In a massive fiery burst, Flare transformed into her empowered form. The fabric of her red robes came alive as licking blue flames. Her skin blackened like obsidian, forming cracks that oozed with magma. Projected behind her, adding to the oppressive heat, was an enormous phoenix. Each beat of the massive wings created gales that showered the city in cinders and ashes.

Cold one moment, and the next was like standing on the surface of the sun. Kari wiped the sweat from her forehead and gasped for air that burned her lungs from within.

"Come to think of it… I never showed you my soul-weapon. Or maybe I did? Say hello to Match Stick!" Flare stuck out her right hand, and the flames around her coalesced onto her palm, forming something like a relay baton. It was deep red and orange in color, shifting like flowing lava. As she twirled it, a burning whip shot out from one end and spewed fire from each harsh crack.

Not yet… Kari thought.

Before the rest of her strength drained away, Kari repeatedly smashed the sigil on the ground over and over again.

This bitch wasn't going to get her way. Not anymore. Not while Kari still breathed and Makina was alive. After Minato, and now Sachi, who were willing to call her a hero when everyone else called her a monster, if there was ever a time to prove them right… It was now.

Flare grabbed the base of her baton and pulled along the length of the whip, igniting her hand with a ball of churning fire.

"Don't worry, Kari. I'll find a nice place to put you when I put your ashes into an urn. How about my bathroom?" She cracked a smile and threw the blast of fire in Kari's direction.

Clutching the sigil tightly, Kari raised it as high as she could with both hands and smashed it into pieces.

[Health: 0/320 ⇒ 320/320]

Kari leapt into the abyss and transformed as the area she was just lying exploded. A magic sigil appeared in her hand, and she cracked it in an instant.

[Magic: 0/130 ⇒ 130/130]

Kari summoned [Destruction and Ruin] to her hands.

"Stampede, Destruction Incarnate!"

Flying faster than she could blink, Kari empowered herself as she sliced down on Flare. Again, the blade struck her Molten Shield, but this time it shattered through.

The burning whip wrapped around Kari, searing her flesh like meat on a grill. As she swung again for the kill, an excruciating pain stopped her attack short. Kari coughed up blood which landed on Flare's cheek and quickly sizzled away. In the fiery magical girl's hand was the soul-carving stake, buried into Kari's stomach.

"Imagine my surprise when that retard manifested this soul-weapon. Got to love how things work out for me." Flare grinned, creating more cracks in her obsidian glass-like expression.

Kari tried to complete her swing, but Flare flourished the whip and flung her back to earth like a meteor.

[Health: 160/320 ⇒ 100/320]

What happened? Kari asked herself as she lay bleeding in the rubble.

Destruction Incarnate was supposed to render her the unstoppable one. Was Flare just that strong enough to fling her around like a doll? The whip. It dished out magic damage.

"Oh, Kari~" Flare hummed with patronizing intent. "You're so cute when you're angry!"

Kari shattered two sigils that appeared in her hand and stood up to face Flare. "And you're looking real happy for someone that murdered more JGSDF than I ever did in broad daylight."

"What? Of course, I killed them," she said as a matter of factly. "The next PM, what's his name? Shimizu, there we go. He wants to put a leash on us. I like chokers, but not when someone else is putting it on me. Thanks in no small part to you and the apocalypse, that changes things. Who do you think Japan has to rely on now that half their forces across the three JSDF branches have been wiped out? Go on, take a guess."

"After you nuked Sendai? I don't think so. Everyone will know how fucked up you are!" Kari fired back.

Flare shook her head as though Kari had said something naive.

"Me? You mean you? You set the precedent, Kari. In Tokyo, Osaka, with the American fleet and their magical girls… You're wanted more dead than alive, and now they think you were the one who bombed Sendai. After all, poor Flare had turned herself in! She's innocent! As far as the public knows… You. Attacked. Me."

Kari blinked, standing still as a statue.

Flare was right. The military wasn't after Flare in Nagoya and Fukuyama. They wanted Kari. A target had been painted on her back long before Sendai. Her life was the one that's fucked.

After the apocalypse, she had no home to go back to, no parents to find at the dinner table, and would be left alone in a world that despised her. Being with Makina…

Was a pipe dream. Just being by Makina's side would ruin her life.

The cold steel of her soul-weapon slipped from her sweaty hands. Kari followed suit, dropping to all fours and watching the sweat drip onto the ground.

"It's too bad you fucked me back in Tokyo. Remember Roppongi? If you had at least taken me out on a date first, maybe we could have made a great duo, don't you think? Like Batman and Robin! Or maybe we're more like Joker and Harley? Everything's gone perfectly in my favor since the very beginning. South and North America don't have a fleet anymore. Their magical girls are dead, too. China's lost Chu Hua, the ace up their sleeves. The entire continent of Africa only has three cowards left that shied away from two apocalypses. Both Korean magical girls are also dead. Japan's military has been crippled. Now, more than ever, the world needs me. Me! They have no reason to need anyone else—"

"Is that true? Have you really been framing Kari this whole time?"

