Death Battle: Noel Vermillion vs Homura Akemi

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"Optic Barrel!" The Azure’s Successor shouted as she pulled the handgun’s trigger. In response, her opponent clutched at her shield, activating its hourglass and freezing her surroundings.

Much to her surprise, the explosion still occurred, though the time stop caused it to pause mid-creation. Confused by this, she looked over to find something that made her stoic facade falter, if only for a brief moment.

Somehow, through some means that she couldn't understand, Noel was actually managing to move in stopped time! In fact, it was like the time stop had no effect on her at all!

Despite the surprise adorning her face, Homura quickly put it aside. This woman might’ve been able to immune to her time stop, but if that last explosion was any indication, her attacks didn’t have the same luxury!

With this thought running through her mind, the magical girl reached into her shield and pulled out a pair of Desert Eagles. Quickly pointing them forward, she fired three shots from each, aiming at Noel's legs, torso, and shoulders. The bullets flew through the air, but then something happened that caused the transfer student’s eyes to widen. Before her bullets had even made it to their halfway point, they suddenly found themselves intercepted by counter shots fired from Bolverk. Once these explosions had disrupted the slugs’ flight paths, the former lieutenant charged forward, with her opponent responding in kind.

Once the two markswomen were close enough, Homura deactivated her time stop, causing the BOOM of multiple explosions to erupt around the area as various bullets clattered against the ground. While this was occurring, the schoolgirl prepared to fire several close-range shots, but her attempts were interrupted as her would-be target pistol-whipped her, smacking Bolverk’s butt against her forehead. The magical girl staggered back for a brief moment, and it was then that Noel took action!

With no time to waste, the blonde followed up on her attack by delivering a low kick to the calf, forcing Akemi’s knees to buckle. This was then followed up by a shot at the chronokinetic’s face, and after that was another low kick, this one sweeping her target off her feet. Before Homura even had a chance to begin falling, she suddenly found herself struck by a boot to the chin.

"Spring Raid!" Noel called out as she delivered a flash kick, sending the schoolgirl flying through the air. Then, with a cry of "Revolver Blast," she leapt after Akemi, firing off multiple shots that nailed her unfortunate victim in the torso. Gritting her teeth, Homura prepared to place her hand against her shield in an attempt to put an end to the combo. Seeing this, the Calamity Trigger proved quick to respond as she delivered an axe kick, forcing the magical girl to abort her plan and instead raise her shield to intercept the sudden attack.

Instantly, Noel’s foot met her opponent’s shield, with the resulting CLANG echoing throughout the area. Unfortunately for Homura, she would soon realize that not even her shield could defend against the full force of the blow. In less than a second, she had smashed into the concrete back-first, with the resulting impact forcing her to involuntarily open her mouth and cough out several flecks of blood.

Despite this pain, Homura proved quick to recover as she got back to her feet, looking up just in time to see Vermillion aiming her Nox Nyctores forward. Realizing this would be a chance for her opponent to set up another combo, the magical girl decided that enough was enough and responded by activating her shield just as Noel pulled the triggers. The moment she did so, their surroundings once again became monochrome, with Bolverk’s explosions freezing halfway through their conception.

Noticing this, Noel responded by rushing forward, closing the distance between herself and Akemi in the span of a few seconds. Just as she had pulled the trigger, however, the transfer student had managed to pull out and throw something from her shield. Just a split second before the explosion detonated, the blonde saw what her adversary had thrown: a stun grenade.

Noel cried out in pain as a white flash suddenly blinded her, followed by a horrific ringing in her ears. With her opponent momentarily inconvenienced, Homura decided that it was now time to end this!

Keeping a firm grip on her pistols, the magical girl aimed them forward and fired off three shots from each, with the bullets all targeting a specific vital portion of Noel’s body. After shooting out three more bullets from each gun, Akemi fired off her final shots, aiming both directly at the Calamity Trigger’s forehead. Then, while her adversary was still recovering from the flashbang, the schoolgirl turned around and clutched her shield, once again letting time resume its flow.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

“What?!” Homura asked, audible surprise in her voice as she turned around. Just as she did so, however, a massive explosion erupted in front of her face and sent her rocketing back. Quickly skidding to a halt, the magical girl looked up, and what she saw left her even more bewildered than before.

