“Alevia, I'm going out for a while,” Otomi Mao informed his wife. There was something he felt had to be done now that Riho had openly declared her intentions.

“Be safe...” Alevia took his arm, “Come home soon.”

Mao took her hand and rested his cheek on the top of her head, “Of course. I love you.”

“And I you.”

With that Mao vanished with a pulse of magical energy.

He reappeared in a dark space filled with chaotic power, a place he had visited once before when meeting with the one magical girl he had managed to convince before Riho, Ikue Airu.

He held up a hand, and a pulse of his own magic quieted the chaos for a good distance around him. His form shifted from that of a human man to his Overlord form, twelve wings in a ring behind him, resplendent horns adorning his head like a crown. His long tail snapped forward, and he created a message out of a parcel of mana, then flicked the fan-like spines at the end of the tail, sending off the message.

“Now, the stage is set. How will the old hag move?”

Okoto Kaena had returned to Prirpon after confronting Riho and Kikyo when they had summoned Lasrefel. She was fuming, but not at the girls or even at the interference of Lasrefel and Otomi Mao, but herself. She had a lot of pride as an educator of Magical Girls. To have not one but two of her students turn their backs on the Pririponian way she had worked so hard to establish was an unforgivable failure.

Many queens had come and gone under her tutelage, and together as teacher and student they had developed many new magics, techniques that allowed them to make the most of a Magical Girl's potential without the tedious and slow study of magic principals, those could be researched later once they had grown old and curious.

However, something Okoto herself failed to realize was something simple, and something that steered Priripon in a warped direction: her desire to erase her biggest failure, Otomi Mao. For that purpose she had led the future queens and Magical Girls to develop more and more in the direction of combat and warfare.

Outside of her notice, one of her prodigious students had developed something rather ghastly, and shared it among her comrades who were to take on the Overlord's Army. They called it the 'Dark Mirror,' it allowed the girls who used it to go past the limits of their power and access a new transformation. They called this 'Higan Henkan' or Stagnation Conversion. What made it so ghastly was the fact that it eroded the hold one had over their physical form, eating away even into one's own lifespan.

By the time Okoto had learned of this, seven of her students had been claimed by this 'Dark Mirror.' The only thing that remained of them was a void-like space with a magical thread that held onto the quality of their mana.

Holding herself responsible, she hid this fact, and regaled the fallen Magical Girls as heroes. This weighed heavily on her because it wasn't the first time her negligence and haste to take on the demon lord of Makai had cost the lives of her students. Many of her earlier students perished just trying to cross over the border between Priripon and Makai. The World Snakes were not bores but barriers, a fact she hid not of her will but because of a promise she had made with the Seventh Queen of Priripon, who supported her goals but thought it would be difficult to continue a long offensive war, so to spin the tale as one of defense might inspire pride in their Magical Girls.

Though they were barriers, they were still bodies of intense activated magic, trying to pierce through one or colliding into one at high enough speeds to puncture it would release an equally intense reaction that wouldn't leave a trace of the one who had attempted the feat behind. The trick was to run along the barrier's edge and use the energy of the Magical Girl's change in form to slip between the snakes. Then it was only a matter of crossing over into Makai the way one would navigate to any other netherworld.

Getting home was the another problem, one that had consumed many Magical Girls as well. The World Snakes emanated from the Overlord's Castle, which made running along them while fending off Mazoku a difficulty. It was no use trying to fly to the point at which they intersected with Priripon either, as that was less of a physical location than a magical concept, the vanishing point of the dimensional horizon so to speak. Those who had tried found themselves lost in the mist that surrounded the borders of Makai, unable even to return to Makai itself, only wandering in a pale gray mist covered forest until they ran out of strength.

