*
Soon after the armies of Traces were released, it took no less than 10 minutes for Ledaine and Yggdrasil's fight to end. Yggdrasil is dead. She dragged Ledaine into the depths of infinity and met her end. They both reached 50% of Eterna's authority, Ledaine need not fear her attacks and let time passed.
Not even the miracle Yggdrasil had caused via rebelling against reality, would persist for long. In the beginning she had been put on a time limit of natural biological decay, she simply met her end via that law of nature. She died of old age as her nemesis endured all her attacks until time was up. She ascended into a higher being, how was she still mortal? She ceased her own life to invade Ledaine's lair via the underworld, giving herself mortality. A short timer before she died, that's a lifespan isn't it?
Human society is in utter chaos. After the missiles dropped and erased 90% of the schools, the scattered vampire Traces became a much larger issue now that the military was gone. It was safe to say that more people died than they survived in the residential zones. Some of the vampire Traces have begun to leak into the commercial zones as they are the next most populated.
A black beam soars into the sky, marking the birth of a new Heavenly King. A Heavenly King is a mighty external force of nature, it is mystic and the supernatural given form. On par with higher beings like great spirits, something Yggdrasil had evolved into. It was all the same, different titles for different species. To Aster Keliuvinia they are all mere steps to climb onto. Having reached this point, she is nearly at the end of the flight.
"... We... We survived..." (Baron)
"T-that's right... We did!" (Ernesti)
Tears well up at the edges, threatening to spill over. The exhaustion takes root all at once and their legs give out. They didn't really understand how all the Traces died at once, but it seemed they were miraculously saved. They were ready to die, to dedicate their lives. Aluemia would go on to save many others, far more than the two of them combined. There was no reason for such an opinion other than 'I was saved'.
"Fufu... Haha!" (Baron)
She hugged her companion with a stream of endless tears. She couldn't help but release all of her despair at once, the terror she felt for her life, the pride that overwhelmed her when she prioritised Aluemia. Ernesti gripped Baron's back tight, unable to stop her own shoulders from shivering.
"Thank god... We didn't die..." (Ernesti)
***
Flying at blinding speeds, the lesser wyvern Traces tear through the clouds. Any living being in its vicinity would immediately have their eardrums burst with the air pressure it's creating, any living thing that is... Except for magical girls.
{Swap}.
With slick black bangs swept to her right, her golden yellow dress glows with a brilliance that strikes against the night. A blob of illuminating yellow clings to the Wyvern's back scales, as observed from a fighter jet's sensors. They are different, these couple of girls were A grade. Unlike the average magical girl, they could take on the wyvern.
Pulling back her fist, she {Swap}s out one of the scales, exposing ashy grey flesh before taking a swing. Her 'ride' shudders from the pain, causing excessive turbulence. It maintains altitude after that initial shudder, attempting to shake Sariel off its back. Over her dress, a metallic black brace squeezes over her skin, securing the gauze sleeve under it. Her corset is a transparent black metallic plate armour, under her velvety silk dress collar is black metallic neck armour. Under her dress it follows the same, black metallic high boots over smooth pale yellow tights.
She hooks her arm into its flesh, making it unable to throw her off as it spun haphazardly and chaotically. It began to pick up altitude, all the while spinning like a drill. She sunk her fingers into its black blooded wound, while gripping that hole in its scales with her other limbs. In the middle of that high pressure high speed environment, she realised the creature wasn't running out of any energy soon. She summoned her magic blade, a one handed double edged sword made of Trace parts she used to acquire in the past.
With a smooth thrust, she causes it stabbing pain. Traces are similar to magical girls in that they are somewhat immortal, constantly regenerating any part of the body if it was injured. This was never going to be enough. With rapid movements, she stabbed it a few more times in the same moment. The Wyvern slows its flight to a crawl due to the searing pain, she picks up her legs and begins dragging her sword through its flesh, drawing it ever closer to the neck. Finally at its collar above the wings, she takes a wide swing and decapitates it.
Using {Swap}, she repositioned to a safer place, watching the Wyvern's corpse drop to the ground in the aftermath. There were definitely other strong magical girls out there, her zone couldn't be the only one where they took down the Wyverns, right?
***(?)
Why couldn't it have been us? That ever glowing sunshine in the horizon... Some other magical girl is having the time of their lives, beating up monsters and saving their family and friends. They radiate with sparkles, nice scents and burning passion, spreading their spirit to all that witness them. They get to be the new sun for this dying world, meanwhile I'm just one of many dregs that will vanish with the old world.
Even if it was to burn brilliantly before my final moments, to die out like the last quiver squeezed out of a sparkler, I wish I was the one to have such an elegant end. An unknown magical girl in who knows where, the vampire is not only sucking out my blood but also my magic. I've already lost feeling in my limbs. It's cold. It's getting colder.
I heard that your life flashes before you as you die, but no such thing is happening. My vision is simply growing dark and showing nothing else. I can't muster a smile, my tears have dried. I'm sorry, mum, dad. I couldn't quit be the magical girl that everyone loves. After all, I'm not chosen.