The potential to birth a multiversal-level existence.
The moment Su Mo uttered those words, the entire chat group fell silent. Not just Madoka, but even Shiroyasha's eyes widened, frozen in place as she wondered if she had misheard something.
What did Su Mo just say?
On par with the Little Garden? A multiversal-level existence?
Madoka: "N-No way, right?" Madoka stammered.
Madoka: "How could my world have such a powerful being... Could it be aliens?"
It wasn't that she didn't believe Su Mo, but the information he revealed was simply too shocking.
Although Madoka didn't have a concrete understanding of multiversal-level power, she knew at least one thing.
Even someone as powerful as Su Mo was currently only at Tier 7, the single-universe level, still one tier below multiversal.
What had her world done to deserve producing an existence even stronger than the current Lord Su Mo?
Just look at the Little Garden, where gods and Buddhas roamed freely.
To birth an existence of that caliber, you'd at least need a large group of world-destroyers and a massive number of star-busters below them. And her world had none of that!
Shiroyasha: "It could also be something like parallel worlds, like on my end. The Little Garden may have a high level, but if you look at the universes it's connected to, half of them are actually completely ordinary."
Shiroyasha was more experienced in this regard. Even a collection of purely ordinary worlds, if numerous enough, could give birth to a singularity like the Little Garden. The Nasuverse was the same.
Shiroyasha: "In any case, it's difficult for a single world to birth a multiversal-level existence... Madoka, your place should have quite a few parallel worlds."
Su Mo: "Shiroyasha is right."
Su Mo nodded. In the original story, the world of Puella Magi Madoka Magica did indeed give birth to the multiversal Law of Cycles.
But that was an existence born from the wishes of all magical girls and witches from all worlds, past and present.
The very foundation of Madokami's birth was a multiversal-level wish.
This wasn't too different from the foundation of the Decadent Wind's birth in the Little Garden.
Su Mo: "Of course, Madoka has a point as well."
Madoka: "Eh?"
Shiroyasha: "What do you mean? She really does have aliens there?"
Everyone had just been convinced by Shiroyasha's theory, so they were surprised to hear Su Mo say this.
Rin Tohsaka: "Don't tell me, the crisis in Madoka's world is actually an alien invasion of Earth or something?"
She subconsciously thought of the sci-fi movies she had seen.
Su Mo: "No, the aliens here are very different from what you're thinking. You'll understand when you see them."
Su Mo shook his head. Compared to the classic depictions in sci-fi films, Kyubey was actually a more plausible representation of an alien.
The former was just an imitation of the white man's invasion of the Americas; the latter, representing a mismatch of resources, was the norm in the universe.
However...
Su Mo raised his head and looked at the starry sky outside the window. Besides Earth, the entire Milky Way, and even the Virgo Supercluster, seemed devoid of any other signs of life.
Could it be that Kyubey came from another part of the Laniakea Supercluster, or perhaps from a different supercluster entirely?
With Su Mo's power, traversing other superclusters wasn't difficult, but it was an inefficient method and unnecessarily troublesome.
As he was thinking this, he suddenly noticed Madoka's hesitant gaze. "What is it?" he asked, looking down at her.
"Lord Su Mo, it's getting late. Do you need to rest?" Madoka asked, forcing down her shyness. "If you do, you can rest in my room. I-I-I can sleep on the floor!"
Late at night, a man and a woman alone—it was a perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, Madoka was a bit of a coward, too shy to make a direct invitation.
Hearing her words, the expressions of the others in the chat group immediately changed.
Rin Tohsaka: "???"
Rin Tohsaka: "Madoka! Even a goody-two-shoes like you has learned how to jump the gun?"
The twin-tailed girl was filled with righteous indignation.
Kanae Kocho: "Sleeping on the floor might get you a cold. You should act as a pillow and warm the bed for Lord Su Mo instead!"
Kanae covered her mouth and giggled, not minding giving her friend a little push.
March 7th: "Wait! I haven't even done that yet! It was me first... okay, even if you were first, you still snatched him from me!"
March 7th stomped her feet, cursing herself for being a coward and letting such a good opportunity with Lord Su Mo slip away.
Hearing all this, the already thin-skinned Madoka couldn't take it anymore.
Madoka: "I-I-I, that's not what I meant!"
Madoka: "It's just that there's only one guest room, and going out might let my parents know... I-I didn't mean to take advantage of Lord Su Mo!"
Naturally, the others didn't believe her explanation. But there was still some kindness in the world.
Erica Blandelli: "Don't worry, Madoka. Even if the others don't believe you, Big Sister Erica believes you!"
Madoka: "Aww~ Big Sister Erica, you're so nice!"
Madoka was deeply moved. Seeing this, Erica immediately added.
Erica Blandelli: "However, while you may not want to take advantage of Lord Su Mo, I do!"
Madoka: "Huh?" Madoka was dumbfounded.
Erica Blandelli: "Madoka, listen to your big sister. Lord Su Mo is too much for you to handle. Let Big Sister Erica take over!"
The blonde knight-princess finally revealed her true intentions.
Rin Tohsaka: "..."
Rin Tohsaka: "Despicable!"
Erica Blandelli: "This is called being flexible. I can't let Kanae and the others always get ahead."
Erica Blandelli: "Madoka, don't worry. After Big Sister Erica is done handling him, I'll tell you all about the experience. I'll even let you listen from the corner. It's better than you sleeping on the floor alone!"
Rin Tohsaka: "???"
What kind of demonic offer was that? Before she could even retort, the live feed in front of her vanished.
