On the outskirts of the city, an abandoned warehouse.
This was the base of the Military Uniform Princess—Altair. All of the Created belonging to her side used this place as their center of activity.
The environment was harsh… but fortunately, none of the people here were the type to fuss over such things.
Alicetaria had fought for years against the Unterwelt army. Her battlefield was a land of molten rivers, skies buried in dust—an uninhabitable wasteland. Compared to that, a derelict warehouse was nothing.
The hard-bitten middle-aged man called Blitz Talker, from the cyberpunk series Code Babylon, was a bounty hunter. Not the protagonist, but once the partner of one. He too was used to warzones far worse than this.
Mamika Kirameki, unlike the others, had once been only a normal schoolgirl before being chosen as a magical girl. But because of her overly optimistic nature, and her dislike of troubling others, she too never complained.
The black night sky was like spilled ink staining canvas, pierced only by stars—some of which might have died long ago, their light still drifting across endless light-years to reach this place.
And then, suddenly, a golden pillar of light pierced upward into the heavens—majestic, holy, noble, solemn. No word could encompass it.
The light was not harsh, but gentle. It shed particles of golden radiance like drifting clouds, like an encircling river of stars.
At its center stood Alicetaria, godlike, her divine presence rippling outward. In her eyes burned the majesty of heaven.
For Mamika, this was already the third time she had seen Alicetaria in this form. Yet she was still overwhelmed, her limbs freezing though she did not fall to her knees.
Blitz Talker was shaken just as fiercely. A chill spread through his body before he could think, and his hand instinctively drew his gun, the black muzzle aimed at Alicetaria cloaked in light.
It was the reflex of a man who had faced terrors, whose life was threatened too many times to count.
But facing Alicetaria, Altair's reaction was altogether different.
Her body was taut, her gaze locked onto Alicetaria, and in her eyes shone a brilliance that was close to frenzy.
"Yes! This is it! Within your power—her scent…! Her presence…! Her alone, I could never mistake!"
Altair was ecstatic, almost unhinged with excitement. In her eyes, nothing existed now but that golden radiance.
To be precise, what she truly stared at was not Alicetaria herself, but something hidden within that power.
The golden pillar that had painted the heavens began to fade, dispersing into light motes that drifted down onto the earth.
Alicetaria returned to her original form, face stern as she addressed Altair.
"Military Uniform Princess. Do you now understand what has happened to me? Have you discerned the cause of this change?"
Without the radiance, the crushing pressure vanished. At a distance, Mamika and Blitz Talker both let out breaths of relief. Blitz Talker holstered his revolver.
Altair frowned slightly. But almost at once she regained composure, smoothing her expression into that perfect, false smile. Watching Alicetaria stride toward her with restrained impatience, Altair smiled faintly.
"Yes, Alicetaria-dono. I know it well. Better than anyone alive. No one could understand her more than I. You are fortunate—fortunate to have won her favor at such a desperate time."
A gale tore suddenly through the warehouse. Around Altair, forty-eight sabers appeared, orbiting her like planets.
"This is [Holopsicon]. The power of all things, the revolution of all cycles, the force of rebirth that shakes the foundations of the world. By it, I drew you all from your stories into this one."
She raised her arms as though to embrace the sky.
"And it was she who gave me this power. Only she could alter, in an instant, the 'settings' of the Created."
Alicetaria did not waver, only narrowed her eyes.
"…Who is she?"
"She is true divinity."
The sabers dissolved into nothing. Altair's smile remained calm, but beneath it lurked madness.
"I have said before this is an age of gods, a world belonging to gods. But she is different. She is the God of gods. The one who turned the first page of this story. The one who gave us the chance to change everything. She is Master."
"Alicetaria-dono, you too have been touched by Master's gaze. You can feel it, can't you? The inexhaustible power now flowing through your body, power to overturn all laws of this world. With it, fulfilling your wish would be simplicity itself."
Alicetaria gave no answer. But silence was close enough to assent.
After a pause, her voice was cold.
"…And yet, this so-called exalted being is bound, constrained. Which means the enemy we face wields power not less than hers—perhaps even greater."
"That is why Master needs us."
Altair's smile disappeared. Her face was sharp, her eyes unwavering.
"To defeat the foe that threatens this world and imprisons Master—that is the reason I exist. That is why I summoned you."
She strode forward, boots crushing gravel beneath her, passing Alicetaria by.
"The corrective force of this world is still strong. I had planned to rest, to gather more allies. But plans yield to change. Master has already moved. To sit idle any longer would be folly. It is time to hasten things. Time to raise the curtain."
Bathed in moonlight, she stood like the center of a stage—like the center of the world. Alicetaria, Mamika, and Blitz Talker could not help but fix their eyes upon her.
"Dance, then. To welcome Master, we shall stage the grandest performance this world has ever seen!"
A declaration. A declaration of war.
The battles of Created and monsters would erode this world's corrective force. Bit by bit, until Altair could wield her full power.
