Tokyo Psychic

Page 298

Now, however, they have become involved in the clash between the mind thief and the evil god.

Jingqin Rencai naturally saw it...

What Homura Akemi was holding in her hand was a strange, pure white creature that looked like a rabbit but also like a fox.

"Its name is Kyubey." Homura Akemi's originally illusory figure suddenly appeared to have some physical texture.

She noticed Iori Rina's gaze and explained earnestly, "She is one of the culprits behind all the tragedies we are experiencing."

The pure white little beast seemed to have endured extremely tragic torment; its ethereal body was covered with shocking wounds.

But it seemed oblivious to pain, merely gazing at the celery in front of it with a regretful expression that said, "Oh dear, this is really bad."

Those were eyes as red as rubies.

It is neither purely animalistic nor possesses the rich, thoughtful spirit of humans or evil gods.

Like a machine, she gazed at the magical girl candidate she had once guided to become a witch with an inorganic, cold, and indifferent look.

In a world where time is frozen, Kyubey shouldn't have the ability to move.

But Homura Akemi specifically granted it this qualification.

Therefore, Cupid also said without any hesitation—

"Although you were incredibly weak for a magical girl back then, if you add this extremely twisted regret to your current state, you might be able to do something truly remarkable... How about it? Girl, how about making a contract with me and becoming a magical girl? I can grant you any wish, you know?"

"Whether it's helping this mind thief or becoming the center of attention... as long as you sign a contract with me, it can all be achieved effortlessly."

It did say that.

Despite never having spoken to Kewpie, Akira Serinna clearly felt a familiar, regretful emotion deep in her heart.

The cycle of repetition truly completes at this moment.

Iori Rina would never betray the boy who had saved her from dire straits and life's hardships countless times.

Unless... she no longer becomes "well celery".

Holding Kyubey's "Homura Akemi" in her hand, she revealed a very cold smile.

From this moment on, a girl who cannot understand death and is filled with great fear of it first becomes a magical girl, then cooperates with a mind thief, and finally stands on the battlefield to destroy this mental palace.

Izayoi received the power of time reversal from Homura Akemi.

Then......

After witnessing his comrades sacrifice themselves time and time again, and witnessing the near-mutual destruction of Akira Kurusu and Nyaru in the first timeline when neither of them had obtained enough information nor supernatural powers.

A magical girl who survived by sheer luck because she was sheltered...

I collapsed in despair.

Nyarlathotep was an enemy she could not defeat.

During the time when the Mind Thief failed to arrive in time and she "coincidentally" made a pact with Cupid, her wish was to "live on."

Such contradictory perceptions, such deep regret and sorrow...

This led to "Well Celery" becoming a witch.

The Witch of Regret, for the first time, bypassed Homura Akemi and initiated time reversal, abusing her original status as a witch to usurp the priority of time.

But even if time were reversed.

A witch is still a witch.

Even if you force yourself back to the original time, you still can't return to Jingqinrencai's perception.

And so, He was separated from time.

That immense despair and regret had no outlet until the second timeline, when the phantom thief, due to a subtle change, arrived just in time to rescue Iori Jinna, and the two of them, driven by various coincidences, returned to this place.

In her second reincarnation, Serina not only accepted Homura Akemi's gift, but also Kyubey's contract request...

And so, the witch, who had previously existed outside of time, found a new vessel.

Thus, the superposition of memories from the two timelines, and the immense regret carried by the individual named "Jingqinrencai," triggered a resonance in the collective unconscious.

Thus, Judas, the evil god symbolizing remorse, was born.

......

From the moment he received the name "Judas".

Perhaps "Well Celery and Vegetable" had already decided on its fate.

He was to walk a long road that seemed to have no end.

From the future "present," go back to the past and meet the version of yourself who made the first mistake.

Then......

Correct all of this.

Judas knew that doing so would send his present self into the endless turbulent flow of time.

But He firmly believed that even across such a vast distance of time and space, Akira Kurusu would do everything in his power to save Niina Iori.

Judas believed that the phantom thief needed no reason... He had almost forgotten how many times he had witnessed that boy leading his companions to defeat countless evil enemies, standing on the stage that would decide whether the world was destroyed or not, and launching a rebellious declaration of war against the gods from beyond the heavens.

Therefore, Judah chose to use his infinite "reversal" characteristic as a new shackle to bind Nyarlathotep.

Then, that immense regret and guilt were used as fuel to force into Izanagi's body, sending her back to the initial turning point.

Judah believed that, given Akira Kurusu's current teachings and Serina Iori's current level of development...

I will definitely be able to do what I couldn't do back then...

The celery and celery ignored the temptation of Kewpie.

She looked intently at Homura Akemi.

