Tokyo Psychic

Page 327

After a deafening roar, at the end of the world, he tightly embraced Homura Akemi, who collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

I still remember what he said at the time...

Go back to the past, Homura. Don't let your friends repeat the same mistakes one by one. Try to stop it all from happening.

Homura Akemi, feeling inferior, lay in Akira Kurusu's arms, unable to believe whether she could change anything, or even if she had the right to do so.

But Akira Laiqi simply said nonchalantly, "Whatever you want to do, even if you completely alter my life... as long as it stops this disaster."

"I can't do it." Such an overwhelming responsibility is beyond Homura Akemi's capacity to bear.

However, the phantom thief Homura admired only handed her the fragments of the Grief Seeds and the records of the Personas of her Phantom Thieves companions. [Then consider it as living one more day, striving to live longer. Rewinding time to live.]

[The ending is already like this, if I continue to live... I don't know how to go on living...]

[So that's how it is. You can't find a reason to keep living, huh? How about saving Kaname-kun? Or Sayaka, Mami Tomoe... you all made a promise.] As Akira Kurusu spoke, blood from the wounds on his face was continuously carried into the air by the current.

In the shattered sky, a colossal void greedily devours everything in the world.

But if that happens, then Lian, and everyone else...

Too much responsibility can crush a person. Homura should lower her expectations and try to save her best friend first. There's no hope without survival.

【hope......】

If you really don't know who to place your hopes on, then just try trusting me.

I remember the phantom thief's laughter echoing in my ears: "I can be the vessel for Flame's emotions, or you can use me as a weapon and a pawn at will. Please lay down all your burdens and use this power of time reversal to wreak havoc on my life—after all, I was originally just an outsider to this world."

He watched as Homura Akemi struggled to pull out her pistol, his smile fading until it was replaced by an indescribable heartache and pity.

This road will be difficult, but even though it's tough and painful, I still hope you can live on, even if not for anyone else, try to find the beauty before despair.

Whether or not you can bring us the ending we all hope for...

From this day forward, my life is entirely in your hands.

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Hearing Homura Akemi say in a very soft and delicate voice, "You talked to me about the story of the manga 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' a long time ago."

Homura Akemi looked at Akira Kurusu, who seemed somewhat surprised, and said, "You said that as the manga story continued to unfold, I would fall completely in love with Madoka because of my deep obsession and attachment while I was determined to keep my promise."

Akira Kurusu's breathing faltered slightly.

Homura Akemi gently took Akatsuki's hand and pressed her cheek against the back of Akatsuki's hand with great affection. "I now carry too many promises about salvation, and they all started... because of you."

When the world collapsed, and all things worshipped and believed in vanished one by one, Homura Akemi desperately wanted to give up everything and become the last witch in the world... it was Akira Kurusu who gave her a reason to continue living with hope.

Even though this hope weakens with each cycle and is covered by a deeper despair, it is never completely extinguished.

Homura Akemi eventually became a witch.

Even as a witch, she still stands by Akira Kurusu's side at every turning point, facing the end of the world together.

After countless cycles of reincarnation, Homura Akemi could no longer explain whether her feelings for Akira Kurusu stemmed from guilt or admiration.

A complex mix of emotions intertwined, forging heavy shackles that eternally imprisoned her in the cycle of reincarnation.

Homura Akemi had already given her body to Akira Kurusu countless times—perhaps the first time was mixed with guilt, with a feeling akin to "atonement".

By now, she was practically craving every single moment with Akira Kurusu, obsessed with his body heat, and mesmerized by his voice...

It seems that just seeing Akira Kurusu can somewhat alleviate the despair that has accumulated in one's heart, a despair that could drive anyone to madness.

......

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Akira Kurusu received the answer she wanted.

But he preferred not to know the answer.

Homura Akemi lowered her eyes, "We've been to every place, said every sweet word, but in the end we realized..."

The phantom thief interrupted Homura Akemi, "Is there anything I can do for you? Since Homura has reincarnated countless times to save the world, there must be something I can do to help you."

“I knew it. If it were you… you would definitely say that.” Homura Akemi gazed into Akira Kurusu’s eyes with adoring eyes. “Then, before you become a Phantom Thief again, let’s go on a date.”

"Okay." Akira Kurusu agreed to Homura Akemi almost without thinking.

“There’s a bridal shop in Shibuya that’s having a ‘wedding simulation’ event today,” Homura Akemi suggested.

"How many times have we been there?"

"Many, many times."

"And then what?"

"Let's have lunch."

"After lunch?" Akira Kurusu's tone sounded somewhat surprised and uncertain.

Hold me.

Sure enough, he heard Homura Akemi say something very "shameful".

