Tart Magica Chapter 13

Lapin lands heavily after the hit she took. She lays on the ground breathing heavily as she reaches her hands out and asks Minou and Corbeau for forgiveness. Corbeau calls out to her sister but Minou holds her back, warning her to not get near Lapin as Lapin's soul gem darkens and corrupts. Suddenly, the soldiers' weapons from both armies as well as Riz and Melissa's weapons begin to float in the air. Tart looks around bewildered as the soldiers fall back, unable to proceed with their fight so long as they remain without weapons. Lapin, now in a rabbit-like witch form complete with a crown and royal cape adorned in eyes, floats beneath the weapons as she directs them at Melissa and Riz. The weapons, now under the command of the witch, fly straight at the girls damaging them as Tart attempts to knock as many as she can away with her sword. Elisa, meanwhile, continues to shoot down as many of the weapons as possible when Melissa suddenly notices a huge shadow looming on them and calls out to Riz. The witch has amassed the weapons and shields she stole into a giant sword-like shape which starts to fall towards them. Riz calls Melissa to get into her shadow where she can pull them to safety but the eyes on the witch's cape flash at them, causing Melissa and Riz to revert from their magical girl forms to their human forms. The sword-shaped conglomeration of weapons bears down on them and would have crushed them had Tart not suddenly appeared in front of them and slashed at the weapons with her own sword. As broken weapons and shields rain down on them, Tart asks if they're okay when suddenly Riz and Melissa revert back to their magical girl state just as quickly as they reverted back earlier. Melissa is unable to comprehend why they keep changing in and out of their magical girl state, whereas Riz warns them to be careful since there's a lot going on they don't understand. At the very least Tart and Riz's weapons aren't unaffected by the witch's magic. What they do know is that defeating the witch will solve their problems to which Elisa takes it upon herself to launch an attack on the witch from behind. But before she can land a blow, shields appear from nowhere and block the attack. Elisa leaps back and aims her musket at the witch, but the eyes on the witch's cape flash at Elisa and cause her to revert back to a normal human. The witch aims several more swords at Elisa, who leaps away and transforms back into a magical girl. Riz asks if her weapon is intact, to which Elisa replies that no one has ever been able to steal from her. Before she can finish answering, Corbeau charges at Riz who is just barely able to block her attack with her bare arms.

Corbeau tells Riz she missed her as Riz knocks Corbeau back with her fists. She tells Tart and the others to prioritize the witch while she takes care of Corbeau. Melissa hangs back to help Riz but Riz reminds her she has no weapon. Corbeau asks if their little chat is over before launching another attack at Riz, who wraps her shadow around Corbeau and slices at her. She sinks into her shadows and reappears behind Corbeau and attempts to hit her with her bare fists, but it's not enough and her hands remain trembling after. Corbeau taunts Riz just as Melissa calls out to her to get out of the way as a projectile flies at Corbeau, who narrowly dodges the attack. Melissa stands there with a large rock in her hand, defying Corbeau and still willing to fight despite her lack of weapons. As Corbeau is distracted by this, Riz aims a high kick at her face which connects. As her shadows tie down Corbeau's feet, Riz somersaults at her and grabs her by the head as she lands, twisting it completely backwards. Corbeau lands on the ground as Riz lands a few feet away. Melissa congratulates her for defeating Corbeau, but Corbeau is still alive and begins to struggle to her feet.

Meanwhile, Tart and Elisa dance and dodge the rain of swords that come at them as once more they are forced to revert to their human state. Elisa yells at Tart for coming over to where she is and reminds her of the eyes on the witch's cape. Elisa believes that when they flash, their ability to transform into a magical girl vanishes for awhile, so as long as they stay separate and attack in a pincer move then at least one of them will still be able to attack. As they revert back to magical girls, Elisa tells Tart that's the reason she told her to move left, but Tart was confused and didn't know which left she meant. As Elisa bickers with Tart, the witch flashes her eyes at them once more and the girls revert back to human state. The witch then launches more swords at them.

On the other side of the field, Minou watches the skirmish between the magical girls. Talbot asks if she is not going to join the fray and support her comrades but Minou only giggles in response. While she may worry about her older sisters, getting too close to the witch would relieve her of her own weapon and she would only serve as a hindrance. Talbot thanks her for positioning the attack closer to the French forces since the English lost fewer weapons when Lapin's attack began. He realizes his words and apologizes for what happened to Lapin. In the meantime, Talbot will ready their forces and depending on what happens, wait for an opportunity to attack the French forces.

