The comments section all think I'm a really good person.

Because she had accompanied Kita Kirihara for a short distance on the way, Koizumi Saki was the last to arrive. The chief hero, with black hair and blue eyes, who looked no different from an ordinary person, walked in and sat down directly in front of her seat.

Behind her is Ryo Kobayashi, who assists with the record-keeping and is also the biggest benefactor of the Tower of Civilization.

However, after scanning the crowd, her gaze suddenly fell on the floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a view of the Tokyo Tower.

On the exposed, decaying tip of the steel, stood a small, dark figure.

Her long black hair fluttered wildly in the strong wind high above, with a red hairband peeking out from among the strands. The wind swept her hair behind her ears, revealing the earrings she wore.

The unfamiliar girl gave Koizumi Saki a slightly eerie and rather dangerous smile.

At the same time, eerie black wings unfurled in an instant, covering the entire sky.

21. Welcome to the Silver Garden

The sound of something breaking.

It was crisp, but not exactly melodious.

This reminded Koizumi Saki of the Void Flood incident and the daily panic people face now. The sound of the world's barriers breaking is like the Sword of Damocles hanging over everyone's heads.

Similar, but not the same.

The world shattered before my eyes, the sky was dyed a dark red in an instant, and then covered with deep purple. The colors intertwined, time stood still, and countless bird feathers were frozen in the air.

From the corner, countless eyes quietly opened, observing this side intently. The innocent laughter of children rang out, sending chills down one's spine.

In that instant, countless redundant and distorted pieces of information flooded into Saki Koizumi's mind.

It was a language, but not one that I recognized.

It is not a human language.

It was not the howl of an animal.

It is not the universal law of nature.

Chaotic and desolate, almost bizarre, a torrent of information flooded her mind, only slowing her thoughts for a brief moment before an almost endless stream of negative emotions screamed and surrounded her like a tidal wave.

But Koizumi Saki remained unmoved. She simply raised her head quietly, and then, in this frozen world of color, she met a pair of eyes that belonged to a demon.

She clearly possessed a human appearance and appeared quiet and beautiful. Her long, straight black hair was as smooth as silk, and the unfamiliar high school uniform she wore was quite ordinary, seemingly commonplace, exuding a youthful vibe.

With her wings folded, the girl stood quietly on the table. Her round-toed leather shoes tapped lightly on the surface, and the jewel-like earring on her left ear swayed gently without making a sound, yet one could almost hear the clear, tinkling sound of falling leaves.

Then, she lowered her head slightly, a smile playing on her lips, and leaned closer to Koizumi Saki.

"Greetings, Miss Shenming." Her voice trailed off slightly, revealing a hint of pleasure.

look at each other.

From those eyes, Saki Koizumi could only see [non-human].

It's just a demon with a human form.

Not only that.

It is also a demon capable of freezing time and acting recklessly.

She saw her companions' expressions freeze on their faces, motionless. The dust in the air stopped falling.

Here, only she and the demon in front of her are able to move.

No, perhaps it's not just that.

From the shadows, several figures gradually emerged and became clearer in front of Saki Koizumi.

A short, flaxen-haired girl with a cold expression and slightly furrowed brows, exuding an aura of indifference, leaned against the wall, arms crossed. A few golden crystals adorned her exposed skin; she seemed uninterested in everything before her.

Standing next to her was Nana Ohba, whom she had just met yesterday.

The once gentle girl now displayed an unusual coldness, covered in blood and dressed in a formal outfit resembling a stage costume, with a few drops of blood dripping from the double blades at her waist.

Her cold, indifferent gaze, filled with despair and loneliness, made her seem like a completely different person from the one I had seen before.

Standing by the window, a tall young man with red hair in a high ponytail and inhumanly red vertical pupils silently held his knife, staring intently at everything inside the room.

He had flame-shaped markings on one side of his forehead and bony horns extending from the other side. His canines were sharper than those of ordinary people, and his whole body exuded a deathly aura.

A strangely shaped mechanical structure, especially its enormous fist, floated in the air, enveloping the pink-haired girl within. These auxiliary devices resembled a cage, tightly binding the immobile girl and controlling her movements.

Her eyes were vacant, and her entire body was almost entirely wrapped in bandages; only the slight rise and fall of her chest indicated that she was still alive.

But what difference is there between this state and death?

The white-haired Drak, with sharp, jet-black dragon horns, was surrounded by a chilling aura. A charming smile played on her lips as a dragon tail covered in fine scales emerged from beneath her scorched skirt. On her epaulets, DNA-shaped patterns were formed from the blood of countless infected individuals.

However, Saki Koizumi could clearly hear her heart crying.

There's more.

Countless figures flickered in the surging darkness, seemingly whispering something, before fading away amidst their murmurs. They lamented their inability to appear immediately, grumbled a bit, and then dispersed.

After all, no more people are needed in the meeting room.

