The moon was bright in the sky as I stood there, on top of one of the skyscraper. Just feeling the crisp, cold air. Tonight was one of my patrol days, and while the years of constantly doing it had taken the shine off being on top of the buildings like this—the loneliness grasped me, for there weren’t anyone else who could understand me like this, none other than fellow magical girls. A few of them who I couldn’t see and talk with anymore because of Phantasms.

I closed my eyes, trying to stop the welling in my eyes. My heart squeezed, painful with remembrance, as I tried to just… breath. To just take in more of the coldness from outside to wrap within me.

The cars continued to honk beneath me, crisscrossing the roads like multi-headed snakes, all of them filled to the brim despite the time. Sometimes, I wished I was one of them, people who didn’t know any better.

I sighed and shook my head, knowing the Council—the group of magical girls who managed to reach incredibly old age—would knock me over the head if they knew what I was thinking. They just… didn’t understand how much the world had differed from their time. Back then, being a magical girl meant you are chosen by the otherworldly relic, of a power beyond mankind’s comprehension.

There was, of course, the respect. People knowing the sacrifice each of the magical girls did…

Now? No one was supposed to know. We did our things in the dark, supported by the various magical girls around the world who had also, build their connection and with that, money. No one needed to worry, and yet…

The fact no one else knew what I was doing continued to drag me down, even as I jumped over the roofs, trying to see if there were any Phantasms I could fight to push this issue out of my mind.

After all, what better use of my time than to hunt monsters that would hurt humans if I left them be?

“Come on, Aria, you can’t just keep being in a slump like that.” I whispered into the night air, even as I called up my bucklers—their weight comforting.

I knew I shouldn’t use my real name, but sometimes that was what I needed. To remind myself that I wasn’t merely a magical girl. That I wasn’t only Starlight Gleam.

I really shouldn’t have wished for that, because in some ways, I swore that I have jinxed myself. This Phantasm I’m fighting right now… she’s incredibly strong, far stronger than anything I had ever fought beforehand.

“Come on, is that the only thing you can do?” The woman smirked, bits of fangs seen on the edge of her mouth—sharp and yet not always there everytime I looked elsewhere and back. Gold shimmered across her whole body, a few smatters of scales across her barely covered body making the aura even brighter. Her leathery wings spread to the side, barely moving as she kept herself floating above myself. The tail was the most obvious sign of her excitement, the way it flapped side to side. “The Blood Ruby’s better off in my claws, y’know?”

I gritted my teeth, holding onto my rapier’s hilt tighter—even as I let the bucklers flying all around me, the night sky a wonderful backdrop to make them harder to find. They whizzed, flying faster and faster with every moment… and I breathed. Focused.

Magic steadily pulsed out of me, the biggest one allowing me to keep myself floating with the wings I attached to my shoes—but the rest connected me to all the bucklers, always letting me know where they were at all times. Telling me that they were steadily finding the perfect position to surround this dragonwoman, who didn’t seem to be tracking them.

Hopefully that was because of her inability to see, than the fact that her power so great she had nothing to worry about. Her look still screamed danger at me, even as I still managed to deflect her blows, my heart hammering in my chest. Cold sweat formed in my palms too, dangerous and making the hilt slightly slippery—but I had nothing else to use.

“Girlie, I enjoy silence as much as the next person, but this is boring, y’know?” She flexed her body a little more, the claws looking sharper under the bright moon—and I had to swallow to wet my dry throat.

A grin spread on my face too as my bucklers placed themselves where I wished them to, my rapier shaking slightly as I looked right at her face—we were so far apart I couldn’t see what she felt there, but I knew she was staring back—and spoke.

“This will be our last clash. If you win then…” Magic suffused my words, an offering for her to accept if she was okay with it. A promise and a contract all at once, just for this fight and not for any other. She looked especially amused as she listened, tilting her body slightly forward in more interest than she had before. “You can take that damned Ruby.”

I didn’t even know why people wanted it, considering its past. But the museum wished to keep it there, to be seen by people, and so I couldn’t help but protect it anyway. To allow her taking it away sounded wrong in my mind—and yet there wasn’t any other choice. She didn’t look tired, her amusement clear, and her magical aura… I couldn’t feel her, but considering the shimmering gold around her? I had a bad feeling about it.

“Oh? That will be fun—I knew magical girls were especially tenacious the few times we had to clash.” She still sounded so smug, as if there were any other Phantasms that could have survived when they were an old hand against magical girls like she was implying. “I assume your win is for me to leave, then?”

