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Alex rushed to Lily’s side, who had managed to rise up to her knees, still holding on to her shot arm.
[color=fff200]”I-I’m okay,”[/color] she claimed, despite her appearance clearly stating the opposite. [color=fff200]”But, did Mariette-”[/color] She tried to see where the eyepatched girl was, but her headache intensified, causing her to wince.
[color=fff200]”Dan made a portal. We gotta...leave...”[/color] She wrapped an arm around Alex’ shoulder, and took support from him as she did her best to run, stumbling along the way.

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When Veronica peered into Sonia's mind, she discovered a long and tragic backstory far too long to spend a moment of exposition. But as she skimmed through it, she learned that unlike all of Justine's other servants, Sonia was never brainwashed or magically controlled, her loyalty to her unbreakable and resolute.

Justine charged, aiming for Jenna’s heart, when Eliza stepped in the way, ready to intercept just in time. However, it did not dissuade the vampiric monster girl, who had predicted her move.
[color=bc8dbf]”Eliza! You shall die together with her!”[/color]
Justine caught Jenna’s spear with the jagged edges of her own, cautious of her ability to use her Bane against her as she showed her uncanny dexterity and power. She simultaneously reacted to Freya’s attack, and matched it with two red arms that caught her claws, wrestling at near-even strength. That was when Samantha called out. Justine had no love for her servants, as she truly did not for any but her sister. Even Sonia, her most valued and trusted companion, was but a maid. But despite that, something deep inside her compelled her to turn her eyes to Sonia, even if for a fleeting moment.

She felt the sting of the thornwitch in her chest as Eliza took the opportunity to stab. She plunged the cursed weapon she hid with her twirl, and unleashed it’s terrible magic. Roots shot through her accursed veins, causing Justine to cough up blood, her eyes wide and pupils dilated. She gargled her speech from blood in her throat:
[color=bc8dbf]”No way...You...You….”[/color]
 
But then, she gave a creepy smile, and opened them again, now crying tears of blood.
[color=bc8dbf]”You...FOOL!”[/color]
Eliza was caught; both of her arms and her torso squeezed by three red clawed arms, immobilized as Justine shook, while a fourth arm punched it’s claws at Freya; the monster girl was resistant enough to avoid being impaled, but she was sent flying back, her scales dropping from her front. The fifth one grabbed Jenna’s spear, causing her to wince in pain as the last remnants of Jenna’s love enchantment burned her.
The blood that dripped from the corner of her lip sizzled, and Eliza realized how Justine was still alive; she had turned her blood acidic, and destroyed the roots before they ruptured her body to death. Still, they caused enough damage for black veins to form on her face and limbs, visibly disfiguring her as she struggled to stand on her feet. She gave a horrific smile as she crushed Eliza’s arm to the point of breaking her bones, causing her to drop the Thornwitch Blade; the broken weapon emitted a dull clang as it hit the black ground.
[color=bc8dbf]”I feel my blood running dry...You shall quench it!”[/color]
She opened her mouth, about to bite into Eliza’s neck…!

Justine’s eyes darted to her side, and her final red arm lashed out to grab Sakura, surrounded by an aura of yellow energy.  [color=bc8dbf]”DAMN BRAT!”[/color]
She snarled as she attempted crushing the small magical girl, while Viridian attempted pulling her off. However, both were too late, as Sakura’s Killing Blow, powered up to a great storm of crackling lightning, beared down the vengeful fist of Narukami on her. 

[color=bc8dbf][h3]”NNNOOOOOOOO!!!”[/h3][/color]

In that moment, the combatants were blinded by a great flash of light, their ears nearly deafened by the crack of thunder.

In the aftermath, everyone was scattered around the smoking crater that had formed; Sakura was the farthest, having received nearly as much damage as she intended to inflict, her skin burnt and her hair standing upright and with small fires on the tip of it. When she came to, she had turned back to human form, having spent her magic. Eliza, Jenna, and Viridian were nearby, also struck by the blast due to proximity, but with lesser injuries thanks to being dragged away by Freya at the last moment.

Justine was sprawled at the center of the crater; her body had been heavily burnt black and smoking, with strokes of boiling blood that left her to form a pool. Her eyes were blank and glazed; she had been defeated.

