Battalion 255 Headquarters – Renjou's office was a mess. Worn anime posters, cold coffee cups, and a laptop with dozens of open tabs cluttered the room. A static camera recorded the scene, as if it were a sitcom.
Renjou, with his legs crossed over his chair, was engrossed in reading a script. "Finally, Volume One is complete," he mumbled. "Twenty chapters full of tears, blood, betrayal, unspoken love, psychological trauma, and... helmets. Yes, so many helmets."
Shatai Shin, sitting on the sofa with a bewildered expression, chimed in, "But it feels like watching two different anime. First it's about military training and bromance, then suddenly there's a Kai clone, a demonic weapon from another dimension, and the ending turns into some kind of collective psychological therapy!"
Mitsuoka Kaguya, sprawled out on the printer, added, "I just want to know, are we supporting characters or just background victims? From chapter 1 to 20, our appearances can be counted on a monkey's toes."
Renjou closed the script and looked directly at the camera. "Don't worry, this is just the epilogue. Now it's time for us to steal the spotlight—with style!"
Beat. The camera zoomed in. The background changed to a black and white Gintama parody style.
Renjou, in a dramatic tone, declared, "But do you know... that this story—is an act of rebellion against the dark history of the anime world?!"
Shin looked even more confused. "What do you mean, bro?"
Renjou explained, "'Mahou Senki Lyrical Nanoha Force'—the forgotten project! The manga that's been on hiatus since 2013! Imagine: you create a dark setting, full of magic technology, new characters like the ridiculously overpowered Touma Avenir—and then? GONE. Just gone! Without a word! Without a farewell! Even the author is harder to find than a Lost Logia!"
Kaguya got up from her spot. "And now? In this world? Someone's mischievously making a continuation! Fancanon! A story with a plot that connects to other Nanoha series! But... it's unofficial. No license. No contract with Kadokawa Shoten. ONLY WITH SHEER DETERMINATION AND EMOTIONAL SCARS!"
Renjou continued, "Thus was born: Mahou Senki Lyrical Nanoha Phantom."
Shin commented, "Wow. Like a bootleg, but with effort."
Kaguya added, "Yeah. Like you're watching Gintama married to Evangelion, then flavored with Code Geass, and blended with PTSD."
Renjou explained, "This is like a fancanon, right? There are many canon stories like that. And don't forget... Kai finally cut his hair and became human again. But will we get a ramen-eating scene with Hayate? NO. We are only given hope and a new helmet."
Shin interjected, "That helmet is so overpowered though. It's plot armor equivalent."
Renjou looked up at the ceiling. "So... for those of you who have been waiting for 'Force' to continue since 2013... and who have given up, then stumbled into this 'Phantom'... Welcome to the illegal world—but full of love."
Kaguya asserted, "We don't have a license. But we have a legacy."
Shin added, "And trauma. So much trauma."
Renjou exclaimed, "Come on, Masaki Tsuzuki-Sensei! Yukari Higa-Sensei! And Kadokawa Shoten! At least include us in the continuation of Lyrical Nanoha Force! It's a pity it stopped at chapter 31!"
Shin reminded him, "Renjou-san, we're not official, you know. We're just a novel that only appears on Pixiv and Webnovel, created by an author named MashimereCiello. Not yet on Syosetu, the most famous, because the author doesn't speak Japanese. We're like a fancanon but unrecognized. What's wrong with this author anyway?"
Renjou explained, "The author, MashimereCiello, is experiencing IMS (Irritable Male Syndrome). He's upset because he have been treated unfairly, cheated, unable to achieve his hopes, and encountered double standards where others are allowed things but they are not, like being flat-out rejected. After all, our character designs were made with ChatGPT because no illustrator wanted to draw us. It's understandable if others can easily succeed and be accepted, but MashimereCiello is completely unrecognized or overlooked and flat-out rejected. It's like others easily become famous, but MashimereCiello isn't allowed to be famous. It's as if if others made and said things like this, it would be allowed, but if MashimereCiello made something without being offensive, they'd be lambasted."
Shin and Kaguya could only nod.
Renjou continued enthusiastically, "But this isn't over! Volume 2 will continue! Slowly but surely, with new characters and HAYATE'S RIVAL HAS APPEARED!! WHO IS DEFINITELY NOT AURIS GAIZ!!"
Shin was surprised, "Really, Renjou-san!?"
Kaguya reminded him, "Wait, isn't that a spoiler?"
Renjou replied, "It's to attract fans and readers of the Lyrical Nanoha series to get them curious. The important thing is that we won't ruin Masaki Tsuzuki-Sensei's canon story like other people. Well, at least we've appeared before World War 3 if it happens."
To be continued in Volume 2, slowly but surely.