Even as an outsider, it wasn't hard for Seyrun to pick up the weight of the atmosphere in the club room. They were in a deathly silence for a few good seconds before one of them finally addressed her after all. Moreover, the first to do so earned a raised eyebrow glare—a look of amusement—from her. A boy? What was he doing in an all-girls academy like this?

Seyrun steeled her countenance again, but before she could speak, a much younger girl interrupted the boy's not-so-inconspicuous attempt to get her out of the room. "Not quite, but that's close enough. Se-i-run is closer to how it should be. At any rate, yes, it's this one. A lovely volume indeed, I didn't think I would find a copy this far away from an old, musty French library," she said as she returned the book—which was clearly titled with the French name Cendrillon written in time-faded letters—to Yuzu.

While she waited for the smaller girl to finish her clerk work, Seyrun took a good assesment of the club room. Her gaze went over the boy closest to her, to the bespectacled girl and the even younger one—a middle schooler perhaps?—all the way to the half-closed window where Scheherazade stood observant and silent.

"The wind in this city... it's a very gentle one, isn't it?" She said in a wistful voice as she gazed outside, past the—invisible to normals—magical guardian with a smile so subtle one wouldn't be at fault for thinking Seyrun was pulling her best impression of La Gioconda.

---

As Yuri was speaking to the mysterious girl about returning the book she had in her possession, Yuzu, the club president, interjected into the conversation and decided to take charge. It annoyed Yuri to a degree, but he wouldn't make a scene. He was already annoyed but the feline he once trusted and didn't much care for assertions of authority or claims of titles. He removed himself from the conversation and moved over to sit away from everyone with his legs crossed. His eyes darted around the room and landed on Ayaka and Kanata.

Kanata was new to the group and even though she was new, he couldn't help but smile whenever he saw her. She was younger and seemed so intent on feeding them. The way Ayaka and Kanata munched away at the food she'd prepared was adorable and Yuri found the moment cute. Even his stiffened heart couldn't resist the warming aura that Kanata seemed to have. It surrounded her like a bee to a hive and yet he knew she had a long way to go with her abilities. While he had spent numerous hours uncovering the Grimoire he possessed, he understood not everyone was as stern as he was with learning things. He still felt like there was so much more to learn, and the fight from the night before proved that he wasn't as powerful as he thought he was. Clearly, those who had succumbed to darkness were stronger for some reason and he wanted to find out why.

If the feline wouldn't tell them the entire truth, he would figure it out on his own. Training had always helped him hone his skills, and this time would be no different. His eyes landed on Scheherazade if only for a brief moment before falling on Yuzu and Seyrun.

"If anyone needs me, I will be sorting books or something."

Yuri stood from his seat and moved swiftly towards the returned books to try and sort them out.

---

The air was sour, while Yuri and Yuzu handled the stranger at their door Ayaka was intent on berating their feline commander with questions. Deeper into her thought, she was surprised that no one had asked the simplest of questions or... if we did, did we forget them? The teen shook her head, sighing at the heavy amount of energy she was putting herself through thinking. The entire situation was completely bull and the teen simply wanted a safer environment for their group. If they were to save the world it was pertinent that they have all the information necessary.

Ayaka sighs, a weak hand coming to adjust her glasses along the bridge of her nose. Sniff... Snifff The teen's eyes widened as her head shifted to the right following the scent of snacks and treats. It was Kanata, almost instantly her mood lifted, and although her face didn't show much emotion her body was definitely filled with energy.



The taller teen says to the middle schooler, her pointing finger out tapping lightly against the bento boxes subtly asking for permission to delve into whatever sweet goodness were in those boxes.



Ayaka says plainly, her eyes intently staring at the bento boxes as if they were her first meal in decades.

"Ah- thank you!" Yuzu said as she accepted the book. She gently held it in one hand and double-checked the list again. "Mmm, let's see. Sei-i-run... Seirun... Seyrun..." Yuzu mumbled to herself, trying to practice her senior's name a little. She wrote down the book's return date and then gathered everything together to put it all back to its proper place. She folded her arms over the list and book both, clutching it to her chest. When Yuzu looked back to the other girl, she was looking at the window where Scheherazade had decided to perch himself.

