CRT of Hexennacht

[DontTalkDT]

I have recently finished reading Clash of Hexennacht and as Death Mage and Sword Reincarnation CRTs will take way more work I thought I would do this first and squeeze it in between my staff stuff.
@Celestial_Pegasus has laid some solid ground work for the verse, but as it is when I go through the novel with pen and paper in hand, I found some additions to make. Not at last because I know things in the greater context of Kawakami-verse.

Without further ado, let's get started.

Kagami Kagami​

Opening Spell​

This could be called Kagami's secondary signature ability, even though other characters have it too. She has a spell that opens things up.

“Ah, Kagami! The lock spell is-…”

“I am used to opening things.”

Without even looking back, she waved her fingers past the door to open it.

How did she do that? wondered Horinouchi, but then she remembered how so many things had “opened” when that girl had come to this world. It had to be the same as that.

As that quote says, the first time Kagami arrived all kinds of things opened up due to that spell.

“10:07 AM: Lightning detected in the west coast of Tokyo Bay: The lightning was reported to have ‘risen’.”

“Same time: Automatic doors, active elevators, and train doors malfunctioned and opened across eastern Tokyo. Fortunately, no one seems to have been injured.”

“Same time: The opened doors across Tokyo malfunctioned and automatically closed. Some believe this explains the lack of accidents with the previous malfunction.”

“10:12 AM: Lightning warning canceled for western coast of Tokyo Bay.”

“10:17 AM: Central Tokyo Bay’s Shihouin Academy is annihilating an experimental servant.”

“10:21 AM: Escape of experimental servant confirmed at Central Tokyo Bay’s Shihouin Academy.”

“10:30 AM: Requesting pursuit and inspection of experimental servant at Central Tokyo Bay’s Shihouin Academy.”
“Was it that lightning? I hear UAH sent out a warning. There was a bit of a commotion when all of the school’s doors opened at once.”

“What did the teachers say?”

“That the lightning caused an error in UAH’s defense system that controls all of eastern Tokyo. That may have cast an ‘open’ spell on the entire area.”

“This was more than just opening.”

Horinouchi recalled a certain scene.

“When I went to check on the faculty room, the instant coffee’s lid was open too.”

“Well…”

“This wasn’t the door system that handles the opening spells. It looked more like everything that can open was forcibly opened.”

“Is that even possible? Well, um, I know that’s how spells are, but it covered all of eastern Tokyo and even interfered with our school and UAH that have anti-spell defenses.”

As said here it opened literally everything that can open. It even surpassed anti-magic defenses.
Kamagi can even open up abstract things like the sea and sky or open up magical devices of opponents once she knows a name of them to turn them into Ether energy.

The Device management spell reports Lisbeth had seen on the way here had told her what this was. And…
“Lisbeth. Even if they are mass-produced, you should not use the same name for so many of them.”
“…Did you ‘open’ them by using the name of that block of Devices!?”
“I needed the ether. Dikaiosyne and Akerindou each seem to need as much ether as a bit more than 3 of your mass-produced models.”
“Your crafting is more wasteful than you might think, so I believe the actual amount is more like 2.7.”
The person more familiar with the girl made a correction.
But as the Devices scattered in the sky, a voice cried out beyond the trees surrounding the courtyard and the other Devices moved to fill the newly created hole and retain the overall balance.
They would not panic and make themselves look bad.
But the situation was still quite out of the ordinary.
…She broke down the Devices starting from the “name”?
The concept of a “true name” required caution among witches.
Names were the definition of the thing itself. All things physically “existed”, but they also received a name to “exist” as something with meaning.
Give a name to an animal and it became a pet. The name given to a building could turn it into anything from a rundown shack to a frontline base.
Also, the namer became the parent of the named and they gained the right to control it.
From a magic perspective, the name of the magic user could be a difficult issue. If you knew your opponent’s name, the ether could better reach your opponent and produce greater power against them. But if your opponent knew your name, they could control your spells via your name instead of via the spell itself.
Of course, any higher Ranker would have protections applied to their name to ensure it was grounded. But…
“The internal structure of the Devices was supposed to have multiple names for the various parts to increase their defenses.”
“In other words, you used multiple passwords.”
“They were linked together, so controlling just one part shouldn’t have been able to stop the whole.”
“I did not stop them. I opened them, Lisbeth.” Kagami shrugged. “I mean, there was no need to stop them. I wanted the ether as a material, not to control your devices. So…”
So…
“I saw it when you were fighting Fleur near the main gate. When Fleur’s attack destroyed the blade, the individual parts had spells built in to direct the explosions inwards and thus avoid damaging their surroundings. From there, I only had to read the text written on the spell circles.”
“So you found the name and ‘opened’ them?”
“Precisely, Lisbeth! You catch on quickly!”
Beyond Kagami, Horinouchi placed a finger next to her head and spun it in a large circle.
…Um, yes, that’s about right…
The threat here was not a difference in skill or quality as it had been when Lisbeth had taken on Cerisier and Mitsuyo.
…She used the name as a hook to “open” it?
What Kagami had done could simply be described as follows:
“You discovered the ‘name’ of something that isn’t even a door, but you still used the control provided by that ‘name’ to use it like a door, didn’t you?”
Using that, she could also “open” people, weapons, the sea, or the sky like a door.
Lisbeth had heard Kagami’s ability was crafting, but that was not actually the case.
“You have the power to control phenomena…and the ether is no more than the fuel and material used for it.”
“That is correct. …I have a pen in my hand and this world is my notebook. I can make anything I want. But I need the proper motivation and the pen I use runs out of ink very quickly.”
“You shouldn’t refer to someone else’s Device as your spare ink,” said Horinouchi.
You’re the one that just defined it that way, thought Lisbeth, but it was an accurate description.