I wished I could say that she should just stay gone and out of my city. Biting down on my lower lip, I jerked a nod, knowing that was the best I could get out of her at this moment.

“Alright, I accept.”

With her acquiescence, more power bloomed in the air—and my mouth could taste the lightning, the almost fresh and electrifying taste upon my tongue. Signs of powerful works, and that what I wanted was happening.

A circle made out of the magic formed around us, and within it, the taste of thunder was especially strong. So much so I could swear that I heard the rumble of lightning in my ears. But there was none, and it was time for us to fight—and hopefully my win.

Luckily, my bucklers were still in the scope of the magical arena.

My rapier came forward, changing shape into something stronger, bigger—and yet still as light as ever, allowing me to keep holding it with one hand if I wished. This time I grabbed the hilt with both, though, knowing I would need the strength more than flexibility.

She looked even more excited, her eyes never leaving me for a moment, despite the fact I was stacking my own possibility of winning. She waited, patient and still now. A predator, ready to attack when she needed to.

Meanwhile, I gathered everything into myself, grasping the magic I felt like electricity into my muscles. My body jerked slightly wherever I stuffed them in, and it was getting harder to keep myself stable in the air—but I continued to take everything I could, knowing I needed them to win against this Phantasm.

This dragonwoman who was steadily crouching down, easily coming on all fours on the air as if she was landing on the ground. She put her claws down, her limbs down, and yet they were steady. Her mouth opened, and I could see the fangs, rows upon rows of them, more than what a human should have—and shown how inhuman she was.

I breathed in, and calmed the slightly unruly thoughts my mind was running. Electricity ran rampant within my body, arcing themselves across my skin.

The air crackled between us, not with power, but with my certainty of the way our magic clashed against one another.

I breathed out.

My power burst, all of them beneath my shoes as I rocketed forward—and she exploded the same way—her claws and my sword, thick and fierce, clanged against one another, ringing loudly in my ears.

I didn’t care for the echo, the buzz muffling my hearing—another burst of magic, and my ears were back to normal—even as our weapons clashed against one another. My heart pounded, even as I attacked and attacked—and she, too, did the same back.

She was never worried about her footings, each step and jump she took looking so elegantly compared to my burst of speed.

And yet… we slammed against one another, my sweat wicked away by the electrifying magic of the air. She didn’t look tired, her eyes gleaming further the more we fought, claws and fangs against my sword.

All of my focus narrowed down to the present, the edges barely managing to hold onto the threads connecting onto my bucklers.

I didn’t know if it was luck. Or whether she let me gain advantage.

But she slipped for a moment, her back claws not finding any footing—and I grasped that chance, unable to worry whether that was a trap or not. She would have gone back to the fray moments later, but I never gave her the chance.

My bucklers whistled through the air, and each of them slammed painfully against her body—her limbs, anywhere I could reach. The crack of metals against limbs, wet and loud, echoed through my ears—but I kept myself watching.

I was breathing hard, my hands shaking and the sword now feeling heavy even though it shouldn’t be. I couldn’t dismiss it just yet, though, even though I felt like I had run through a marathon, and the sky was no longer so filled with magic. No, all of them had been taken, whether by me or her, and was now emptier than I ever wished.

But as the last of my buckler, the eighth of them slammed against her—I had no choice but to dismiss them all right after, the drain becoming too much. I found myself feeling lighter the moment I did that, and I scowled at understanding the implications. That I had overextended.

I kept the sword, even if I pulled a few magic back so it was back to rapier—something I was more used to hold.

A burst of magic came from her. My heart stopped, as I looked back and saw her just fine—hurt, bruises blooming across her pale skin, a few scales cracked and falling to the ground—but she was still flying, despite the bent wings. She didn’t even seem to notice that, no. She was focusing down on me, her grin looking especially wild.

“You did incredibly well, for a magical girl.” Her eyes dug into me, in a way that flayed me open, as I tried my best to tamp down the panic forming within me. “You hurt me well enough.”

She motioned to her right arm—and this was the first time I noticed she held it limply, as if she could only let it fall down in front of her. There wasn’t any attempt to lift it up, or even moving the claws at the end. No, she let it flop, even as her left was still completely ready.

My heart hammered as I thought how I could turn this around, how I could still win this somehow.

The arena shattered, and I couldn’t help but recoil—panic set in, a squeeze in my chest that made breathing hard. I squeezed and squeezed, the hilt digging into my palm and yet I just couldn’t understand—

“Come.” Her voice reverberated across the sky, even as I immediately followed the pull—back down toward one of the building’s roofs.

