While Tsubasa, Rie, and Sachi were searching for a nice room to hunker down in since the hotel was abandoned, Kari hung back in the lobby's restroom. She sat inside a stall in case one of them were to come searching for her. It was no secret that she was a magical girl-killer now, but no one needed to know that they could gain points from it.

Although, there was one other candidate who might already be aware that such a thing was possible.

Flare.

The Apocalypse System's communication revealed that there used to be more magical girls in Japan. Sachi had even been added to the list after turning into one. Chances were, those other girls couldn't handle fighting monsters all the time. The fact that the public knew so little— possibly knew nothing about— was further proof that they either gave up early on or Flare forced them to put down the mantle. Likely by killing them herself.

How else could she have reached level 19 without slaying other magical girls? Kari was evidence of that. A magical girl was worth as many points as a Malevolent Domain threat. Killing Aiko and Yuria had given her enough to catch up to Candy in two months.

Now, Kari was going to overtake Candy by one level.

"Put 400,000 points into Siegemaster and level me up," she told Rocky.

"Right away!"

Her points pool of 800,000 dropped by half.

[Congratulations! You are now a Lvl. 3 Siegemaster subclass.

Physical strength. 34 ⇒ 36

New skill gained.

Destruction Incarnate: Spend your maximum magic and half your health to activate. Become impervious to all physical damage, and all physical damage dealt ignores physical resilience.]

"Well, isn't this a crazy skill?" Kari whistled sharply.

The fight against that monster the other day might have turned out very differently with this skill. In the very same breath, there was no telling if it had its own magic-based attacks waiting for them.

Using a skill like this was going to take some precautions. She spent another 200,000 on two healing sigils and two magic sigils.

"It still feels wrong that you used points from Yuria and Aiko…" Rocky shuddered.

"For an anthem that's supposed to be my support, you sure question me a lot. In case you forgot, one of them tried to kill me and the other almost killed me." She reminded him with a flick to the forehead.

The anthem's ears drooped. Kari lifted them and tugged lightly to the sides. He squirmed uncomfortably at first but was clearly enjoying the attention she starved him of.

"It's just that… You seem to get really angry when people hide stuff from you— rightfully so— but aren't you hiding a lot from the others?" he asked.

Her smile fell away, and she let go of his ears.

"Let me ask you this— if I tell them I got points from killing Aiko and Yuria, what then? If I told Officer Ogata that I let Tetsuo and those boys get eaten, what then? If I took too long to kill that bird monstrosity or let those people in front of the broken lady live, what then? I turn myself into the police and get handcuffs slapped on my wrists, but all those monsters will still run rampant while I sit behind bars."

The gears in Rocky's head turned as he tried to come up with a rebuttal. Eventually he yielded.

"I guess you're right, but don't you feel bad for hurting them?" Rocky looked into her eyes as if searching for the answer himself rather than from her.

Not an ounce, was what she wanted to tell him but knew better than to get into that discussion.

"Jade once said that we can't save everyone. That's my answer, too. But can you really question my morality when you anthems don't tell us that we exchange our souls to become a magical girl?" Kari fired back.

Rocky gulped and said nothing more.

Over the course of the week, Kari and Makina had been texting nonstop, updating each other on the state of things and how they were doing. A lot of their messages were mostly flirtatious. Makina had also been talking about a surprise, but refused to give Kari any hints. She had never felt this floaty before. It sucked that they were miles apart after finally confessing. If only things turned out differently, they could be together right now.

Instead, Kari had to spend hours in her day killing stray spawns and hunting for that monster. They also had to keep an eye out on Sachi in case Flare decided to come and finish the job.

While Rie stayed behind at the hotel with Sachi, Kari and Jade set out into the mostly deserted city for the creature again.

Kari couldn't hide her displeasure any longer after they circled half the city. "It's not just me, right? This thing is avoiding us or something. Were they ever this smart?"

It certainly seemed that way.

Without Flare's Eye of Ra to help, they were searching for a needle in the haystack with a human-sized monster in the metropolis that was Minato City. Wouldn't put it past her to kill the thing herself for all the points it was probably worth.

That she hadn't come for Sachi yet should be proof enough that she wasn't here.

"Jaws really threw us into the ringer and went into hiding." Jade agreed. "It's definitely more intelligent than the others we've fought. If it traveled to other cities to kill people, we would have heard about it by now."

"Jaws?" Kari raised an eyebrow.

"You got a better name for it, rookie?" She folded her arms.

