Side Story: This is Where It All Began

After that, I fought a desperate battle and finally defeated Savaros.

Battered and bruised, I could barely stand—but what sealed the deal was Minami’s scream.

It seemed Savaros had deliberately let her escape once to give her hope, only to crush her spirit by torturing me when I came to her rescue.

He even intentionally allowed Amrutat to save her. And then, he made sure she saw him finish him off…

But Minami’s heart didn’t break. Instead, her cry spurred me on, awakening a new power within me.

Since then, the Legion Brigade had gone silent.

Savaros had mentioned a full-scale rebellion among his subordinates—that much was probably true.

So, I let my guard down, thinking I could finally relax.

With the help of Yoshihiro and Haruto—who had been absent from school for a few days after falling down the stairs and getting seriously hurt—Minami and I went out together on Christmas.

Now, as evening approached, we found ourselves in the shopping district.

Usually, this place was pretty dead, but today, the streets were bustling with people.

A white Christmas.

Snowflakes drifted down, shimmering under the glow of the Christmas lights, creating an almost dreamlike scene.

Standing beneath the giant Christmas tree at the entrance, I thought about exchanging gifts and making this the grand finale of the night—

Then, in an instant, an overwhelming surge of magical energy erupted.

That’s when I realized—it wasn’t over yet.

---

"Sorry, wait here a sec!"

"Y-Youta?!"

That was all I said to Minami before bolting into the crowd.

She had already taken out a small gift-wrapped package—but unfortunately, I didn’t have time to accept it.

I didn’t even have time to explain.

Because something was clearly wrong.

The fight was supposed to be over.

Yet, this was the most sinister magical energy I’d felt all year—enough to make my skin crawl.

"Barrier Expansion."

Telepathically, the sacred Beast chanted the spell, and in an instant, all traces of human presence vanished.

Including the enemy, we had been transported to a warped space—one eerily similar to the real world.

"Transform—!"

Light enveloped me.

Silver Witch—the silver-haired magical girl.

My black hair turned silver, and even my gender shifted. A form I never thought I’d take again.

The alternate space was thick with a viscous miasma.

It clung to my body like malice given form. The gaudy decorations of the shopping district only made the hollow distortion more pronounced.

Unlike the real world, no snow had piled up here. The moment it touched the miasma, it melted away.

I didn’t have time to waste.

With that in mind—

"Third Form—Trinity Mode!"

My silver hair shone even brighter as angelic wings sprouted from my back.

This was my strongest form—the power I gained to save Minami and avenge Amrutat.

A stark contrast to the sharp edges of Second Form: Accel Mode, this one resembled a soft, flowing blue wedding dress.

In this state, fully synchronized with the Holy Beast, I could maintain high-speed combat while unleashing my most devastating spells.

Of course, I didn’t let my guard down.

No—I couldn’t.

Not when this suffocating pressure refused to fade.

"I’m glad you answered my call."

"Y-You’re… Savaros?! But I defeated you—!"

The bald man who appeared before me was none other than Savaros—leader of the Legion Brigade.

His wrinkled, aged face twisted into an ugly grin as he laughed.

"Did you really think that was enough to finish me? Though, I won’t deny I had to lay low for a while."

"What are you planning…?"

"Well, why don’t you hear me out?"

I transformed my staff into a razor-sharp sword.

Ready to strike at any moment.

Yet, I couldn’t take a single step forward. Despite having beaten him once before, I was the one being overwhelmed.

Savaros took one look at me and smirked, satisfied.

"Let’s review. Tell me—what was it I sought before?"

"Negative… emotions?"

But I had foiled his scheme.

Since then, he hadn’t laid a finger on Minami. Even if I had let my guard down, I’d at least been cautious enough for that much.

"You’re mistaken. I have no need to fixate on her. Even the smallest grains can pile up, as they say. No—perhaps it’s even more efficient this way. A little misfortune can trigger a chain reaction of despair."

Savaros spoke as if he’d outsmarted me.

His eyes narrowed, a mocking grin spreading across his face.

"The resentment of those on the verge of death is especially potent—but of course, acting too boldly would risk drawing attention from you and your allies."