But now—she could no longer wait.
"Not only fights against monsters. You must clash with the other Created. Your conflicts will weaken this world's laws even faster. Until [Holopsicon] bends wholly to my will."
Alicetaria and Blitz Talker were silent. Only Mamika's face twisted with conflict.
She hated fighting. She hated pain.
Fighting monsters—yes, that she could bear. They brought nothing but death and suffering. To destroy them was to protect people's smiles.
But to attack humans… no. Especially after her power had changed in this world. In her own world, her magic never truly hurt anyone. Here, she could.
"…Why must we fight at all?"
Mamika clutched her chest, voice trembling. "Aren't we friends, standing on the same side? The monsters are the only enemy! Even without fighting each other, can't your purpose still be achieved?"
At her words, all eyes turned to her.
"Innocence is the privilege of children. But teaching children not to be innocent—that is the duty of adults."
Blitz Talker lit a cigarette, its tip glowing red. He exhaled smoke and looked at Mamika.
"Unlike you, I've never seen the monsters with my own eyes. So let me ask you, little girl. If they appeared again before you, among a crowd of innocents—could you destroy them without a single casualty?"
Mamika's body shivered. She hesitated, ready to answer—
"You could."
Blitz Talker cut her off, answering himself.
"Not with certainty. But you do have the ability to save them. And in truth, there's no such thing as one-hundred percent. There will always be accidents, surprises. So your answer would already be good enough."
He seemed to affirm her. But the air grew heavier.
Then, suddenly, his tone changed.
"But… what if the monsters appeared far away?"
Mamika's pupils shrank.
"If they appeared in another city. Or overseas. In swarms. Places we could not reach. Yes, nations have weapons, terrible ones. Humanity wouldn't fall. But casualties? Countless. Those creatures poison the mind. Even the strongest armies need time to react. And in that time, who knows how many innocents would die."
"You understand now, little girl? This is reality. We are racing against time. Until the source of the monsters is destroyed, casualties will mount daily. Harsh as it is, we must choose. And both I and this knight here have been forced to choose before."
Mamika turned to Alicetaria, face pale.
Alicetaria's own face was firm.
"Mamika. You need not carry so heavy a burden. Our aim is only to clash with Meteora's side, not to kill. If you cannot fight them, then stand aside and fight the monsters instead. Leave Selesia and the rest to us."
In the past, Blitz Talker, even Alicetaria, would not have said such things. But now—with the power she had—Alicetaria could.
Mamika said nothing. She wavered. She had no answer. She could not decide.
The others did not press her. She was strong, but with Alicetaria's new strength, her role was less vital. And none of them were so cruel as to force a child to walk the same dark path.
Mamika's story taught children the difference between right and wrong. But the real world was not black and white—it was gray, muddled. Right and wrong tangled. To survive, one had to step into wrongness, commit sin, and bear it. To be an adult was to know the road was wrong, and walk it anyway, without hesitation, and shoulder the responsibility.
Mamika and Blitz Talker left.
Mamika, weighed down. Blitz Talker, used to darkness, used to solitude, his eyes already fixed on his next opponent.
The warehouse fell quiet. Only Alicetaria and Altair remained.
Alicetaria wanted to follow Mamika, to comfort her. But perhaps what Mamika needed now was solitude.
She stayed. She had questions that only Altair might answer.
"Now—will you tell me the enemy's true identity?"
Her emerald eyes flashed gold for an instant. She stared at Altair.
"You've never trusted us fully. You hide even the enemy's name. We haven't trusted you fully either. But if I truly have received this 'Master's' blessing, as you claim… then you should at least reveal the truth."
Altair said nothing. Alicetaria's face hardened.
"Meteora says—the one summoning monsters is Chikujoin Magane. The Created who wounded me. Is that so?"
"…Meteora? That seeker of Logos? Hmph."
Altair laughed softly. But her smile twisted, mocking.
"Alicetaria-dono. Do you believe… I would be pressed so hard by a mere Created? Do you think Master's [Holopsicon] is only this?"
She sank into her chair, hands resting lightly on the arms.
"That one is clever. To deduce the world's corrective force has limits, from scraps—that surprised me. Perhaps her world had its own calamity. But she still knows nothing of Master."
"Our power comes from Master. Which means no Created can rival us. They have not even the right to share the same stage. And you, touched as I am by Master, should know this best, Alicetaria-dono."
Alicetaria stayed silent.
"Our true enemy… is not the Created. It is from beyond the stars. From the farthest seas of the cosmos. The Outer Gods—beings steeped in madness and chaos, drawn here."
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A/N: since this arc ties into Cthulhu Mythos, I tried shifting style. Honestly I wasn't confident, but some readers said it felt better than before. I was happy to hear that. Still… why do so many ask about 'Nasu Kinoko'? This is anime-world, there is no Nasu. Otherwise, Van Gogh couldn't draw FGO manga. And it's not plagiarism—it's just drawing from her own 'experience'… right? shifty eyes