Will You Save the Girl?

Floating midair was a tall, slender man in a black robe. His face wasn’t clear as he stood against the light of the blood-red moon and the smog-filled sky. That man, the demon lord whose name was known as Milieu, gave off a sinister vibe and rendered the mob of humans who remained alive immobile with fear. The man then gave off an evil grin.

“What’s wrong?! Is that all you got, bottom-feeders?” Milieu mocked the weakness of humans who, although equipped with armor and blessed with magic, were wide open in his eyes. It’s as if his eyes could peer through their heart and inflict invisible damage within their soul.

But being fed up by demon lord Milieu’s disdain, a woman cast a spell against him. However, her weakened state hindered her from unleashing her full power against the stronger enemy.

She looked up at the sky…no, toward the man who was spiteful of them. Her scarlet eyes pierced through Milieu with intent to annihilate him.

The woman mumbled, “D-damn it. Is this really the end?”

“Hmph! There’s no place for the weak in the world I will create. I, demon lord Milieu, will personally send you all to the underworld….”

“ULTIMATUM,” he chanted.

Then, a gigantic spinning ball of dark energy appeared from his hand. It was so compact that it created a disturbance in the surroundings in the form of a localized thunderstorm.

He threw the ball toward the helpless adventurers. The woman, who attempted to retaliate, closed her eyes. But as it was about to reach them, a voice was heard.

“LIGHT MAGIC: PRISMATIC DOME”

After that, an iridescent dome made of light engulfed the Verzicht Plain, protecting everyone from the impact of Milieu’s attack.

The woman opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw were drops of blood. She looked up, and there was another woman who was coughing blood.

Her eyes widened. Her pupils contracted and shook violently. She said:

“Arisha?”

The woman, whose name was Arisha, created that protective barrier to defend everyone against Milieu’s attack. However, she was outside the barrier when the attack reached them, thus taking all the impact.

“Arisha? No, why did you do that?”

Arisha touched the woman’s face with her bloodied hand and smiled at her until she finally fell onto the ground and died.

“ARISHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

☆ ☆ ☆

Endgame.

It’s an original fantasy anime produced by Studio Mildmouse. It has a great promotion with an unbelievably epic set of voice actors and powerful visuals. It gathered a million views in its pilot episode. For weeks, it remained on top against other contenders in weekly ranking polls on the internet.

— Endgame was set in a world where the humans and several other races were at war against the evil personified, the demon lord Milieu. Meanwhile, adventurers continued to rise in number. They created parties and accomplished quests to enhance their inherent skills. But there was one quest everyone seemed to avoid—the ultimate quest to defeat the demon lord. Maybe because of fear and lack of skills enough to face the strongest foe of humanity.

The anime was well-received by otakus and critics alike. Why not? It’s good. There’s a lot of plot twist in every episode that makes you hooked. Since it’s not adapted from a manga, game, or novel, the best thing that a viewer can do is create theories and discuss them in Webbit, an online forum site, with their fellow fans. And I am one of them.

Since the Endgame was aired, I was one of those who started a discussion thread about it under the name Tenjin. I shared my opinions about the casting, animation, soundtrack, storyline, and characters.

But the topic I love to discuss the most was a particular side character in Endgame that I fell in love with.

– A character who prefers working in the shadows but is a friend you can rely on. A half-angel specializing in light magic and capable of espionage, defense, and spirit summoning. She’s a little shy and doesn’t want to stand out unnecessarily.

Her name is Arisha Anzhelika Sorokina. When Arisha appeared in the anime, I was already captivated by her strange charm. But for some reason, she wasn’t that popular compared to the other female characters. Probably, it’s because the anime follows a chaotic storyline. Viewers wanted to see characters who stood out. Whenever I mention something about Arisha, some people in Webbit often comment:

[Who’s Arisha?]

[Oh, that half-angel?!]

[Anyway, let’s talk about…instead.]

[She has no appeal. I prefer…more.]

– Like, what’s wrong with y’all?

But that’s their opinion. Everyone has their own preference, but for me, Arisha is the “best girl” and my “waifu.”

That’s why I was distraught when the anime was near its conclusion because it “killed” my Arisha. It was such a shock.

