Chapter 11: Mia’s World
HOW old was she in her earliest memories? She was probably too small to even know her own age; it was since then that Mia had learned one kind of magic, and one kind of magic only. Other forms of magic were merely derivative: ice projectiles, blades of wind, opening up holes in the ground, flying through the air—all of them. Even creating her own original spells. All her training served the sole purpose of perfecting the image of just one spell—the quintessential spell known as the Great Magical Art of Darkness “Miangaia”.
This magic, also known as “God’s Hope”, had been passed down from generation to generation since ancient times, from parent to child. Mia had learned it from her father, who had learned it from her grandfather, who had learned it from her great-grandfather.
What Mia experienced after training for and learning about the great magical art of darkness every single day was history. She was studying natural history; just as any other person had to sit through history during social studies in elementary school, so too did Mia learn her family’s history.
How did this blue planet come to be? The sky was made, the sea was made, the earth was made, and so, life was born.
There was no need for a scientific explanation or a profound understanding of the processes. The important thing was to picture that primeval world.
Life eventually turned into plants, into fish, and into animals, each contributing to the flow of energy in the food chain as they kept going through the circle of life and death on the lush, green earth and in the beautiful azure sea. A beautiful world. That was the image that lay at the heart of the great magical art of darkness Mia had been taught since she was but a child.
Without thinking, she meticulously followed her father’s instructions, dutifully picturing that world inside her head. She imagined scenery: the sky changing in tune with the seasons and weather, a bright-blue sea hiding mammals within its depths, which she pictured with some help from the encyclopedia illustrations. After creating the sea, next was the land with its flora, and then fauna: animals, insects, birds. An abundance of life. One by one, she purposefully conjured up a highly detailed image of each in her head. Over the period of many long years, she shaped the world in her mind.
However, one thing conspicuously absent from that image was humanity. She’d never questioned it or thought it was strange. …Why was that? Was it because she had naively expected people would exist there as a matter of course? Was it because she had been instructed in a way that didn’t allow for doubts or questions, this one included? She didn’t know anymore. Because the father who had been guiding her was no longer with her.
✦ ✦ ✦
MIA flew aimlessly through the air, and she recognized the place she decided to alight on a whim as a riverbank. Now that she thought about it, this was where she had met Ren and the rest of the Rangers for the very first time. Spring had been in full swing. According to the traditional Japanese calendar, it was the very beginning of early summer. And now it was winter, and the riverbank was cold, a freezing wind blowing in from the river. She exhaled slowly and sure enough, her breath formed a white mist.
“I have to do it,” Mia murmured and looked up at the sky.
The winter’s night sky was captivating. Mia wasn’t particularly fond of this season, but she did like the sky it produced. The stars looked clearer and brighter than during summer.
She thought of something Father had once said about how, “If you perform the great magical art of darkness, the stars in the sky will become even more beautiful.” That’s why she had felt such pure joy at the prospect. How wonderful it would be if the things she found beautiful became even prettier! That was why she had been looking forward to defeating the Champions of Justice, their defeat enabling her to cement world domination through the final spell—it felt like a reward for her efforts. It would have been like a gun salute, celebrating her victory. The thought of humanity disappearing when she cast the spell to reshape the world hadn’t even crossed her mind.
…A world of sparkling blue and verdant green. In her naiveté, she had imagined many people there too, rejoicing in its beauty. It was easy to see that wouldn’t be the case, if only she had given it more than a perfunctory thought. She remembered how Ren and the others affectionately said she “lacked smarts”, and she couldn’t help but laugh self-deprecatingly. Indeed, she lacked the smarts to think things through and see the consequences her actions would beget.
“I have to do it…”
She fished her cape out from her backpack and tied the cord in a bow around her neck. Then she took out her wand and gently raised it.
“For I am the Supreme Ruler of Evil. For it is I who now stands at the head of the evil organization known as Gealach.”
Mia softly closed her eyes and pictured the image in her head. She could recall it effortlessly; after all, it was the only thing she had been training to do all the years of her life. Envisioning the image of the world that her father had taught her came as easy to her as breathing.
“This is my will that I have inherited from you, Father. To fulfill our hearts’ desire, I have endlessly studied and trained for this one spell. For taking over the world is the very reason I was born,” Mia exhaled hotly, her voice a bit breathless.
This would be the first time she would use this magic. Was she exhilarated or was she nervous? Was she, perhaps, afraid?
“Right, world domination is our long-standing ambition. Having the world in the palm of my hand is what I wish for. S-So, whether or not there will be any humans inhabiting it, if that is what my ancestors wanted, then I…I have to do it!”
Utter the words…with clarity and intent.
“A blue world—”
“Don’t jump the gun, you dummy!”
Something hit her on the forehead with a loud thunk. The carefully crafted image in her head instantly dispersed, and Mia cowered right where she stood, covering the forming bruise.
“O-Ouch!”
Something had hit her on the head. Wondering what it was, she looked down and discovered that it had been a smartphone. …A familiar one. It was Ren’s phone!
Mia scrambled to her feet and scanned her surroundings. She noticed Misaki’s car at the end of the road by the riverbank, the Crow Rangers scattering out of its doors and rushing towards her. Ren in particular ran exceptionally fast, and it seemed as if he would close in on Mia’s position in mere moments. The girl urgently brandished her wand.
Stay back, stay back, stay back—
“Do not come any closer to me!”
Her cry involuntarily turned into a spell, the magic activating of its own accord. It had been a jumbled mess of an image, but the force with which she had invoked it made it manifest in a very concrete form. A colossal wall, made of translucent stone and circular in its shape, now protectively surrounded her at its center. Ren, the fastest of them all, managed to barrel his way inside its perimeter, while the rest of the Rangers, slower on their feet, had their way forward cut off by its tall smooth expanse.
“Ren! Mia!”
Aya started hitting the wall of stone. Next to her, Subaru kept vehemently slamming his fists into it. However, the clear stone wasn’t quite as responsive to such treatment as ice had been; not a single crack appeared in its surface.
“Wh-What is this? …Is this some kind of precious stone?”
“Feels like crystal. This must’ve been what came to mind when she had to conjure up an image of something tough on the spot,” Misaki speculated, standing near Shou who was probingly tapping on the stone.
Mia had mentioned before that materializing something universally regarded as valuable required spending a great deal of magical power. She must’ve forgotten about this fact when she had fired off this spell in desperation. As was to be expected, Mia’s shoulders were heaving up and down. That was most likely due to how much this spell had taken out of her. If she exhausted her reserve of magical energy…
“…Ren. Do something about it, promise me!” Aya forcefully struck the crystal wall, gazing at Ren’s back imploringly.