"Last stretch, guys, then I gotta talk to Minoru about some stuff. Alright?" Seiichi called. Seeing the replies he got was nothing but a collective nod, he smashed the play button.


[Cid] prologues about the ways to solve conflicts. While being strangled by [Claire]. He thinks staying away to cool heads is the best answer. She was beating him up to a bloody pulp in her head while waiting for him, apparently. She intimidates him into spending more time with her, before she strangles him unconscious. Though he does break his word a lot. She's [Rose]'s replacement for the tourney apparently. She doth protest her love for him though, seeing as she also got him a special ticket to the tourney… while asking for his attendance. We see a resumption of assault as the opening is cued.


Claire's trying to get to Minoru. Yes, she understands his motivations now (more or less), but don't just ignore her damnit!

Zeta is starting to take offence to this, Claire-sama is her lord's beloved sister, but strangling is a no no! Thus, Zeta feels justified to give her a taste of her own medicine.

Which results in Claire herself getting strangled. With none of the Shades doing jack shit to stop it. Beatrix and Aurora mostly just watch curiously.

That is, until Rose eventually helps her and Alexia winces at Claire's coughing.

While Sherry feels torn over the reaction, Iris stares. Considering how some people have been reacting until now, she wonders if Minoru might deserve better…

Minoru himself… completely proves her wrong, rolling his eyes, "Ne-san, please. How do you expect to win against me when I'm only held back to around 1/130th of my current strength? I had to go as low as 1/250th of my strength to let you beat me, and that's right now. I definitely got at least 10 times stronger than my current level in the three years we were apart!" He loves his sister, but she's too naive!

Claire stares at him, feeling weirdly happy he let her do it and highly offended at the phrasing. Iris had a "Nevermind, he doesn't" face.

Alpha facepalmed while Beta writes it down.


As [Alexia] politely laments and rages at the fact that [Beta] cleared out fast, only leaving a file on {Oriana}'s religious leanings, we find the {Bushin Festival}'s main tourney happening. Before she leaves, she reveals that she's stopped pitying herself. At the Arena, [Cid] finds he's been given seats on the hyper VIP scale. Turns out his seat is right next to [Iris]'s… and he pretends to have the wrong seat. Our redheaded princess corrects that assumption, and after he sits, she apologises. Personally, she hasn't apologised enough for her own gullibility, but whatever. He spills about being [Alexia]'s sugar baby, and she thinks he's talking about a dog. And they get into the participants. [Cid]'s happy that both himself and [Jimina] have the right public perception. Iris namedrops [Beatrix] and her reputation, as our chuuni MC leaves his seat. With his {Ragnarudo} bag in hand.


Iris stares at Alexia, still miffed about her actions, justified as they were. Klaus imitates her.

Alexia herself groans, Beta's really not helping.

Epsilon is having war flashbacks regarding "Pooch".

Claire grumpily crosses her arms, she's never "inviting" him places again if he's just going to run off. Rose nods in sympathy.


The match-winner- a recurring [Imatry Nottaloos]- is announced as we see [Cid] and [Beatrix] have a pointless exchange. In the meantime, [Doem the asshat] sits in [Cid]'s seat and talks to [Iris]... almost mocking her. We see them commenting on the fight between [Annerose] and [Jimina]. She tries testing his reaction limit, but he ends up figuring her Maai instead. Naturally he beats her, even at high speeds. Afterimages, and forcing a counterable attack, so on and so forth. She had to accept the beauty of his blade in the end though. Which means [Jimina] won, making [Iris] take notice, and [Doem] actually had his subordinates look into his underground profile. [Iris] do be coping with her saying that beauty is not going to help him against her blade.


Iris flushes again, not expecting her future self to actually underestimate Jimina- Minoru or no. If slightly happy Doem's suspiciousness can be seen from space.

Alexia is rapidly taking notes on his blade, from the smallest curve to body movements. Rose fangirls over it, wearing a cheering bandana outta nowhere, Beta joining in.

Sherry is starting to wonder if her idea of a power-level sensor is doomed to fail.

"My blade is beautiful because it's flexible and strong, not because I made it beautiful." Minoru states, unimpressed with Iris' analysis skills, which makes her flush further. Klaus sadly agrees.

Eta takes pity on her and says most people wouldn't be able to tell anyway.