"Better than what I was thinking— Venus-fly Trap monster or Zetsu."

There was a moment of silence between them as if Jade fell into mourning.

"No wonder you're so whacked. Your taste in anime is trash." Jade rolled her eyes and flew towards the Tokyo Tower.

"Wha— Hey! It was a decent show!" Kari clicked her tongue. She caught up to Jade who was floating above the very top point of the tower.

The city only appeared as calm as it was deserted. Any sort of commotion, and they would have seen or heard something. With everyone gone, nature was quick to try and reclaim it. Small critters like squirrels and racoons scurried in the streets again. For once, birds chirped louder than car engines and music from traffic speakers.

It occurred to Kari only now how peaceful the city could be. All it took was removing an entire population of humans. But deserted or not, that peace wasn't going to last very long.

"What do you know about Hurricane and Chu Hua?" Kari asked. "You've been a magical girl longer than I have, and I didn't care much for them until I became one."

"No one does until it starts affecting them. Maybe you heard a few weeks ago the PM was trying to introduce a magical girl registrar. It would make us property of the government," Jade explained with a sour expression.

"I thought that fell through, but what's it got to do with those two?"

She nodded. "I'm getting there. Reason was, it didn't gain traction thanks in large part to Flare and a whole lot of people at our backs. That ain't the case across the Pacific. Magical girl Hurricane is a United States marine. She's also the one who proposed a magical girl registrar to Japan at a UN assembly."

When Kari connected the dots, it wasn't hard to understand why Flare had a bone to pick with Hurricane.

"People in Japan welcomed us with open arms when we became one. Over in the States and China, a teenage girl with superpowers is not something to be celebrated. Think of us like natto. Most people in Japan will eat it without a second thought. You give it to a bleached monkey, it will be a cold day in hell before they try it," Jade said.

Crude as her metaphor was, Kari was inclined to agree. Their country had already set a precedent of accepting magical girls. That wasn't the case elsewhere. Crazy to think all those anime, manga, and novels would have contributed to the acceptance of their kind. At the same time, military superpowers likely viewed them differently as assets.

"As for Chu Hua. Dunno too much. Her class is Illusionist, and the girl's a dancer." She pulled out her phone to show Kari an online video with tens of millions of views.

A dainty but tall girl was performing a breathtaking ribbon dance on a grand stage to the erhu and bamboo flute. The ribbons, as Kari watched carefully, were an extension of the sleeve's flowing blue outfit. Her skin was snow white. She danced upon slender legs, moving fluidly from one side of the stage to the other.

When the music picked up, many copies of herself emerged from her body to fill the stage. They continued to perform to applause and cheers as confetti rained down.

"It ain't photoshop or mirrors. That's Chu Hua making use of her illusionary skill. Each is as strong as the real one. Can probably give Naruto a run for his money," she teased.

It unsettled Kari that Chu Hua expressed so much emotion in her movements, but her eyes could be so lifeless. She appeared almost like a marionette.

Those two would inevitably come to Japan, whether by taking Flare's bait or by international obligation after seeing what happened in South Africa. Japan's economy wasn't something the world wanted tanking. If Flare was planning to kill them, then she intended to do it here and take every single point they had to offer.

Her true threats weren't Kari, Jade, or Candy. They were Hurricane and Chu Hua. Likely the same ones the giant eyeball referred to. Kari was unsure who to side with anymore. Getting rid of the remaining members of The Messiah was what the monster asked her to do. But doing so helped Flare, and no one benefited from her surviving.

It also begged the question— Why the hell were Hurricane and Chu Hua instigating the populace against magical girls in secret?

A heavy metallic sound clattering on the street drew Kari's attention. It was brief, but she was sure she had heard something.

"Was it just my imagination?" Kari wondered aloud, then descended to the middle of the empty road. Few idle cars were parked on the curb. An empty coffee can rolled past her, but the sound was much heavier than that.

Clunk!

A round sewer grate had wiggled. Strange, fleshy growths were writhing along the gaps like tiny fingers trying to push its way out from underneath.

Jade joined her in the street. "The hell did you just find?"

"About to find out." Kari ripped the grate from the ground and tossed it off to the side like a frisbee. She and Jade jumped into the pitch black sewer system. The rank smell of rot permeated the air.

It wasn't until Jade summoned her shining javelin to shed some light that they saw what horror awaited.

All along the concrete walls and ceiling were human-sized pustules and fleshy sacs, each connected by stringy tendrils like clusters of nerve cells. They pulsed with life as a beating heart would.

