Westcott stood in the center of the courtyard, his presence a void that seemed to suck the color out of the vibrant stalls. Around him, AST members moved like shadows.
"The readings are peaking," Ellen Mira Mathers reported, her eyes fixed on her monitor. "But they're... erratic. It's as if the source is everywhere and nowhere at once."
"That would be because you're looking for me," a voice chimed from above.
Westcott looked up. Perched atop a floating parasol sat Yukari, lazily swirling a crepe she had somehow acquired in the last thirty seconds. Ruby was sitting next to her, kicking her legs back and forth, her giant scythe, Crescent Rose, resting precariously over her shoulders.
"Who are you?" Westcott asked, his smile never wavering. "You don't match any Spirit profile on record."
"Who am i is none of your conserns," Yukari chirped. She took a bite of the crepe and gestured vaguely toward the school building. "And the girls you're looking for? We won't let you get near them."
"Is that so?" Westcott signaled Ellen.
"Capture them. We can analyze their origins later."
Ellen didn't even have time to ignite her laser blade.
"Za World!"
The universe lurched. The fluttering of a bird's wings stopped mid-beat; the steam from a nearby yakisoba stand froze into a ghostly pillar; even the malevolent smirk on Westcott's face became a static mask of arrogance.
Sakuya Izayoi walked through the courtyard, the only thing moving in a world of grey. She moved with a terrifying, rhythmic grace, around the hovering AST soldiers as if they were mere furniture.
She stopped inches from Westcott.
"You are the i have to kill," Sakuya said, though her voice carried no sound in the vacuum of stopped time. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a single, polished silver knife. "And you have made Yukari even more insufferable than usual by giving her a reason to roleplay."
She didn't kill him. Not yet. Instead, she meticulously rearranged the AST's equipment, pointing their own weapons toward each other and removing power packs.
She placed the tip of her knife against Westcott's throat, just enough to draw a bead of blood that remained suspended in the air.
"Time resumes once more."
Sound rushed back in a violent wave.
"What—?!" Ellen tripped forward immediately, her boots flopping uselessly as her thrusters misfired, sending her spiraling into a pile of stuffed animals.
Westcott felt the sting at his throat. He reached up, touching the crimson drop, his eyes widening. He hadn't even seen her move.
Sakuya stood ten paces away, cleaning a knife with a white handkerchief. "Your presence is no longer required. Please leave before I decide to stop being 'efficient' and start being 'creative'."
"Whoa! Did you see that?!" Ruby cheered, jumping off the parasol. "She was like whoosh and then stab but not really stab! Sakuya, you're so cool!"
"Darling! There you are!"
The heavy atmosphere was instantly ruined as Miku Hatsune skidded around the corner, hearts practically radiating from her aura. "I saw you leave! You can't hide from our me! Is this man bothering you? I'll make him leave!"
Westcott looked from the time-manipulating maid to the dimensional gap-witch, then to the girl with the giant scythe, and finally to the pop idol who was currently trying to tackle his primary target.
"Sir," Ellen said, climbing out of the plushies with a look of pure humiliation. "Tactical retreat?"
Westcott's smirk finally broke, replaced by a look of genuine, baffled intrigue. "Yes. It seems we've stumbled into a trap."
"Actually no." Yukari said before snapping her fingers telaporting us except miku into a forest.
"Alors! Finally, the finals of mon super-tournoi! My heart begins to race when my plan falls into place," Yukari said, snapping her fan open with a sharp,
"The elite, for you, deigned to fall. Well, you're fashionably late, but now, you're here to play!" Before the words even finished hanging in the air, Yukari ascended, her purple parasol casting a shadow over the battlefield as she unleashed a torrential storm of danmaku.
"Come on, come on, dance with me in my eternal reverie! Join my battle jubilee 'til the moonlight fades away!" she laughed, weaving through a chaotic web of return fire and searing lasers with the grace of a butterfly.
"Surround her!" Ellen barked, her movements desperate as she dodged the damaku around her.
I stepped forward, my eyes cold. " you'll rue the day you ever tangled with a fae."
With a flick of my wrist, I activated a spell card. A wall of silver knives erupted, forcing the surrounding forces to retreat and maintain a wary distance. "Unless," I added, punctuating the warning by hurling a volley of knives.
Yukari giggled, her eyes glowing with ancient malice. "It's the people with power who can play the puppeteer but without what are you." Gaps tore open in the fabric of space; pale, ethereal hands reached out from the darkness, striking down the AST members precision.