"The wind in this city... it's a very gentle one, isn't it?" the older girl said. Yuzu looked in the same direction.

"It is, right? The people here, too. I really love this city," she replied. Even though Scheherazade was blocking her view, Yuzu looked straight through them. Contemplating her hometown like this made the tension lift off her shoulders for just a little bit- until Yuri brought her back down to earth.

"If anyone needs me, I will be sorting books or something."
"Ah- Yuri?"

Yuzu calling out to him was in vain, the boy having already retreated further in. It's not like Yuzu didn't understand how he felt, but... that wasn't a reason to act out like this, was it? Yuzu turned back to Seyrun, an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry... he's not usually like this. Thank you again for returning the book!"

With that, Yuzu followed after Yuri. He'd already begun picking up some of the books that other students had brought back and Yuzu noticed how large the pile had gotten. "Oh... we've really been neglecting our duties, huh?" Yuzu commented. She was still holding onto the book Seyrun had returned. Yuzu looked at her friend and said "It's a little too much for one person, isn't it? It'll be quicker with two of us, so let me help you out."

Thus- whether Yuri wanted it or not- Yuzu took a small stack of books herself to then return to the various bookshelves scattered about. "You don't have to do everything by yourself, you know?" she told him with a knowing wink.

At Ayaka's insistence, Kanata handed over one of the bento boxes to her upper-classman since, given the eyes she was giving Kanata, if she didn't hand the box over fast enough she might just take Kanata's hands along with the box. Did Ayaka not eat at home or what?

"Here you go," Kanata said, handing over the lavender colored box to the famished wizard. The situation at hand with their returning-book-guest was well-handled, and that left Kanata with little to do save for to hand out everyone's afternoon snacks. Kanata felt extremely bad about last night, and as such had brought enough for everyone to sate their appetites with delicious confectionaries and general snackages.

Seeing as she knew that normal people couldn't see their feline benefactor, Kanata wouldn't give the cat his snack just yet, not until their civilian in the room was out of there. It'd be a bit strange to just...open a lunch box and leave it on a windowsill after all.

"Oh, uh, Yuri-Senpai, Yuzu-Senpai, I can help with that stack too!"

"Don't worry, I'm the one who should be apologizing for coming at an inappropriate time," Seyrun said after Yuzu apologized for the rude manner the boy—apparently named Yuri—took his leave.

Once her business with the library club was concluded Seyrun turned her attention back from the outside to the smallish girl before her. "Very well, then, I suppose I should be the one leaving now. I hope we can meet again sooner rather than later," she said after signing the necessary papers.

"By the way, I hope you've brought your umbrella today. It's going to rain really bad later," Seyrun said to Yuzu in a casual, but sure, manner as she left the club members to their own devices.


"I suppose we can go back to our issue now. I know that asking for your forgiveness is too much, but if there's anything I can do, please tell me," Scheherazade said in a dejected voice, almost as soon as the club's unexpected visitor went away.

The feline was so down he didn't even bother moving to the food provided by the group's youngest member. How could he after all that happened?

---

@The Irish Tree@Ammokkx@DesperatePerson@WindsOfFate

---

Eventually, minutes would pass by and during the third Ayaka would've finished her plate. She hadn't eaten since the morning and as her body was digesting the food she felt energy return to her system. A subtle burp escaped from her mouth as she sat, slumped against the back part of the chair. she observed the room and took a breath to herself, their cat commander to the side on a window sill and the others helping with books. It was almost normal before the teen remembered the question she was going to ask.

After the stranger had left and the feline had spoken their spiel. Ayaka's mood changed rapidly and she stood from her seat and spoke clearly.



Before continuing Ayaka's eyes began to glow a subtle purple as she snapped her fingers. The room wouldn't change but there were clear panels of transparent purple energy surrounding the doors and windows. Sound would not escape this room unless magic had pierced it.



