At Home - Scriptwriter Masaaki Nakanogane
On the third day after the anime convention, screenwriter Masaaki Nakanogane sat in his living room, munching on potato chips under the kotatsu while watching Infinite Divine Machine Monomagia, the anime he had scripted and helped create.
Suddenly, the screen flickered-and on the TV appeared a character that didn't exist in the original Monomagia.
Eyes wide, Masaaki stood up and walked toward the screen.
"Who is this guy? Was he added in some cut content or...?"
The screen flashed again-more violently this time.
Then, the world around him shifted.
For a split second, his living room was replaced by the cockpit of the massive mech Gigas Machina, piloted by the main character of Monomagia.
Just as quickly, the scene reverted back to normal.
Masaaki's face turned pale with terror.
He clutched the TV in a panic and sprinted out of his house.
"Th-This is bad! Something's coming! This is REALLY bad!"
Masaaki barreled out of his house, still hugging the TV.
Suddenly, the TV began to glow-
And out from its narrow frame emerged none other than the massive mech Gigas Machina.
Despite its colossal size, it somehow squeezed out of the screen-a feat so ridiculous it made you wonder if Gigas was made of liquid like a cat.
(See note below.)
Before Masaaki could process what was happening, a blue-haired youth fell from the sky and landed with a thud near the mech.
Rubbing his head, the boy looked around-and locked eyes with the stunned screenwriter.
"Uh... hey. You okay?"
The awkward boy was Kanoya Rui, the protagonist of Infinite Divine Machine Monomagia.
And so, the Military Uniform Princess' plan began to move forward...
Takashi Matsubara's Home
"Hello?"
Takashi Matsubara sat in his office chair, picking up his constantly ringing phone.
"Hey, hey, it's me! Nakanogane, from Urban Studio!" came a familiar, frantic voice.
"Oh, hey! Been a while. What's up?"
Matsubara answered cheerfully.
"Okay, please don't think I've gone crazy... but..."
"You're talking about one of your characters, right?"
Takashi interrupted.
"Which one showed up at your place? From which series?"
Masaaki froze, shocked that Takashi had guessed so quickly.
Then he blurted out, "Oh thank god! I didn't know what to do!"
"I get it, I've been dragged into this mess too," Takashi said, extinguishing his cigarette.
"Who showed up at your place?"
"Well... It's a character from the series I've been working on recently."
"Wait... don't tell me-"
Takashi's eyes widened.
"...Yeah. It's from Infinite Divine Machine Monomagia."
"THE MAIN CHARACTER?!"
Takashi cried out.
"Not just the character-the MECH, too."
Takashi's whole body went limp.
"The mech too?! That thing is, like, fifty meters tall!!"
"Yeah... I told him to hide it near the baseball field behind my house... but, like, how do you even hide a giant robot? One wrong move and the entire neighborhood's gonna notice!"
Masaaki's voice was a mix of panic and resignation.
Takashi sighed. "And Kanoya Rui-he's with you now?"
Lifting the curtain, Masaaki peeked out at his living room and muttered into the phone,
"He's... in my house. Just... eating."
The Next Evening - At Nakanogane's House
Takashi Matsubara gathered everyone involved and took them to Nakanogane's place.
Present were:
Selesia
Meteora
Marine (illustrator of Elemental Symphony of Vogelchevalier)
Mizushino Souta
And of course, Takashi Matsubara himself
After Masaaki described how Kanoya had crossed over, everyone had a general idea of how he arrived.
But convincing Kanoya to cooperate wasn't so easy.
Due to his temperamental nature and tendency to blame others for his troubles, he flat-out refused.
"I've been forced into enough meaningless battles as it is!
And now you want me to risk my life again?
I'm DONE with that crap!"
He stormed off to continue snacking in another room, leaving everyone in awkward silence.
Selesia tried negotiating with him using a friendly challenge-but was immediately shot down:
"I prefer girls younger than me."
She came back fuming.
Everyone looked to Meteora-the group's brain-for a solution, but even she was stumped.
She shrugged and offered only a cold chuckle that chilled the whole room.
Suddenly, the magic stone hanging from Meteora's neck began to glow red-and the lights in the house dimmed.
"?!"
Selesia instinctively drew her sword.
Just then, the door burst open-and a flashbang grenade rolled in.
The blinding light disoriented them.
As everyone struggled to regain their vision, armed soldiers smashed through the windows and restrained the weakest members-namely Takashi Matsubara and Masaaki Nakanogane.
