Chapter 163: Preparation Time.

With Joan free, Liche ran to her side and checked her over. The pair talked, and walked off to the side, leaving me to face Éclair.

“Well then… Your turn Prima!” She faced me with a wide smile that told me everything I needed to know.

I thought about arguing, complaining, but… I didn’t think I’d be avoiding a beating today. Still, I wasn’t going to just take it. I had to at least put on a better show than Joan did, right?

“Can I have a moment to prepare?” I asked.

“Prepare, yeah, sure. I can wait a few minutes.” She said and went to the side and guzzled down bottle after bottle of water.

Taking that chance, I stepped out and transformed and began to create what was needed for the coming fight. Once I was ready, I came back to find Éclair sitting at the center of the room waiting for me. I knew, if I didn’t impress her, she’d just beat me even more for wasting her time.

She eyed me for a moment, trying to see what I had prepared, but ultimately, found nothing.

“Alright, how bout you go first for a change?” She offered. Giving me an out. Or at least, a chance to prove myself.

My answer? My answer was to reach into one of the pouches on my belt. She didn’t move, just eyed me. The moment I grasped what I wanted, in a single motion I threw them.

A couple of stick shaped explosives. Fragmentation grenades. A sudden jolt of magic was all I needed to start their fuses.

“The hell are…” Éclair started, her body already moving as they came closer. Yet, in mid-air, they exploded. Ice shards peppered the surrounding area, punching into the surrounding surfaces. A flash of golden light protected those on the sidelines and earning me a few looks of ire.

As for Éclair? A sudden burst of electricity shot out, forming into a barrier that vaporized the many fragments that had gone in her direction.

“Explosives? That’s…” Again, she was interrupted as I fired a shot. The bullet sang a harmonious tune, much like a choir. Unperturbed, Éclair smacked it aside, thinking it would simply shatter, but it didn’t. It hit the far wall, hard, and rebounded off and hit another wall before cracking right back towards Éclair, as if it had a mind of its own.

It went so fast, I only heard when it sang by, but that didn’t deter Éclair. She moved as fast as lightning, her hammer cracking into the bullet, again and again, each time the bullet grew exponentially faster. At its apex, when the bullet sang its final crying call, I raised my rifle and shot towards Éclair.

Stuck between redirecting the oncoming bullet, and the screaming bouncing bullet, she was barely bothered. Doing a spinning twist, her hammer cracked into the bouncing bullet, silencing its cry for good, and moved her body out of the trajectory of my newly fired round at the same. Showing off both her perception and flexibility.

Only, the bullet exploded and knocked her to the ground. The moment she hit the ground; she pushed off and threw herself into the air. I then took the chance to toss more grenades in her direction.

Seeing the coming grenades, electricity burst out of her body, creating a shield, likely anticipating another explosion of ice fragments, only for the grenades to explode with extreme force and cold. The range on them was small but devastating. The force of the blast rocketed Éclair back, into the far wall. Granting me a chance to throw a new set of explosives just before she could recover.

Now, unsure of what to expect she blasted up her defenses, a barrier of electricity that hissed and sparked against the small amounts of rime already surrounding her and clinging to her frame. However, once again, against her expectations, it was not an explosion, the new grenades merely hissed, spraying out a thick cloud of rime that immediately covered the area in a misty fog.

I felt my senses widen. I could feel everything in the room, everyone. And with it, for the first time, I sensed just how monstrous Éclair truly was. Her body was constantly emitting electrical charges. They constantly moved and probed, giving her an almost supernatural awareness of her surroundings. Proving exactly what she had said to Joan earlier. She really could sense and feel everything around her.

Even with the rime dampening the effects, I could feel those electric charges rapidly gaining ground, working through the rime, charging it and ripping away my sight and control.

Yet, it wasn’t like I was idle. In those moments I bought myself, I moved. Making preparations for my plan, setting the stage. And once it was ready, I aimed my rifle and fired my third shot. The very moment the bullet came into her zone, her body moved, her eyes were bright, almost blinding, and cut right through the cold fog. Almost like a lighthouse on a foggy night.

The moment she looked in my direction, I felt her gaze fall squarely on me. She didn’t hesitate. She launched herself forward, sledgehammer cracking into the bullet, only for it to explode. Not that it stopped her. No, it didn’t even slow her down as she stamped down to prevent herself from being pushed back and came right for me.

I met her head on instead of running, with bayonet affixed. I counter charged, coming in fast and hard. She twisted to avoid the tip of my bayonet, damn near falling over her own feet in the process, yet somehow managed to launch a kick in the process from an absurd angle.

I managed to block it with my rifle, the blow reverberated through the rifle into my hands and throughout my body, making my teeth vibrate in my skull. I didn’t try to take the blow fully or hold my ground. I let the force of her strike push me back and away, and as expected, Éclair followed.