Skill​

As an addition for Kagami's skill, after analyzing her opponent she can predict their movements to the point of fighting them with her eyes closed.

“If I simply cannot see them, then there is nothing to worry about!”

She could sense her opponent’s movement in the tactile feedback from her own attacks.

If she attacked one way, she knew how her opponent would respond.

And when she raised her weapon one way, she knew what attack her opponent would make.

By figuring out those patterns, she could respond appropriately even without seeing the attacks. Thus…

“————”

She went as far as closing her eyes while making her attack.

She made a barrage of attacks as she stepped straight forward in the sky and reacted to her opponent.

“Ohh…!”

She predicted her opponent’s actions, counterattacked, and pushed forward.

“Here goes!!”

She outdid the girl almost immediately.

Sleep resistance​

Shouko put Kagami to sleep, but Kagami managed to escape.

“How did you escape the dream?”

“It was simple. I might have been asleep, but someone outside the dream woke me. …Horinouchi, I heard your voice: ‘Help me, Kagamiii!’ Yes, it would have been an insult to the Kagami name if I had not answered your cry!”

“I said nothing of the sort.”

Horinouchi Mitsuru​

Opening spell​

Mitsuru can also use an opening spell, although it doesn't quite have the feats of Kagami Kagami's. It still can do things like 'opening' erased paths of spacetime back up to travel through them.

Opening, unlocking, obtaining passage. It’s a common spell effect, but that’s what I used.”

It was simple in theory. Mary had created an annihilation pathway to send Horinouchi to the South Pole and Kagami and herself to the North Pole. That had closed, so Horinouchi had “opened” it once more.

Opening it was easy. It had been open already, so she only had to use an pening spell before it had settled in the closed position.

I think this might be the portal opening spell mentioned on the page, but it could be a little more specific.

Instinctive Reaction​

She has pseudo-passive reflexes.

“Even with a surprise attack, pseudo-passive reflexive defenses are standard, aren’t they?” asked Horinouchi. “I kept my right hand free.”

Hunter was shocked.

Elsie Hunter​

Foothold spell​

This little carnivorous representative of the US military is in a sense the biggest place to work on. Why? Because the page fails to mention her main gimmick, which is the foothold spell.
I will let the novel itself explain the details of that, but mark the most important bits.

If Kagami fell back, Hunter would push further forward without ever stopping. This was only possible thanks to the acceleration spells opened on various parts of her body, but there was another reason.

“A stability spell near the soles of her feet!”

Horinouchi saw it below the girl’s feet.

Whenever she dashed or threw a punch, a spell circle would appear where her feet touched the ground.

“Lady Mitsuru! What is that!?”

“When she presses down on her feet, the force is sent into the ground regardless of the angle and she receives the feedback!”

To move was to kick off the ground with the bottoms of one’s feet.

The relationship between one’s feet and the ground was surprisingly important in combat.

For example, when attacking, if one’s feet were on the ground, they could use that to endure the reactionary force.

To strike the enemy was to push one’s weapon into them and that would naturally produce a reactionary force. If the enemy was tough enough, they would actually push back.

If one placed their feet down and held their ground, they could not be pushed back.

Simply put, planting one’s feet on the ground and pressing down allowed them to throw all of their strength and their weapon into their opponent and it prevented that opponent from pushing them back. This stability spell transferred any reactionary force into the ground.

“That lets her maintain her forward momentum even as she strikes and is struck!”

This was something that did not work when one’s feet were off the ground or in midair. Just like for a bullet, they could not press their feet down and they would be knocked back if their opponent’s defenses were stronger than them.

