Chapter 225: Perfect Fit; Deprivation

Another day passed. For the protectors of worlds, their first task is to contact other creations. They have the advantage of knowing how many characters appeared based on Japan's Meteorological Agency, which is something that they are leveraging. Based on the data, there are a total of eleven [Creations] present in this world. Six of them are on the side of the government, two have an unknown stance, and three are confirmed to be enemies—the ones on the military girl's side. Aside from the military girl, there are the black knight and the pegasus knight.

Thus, their current goal is to find out about the two [Creation]'s stances and the safety of the [Creators].

Waking up from her biological clock, Madoka groggily arranged her bed. When she splashed her face with some water, she fully woke up.

'I don't have classes.'

Upon this realization, her tense heart relaxed. She thought that she would be late for today, only to find out that they have an ongoing mission. After changing her pajamas with her spare... school uniform, she headed out for breakfast. As expected, the one who prepared today's breakfast is none other than the cooking god himself.

"Sensei, what are we doing today?" She asked.

Shiro did not get startled as he placed the smoking American breakfast that consisted of an omelet, sausages, French toast, and bacon.

"We will be visiting my acquaintance. Mamika's [Creator]."

"Her creator? I see..."

After interacting with other [Creations], Madoka came to understand that it is very important for them to meet their [Creators]. It might be to answer their doubts, questions, and guesses. Most certainly, it is crucial for their decision to protect this world or lead it to damnation.

For example, Meteora. Initially, she did not care about the world's destruction. She did not care about the military girl's plans or anything else. She was just enjoying the multi-layered world that she came in contact with just now. But when she understood her [Creator], she fully decided to side with the military girl.

Another one would be Selesia. Her acceptance of this side would not be as smooth if her author is a scumbag. With Matsubara's sincerity towards his work, he gained Selesia's acknowledgment. Albeit, not all [Creations] chose to actively side with the council. Kanoya Rui, the pilot of a huge mecha called "Gigas Machina", is one such example of it. For now, he is lazing around while visiting various places in Tokyo. The council let him be as it is infinitely times better for him to be neutral than to fight against them.

"I might need your help here, Madoka-chan."

"Me?"

"Yes. You might be more suitable to quell Mamika-chan's disappointment."

"Ah?"

Confused, Madoka can only make a blank face. Meanwhile, Kuroneko sported an understanding look.

"It is natural that not all creators are free of filth." She said.

Shiro then added, "That person... He is sincere, but his personality on the other hand..."

He decided that it'll be better to see him personally for Madoka to understand what he is saying.

*****

"Hah... A one-to-one scale?"

Brown hair. Well-shaven chin. The man sitting in front of them has a 'clean' face, with him being in his early twenties. He is someone that looks decent at first glance. He sports a bright look and a decent upbringing in normal times, but his inner degenerate could not be contained upon meeting a girl whose completely identical to the character that he created with love.

A slight blush appeared on his face as he heaved heavy breaths. Due to his extreme excitement right now, he could not think well with his brain. His only thought is to interact with this identical person in front of him.

Clap-!

He received a clap in front of his face, jolting him awake from that excitement.

"Fuku-sensei..!" He said as he saw the 'aversion' of Mamika. "I'm sorry for my blunder."

The man bowed down while clasping both of his palms together. He knew that this is the wrong way to start everything, but his surprise, shock, and excitement mixed up which formed his reaction just now.

Going back to his seat, Shiro said, "You should be responsible for your actions, Norio-kun."

This time, he wore a casual blue polo and black jeans. It made him look more sociable, lessening the intimidation that Norio felt from his respected sensei.

(A/N: In this context, "sensei" is a respected mangaka.)

"Um. I'm sorry... Kirameki-san."

Not knowing the identical girl's name, he spouted what came to his mind.

"A-ah. Apologies. What is your name?"

"Ki-kirameki Mamika, Nobita-san."

"My name is not Nobita... Wait, what? Excuse me?"

At this moment, he is extremely confounded. Granted, Shiro brought along "2D cosplayers" with him in his residence all of a sudden. He thought that he is introducing them to him, or that they are his relatives who love the show. What did not cross his mind is that...

The two of them are the real deal.

"This is the surprise, Norio-kun. Meet Madoka-chan and Mamika-chan from Madoka Magica and Magical Slayer Mamika, respectively."

"E-eh. EHH?!"

Norio's mouth stayed agape until it is enough to fit an egg inside it.

"I-I don't get it... This must be some kind of prank, Fuku-sensei? I've been seeing these on Youtube nowadays."

"Well... Mamika-chan, can you show him?"