I kicked to the side the moment I landed, her hammer passing by an instant later, her eyes stuck fast on me even as she whiffed. Enough that she didn’t see it, but she definitely heard it as a slight ting announced itself. An anomaly in our current fight.

She whirled, again, it was ungainly, almost panicked, yet there was an odd grace to the movement even if it looked like she was about to fall over at any moment. She swung towards the source of the noise, that being a small object hovering in the air, or rather, that had been just launched into the air just an instant prior. Alas, she was too late…

It exploded, ice crystals shot out in every direction, perforating and bouncing off all the surfaces, magnifying in power as they did. With a low shout, countless tendrils of electricity shot out from her, zapping all the shards heading for her person.

I followed up with my fourth shot. The bullet cried out with a shrill cry. Again, she twisted, her hammer finding its way cracking into the side of the bullet. Only, it didn’t shatter immediately upon impact, but was blasted aside, very nearly sending her tumbling over. Almost like a drunk, she staggered forward into a blistering run, coming right for me.

Again, I met her head on, swinging my bayonet about, trying to hit her with the stock of my rifle. After a quick exchange, her hammer came from below after another series of bewildering movements. I didn’t bother to hold onto my rifle as she struck, letting my rifle be ripped from my grasp as I pulled back.

Once bitten, twice shy, Éclair hesitated briefly to follow me into the fog. Giving me a chance to get distance while she worked her way forward, disarming mines as she went. By the time she caught up to me, I’d recalled and summoned the bayonet into my hand.

I burst out of the last vestiges of rim and sent out a flurry of thrusts with my bayonet. My blade was swiftly shattered by a direct blow from her hammer. With a twist, that became a full-blown spin, I managed to avoid her follow-up strike and follow through with a kick of my feet, blades appearing at the soles of my feet sang as they cut through the air. She pulled back, barely avoiding the blade as it came for her face, and following through the spin, I kicked out again with my other leg, with the blade out.

And during the spin, my free hand threw the grenade I had kept close at hand.

Éclair met this blade with her hammer, shattering it in the process, I tried to abort, transitioning it into a kick, but she easily bypassed it and revved up a new strike. Only for an odd sound to reach her ears, of an explosion overhead, her eyes darted up mid-swing, catching, just barely catching the fluttering parachute of my piercing grenade.

She didn’t think, she reacted, juking back with all she had, making the air crack as she moved. Even then, it wasn’t quite fast enough. The grenade fired, a shaped charge lanced out and cracked into her leg with a loud crackling bang.

Yet… to my astonishment, it wasn’t her leg that gave way, no, it was the shaped charge. The reinforced ice, backed by all its momentum shattered on impact with her shin. Leaving her leg bloody and bruised, but still whole.

“Ow…” Éclair said, limping back, testing the wound. “You injured me…” She muttered. For a moment, I could see the emotions flit from her face, from disbelief to annoyance, to finally, a manic smile. Subtly, her grip tightened ever so much on her hammer, her posture changed. Every single sign pointed to one little fact. That she was not going to hold back with this next strike.

I guess, in a way, this was my reward for actually hurting her with my little plans, and normally, I’d be shivering in my boots. Knowing full well that a single powerful blow from her would spell my doom, only… I never expected the grenade to cripple her. I mean, sure, I expected it to break her leg or do serious damage, not seriously bruise it, but this?

This was what I was aiming for. For her to stop holding back, for her to, in a single moment, give her all.

I barely noticed her move. It was a flicker in my vision, my senses. Only through the little rime coming off my uniform as I went about, clung to her, alerted me to her incoming strike.

Yet, I did not dodge. Instead, I firmly planted my feet to receive her blow.

There was a moment, as she finished her swing, that something flickered in her eyes. Was it realization? Something else? Or perhaps, had she figured out what I was doing? What I was aiming for?

Well, it didn’t matter, it was already too late.

Her hammer struck, but… I’d put everything into my defense right before it hit. The blow smashed through my defenses, the outer layer of my uniform shattered, exploded into countless shards with the sound of breaking glass. A sudden surge of energy went through me, and with a stomp, I threw a fist forward as Éclair was put off-balance as her hammer was rebuffed.

With everything I had, my fist hurtled right for her face and connected.

The moment I made contact… It was like punching a steel wall. No, even that felt incorrect, it was like punching the dense core of a star or planet. My fist wasn’t merely stopped, no, it crumpled. Flesh and bone shattered under the strike, crunching down, making my fingers and knuckles worthless. The bones and ice along my arm all crackled and broke. As did everything else involved in the process. My arm, the muscles along my back, legs, core.

Even through the ice, the successive explosions of excruciating pain ripped out an expletive from my lips.

