MHGA Chapter 375 – The Nature of Infinity
"What do you think infinity is?"
At a family diner somewhere in Mitakihara City, Kairo Retsu and Homura Akemi sat at a corner booth after ordering two set meals. Kairo turned to Homura and asked her that question.
Homura thought for a moment, then shook her head without answering.
So Kairo began explaining.
"What I'm about to tell you is the essence of infinite magic—from another dimension altogether."
He tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
"Like air. Like water. Like the very matter that composes the world—in that dimension, magic exists as something fundamental and omnipresent."
"Magic is just magic. But infinity? Infinity is pure infinity. The people of that world began to study how to utilize magic in various ways."
"But with the passage of time, magic happened—by chance—to come into contact with the appetite of living beings. And then… a Demon was born."
Kairo opened his palms and began recounting what happened after the birth of that Demon.
The more Homura listened, the quieter she became.
Finally, when Kairo reached the part where the Demon grants infinite magic to Dungeon Master s to fulfill their wishes, only to later consume all their desire—leaving them empty shells with no will to live—Homura finally spoke.
"Infinite magic… Is it really infinite?"
She stared directly into Kairo's eyes.
"…Yes."
Kairo gave a firm answer.
"To the Demon, infinity is truly, purely infinite. It would give up almost anything for the sake of satisfying its hunger. That's exactly why being a Dungeon Master is so seductive."
"As long as you can control that endless, limitless magic—and as long as your desire is strong enough—you can even overturn the laws of reality," he said, spreading his hands wide.
"Because it is infinite. Truly, purely… ∞."
"I see…"
Homura took a deep breath, lowered her head in thought, then looked back up.
"I understand now."
"As long as I pay the price… then before the Demon devours all of my desire, I can use that infinite magic to do anything I want, right?"
"Then let's form a contract."
Her gaze was resolute, tinged with desperation.
"Make me a Dungeon Master . Even if… all my feelings for Madoka are eventually consumed by the Demon, it doesn't matter."
"I'm ready." Homura lowered her head.
"If the only way to end this endless loop is for Madoka to sacrifice everything… then I'd rather—"
"Ah?"
Kairo tilted his head.
"There's no need for that."
"Let me finish explaining. That kind of outdated, predatory contract from the old days has already been cracked down on hard."
He raised his hands.
"I didn't get to that part yet. The Demon's been recruited by the Hunters."
"…Huh?"
Homura blinked, stunned.
"Even though your resolve was positively dazzling, our Guild is a humane, fair, and transparent organization," Kairo said cheerfully.
"There's no way we'd have you sign some sacrificial pact."
While Homura was still frozen in disbelief, Kairo quickly explained how they'd exploited a loophole in the Demon's insatiable appetite to bring it under the Gathering Hub's control.
"A being with magic but no restraint becomes a Demon. But once it gains control over its desire… it becomes an omnipotent god."
He gave her a look.
"Were you just about to offer yourself as a sacrifice? Well, too bad—that doesn't happen anymore. The Demon won't hollow you out if you sign a contract now."
Homura took a long, deep breath.
For some reason, Kairo felt her body briefly flicker—like she had just time-stopped for half a second.
Adjusting a strand of hair behind her ear, she glared at him.
"This is critical information. Why didn't you say that up front?"
"Because it's important!" Kairo opened his eyes wide.
"You know how NPCs in games always go on about deep lore first? And as the Guildmaster, I have to let you understand how dangerous these supernatural entities are—also—"
"Enough!"
Homura cut him off sharply.
"So even if I become a Dungeon Master , there won't be any problems?"
"Right! Just be sure to feed the Winged Lion once in a while—it eats your emotions as snacks. But it goes back to the Hub for regular meals!"
Kairo rubbed his nose proudly.
"Granny Felyne prepares Felyne Meals for it every day. These days it just lounges around the Gathering Hub, eating and slacking off. Living the dream!"
Homura took another long breath, suppressing her building irritation—
But then she suddenly remembered something.
"This 'Winged Lion'... is it about this big? Golden? Kind of like a little lion cub?"
She was thinking of the odd lion that had suddenly appeared and licked away her negative emotions.
"Yup, yup, that's the one." Kairo grinned.
"So—when should we sign the contract?"
"You're really starting to feel like one of those door-to-door salesmen pitching some weird product…"
Homura sighed. Of all the time loops she had endured, never had her emotions fluctuated this much over anything other than Madoka.
"The way you're acting makes me doubt that little lion could actually fix anything."
She paused.
"Much as I hate Kyubey, he's not that easy to deal with."
"You still don't understand what infinity really is," Kairo sighed.
"Let me tell you this—"
"I was a Dungeon Master once too. I've experienced what it's like to wield infinite magic."
"The Winged Lion is a god bound by desire. Because it couldn't control its hunger, people called it a Demon."
"But it is pure infinity. The only thing limiting its infinity… is desire."
"What the Dungeon Master can do isn't determined by the Lion.
It's determined by the Dungeon Master 's own potential."
"That's why I came to you. Because I believe in your potential."
"…Understood." Homura nodded.
"But what exactly is it you're trying to do? What are those two girls—Uno Saki and Hibiki—doing around Mami and Sayaka?"
"And what about the Shagaru Magala and Gore Magala you mentioned—how do you plan to handle them?"
"I want you to tell me your plan—now."
She fixed her eyes on him.
"And you clearly need my ability. What exactly do you want to do with it?"
"I need time," Kairo inhaled deeply.
"Time to install the traps and mechanisms."
"And your time-stop—gives us the most preparation time possible."
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