Magical Girl City: Empire of Ice

We made… okay time. Had I been alone, well, there was no way I’d have even made it this far. Not this successfully at the very least. We still had a good amount of time before the moon sets, which meant that we had more time to explore.

For the second time, I stepped down into the catacombs. For everyone else, it was the first time. Liche and Joan had been with me last time, along with Cobalt. Together we managed, but only just. A single bad engagement could have seen us seriously injured.

Overall, I felt like we were stronger. Especially since Talia and I had our uniform and weapon, but still…

“We should be careful going forward.” I announced. “The inhabitants of this layer tend to congregate in larger groups, and with far greater diversity.”

Talia nodded seriously. Notably tensing as we approached the large double set doors that led to the catacombs. The doors slid soundlessly open, revealing a larger corridor. Bones were scattered about, and in piles near larger pillars. The stone walls had been dug out, and more bones were laid upon the ledges.

Above, blue flames flickered in braziers set along the walls and pillars. The flames emanated cold, but it wasn’t a chilling cold. If anything, it felt somewhat refreshing in what would otherwise be a stifling tomb.

“Wow…” Talia muttered as we went forward. Even distracted, she had enough sense to guide us forward. “How do you think this place is ventilated?”

Ventilated? I thought, wondering why that mattered, but… on second thought, it was a valid question.

“The waterworks, maybe.” I surmised. “From what I know, the second layer, the layer we just passed through is where the city water goes through. The mechanisms probably vent or push air throughout the catacombs.”

“Oh, that sounds likely…” Talia said, her eyes drifted to the ceiling and corners. Searching for obvious ventilation shafts. Not that any could be seen in the somewhat poor lighting.

“What do you think powers it all, and where does the water come from?”

I told her that the water comes from the caverns below, the same thing Grim had told me. As for the power…

“I never thought about that. If anything, wouldn’t the water flow do the job? Moving wheels or such.” I say.

“Possibly, but it can’t be all mechanical without any real energy output. Some of the mechanisms don’t look rusted enough for that to be true. The pump systems, the treatment systems, all of them need power either for heating water or moving it rapidly through filters.”

“Your probably right.” I said, “But does it matter?”

“Well, I’m not sure, just, I was curious.”

“How so?” I ask.

“Well, the flying fortress I was inside, you know it was an isolated place, right?”

“Isolated? Care to explain.”

“As in, all the resources we needed had to be produced within the fortress. We had a central power generator that kept everything going. Powered the arrays for levitation, kept air flowing, and powered the barrier around the fortress. Other, sub-systems fed into arrays that produced artificial lights, generated water, and other necessities.”

“Sounds like the city, in a way, just on a smaller scale.”

“I suppose it could be considered that.”

“With all that, I’m imagining there were factories or manufacturing? Some method of making food?”

“Yes, on both accounts. We had factories that produced machines and parts. There was a portion of the castle dedicated to growing food with large scale hydroponics as well. Though, it wasn’t very advanced, after all, most of it was just to keep things going.”

“Yet, your leader only did the bare minimum for you and the others like you, why?”

“I’d say cost, but really, it was because we were expendable. More effort was put into strengthening themselves, and those at the top.”

“But, didn’t she need to use coins to create you? Wouldn’t she have had a limited number of them?”

“No… actually, I’m not sure if you know, but coins passively emanate energy.”

“I’m aware of that much.”

“Are you? Ah, right, you were using some of them to passively power your arrays at first.” Talia says, remembering what I had her doing in the past few weeks.

“I was… But does that matter?”

“It does, after all, if you have enough coins, you can reliably mint more coins with just the passive income. Well, if you properly contain the energy to keep the purity high enough.”

“I didn’t think that was an option, though, maybe I should have thought of that…” I say back, and pause, “But I don’t imagine it was that effective? Coins passively produce very little magic, and with how much you need, well, I don’t see it being very effective.”

“Not in their stable state. Coins can be, dissolved, broken down into their purest form and stored into special containers. When done right, they generate a lot more magical energy on their own. This can then be used to not only power bases but passively generate coins.”

