Magical Girl City: Empire of Ice

The moment my transformation ended, the world seemingly came to life. The ice-cold blood that flowed through my veins had the world slow to a stuttering halt. Granting me much needed time to process and take in what I was seeing.

Before me, was the main plaza, the literal heart of the city. And now, it was in total pandemonium.

Horrors, monstrosities that looked vaguely like wolves. Jet-black skin, that moved as if they were made of oil, not flesh shimmered in the sunlight. They had multiple eyes, each were bright red and glimmered with power. With gaping maws and languid tongues that nearly dragged on the floor.

They hunted with incredible efficiency. Aiming not for singular individuals, but groups. Herding them into clumps and only then did they pounce. It was horrifyingly effective. With every meal, their bodies pulsed, shivering in delight.

People were screaming, running, and dying. Loosed animals fled, but even they weren’t safe as they too were consumed, leaving little behind after the wolves tore into them, only leaving bloody splatters where they had been. Every moment mattered, yet I felt unhurried as I took it all in.

It was strange… I felt as if I were under a spotlight, a burning light that made me the center of attention and yet… where there was conflict, where those monstrosities were, and where men and women both were fleeing or manning the walls. Wherever somebody was, I felt something distinct. Something similar to the same light that I was under.

As if every clump, every individual had their own spotlight on them.

Out of instinct, I pulled on that feeling. It was subtle, nigh undetectable as the lights shifted focus unto me. I felt eyes look over. A few heads turn. Even the monsters seemed to pause in the midst of what they were doing, small, imperceptibly so. Yet, just as quickly, I felt the lights snap back, or at least, the majority of them. Some eyes stayed on me. Some still focused on me.

Enough to spur me on.

From afar, I could feel my soldiers, those including the few that had accompanied me, the few that were with Joan, and the many more currently making their way here. Unfortunately, I did not have the time, nor the luxury to wait on reinforcements, not even as the clan leader did all he could to rally the scattered and struggling troops. I needed to make an impact, to get the ball rolling. To start the show, with a bang.

My feet moved, stamping towards the nearest conflict. A clip was slammed into the rifle, filling the internal magazine in a single motion. The bolt was pulled back into position, my rifle raised...

I didn’t hesitate to open fire. Crystal song filled the air, punching into various horrors. Each bullet punched into their flesh, forcing them back, but little else. Still, they accomplished their task. Each horror I had shot turned their heads to face me, their attention on me, solely me. They snarled, they bit, and they surged forward. Leaving their prey unmolested.

In a single breath I’d managed to gather a number of the horrors to me. With their attention, others soon joined in, feeling the call. Almost as if I were yelling and banging a drum. They couldn’t look away. All they thought to do was to kill and take me down. It was like, the more of them paid attention to me, the more irresistible I became in their eyes.

Then again, I was the star of the show here.

With my feet moving, I met the closest horror in mortal combat. My bayonet came into being at the tip of my rifle with a low shout and punched into its flesh. The flesh hissed and sizzled, the smell was odd, like ignited gasoline. Sharp and pungent, making my eyes water and throat burn. But I pushed forward, the ice keeping me calm and unbothered, and with a forceful heave the bayonet’s blade ripped through the horror, leaving a jagged, smoking wound that wept black sludge that made the world dim.

It howled in agony, it swiped out, but I was already moving on. And just behind me, filling in the void came my bodyguards, my soldiers I had brought with. Working in concert, they diced down the beast and shattered its core as I moved onto the next target.

I met another head on, my bayonet swept out, cutting cleanly through its foreleg, the wound leaked black ichor that sprayed out wildly, sticking to everything in clumps like tar.

I moved to bypass it when a third rushed in from the side, only to be cut off by Morrigan. And there was something different about her, how she held herself, how she stood. Enough to force me to take a second glance and take her in.

She was clad in her uniform. I knew that much. The magic emanating from her was unmistakable. Black leather, plenty of belts, and plenty of crow feathers. The bits of metal on her uniform gleamed out ominously. The metal black and bloodied, a bloody scent of death and rot seemed to bleach the air around her.