"Although I don't know your name yet, and we should have never met before... may I ask you a very small question?"

Homura Akemi's smile lost much of its coldness, and she responded with silence instead of words.

In those clear, mirror-like eyes, it seemed as if Izayoi saw for a fleeting moment... the intricate and complex experiences of her other self as a god, experiences that were beyond her comprehension.

So, Nina Iori asked Homura Akemi, "Do you know... what death feels like?"

“Death… is just a regret. All emotions and beliefs come to an abrupt end with thought.” Homura Akemi said softly, “It is indeed terrible. The death of one person will cause countless people sadness and pain, meaning that you will become a permanent scar in their hearts.”

"If it were Amamiya... if it were Akatsuki, would he cry?"

Sadness doesn't always have to be expressed through tears.

"I'm so afraid he'll cry." The girl, who was usually shy, suddenly became talkative, muttering all sorts of childish guesses.

She imagined countless scenarios of what her parents, sister, Akira Kurusu, or her friends from the Phantom Thieves and the band might look like after she died, guessing what they would do and what they would say...

Homura Akemi no longer seemed to be the demon who could manipulate gods at will, and she responded to Serina Iori patiently and tirelessly.

Finally, this ordinary girl seemed to have made up her mind.

Like the protagonist of Harry Potter, the seventeen-year-old boy looked up at the witnesses in front of him with his head held high.

She said...

"I am prepared to die."

Homura Akemi lowered her eyes.

The cupid that was originally being held in someone's hand has vanished without a trace.

The devil whispered, "You will die again and again, to understand that life is endless."

And so, the black and white world was restored to color.

Jingqinrencai took everything from Judas.

Including His memories, His suffering, His despair...

It seems that the celery vines died in a human way.

The clinking of silver coins grew more and more frequent, making it impossible for her to hear the calls of those around her.

Fine silver threads wove around her to form a pale robe.

Enveloped in her human understanding, she was transformed into a marionette, dancing on an endless stage.

But this time, she will start from the very beginning of the cycle and correct all the mistakes Judas made.

If you fail, start over.

Time rewinds again and again.

Destruction, as the evil god, descends time and again.

The existence of "Isai Serina," that little girl who loved rock music, milk coffee, and Showa-era architecture, seems to have been infinitely compressed.

Consciousness seemed to sink to the deepest part of the ocean, and memories were constantly being covered and rewritten by the experience of death.

There is no possibility of ever returning to that glamorous world...

I vaguely sensed that someone in the darkness was calling my name.

That voice sounds so familiar...

"Judas" thought to himself.

But I can't remember who it belonged to anymore.

On the eve of the "Witch's Night," Judas betrayed the evil gods who were lying in ambush within the witch's barrier.

Just as Goro Akechi was about to successfully assassinate a middle school student, thus driving Yu Narukami to the brink of rage, Judas crossed the Aldabait and stopped everything...

Just before Toyokawa Shoko and Wakaba Mutsuki were to be bound by Kyubey, Judas drove Kyubey away and brought the Psychic Thieves...

While the arrogant and angry evil gods lurked together in Suizhi Town, they promptly warned the Phantom Thieves of the Mind about the impending danger...

Time marches on like a flood.

Even the memory of the new Judah is beginning to be overwritten.

Even in the darkness, someone is still tirelessly calling out a name...

"Issei Rencai."

In the absolute darkness of the seabed, it seemed as if the lights of a submarine were shining in.

It pierced through that thick barrier of cognition.

It cut through layers of obstacles like a sharp sword.

A boy who shouldn't be here...

The Mind Thief broke into a palace that allowed people to travel from the "present" back to the "past" and then back from the "past" to the "present".

This place has long since lost its physical form as a spiritual palace.

The distorted time intertwined, becoming a cage that imprisoned the naked girl.

Jing Qinrencai looked at the boy in front of her through the cage with a confused expression.

She has no recollection of what she did or what she experienced.

Tears kept streaming from the corners of her eyes.

She kept shedding non-existent tears, and at the moment the cage was shattered by the phantom thief wielding his katana, she instinctively tried to stand up.

But it seems that this part of humanity has been ravaged over a long period of time by death, which symbolizes the reversal of time, to the point that even the most basic self-awareness has been erased.

There's no way to control the body.

Jingqin Rencai felt as if every part of her body was rusted and unusable.

I think... I'm already dead...

Only then did she belatedly realize that "well celery" had died.

The part belonging to "Judas" is too large.

Compared to the time of this evil god, "Jingqin Rencai" was just an ordinary little girl who had lived for seventeen years.

But the phantom thief in front of her held onto Iori Rencai so firmly.

He seemed to be shouting in anger...