“A dungeon core.” I muttered, remembering an anecdote inside my grimoire.

“Something like that. Instead of a core, I’d say it was more of a dungeon heart. It lived, breathed, and it was bound to the castle owner.” Talia said.

That… “How the hell did that even get brought down then?”

“I’m not sure… The top four were all inside the castle at the time of the invasion, each overseeing their own section. With the boss inside the throne room operating the castle. At least, that’s how it should have been. In order to attack the castle, you’d have to breach all the barriers.”

“Would the nuke have done that?”

“Nuke? Ah, you mean that crazy explosion? I wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but everyone was talking about it, and it definitely woke me up that night… as for if it had enough oomph to actually break the castle? I doubt it. I’m not even sure Éclair could have shattered it, but…”

She hesitated. “Honestly, after talking with Nyx, I think Éclair could have easily smashed through the barrier on her own without issue. Though, destroying the whole thing from the outside, again, unlikely.”

Again, I couldn’t even begin imagining how absurd that was…

“What if there wasn’t a barrier? Do you think she could have, at least, base on what you’ve heard?”

“No barrier? I mean, maybe, but…” She pauses, “Are you suggesting a small group snuck into the fortress beforehand?”

“Yeah... Right before everything happened, I saw a group leaving the castle. Around then, the fortress started losing altitude and tilted, so, I was thinking, do you think it would be possible for a small team to sneak through?”

“That… I mean… It’s not impossible for a single person, or a small group, to create a small gap or opening, but then you’d be isolated. You’d have to face off with, oh, I don’t know how many magical girls, chimera, and all the castle’s defenses, all without support or outside help. I mean, I can’t think of anyone that could do that, at least, not easily…” She trailed off…

“How about Foxes? A team of them? Proper magical girls?”

Talia went silent. “They’d have to be scarily strong.” She eventually admitted. “Even if the four leaders were in separate sections, they had full control of each section. They’d have to fight through each section, do serious damage… It might not actually be that impossible. Especially since we are, well, a lot weaker than natural magical girls.”

“I thought as much, but exactly how strong would they have to be? Couldn’t the leader have confronted them? Or at least, the other big names inside?”

“Not during the invasion. Every section needs to be manned, especially the throne. Without someone controlling the arrays, the castle would just be a flying target. Even if it could take serious punishment, it does need people to watch over it. The leader was probably stuck manning the fortress command center while they ran amok. As for those just below her, they were probably already sent out during the initial part of the invasion. No, they definitely were. The tornado belonged to one of the big four, and she died. I’ve no idea what happened to the others though…” She trails off.

“I don’t imagine you were expecting that much of a fight?”

“No… Well, our leader didn’t. None of us really had a frame of reference, but there were quite a few of us. It wasn’t hard for us to think we’d easily just win.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve heard this city is a little beyond what’s normal, whatever that means, but admittedly, its god to hear your thoughts. After all, I do plan to bild my own base one day, and I may find myself stuck in a position like your leader. So, I’d much rather not get caught off-guard.”

“Well, lucky for you, I know a thing or two.” Talia said with a forced smile.

“Yeah, I am.” I say back, startling her. She looked like she was going to say more, but in the end, she didn’t. Instead, conversation died as we lapsed into silence.

I spent my time eyeing Talia as she continued to lead the way. She spoke of it all in a nonchalant way, but she was still spooked by what I had said. And she wasn’t the only one. The idea that a small group could dismantle an entire fortress on their own? That was scary. On par with stories I’ve heard regarding special forces or such.

Hopefully, I will never find myself crossing any real foxes. At least, not anytime soon. Shi, when she was a proper magical girl, even as a lesser had been a nightmare. Had she not been tired out after fighting the Bronze Minotaur, I don’t know if I could have even managed to hold my own, let alone win.

Thinking back to Éclair’s lessons, I wondered, thought, where exactly was I on the power scale? Clearly, I was no match for Éclair, but what about Taylor, Grim?