When Rocky and Gauntlet poked at one, it rumbled back like a growling stomach.

Kari summoned [Destruction and Ruin] to cut one sac open. A creature with similar features to a head hound fell out. The thing twitched for a moment before going still. It looked different from the monsters above. Its limbs were more like stringy synapses than meaty claws. She cut out a second one to smash its head in.

"No points," she said.

"There's more down this way!" Rocky shouted from further in.

Gauntlet returned from the opposite direction with the same news. "This way, too!"

"Have these things been down here this entire time?" Jade asked blankly.

The two of them threw each other a worried look. The Tokyo sewer system was vast. It had to be in order to service the millions that lived in this metropolis.

"I think our government's going to need to evacuate a lot more than just Minato City…" Kari muttered.

They almost considered killing the monsters one by one until Candy sent them a message that made the hair on their neck stand on end.

[Candy: Flare's here. She says we need to talk, but Sachi is still here with me. What do I do?]

Kari panicked. "We have to go back!"

"That bitch sure has her timing down pat." Jade growled and took another look at the monsters clinging to the sewers.

The four double-timed it back to the hotel and found Kanae leaning against a limousine in front of the building. She couldn't look more relaxed dressed in a strapless top and designer jeans, sipping milk tea and texting into her phone.

Blocking the entrance into the hotel was Candy in her magical girl form, shielding Sachi who was also transformed.

"You got balls to show up like you aren't looking for a fight. Maybe you're finally here to help us?" Kari glowered the pop idol.

"Nope." Kanae put her phone away and lifted her sunglasses. "My beach house isn't going to occupy itself."

Jade landed to put herself between Kanae and Candy. "The Apocalypse is right around the corner, a Malevolent Domain-level threat somewhere out here, and we just found a whole bunch of shit underground. You think we should be playing around?"

Instead of looking Jade in the eyes, Kanae turned her gaze to Kari and smiled.

"You really pulled a fast one on me with that girl over there. You even went as far as giving her a ring? I'm impressed. Seriously!" Kanae chuckled.

"Don't even think about it." Kari gripped her weapon with both hands.

"We all know this won't end pretty," She waved her hand dismissively. "But I'm willing to graciously let this slide under two stipulations: give me the other ring so I won't come back to any more surprises, and Kari comes with me to Okinawa."

Was that it? What sort of game was she playing?

"Why Kari?" Jade asked in her stead.

Kanae let out an exasperated sigh. "Why else? So we can bond! We're friends who got off to a bumpy start and need to build some trust again. Only her, by the way. You and Rie have already gone with me last year, so hold down the fort here with the new girl."

"You have my word, Flare has no intentions of hurting Kari," Blaze assured them.

"What do you think, Rocky?" Kari whispered.

"Blaze might serve a questionable magical girl, but he wouldn't lie. Maybe we should at least hear what Flare has to say?" he suggested.

She stowed away her weapon and dropped the transformation. "Fine."

Jade pulled out the ring from her pocket that once belonged to Aiko and tossed it to Kanae. As if on cue, the chauffeur exited from the driver's seat to open the door for his passengers. The celebrity entered first and immediately made herself comfortable.

"Come on. The ivory beaches of Okinawa await!"

"You can't be serious about wanting to bond with me," Kari remarked scornfully as she entered and took as far a seat away from Kanae as possible.

She didn't answer. Her lips creased into a scheming smirk when the door shut.

As it turned out, Kanae wasn't kidding. They drove to the airport where a private jet was waiting. Both of them could have flown to Okinawa, but the celebrity insisted on travelling in style. Once they landed at Naha Airport, Kanae spent nearly an hour taking pictures with the locals and pandering to the public for an impromptu photography session.

Kari couldn't wrap her head around what she wanted. If it was to enact revenge for tricking her about Sachi, she could have done it back in the city in front of the others to teach them a lesson. Was this really just to go on vacation?

If it weren't for Flare's Eye of Ra, Kari would have ditched her a long time ago to meet up with Makina instead.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you— I invited one more person to join us. You two have already met," Kanae said.

When they walked out of the airport terminal, another limousine was waiting for them. Someone in a one-piece white sundress, her curly dark brown brown hair fluttering from the winds, stood awkwardly in front of the vehicle.

That someone was Makina, and as their eyes met, only one of them smiled. Kanae put an arm around Kari to make it look like they were the best of friends.

"Let's get along nicely, yeah?"