expression, immediately running over to her before casting healing magic. For whatever reason, she had the ability to heal others, but not herself.

  “Sorry.” Mumbled Bellona as she stood next to Sol, who gave her a reassuring smile.

  “No one knew that this was her endgame. And besides, you only got hit because I wasn’t paying attention.”

  Sol patted Bellona’s shoulder, who seemed to feel a little better afterwards.

  “Hahaha, we haven’t had a scuffle like that in a while! Being mind-controlled did not change the least what a brute you are, Bellona.”

  Minerva’s cheerful voice carried over to Sol and her mentor – the latter of which turned red and faced her crimson counterpart. Luna in the meantime was already busy collecting all the needles that were scattered on the street, snapping them in half one by one. Even with the Enchantresses’ magic gone, one could never be too certain.

  “Oh, shut up!” Bellona shouted, still embarrassed – even more so after being called a brute.

  “But that’s part of what I love about you! You’re always quick to rush ahead and defend those you care about!” Minerva added with a challenging smirk.

  Luna and Sol immediately exchanged looks, with shock written across their faces. Any onlooker would probably interpret this as genuine surprise about the sudden confession, but there was something else entirely at play.

  It's happening again. Luna’s eyes seemed to say.

  That accursed ‘L’ word…

  “What did you say?” Bellona was entirely overwhelmed by the sudden confession.

  “You heard right! I love you! Now come here!”

  It was a more sudden and spur of the moment confession than the others, so maybe it won’t count…

  But just as Minerva grabbed the utterly befuddled Bellona’s face by her cheeks and tried to kiss her, the two Magical Girls vanished – rapidly becoming transparent until nothing was left of them.

  ***

  Luna slammed her fist on the ground.

  “Damn it! Is there, like, nothing we can do, Miyu-pyon?!”

  Anger was all she had, making her break kayfabe. This was the third time they witnessed this particular confession. And they were aware of two more that were between Minerva’s mundane form, Seika Hitoishi, and Bellona’s, Miori Takeuchi.

  Every single time love was confessed between the two and they were about to commit to it with a kiss, they would be dragged into the realm of a demon called ‘Lethe’ to have the memory of one of them erased.

  “Which one is due this time?” Sol asked in a tired voice.

  “Seika-paisen.” Luna answered.

  They wanted to interfere, to save their mentors. Even just tell them what was happening. But they themselves were being blackmailed by the demon behind the memory loss, Lethe herself.

  If they interfered in any way, shape, or form, she would end them, was what she said. Neither of them could guess if she was threatening them with death or something worse. So, they played along, befriending their mentors again and again. Trying to find a way out one day. A way to defeat Lethe.

  “Maybe today we’ll finally get help.” Sol said with a hopeful expression, looking to the dead Fell Enchantress.

  “We fulfilled the task we were given four years ago!”

  “Come to think of it, it’s, like, eerily quiet, isn’t it? Shouldn’t everyone come and, like, gawk now that it’s ‘safe’? This is a public place.” Momo suddenly observed, looking around frantically.

  “No one is coming.” An almost impossibly beautiful voice replied.

  Luna and Sol turned around and their eyes went wide as they came face to face with their patron, the High Enchantress.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  ***

  She was of unnatural beauty. Literal golden hair fell over her shoulders with a slight curl to its tips, and her ocean-blue eyes looked like they could pierce one’s soul. The entire crossing was bathed in golden light as the pointy eared, transcendently fair lady walked among them. She had isolated them in a pocket dimension.

  “Enchantress!” Sol shouted, running towards her.

  “You have to help us! Our mentors are being- “

  Sol didn’t get to finish the sentence. As she got too close, she was catapulted backwards by a barrier surrounding the otherworldly woman, who had only one goal. Her eyes were entirely fixated on the dead Fell Enchantress. The two Magical Girls didn’t even seem to exist for her – her previous answer to announce her presence was all the acknowledgment they got.

  “Foolish sister. Do you see now whose idea was the better one?”

  The High Enchantress lifted her right hand and the star- and moon shaped earrings the two Magical Girls were wearing simply ripped themselves off their ears with a pained yelp from them both, floating to the otherworldly woman’s hand and hovering above it.

  “Instead of creating mindless pawns with your needles, it proved to be more efficient to create soldiers who can think.”

  Her head turned towards the Celestial Sisters, who had now transformed back into a pair of gyaru, bleeding from their earlobes.

