The Malevolent Domain began to crumble within itself from the top. Bits and pieces of glass-like fragments shattered on the ground upon impact, vanishing from existence along with the monsters that were killed here, as well as passing through people and structures like an illusion. Sunlight poured in and replaced the purple hue cast by the dome that was quickly fading away.

An ethereal copy of the city's destruction also disappeared now that the monster was killed, spared from its potential fate had it survived instead.

Like someone had pressed the resume button on a paused video, this section of Minato City's bustling scene came to life once again. Helicopters circled them from above, and piercing police sirens snapped Kari back to her senses.

She wasn't the only one.

"Were we just… frozen in time?"

"Hey, why the hell did an hour just pass?"

All around her, people started moving again. Many checked their phones as notifications reached them at once since they were no longer stopped in time. Others who were more opportunistic saw the magical girls and rushed to meet them.

"It's Flare and Jade!"

"The new girl's with them, too!"

"Kari! It's magical girl Kari!"

A powerful gust of wind sent her ponytail aflutter. Flare and Jade had taken to the skies.

"What are you waiting for?" the fiery magical girl shouted from above. "You're going to get swallowed up by the crowds if you stay down there!"

"But how do I…?" Kari pushed aside the subclass selection menu for now.

Rocky landed at her feet and made jumping motions.

[Flight. You fly at a maximum speed of your haste in meters per second.]

With her haste stat, that was 39 meters a second.

Isn't that a little too fast? Kari thought.

"Flying doesn't cost magic. You can do it inherently. Just think about the point in space in front of you that you want to fly to and jump," her anthem explained.

Jump.

Kari did just that and launched past both Flare and Jade like a rocket.

"You have to stop!" Rocky screamed, flying in vain to catch up but quickly losing distance.

"I— I can't!" She continued to fly further and further away and nearly struck one of the news choppers until something caught her.

"I gotcha!" Flare was holding onto Kari and had successfully stopped her from flying any farther.

For Flare to have reached this height and caught her so quickly must mean her haste was exceptionally high. Or perhaps higher. It happened in an instant, and Kari's own haste stat was no joke at a whopping 39 points.

Kari glanced down and wished she hadn't. Her stomach knotted. Both of them were much higher than the nearest skyscraper. The view was much like the one on the Tokyo Tower. A crowd of people, which she was sure Makina and Minato were likely among, gathered below them.

"Flare and I could've made better use of those points. Better than a rookie who forgets how much magic capacity they had left," Jade sneered as she flew into view.

"Lay off her. We promised to get her to level 3, and she's a lot stronger now for it," Flare said in defense of her.

For once, Kari was too ashamed to feel angry or make a retort.

Some magical girl she was, almost dying because she miscalculated her remaining capacity. It would have been such a shitty way to go, she almost wished she hadn't survived. Almost.

Flare pointed to a nearby building's rooftop. "Why don't we find a nice place to perch on? This has got to be a lot for you to take in."

"While you two make chit-chats, I'm going hunting. The rookie ain't even half as good as Candy, so someone's gotta get stronger to make up for it," Jade remarked coldly and flew off.

Kari texted Minato and Makina to fill them in on what happened, including why she was gone and who she was with. They got the gist of what happened from the news quickly going viral online about a Malevolent Domain that was dealt with in Minato City's shopping district.

Makina was understandably very upset. The series of texts Kari received came in rapid succession and bursts. She only typed that fast when it came to something she was excited or terrified about. This time was the latter.

Fortunately, Minato was with her. Kari had also promised to meet up with them again after speaking to Flare, and that seemed to be enough to quell Makina's worry for the time being.

She shut her phone and sighed. The rumbling cooling towers from the HVAC units on this building's rooftop drowned out her thoughts.

Not a very good place to have a talk. Especially since Kari had a few choice words to have with Flare. Among them was the sudden appearance of the Malevolent Domain.

"You could have picked a quieter place," Kari remarked, walking up behind Kanae who was no longer in her magical girl form and sitting at the edge of the building. She dared not approach any closer to the edge, still spooked by the flying scare just earlier.

"When all you hear back home are rustling trees and pitchy chirping, you start liking the chaotic energy of a big city," she said, glancing over her shoulder.

