As the Meteorological Agency announced that the abnormal weather had essentially passed, people began returning to their homes. Most carried expressions of relief, as if they had survived a great catastrophe. According to the radio broadcasts, the anomaly had manifested near the abandoned factories in the northeast corner of Mitakihara and had fully erupted within the factory complex. Although it caused some initial damage, it had occurred primarily in an uninhabited zone. Incredibly, no lives were lost—a true stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
Smiles returned to the people's faces, but at that moment—
"Aaaaah!!"
With a sharp gasp, a girl suddenly collapsed to the ground. Due to the preceding events, the crowd was already on edge; almost every eye fixed on the young girl, followed by her piercing scream.
"A monster! There's a monster!!"
The girl's strange cry made many sigh with relief; after all, this wasn't the first such incident today. Her mother pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Don't be afraid, it's okay. It's over now..."
Clearly, the mother assumed the girl was simply traumatized and trying to comfort her. In reality, the girl had seen it—the small white animal she had been "protecting" was currently being hunted by those monsters.
After the "abnormal weather" began, she had heard a cry for help and hidden a small white animal in her clothes. She had seen several monsters float past her head since then, but she never expected the little white creature would eventually be discovered.
Though it dashed through the crowd with agility, it was no match for the diverse and bizarre abilities of the Yokai.
With one step into a quagmire, its chances of escape vanished completely. Then, from the roof of a nearby building, a man clad in blood-red armor with a single horn on his forehead leapt down.
He seized the creature by the neck and yanked it violently from the mud.
"I—found—you!"
The words were identical to those Lancer had spoken when he broke into their hiding space hours ago, but now his expression was one of pure, unadulterated pleasure.
Lancer no longer cared about Kyubey life or death. Once he had marked the creature and found its nest, its fate was sealed. What he truly cared about now were the "Grief Seeds" the creature had hidden away.
Ignoring the Kyubey squirming in his grip, still trying to "persuade" him with a final chance, Lancer removed his blue gem earring and slowly brought it toward the large ring on the creature's back...
"Let's have a look..."
As the gem with "Spatial" attributes touched the creature's back, a strange sound hummed through the air. The creature's body trembled, and then the "ring" on its back lit up entirely. Countless Grief Seeds came swarming out toward Lancer like a tide.
Holding the Kyubey in one hand, Lancer expression was a sight to behold. His current state was much like a man who had used a key to open a vault only to have thousands of gold bars come crashing down on him. Simply put—
It was a beautiful kind of pain.
The "abnormal weather" seemed like a case of much ado about nothing to the average citizen, given the lack of casualties. To most, it felt less threatening than a mild earthquake—and earthquakes were practically daily occurrences to them, provided they stayed below a certain magnitude.
But to those who knew the truth, this day was anything but ordinary.
After escorting Sayaka Miki and the others to Lancer villa, Kyoko Sakura joined the hunt for the "Incubators." When she realized the "Yokai" surrounding her had vanished, she felt a surreal sense of unreality.
She knew these "Yokai" were Lancer creations, meant to hunt Kyubey. Combined with the fact that she hadn't seen a trace of a Kyubey in several minutes, she reached a conclusion she wouldn't have dared dream of earlier—Kyubey had been dealt with?
To crush Madoka Kaname's confidence, Kyubey had previously "self-exposed" a wealth of information that sounded impossible to her, including how the creature had personally guided human history and just how bizarre the existence of "Kyubey" truly was.
Though there was only one "Kyubey" entity, it possessed infinite vessels. According to the creature, no matter how many times it was killed, it would "resurrect" in a new body. Those thousands upon thousands of Kyubeys were merely its physical shells.
Yet now, not only was the creature nowhere to be found, but even the Yokai searching for it had disappeared. There could only be one answer.
As she tried to locate Lancer, she was stunned by an exaggerated sight.
"What—the hell is this?!"
Looking at the mountain of Grief Seeds piled high like a hill, Kyoko couldn't help but let out a loud exclamation. Sitting amidst this mountain of Seeds, Lancer was holding a single Grief Seed with a grave expression. That wasn't the point, however; the point was the several Seeds beside him that had already been purified.
Becoming a "Magical Girl" wasn't something just anyone was qualified for; even in thousands of years of history, Kyubey had only collected a few thousand. But even a few thousand was terrifyingly many. Under normal circumstances, it would take Lancer years to purify them all, but the good news was that he currently had an ample "magic supply" surrounding him.
Perhaps because Lancer was so focused on his "work," he didn't react to Kyoko shout. Realizing something was unusual about Lancer, Kyoko put away her weapon and sat cross-legged beside him.
Clearly, she intended to stand guard. Soon, Mami Tomoe and Nagisa Momoe arrived. Their reactions were barely better than Kyoko, but seeing Kyoko press a finger to her lips, they quietly sat down beside her.
As time passed, a small pool of light grew in the center of the blackened Grief Seeds. Lancer sat there as always, while the three girls beside him leaned against each other, fallen into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Suddenly, Olga Marie appeared out of nowhere to stand in front of Lancer, and the suitcase placed by his side clicked open.
As Olga Marie and Zero stood on high alert, two hands reached out to rest on their respective heads.
"Don't be nervous. It's the 'Client'."
Though Olga Marie and Zero didn't know who this "Client" was, they understood Lancer meaning: the newcomer was not an enemy.
The guest seemed to give Lancer due respect, manifesting the moment he finished speaking.
A pink-haired girl in a white dress gave Lancer a radiant smile.