"So I see~"The look on Miss Tamashi's face had splintered from the constant grin into something more resmbling a smirk. Or maybe she was bemused by the Demon's prattling and tell-tale signs.
"Yes, yes, I see now. You must be one of those special demons I've been hearing about lately. Well, there's no need to dwell further on the past; especially of the Nexus. I'm afraid that's all things here and there, that'll just go over these poor girls' heads." Miss Tamashi coolly laid her gaze on Henry's form. Ever since he'd made mention of aspects and foreign words, her eyes had lit up with an unnatural gleam, one of magical proportion.
"If you're delving into those arcane secrets demon, then this has all the markings of your lucky day! Oh, but you've known that already, yes? To have it staring you in the face...ironic for those eyes of yours, hmm?" With a click of her heels and a snap of the wrist, the homeroom teacher's shape and form suddenly blinded all near with a flash of watery light. With a light so potent such as this, it was easy enough to transform into what resmbled a
Magical Girl uniform without the others being too peeping. The new attire almost made Miss Tamashi appear twenty years younger but, as she would say, that was neither here nor there.
"Yes, yes. I see this is a matter that should be handled by me." Less bombastically, Miss Tamashi leaned forward towards the group of girls gathered.
"This won't take long~" was her helpful hint before she turned back to Henry. Be it by conversation or distraction she continued speaking to the demon directly.
"My, my, to see someone like you progress this far. But you can't replicate the Body...if you lack any Soul, dear Avaritia~"Henry stared at Miss Tamashii cooly, his blades all retreating to him as they slowly formed into his usual weapon.
"So you wish to take my treasures from me? Even in your current state, bound by the chains of an angel?" He sighed dramatically, grasping the collection of blades as they surely formed into a sword, a sword sharper than any in this world.
"Well I've never been one to turn down a fight. I suppose I can indulge you just this once." He said in a faux exasperated tone, his struggle to hold back a smile betraying his words.
"Now let me show you my Soul, let your Eyes percieve my journey to this place and this time." He flourished his blade in front of him dramatically, audibly slicing through the air and tearing open space.
"Behold my weapon, empowered by the best of Machina magitek and my own personal Magicks! Once the blade of a cheater, now this has become the House Rule!" Henry stepped forward, passing through the spacial distortion and reappearing right in front of Miss Tamashii with a manic grin, his glamor sliding off of him as he revealed
his true form to the Magical Girls gathered.
"Now lets see if you can beat the house odds." And so the battle began.
Henry opened quickly with a flurry of slashes, each one cutting through space and distorting the air around it, making it harder to actually percieve where Henry was even striking. What appeared to be an attack to the leg would strike at her throat, a sweep to the legs actually an attempt to vertically bisect the teacher as space only grew more and more warped. The assault lasted but a brief moment before the world corrected itself, the space that Henry attacked forcibly moving back into proper position with an explosion of force directed solely at the Prime Magical Girl.
"Ah, is it that obvious? If it is, then you know very well what I am. Who I am." Miss Tamashi tried very hard not to yawn as the demon sported his usual bravado. She knew she had promised the Magical Girls that this would be quick, but feared this Henry would find some way in dragging it out for too long. But at least he got to the point of the matter; literally and eventually. With it came the flashy, spectacular moves one would expect of a grand magus or warrior of old. Certainly, if Henry was trying to show off, this would be the appropriate manner.
Flipping her spear around and about, Miss Tamashi spun it between her fingers in deadly force, blocking the physical blows the demon gave with precise dexterity and strength meant to nearly force Henry back with each sword swing. However, even those movements that were ghostly and hollow, those meant in a world of illusion, would become barricaded by a physical presence. Miss Tamashi's cool smirk didn't let up as a force of her own parried the indiscriminate strikes, nearly invisible to the eye. Though with his own, Henry could see clearly.
"Let's take this elswhere Avaritia. I don't want my students getting any wrong ideas about me," the teacher said before rising up above the boy. Without wings, she glided upwards towards the top of the tower, intentionally so to make her form as impassable as possible to the watchers below. Isolated now, Henry could see the swift and cutting forms of his own sword slashing about around Miss Tamashi, still striking the cuts in a formed space while now focusing their efforts onto the demon.
"Haven't you done your homework? There's more a single Soul can do, blind to anyone's Eyes..."Each blow was swiftly blocked, something once unusual for the sword that could cut through anything, now something that Henry had grown used to. It didn't phase him, nor was he particularly bothered by Tamashii's retreat to the top of the skyscraper. Wings of black feathers and sleek metal emerged from his back as he took to the air, arriving at the peak of the tower just after Tamashii.