Group member Madoka has turned off the live stream.
Erica Blandelli: "Eh? Madoka? Madoka, what are you doing... If you have the guts to make a request, have the guts to keep the stream open!"
Erica was stunned. She hadn't expected Madoka to have such nerve.
But no matter what she said, Madoka didn't respond again. As a girl who had just started middle school, she knew full well that she couldn't win an argument against the older sisters in the group. In that case, she just wouldn't argue.
Rin Tohsaka: "Hahahahaha!"
The twin-tailed girl immediately burst into laughter. The chat group was once again filled with a cheerful atmosphere of friendly bickering.
---||---
In Madoka's world, the pink-haired girl's face was flushed, her eyes glaring at the screen in front of her, still fuming.
It was her room, and they wanted to kick her out to listen from the corner? That was too much! She wasn't a clueless child like Sister March 7th!
After decisively rejecting Erica's proposal, Madoka looked at Su Mo with some trepidation, wondering if he would refuse.
"Thank you, but rest isn't a necessity for me."
"Oh, okay!" Madoka lowered her head in disappointment, though she knew things wouldn't progress that quickly.
Just then, Su Mo spoke again. "However, it's only eight o'clock, not yet your usual bedtime. Would you like to go for a walk together?"
Hearing this, Madoka's head shot up in pleasant surprise. "Eh? Lord Su Mo, you want to explore this world?"
"Mhm." Su Mo nodded, giving her a deep look. "After all, it's a world capable of birthing a multiversal-level existence. I'm very interested."
"Okay! Then I'll be your guide, Lord Su Mo!" Madoka nodded eagerly.
She was already dressed, thanks to Su Mo, so all she needed to do was grab her small bag and she was ready to go.
After getting ready, Madoka tiptoed out of her room, moving stealthily down the hallway like a thief, afraid of being discovered by her parents.
Normally, if she were going out to play, her parents wouldn't mind as long as she wasn't back too late. But now, with a man following behind her, if her parents found out, it would be impossible to explain.
Madoka did her best to be stealthy, but alas, fate had other plans. As she and Su Mo were crossing the first-floor living room, the kitchen door opened. Madoka's father walked out with a plate of sliced fruit, coming face to face with them.
"D-Dad, th-this is..."
Their eyes met, and for a moment, Madoka's legs felt weak. She was worried her father would misunderstand, and worried he would misunderstand Lord Su Mo.
After all, she was too young, and coming out of her bedroom with a strange man looked wrong no matter how you sliced it.
Just then, Su Mo greeted her father with a natural and calm demeanor. "Good evening, Mr. Kaname."
"Ah!" Madoka's mind short-circuited. How could Lord Su Mo be so calm?
In the next moment, her question was answered. "Oh, it's you, Su Mo-kun from next door. Good evening. Are you taking Madoka out to play?"
Her father, Tomohisa Kaname, greeted the Lord Su Mo he had never met with great enthusiasm.
"Mhm," Su Mo nodded.
"Then I'll leave Madoka to you! Thank you so much for always playing with her. If you don't mind, would you like some fruit before you go? Or should I leave it in the fridge for you to grab later?"
Madoka's father was so warm and relaxed. Forget being wary; he was treating Su Mo like family.
"Thank you, but please don't trouble yourself."
"Alright! Then you two head out! Be careful not to go anywhere too secluded, I hear those places aren't very safe lately!" her father instructed carefully.
"If Madoka gets tired and doesn't want to come home, if she wants to stay at your place, just send a message. And Madoka, remember to be good, don't annoy your big brother Su Mo!"
"Okay." Su Mo nodded again. Under her father's somewhat rambling but exceptionally friendly farewell, he led Madoka away.
"Lord Su Mo, what was that just now?" Madoka asked, looking up at Su Mo once they were outside.
"Just a basic cognitive obstruction. Even the most rudimentary magecraft can achieve it," Su Mo replied casually. "In your parents' eyes, I'm the neighbor who grew up with you, and we have an excellent relationship. So they won't find it strange to see us together, no matter the time."
"I see... magic is amazing!" Madoka marveled, breathing a sigh of relief. This way, she wouldn't have to be sneaky when meeting Su Mo in the future.
Just then, they passed her house and reached the one next door. A glint of something different caught Madoka's eye. She stopped in her tracks, looking at the name written on the slightly unfamiliar house next door.
"Lord Su Mo?" Her eyes widened.
W-w-what, their next-door neighbor had actually become Su Mo? How was that something a cognitive obstruction could do? This was clearly reality-warping!
Faced with Madoka's surprise, Su Mo said casually, "The target of my cognitive obstruction wasn't your parents, but this world. So in a sense, what I said just now is this world's reality."
"This is indeed my house. To everyone in this world, I have always been your neighbor, so you don't have to worry about your friends finding out. They all have a pre-existing impression of me, except for you."
"..."
Madoka was silent for a moment.
No matter how dense she was, she knew that applying a cognitive obstruction to a human and applying one to the entire world were not skills of the same dimension.
How was that something rudimentary magecraft could do?!
However, having long grown accustomed to Su Mo's power, she didn't comment on it. After composing herself, she continued to introduce her hometown, Mitakihara.
The two of them walked side-by-side through the modern streets. A few minutes later, seeing a landmark in front of them, Madoka began to introduce it by reflex. "This is Mitakihara's city central hospital. This is where I... eh?"
Halfway through her introduction, it dawned on her. So Lord Su Mo wasn't just aimlessly wandering. He was planning to find the troubled girl she had mentioned earlier.