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Kyoko Sakura lunged forward, grabbing the collar of Sayaka's empty shell. After a split second of inspection, her expression twisted into a mask of pure horror.
"What is this? Why... Why is she dead?!"
The camera cut away sharply to Homura Akemi. She was a blur of motion, her body flickering through space in a desperate, high-speed dash across the city. She caught up to the truck in a heartbeat, retrieved Sayaka's Soul Gem, and vanished once more, reappearing instantly on the pedestrian bridge where the others stood. The background music shifted into a heavy, somber melody, thick with grief.
Madoka began to scream her friend's name, her voice cracking with desperation. Under the weight of Kyoko's aggressive questioning, Kyubey finally spoke, revealing one of the most soul-crushing secrets.
"For you Magical Girls, the range in which you can effectively control your bodies is roughly one hundred meters. Naturally, you should keep it with you at all times, so accidents like this are quite rare. Madoka..." Kyubey let out a soft sigh. Its face remained as innocent and adorable as ever, but its tone was chillingly indifferent.
"The girl lying there isn't Sayaka. It's just an empty shell. Didn't you just throw 'Sayaka' away a moment ago? For a Magical Girl, the original body is nothing more than a hardware casing. Your souls have been extracted and condensed into those Soul Gems."
"Don't you dare mess with me! Does that mean we're just zombies?!" Kyoko, hearing this for the first time, exploded in a fit of rage. She reached out and hoisted Kyubey into the air by its neck, her voice a guttural roar.
"Isn't it convenient? Even if your heart is pierced or you lose every drop of blood, you can repair the damage with magic. As long as your Magic, no, your Soul Gem, remains intact, you are effectively invincible. I truly don't understand why humans react this way when told the truth. Why are you all so obsessed..."
"With the physical location of your soul?"
The ending credits began to roll.
That dark, haunting female vocal echoed through the room.
In that terrifying, hopeless ending sequence, Madoka walked alone toward a growing abyss until the darkness finally swallowed her silhouette whole. Watching it now, the sequence felt utterly horrifying.
"What... what is this?" Aguri's pupils dilated in shock.
"This is what it means to be a Magical Girl? That Soul Gem isn't some transformation trinket. It's Sayaka's actual soul?"
At that moment, Aguri felt her entire worldview crumble. She had spent over a decade watching the Magical Girl genre, but in a single instant, the setting of Madoka Magica had turned those two words into something she feared.
To become a Magical Girl was to become a Soul Gem. You weren't even human anymore; you were essentially a rock that possessed the ability to pilot your former body like a remote-controlled drone.
The miracle that granted your wish came at such a price? If you weren't even human, what was the point of fulfilling a human wish? Saving the world, healing the person you loved, or helping others?
If you were no longer one of them, why would you continue to fight and bleed for them?
Sayaka had traded her humanity to heal Kyosuke's hand, hoping he would be grateful, hoping he would stay by her side, hoping they would finally start a life together.
But now, that hope felt like a cruel joke.
Would Kyosuke ever date a rock? Even if Sayaka managed to hide her true nature from him, could she ever hide it from herself? Could she really stand to manipulate her own corpse every day, playing house with her childhood friend while knowing she was nothing more than a cold gemstone?
As Aguri thought of Sayaka, Homura, Mami, and Kyoko, all those beautiful girls who were now nothing but stones, a sense of despair welled up inside her.
After seeing this, how was she ever supposed to look at Magical Girls in other anime the same way again?
For Aguri, the revelation of this secret was ten times more shocking than Mami Tomoe's death in the third episode.
---
Across various internet forums, the reaction was explosive. Millions of viewers who had finished the sixth episode of Madoka Magica felt their stomachs churning.
The plot was simply too cruel.
"God damn it, that damn Kyubey! How can a creature be this evil?"
"Shouldn't he have explained this before they signed the contract?!"
"I'm serious, guys. This show is too dark. It actually hurts to watch."
"I don't know what kind of mental state the writer, 'Warrior of Love,' was in when he created this, but he's clearly not human either. He's just as twisted as Kyubey."
"I was actually a fan of that white bunny for the first few episodes. Now I just feel sick looking at it."
"No wonder Homura was trying to kill it in the first episode. That thing deserves to die."
"Magical Girls? What a joke! Hahaha! No wonder Homura warned Madoka. It turns out Homura, Mami, and Sayaka are the only decent people in the whole show."
"Guys, I'm actually crying. I feel so bad for Sayaka. Trading your very soul just to make a wish for someone else... it's a total tragedy."
"Mami at least got her life extended by becoming one. Other girls used their wishes for themselves. But Sayaka... her wish was entirely selfless. That makes it so much worse."
"Wait, if they're invincible, why did Mami die? Her head just got bitten off."
"You weren't paying attention. Mami's Soul Gem was on her head, attached to her hair ornament."
"Damn! The 'Warrior of Love' buried the foreshadowing that deep?"
"Everything was planned from the start. Every little detail."
"Kyubey is the kind of creature where if you cut off the head and grill the rest, it probably has eight times the protein of beef."
"That stupid rabbit is the worst kind of manipulator. He knows everything, and he'll answer if you ask, but if you don't ask the right question, he stays silent. If he doesn't say anything, how are they supposed to know what to ask?"
"In the first six episodes, he must have tried to trick Madoka into a contract at least a dozen times. Looking back, he's like a predatory cult recruiter. He's pure evil."