  “…as rudimentary as their thoughts may be. Converting the energies of the moon and the sun in tandem, using the powers of the dominant force for offense, while the subdued one provides magic support. Soldiers who are ultimately in harmony with the cosmos.”

  She looked back at the dead woman in front of her.

  “With this, I will ascend to the throne and you… shall sink into whatever pathetic afterlife this world offers. You deserve nothing less, sister.”

  Miyu felt rage welling inside her. Hatred for Lethe, and now hatred for the Enchantress, who tossed them aside like used rags after her own goals were achieved, threatened to consume her in this moment as she saw the elven woman leave through a portal, collapsing the pocket dimension.

  As her vision faded into a golden glow it was all she could do to reach for her and shout:

  “I won’t let you get away with this, bitch!”

  September 2024

  ***

  Miyu woke up – her right hand stretched out in front of her. She blinked into the darkness, once, twice, realizing that it was still the middle of the night.

  Did I scream in my sleep?

  Her head turned left. Momo was still asleep like a baby, clinging to Miyu’s left arm. At least she didn’t scream, it would appear.

  Miyu yawned, gently pulling her arm out of Momo’s grip and replacing it with a pillow, which the sleeping girl gladly pulled into a tight embrace.

  Right, today is the day of the concert.

  Miyu got out of bed and held her head, walking into the spacious living room. It was still dark out, meaning she had gotten up way too early.

  Kosuke, her manager, would probably chew her out if he could see her right now. First for not going back to sleep to get a full night’s rest, risking her beautiful skin, and second, for walking in the nude through a fully illuminated room in a glass-walled high rise.

  “Not like anyone could even tell that someone like me would be Sol…” she spoke quietly to herself. She often wondered if she was truly into the gyaru lifestyle, or if she wanted to punish herself for her inability to help the people she cared about, choosing a civilian appearance that would make society look down on her, based on common stereotypes. Even Seika, who she admired so much, backed away from her and tried to avoid her when they got reintroduced again last month.

  Further evidence for herself was that she could always easily stop the slang, while Momo, when she wasn’t focusing hard on portraying Luna, had a much harder time doing so.

  She wore multiple faces. The annoying gyaru for most people, the bored and inattentive idol for Kosuke, and for the fans she was the shining idol and protector of justice. Despite everything, she still upheld that role, so children would have someone to look up to the same way she did to Minerva Crimson and Bellona Azure when she was starting out – even if it was an entirely fake fa?ade.

  Grown-ups on the internet naturally saw through her and did what the internet did best: gossip, spread rumors and slander. Though she couldn’t say they were wrong about everything, either.

  ‘Aren’t they too old? They’re fakers, fooling you all.’

  ‘I bet they sleep with their manager.’

  ‘Their weapons and abilities don’t match anymore, they’re clearly faking.’

  ‘They’re sellouts, plain and simple. Not real Magical Girls.’

  ‘Capitalist leeches, using all the work real Magical Girls do to enrich themselves.’

  ‘They often work with other Magical Girls, but get all the credit from the media.’

  ‘Remember that guy whose leg Sol chopped off when they started out? When I’m in danger, I’m hoping for the Flower Brigade.’

  The droning of the comments continued in her head until she slapped her cheeks with both hands and let out a short scream, as if to rip herself out of her spiraling thoughts.

  Why am I even thinking about this now?

  She held her head as she made her way to the bath. There was a feeling of dread descending on her, and she couldn’t figure out why. It was like a pit in her stomach, but way more intangible.

  ***

  She entered the large shower cabin – the oversized head covered the entire area in warm water drops like tropical rain, or it could be set to a waterfall, to a mist or even a massage mode. Multiple openings in the wall in front of her also sprayed water, so Miyu’s entire body was soon covered in wet warmth.

  With closed eyes she ruminated about their fate after the Enchantress abandoned them while she let the therapeutic heat from above run over her head.

  At first, things seemed utterly hopeless. Without any sort of powers, the two idols could not help their mentors anymore. They couldn’t even save citizens who were put in danger right in front of them. Months passed and ugly rumors spread about them having grown too old for being Magical Girls.

  It was then that their manager, Kosuke, brought them odd golden rings.

  They were charged with magic powers and single spells that could be used a limited number of times.

  Apparently there was a black market for magic artifacts left behind by interdimensional invaders, and their manager risked his freedom and reputation to get them some. They could pretend to still be Magical Girls. They continued to buy more artifacts themselves and one day a marionette approached the two, leading to their current alliance with Madame Bille.