Éclair though, she wasn’t unharmed either as I felt impossibly strong cartilage give way at the last instant. Despite taking damage, Éclair did not hesitate, without even a pause, she kicked me right in the chest, I felt my ribs cave in, crunch right into my lungs as I went hurtling back. I hit the ground, hard. Wheezing, coughing up frosted and foamed blood, as my perforated lungs filled with frigid blood.

With the kick, I felt something give. My uniform gave a final whimper, shattering, erasing only the most lethal injuries and yet, still leaving me with a severely damaged arm and shattered ribcage.

“Now… why the hell would you do that?” Éclair said, her voice nasally, wet, and not a moment later she was standing over me. “I mean, where the hell did you even learn to do that? I mean, using a limit breaker is one thing, but a limit breaker counter?”

I tried to respond, but even if my lungs were no longer punctured, they were still filled with blood. Hearing me choke on my own words, perhaps even literally, she just sighed and kicked me on my side where I began to rapidly cough and hack out everything in my lungs.

Only once it was cleared up did I finally speak. “When I fought that elder. I had the feeling I could do it…” I coughed a bit more, clearing more of my lungs out, “I used it against him to get a good blow in, and I thought, it would be a good way to get a hit in.”

She eyed me, and well, she sighed. “You’re not wrong…” She finally says after a moment, a hand on her jaw. She seemed completely unbothered by her broken nose that was dripping blood everywhere. “Sure, you broke my nose, which, considering your current level is, a big deal. The problem is, you’re now useless, yes? Not just that, but if you had failed, I was about ready to tear you in half, knowing that your uniform could have taken the brunt of the blow. You were aware of that, yes? If you were off, even slightly, that would have torn right through you. It could have even killed you.”

“I’m aware, rather, I figured that might happen if my timing was slightly off.” I answered.

“And it would have… why even do it though? I mean, it’s not like… No…” She frowned, her eyes narrowed. “You… you planned this whole fight, didn’t you?”

I nod. “More or less, there was a bit of, impromptu actions, but overall, it went to plan.”

Again, she eyed me until eventually she walked closer and squatted down beside me.

“You chose dance as a talent, yes?” She asked, something in her tone made me aware that there was more to it than I thought.”

“I did… why? Is that an issue?”

“And let me guess, you thought of this whole fight, this spar as a play? A kind of stage with each of us as actors, or actresses?”

I nod again, not sure where this was going.

“Huh… well, that explains a lot.” She says and jumps up. “Now that whole fight makes sense… neat.”

I blink, caught off-guard by her apparent nonchalance. “It’s not a problem?” I say.

“Oh, a problem? No. It just means you’ve started figuring out your style. A core aspect for a magical girl, beyond the synergies and all, is their talent. And honestly, I know you chose it, but I wasn’t sure how it would work. I know I didn’t really get into it, but what talent you choose heavily alters your style.”

“How so?” I ask.

“Well, for example, a person with music as a talent gets a natural sense for timing. They get better at picking up minute differences in tone, their hearing sharpens. Sure, it’s not like they immediately get it, hard work is necessary to bring out the fullest of one’s talent. But, when talent gets to a certain point, it almost becomes a superpower in its own right. A lot of people don’t consider the greater implications of what getting a talent even means. I’m sure I mentioned this before…?”

“I’m not sure honestly… So much has happened, and we meet so rarely, that it kind of meshes together..”

“I get that, well, as I’m sure I said before, talents are pretty important, like my own talent.” Éclair said.

I shake my head.

“My talent is drawing. I’ve always been good at art, but, well, what’s not to like about having more talent. Well, I didn’t realize it at first, but like, it’s crazy. My ability to visualize has gone through the roof. Memorizing details, even drawing people straight form memory after seeing them only once. Now, how does this help me? Well, imagine that I can remember and visualize everything I see. Not just that, but the feel, the smell, the touch, the taste, everything, all at a glance. Pair that with my magic and well, you get why I’m considered broken to most people.”

I stare, not quite comprehending exactly how that makes her, broken, as she puts it.

“Do you know how I’m so strong?” She asks.

Again, I shake my head.

“Simple, empowering your body with magic comes in two varieties, typically. Passive and active. Passive is just running more magic through your body, just letting it work as usual. No muss, no fuss. Active, requires you to purposefully empower certain sections of your body, often in a structured way to strengthen specific muscles. For example, when you punched just now, you didn’t just surge with magic, but you focused the magic in an instant on different groups of muscles and punched out.”

I nod. “I get the principle, it’s the same with performing a proper punch, or really, any kind of exercise.”

“Right? Usually, the talent I offer up for most people who are on the fence is a simple talent for working their body. It sounds stupid, but that talent alone is incredibly terrifying. Just being able to properly move and even breathe makes a huge difference in a fight.”

