The Dimensional Tavern of the Mefilas Alien

"What are you doing here?" Homura Akemi frowned almost imperceptibly when she saw Madoka behind Mami Tomoe.

"That's what we should be asking you!" Mami Tomoe shielded Madoka behind her, assuming a fighting stance.

Chapter Thirty: The Witch is Being Captured

Homura Akemi's eyes turned cold.

Even after she said that, why is Mami Tomoe still dragging Madoka into this?

Although she had some connection with Mami Tomoe in past reincarnations, she couldn't help but feel a bit of murderous intent now.

"We're here only to destroy the witch!"

Standing behind Mami Tomoe, Madoka hurriedly said.

"Madoka, there's no need to talk to her!" Sayaka tugged at Madoka's hand. "That girl is an alien's lackey!"

"But why do we have to be enemies? Wouldn't it be better if we all lived in peace?" Xiaoyuan was very sad. Kind-hearted, she really didn't want everyone to fight over the aliens' ambitions.

Madoka's reaction warmed Homura's heart a little, as for Sayaka...

"Ha, aren't magical girls just the hatchers' dogs? No, they're not even dogs, just useful tools!"

Homura Akemi has changed from her aloof demeanor at school to a sharp and sarcastic one.

Mami Tomoe's face stiffened. Kyubey hadn't appeared before her since yesterday. The implications were obvious.

If she hadn't developed a newfound desire to protect the Earth, she might have already fallen into witchhood.

Taking a deep breath, Mami Tomoe forcibly suppressed her anger and said, "We're not here to be your enemy."

"We're here only to defeat the witch. We don't have any conflict on that point, do we?"

Although magical girls are a hoax, the fact that witches eat people remains unchanged. Moreover, because of yesterday's ordeal, her Soul Gem has become very tainted and desperately needs the Grief Seed to purify it. Therefore, after a night of reflection, Mami Tomoe decides to continue fighting the witch.

“No, she’s my prey.” Homura Akemi refused decisively.

The snack witch behind her is crucial to the grand plan of restoring magical girls to human form, and she would never give her up.

"I understand." Mami Tomoe said without hesitation, then turned and left.

Homura Akemi has recently gained the power of an alien, but her strength is unknown. It would be unwise to oppose her now. Instead of wasting time here, we should hurry and find other witches.

Sayaka bit her lip, glared at Homura Akemi, and hurriedly followed Mami Tomoe.

Madoka stood there, looking at Mami Tomoe and then at Homura Akemi, looking like she was about to cry.

She simply couldn't understand how their Earth had become like this.

"Madoka, hurry up and catch up!" Mami Tomoe and Sayaka noticed that Maadoka was still standing there, so they stopped and waited for her.

Homura Akemi glanced at Mami Tomoe's Soul Gem, which was mostly tainted, then lowered her head slightly, hiding half of her face in shadow.

A few seconds later, just as Madoka sadly caught up with Mami Tomoe, Homura Akemi suddenly threw something at her.

Mami Tomoe caught it.

"The Seed of Lamentation?" Mami Tomoe asked in surprise when she saw what she held in her hand.

"Don't misunderstand. I just think you might have the potential to become a member of the Dark Legion. It would be a real shame to die like this."

Mami Tomoe carefully put away the Seed of Sorrow: "I will not go along with you, but I will remember this favor."

"Whatever." Homura Akemi didn't want to say more and turned to walk into the hospital.

He had only shown her a final bit of pity out of consideration for their past friendship. Their entanglement should end here.

"What a strange person."

Sayaka Miki couldn't understand what Homura Akemi was thinking. But she quickly cheered up again: "Great, Senpai, this gives us more time to come up with a solution."

Because they shared a common secret, the three, who were not very familiar with each other at first, quickly became close. Last night, Sayaka and Madoka spent the entire night at Mami Tomoe's house discussing the future with her.

Now, they can be considered friends.

Mami Tomoe nodded with a wry smile. Although she had said some nice things to Homura Akemi yesterday, in reality, she would still have to avoid Homura Akemi in the end.

And then there's Cupid, the incubator who single-handedly created all the tragedies...

Mami Tomoe was completely overwhelmed. She couldn't possibly handle such a complex situation on her own. Therefore, during their discussion last night, they all felt it was necessary to team up with other magical girls.

The problem is, having experienced it firsthand, Mami Tomoe doubts whether other magical girls could withstand such a shocking reality. Even if they could, wouldn't Kyubey go and stir up trouble beforehand?

