She'd seen in advance that there might be, but the vision that had brought this to her attention in the first place had been murkier than most. Even in the moment, she had struggled to make out a number of the relevant details, the mental imagery swirling about as though being sucked down a drain.
Hmm, the "visuals" of that make it sound like her vision was affected by Ashy's Subsumption. Maybe due to her Barrier being a world that absorbs things that is a inherent effect, more pronounced on esoteric magic like precognition? Or...
Maybe Oriko doesn't have precognition as such and acts more as a receiver for visions from the Oriko of that vision's timeline? This would explain why her visions always show problems, she presumably wouldn't be interested in warning her previous self about unimportant things. That could mean her vision of Ashy was distorted due to that specific Oriko being in the process of getting Subsumed.
Kirika shrugged. "Eh, I ran into a couple other magical girls that I guess were after the witch too, but they weren't a problem."
Oriko frowned. "And what happened to them?"
"No idea, I left them in the dust." Kirika nonchalantly replied. "I could have taken care of them more permanently, buuuuut I figured if you wanted me to do that, you'd have said so before I left."
Huh, Kirika couldn't have run into Sayaka and Tira on her way in, so they were still active after Ashy got cut down. It also sounds like Ashy's Barrier didn't collapse, which would explain why Kirika didn't get dumped into a different Labyrinth.
This could either be because Ashy can use the Grief Seeds of other active Witches to stabilize her Barrier or an effect of Candeloro's nature being Inviting, thus not allowing Ashy to 'leave'.
Kirika's accidental murder of Komaki Asako had already put them in dangerously hot water. Kyubey hadn't yet figured out the culprit, but they couldn't afford to draw any more attention from him right now, nor from anyone else for that matter.
That still happened, which means Koito Asako(Komaki's little sister) might show up as a magical girl. Canonically we don't know much about her, but if Oriko and Kirika behave weirdly shortly after Komaki Asako got killed... Well, Kyubey might use that to get a new magical girl, even if blaming those two correctly would be more of a lucky coincidence from his side.
One life, in exchange for that of millions, billions, even... it should have been no question at all. But no matter the obvious justness of her cause, it didn't change that the only true solution to the problem, the only permanent, surefire means of removing Kaname Madoka's witch from the picture, would inevitably require...
Not really. She could convince a girl to make a Wish that blocks Madoka from making a Wish. Or a magical effect that prevents Madoka from perceiving Kyubey, like what the Pleiades Saints had going.
Thankfully, such concerns were unimportant in regards to witches that already were. There were no hard lines to cross, no uncomfortable questions of morality to be resolved or justified after the fact.
Lol, lmao. She has no idea what's going on in Asunaro.
(-a swirling vortex engulfing the titanic amalgam-)
(-pure white roots spearing into the Earth-)
(-the planet cracking beneath the weight of another's world-)
Interesting. So my suspicions about what happens if Ashy runs into a Conglomerate Witch were right. The 'another's world' part is weirdly poetic from Oriko's viewpoint so I wonder if that is because she is getting Subsumed or because Ashy's Barrier is special and
feels like its own world, unlike normal Labyrinths.
...That might actually also play a role in why Ashy's Barrier did stick around even without her Grief Seed.
Letting out a breath, Oriko looked down, idly examining the grief seed she still held. Perhaps fittingly for such an abnormal witch, even what remained of it now broke significantly from the norm. Not only was the seed at least half again as large as any other she'd ever held, but its design was considerably more intricate — if also somewhat warped-looking. The metal frame seemed thicker than normal, yet somewhat jagged, as though additional material had been twisted around it and soldered on after the fact. The emblem that crowned the seed seemed almost mashed together, making it nigh-impossible to visually identify, and there even appeared to be numerous multicolored gem fragments embedded in the object's exterior.
So, the extra size is probably from Saar, due to her being the only fully Subsumed Witch. The mishmash emblem implies there might still be a connection between Ashy, Charlotte, and Candeloro. Or it counts potentially but currently not existing Witches too.
The gem fragments mean Sayaka's and Tira's gems are shattered and their souls are directly floating around in Ashy. Just pulling them out will be impossible but they might be able to draw out parts of Ashy that contain their souls.
The girl from Oriko's vision leapt back to avoid them, while the second girl strode out of the portal to join her, their faces twisted into identical expressions of fury.
"Give me back my SOUL!"
That is fascinating. Sayaka and Tira stayed active despite Ashy's Grief Seed being removed and far away from them. That heavily implies the Grief Seed doesn't contain their souls, potentially not even Ashy's soul.
In hindsight, that makes sense. Sayaka was unable to move away from Ashy's Barrier but had no issues moving away from Ashy while being in the Barrier. That implies their souls are directly in Ashy's Barrier and the Grief Seed serves more as a stabilizer for the Labyringht/Barrier. Something Ashy doesn't necessarily need, for whatever reason, unlike other Witches.
We already know a Labyrinth can exist even without an active Witch, as long as there is a Grief Seed, from Charlotte's example. That could mean the Witch is just a terminal for the despaired magical girl to interact with her own Labyrinth(caused by them being used to
being a person instead of
a location), while the despaired magical girl
is the Labyrinth itself.
However, this left the remaining girl free to follow after, the coiled gold ribbons laid over her shoulders bouncing as a sword of her own spilled into existence from between her fingers.
Oh, hey. Candeloro is also still around.
"You won't escape!" Kirika snarled as she made to follow-
A massive, roaring blast of tainted wind burst forth from the open tear in the world, blasting both girls backwards more effectively than an actual explosion.
Looks like Ashy hatched again the moment her Grief Seed entered her Barrier. Might be a Grief level thing, or she is literally unable to hatch outside of her own Barrier.
Oriko nodded. Kirika was always most effective on her own, but without the benefit of surprise or a better measure of their foes' collective abilities, pursuing the pair into what was clearly their own territory could go even more poorly than the battle they'd just fought.
I would think the shitload of Grief they produced with this fight would be more of an issue. But eh...
She'd hardly expected the pair to be toting around a witch, after all, much less to somehow have control over its personal dimension.
...I can think of three different magical girls that can control Witches to this extent.
Honestly, this is an interesting look into Oriko. She appears pretty well informed for any fights she chooses, but stuff like this makes it clear that there are many things she doesn't know and if it doesn't end up as the subject of one of her visions, she won't learn about it.
"Uh..." Kirika hemmed, scratching the back of her head. "No, actually. I thought it was a little weird, but I had its grief seed already, so I figured that was enough."
Oriko frowned. Evidently not — at least, not while those girls were around to bring it back. And if that was its somehow-persisting labyrinth, not even that of the witch the one girl had hanging around her neck, then it was entirely plausible that the pair had even more in reserve.
Charlotte is still around somewhere. And Saar might show up again.
Both of which somewhat counter Kirika. Charlotte due to her raw durability and Saar simply due to her ability to grow too beefy for Kirika to fight over time.
Oriko closed her eyes and concentrated.
Yes, she could still sense it — the single crystal sphere she'd managed to sneak into the portal before it vanished. It was heading west, away from the city, and ascending quickly.
If her crystal ball is still magical, Ashy should be able to Subsume it. Which means she might view any vision Oriko gets to. All it would need is Shemesh or another Familiar finding the ball.
