The cold breeze coming from the nearby mountains sank into one’s body like a thousand knives, sending shivers up the spine of anyone unfortunate enough to not have the right kind of protection against it at hand. The only thing colder than the winds that scoured Miso City merciless were the hearts of its people. When even their sworn protectors were but an inch of being crushed under the inexorable weight of despair, it was more than right to wonder…

[center][i]"Who defends the defenders?"[/i][/center]
Normally the answer to such a question would be vague and attribute such task to the higher, or maybe the lower, Powers that Be. However, in a world were such powers took on a very much physical form, this assertion had a whole other meaning.

[b][color=ffcc00]"This city… what’s the deal with it?"[/color][/b] Aegis said in an introspective voice as she observed Miso City’s desolation from her new perch, atop a [url=https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/2797214]vacant office building[/url]. She could feel the unnatural aura permeating the whole city, but more important than that, she could feel them. The children that were supposed to protect this place from the ever-encroaching wave of darkness. And she could feel their conflict, their pain, and the weight they carried.

[b][color=ffcc00]"Perhaps I should look for them before ‘that’ happens again,"[/color][/b], the blonde said, facing the direction where she could feel the greater concentration of uncorrupted magical girls.

[center][img]https://image.ibb.co/kdwS7T/chie_titlecard_b.png[/img][/center]
Unbeknownst to the light magical girls who had finally gathered to fight as a team, someone else was watching them.

No one other than Chie was sitting atop the branches of a nearby tree, munching on some leftovers from the Christmas party of a few days ago. Without Luna around the unruly dark magical girl didn’t feel motivated enough to engage with the remainder of the light ones. However, she spent the last few days observing, no stalking, them while remaining unnoticed with the aid of her powers, almost as if she were one with the shadows themselves.

[b][color=808080]"What a waste of time, at least I’m getting plenty of freebies from looking over these headless chicks,"[/color][/b] Chie said to herself as she kept on siphoning the residual energies of the Nightmares slain by the light magical girls and taking note of every of their activities, [url=https://avvesione.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/akuma_no_riddle-10-otoya-assassin-crazy_eyes-grin-bloodlust-insane-return.jpg?w=533]grinning maniacally[/url] at the prospect of pouncing them as soon as she was allowed to.
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