That was why high-speed clashes were the foundation for midair combat or projectiles.

The presence or absence of the ground below one’s feet made a great difference.

If it was there, they could send all of their attack power into their opponent. That allowed them to wield less overall strength and they could make more compact combination attacks because they did not have to rely on speed.

Without it there, they could not send all of their attack power into their opponent. That meant they had to increase the overall strength they wielded and attacks tended to grow longer and more sweeping because they had to rely on speed.

Hunter was the former type, but Horinouchi and Kagami were the latter type.

No, Kagami’s technique allowed her to rearrange her style to an extent, so she could adapt to the situation if needed. However, her standard tactics were based off of the witch who had taught her how things were done in “this world”.

…And that was me.

Horinouchi felt a little blue over indirectly tripping someone else up.

However, she sensed some danger in the combination of attacks and speed sounding from the coastal park.

“Lady Mitsuru, below Hunter’s feet!”

“I see it. She’s started to float a little.”

“Nicely detected, Lady Mitsuru!”

Koutarou is very good at raising people’s spirits.

But this was not the time for that. As Hunter picked up speed, she began to fly like a witch.

Her method was simple. She placed some distance between the stability spell below her feet and the corresponding stability spell on the ground.

That meant she was “borrowing” the ground as a foothold even while in midair.

Why would she do that?

…Because of the relationship between the direction of her feet on the ground and the reactionary force.

People’s attacks were generally oriented horizontally, so the reactionary force would of course come back in the opposite horizontal direction.

However, they could only resist it with the ground vertically below their feet.

That created a problem. A redirection process was needed to point that horizontal force down into the ground.

They had to redirect the coming reactionary force down toward their feet.

That took a lot of doing and created wasted movement and a time lag.

That was why most witches did not fight on the surface. When doing so, they needed to be on the ground yet that ground would not receive the reactionary forces like they wanted.

Hunter, however, had solved that problem.

Even with a gap between her feet and the corresponding ground, she linked them with her stability spell.

When she stepped on the midair spell circle, it would act just like the one on the ground. She was “borrowing” the ground while in midair.

So no matter where in the sky she was, she could brace herself against the ground from any angle. And she was currently beginning to fly more and more.

Without waiting to redirect the reactionary force into the ground below, she stepped out into the empty air.

So yeah, she can link her feet to a surface, in order to jump as if on that surface and transfer momentum to it, like she had a solid stance on it.
No idea which ability I should list for that... suggestions in that regard are welcome.
Anyway, the foothold spell has more uses.
First, Hunter can mitigate impacts by making it so that each component of her mech is "grounded" and hence diverts some of the impact force into the ground.

…A force redirection spell derived from my foothold stability spell.

The Hedgehog’s armor was physically quite strong as well, but she had cast a spell on it to further increase its defenses. Instead of hardening the armor, she had used the “foothold” spell.

“I had the damage ‘step’ out and away.”

Damage had permeated the entire five hundred meter form, but it had been allowed to escape from every single component. It all had to be done at once, so it had been far too much work for a single person.

However, Hunter could do it.

Next is her Swing-by method. She can define everything she wants as the surface to stand on from a distance. So what she does is define the surface she is on as a satellite and use the fast relative movement of the satellite to Earth for rapid movement.

Needless to say, that kind of speed was impossible even with the Hedgehog’s acceleration.

However, the “foothold” spell made it possible.

The moon could be seen overhead and a few manmade objects were visible between it and the earth.

“Satellites.”

The United States alone had a thousand of them orbiting the earth to observe the moon and protect the earth. Those manmade objects made a full revolution of the earth in an hour and a half, so what would happen if she worked with the United States to use one as her “foothold”.

The answer was movement at extreme speed.

That forcible swing-by allowed her to move anywhere in the world in a very short amount of time. That also meant she could quickly move to a sniping spot where her enemy could not detect her.

Lastly, she can create a foothold on a target of her choice and since the force is redirected from Elsie into the foothold it basically allows her to perform direct strikes against the opponent.

Ahead of her were the fragments of the three arrows she had already fired and an ether stake tearing through the air. Would Hunter continue forward or not? And would Horinouchi’s preparations to counterattack pay off?

…From here on…

As soon as that thought entered Horinouchi’s mind, the ether sword and Akerindou were both destroyed.

“What!?”

This was not right.

Hunter’s attack had yet to reach her.

“You’re too naïve!”

When she heard Hunter’s voice, she noticed the ether light of the three arrows had scattered through the surrounding space.

…Did she permeate her strike through the ether fragments!?

It was the same method she had used to destroy Horinouchi’s barrier before. Hunter’s ether stake was made to penetrate and then permeate its impact throughout whatever it hit. Horinouchi’s arrows did the same, but Hunter would create a “surface” with her stability spell to expand the range of the permeation.