[hr]
Leena was not amused by Su’s wordplay, and proceeded to attempt to whack the clingy girl with another one. However, she winced as Josefin used her mana-draining spell on her, causing her to grunt and release her grip on the young-looking magical girl mid-swing. “Dammit!” Josefin was slammed against Su, though not as hard as Leena originally intended; it caused damage in the form of heavy bruising on Josefin and a concussion on Su. Josefin began to free-fall, but was grabbed by a string of spiderweb launched by Ronja alongside Suzette and Esther. She swung her allies towards the portal, and then hopped off the rooftop, letting herself be carried by the velocity of her friends right through the misty archway.

Su on the other hand still managed to hold on through sheer willpower. Leena coughed, her body spasming as her limbs began to be deprived of oxygen. She looked up, and saw the enormous hydra, it’s numerous serpentine heads spread like Behemoth from the End Times.
She heard Alicia’s order, and coughed again as she let go of the sword stuck to the wall, the strength in her limbs having failed her. “Rhh, Beacon damn it all to hell!” She groaned, as she fell down. Despite her stubbornness, she had to admit defeat in this situation, right as Su lost her grip, and fell. 

[hr]
“Huh?” Aurelio heard Elora suppress a groan of frustration as she heard the explanation for the Beacon team’s complications. “She can be stubborn, but she’s never endangered the mission like this! Snap her out of it, by force if you must!” Fortunately, Aurelio did not have to resort to any ungentlemanly maneuvers. With a sigh, Leena released her Nullification Field, allowing magical forces to permeate once more through the devastated battlefield. The moment she did, she was barraged by Elora’s voice in her intercoms.
“Abort the mission and prepare to extract!” 
It was too late for the dimension to stabilize; the Black Mirror having been removed from the realm, sealing its fate. Second by second a quake began to manifest as the world began to collapse unto itself in a spiral pattern, like a planet that is slowly, but inevitably, approaching the event horizon of a black hole.

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[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/NngpAdx.png[/img][/center]

Helga had barely managed to recover from her fall when she noticed Su falling down. With her magic having been returned, FanFan launched herself up at a diagonal trajectory using her sound cannons, catching Su at the apex of the jump. “Gotcha!” With another burst of sound cannons, she made another jump, this time slowing her descent to a roll with Su over her shoulder. “Phew, landed it! Now hold on!” She then ran like Usain Bolt, dashing through the portal.

[hr]
FanFan was close to running Esther’s mana out with the sawblade when Esther suddenly released her hold on the building; as FanFan had grabbed entirely onto Esther, relying on the tree-monster to prioritize keeping herself rooted, she also began to fall alongside her. “W-What? What kind of tree uproots itself like that? Cheeky barkskin!~” 

She looked past Esther to see who gave her the command, and her eyes widened upon seeing Suzette rear up for a punch. She grit her teeth as she braced for impact, only to be heroically saved by a Rider Kick from Alicia; it hit Suzette right in the cheek, causing some of her teeth to fly off as she tasted blood and also flew from the impact. “Paladin Seraph!” FanFan yelled with a wide smile, and grabbed Alicia with her human arms while using a metal arm to hang on to a windowsill, and the other to catch Leena from above. “She...Escaped...” Leena groaned. FanFan nodded, and turned to Alicia.
“Thank you for your rescue. The target has left, which means we must abort the mission,” she said as the group descended down to ground level, and witnessed the aftermath of the battle. FanFan sighed. “It seems there was quite a brawl here. But still, Justine was not as formidable as she had advertised herself as, to lose like this. Ready for extraction,” she notified Elora.

[hr]
The rumbling and shaking of the dimension intensified, and the combatants of the great magical battle began to flee by any means necessary. Mayra was the first one through Dan’s portal with Mariette in her arms, followed by Taihei tripped on a loose fragment of the crumbling mansion as she ran. In the process, she accidentally tackled Mia as she and Connie also rapidly approached portal, causing the two of them to roll through the portal in a most undignified exit, with a terrified Connie and skipping MDP not far behind. Alex saw the portal Lily pointed to, and using one of his prehensile tails swung himself and Lily down and through the swirling vortex.
Once the coast was clear, Tullia, Olivia, Victoria carrying the Black Mirror, and a generic NPC-looking girl rushed from the crumbling mansion; the building collapsing behind them, causing them to propel themselves faster from the shockwave as they dashed through the portal.