Noel’s eyes were only just beginning to regain their focus, but her guns seemed to be acting on their own! The triggers seemed to be pulling themselves, and each of the resulting explosions seemed to be aimed with disturbingly precise accuracy. Each one slammed into the magical girl, burning her body even further, but that wasn’t what concerned her. Each time these explosions hit her, she felt them slowly chip away at something else, something that reached a bit... deeper than her body.

Before she could think about it any further, Homura found herself interrupted by a sudden sigh of relief, no doubt a sign that Noel had managed to regain her sight. Realizing this could be a problem, especially when combining her current state with Bolverk’s seemingly instinctive reactions to her attacks, she did the only thing she could: attempt to gain some distance.

For a brief moment, the tibia in Homura’s legs tensed up. Once that second had ended, she suddenly leapt through the air, a pair of angelic wings sprouting from her back as she did so. These newfound appendages went to work immediately, mirroring their creator’s desperation by violently flapping as hard as they could. 

Back on the ground, Noel’s ears picked up the sounds of said flapping, causing her to look up just in time to see Homura flying through the air, now armed with a massive AT-4. Seeing that she’d been spotted, the winged schoolgirl responded by pulling the trigger on her weapon, sending a missile hurtling toward her adversary at hypersonic speeds. As it approached her, Noel’s gaze seemed to harden as she spoke one word:

”Overdrive!”

The moment this word escaped her lips, a well of strength and speed surged through her body, signifying the activation of her Overdrive: Chain Quasar. As this rush of energy coursed through her, Noel wasted no time as she suddenly rocketed through the air, easily reaching the missile’s current height. Once it was close enough, the former lieutenant immediately placed both feet against it and kicked off, furthering her air time and sending her higher than her opponent’s current height. The two gunslingers shifted their gaze, Homura looking up and Noel down, until they had once again locked eyes. As they did so, one thought entered into their minds, one that both were unaware the other shared.

’The moment she moves an inch to draw-‘ Noel began.

’I’ll need to act first and catch her off guard!’ Homura finished. As this thought entered through their minds, the missile slammed into the concrete below, resulting in a deafening explosion that was soon followed by a massive smokescreen. The smoke was thick enough that neither gunslinger was able to see what the other was planning, and they were fully prepared exploit this to their advantage. Already, Noel and Homura had pointed their respective weapons forward, the former still armed with Bolverk while the latter had used her magic to summon a long, ebony bow. Vermillion’s fingers rested firmly on the trigger, while Akemi had notched the drawstring back, summoning a purple arrow of energy. For a brief moment, time slowed down for both women as beads of sweat ran down their foreheads. Then, after what felt like an eternity, they decided to act!

“Bullet Storm!” Noel shouted as she pulled Bolverk’s triggers, firing off hundreds of shots at an extremely rapid rate. As these rounds tore through the smokescreen, Homura responded by firing off the single arrow that lay in her drawstring. To an outsider, this would’ve likely been seen as Homura being overly confident about the power of her weaponry, or perhaps a last attempt at defiance before she was inevitably riddled with holes. Whatever these hypothetical witnesses’ thoughts might have been, they would’ve no doubt cast them aside and been in awe at what happened next.

As the arrow flew toward the onslaught of lead, it suddenly began changing shape. Its frame began to expand outward, causing two massive, wing-like extensions to stretch themselves out. In tandem with this, the shaft took on a more rounded shape as its point split in two, forming a beak. The bird-like arrow then let out a devastating screech as it flew toward the bullets, taking all of them head-on without so much as a scratch. Even with the fading smoke still obstructing her view, Noel could still see this occurring clear as day. Realizing it was only a matter of time before the arrow consumed her, the ex-lieutenant decided it was time to bust out the next part of her attack!