I couldn’t try to struggle, my mind stuck in the fight or flight cycle—and left me stuck in place. To move meant she would have the chance to just wipe me out, but to fight… I couldn’t win. Her strength was palpable now in front of me, a dizzying flare of power constantly coming out of herself, a constant wave of magic that flowed outward. Not in the sense of letting them go, but to allow others to be able to feel them.

I breathed, and this time, the scent of lightning was intertwined with fresh pines, of vegetation and forest—that was this dragonwoman’s magic smell. She didn’t let it be so sharp it smothered everything, but even without knowing the depth of her magic… I knew it was strong enough that she was over anyone else I had ever seen. Even the most senior of magical girls wasn’t that strong.

But I knew I had to fight, to win against her, in one way or another. And despite everything, despite knowing for sure that I was at the end of my wits, scraping at the bottom of my pool of magic—I found something once more.

A miracle.

Withdrawing them almost hurt, a faint twinge within my chest. My heart stuttered for a moment as I drew them out, slowly and yet surely. I hid them within my core, wrapping the magic all around my insides so it would be easy to draw out when I needed them.

Everything was still painful, and my head felt like it was foggy—but I managed to keep myself together as I faced her. As she looked dangerously at me, her fangs sharp and deadly and all too easily could rip me apart if she so wanted.

The Phantasm was walking toward me, not healing or anything. But she looked relaxed, and that’s what rang the alarm bells in my mind. I still held myself back though, not wanting to reveal that I managed to shake off whatever’s her magic was causing in my head, and that I was still pretty lucid.

If the way my focus was all narrowing down to the present, what with me no longer hearing the sound of traffic that should be baying out below. Or even just the cry of the various televisions built into the buildings, always running an advertisement. None of them entered my ears, leaving only the roar of my blood and magic there. I struggled and strained, keeping myself as still as I could.

When she was close enough—maybe just an arm away—that was the time I finally let loose.

Two bucklers materialized on my sides, almost immediately slamming themselves right toward her afterward with a sharp whistle of the wind—and the crack of steel against meat and bone echoing loudly in the roof.

I gasped, the magic link between me and my talisman almost immediately snapped off, like a rubber band stretched too far. Pain immediately filled me for a moment, making me gasp with my eyes squeezed shut.

A reverberation of pain still echoed through my body for a while afterward, a punishment for overextending myself. All I could do was grit my teeth and bear it, slowly opening my eyes when I could feel the sharp twinges across my body no longer as sharp.

The dragon was… she wasn’t gone, but more of her body was hurt, and she was looking angrily at me. “How are you still standing?! I was sure your magic’s all gone.”

I grinned, even if it might look more like a grimace.

“Well then, you are obviously wrong.” I said with more bravado than I should have, considering I had… transformed back. Nothing’s left in the tank, leaving me with a casual T-shirt with jeans, and a metallic armband stretching itself across my arm. My relic had no gems inlaid, but the whole metal was carved with wonderful curls and swirls, of whorls and twirls that I couldn’t really make sense of.

Her snarls made my heart sing, especially when she glared at me—not right toward my face, but slightly angled away. But all her focus was narrowed down at me, even though her magic didn’t follow behind. At least… she wasn’t as strong as she was before, not anymore.

There were still streaks of it around her, but far more weakened, and she didn’t seem to realize anything was amiss.

So I puffed myself a little bigger, as if I was unafraid. “Now scram!”

Maybe she thought I could still pull something out of nowhere, but that—made her fly away. Her wings, a little banged but still mostly fine, stretched widely from her back as they flapped and brought her up into the sky.

I waited for her to be far away, no longer able to be seen before I finally tapped my armband a few times so it would compact itself—and turned into a plain, unassuming bracelet.

That done,I turned around and started my long trek back home—wanting to get some rest tonight, at least.

Maybe a little celebration. I managed to win, after all.

A week had passed since then.

I was glad for the low amount of Phantasms passing my city—mostly ones I didn’t even need to fight to kick out, even. Some harassed local buildings such as schools and campus, making it sound like the horror story people enjoy to talk about was real. Some made issues by encroaching and putting their territory in the city… I had to kick them back to their own dimension for those types, or just outright exterminating them away. They would come back sooner or later, but for now, I was glad for all the low profile things they were doing.

Something light was what I needed to top my magic up, and that was I found. Study, resting, patrols… Those were the only thing I did over the past days.

