After uploading the latest episodes, the group chat fell completely silent.
Akemi Homura was watching Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Itsuka Kotori was watching Date A Live, and Kumoko was engrossed in So I'm a Spider, So What?
Nagami had no intention of uploading Guilty Crown.
Given the current timeline for Inori Yuzuriha, he was confident he could rescue her before Funeral Parlor ever showed up.
Besides, Inori was still mentally a blank slate—aside from the knowledge force-fed into her by the research facility, she was completely naive.
Even if she watched the anime now, she probably wouldn't understand it.
Nagami's mind wandered to an intriguing thought:
'If he used CC's body and went to the world of Madoka Magica, could he make a contract with Kyubey and become a magical girl?'
Kyubey's civilization had mastered the technology to convert emotions into energy.
To meet the energy needs of countless races across the universe and prevent the cosmos from falling into heat death, they sought new energy sources.
Eventually, they discovered that the richest emotional energy came from human girls—when hearts full of hope plunged into despair.
They released tremendous energy that could sustain universal equilibrium.
The key here was that the most emotionally charged beings were human girls with hearts full of hope. But that begged the question:
Would someone like CC—who had the body of a girl but share soul with Nagami? Could that qualify?
Honestly, that last one seemed less likely.
Wait—no, not necessarily!
His soul wasn't a normal human soul anymore.
That had to count for something!
Nagami came to a conclusion.
With the dual origin of his soul, plus the recent awakening of his fusion ability which was now evolving it, it might actually be possible for CC to become a magical girl.
But then he remembered… when one becomes a magical girl, their soul gets crystallized into a Soul Gem.
Yeah, hard pass.
That price was a bit too steep.
Still, the Alpha Stigma (his ability) should be able to analyze the magic used by magical girls.
Whether he could learn those spells, though, would have to wait until he saw them with his own eyes.
Nagami took a deep breath and forcefully pushed away his increasingly off-topic thoughts.
It was way too early to be thinking about that stuff anyway.
He refocused on the handheld console in his hands.
Concentrating hard, Nagami controlled his silver-haired, blue-eyed valkyrie as she unleashed a brutal combo—agile kicks paired with pinpoint gunfire—absolutely annihilating the pink-haired, donkey-eared boss on screen.
With his current reflexes and gaming skills, Nagami could easily surpass the top-ranked player, "Green Hat Connector." The only question was whether Otto would "ban him in real life" like a furious mother-in-law.
Meanwhile, the news anchor's clear and formal voice echoed from the TV, reporting the day's headlines.
And then came the bombshell—
————————————————————————
"According to police investigations, the world-renowned multinational electronics conglomerate Massive Electric has been accused of financial fraud."
"Having swindled roughly 3.4 billion USD under the guise of high-frequency electromagnetic containment research."
"The company's CEO, Raiden Ryoma, has been dismissed by the board and is currently under arrest."
————————————————————————
The moment he heard that, Nagami dropped his Switch.
His lazy gaze sharpened instantly as he grabbed his laptop and began typing at lightning speed.
Just two days ago, the stock market had been perfectly normal.
Now, it was an ocean of red.
The tension and dread hanging over this financial bloodbath were unmistakable.
A lot of people are going to jump off buildings tonight.
Cocolia's move had been so sudden and decisive that even though Nagami had mentally prepared for such a scenario, he was still caught off guard.
He may have spent most of his time holed up at home gaming, but the girls he paid handsomely to work for him weren't just pretty faces.
Plus, the café he frequented was always full of people with power and influence.
From them, he could gather information that ordinary folks could only dream of accessing.
Yet even with all that, he hadn't caught a whiff of trouble in ME's stock.
That alone showed just how ruthlessly and efficiently Cocolia operated.
After Raiden Ryoma's arrest, Mei would be completely isolated.
It wouldn't be surprising if someone was actively orchestrating this.
After all, massive amounts of negative emotion made for the perfect catalyst.
Given how easily people follow the crowd, Cocolia didn't need to buy everyone off.
Whether it was at Chiba Academy or in society at large, all she needed was one or two figureheads to lead the way.
The rest would either join in kicking someone while they were down—or stand by and do nothing.
Malice. Hostility. Envy. Resentment.
All the darkest parts of human nature would be laid bare before Mei.