"Can't relate. Been a city girl all my life." Kari rolled her eyes and met Kanae's gaze. "And speaking of the city. What the hell's happening to my city? First an Incursion, then a whole bunch of stray spawns, and now a Malevolent Domain all within one city? Not very random if you ask me."

Kanae chuckled. "You're sharp. Maybe you do have what it takes to survive the coming apocalypse. We'll have them tell you."

It seemed the one to explain things would be Kanae's fiery falcon anthem, Blaze, and Kari's own Rocky.

"You have noticed much sooner than most," Blaze began, his voice much deeper than Kari expected as this was her first time hearing it. "Do you know what the paradigm of detective fiction is?"

"What am I, back in school?" Kari shrugged.

The falcon anthem sighed. "Crimes always happen around a detective, otherwise there would be no story. Likewise, these occurrences tend to happen more around a magical girl. That is not to say it wouldn't in other places."

Rocky appeared reluctant to continue after his peer. "We've come to understand that there are some rules behind it. The strength of a monster that can potentially spawn is relative to your aggregate strength."

"Then what the fuck is the point of getting stronger? I'm just putting my friends in danger by being here!" Kari growled.

"Relax." Kanae had gotten up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Think of it like those gacha games. The rare ones, or in this case the super big bads in Malevolent Domains, have a very low chance of spawning. It's why we mostly deal with fodder."

"We system assistants believe the monsters' tendency to spawn within a magical girl's vicinity are their attempts to defeat you," Rocky added.

That made sense. Before the Incursion in Akihabara, monsters rarely came into existence in Tokyo. Once she had become a magical girl, things started spawning more often.

"You guys are making it sound like there's someone behind all this. Then whoever or whatever is sending these monsters, why not just drop the biggest monster onto earth to off us all at once?" Kari asked.

"We can only guess. My yen is that the answer lies in an Apocalyptic Incursion, which a bunch of magical girls around the world are planning to take a knock at," Kanae replied.

Kari gritted her teeth as some of the pieces fell into place. "South Africa… You wanted me to get stronger so I'd come with you."

"In two months. I know you're going to refuse. A lot can change between now and then, so give it some thought," she urged, then got to her feet and brushed the dust from her pants.

Kanae had a skewed idea of time if she thought a lot could happen in two months. Although, it might hold true for Kari. By then, she was more likely to be done in by starvation and boredom than by another Malevolent Domain.

"Tell you what. I'm kind of strapped right now. I'll think about giving it some thought if you help me out of my bind," Kari suggested.

"You're brazen for a junior and rookie. I'll see what I can do, so expect some calls in the morning. Until then, you should probably buy the skill [Incognito] before you go back down there. Your face is getting pretty popular nowadays!" Kanae transformed and dove off the building with her anthem following close behind. Both of them flew off, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.

Kari nudged Rocky in the stomach. "Why couldn't I have looked as cool as that?"

"Don't blame me. Blame your soul!" he complained, rubbing his belly.

An assault on South Africa's Apocalyptic Incursion. Even if they were to learn nothing, most of them would come away with a lot more points and become much stronger. At the same time, just how deadly was it that they needed to put together an international team?

For now, she heeded the senior magical girl's advice and looked into the Apocalypse System's shop feature. It had a long list of items called [Sigils], and next to them were the cost of points needed to purchase them.

Most of the items sounded useless. The very top listed 'popular sigils' which were ones that restored health and magic capacity. Those were worth 50,000 points each, way too much to even consider buying.

"Although in retrospect, I wouldn't have looked like a fool if I had a magic sigil during that fight…" she reprimanded herself. "How do I find that damn skill?"

Rocky put his hands on his hips and smiled. "Two words, baby— voice recognition! Just say what you want and let modern tech do the work for ya!"

"Okay… [Incognito]." She and the system's deep voice spoke simultaneously.

Immediately, the scroll bar moved on its own and highlighted the skill she was looking for. It cost a whopping 100,000 points. That would be ten points into a stat of her choice. But such a thing was necessary to preserve some semblance of peace in her life.

Next was to choose a subclass.

Before deciding, it would be best to learn each of their strengths and what they had to offer. When she activated the Apocalypse System, the interface resurfaced as though to remind her.