"C'est magnifique! Your power has a place among the elite!" Yukari mocked, her gaze landing squarely on Westcott and his allies.
"You...!" Westcott hissed, his face contorting as his pride took a visible hit. "Everyone, take her down!"
"Hehehe... you fought for a girl who doesn't share your love. Let me shed light With the fire from above!" Yukari's voice took on a predatory edge. Westcott's eyes widened as a massive gap yawned open directly in front of him. The roar of a locomotive echoed from the void. At the last possible microsecond, he teleported away, the air rushing into the vacuum where he had just stood.
"Sakuya, let's do this!" Yukari chirped. I merely frowned.
Suddenly, a gap opened beneath my feet. I didn't fall; I transitioned. When I emerged in front of Westcott, my maid outfit was gone. In its place, I wore a sharp black suit, a matching fedora, and dark sunglasses.
"Fine..." I sighed, pulling a flintlock pistol from my coat and resting a gold coin on my thumb.
[ Playing hakari theme]
"Hahahaha! Today is my lucky day!" I shouted. I flipped the coin. *Ping.* I fired, the bullet whistling past Westcott as he blurred out of the way. I kept the rhythm flip, fire, dash. Westcott retaliated with a concentrated magical blast, but I twisted in mid-air, closed the gap, and buried my fist into his jaw.
The impact sent him cratering into the dirt, but the victory was short-lived. A new presence settled over the field.
"Well, that's unpredictable," Yukari noted, her tone shifting to genuine interest. Mio Takamiya floated silently between me and Westcott, her expression unreadable.
"Hahaha! Such a lucky day for me!" I didn't hesitate, unleashing a barrage of shots. The bullets simply dissolved before they could touch her.
"Weird... you feel different," Mio murmured. She moved faster than sight, her fist connecting with my stomach. I felt the air leave my lungs, but a manic grin spread across my face.
"Hahaha! Got you! Idle Death Gamble!"
I screamed the command, and the world dissolved into white space. Suddenly, we were encased in a massive, shimmering domain. Giant, spectral pinball machines manifested around us, lights flashing in a chaotic neon frenzy.
"A reality space?" Mio asked, looking around the digital-infused purgatory.
"Hahaha! Jackpot!" A surge of infinite magical energy erupted from my core, surrounding me in a violent, pulsating aura. "For five minutes, I am unkillable!"
I lunged. A halberd appeared in my hands, and I brought it down in a devastating arc. Mio drifted back, dodging the blade, and countered with a volley of lasers. They pierced through me, but I didn't even flinch. The wounds closed as quickly as they appeared.
"Hahaha! You can't win!" I laughed, punching her square in the face. The force sent her hurtling out of the domain's boundaries. I teleported instantly behind her, catching her in mid-air and throwing the halberd with enough force to pin her into the ground with a thunderous thud.
"Now this is getting fun," she said, rising from the crater. She unleashed a wave of magical energy that would have vaporized anyone else. I tanked it head-on, the energy washing over my skin like a breeze.
"Jackpot!" I screamed again. Behind me, dozens of flintlock rifles materialized in a golden fan. We traded blows a frantic, high-speed attrition battle where I simply refused to fall.
"What? Enough?" I asked, my breathing steady despite the intensity.
"Quite. What about you?" Mio countered calmly. "It has already been four minutes."
"Hahaha! You think that will stop me? Idle Death Gamble!" The domain re-expanded, the luck of the draw spinning once more. "Today is a jackpot!"
Another five minutes of immortality surged through me. Mio fired a condensed power blast; I took the hit, but this time, the sheer force made my teeth rattle.
"Found it," she whispered. She appeared before me in a blur, her fist sinking deep into my gut. This time, the pain was real. I was sent flying, crashing through a treeline like a ragdoll.
"Now we're talking," I spat, wiping blood from my lip as I stood up. I reached for my ultimate techniques. "Eternal Meek!"
I moved in a blur of silver, slashing with such speed the air itself screamed. She parried and dodged, finding an opening to strike back, but I was already transitioning.
"Tsk! Illusion Sign 'Killing Doll'!"
Thousands of knives filled the sky, converging on her position. As she diverted her power to deflect the blades, I lunged forward, slamming my palm into her stomach to knock the wind out of her. Without letting up, then i used master spark at full power.
"Master Spark!"
A colossal beam of pure white light swallowed everything in its path. As the smoke began to clear, I stared into the ruins.
"Is that all?"