Chapter 254: Plot Twist

A field of flowers.

The sight, reminiscent of a fairy tale, was presented in everyone's eyes. A huge floating black tower decorated its sky, though there is nothing strange except for it. Everything just feels different inside this world.

"...Huh."

Even Altair felt its anomaly. Just by being present, she could feel a portion of her restricted. It has a different nature than her [Movements]. The [Will] that resides in the real world holds a greater presence in this place. A major sign of it is the rejection that she was constantly undergoing. If not for her assimilation with Sirius which strengthened her, she would have had a harder time fighting against it.

Swiish-!

Virtual black chains appeared and tried to wrap around Altair.

Shatter-!

She broke all of them with her "power negation" around her body. She was on guard from ambushes, something that she had learned from going through the materials of this world. Truly, Meteora and the rest had not thought that Altair could learn this much.

[Ichor: Eos]-!

Sou-!

The god of the underworld's spear, Desmos, made a streak under the night sky as it aimed to pierce her chest.

Clang-!

Hum-!

It twisted the world just by hitting Altair. Her "shield" and Desmos' conceptual weight started fighting over. Surprisingly, they are of the same level. Before Altair could do anything else, a huge black greatsword appeared over her head and slammed her down to the ground.

Bam-!

Rumble-!

Sou-!

Desmos made a sharp turn as it returned to its owner's hand. A blue-haired boy with an age of not more than 12 appeared in the air. It is none other than Shinji who had been squatting around for a dozen minutes.

"Leave the rest to us."

"...Understood."

Due to his lacking power, he would be rendered powerless after his first attack. As to why, it was attributed to Altair's ability to capture information. He could go under her radar thanks to his [Pancosmis Loner] ability, but once he attacks her, a gap will be made. Hence, he was made to be the strongest one-shot cannon of this group.

Two more shadows flashed before going straight to Altair.

Bam-!

BOOM-!

A bright light flashed before descending toward her. At the same time, the surroundings quaked due to a high-ranked spell. It was one that doesn't just destroy the surrounding space; it isolates the target out of the known "reality" itself.

Hum.

A small black cube appeared in the air, held by someone filled with shadows. It made a small hustling sound before revealing its orange framework. This cube, the "copied" Void Archive born from The Fool's powers emitted a strange aura. It seems as if it is on the verge of breaking, yet another equally mysterious power held it together.

Soon, it turned itself into the 11th Recorded God Key, [Oath of Judah]. It became larger whilst mechanical gears appeared on top of it. Golden chains connected all of them altogether. These chains locked upon their target, Altair, and enveloped her. Everything went smoothly as her shield was broken. Add to that Desmos' special effect—piercing through everything—a path towards her core concept was made.

'A seal?'

She was surprised to find out that nothing worked out. Though, she knew all too well that this state would not last long. Several of her [Movements] are already working to destroy the "sealing" concept that the infamous 11th God Key had imposed upon her.

In its origin world, the Oath of Judah deprived Herscherrs, the literal living gods, of their powers. More so when its 0th Form was activated; like now.

"Break Release. Ultimate Mode."

A soft murmur was heard. A huge blade made out of black and white materials was presented in plain view. The same thing as Void Archive happened to it, making it even larger.

Swooosh-!

A huge shockwave was made upon its change. Power started gathering to it; blazing flames swirled around the blade. They grew larger until they pierced through the "sky" of the birdcage.

Crack-!

Crack-!

Crack-!

Cracks started appearing inside the semi-fictional city. Static could be seen in all the cameras present. The birdcage's restorative forces trying to fix this "contradiction" sent out this aftereffect.

"Final..."

The converged power reached its peak. Altair, who realized what was going on, decisively switched to her optimal recovery state instead of trying to break free. The weight of these undying flames, one that had cut down a <Beyond Creator> class and split Madoka's humanity into the main core, showed its might once again.

"...Blazer."

Flames that carried unbearable heat descended into Altair. Their sheer amount of conceptual weight was so overwhelming that it erased her concept from this world after a few seconds of contact. Then, the world was destroyed.

HUM-!

HUM-!

HUM-!

CRACK-!

CRACK-!

CRACK-!

SHATTER-!

...

...

...

With the belief of the audience, the birdcage was maintained. Its durability was strengthened to infinity due to its belief that this moment is the "true climax" of this show. This prevented the imminent destruction of this world.

Soon, peace was restored. It felt as if the world-ending phenomenon that occurred was nothing but a dream. Still, everyone present in this place knew. They understood that they were not dreaming.

Their sights were redirected to the main culprits. Not far away, they saw three cloaked men floating above the ground. There's also another one whose visage was concealed under a veil of darkness while the blue-haired boy's facial features weren't clear. Lastly, the one who sent out the black great sword possessed a power that made everyone forget about her appearance the moment they look at her.

Meteora, who was watching from afar, realized that they are the mysterious third party who went against Altair's team several times.

'It's them.'

'They appeared after the flower field... no, the mysterious field was deployed.'

Amidst her complex thoughts, she remembered a sketch. It reminded her of this sight. Dozens of realizations passed through her mind before looking towards a person inside the control room. The man who became strangely silent ever since Madoka was severely injured—Fukushiro Sakurai.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"...Yes."

The sea of flowers was a sight to behold. After all, it was a projection from the paradise, the Everdistant Utopia, Avalon itself. Mere humans would not have the chance to lay their eyes upon it, for they would die the moment they arrive at that place. The huge amount of True Ether in it will stuff them to their deaths.

"..."

Seeing that Meteora did not give out a reply, Shiro let out a chuckle.

"What? Is this the moment where I say, 'From now on, I will stand in Heaven'?"

He even brushed his bangs forward, jokingly mimicking one of the characters that he saw in Kuroneko's world. Of course, this revealed his attractive looks more.

Touka: "Pffft!!!"

Kuroneko: "Heh... You really did it."

Shiro: "What? What's wrong with it?"

Thanks to Kuroneko's shadow that she left in his shadow, the two outside could perfectly capture this moment.

Ignoring the jeers from the two, he paid attention to her reaction. It was also at this moment that the others found out about the unusual vibe between us.

"In a storyboard, there is an opening, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Other authors use several other varieties, but the concept remains the same. To add colors to it, we use plot devices. In particular, I love using that one the most."

"...Plot twists."

One of the main factors behind Madoka Magica's success comes from its execution. If it did not leave a deep mark on the viewers, its impact would have been less. That's what the plot twist did with the story. By showing the contrasting bright side to the depressing side of the Magical Girls, it gained the viewer's sympathy.

Knowing the implication behind it, Meteora was about to ask him something when Shiro went ahead of her.

"It's what you think it is, Meteora-san. No..." He paused before continuing, "My kouhai."

*****

A/N: Greetings. I had to pull off two days' worth of all-nighters, which is why I couldn't write new chapters. Sorry about that.

Now, there's something that I have to tell y'all. The Book 2 of Lord of the Mysteries is out. Only two chapters are present, but I already saw several references in Klein's adventures. The protagonist's role is also revised from a hunter into a red priest. That interview of him being a hunter was way back in 2020, so I could see how it changed like that.

Lastly, do expect some chapters dealing with the foreshadowings in this arc. It could reach as far as several future arcs, but the main motivations within each of them will be different. MC will also be visiting previous worlds before he fulfills a certain promise of his. An item that shall be unsealed given the right conditions.

(Hint: It was foreshadowed way back in the early chapter 30's.)