As I considered, we came to a slow stop. Talia was looking around. It was quiet, beyond the low crackle of the blue flames. We were in a longer corridor, lined with columns, and piles of bones set along the walls.

“Why’d we stop?” I ask. Talia doesn’t respond back immediately.

“I thought…” She starts after a moment, cocking her head back and forth. “Well, never mind, I thought I heard something.”

I opened my mouth to respond, when I heard it. A slight noise. Of something rubbing on stone. I turn to face the noise, just in time to see Luna swing down, deflecting a dagger made of bone.

All at once, the corridor came alive. From along the pillars, cloaked figures made themselves known. Fires burned from within empty eye sockets, gazing down at us. They moved in a coordinated fashion, even as the mounds of bone began to shift and stir. The sharp tang of magic filled the room.

Fathom slammed his shield down and took the front. His wide blade could only barely swing between the pillars. The common undead didn’t bother to use them defensively, the skeletons merely surged in and were beaten down.

At our sides, they came rushing in, attracting the other knights, forcing them to form a wall. Their thinner blades easily bashed aside small groups of skeletons, and any that got too close found themselves greeting their shields in an intimate manner.

Shi seemed almost confused by the skeletons. Her crimson eyes gleamed, the spear in her hand swept out breaking bones wherever it went. She ended up taking the rear, further creating a barrier between us and them.

Even then, they could only do so much. Even Fathom struggled against their numbers and swiftness. They crawled through openings, making straight for the core of our group, Talia and I.

Above, the assassins clawed along the pillars, leaping and bounding, raining daggers down upon us. Each of them easily punched through stone, forcing us further on the backfoot as the tide of skeletons surged forward. A mix of soldiers with swords and shields, spears, and other simple weaponry such as knives. Uncaring for life and limb, they pressed forward.

Talia blocked what daggers she could with her shield, each dagger dug in and stuck fast. Preventing her shield from simply reconstituting itself while being punctured with holes.

I raised my rifle to shoot, but they kept moving, avoiding my rifle’s muzzle. The few shots I made were met with a series of daggers that struck with pinpoint accuracy, throwing the bullet off course.

I had mere seconds before we were completely swallowed by the horde. The ice crackled in my veins, the world slowed to a crawl, turning a scant instant into moments. Enough time to process and consider.

The answer came quick, like a bolt of lightning. I ejected the rounds inside my rifle. Slammed new bullets in. I took a moment to aim, not even bothering to aim for the assassins, and fired.

The bullet sang a harmonious song. A melody of many voices. It sang its tune through the corridor, echoed off the stone walls. It cracked into the stone pillar, a single song out of the many died, and in turn, their voice grew.

It was barely visible after the first bounce, then the second, the third, it quickly became a blur, then gone. I could only hear its piercing song that rose and rose with every bounce. An almost shrill scream that pierced the ear.

All at once, the song died. A dull crack of bone, followed by the final cry of success. An assassin in flight had been hit in the skull, the blow shattering it, and the bullets momentum was spent, causing the entire skeleton to simply cease.

There was a stuttered pause amongst the assassins at the sight. Broken only when I began to fire more rounds into the pillars. They bounced and sang. The assassins tried to divert them with knives, only to force them into the crowd of skeletons below where they’d bounce madly, spending their momentum until their final voice ended in a resplendent cry, clearing an area of skeletons in the process.

It was madness. Clear trails of sparkling frost were left in the bullets’ wake. With each round, it felt like I was loading up a revolver for a game of Russian Roulette. My knights took what they could. Shields chipped when bouncing bullets cracked into them. A chunk of Fathom’s shoulder was simply punched out by a bullet’s final cry. Another bullet blasted stone right at my feet, only to bounce away, nearly blowing Talia’s head off from behind as it screamed right past her ear.

In a few reloads, the entire horde was swept through, leaving only scattered remnants. The floor and pillars covered in pockmarks and pits where the bullets had landed and blown out chunks. Of the assassins, most died, the few left sported missing limbs or broken bodies.