Of course, occasionally I had to tiptoe around the local law enforcement during a few of my hunts. It was the worst, as there would always be a few who managed to find out, and I had to wipe their memories off. My chest squeezed at the memory, at how I had to slowly massage away the supernatural from their memory until they had something that sounded pretty normal in their mind.

Better this way, unless I wished for them to possibly become someone like me. The relic I wore preferred people in the know, as its desire to be used was especially strong. Most people wouldn’t wear a whole metal armband without knowing what it actually was, after all.

Nonetheless, I relaxed in my room, half-listening to the radio I had connected magically with the police station’s. While this was bad for my peace of mind the majority of the time, sometimes I managed to find out about some Phantasm issue before it became a bigger one.

I bustled about in my room, preparing my textbooks and notebooks so I could perhaps focus on studying for a bit—exams were coming in a few weeks and I still hadn’t cracked them open ever since the semester started. College was far more forgiving about absences, but without any sort of studying… I shook my head, not wishing to dwell upon that possibility further.

Which meant, of course, tonight was the day something major happened.

Just as I sat down and opened the book—was of course, a burst of magic.

Not an unfamiliar one too, one I had felt before. And with this strength… I stood, almost mechanically, as I looked outside my window—and saw the movement of something over the citylines. A big Phantasm, probably even dangerous.

The radio still crackled, and I found myself shivering—excitement? I didn’t know, but my breathing came faster.

“The bank’s alarm has been triggered. My rudimentary check didn’t seem to point to anything abnormal, but I’m sending a few squads there anyway.”

My chair clattered down the floor as I hurried, my heart thumping heavily in my chest. I needed to be there, ten minutes ago. The books were left ignored as I immediately tapped my bracelet again—and pull on the magic.

“Let the gleam of metal surround and protect me, I’m Starlight Gleam!”

The whisper came out easily, and my magic came out without any issues—and I could feel it settling around me, forming the armored dress I usually wore as a magical girl. The thrum of magic cried out easily inside my body, and before I could think twice—I opened the window and jumped from there, magic forming a disc of air beneath my feet so I could run in the air.

I wasn’t like a few other magical girls, who had the blessings of flight. But the weapons I could so easily call to being with merely a thought—those were enough. Bucklers spun into existence once more, and I held a saber in my grip the second after.

Nothing else to do but to go toward the bank—and hoped that none of the police, or any mundanes were around.

Lucky for me that the Phantasm—for there were nothing else that could have spilled magic this much, this fast—were like a beacon, calling everyone with a whit of magical sense to come to the source.

Even I could feel the call of the magic, the scent of pine and fresh leaves intertwined with lightning. They all blended in, not into a disgusting one but something that felt fresh… and pulled my attention with it.

I went, following the invitation—a wide grin on my face.

I would properly defeat her this time.

She, for that was certainly the same Phantasm as the one I fought before, was massive. Her wings were spread wide, this time used carefully to keep herself up with occasional flaps, so strong I could feel the wind blowing me even as I kept myself as far as I could.

Coming close sounded like a bad idea. Because this time… her strength was incredible. Far, far more than what she had the last time we met. The scent of lightning, of ozone, was ever present. Strong and spreading further and further with every wingbeat. She was looking down onto the huge tower, the very bank the police was coming to.

I had luckily moved faster than them, being able to run in the sky instead of needing to follow the roads.

The dragon was narrowing her eyes angrily down at the building, squinting at it as if it had offended her. More swells of magic slowly spread out of her again—this time, I could almost see the beginnings of a forest, growing in the sky.

I didn’t want to be here, to fight someone who, by all rights, was stronger than I. I should call the Council, telling them the issue, and they probably would send a better, stronger and more senior magical girl.

And yet, as the song of her magic curled around me—it was hard to think of why I wanted to be away from her. I couldn’t help but breath in the freshness that emanated out of her magic, finding warmth curling all within myself.

I wanted to stay.

To just… let her magic sank further into me, so she could… I didn’t know what she could do with that, but I knew it would be good—for her choice would always be positive toward me or anyone else.

I stood there, in the middle of the air, just letting my everything be suffused with her magic, her power and how that sheer strength just muddled everything else in my mind. It wasn’t a compulsion or anything—it was just my mind rearranged to what she wanted it to be. Not consciously, either, as her focus was completely on the bank instead of myself—

Wait.

The only reason my mind managed to surface back, was the fact she didn’t completely push her intention at me. That this was all because of the sheer strength of her magic.

I breathed, feeling cold fingers gripping my chest and luckily pushing away the rest of the reaching tendrils of her magic. The fear was enough to rebuff them, as long as she wasn’t trying to do anything toward me.

