Haruki's week had settled into a strange but comfortable rhythm. Between university classes, long stretches of drawing manga, overseeing the work on Madoka Magica at the studio, and occasionally playing games with Ryuko when she wasn't swamped with voice acting or her own classes, life had become steady. Almost peaceful. He liked it that way.
But next week, everything would change. The attention around him was already heating up, and he could feel the pressure closing in. Fans were waiting, some excited, some already sharpening their knives. They were preparing for Madoka Magica to break their hearts, but they didn't know there was a surprise attack coming the same week that was going to hit them with double the damage.
He had just handed the next week's draft of the Fullmetal Alchemist chapter over to Kenta for detailing when it happened.
Kenta was flipping through the pages, adding details to the chapter. Then he turned to the next page.
He blinked.
Stared.
Then froze.
Then he stood up so fast his chair scraped loud across the floor. He marched straight to Haruki's desk like he was about to file a lawsuit.
"Haruki. Are you okay?"
Haruki glanced up from his screen. "Huh? What now?"
Kenta looked like he had just seen a war crime.
"You—you put this in? You actually drew this?!"
Haruki knew exactly what page he was talking about. The chimera. The one he had carefully avoided showing anyone on the team until now. He'd been waiting for this exact moment.
"What? Is there something wrong with it?" he asked, sipping his drink like nothing was happening.
Kenta's voice cracked. "You know what you did! Why would you do this?!"
Hearing Kenta's voice, Naoya and Hayato came over to see what had happened. Kenta immediately handed them the page.
There it was. The chimera. The twisted fusion of a dog and a little girl, drawn in full haunting detail. And the next panel—
"Ed... ward..."
Naoya visibly recoiled.
"Oh no. No. Not again. Haruki, are you serious?"
Kenta said, "I'm going to have nightmares."
Naoya rubbed his temples. "I thought you said you were trying to move on from that kind of story."
"I am," Haruki said. "This is different."
"It's a dog fused with a kid, and it talks! How is this different?!"
Haruki leaned back in his chair, expression totally calm.
"I kept it secret so you'd get the full reader experience."
Kenta pointed at the page. "You gave me reader trauma, not experience."
He looked like he was seriously debating quitting manga altogether.
Naoya sighed. "At this point, I don't even know why we act surprised."
"Because he keeps finding new ways to mess us up!" Kenta snapped.
Haruki hid a small smirk behind his mug.
Mission accomplished.
Across Japan, thousands of fans eagerly awaited the release of the eighth episode of Magical Girl Madoka Magica.
In every major fan group related to Haruki's work, activity had reached a fever pitch.
At precisely 8:00 p.m., the episode link went live, and fans flooded in to watch.
Takao, however, got off work later than usual. By the time he was home and ready to watch, it was already nearly 8:30. Still, he opened Episode 8 of Madoka Magica without hesitation.
And immediately, the barrage of comments came down like a downpour.
"This episode gave me a stomachache! The writer's insane!"
"I swear to God, I'm grabbing a knife. We need to have a chat with the screenwriter."
"Warning! Emotional high alert. Once again, the author shows pure malice toward the audience!"
"Classic Mizushiro-sensei... Another emotional ambush. If you haven't clicked yet, run! It's too late for the rest of us. Love warriors, brace yourselves!"
Seeing the flood of comments, Takao quickly shut off the barrage to avoid spoilers.
With only a few comments visible, Takao braced himself for the emotional heartbreak ahead.
As the episode picked up from the previous battle, Sayaka barely survived a brutal fight. She handed Kyoko her Grief Seed. Her face, her tone, everything about her screamed one thing: she was breaking.
Madoka, worried, tried to reason with her like before.
But this time...
"Then why don't you fight?"
Sayaka's voice was cold.
"Kyube told me... You're more gifted than any of us. So if you really care, stand where I stand and try it yourself."
"But of course... you won't."
"Giving up your humanity out of sympathy? Please."
"You're someone who can say anything... but do nothing."
Madoka was stunned. So was Takao.
This wasn't just a rough patch. This was full psychological collapse.
Later, under the rain, Sayaka ran and cried, filled with regret. She hadn't meant to lash out at Madoka. It wasn't her fault. But the damage was done, and the corruption inside Sayaka's soul gem deepened.
Even Kyube, Kyoko, and Homura, watching from the sidelines, admitted if Sayaka's gem wasn't cleansed soon, things would spiral out of control.
What happens if the gem is fully corrupted?
Death?
Takao guessed as much. After all, the soul gem was a magical girl's very essence. Without it, they couldn't survive.
But the realization weighed on him. Sayaka had done nothing wrong, only tried to help. Why was the story so cruel to her?
Still watching, Takao followed Sayaka's descent—fighting recklessly, refusing to purify her gem. Even when Homura offered her a Grief Seed, she rejected it.
Then came Homura's grim declaration.
"If you reject me now, it's a dead end. Rather than let Madoka watch you fall... I'll kill you here myself."
The tension skyrocketed.
But unexpectedly, someone else intervened.
Kyoko.
From rivals to reluctant allies, Kyoko clearly saw a reflection of herself in Sayaka and couldn't abandon her.
Their conversation was heavy. The music in the background turned mournful.
"I saved so many people, but I also built up envy and bitterness... I hurt my closest friend..."
Sayaka's voice trembled.
Watching her hold a soul gem that had turned completely black, Takao felt a real pain in his chest.
"This writer... has serious issues," he muttered. "Why treat her like this? Sayaka's a good girl..."
"Praying for someone's happiness while cursing others at the same time... that's what it means to be a magical girl."
Sayaka laughed through her tears.
"What a fool I was."
Her gem shattered.
Darkness surged across the screen.
The BGM swelled, haunting and tragic.
From the blackened gem, a new Grief Seed was born.
Sayaka's soul gem had transformed.
A witch had descended.
Kyoko was thrown back by the shockwave. The magical barrier closed in.
"Sayaka!"
Kyubey's voice followed, flat and emotionless.
"In this world, girls are called magical girls, but eventually all magical girls become witches."
Fade to black.
Episode 8: End.
Takao stared at the screen, speechless.
A magical girl turns into a witch?
What the hell kind of twist is that?!
He reopened the barrage. The comments had exploded.
"SAYAKA NOOOO!"
"Grab Kyubey! Tie up Mizushiro-sensei!"
"I can't believe this. My heart... it hurts."
"She didn't deserve this. Sayaka was everything."
"Magical girls fight witches, only to become them? That's messed up!"
Takao suddenly felt hollow.
Sayaka became a magical girl to protect people, to do good. Now she had turned into the very thing she swore to fight.
The scariest thing wasn't dying for your ideals. It was realizing those ideals were lies.
He felt rage. Betrayal. Sorrow.
Sayaka was tricked, fooled like a child. All that effort, for this?
Everywhere, fans mourned Sayaka and vented their fury at the show's creator.
Mizushiro-sensei was trending.
Among Haruki's longtime fans, a term resurfaced: "master troll." A creator with a heart of stone and a sharp sense of timing.
Shout out to Chix, for joining my p-atreon! your support means everything to me.
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-a-t-r-e-o-n.com/Alioth23 for 60+ advanced chapters)