The pink, heart-shaped magic bullets, when fired, even came with cute sound effects—on the surface, they didn't look harmful at all.
Yet the instant they struck the ground, they erupted, each detonation shaking heaven and earth. Amid thunderous blasts and flashing light, entire swarms of twisted monsters were obliterated. Not even corpses remained—blood and limbs were smashed and swallowed into nothingness.
The countless monsters that had given Selesia and the others such trouble were wiped out at an astonishing pace under Mamika Kirameki's carpet-bombing.
"In an instant, it's turned into that little girl's personal show." The purple-haired man slung his black wooden blade across his shoulder, eyes like a hawk's glinting from beneath his sunglasses as he looked toward the sky at Mamika. "Completely stole my spotlight. Damn it… beautifully done! Hahahaha!"
With most of the pressure taken off by Mamika's assault, Selesia slowly lowered her sword, exhaling heavily.
But she didn't relax completely. While keeping an eye out for any more monsters approaching, she also stayed wary of that purple-haired man.
Even though he had helped them once, her instincts kept warning her of the danger he carried.
Then Selesia turned her gaze behind her—toward the people Meteora was protecting. Looking at their vacant expressions, their eyes clouded and drained of all color, she felt both worry and a creeping chill.
Among them were Mizushino Sōta and Matsubara Takashi. Though they were the "gods" who had created them and their stories, their actual selves were fragile before these monsters.
"Meteora, can you save them?" Selesia pinned her hopes on Meteora.
Though Meteora had contributed little in combat, in her world she was the guide of heroes, the curator of the Library of Providence. Her breadth of vision and knowledge was beyond question.
"…Their condition is complicated."
Meteora's face stayed calm. She examined an ordinary bystander while she explained to Selesia: "There is an evil power eroding, corrupting their minds. And it's highly infectious. Almost all forms of information can serve as carriers, like a kind of virus. These people were contaminated through polluted visual, auditory, and in rare cases, olfactory input. That's why they've ended up this way."
Finishing her examination, Meteora looked around the scene and spoke softly: "The good news is, the amount of information these monsters can spread is quite small. Shared among this many people, the impact on each individual is limited. At worst, they'll lose their memories of this time. It won't affect their daily lives."
To Meteora, this was a blessing in disguise.
For people born and raised in this peaceful society, to suddenly witness such carnage—watching those beside them torn apart and devoured—such a shock could easily break a person's mind. Even if they survived today, they might lose the ability to live on their own.
Forgetting, sometimes, was its own kind of fortune.
The only real problem was… those who had already died. What would happen to the ones who knew them?
Selesia thought the same as Meteora.
Her hand gripping the sword trembled faintly.
It was regret—regret that she had not saved them. But more than that, it was anger.
Anger at these monsters. And anger at the one who had unleashed them.
"Meteora, can you find the source of these things?"
"No." Meteora shook her head. "From the start, the number of monsters has already stopped increasing."
Since no more appeared, there was no trail to follow back to the origin.
Selesia's face darkened. She stayed silent for a long time.
"Meteora, do you think… these monsters, and us—the ones who were created—"
But she didn't finish. Her words were cut off by movement in the sky.
At the same moment, the purple-haired man bent forward, eyes narrowing into a predator's glare as he fixed on the monsters. But just as he prepared to charge, he too looked up, sensing it.
Something was flying this way, backlit against the sun.
Closer, closer—until they could finally see.
A horse, pure white from head to tail, with a pair of glowing pink wings, galloping as if upon invisible platforms.
And astride it, a blonde knight in heavy armor. On her left arm was a fearsome gauntlet wrought from the skull of some unknown beast. In her right hand, she carried a massive lance.
Her heroic figure shone, gallant and proud.
The blonde knight's emerald eyes swept across the plaza's devastation. As she took it in, they darkened, and in them surged searing hatred and iron will—like some painful memory had been wrenched open.
"Ha—[Gauntlet of Gotz von Berlichingen]!"
She raised her left arm high. From the gauntlet erupted streams of violet-gold lightning, writhing like spirit-snakes, leaping, coiling, filling the air with a destructive aura.
"Gotz von Berlichingen! I summon you with my gauntlet."
"Donnerschlag des Jeghers."
"Reveal yourself here!"
Her cry rang out across the battlefield. At once, the lightning answered her call. Dozens of blades of thunder fell, tearing through the sky, splitting the air with a roar that could shatter heavens.
Even the hard earth was blasted apart in an instant.
The very sky trembled, as though raging, as though delivering divine judgment. The thunderous blades came down, annihilating the monsters with ease, leaving not even ash behind.
With Mamika Kirameki, and now this new Created, their combined wide-range assaults swept away nearly all of the monsters in moments.
The few stragglers left were cut down by Selesia and the purple-haired man.
Confirming no more monsters remained, they turned their eyes toward each other.
"Alice!"
Mamika Kirameki quickly ran to the blonde knight's side. The knight just as naturally drew her in behind her, making it obvious the two of them knew each other.
And considering how Mamika had earlier tried to persuade Selesia and Meteora to join the Military Uniform Princess's side… in other words—
"You two… you're with that uniformed brat, aren't you?"
The purple-haired man locked his gaze on the blonde knight and Mamika. His bones creaked audibly—kaka—as if an explosive power were straining to break free within him, radiating an oppressive force.