"Right!"

Mamika took out something from her pocket—an ID. She handed it out to Norio, in which he saw that it is a government official ID.

"A government official... Kirameki... Mamika?" He blankly mumbled. "I must be lacking sleep right now. The all-nighters that I pulled for the newest fan merch caught up to me!"

In the end, he denied reality itself. Sadly, this is not how reality works. One is destined to be pulled back to it even if one tries to escape.

"Sigh... Wake up. Everything is true. And right, the world might be ending soon."

"..."

Feeling the vivid senses right now and Shiro's stern words, he was brought back to reality. Cold sweat is present behind his back as he is inadvertently reminded of his retreatism—being a shut-in—two years ago. Even now, he could not take the phrases that he spat as a joke.

Norio deeply breathed before his mind was clear once again. He looked at the "2D characters" in his sight before going at it logically.

"Fuku-sensei. Can you explain to me the full details?"

""That's fast!""

Seeing this swift change, Shiro laughed as he began explaining:

"Starting from a few months ago, in August to be exact, the "fictional worlds", which turned out to be true, intersected with the "real world". Our world basically. Fictional characters began appearing by that point, as you can see here. You, as the [Creator] of such character, are an important person at the moment."

"...What about the end of the world?"

"In simpler terms, a character was brought to reality. She seeks to destroy our world and many more due to some kind of vendetta that she has against them. The government formed a team to combat her, which is us."

Norio nodded as he processed every single bit of information. As someone who was helped by Shiro after being noticed by him through his talents, his deepest traits were fully awakened. One of them is his intellectual side, something that was exhibited back in high school. Though this earned the ire of some bullies the moment he rejected to do their assignments for them. It led him to his shut-in lifestyle, and only when a few years had passed did he recover from it.

"I understand. What do I need to do?" He asked.

"I'll explain later. For now, I think you should talk with her first. She'd been looking forward to this meeting, you know?"

Shiro said this before signaling Madoka with his eyes. Knowing that they were to be left alone first, she followed suit to Shiro as she went outside.

'You can do this!'

Of course, she did not forget to encourage her fellow Magical Girl, which eased the latter's expression. Mamika was grateful to her, replying with a smile and a fist pump.

After a while, Mamika initiated their conversation.

"My creator... Norio-san. If you have the power, will you save the people who are suffering?"

"If I have the power... huh." He recalled those bleak moments. The times when his "enemies" succeeded in breaking him mentally. The times when he realized that standing out too much is akin to asking to be hammered down. All those times, not one person did reach out to him. They should have the power to save him, to at least stand out for him, but no one did. Some of his friends did... before they suddenly distanced themselves from him. Turns out, the bullies singled them out with the intent to serve as an example to the people who will help him.

That's why when his respected person pulled him out of that world, his childish heart began blazing. If things had been simple enough, if he had the power to defeat evil, if he is the one doing the saving... All those ideals of his converged to create "Magical Slayer Mamika".

Seeing Mamika in flesh is as if seeing his ideals materialized.

"Will you help us save the world?"

Those clear eyes filled with an innocent desire to protect all the smiles in the world came in contact with his. He knew how it is to be deprived of that smile, on how much it weighs to a person. It can cause their downfall. In some cases, things would be taken to an extreme, leading to that person being drowned in the malice of the world.

As someone who saw both the light and darkness, Norio made his decision.

"I will. I will help you with your ideals, Mamika."

From this day onward, the partnership between two people with similar ideals began.

*****

While there are people who lived on despite having their smiles deprived once, there are some who did not. Instead of basking in sunlight, one such person continued to be drowned in malice and misery. This person is not as fortunate as the others, with her savior deprived away from her. Life had lost all of its meaning with her savior's disappearance. Furthermore, this only proved to her that the world isn't such a pleasant one. It never was... and never will be.

Words were twisted, lies were easily weaved—her innocence was disregarded as she was forcefully turned into a vile scum. She did not do anything bad, yet the people are the ones who took the initiative to pull her down. Truly, once someone becomes successful enough, an equivalent number of depraved will pull them down.

For her, the world is as such.

It is neither fair nor sensible. It is one that wrongs heroes and breeds scum. It is rife with ugliness, without a trace of beauty.

The malice of this world—

"Altair."

—shall be sundered by the villain.

*****

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A/N: Norio is an OC as Mamika's creator was not stated in the anime. He is only briefly shown in it, with him having perverted tendencies. I tried to humanize him more not only for his dynamic with Mamika, but also to accompany the foreshadowing in this chapter.

PS: Can anyone try guessing which part is the reference and where it came from?