"Holy crap, my arm is so numb." Kari shrugged the shoulder of the arm which she had been holding Sachi with.

Two hours spent flying full speed ahead, and they finally arrived at the cultural hub of Japan. Once a cultural hub, now mostly destroyed and smoking ruins. The many palaces and shrines, prideful centerpieces of this country, were overrun by monsters and in shambles. Wherever they looked, the same infestation that was in Meguro was in Kyoto, too.

So it wasn't just Tokyo. Jade's attempts to clear the underground growth were in vain after all.

Sachi grimaced at the devastation below them. "I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this being real… Seeing it from a bird's eye view— ugh. I feel sick."

That only made one of them. Though Sachi hadn't been a magical girl for long, she was shielded by a secure layer of ignorance up until putting on the ring. Many people were probably going through the exact same thing. Disbelief, confusion, anger…

Their way of life and peace, upended by a bumbling, idiot god.

"That's Nijo Castle, right?" Rocky asked, pointing ahead to the palace distinguishable by the signature rectangular moat surrounding it.

"Hey," Sachi began. "It just occurred to me. If Sniper and Sister Claire are already there, doesn't that make us prime targets up—"

A shot whizzed past their heads and exploded.

"Shit!" Kari lost hold of Sachi's hand.

"We're sitting ducks up here! I'll see you at the bottom!" Sachi shouted, then dove straight down with Iggy to avoid the ensuing barrage.

Magical gunfire filled the skies, forcing them to retreat to the city for cover. Kari shielded Rocky in her arms and torpedoed to the earth just as the hail of bullets exploded all around them. One shot nicked her cheek on the way down.

The descent wasn't any easier. Flying monsters clinging to buildings and perched on rooftops scrambled into an attacking swarm. As Kari was about to Wanton Smash, Sachi's shiv came flying up to dice every last one into pieces.

Kari appeared to touch ground first, but the streets proved no less safer than in the air. A mutated broken lady with two muscular limbs picked Kari up by each arm, trying to pull her apart.

"Let go of her, you stupid octopus!" Rocky punched at the broken lady only to be swatted away by one of the smaller arms.

Kari manifested [Destruction and Ruin], caught the weapon behind her knee, and with the bladed edge carved a piece of the soul from the monster's right arm. With one side of her body freed, she picked up the axe to do the same on the other side.

The creature recoiled. Both arms now useless to attack or even defend, Kari seized the opportunity to cave the entire body into the curtain of limbs.

[+50,000 Apocalypse Points]

"Sachi, you alive?" Kari called out.

"Oh, just hanging around and wishing I could fly. Instead, I have the bootleg version of teleporting by chucking my dagger everywhere," Sachi said from the side of a building, holding onto her shiv in which the blade had embedded into the wall. She pried it away and landed gingerly on the ground.

Iggy popped his head out from the collar of her outfit. Both he and Rocky had the look of terror in their eyes.

"I haven't sensed a monster this strong since South Africa." Rocky clutched himself.

"It's… It's nothing like an angel…" Iggy shuddered.

Seraphs. Monsters that were spawned with incursions all over Japan when the apocalypse began. Not quite gods, but stronger than angels.

"Rocky, you're the only one that made it out of South Africa's apocalypse, so you have to know something. Did they have as many seraphs? Six— or at least the ones we know exist, is kind of overkill, don't you think?" Kari asked.

"Now that you mention it, six is a lot… Inyanga only encountered one. I will never forget that day, because it was the one that killed Inyanga. The apocalypse hasn't technically ended there," Rocky explained.

"Has anyone defeated that seraph yet?" Sachi hesitated to ask.

"No one did," he promptly answered. "It should still be there to this day."

It was estimated that those who didn't escape South Africa's evacuation would all perish within two years, leaving it a country of monsters. If that was true, and magical girls were barred from going there, then those things had nothing else to feast on to get stronger, so spawning a god wasn't possible. As far as they were concerned, the entire country was successfully raptured.

Now the Messiah was trying to do the same here.

Something, however, didn't add up.

"What about the wolf monster?" Kari pressed further. "There's no reason it should spawn there no reason, right?"