…And that lets her strike cover a wide area of space, doesn’t it!?

That was exactly what happened.

Infared vision​

Self explanatory

She had learned over the past few days just how dark it got outside, but it was more of a problem today. But she could not use a night vision spell inside the bright restaurant, so she asked a question of Horinouchi who sat across the table from her.

“Horinouchi, can I use an infrared night vision spell?”

“Going the see-through route, Hunter!?” asked Kagami.

Mary Sue​

Annihilation details​

Mary's signature spell has some details not mentioned on her page yet. First, the Ether left behind after she uses the spell also annihilates things.

Even Mary’s scythe was a spell that used ether. Due to the annihilation element, the attacks were invisible, but they could still be picked up using ether detection. But…

…That is quite a high level of annihilation!

Both the ether creating it and the remnants left after it was fired caused annihilation.

Thus this was a job for their spells and servants, not their own senses. As ether beings, servants could visually perceive ether information.

Fleur​

Flowing movements​

Fleur has a special movement style for defense.

“But I think you noticed her first.”

“Because she moved along our current of motion.”

“Our…current?” asked Mary.

“A trace of your presence is found along the line of your motion,” explained Kagami. “It is like your hair blowing in the wind. And when someone is purposefully following that, it is quite noticeable.”

“Following that?”

“I believe it was the wind or something similar.”

That girl had been drawn in by their walking motion. She likely used a light step normally, but when she approached some other “motion”, she was drawn in yet did not fight it.

By not resisting it, she followed that current and moved forward.

That was how she had slipped between them.

She had not interfered in their actions.

“In a way, it is a method of piercing something without interfering with it. Although it still felt like she was getting in our way because she was using our movements.”

Said movements make her attacks imperceptible

Kagami did not panic within the exchange of attacks.

Someone’s strength was meaningless if they did not have the skill to use it. The problem was the way Fleur had a natural sense for those imperceptible movements and that made it easy to overlook her actions.

…That is a skill in its own way.

It was not a combat skill, but it was an effective substitute. That allowed her to fight as a warrior.

But that natural sense had a weakness.

Fleur was using those imperceptible movements in place of an attack spell, but she had never been properly trained in combat.

The lack of variation in her attacks and defenses made that clear enough.

So she used her sense for imperceptibility instead.

But…

…Not good enough!

As they exchanged sword strikes, Kagami struck an attack she had overlooked.

“Do you understand now!?”

It was obvious once she increased the density of attacks. Even if some of her opponent’s movements were imperceptible, that only meant she could not see them. It did not mean they did not exist.

Kagami Shouko​

Attack Reflection​

Shouko can bend attacks to her will and send them back at her opponents that way.

“Straight ahead!”

“No!!”

Just as they sent an attack forward, Hunter’s voice and a multi-layer blow arrived from overhead.

Several beams of light fell from the heavens above the Geo Frame’s head.

The 21 initial shots fired from Shihouin Academy had been deflected by the Black Witch, but now…

…They curved back around!?



Lisbeth saw the 21 lights descend upon their curved paths.

…Is this…?

It reminded her of something.

Something much like this had happened 10 years ago.

After simply blocking Mitsuyo’s attacks, the Black Witch had suddenly bent the attack in a way that broke all the rules.

Shouko's creatures​

Shouko tends to summon tons of creatures to fight. The page features no descriptions of those, so that should be added.

One was a dragon that seemed to be created by connecting spheres together.

The other was a giant with a headless body, a single eye, and short arms and legs. They both looked like scribbled drawings, but…

Immediately afterwards, the two minions were split by her annihilation spell and turned to light.

…They explode!?

That was right. There were holes from giant explosions across Japan and the rest of the world. What had caused those?

“Do these minions explode!?”

It happened in an instant.

With that first hit, 32 of 600 on the front line disappeared.

Of the enemy black dragons and black dolls, the former exhaled a breath. It seemed to act like black flames and it formed round bullet shapes of the same color.

Those bullets reached the witches.

The destruction was silent. A few of the Magino Devices failed to move in time, were hit by the counter shot, and vanished.

The firepower instantly shattered the entire Device and it all scattered as ether light.

It was looking back toward the moon and the giant stream of its own kind.

“The Demon Eye Cannon!”

The attack triggered a chain reaction of explosions that destroyed the first several hundred of the reinforcements.

More and more massive explosions of light erupted.

“…!”

Those two witches, along with the combined third and fourth formations, were blown every which way by the blast.


The Black Witch saw the explosion of light covering several hundred kilometers above the earth.

More than the explosion itself, the shockwave blew away the enemy witches.