[Jimina] and [Annerose] meet up and talk after the match. She thanks him for giving her a tough lesson. He rejects her offer to set him up in {Velgalta} as a knight. She offers for him to join her journey. All this while [Hyoro] is being dragged off by the loan sharks he borrowed from, even offering [Po] and [Cid] up to them to save his own ass, in the background. [Iris] wins her match in spectacular fashion, cratering the ground and shattering her own sword with her magic. Then, as she walks off, she meets up with [Beatrix]. And politely refuses the burger she is offered in return. As [Cid] walks home, he reflects on the good day he had. That is before he runs into a wild [Claire] again. His expression of his impending death is a joke. Meanwhile, we see [Rose] in the ruins of the {Academy}, preparing for the next day.


Rose, who'd been silent for the most part, has her jaw set in determination for her future. Many wonder what she's gotta do in the future.

Regardless, "We have your back," says Alpha reassuringly, Delta tackling an once again grateful Rose.

Iris pursues her lips, next time, she's taking that burger.

Gamma continues to smirk maniacally at her lord's friends' failures.

Claire just sighs.


Timeskip- Stormy day, and [Iris] is practising. While reflecting on the issues that she's been dealing with- being patronized as the first princess has only driven her to prove herself… only for {Shadow Garden} to take over what she perceives as her duties. On top of [Klaus] being a spineless pansy, however justified it is. Then proceeds to victim-blame her. Rough, really. Doesn't justify either of their actions, but better perspective. And so she decides to show results… when [Jimina] is playing around in the tourney.


Klaus hangs his head in shame. He really can't justify standing with the church now. And then his actions show their consequences. Alexia has long practised the art of wincing, Rose patting Iris in sympathy.

Minoru, on the other hand, shares none, turning to Klaus slowly. "Some plots have the on-screen Iris descend into madness, eventually joining the enemy side due to such experiences," Iris throws up in a nearby vase, Alexia eyes widening gravely of shock, "I'm starting to wonder whose idea it was to bring you here, since you seem to not know or care for anything but keeping the country safe." he states in a gravelly tone while side-eyeing the two dimension hoppers… who don't react to it. At most, some resigned sighs.

Alpha pursues her lips, pondering, he has a point, still… "Perhaps it is a case of showing what NOT to do? Klaus-san appears suitably ashamed and I doubt Iris-san will remain as she is."

He frowns, Alexia sadly nodding, "Yes, worst case scenario I'll just smack them if they regress again and Sherry-kun's notes of the events will help with that, but… yep, my family is hopeless otherwise, myself included."

And wasn't that just sad?


Tourney semifinals VIP lounge. We focus on a statue of a warrior with a big-ass sword. This is relevant. [Cid] drinks his coffee with sugar and milk. When [Iris] joins him, she is introduced to coffee… and discovers the magic called coffee milk. Needless to say, people are disgusted. As [Cid] comments on his situation, [Beatrix] arrives to a LOT of fanfare. [Iris] calms matters down, but then it's time for the match. She now shows her face, so people simper assurances, but forget that [Alpha] works as a salesgirl at {Mitsugoshi}... which is a testament to her stealth abilities. Cue his misdirection of his potential.


Beatrix blushes, since she kinda blew off some warrior's etiquette by outing Minoru. The man waves it off, but warns her off doing it when they return. "Truthfully, I no longer care as much about being a mob, but that would be considered rude regardless," especially if he feels like doing undercover stuff.

She nods. Beta writes it down in curiosity, also asking Zelta if she knows of any such etiquettes. Rose shares her wonder, they sound fascinating!

Alexia glares at Iris for her coffee choices, she basically destroyed it! Gamma winces, agreeing, "Er, no offence your highness, but your choice is considered childish by some."

Iris pouts, it's just coffee! Can't they at least allow her that much?!


Drugging [Raphael], [Doem] complains about the drug's side-effect of sweetening the BO of the victim. He orders a perfume dousing as he exults at his plans to drag [Rose] in. Whether for experimentation or for some kinda key (side note, this is important for the future) matters little. Should [Rose] not appear, then he'll simply have [Raphael] kill [Klaus]. Karma? Or overconfidence? As the Kings walk together, they pass [Beatrix]… who calls [Doem] out on his shitty activities… literally. How? She says he stinks. Her identity saves her ass. Then the kings take their seats. [Doem] continues his planning as [Claire] dominates her match in literal seconds, earning praise. She's dismissed as a threat though.


