The makeshift camp you arranged on the outskirts of the town is slowly coming to life with the rise of the sun.
You crawl out of your tent slowly, stretching and looking left and right.

After you assembled the compass in the Inn, the Priest and the Rotten Girl laid it on a map of the world. Then, using their powers, they made so that the compass ‘believed’ to be moving through the world, while it was actually just moving through the map.

At the end of the experiment, the Priest and the Magical Girl exchanged worried looks.
“The compass says we should reach the Edge of Reality”, the Priest said, pointing at what was the southern end of the map.

Indeed, moving the compass any further south would cause the needle to point north.
“That is a dangerous place. Not one the Archetypes should be dwelling in”, the Edge Knight commented.
“Indeed. Some say that the Door of Imaginarium stands there, but few believe it”, said Mittens.

The Edge of Reality, or the end of the known world, was exactly what the word implied it to be. There was no certainty about what lied further south, and the boogeyman of the Door of Imaginarium, the entrance to a world were characters were twisted into unrecognizable mockeries of their true selves, kept most of the curious at bay.

And yet there was no alternative. If the prophecy was to be believed, you had to reach that place.
For that purpose, you gathered all your companions, bid farewell to the innkeeper, and headed south to the slice of life sector via metro.

You bought some camping supplies from a small, family-owned shop once you got there, and were forced to continue your trip on foot. You walked for a few hours until sunset, then stopped in a glade by the lake and set up the camp.
Having more people than usual onboard meant having more things to take care of, but you thought it wouldn’t have been fair to leave anyone behind.

>>46945082
After all, this is the end of your quest, you think, staring into the sun. Everyone deserves to take part in it.
Crawling out of the tent and yawning, the Priest waves at you.
“Good morning, Outer. Excited?”
You nod. Of course you are, you can’t wait to see this through.

As you look around, you see the camp bustling with activity. Two different sectors had been arranged for, one for women and one for men.

>Ask the Priest about his opinion on your companions
>Ask the Priest about his opinion on the quest
>Ask the Priest about his opinion on heretics.

>>46945102
>>Ask the Priest about his opinion on your companions
>>Ask the Priest about his opinion on the quest
SEASON FINALE NEEDS SOME BOMB ASS MUSIC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT0WpdrCJYE

>>46945123
“This is the end, isn’t it?”, you ask, with some melancholy.
The Priest nodded. “And it is for the best. When this is through, we’ll be safe”
You sigh. You sort of grew fond of the place. Leaving will be painful, but at least you’ll have the satisfaction of having done a good job.

Something no one in your universe will praise you for… but that’s not the point. It never was.
“We sure have an heterogeneous group of people with us, don’t you think?”
“Of course. Surely there’s someone missing here and there, but this is a sample large enough to give an idea to a total outsider”

He laughs, then he continues. “You know, this is not what an Outer versed in anime would expect. Not entirely. Look at the catgirl, for example. In your comics, they’re docile, playful and obedient. In reality, they’re independent, catty, and well, somewhat disgusting.” The memory of your first meeting with the catgirl resurfaces, leaving you somewhat disgusted.

“The Warrior too. He’s wiser than he looks for being a Shounen character. Sure, he does spout cliched nonsense from time to time, but he’s more perceptive than he looks like. And then you have people that are so stereotypical it hurts.” His glance, tinted with sadness, shifts from the voluptuous body of Mitten to Best Girl.

“Look at her. That’s the Archetype Outers call ‘genki girl’. Always positive, always working hard, sometimes a bit prone to over-reaction. Do you know what they all have in common?”
You shake your head.
“They always lose. The system is rigged against them. And yet Hell will freeze over before you’ll see her frowning or sad”.

And as testament of the Priest’s words, there she was, smiling and laughing cheerfully. Maybe at the end of this quest you’ll be able to obtain a better tomorrow for people like her, too.

>>46946032
“Speaking of walking clichés…”
The Priest shifts his gaze left, and so do you.
Sweet Dreams Princess is running towards you, his arms spread wide, resembling something in between the anticipation of a hug and the flight of a bird.

“ONIIIIII-CHAN!”, he screams, with an expression of joy on his face so vivid it almost looks unreal.
He picked up again the bad habit of calling you onii-chan, but you try not to let that bother you.
“What is it, Princess?”, you ask.

He stops, crossing his arms behind his back, wobbling and blushing.
“Onii-chan, will you marry me?”

>"What? No."
>"This bullshit again?"
>"Yes"

>>46946087
>>"What? No."

