letztes: The Land of Stars and Crystals I

The black wall is gone!

At last, we can venture to the First Lady's kingdom.

I'll take a look from above!

Thanks! Be careful!

Ho-hoh? So that's the First Lady's kingdom, huh?

It's cold, like time itself is frozen. And there's a solitary castle in the middle...

It's like the mind of a magical girl had taken form!

What kind of mind is it?

The castle feels different from when I made my escape.

So not only did the wall come down, there was a change inside, too?

A change? Hm? Something's flying towards us.

Is it... a bird?

Huh? That's...!

I feel a great flow of magical energy...

The magical energy that filled this world is gathering where the First Lady is.

Does she have a vessel capable of holding all that magical power?

Master, if we're on schedule, then now...

？！

Hey, you're all looking good! I was worried, but I'm glad you're safe!

Huh? Where's Illya and Ruby? D-Don't tell me...

They're both fine. We also met up with Ruby's little sister, Sapphire.

Doctor, tell us what is happening there!

Little sister? A Mystic Code has a little sister? No, I can't think about it now. We're in a hurry.

I had a meeting with Da Vinci and we came up with an engineering solution.

That world is very dangerous. But we've become very involved with it.

At this point, we're a part of this too. We can't just ignore it.

And personally, I can't just leave Illya when she needs help.

Does that mean Chaldea is going to provide us full operational support?

That's right!

Of course, personally I'm extremely interested in that grotesque... I mean, strange world.

That space should normally be... hmm... I guess you could call it a dumping ground for thoughts and feelings.

You don't need to be so careful with your words. Yes. This place is purgatory itself.

This is a dumping ground for magical girls who dreamed an endless dream, and failed to reach it!

Brava! All right, no need to explain!

It's not wonderful! Nothing is all right!

No, this is good! It's very good! A magical girl is an extremely unstable being.

They have overwhelming magical energy, and sometimes can use magecraft intuitively, and without the proper rituals.

But for those who lose their possibilities and give in to despair, their obsession becomes a flow of unformed magical energy.

A stagnant pool forming in a chaotic waste dump.

The First Lady became the locus of those chaotic thoughts and feelings, and the Reality Marble formed mostly on its own.

I assume that's about what happened.

Are you... a genius?

Of course I am. I apologize. I should've told you so earlier.

Then that means...

？！

That's right! That's what I'm after, you see! It's the best way to solve the root problem here.

But I don't know what that active magical girl with you will think. Or the residents of that world.

Man, you can be harsh. Though that may be the most realistic solution.

But let me say one thing.

You guys have done all kinds of things that I thought were impossible.

You can't make a miracle happen if you're worried about safety, efficiency, or a plan B.

If you've made it this far, you should do what you want to do.

？！

Thank you.

Illya came back.

Fujimaru! The First Lady's familiars are coming! There are tons of them!

Ooh! This is an exciting situation! There's so many of them they're making the sky dark!

Master!

Right!

It's nothing. Come on, here they come!

I'll make a defensive wall to block their attacks. Fujimaru, you clear an opening.

？！