Chapter 12

The past few weeks were wonderful. Suspiciously wonderful. The previously always-active Magistras members hadn’t attacked for quite some time. Although we stayed cautious, we tried to enjoy this peaceful period. Emma no longer clung only to me, but to Kaori as well. Thanks to my intervention, she had become our schoolmate. One of my parents’ business partners owed me a favor, but that’s another story. The point is, because of his good relationship with the principal, he arranged for Emma to attend this school. She was registered with my home address. It was a sort of exchange-student position.

During the break before the next class, she came into our classroom to brush Kaori’s hair. And Kaori enjoyed it. She could get away with it, because our classmates didn’t notice anything unusual happening around her. No matter how strange it was, no one paid attention. I wasn’t so lucky. The whole classroom snickered every time Emma visited me. Not that I blamed them. Sometimes she would randomly sit on my thigh, or on the seat next to mine, then fall asleep with her head on my shoulder. But even that was nothing compared to the time she brought pudding for all three of us. She usually begged softly until we fed her. And even though she pulled the same tricks with Kaori as with me, they were typically only noticeable when it happened to me. After a while, our classmates got used to it. And I couldn’t bring myself to be angry at Emma. I didn’t like to admit it, but it actually felt nice that she loved us so much.

The pudding time finally arrived. Kaori dipped her spoon into the sweet mass, then cheerfully brought it to Emma’s mouth.

“Say aaaah!”

Emma opened wide, complying with full enthusiasm, and her friend praised her.

“Good girl! You’re so clever!”

I groaned in disappointment at the embarrassing scene.

“You’re spoiling her too much…”

But Emma defended the girl.

“You’re wrong, Reina big sis. Kaori big sis is just being kind.”

That’s when I noticed she no longer referred to only me as her big sister. Still, I was glad she got along so well with Kaori.

Before the bell rang for the next lesson, three students entered the classroom — Maria, Nolen, and their mutual friend, Diego from the football club. This time, they greeted Emma far more kindly than they had at the festival. She had apologized to them recently, and I helped smooth things over. I explained that Emma didn’t know how to behave around new people. She was very scared, which is why she said strange things — like claiming she knew them. Maria and Nolen softened, and now they just laughed about it. They became good friends. They also introduced her to Diego, who was amazed at how good Emma was at football. Once, they had asked her to fill in because they were short on players, and she showed off her impressive footwork. Now the boy had returned with a reason.

“Hi, Emma! Want to play football with us this afternoon?”

The girl hesitated a little but gave a positive answer.

“It’s possible. But then you owe me a vanilla pudding.”

“You little glutton… Fine, deal.”

The three visitors laughed, then Maria asked her next question — whether Emma wanted to come to the yearly comic event with them on the weekend. Her expression seemed guilty when she glanced at us. Kaori encouraged her to go. She knew Emma had a lot to make up for with her old friends.

I felt the same, but added something else. Grinning, I whispered to her that she still seemed to be in love with Nolen. After turning bright red, she pinched my side.

“Don’t imagine stupid things!”

After she agreed to join them, Maria quietly offered to leave her and Nolen alone at the event under some excuse. Emma was already grinding her teeth with irritation. Nolen didn’t understand what was happening, and Diego felt a little sorry for him.

“Dude… everyone gets it except you…”

Then the bell rang, so the visitors had to leave.

The day passed quickly after that.

One afternoon, I was walking home from shopping when I began daydreaming while staring at the street and the buildings. Deep down, I was still tormented by the knowledge that things would never be the same again. I sighed sadly and continued home. I needed to make dinner for two in time. I planned to cook one of Emma’s favorites.

With the arrival of the weekend, Kaori also came over. We had a pajama party on Friday night. We watched a horror movie and played board games. We had a great time. But early in the morning, someone rang the doorbell. We were half-asleep. I told the girls I’d go check who it was. But when I opened the door, no one was there. Only a small piece of paper lay on the ground. What was written on it made me freeze instantly. It said that if we wanted to see Merona and Nolen in one piece, we had to go to the central city square immediately.

I immediately shook the girls awake and told them everything. Because of the last incident, we had every reason to assume it was a trap, so we checked. We called Nolen’s number, but no one picked up. We tried Merona’s phone as well, with no success. By then, we were almost certain that the Magistras had indeed kidnapped our friends. We had to act. We hurried to the main square as fast as we could.

