Kari couldn't tell whether the blood-soaked ground was due to the head hounds or the trash they had eaten. The viscous liquid soaked into the dirt all the same. She kicked one of the hounds lying on its side. The abdomen had been caved in so badly by [Destruction] that guts and mutilated human body parts were bursting out the other end.

When she removed her foot, the hound's corpse dropped with a thud. Something rolled out of the gaping jaws— Tetsuo's horrified head and a phone. She felt neither pity nor remorse, only disappointment that he didn't die sooner that day in Akihabara.

Minato put a hand to his mouth and averted his gaze from the carnage. "Kari, you just let them all die like that."

They were the only two left, and Minato saw everything. If he were to tell Makina, her perception of Kari as a magical girl and hero would come crumbling down.

She stumbled forward as a terrible thought crossed her mind. Blood rushed to her head and left her struggling to walk steadily.

Someone caught her as she was about to fall. It was Minato and Rocky, both helping her to a tree to lean on. Her back found purchase on the rigid surface of a tree. The weapon slipped from her grasp and embedded itself into the ground on the sharpened edge.

"This is what happens when all you had to eat was cookies and water!" Rocky scolded her.

"You're joking." Minato sighed, then turned towards the alleyway that led back into the streets. "Wait here. I'll grab something for you to—"

Kari grabbed his arm instead. The bout of dizziness subsided, and she could stand on her own two feet again. Looking Minato in the eyes, she was surprised to meet a gaze hardened with the courage and resolve she wished she had.

"Rocky, my wallet's in my back right pocket. There's a vending machine that dispenses instant ramen down the block. Can you get us something sour or spicy?" Minato asked.

The anthem hesitated to move. He almost seemed afraid to leave. His gaze flipped from one person to the next, but fell on Kari for the final confirmation. She nodded for him to go, and as he grabbed the wallet, lingered for a few seconds before flying off.

"Are you going to tell anyone what happened here?" she asked Minato, preparing for the worst.

"No," he answered without hesitating.

"I just let a whole bunch of guys get turned into dog food. That doesn't bother you?"

Minato rubbed the bruise on his right cheek and frowned. "There's no sugar coating it, I'm pretty perturbed. I'll be cursing your name once I find a toilet to vomit my curry dinner into. Besides… the fact that you haven't crushed my wrist yet means you trust me, right?"

She instantly let go, ashamed that such a thought even crossed her mind just moments ago. The nerdy kid before her was one of her best friends, and she saw him as a liability instead.

For who's sake? Makina's?

Kari let her magical girl form drop and hugged her friend.

"Whoa, whoa! This I expect from Makina, but not from you!" he said, his arms hanging to the side.

"I'm in love with Makina," she confessed. "So much that I'd let people like Tetsuo die to protect her. Does that make me evil? Because I'm starting to not feel like a hero anymore."

Minato shook his head. "It doesn't. I'm going to feel horrible for Tetsuo's mom, but no one else is going to miss that jerk. As for your confession… buddy, you're telling it to the wrong person. I'd tell you to grow some balls, but if becoming a magical girl didn't give you confidence, you're hopeless."

She let go and socked him in the arm, maybe a little harder than she should have. He winced and staggered back, crying out in exaggerated pain. Both of them laughed it off in the end.

"I plan to tell her at the end of the music arts festival," she said.

Until then…

Kari grimaced at Tetsuo's head and picked up his cellphone from the pool of blood. She flicked the excess blood away and was surprised to see it working fine. Too bad there was a passcode on it, and the only one who knew it was dead.

"Gross. You in the business of robbing corpses now?" Minato watched from a distance.

"N-No…" she reluctantly replied, recalling how she did actually rob Principal Nishida. "Tetsuo mentioned Flare's name. I want to know why."

"And you think there's a clue in his phone? I thought he was making shit up to save his skin. Give it to me. I saw him punch in the passcode while I was tied up."

Minato was about to grab the phone from her hand but thought better of it upon seeing some blood dripping off the case. He recited the four-digit passcode instead, and when she input the numbers, the phone successfully went to the homescreen.

She hoped it would be nothing, that it was just paranoia getting the better of her rational side. If there was one thing she believed from Tetsuo, it was the desperation of someone willing to reveal anything to live another day.

