The Magical Girl of Justice.

An undeserved and loathsome nickname that somehow stuck harder than a piece of gum in someone's hair, and had only been tacked on when the news asked about the soul-weapon's name. It was a title that couldn't be further from the truth for Tsubasa Shibusawa.

Jade watched as a half-assed Malevolent Domain was raised into the sky. It looked like it couldn't withstand someone sneezing on the damn thing. If the handicaps weren't bad enough, it was as though the system told them that the apocalypse was inevitable.

There was only one thing to say to their disadvantage— fuck that.

She might not have another chance and decided to double-check her status screen before diving into the fight.

Apocalypse System

User Information

Offensive Stats

Defensive Stats

User:

Tsubasa Shibusawa

Physical Strength:

23

Health:

450/450

Total Level:

Lv. 13

Magical Strength:

3

Magic Capacity:

160/160

Class:

Lv. 9 Rook

Haste:

25

Physical Resilience:

105

Subclass

Lv. 4 Knight

Magical Resilience:

105

Soul-Weapon

Justice

Current Points:

230,000

While many magical girls went the route of pure power, Jade had other ideas. She paired the Rook class with the Knight subclass.

A potent combination that valued high defenses. What truly made it shine were the skills afforded to her such as Gallant Knight and King's Decree, turning defense into offense. But as the world was coming close to its end, what good would it do anyone if she was the last one standing?

"Gauntlet, how much further are we from one of the big four?" Jade asked, shutting the system interface.

"Not far! It should be just beyond Gakushuin University," the armored panda answered.

"We're in Toshima now? That far out, huh. Keep your eyes peeled. We don't want Jaws showing up unannounced."

For the past week, efforts in finding Jaws yielded nothing but wasted breath and points. Just what sort of monster was that? Even as the apocalypse was closing in, it continued to lay in wait.

That thing had to be an angel.

Among monsters, she and Flare had learned over the years through observation that there was a clear power structure. Almost like a hierarchy. Head hounds, flyers, and broken ladies were mindless grunts. Threats that warranted a Malevolent Domain came next and ranged from levels 5 to 10. If one managed to break out of the barrier, they would become an angel. No one had seen one since South Africa faced their Apocalypse… at least until the winged wolf appeared a few weeks ago, and the only angel to ever appear in Japan was a level 16 killed by Flare a year before then.

The final category, one which was spoken lightly of and in hypotheticals, were gods.

No where in the world had a god ever manifested. It would probably have to eat millions of people. Or…

"Flare, you crazy bitch." Jade cursed under her breath upon coming to the only conclusion.

Or just a handful of magical girls. Was that the real reason she let Sachi scot-free and baited Messiah to Japan?

"Kari, you fell into her hands more than you know. Is this my fault? That day… should I have—"

Her thoughts were interrupted by a snarling head hound, leaping at them from an alleyway. Before it even passed the threshold of the building's shadow, her golden javelin, [Justice], drilled a hole through its face and returned to her side.

[+1,000 Apocalypse Points.]

Jade couldn't have manifested a better weapon if she wanted to. It suited her far better than anyone else might claim of their own.

[Soul-weapon: Justice.

The javelin is commanded by your will.

Attacks and skills with this weapon deal 200% of your base physical strength (currently, 46). Additionally, it will move as fast as your haste.]

They left a trail of countless dead head hounds, broken ladies, and flying monsters in their wake. All without Jade sparing a single glance at them. Having Judgment removed from her skill list was more of a blessing in disguise, allowing her to conserve points for the time being.

Jade pulled out a worn photo of herself when she first started high school, standing next to her little brother Izumi before he died during an incursion. Unfortunately, it happened before she became a magical girl. If he was here now, she wondered what he would think of her silly nickname.

"Hey, there's a girl down the street!" Gauntlet warned, snapping Jade from her reverie.

A girl dressed in camo uniform was standing in the way. An anthem, a mouse floating listlessly by her side, meant that she was more than just some girl.

"Stop!" she shouted. "Turn around before you get hurt!"

"Don't know who you are. Don't care. But you better move, because I ain't stopping for no one," Jade said, continuing her advance without missing a beat.

"I warned you… Forge From the Elements: stone and fire!"

Six large humanoid golems as tall as utility poles made of rock and on fire emerged from the asphalt, but Jade, undeterred by their appearance, pressed forward. Her eyes remained focused on the magical girl ahead.

Talk about an unlucky game of rock, paper, scissors, Jade thought.

As one of the golems threw a punch, [Justice] shattered the fist into gravel. Her soul-weapon made short work of all six until they were nothing but a pile of smoldering rocks.