Having lived her entire life sheltered under her father's protection, she was like a flower grown in a greenhouse.
That kind of overwhelming despair…
It could absolutely push the kind-hearted Mei off the edge— Triggering the activation of the Conquest Gem.
Evolving it into a true Herrscher Core.
And finally awakening her as a Herrscher—an Apostle of the Gods!
Honkai wasn't just a disaster.
It was a cyclical phenomenon of the universe, a cosmic rhythm meant to periodically reset the balance.
And the timing of each eruption…
Unpredictable.
The form it took…
Ever-changing.
War, pandemics, climate disasters, comet impacts—hell, even giant god-warriors descending from the sky were all possibilities.
But one thing was certain: when a Honkai eruption occurred, it would release a dangerous and highly efficient form of energy—Honkai Energy.
And every single eruption would give birth to a Herrscher.
Herrschers were essentially avatars of the Honkai—beings born from it once the energy reached a critical threshold.
Each Herrscher manifested powers that embodied the extreme limits of natural laws.
They were walking catastrophes, wielding terrifying destructive force fueled by pure Honkai energy.
Cocolia's goal in triggering this Honkai outbreak? To conduct an experiment.
She was trying to find a way to rescue her daughter, Seele Vollerei, who had been trapped in the Quantum Sea.
The irony? It was Cocolia's experiments on Seele that caused her fall into a quantum state in the first place, stranding her in that otherworldly void.
Nagami didn't even want to comment on Cocolia.
He had a rule—never judge people he hadn't interacted with closely. No matter how infamous they were.
But regardless of personal opinions, a new storm was clearly brewing. And Nagami knew he couldn't afford to just sit back and watch it unfold.
He began mentally piecing together the intel he had so far, eyes half-lidded in concentration as he rested his chin in thought.
Then, picking up his phone from the table, he dialed a familiar number—his capable manager.
"Hello? Boss, what do you need?"
She answered instantly.
A sweet voice came through the speaker, along with the background sounds of running water and the occasional drip echoing off tiles.
"Uh… are you in a good place to talk right now?" Nagami asked cautiously.
"Of course I am. I'm just taking a bath. Go ahead and say what you need. If it's hard to explain over the phone, I can turn on the video~"
She knew Nagami's personality well. Teasing like this wasn't uncommon.
"Sure, go ahead."
Silence.
Total, awkward silence. It was as if the line had gone dead.
"I'm joking~" Nagami added nonchalantly.
She exhaled sharply on the other end, followed by a nervous little laugh.
Something about this conversation felt off—Nagami wasn't reacting how he usually did.
It unsettled her a bit.
"This afternoon, I need you to take care of something. Get me enrolled at Chiba Academy. I'll be attending starting Monday."
"Make sure I'm placed in the same class as Kiana. I'll transfer the money shortly, and whatever's left over, consider it a bonus."
"Understood! Mission accepted~" she replied confidently, her voice full of professional assurance.
But deep down, she was having second thoughts about ever hiring Kiana.
If the boss was taking the initiative to enroll in school… this could only mean one thing: he was going all in.
"Alright, that's all," Nagami said, ending the call before she could overthink things.
He didn't care what she was imagining.
What he needed most now was Honkai energy—and where better to find high concentrations of it than around Raiden Mei, the girl who carried the Gem of Conquest?
The downfall of Raiden Ryoma was the opening act in a carefully orchestrated plan to awaken Mei as a Herrscher.
From that spark, the third Honkai eruption would gradually escalate.
Between now and the outbreak, Nagami estimated a window of one to two weeks.
He intended to stop it—if he could.
After all, Nagazora City had been his home for three years.
There were people here he could actually have a conversation with.
If there was even a chance he could save them, he wouldn't turn his back.
But with his current strength, even using his Geass and abandoning all restraint wouldn't be enough.
He needed more Honkai energy.
A lot more.
Good thing he'd already unlocked the "immortal" achievement.
As long as both his bodies didn't die at the same time, he had plenty of lives to gamble with.
So be it.
He'd throw himself straight into the eye of the storm, embrace the deadly Honkai energy up close—even if it killed him a few times in the process.
If that's what it took to harness it, then it was worth every drop of pain.
As for his other self, CC? She could just stay home and chill.