I already knew the Legion Brigade sought emotional energy.

That’s why they never left casualties.

Like shearing a sheep without slaughtering it—killing would’ve been inefficient.

Yet this old man in front of me spoke differently.

As long as I didn’t notice, he was willing to kill for a momentary harvest.

Illogical. Absurd.

"What the hell do you want?!"

"Research—the completion of this."

Savaros held up a dark, light-devouring crystal—pitch-black and pulsing with an eerie glow.

The Seed of Darkness.

Its very presence was nauseating, as if staring into the abyss.

If this was just the prototype, what would the real thing be capable of?

I couldn’t even begin to imagine.

"Is this… what you really wanted?"

"What are you saying now? My goal is no different from yours. Converting emotions into power—only our methods differ."

He smirked at my stunned expression before pressing the crystal into his own forehead.

"STOP!"

I lunged forward, screaming.

I knew—that thing was pure malice.

If he absorbed it—!

But my attempt to stop him…

Was too late.

---

"You're too weak. So this is what was giving you so much trouble?"

Savaros looked down at me, sprawled on the ground, with his greenish eyes and a smug grin on his face.

He looked much younger now—maybe around twenty.
There was something vaguely familiar about him, almost like one of my friends... but that twisted expression made it clear he was someone entirely different.

His appearance had changed the moment he absorbed the Seed. He briefly turned into something like a slime, then reformed into this new shape.
The only thing that remained unchanged was the Seed of Darkness embedded in his forehead.

In contrast, I had already lost one of my wings of light. Even my once radiant silver hair had dulled.
All I’d done was defend myself, and yet I’d taken this much damage.

"Boring. …Oh, I know. How about I draw out some emotional energy not just from you, but from our spectators on the other side as well?"

To make matters worse, even his voice sounded younger now.

His cloak fluttered in the miasma as he casually formed a massive black energy sphere with one hand.

"Remember what I said? Negative emotions get more potent the greater the emotional fall. Besides, the Seed of Darkness is still only in its preliminary stage. What do you think would happen if I dropped this on that festive little town right now?"

"This is a mirrored space. It's supposed to be another world!"

No matter how much damage the mirrored space suffers, it shouldn't affect the real world too much.
Right now, the Tree in the mirrored world had already been destroyed—but in the real world, nothing had happened.
At most, it might stir the wind ever so slightly.

Which meant Savaros’s threat was meaningless… or at least, it should have been.

"You think something like that could actually work?"

But the look on Savaros’s face was pure mockery.

"If I break through the barrier, then it all becomes very real. Think I’m bluffing? Then why don’t we find out?"

The energy sphere in his hand grew larger.

…This is bad.

And yet, he still looked like he was holding back.

"Let’s start with the first pitch—"

As if tossing a ball in a casual game of catch, Savaros hurled the dark sphere.

"S-Stop it!"

"Haha! That’s the face I wanted to see!"

I had to stop it. I knew I had to.

But my body wouldn’t move. I clenched my teeth in frustration.

My shout echoed uselessly—

And then—

"Not happening."

—It was shattered by a bolt of lightning.

---

"It's been a while, hasn't it? Silver Witch of the Moon."

"Amurtat… You're alive."

"…Yeah."

For some reason, he looked conflicted when he answered.
Like he wanted to say, ‘Of course I am, what did you expect?’
But we hadn’t crossed paths once since then, so he had no right to look so annoyed.

"Wow… Took you long enough, traitor."

Savaros sneered at the new arrival—an imposing figure clad in black.

But Amurtat remained firm and unmoved.

"You're the one who betrayed us. The Legion Brigade’s goal was to gather energy, not to destroy other worlds. …Though that purpose turned out to be a lie, too."

"And you think you can do anything alone? Back then... I held back, just in case. But now, you're worthless."

Savaros began conjuring more energy spheres—each the same size as before.

This was him being serious.

Let even one of those slip through, and—

It wouldn’t just be Nan-chan. Everyone in that shopping district in the real world would be caught in it.
Maybe they wouldn’t even survive.

After all, Savaros wanted emotional energy harvested at the brink of death.