Especially his eyes—wolfish, feral. Even behind sunglasses, they could not be fully hidden.
"Hmph! I have nothing to discuss with villains!"
The blonde knight was clearly the type who brimmed with a sense of justice, the kind whose eyes could not tolerate even a grain of sand. Whoever her author was, they had surely modeled her by the knightly code.
Her aura was the exact opposite of his. Disgust at first sight was only natural.
Drawing her gaze back, the blonde knight looked once more at Selesia and Meteora.
And when she saw the ordinary people shielded behind them, her eyes softened, losing their previous sharpness.
"Sorry, Alice… I didn't manage to persuade them…"
Mamika's voice, full of apology, came at her side. The blonde knight turned back and saw her bowing her head in shame.
"You need not apologize, Mamika. Those two are a heroine and a sage in their own worlds. Their wills are far stronger than ordinary folk's. They will not be swayed so easily. That much we anticipated."
"But… they're such good people. Brave and kind…" Mamika spoke nervously, "I thought we could understand each other… I thought we could even become friends…"
"That day will not be far."
These were not empty words of comfort. The blonde knight truly believed it as well.
"Based on available information, I cannot draw the same conclusion as you."
Meteora looked steadily at the knight, not understanding why the other was so certain they would someday be allies.
"Because you protected those people. Because you stood up to these monsters." The blonde knight's voice grew grave. "To defeat them, today we fought side by side. As long as you cannot allow such tragedies to happen, as long as you continue to fight these monsters, then sooner or later we will stand together again."
At that, Meteora's brows furrowed slightly.
"You know the source of these monsters?"
"Their purpose is to destroy this world." The blonde knight's face hardened. She explained: "We gathered at the side of the Military Uniform Princess in order to annihilate them, to save this world and our own. These monsters possess power great enough to destroy countless worlds. And it is to oppose this evil that the Princess summoned us from our worlds. Because she needs our strength."
"These are all things that Military Uniform Princess told you?" Meteora did not believe blindly, but calmly analyzed and pressed her question. "Forgive me for speaking frankly. I may have only had brief contact with her, but I cannot see her as the type who cares about saving worlds."
"She may have her own purposes. But our goals are aligned. She needs us, and if we wish to save our worlds, then yes—we need her help."
Unlike them, the Princess clearly knew something of these monsters. But they, newcomers to this world, lacking even its basic knowledge, and utterly ignorant of these beings—Created or not—had no choice but to rely on her.
The blonde knight suddenly reached out, pulled Mamika into her arms, and lifted her onto the back of her steed.
"If you wish to seek the truth by your own way, then go bravely. I hope you make progress."
She tugged the reins and turned a smile toward Selesia and Meteora.
"It was an honor to fight alongside you. May there be another chance… Hyah!"
At her command, the white pegasus unfurled its shining pink wings and bore the two of them up into the sky.
Their figures grew smaller and smaller, until at last they vanished at the horizon.
The plaza, wrecked by battle and left untended, hung heavy with silence. The air itself seemed weighted, as Selesia and the others digested what they had just learned.
The savage purple-haired man watched the knight's departing silhouette. He would have liked to fight her—she looked strong, worth cutting down. But he could not fly. He had no way to pursue.
So he let it drop.
And instead, his gaze turned to Selesia and Meteora. A wicked grin curled his lips.
These two Created who refused to join the Princess's side… they interested him.
So he decided he would "talk" with them next.
...
Riding her pegasus, the blonde knight and Mamika returned to their base—a derelict warehouse at the edge of the city.
Even before they landed, they saw her. Standing outside the warehouse as if awaiting their return—Military Uniform Princess.
"Welcome back."
Her lips curved in what could only be described as the perfect, elegant smile. As she looked at the descending knight and Mamika, her red lips parted softly.
"I sincerely hope that this outing has brought you results to your satisfaction."
Mamika dismounted in silence, saying nothing. Only the blonde knight, face stern, addressed the Princess directly:
"Today, we encountered those monsters you spoke of."
"Oh?" The Princess's eyes narrowed faintly, her expression shifting.
"To be frank, I do not believe these monsters could destroy a world." The knight frowned, puzzlement in her eyes. "The only thing unusual about them was their aura, that evil presence which muddled the spirit. But anyone with sufficient will could resist it. As Created, we can slaughter them in droves. In my world, the Unterwelt army would class such things as no more than foot soldiers. I cannot believe such enemies would trouble even you—or require borrowing power from other worlds."
Hearing her analysis, Military Uniform Princess only smiled, nodding slightly.
"As expected of the heroine of Alicetaria of the Scarlet—Princess Alicetaria of the holy kingdom of Wurthstein. For one who raised her lance and arm-guard to begin a journey of salvation, who fought the Unterwelt army to uphold the name of protection, and composed such a glorious song… of course you would say such a thing."
"But let me tell you this… what you met today—those monsters—are not even cannon fodder to our true enemy. At best, they are no more than an accident, a stray murmur in Its sleep, a few grains of sand slipping through Its fingers."
Her voice was calm, her smile never faltering.
"Please do not doubt the weight of my words, Alicetaria. Reality will prove harsher, graver, than what I say. For your world, for mine, for all of us—set aside your complacency, and treat this with seriousness. The one thing we lack most now is time and strength. Any waste at all… is an unforgivable sin."
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T/N: woha princesds lemme be ur dog