*
Yggdrasil sat back down, her hair drenched in sweat at all the high speed manuevres. Their tactics banked on moving so fast the human eye can't follow, although it looked to be so dramatic, in reality the whole ordeal lasted within a second. Even a stronger E or D grade could exceed the speed of sound, the concern layed in when they transform and release.
She relaxed her back onto the chair, a sculpture of human ingenuity. It used the least bit of resources to make an enduring furniture that supported the back of countless students. Even if the hard plastic felt rough, it was curved in a way that caressed her back, possibly the cause of countless people's hunchback.
Reactions were varied, an incomprehensible phenomenon occurred right before their faces. The worse thing to do is to tell a person that their perceived reality is false. A few screams echoed and roughly half the class was too afraid to move. Those who could, shivered in place while Mr Adamm clutched the corner of his desk tightly, the veins on the back of his hand looked right about ready to pop.
The magical girl vanished, there are no longer any immediate threats, surely it's safe now?
Arugawa stands up, the attention of his classmates focused on him instantly. His face was more than decent but he had a pretty bad personality. It was close to the end of the year, so most of his behaviour had been curbed, Edward was the only person who would willingly interact with him. He might crave attention, but he wouldn't fuss if he didn't get any.
"Come on, only cowards would stay in their seat. Let's check it out." (Arugawa)
His lips twisted into a grotesque grin, saved by his facial features. Blackish red hair pierced the air like rose thorns. Without the added context, he could have been popular. Edward was thankful for his unsalvagable behaviour, otherwise he might have been green with envy. Edward was slightly taller than average, short black hair that reached his ears. He wasn't as blessed in the looks department like Arugawa was, but he had a more amicable relationship with the rest of the class while tending to be mostly withdrawn. In these scenarios he would attempt to mollify everyone by stepping into the middle, it feels like everyone's patience is only running thin. How long more could he keep this up?
An extrovert that saw little attention and an introvert that saw a lot. Strangely enough, they clicked with each other and most people didn't care. Edward stood up too, his fingers were trembling but he clenched his fist tight and walked forward towards the corridor. Arugawa watched and silently nodded as he turned towards the monster corpse in the corridor. Disgusting, the entails were starting to decompose, fading into black dust that vanished in the air like all other Traces, but he wouldn't know that. Still, he believed it was more beautiful than human nature, Arugawa detested the others and reveled in the anger he incited in them. Like an addiction, he liked to get a rise out of them and provoke them into fights.
Jianmi and Faramicia didn't care, but some of the other guys like Terrin and Aloysius didn't get along well with him. These 4, Arugawa, Edward, Jianmi and Faramicia were seen as outcast anyway.
"... The magical girls saved us, so it should be safe now, right?" (Faramicia)
Everyone in class knew who he was, they've been together for almost two years after all. It's not hard to find that he has a heavy bias towards magical girls, he was just that type of otaku. Always gushing over the girls in shows he watched.
"... Haven't you heard? It's because there are magical girls around, that humanity is being targeted!
They made it clear in the broadcast, their goals are those sneaky magical girls! "(Celia)
A close friend of Akira who was blond, she's somehow even less discrete. Although she didn't harbour any suspicions against Lastia, Arin, and Sariel, she didn't shy from expressing her disdain for any magical girls that happen to be nearby.
" You can't say that! Magical girls are goddesses, they are protectors of humanity! "(Faramicia)
" This isn't like your anime! For all we know, they're a separate species from us, seeking refuge from their own kind!
Does it make much sense? Some girls get chosen to wield amazing powers, but they haven't shown up once to help humanity! " (Celia)
Logical, why trust beings you've never seen? You would sooner trust the threat that you have witnessed, making absurd demands of you in exchange for ceasing the violence. People would sooner believe magical girls are tangible and possible to kidnap and present as a tribute, they would cling onto such slim hope if it meant survival from this unprecedented threat faced by humanity. In the past 11000+ years, there have been no such similar happenings, if they could put an end to it now by sacrificing magical girls, they would.
Ritual sacrifices for the blessings of rain and bountiful harvest. Trading the lives of the minority for the majority. Finding a scapegoat to pin the blame on, and double as tributes of sacrifice. There could be no more convenient an opponent, this was the exact situation that the 3rd heavenly king was gunning for. This was not the demon king, the final boss. This was a cunning opponent dead set on thorough annihilation of their enemies. They would corner magical girls with everything at their disposal, not because they wanted to but because they could. That was caution.
" There is no reasoning with you. " (Faramicia)
He might be an odd one, but he didn't strike Yggdrasil as a bad person. An involved individual putting himself under crosshairs, it's also because he realised he has some degree of safety guaranteed by his rights. He's a male, dirty blond hair, average to slightly shorter than average height. There's nothing about him that says he's a magical girl, he's the opposite gender too for one thing.
Although she had some things to say, getting into an altercation now would yield absolutely nothing. For that, she can thank her numbness to emotion for keeping her composed and passive. The control of information was incredibly important, for the foreseeable future she'll be using the exact same great sword shaped by {Feed}, and Arin will be using her guns forged and stored by {Barter}. Arin will use {Swap}, which was inevitable, there was little room to portray her ability as anything else.
In the end, they decided {Swap} was a necessity that allowed for quick responses. This wouldn't change anytime soon, in exchange, Sariel will be the top target of their protection.