[Subclasses unlocked. Choose one of the randomly generated to unlock additional stats and unique abilities. Additional subclasses may be accessed through the respec sigil available in the shop.

{{Lvl. 1 Knight}}

{{Lvl. 1 Summoner}}

{{Lvl. 1 Siegemaster}}]

"What do you think I should choose?" she asked Rocky, who was the more knowledgeable one of them both.

"It really depends on your fighting style," her anthem began. "The Knight and Siegemaster subclass both sound like they suit you. Don't forget— you can 'click' on things in your interface to bring up more details!"

Kari did as he suggested and tapped where the {{Knight}} text was. Another menu popped up.

[{{Knight}}

Become the embodiment of chivalry and warfare.

Increases your maximum health by 20 points and 10 per subsequent level. Increases magical and physical resilience by 5 points and 2 per subsequent level. Gain the skill Knight and Lord (10): Redirect damage from a target of your choice to you instead, applying your defenses against the attack. New skill unlocked at lvl 3 New skill unlocked at lvl 6]

"More health and defense seem nice, but I feel like I've been relying more on finishing things off before I get killed myself," she remarked with disinterest and selected {{Summoner}} next.

[{{Summoner}}

Like loyal dogs they are yours to command.

Increases your maximum magic capacity by 100 points and 20 per subsequent level. Gain the skill Chains That Bind (20): Subjugates a creature less than your total levels to fight for you until its death or your health reduces to 0. Gain the skill Forge from the Elements (30): Create a golem, up to a maximum of five, from an element of choice. It gains your stats. New skill unlocked at lvl 3 New skill unlocked at lvl 6]

"Some of the summoned units get pretty crazy at later levels. By crazy I mean Malevolent Domain level strong, but at the cost of all your magic," Rocky said.

"If I'm ever in a fight, I'd rather rely on myself than something else."

The last one was {{Siegemaster}}.

[{{Siegemaster}}

Devastation is an art.

Increases your base strength by 5 points and 2 per subsequent level. Gain the passive skill Collateral: Overkill damage is dealt to all enemies around the original target in a ten meter radius. New skill unlocked at lvl 3 New skill unlocked at lvl 6]

"If you don't like the ones you see now, a respec sigil can generate new subclasses for you!" The anthem reminded her.

"Nah. I know what to choose." Kari confirmed with the Apocalypse System to specialize into the Siegemaster subclass.

[Congratulations! You are now a Lvl. 1 Siegemaster subclass.

Physical strength. 27 ⇒ 32

New passive skill gained.

Collateral: Overkill damage is dealt to all enemies around the original target.]

When she checked how many points were left, it showed [175,000 Apocalypse Points]. It would cost 500,000 to reach level 4 Destroyer, and only 200,000 to reach level 2 in Siegemaster.

"Time to take a better look at my new weapon." Kari transformed and summoned her axe hammer, a weapon as brutish as her skills and yet so gaudy in appearance with golden hearts imprinted on the sides. She swung it with ease, eager to use it in her next fight.

The tooltip showed its name and additional details.

[Soul-weapon: Destruction and Ruin.

Summoning your soul-weapon costs 20 magic. It will remain available for use until your health reaches 0 or dismissed.

May be used with your skills.

Attacks with Ruin will sever a living being's soul and incapacitate their physical body. Stronger beings may require more than one strike.

Attacks with Destruction chips away at a living being's lifespan. Killing or injuring them stores their life away as a charge to empower the weapon. At 20 charges, your next attack deals 100 unmitigated damage to a target regardless of their defenses.]

Rocky gulped. "That's a terrifying soul-weapon you got there, buddy."

"Wanna be a good boy and be a target dummy for me?" Kari asked.

"You know, I think I preferred your usual beating instead!"

When Kari turned on the new skill and went searching for her friends, she was surprised how many people didn't recognize her despite talking up a storm about her.

"What are you guys talking about?" Kari interrupted a group of raucous middle schoolers outside a candy store.

"You live under a rock, lady? Magical girl Kari, Flare, and Jade were at the mall earlier. The whole block was trapped in a Malevolent Domain until they saved the day!" one kid exclaimed a little too enthusiastically.

"I wish Candy was there, too. I wonder what happened to her?" a girl said.

"Who cares. The new girl is so much cooler!"