The summoner magical girl took a trembling step back but retreated too late.

"No, stay back! Forge— mmph?!"

Jade grabbed her by the face, lifted the struggling girl off her feet, and continued walking. "You with the Messiah, right? If you're the best they got, then there ain't a single one of you cut out to take me on, let alone Flare."

Sharp nails dug vainly into Jade's skin with great effort and amounted to a tickling sensation. No matter how much the girl tried to claw and rip her way out, a weakass summoner had nothing against the durability of the rook class made sturdier by the knight subclass.

With a hand over her mouth and nose, she began to turn blue. Tears streamed down the girl's face. A look that reminded Jade of all the times she had fucked up in her life. Of all the lives she had fucked up before becoming a magical girl as a good-for-nothing.

Jade refused to kill. Her grip faltered, and she let the girl down.

Freed from her grasp, the summoner leapt back. It didn't look like she had enough yet.

"Give up," Jade urged.

"I can't afford to let you go any farther… Heed my Call, Titan!" The camo girl tossed what looked to be her soul-weapon, a chisel, into the air.

A massive, stone golem about half the size of the Tokyo Tower took shape behind her. The ground quaked with each step, causing buildings nearby to crack and crumble.

It might be a little overkill, but Jade couldn't afford to be stingy about using some magic. One skill should do the trick.

[Judge, Jury, and Executioner (15): Throw your soul-weapon. The first target it hits deals 350% of its current physical strength.]

"Didn't want to use any of my skills yet, but I gotta put you in your place somehow." Jade sighed. She opened her palm for [Justice] to return at last, dug her heels into the ground, and aimed for the heart of the golem. "Judge, Jury, and Executioner!"

[Physical Strength: 46 ⇒ 161]

The javelin broke the sound barrier as it launched from her hand, booming like the crack of thunder. It punctured through the golem and left a gaping hole in its chest. The chisel dropped down to the despondent, wide-eyed summoner's feet, and without any structural integrity to hold itself together, the golem began to fall apart.

Jade dashed in to carry the petrified girl away as boulders crashed around her. She put her down on the sidewalk and pressed forward.

"That was… my strongest summon. It can even stand toe to toe with Malevolent Domain threats… but you… how did… in one hit?" she mumbled in disbelief.

Now wasn't the time to butt heads with a magical girl. Hell, wasting time with anyone was exactly what Messiah wanted.

"Please kill me," the girl whispered.

"What?" Jade finally turned around and squinted at her.

"Kill me!" she screamed. "If you won't, then Hurricane will! I'm… I'm supposed to be the third inheritor of this ring, but I can't even catch up to Sniper and Sister in strength…"

Two additional names that must also be part of Messiah. Just how many were there? Hurricane and Chu Hua complicated things enough. Two country's worth of magical girls were dead set on setting off the apocalypse?

"What do you mean Hurricane will kill you? Aren't you guys allies?" Jade asked.

"You guys don't inherit rings in Japan? Geez… Maybe my country is the one that's messed up. My orders are to stop you. Fail and they'll take my ring off and give it to someone else. I think we both know there's only one way it's coming off my finger." The girl rubbed a green, gem-studded ring on her index finger.

"What's your name?"

She stopped weeping and looked up.

"Don't make me sound like a broken record," Jade said, scratching the back of her head. "Your name. You got one of those, right?"

"I'm… Emma." She clicked the heel of her boots together and proceeded to speak with more vigor. "Private first class Emma Howards of the United States Special Magical Marine Task Force, and my anthem, Lilypad!"

"I'm Gauntlet! It's nice to meet you both!" Jade's own anthem declared.

The loud introduction that came directly from Emma's diaphragm deserved some respect. It gave Jade a nostalgic trip from when her gang used to shout at the top of their lungs together.

She nodded at Emma and said, "Jade."

Emma gasped, almost starstruck. "Are you really… Jade? As in the Magical Girl of Justice? Wow. So I never had any chance against you after all…"

"Nothing to sweat about. Probably only three who can really take me on— well, four now if she really wanted to." Jade rolled her eyes and wondered how Kari was handling things on her end. Hopefully that idiot wasn't throwing herself into trouble and was sticking close to the other two.

A bellowing cry like grinding metal caused the four of them to squeeze their ears shut. Fissures snaked up and down the street, utility poles and street lights toppled, fire hydrants popped from ground and fired geysers of water into the sky. Further down the road and near the main gate into the university campus, a skeletal hand punched through the asphalt.

Like a baby bird kicking and pecking its way out the eggshell, a hulking monster with mummified skin ripped away the street to wrench itself from underground. Jade and Emma gagged at the gruesome face in which the top half of its head was missing. It wasn't until it emerged completely did they see that it was also missing the lower half of its body.