Before anyone knew it, a child, like a simple sketch that had jumped out of a picture book, quietly crouched in the corner and started playing a game of spinning tops and throwing stones.

They laughed loudly, taunting and shouting at Saki Koizumi.

However, the black-haired girl who first activated the barrier simply raised her index finger and placed it in front of her lips, making a shushing gesture.

The eccentric children grumbled a few times before finally quieting down.

"Miss Kamina, it's a pleasure to meet you," the black-haired girl said in a soft, gentle voice. "Welcome to the Silver Garden."

Behind her, invisible wings unfurled, and the sky instantly darkened, plunging into a gloomy atmosphere.

The world fell silent.

Saki Koizumi continued to look at her.

In the azure eyes, the demon's slender figure was reflected, along with the world gradually distorting.

22. Homura Akemi

Saki Koizumi simply met the black-haired girl's gaze indifferently, seemingly unfazed by the other members of the Silver Garden who stood silently beside her, exuding a cold and imposing aura.

“The Silver Garden?” she repeated the term softly, as if she were chewing it slowly.

Her sky-blue eyes were tinged with the crimson sky, the overly glaring color staining her as well. The chief hero was not intimidated by the other's aura; she simply tapped her fingers lightly on the table, making a soft, rhythmic sound.

In the hall, which was dyed a dark red and imbued with a strong sense of alienation by light and shadow, like blood flowing in a dark channel, the other super-heroes were reduced to statues, unable to resist.

Koizumi Saki stroked her chin with her left hand, maintaining a calm demeanor despite being prepared for an attack at any moment: "Why have you come?"

Her overly brief words made her sound abrupt and rude, but the black-haired, raven-feathered demon wouldn't care about such trivial matters.

"Just came to say hello." The other person's tone was as if they were a new neighbor who had just moved in, creating a stark contrast with the current scene.

"..." Koizumi Saki's brows furrowed even deeper. Not good at hiding her emotions, her confusion was practically written all over her face.

To her surprise, the other person seemed somewhat amused by her troubled expression, a brief smile playing on their lips, and asked in a rather casual tone, as if it were a casual question:

"Saki Koizumi, do you believe that fate is predetermined?"

When asked such a strange question, Koizumi Saki was momentarily speechless. After a half-second of mental blankness, she finally managed to utter a puzzled nasal sound: "...Hmm?"

fate?

Could it be that the guy in front of me is the most difficult type of opponent, the Riddler?

Her pupils dilated.

She, Saki Koizumi, is least able to deal with enemies who can only communicate through riddles.

She couldn't keep up with the thought process of people who made a big fuss about fate, the results of tarot card readings, or divine prophecies... She couldn't follow their train of thought at all.

In most cases, they could only nod their heads and stammer, letting the riddle tellers finish their sentences first.

Then, after returning home and lying in bed after taking a shower at night, when recalling the incident, it suddenly dawns on me what the other person was trying to imply.

……what to do.

How should I answer?

As she thought this, her light-colored lips pressed tightly together, and her expression became even more serious.

Such a weighty gaze, when seen by others, might mean that she is thinking and about to give a well-considered answer.

However, Ms. Kita Kirihara knew her own Saki's personality inside and out. She knew that behind the other's slightly unfocused eyes was probably a soul that was no more than three years old, racking its brains to try and deceive her.

It's like being called on by the teacher in class, and your brain is racing to find an answer that won't make too much of a mistake.

When Kita Kirihara was tutoring Koizumi Saki, she was distracted and he suddenly asked her a question, which is exactly what happened.

In this respect, nothing has changed at all...

She felt somewhat helpless.

However, even though it was both frustrating and amusing, she still wanted to get the answer to this question from Saki.

"Fate...who knows?" The other person stared into Homura Akemi's eyes and spoke slowly, cautiously adopting a more unpredictable answer.

The only sound in the hall was the conversation of two people; even the slightest breeze seemed to freeze in the air.

The world fell silent as heroes and demons discussed the unpredictable nature of fate.

Imprisoned in the cage of fate, those whose end has come listen coldly.

Meanwhile, from another dimension of the world's observation window, many comments were being exchanged cautiously.

[...I always felt like she could see through the fourth wall? Several times, I thought she was looking directly at the camera.]

[If I'm not mistaken, this is clearly Homura Akemi in her demon form... How could such a bugged being appear here so brazenly?]

[But to be honest, Homura has a really strong presence. With her in the Silver Court, there are almost no rivals.]

[Such an extraordinary being would definitely face some limitations if it were to remain in this world.]

Chief Koizumi's abilities are conceptually the "strongest," and he would even be able to handle Homura Akemi to a certain extent, so there's really no need to worry too much.

The only problem is, isn't the Silver Garden a bit too powerful in this timeline? I can accept Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Banana, and I can even accept Hibiki, Yuna, and Talulah. But characters like Homura, who are perpetually confined to the background by plot points, can move freely...

[And judging from the reactions, it seems that quite a few characters in the Silver Garden haven't even had a chance to appear yet.]