Rocky nodded. "You're absolutely right. I'm as confused as anyone when it happened. However, if it came from an egg, then it used to be a cherub. That's about all I know."

If South Africa was barren of any human souls, why did it appear there? Hurricane's timely arrival during its birth… was too much of a coincidence to pass it off as just that. She had something to do with it. But what and how?

"Guys, I think we have company!" Sachi warned them.

"Freeze! Put your hands up and drop your transformation!"

Instead of monsters, they were surrounded by JSDF and police officers, taking cover behind cars, building corners, and utility poles— their guns pointed right at them. Maybe out of vestigial instinct from being a regular human until recently, Sachi raised both hands as ordered by authorities.

"Hold on a sec, aren't we on the same side?" Kari asked.

"You tell us," a JSDF officer with graying sideburns behind an APC began. "Two magical girls at Nijo have been gunning down air support and anyone that gets near the palace. As for you… Last I remember, you nailed two choppers. Four good men who were all someone's family."

Their fingers were tight on the trigger. One muscle spasm and the whole place would fill with lead. Being shot by their peashooters wasn't a big deal, and getting rid of them even less so. But if what the JSDF guy said was true, then getting to Nijo might as well be a suicide run even with Sachi's shiv skill.

Kari looked the grizzled man unflinchingly in the eyes. "I didn't make that decision lightly, you know? This apocalypse has everyone making hard decisions. Probably had you making all sorts of hard decisions, too. Those soldiers and police officers next to you live and die by them. How many people did you lose these last few days? How many did you lose today? Think carefully because you're about to make another hard, irreversible decision. I hope for your sake, it's the right call."

A bead of sweat trickled down the side of the officer's face. That none of them opened fire yet despite the rumbling thunder was a miracle in and of itself.

"Stand down," he finally said.

A collective gulp followed by sighs of relief could be heard. They lowered their arms and took their fingers off the triggers. While an air of distrust lingered between them like a stench fouler than what was emitted by the fleshy growths, everyone appeared glad to narrowly avoid a bloodbath.

"I'm Major-General Sugai." The military man emerged from his hiding place, right arm in a sling and eyes that hadn't seen sleep in days. "Chain of command is radio silent. No word from PM Naoki. Ground's covered in shit and no one's seen Flare. If you're really on our side, maybe you can explain to me what's going on?"

They really didn't know anything.

"The American magical girls and Chu Hua are trying to prolong the apocalypse," Kari said.

"What the hell for?" he growled.

"I'm going to find out." She glanced over her shoulder to the road leading to Nijo, the entire length was littered with bullet-ridden bodies. "If what you said about getting to the palace isn't an exaggeration, we could use your help."

Instead of answering, Sugai did an about face to a nearby bank where the majority of his people stood guard behind a barricade of armored vehicles. Civilians were packed like sardines inside, fearful of taking a step outside, cowering together, and carrying garden tools as weapons.

"We're under constant attack by monsters. Say I send the bulk of my unit to help you siege the palace, then I'm leaving these folks to fend for themselves," Sugai said.

"A whole lot more people will die if we don't stop whatever is happening inside Nijo. The seraph is currently inert. I'm guessing it isn't awake yet. That means we only have to deal with those magical girls, and with two on your side, it's the only chance we have," Kari explained.

The gears were turning in his head. A man of his position, including the responsibilities on his shoulders, likely weighed heavily on him. There were more lives than just the unit in his command, the people inside the bank were, too.

It must suck.

"Alright." Sugai closed his eyes and expelled the stale breath from his lungs after coming to a decision. "I'll keep the police stationed here and we JSDF will follow you. We're 150 strong, have twenty APCs, two tanks, and all armed to the teeth. But if you're telling me we're running a hail mary, then none of that matters."

A JSDF grunt pulled out a map for them to draw out a plan to advance on Nijo Castle. Streets marked red were unapproachable. The buildings were levelled so badly that Sniper would be shooting fish in a barrel with the soldiers. The ones marked in black were swarming with too many monsters.