One gangly arm reached deep into the chasm it crawled out of, playing the same metallic, screeching note until an enormous, pitch-black sword surfaced. The most disturbing thing wasn't the monster, but the hilt made of human bodies, wailing as it swung a wide swathe through the block.

"What… What is that?" Emma asked, hands shaking as they peeled away from her ears.

"You're freaked out? That's just the start of what your Messiah wants to set loose into the world!" Jade exclaimed.

"N-No, that can't be it! Hurricane and Sister told me we're saving the world! Humanity has sinned, so God is sending his angels to deliver us from—"

"The fuck nutjob garbage is that? You actually believe the sopping wet bullshit Hurricane fed you? There's nothing angelic about those things. What about that looks like it's going to save you anymore than throwing yourself into a meat grinder?" She watched as Emma's shock demeanor gradually morphed into one of despair.

Emma broke down, clutching her body, finally thinking for herself rather than letting others think for her, but still unable to grapple with the lies.

"But… everything they showed me… Sister Claire said I could get my soul back and…"

This was a waste of time. Jade needed to stop the monster which appeared to be heading north in haste.

"We all got our own choices to make. Taking orders from a cunt who can't even do her own dirty work ain't gonna save anyone. But you can." Leaving the summoner with those final words, Jade took off with Gauntlet to face the monster.

"How are we going to fight that thing?" Gauntlet asked.

"Same way we fight everything— beat it until it stops moving!" Jade might not be able to fly right now, but [Justice] can. She grabbed onto her javelin and had it carry her onto the monster's back. It didn't so much as react to her landing.

The thing was heading right for the edge of the barrier at the other end of Toshima. If it broke through, Japan was toast.

"I'm just going to have to stop it here. Judge, Jury, and—" It finally took notice and bucked her off, but she wasn't done just yet. "Executioner!"

The javelin roared as it left her hand, but what followed was a much more deafening clang as the monster parried the blow with its obsidian sword. Although her attack had been blocked, the impact nearly tore off its right arm from the shoulder.

"I gotta hand it to you. So far, Flare's magma shield was the only thing that could block that attack. Let's see you try it a second time." Jade opened her hand to receive the javelin again, but the monster's overhead swing stopped her from winding up the skill for another instead. "Castle!"

[Castle (10): Create a stone tower that shares your current resilience and half your health. It lasts until you leave it, or its health is reduced to 0.]

The projection of a stone tower halted the strike cold. While it tried to shatter the defensive structure, Jade sicced her javelin on the partially torn shoulder joint, tearing off leathery skin and flesh until it was down to bone.

In a hopeless attempt to swat away the weapon buzzing around it like a pesky fly, it swung too hard and dislocated its shoulder. Both the right arm and black sword clattered to the ground.

It uttered a frustrated howl and picked up the sword with the left hand.

[Use of magic sigils restored.]

Looked like Kari and the others got around to beating one. At this rate, she was going to fall behind being so slow.

"I won't even need Gallant Knight to finish you off," Jade scoffed, folding her arms and casting off Castle.

Fleshy tendrils suddenly sprouted from the shoulder, connecting to the detached limb and bringing it back to its body. Both hands clenching the black sword struck downwards.

"Heed my Call, Titan!"

A giant construct backhanded the broad side of the sword, causing the blade to plunge into a building instead.

Jade chuckled at the timely arrival and asked, "What took you? Trying to figure out what to have for lunch?"

"I don't want whatever world Hurricane thinks will still exist after the Apocalypse. I… I want to follow you instead!" Emma shouted from the shoulder of her titan.

This warm and pleasant feeling, having someone look up to her again, wasn't so bad.

"If that's what you decided, then who am I to tell you to screw off? Fair warning though: I don't stop or slow down for anyone." Jade grinned, feeling lighter and more determined.

"Trust me," she said, rubbing her cheek. "I already know!"

Emma's sturdy titan proved to be a decisive obstruction in the monster's attempt to escape. They wrestled to the ground, flattening buildings and abandoned cars. More importantly, their grappling distracted the monster enough and prevented it from swinging the devastating sword, providing for Jade the favorable circumstances with which to end it.

In order to do that…

"King's Decree!"

[King's Decree (30): Swap your defensive and offensive stats for the duration of one skill.

Base physical Strength: 23 ⇒ 105

Base magical Strength 3 ⇒ 105]

"Emma, take cover!" Jade shouted.

[Justice] proceeded to double in physical strength and bristled with so much power that it stung to hold.

"Where? There's nowhere to hide!" Emma cried.

