Chapter 240: Chapter 237: Smoldered Past

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Shiro was lost in his thoughts after digging further into the Internet. It has been a few days since Salter's attack and no more [Creation] had caused a mess since then. The government's side is still in the process of planning as per Meteora's plan. They are arranging every possible schedule and contacting every single person involved with the creation of the said [Creations].

He can still rest easy as it isn't starting yet. Though, he is still preoccupied with his investigations regarding Altair. To be more exact, to the people involved in her [Creation]. That's right, "people".

Aside from the name in the teaser, Shimazaki Setsuna, there is someone else behind her, or so he guessed. With some digging in forum channels and other fan creation websites, he found out the brief history of Setsuna Shimazaki. She started as an artist in Pixiv before her talent was noticed by others. They shared her works and fan art throughout social media, garnering fame not long after. Her works had visibly improved since then. She was also invited to work in several official light novels.

She grew up to the point that she was supposed to work in an official anime. She was to be responsible for the character designs and coloring. However, the rumors about her began.

It all started from when she published the music video, "World Etude". She was accused of plagiarism when her original character, Altair, looks similar to a character from Eternal Wars Megalosphere. Strangely enough, that post became famous enough that the impression of the common people to her became negative. Setsuna tried clarifying it that it is a kind of "accidental plagiarism". She posted that she does not intentionally search for other characters to not ruin her creativity. Yet, all of these fell on deaf ears.

Then, the creator of Eternal Wars Megalosphere came forward and said that Shimazaki Setsuna had not stolen any characters from his work along with a post that tells them to stop harassing her. Still, this did not make them stop. Even, there are more nasty rumors that sprang up. Things such as selling her body to that creator or having someone powerful behind her became famous.

Surprisingly, he found more instances pointing out the rumor of someone being powerful behind her real. Setsuna's smooth sailing journey to the peak of the animation industry could not be explained otherwise. That industry is especially strict towards people. They tend to require more recognition to be a part of an anime project. They have to work for hours just so they can maintain their current standing. This is the sad truth about the professional side of Japan.

'A drama from two years ago...'

Shiro did not expect Altair's motives to be from this. If she knew that her creator was wronged, she would have a reason to destroy this world.

"Shimazaki disappeared on the Internet... two and a half years ago." He mumbled. "I can imagine what she must have gone through. It is possible that she is dead, too."

In the end, Shiro shook his head as he thought of the nasty behavior that the select few has. In his life as the Commander, there was no lack of officials trying to take advantage of either him or the KANSENs. These ship girls can flatter an entire city on the shore, after all. They are a real war changer that would tilt the balance to their side. They also got rid of the ships' weakness which is their low mobility.

In other words, they are walking missile launchers.

Beep-!

Kuroneko: "Shiro, you need to come here. Fast."

Kal'tsit: "Mizushino Souta became our lead. He personally knew Altair and her creator, Setsuna."

"...I see."

Shiro kept those doubts and prepared to leave his house. 

"Madoka-chan, we need to leave for the office."

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"I understand, sensei."

Of course, he did not leave Madoka alone. He is still weary of their enemies in this world, especially Altair and Magane. These two are the ones that he watches over the most. Their powers are illogical and overpowered. No doubt, they could give the chat group worlds a run for trouble.  Magane's power would work better for those who are in power as they are extremely prideful. They would immediately give out the subconscious denial that she wants the most.

As for Altair... she can brute force through everything with her strength.

'I need to uncover her past. Maybe... By then, I could use it to our advantage.'

*****

Souta Mizushino. An ordinary high school student. He used to have a passion for the arts, but it disappeared after... a very "wrong" decision. Up to this day, he deeply regrets not reaching out to his friend, Setsuna.

"I met her at an art uploading site. It is known as Pixiv as of the moment."

When he started as an artist, he made many mistakes. Horrendous anatomy, messy color scheme, drawing certain parts such as hands, and so on. These are evident in his early artworks. That is why most of it is made in a doodle style, leading to his low popularity. On this site where professional and talented artists had gathered, he is simply a small fish.

"I was trying out illustrating at that time. I became fascinated by how anime illustrations are born."

The same went for Setsuna. She was just a beginner artist, but her art looked better in Souta's eyes. That's why he became her first ardent fan. The two got to know each other through the comment section. Posts after posts, comments after comments... These led to their friendship.

"At that time, I felt the gap between us widen. Her talents are far incomparable to mine. That's why she gained more attention as time passed by."

Soon, the turning point arrived.

"She was noticed by a very famous author. He used an anonymous account back then, but I could tell that he genuinely likes her works based on his comments."

As he felt Setsuna becoming more distant towards him, that person continued to support her. At some point, he envied him as he could continue to support her by offering bits of advice, tips, and the like. Souta could see how purely that comment had wanted to support her.

"One day, we all decided to meet up. I thought it would be interesting to meet the others who I had only met through the comment section. But... it surprised me."

That time, he saw Setsuna and commented with the nickname "Raion".

"He... he is someone who I only saw on online interviews. He is the maker of the hit anime series, Fate."

He is the man whom the chat group members cast their suspicions upon. They knew that Fate should not have existed based on their guesses, but it is here that surprised them all.

"He is known as 'Reon-san'. His true name is... Shibuya Reo."

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