"I can understand, I would be pretty embarrassed if I got my ass kicked in front of my student too." His mockery was shallow, no real bite behind his words as he moved to defense. For a brief moment he frowned as he blocked each strike from the sword, clicking his tongue as he locked eyes with the teacher.
"I know they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but at a certain point it does become plagiarism." His own tricks wouldn't work against him of course, he has grown used to fighting within distorted space, he has basically had to just to be able to use his fighting style and not constantly swing at empty air by accident. Each cut in space was not only blocked, but corrected as Henry parried in such a manner that space was adjusted quickly enough that the world would have no need to intervene.
But he wasn't getting anywhere like this, if he wanted to break the current stalemate he would have to pull more tricks out of his sleeve.
"Gate of Tartarus: Roulette!" The same portal he had displayed earlier flashed into existence behind him, a series of numbers flashing by before suddenly stopping on the number 5.
"Cleave!" His sword was discarded for a brief moment as he backflipped away from the copies, his hand reaching into the portal and withdrawing
a massive axe as he completed his flip and landed on his feet.
"Hmm, bad roll. Oh well." Henry gripped the massive thing with both hands as he charged back into the fray, smashing away the copy as he attempted to move back into the offensive.
"Judgement!" As he called out its name the axe glowed, electricity springing to life along the edge as he went for a massive overhead smash. Meanwhile as House Rule clattered onto the ground, it slowly started sliding back towards Henry, as it carefully positioned itself for a future trick.
"Yes, very true. Plagiarism is outlawed for a reason. Thus, you should definitely check the rules before copying the original, demon. Fufufu~" Miss Tamashi stood idly by as Henry attacked the copied sword with strikes of his own up until he realized there was no point in a mirror match. But it was a mirror match he was going to recieve, especially when his new weapon of choice was revealed.
"Oh? Really trying to sell the rock boy band look with that one, aren't you?" Miss Tamashi commented among the sound of shattered steel. The replica House Rule, if one could call it so, shimmered to the ground in several pieces. Yet if the teacher was concerned of this matter, she didn't show it.
Instead, she dashed backwards when Henry made his mighty axe heaves and swings, electricity crackling in the air.
"But truthfully, I don't like being ignored Avaritia. And if your Eyes won't see that, then I'll gouge them out personally." A good distance placed between them, Miss Tamashi spun her spear in one hand, the weapon gliding over and between her fingers. From it a portal to match the Gate of Tartarus opened forward, a wave of steel and cutlery sluding outwards like a spout of water. All of them were weapons of physical kind, each one shot towards the demon like pelted rain. To those that missed, they merely changed trajectory to try again, avoiding hitting the Magical Girls below.
"The Soul is the source of all weapons. All manner of magic. Or didn't you know this, Avaritia," Miss Tamashi said with a dangerous gleam in her gaze and a lick of her lips.
"Of course I know this, Aspect. But a fight is not determined by weapon nor magic alone. The battle is won on strategy and proper use of resources. But most of all, the battle is won on intelligence, something you seem to be behind on." Henry smirked as his Gate of Tartarus opened up behind Tamashii, but there was not a hint of concern on his face as he faced down the copies of his treasures.
"After all, you're using version 1.0 to fight 2.0." He swung his axe around him quickly, his arms never stopping as he not only deflected every weapon but shattered it completely with little concern.
"My new Gates are much stronger than what you have opened, by enforcing limits and rules to the magic I can focus it and make it stronger. You see, I didn't choose this weapon. This was complete luck of the draw." Henry adjusted his axe a tad as he swung at a collection of swords heading straight for him, the flat of his axe hitting them right back at Tamashii like a baseball bat hitting a homerun.
"By choosing my weapons randomly and only using one at a time, I can strengthen them beyond their normal limits. While this blade spam would be my usual MO, I've evolved beyond suck tactics. So I suggest you do as well."He moved forward quickly, carving a path through the sea of blades with hardly even a hint of concern, each attack being batted away with the same amount of precision he would reserve for his katana.
"Now stop running away and face me like the warriors we are!" Another swing for Tamashii, accompanied by the electricity on the axe amplifying and forming several cutting blades of electricity to join the first swing.
"I forgot how much you mortals prattle, especially regarding denizens of darkness," Miss Tamashi sighed.
"Oh, but if you want me to make this harder, then by all means." The teacher halted spinning her spear, merely to conjure another portal with a flick of her other hand. At once the same velocity stream of weapons poured out like a bellowing tide, though these arms would be much more durable than the last.
"There, your 2.0. If that really makes you happy-you want a personal match?" Miss Tamashi mused once Henry finally reached her. Spear still gripped in hand, she spun it about before clashing with the electrical axe. The additional blades behind the swing were equally blocked, each one hammering down on the spear.
"Though isn't this cheating, demon? You know very clearly I'm not even at full capacity, not as I am now..." Miss Tamashi wiggled a leg to show off, making known the invisible chains that still clung to her form.
