The world is mistaken and beyond salvation. But even someone like me can rise the ranks and decide for myself how I want to live. I'm deeply grateful to Yoru who gave me the power to move forward. So, I'll carry out the [Focal]'s wish that aligns with my own.

I'll kill the [Curses].

---

Refreshed, replenished, and all healed up, I walked down the empty streets with Yoru in tow. The once lively train station is dead without a sound to be heard.

"Are you sure the [Curse] is here, Yoru?"

"I am detecting it yes..."

At least I know that Yoru's detection is accurate.

"It seems to be quite powerful, less so than the bear but nevertheless deadly. Watch your back."

"Got it."

I'm no longer shaking, is it because I know what I'm capable of now? 

"Dodge!"

A chunk of brick debris was lobbed at my head. Narrowly dodging it, I peak in the direction it came from.

"There it is."

It's a boar [Curse]. It winds up its legs for a sprint towards me.

"Come to me, [Realizer]."

The white sword realizes and I prepare a swing, though as I thought, a boar rushing straight at you is scary as heck! But, to get stronger, this much is expected. I need to try my best to learn and analyze the situation.

Their eye position, breathing, footsteps...

Fasten my own senses and stance, calm my blood and focus my blade...

The boar is right in front of me about to ram--

[Physical Enhancement Formation - <Legs>]

I side step with grace and at an unbelievable speed: this is what allocating most of my mana to my legs does. I've thought about what Yoru told me, and from what I surmise, the optimal fighting method is by allocating mana to the most useful parts at the right times and then switching focus to other parts when needed. For example, when dodging an opponent, the need for your legs to be enhanced is greater than say your arms--so you allocate more resources to the legs. When you're brutally swinging your sword, more mana is needed to up your arm strength instead of boosting your legs. That isn't to say that you don't need leg strength to get a good blow, in fact, you do. It's all about finding the right balance of mana allocation, that is how a [Magical Girl] fights. This also includes,

[Weapon Manifestation Formation/Strengthening - <Realizer>]
[Physical Enhancement Formation - <Arms>]

I slam the boar's side with my blade which cuts cleanly through. With a cry of pain, the [Curse] swerves back and pushes its hind legs smoothly for another charge while crippled.

"Aki, try that!"

That's right! I imagine the energy within me, the swirling pool of magic.

"Imbuing the image of--"

My sword burns hot and eventually sprouts with outlines of flame. This is what I had practiced at home with Yoru, it was a lot of closing my eyes and feeling around for mana to control it. The more and more I practice controlling mana, the hotter this flame can get. That is,

[Realizer Form - <Flame Enhancement>]

It is the perfect example of using my will of control magic. By imagining the mana going through my sword to be as hot and thick as flame, the sword coats in the image becoming a real-life reaction. This is only possible with easily imaginable effects and takes quite the toll on my concentration.

I try the same movements from the last charge to counteract this charge which works on this [Curse] since it doesn't seem to have too much intelligence (different [Curses] have different levels of intelligence and battle sense).

I stab the [Curse] on its unharmed side.

"Gwaaah!!"

The wound is seared from my new ability. I pull [Realizer] from the body and nudge the boar away with a kick. I have to take out this thing's [Core] to kill it effectively...

The [Curse] sits up straight again, but this time doesn't go for a charge...

"GWAAAARRGGHHH!!!"

It begins squealing like mad.

"W-What the heck is it doing!?"

"This is not good. I can sense it, multiple signatures are on their way, approaching fast! This [Curse] is calling others to it."

They really are like animals, aren't they!

"How many Yoru?"

"12 have been detected and are approaching."

"Wha--"

---

I stand face to face with the 12 [Curses] that appeared in no time...that d*mn boar!

"We obviously can't take this many..."

For now, I need to escap--

I feel something sharp rush into my back, looking behind, a wolf [Curse] is biting into my back. I bite my lip and hold in the scream. In front of me, a horse [Curse] gallops charging up an energetic kick to my chest.

"GYAAHH!!!"

I squeeze out as I'm flung into a nearby fence. My body can't move. I hear the [Curse]'s footsteps approach me. Am I going to be mauled to death by 12 of those things right here? My physical enhancement is working fine, but that horse's kick definitely shattered a few things and knocked the power out of me.

I curse my own powerlessness. This is just too fast of a development. How can 12 just show up from one screaming away? Isn't that just unfair!

I curse it. But, is that the right thing...maybe I should've been able to handle this much. What have I been doing all this time? For what purpose was it all, for me just to die here without achieving anything? This is what's wrong with me, why am I thinking about these useless things instead of solutions to break free?

As if to interrupt my train of thought the questions preyed on me again...

Why was I so accepting of Yoru in the first place? Why was I okay with fighting [Curses]? Why am I trying to get stronger? What's the point? Why am I fighting? Why--

"Aki!"

No...that's right. It's no time to be thinking about these things. I'm moving forward, I have to move forward. Do you think this is going to stop me?

"I-I have an idea."

"Go for it!"

I just learned this power of enhancing my weapon with mana a few days ago. But, now that I know the ropes, I can apply what I learned myself. There is no limit to imagination--the power that magic feeds off of.

