Chapter 1: I've long since been used to "Spawn Kills" and—Holy Sh*t!
「Special Mission: Holy Grail War——————Complete」
「Mission Reward: Heroic Spirit Template (Single-use)」
「Special Mission: World Reformation——————Incomplete」
「Mission Item: World's Invitation x1」
Compared to his previous trips to "Bonus Worlds," the haul this time could be described as incredibly pathetic. Aside from a single mission item, he had only obtained one "consumable." But truthfully, he didn't regret it in the slightest, because to him, meeting Leone was the most important thing.
And besides——————
"Where is this? Are we still in Chaldea?"
Even though she was already a ghost, Olga Marie—who wasn't used to floating around—was jogging while constantly observing her surroundings.
The reason she was so shocked was that the world the two of them were currently in felt like a solidified world. Lancer had long since grown used to it, but it was Olga Marie first time seeing it, so she appeared quite stunned.
"It's not Chaldea. It's not even the world you know. I don't know where this is either, but for me, it's a sort of 'transit station.' Let's head out."
Lancer couldn't wait to continue his new journey, because he knew that only by constantly getting stronger could he truly keep Leone by his side.
——————
「Countdown finished. Mission start. Main Mission announced: Survive in the story world for 180 days.」
The buildings of Chaldea gradually began to fade, eventually turning into the outlines of an ordinary street. Then, the outlines became clearer and clearer until they fully took shape. They had finally arrived in a new world, but the moment they landed, Lancer felt a massive wave of malice sweeping toward him.
"Olga!"
Olga Marie, who hadn't even processed what was happening, only saw Lancer shield her with his body, followed by a blood-red spear appearing in his hand.
Though she didn't know what was going on, she knew from Lancer reaction that it definitely wasn't anything good.
Because of her "death," all of her equipment had been reduced to ashes. However, after Lancer lent her "Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian," she was able to use magecraft normally again. But at that moment, a massive shadow suddenly appeared. Both of them looked up simultaneously, and Lancer expression turned incredibly grim.
"This is the first time I've run into this kind of situation..."
It was no wonder Lancer complained. In reality, he was used to encountering strange things right after a crossover to integrate into the world, which is why he kept "Gáe Bolg Alternative" on his back at all times. But no matter how much he anticipated, he never imagined he would encounter such a terrifying opponent this time.
The aura of despair emanating from the pitch-black figure that seemed to blot out the sky made Lancer feel as if he were seeing "Black Mud." In terms of quality, it certainly wasn't as concentrated as the "Black Mud," but the quantity was far greater than what he'd encountered before. After all, the "Black Mud" had never truly, fully overflowed in the literal sense, but now——————
Glancing around, as that black figure appeared, black liquid began to continuously seep out from the ground under their feet, and the surrounding streets seemed as if they were already soaking in this black fluid.
'Just what kind of world is this? Could it be that it's already been completely destroyed? How am I supposed to survive these 180 days...'
Complaining aside, since he was already here, the only thing he could do was fight to the death.
But just as he was preparing to make a move, the massive black shadow seemed to notice something and slowly leaned down.
"I... have not seen you before."
The opponent could communicate?
Lancer undoubtedly breathed a sigh of relief, but even so, he didn't lower his guard. If the opponent harbored malice toward them, they would be even more difficult to deal with.
However, before Lancer could even speak, the opponent suddenly seemed to go mad, violently raising its right hand and swinging it down at Lancer.
"I'll kill you! This world! A world without 'Madoka' has no reason to exist!!"
Wait! What the hell is "Madoka"?!
While pulling Olga Marie along to desperately dodge the opponent's attacks, Lancer racked his brain trying to recall anything related from his memories.
Even though he might not necessarily find a clue, it seemed there was nothing else he could do but think right now.
Whether it was luck or misfortune, Lancer finally remembered something, but then his expression turned even uglier.
"My luck is pretty crap this time around too..."
Lancer roughly knew who the "Madoka" the opponent mentioned was————Madoka.
Or rather, "Madoka Kaname."
To put it simply, she was the protagonist of a "landmark" magical girl anime.
Strictly speaking, this work did share the same core as typical "magical girl" stories—girls working together to save the world. The only difference was that while the ending of this work certainly reached that goal, the process was so painful it was hard to watch.
The sacrifice of countless characters allowed the protagonist to truly grow, until she eventually "deleted" her own existence entirely to save the world.
In that case, the identity of this massive black shadow before him seemed obvious————Homura Akemi.
Lancer just had no idea why she had ended up like this. When he watched the show back then, Lancer was still just a "naive youth." He had watched it with the straightforward thought of "I want to see magical girls transform," only to be startled by the "sudden twist" in episode three. As a result, even though the work was hailed as a "masterpiece," he never touched it again.
However, because of the overwhelming spoilers online, he did know some basic info. For example, "Witches" were transformed from "Magical Girls." Could it be that this terrifying "Black Giant" in front of him was the Witch that Homura Akemi had turned into?
"Homura Akemi?"
Lancer tentatively called out the name. The opponent froze for two seconds, but before Lancer could breathe a sigh of relief————
"Who gave you permission to say that name!!"
Even more frenzied attacks rained down. But just as Lancer was considering whether he was going to spend the next six months "running for his life," a point of light suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
"Pop~!!"
Accompanied by an extremely exaggerated sound effect, a massive arrow of light pierced through "Homura Akemi" body. Simultaneously, a girl wearing a white dress draped in ribbons appeared before Lancer and the others.
"Homura-chan..."
After she appeared, she called out that name with a complicated expression. But then, suppressing the sorrow in her heart, she lowered her head and turned to look at Lancer and Olga Marie.
"Kind sir————I'm counting on you."
After that, Lancer only felt a terrifying halo of light explode before his eyes. When he opened them again, he was already standing in an alleyway.
"What kind of ghost story is this..."
Along with Lancer self-muttering, the system notification flashed again.
「Main Mission: Stop 'Walpurgisnacht,' prevent Madoka Kaname from 'Becoming God'」
「Mission Reward: Unknown」
「Mission Item: Gift of the Law of Cycles x3」