Chapter 937: Kyubey, the Double-Dealer

"Teacher, why does Kyubey do this? Do you know?" Akemi Homura raised her head and looked toward Lingyun.

"At first, I didn't know why either, but after seeing the change in your Soul Gem just now, I suddenly had a guess. If I said Kyubey is doing this to save this world, would you believe it?" Lingyun said softly.

"This, how is this possible?" Akemi Homura could not help but open her mouth wide, her eyes full of disbelief.

She had once imagined many of Kyubey's motives, and did not even shy away from using the greatest malice to speculate on Kyubey's actions. But she never, ever expected that Kyubey's purpose in doing this was actually to save this world; this result was truly something she could not accept.

"This world, for certain reasons, has already fallen to the brink of collapse; in a certain sense, this manifests as entropy increase. When entropy increase reaches a certain degree, this world will completely collapse and head toward destruction," Lingyun said indifferently.

"But, what does this have to do with us?" Akemi Homura asked, clenching her fists.

"I only just discovered it myself. When your Soul Gem showed changes, the power that leaked out from it made even me feel a slight shock. Perhaps this is the thing Kyubey needs," Lingyun said.

"The thing that Kyubey needs?"

"That's right. In the instant a Magical Girl's hope transforms into despair, I felt a massive amount of power. If this power were to be utilized, it would be enough to support the operation of this world." Lingyun's words made Akemi Homura feel as if she had fallen into an abyss.

"So, Teacher, you also think Kyubey's methods are correct?" A wisp of black aura seemed to be overflowing from Akemi Homura's body.

"Sorry, I do not think Kyubey's methods are correct!" Lingyun's single sentence made Akemi Homura suddenly raise her head.

"Why?"

"Because, in my eyes, when Kyubey signs a Contract with you all, it conceals too many things. You all signed a Contract with Kyubey and stepped onto this dangerous path, but Kyubey did not tell you what you would face after signing the Contract; this in itself is unequal for you. Moreover, who knows if Kyubey is actually using all the power it obtains to maintain the world's operation," Lingyun said leisurely.

"Teacher, what do you mean by that?"

"In the time I have observed, I don't know how many girls have signed Contracts with Kyubey. The energy produced by the power of these Contracts is so vast it is unimaginable, yet this world is still heading toward heat death; don't you think that is a bit contrary to reason? And, Magical Girls have contributed so much to the world, so why does every Magical Girl head toward despair? In a certain sense, this world is actually very fair!" Lingyun said.

"You mean?"

"This world is not as heartless as you imagine. Magical Girls pay the price and sacrifice for the world, so the world must surely provide some feedback to you all. But on you all, I have not seen such traces; instead, every Magical Girl ends in tragedy. This kind of thing is truly suspicious!"

"Does Teacher mean that someone is interfering?"

"That is certain!" Lingyun nodded heavily. "You said before that Kaname Madoka's classmate, in a past World Line, wished to become a Magical Girl in order to heal the hand of the person she had a crush on, right?"

"Mm." Akemi Homura nodded heavily.

"Then, I ask you, can a wish to restore a hand to normal be considered equivalent to stepping onto a path of endless battle from then on, and furthermore turning into a witch?" Lingyun asked.

"This, how could this be equivalent?" Just by comparing it slightly, Akemi Homura discovered the unreasonableness within it.

"That's right, that's exactly it. Kyubey also once said that the amount of hope obtained is the amount of despair one must inevitably face; the two are balanced. In my view, since Sayaka paid such a massive price, in the end, she should at least have ended up with the person she had a crush on, and possessed a happy and fulfilling married life. But her final ending was turning into a mermaid witch. As for what a mermaid represents, I think anyone who has read the story of The Little Mermaid must know! Have you noticed now that a huge imbalance has already appeared between the two? Then, where did the thing that slipped away in this imbalance go?"

"Are you saying, Kyubey?" Akemi Homura said, gritting her teeth.

"Looking at it now, that is the only possibility. I didn't expect Kyubey to be a guy who plays both sides!"

"Plays both sides?"

"That's right. Do you think that if Kyubey runs around for the crisis of this world falling into collapse, this world would have no reward for it? On one hand, it has the world's reward, and on the other hand, it wantonly swallows the compensation that you Magical Girls should receive. This guy is truly black-hearted to the extreme!" Lingyun said with a cold laugh.

"Then, is there no way to break this sorrowful Cycle?" Akemi Homura asked.

"There is, but it is very difficult. Kyubey's actions have already permeated the World Line of the entire world. To reverse this situation, unless one can reconstruct this world!"

Hearing Lingyun's words, Akemi Homura was startled; reconstructing the world—just thinking about it, she knew what a terrifying thing that was.

"Alright, that is what I wanted to tell you. It is getting late now, and you, student Akemi Homura, should also go back. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a good thing for someone to see a student appearing at a teacher's house in the middle of the night!" Lingyun placed the Soul Gem in his hand into Akemi Homura's hand.

Akemi Homura took the Soul Gem, and the gem turned into a ray of light in her hand, wrapping around her finger and becoming a ring. Compared to before, the ring seemed to have extra mysterious runes on it.

She looked out the window and discovered that the sky was already slightly bright. It must have been because the time she spent telling Lingyun about the things that happened in the endless Cycle was too long; as a result, the night had quietly slipped away during her narration. Now, the sun was slowly rising from the horizon, scattering its light onto this world.

"By the way, student Akemi Homura, actually your power still has a lot of room for improvement. If you feel the need, you can come find me for training!" Lingyun said with a light laugh toward Akemi Homura's back.

Akemi Homura's footsteps paused slightly, and then she disappeared into the sunlight. The information she obtained from Lingyun was truly astonishing; she needed to go back and digest it properly before she could determine what her next step would be.

"Brother, won't something go wrong if you just place such a cruel reality in front of her like that?" Ruoxi appeared from behind Lingyun and asked softly.

"The power of such a thing coming out of my mouth compared to coming out of Kyubey's mouth is far different! If it came out of Kyubey's mouth, it might lead Akemi Homura onto a path of no return. Now that I have told Akemi Homura this matter in advance, letting her have a bottom line in her heart, even if Kyubey exposes this matter in front of Akemi Homura later, it won't cause her too much harm."

"So, is this why you asked for Akemi Homura's Soul Gem earlier? Using your own power to keep Akemi Homura's Soul Gem pure so it wouldn't be tainted by filth; Brother, you really went to great pains."

"Well, no matter what, I can't just sit idly by regarding what my student is encountering. After all, as her teacher, I am quite protective of my own!" Lingyun waved his hand and said.

After finishing, Lingyun looked toward the direction where the sun was rising: "Hmm, today's weather looks good; it seems like a good omen!"