Avatar Creation​

The first time Shouko appeared it was actually just an avatar. Her real self was sleeping on the moon.

“My, you sure slept soundly, Shouko.”

She probably had. She could definitely sense the feedback reaching her body.

…It’s been a while since I materialized one of my dreams.

“What was that? It feels like I dreamed about meeting and arguing with my sister.”

“That was the truth in one of the world, Shouko.”

“You always say such confusing things, Amaze.”

Dream inducement​

Shouko can put people to sleep by imprisoning them in a dream, but in return they are invincible then.

She was dreaming.

Some kind of attack had influenced the ether forming her body and her mind, locking them both in a state of dreaming.

So even if they tried to harm her, no real weapon could do so.

An ether attack would be weakened, but it would still work well enough. So the only way to affect her through normal means would require equipment extracted “from a dream”.

Hunter had tilted her head when she heard that.

“If she’s basically invincible…does that mean we could break through anything if we fired Kagami as a shell?”

“Your dreaming must be a kindness from your sister. …Even if this world is destroyed, it will not happen in your dream, so you will not be destroyed along with us and you can continue to the next world.”

Sealing Resistance​

Shouko simply undoes the seal that was supposed to imprison her on the moon.

“Damn you…!”

She cursed at the Black Witch who smiled in the moonlight.

“I have released the seal. Because ‘I am here’,” she said. “You can’t exactly complain, can you? …Forget just using your champion. Come at me as a group, witches. After all, I have already eliminated the strongest witch you had been building up.”


So that’s how she’s doing it, thought Hunter.

…The Black Witch removed her own seal and says she wants a death match.

Sealing + Power Null​

While the seal was later managed by mankind Shouko originally sealed herself away.

“Only the Black Witch, mankind’s fated enemy who sealed herself in the moon, the source of this world’s magic power, and left Hexennacht as an assignment for us.”

That seal blocks Ether so it makes it harder to use spells in it.

“Yeah, but what are you going to do?” asked Song Café. “You’re changing the makeup of the barrier for the buddy system, right?”

“The old barrier still exists, so we only have to alter it. The authority to change it is naturally held by U.A.H. and U.A.H.J., but there is one change that should be made as soon as possible.”

“What is it that’s worth breaking tradition over?”

“We must stop blocking the ether.”

Huh? thought Song Café before A-un Silver Coin’s voice joined the conversation.

“Wait! Do you know what will happen if you do that!? It won’t be able to contain the Black Witch or our witches, so the kaboom will get through!”

Not even Song Café knew what exactly that meant.

But her own knowledge did reveal a risk in Lisbeth’s idea.

“The barrier is supposed to prevent the Black Witch and our witches’ spells from getting out, so won’t this render it useless? Even if the restrictions still apply to the Black Witch herself and the Devices, spells are almost entirely composed of highly-active ether.”

“This time, Mitsuru wields the power that was inherited from Mitsuyo and further improved upon. And she is joined by Kagami who claims to be the Black Witch’s older sister and can use that crafting ability. …The Black Witch could very well choose to destroy this entire world.”

“And that’s why we needn’t bother shackling ourselves with the ether blocking?”

“That’s right,” replied Lisbeth with a nod. “To let Kagami use her crafting ability to its fullest, we should remove the ether blocking and allow her to resupply with ether at any time.”

Imagination defense​

See the last details of this for the nature of what 'Imagination' is power wise, but Shouko has a defense that makes her unable to be harmed by stuff she can imagine.

If the Black Witch could imagine it, she could use her power in a way that intervened. It may have been simpler to say any phenomenon she could imagine was automatically turned into a spell.

They assumed the Black Witch had the ability to neutralize anything they could normally imagine.

“…You mean imagination, don’t you?” She seemed to be asking for confirmation. “The act of creation requires that you first have the idea to make something. And that is the power of imagination. Even if the Black Witch has infinite creation, she is still limited by her own imagination. So…”

There was one thing that could be infinite.

“We just have to surpass the Black Witch’s imagination.”

There were 2 possible reasons why they did not hit.

1: They had been dodged.

2: They had been blocked.

But they were up against the Black Witch here. There was a 3rd option that she alone could choose. In other words…

“3: They simply ‘didn’t hit’.”

That witch held the same power that had created this world. She could rewrite the laws around her as she saw fit, so she could make an attack “not hit”. Or from their perspective…

…Our attack power wasn’t enough to match the Black Witch’s imagination!

Simply put, she could grasp and rewrite anything within her imagination. Imagination formed the foundation of creation. And the only ones who could surpass the Black Witch’s imagination were the top Rankers in Shinagawa and their Magino Devices which had had their sniping power increased to the limit. But…

It was a light motion, as if there was no core to her body, but the motion swung around the Normal Device controller that she held.

