*
2nd January, 11509. The students trekked the paths as naturally as they breathed, long accustomed to their commutes without need to think. Her waist long hair bounced with each step, her meticulous care evident in its unique lustre. Brushed into velvety smoothness in a prim and slick manner, they seem to invite eyes wherever they went, like a blackhole sucking light.
Sariel was now a second year. After the events of last year in the early half of December, after The Invader was defeated and the new heavenly king did something, Lastia vanished. Neither Arin or Lastia will ever come back, that was the natural conclusion she drew after all that transpired. Vinia immediately kneeled and collapsed onto the ground the moment Lastia disappeared, then a familiar black shadow like magic whisked her away. Wrapping her like a blanket, then disappearing into thin air with her along.
There was no way to trace them, and the government didn't offer any support. With the Invader gone, the world returned to its initial state and it was as if the nightmare had never happened. Even after defeating the heavenly kings, the next one will come in a few hundred years. They don't really die, their vessels simply become a sacrifice, and their real selves remain outside the universe.
However, Vinia still ascended and filled the vacancy in the 4 Heavenly Kings. To conclude, there will never be any threats above B grade anymore. One or two might breach the limits of C grade and become a final boss in someone else's story, but ultimately her life will no longer be in any danger. Even now, an event occurs.
The world seemed as if colour had been sucked out as it became monochrome within a blink. Equally as fast, she had sensed the event and transformed. Her layered golden brown dress shone under the metallic black plating adoring her shoulders, joints and waist. Turning around, she spots floating deformed metal. Living armour type Trace, a singular one with a double edged blade primed and ready for a swing. Compared to what she has seen, it was pitifully slow. She {Swap}s herself with the air, reaching breathing distance with the enemy, and swings her arm.
With a knife hand, it pieces the living armour's chest, deforming it further as the surrounding metal punctured into a crater. Rotating her wrist, she blows her nails through the back of the armour and opens up an equally impressive gap in the metal, nearly splitting it in two. The leg armour and boots quiver as if in agony, the sword stopping right as it moved just a single inch. The impact of Sariel's attack wasn't over, the remaining shockwaves spread throughout its insides, gradually carving a web of cracks over its surface. Then it turned into dust, blown into the distance with gentle winds.
Colour returns, her transformation is undone. The whole debacle took a second or less. The living armour was D grade, these enemies seem so weak to her now. She had to hold herself back, but couldn't resist plunging her arm into the armour's centre to end the fight instantly. Her experience told her that was where the armour was strongest, but it didn't matter if it folded like paper mache under her strength. Since it was so unlikely for enemies to breach that spot, that was where most of its magic circuits were, like crushing a beating heart.
At a leisure pace, she walked the rest of her way to class. The class was small, now with two people absent, it only felt smaller. The usual hustle and bustle will never disappear, it never gets truly quiet. Today too, now that break is over, she'll once more be alone.
"Hey, I can't help but noticed... Did you clear something out on the way here?" (Faramicia)
In terms of the magical girl side, while attacks have become a lot less frequent where Traces only appear every two to four weeks, she has gotten two juniors. The first was a second year student and her classmate, Faramicia. A male magical girl, well a female once he transforms. The second is a-
"Senpai! There you are, I finally found you!" (?)
A junior first year student. A single year younger than her, she got caught up in one of the Trace attacks. Due to her eligibility to awaken as a magical girl, she wasn't exempted from a Trace event. Sariel appeared right in front of her right as an ogre type Trace was about to bring down a club. An insult to traditional weaponry, a massive spiked club made of wood. There were leaves on one sight and glistening rot on the other, clearly the wood hadn't been processed and was decomposing.
"Oi! What did I say about not causing a ruckus!" (Sariel)
She runs into the room with numerous brief steps, like a chipmunk or in a less flattering way, a running lizard.
"Hehee! Gotta start the year full of energy!" (Aura)
Shimmering brunette hair that stopped short of her shoulders bounced like curtains under a storm. Her bangs parted on her left while smooth locks cover her little ears, while the rest curved slightly outwards like a umbrella. Her uniform didn't have a single crease, ironed to unfettered perfection. Her eyes had a life of their own, sparkling like fireworks and reflecting the beauty of the world around it. A cute junior for sure, they spend their lives quietly passing the days with study and Trace subjugations.
"I'm curious senpai. What do you do with your time? Have you been crunching books? Going out with friends? Or perhaps indulging in some entertainment?" (Aura)
The sun shone in the sky with blinding radiance, a hot blistering white that encroached on endless blue. There were only light clouds fading in the far distance, nearly imperceptible and the sky was clear. The warm afternoon breeze caressed Sariel's neck and tickled her chest as it brushed by, stirring her skin in its wake. Some words come to mind as she pondered, her long eventful days do not plague her life anymore. Back then, they fought Traces at least twice a week, with the other two that she missed so dearly...
There isn't any confusion there, nor anyone she could feel shy confessing to. She missed them, Arin and Lastia. She wondered if things had gone differently, would they be sitting on that rooftop having lunch with her?
"fufu..." (Sariel)
"That's not answering the question!" (Aura)
Her lively junior pipes up, reminding her of a barking puppy. She couldn't resist giggling, after all they definitely wouldn't sit on the roof. They were all in the same class, Lastia would get lazy and Arin would abide by whatever decision Lastia made.
"Sorry, I just remembered something funny." (Sariel)