"It's her?!"
Souta and Marine trembled on the floor, eyes shut in fear.
"No-it's not,"
Meteora responded, blasting a soldier away with a magic circle.
"Selesia-no killing."
"Got it."
The soldiers swiftly subdued the civilians.
"Targets secured!"
Meanwhile, Kanoya Rui was still in the living room, munching on snacks, when soldiers stormed in.
He roundhouse-kicked them into the wall like it was nothing.
"Let's go, Gigas Machina!"
He crushed his snack in his mouth and summoned his giant mech from outside.
Gigas Machina sprang to life, lifted the entire house, and held it in one mechanical hand-sending all the soldiers tumbling like rag dolls.
"This is Cherry Blossom Six! Target is confirmed as hostile! Requesting backup!"
One soldier radioed desperately.
Moments later, the sky filled with searchlights.
Multiple military helicopters hovered overhead, blinding everyone below.
"Are you kidding me...?"
Takashi Matsubara looked up, speechless.
"WAIT!!"
Meteora shouted.
"We won't resist! Please-lower your weapons!
Kanoya! Deactivate the mech's autopilot!"
The robot gently placed the house down.
Selesia sheathed her sword and raised both hands.
They were then escorted to a Special Emergency Response Conference.
Government Briefing Room
"Let the meeting begin,"
announced a young woman in a suit as she stood up at the roundtable.
"I am Kikuchihara, Chief Strategic Coordinator."
She turned to the group and began introductions:
"To my left-novelist Takashi Matsubara and illustrator Ōsawa Takeshi."
"To my right-scriptwriter Masaaki Nakanogane, high school student Mizushino Souta, and illustrator Marine."
She paused, glancing at a document in her hand.
"Legal name: Kōura Ayano."
Takashi looked at Marine in shock.
"...Wait, that's your name? I'm just finding this out now?"
"Sorry... I didn't mean to hide it or anything."
Marine blushed, embarrassed.
With introductions done, Kikuchihara got down to business.
"To be frank, we still don't know how to handle these anomalous phenomena.
We initially planned for a more discreet meeting, but the appearance of a giant mech left us no time for hesitation."
"We've called you here to assist with our investigation into the incident codenamed:
Special Hazard Case #105."
She opened her laptop and began explaining the prior intel they'd gathered.
"On November 18th, at 8:34 PM in Ota Ward's Kuro Park, we received reports of a violent altercation."
Video footage played, showing two individuals wreaking havoc.
One was familiar-Mirokuji Yūya.
The other: an unknown man in a brown coat, with a beard, firing a gun.
Mirokuji blocked bullets with his wooden sword. The bearded man leapt into the air and fired more shots before vanishing.
"The enemy... could that be the 'Mob Boss' Mamika mentioned?" someone muttered.
"The two she mentioned were 'Alice' and 'Mob Boss'..."
"Do you know them?"
Kikuchihara asked.
"Ah, well... we don't know who the guy with the gun is, but the swordsman is from Exclusive Underground -Dark Night-his name is Mirokuji Yūya."
"Who's the author?"
Kikuchihara asked.
"Uh... should be Yatouji Ryou."
"Immediately locate this person and assign a security detail,"
she ordered.
The group looked confused.
"Is Yatouji-sensei... in danger?"
"There's a high chance his life is at risk,"
Kikuchihara said.
She continued.
"On November 20th at 11:00 AM, manga artist Takarada Gai came to the police, claiming he'd been threatened."
Security footage played.
Suddenly, a blonde female knight burst into the station, riding a white horse, clad in heavy armor.
"WHERE IS THE CREATOR?!"
she shouted.
"We still haven't located Takarada Gai."
Kikuchihara sighed.
"The intruder was Alicetaria February, heroine of the manga Alicetaria of the Scarlet."
Just then, Souta raised his hand.
"In that case... there's another person in danger!"
"Who?"
everyone turned to him.
"Master-sensei!"
Souta exclaimed.
"She's the author who wrote Illyasviel von Einzbern into her story. But in that story, Illya dies a tragic death. Knowing her personality, she might actually try to kill her Creator!"
"And Illya's ridiculously powerful. She nearly killed Mirokuji on her own."
"...How tragic are we talking?"
Kikuchihara asked.
"She had her heart ripped out."
Everyone winced.
"...Yeah. We need to find and protect her immediately."
"Understood!"
Meanwhile-
The person in question, Ritsuka, was still sound asleep in her room, completely unaware she was now under a national protection order.