“Impressive.”

But…

“This still ‘matches’ my imagination.”

Lisbeth could have gone in for a hit with the very first attack, but that probably would have been blocked.

She was up against the Black Witch. The Black Witch’s imagination could probably account for even that kind of last-ditch effort.

Lightning attacks​

As soon as they took their accelerated cruising forms and confirmed their respective destinations, light flew toward them.

…So she isn’t going to let us escape, is she!?

Picture-perfect lightning descended from the deserted sky where the moon hung.

Song Café smiled at the thick glowing projectiles that raced across the ocean’s surface in search of them.

Flame Creation​

As the black blade rotated behind her back, it erupted with a flame-like black light.

“That will not work a second time.”

Sure enough, the power exploded.

Just like before, two of the five should have hit, but those two were burned and detonated by the black flames.

Multiple characters​

To not repeat myself I will make this section for stuff that applies to multiple characters equally.

Ether sensing​

With the exception of Kagami Kagami witches are able to sense Ether which should grant them ESP.

Kagami saw a shield.

It was a five meter Normal Device and it was a shape she had seen a lot recently.

“The Hedgehog?”

However, Hunter was looking to the terrace’s entrance while blocking Kagami’s view with the Hedgehog.

She was likely protecting her from something there, but…

“Hunter, what is-…?”

“Don’t try to peek!”

Hunter scolded her. Wondering what was going on, she looked to Horinouchi.

“Kagami, can you sense things using ether?”

“Just to make sure, you have not forgotten where I am from, have you? It is a peaceful world where talking about ether will only get you blank stares in return. No one suddenly shouts ‘Killer intent…!?’ in the middle of the city before moving back three meters.”

“W-well sorry for being weird, but that’s what’s happening here!”

“Oh, that is wonderful, Hunter. Now, whose killer intent is it? And I probably should not ask something like this out of curiosity, but what does killer intent feel like? Is it a tickling on the back of your neck? Does your vision grow distorted? Do you hear a strange musical note? Oops, I asked out of curiosity anyway. …So what exactly are you doing?”

“Kagami… Hunter isn’t doing this because she’s sick in the head. She’s trying to be nice.”

Servants can perceive Ether information even better. All Witches have one btw. and they should be added to the pages as equipement.

Even Mary’s scythe was a spell that used ether. Due to the annihilation element, the attacks were invisible, but they could still be picked up using ether detection. But…

…That is quite a high level of annihilation!

Both the ether creating it and the remnants left after it was fired caused annihilation.

Thus this was a job for their spells and servants, not their own senses. As ether beings, servants could visually perceive ether information.

Kagami and Horinouchi can use a spell to visualize the things their familiars are seeing.

Regardless, Dikaio was trembling on Kagami’s shoulder as it detected the lines of annihilation.

That detection was Horinouchi’s spell.

Shinto was a system of purification and barrier spells, so it made clear distinctions between outsiders and insiders. That was normally limited to one’s field of vision, but she had put together a servant version of a spell for detecting “outsider” spells.

Such a spell would normally pick up all the spirits in the air and on the surface, so the spell was performing some level of selection. But…

“I am surprised even I can use your spell, Horinouchi.”

“Major systems like Shinto sell and distribute spells for the general public, you know? Those sometimes use local gods and my family has been the main creator of those spells during the recovery. Currently, the Spell Division and other places are systemizing the various branches of daily necessity spells.”

Power of Imagination​

This is regarding the special power of the Kagami sisters. I will try to convince you that this is plot manipulation and then wish to discuss its placement in the Kawakami-verses hierarchy of abstraction.

Plot Manipulation​

This ability is more of a technicality for Kagami Kagami, but quite relevant for her sister Shouko who has it to a much greater extent. The first evidence for this when Kagami notes how the time period she arrived in in this world is likely the only possible one, as one can't start before page 1.

“Most likely, this is the only time I could appear in. This world is ruled by the world creation divine protection that my sister and I created, so you cannot move any further back than Page 1.”

She sounded like she had personally experienced that a few times. Horinouchi thought she understood but also thought they needed to investigate a few things.

“In that case, when did our world begin?”

“The beginning would be this time period of ‘ten years afterwards’, but the world born there will fill in the gaps to explain why it and those inside it exist. If it all seems consistent, then either my sister was just that skilled, my guidance was that effective, or…”

The world Shouko created also described as fictional:

She had wondered it in the past and in the earlier “dream”.

“Even if the worlds are fictional…is it really okay to destroy them?”