"No, no...if you want a real fight of worth, you'd do best to let me finish my plans here in this city. Wouldn't that be interesting for you, Avaritia~?" She held down Henry's slashes in a blade lock of her own spear; all the same, the new portal continued to belch out weaponry slashing and piercing for the demon.
"Maybe then you'd actually use those coveted Eyes..."Henry grunted with exertion as he tried to break the stalemate, additional blades emerging from his coat and fending off the swarm of weapons as best they could. Of course it wasn't enough, Henry knew very well how his tactics worked when you didn't have a clear counter available. Eventually he would have to break out his Gates in full force, but even that was just a bandaid for the gaping wound that was Tamashii's power.
"Has anyone ever told you how annoying fighting you is? God damn do I hate fakers and copycats." An ironic given her status, the source of powers and whatnot. But Henry liked talking for the sake of talking, gave him time to think. A dagger cut through his side, the first blade to get through his hasty defense.
"Let's just say I break off the fight here. I give you the dumb Emblem thing, we call it a draw. You do your plan, probably get the chains off is my guess. How do I know you're gonna bother sticking around for a real fight rather than immediately running off for revenge against the Vassal?" A spear breaks through, its force not enough to break through the defenses offered by his coat. Almost ready, just a few more seconds of stalling.
"Has anyone ever told you how annoying fighting you is?" Even her words were reflected back, like a mirror upon the beholder. A gentle hand cruelly snatched at Henry's throat, Miss Tamashi's nails digging into either side of the neck. She held him there, away from her by a monstrous strength.
"You talk too much demon. Doubting my word? Now you've insulted my hospitality out of bad sportsmanship!" Her spear lowered in her other hand, she held Henry aloft enough for some of her guided weapons to stab through; but not all.
"But if it's a vow you wish to keep, so be it. I swear I'll promise you a real battle worthy of your time when I'm not wearing these rags....there, does that satisfy you~?"Miss Tamashi leaned in close with an animalistic glaze to her eyes.
"The Eyes are the gateways to the Soul, Avaritia. This is your lesson in the matter." Direct contact was followed by intense, horrifying pain. A energy, no, magic so dense and pure washed through Henry's form, guided by the stare Miss Tamashi continued to hold.
"Come now, I thought you were knowledgeable of these matters? Don't you want to feel the full extent the Soul has to offer~?" Miss Tamashi mused, setting the demon's own soul afire with her own, pure magic streaming through his veins. Yet there was another reason she stared into his Soul; drawing another portal with the tip of her spear in the air, Miss Tamashi flushed out what she was looking for: Margaret's Emblem.
Only when it landed upon the length of her spear did she slide herself away from Henry, the burning contact of their Souls dissipating along with it.
"I'll be taking this back now. It's not nice to steal from little girls. Now go back to your idle life while I finish my own plans," Miss Tamashi muttered, tossing Henry away to wherever it was demons went to crawl back into the darkness.
Henry choked on his words, literally as Miss Tamashii choked the life out of him. But he was not satisfied, not until his blackened blood dripped onto her arms and he grabbed on to the hand holding him.
"The pact is sealed, let our geas be binding and true." A mere formality, but one any Demon worth their salt always insisted upon when making a deal. A magic gripped Miss Tamashii's own as she forced him through hell, she could clearly recognize that Henry had enforced pact magic upon the both of them via verbal contract. He did not struggle as he felt her raw power course through his Soul, he hardly even blinked as he was burned from the inside out. A few lifetimes of dying in creative ways taught one a lot about pain tolerance in the end, to be quite honest his teacher had probably put him through worse than this. The amulet landed upon Miss Tamashii's spear with little issue, Henry didn't fight for it nor did he even attempt to get back up once Miss Tamashii flung him onto the ground.
"I wish you the best of luck in your plans Aspect. But know this." It was sudden and unexpected, House Rule was inches away from her stomach before anyone could possibly react.
"I had you one hand away from busting. The house always wins." He forced himself into a sitting position, his wounds already healing as his eyes glowed a dull silver.
"Always."Miss Tamashi looked from the demon to the blade resting just next to her naval. Her spear dissipated as she held the Emblem personally in her grip. Her eyes eventually traced away from the sword back to Henry's dulled but healing form. Then, inch by inch, the crease in her lips crooked upwards into a vicious, hollow smirk. Instead of fading away or moving backwards, Miss Tamashi slowly pistoned her body against the tip of the blade, walking into its length, before soon enough the sword was engulfed into the width of her body. With a stare that brought with it a feral, unseen fury, she looked upon Henry, all other things in the world melting away for a single moment.