Her eyes were bright red, her pupils shifting about as if searching for something, even as the horror leapt at her. Her axe, bloody, worn, and also fit for an execution was casually swung towards the horror. The swing lacked any real skill, any real intent. It almost felt like an afterthought, even as she seemed focused on something else.

Clearly, the axe wouldn’t cleave through the horrors. There was no way, after all, just moments prior, she had struggled, had she not? However, the moment the axe head made contact with the horror, it was almost as if it had thrown itself into the axe’s edge.

The cut was clean. With a single casual swing of her axe, it simply went right through the creature like it was nothing. Like it was air or gauze. Its body split perfectly along where the axe went and crashed into the ground by Morrigan’s sides. In the process, its core too had been split, causing the creature to lose its form, and rapidly degrade before my eyes.

Her gait, was uninterrupted. Nobody seemed to notice as she moved to another horror and did the same, not with all their eyes on me. She walked with an odd sense of purpose. As if each step was pre-ordained, as if this battle was nothing but a playground for her. Like an old movie she’d seen so many times that she could now recite it, line by line.

Even through the ice, I felt it. A dawning horror as her gaze shifted towards me, as her body shifted. Her searching eyes that looked for me, as if looking for something, her axe seemingly begging for my blood. Her entire person exuding the presence of death itself.

The moment our eyes locked, I felt it. The presence of death itself looking me in the eye, a scythe raised to my throat inching closer, brushing against my very soul… yet, it found no purchase. It brushed instead against my ice, scraping it, jarring me body and soul, and yet, Morrigan blinked, the sensation suddenly gone as her almost ethereal appearance faded.

For a moment, the god of death was gone. Leaving only a confused, and morbidly curious girl. A girl, that was smack dab in the center of a sprawling mass of horrors. A sprawling mass of horrors, that immediately became aware of the girl in their midst and lunged…

And just like that, the girl was gone, and death was back.

A couple swings of her axe saw her safely out of the mass, leaving behind ruined bodies, each slain with a single clean cut, just like an experienced executioner. The wind shuffled, causing her skirt made of crow feathers to flutter, along with her feathered pauldrons, leaving small trails of feathers in her wake. As if an angel of death had passed by. Her eyes once again met mine, but this time, I didn’t feel the kiss of death’s scythe. Just death’s gaze, his attention.

And honestly? It wouldn’t be the first time.

Safe under the ice, I grinned back at death and continued. No, I added him to the show, made him into a character, acted around him. I moved, flowed, danced between the wolves. Constantly forcing their attention to slip and shift between I and Morrigan.

Their cohesion rapidly collapsed. My soldiers rushed to fill their roles and what gaps existed were quickly plugged by our swelling numbers as guards and soldiers alike joined the line.

We became a living tide, cutting and cleaving, maiming and breaking all before us as they struggled to understand where they were. Admittedly, my own handiwork, even combined with my stone soldiers and the assisting soldiers hardly compared to Morrigan’s contribution to the fight.

She was a whirring storm of death. Every swing of her axe reaped a soul, Cleaving through everything with startling ease. She alone had killed most of the beasts singlehandedly, all without a single speck of sweat on her brow.

They were strangely tenacious. Their insides were filled with a black, sludge-like substance. Even when gutted, they moved without much issue. Only until they were completely hollowed, or their core was destroyed did they actually die.

As the final body dropped, my reinforcing soldiers finally arrived on the scene. At our back, I noticed Liu Chou working to coordinate the city guard and his soldiers to assist the injured and bring as many as possible to safety.

After quickly checking over the situation and conferring with Morrigan, it became clear, we were nowhere near done.

“Any idea where Joan is?” I asked as I loaded up my rifle, idly brushing off the bit of blood still smouldering on the tip of my bayonet in the process.

“She’s currently at an orphanage in the residential quarter of the city.” Morrigan said.