None of them seem to recognize that the magical girl in question was talking to them. This [Incognito] worked like a charm.

Kari headed for the city park where Minato and Makina were waiting, running on the high of being praised by random people on the street. Her mood took a turn when she walked in on Mrs. Oikawa scolding her daughter.

"So that's why you've been looking so terrible. Are the rumors true? Are they?" her mother demanded.

"Mom, please… I don't want to talk about it. I just want to forget it ever happened…" Makina mumbled.

"I'm not going to stand by and pretend this never happened! We're going to the police and filing a report right this instant. You're going to tell them everything! At least they will hear it from you. I had to hear it from Principal Nishida!" She grabbed Makina's hand and tried to pull her away.

"Mrs. Oikawa, wait!" Minato helplessly tried to intervene.

Kari turned off [Incognito] and was instantly recognized by her friends. Makina wrenched away from her mother's grasp and ran behind Kari's back.

Then the unexpected happened.

"Mom!" Makina shouted in horror as Mrs. Oikawa slapped Kari square across the cheek. The three of them were stunned. Onlookers did a double-take and walked away to avoid getting involved.

"I thought you were Makina's best friend. What kind of magical girl are you to let such a horrible thing happen to her?" she asked, holding back from making another strike by clenching her hand shut.

Those words sliced into Kari's heart like a hot knife through butter.

"You're right. I should have done more sooner. I'm sorry…" Kari bowed so low her abs began to ache.

The apology caught Mrs. Oikawa by surprise. Maybe she expected Kari to be more rebellious. She couldn't possibly, because Makina's mother was right.

"Let's go home, Makina. We don't have to go to the police now. Your dad and I just want to speak to you," her mother pleaded.

"It's okay. You should go," Kari urged her friend, then lowered her voice to a whisper. "I can fly now."

Makina swallowed a chuckle and let go of the back of Kari's shirt. They were walking away when Mrs. Oikawa stopped and turned around to address Kari once more.

"The principal also called your parents. He said you assaulted him. I don't believe you would do such a thing, but you should give your mother a call," she said sympathetically.

"Do you think I'm a bad friend and magical girl?" Kari asked Minato as they watched Makina and her mother leave.

"You can be a bitch sometimes, but I never once considered you a bad friend," Minato answered with brutal honesty. "I may not look it, but I'm freaked the fuck out that a Malevolent Domain went up here. You protected us from that, so you tell me if you're a bad friend and magical girl."

Kari turned to leave. "Seriously, thanks for dropping by today. I needed it."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To take responsibility."

Kari returned to the manga cafe she had been staying at to bide her time until dark. When the blanket of stars pulled across the sky, she turned on [Incognito] and exited the booth.

"Bathroom?" Rocky asked drowsily, waking up from the door creaking open.

"Got some monsters to take care of," Kari answered.

Her anthem looked perplexed. "But I don't sense anything?"

Kari said nothing more, but knew exactly where she was headed. The two of them flew towards Yokohama at breakneck speeds. Although unsteady at first, a few crash landings and apologies later and she was soaring like a plane.

There was something— several things that needed to be done. Loose ends that needed to be tied up before putting everything aside to be a full-time magical girl.

School being one of them. It had always been a prettily-dressed factory that churned out gears to serve as society's cogs once the old ones rusted up. She was beyond that. A piece no longer bound to the machine, and as such, those consequences meant nothing to her.

Kari stopped above an affluent neighborhood in which every two-story home had a nice yard and car in front of it. One house in particular, with landscaped bushes framing the path up to the door, had a nameplate that read, 'Nishida'.

She lowered herself to the ground, transformed out of her suit, and walked up to the front door. The living room lights were on, and the sound of television could be heard from out here.

"This is your principal's house? What are we doing here? Kari?" Rocky repeated her name twice more, each time growing more terrified.

Without a word, she walked up to the house and pressed the doorbell. The television's volume lowered first, then footsteps approached the door. She turned off [Incognito] and heard a gasp from the other side.

"Kari… Tachibana?" his staticky voice came through the intercom tinged with fear.

"Hey, Principal Nishida. I dropped by to have a little chat. Why don't you open the door?" Kari asked as the corners of her lips pulled up into a smirk.