“It is.” The response was carefree. “I mean, you imagined them. They might have been created, but they are essentially fictional. You only have one reality. You cannot let your worries about the product of your imagination affect the imagination needed to create something.”

Her sister had lost her power and the Book of Creation was gone. She and her sister had been bound here by those things, so they would leave this imaginary world and return to the real world.

They would wake from the dream.

“I want to scold Shouko for going with an ‘it was all a dream’ ending, but maybe that is not the best idea.”

She saw that Shouko too was growing transparent.

Shouko's spells have effects like producing an 'ending':

When I defeated my sister, I placed a curse on her. Whether I am about to lose or win, that will count as the “Part 1 Ending” for this world and she will be excluded from it.

Kagami describes her power as using a pen:

“You have the power to control phenomena…and the ether is no more than the fuel and material used for it.”
“That is correct. …I have a pen in my hand and this world is my notebook. I can make anything I want. But I need the proper motivation and the pen I use runs out of ink very quickly.”

Shouko's concept erasure technique is compared to an eraser:

“That is the Black Witch’s power. It is a spell we call Concept Erasure,” she explained. “It is the opposite of the power that created this world. The power to destroy this world and erase anything in it is used on whoever loses. …So my mother’s ability to resist was erased and the records were erased.”



Since she knew about Kagami’s existence and how this world had been created, Hunter had something to say about that.

“It’s an eraser.”

She understood.

It may have been a little late, but she now understood something about the Black Witch’s destructive power.

“Instead of the power used to write and create this world, it’s the power to erase. …All records concerning the spells Horinouchi’s mom used to oppose the Black Witch were erased with an eraser.”

And Shoko's familiar is a book if that helps.

The power is said to be above the worlds laws.

“As its namer, my sister uses the Book of Creation as what you call a servant in this world. The owner and the possession. They accepted each other and can thus use ‘creation’ that exists higher than this world’s laws.”

Given Ether is above the world's laws as well, which might be why later it was specified that it is above Ether, too.

“Then they weren’t summoned, A-un Silver Coin,” corrected Song Café. “Were they simply created? Not with a spell, but with some power that ignored the ether and ley lines?”
“Yes,” confirmed Lisbeth.
“That’s…”
A-un Silver Coin was likely trying to say “that’s impossible”, but she knew by now that it was not impossible.
“Earlier, Kagami Kagami, one of the Rank 1s, said something interesting. While instantly creating 2 Magino Devices, she said that her power used ether when processing ether.”
What did that mean?
“Kagami’s crafting ability looks like a spell that consumes ether, but she is simply securing the energy needed for the ether processing. The system itself is no more than her own power.”
“You mean…?”
“Yes.” Lisbeth sent out her own speculation that had since been confirmed. “That crafting ability is not a spell at its core. That power is at a higher or deeper level than ether or ley lines. …Perhaps you could call it the hand of god.”


She now understood what had happened during the previous Hexennacht.
“The Black Witch felt cornered by Mitsuyo. She had always prepared a massive stock of spells, fought in the ether-blocking barrier, and won under the same conditions as her opponent. But she found herself helpless against Mitsuyo’s Geo Frame, so she broke her own rules.”
She used her power.
“The Black Witch used the same power she used to create this world. Fearing she might lose, she panicked. She probably still tried to follow her rules as best she could, but she still created her minions outside the barrier. She did not intervene with the battle within the barrier, but she created those destructive reinforcements in the outside world.”
The ether-blocking barrier meant nothing when she used a power that surpassed both ether and the ley lines.
She had only been following their rules voluntarily, so she could always destroy or simply ignore them.

For reference, we know from "On a Godless Planet" that Ether is something like Information (Type 2).
The fact that it is an abstract meta-ability, regardless of what nature it has specifically, should make plot manipulation a lot more acceptable.

Ranking amongst the hierarchy + possibly concept manip (Type 1)​

Kawakami verse is made up of multiple series that play at different times in the same universe. Those give some more context to things. Given Owari no Chronicle and On A Godless Planet, the general structure of abstractions in the verse is currently accepted like this (gonna do a blog on it at some point):

So the question is where to sort in Imagination/Plot Manipulation.
As the above quotes already said, the power is above/deeper than laws and Ether. So it must be somewhere left of Ether.

One could also make a case for being above concepts, though. The above already mentioned Shouko's Eraser power that is Concept Eraser. I will quote the details of that again in full length:

“But,” said Kagami. “What do you mean when you say you ‘don’t know’ about the Black Witch’s battle and your mother’s battle?”

“She means exactly what she says, Lady Kagami.”

Koutarou spoke from beyond the counter. He thoroughly polished a glass and stared at it before continuing.

“There are no detailed records of the battle with the Black Witch or how either side fought.”

“Why not?”