We quickly found Merona and Nolen sitting alone on a bench. Aside from them, we saw no Magistras members yet. But something was off. They didn’t react to our words, and their eyes were glassy. Then Fergus and Olivia appeared suddenly, as if they had been hiding nearby all along.

We stepped back a little, and I threatened angrily:

“What did you do to them?! If anything happened to them, I’ll—!”

Fergus reacted with surprising calm. He said they had done nothing to our schoolmates. Then he snapped his fingers, and life returned to their eyes. They were confused. They had no idea what was happening. When they saw us and the Magistras members, they asked frantic questions. We asked them to leave. Merona tried to protest, demanding an explanation from me, but Olivia barked at her with a furious expression:

“Get out of here, now! I’m not saying it twice!”

The girl got scared, and for a moment, even passersby looked our way. Nolen was also afraid but remained somewhat clear-headed. Trusting Emma, he nodded, then gently helped Merona up and led her away.

The girl shouted that she would call the police, but I pleaded with her, telling her to just get far away from us. I reassured her it would be fine. We knew what we were doing.

Emma was baffled.

“If you didn’t want to use them as hostages, then why was this necessary?”

Fergus was tense, and his face radiated fear. He admitted they had sensed Kali Yuga’s presence growing close. Kaori’s mere existence had drawn it in. He didn’t hide the reason they had called us to the square either — many people passed through it. They wanted to tell them the truth because they believed it was their duty. People needed to understand they were in danger. Even though he was certain no one would believe them…

Then a bizarre moment followed. Olivia was still in terrible condition and coughed frequently, but she spoke with surprising composure.

“People! Listen to me! Our world will soon be destroyed — and that girl is the reason why!”

She pointed at Kaori, but the pedestrians only gave her confused, dismissive looks. Some even laughed at her. Olivia ground her teeth in disbelief, and Emma and I stepped in to protect the frightened Kaori. I yelled at our enemies, saying they had gone insane. Emma called them unfair. According to her, Kaori had done nothing wrong.

Fergus shook his head.

“I told you, Olivia. Society won’t believe us. Let’s do what we must. I’ll use the time freeze, and—”

Olivia lost her patience entirely.

“To hell with the time freeze. At this point, who cares if there are witnesses?! We’re out of time!”

Fergus acknowledged that she was right. The two Magistras members were clearly preparing to strike. We looked at each other, ready to transform.

Our hearts lit up.

“Creation of Time Link! Transfiguration!”

Light enveloped our bodies. Besides our shifting and recoloring hair, and our changing eye colors, our bodies transformed as well. Mine was bathed in starlight, Kaori’s in sparkling pink bubble explosions, and Emma’s in brilliantly glowing frost. Thanks to these effects, our Seraph uniforms appeared on us.

Then each of us struck her signature pose.

“I am the mysterious mist that blankets the night. The Seraph of Night — Nightmist!”

“I am the energetic bubble that drives away all sorrow. The Seraph of Lively Joy — Bubblegirl!”

“I am the princess of ice, who brings justice. The Seraph of Windy Frost — Snowincess!”

All the nearby civilians noticed us, but they didn’t have time to stare. Fergus summoned energy orbs and bombarded us repeatedly. We escaped with quick jumps. Civilians ran away screaming. In response, Snowincess hurled smaller ice shards at Fergus. He blocked them with his energy shield, then Olivia sprang into action. She summoned swords resembling clock hands and charged at the white Seraph with beast-like speed. Snowincess sensed the danger and summoned an ice sword, meeting her head-on. The clashing weapons were incredibly loud. Their strikes and parries were so fast we couldn’t see them — only the sparks and noises where their blades collided.

As for me, Fergus tried to target me, but Bubblegirl’s bubble barrage drew his attention. He had to summon his shield again to block it. Thanks to that, I joined the sword duel. Summoning my crescent boomerangs, I used them as close-combat weapons. Olivia, growing weaker, couldn’t defend against both of us for long. I knocked one sword out of her hand with my boomerang, and Snowincess sliced the other from her grasp. The blades vanished upon hitting the ground. Before she could react, I struck again with my boomerangs — hitting her chest and slamming her into a nearby building wall.

Olivia groaned, drawing Fergus’s attention. He turned toward us to help, but that made him vulnerable. Two large pink bubble explosions detonated behind him, smashing him into the side of a parked bus. Olivia struggled out of the wall’s crater, and Fergus pulled himself away from the dented vehicle.

The man analyzed the situation bluntly.