  Miyu’s thoughts were disrupted as she felt two arms wrapped around her from behind, with Momo’s head resting on her shoulder. With a glance to the side, she could see her fellow idol’s drowsy expression.

  “I’m sorry, did I wake you up?” Miyu whispered.

  “Nah. Woke up, like, on my own…” Momo yawned. “What’s gotten ya down, Miyu-pyon, hm?”

  Miyu shook her head. “It’s nothing. I’m just getting the nerves before the concert.”

  “Liar.” Momo looked at her directly and poked her cheek with a finger.

  “…tch. Nothing gets past you, hm? Alright, I have a weird feeling about today. Even had a dream remembering how we lost our powers.”

  She kept the fact that she was spiraling into self-loathing to herself.

  “Ya too, hm?” Momo looked at her with a ponderous expression.

  “Well. Nothing we can, like, do about it. So why not relax until the concert?”

  Something soft pushed against Miyu’s back. Two of those things, in fact. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

  Her and Momo were… lovers would be the wrong word. The two of them banned the l-word from their vocabulary a few years ago, owing to the damage it wrought when their mentors used it.

  Roommates who drowned their sorrows with occasional sex would be the most accurate description. Though there were hints towards more – like Miyu’s twinge of jealousy when Momo got all clingy with Seika. Miyu, however, simply opted to ignore them.

  She let out a sharp gasp as she felt a pinching pain on her shoulder – where Momo just bit her. The light pain quickly turned into excitement, but Miyu still found a way to complain about it.

  “Are you stupid?! We have a show today. Don’t leave marks on my skin!”

  “Sorry, got carried away. It’s still dark out, so I’m, like, the ‘attacker’ right now…”

  Miyu threw Momo an annoyed look, but as soon as another source of blissful pain was added with her roommate pulling her hair, followed by kisses on her neck she became more pliable. As the fellow idol reached for the docked showerhead in front of them, she braced herself against the shower wall and let Momo do as she pleased.

  “You two look like shit. I thought I told you to rest up.” Kosuke sighed, looking at the two tired idols as he met them in their residence tower’s underground parking space.

  “Charming as ever.” Miyu yawned towards their manager as she climbed into the van with tinted windows. They’d change into their idol/Magical Girl getups at the concert venue, and it would be a problem if someone saw two gyaru inside a van entering the backstage area.

  The car was roomy and had a few essentials ready for them – like moisturizer for their tired eyes, as Kosuke knew their habits by now. It was rare for them to actually get enough sleep before a concert and he dealt with it accordingly. Miyu didn’t know if he already pieced together their relationship or if he thought that the nerves were getting to them – he never seemed too bothered beyond a snide comment, as long as they delivered their performance. His version of tough love, Miyu was certain. As they both were seated, Kosuke placed himself on the driver’s seat and drove them towards the Tokyo Dome.

  Miyu fiddled with something in her pocket. An envelope. Two, actually. The outer one addressed to Kosuke contained instructions and another envelope inside for another recipient, meant for him to find and deliver.

  “Hey, manager?” Miyu tapped on his shoulder as they drove along one of the expressways, past the imperial palace towards Tokyo Dome to the north.

  “Hm? I’m driving. Don’t bother me.”

  “Can you keep something for me until after the concert?”

  “Sure. Put it in my pocket if you have to. If it fits, that is.”

  Miyu did just that and stuffed the envelope into his suit’s right pocket. She hoped he wouldn’t have to open it.

  ***

  As she expected, she had a faint bite mark on her right shoulder. Hickeys on her neck, too. Miyu tossed Momo a venomous glance in the dressing room, while the latter looked away, whistling innocently.

  “One of these days I’m going to put you on the spot like that.”

  “Pfft! Ya can, like, try, Miyu-pyon!”

  Miyu sighed and grabbed foundation, applying it to her neck and shoulder area.

  “Seriously, when we have a show, you need to learn to restrain yourself. Scratch me, bite me, whatever. But do it where clothes will cover me.”

  “Ya weren’t complaining earlier.” Momo grinned again, and Miyu decided that arguing with her about it now would get her nowhere.

  Applying their make-up and their costumes was learned routine for the two. Until they lost their powers they could simply transform, but now they wore fake outfits that looked convincingly like the magical armor they used to possess. Miyu could see Momo do her mental exercises to get herself into the role of ‘Luna’ while she herself slipped on her ‘mask’.

  She was Sol of the Celestial Sisters, here to bring happiness to the fans in the Dome and to children all over the world.