Ḭ̷̀̈́͛͂̎̆͗f̷͇͊̃̄̈̂̐̅̐́̎̊̅͘ ̶̲̐̇t̸̨͖̼̣͕͉͓̞͓͚͋́͐̎̋̒̅͗͜͝ͅh̷̞̠̯̰̏̾̀̐͌̀̂̀͂͘͘ͅa̸͙͠t̵̮̠̞̆͐̒̒̏ͅ'̵̡̫̻̬̼̞̬̝͙̺̓̏̿̽̄̈̓̏̋̓͛͋̕ŝ̴̭͑̉̀ ̸̢̰͔̟̙̤̫̯̘̦̫̙̝̉̄̉̿͌̂̇̓̊͂̇͐̒́͜͝ẁ̸̧̳̻̙̺̦̹̭̦̼̘̰͑̆̕͘͝ḩ̵̛̰̹̬͕͚̹̖̳̓͂̆̏́͂a̶͈͖̹̘̤̿͜t̵̛̙̩̖͈̟̺͊̓͐͐̍̓́̌̓̑͠͠ ̸̖̗͓̪̭͈̦͎̬̣̰͐̊̈́̐̒̑̚̕̚͝ͅͅy̶̢͔̼̭͍̙͕̑͌̋̀̎̄o̷͕͖̹̗̝̮̺͖̜̪͆͋͆̓̅̍̅͘̕̚͠u̵̝̭̭͕̰͚͇̭͎̳̓ ̷͈̯͗̕w̶̨̢͓͍͎͖̥͇͍͈͛͋͛̔͒͋͐̓̄͘̚a̴̜̪͙̳̼̳̐n̶̢̺͎̭͉͒ṱ̷̢̮̼̱͚͙̯̼̬̲̜͕͛̿̂̅ ̶̛̞̱͇̪̰̯̃̊͗̑̂̊̿̍͗̕̕͘t̴͙̻̫̞͕̗̠̀̈̓͒̅͑̏̿̚̚͝ó̵̧̡̢̧͙͇͙̞̲͖̞̺́̋́̎ ̴̜͖̭͙͖͖̝͔̼̘̗͎̘͊̍̿̕b̸̨̤͚͚̩̤̪͖̽̾͑͛̍̓͂́̅͘͜ȇ̶̢̛̮̮͓͖̅͆̂̈̿͊́̀̀̄̋̌͘ľ̶̫͇̰̘͘i̶̢̭͙̱̲̅̐͝ȩ̸̛͖̰̬͕̠̮͍͎̇̾̋̓͛̏͊͗̏͘͘v̵̡͇̣͛̿̋̾ȩ̸̰͚͌͒̔͒̿̋̊̑͌̉̉͐͛̈̚,̵̮̖̆͑̾̎̏̓̓̓̾̓́̿̆̉̂ ̷̡̢̧͉̻͍̟̼͇̂̂͂͘͝Ň̸̡̛͓̲̩̼̠̖͂͗̂͆̒͝e̸͎̤̜̗͕̍͂̊̓̋̔͑̓͘͠x̶̙͚̦̳̲̻̜̣̗͇̖̦͆̾͌́͜͜͜u̴̢̨͓͍̼̝̻̼̗̳̰̼̟͋̿̿͆̋͜ş̶̨̪̰̠̗͇̙̠̳̲̻̿̊̉̏̈̅͝ ̵̡̨͎̤͈͓̙̪̜̭̰̩́ͅḞ̶̛̣͖͉͖͔̳̒̆̂̌̍̊͗̕ͅa̷̧̡̩͍̯̟̤̣̞͈̐̀͆̎̈́̆́̂̈͌̎̕͘͜i̴̦̱͖̠̦̬̅̀̈͘ͅl̴̡̼̞̮̖̞̳̹̙̭̯̫̋̄̑̆̂ͅư̶̧̦̥̮̖͚̪̖͉͌̿͒̆͂͋͂͂̈̈͗̕̕̕ŗ̸̖̠͕̱̫̭̻̞̘̏͊̈́̋̐͗̿̿̽͛̽͘͠͝e̷͇̱̙̖͇͇͙͊̚.̴̛̬̙̜͉̥̹̬̼̱̤͒͋̔͐̆̒̋̓̀̆͗̚͜ͅ
With all said and done, Miss Tamashi slowly picked the sword out of her body frame by frame before tossing aside the soaked weapon. Emblem in hand, she descended back to the earth. The click of her heels on solid ground signified her return to the Magical Girls. With a wobbled grin, she casually placed her palm around her bloodied gut.
"Oh dear...that demon got me good, but...." With a quick little circle and a clack of her heels, she transformed back into her regular clothes. In one hand she held out the Emblem and in the other, she formed her fingers into the victory pose.
"The justice of light prevailed as it should!" 
