[Upon seeing Firefly safe and sound, the corners of Stelle's mouth lifted unconsciously. Her steps quickened, carrying irrepressible delight. In the end, she was almost jogging.]
[However.]
[The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up—Stelle abruptly bent down. The wind pressure from the sharp claw brushed past the back of her neck, sending a shiver through her. She staggered and looked up, only to see the cruelest scene—]
[Firefly had already been lifted into the air by the Meme.]
[The expression on her face was caught off guard, surprised… and she hadn't even had time to feel terror before the Meme's sharp tail blade precisely pierced through her chest.]
["Puchi."]
[It was as if time had become incredibly slow at this moment—slow enough for her to clearly see the trajectory of the crystal-clear water droplets sliding off the tail blade, slow enough for her to hear the girl's dying yet infinitely guilty apology.]
["I'm… sorry…"]
[Stelle's legs felt rooted to the ground as she watched helplessly while that cold-gleaming section of tail blade advanced another half inch.]
["Schlick—"]
[The sound of metal penetrating flesh was exceptionally clear. Firefly's body trembled lightly with the motion, like a kite blown by the wind. Two lines of clear tears slid down her pale cheeks, refracting crystal-clear light under the dream's night glow.]
[The tail blade suddenly withdrew and flung Firefly fiercely toward the ground. Stelle staggered forward with outstretched hands to catch her, but only passed futilely through her body, catching only a handful of crystal water splashes.]
——
KonoSuba.
"Kazuma! Kazuma, what's wrong with you?!"
Aqua's scream echoed throughout the guild. Kazuma fell straight back like a chopped tree, slamming onto the floor with a "thud." His eyes remained wide open as if refusing to close.
"No way! Did he faint because he couldn't accept that Firefly-chan, saved by sacrificing ten years of single life, died so tragically?" Aqua knelt beside him in panic, poking Kazuma's cheek with her finger.
"No choice then…" Aqua took a deep breath and placed her hands stacked on Kazuma's chest: "Heal!"
A dazzling light flashed—Kazuma's body suddenly bounced half a meter high before slamming back down heavily.
"Ouch ouch ouch!" Kazuma sat up clutching the back of his head. "I think I had a dream where Miss Firefly got pierced through the chest. Hahaha… Aqua, that was a dream, right?"
"Miss Firefly?" Megumin pointed at the puddle of water in Stelle's hands. "That's Miss Firefly."
"…"
Kazuma's face visibly changed from pale to iron-blue. His lips trembled a few times before only letting out a "guh" sound—
"Thud!"
He fell straight back like a broken flagpole and lost consciousness again.
——
Chainsaw Man.
Watching the scene of Firefly being killed in the sky screen, Denji slumped on the old sofa, his back sinking deep into the already deformed cushion.
(Why did Firefly die? Isn't Miss Acheron super strong?)
(Come to think of it, that Meme was too sneaky…)
(Should I be crying right now? But I can't squeeze out any tears at all.)
"My heart was taken by Firefly. Perhaps there will be no more joy or sorrow in this life."
Denji only felt nauseous—nauseous enough to almost vomit the buttered bread and ice cream he ate for breakfast. He desperately covered his mouth as an indescribable sorrow surged into his heart.
"Will I never see Firefly again…"
His fingers curled slightly, as if trying to grasp something, but ultimately only futilely brushed against the slightly rough fabric of the sofa.
The devil beside him frowned.
"Hey hey, Denji, what's with that look on your face? It's disgusting…"
Power, chewing snacks beside him, said boredly: "Weren't you the one who liked Sparkle the most? If Firefly dies, can't you just have Sparkle transform into Firefly someday and see her again?"
"Plus Sparkle can transform into anything she wants. She might even make some fine adjustments to the body and turn into a Firefly with bigger breasts?"
"…"
Denji fell silent for a moment and began tilting his head to think carefully.
(Eh?)
(Seems like that's actually possible…)
That indescribable sorrow instantly turned into lewd thoughts, making Denji perk up again in a flash.
(A Firefly-chan with bigger breasts?)
"Nice!"
——
Gintama.
Gintoki's eyes rolled back and he collapsed onto the sofa. His arm hung limply, and the strawberry milk slipped from his fingers, splashing a pink stain on the floor.
"Aaaah—!" He let out a heart-wrenching wail and twisted around on the sofa like a dehydrated eel. "Why! Why do good women always leave first! A beautiful girl of this level could at least survive three volumes in JUMP!"
"I-I want to create a world with Rin… no! With Firefly in it aaaah!"
Shinpachi pushed up his glasses and retorted speechlessly: "Is it really appropriate for you to say that? Even if someone's going to awaken the Mangekyō, it should be Stelle, not you…"
Gintoki suddenly sat up with a kip-up and grabbed his natural perm: "Damn it! Why didn't Acheron and Black Swan react at all?! I remember that Galaxy Ranger Acheron is quite strong too, right?"
"Maybe they were careless and didn't dodge?" Kagura said while chewing dried kombu.
"Is that the point!?" Gintoki rolled up a JUMP magazine into a tube and smacked Kagura's head with it. "The point is because of their negligence, we lost another beautiful girl who fell from the sky! And Stelle also lost her chance to get a girlfriend!"
——
["Stelle, are you… okay?"]
["This… is it a dream…" Stelle still looked at everything happening before her eyes in disbelief.]
["Stelle, look at me… calm down, take deep breaths, okay?" Acheron looked at her with a concerned face.]
[After Black Swan used her Memokeeper abilities to help Stelle ease a bit, Stelle barely managed to pull herself out of the pain of losing Firefly a little. The key was that everything happened too suddenly.]
["I'm really sorry. I need to leave for a short while… Death is still wandering. I must personally confirm the safety of Miss Himeko and Miss March 7th and give them a warning…"]
[After entrusting Stelle's safety to Acheron, Black Swan left.]
[With this happening, Acheron was also very regretful. She had been too focused on Firefly and neglected the sneak attack from the Mem.]
["This isn't your fault. The urgent task now is to figure out what happened."]
[Acheron nodded: "Yes. We should keep our eyes sharp, think about where the real enemy is hiding, and how to resist them… Don't let pain control your thoughts, Stelle. Only by maintaining yourself can you stay on the right path."]