Quickly flipping through the air, Vermillion pressed Bolverk together and quickly fused it into a new form: a gigantic missile launcher! Staring ahead at the oncoming hawk-like arrow, she responded with only one word:

”THOR!”

Once this word had escaped her lips, the gunslinger pulled the trigger, firing off an enormous missile in the shape of a shark. It flew toward the arrow, intent on overpowering it, with its opposer shrieking once more before responding in kind.

BOOOOOOM!

The moment the two projectiles collided, a massive explosion of seithr and magic erupted outward, sending both markswomen hurtling through the air. Despite the momentary discomfort they felt from being pushed back, the two proved quick to recover as they repositioned themselves mid-flight. Once they’d entered each other’s line of sight, Noel immediately fired off dozens of shots from Bolverk, all of them set to shoot Homura out of the air. Unfortunately, the winged magical girl proved faster than she’d thought, as her would-be target was casually weaving through each explosion while at the same time putting more distance between them. This process would continue for roughly ten more seconds until Homura, having spotted an opening, decided to put her plan into action!

Quickly notching another arrow, she then aimed it not at Noel, but a different target entirely: the sky. Once she’d made sure she was aiming directly above herself, Akemi released the drawstring, firing this lone arrow toward the heavens. While this action had initially confused Noel, dawning realization slowly formed on her face as she watched the arrow once again change form.

Much like before, the projectile’s shaft grew in size, becoming thicker as two curved extensions shot out from its sides. The head formed soon after, its beak sharp and somewhat curved. As it came to life, the bird-like arrow let out a horrific screech as thousands of razor-sharp bolts fired out from its plasma-like body. Each of these blasts seemed intent on tearing Noel to shreds, though she proved quick to respond by suddenly taking a massive leap back. While ascending through the air, the Eye of the Azure took a brief moment to look up, expecting to find the miniature arrows embedding themselves where she’d once stood. Instead, much to her surprise, they had changed paths mid-flight, all of them flying toward her at hypersonic speeds! 

As the storm of energy bolts rushed toward her, Noel responded by placing both hands in front of herself, erecting a runic barrier that covered her entire frame. The moment the bolts smashed against her shield, the blonde grit her teeth as she felt herself being slowly pushed back. Each individual blast was slowly eating away at the circle’s energy, and it was quickly becoming clear that her defenses were only delaying the inevitable. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t notice this until one of the bolts struck her barrier with enough force to leave a massive crack on its surface. The sight of this was enough that it made Noel’s eyes to widen in horror, and this feeling of dread would only grow as the cracks further across the barrier’s surface. Then, after what felt like an eternity of struggling-

CRASH!

Noel’s shield was shattered into thousands of minuscule shards. With her only means of defense fractured, all the artificial human could do was scream in pain as the remaining bolts pierced through her body.

Once this onslaught had finally come to an end, Noel’s mind became filled with the overwhelming urge to collapse onto the ground, which was compounded by the hundreds of bleeding holes that now adorned her frame. Yet despite the immense pain wracking her body, she still chose to remain standing, and upon looking closer it became easy to see why. Her injuries were already healing, with the missing patches of skin filling themselves back up as muscle tissue and blood regenerated from within. In fact, she was healing so quickly that it was almost as if the repeated impalements didn’t even phase her! As she watched this from afar, Homura’s eyes became wide with surprise.

’How is she healing so quickly? She doesn’t seem to be a magical girl, and even if she was, I’ve never seen one who could regenerate as fast as her!’ She thought to herself. ‘There’s gotta be some way to get past it!’

After thinking on this matter for a few seconds, Homura decided to test her theory by pulling out a new weapon: an AT4. Quickly aiming it forward, she took a brief moment to make sure Noel was in her sights. While doing so, the chronokinetic began mentally planning ahead, thinking of ways to counter any possible escape routes Vermillion could take should this fail.

After confirming that the ex-lieutenant was in range, Akemi pulled the trigger, firing a rocket that made contact with her target almost immediately.