  ***

  The two were waiting for their cue by the edge of the stage, peeking outside. The place was packed. Fifty-five thousand people, all of them came here for the two idols specifically. Even after five years of this, Miyu still wasn’t used to it.

  Kosuke checked his watch next to the two.

  “Alright. One minute.”

  They stood ready in deafening silence for half a minute.

  “About that letter…” Kosuke started, and Miyu shook her head.

  “Don’t think about it. Give it back after the concert is over.”

  Kosuke stared at her for a while before looking back at his watch.

  “In ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one… go, go! Mesmerize them, girls!”

  Miyu grabbed Momo’s hand, and they went out as the Celestial Sisters.

  Raising both their hands, Sol and Luna waved in every direction.

  Fifty-five thousand eyes were on the duo, plus whoever watched at home. Miyu could taste iron as she imagined every single one of them judging the pair. Thousands of people were typing comments about them at this very moment. Sellouts. Sluts. Fakers. How dare they show their faces? While they dance and perform, people could get hurt.

  Miyu was ripped out of her spiraling thoughts as she felt Momo squeeze her hand. She shot her a short glance.

  So she noticed, after all.

  “Is everyone ready?!” Momo shouted cheerfully towards the crowd, helping Miyu to switch into idol mode herself.

  A resounding yes came from the seats.

  “Let’s open with one of our classics: Magical Beam Heart!”

  Loud music filled the hall and the two began to dance. Carefully choreographed routines were performed to perfection. Light sticks were ignited in the crowd and shook to the beat.

  An instrumental interlude started to play, and the two idols started their crowd interaction routine.

  “Come on! When I say ‘Sol’, the entire left half of the arena shouts it with me!”

  “And when I say ‘Luna’, the right half does it with me!”

  “Luna!”

  “Sol!”

  “Luna”

  “Sol!”

  “Luna!”

  “Sol!”

  “Lethe.”

  Miyu turned around as she heard that hated name uttered behind her.

  She stood in a vast field of lilies, all of them playing various moments in other people’s lives, like a miniature screen.

  She had never been to this place before, yet she immediately knew what it meant for her to be here. She looked around, finding Momo right next to her.

  Momo was crying – unlike her partner she hadn’t made her peace with this possibility yet, so she clung to Miyu for comfort the moment she spotted her.

  Miyu pulled her into an embrace – looking around until she saw the sickly green woman who had called them here, who approached from a nearby hill. The lilies looked like they were moving – parting, to not get trampled as their mistress walked across the dense field.

  “Oh dear… sorry to pull you out of such a memorable performance… but I saw you do… exactly what I told you not to do.”

  Lethe looked at them like a mother scolding naughty children, though Miyu was acutely aware that this was just part of her cruel games.

  “I think I told you exactly what I would do if you interfered. And you… oh, you conspired with the grave keeper. I am… beside myself with anger.”

  The calm way in which Lethe delivered those words betrayed her sadism.

  Momo clung closer to Miyu, now openly sobbing - Miyu had to be the strong one between them right now. She shifted her position, shielding Momo with her own body as she faced Lethe.

  “It’s because your sick games with Paisen have gone too far. Just leave the two of them alone!”

  “Oh, no can do, ‘Miyu-pyon’.” Lethe imitated Momo in a mocking tone.

  “They are mine. Their memories, their sorrows… it’s all there to feed me. Until I’m satisfied and they can be discarded.”

  Miyu hid a hand behind her back, slipping it into a little bag she held under the frills of her idol outfit.

  She could feel Momo’s nails digging into the skin of her arms as the girl clung on for dear life. Her voice was shaky as she finally spoke.

  “Miyu-pyon… she’s going to kill us. I know that we promised to never use that word, but I don’t want to die without telling you, so… I l- “

  Miyu turned around and put a finger on Momo’s lips as Lethe stepped closer, in no hurry at all to reach them. They were flies in her spiderweb.

  “I want to hear it from you when you’re not fearing for your life. Which is why…” She put her right hand on Momo’s shoulder as a portal opened behind her. A brilliant gemstone shone embedded in a golden ring on Miyu’s right index finger. “…I’m going to do this alone to protect you.”

  She saw Momo’s eyes widen. Miyu simply shoved her through the portal before the woman could voice any objections, and before Momo could get back on her feet to storm back out, the portal rapidly closed and the ring on Miyu’s finger turned black, crumbling into ashes after its energies were drained.

