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Giant robots soared through the sky.

Large monsters straight out of fiction and manga.

Demonic creatures and cartoon characters wandered the streets.

Entire neighborhoods had suddenly been painted in bright, vivid colors and transformed into strange, picturesque pocket realms.

Anime characters roamed freely, abducting people from time to time, while digital monsters emerged from citizens’ phones.

Whole manga bookstores had warped into bizarre realms where multiple worlds from the books merged into one.

This new phenomenon spreading across Japan was described by many as completely insane in every sense of the word.

Gates leading to other worlds had never been common in Japan, occurring perhaps once a month or less. Yet suddenly, the threat of the Undead invading the country was no longer the government’s top priority.

"What? I’ve seen stuff like this online, but they always say it’s all fake. No way I actually believed that bullshit!" Erika exclaimed, shocked. "I’ve gone outside, but I haven’t encountered anything like this yet!"

"It’s really bizarre," Olivia agreed. "Satoru will explain more about what is happening. Once we finish lunch, you will have classes with him, right? He will go over the current situation. We are only one step away from declaring this a national crisis."

"W-What?" Harumi gasped. "What is going on? Is all of this really caused by a single Heroic Spirit?!"

"We cannot explain it any other way," Olivia replied. "There is a Heroic Spirit somewhere in this city causing all these problems. Their power has grown so vast that they are creating a second apocalypse on top of our existing crisis with the Gates."

"What have the elders said?" Matsuo asked.

"So far they remain neutral and impartial, but the Great Ancestor has decided it is time to clean the streets," Olivia said. "We must work together and actively stop the expansion of what most people are calling ’The Canvas Bleed’—or ’The Second Singularity’ if one wants to be dramatic. The elders still refuse to settle on a name. They are busy arguing semantics while Tokyo grows stranger by the hour."

Matsuo rubbed his temples. "So this Heroic Spirit is not merely summoning things. They are rewriting the boundary between fiction and reality. It is like having authority over stories themselves... How is that even possible? I have never heard of any magic capable of something so ridiculous."

"Neither have I," Olivia admitted. "And it is spreading. Slowly at first—small pockets and isolated incidents—but the radius keeps expanding. Yesterday it was a manga store in Nakano. This morning there were reports of an entire train line in Osaka where passengers began transforming into colorful animal creatures. They attacked and devoured passersby..."

Erika stared at her half-eaten katsudon as if it might sprout tentacles at any moment. "Heroic Spirits are supposed to be legends given form through the Throne, right? Summoned by mages for Holy Wars. How does one rogue spirit gain this kind of range? This kind of creative license? It feels completely ridiculous beyond reason!"

Harumi fidgeted nervously with her chopsticks. "Maybe it is not a normal summoning. Perhaps the Grail—or whatever remains of it—is broken worse than we thought after the last incident. Or maybe someone intentionally overwrote the rules... Still, I wonder what kind of spirit could possess such a wide range of abilities. In all of human history, in myths and legends alike, who has ever held enough fame to wield the power to bring fiction to life like this? I cannot think of a single god, spirit, or hero with such capabilities."

"Nobody knows," Olivia said. "Though Rider and Caster told me they are likely some kind of ’artist.’ There are many world-famous artists, but which ones could be famous enough for ’animating’ things into reality? It is not just painting. This spirit is bringing fictional works into our world and turning them into threats to humanity. So far the range seems limited, but if it keeps expanding, the entire world could suffer through a Second Singularity."

"Animating?" Harumi murmured, looking down. "Is there any famous animator in history?"

"Hmm..." Erika tapped on her phone and began searching. "Okay Google, tell me... Who is the most famous animator in history?"

The search took barely two seconds. A black-and-white photo appeared of a famous American man with a short black mustache, black hair, and a kind smile.

"...?" Erika tilted her head. "No way it is him, right?"

"Who?" Harumi leaned closer to the phone. "Eeeeh? What? Hahaha!"

Even the usually serious Harumi burst out laughing. It was simply too ridiculous to imagine that man being summoned as a Heroic Spirit.

"Wait, what?" Matsuo looked at the phone, followed by Frank and the others.

"Who was it?" Elayne asked curiously.

Elena glanced at her mother with concern, unsure whether it could truly be him or someone else entirely. "I don’t know, but the most famous animator in history is obviously Walt Disney if you search online. Still, there is no way he could be summoned."

"Walt?" Olivia repeated, then laughed. "Hahaha, there is no way. Perhaps it is something else. Let us not worry about that for now. What I was getting at is that if Elayne needs more fuel, we might find it from this new phenomenon while also dealing with it. Another search party will hunt for the perpetrator. We know they are somewhere in Tokyo and cannot escape. We just have to find them."

"And if we can gather enough of that Ink, Elayne-sensei, do you think you could save my big brother?" Harumi asked.

"I can try," Elayne nodded. "I would like to see him first. There is also something else I want to do. I need to find Ame-no-Seimei and perhaps speak with Amaterasu-sama. When I was alive, I made a deal with both of them, and I believe I still owe them a favor. There is also someone else I want to meet—a goddess who lives on a mountain, likely connected to Abe no Seimei. Perhaps she can help us too."

"Y-You sure have impressive connections, sensei!" Erika muttered.

"Which mountain?" Olivia asked, narrowing her eyes. "Wait, do you mean that Dryad who was living inside your Domain? Oh right... she turned out to be some kind of divine spirit. Wait, she was a Kami?!"

"I believe so," Elayne nodded. "I want to speak with her true body. She might be living in Mount Fuji."

"Abe no Seimei, the legendary Onmyōji... To think Elayne-sensei has such connections. That is incredible," Matsuo said, his admiration for her clearly growing.

"If we can ask for their help, I am sure we could locate Caster," Elayne added.

"Alright," Harumi said. "And about my brother... It is complicated. I will have to convince my family first. They are quite eccentric and dislike inviting strangers into their domain. I do not know how I will persuade my mother to let a stranger touch my brother."

"Hm..." Elayne nodded. "Well, we can always go talk to her in person."

"You are too bold!" Olivia said sharply. "Do you realize who you are trying to speak with? The Vampire Queen, the current leader of the Vampire Clan of Tokyo! She is perhaps among the strongest vampires on the planet!"

"Huh, is that so?" Elayne wondered. "Well, if I am trying to save her son, I do not think she will be angry with me."

Harumi listened to everyone discussing the matter and sighed. "I am sorry. I am forcing all of you into this out of nowhere without offering anything in return. I promise to support you and your daughter from now on. I will even pay you—with resources, materials, anything you need."

"C-Calm down, it is okay, sweetheart," Elayne smiled gently. "We are allies, right? Besides, your Heroic Spirit, Yasuke, helped protect everyone while they escaped. I owe him a favor."

"Ruler..." Yasuke’s voice echoed softly. "You have my thanks."

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