The sixth episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica began with ratings just over 2%, but because the plot was so explosive, the numbers soared to 3.01% by the end. It was the highest-rated program across all television stations in the 9:00 PM time slot. That 3.01% peak was also the highest rating Tokyo TV had seen all day.
However, the ratings were just the beginning. The real impact was felt online. A massive wave of anime fans, having finished the episode, flooded social media with their thoughts. There was a collective outcry against the dark themes of the work.
In a display of unified frustration, the fans swarmed the "Warrior of Love" screenwriter account, launching a fresh barrage of criticism and "protests" against the author. That night, every time Haruto opened the AniSphere on his phone, he was greeted by notifications filled with fans' complaints and condemnations.
Haruto didn't know how to respond, so he simply played dead, refusing to engage.
He knew very well that the popularity of Madoka Magica would only continue to climb, but he also knew that he, as the writer, would be roasted alive by the fans.
The characters were innocent, but the "Creator" who bestowed such tragic fates upon them, the screenwriter, was clearly the villain in the eyes of the public.
---
The next day, Haruto arrived at the office.
The entire company was busy balancing their work with checking the latest statistics and fan reviews for the show.
"Good morning, Boss."
"Morning, Boss."
"Boss, you're looking sharp today!"
Having grown close to the staff, the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. Haruto smiled and nodded back before heading into his private office.
Inside, Yukino was sitting in his executive chair, using his computer to browse the latest online buzz surrounding the show.
She was wearing a sleek black dress, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders, and her clear, beautiful eyes were fixed intently on the screen.
"What are you doing?" Haruto watched her for thirty seconds before finally speaking up out of curiosity.
"Eek!" Yukino jumped, nearly falling out of the chair. She barely managed to steady herself by grabbing the edge of the desk.
"Why didn't you knock? You scared the life out of me!" she huffed.
"Why should I knock to get into my own office? I'm not crazy," Haruto replied with a grin.
Yukino realized she had been caught occupying his space and gave a bashful smile, quickly dropping the subject.
"Look at this. Your comment section is full of trolls bashing you. They're calling you a psychopath for coming up with such a disgusting plot and ruining the image of Magical Girls. I'm currently on the front lines defending you," Yukino explained.
"Don't bother with that. How many of them can you actually fight off alone?" Haruto shook his head. "As long as the show's popularity keeps growing, I don't mind the insults. I'm making money; there's no shame in that."
"Is it really okay to just leave it?" Yukino hesitated.
"Overnight, you've climbed to the number one spot on the AniSphere Forum's 'Most Hated Screenwriter of the Season' poll. You have double the votes of the person in second place. You are officially the most unpopular writer of the quarter. We should probably do something to stop this trend. The company might be tight on cash, but we could spend a few hundred thousand yen on some PR to try and salvage your reputation."
"Don't waste the resources. Besides, being hated isn't necessarily a bad thing. Infamy is still fame," Haruto laughed. "The viewers are attacking me, not the work itself. That alone proves the show is a success. By the way, how is Madoka Magica doing on the reader polls?"
"It was ninth yesterday. Today, it's fourth. And the vote count on the 'Must-Watch Anime' list is skyrocketing," Yukino said, checking the screen.
"See? There's your answer."
"But if this keeps up, the audience's negative impression of you will deepen. It'll hurt your reputation in the long run," Yukino urged.
"That's why I used the pen name 'Warrior of Love.' No one in this country knows that the 'Warrior of Love' is actually me," he replied.
"Secrets have a way of getting out. If Madoka Magica becomes a massive hit, it's bound to be nominated for awards later this year. You'll have to show your face eventually," Yukino pointed out.
Haruto fell silent for a moment.
She was right.
Given the quality of the show, it was a certainty that the show would explode in popularity once the final six episodes aired. As for awards, this anime had been a phenomenon in the original world. Even in this reality, there was no way it would walk away empty-handed.
So...
"Well, why worry about it now? If the secret comes out, it comes out. For now, I'll stay hidden. I'm still a little worried that an angry fan at the university might try to jump me and teach me a lesson," Haruto joked.
The conversation ended quickly as Haruto dove into his work. Over the next few days, Puella Magi Madoka Magica finally achieved the breakthrough Haruto had been waiting for.
The sixth episode's average ratings ranked sixth among all anime for the week.
Tokyo TV subsequently rebroadcast the episode three times over the following two days. By the time the third rebroadcast finished, its ratings actually surpassed the initial premiere, reaching an incredible average of 3.03%.
This achievement left Tokyo TV stunned.
These numbers were explosive. If the show could perform like this outside of prime time, what kind of numbers would it pull if it were moved to a more prominent slot?
Meanwhile, thousands of Magical Girl fans across the country began a spontaneous "invasion" of every major anime website and forum.
On the surface, they cursed the "Warrior of Love" as a monster, but deep down, they were utterly obsessed with the show. With nowhere else to vent their emotions, they flooded the internet with recommendations. They wanted to trick as many newcomers as possible into sharing their suffering.
The ratings were just the tip of the iceberg. The true cultural momentum of the show needed time to ferment.
On the surface, it had merely climbed from tenth to sixth in the seasonal rankings. But beneath that, because the "Madoka fever" was so intense, the show's popularity was actually accelerating at a breakneck pace.