The clean-up was swift. The stragglers dealt with, our rewards collected. The assassins had been rather numerous, netting us quite the war chest, but…

“Y-you should really warn me if you’re going to do something that insane!” Talia yelled, still shivering, her face white as bone from the near miss.

“It was the best option.” I said.

“Really?” Talia questioned. “Cause it looked like you had no idea where those bullets were going!”

She wasn’t entirely wrong. I had a vague idea of where they could be when I fired the rifle, but beyond that? It was just a feeling. It didn’t feel like the bullets were just going anywhere and everywhere. Instead, I could feel the rhythm, the beat, only, trying to parse out what it meant wasn’t exactly possible. Not yet. Not now. Not anytime soon.

Was this too, another dance?

Perhaps…

“Hello!? You have anything to say!” Talia was, upset. Clearly.

“I’ll warn you next time, and I’ll be more careful. Promise.”

She gave me a long look before huffing. “Fine. Now, let’s get moving. Unless, did you get hit? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. A few scratches here and there from the flying shrapnel, little else.”

She didn’t question me, not that she didn’t have more to say on the subject. Instead, we gathered up and pressed on.

It didn’t take long before we encountered another group.

A larger chamber, archers were set on a far ledge. Hordes of skeletons rose from the piles and rushed forward.

Fathom held the front. Arrows bounced off his shield with clicks and clacks. Each one leaving small marks on his massive shield. Luna and Estrella went to his sides, bolstering him, all the while keeping the oncoming horde at bay.

I took aim with my rifle, taking them out, whittling their numbers little by little. A bronze rank skeleton, wielding a curved blade made of bone slipped under my knight’s shields and surged for me, only to be cut off by Talia, then impaled through the skull by a spear of ice that burst from the stone floor.

Other, lesser skeletons managed to wriggle through the gap, each were quickly dealt with. Soon enough, more coins were added to the war chest.

As the fights went, it became crystal clear that they weren’t as strong as the bronze ranks from above. What they made up for in strength, they more than made up for in numbers and cunning.

An archer hid amongst the others and delivered a sharp blow, punching through my side at the slightest opening. Ice kept the wound sealed, and a jolt of healing from Talia kept it from becoming serious.

A warrior slid through the front while wielding a large blade of bone. They smashed Talia aside while she dealt with the coming stragglers, a spear of ice from Shi was deftly avoided, and I had to confront it with my bayonet to finish it off.

A number of skeletons managed to ambush us, coming from behind with a spear wielding skeleton at the front. Shi blocked them, her body like iron, easily deflecting blows, and the few she took did little damage to her enhanced body. A body that only grew stronger with every feeding.

Fathom grew more wounded and only kept going thanks to my knights’ assistance. Luna and Estrella kept healthy thanks to their own magic constantly spewing forth. Talia kept me going, and herself, whereas Shi fed off me to heal her wounds.

Even then, we were barely halfway through the night by the time we came to a realization. Rather, the first to notice wasn’t me, but Talia.

“You’ve lost a lot of blood Prima.” She said. “I can keep healing you, but it only does so much. We should consider stopping for the night.”

Talia had been eyeing me this whole time. Making sure I never pushed myself too far… I’m not exactly sure who she thought I was. I wasn’t suicidal like she seemed to think. It was obvious that I could go longer, but…

It was fine to give her the benefit of the doubt.

“Let’s check one more room. I’d like to at least get a silver coin out of this.” I answered.

The catacombs were made up of a large variety of rooms. Vaulted ceilings, pillars, ledges and stairs going who knows where. A maze of doors and paths, that any normal person would have gotten lost in.

Talia though, seemed to know where to go at all times.

“It’s like… we’re underwater and theirs a big drain pulling everything in. Just, swirling ever downward. I couldn’t really sense it before, but as we get deeper, it gets easier to follow, ya know?” Was how she explained it.

Not that I understood. She almost didn’t need to enhance her senses to keep us on track anymore. Now that she had the scent, so to speak.

She eyed me and sighed.

“Right, a little more won’t hurt.” She accepted, and after a small break, some food, water, we pressed on.