I bit my lip, bracing for the worst.
But Amurtat remained calm as ever.

"Going senile, are you? You’re the one who appointed us as the Triumvirate."

"Don’t forget about me!"

From a blind spot, a giant of a man emerged—Diamante.

"—!"

And then he roared.

A sound so loud it could rupture eardrums.
If I hadn’t been transformed, I might’ve passed out instantly.

Nearly half of the dark spheres were obliterated in seconds, leaving Savaros wide open.

Diamante’s weapon was ultrasound.

Despite his brute-force appearance, he was a skilled, technical fighter.

"And me too. You've gotten cuter, haven't you, Boss?"

The next to appear was a woman in bondage gear—Leonia, the lone female among the Triumvirate.

Holding a whip and dressed in a way that made me, even as a guy inside, instinctively think “Seriously?”

At her command, magical beasts—dragons and chimeras—charged in, smashing the remaining energy spheres.

And yet, Savaros still wore his smug grin.

"Hmph… I was planning to dispose of you all eventually anyway. Saves me the trouble."

His arrogant provocation didn’t faze Amurtat, who simply extended a hand toward me.

"Youta… no, Luna. Can you still fight?"

"Y-Yeah."

He called me by name.

And I was sure of it.
Still, this wasn’t the time to ask questions. I grabbed his hand and stood.

"Silver Witch of the Moon—Luna! This time, I’ll defeat you with the power of the moon!"

"—Let me show you the might of the Thunder Emperor."

And so began our strange, first and final, joint battle.

---

At first, Savaros had the overwhelming advantage—but little by little, he began to lose his composure in the face of our coordination.

Diamante’s inescapable sonic blasts disrupted his movements, while Leonia’s whip found its mark. Even the blows from the magical beasts, though minor individually, couldn't be ignored. Savaros was clearly struggling to keep up.

Amurtart used that opening to strike with lightning, and I followed up with a flash of my blade.

—we were pushing him back.

At this rate, we could win.

Of course, I didn’t let my guard down. We didn’t have any room for that.

“Amurtart—! You dare betray your creator?!”

“I never felt any debt to him.”

Savaros screamed in rage, his mind fraying. But Amurtart struck him with lightning, his expression utterly unchanged.

…There was no time for sympathy.

I immediately followed up with my finishing move.

A radiant aurora burst forth from my body, gathering into a single concentrated mass. And then—

“O moonlight’s radiance—unleash! Moonlight Nova!”

A torrent of light engulfed the battlefield.

---

Savaros lay on the ground, returned to the form of an old man. His breath was shallow. Snow began to settle atop his body.

Half of the "Seed of Darkness" embedded in his forehead had been obliterated by the purifying blow.

Whatever power he had gained came with too steep a price. It didn’t look like he had much time left.

“—”

He muttered something.

“…Begging for your life?”

But Amurtart showed no trace of sympathy. He formed a blade of lightning and approached him—likely to finish it.

I couldn’t stop him.

Because what I saw in his eyes was hatred—and pity.

“—You think I’m begging for my life?”

“…What?”

Savaros’s response was a cackle.

“I told you, didn’t I? That emotions at the brink of death burn the strongest…!”

Then, still twisted in that gruesome smile, he turned toward Amurtart—

“Amurtart, fulfill your role!”

A black crystal burst from his body.

---

For some reason, the world moved in slow motion.

The “Seed of Darkness” crept toward Amurtart—agonizingly slow.

I doubt his stillness came from shock.

Despite its damage, the Seed was still a concentrated mass of energy. If he dodged it, it would tear through the Reversal World and wreak havoc on the real one.

He wasn’t moving because he feared that outcome.

He stared at the Seed as if steeling himself for what was to come.

And in that moment, I alone could move freely.

—Amurtart.

He was the one who had tormented me countless times. My sworn enemy. The formidable foe who had stood in my way again and again.

And once—just once—he saved Minami-chan.

That’s all I knew of him.

And yet… for some reason, during this long year of battle, I had come to see a glimpse of an old friend in him.

Before I even realized it, my body was moving on its own.

I pushed Amurtart aside, catching him off guard—

And in that instant, my world came to an end.