Ayaka takes a breather, a large exhale escaping from her mouth as she finished her dialogue of a stern nature mixed with a cold demeanor. She was tired and wanted to be prepared for the next coming attack and there was no if it would definitely come.

True to Seyrun's advice, the following night began with heavy rain pouring down from the leaden clouds over Mizukino's sky. That, however, wouldn't dissuade the Pageless from their efforts to gather the life force of innocent humans.


"Quickly, gather what you can before those humans come after us! We don't have time to waste," The seeming leader of the group of Pageless that were attacking the workers of a construction site ordered its minions to speed up the collection of energy before Mizukino's protectors arrive at the scene.

As was expected of him, Scheherazade noticed the attack and moved to the place before calling the club members. He observed the situation from atop a light pole outside the barrier that isolated the site from the normal space as the winds and rain splashed against the partially exposed steel skeleton.

"Please come quickly everyone. At least I can assure you I'm not feeling the Darkkeepers' presence tonight. All I can say is that I hope they won't come out tonight, but these Pageless seem a little more powerful than the ones from the other day," Scheherazade said, hoping his words wouldn't be unanswered.

---

Whether it was raining or shining, justice never slept. At least, not until after 9 PM on a school night. Scheherazade's call would be quickly answered, with Kanata arriving on the scene as quickly as she could get there, hopefully being one of the first to arrive to make up for her tardiness last time.

This time, she'd get to show off to her upperclassmen, and prove that she's more than just the snack girl. From the entrance of the barrier the rabbit-eared heroine emerged, transformed and ready for a fight. Her hammer was slung over her shoulder, and a white umbrella shielded her from the rain pounding the construction site.

"Hup!" she would say after twirling her hammer and bopping it against the ground, leaving a tiny white circle that popped up and blew up to the vague shape of a ball with rabbit-like ears. With beady, bean-like pink eyes the bunlet made of pure magical mochi would stare up at its creator, before the hammer slammed into its side, launching it with great force at a Pageless that was occupied with gathering life force. The rabbit soared with a blank expression through the air, another white circle planted on it from the golf swing Kanata had delivered unto it. That white circle would shrink into the body of the mochi rabbit, the construct suddenly doubling in size, a bit more life in its eyes as it angrily stared down the Pageless before colliding with it. It didn't hurt the Pageless at all, but the sheer force of the mochi rabbit was enough to knock it away from the construction worker it had been praying upon.

"Okay, okay, you can do this Kanata, cool introduction time..." the girl said, slapping her cheeks before pointing at the most stand-out of the Pageless.

"The jig is up, Pageless! You're not going to hurt anyone anymore! Not if Magical Girl Boundless has anything to say about it!" Kanata said, chest swelling with pride before she resumed golf-swinging rabbit mochi at the Pageless.

...It was almost hilariously harmless, but any of the mochi rabbits that formed would jump at the Pageless, again and again.

"Well said, Boundless!"

As the mochi rabbits spaced the small fry away from the construction workers, flashes of light would follow soon after in pursuit. Before the Pageless had the time to recover from the recoil they'd already been pierced by a particular magical girl's arrows. Robin stood dramatically on top of a nearby building, the rain crashing down around her. After she'd announced her presence with the initial volley, Robin jumped off and twirled in the air to land next to Kanata.

"Shadows are cast by the light that shines beside them... wherever you pageless threaten our peace, we will be there to protect it!"

Robin looked around, trying to find Yuri and Ayaka.

'Please leave the smaller ones to me and Kanata. Ayaka, Yuri- try to corner their leader!'

She drew her bow back and took aim again. The rain was obscuring her vision, but the bright mochi rabbits sticking to the Pageless made for an excellent target to aim at. This way, even if their shadowy figures were obscured by the downpour, Robin could still use her ally's power to make up for that weakness.

"What's wrong, Scheherazade? Couldn't do it on your own? As expendable as we are you should be the first in line to stop the Pageless," Yuri said.