The solution lay in the emblems all Magical Girls carried. This served as an anchor not only for their pact partners, but to Priripon itself. This allowed a Magical Girl in a pinch to exhaust a large portion of mana to instantly warp back to Priripon. However, here too lay a tragic truth. If they couldn't afford that manacost, they would still be returned to Priripon, but going beyond one's manacapacity was dangerous. It created imbalances with their pact partners, could put them in a deep sleep for weeks, and in very dire circumstances, of course, would lead to death.

For a long time, Okoto had thought it was this method which would need the most revision and development, but whether it was thanks to the vast amounts of mana the pact partners of Magical Girls possessed, or the reluctance of Mazoku to actually fight to the death, the number of Magical Girls lost because of this flaw was incredibly low.

Reflecting on these things, Okoto's thoughts drifted to something she considered almost nightly.

“I ought to challenge that whelp who calls himself a king myself.”

Ordinarily she would dismiss this thought, she was no fool, as much as she talked down to him she was keenly aware of his vast magical potential. However, after losing Riho the way she had, she felt more personally hurt. Riho had been one of her most devoted pupils, and talented. This meant Okoto had put a great deal of care and time into teaching her. As cold and calculating as she could be, Okoto did care about her students a great deal. In fact, she was always thinking of what was best for her girls. Because of this, her grudge against Mao grew, and the reckless thought's voice grew louder.

So when the proverbial writ of challenge arrived, she didn't think twice and, immediately she teleported herself to the chaotic space where her foe awaited.

“So you did come.”

“After such a passionately worded letter, how could I not,” Okoto taunted.

“Do you know what this place is?” Mao asked, venom on his tongue.

Okoto's expression darkened, “I have some idea...”

That was enough in Mao's mind, he launched forward, raking his claws down towards the elderly looking Magical Girl. A sakura blossom pink magical shield took his blow, the two strained against each other.

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“What are the people of Priripon to you!?” Mao roared.

Okoto traced a shape with her hands, and Mao's claws were parried away by a sudden blast of magical force.

“My how rude, I suppose I should expect as much from a man,” she said it with such contempt that Mao physically felt trauma brimming inside of him.

Okoto too felt a sensitive part of her had been burned, the Overlord knew nothing of her struggles and how it felt to lose student after student. She raised an arm in the air, and in a flash was adorned with magical regalia.

“Fine, let us be serious then. Maybe then you'll finally stop being the thorn in my side!”

As her mana levels surged she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She whirled around and saw several sets of eyes had manifested from within the chaotic power outside the 'ring' Mao had cleared. She recognized the magical presences from each of the eyes, a total of seven.

She faltered, and fell to her knees. Mao kept his guard up, but took a neutral stance.

“So it is true this is...”

“The Dark Mirror,” Mao answered.

“Why do you know about this place!?”

“Because this is where I met Ikue Airu.”

Okoto's shoulders slumped, “Oh, is that so. I see.”

“What caused this? Their bodies have been destroyed, but their magic persists, and has been tangled up here. What have you been doing to your own people!?”

“Do not blame me for things you do not understand!” Okoto snapped. She stood slowly, and approached the eyes who watched her closely. She spoke softly, “I had some bright students, you see. They wanted to defeat you so they searched for a way to bring out the fullness of their power.”

“That much I understand,” Mao said.

“But you don't,” Okoto said continuing, “I would never have allowed them to resort to this foolish self-sacrificial nonsense! It does me no good to lose capable students!” tears rolled down her cheeks, “The fools...”

Mao stood down, he hadn't foreseen this. Perhaps because he only knew the ruthless man-hating Okoto Kaena. He had assumed Riho and even Airu had been being deceived by a megalomaniac who wanted to use them until there was nothing left. But it would seem that wasn't the whole truth.

“If that's the case why can't you just leave me and my people well enough alone?” he said bitterly.

“You are a stain! A failure in whose shadow I will live until I have removed it!”

“I guess words won't solve this,” Mao said through gritted teeth. Both parties took up fighting stances, but from the outside of the ring, laces of magic in seven colors reached out. Like feelers, they touched and brushed against the two adversaries. A single voice, no, seven voices layered over one another making a single thought, spoke.