It's safe to say that Claire's raging right about now. Why does nobody consider her a threat?!

Rose is sighing in relief that she happened to avoid that fate in that timeline. If weeping for her father once more.

It's also safe to say that Beatrix is happy to keep away in the future. Alpha simultaneously agrees and idly wonders if she can smell that sort of thing too. Eta is happy to assist.

Klaus, for the first time, understands why Minoru is disdainful of his thought process, his practices only bring harm. It doesn't help that the Cult simply doesn't care about anybody and the thoughts of those close to him being part of it makes him sick. "Dear god, how am I to know who's trustworthy now?" And who's selling those damn drugs? Should he ask for a full security check?

Minoru is waiting to see how he'll dominate this match. Epsilon respectfully gives him a "seriously?" face.


[Iris] basks in the cheers of her audience, and faces him. While [Claire] races around to find him, passing a disguised [Rose] on the way. As the battle begins, [Iris] is beheaded… in negative. The next second, she tumbles back by instinct, as it's revealed that she hallucinated that attack, and in her confusion, [Jimina] taunts her. As she tries entering his maai, it's revealed that his maai stretches beyond the stadium. Meanwhile, [Rose] sneaks her way close to the VIP stands… but finds remains of {Cultists}, slashed by {SG}, led by [Beta], who urges her forward. Returning to the match, [Iris] is continuing to receive negative slashes… indicating that he's able to afflict that much damage. And she realises that he's giving off tells via eyes and centre of gravity to make her hallucinate the attacks… explaining the negative image. She's scared despite the fact that his ability to do so is a testament to his skills. And then she lets the crowd live rent-free in her mind. BIG MISTAKE, as she rushes at him with her full power. Which is when it's shown that he ain't even draw his sword yet… Needless to say, he drags her blade away and pins her down… before even drawing his sword to hold at her neck. That's a wrap folks!


It's clear that EVERYONE's shook to their core by the level of swordsmanship Minoru's reached. Except for three people.

Seiichi and Aethra smile as they cross their arms and nod in unison. He IS that powerful, after all.

Minoru, on the other hand, facepalms, utterly baffled, "I didn't think that Claire actually surpassed Iris…" As he says so, EVERYONE stares at him.

"Sigh. That trick stopped working on ne-san when she was 12. It only works on people whose proficiency hasn't reached a certain level already. Within this group, SG, Beatrix, Aurora and Claire are the only ones who it won't work on. Rose will reach that threshold even without any interference," he elaborates sadly. He's happy that training his sister can show such results, but still.

'And yes, Zeta may be naturally gifted with weapons, but she has never truly mastered any weapon to THAT degree,' he continues mentally.

He proceeds to watch Zeta's mental breakdown. Delta awkwardly says reassuring nonsenses, for once not bitching her reactions.


On-screen, [Doem] is also breaking down mentally, since he never expected [Jimina] to be THAT skilled. Naturally, he almost missed [Rose] entering the VIP lounge. He proceeds to pretend to welcome her back… Only, she apologizes to [Raphael] for the past and future. And then she proceeds to kill [Raphael], crying all the way, especially since [Doem] actually does pull him in the way of her blade. [Raphael] seems to forgive her actions, too. [Rose] proceeds to almost commit suicide, when [Jimina] bursts through the large-ass window, and reveals himself as [Sh- Stylish Bandit Slayer]!? [Rose] proceeds to flashback her past- of her kidnapping, and of [Cid] rescuing her when he was a kid. Of course, as a kid, he was hella unhinged. Coming out, it's revealed that [Rose] started on the path of the sword after seeing his beautiful blade, since she rambled on.


"Ah, yes, my training… Good times! I think that took place when you were… 9?" Minoru seemed to recall fondly.

No one else seemed to really care about that (save Rose, who was smiling and leaning back onto him from her preposition on his lap, and trying to smash his face in her bust while answering in the positive), having seen an 8-year-old kill full-grown adults like they were flies. As usual, Minoru managed to redefine the term 'showstopper' since Rose's patricide was swept under the rug. Not for long though.

"BTDubs, next time, lop the head off. Much easier kill, and makes it easier to strike a hand if someone is pulling another person in the way." Minoru offers in the way of advice, Eta agrees. Beta for once doesn't worship his words, feeling the sobering air.