In the context of Japanese, "hug me" is equivalent to "please follow me OO".

Homura Akemi said in a slightly expectant tone, "We were in the bedroom of the apartment until I passed out."

"Stop talking."

"That's true, because I'm a bad kid. Bad kids can do bad things however they want." A mischievous smile seemed to flicker in Homura Akemi's eyes.

"Won't it break?"

"Yes, I can. After all, I'm only fourteen. I didn't know how to use magic to heal myself before..."

"Stop for a second, I feel a little dizzy."

"It's alright. I'm quite experienced in using magic in those kinds of things now, so I'm sure I can give Lian a very comfortable experience."

"They've actually started calling each other by name..."

“Then let’s make a deal,” Homura Akemi said in a seductive voice that was as alluring as a devil’s spell. “Ren, if you let me reach OO once, I can answer any question you ask.”

"Your image has completely collapsed, Homura."

"There's a big difference between manga characters and real people—after all, according to you, it's strange that I would fall in love with Madoka. Girls can't do those kinds of fun things with each other, and their feelings for each other are hard for others to understand. Plus, after reincarnation, we have to be careful about the distance every time we get together... That makes it too slow for feelings to build up. How many times did I reincarnate before I fell in love with my same-sex best friend because of a single promise?"

Homura Akemi suddenly seemed to have a lot more to say.

Akira Kurusu could clearly hear the expectation in Homura Akemi's words.

......

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The conversation has come to an end.

Akira Kurusu has completely trusted Homura Akemi.

The phantom thief's intuition was almost crushed by Homura Akemi's overly heavy love, so how could he not trust her?

This emotion, which transcends human understanding, is on par with Ravenda's.

But Ravendana still has some elements of a contract involved, and she herself was born as a demigod from the Sea of ​​Hearts.

Homura Akemi simply accumulated her strength bit by bit until she surpassed humanity.

Akira Kurusu never expected that such an absurd development, like something out of a light novel, would happen to her.

Hand in hand, we walked along the bustling streets of Shibuya.

The girl's skirt swayed slightly up and down with each step.

What happened next was exactly as Homura Akemi had predicted.

They took wedding photos at a "mock wedding" event held by a bridal shop, wore cheap wedding rings for 5,000 yen, tried on wedding dresses and suits, and then ate omelet rice at a nearby family restaurant.

Finally, they took a car back to "Fujiki-i" in Aoyama 1-chome.

......

"Lian, how are you feeling now?"

Homura Akemi lay beside Akira Kurusu, a serene smile on her face.

Akira Kurusu sat on the sofa, panting, looking at the messy apartment with a bewildered expression. "Aren't you in any pain at all?"

"The pain was already easily tolerable; in short, it was pure enjoyment."

"He's releasing stress."

"I've long since passed the stage of venting stress and the stage of atonement... it's just pure enjoyment now."

"What a bad kid."

“Homura is a bad kid,” Homura Akemi said matter-of-factly, “so please do as many bad things as you want to me.”

"I'm no longer able to go on," Akira Kurusu said, weighed down by her frail body.

"What a pity, I really wanted to be treated as roughly as possible by Lian."

"It's best if you don't do that kind of thing."

"After a while, Ren will gradually accept my suggestion," Homura Akemi said casually. "I already said I'll use magic to assist, so everyone will be happy in the end."

Then, somewhat playfully, she asked Akira, "You haven't answered my first question yet... How does it feel? A few adjectives would be helpful."

After a long pause, Lai Xixiao finally caught her breath. "Heaven."

"Can I be proud of this? This is the first time I've heard such a comment from Lian."

"How was the evaluation last time?"

"That time, I accidentally bled too much, which scared Lian so much that she didn't dare to continue."

What about the time before that?

"There was no major bleeding, but I was just told I felt very comfortable, not to the point of going to heaven."

"..."

Akira Kurusu stroked the smooth, delicate back of the girl in her arms. "Will Homura feel happy doing this?"

"At first I felt happy and content... Now I'm just simply enjoying the time I can spend with Ren."

"So it's okay not to do this kind of thing?" Akira Lai felt that if she did it a few more times, her untrained body would probably be completely exhausted.

"Just being together normally feels a bit lonely. It's all Ren's fault for teaching me how to do it for the first time, and now I can't quit at all... But considering that Ren's body isn't very strong right now, let's try to reduce the frequency."

Thank you for your understanding.

"Once you get back the Persona and gradually improve your physical fitness, please keep doing this until I pass out."

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......

"flame."

"Ah."

Will I be arrested by the police?

"Depending on how things are played in the future...maybe."

"It sounds like it really did happen."

"It was because Lian's girlfriend accidentally saw me, and then... that's when I had a huge hemorrhage."