After learning that the guy actually viewed magical girls as weapons, Mami Tomoe no longer dared to overestimate Kyubey's limits.

Seeing Mami so troubled, Sayaka couldn't help but sigh. She wished she had that power too, so she could help her senior and protect the Earth together.

Sayaka is a lively girl with a strong sense of justice. Upon learning of the existence of magical girls, she immediately considered forming a contract to fight alongside Mami Tomoe to protect humanity.

Even after learning the truth that 'magical girls are actually biological weapons developed by incubators,' this idea had not completely dissipated from her mind.

In the heart of this righteous girl, bearing pain in order to protect the world is a cool thing, and it fits the image of a messenger of justice.

Madoka stared blankly in the direction where Homura Akemi had disappeared: "Akemi-chan...maybe she's not a bad person!"

She always felt as if she had seen Homura Akemi long before, and she could always sense a trace of sadness and despair in her cold expression.

"Perhaps." Mami Tomoe did not directly deny it.

"Perhaps she just wanted to defy the fate of magical girls. But to do so would bring even greater darkness to the world, which is simply unacceptable."

……

Homura Akemi broke into the Snack Witch's barrier.

Within the bizarre and fantastical barrier, a small, doll-like object stood prominently in the center, drawing considerable attention.

Without saying a word, Homura Akemi put on the belt and inserted the card to transform.

Sensing the intruder's presence, the tiny doll began to move. The once tranquil barrier world suddenly became noisy.

"I don't have time to waste on you!"

Homura Akemi immediately split into two, one to deal with the familiars and the other to go straight for the puppet.

The small and adorable doll in front of you is the true form of Charlotte, the Snack Witch.

With one shot, half of the small doll's body was blown off.

But immediately, a huge black worm with red spots crawled out of the tiny doll's mouth. That was the Snack Witch's second form. If an enemy were unaware of its abilities, they would likely be killed on their first encounter in this situation. But Homura Akemi had fought the Snack Witch countless times and knew its information inside and out. The moment the huge worm lunged at her, she grabbed its mandibles and tore it apart with force.

"Sizzle!" The insect-like witch screamed as her mouth was ripped open and she fell to the ground.

After transforming into Guts Girl, Homura Akemi's size remained unchanged, but the strength of her arms was now measured in tons. If she hadn't wanted to capture her alive, she could have easily torn the Snack Witch to shreds.

Because Murphy had said that it's easier to capture a Pokémon when it's severely injured, and that's also how it's set up in Pokémon, Homura Akemi drew her gun and fired a few more laser beams at the Snack Witch's body. Only when the witch was on the verge of death did she throw out the Red and White Balls.

Chapter 31 Sakura Kyoko: I must live on!

Perhaps because the Snack Witch was so badly injured, the red and white balls were captured without even shaking.

Without the witch's power, the entire barrier collapsed rapidly.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Homura Akemi's main body and clones quickly eliminated all the remaining familiars to prevent them from hatching into new witches.

Having finished all that, she rushed straight to the next witch's barrier, the whole process incredibly swift and efficient. In no time, she had filled almost all of the red and white orbs Murphy had given her.

"One, two, three... four balls left."

With little time left before her transformation, Homura Akemi counted the red and white orbs on her body and found that there were still four empty orbs.

However, the witches that were easy to find in Takihara City had already been cleared out; those remaining were either well-hidden or liked to roam around. Even with her memories of countless reincarnations, it would be difficult for her to find them in a short time. Homura Akemi glanced at the sky and realized that it was still early before dawn, and she still had time to transform. Not wanting to waste any time, she immediately turned around and prepared to go to the nearby Kazamino City to pull off a few heists.

In past reincarnations, she had visited that place in order to break the deadlock, so she had some understanding of the witches there.

Homura Akemi transformed into a blue streak of light barely visible to the naked eye and sped toward Kazamino City.

Just as she was about to enter the city, a long spear suddenly flew over and pierced the ground directly in front of her.

Homura Akemi stopped.

"You're the berserk magical girl from the neighboring city of Mitakihara?"

A magical girl with a high red ponytail and a rather heroic appearance blocked Homura Akemi's path.

Homura Akemi recognized her: Kyoko Sakura, a magical girl from Kazamino City. In the first loop, she came to Mitakihara City and became companions with Homura Akemi and Madoka Kaname. In subsequent loops, she was often involved with them as well.

Do you want to be my enemy?

Homura Akemi's mind flashed through various memories, but her words remained utterly cold.