That Rose doesn't acknowledge. She understood her on screen self, yet couldn't help, but cry at her father's situation.

"It was for the best," Epsilon says soothly. The King would've done the same, her parents might've not, but nobody deserves that fate. The princesses hug their sniffing father.

Sherry nods, thinking back on Rose's initial curse and shuddering.


Slight flashback to [Jimina] pinning [Iris] down. He gets up after he's announced the winner, then starts walking towards the VIP lounge. Then… He jumps and we see everything shift perspective to after the reveal. [Shadow] clashes swords with [Beatrix] as she tries to fight him, while [Iris] screams out his name after some Vietnam-esque wartime flashbacks. Oh, let's not forget that their clash takes them into the air, after destroying the lounge.


We see an eager Beatrix leaning in to watch the battle. She knows she'll lose, but she wants to see the battle and hopefully learn something. Rose nods, itching for a closer look.

Iris pales, knowing that her on-screen self is going to join in. Alexia pursues her lips, worrying for her sister's mental health.

Klaus is sad that he noticed himself leaving earlier. He'll never do that again, their kingdom be damned if he just hid like a coward.

The Shadow cheerleader squad resumes operations as Minoru squints, wanting to see how this goes.


Outside, the people note the disturbance occurring and speculate. [Klaus] orders actions that'll end up biting his ass in the end. Normal Fencesitter behaviour. Man even refers to the king with his middle name (Author Sidenote: Seiichi here. Yes, the anime has King Oriana named as Gerk. LN has him named Raphael/Rafael. I'm solving the confusion here and now with choosing a middle path- literally. Middle names are rare in Japan, and are more of an indication of the person's military/administrative position in Japanese culture. Source: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei S1 E2. Hanzo Hattori mentions it himself, since it relates to his literal name. Assuming that this transfers to the World of Shadow (for lack of a better name), I'm choosing to assume that people are rarely given middle names, even within royalty.) as [Claire] keeps her search up for [Cid]. He also acknowledges the darkness is dangerous and they must be cautious. Meanwhile, [Shadow] and [Beatrix] clash a few times and separate. Then he takes a step forward and… disappears!? She barely blocks it and counters, only for him to walk past her like it was nothing. And then to APPEAR BEHIND HER AGAIN WHEN SHE TURNS AROUND! Cue a few more repeats before she's pushed down like a ragdoll. She concludes that he's a lot like rainfall, in that she can't detect his movements, even subconsciously. As he taunts her to keep the fight going, a familiar voice stops them


Cue obvious facepalm. It's clear that no one expects Iris to hold herself back. Klaus winces, but it's at least happy he acknowledges something.

Sherry blinks, also wincing, but curious, "Say, how do you keep disappearing like that?"

Minoru smiles, exasperated, "Oh, you simply focus on using your magic ONLY at the moment you need the boost. Think of it like regulating the amount of force you exert in everyday life. You only use as much force as necessary in the moment, right?"

Aurora makes an "oh" face, she just thought it looked cool.


[Iris], as it's revealed, wants to join in on the fight… like a dumbass. She brings out a sword… the exact same sword that was on the statue. [Shadow] notes that it's an {Artifact}. She expects him to not object… He proceeds to mock her for relying on an {Artifact} of all things. An enraged [Iris] decides to use said {Artifact} to unleash a torrent of flame onto him, ignoring [Beatrix], who luckily dodges in time. [Shadow] reappears above the Crimson Princess, and she strikes him again, only for him to dodge again. And then he calls it 'not bad for a spectacle', commenting on how it'd be perfect for a festival showstopper. [Beatrix] decided that was a good time to ambush him… and so the two rush away, clashing like crazy, [Iris] following. All this while [Claire] dismisses it as idiots, focusing instead on [Cid].


"A… spectacle? That's all you call it!?" Iris, who felt kinda happy that the Artifact could handle her power, was understandably pissed. (And wondering if she could borrow it from the treasury…)

"Yeahhhh, there's really no other way to say it. I mean, can you actually control the flames you emit?" Minoru raises an eyebrow while Iris grimaces. Sighing, he creates a mini flame dragon that licks a delighted Sherry's face without harming her in response.

"N-No way…!" Iris' face turns funny at that while Alexia's jaw drops. Klaus blinks, baffled.