"You're looking at her— behind me," Jade said, winding up to throw the javelin. Emma and Lilypad dove off their titan to hide behind her. She took aim at the sword-wielding monster, held still by the summoned golem. "Judge, Jury, and Executioner!"

The soul-weapon ripped through both creatures with an incredible explosion. Debris and rubble from broken buildings were sent flying everywhere. Her stats immediately returned to normal, and she turned around to shield both Emma and Lilypad.

[+1,000,000 Apocalypse Points.]

[Apocalypse Communications Restored.]

"That was… amazing…" Emma uttered in awe. "You did all that with two skills?"

"You ain't seen nothing yet," Jade said, cracking her neck.

Nothing of the monster was left after the dust settled. Better send the others a message to check on things.

[Jade: Thank fuck. You guys, be careful and stick together. The Messiah crashed the party, and there's more than just Chu Hua and Hurricane. I just had one try to stop me from killing a monster, but she's on our side now.]

[Sachi: Candy and I are near Setagaya, but—]

What just happened?

[Jade: But what? What the hell happened over there? Kari, if you're listening, you gotta get to them. I'm all the way over in fucking Toshima.]

[Kari: I'm near. Heading there as fast as I can.]

That kid might be tempermental, but at least she could be trusted in a fight. Candy and Sachi should be in good hands.

Emma rummaged through her stuff and offered a canteen sloshing with water inside it. Jade graciously received it, but took only a few sips before handing it back.

"You're really not the kind of person I expected Jade to be," Emma said, taking a seat next to her. "The best way to describe you… brusque?"

"What? Did my piercings give it away? Used to run with a pretty bad gang as a kid. Maybe that's where it comes from. With a past like mine, the whole Magical Girl of Justice title feels lame," Jade answered thoughtfully.

"I don't think it's lame! If anything, I think you're pretty damn cool!" she exclaimed with unabashed enthusiasm.

"Cool, huh?"

Tsubasa Shibusawa wasn't a street punk that broke windows or stole from backwater convenience stores. She used to paint the streets red with a motorcycle gang. It got so bad, the police figured the best way to get rid of them was to let turf wars solve itself. Well, turned out no one could live that way forever. A hungry stomach didn't care how many noses she broke during youth, and no one wanted to hire a kid with a face asking for trouble."

"This is going to be a weird question… Do you… believe in God?" Emma asked.

"Big man upstairs with the capital G? As far as I care, he's got nothing to do with me just like my shitty old man." Jade scoffed at the idea of a benevolent higher being.

If one existed, they must be cruel.

"I wish I could see things the way you do.Sounds like you have it all figured out." She frowned.

"I ain't perfect. None of us are." Jade got to her feet and brushed the dirt from her robe.

[Disabled skill has been restored.]

Someone got the third monster? Then there was only one more.

"Gauntlet, where's the last one?"

"Higashikurume, due west. It's a little far from us," he answered.

"What do you say, Emma?" Jade extended a hand to the girl who was still sitting and in thought. "We stop the Apocalypse from happening, and I show you around Japan. Ever had authentic takoyaki?"

Emma swallowed hard. "Why did you have to bring up food at a time like this?"

The two shared a laugh.

As they were about to set off, Gauntlet gasped. "Watch out!"

Jade followed the anthem's gaze over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of the monster she had been searching for all this time— Jaws, with its gaping maw clamped down on Lilypad.

"Em… ma…" the mouse squeaked before being swallowed whole.

"Lily…?" Emma stared blankly at the monster.

Jade pulled Emma away just as Jaws reached out to grab them, then she crushed a magic sigil in her other hand.

"Lily! No!" Emma screamed, voice quivering and choking up.

"Gallant Knight!" Her robes reformed into a suit of armor and [Justice] grew into a large, blinding lance.

[Gallant Knight (All): Gain 1,000 additional health. Physical and magical resiliences are doubled until excess health is depleted. This health pool cannot be restored by health sigils.]

[Health: 450/450 ⇒ 1450/1450

[Physical Resilience: 105 ⇒ 210

Magical Resilience: 105 ⇒ 210]

Jade crushed another magic sigil to restore her entire magic capacity. She had to pull out all the stops for this thing. It wasn't going to catch her off-guard like the first time. Unfortunately, seeing Lilypad's death put Emma in no position to fight.

"Gauntlet, Grand Cavalry!"

[Grand Cavalry: Available to use once per day. Your anthem gains your stats at half their current value.]

"Yes, boss!" Gauntlet grew in size to fend off Jaws, but it was clear from the beginning how outmatched the anthem was.

"King's Decree!"