>>46946098
You sigh in exhaustion.
“How many times I am going to have to tell you? No, I will not marry you. I simply don’t swing that way. Can’t you just accept it?”

He looks down in dejection, nothing unusual. You’ve been firm, but kind, carrying the message across without attempting to harm his feelings.
“Ohh…ok” he says, walking away.

He abruptly turns around, executing somewhat of a piroette.
“But, you know, I’ve not given up on you!”, he exclaims, winking.
“I still dream of the day onii-chan will take my hand ask me ‘Princess, will you marry me?’ and I will say…”

He quickly brings his hands forward, the right one outstretched, the left one carrying a ring he produced out of nowhere. In a flash, you realize what ring that is. In a flash, you realize what’s going to happen.

“…yes!”

The scenario around you is swept away, and you’re sucked into a different place. The experience is much more painful than when you arrived in the Anime World. It feels… painful, as if you’re being vacuumed away.

When you come to, you can’t see. The light is so bright that you can barely understand where you are. Around your wrists there are handcuffs, and your feet are touching something cold.
Slowly, your eyes adjust to the light, and you recognize that you’re in fact caged.

You shale your head to regain consciousness, and finally make out where you are.
The place looks like some form of heavenly tribunal, with benches made of clouds and with an immense altar reaching to the sun.
On top of it stand two familiar figures: Princess and the Witch.

>>46947317
The Witch looks even more dazzling than usual, the light shining on her fine skin and highlighting the beauty of her body.
Looking right and left, you seem your comrades, all of them, confined in cages not dissimilar from yours.

A bell ring, and a swarm of beautiful girls sit on the benches: you assume that if this is truly a tribunal, they will play the role of the jury, while the witch shall be the judge.
“Welcome to this session of the Synod of Heavens”, the Witch proclaims loudly.

“Today, we are called to judge on the ‘Sweet Dreams Princess vs Outer’ case, the former being the plaintiff, the latter being the defendant”.
You can feel her gaze shifting upon you.

“Before we begin, defendant: do you plead innocent, or guilty?”

>Guilty
>I am innocent!

>>46947344
>>I am innocent!
"No male child should dress like that/have those mannerisms!"
Fuck you, Fujoshi.

>>46947404
magical rotten girl dindu nuffin though.

>>46947344
>>I am innocent!

>>46947454
Oh wait, Witch. I read it as Rotten girl. She still a shit.

>>46947476
>>46947404
“Innocent!”, you scream. “Of course, I have done my share of mistakes. But I am sure none of my acts warranted such a trial”
“Oh, do you think so?”, says the Witch mockingly.

“Let’s see. First of all, you didn’t tell any of your ‘friends’ about the Ring, or about our meeting, did you?”
“Well, I… no”.
“No? How curious. One would expect friends to be open with each other”.

Her malevolent laughter echoes through the tribunal, and you can feel all the eyes in the room are on you.
“Hilarious”, you attempt to rebut. “As if someone like you would understand friendship”

The Witch looks at you with surprise. “Oh, but of course I do. Don’t you know? A true Idol must incarnate the essence of friendship”. She winks, making a weird hand gesture, as to say: I’ve got you there.

“So, you’ve kept our meeting a secret. How shameful. Look where your friends are now, because of you”, she presses you on.
“Shut up!” Best Girl’s voice can be heard.

“I do not know why the Outer didn’t tell us about this. But I am sure he did it to protect us! Isn’t it so, Outer?”
You barely manage to nod. You’re really grateful for her support, but you feel like you’ve left everyone down.

The Idol Witch has a disgusted look on her face. “Who is she?”, she asks with disapproval. “She is so tainted, she reeks of corruption. No matter the outcome, I want her dead by the end of the trial”, she off-handedly comments.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on her, you witch!”, you find yourself screaming.
“Oh? What will you do otherwise? Stop me? You can’t stop me anymore. You had your chance, and you blew it. Now it’s time to face the consequences”, she replies smugly.

>>46948307
Shonen mode, ACTIVATE!

>>46948307
She’s right. She’s so right it hurts. You turn left and right, expecting to see the disappointed faces of your friends. Yet they’re all looking right into the Witch with expressions of anger, as if to say that harming one of them means harming all of them, as if to say that they still stood united, as a team.

“Plaintiff, Sweet Dreams Princess, what is it that you seek from this Court?”
“Hmm… my lawyer says that I should look for “equitable compensation”, which means I get to become a real magical girl and to marry onii-chan!”

“Very well”, she nods. “The Court hereby expresses itself in your favor”.
An hammer is slammed heavily on the table, producing a deafening noise.
At the same time, you feel a burn on your back.

