A Star Rising from the Abyss (Part 1)
"That's far enough, Side."
A voice laced with static poured from the speakers. To rein in the mafia game that had veered wildly off the rails, the host himself had intervened directly.
"We won't let you take down Yumina."
It was a threat directed at Side, who seemed to steel herself with some resolve. The slaves moved in unison, blocking the path between the mafia and citizens locked in their brawls.
"Using them like slaves...!"
Side's face twisted in deep discomfort. The more she scanned the dolls with her starry eyes, the darker her expression grew.
"As expected... the one who's gone astray is you, magic girl. I'm the law-abiding citizen."
There was satisfaction in strictly following the rules every single day. Laughter bubbled up at the sight of the slaves hanging like a fence.
With this many... even a magic girl should be... easy to handle!
No matter how the fish danced beneath the surface, a net would scoop them all up. My excitement built at the thought of the slaves grabbing her body and delivering heavy blows with their blackened arms.
"Hoo..."
Cornered by the unfavorable odds, the star embedded in her chest began to glow.
No way, transforming again?
A magic girl's power was unpredictable.
"I'll end this here."
Shring—
In an instant, a scythe brimming with chilling light materialized in her hand. True to the rumors, Side's scythe as a magic girl was enormous, too heavy for one hand.
Pulling out her weapon too... she must be really cornered...
The already formidable power in her bare fists now amplified by the weapon radiated overwhelming pressure.
-"Take out that magic girl, slaves!"
-……
At the command, the slaves drew their equipped batons and armed themselves.
Bzzt—
The rods surging with massive currents sparked violently.
Subduing her with those? If she recovers quickly... maybe better to restrain her.
I watched the fight unfold from the mouth of the alleyway I'd just entered.
Whoosh!
The moment the order to subdue was given, one slave charged ahead, swinging the high-voltage rod that could incinerate even itself.
Side dodged fluidly, as if facing a mere fist. Even with the tool in hand, her movements were perfectly natural.
Clang!
When evasion wasn't possible against the onslaught, she parried the baton with the long handle of her scythe. More precise than punches or kicks—a skill befitting the name Side.
Thud-thud-thud—
The fearless slaves pressed on relentlessly, swinging their weapons with the sole intent to land a hit.
Side spun her body with whoosh-whoosh motions, deflecting the attacks.
Thud-thud-thud!
But she couldn't shake off every slave swarming like moths to a flame.
"...I didn't want to use this on you."
Unlike how she'd mercilessly pummeled me, she seemed almost fond of them.
"Spectrum."
Flash—
Her icy scythe emitted a burst of light. Her movements stretched out slowly, as if time itself had twisted.
Shh—
Several Sides split apart and scattered.
-…?
The slaves fell into chaos as their target multiplied in an instant.
Whoosh—!
One swung its baton at the nearest figure. But the strike passed through empty air, missing any substance.
Even illusions from light...
Her light-derived powers branched into countless abilities, wielded with magical mastery.
The slaves wasted time chasing after slippery eels, one by one.
Stab!
-…!
In the midst of the confusion, an attack pierced a slave's chest precisely through a gap.
Thud...
The lifeless doll collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
"Rest..."
Side swallowed her grief and bitterness, praying for its peace. She squeezed her eyes shut, as if there were no other way.
Heart pierced by the scythe...
Unlike Asmodeus, which let the eliminated breathe on, Side granted true death. The scattered ashes, that chilling aura from the coffins—it set every nerve on edge.
Whoosh—
Regardless of their comrade's demise, the slaves kept swinging at Side's afterimages.
"How long are you idiots going to take to catch her!"
I yelled at the dim-witted dolls.
I can't die like that guy... not after coming this far.
Thinking of my sister, whose heart was chained to mine like a lifeline, black liquid dripped like cold sweat.
The roaring river from the funeral echoed in my ears. I hurled the black liquid pooled in my fist.
It connected to the slaves' backs as black chains. The tangled strands resembled the dolls' own strings.
"Surround her now!"
I imprinted the command into their hollow, empty eyes.
Making themselves part of the web, the slaves passed through the afterimages one by one.
Touch this liquid, and you'll be bound by chains.
The connected chains clung to anything with will. Those pierced by the liquid were mere fakes.
The spread nets gradually tightened the encirclement.