While Delta and Beatrix try to pet the dragon, Minoru mutters about 'stupid overconfident people', then tells her dead serious, "No, this is exactly the kind of normal thing I reckon is possible to make, given what that sword can do."

Iris eye twitches while Epsilon ponders if she can achieve that level of control too. Eta nods, wanting to study the sword.

Beta, Gama and Rose are surprisingly more curious regarding Claire's nonchalance at the chaos, "Honestly? At this point, I'm just tired of getting surprised." Yayyy, Cid continues to be ridiculous, what's new?

Okay, Aurora and Alpha resignedly think, that's fair.


Meanwhile, in the background of [Claire] futilely looking for [Cid], [Rose] drops into a side-alley, and as she considers her options, [Alpha] speaks up, saying she has 2 choices. Back to the fight, [Iris] keeps slashing at [Shadow] multiple carriages… and is constantly parried or deflected. At the time he sees something, the elf and princess execute a sequential combo, and he's sent flying into a construction scaffolding… ONLY he uses crowbars AGAIN to block their blades when they go in for a follow-up.


The Seven Shades and Minou are the only ones to not be surprised (or just stare). Though they are excited all the same, Minoru in particular is anxious to see how he's going to use his old pal.

Need more be said about how owned Iris is feeling right about now? A common CROWBAR is countering the Artifact that can handle her raw output. "Seiichi-san?" Iris grits her teeth, "Would it be possible for me to go to the back?" He wordlessly blinks.

She nods then once a safe distance, curses up a storm so big Alexia and most present winces.

By the time she returns more calmly, Beatrix was still staring, having learnt absolutely nothing, since she can't exactly comprehend what let him do THAT.

"Er, let's just say Shadow-sama is proving himself someone with few scruples to try anything," Nu reports awkwards, assuming that'd be helpful.

It really wasn't.


"After all, this… has POTENTIAL!"

Screaming thus, the three of them proceed to destroy a city block or so in battle, though, interestingly, the one being double-teamed is easily deflecting all attacks… The three of them end up on a damn train as their battle progresses. As the duo catch their breath, he twirls his crowbars into a new stance as he declares the continuation of the battle.

"Do try not to fall off, would you?"

Back to the blonde duo, [Alpha] says that [Rose] can either fight alone or she can fight alongside {Shadow Garden}. Her choice. [Rose] asks if they intend to save her country. She has to prove her worth first. Cue flashbacks. She apologises to [Raphael] and joins the syndicate.


"My beautiful country…" Klaus, surrendering to the madness, weeps in despair.

He is spectacularly ignored by everyone. Well, an awkward Aethra doesn't, giving him the ever increasing damage receipt. It's a wonder he didn't faint.

Minoru bonks a surprised Alpha on the head. "Her kingdom is run by the Cult! WHY would you do that!? Especially when it provides us with opportunities to create an alliance in our favour!?" He points out, succinctly. Rose stiffly nods, she understands her genuine concerns, but that was due to seeing them beforehand.

Needless to say, Alpha lowers her head in shame, reflecting on her cold demeanour. Being frosty doesn't exactly endear her to most people...


Back to the fight, [Iris]'s query as to his identity is mocked and derided. [Beatrix]'s better question of whether they met before is given a better answer- Are they worth remembering? As they de-trainroof, he uses the water as a mobility assist and as a weapon. Frustrated at the unfairness of the world, [Iris] launches an attack that could've easily incinerated the people on the bridge behind him. Ironic, sarcastic, and poetic. [Shadow] comments on the bad magic conduction of water. Then he roundhouse-kicks a downward-slashing [Iris] to the water, as he engages [Beatrix] in battle. He switches back to his sword as she breaks the crowbars. [Annerose] is seen leaving in the foreground of the battle, which she doesn't notice at all. Beatrix has grown used to his speed.


Iris feels insulted, but Minoru is honestly that strong so she can't deny it. Thus, she swallows her retort.

Beatrix sighs, the one opponent that earnestly made her give all and he doesn't even bother answering her. "Tell me, am I… really that unworthy…?" She asks anyway.

Minoru hums, "So far, you and Aurora both deserve your titles, but honestly my nature is simply to aim beyond, so it doesn't really matter to me."

Everyone nods, frustrating as it is.