  Not fair, Momo. To give me something to fight for when I’ve accepted death.

  ***

  “Ah… I was wondering why you seemed so… composed.” Lethe stopped behind Miyu, gesturing to her sides to make vines grow out of the ground.

  “Think it over once more: your trinkets have only limited magic power, and you’re in my world. Defiance will only get you hurt.”

  Her expression was a mocking smile, yet she couldn’t quite hide her rage at one of her victims escaping her grasp – the sky of her domain darkened behind her, bound to her mental state.

  Miyu turned around, laughing with a bitter smile.

  “I know. I’m foolish. Illogical, even. But I’ve decided there are things I simply cannot do.” She grabbed into the magical bag, putting ten rings on her fingers before pulling out a long handle – as she held it by her side, she activated it. Two golden beams shot out of the ends – one forming a long haft, the other ending in a spear tip. Miyu tested the weapon’s weight and balance, spinning it around her body. It was the best-balanced spear she ever held in her entire life – and in her heart she knew that Madame Bille sold her a copy of Gungnir itself.

  I couldn’t ask for a better weapon to face my demise with.

  “Such as?” Lethe hissed, her body hunched over, as if ready to lunge at Miyu to rip out her throat with her teeth.

  Miyu smiled and closed her eyes. For the first time in years, the angry comments from otaku on the internet vanished from her mind. Instead, her thoughts went to the little girls she saved. The ones she entertained. The ones she inspired and who sent her mail.

  It was Sol who opened her eyes again.

  “I decided that I can’t just roll over and let you have your way. That’s not how a proper Magical Girl should act.”

  Sol jumped towards Lethe to defy her to the end.

  ***

  Vines shot her way, and Sol slashed them with the tip of her spear – she was scratched by a thorn that slid dangerously close to her face before it was severed.

  Not good. I still know how to wield a spear, but my reflexes are human.

  The next vines that shot her way were incinerated by a blast of fire from one of her rings, which lost some of its shine as it emptied its magic energy into the attack. She counterattacked, getting the tip of her spear into one of Lethe’s eyes. The woman screamed – in pain, but more than that she was furious at the magic one of Sol’s rings emitted. She couldn’t teleport and vanish in a twister of leaves like she liked to do in her own domain as long as that spell bound her.

  A concentrated mass of vines shot out of the ground, attempting to squish Sol between them, but another one of her rings flared up, allowing her to jump high into the air and dodge the attack.

  Sol spun in the air and used the next ring – summoning a magic circle behind her against which she could brace herself and finally shoot herself off of, running Lethe through with a scream while braking her fall with another stored spell before she summoned a sword made out of magic, ramming it through Lethe’s neck.

  The plant-like woman collapsed on the magic spear, but as Sol yanked it out of her heavy form, Lethe stood behind her in a new body and slashed her across the face with her sharp nails. A ring activated to protect her, but only prevented lethal damage. The idol’s beautiful visage now bore a cut across her nose.

  Yet she didn’t care; With a war cry she slashed and stabbed at the terror who haunted her and those she loved for seven years.

  Ah, how I missed this feeling…

  She danced with her deadly opponent, repeating the steps which Bellona taught her.

  I am a Magical Girl… I don’t need her stupid earring to be one!

  Vines were cut and incinerated by borrowed magic, and Lethe died three more times. Despite her hopeless situation there was no more despair in Sol’s heart.

  I am Sol, of the Celestial Sisters!

  A smooth vine hit her across the stomach and threw her away from the demon. She rolled down the meadow for a while before coming to a stop, coughing and fighting back the urge to throw up as she rolled on her back and looked into the light of a cloudless, blue sky, which indicated that Lethe was calm – sure of her victory. The thought annoyed Sol.

  Come on. Stand up. You already made it this far.

  She shakily pushed herself to her feet as Lethe stepped closer, slowly, taking her time, like she was playing with her prey.

  You can’t allow yourself to look like a loser. Both for Momo and the kids at home.

  She suppressed the pain that threatened to have her collapse on her knees again and met Lethe with a smile.

  One more time. I’ll hit her with everything I got. As a Magical Girl.

  Spear at the ready, Sol charged at the devil and defied fate.

  Even without her powers, only supported by magic artifacts.

  Even as her spear broke and she resorted to her fists.

  Even as she was restrained by vines and met Lethe’s rage with a defiant grin.

  Even as Lethe tore memory after memory out of her until there was nothing left.

  She was a true Magical Girl.

  Until the very end.