Both of them whipped around to find Makina, slowly climbing to her feet.

"Ah, the girlfriend's awake. Look, toots. It was personal. Can you blame me?" Flare asked, throwing her arms out.

"Then I hope you don't mind… This is personal, too." Makina held up her phone and pressed the play button.

"What? Of course, I killed them…"

Word for word, Makina's phone replayed a recording of what Flare had said. They all listened quietly, but Flare's face twisted into a scowl.

"You dirty skank…" Flare muttered. "Give me the phone."

"It's too late. I already uploaded the recording. Now everyone will find out who you really are," Makina said, crushing the phone herself.

"Oh, it's over for me? You think you got one over me? I guess… I should just stop, right? As if."

Flare moved faster than anyone could react, cracking the whip at Makina and binding her with the fiery restraints. One hard yank sent her flying into Flare's arms.

"Makina!" Kari shouted.

"Maybe I'll finally let you two in on a little secret. Remember that time, oh-so long ago? The whole thing with Tetsuo's phone?" Flare asked, leaning into Makina's ear as if sharing something important.

Kari didn't humor her. She only stared, searching for an opening to save Makina, defiance and hesitation welling within her chest. But she did remember. How desperate Flare was to retrieve the phone back, even willing to jeopardize their newfound alliance over it.

She continued. "That's because, Kari… I'm the one who told them to do it."

"What?" Makina uttered as the blood drained from her face.

The fiery magical girl bellowed with raucous laughter.

"I'm telling you— I did it. After you took the ring and became a magical girl, I realized that although you had potential, you lacked a reason to fight. So I needed to find a nudge. That nudge was Tetsuo. I met him in the hospital while visiting the injured after Akiba's incursion. Boy, I knew high schoolers were bad but man, that kid was something else. He told me that you were close to a girl named Makina, and that if I wanted to somehow get under your skin, then going through that pretty face was the quickest way. Hoo-wow. Was he right!"

"Shut up!" Kari shouted, the blood in her veins boiling with anger. "What the hell are you trying to say? You and Tetsuo cooked up a plan to screw with Makina just to get to me?"

Flare nodded, holding back her giggles. "That basketball player and your school's queen bitch? I guess Tetsuo roped them in. When you started sniffing around, I needed to cut the loose ends. Couldn't have you berserking on me early. That's right, Kari— I'm the reason your girlfriend got dicked. Or looking at it from another angle, you're the reason it happened to her. For all you know, she actually hates your guts!"

"No!" Makina cried. "It's not your fault, Kari! It was never your fault! Don't listen to Flare. I've always loved you—"

Makina jerked in Flare's grasp as something knocked the wind out of her lungs. Emerging from her back was the tip of the stake. Kari couldn't believe what she was seeing. She didn't believe it. Not until Flare let Makina's limp body crumple to the ground.

"Makina!" Pochi flew fearlessly to her magical girl.

"Makina…?" Kari took an unsteady step forward.

"Oh, no…" Rocky gasped.

This couldn't be real. Anyone but her…

Kari didn't scream, but every fiber in her body quivered with a singular urge. As she filled with unnatural strength, her eyes became fixed solely on Flare.

"You fucking bitch!" Kari charged in against Rocky's protests, but she stopped cold when fiery tendrils lifted Makina up between them. [Ruin] was centimeters from Makina's neck.

However, from this close up, the sound of Makina still breathing calmed her just a little. She was still alive. Barely.

"Don't struggle," Flare urged, clenching Kari by the throat with both hands. "Sooner or later, you will be just like me. Those voices, those damn voices start to be like nails on chalkboard, screeching at you all day and night. Nothing you eat will ever taste the same again, if you can stomach the absence of flavor. I'm doing you a solid by killing you, so that you won't turn into me. Ask yourself: can you ever forgive yourself if you ate Makina like you did those other magical girls? You will eventually become the very thing Makina truly hates."

"I can't…"

The phoenix projection behind Flare shrunk back into the size of the small, fiery falcon. Caught by surprise, Flare's mouth flopped open in confusion at her own anthem's actions.

"Flare, I cannot watch you do this anymore," Blaze interjected.

"What… did you say?" Flare quietly asked.

The fiery anthem didn't flinch, much like the time Kari had threatened him. His flames burned brighter, seemingly filling with resolve.

"I have seen you commit countless atrocities and with each passing day, my sins grow alongside yours. This must stop. I refuse to watch you kill Kari and consume that monstrous soul to become something that isn't you anymore. If you continue this path, Flare, I… I will not serve you any longer," he firmly declared.

Kari began to lose consciousness. The world was getting darker. Flare's fingers tightened around her throat, nails digging into the skin enough to draw blood. Then the world turned upside down in an instant. Flare flung Kari away, sending her crashing to the ground. The fiery magical girl shuddered with anger and stared Blaze down with the burning glare of the sun.

