Chapter 8: V1C8 – The Princess Meets An Idol

Since then, a few months had passed.

---

A conversation passes by in a local refuge facility...

"Have you heard? There seems to be a new [Magical Girl] in Tokyo. They say she's killed hundreds of [Curses] already."

"Really? What's her name?"

"Her name is Aki. They call her the [Ethereal Princess of Darkness Aki] for her stunning looks; her eyes and hair are beautifully dark like a princess of the night. She's now considered one of the big names in Tokyo along with the others. Apparently, she's been killing [Curses] nonstop throughout a ton of wards."

"Woah, that's some dedication. What division is she a part of?"

"That's the weird thing, it doesn't seem like she's affiliated with any organizations or the federal [Magical Girl Defense Unit]. In other words, she's a total mystery. No one knows where she came from or why she's so powerful."

"What's her ability? Her weapon?"

"She uses a cutlass, a type of sword that's short and curled. It's convenient because it's easy to use. They say they were often used by sailors and pirates. Her ability isn't known for sure. But, it's probably some kind of fire or lightning manipulation because there's footage showing her defeating [Curses] using strange dark flames and shocks."

"Well, having another talented [Magical Girl] helps. The situation is dire after all. I just think that there are a lot more places in need of assistance than just Tokyo." 

"Well, we're not the ones on the front lines so we can only hope for the best. The [Magical Girls] are our only hope after all."

---

Back to the story...

"It seems that you've made quite the name for yourself, [Ethereal Princess of Darkness]."

"Don't call me that! Who even made up such an embarrassing nickname!?"

I clear my throat.

"Well, it's true that I've made a name for myself. I've cleared out Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Nakano..."

"Your making full use of your [Mana Drain] after all. Of course, your accomplishments would snowball like this. You've gotten over the initial hurdle."

That's right. Before, even a single [Curse] was hard to handle. But now, I can take on dozens at a time. It's not just pure strength, it's technique. But, it is mostly just pure strength due to my [Mana Drain] directly affecting my physical enhancements. I can outspeed and out strength most common [Curses].

"There's a cluster of [Curses] about a kilometer away."

"Then, let's go."

I immediately push mana throughout my system and brace myself for a rapid acceleration forward. My physical enhancements can take me to the speed of a racecar in an instant. It's easy to explain how I've been getting around the city if you notice how fast I can run.

We arrive at the scene,

"It's a few bear [Curses] and lion [Curses]."

Not a problem. I try to get the jump on them with a leap as I slash downwards--

[Weapon Manifestation Formation/Strengthening - <Realizer>]
[Physical Enhancement Formation - <Arms>]
[Realizer Form - <Dark Flame Vortex>]

The surroundings are engulfed in dark yet bright crackling flames as the slash connects and spreads around. 

"GWWWAARGGGH!!!"

The [Curse] takes pain to the back as it screams from my newly developed move, <Vortex>. It's the same concept as my <Enhancement> where I coat the blade and infuse it with some type of image fueled by mana. But, it's a much more violent version where I don't cleanly imbue it but saturate it: a method I came up with due to a gained mana amount that over exceeds my control. The more [Curses] I kill, the more my mana amount grows. But, I need to carefully train my mana control to level it up. So, naturally, I'm left with more resources than I can handle thus creating a technique where I just throw raw magic power at them. The more control I gain though, the more I can utilize this power to cause even more damage due to less loss from mana inefficiency.

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"To add on top of that...!"

[Core Grenade: Dark Flame+Electricity]

I invented another extension of [Core Grenades]. If I inject attributed mana of different images, they could amplify each other and become stronger in the right ratios. I've been testing out all kinds of percent distributions and combinations. Some that work well are Electricity+Water, Water+Earth, Air+Fire, etc. Some that don't work well are Fire+Water, Electricity+Earth, Dark+Light, etc. It's like P*kemon type advantages. Note that all of these are attached to the natural will of [Curses] (darkness). This means that I can't produce normal fresh water, it always comes out muddy; this means I can't produce normal colored electricity, it always comes out black and twisted. I can probably infuse my <Enhancement> or <Vortex> skills with multiple elements but I don't have the control for that yet. 

"GRRRAAUU!!!"

The lions seem to enjoy that. I wrap around in a crash of speed and hook one of the [Curse]'s heads off with a spin. As the body poofed away, I continued the rush. 

[Realizer Form - <Black Lightning Vortex>]

Though the electricity, lightning, and thunder mental images produce similar effects, it's all up to me on what is the easiest to bring into real life. With this strike, a [Curse]'s face is completely torn off by a terrifying electric force. As the [Curse] melted away, I took a breath in and shifted my focus to the remaining three: one was wounded the other two aren't. It looks like I should use this--!

[Weapon Manifestation Formation/Strengthening - <Realizer>] x2

What's to say that I can't use the formula multiple times? It just taxes my mana that I have an abundance of. As long as they stay connected to my body which acts as a magic conductor, they will retain their form.

"I'm quite unaccustomed to dual-wielding though..."

But, it's not like I was going to earnestly fight with two swords, to begin with.

[Realizer Form - <Black Lightning Vortex>]

I ensnare the newly created sword with a swirling mass of black lightning that looks about ready to explode. Then, I throw the sword as hard as I could at the wounded beast. As long as I inject mana into the sword to keep its shape by the formula, it can last for a short while outside of my body like when I throw it. It will maintain itself until the environment brings it back to magic equilibrium and if I retrieved it again, the form would be kept automatically. I can also call back [Realizer] with my mind and it will come flying back to me as long as it maintains its shape with mana for an amount of time. This is something normal [Magical Girls] probably don't have the capacity to do. Yet, it's still a feature included in the formation...

"That's another one down."

Just the last two--! I prepare my stance again but...

"Wha--!?"

[Void Point]

My prey was suddenly stolen. She had silently snuck up behind the two large [Curses] and speedily tore out their vitals as if there was no resistance at all. It didn't even matter where their [Cores] was, the damage done to the areas that took a lot to generate was so great that their forms couldn't be maintained anymore. That speed, that razor-sharp lance--this [Magical Girl] isn't just some nobody. I've run into [Magical Girls] before, not that I've had a reason to interact with them. But, this one is different. She's leagues above the rest. One of Tokyo's big names, she has to be--

"That sure was impressive of you. As expected of the one they call [Ethereal Princess of Darkness Aki]"

"!?"

Her blindingly attractive voice reverberated throughout me. I got a chill down my spine, not from fear--it was an inexplicable emotion...

"You are..."

She posed with a peace sign.

"Hi~I believe this is our first meeting. I'm the world's greatest idol [Magical Girl], Nakano Ai!"

---

Nakano Ai. I doubt there was any young person in my generation that didn't know that name. She's a genius, a prodigy. She's a successful model, actress, utaite, and--idol among her many other jobs. Before [First Contact], she was the absolute center of a popular idol group called [CLIP]. When she showed up at any venue, the atmosphere of the show would be turned on its head. She lived in a different world from us.

Then, [First Contact]. [CLIP] paused activity in the meantime but Ai still wanted her voice to reach the people. So, she continued singing in the darkness when everyone had forsaken hope. She became a direct object of that hope: a [Magical Girl]. Her popularity didn't die down with the [Curses] invading, in fact, it might've increased because of it. She was an idol fighting on the front lines, an absolute symbol.

I've listened to quite a few of her songs; I can see the appeal though I'm not a super hardcore fan. But, right now, I'm in a state that any fan would find envious. The real Nakano Ai is in front of me. I suppress my emotions while I wonder what she wants.

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