BOOOOOOM!

A massive explosion consumed Noel, causing her to cry out as the heat and smoke consumed her entire frame. It spread out even further, easily reaching several feet in both length and width before finally subsiding. The moment it did so, Homura noticed what lay in the epicenter: a gigantic scorch mark, with Noel’s outline currently in the middle. With her victory seemingly confirmed, Homura immediately descended onto the ground, her body briefly becoming consumed by a flash of purple light the moment her feet hit the ground. Once it had faded, she was revealed once more, now back in her regular uniform.

Yet despite having seen evidence of her opponent’s demise, the schoolgirl could feel a knot in her stomach, a sense of paranoia that was gnawing away at her mind. Rather than act on this impulse, however, she quickly brushed it aside with a flick of her hair. As she brought her hand down, however, she quickly noticed something off and proceeded to raise it back up. Once it was close enough, she saw what the problem was: it was her Soul Gem!

Normally, the jewel was a rich shade of purple, maybe a bit black when it started corrupting. This time, however, she was looking at something she’d never seen before: entire portions of color were missing, leaving some of the gem clear enough that she could actually see the back of her hand! Adding onto this growing sense of unease was that the few remaining spots of color were almost entirely black, a visible sign that she was nearing her limit.

Desperate to prevent this from occurring, Homura immediately summoned her shield and reached inside, pulling out several Grief Seeds. Before she could begin applying them, however-

BOOM!

An explosion erupted in her hand, causing her to cry out in a combination of pain and horror as the black-and-gray orbs were reduced to dust. Looking down at her now bloodied hand, Akemi cursed herself under her breath. How could she have been so careless? She should’ve trusted her instincts in the first place!

Quickly transforming back into her magical girl attire, the time traveler wasted no time and began looking around the area, expecting that she’d be able to find Noel hiding somewhere. Instead, much to her growing frustration and unease, she was met with nothing. This growing silence left her wracking her brain for answers: had Noel turned herself invisible and escaped the explosion? Was that explosion just now something that had been set up beforehand? Was it just some sort of coincidence?

Unbeknownst to her, she was half-correct in her first assumption. Noel was standing in the explosion’s epicenter, breathing heavily from the damage she had just taken. Her clothes were completely tattered, soot and ash coated her exposed body, and she was even sporting several mild burns; though her healing factor was quickly mitigating that last point. The scarred tissue had almost completely healed by this point, but Noel was more concerned about another matter: namely, her opponent’s actions, or lack thereof.

For some reason, Homura kept looking around the area, repeatedly facing her multiple times in the process, yet she didn’t seem to notice that Noel was right in front of her!

’Can she not see me? What’s going on?’ The blonde thought to herself. Taking a brief moment to look around as well, she immediately noticed a nearby window,with its reflection only bearing Homura’s image. With her main question answered, the Eye of the Azure wasted no time and immediately leapt back into action!

At the exact moment Noel pointed one of her guns forward, an emblem suddenly appeared in front of her opponent’s shield. Noticing this, and remembering what happened the last time it had occurred, Homura attempted to activate her shield once again. Unfortunately for her, it seemed that her opponent had learned from last time, as she pulled the trigger at a faster rate than before. The Optic Barrel immediately detonated, and the resulting explosion sent its target reeling back.

Taking advantage of her opponent’s disorientated state, Noel wasted no time in closing the distance between them, unknowingly deactivating her concealment in the process. Homura didn’t even have time to register her opponent’s sudden reappearance before the former lieutenant slammed into her with a shoulder tackle. The impact was enough that Akemi found herself coughing up several flecks of blood, but she proved quick to recover, raising her shield just in time to intercept an oncoming strike from Bolverk.

CLANG!

Quickly pushing the Nox Nyctores aside, the magical girl reached into her shield, pulled out a Desert Eagle, and immediately fired at Noel’s head. Unfortunately for her, the blonde proved quick to respond as she shifted to the side, causing the slug to instead graze her cheek and leave a small cut. Noticing how close she’d been, Homura attempted to fire again, but Noel immediately countered it by slamming Bolverk against the opposing firearm. Much like before, the bullet missed her head by several inches. Unlike before, its wielder wouldn’t be able to fire another shot, as her target quickly interrupted her with a powerful high kick to the chin. 

