Special Internal Countermeasures Meeting
"So basically, what you're telling me is... a character from my manga popped out into the real world, and now you people want to deal with me?"
Ritsuka stared at the people across from her with a weird look in her eyes.
"Wow, this is Majide mechakucha (seriously messed up). Should I start regretting writing that kind of tragic ending?"
Across from her, Selesia and the others just looked back silently.
Ever since Ritsuka had been brought here, she'd been cursing non-stop. They'd thought that once she understood the situation, she might calm down. And yes-she did understand... but that didn't stop her from swearing like it was going out of style.
Only Meteora was studying her with curiosity.
Ritsuka was far too calm.
Normally, when someone learns there's a being out there who wants to kill them, they'd be shaken, afraid-even panicked.
And as the author, she should know just how terrifying Illyasviel's personality is. If Illya were real, she'd absolutely kill her target without hesitation. And yet... Ritsuka showed not the slightest hint of fear. Which was, frankly, bizarre.
But then again-Meteora had already probed her. The woman in front of her was an ordinary human being, with no strange energy fluctuations whatsoever. So where did this fearlessness come from?
Ritsuka's calm eyes swept over the room.
She had already noticed there were several people here who gave off that same strange aura. And she recognized them all-they were characters from manga, novels, games, and anime.
Could it be that those strange ripples were... residual grudges from obsessive 2D fans that had manifested into reality?
It was probably like what Edmond had mentioned earlier about that little girl.
If so... then had she accidentally drawn an entire group of Heroic Spirits out of her manga?
The thought left Ritsuka completely dumbfounded.
"Well, back in Mobius, the way that attack exploded... it really did look like that red one's 'Broken Phantasm' move. Fits his style perfectly."
Nearby, a spirit-form Robin Hood stroked his chin.
"You do know that mouthing off about Emiya Mom like that might just put you on his hit list, right?"
"I get the general situation now," Ritsuka sighed. "So, you people want to place me under 'protection,' so my characters can't harm me, right? Fine. I'll accept-but I have one condition."
The others looked surprised. Kikuchihara cautiously asked,
"It's great that you're willing to cooperate, but depending on the condition... we might not be able to agree."
"Relax, I'm not going to make your lives hard." Ritsuka waved a hand.
"I just want the freedom to move around as I please. I'm not someone you can just keep locked up. As for whether or not you post guards to watch me-that's up to you."
"That's... actually a very simple condition. Freedom of movement is your right in the first place; we have no authority to take it away." Kikuchihara seemed surprised at how reasonable the request was. "However, posting guards is non-negotiable. We must ensure your safety."
Ritsuka waved her hand indifferently, signaling she didn't care. Kikuchihara immediately began giving orders to arrange her security detail.
---
"So, beings that shouldn't exist in this world are being summoned into it...?"
Nearby, the Count of Monte Cristo-still in spirit form-closed his eyes.
"Interesting. By the way... about that little girl in the military uniform we saw earlier..."
-Purple-haired troublemaker incoming-
While the government helped Ritsuka complete various formalities, she was busy flipping through and confirming a certain list of "summoned creations."
Technically, this wasn't classified at the highest level... but it definitely wasn't something an outsider like Ritsuka should be able to see.
Of course, she just used her all-purpose hypnotic magic again-successfully acquiring the documents without issue.
"Oh-ho... interesting. They're picking characters from all sorts of works-mecha, sci-fi, hot-blooded action, magic-you name it. The only thing they have in common is... they're all from extremely popular works."
She skimmed through, recognizing countless familiar names-including her own Fate/stay night.
"But the government thinks the 'fsn' character that showed up is Illya... yet what they recorded is my version of Illya..." Ritsuka mused.
"In that case, could it be that the one who attacked Emiya Mom earlier was actually the 'extremely popular character' from fsn they're referring to?"
That would explain why she was able to cut off part of herself to stop the black mud from spreading. She'd thought she'd simply cut off her own arm... but it seemed she'd discarded a small fragment of her own soul instead.
"Oho, so that red guy's (fake) Master got backstabbed by the black mud, huh? Now that's an interesting piece of news."
Nearby, Robin Hood-one of Chaldea's rare "normal" people-was grinning like a man planning his own funeral.
"Tell him and he'll absolutely blow a gasket, ahahaha! Oh, and speaking of the black mud, I heard Angra Mainyu looks exactly like him when he was younger. Heh heh... fight! Fight!"
If you asked Robin, this wasn't suicidal-it was "researching a new trap."
Ritsuka quietly returned the list to its place, slipped back into her seat, and put on the most innocent "I've done nothing wrong" expression she could muster.
Just then, Kikuchihara returned with Ritsuka's completed paperwork-only for another person to rush in, shouting:
"Chief! We've detected unusual energy fluctuations at a certain bookstore in Tokyo-suspected appearance of a Creation!"
Kikuchihara's brows furrowed.