“This can’t go on, Olivia. You’re weakened, and the two of us can’t defeat all three. But we can change that. We’ll still have the advantage if I endure the effects of black magic like you did…”

Olivia’s eyes widened as she realized his intention. We were also stunned, and Bubblegirl tried to stop him.

“Please don’t do it! You’ll destroy yourself!”

But he didn’t listen. He began an invocation ritual with his red-glowing clock.

“The coming era shall be tainted by darkness! Time, once revered as sacred, shall now turn corrupt! Rampage, Deviclockster!”

Red flames ignited around his feet, forming a magic circle. A portal appeared at its center, and red elemental particles rose from it. They assembled into another Deviclockster. Its left arm ended in a claw-like pincer, while its right arm was a chainsaw with futuristic ruby-colored blades.

I couldn’t help complaining:

“That’s just what we needed…”

Fergus cried out in pain, then fell to his hands and knees, coughing blood — just like Olivia.

She desperately tried to support him.

“Hey, old man…! This is too much for you!”

But Fergus smiled. According to him, everyone would die soon anyway if the necessary sacrifices weren’t made. We tried convincing them they didn’t have to do this, but it was useless. After Olivia helped him stand, the creature received the command to attack.

The monster charged at us. For the next half minute, we barely avoided each swipe of its chainsaw.

For some reason, the sky suddenly darkened at an unnatural pace, then thundered. Behind the storm clouds, an angrily glowing green eye flickered.

Fergus shouted with terror unlike anything we had heard from him before.

“Kali Yuga is about to arrive! If it does, it will detect Kaori!”

The Deviclockster swung its pincer at Snowincess, but Bubblegirl protected her with a bubble wall. The flexible spheres made the attack bounce off. But the chainsaw cut straight through the bubbles — and two crescent boomerangs hit it from behind. It staggered just enough for Snowincess to push it back with a few punches and kicks.

Then the Magistras members focused their assault on Bubblegirl. Although she dodged the energy waves fired from Olivia’s swords, she couldn’t watch every direction. Fergus was in terrible shape, wheezing heavily. Using the last of his strength, he fired a purple beam from his palms — knocking Bubblegirl down. Snowincess and I rushed to help, but we were careless. The Deviclockster grabbed the white Seraph with its pincer and lifted her into the air, squeezing her.

“Ahh!”

Hearing that, I turned toward her in panic.

“Snowincess!”

Olivia laughed mockingly.

“Well then? Which friend will you save? You don’t have time for both!”

I clenched my jaw angrily — just as the sky released an ear-splitting roar. Everyone covered their ears, even Bubblegirl writhing on the ground. The agonizing sound also disrupted the Deviclockster, causing it to drop Snowincess and stumble back.

Fergus looked up and realized the truth with sorrow.

“It has arrived…”

A green lightning bolt struck a distant point of the square. A brief, blinding flash illuminated the whole area, then the clouds scattered. Under the returning clear sky, we saw something unexpected. There were no burn marks on the ground. And instead of the monster we feared, a young blond boy stood there, observing us.

Fergus trembled at his presence.

“We’re too late! The end has come… Kali Yuga will finish us!”

My friends and I were stunned. Skeptically, I asked if Kali Yuga was a child — a person? Not a phenomenon?

But the newcomer answered with emotionless objectivity.

“I am not a person. At least not in the way you define it. I do possess emotions, but they do not influence my decisions.”

We all flinched as the boy looked around. He found the area interesting, then his attention turned to Bubblegirl. Kali Yuga’s neutral expression shifted in surprise. Then he looked at the two Magistras members and muttered something about the time magic emanating from them. After that, the situation became clear to him. He stared coldly at Fergus and Olivia.

“You two. You have disrupted the world’s balance. You are so desperate to keep alive a humanity that does not deserve to exist?”

Fergus nervously gave a command:

“Deviclockster, eliminate him immediately!”

The creature charged wildly at the boy, who raised his right hand horizontally. A green aura surrounded the monster, stopping it several steps away. No matter how much it strained and growled demonically, it couldn’t move even an inch forward.

“So you broke yet another taboo — resorting to unnatural black magic…”

Kali Yuga slowly closed his hand into a fist. At the same time, the Deviclockster began to compress. Its clock face crumpled, dents formed across its body, and gears and bolts fell out as it screamed mechanically. Once it was crushed enough, the Deviclockster exploded.

We all gasped loudly at his feat, and he sighed dismissively.

“My power is especially effective against malicious types of magic. Aside from purification, the other purpose of my existence is to erase such energy. And now I shall carry out what I came for. I will pass judgment on your world.”