Aurelio’s clones got to work; they swiftly dashed to the rescue of anyone who still remained in the dimension and couldn’t reach a portal or otherwise exit in time, taking hold of numerous innocent maidens’ hands (to the shock of a few) and teleporting them out of the dimension. Curiously, Justine was left out of this list; she would be the only one left behind and consumed by the cosmic collapse.

[hr]
Aurelio brought his fellow Beacon comrades to the Beacon headquarters, with the exception of Alicia, who arrived later. At the teleportation chamber, a team of magical girl medics were on standby, and immediately began applying first aid magic to the wounded agents. Rachel was waiting for them there. “Get these girls and boy to the infirmary ASAP,” she ordered the medics.
“Once they are in speaking condition, let me know. I am interested to hear the results of this mission.”

The unlucky few were brought to the cold night of Penrose Park, illuminated by a single lamp in a sea of darkness. However, as ominous as it was, none could deny the breath of fresh air and sense of safety that came with escaping from Mariette’s gothic realm.

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All of the girls who passed through Dan’s portal found themselves in a pleasantly warm, air-conditioned hotel lobby. It looked to be at least five stars based on the interior decorating and sense of style, with a vivid and colorful palette. There were wide and soft couches and lounging chairs placed throughout the lobby, as well as a table with a pile of various items on it. Curiously, these items were first-aid kits, bandage rolls, blood transfusion bags and even bags of ice, as well as IV drips around the table; it seemed Dan had prepared for the worst by placing such items in advance. Anyone who would approach the table would immediately receive first aid from the items as they spontaneously came to life with magical sparkles and began treating wounds and injuries, as if handled by invisible nurses and doctors with potent healing power.

There were large windows that reached up to the ceiling, showing the sunny, sandy world outside, with a bright blue ocean that stretched far to the horizon; this was the first sign to Connie, Mia, and Magical Dream Princess that they were no longer in the cold winter of Penrose. The second was when they noticed something had happened to everyone’s appearances; they would discover that their magical uniforms had transformed into swimsuits, as have the uniforms of everyone who arrived. 

Lily slowly opened her eyes, and managed to smile as she found herself on the bright and cheerful island. She noticed how her swimsuit had changed from last time; whether it was by Dan’s whimsical will, Lily’s own choice, or some magical law of the strange world, it was a complete mystery.

[hider=Lily][img]https://i.imgur.com/q8tzUtm.jpg[/img][/hider]

[color=fff200]”Thanks for letting us escape here Dan,”[/color] She spoke with a tired voice, holding a bag of ice on her head that Dan gave to her. The Lesser Force was quick to accommodate everyone with seats and provide them with care and attention; he was wearing a protective facemask and surgeon’s reflective mirror on his brow.
[color=fff200]”We probably would have been goners without you.”[/color]
The dolphin squeaked excitedly in response:
“Don’t mention it, Lily. Besides, it’s my pleasure to have so many of you again as guests. Oh, we also have new arrivals!”
He floated over to Connie and Mia, and shook hands with them using his tiny fins. “Hi there! I'm Dan The Dolphin! Welcome to Isla Paradiso! Please enjoy your stay, and let me know if you need anything!”

“I know I need to treat Su. Do you have anything for head wounds?”
Helga was also there, and immediately brought Su to a sofa to lie down sideways on it, before she went to retrieve some first aid supplies for her. Before she knew it, Su’s head was wrapped with a bandage that possessed restorative qualities, gradually mending her fractured skull and closing her wounds.

[hider=Helga][img]https://i.imgur.com/IF602Qd.jpg[/img][/hider]

Everyone felt how they could still cast magic as normal, but for some reason any magical spells intended to hurt or harm would end up as harmless magician’s tricks or showers of stardust, and summoned weapons would turn into pool noodles and beach balls among other instruments of fun. Second-time visitors to Dan’s dimension would note that they were not obstructed from leaving the realm by magical means or contacting beyond it. The lone exception to this rule was Mariette, who was unable to open portals or send messages; it seemed Dan was not willing to let her of all magical girls leave just yet. Then, Mariette and her fellow Asengav’s chosen soon realized: they no longer possessed the Black Mirror.