As he commends [Beatrix]'s swordsmanship and is about to offer her lessons on magic control, [Iris] attacks with flames AGAIN… all three of them are on the Clock Tower at this point. He blocks it with his bare hands… commenting on her being as wild as her sister. As they wallow in his abilities, he comments that he can't be beaten by borrowed abilities. [Iris] offers to be the distraction so that [Beatrix] can finish him off. He responds by literally telling them to try and revolt against him. That results in both of them being literally kerb-stomped on. Side note: DO NOT EVER let go of your weapon in a fight, unless you have a backup… or a decent level in hand-to-hand combat. As he demonstrates that, he then tries to walk away after that disrespectful stomping… when [Iris] commits the biggest mistake of her entire damn life. She claims that he CANNOT WIN AGAINST THE ENTIRETY OF THE MIDGAR ROYAL KNIGHTS! AND THAT HE HAS NOWHERE TO RUN AND HIDE FROM THEM! This is punctuated by Lightning flashing behind [SHADOW] of all people.


Understandably, everyone is either glaring or disappointed at a pale Iris for her mistake. Delta seems to wanna pounce on Iris, actually. Aurora pets her to calm her down enough to keep her peaceful.

Sherry sighs, Iris-sama makes it really hard to cheer for her. The somehow still there fire dragon agrees.

Minoru simply stands up, and pushes both dimension-hoppers out of their spot, and stands in their shared spot. Then he closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, before the image changed.

We see the successful launching of Hiroshima. The after-effects of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki are also shown

Then he moved away. "That…" he pointed at the screen, frozen at the sight of the explosion "That was the attack I wanted to replicate… and that was recorded from approximately 16 kilometres away- around the distance between the Central Clock Tower and the capital's borders. That was the extent of the damage, that it could be seen that clearly from that far away."

"And we're only talking about the immediate effects. The aftermath is worse" The screen showed the way the people were damaged- including the barebones of radiation poisoning, which persisted for nearly a decade. "That was a bomb that could affect unborn children , if they even survived being in the mother's womb during the explosion at effective range in the first place. It rendered the land infertile. Just two uses of a nuclear warhead was enough to make my previous world- every single country that had similar/worse weapons- be party to an international treaty to only use it as a last resort, if at all. That is the kind of attack I'm attempting to emulate in terms of immediate damage." he declared emphatically.

Even the bare details that could be seen were enough to rattle those who were previously unaware (Which is everyone minus Seiichi and Aethra), since they only thought of the immediate damage caused by IAA, which was a shadow of the bombing of Hiroshima.

Minoru turned to Iris, staring her in the eye. "You witnessed this attack, from close range, and dove right into it regardless of anything. And now you challenge the one responsible for that kind of immediate damage. I wonder, Iris, if you really deserve the title of Heiress of the Kingdom, when you can't recognize the kind of tactical weapon-class attacks I'm capable of using. On the screen, you pissed me off. Anything that happens as a direct result, are directly on your head."

Everyone's eyes widened, murmurs of incredulousness and shock at the gravity of her mistake. Iris pales, recognizing what that means, just how delusional is she?

Zeta gives her a squeeze, feeling ironically sad for her. Klaus is now officially convinced he ruined a perfectly good daughter.


[Shadow] scoffs. Then he chuckles. Then he straight-up Light Yagami laughs. That cuts off abruptly, before…

"Run?"

.

.

"Who?"

.

.

"Where?"

.

.

"AND FUCKING WHYYYY!?"

Understandably, a good half of the city is covered in purple light. Pulsing circuit lines again. And as the two women on the tower attempt to comprehend the sight, he declares playtime to be over.

[Alexia], practising swordsmanship on a hill, reflects that she'd take the same path she has, even if she were to reincarnate. Funny how that works.

[Shadow] Light Yagami laughs again, and then goes…

"BEHOLD! AND LEARN FOR YOURSELVES! MY EARTH-SHATTERING, SKY-RENDING, ULTIMATELY DIVINE AND UNPARALLELED ATTACK!"

"I… AM…"

Before he rewinds to a child [Minoru] mouthing for him to stop. And then the whiteout happens, as he reveals that this time it was only a show. He cleared the skies for the entire area and beyond… for show! Of course, [Iris] breaks down in frustration, while [Beatrix] is just glad to still be alive.


Suffice it to say that no one was expecting that to be a show, Klaus had legitimately fainted. So naturally, everyone breaks down in relief, Iris collapsing on herself.

