The Grand Station

Allen frowns as he stands outside of the Grand Station, the home of the creator of magical realities, Artificios, alongside Scarlet. And both of them can’t help but stare up at the massive building that’s a mixture of a vast train station that goes all the way across old-world South America from one end to the other and a vast home. One meant for the owner of the station itself.

He glances at the girl who should soon be becoming his adopted daughter in just a week and finds her to be wearing her old ensemble of a black and red jacket over a black sports shirt and black pants. An outfit that matches well with her red eyes and black and red hair.

She looks more excited than I’ve seen her in a while…

Allen watches her for a second before turning to face the building again and saying, “No reason to just stand here. Let’s go in.”

He sees Scarlet nodding her head once next to him before the two of them begin walking into the building.

Then again, we’re about to meet with the creator of magical realities. And the one who made her favorite video game.

That thought has a bemused smile stretching across his face.

One of the most well-known person on Earth now is excited over meeting the maker of her favorite video game. I wonder what the people would say about that if they heard it?

The two of them walk through the entrance with more than a few gazes directed at them. But they both ignore them with the people shouting in excitement. None of them move up to them despite their excitement, proving the respect both he and Scarlet have earned.

Eventually they find themselves suddenly disappearing into a rift at the center of the grand station before reappearing inside of a luxurious waiting room. One that people would often find in a grand mansion. And sitting on one side of it is the man himself.

Artificios.

The man is wearing a purple and black suit and tie as he sits with his legs crossed on a chair. Meanwhile the long hair that he had when Allen first met the man is now cut down to just his shoulders in length, with the same purple shade Allen remembers him having from when he was at the tournament Scarlet participated in and won years ago.

“Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” the man says with a smile on his face and an amused twinkle in his eye. One that implies a sense of playfulness that many know the man has, albeit still tipped with the seriousness of a businessman. “As you know, I’m Artificios. And I’m guessing you already know why I contacted you?”

Scarlet nods her head, piquing Allen’s curiosity. Because while Allen was the one Artificios chose to get into contact with to in turn contact Scarlet, he’s still not sure what’s going on.

He hasn’t been able to speak much with Scarlet since her latest Title, and he wishes that he would have had the time to catch up since.

“Then let’s,” he says while raising a hand, “geeeet,” he continues, his smirk growing as he snaps his fingers, “started!!!”

Then Scarlet vanishes from the room as Allen senses a magical reality appearing around her, following which the room around them starts shifting and a large screen shows up with a chair appearing beneath Allen, knocking his feet out from under him and leaving him falling in the chair.

Allen blinks with surprise at the sudden changes before glancing up at the screen and finding Scarlet in the middle of a large forest filled with demons.

“Are those…” Allen begins, only to turn to Artificios when the man answers him.

“They’re real demons I picked up from a Fracture not long ago,” Artificios says while waving the question off. “They had the nerve to appear in my Station, so they’re getting what’s coming.”

So he isn’t just using artificial demons… but what’s this all about?

“You look confused,” Artificios suddenly says, making Allen frown for a second. “Guess she didn’t tell you what we’re doing.” He pauses to glance at Allen, at which point he sees the confusion quickly spreading across Allen’s face. Then he faces the screen again. “The Princess’s new Title-Bearing Mythic skill is incredibly dangerous and is a type of skill called a mutation skill. It completely changed her body to become the warden and prison for the most dangerous corruption in existence. One that can even devour reality itself.”

Allen’s jaw drops open, and he turns to look at the screen, where he finds Scarlet casually walking around, seemingly testing the magical reality for a bit.

A plague that can… devour reality itself? Is something like that really possible? And at her level?

“Because of its power, and the minor detail of the plague in her being intelligent, I decided to help her with training it in a safe place,” he continues, shocking Allen even further with the information about the plague being intelligent. “So here we are, having her train her control in my magical reality.”

Allen repeatedly glances between him and the screen before eventually asking, “What if her plague manages to damage the artificial reality?”

Artificios simply waves his hand, saying, “There’s no way it would be able to damage my artificial reality. It’s not a normal reality, and I’m certain it’s too strong for-”

He cuts off when Scarlet begins to release a strange glowing red blood that immediately begins to eat away at the air around her, making holes in reality appear. Holes that reveal strange pitch black voids on the other side.

“Oh shit, oh shit, ooooh shiit,” Artificios exclaims, his calm having shattered as he snaps his fingers again, leading Scarlet to reappear again in front of the two before landing on the ground with her legs on either side of her. “What the fuck is wrong with that plague?!”

Scarlet just blinks in surprise and some disorientation at the sudden shift in location.

Meanwhile Allen stares at her in shock, then at the magical reality, to which he points and says, “Uh, the plague is still there.”

Both Scarlet and Artificios look up at the screen before the man mutters one more time, “Oh shit…”