An audible KRACKT rang out as the ex-lieutenant slammed her boot into the magical girl’s jaw, striking with enough force to shatter it. As she staggered back, Homura began focusing energy into her Soul Gem, causing it to start glowing a light shade of purple. Upon doing so, Akemi could feel her bones start to mend themselves, but something felt... off. It wasn’t until she put her hand to her face that she realized why.

She could still feel the burns generated from Bolverk’s explosions, and despite the magic she was focusing, they just wouldn’t heal! Concerned by this, she looked down at her Soul Gem, and upon doing so her eyes widened in shock. Somehow, its color had drained even further!

As she witnessed this, the schoolgirl’s mind began swimming with questions. How was this happening? Was it because of that woman’s guns? If it was, then how was it preventing her magic from working?

The sound of Bolverk ascending through the air cut off Homura’s train of thought, with the transfer student just barely managing to put up her shield as Noel fired. The resulting explosion caused her to skid back, but she quickly regained focus and leapt back just as another explosion erupted from beneath her. Upon feeling the heat, Homura grit her teeth before clutching at her shield. Despite what Noel was thinking, however, this wasn’t so she could freeze time. Instead, a slot opened up on the shield's side, readying several weapons for its wielder.

Using a loose string from her dress, the magical girl quickly tied it around these objects before suddenly thrusting her arm through the air, sending out dozens of green shells at the blonde gunslinger. Recognizing what they were, Noel wasted no time in attempting to escape them, but her attempts would ultimately prove futile as Akemi brought her arm back. The moment she did so, the string she’d attached to each pin came with her, leaving the now active explosives to detonate while still in midair. The deafening BOOM of 36 explosions echoed throughout the entire street, drowning out Vermillion’s cries of pain as the heat and smoke consumed her entire body.

Despite this seemingly victorious moment, Homura knew better by this point and fired off the remaining rounds of her Desert Eagle in an attempt to prevent history from repeating itself. Each bullet flew through the air, their trajectories aimed squarely at either Noel’s chest or head. Exactly one second later, the sound of each slug making contact reached her ears, but even then she refused to look away. By this point, she needed to see evidence of Noel’s death with her own eyes!

Unfortunately, even with the decision she’d made, Homura still found herself caught off guard as Bolverk suddenly spun out from the smoke, smacked her in the shoulder, and forcibly dragged her in.

As both the handgun and her opponent drew closer, Noel wasted no time as she threw out another Spring Raid. Unlike before, this one wasn’t targeted at Homura; instead, it was aimed at another target: her shield. The moment it made contact, the flash kick ripped the weapon from her arm and sent it hurtling through the air!

Before Akemi had a chance to try and leap after it, Noel followed up with another Revolver Blast before wrapping her legs around the magical girl’s neck. Then, with a quick forward flip, she sent her adversary hurtling to the ground. Not willing to let her recover, Noel fired at her with Flash Suppressor, performed a sliding shot, then sent her back into the air with a third Spring Raid.

After taking a brief moment to twirl her guns, the former lieutenant fired off a diagonal shot, sending Homura even further into the air. Quickly leaping after her, the Azure’s Successor then fired off a quick barrage of shots before flipping through the air and striking with another Revolver Blast. Once the final shot emerged from Bolverk, Noel prepared to end her combo as she violently swung one of the handguns through the air, intent on smacking Akemi back into the ground.

Just when it seemed like the firearm was about to connect, however, the space in front of its target suddenly flashed white. Wasting no time, Homura grabbed hold of the object and swung back with equal force, resulting in a massive shockwave that exploded outward. Both women were launched back by the force, but they proved quick to respond as they righted themselves in midair and raised their respective weapons.

