*
22nd August, Friday
The past few days were uneventful, cycling from waking up, going to school, and then coming back home. Today was supposed to be no different... Before Lastia's appearance, Traces only showed up at once a week at the most frequent.
"There, Tia! At the second floor, cut them off!" (Sariel)
"Roger!" (Lastia)
Runner type trace, Filegn.
An agile set of light armour, mainly leather and cloth, but their durability surpasses that of typical Traces. In other words, harder than a reinforced steel truck, or a bank's vault. Built to resist ordinary ordnances, bullets would be crushed upon impact.
Reaching near the stairs of the school building, it swerves its feet over the ground, releasing a shrill piercing noise into the air. It spotted Lastia and was about to engage in combat, when it sees itself at a disadvantage it would run away at first sight. That was what went down earlier when it faced against both Sariel and Arin. {Swapping} the air between locations, Sariel transmitted her voice. In other words she doesn't see Lastia as a threat, it has enough confidence to win in a 1 v 1, a B grade Trace.
It swings its blade, a head of indistinguishable charcoal black wails a foreign cry as it leapts. It looks like the destitute knight, but its atmosphere could never match up.
"KRRRRRR!!?!?" (Filegn)
"Too bad, I'm closer to a physical type. You had a better chance against them. " (Lastia)
After her body flashed from her spot, she wrapped her arm under its swung blade and slammed its chest with devastating strength, throwing it onto the ground so hard it formed a web of cracks.
" RGGGHHHSSSSKKKQQQ!! " (Filegn)
Looking closely at its indistinct black mass for a head, there were 2 tendrils that vibrated like that of a crab's. It shuffled back and forth in a rapid and disgusting manner to express its pain and anger. Using its powerful, muscular, and armoured legs, it jumped to a certain distance out of Lastia's reach and got back on its feet. Dark scarlet tendrils rise from Lastia's back, anchoring itself to the stair case to create a physical barrier.
The building was structured by laying classrooms along a long hallway, this creature couldn't be let go in the slightest, it had already claimed a few victims. It's as if blood was floating above Lastia's hands, ever so slowly approaching her skin. She takes a deep breath, her eyes fixed on her target. A tendrils shoots into the air in front of her, followed by the sound of a roaring collision. Without moving a single muscle, this Trace was able to throw blades of wind projectiles.
Lastia walks closer and it takes a step back. It gave her the idea to slowly close off the space behind her and reduce the space available to the Trace, only that it would have to take pushing it through the entire corridor just to corner it. There's stairs on the other side, so Arin and Sariel are stationed there to cut off its exit in case it had fled. She needed to keep a certain distance as well, or it would run past her and escape that way. There's also the chance that it would break past her fortifications.
"Haa~, so troublesome. Never an easy battle with Traces." (Lastia)
Her dark scarlet magic converges on her fist, casting an eery sheen. Texture akin to steel, a cold reflection of the Trace was emitted on its surface. Beyond all those possibilities, Lastia wouldn't lose out on speed. Her body disappeared from its spot, thrusting her legs into the ground, she bounced at a different angle to strike the Trace from the side. As expected, it tried to run past her, so its guard was wide open.
Her fist slammed into its leathery flesh, the impact tears through its insides and her knuckles cause a deep indent into the armour. It wasn't as durable as the Destitute Knight, it landed into the walls and Lastia arrived next to it to throw more punches, compressing its armour further and embedding it deeper into the walls. One, two, cracks began to spread out into its being, the integrity of its whole being was degrading.
It jumped out of the hole, forcefully brushing past Lastia. She thrusts her left arm, her fingers tear through its flesh and cause a large opening in its body, but that also meant it stopped being impeded physically and successfully got behind her.
"... Just kidding... ~" (Lastia)
A large tendrils of dark scarlet pierced through its abdomen, pulling it up like a meat skewer. It couldn't advance or retreat an inch, stuck with an impalement so massive that its legs were above the ground. With that, it vanished into dust and the 'Event' was over.
"Arin has confirmed the status of the victims, they're perfectly fine." (Sariel)
Another message was transmitted. It seems that things have returned to normal. Hopefully this meant that it was another peaceful day for everyone else. With the exception of the magical girls, no one would have experienced the 'Event', it was a phenomenon that's been isolated outside of time. Her dress burns into a bright light, turning into wisps that floats into the air and vanishes. Her school uniform resurfaced from underneath the coat of light, slightly dishevelled, she no longer looked any different from any other student.
"Phew... That was close. Lucky I tried to control those tendrils from afar..." (Lastia)
In a sense, it was a gamble. She hadn't done such a thing before, at least not for this iteration of Lastia. She understood that it was a possible action she could take, but had no idea how much strength it would have, so she put most of her magic into it and expended it into one lethal attack. The tendrils shot at it like a bullet, thrusting through its flesh before it could process that it had been attacked.
"Gotta meet up with the other two... " (Lastia)
Convening and sharing information was important, it was an insurance in case her diary couldn't be recovered from potential thiefs or destruction. Without her diary, the last traces of her existence will be left solely in the memories of her friends.
They were already on the same floor, approaching each other, they naturally met along the way. Arin was off checking on their schoolmates, so it was only Sariel and Lastia here.
"Great job, you're definitely far stronger than before." (Sariel)
"I owe it to the others for training so thoroughly. I worry that I wouldn't contribute as much as they did." (Lastia)
"... I'd rather you stay safe and train with a low risk method than try to accomplish something dangerous.
If you die, the next you wouldn't exist. " (Sariel)
" Fufu... I know. No need for the reminder." (Lastia)