That was bad. I knew the amount of magic she had before, and that one… I could do something. Now though? She was so over my level that even her magic was enough to subdue me. I straightened myself, still a bit shaky, and was about to turn around. I couldn’t stay, not like this. Better get out of here and then…

My thoughts stopped, for I felt her attention on me once more.

The Phantasm had stopped flying around. No, she was just hovering at one place, staring right at me. Despite the fact I shouldn’t know how a dragon’s expression should be, I could sense she was grinning, delighted at the fact I was here.

I knew there was nothing to it now, and my bucklers immediately fanned out—not away, but making a circle around me. I dismissed my sword too, changing it for a massive shield I could hopefully trust to protect me against her attack. There was no use trying to attack right now—all I could do was stay conscious as long as possible, and hope the magical girl from the neighboring city saw what was happening.

“You have come again, little human!” She sounded incredibly delighted, her voice turning much deeper, a rumble that somehow soothed a few parts of my mind. “While I wish you’ll be a little later, as I’m about to take a few jewels from this bank… you are why I’m here.”

I gritted my teeth, trying my best to push away the more insistent magic she had, the ones that were starting to call and if I let my guard down… well, it would be easier to just put my shields down, dismiss them away—my teeth bit down inside my mouth, making my inner cheek bleed, and the pain pulsed at me—steady and letting me have something I could use as my core.

A reminder to look away from the sweetness she offered.

Even from this far, her eyes glinted with excitement—she knew I had managed to shake off her magic’s call, and that made this even more interesting for her.

“No weapons, dear? I don’t think you can win without anything to hurt me.”

I bit down a little bit harder, finding it hard to juggle between the various bucklers I was holding in my mind, as well as kicking out any influence that was trying to sneak in. At least I had managed to kick out a few that told me to just dismiss them all, and let the dragon came onto me—I shuddered and held my shield a bit tighter. I had let go of it just for a moment, not even realizing I was following what I thought I was fighting. The longer this went on, the worst my situation would be.

“You’ll be surprised at how good my shields are—or are you afraid that they’re too strong?” I called out, knowing attacking the dragon right in her pride would be the best way. Okay, maybe an angry, strong Phantasm wasn’t the best, but anger meant they wouldn’t think. Meant I could win if I could just outwit her.

Her tail lashed out for a moment, angrily whipping on the air… and close enough that I could see even the air movement was enough to crack the glasses.

“I know what you are doing, and that’s smart.” Her smile widened, showing off her sharp teeth. “Good, I always like it when my enemy’s trying something more than just physical strength.”

I continued watching, tightening my bucklers all together now instead of fanning out. Because the more I looked at her, the more I realized that… she would just come straight on. She wouldn’t try to go around, seeking a better place to attack. Just like when we first fought, even if I demanded it out of her with an arena then.

Right now, there wasn’t an arena beyond what our own mind and pride told us… and she was a dragon. She would be prideful enough, even if she said she didn’t.

I couldn’t help my own grin from spreading, as I said the next words I knew would seal her decision.

“You are so smart to know that, of course. I didn’t expect any less from a dragon.” I said, and I could see the way her head cocked slightly to the side, all of her attention fully on me. “Only shows how much weaker you believe yourself to be if you don’t dare to clash against me though, right?”

I shook the shield right in front of her, shrugging my shoulders a little bit as well to sell a certain kind of mood. Even my bucklers gave a bit of space right in front of me too, allowing her to see my shit-eating grin—as if I was certain I would win in a straightforward fight.

The growl she let out showed I was right, and that I might have bitten more than I could chew.

I kept the grin still until I grouped my bucklers again, shielding me from her sight unless she could see through metals. I kept down the scream I wanted to let loose about this situation, at how fucked I completely was—but there was nothing else to do.

My heart thudded heavily in my chest, sweat already dripping off my face—and yet I stood there, standing against one of the strongest Phantasm I had ever seen.

“Come, you lowly lizard!” I shouted, and immediately braced myself—hoping the slight angles in the position I put my bucklers in would help.

After all, when a dragon let loose a wordless sound of rage, I knew I had fucked up.

She charged forward, her magic all tightening around her, surrounding her instead of spreading like before. On one hand, that meant my mind was finally clear—on the other? It meant that I knew she would win—and that realization was too late.

Her charge shone like the sun, so bright that the sky had turned orange-indigo behind her. 

Beautiful and a wonder.

That was the last thing I saw, as I felt, more than heard, her clash against my bucklers.