"So what are we going to do about this?" Minato thumbed over his shoulder to the carnage. "I can call the police and tell them I was the only one you managed to save."

"That'd be a load off my back."

Rocky came flying back and let loose a heavy sigh when he saw the two of them.

"Thank goodness…" he muttered, then handed each of them the steaming instant noodles.

Minato refused, taking back his wallet and pushing the noodle bowl back into Rocky's hands.

"Nah. You need to eat, too, buddy. Don't think I'd be able to stomach it waiting around anyway," he said.

She nodded to her friend, relieved that this night turned out the way it did and without anyone else dying.

Kari and Rocky ate the noodles on the way back to the manga cafe. By the time she finished taking a shower, a large group of people gathered in front of the lobby's TV. The police and journalists worked quick. They were already on the scene, and many were trying to interview Minato about what happened but were kept back by a cordon of officers. Instead, the same tall and imposing officer from Tamachi Station, Captain Ogata, took questions in Minato's place.

Everything Captain Ogata relayed back to the journalists was exactly as Minato described to her before she left— he was being bullied when head hounds showed up, but magical girl Kari arrived too late and only managed to save him.

She was about to go back to her booth and investigate Tetsuo's phone, but the police captain continued where it should have ended.

"We have already identified the victims through their school ID cards. There is no question head hounds killed those boys, but some things are not adding up. We will continue to investigate each thread until everything comes to light. To that end, I would like to ask magical girl Kari to come down to the station and get her account of what happened. Thank you."

What some things? Could Minato really have clued them into something, or Tetsuo's missing phone tipped the police off?

Kari chewed on her lower lip until her incisors drew blood. The taste of iron reminded her of that crimson pool beneath her feet.

Right now, they didn't know a single thing. They asked for her precisely because they knew nothing, and she could spin anything she wanted. Hell, just repeating what Minato told them should be enough.

Leaving that matter aside, she purchased a bento to eat in her booth as she checked out the phone. Tetsuo was quite the mobile gamer. A variety of game icons filled the screen from top to bottom. He even had the LINE app, and in it was a group chat between him, Daisuke, some boys from school, and others she didn't know.

Recent messages were flooding in. Many of them were in disbelief that Tetsuo had died.

He seemed well-connected for a crippled punk. Gang? It was possible, but she never heard anything like that from Gouda or Chie.

The photo gallery didn't have many pictures, which was why she found the ones of Makina immediately. Anger almost got the better of her and nearly crushed the phone. She deleted the pictures and thought back to Tetsuo's decapitated head.

That was a long time coming, she thought.

The only thing left to check was the contact list. There were just numbers of the same people he chatted with on LINE. However, one number did catch her eye. It was unnamed and not a number she recognized. A quick look through the recent calls showed that Tetsuo had received several calls from that number.

Kari could call it right now, but there was a good chance the person on the other end had already become aware of Tetsuo's death.

No matter how much she looked through the phone, nothing about Flare or Kanae came up. The unnamed number was the most suspicious. Kari was sure it couldn't be anyone other than Kanae. It could be why she only gave a LINE ID rather than a phone number.

Curiosity was killing her.

Not wanting to have her location or the phone traced, Kari turned it off and pulled out the sim card. She found some aluminum foil in a trash bin to wrap it in just as an extra precaution.

"Do you really think Flare is up to something?" Rocky floated over her face to ask.

The bright lights in the corridor were dimmed one by one. Occupants in the adjacent rooms were heading to bed, their muffled murmurs could still be heard through the walls.

"What kind of team leader tells us to be hush-hush about our skills and levels? We'd be stronger if we knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. I was willing to overlook that at first, then her name had to come out of Tetsuo's mouth. 'Flare made' what? What the fuck was he trying to say?" she asked, directing it more to herself than at Rocky.

The anthem sat down on the jacket-turned pillow next to Kari's head. His troubled frown said everything.

"I'd be lying if I told you I didn't think Flare acts weird sometimes," he remarked.

"Weird how?" she pressed further.

"I've never seen any magical girl like her before. She's so good at what she does that it kind of scares me. It always seems like she holds back, even against Malevolent Domains."