“I hope you regret your actions, Outer. You will have to deal with their aftermath for the rest of your life”, the Witch declares with a smile of self-satisfaction

>I don't regret a thing
>Yes, I was wrong

>>46948356
>>I don't regret a thing
No shonen mode?

>>46948382
wait for it, i have a good explanation

>>46948356
>Fuck you!

>>46948487
>>46948382

You clench your fists in anger and denial.
“No! I don’t regret what I’ve done. Yes, it was wrong not to talk about it with my friends, but I thought they’d grow wary of me if I told the truth. I was afraid to lose them. I was afraid to be left alone in an unknown world. That is wrong, and I know it. Yet I won’t live with regret. There’s no use for it: it just makes a burden much heavier to carry, and I’d rather spend my time looking for a way out than thinking about how I could have prevented this!”

The Witch looks at you amused. “Excellent. Then plan to your heart’s content, because you will spend the rest of your life bound to this woman!”, she says looking at Princess.
The burning on your back grows more and more intense., forcing you to bend on the ground.

“I see you’re still having fun running these sham tribunals”, a voice on your left abruptly comments. It’s a womanly voice, one you’ve never heard before.
“Too bad you’ve made some considerable blunders in the process. The first of which was bringing a Disgraced Idol along”.

Struggling to stand up, you attempt to take a peak. The Silver Knight is removing her helmet, revealing a cascade of silver hair and piercing blue eyes.
“I guess I do owe you, Tomato. You restored my form, as well as my speech. And now, let’s settle the score!”

The Silver Knight breaks he chains and reaches for her sword. An expression of pure terror is written all over the Idol Witch’s face, as the Silver Knight breaks the cage with one blow.
“Your laws are inhuman, your rule is tyrannical, your species is self-absorbed”, the Silver Knight continues, stepping forward. “And what’s more disgusting, you’re granting a wish as absurd as this.”

>>46949047
She points to Princess. “What do you think you’re doing, Princess? Love is not a chain you can force on someone else. It’s not a choice at all, it’s something that happens naturally, and forcing it can only have bad consequences”.

Princess is looking puzzled and troubled at the same time, as if he realized only now the gravity of his actions.
The Idol Witch is in panic. She’s shaking, struggling to keep her composure.

“T-take her! K-k-kill her!”, she stutters.
With her helmet in her right hand and her sword in her left hand, the knight tilts her head to give you a sideways glance, as if to say ‘don’t get involved’

>Have faith in your friends
>Try to self-insert

>>46949069
>>Have faith in your friends
GO SILVER KNIGHT. KICK ASS.

>>46949069
>PEOPLE OF THE EARTH! LET'S GIVE SILVER KNIGHT OUR FEELINGS!

>>46949069
>Have faith in your friends

>>46949230
>>46949210
>>46949083


You take your cue and wait for the moment.
The Idols stand up from their benches and try to reach for the Silver Knight.
Surprisingly, she drops her helmet and her sword, using her hands to remove her belt.

She holds the belt high and shouts something in an arcane language.
Immediately a transparent green wall is erected between your companions and the idols.
It looks like somewhat of a magical barrier. The Idols are startled and confused, while the Knight has picked up her sword and is proceeding to free you all from the cage.

“Another faux pas, Tomato. You should know how this Universe works. Calling upon such a large and ground-breaking ritual would of course cause the manifestation of the powers of Order, as the Goddess grows more powerful the more you and your sad little clique attempt to subvert the natural order”

The fear in the Idol Witch face has turned into impotent rage.
It’s clear that the Knight has the situation under control.
“Honestly, I never thought this would have happened, but I am quite pleased”. The Knight turns to you. “Take more care of the Goddess’s artifacts next time. You never know when they might turn useful”, she say, pointing at the necklace she gave you when you met her, and that now constituted the source of the protective barrier.

“So… you were the person the Priest sold it to”
“Exactly”, she says. “But now it’s your turn to decide, Outer. That necklace can work as a portal. Will you go home, or will you escape to a safe place and continue the fight? Know this: the barrier can’t last forever, and there’s not enough energy to sustain both the barrier and the portal. There is only one person we can save, and we think it should be you”

You look left and right: all your companion are nodding in unison.
“No, wait, I have at least to bring Best Girl with me! She can’t fight, she will just be slaughtered!”.
A hand rests on your shoulder. Best Girl is staring into your eyes.

“Just go, Outer. We all knew something like this could occur, we were prepared from the very start”, she whispers.
“I can’t accept that! This is not your fight, you just had the bad luck of running into me!”, you scream.
To your surprise, she laughs.

