/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46465390
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Words don't do justice, yet it had been like watching an ant stop a quasar. Did you enjoy the show, Sekai? Meiling's confidence will be through the roof after that one; hopefully she doesn't try such against the real Kazami… At least not with Spellcard rules in place. Anyway.

The copies growing stronger as we defeat more of them is rather concerning, so as the final meteor crashes on earth, I turn to Meiling, the desolate landscape an unrecognizable reflection of Earth. Unbothered by that, I join my hands to create sigils of war, body not burning as much as it did during the casting of the meteors. All around us, a dome of Spartan shields rises, cutting off Sekai's ability to hear my thoughts. It'll probably last ten seconds or so—enough time. “We need to defeat all copies at once; otherwise, we run the risk of getting overwhelmed, which means Sekai will keep healing us and repeating this cycle ad nauseam. We'll also be unable to reach Anon with the kid pestering us…” Meiling recovers her fighting stance, nodding with her eyes narrowed—thinking. That's new.

“I do have something that can take them all out at once, but I'll need them all clumped together and still for at least two seconds. You think you can do that, Lady Patchouli?”

Oh? That almost sounded like a challenge. “Fool, my repertoire stretches far wider than whatever conception you might have of me.” The words just made Meiling grin with determination, cleaning a drop of blood from her forehead.

“Cover me then, Lady Patchouli!”

I think for a moment before reading Meiling's physical and mental state with my eyes and analytical spells. Her patched neck wound hasn’t deteriorated, and her knife wounds should not be hurting from a combination of adrenaline and Ki—maybe one and the same for a martial artist—; She also wears a small smile on her face, and her chest beats rhythmically. Inside, the flow of Ki was renewed, the flame burning bright with Sekai's added power… Yet I doubt that, even without the increased power, she'd be anywhere but here by my side, her fight stance ready and those eyes focused. You're not hearing this right now, Sekai, but I do wonder if that was another part of your abysmal plan to reach your Father. “… A formidable and vital ally.” I mutter, Meiling turning towards me with a frown.

… It takes two full seconds for her to realize the significance of such words and when she does, those emerald eyes grow immensely and I have to promptly turn off the analyzing spells—a necessity considering just how bright her life flow became.

Whatever she was about to say, though, was cut off by the phalanx being forced open by Fakeling's hands—

—only to be met by Meiling's fist, the wave of compressed air shattering the sound barrier and unmaking the remainder of the phalanx. “Lady Patchouli…! I’ll do my best!” I nodded, and it was enough.

I watched then as she willingly plunged between the copies, a ferocious smile taking over her face, Fakeling quick to recover and join the fight. The clash of equals plus Remi and Flan with my copy striking from far away was as if a painting, Meiling turning and punching and kicking, then dodging and counterattacking, attacks coming and going and blurring together against the utterly destroyed background in a show of combative prowess.

Hong Meiling, unchained. A sight to behold…

… But I cannot think. Again, I must act without thinking—now on a greater scale than a mere Lótus.

I’ll need enough firepower to hold in place four copies of Sekai and do so without thinking about the spell for even a second; otherwise, she’ll be able to react to it.

The ultimate test of my magic and just as Meiling faces the fight of her life, this will be mine…

… Ah, this conniving smile taking over my face; this purple hair of mine flowing up as condensed magic starts to spread and undertake transformation, one done blindly, the cogs of the magical world that've been my life twisting and turning, familiar yet so strangely alien without a sense of thought. Even so, multicolored sigils start to form around me as the air warms up, the thick clouds opening once more to bathe the world in the smoldering hues of a fake sun. But, of course, it wouldn't be without intervention, as not even Meiling herself can control the flux of those who decide not to participate in her war.

Sekai’s flamethrower is immediately stopped by one of my own, the Sigils of Baphomet struggling as the flames consumed surrounding oxygen and released unhealthy amounts of carbon. In hellfire, me and my copy locked eyes.

… Hm, weight and height are spot on. Good girl. My copy smiles a little more. “But the imitation ends there, my bratty daughter. If you want to be like the real deal, I'll gladly teach you.” One hand deftly conducts the accumulation of magic to do whatever my subconscious wants to use to restrain the copies, while another enlarges my Sigil of Baphomet.

The cheeky girl she is, Sekai mirrors my actions. I grin, enkindled.