Yuri's voice was present before his form was but in a swirl of what looked to be dark smoke, Yuri appeared his staff in his hand. His aura felt different if anyone took notice, and his eyes held a sense of danger to them they once did not. Black butterflies fluttered around him like bees to their queen. Yuri shot a dark glare in Scheherazade's direction and simply smirked. Kanata and Yuzu were already present, but in his mind, he just wanted to find the leader and get rid of them. His attention fell on what looked to be the leader of the Pageless this time around. They always changed, always different, and always a sight that would repulse any normal human.

"Don't worry, we will do your dirty work for you."

Yuri looked to Kanata and Yuzu before speaking again.

"You waste time talking, do what needs to be done."

Yuri dashed forward, moving like a ninja towards his target. Pageless minions would get in his way, but with his agility, he was able to maneuver around them until he came to the leader who was surrounded by minions.

"What's the rush?" Yuri said as he cracked his neck before tightening his grip on his staff. Yuri slammed the staff into the ground. "Aren't you tired of taking orders? Tired of getting in the way? Come, I shall give you rest."

The staff's crystals darkened, nearly pitch black and from the staff, numerous black butterflies fluttered forth, but they didn't destroy anything. The pageless tried to swat them away, but when one was destroyed, another took its place and once the butterfly landed on a pageless, they seemed to freeze in place before suddenly twisting and contorting as if in agony, and suddenly they all began turning towards the Pageless Leader.

"Drink with me," Yuri said, his voice deceivingly melodic as he sliced his hand, blood pooling in his palm before dripping on the staff. This amplified the control he had on the pageless minions who started to march, claws extended, towards their old leader. A few of the black butterflies accidentally landed on nearby humans whose souls had already been snatched by the pageless and they too twisted and contorted like zombies rising from the dead taking steps towards the target. Yuri's attention was on the Pageless Leader and he wasn't paying attention to the humans he'd ensnared.

---

Where there was darkness, there was always light to beckon its call, for one could not flourish without the other. Wherever the Pageless struck, there were always those Magical Girls to step forward and vanquish their threat. Such was the case even now, the endless cycle drawn out in the dark rain that blanketed the construction site. While the Pageless were first, the Magical Girls were just as quick to respond thanks in part to Scheherazade’s keen eye and instinct.

Before the Pageless could regroup and form a measure of attack they were already being bombarded by magical mochi. Rabbit-shaped and swelling in power, they did little to truly damage the creatures of darkness. However, they succeeded in knocking them down near-comedically, becoming prime targets for Robin’s arrows to strike firm and true. Indeed, the combined might of Robin and the Rabbit saw quick work of the smaller foes.

Even without their intervention, their enemy would struggle as the third of the light appeared. With a darkness tinged in his step and words, Monarch’s actions resulted in whatever wasn’t being destroyed by Robin now being converted into his own soldiers. However, the cost of such power came in the form of those they swore to protect to now rise with the controlled Pageless in dark purpose. Like animated corpses, they lumbered and lunged at the Pageless leader, eager to enact Monarch’s equally dark will. But darkness begets darkness.

The negativity within Monarch brought with it a new force. The Pageless weren’t stupid, especially those who had enough intelligence to strategize and coordinate their forces. That was why this one had coerced forth something grand for the Magical Girls. A pair of gleaming golden eyes loomed in the backdrop, towering behind the Pageless leader like a monolith. The rain did little to reveal its mass but after a strike of lightning, its full form was revealed in an instant.



The massive Pageless raised a thundering arm and slammed it down with great force upon its turned siblings. Most of Monarch’s allies were squandered and squashed, returning back into essence of darkness as they were destroyed. Acting as a bodyguard, the massive Pageless continued to swing and pummel Monarch’s forces. Soon it would turn its attention to the controlled humans also coming towards it. With the rain pounding just as hard as its fists, the great Pageless raised an arm to bring down like the force of a god upon the unsuspecting humans.

---

One, two, three- each time a Pageless was knocked back from the mochi, Robin's arrow pierced through them shortly after. The mission was going smoothly, but then Yuri made his entrance. Immediately apparent was that there was something very, very wrong with Yuri today. The aura oozing around him- it wasn't the usual warmth of his grimoire. It was cold, heartless and empty, much like the Pageless they were fighting. Even worse; Yuri was going on a rampage. And he was not helping the situation.