Sakura Kyoko's sudden stop—could Kyubey have whispered some seductive words in her head? But Kyubey should know that with Sakura Kyoko's power, even in her current witch form, she'd be nothing more than a speed bump in his presence. Moreover, at this point in time, Sakura Kyoko, due to her past experiences, should still be using magical girl powers solely for her own desires. There's no reason for her to be causing him trouble!

"Spare me!" Sakura Kyoko said, scratching her head in distress.

"I haven't lived enough yet, I don't want to fight aliens or anything like that."

Homura Akemi was surprised. Was Kyoko Sakura's information network really that good? But if that was the case, why did she come all the way here?

"So, I—haven't—lived—enough!" Sakura Kyoko said, enunciating each word clearly.

"Whether you want revenge on Cupid or even plan to become a traitor, I have no interest in it."

Sakura Kyoko sighed, "But if you intend to eradicate all the witches, I can't just ignore it."

Originally, she simply drifted through life, hunting witches to maintain her magical girl powers. She even deliberately allowed her familiars to eat people, so they could grow into witches and she could obtain more Grief Seeds, since familiars wouldn't drop Grief Seeds.

But last night, Kyubey suddenly ran over and told her that the Soul Stone is the true form of a magical girl. Once a magical girl falls into despair, the stone becomes corrupted, and she transforms into a witch. He also told her that Homura Akemi has become an alien's subordinate and is rapidly eradicating witches across the land.

Sakura Kyoko was furious after learning the truth.

The anger wasn't directed at Homura Akemi, but at Kyubey, who had deceived her. Because of her past experiences, Kyoko Sakura harbored an intense hatred for lies—

Kyoko Sakura's father was a poor pastor. His teachings went unheeded, leading to dire financial straits for the family.

In order to let more people hear her father's sermons, the then naive Kyoko signed a contract and made a wish.

The church became bustling with activity, and believers flocked to listen to the sermons.

However, her good fortune didn't last long. Kyoko, newly transformed into a magical girl, lacked experience. After fighting a witch who appeared at the church, she forgot to deactivate her transformation in time, and was coincidentally discovered by her father.

Upon learning that the increase in followers was not due to faith but to magic, the devout father's heart crumbled. He denounced Kyoko as a manipulative witch, forced his wife and young daughter to commit suicide together, and drove Kyoko away.

Overnight, a once happy and fulfilling family was shattered.

The once gentle Kyoko has become an egoist: since using magic on others will cause them misfortune, she will only use magic on herself and bear all the consequences herself.

However, Kyubey's sudden confession made Sakura Kyoko, who had thought she was the one who was tragically wrong, realize the truth.

How can a wish born of deception and malice possibly bring about a good outcome?

She even suspected that the witch who appeared in her father's church might have been brought there by Kyubey, with the aim of driving her to despair and causing her to quickly fall into witchhood.

"What's the point of dwelling on this now that things have come to this?" Kyubey said, seemingly unconcerned. "The important thing is to stop Homura Akemi..."

Before Kyubey could finish speaking, Sakura Kyoko disgustedly stabbed it to death with her gun.

But Kyubey is right about one thing: she has to stop Homura Akemi.

Despite the loss of her family, Kyoko Sakura has no intention of giving up on fate.

"I must live!" she said to Homura Akemi. "Therefore, I cannot hand over the witch of Kazamino City to you!"

After Sakura Kyoko finished speaking, she manipulated her magic to retrieve her spear.

Homura Akemi really wanted to complain, "Wouldn't Sakura Kyoko die even faster by doing this?"

But when she saw Sakura Kyoko's eyes, she understood. They held the resolve of someone who, despite knowing the cruelty of reality, was still determined to live on.

This was something she had never noticed in her previous reincarnations.

The arm that had been raised was slowly lowered.

"In that case, would you like to come over to my place?"

"Eh?" Sakura Kyoko made a sound like a small animal, and loosened her grip on the spear a little.

"Wait, what do you mean? You're not trying to recruit me, are you?" Sakura Kyoko was a little confused.

"Um... thank you for your kindness. Although I also dislike Kyubey, to betray Earth because of this... I'm sorry, I still think that's really too strange!"

Sakura Kyoko politely declined, her words tumbling out incoherently.

Ultimately, even though her past tragic experiences have made her seem more mature than her peers, Sakura Kyoko is still just a fourteen-year-old girl. It's hard for her not to be confused when faced with such an invitation.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Cupid, the Idea King