Except for Minoru, he's fine and happy. Alpha facepalms at his giddiness while Beta writes down the phenomenon.


Someone reads a newspaper of the aftermath, before a knife stabs the pic of the header of SG, revealed to be [Sherry], who's drowned herself in revenge. [Doem] is reprimanded by the man in a mirror, AKA someone named [Mordred]. At the Midgar Railway station, as [Goldoh] stampedes away, [Beatrix] reassures [Iris] that she is powerful and not to mind the loss too much. [Iris] shows signs of anxiety as she starts her spiral down to villainy. [Beatrix] reflects on this being both a success and a failure of a place for her objective. {SG} are preparing for their next move. [Delta], still in her undies version of slime armor, is looking for the Bossman. As everyone is now using the temp-school building, [Hyoro]'s revealed to be on a trawler for fishing. Someone [Zeta] seems to be wearing a sailor-fuku on. [Shadow]'s actions are all anyone can talk about, much to the man's embarrassment.


Sherry is being comforted by Epsilon, for she has the best hugs and cries bitterly. The researcher knows her reasons and why she would do the same otherwise, but can't help hating her on-screen self.

Iris is wallowing in her own spiral while Alexia tries telling her it isn't worth it, that they're not letting that happen again. A barely conscious Klaus agrees with a nodding Rose.

SG ruminates and expands on their plans, Beatrix offering her help since the goal's accomplished anyway.

Aurora looks at Claire, wondering if she'll help her eat sushi…


We switch to [Rose] and [Alpha] entering the {Kagenou Barony}, as the [Kagenou parents] argue in the background. They head to the HQ- which turns out to be the ancient city, {Alexandria}, won over from a [Mist Dragon] by [Shadow] himself, and it's there that [Rose]'s training under a military sergeant [Lambda] begins. Harsh to the core, she's a taskmaster, and so strips [Rose] bare and renames her as [666]. Including the wrapper she'd held as a memento of [Cid]... Would she survive it being destroyed? All this to the tune of {Moonlight Sonata}, played by [Shadow]. Who reflects and decides on his actions, leaving the piano on the spot where [Rose] was cured, as a black feather lands on an ivory key. Cue Ending, featuring all 7 shades.


"Welp, time for training!" Minoru shouts, kicking all yelping SG members, Claire, Beatrix, Sherry and Rose into a portal Seiichi promptly created before mad grinningly going through himself.

An amused Aurora chuckles while Alexia pouts, still helping her sister recover, she wants to go too…


AN: OK, so I wamted to reiterate the sidenotes I made in the chapter here again, to shed light on it.

1: Seiichi here. Yes, the anime has King Oriana named as Gerk. LN has him named Raphael/Rafael. I'm solving the confusion here and now with choosing a middle path- literally. Middle names are rare in Japan, and are more of an indication of the person's military/administrative position in Japanese culture. Source: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei S1 E2. Hanzo Hattori mentions it himself, since it relates to his literal name. Assuming that this transfers to the World of Shadow (for lack of a better name), I'm choosing to assume that people are rarely given middle names, even within royalty.

2: Seiichi again. Yes, it's a bad idea to actually use the N-word, I know, and we're sorry we're even considering using it. This, however, sells the impact of her mistake before… you know. It is REALLY hard to sell that impact before it actually happens. This seemed like the best way to do so. Neither I nor Neutral endorse the use of racial slurs in any way or form. Also, it's a slight dig at the continued use of the slur past necessitation (which is to say past current state of reclamation of the term, as much as I respect the intent), so we sincerely hope that no African-American reader or person actually takes offence to this usage. However, we recognize and respect the problem here, so if you find the use of the term unacceptable, please just comment that you are uncomfortable and we'll immediately workshop an alternative reaction I had that seemed... lacking in comparison originally. This is one of the few times I will consider rewriting a single portion of any of my personal works for non-plot related reasons.

Apart from that, I hope you enjoy this delayed chapter. Terribly sorry for the delay- procrastination is a bitch.

Next chapter ends this fic... but the sequel is planned for June at the earliest... I plan on coinciding with the movie release for it, if possible.

Till then, Seiichi and Neutral are Bonkers at the Races!

Late PS: For those who asked for a different reaction to Iris's declaration, I've given it to you. I'll post the original in the upcoming short chapter/drabble to satisfy myself.