I had a vague sense of where that was, if what I was feeling over the link with her own guards. Only, getting exact information over this distance wasn’t possible. I could only tell that they weren’t in active combat at the moment, but they had gotten into a fight or two.

“And how is it looking?” I asked Morrigan.

“She’s managing. They have the place locked down, and rebuff some of the attacks.” She said, after a moment of focus.

“How bad is it? How long do you think she can hold?”

“Not long, especially since these things seem to be focusing on higher density areas.”

That tracked… Considering what I just witnessed, the monsters were likely hunting down soldiers, barracks, and possibly even the richer quadrant of the city. Only, how long would they last?

More relevantly, what could I do, we do? I glanced over at Liu Chou, the clan leader, he was currently giving orders, but I couldn’t rely on him or the guard. At best, they could fortify what we retake, but I didn’t trust them to take out these monsters on their own.

As for how bad the situation was? Well, luckily, I have someone at my side that knew.

“How bad is it overall?” I asked.

“Bad, they came in from the eastern side of the city, closer to the middle-class area. They broke through the walls and have been rampaging since. They broke through the other areas and seem to be cutting through the main street into the residential areas. With their targets mainly being the refugee camps within.”

“They broke through the walls? How?” I asked.

“There’s a really big one wandering the marketplace up ahead. It’s focused on breaking into trade houses for the time being, but eventually it’ll head towards the central part of the city.”

Ah, now that was a problem. Morrigan and I, especially with my soldiers, could probably handle it, but leaving the other parts of the city alone was a bit of an issue. That, and knowing that they were piling into the residential area, where Joan currently was, I couldn’t just leave her.

I had half a mind to press Morrigan on what her magic was, but… now wasn’t exactly the time for that. As for the clan leader? One look and I knew he wouldn’t be of much help here. The last two bouts had about spent his stamina. His face was clearly pale, and his soldiers were all occupied with rescue efforts.

The smart thing to do, is to retrieve Joan and hunker down, wait out the mess, but… I glanced back at my soldiers that were accompanying me.

“Morrigan, do you think you could rendezvous with Joan and clean out the residential area?”

“Easily. Now that I know their shtick, I know where to aim.” She says calmly.

Honestly, it was a bit annoying seeing how easily she killed the things. Especially when I was struggling. Even if my blade cut through them with shocking ease, actually killing them was a whole other issue.

“Good, while you’re doing that, I’ll go assist in the market.” I said while checking over my rifle.

“You sure? You looked like you were struggling.” Morrigan asked, a trace of concern on her face, which wasn’t something I expected from her.

“I’ll be fine, especially with them at my back.” I motioned towards my stone soldiers, whom tightened up their ranks at my words and stood as straight as can be and presenting themselves.

She eyed them and nodded, “If you say so, should I join back up with you when we’re done?”

“Please do. I can hold them off, but I’m not confident I can kill them all in a timely manner. Especially when I don’t know their exact numbers.”

“A lot.” She said. “I have my crows looking around, and they keep pouring in through the breach.” She continued and it looked like she had more to say before shaking her head. “Just be careful, yeah?”

“I’m always careful.” She gave me a look like she didn’t believe me at all, but in the end, she gave me an all too wide grin.

“I’ll take you at your word then.” She finally said and bolted off, not wasting another moment.

I took a second look at myself, made sure my soldiers were good before checking in on the clan leader. On approach he spoke out.

“Prima, I’m currently coordinating my soldiers but…”

“The marketplace and residential area?” I answered, cutting him off.

“Indeed, I’m trying to put together a team, but with all that is happening, I’m not sure if we can assist. Even just holding this point might be too much for us.” He says with a grim look.

“I figured as much, I sent Morrigan over to the residential area, and she’ll help Joan clear the place out. I’m headed over to the market, where I’ll cut off the big monster, and hopefully stall its progress until they come back.”

“I could probably send a few soldiers your way if you wish.”

“No, focus on gathering as many soldiers as you can for the clean up afterwards. I don’t imagine this will end when we kill the big wolf.”