Which meant Candy being critically injured was on Flare's hands.

Kari recalled how Flare suggested Jade being the strongest one among them. She knew now that wasn't humility speaking, it was a deflection.

"Between Jade and Flare, who's stronger?" she asked.

"Flare," Rocky answered instantly. "Just like how I can sense the relative strength of a monster, I can sense the same of magical girls. Flare is on a whole other playing field. If I had to guess her level? Double-digits."

Trying to swallow the lump in her throat only made her choke. She chugged a whole bottle of water down to calm her nerves. Suddenly, the thought of confronting Flare wasn't so attractive anymore.

Was that alright? To be so meek and helpless that nodding and gritting her teeth to let those greater than her walk all over her? That would just prove her dad right. She would just be back to the same worthless kid that let people hurt Makina.

All her life she sat silently beneath the chastising shadows of her own 'what ifs'. Not anymore. She wanted answers, so she was going to get them one way or another.

"I'm buying a healing sigil. How do they work?" Kari asked, opening the shop menu.

After killing seven head hounds that put her at [182,000 Apocalypse Points]. She purchased two, reducing her points by a whole 100,000. It hurt to see it all go, but she had to be careful tomorrow.

"As your system's assistant, I hold all your sigils for you! When you want to use them, just tell me, and I'll teleport it into your hand. We have to be within ten meters of each other, otherwise I won't be able to give it to you if we're too far," Rocky explained.

She rolled her eyes. "That's inconvenient."

"Stop trying to find any reason at all to leave me behind! We're partners, aren't we?" The rabbit anthem's ears sagged, thinking that they had something going.

Kari enjoyed teasing the little bugger, but she had hung around him enough to know how far to take things. Even an anthem had feelings. She put a hand on his head and stroked his pristinely-brushed fur into a mess.

When Rocky glanced up with a pout, he flinched at the sight of her fist but quickly realized it wasn't to punch. At least, not in the way he initially thought. He bumped his paw against her fist and smiled.

"You're damn right we're partners." Kari smirked.

Kari made plans with Kanae to meet up at the Roppongi Hills Arena, underneath the mega-complex of the same name. The plaza had a fitting name to a place where they might end up doing battle, but she specifically chose this place so that wouldn't happen.

The one thing Kari could say was true of Kanae was how much she cherished Flare's image, and all the fame, attention, and adoration that came with it.

There was a restaurant right through the door, and multiple food stalls outside. People came here en masse throughout the day to soak in the sun or admire the incredible architecture of the building behind them.

"I'm a busy girl, and you're calling me out for a date first thing in the morning?" The fashionista strolled in donning a white crop top, sun hat, and a pair of aviators. She held a drink in one hand and a designer purse in the other.

That get-up alone could disguise her identity without the use of [Incognito] which Kari had activated. Blaze and Rocky waved at each other, but the falcon anthem suspected something was off as he narrowed his eyes at them.

More than that, Kari expected nothing less of Kanae to be suspicious as well. She came no closer and leaned on the overhang's pillar across from her. Whether she knew it or not, a gargantuan poster of Flare hung behind her head.

"Heard you took care of some strays last night. How'd that go?" Kanae asked.

"I take it you know who died then." Kari had a hand in her jean pocket, thumbing the tin-foil wrapped cell phone.

"Whoa, whoa. Why am I sensing antagonisms? Kari, I thought we were past this! We even did a photoshoot together. Don't tell me that was all for nothing?" she asked with a straw in her mouth.

There was no getting under her skin without getting to the point. Kari unwrapped the phone and faced the screen in Kanae's direction.

"Tetsuo mentioned your name right before he died. This number right here is unnamed, but it's yours, isn't it?" she asked.

"Kari…" she began with a chiding tone. "You should really leave playing detective to the cops. Captain Ogata is going to get suspicious, you know?"

Refusing to give Kanae another word in, Kari pressed the call button. A second later, a shrill ringtone erupted from Kanae's purse.

The world around them grew dark as nimbus clouds obscured the sun. It was looking like it might rain, contrary to the forecast. Kanae took her sunglasses off and sighed, like the abrupt change in weather burdened her.