Horinouchi answered that question.

“Because they were ‘erased’ by the Black Witch. From this world, from history, from everything.”

“You mean…?”

“That is the Black Witch’s power. It is a spell we call Concept Erasure,” she explained. “It is the opposite of the power that created this world. The power to destroy this world and erase anything in it is used on whoever loses. …So my mother’s ability to resist was erased and the records were erased.”



Since she knew about Kagami’s existence and how this world had been created, Hunter had something to say about that.

“It’s an eraser.”

She understood.

It may have been a little late, but she now understood something about the Black Witch’s destructive power.

“Instead of the power used to write and create this world, it’s the power to erase. …All records concerning the spells Horinouchi’s mom used to oppose the Black Witch were erased with an eraser.”

“If everything was erased together, I can see how there would be a blank at those portions alone,” said Kagami. “Does that mean you inherited none of her techniques to oppose the Black Witch?”

“It does. …For one thing, my mother was the first case of the Black Witch using her erasure against someone.”

“It was?”

Hunter asked without thinking, but Horinouchi simply nodded. But then she tilted her head.

“I think the Black Witch must have been panicking a fair bit and it’s possible similar situations occurred in the past, but as far as my research could take me, my mother’s case is the only one where the erasure was used on any spells used against her as well.”

“That is too bad.” Kagami crossed her arms deeply across her chest. “If we knew what they were, giving you a power up would have been simple. Yes, you would have evolved from a Normal Manko into a Super Manko!”

Horinouchi stood up and Kagami gallantly fled at the exact same moment, so Hunter gave them a reminder.

“Hey, midterms. We’ve got exams to study for.”

Now, it depends a bit on how serious we take the name 'Concept Erasure'. If we take the name literally, with the whole history erasure stuff is supplementary evidence, that would mean the technique erases concepts. That would mean Imagination should be left of (i.e. more abstract than) concepts in the hierarchy.
If we take it to be just fluff, then placing Imagination right (i.e. less abstract than) concepts might be better.

Let me say that neither option can be considered a low-end. The first option gives Shouko Type 1 Concept Erasure, sure. However, the second one would indicate that Owari no Chronicles Concept Manipulators are above Imagination level, which would prove that their concept powers can not simply be negated or ignored by basic plot manip and can, in fact, work against it.

So yeah, would like input on which of the two options you think is more fitting.

 

[DarkDragonMedeus]

May look at this later, but since when is Mary Sue a tag?

 

[Setsuna_tenma]

May look at this later, but since when is Mary Sue a tag?

It's an actual character name

 

[DontTalkDT]

bump

 

[DontTalkDT]

2nd bump for the day

 

[Cat275]

I'll check this later, also following.

 

[Celestial_Pegasus]

This seems fine.

As for Imagination, i agree with it being plot manipulation, but idk about it being type 1 concept simply cause it exist higher than Ether.

 

[DontTalkDT]

As for Imagination, i agree with it being plot manipulation, but idk about it being type 1 concept simply cause it exist higher than Ether.

It wouldn't be simply because it exists higher than Ether. If we assume that the "Concept Erasure" spell actually erases concepts, then we would have concept manip for that reason.
Of course, if we don't assume it erases concepts then placing plot below concepts is fine.

 

[Celestial_Pegasus]

Concept Erasure is just a name though, and even if it's legit, why would we go immediately to type 1 concept, and not type 2? Are all concepts type 1?

Based on what i am seeing, those concepts exist in verse, but seems like we would be making some assumptions here.

 

[Cat275]

Alright it seems fine.

Im kinda neutral on the concept erasure and type1 rn but i agree with the plot manip etc.

Also i think option one seems to be the better option atleast if the concepts are type 1 if it's not then maybe option 2 might be a better option.

Edit:I guess i agree with type 1, cn erasure and the whole thing in general or atleast most of them.

 

[DontTalkDT]

Concept Erasure is just a name though, and even if it's legit, why would we go immediately to type 1 concept, and not type 2? Are all concepts type 1?

Based on what i am seeing, those concepts exist in verse, but seems like we would be making some assumptions here.

Yeah, if the name and the phenomenon isn't enough to convince you then I suppose placing plot below concepts is fine. (Good for OnC, though)

As for why it would be type 1 if it were conept manip: Well, OnC defines what concepts are in the verse and it never mentions there being different kinds or anything. So if something in the verse is said to manipulate the concepts of the verse, it can reasonably be assumed to be the same concepts as those whose nature was established in OnC.

 

[DontTalkDT]

Anyway, I will make the edits for what's approved at some point then.

 

[DarkDragonMedeus]

Yeah, this looks good to me too after looking it over.

 

[Setsuna_tenma]

bump