Tokyo - Somewhere in a diner
"Man, that was close-nearly got killed out there. Thanks, white-haired little lady."
Mirokuji Yūya, having just escaped death, lazily flopped onto a couch in the diner, a plate of food in hand. As he munched away, he mumbled, "Mm, this is pretty good."
"It was nothing, Mirokuji Yūya," Meteora replied calmly, seated across from him. Selesia was also there, sitting next to Meteora, her arms crossed with a scowl.
"Are we really just going to trust someone like him without question?" Selesia asked, clearly displeased. "We don't even know where he came from."
Mirokuji looked at her and, in the most aggravating tone possible, smirked, "Oh? That's rich, coming from the one who had that 'I've been saved!' look on her face when I showed up. And now you're suddenly suspicious? Are you stupid or something?"
"Who are you calling stupid?!" Selesia yelled, ready to snap-but the moment she raised her voice, pain shot through her body.
"Ahh-khh!!"
"Sorry," Meteora said sympathetically, watching Selesia wince. "I didn't program healing magic into my system."
Selesia waved a hand to dismiss her concern. "I'm fine."
At a nearby table sat Mizushino Souta, alongside Selesia's creator, Takashi Matsubara. They both looked concerned.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital?" Matsubara asked.
"I'm fine. I've got better physical endurance than you people. Probably thanks to how you wrote me," Selesia muttered, clearly aiming her half-gratitude, half-grudge toward her creator.
Matsubara scratched his head awkwardly. "Still... this is hard to believe. One of my own characters... brought to life like this. And not just mine-characters from other works, too. This feels like a Holy Grail War or something."
Mirokuji snorted dismissively, too busy devouring his food to comment. Moments later, the table was wiped clean.
"Hey, old man-you got a smoke?" he asked, looking to Matsubara.
"Huh? Uh... yeah, sure," Matsubara replied, reaching into his pocket and handing over a pack of cigarettes.
"Thanks, pops."
Mirokuji pulled one out, lit it, and took a long drag.
"Man... this stuff's a lot stronger than what we have back home," he muttered, exhaling smoke as he sprawled lazily across the couch.
"Still can't wrap my head around it... my world is just something that someone made up? I'd love to see Shō's face if he heard that."
---
Let's leave the lazy bunch alone for now and switch perspectives-to the Military Uniform Princess...
In a ruined district...
The Military Uniform Princess sat quietly atop a pile of rubble, deep in thought.
After Mamika had returned in a panic from the anime convention center, she'd reported an unexpected clash with powerful opponents.
A large, bearded man stepped out from the shadows nearby.
He was one of the summoned "Created Beings"-Blitz Talker, the main character from the digital punk manga/anime Code Babylon. Former detective turned bounty hunter.
"You seem troubled, Your Highness," he said.
Next to him appeared a tall, blonde female knight-another summoned character: Alicetaria February, the heroine of Alicetaria of the Scarlet, a post-apocalyptic fantasy series.
(Incidentally, Alicetaria's world is absolutely bleak-end-of-days-level tragic. So much so that, not long after being summoned, she tracked down her own Creator and brought him back by force.)
(Fun fact: Her creator was modeled after Gen Urobuchi.)
"I saw Mamika return in a panic. What happened out there?" Alicetaria asked.
The Military Uniform Princess frowned. "The intel wasn't promising."
"What did she say?"
"She made contact with a new group of Created Beings. But..."
"But what?" Blitz asked, cigarette in hand.
"The opponent was unusually weak," the Princess replied. "Mamika handled them all on her own."
"Isn't that good news?" Alicetaria asked, puzzled. "Why say the intel was bad?"
"The problem lies elsewhere."
The Princess sighed. "While Mamika was holding them off, two new Created Beings suddenly appeared. I recognize one-but the other..."
"The other one's name is Illya, supposedly a magical girl. But here's the thing-I've never summoned any such character."
"And based on Mamika's report, this Illya possessed terrifying magical power-even Mamika felt completely overwhelmed."
Alicetaria's brow furrowed. "Did she have any distinctive traits?"
"That's the problem," the Princess said grimly. "According to Mamika, Illya had red eyes, silver-white hair, and the body of a grade-schooler."
Blitz and Alicetaria exchanged glances.
"You mean... Illyasviel von Einzbern from Fate/stay night?" Blitz asked.
The Princess nodded. "Exactly. With features that specific, it has to be her."
"But here's the thing-while that Illya is a powerful mage who can even control Berserker Heracles, she was never written as a magical girl. And she definitely couldn't unleash attacks of the caliber Mamika described."
The Princess looked increasingly uneasy.
"And if she really is that Illya... how did she arrive here without being summoned through the system?"
No one could've guessed the truth: that this Illya wasn't a Created Being at all-she was a genuine Heroic Spirit.
But honestly, who would ever suspect a mangaka of using real, supernatural material as source material for their manga?
Blitz took a long drag from his cigarette.
"This is... bad."
For the first time, the Princess felt like things were slipping beyond her control. She had no idea how to deal with this unexpected "rogue variable."
Still, she clenched her fists.
No matter what, no one will stop me from saving Setsuna.
She swore silently to herself. Her mission remained unchanged: to resurrect her Creator.
"Both of you-leave. I need to summon a few more Created Beings."
Once Blitz and Alicetaria had exited, the Princess began scanning her options.
There were still six summoning slots available.
Her plan: go all in. Summon them all at once.
---
Her first target:
Chikujōin Magane, from the legendary light novel/anime Yasōkiroku.
Her ability: Infinite Deception of Words-anything she says, if perceived as a lie, becomes reality.
Second target:
Kanoya Rui, from the mecha anime Infinite Divine Machine Monomagia.
Pilot of the gigantic robot Gigasmachina.
As for the remaining four...
The Princess faced a dilemma.
"If that Illya really is Illyasviel von Einzbern, then let's counter her with Heracles."
Her gaze turned to a Fate/stay night manga on the shelf. She picked it up.
"If I summon Heracles, I'll have to summon Illyasviel too-otherwise there's no way to control a raging Berserker."
"That leaves two open slots. I'll fill them from the Fate series as well."
She had made her decision.
Time to break through the dimensional veil-and reach into the worlds of the Created.