I nod along. “I know that too. Which is part of the reason why I’m not talented. I had to have these skills literally beat into me over years. It’s not something I can just do.”

“And yet, you’ve adapted. Your new talent is working to help you adjust and create your own style. Given enough time, you’ll be able to make up for your core weaknesses, though, I do suggest you find a teacher before your style becomes cemented, so you have a larger base to work off of.”

“I’ll try to do that… and… Honestly, I haven’t really noticed.”

“Of course you haven’t, talent is one of those weird things. It’s not possible to realize just how far or behind you are without someone to compare yourself against.”

“I… guess?” I say, in lieu of a proper answer.

“Trust me, I’m right. Honestly, you’re far better off than most magical girls as it is. Now, continuing from where I left off, the reason I’m strong is because magic is heavily influenced not only by how much you have, and the quality of it, but also on the clarity of the vision you give it. Now, I imagine when you’re actively using your magic to empower yourself, or to deliver a strong blow, you imagine the motion of your body, how the muscles work, yeah?”

“Give or take, yeah. That’s about right.”  Answer back.

“Well, when I do it, I don’t just do it by muscle groups, or by actions. The reason I stretch, is because I’m empowering every single tendon, muscle, ligament, you name it. My talent gives me an incredible view of nearly every part of my body, and stretching makes it even easier for me to do so while saving on energy. Which, works into my final lesson.”

“Final lesson?”

“Yes, your more or less good. You have a solid sense of direction, know where you’re going and frankly, you just need to keep doing what you have been doing. Going forward, I’d like to set you up with others to spar with to better make use of your talent and budding skills.”

“That… if you’re sure.”

“I am, now, the final lesson involves one thing. We’ve been working on your ability to manipulate your magic, yes? Working on making it flow better, getting you to feel more, attuned to it, yes?”

I nod. Mostly, it involved me freezing things and meditating or making more complex structures in the ice. Honestly, my own sculpting process and making ice blocks had a huge effect on my skills. Without that, I don’t think I could have figured out how to… well, do whatever it was Éclair ha called it.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s how I learned to do that move.”

“Limiter release, rather, Limiter release counter. Sounds dumb, but it does what it says. I said before a uniform acts like a suit of power armor. Part of its energy goes into strengthening you, another portion goes into protecting you, think shields or deflectors, or whatever. Limiter release is simply removing the defensive portion of the uniform to power the body. It does make you stronger, but it also removes most of your uniform’s safety features. Like, the emergency release no longer restores injuries, or if it does, it does the absolute minimum to preserve your life, if that.”

I listen carefully as she takes a moment to let those words settle.

“The counter is the same principle, however, instead of simply dismissing the uniforms defenses, you intentionally overload them, allowing you take a hit that would normally be lethal, and not only deflecting it, but granting you a momentary boost in power, all while transitioning you into the limiter release state.”

“And I guess, if I miss the timing, I die?”

“Not quite. If nothing hits your shield as it overloads, you can… whiff. You not only dismiss your shield, but it temporarily caused a bit of a, what you’d call, a short circuit. Your uniform will just stop working for a moment. If you’re not hit, well, your uniform will reboot after a few seconds, and you’ll be able to try again, but yeah, it’s better not to do it in most cases.”

“Most? Well, I suppose there would be times where using it is better than not.”

“Yeah, but you do have to be careful.” She advised.

“I will, and I suppose that is part of why increasing my skill with using my magic is so vital, right? Like you said, visualization is important. Does that mean, I could do what you do?”

“To an extent, but for you, think about your ice, how it forms.”

I nod.

“Now, I know you read the starter volume on alchemy, which, honestly helps a lot, but once you get the occult knowledge, you’ll fully understand what I’m saying now. Even then, with your current knowledge maybe you will…” She mutters before shaking her head.

“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, consider this, when freezing objects, or even just creating ice, what if the ice wasn’t just ice. Like, the ice crystals, I’m sure you can reliably make perfect ice, right?”

Perfect ice? “I guess? I mean, I never really looked at it under a microscope, but I can make ice that’s clear as glass.”

“Yeah, so, imagine that you freeze the ice in such a way, that all the crystals form into an array?”

An… array? Wait… “Are you saying… I can make enchanted ice? With just, thought?”

“More or less. I’d suggest you start by making more, ornate ice. Not just straight blocks, or simple freezing surfaces, but by making pictures. Words, and such. Up the complexity until you can make functional structures and such.”

“That… huh… that sounds incredible actually…”

“Right? Anyway, yeah, that’s about it.”

“I suppose, but… what about others?”

“What about them?” She asked confused. Her nose, still left bleeding.

“What did you think of them?”

“Oh, yeah… I almost forgot about that…” She mutters and gets everyone’s attention.