"Blaze, obey me and transform back. Now," Flare demanded, extending a hand towards him.

Blaze returned the glare with a fire of his own.

"No."

"Did I just hear that right? Blaze… you're disobeying Flare?" Rocky asked in a small voice.

Blaze nodded.

"Listen to me, Blaze! There's still time. Transform again— hurry!" Flare shouted more urgently.

"I will not serve you anymore," Blaze said.

At that moment, Rocky averted his eyes. The unquenching flames on Blaze dimmed and grew weaker until he was only a falcon, feathers an ashen gray that continued to darken. His body went rigid, and the fluttering wings which kept him afloat ceased moving, but his eyes lingered gently on his magical girl and glistened with life for a moment longer.

"My greatest regret was that I couldn't convince you to stay the path of goodness, but I never once regretted being your anthem," Blaze said.

When Flare reached out to him, Blaze slipped past her fingers. He fell to the ground, shattering like the fragile glass shards from a Malevolent Domain. Those pieces of him, strewn across the ground, began to fade. Soon, any trace of his existence had vanished, blown away by the winds.

"What happened?" Kari asked.

"Blaze, he…" Rocky started choking up. "He disobeyed Flare and ceased to exist."

Just like that? Then all those times Rocky had resisted her in the same way Blaze did with Flare, she almost lost him? A heavy weight bore down on Kari's chest as it dawned on her that she nearly lost Rocky so many times. Like Blaze, he was willing to sacrifice his existence to stop her.

"It doesn't matter," Flare muttered, turning around to face Kari and igniting into her empowered form without the phoenix. "I don't need Blaze anymore, I don't need anyone, and last but not least, I don't need any of—!"

She grabbed her head, howling in agony.

"Shut up! Shut up already! All this bitching and moaning… I'm the one in control! Me!"

The fires that enveloped and wreathed over Flare darkened into unnatural black flames. When she pulled her hand away from her head, Kari and Rocky recoiled out of fear. Flare's whole face was covered in the black fire, billowing with wispy smoke.

Kari stepped back. "The hell is happening to her?"

"Without a system's admin, Flare's losing control! All those souls she's eaten in the past are trying to take over," Rocky warned.

"This is all because you filled his head with nonsense. The Blaze I knew would never betray me. Well, you know what they say: an eye for an eye. You take my anthem— I take yours!" Flare shouted, lunging at them.

"Rocky, get out of here!" Kari brought [Ruin] down on Flare and struck her Molten Shield instead.

The two came face to face, but Kari couldn't see through the fog of darkness that shrouded Flare's head.

"Take a good hard look at me, Kari. This is the future you're fighting for! You don't know how it feels to really starve yet, clawing at your own throat and stomach, begging for it to end, and passing out and wondering if you're going to still be you when you wake up!" Flare shrieked.

"I'll never be like you!" Kari yelled back. "Stampede!"

The point-blank impact knocked Flare back, but it didn't stop her rampage.

You're blood, Inyanga's voice whispered to her. Use your blood.

Blood was the key.

Kari smeared her own blood on [Ruin]'s blade, then reached out to Flare with the same bloodied hand.

"Come Here!"

As Flare propelled towards her, Kari swung the soul-carving weapon and sliced into her abdomen. Unlike before, the blade sunk an inch into her flesh. The fiery magical girl's eyes widened in the cloud of darkness that was her head. One hand held the shaft of the weapon near the head of the hammer, vainly pushing against her indomitable strength. The other, wielding the stake, plunged into Kari's chest a second time.

"I'll fucking kill you… if it's the last thing I'll do… even if I die… I'm taking you with me to hell!" Kari cried.

"I'm not going to be done in by some sad excuse for a magical girl throwing a tantrum! I made you! You're only alive because of me!"

Flare let go of the stake to put a hand in front of Kari's face. The black flames around them lent their fires to her until a roiling sun swirled in the palm of her hand.

"Solar—"

Jade shoved her fingers into Flare's mouth. Her hand began to smoke and sizzle like it was on a frying pan. She tried to keep it shut and the burning psycho from uttering the second part of her skill.

"End it, now! Your axe is the only thing that will kill her for good!"

Putting all her strength into both hands, Kari still couldn't budge anymore than an inch. Flare pushed back with otherworldly power. Jade grunted in pain as the Flare started to gnaw into her fingers.

"Hah… Grand…" Makina tugged on the fiery tendrils to loosen them from her throat. "Symphony!"

An ethereal piano appeared in front of Makina, and she let go of the coiling flames to slam her fingers onto the keys. What sounded like a melody to Kari must have been discord to Flare. A flinch from her was all it took.

Kari cleaved through Flare cleanly in half. Her black flames ceased at once and the ghastly form waned, returning to her regular magical girl appearance. When Jade let go, both halves of Flare fell to the ground much like how Yuria did when Kari had sliced through her.