*
"Well done. You've exceeded the other magical girls of this era. The Observer was a weakling, despite hiding in another dimension it could only thwart a large team of C grades.
The Calamity pushed the garden into collapse further, denying causality and reaping a full city of bodies. The sentinels would corner it if they weren't sparsely spread across the whole garden.
Now, there's... Him. Yes, Him. I shouldn't make any mentions, information is power after all. How was it, tasting his power? It's been wonderfully spread across the entire garden. " (?)
A deep far reaching voice echoed from behind the door, sending an ominous chill down their spines. An awful premonition lay laced in every word, recounting the toughest battles of their lives like a mere fairy tale, that had passively detached from their own experiences. Yes, as if it was all someone else's problem, sparking infuriating with the calmest tongue. An unknown allure resided in its voice, singing an air of mystery and unidentified danger.
Her nerves are taut and her patience would be thin if she weren't an artificial sentience. Arin points her great sword at the door. Her eyes could be seen glowing with a firm vibrant red, blinking once, they were back to an ink black once more. As if all of it was a hoax. There was something to its voice... No, to its words, that baked a deeply unsettling premonition in her heart.
"... Spread across... Don't tell we're not the only ones you've attacked!" (Yggdrasil)
"... That's right. You... Are an anomaly. Something that doesn't belong in this era, mayhaps this garden itself too.
You-" (?)
*Pshhhzzzp! *
When Sariel had come to, she noticed the entirety of the door was gone. She had been lost... In the fear incited by that very voice. Likely a lowly level psychological magic that got ignored by Lastia. There was a blackish red blade embedded in an unknown mass of flesh, death was all that appearance spoke out to her. Something died, and Yggdrasil killed it. She was conscious during that whole conversation, but that surprise attack still made her feel like she woke up.
"What was that..." (Sariel)
Black fragments began to float into the air, the fleshy mass decomposing before their very eyes. Vanishing promptly as if the great sword had been launched at nothing and merely assaulted the surrounding environment out of grief.
"Information control. We've been had. They attacked every school over the earth and planted terminals on the entrances of rooftops...
That... Was just their radio. Let's go and evacuate with the others. There's nothing left to be done... Both the artillery and the radio units are autonomous. As far as I know, it might have been prerecorded... " (Yggdrasil)
" This is absurd... The government will be forced to address this. No doubt, that radio... It's a broadcast. They might have publicised the existence of magical girls and forced us out of hiding. " (Arin)
" Is that... To pin the blame of the artillery attacks on us...? How... How did they conceive something so cruel... " (Sariel)
Using {Swap}, Sariel brought them to a nearby location. There were numerous others who ran straight into the residential areas, seeing that the shells only aimed at the school building. The red light... When Yggdrasil extended her sword to intercept the shells, it wouldn't be a surprise if many people saw the light of the sword grow in the sky. Taking out her key, she opened the door to her own home. They undid their transformations right away and hid in Lastia's home. Her curtains were naturally left closed all the time, barring any light from seeping through into the crevices of her rooms.
Her home was the closest to the school, if their identities were questioned they would explain that they ran here instead of the air raid shelters. Time wise, it shouldn't be too suspicious, considering they did stay back in the classroom a little. They breathed sighs of relief as they layed down on the long couch in the living room. The homes here were identical in how much area they occupied, though some families did expand vertically and had multiple floors. It was justified to the government that there were many occupants, so the renovations were indeed subsidised heavily. It was why Sariel could have her bedroom on the second floor.
Even so, homes in this era couldn't be classified as humble in any meaning. The living room was spacious even if the air was stale from the lack of ventilation. The lights were off, and only the faint breathing of her comrades could be heard. It was dark, but not impossible to navigate. Yggdrasil was used to it, she wasn't sure about her friends but she didn't see much sunlight, giving Lastia's body a paler complexion than average.
She adjusted her seating, observing her friends in the dim lighting-, or lack of lighting. Arin was sprawled over the side of the couch, her face smushed into the cushion. Sariel laid her back into the bedding, her eyes gazed blankly at the ceiling.
"... I'm trying really hard here, but these guys are crazy..." (Yggdrasil)
"... I should have known... Well, at least they don't know the specifics of our identities...
Their attacks were indiscriminate, they've been doing guesswork too so they don't have everything they need yet..." (Arin)
" Are... Are they just after our lives? I think a C grade magical girl can repel the artillery for each residential zone, but... Why do so much?
If they had this much power, they could have wiped out humanity... " (Sariel)
Sitting up a little, Yggdrasil touched her fingers together as she thought it through. It felt like the answer was on the verge of her tongue, but there was just no telling what the opponent wanted. Their numbers are unknown, their level of technology was high and ready to crush them. Their preparations were also too thorough. They had artillery set up in every residential zone, specifically to draw out magical girls. It might seem cowardly, but just for that fact she thought it was best to go into hiding and observe the situation.
"They have to watch out for the sentinels. They wanted to cripple any unexpected factors first, because skills are dangerous... Having the military might to back it up is crazy though..." (Yggdrasil)
"Haa~ I'm tired~" (Arin)
Her groan permeates into the room, meeting unanimous agreement.