"Seal off the area immediately. Clear out all civilians."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Ritsuka blinked. Oho, things were getting interesting. She quietly asked Monte Cristo,
"Edmond, didn't you notice a new fluctuation?"
"It's too far. Besides, this Creation seems to have been summoned a while ago-it's only just been discovered now."
"Hmm..." Ritsuka thought it over, then decided,
"Miss Kikuchihara, I'd like to accompany you to the scene. Is that alright?"
"You may," Kikuchihara nodded. "Go ahead."
---
Tokyo - The Bookstore
By the time Ritsuka's group arrived, the bookstore had already been cordoned off. Police were keeping curious civilians and reporters at bay.
Inside, the first thing they saw was... blood.
Bright red blood, covering the entire store. Bookshelves lay toppled, books scattered across every corner. The trails of blood looked as if something had dragged them-flowing from bodies toward... nothing. For at the ends of the trails, the corpses had simply vanished.
"Use the armed robbery homicide cover story for the locals," Kikuchihara told a man in black before turning to Meteora and Ritsuka.
"The last person seen leaving was a girl-not in a blue uniform, but a black sailor outfit. She wore black leather gloves and had rope-like straw ornaments on her."
"...An enemy character, or at least someone of that type," Meteora said after a pause. "Definitely a Creation."
Ritsuka's curiosity was piqued-not by the blood (she'd seen worse in a century of war, the North American campaigns, and even monster wars)-but by what could cause this kind of carnage.
"There's a scent here... of a Hound of Tindalos," Monte Cristo remarked.
"That Nyarlathotep girl in Chaldea once summoned one. I remember this smell. Prelati's stench had it mixed in too."
You mean that poor Hound that ended up as someone's dark delicacy? Ritsuka thought grimly. You eldritch gods really will eat anything, huh? Even things I'm not sure count as life forms. And Prelati looked like he enjoyed it, too... yeah, I'm staying far away from that guy.
"So, the missing bodies were eaten by the Hound and then it returned to its lair?" she asked Edmond via Command Seal.
"Possibly. But this scent is strange-it's more like one of Jeanne Alter's counterfeit creations. I doubt this Creation could summon a real Hound."
"Then where'd it go?"
"After eating the bodies, it probably went 'home'-only to be eaten by a real Hound," Edmond said with a cold laugh. "Pathetic-didn't even know it was fake."
Leaving the store, they regrouped with Selesia. Meteora planned to track this Creation down before it could cause more harm.
---
Meanwhile...
As the sun set near a bridge on Tokyo's outskirts-
A girl in a black sailor uniform walked along, carrying a bag and humming to herself.
If any middle-aged couple saw her, they'd probably remark, "Ah, youth is wonderful."
"Hm? Oh?" She suddenly stopped, eyes widening. Ahead stood two figures.
One was a young girl in a frilly pink magical-girl outfit.
The other-a woman in heavy armor, mounted on a white horse, wielding a long spear.
They were none other than the Military Uniform Princess's former allies:
Kirameki Mamika and Alicetaria February.
"My, my... how dramatic!" the girl said in a strange, lilting voice. "A white knight and... a magical girl?"
"Um... nice to meet you. I'm Kirameki Mamika," Mamika said politely, like the good girl she was.
"Ah, hello, hello~" the girl replied with a bizarre smile, closing her eyes.
"This is sudden, but... could you lend us your strength?" Mamika asked earnestly. "We want to help each other and find a way back home."
"You see, this is actually the world of our Creators," Mamika continued, unaware that the word Creator had made the girl's eyes widen.
"I see... the world of gods..." the girl murmured, her grin twisting into something darker. "Sounds like plenty of fun for me~"
Alicetaria stepped forward, spear leveled at her.
"I don't like you. You reek of blood."
"Blood? How could that be?" The girl sniffed herself. "Is it... my period?"
"Don't spout nonsense," Alicetaria snapped. "You're giving off a strange killing intent."
"Is that so? What nonsense~?"
"Of course it's nonsense!"
"Alice-chan-" Mamika started, only to be cut off. They didn't notice that the interruption made the girl's expression twist in irritation.
"This person isn't the 'good person' you're hoping for," Alicetaria warned.
"Ooh? Is there something interesting going on?" The girl stepped forward, still grinning-only to have Alicetaria's spear stop her.
"Shut up. You're the type who doesn't even see people as people," Alicetaria growled.
The two exchanged verbal barbs before Alicetaria, losing patience, lunged forward with her spear.
"My, my~ But what if that spear goes through you instead of me?"
Rather than dodge, the girl spread her arms wide-almost welcoming the strike.
At the last instant, a sword intercepted Alicetaria's spear.
She stopped and looked-sure enough, it was Selesia and her group, rushing onto the scene.
Meteora descended from above, while Ritsuka hid in the bushes nearby.
"Found you!" Selesia's glare could have cut glass as she stared down the strange girl.