“You are correct” he says after a moment of contemplation, a clear grimace on his face. “I will do just that, but if we have the chance I will see if we can’t provide support in some way.” He says.

“Sounds good and when this is all done, just know, you owe me.” I say with a wide grin.

His stern face fades into something almost comical before he bursts into laughter. “I suppose I would!” He shouts.

“Right? Now, I’m going to head over before the big wolf can get any ideas, stay safe.”

“I will, and my people, they are in your hands.” He says with a bow.

“I know.” I reply and began to move out.

Without even giving a command, my soldiers fell in behind me as we trudged down the road towards our destination. Past ruined carts, and ruined buildings. During transit we came across a few scattered wolves we handled with ease.

It didn’t take long to reach our target. Rather, the screams and noises were an easy guide, that and the smoke. Growing louder as we followed the paths. Until finally we broke into hell itself.

A giant beast stood at the center of the market, having torn through a larger building that had been a bank of sorts. It was similar to its smaller kin. Only much, much larger.

The surrounding area was strewn with debris. Broken shops and goods. Numerous bodies were buried under the junk, all the while horrors of various sizes rummaged through it, consuming flesh, living or not.

From the bank, I could hear cries and voices, by the second they were being cut off as the beast dug in, almost like how a bear would tear into a beehive for succulent honey.

Already, the maw of the beast was dyed red. Dripping with gore. Its body shivering with each new morsel. Yet, our arrival shifted something. Especially as I pulled on that feeling, as the spotlights shifted to focus on me. near every head turned. Near every beast looked over.

Those at the periphery came first. Right into a wall of spears as my second contingent took the front and planted them down. Even speared through, they clawed and bit, yet, my stone soldiers weren’t done.

With a mighty shove of their bodies, a concerted effort on their part, they pushed back the tide of oily flesh and with a swift kick, ripped the beasts off their spears. The movement, the coordination, was incredible. They moved with purpose as they pulled back once again and readied their spears once more.

With just a brief glance between each other, their formation shifted. They spread out slightly as the writhing beasts righted themselves and came back with a vengeance. They ignored all else under my direction and guidance, seeking to charge the soldier that impaled them. And in doing so, left an opening for my second contingent, those wielding swords and shields to fill the gap.

Being eminently aware of who the beasts were focusing on, the spearmen pulled back, almost tauntingly so. Baiting them further into the formation where they found themselves completely engulfed. In an instant, the formation clenched shut and shuddered as if a living organism.

There was a flurry of emotions, an incredible burst of pings as information rapidly passed between the links of my soldiers sending and receiving information.

In an instant, in perfect synchronized action, the beasts were carved into pieces, their cores exposed, and spears were thrust into the gaps to pierce said cores. Instantly killing a wave of wolves.

In the following motion, the formation churned, and I found myself at the head of it as more horrors ripped through the ruined marketplace and surged towards us.

With bayonet ready, and rifle prepped, I lead the charge. My soldiers, those with swords and shields, fell in at my side. And right before we crashed into them, the formation broke apart. My soldiers split into small groups, swordsmen cut off limbs and exposed flesh, whilst spearmen sought and hunted for the wolves’ cores like seasoned whalers.

All the while, we never stopped moving.

My own bayonet cried out, slashing through the side of one horror as I passed by, the confused creature snapped out and tore out a chunk of its own kins flank. A claw swept wide, clipping my side but also tearing into its kin. And all around, this same scene replayed countless times over smaller battlegrounds as my soldiers moved and weaved through the tide, using their own numbers against them as they crashed and snapped into one another.

And just as we felt that we would be overwhelmed… we broke through tide, leaving the many horrors in our wake, scrambling and nipping at one another, with no semblance of cooperation present.

By this point, I had the larger wolf’s attention. Almost languidly, it extricated itself from the broken home as I planted my feet before it. Rifle raised. Finger on the trigger.

And for a moment, the world stilled as it gazed down at us with a bored gaze.