“Teacher, Overlord. Sorry. Do not fight. We see. See. Watch. We watch. We hear. Hear. Teacher, do not hate. Do not hate the Overlord. Overlord, do not hate Teacher, please. Please.”

Mao bit his lip and gently took some of the feelers in a hand. He could feel the magic of the seven girls still strongly within.

Okoto saw his expression, and the gentleness of his touch. She grew irrationally angry.

“What is that look!? Don't touch them! I said don't! I won't accept it!” She stomped the ground, the feelers around her recoiled slightly. She calmed a bit, “I'm sorry, that was scary wasn't it...” but she continued to glare at Mao.

“Okoto Kaena, what fuels your hatred?” Mao asked, a question he had never been able to ask.

Okoto flinched, up until this point Mao had kept her at a distance, his own anger and distrust of her obvious and as strong as any magical barrier. But now, surrounded by the magic of seven foolish girls who just wanted to please their teach, his voice was weakened, his will to fight with violence tempered.

“Even if I told you it would change nothing! You are a plague!”

“Then tell your students at least. Give them a reason to accept what lead them down this path.”

Okoto's blood froze. The feelers around her grew heavy, and she had the first real awakening to what overlooking one little factor of one's own motivations could have wrought.

But Okoto Kaena was a bitterly stubborn old bird, and one conversation or a hundred wouldn't move her. With no words to save herself, she leaped towards Mao, preparing a spell.

But the feelers, clearly tuned into and sensing her thoughts, tangled around her.

“I'm disappointed, Teacher. Disappointed. Withdraw for today. Withdraw.”

But Okoto was locked onto her quarry, she pushed a hand outwards, a staff appeared in it, and the spell continued charging. Mao watched on in horror and fascination as the feelers tangled further around Okoto. The staff was knocked from her grasp, other feelers latched onto it, and actually broke it. The eyes bored into her.

“Relent. Relent. Relent. Repent. Relent. Relent. Relent. Repent. Repent. Relent,” the seven but one voice said almost mechanically.

Okoto continued to thrash, “I must erase it! All of my failures! They cannot be left to fester!”

“Teacher that will not save Priripon. Will not save. Relent and go in peace. In peace.”

“Never! The Overlord must be dethroned! I must defeat him! I must kill him!” Okoto sounded more and more frenzied.

“The Overlord must live. Must live. Priripon is doomed. Doomed.”

Okoto howled, Mao couldn't even see her anymore, so many threads had wrapped up around her.

“What do you mean, Priripon is doomed?” Mao asked, that was news to him.

“The Dark Mirror grows. Grows. It turns towards the core. The core. The base artifact. Artifact. The artifact is in Priripon. In Priripon.”

“Aren't you all the Dark Mirror?” Mao asked, Okoto's voice now only a muffled sound beneath layer upon layer of magical thread.

“No. No, no, no. The Dark Mirror hungers. Hungers. I am I. We are we. Across the void. The void. The lesser mirrors. Lesser mirrors. Here we are tangled. Tangled. But still separable. Separable. It is what houses and extends our magic that hunts the artifact. The artifact. Hunts.”

Thinking about it closely, Mao realized that indeed, the chaotic power that filled this dimension wasn't the rampaging magical event from the lost forms of the seven girls, but something else entirely.

“What will you do with Okoto?”

“Sustain the status quo. Status quo. Using Teacher's power the hunt may be postponed. Postponed. But someday it will begin. Begin. So do come back and save us. Save us.”

Mao could have sworn he felt a sad smile from the seven voices. But before he could ask anymore he was suddenly ejected from the dimension.

“I'm home...I guess,” he called reluctantly. Alevia came running.

“Welcome back! What happened?” she asked as she saw the difficult expression Mao was making.

“Well...Okoto probably won't be a problem any more but, things have gotten a little complicated.”

“Complicated how?”

“It's looking like I'm going to have to save Priripon...”

Alevia's eyes widened.