She sacrificed herself to protect everyone from the demon lord’s attack. While that was a necessary sacrifice for the storyline to advance, I still couldn’t accept that she was the one chosen to be killed. There’s this feeling of being betrayed within me.

That’s when I thought that, unlike popular opinion, Endgame was lousy after all.

After that episode, I stopped posting anything about the anime and tucked myself in bed all day. I was devastated. Depressing thoughts welled up in my mind. In my dream, there’s the memory of the episode. It wasn’t a dream. It was a nightmare, a nightmare I thought would haunt me as long as I continued to fawn over Arisha.

But I couldn’t simply dismiss my affection for her. Despite being a fictional character, I still wish that a one-in-a-million event of meeting her would occur in my lifetime. My mind was deluded with that kind of transcending emotion.

– If only I was there, I’d do anything to save Arisha.

Such a thought has been my heart’s plea ever since.

☆ ☆ ☆

One night, I went to the balcony outside my room. On my hand was a drawing of Arisha that I made since I couldn’t find any of her fan art.

I was on the verge of crying, but I did my best to hold it back.

“I’m so pathetic. Believing that such a thing would happen. Maybe it’s time….”

As I turned around back to my room, an indescribable light shone in front of me.

– What’s happening? It can’t be. Will a goddess appear? I feel like I’m inside an anime.

A beautiful woman appeared as the light faded away. Her hair was as white as an Arctic fox. She was wearing a turquoise ribbon that almost covered her hair. The iris of her eyes was like a toy marble painted with orange dye. She resembled Athena, the Olympian goddess of wisdom. So I thought that she was a goddess as well. Not that I saw one before. The “goddess” spoke.

“Hello, Yoshiro Tanigawa!”

“Um, h-h-hello! W-what can I do for you?”

– Damn, I stuttered. My lack of communication skills kicked in.

Whenever a stranger talks to me, I can’t help but be confused as I decide what words to say. In the end, I always stammer. I can nonstop speak if it’s talking through a discussion thread, but talking in person is another story.

The woman laughed a bit. “No. I’m Faina, a goddess who oversees the nearby horizon. I’m here because I heard your wish.”

“My wish?”

“Yes. You want to save the girl named Arisha, right?”

My eyes widened upon hearing Arisha’s name.

“How did you—”

“Didn’t I tell you I’m a goddess? I will grant your wish right now.”

– For real?

I felt my heart race for a moment. Never in my life that I imagine I would encounter a divine being. Everything’s too good to be true.

“Ouch!” I slapped my cheek so hard that the pain radiated for a few seconds.

The goddess Faina was caught off guard. “Eh? What’s wrong, Yoshiro?”

“Ah, sorry! I thought I was just dreaming.”

“I knew that you’re an interesting human. Well, it’s reality. As I have said, I will grant your wish. But I just want to ask one question before that.”

“What is it?”

Faina looked intently and wore an unfazed expression. She asked, “Will you save the girl Arisha from her fated death?”

It’s easy to say ‘yes, of course.’ After all, I loved Arisha more than anyone else. But probably, she was asking for my resolve. I still don’t know how I would do that. Faina might not tell me how everything will proceed just yet. Saying yes is a huge gamble. However, when it comes to Arisha, come hell or high water, there’s only one answer.

“Yes.”

I preferred not to elaborate and just said it. I thought that the goddess had a very sharp intuition. She might be able to read between the lines.

“I see. Well then, I, Faina, under my authority as a goddess in the nearby horizon, shall grant your wish, Yoshiro Tanigawa.”

A bright light, rivaling the luminosity of a white dwarf star, appeared and engulfed everything in my sight. Then, I saw an image of the setting of Endgame.

“You shall be transported to the world where the girl, Arisha Anzhelika Sorokina, exists.”

– I see. This really isn’t a dream.

“My power restricts me from directly interfering with your journey. However, there are times that we may encounter again in that world. I will pray that you’ll save this girl and achieve happiness, Yoshiro.”

– Thank you, goddess Faina!

That’s the start of my journey to another world—the journey to search for Arisha and save her from death.

At last, the “wall” between me and my “waifu” is broken. Now, I’m going to save my dearest one.

☆ ☆ ☆