"Monarch, slow down!" Robin shouted towards her ally, but it fell on deaf ears. The Pageless, the humans, his teammates- everything in front of Yuri was just a nuisance. Robin had to watch as he started to turn the Pageless on her master. In fact, he was getting in the way of Robin's arrows. She tried to warn him: "I said- stop that!" she said, but then her voice started to trail off. "You'll get yourself... hurt..."

Robin's mind went blank for just a moment as she witnessed Yuri's butterflies take a hold of normal people and possess them. "Y-Yuri!" she yelled, completely disregarding his codename. "Stop that, Yuri! You're hurting those people-!" she yelled in vain. The boy wasn't listening. A new threat emerged and started sweeping aside Yuri's troops. Robin's legs moved on their own. Those humans would be unable to run in their zombie'd state and Robin knew this. She had to save them, in some way, no matter what. Strategy, tactics and her team be damned- she needed to save those people!

"Watch out!" she yelled as she managed to tackle one, and only one human out of the way. She'd be much, much too late to save another. What's even worse is that Yuzu's tackle, though it got the human to safety (and seemed to have dispelled Yuri's curse), had caused Robin to lay prone. Her mind was panicked, flustered. Spread across her knees, she aimed her bow upwards at the giant's hand. Robin focused, as hard as she could, to gather as much magical energy as possible into her arrow.

"Please... please work!" she desperately begged, firing off a much larger-than-usual projectile, but it seemed far from enough to stop the hand from crashing down.

Things were going well! At least, at first. Robin's timing couldn't have been better, and then Yuri came to help too...

Yuri...

Was...

...What was he doing?

Those black butterflies felt...off. Really off. Menacing even, even to the inexperienced Boundless as she watched, the Pageless turned against one another like puppets on strings. Soon, the humans that were being drained would rise as well, shambling after their leader without concern for their well-being. It was...scary, honestly. Enough so that the rabbit-ears upon her head drooped, and she found herself unable to move. Was this what Yuri's powers were like all the time?

And things just kept getting worse and worse as a GARGANTUAN Pageless showed up, only visible for a moment in the pitch dark stormy night after a bolt of lightning light the area up.

"S-Scheherazade..." Kanata stammered, feeling her legs get weak. "I'm scared..." she confessed, clutching the little red pendant around her neck that housed her grimoire. Then, she saw Robin dash ahead of her to tackle a civilian out of the way.



A small voice inside of Kanata screamed out, her eyes going wide again.

"This isn't like..."

"This isn't like last time. I can do this. I can-"

Kanata let out a shrill whistle with her fingers pressed to her lips, the rabbit mochi that had been advancing on the Pageless instead pausing, before bouncing against one another and the Pageless quickly to get out of the way of the arm's strike.

"I can save everyone"!

In that realization, the rain seemed to stop falling from Kanata's perspective. In that realization, her legs would finally move to the fullest.

For the briefest of moments, Kanata seemingly vanished in the rain, a clear line of water falling in a delayed fashion, displaced by her going as fast as she possibly could. Her grimoire's enhancements on her physical speed were pushed to their absolute limits as she put herself between the Pageless and the civilians. Wordlessly, she would strike the civilians in the chest once each with her hammer, sending them flying back out of danger, and safely landing on the re-positioned mochi-rabbits, new smaller rabbits forming from the blow she dealt to their chests.

Save for the one that Robin saved, every single civilian would be saved, and the mochi rabbits on their back and chests would connect together, forming a large, sticky mochi net that kept everyone grounded. Even if they were mindless zombies now, at least they couldn't hurt themselves.

Kanata would run as fast as she could, but she had a feeling that she wouldn't make it in time to save herself. Aside from that, the Pageless behind her were no doubt going to start attacking her again, now that she was by herself. Running once more as fast as she could as she felt the air be displaced by the gargantuan Pageless titan, she would cry out one thing, in hopes of reaching their friend who was lost in himself.

