Creating Anime In A Fantasy World

Chapter 266: The Garden of Sinners: Oblivion Recording (Part 3)

At the top of the Alchemy Tower.

Edward froze the moment he walked in.

Arrayed before him were rows upon rows of the Empire’s greatest Arch Mages—the kind of figures whose mere presence usually carried the weight of centuries of magical study.

And yet… every single one of them was sitting neatly in a line, all facing the same direction, eyes gleaming in anticipation.

They weren’t meditating.

They weren’t researching ancient grimoires.

They were waiting for a television show.

Edward blinked twice, then turned to Ska beside him, utterly baffled.

“...Are they always like this?”

Ska scratched his cheek, visibly embarrassed. “Well… yeah. Pretty much every time a new episode airs.”

“Ah. I see.”

Edward exhaled in defeat, rubbing his temples. 

For a man who had seen dragons, spirits, and the rebirth of cinema in this world, even he wasn’t prepared for the sight of the continent’s most powerful mages lined up like schoolchildren waiting for Saturday morning cartoons.

Before he could recover, the gathered Arch Mages noticed him—and instantly, every pair of eyes turned his way.

It was obvious from their looks that they had no intention of letting him escape.

“Ahem,” Hohenheim coughed, a knowing smile tugging at his beard. “Edward, won’t you join us? Surely the creator himself should watch alongside his audience, no?”

Faced with the collective expectation of the Empire’s most influential mages, Edward could only sigh and take a seat.

He already knew there was no getting out of this one.

And so, with a resigned expression, he joined the circle of Arch Mages to await the premiere of The Garden of Sinners Episode 6: Oblivion Recording.

. . .

Time trickled by.

All across the land—from the bustling television taverns of the South, to the Imperial Mage Academy, and now even here, at the summit of the Alchemy Tower—countless people were chatting, arguing, and sharing their excitement.

The conversations flowed endlessly, so lively that many nearly forgot what they were even waiting for.

Until suddenly—

The screen went black.

A hush fell across every room in the empire.

Then, slowly, an eerie starfield began to bloom across the screen—spiraling, distorted, like some cosmic painting stretching infinitely through a glass dome of night.

Gasps spread through the taverns and lecture halls alike.

The image shifted.

Now, an old-fashioned wooden house appeared under the starry sky. Inside, a young girl with dark hair walked quietly through a narrow corridor, the sound of her footsteps echoing softly.

She stepped into a moonlit courtyard.

There, sitting alone beneath the pale light, was a dark-haired boy.

The audience murmured in recognition—that boy was unmistakably a young Kokutou Mikiya. Which meant the girl must be his younger sister, Azaka.

Both of them wore stiff, uneasy expressions, as if something unseen hung heavily in the air between them.

Azaka’s gaze was fixed on her brother—unwavering, filled with emotion that was difficult to name.

And just as the tension reached its peak, the scene shifted again.

The film now showed a luxurious academy—grand, spotless, and full of morning light.

There, a teenage girl with long dark hair walked elegantly down the hallway, her inner monologue flowing softly over the scene.

“I am Azaka Kokutou, sixteen years old—a trainee magus. I have an older brother, Mikiya Kokutou, and a mentor, Aozaki Touko. As for my rival in love… that would be Shiki Ryougi. In short, I am a girl plagued by far too many troubles.”

“Ah, just to avoid any misunderstanding—I see no problem with the fact that I see my brother as a romantic interest. I earnestly, wholeheartedly, and without even a hint of doubt, love Mikiya Kokutou.”

“That’s why I became my uncle’s adopted daughter and entered Reien Academy, a boarding school—to help him forget I’m his sister. And yet, despite all that effort… my one and only problem is that woman who suddenly appeared and stole him away!”

The audience leaned forward as the scene transitioned again—into Azaka’s memory.

After years away from home, she had finally returned to the Kokutou household, heart fluttering with secret anticipation.

She took a deep breath, pushed open the front door, and called out with excitement—

“Onii-chan, I’m hoooome!”

Her cheerful voice echoed through the house.

At the table, Mikiya looked up with a gentle smile, peeling an orange for the girl sitting beside him.

“Welcome back, Azaka.”

The girl beside him turned with a soft, almost boyish smile—a quiet greeting slipping past her lips.

“Yo.”

Azaka froze.

Mikiya chuckled and gestured toward the girl.

“Right, this must be your first time meeting her. Let me introduce you—this is my classmate, Ryougi Shiki.”

And in that instant, every viewer in the empire—from the rowdy drunks in the taverns to the stoic Arch Mages in the tower—could feel the explosion of emotion behind Azaka’s forced smile.

To her utter disbelief, the elaborate plan she had spent years crafting—the perfect strategy to win her brother’s heart—had fallen apart in an instant.

Her beloved brother, Kokutou Mikiya, had been stolen away by a complete stranger.

For Azaka, it was nothing short of a crisis.

Her inner monologue continued, flustered yet strangely dignified, as if she were narrating her own tragic legend:

“To drive that woman away from my brother… to keep Mikiya from getting involved in dangerous affairs… and to become her equal—both mentally and magically—I decided to become a magus myself! This… this is the tale of my courage and determination! Or at least… it was supposed to be…”

The narration trailed off, the scene fading back to the bright halls of Reien Academy.

Azaka was now pacing through her dorm room, a telephone crystal clutched in hand.
Her voice trembled with irritation.

“Just what’s going on here, Touko-san?!”

On the other end, Aozaki Touko twirled a pen between her fingers, a wry smile playing across her lips.

“Oh, it seems the secret weapon has arrived safely.”

“Secret weapon? What are you talking about?!”

“You remember the request I gave you, don’t you?”

“Find the magus lurking within Reien Academy—the one manipulating faeries to spread anxiety among the students—and eliminate them.”

“That’s right. And since you can’t see faeries yourself, you’ll need a pair of eyes to help you, won’t you?”

“Th-that… that’s—”

Azaka hesitated, her words faltering.

Then, as if on cue, she turned to glance behind her.

There, sitting calmly on a chair, was Shiki—legs crossed, posture impeccable, and an expression that could only be described as deliberately smug.

“I came here under the orders of Aozaki Touko,” Shiki said lightly, her tone perfectly flat. “I am Ryougi Shiki.”

The smile she wore afterward was the kind that said I know exactly how much this annoys you.

Azaka’s face went bright red.

Without another word, she slammed the receiver down and shouted at the top of her lungs:

“Touko-san, you idiot!!”

Meanwhile, back at the office, Aozaki Touko covered her mouth, laughing so hard her shoulders trembled.

“Ahaha~ I can already tell things are about to get wonderfully chaotic.”

Beside her, Mikiya Kokutou sighed, looking as calm and patient as ever.

“Nothing’s going to happen. Shiki just thinks of Azaka as a little sister.”

Touko shot him a look that could only be described as pitying amusement.

“You still don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?”

“Everything.”

With that, Touko leaned back in her chair and let out another soft, devilish laugh, refusing to explain further.

. . .

Thus began the opening act of The Garden of Sinners Episode 6: Oblivion Recording.

Its dramatic setup instantly drew every viewer into the story—from the rowdy crowds in southern taverns to the solemn Arch Mages high atop the Alchemy Tower.

After all, when you placed Shiki Ryougi and Azaka Kokutou into the same room, fireworks were inevitable.

And sure enough, the audience’s excitement only grew stronger.

Everyone wanted to know how far this battle of hearts, tempers, and mysteries would go.

And the television did not disappoint.