Kari directed Sugai's attention to several untouched streets. "Sachi and I will make our move first to draw the magical girl's fire. Have your tanks enter the main street from Morinokicho. Split the rest down the smaller streets of Oshikoji, Nijo, and Ebisugawa. You guys will converge and hit the east gate, while we hit the north gate from north Horikawa. How does that sound?"

"As long as you're taking the pot shots, we should be able to make it there mostly in one piece. Take this. Give us the signal when you want us to move out." Sugai handed Kari a radio.

Before leaving to move into place, Kari took one last look at the people inside the bank. They grew more panicked as JSDF left them to only be defended by the police.

Kari had underestimated Sniper. The more distant they gave her, the less they were able to do. But she could only fire her rifle in one direction.

"Is this really a good idea?" Sachi asked. "I'm getting goosebumps. Not the good kind either… shit."

It was time to really see how they matched up against seraphs and the Messiah.

"We're ready. Go!" Kari said into the radio.

"Roger. All units advance on Nijo!"

Kari and Sachi flew past the cover of concrete buildings. They were immediately pelted by gunfire. However, instead of flying any further, she grabbed Sachi's hand and pulled her back down before they even went 100 meters in distance.

"W-What? We're not going?" Sachi almost tripped on her feet when they landed on the roof of a building.

Rocky was the first to realize what the true plan was. "You're using them as bait…"

Explosions were sounding off in the distance. Radio chatter was filled with panic.

"This is Oshikoji, we're taking heavy fire!"

"Ebisugawa, held back by head hounds and also taking fire."

"..."

"What happened to the magical girls? Nijo, Morinokicho, what's your status? Magical girl Kari, where are you? Please, res—"

"Let's go!" Kari tossed the radio away and took flight.

The streets where the JSDF forces were advancing from were smoking. While they kept Sniper busy, Kari and Sachi were able to reach Nijo unharmed— until fist-sized bullets started firing in their direction, but at that point they had successfully breached the palace walls and the gunfire ceased.

The giant humanoid seraph and a gaping chasm in the center of the courtyard greeted their arrival. The hole was so enormous that a vacuum of wind tugged at them. Flying monsters were tossing JSDF soldiers into it.

"H-Help!"

Kari reached out and was about to pull them back, but she closed her hand into a fist. They weren't worth five points of magic. There were possibly thousands of people dying every second to the apocalypse. She chose to fly forward, but a bullet stopped her in her tracks.

"You're here without Jade? That's what I call foolish." Sister Claire sneered from somewhere within Ninomaru Castle.

"When I get my hands around your neck, you'll be begging for her to be here. Too bad for you, she's in Osaka right now looking for Hurricane and Candy," Kari said.

The nun bursted into laughter. "Sorry to disappoint you, but neither of them are in there. Hurricane has a special plan for the star child magical girl."

"What?" Kari uttered.

[Sachi: Jade, we just learned that Candy and Hurricane aren't in Osaka.]

No answer.

Either Jade was busy fighting or dead, but it wasn't like her to go down so easily.

"It's time," Sister Claire said. "Do your part for the greater good and be rewarded by the Lord."

Three American magical girls exited the castle.

Kari and Sachi readied themselves for a fight, but were horrified to see what they did next. Without hesitating, they threw their untransformed selves into the abyss.

"Stop them!" Rocky desperately cried. "They plan to awaken the seraph!"

Kar threw both hands up to pull the magical girls out.

"Killshot: Smokescreen!"

Black smoke obscured the courtyard. A sound like a rumbling stomach erupted from the chasm. The shroud was removed as quickly as it came by strong winds. When they could see again, the seraph's eyes were open.

Bhairava, the Hindu deity, sat cross-legged and rested his chin under a fist. He carried a different weapon in each hand, a fan, studded club, sword, and trident. A strange, wooden drum hung around his waist. As their eyes met, deep red lips curved into a curious smile.

"Hummm. A quarrel awaits me the moment I awaken. Are you, little girl, an agent of chaos?" the god-like monster asked.

Kari, Sachi, and their anthems were floored. Never had a monster spoken until now. They giggled, laughed, gurgled, and growled, but never once did any of them utter a word let alone form a coherent sentence.