So what if they perish, it is not your fault, it is theirs. They got in the way of true power.

They are my friends, they are my allies. They can't perish.

Why not? Mere casualties for the greater good. Now they've placed themselves in harm's way just to stop you from achieving greatness.

Stop it! Just stop it. You've had your fun now save them.

You and your conscience. Always ruining a fun time, but the titan's essence is mine when this is over.

===

Voices. Again with the voices.

The internal conflict was evident as everything happened. Yuri's form oozed black miasma. Things had gotten out of hand. The mindless pageless minions were about to remove their leader from existence when a new threat emerged. Of course, there was another obstacle, things were never this easy for anyone in life. The new threat revealed itself as a large titan pageless standing at a spectacular 16 feet high. Yuri's eyes had lifted to catch a glimpse of the creature's head before its massive fist crushed the pageless under his control. It was odd that a smirk formed on Yuri's face as he watched it happen. He didn't move an inch as the fist hammered away, removing any threat towards the Pageless Leader. Lightning streaked across the bosom of the clouds and thunder roared mightily. The flash of light from the lightning illuminated the construction site and revealed the monster's fist as it raised once more. Yuri's attention darted to Robin who was in the path of the great fist. To make matters worse, Boundless had entered the fray to protect the humans he controlled. The monster's strength was remarkable.

"Such power," Yuri muttered the smirk still present on his flawless face.

As the black butterflies were destroyed, the dark essence flowed into the black crystals that hung from the staff still planted in the ground. Yuri's bleeding hand hovered over the staff. His eyes landed on Boundless as she yelled for him to open his eyes. His eyes were open, yet he was still blind to the chaos he was causing. As the titan's fist came crashing down, there was no mistaking the darkness that poured into the area like a thick fog. The crystals vibrated, creating a harmonious sound that filled the air. Drop after drop of Yuri's blood fed the staff as black skeletal wings sprouted from the ground and surrounded Robin and Boundless just as the great fist smashed into the barrier, the dark energy absorbing into the sinister wings. The resulting shockwave sent dust and debris in all directions, but the humans were safe.

As the dust cleared, Yuri was on one knee defiant against the titan. His eyes locked with the beast's and his hand gripped the staff. His nose bled as he lifted slowly off the ground his vision blurry.
He stopped when he was face to face with the titan.

Bring it to its knees. Destroy it. Show them true darkness. DESTROY THEM!

The voices in his head would not stop. They demanded as if Yuri were a puppet of their own.

"BOW TO ME!" Yuri said.

Black butterflies fluttered around him as thunder filled the sky with noise. He twirled the staff and burst into a swarm of butterflies. He began to spin, forming into a drill set to pierce through the titan like a cannonball through a wall.

Robin's arrow pierced clean through the titan's hand, yet that did not stop it from crashing down. Disbelief, shock and despair was on Robin's face, but it was only for a brief moment. She instinctively raised up her arms to protect herself and closed her eyes, bracing for the shine-shattering impact that was to follow ... except, that impact never came. Robin felt a shockwave for sure, but came from above her rather than on her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at what's shielded her from the blow, only...

"What... in the world...?" Robin muttered with disbelief and disgust. Large, boney wings had formed a barrier and prison around Robin. No, not just Robin. She looked to her side. "Boundless!" she yelled in concern. Robin scooted over to check on Kanata, but the younger girl was fine. What wasn't fine was their surroundings. Though any damage inside the barrier would not normally translate into the real world, Yuri's actions were still much too reckless. Part of the construction was torn down, the machinery knocked over and dented. Yuri was going completely out of control without any regard of what's around him.

"...Even if it's you..."

Robin raised her weapon upwards, somewhat towards the giant. She began to concentrate her energy again.

"I promised... to protect everyone. That no matter who I had to fight, I'd definitely..."

Robin took a deep breath. She took aim at her target. One thought raced through her mind, just a split second before she settled on her decision.

'I'm sorry.'

Robin's arrow fired, right towards Yuri's back.