"Her clones max out at fifteen, right? She can't make more."
Just as my body grew heavier with each drop of liquid, Side couldn't multiply indefinitely.
"Not even a day has passed... your growth and adaptation are terrifyingly fast."
Realizing her illusions wouldn't fool the web of power, Side began recalling her afterimages one by one.
Only five left now...
I was the net-weaver barely holding on against a scythe-wielding fish, but with the slaves out front, it progressed smoothly.
Cornered, all Side can do is slash at anything approaching—
Splash—
In that moment of facing forward, someone stepped on the scattered chains on the floor. Right beside me. Close enough that the scythe could reach my heart in a breath.
Right next to me?!
Instinctively, I raised my blackened arm.
Clang—!
The clash rang out like striking steel.
"You can even hide your body...! Is this what a magic girl calls fair play?!"
Side had used her light manipulation to erase her form and ambush me. I clicked my tongue at the endless deceptions.
"Nothing compared to you. All you do is use and control others!"
Kak—kak—!
The bluish scythe was shaving away at my arm.
"Kuh...!"
I recalled even the web, wrapping it around my arm to halt the severing.
Ching—!
With desperate effort, I countered the killing blow aimed at my neck. Without constant wrapping, my arm would've been lopped off entirely.
"Getting tougher by the second... no, it's becoming unseverable."
The chains, once easily sliced by her handblade, now clung tenaciously—Side's face darkened.
"I'm... different from you... You had the luxury for childish magic girl games, so you can't beat me. You shouldn't beat me..."
What surpassed Side was merely the harshness of my path. That's why I wrapped more chains. Enough to puddle at my feet. Denser still.
"I'll win... it's the only way we survive."
The puddle rose, engulfing my body. Having descended to the abyss's depths, I submerged into the black waves.
"No, that's far enough."
Another interloper arrived through the passage the slaves had crawled from. This time, a man's voice—one familiar to me: the host.
-"You're here, half-cripple!"
This host, too, rejoiced at his colleague's arrival.
"Impossible... I thought I took you out for sure..."
Even Side seemed to recognize him.
"Heh heh, perfect... time to catch a magic girl?"
As my body blackened completely, I flashed a sinister grin. Catching the glowing rat and winning the game—whatever it took.
"No, Yumina, escape through that passage."
"...What?"
The half-cyborg man pointed not at Side, but at the glowing passage.
"I want to kill that damn bitch right now more than anything. But your survival comes first."
His red-glowing eyes fixed straight on me. I cooled my boiling rage.
"...Escape?"
Never in my life had I chosen flight. There'd never even been that option.
Escape now? When true victory is within reach?!
With the game's win and my sister's life on the line, nothing was more despairing than that light-seeping exit.
My body was too heavy to lift even one submerged leg.
"I can still fight...!"
I trembled, desperate to escape this suffocating helplessness.
"Tch, you never listen. In your current state, you'll die. Faster than your heart-linked sister!"
"What?"
The man thrust his steel-clad fist as if to shatter my stubbornness.
Clang—!
Metal clashed behind me.
"Hiding and ambushing... your tactics haven't changed, you bitch."
The man spat his hatred into empty air.
"Your evil persists. To think you'd covet the power of the stars. I should've finished you properly back then..."
Light rippled, revealing Side in her grand scythe and ornate garb.
"Thanks to that damn scythe of yours, I gained new power. Been waiting for revenge on you."
His augmented eyes gleamed, his metal arm moving fluidly like flesh. Half-machine, he vented his fury through his body.
"Useless things, hurry and retrieve Yumina."
-……
He sent the slaves—useless in combat—toward me.
The ones who'd been fighting sheathed their batons and approached.
"I can't let it end like this..."
The puddle at my feet churned in response to my will.
Splash—!
-…?!
Chains erupted from the black liquid, ensnaring the slaves. They thrashed like insects caught in a spiderweb—tough enough to trouble even Side.
"See... I can fight... and I know how not to die!"
I wrapped my entire body in chains. Densely enough to thwart the scythe at vital points. Blinding eyes to deceitful light. Sealing ears against mind-shaking words.
Thus, I erased everything that could harm me in this world.
"Then all that's left for you is despair."
"Des... pair...? Ah..."
She tried to retort, but the chains already choked her breath, silencing her.