[Base physical Strength: 23 ⇒ 210

Base magical Strength 3 ⇒ 210

Physical Resilience: 210 ⇒ 23

Magical Resilience: 210 ⇒ 3]

Jade prepared to throw her javelin again. "Judge, Jury, and Executioner!"

Even stronger now, the javelin tore a trench through the streets. Jaws jumped high to avoid the attack, but since the weapon answered to Jade's will, she ordered it upwards and struck it square in the thigh, ripping the right leg off.

As the monster came crashing down, Gauntlet wailed into it but was sent flying with an uppercut. The missing leg quickly rejuvenated good as new.

Jaws was undoubtedly a cut above Malevolent Domain categories. Angel? It sure as hell fought like one.

Jade took her eyes off Jaws for one moment and it disappeared. Next thing she knew, it launched a flurry of blows she couldn't block. It was too fast. Far faster than last time, as though it had grown stronger.

Her health chipped away with each punch, knocking away pieces of her armor from Gallant Knight. It shouldn't be able to, especially when Knight's Decree ended after using a skill. Her defenses should be able to withstand Jaws' attacks, and yet…

A right straight shattered and punched through the armor, burying the fist into Jade's gut.

[Health: 540/1450]

The total health pool of 1,450 was reduced to 540 in a single onslaught.

"How…?" Jade choked out.

Towering over her and grinning, Jaws winded its arm for more. The hit, however, struck someone else instead.

Emma coughed up blood. A fist had punched through her stomach. Jaws grabbed her head and threw her down the street just as the magical girl transformation dropped.

"Emma, no!" Jade ordered her javelin, joined by Gauntlet, to bear down on Jaws.

While the monster vaulted away, Jade ran to help Emma and threw up a Castle to buy them time.

"You idiot! Why did you go and do that?" She cradled the fatally injured girl.

"You're the one… who told me we have our own choices to make… Did I make… the right choice?" Emma asked weakly. "There's something… I have to tell you… Hurricane is after… She wants to kill someone named… Kari. It's why she sent Chu Hua… and two other magical girls…"

"I'll do something about it," she assured her.

The hole in Emma's stomach was a mortal wound. Without Lilypad, she was going to die. Jade tried to put a health sigil in her hand and crushed it, but all it did was heal herself instead.

"Jade… I can't see you anymore… I'm so scared," Emma whimpered as the color in her eyes began to fade.

Jade squeezed the dying girl's hand tighter. "I'm here. I ain't letting you die on me, so hang in there. Stay with me, alright?"

"Hey… It's a little embarrassing, but… I want to say it. The truth is… you're… actually my favorite magical girl. I have… all your posters, looked up to you… Silly, right? I wish we could have met sooner, then maybe… I…"

Her hand stopped trembling. Her lips and chest went still. There were no more words to exchange, yet Jade wanted to hear more about this girl, who she had only just met. She wanted to hear about her dreams, aspirations… but now all gone with her death.

The person underneath the brave facade that was Jade, Tsubasa Shibusawa, wept. Another person she had promised to protect has died under her watch. She had broken another promise.

"Why the hell's it gotta be me? You could've chosen a better favorite than some high school flunkie." Jade lifted Emma's body and carried her to a nearby tree, fighting back tears as monsters were spawning all around them.

[WARNING. WARNING.

Apocalypse is imminent. The remaining cherubs have entered metamorphosis. Multiple incursions are spawning all across Japan, accompanied by seraphs.

Please eliminate them in a timely manner before they reach the status of a god.

Otherwise, your world is doomed.]

Jaws watched from the sea monsters closing in, cackling loudly as purple shards fell around them.

They had failed to stop the Apocalypse from arriving, but that didn't mean Jade was going to go quietly.

"Gauntlet, make sure no monster gets to her. I'm going to shut that fucker up for good," Jade said, passing Emma to her anthem.

"Are you… okay, Jade? I haven't seen you cry since…" Gauntlet bit back finishing his sentence.

She brushed a hand over her tear-stained cheeks. "Well, shit. Guess I ain't okay, but I'm gonna beat these things up until I am— Gallant Knight!"

The emerald robes transformed again into the full suit of armor, and she crushed a magic sigil to restore her magic to full.

"King's Decree! Judgment!"

[Justice] rose into the sky and began to duplicate itself, numbering in the thousands until the very sun was blotted out.

[Judgment: Cast your soul-weapon to the skies to mete out justice, doubling in number for every 5 magic spent.]

For once, it seemed Jaws feared for its life.

Jade cast a final apologetic glance at Emma and sighed, then turned back to the incursion-sized horde with fury and tears in her eyes.

"Eat shit."