"Just what the hell are you afraid of me finding out? Answer me, or you can consider this my two weeks' notice," Kari demanded.

Kanae's fake smile flipped to an unamused frown. "I strongly insist you reconsider. I'm not the longest-lived magical girl for nothing, you know?"

"Is-Is it just me, or them's some fighting words." Rocky nudged her.

"That's not how you use that phrase, and now isn't the time to be funny," Kari whispered back.

Kanae changed into her fiery magical girl form in a burst of flames. It took Blaze by surprise, but no one was more surprised than the hundreds of people around them. In response, Kari also transformed. She would at least have a fighting chance.

The crowds had no idea and were misreading the mood amidst the hype.

"What's going on?"

"Holy shit! Flare and Kari!"

"Are they shooting a movie?"

"You don't want to do this," Flare warned.

"You're the one who transformed first. But if it's a fight you want, you better remember that I'm stronger now." Without taking her eyes off her, Kari summoned [Destruction and Ruin] to her hand and squeezed.

Both of them glared at one another…

Until their anthems gasped at once, then a slew of words flew across Kari's vision.

[Apocalypse System activated.

WARNING. WARNING.

Malevolent Domain has been— ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR.

Malevolent Domain could not be erected in your area.]

Kari and Flare met each other's gaze again.

A loud crash was followed by cement and stone debris showering the plaza. When the dust settled, a monster had put itself between them.

It took the appearance of a scarecrow, but it wasn't made of hay or fixed to a wooden cross. A deformed, larger than normal human body was the scarecrow.

The arms were stretched out to the side. Tattered, rotting skin from its hands up to the forearms dangled like a wet construction paper at its elbow joint. Emaciated legs with flesh and splintered bones fused together formed a spear-like post that scraped the ground. When it turned its back to Kari, she saw what looked to be bloody and bony protrusions from the shoulder blades, with white plumes stuck to the remaining flesh.

"Where's the domain?" Flare asked her anthem.

"I'm unsure. It keeps repeating an error!" Blaze exclaimed.

People weren't running away. They stayed and gawked, taking pictures of them and the monsters.

"Kari, wait your turn like a good girl. I have some choice words for you once I turn this thing into charcoal," she said.

The scarecrow formed a projection of what might have once been its majestic wings. A single beat created a gust that sent dozens of people standing directly behind Flare flying into the sky. So powerful was the gale that it sent even Blaze away.

Kari left the battle to catch who she could, but for every two she saved, six more fell to their deaths. Chaos ensued as everyone realized the gore was too real to be a movie, but their panic only made it easier for them to be caught in the crossfire between Flare and the scarecrow. Saving people was pointless. Fighting the monster should come first.

But just as Kari resolved to fight, she saw an opening. Not of the scarecrow that was right between them, but of someone else.

She raised her hand, positioned Flare right underneath the palm, and shouted the skill, "Come Here!"

"Wha—?!" Flare was yanked forward.

Like a bee raising its stinger, the scarecrow's bone-like spear of its conjoined legs skewered Flare through her chest. She gawked at the point of entry in disbelief, baffled as to what happened.

"Not yet… Blaze… where are you… Blaze?" She coughed up blood, scanning the surroundings for her anthem and finding Kari instead.

Determined not to be defeated, Flare grabbed the scarecrow defiantly by the bone and tried vainly to pull it off. The desperation only led to further blood loss, and her slickened hands soon fell to the side. The light from her eyes dimmed, and then she crumpled to the ground with the monster on top of her.

Magical girl Flare laid defeated, her body twitching in its final death throes and gurgling up blood.

"AHAHAHAHEHEHEHE… eh?" The scarecrow expressed something akin to confusion, tilting its head a whole 90 degrees sideways to stare at Flare's corpse. It began to jump up and down, repeatedly stabbing holes into the magical girl with its sharpened leg bones.

Kari felt the corner of her lips twitching into a grin, pleasantly astonished that Flare had died as easily as she did.

"F-Flare is… she's… oh, no. No, no, no, no, no…" Rocky repeated that word like a broken record, eyes blank and voice full of despair.

The scarecrow, having seemingly grown bored of desecrating Flare's body, turned its attention to them.