Of the two women to raise their weapons, Homura proved first to act as she fired off a bolt of magic, aiming it directly at Noel’s chest. Her target proved quick to respond as she flew to the side, pulling Bolverk’s trigger in the process. Noticing the explosion just as it was beginning to form, Akemi responded by suddenly thrusting her arm forward. 

FW-BOOOOM!

The moment she did so, a ward appeared before her, intercepting the explosion and completely shielding her from any damage. Despite this, it didn’t shield her from the effects of the explosion, as she would soon realize when the discharge sent her rocketing back! Despite this, she proved quick to reposition herself in midair, leaning at enough of an angle that she managed to land on her feet.

Once her heels had hit the ground, the time traveler immediately leapt back up, rapidly firing off numerous arrows as she ascended through the air. Seeing this, Vermillion responded by flipping or rolling through the air whenever possible, avoiding each of the blasts by mere inches. Each time she dodged these magical projectiles, Noel would counter with another shot from Bolverk, and the resulting explosion would spawn so quickly that Homura was just barely able to avoid it. The few that she couldn’t dodge were absorbed by her newly created barrier, but she could tell that doing so took a heavy toll on its structure. In the span of only five explosions, it had gone from completely obstructing any form of attack to barely shielding her at all.

Realizing this, Homura quickly dispersed the barrier as she leapt away from another explosion, firing off the gathered magic as a shockwave meant to counter the seithr-induced detonation. The two opposing waves met in midair, creating another smokescreen as Bolverk’s explosion was blown back. The resulting smoke completely obscured both women’s vision, but Homura proved quick to rectify this mistake as she burst out from the blanket of mist.

With her wings flapping as hard as they could, the magical girl shot further through the air, only stopping once she’d reached the same height as the rooftops of Mitakihara’s skyscrapers. Quickly turning around, she began scanning the area for her lost shield, her pupils rapidly darting across each roof in search of her discarded weapon. Five seconds of searching later, she finally noticed it laying atop a nearby business tower and immediately divebombed toward it, creating multiple sonic booms as her descent repeatedly broke the sound barrier.

For a brief moment it seemed like she was about to slam into the cement roofing face-first, but that quickly changed as she dispersed her wings and flipped over, cratering the surface with an audible THOOM! This noise was enough to alert Noel, causing her to look toward its direction. Upon doing so, what she saw caused her eyes to widen in shock.

Soaring toward her were dozens of missiles, all launched from AT4’s that Homura had spawned from her shield and rapidly fired off. They flanked her entire front, and there was no chance that she’d be able to counter them or escape in time. With this realization, Noel’s gaze hardened as she did something unexpected.

Like her opponent before her, the tibia in her legs tensed up, and once it had passed, the Calamity Trigger suddenly leapt into the air. Once she’d approached the vicinity of the nearest missile, Noel planted her feet against it and jumped off, using the ballistic as a springboard to leap onto the next one in line. This process would continue for several seconds, with the blonde gunslinger jumping from one missile to the next as a way to close the gap between them.

Needless to say, Homura was dumbfounded at what she was seeing. Even with what she’d seen during her time as a magical girl, she could still say that this shouldn’t have been possible! But no matter how much she wanted to deny it, it didn’t change the fact that this was still happening right in front of her. Noel was actually parkouring with missiles just to get closer to her! 

Remembering her current situation, Akemi quickly brushed her surprise aside and began wracking her brain for solutions. She was running out of options, and the rapidly declining state of her Soul Gem made it unlikely that she’d be able to continue fighting for much longer.

As the CLANG of Noel’s feet slamming against metal grew louder in her ears, Homura, in a desperate attempt to get more time to think, ran across the rooftop. She prepared to activate her wings once again, but before she could do so, her opponent leapt off the last missile and crashed against the ground.

Recognizing what her opponent was trying to do, Vermillion acted immediately and forced Bolverk to transform into a shotgun. Upon bringing it forward, however, she didn’t aim at Homura. Instead, the firearm was positioned toward a different, seemingly ineffective location: the ground beneath her.

BOOM!