Riz and Melissa watch as Corbeau stands and realigns her head, Melissa surprised that she's still alive even after such an injury. Corbeau smiles and tells Riz she was always good at never pulling her punches and is eager to play with her further. Riz tells her she wishes she could say the same as mentally she worries about the amount of magic Corbeau has expended. Corbeau, guessing her thoughts, tells Riz not to worry about her magic power as she's already eliminated that ability, much to Riz's surprise. Corbeau on her part, looks disappointed as she was expecting a more long and drawn out battle with Riz but now she doesn't even have a weapon on hand. The chapter shifts to a flashback as a young servant girl is callously knocked to the ground. She begs Corbeau for an explanation as to what she's done to anger her and asks what Corbeau is wearing. Corbeau tells her not to worry as she'll be wearing something similar soon enough and holds her face in her hands, telling the servant girl she has potential. She promises to grant her wish and with it she will soon be a brand-new magical girl. The servant girl is confused and terrified at what is happening to her as a shadow moves behind the canopy that surrounds a large bed. Corbeau smiles at her and tells her that her wish will be made to help them and while she doesn't understand what she's saying now, she realizes that making a wish for someone else is hardly the kind of thing that anyone can set their heart to so easily. She promises to help bring her around as Corbeau grabs the girl by the hand and pulls a fingernail off her index finger. The servant girl screams in pain as the blood spurts to the ground and she begins to moan in pain. Corbeau holds her by the shoulders and asks if it hurts, telling her she can avoid further pain and wonders what she's decided to wish for. As the tears stream down the servant girls' face, Corbeau caresses her face and wonders out loud which part of herself she would prefer to lose next, her ears or her nose. The girl begs for her to stop and asks what they want her to wish for, but the mysterious figure behind the canopied bed replies "No" and Corbeau tells her that she does not want it enough and she will continue to 'help' her until she makes her wish from the bottom of her heart. The final panel of the flashback is the girl's agonized screams as more blood spurts across the room.

Back in the present, Elisa and Tart coordinate their attack on Lapin's witch, both girls coming at her from opposite ends of the field. Unsure of whom to face first, the witch focuses on Tart as Elisa smiles at her luck at having the witch's back to her. But before she can ready her attack, the witch bends her head backwards and flashes her eyes at Elisa while the eyes on her cape face forward and flash at Tart. Even with this, the witch is able to summon shields to protect her on both sides as Tart and Elisa clash with her. As they fall back, having reverted to their human state, Elisa is surprised to find that her real eyes have the same power as her cape. Grimacing, she wonders if they'll be able to defeat her at this rate. The witch for her part summons more swords from nearby and throws them at Elisa and Tart. The girls block the attack as they transform back into their magical girl state. Tart and Elisa plan out their next attack as the witch readies more weapons for a counterattack. Elisa tells Tart that just this once she will allow Tart to lead the way and deliver the finishing blow as she takes the brunt of the witch's attacks even if it means losing her magical girl transformation. Elisa begins to say that this plan depends on whether or not Tart can trust her despite having only just met, but already Tart has run off to get into position. Stunned, Elisa aims her rifle and fires several shots at Lapin's witch. The witch Lapin aims several swords and other weapons at Tart as she races at her, but Elisa is able to shoot most of them down and leave an opening for Tart. Worried, the witch summons a mountainous wall of weapons at Tart. Elisa calls out to Tart to keep running as she transforms her rifle into a long-range cannon and fires a massive shot at the wall of weapons, piercing a hole large enough for Tart to run through and slashes at the witch. At that moment, both Minou and Corbeau call out for their sister and turn their attention in that direction. Amazed, Tart and Elisa look down at a now human Lapin as Elisa wonders what's happened is even possible, as a witch has never reverted back to being a magical girl once defeated. Lapin, now a regular magical girl, lays unconscious on the field before them. Elisa thinks that all magical girls become witches and leave no trace of their magical girl bodies behind as Corbeau leaps down in front of them and picks up Lapin. She hands her over to Minou, who's followed behind her, and tells her to take Lapin and to go back. Minou asks if she doesn't intend to do something, but is cut off as Corbeau tells her that is indeed what she plans on doing. Minou nods and steps into her portal carrying Lapin as Riz asks what is going on. Corbeau smiles and draws her power together, announcing to Riz and the others that the real fun will now begin.