MHGA Chapter 384 – Development (2)
When Kyoko Sakura regained consciousness, the first thing she heard was the clattering sound of a keyboard being typed on.
Even before opening her eyes, she could hear the low mutterings of the man who had called himself part of the Demon King's Army—but due to the distance, she couldn't make out what he was saying. The only thing crystal clear was the incessant keyboard tapping and mouse clicks.
…She wasn't dead?
After a brief moment of confusion, Kyoko remembered what had happened—she had stabbed that Demon King Army guy through the chest, only to be knocked out cold by a retaliatory strike. So now… where the hell had she been brought?
Kyoko cracked her eyes open just a little and saw she was in an extremely simple room. The surroundings were all white, and oddly enough, she didn't seem to be restrained in any way.
So what exactly was going on?
Kyoko fully opened her eyes and discovered that she was lying on a sofa. On the other side, Kairo Retsu was standing with his back to her, pointing at a screen and whispering something to the silhouette of a girl with long black hair.
Kyoko widened her eyes.
It was a girl—around her own age.
Was the Demon King guy threatening her?
Kyoko felt for her Soul Gem. Once she touched it and confirmed it was still with her, she felt a surge of relief.
After a brief internal struggle, she made up her mind: she'd transform and ambush the guy, saving the girl.
"Didn't expect I'd be doing something this… magical girl-like…" Kyoko muttered to herself with bitter sarcasm. Gripping her Soul Gem tightly, she aimed to deliver a fatal blow to the back of Kairo Retsu's head.
There's no way he could counterattack after having his brain splattered!
Kyoko moved silently, minimizing her noise as she crept forward and prepared to transform.
She took a deep breath—then suddenly lunged forward, Soul Gem in hand.
Her spear shot toward the back of Kairo's head. Just give her a moment—she'd pulp that bastard's brain!
But unexpectedly, Kairo sensed the ambush, reached behind him, and grabbed the spear tip mid-thrust—completely halting it in place.
He let out a sinister laugh. "I've been training with Himmel for ages! I can even catch bullets—ow ow ow—dammit!!"
Kairo suddenly let go of the spear, clutching his now-sliced palm and hopping around in pain. "@#$%! Grabbing the tip hurts this much?! I got scammed! Why don't those protagonists ever grab something grabbable?! If I knew it'd hurt like this, I wouldn't have bothered with the cool pose!"
"…Huh?" Kyoko stared in utter confusion.
Then she turned and saw the screen flash pink before going black—Homura Akemi had calmly reached out and pressed the power button.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Don't worry. You're safe here." Homura stood in front of the monitor, her face calm as ever. "I'm a magical girl too. The only reason we brought you here like this… was to help you understand a few things."
"That's right!" Kairo gave Kyoko a thumbs-up, his wound already regenerating. "And for the record, the Demon King's Army is real. This armor I'm wearing? Totally legit Demon King gear—otherwise you wouldn't have been able to pierce it."
He patted the costume he wore—it was the same aesthetic armor that Laios once wore. Stylish as hell, but almost useless in actual battle.
"Huh? The Demon King's Army is real?" Kyoko blinked.
"…The Demon King's Army is real?" Even Homura looked puzzled.
"Wait—you look confused too?! Aren't you two on the same side?!" Kyoko looked back and forth between them, dumbfounded.
"Demon Kings aren't necessarily bad, y'know," Kairo shrugged. "Sometimes they're just perverts who are obsessed with monsters… and end up saving the world by accident."
Kyoko had a whole list of retorts ready—but they all got stuck in her throat.
"What the hell are you after?!" she demanded, pointing her spear at Kairo, trying to figure out what he wanted.
Was he just messing with her for fun?
"I wanted to clear the air with you… and see what you intend to do," Kairo said, raising his hands innocently. "Don't you want to know your future?"
"Hah? What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Kyoko frowned. "What future?"
"Self-sacrifi—uh, that's an otaku term. You might not get it," Kairo waved his hand. "Basically, it means you gave up your life to stay with someone else… went down with her. That's about it."
He shrugged. "The classic red-and-blue ship trope. This is actually the first series where I learned that phrase."
"…She's never going to understand any of that." Homura pushed Kairo aside and walked up to Kyoko. "No matter what you're thinking, today we will show you the future that involves you. With your power, there's no way you're escaping from here."
That statement triggered Kyoko's anger.
"Hah?! Who do you think you're underestimating?! Just try me—"
Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly found herself several meters away from them.
Her spear, once aimed at Kairo, had vanished—and she was now restrained in a chair by iron chains, completely unable to move.
And on Homura's shoulder… a small winged lion had appeared without warning.
"Looks like this works," Homura murmured as she looked at Kyoko, now immobilized by chains conjured during the time stop.
Normally, if she touched someone during a time stop, that person would be pulled into the frozen moment with her. Even something like Mami Tomoe's magic ribbons linking them during battle would keep Mami immune to the time-stop effect.
So Homura couldn't move others without leaving a trace—but…
The Winged Lion could.
As pure magic, the Winged Lion's movements were like air or terrain—completely invisible to the time axis. His actions wouldn't disrupt the time-stop balance.
"Isn't this a bit too rough?" Kairo scratched his head.
"We don't have time to waste on pointless talk," Homura replied sharply. "Mami can't be told the truth. She'd break."
"And if Sayaka knew… she might turn into a Witch on the spot."
"So Kyoko's the only one we can approach right now. Weren't you the one who said that?"
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