The sound of Bolverk’s explosions filled the air the moment Noel fired, and with it Homura was sent flying through the air.

Refusing to give her opponent a chance to recover, the blonde gunslinger quickly shifted her Nox Nyctores into another form: an enormous minigun! With a fearsome battlecry, she opened fire, riddling the magical girl with holes and juggling her further into the air. Just when it seemed that Homura was about to start descending, Noel forced Bolverk to transform once again, this time turning it into a rocket launcher! Aiming it forward, she immediately pulled the trigger, firing off a shark-shaped missile that rocketed out of the barrel and slammed into Homura’s stomach.

As she watched the missile drag Akemi through the air, Vermillion prepared to end the combo as Bolverk changed once again, now taking the shape of a colossal railgun.

"Sleipner!" She screamed as she fired an equally large, spear-shaped shot. This blade-like projectile soared through the air at relativistic speeds, catching up to the missile and stabbing into it with enough force that-

BOOOOOOM!

-It detonated mid-flight, producing an explosion that could be seen for miles on end and destroyed multiple buildings with its heat alone. As both it and the rest of her Overdrive faded away, Noel looked around, expecting that she’d find Homura laying somewhere on the ground below. Instead, much to her confusion, she found nothing. It was almost as if-

CRACK!

The sudden noise caused the ex-lieutenant to leap away from the building and begin running toward its direction, though the distance between them meant it was unlikely she’d find its source. Or more specifically, find her.

Homura was laying on her back, now several streets away and in horrible condition to boot. Her skull had split open upon impact with the ground, and the blood gushing from it was coating the surrounding area a deep shade of crimson. Her clothes were quickly becoming matted with blood, but none of that seemed to concern her.

While trying her hardest to ignore the immense agony she was experiencing, Akemi forced herself to crane her head and look down at her Soul Gem. While she was eventually successful, what she witnessed caused her pupils to shrink in simultaneous shock and horror.

Staring her in the face was her Soul Gem, now completely devoid of any color. What little hadn’t been rendered clear by Bolverk’s soul-destroying properties was now pitch-black, a sign that her corruption was nearly complete. Making matters worse was that a large crack had visibly formed on the jewel’s frame, and it was rapidly spreading itself throughout the once-purple orb.

‘It seems this is the end.’ Homura thought to herself as she watched the spiderweb of cracks consume her soul. ‘I always knew this day would come, but I’d hoped it would happen after I saved Madoka. It’s a bit ironic. I’ve prepared for so much, but in the end I was killed by something I couldn’t possibly have accounted for.’

As this realization ran through her mind, any remnants of her stoic facade shattered, and with it a dam of repressed emotions was released. Tears began streaming down Homura’s face as the reality of the situation hit her. 

The years she'd spent repeating this same month to save Madoka...

The endless amount of witches she'd slain...

Her determination to see it through to the end...

It had all been for nothing.

She had failed to keep the promise she'd made to Madoka, the one she’d made those many years before, and this time she wouldn't get another chance to do it over.

As her Soul Gem reached its breaking point, one final thought entered into Homura’s mind.

‘I’m sorry, Madoka, but I couldn’t save you. Please...’

CRACK!

With that, the jewel shattered, splitting into hundreds of minuscule shards. Then, almost as if they were being controlled by some unknown force, each piece began merging into another form. As she watched her Grief Seed take form, the dying magical girl could only ask for one final, tearful request:

‘Forgive me.’

As these last words entered into her mind, the Grief Seed exploded, causing an odd, multicolored pillar of energy erupted outward. This pillar immediately spread out, forming itself into multiple tendrils that quickly spread throughout Mitakihara and rooted themselves deep into the ground, creating a massive barrier around the city’s outer limits. Once the corrupted wisps of energy had taken hold of Mitakihara, they solidified once more, consuming the entire area- as well as Noel's vision- in a series of rapidly shifting colors. Then, after roughly three seconds of existence, the vibrant dome of corrupted magic faded in color, slowly darkening until everything had become pitch-black.