"I can't physically overpower this number or get close enough to steal their mana..."

Meaning this battle's correct solution is my safe retreat. I need a distraction.

"Close your eyes, Yoru!"

[Realizer Form - <Light Enhancement>]

My blade shines in the brightest white light I can imagine, surely blinding all those who lay eyes on it: at least temporarily. It's probably equivalent to turning on a flashlight at point-blank range into your eyes. In this small gap of time,

"We're running, Yoru!"

"Roger!"

With physical enhancements, I push my legs to the limit as we run away.

---

Perched above the previous battlefield, we look down below to see the [Curses] looking back up at us. We ran away as far as we could, which was to the top of the train station, the roof area. The flash of light didn't have any effects other than a visual distraction so I guess that's to be expected.

"Aki, we should prioritize survival and return home first."

"I know that's the right thing to do. But..."

"But?"

"How could I resist the mana in front of me?"

Well, I'll probably run away anyway even though that too is risky. After all, there's nothing the current me can do to win against 12 [Curses] of different sizes. It took nearly a lot of what I had to run away. I'm wounded too.

"You're dedication to power is praiseworthy. If you insist on it that much, I suppose there is something I can do."

"Really? If I follow your plan can we defeat those [Curses]?"

"Yes. If you trust me."

"I trust you."

"That was fast, but, reassuring."

"Now tell me, what do I have to do?"

"Just gather those [Curses] onto the train track and survive for a few minutes."

This being a train station, I get an idea of what Yoru wants to accomplish. I don't know how it will be done though.

---

I return down to the platform. This is suicidal you say? It might be...but this is a necessary risk. It's necessary for a change. Will I get stronger with cowardice and mana increasing at a snail's pace? No!

I stomp determined onto the track facing the [Curses]. Getting a better look now, I see wolves, horses, dogs, boars, leopards, etc. They're all ugly and grotesque with unexplainable sounds gurgling within them.

The bite wound on my back and the bruise on my chest are pulsing. Despite it all, the [Curses] still begin their dash towards me. But, me confronting them head-on would be suicide. 

[Physical Enhancement Formation - <Legs>]

100% output. For now, I should try to dance around them and buy time for Yoru while minimizing the damage.

"Hyaah!"

I kick over a trash can to trip them over but it didn't do much. I continue similar actions over and over as I go. I run around the track, sometimes kicking them over as well. It's a good thing that I work out regularly to keep my stamina up, wait, does that even transfer over to my [Magical Girl] body? My Aki form definitely has less visible muscle than Akito, despite being several times stronger.

"GWAARRGH!!!"

The [Curses] are having their anger stroked by my nimbleness. But, like the dumb creatures they are, they don't change their strategy. I need to hold out for a little bit more...

A wolf managed to leap and bite into my shoulder, and a leopard manages to scratch the side of my leg hindering my speed slightly.

"Please, Yoru..."

I hear it then, what you could call salvation. It was the sound of the bullet train. The [Curses], for a moment surprised by the sound, are then kicked into the track by me (those who weren't already there even though I lead them). I tear the wolf off my shoulder with my [Realizer] and madly throw it in with the others.

*chuff chuff chuff*

The train approached vigorously, I wonder how Yoru managed that. I heard that the shinkansen can go over 300km/h, even a [Curse] would--wait a minute. No, they wouldn't. Even if they were hit by a train, the [Curse] would survive. What is Yoru playing at? Even with the [Magical Girl]'s improved reaction time and hearing, I almost didn't catch what Yoru tried to yell out,

"Aki! Hurry up and mount the front!"

So, that's what you're playing at. You want me to hop onto a moving bullet train and tear through the [Curses] with the gained speed with my [Realizer] the only effective weapon against [Curses]--what a crazy plan. But,

"I'm on it!"

I jump at the right moment and latch on to the front, immediately greeted with a bone-crushing slam. It took nearly all my mana to support my body right then with physical enhancements, it was pretty much like getting hit by a train! No, it was literally that.

"Now then, time for a hunt!"

[Weapon Manifestation Formation - <Realizer>]

I hold the cutlass straight in front of me like a lance and lay the back of the hilt against the train so that my wrist wouldn't break.

A few moments later, we feel the collision of the monsters with the train and the [Curses] whose heads fell to my sword poofed away almost as fast as we were going. We were going so fast and my hair got in the way so I didn't see much. But definitely, the majority of them died. I could feel power welling up within me, proof that my [Mana Drain] was activated properly.

After the train was running for a while afterward...

"What the heck Yoru! I could've died!"

"Well, you could've died anyways without this plan. But, at least we managed to get a lot of them that we couldn't before."

"True...but that was one reckless stunt. Anyways, let's ride this train until we get close to home."

"Alright."

"Can you slow down a bit...I feel sick. My physical enhancement is weak right now--"

---

"So, in the end, how did you manage to control the train Yoru? I thought they shut down..."

"Well, I hacked the mainframe."

"Hacked? What the heck are you [Focals]!?"

"The information related to that question is confidential."

(；￣Д￣)