The only other time Kari recalled a monster speaking was the horribly deformed Principal Nishida.

"It's… talking?" Sachi gasped.

"Doesn't matter. It's going down one way or another!" Kari raised [Destruction and Ruin] and went for the head.

The long, studded club slammed down between them, and Kari struck the shaft. Bhairava flung her back, then got to his feet to take an offensive posture, brandishing all four weapons at once.

"Hoh! A battle is to be had then!" Bhairava jovially declared.

At the corner of Kari's vision, Sniper took aim at her.

"Killshot: Annihilation!"

A screeching bullet fired out, but Bhairava spun around and deflected the shot away, leaving everyone baffled.

"Do not interfere with my battle!" he bellowed.

Kari didn't need to see Sniper or Sister Claire to feel their fear. They backed down immediately.

"I'm guessing that applies to me, too." Sachi gulped, clenching her shiv until her knuckles turned white.

"Keep an eye out for an opening," Kari whispered, then threw a look to the castle. "Those guys up there are probably doing the same."

"I sense great strength within you, a feast substantial enough to usher forth my ascension. Slaying you shall allow me to reach my true form. You may know him as Shiva, the Supreme Being, God of Destruction, the Destroyer of Evil."

"I'll show you destruction— Destruction Incarnate!" Kari charged headfirst a second time, crushing two sigils to heal up and restore her magic before they collided.

Bhairava was strong and had more limbs to cover his bases, but Kari was faster. She slipped past his attacks to slam [Destruction] against the side of his head. The god recoiled, staggering back and almost dropping his many weapons.

"You're doing it!" Rocky exclaimed.

"No, he's just enjoying it." Kari clenched her jaws.

Despite getting a good hit off, Bhairava shook it off and appeared ready for more. This thing was possibly vastly stronger than the angel monster back at Meguro. Was he testing her?

"Magnificent!" Bhairava exclaimed, then threw himself forward.

Kari shoved Rocky out of the way and deflected a strike from the sword and club, but as she blocked the trident, an inferno engulfed her.

"Stand Firm!"

Physical Resilience: 35 ⇒ 70

Magical Resilience: 35 ⇒ 70

Health: [200/200 ⇒ 172/200]

The flames left Kari charred and smoking.

Bhairava twirled the now fiery trident with glee. "Many believe that the trishula is created from the sun. They are correct to assume so."

That fire was almost as oppressive as Flare's empowered form. What was the play here? Fighting up close and personal would only get her burned.

Magic really was her only weakness.

"No one ever got anywhere without getting a little burnt. Stand Firm!" Kari strengthened her defenses and surprised Bhairava by taking the initiative.

The god swung wide, and despite missing, the licking flames still burned hot.

Health: [172/200 ⇒ 144/200]

"Stand Firm!"

Bhairava was desperate to keep her at arm's length, but after she took another scalding blow…

Health: [144/200 ⇒ 116/200]

Kari made it past his defense and wailed into the arm wielding the trishula until it became a mangled mess. The fiery weapon dropped from his grasp and extinguished upon hitting the ground.

"You embody such fury and passion!" Bhairava gawked at the brutally disfigured arm. "Allowing yourself to be so hurt in order to deal such a paltry wound."

"Your arm looks like I crushed an italian sausage and you call that paltry?" Kari raised a brow.

"I am not just one, for I am Ashta Bhairava." He dropped the remaining weapons and grabbed the drum on his waist instead. His two other hands struck each side of the two-headed drum.

"As if I'd just sit by and watch— Stampede!"

[Destruction and Ruin] struck a shield wielded by a second Bhairava.

Kari's eyes went wide. "What the—"

Another Bhairava took form next to Kari and kicked her through Nijo Castle's doors. A hard hit, but at least it didn't deal damage.

When Kari raised her head, eight Bhairavas of varying skin colors and wielding different weapons were laughing at her. Some of them were magic in nature.

"We are the eight manifestations of Bhairava," the peach-skinned one said. "Asithaanga, Ruru, Chanda, Krodha, Unmattha, Kapaala, Bheeshana, and Samhaara."