/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46333435
—
Naturally, you rarely get a response when you speak to the skies.

“Hm, a child will be a child, no matter what.” Patchy looks at the golden pillar that surrounds the nearly motionless ‘couple’ and snorts sourly. “She’s put distance and a formidable barrier between us and her parents—we need to breach both.” Something inside jingles, a tension I try to subside. Lady Patchouli is smart, and she's right about Sekai not killing us yet… Still, it's hard to gulp down the notion we're fighting a god without Spellcard Rules—if I'm not seeing this wrong, Sekai must be capable of using Flandre's destruction, so she could've killed us at any point—; The magician must've noticed my trepidation, quickly glancing at my arm. “Don't let her get to your mind—prepare thyself; I'll need you in high spirits to protect me, for without you this endeavor is undoubtedly impossible.” Without an inkling of fear behind those tenacious eyes, she starts to float, flashing colors engulfing her like a cloak of aurora borealis.

… I breathe in, then out, caressing the burnt flesh of my arm, readying myself for what's to come—Lady Patchouli is trusting me.

God or not, Sekai is in the way.

As sigils of various hues and eras of the past started to emerge, Patchy floated towards the shrine, her eyes narrowing as many magical protective layers swirled and shone with absolute power—

—I moved, now ready compared to the first time and with an arm coated in ki, punched the pink thunder back to the skies… My trembling arm, gladly, not all bloodied now. All protective spells around Patchy had been evaporated in a split second. She barely seemed surprised. “Did that save you time?” She asked, the distance between us and the destroyed shrine increasing as we got closer—Sakuya's power. Patchy's floating turned into a dash, with me close behind.

“A tenth of a second; more than enough.” It was impossible to say that without a smirk, Patchy humming as our speed increased, same for the distance.

“Hm, parlour trick.” She scoffed, looking away from me. “… Be ready.”

She didn't even need to say so.

Suddenly a portal opens in front of us and we dive inside, now on the porch of the destroyed shrine, Patchy's hair maddeningly flowing as she reached forward—robust magical defenses popping from words muttered under her breath—and gently touched the auric pillar, as if made of cotton—

—The next instant, I blow up my kime and expand it all around us, thunderbolts colliding with the dome of pure energy and getting deflected, the surrounding area vibrating in the mix of electricity and kime. But it didn't stop. Thunderbolt after thunderbolt fell on us like the fury of Jupiter, draining my spiritual energy like an open hose, teeth bared, head spinning, eyes rapidly getting bloodshot. “HOW MUCH LONGER?!” I shout, hands together, keeping the dome standing—veins ruptured on my forehead, blood seeped into my eyelashes and brows, eyes on Patchy enacting magic I couldn't even begin hoping to understand. Yukari and Anon remained blissfully unaware.

“Made the transcript!” She retorted after five excruciating seconds, getting away from the pillar and floating onto me—a portal taking us back to where we were in front of the pond. I land face first on the carbonized grass, huffing as if I were once again that newcomer in the dojo so many moons ago. “Are you okay?” She asks, not looking at me, much more focused on opening her hands: hundreds of what seem to be massive translucent scrolls unfolding into what feels no short of an odyssey. I mutter an 'okay' as I get up, scrubbing blood off my eyes. “I already understand Old Magic so it shouldn’t be too challenging to decipher that barrier… It’ll be the easy part, I suppose.” My eyes were already on the pond when she herself turned to see: A mass of scarlet fire wafted to the skies, similar to the pillar of gold but impossible to look inside…

Until it opened and, menacingly, two figures cloaked in scarlet fire left it, the pillar fading as their feet touched the water, evaporating what little had remained. Their smoldering forms rapidly and grotesquely change: crystal wings, bat wings, a maid uniform skirt, succubi wings…

Moments later, the fire vanished to reveal two copies of us, their eyes like Sekai's: infinite auroras. Patchy huffed, eyes narrowing. “… Five kilos above. I'm not that fat, child.” She mumbled.

I wasn't amused. “Stay back, Lady Patchouli!” I reached for a spell card, taking my spot in front of the sorcerer like the guard I am—

—She huffed and before I could stop her, she was by my side. “Fool, you think 'tis my first time deciphering an ancient language amidst combat?” Above the sigils of knowledge, frozen sigils birthed blood-curling ice spikes the size of horses. “Think twice, because I'll fight too.”

Fighting side by side with the lady…?

I almost laughed in incredulity. Almost. The massive boulder barreling towards us stopped that… Guess Sekai isn't fond of Danmaku, huh?

Fine by me.