“Why yes, I do have the Bad Luck trait. I guess I am just used to it. I am used to being last pick, I am used to being discarded. But this time, it’s my choice. This time I am the master of my own destiny, and I will protect what I love”
“What you… love?”
“Indeed”, she says, still smiling. “I guess I was wrong after all”

“No time for that!”, the Knight hurries you. “It’s time to take the leap!”
A spiral begins swirling in the center of the Barrier. It’s your time to go.
You’re still looking at Best Girl, but Silver Knight has taken a hold of your arm and is pulling

“Thank you for everything, Outer. It’s time to go now”
Around you, the protective barrier is crumbling. You shake off the Knight and hurry towards the swirl.
If you do it quickly enough, maybe the barrier will last a bit longer.

You take one final step and, with it, a decision:

>I want to go home
>I want to keep fighting

>>46949759
>>I want to keep fighting
NAKAMA!

>>46949759
>I want to keep fighting
Let's save the animu.

>>46949759
>I want to keep fighting
NO REGRETS

>>46949759
[x]Protect that smile
i also propose, once this all is over, to D Best girl so9 hard, half of this godforsaken dimension will carry our genes for millenia to come.

Have fun in >>>/qst/

>>46949798
>>46949853
>>46949906
>>46950067


As you take your final step into the swirl, you make your best attempt to impress the faces of all your companions in your memory.
And then you’re in the Inn once more.

But this time, there’s no Priest waiting to give you advice. No Edge Knight to talk about treason, no Warrior to guide you, no Princess to ask your hand in marriage, no Mittens to help you out with her extensive skills, no Magical Rotten Girl to teach you about this world, no Silver Knight to protect you.
And the most painful absence of all is Best Girl, the one who gave up her life for you.

“Guess I was wrong after all”, those were her last words. She was wrong about not being able to fall in love again, that’s what she had meant to tell you.
“Hm”, you comment bitterly. “It really is easy to make them fall for you”.

Behind the counter, the Innkeeper is just washing glasses. It scares you how close you were to become a person like him, one that simply does not care about things occurring outside his little sheltered garden.

But you have a duty to fight on, if anything else, to make sure your friends’ sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
The people who helped you and loved you were all citizens of this world. it is for their sake that you have elected to save it.

And yet there you are, back to square one. The compass is lost, and you’re alone once again, with
no magical artifacts to protect you.
A somewhat familiar figure is sitting at the opposite corner of the tavern.
it’s the average man the Warrior used to eat with.

You reluctantly walk towards him.
“I am sorry, this might seem abrupt, but I think we have a common acquaintance”
The plain man stands motionless, staring at you for what feels like an eternity.
“Yes, I know whom you might be talking about”, he finally says.

>>46950418
“If you’re here, it’s because something bad occurred to him. He foresaw that possibility. Could I ask you about the circumstances of his disappearance?”
“Well, I was in this Synod of the Skies or something…” you mumble, before the average man cuts you off.

“That is bad news. It means something on a much larger scale than we expected occurred”.
He stands up and rushes to the exit.
“Wait for me here, I will come back tomorrow. War is upon us, you’ll need a weapon”.

The average man storms out and you’re just left there, dumbfounded.
“No talking of weapons in my shop”, the Innkeeper lazily comments.
“Alright then. How about you pour me a beer, then?”

>>46950155
next time, lad.

IN THE NEXT ARC OF SAVING ANIME QUEST

That thing was too big to be called a dildo. Too big, too thick, too heavy and too rough. It was more like... a large chunck of rubber.

>>46950418
>>46950452
wait what
WAIT WHAT

We're going to carry this weight, huh?
>Best Girl is dead
AUTHORRRRRRRRRR

>>46950525
I thought I told you.
No love interests :^)

>>46950515
Are you confused?

>>46950606
well, they were fighting and now they're suddenly ded?
I demand a refund.

>>46950488
>NEXT ARC
YES! MORE!

Also, Best Girl is still alive, right? R-right?

>>46950630
They were fighting in hostile land against a horde of powerful Idol Magicians.
Which should also answer >>46950656
question about life and death.

File: Asura's_Wrath_SS_9.jpg (529 KB, 1280x720)

529 KB JPG

>>46950693
I FEEL MY BURNING ANGER GROWING EVER STRONGER, AUTHOR. WE WILL AVENGE ALL OF THEM.

>>46950693
It's an anime world though. There have been bigger asspulls. There is still hope.

>>46945073
/tg/ is dead!!

DEEEAAAAAAAAD