Chapter 975: Determination

Akemi Homura and the others had previously analyzed how strong Walpurgisnacht was. But the Walpurgisnacht they were facing now was clearly even more powerful than their analysis had indicated.

And this form of Walpurgisnacht was still not one that had unleashed its full power. Akemi Homura and the others could not even imagine what kind of destruction would be caused once Walpurgisnacht's body rotated to the very top of the gear.

"Akemi Homura, cover us!" Tomoe Mami shouted at Akemi Homura.

As a Magical Girl possessing time abilities and a shield, if Akemi Homura took charge of the defense, she would certainly be able to ensure the safety of the others, allowing them to output their full power.

With Akemi Homura's cover, Tomoe Mami and the others no longer concerned themselves with their own defense, nor did they think about their own Magic consumption, pouring out all their attacks in one breath. Under the crazy barrage of firepower from the four Magical Girls, even one as powerful as Walpurgisnacht could not help but let out a wail, the wounds on its body deepening continuously.

Stung by the pain, Walpurgisnacht also began to counterattack wildly, countless flames and beams of light erupting from its side. But facing Akemi Homura, who possessed the Time Stop ability, all of its attacks were intercepted. As for Walpurgisnacht's familiars, they also wanted to intercept Tomoe Mami and the others, but they were all dealt with by Akemi Homura.

Watching Tomoe Mami and the others pouring firepower onto Walpurgisnacht, Akemi Homura could not help but feel a trace of gratitude toward Lingyun in her heart. Under normal circumstances, Tomoe Mami and the others would never have been able to unleash attacks of this magnitude. On one hand, it was because their own Magic could not withstand such consumption; on the other, such attacks placed a massive burden on their Soul Gems, and if used repeatedly, their original Soul Gems would inevitably shatter from being unable to bear the strain.

Akemi Homura had seen a Soul Gem shatter from being unable to bear the burden of a Magical Girl's own attack; that happened during a Cycle when Kaname Madoka, who had become a Magical Girl, faced Walpurgisnacht together with her. At that time, because Kaname Madoka possessed powerful karma from her having turned back the timeline time and time again, she had unleashed an earth-shattering attack in front of her, and even one as powerful as Walpurgisnacht was killed in a single blow by such an attack. However, the horrific situation presented itself to her after Walpurgisnacht disappeared: Kaname Madoka's Soul Gem could not withstand the power of that attack and shattered right in front of her. Facing such a desperate situation, Akemi Homura did not hesitate to turn the Hourglass and step onto the path of a new Cycle.

The battle with Walpurgisnacht continued, and Akemi Homura had once wanted to use her Time Power to reverse Walpurgisnacht's rotation, but the immense power within Walpurgisnacht made such an approach completely impossible. However, she did find a way to use Time Power to erase Walpurgisnacht's recovery ability. Every time each Magical Girl launched an attack, she would reset the state of Walpurgisnacht to how it was after it had last suffered an attack. It was precisely by relying on this ability that the four of them, including Tomoe Mami, successfully bypassed Walpurgisnacht's formidable recovery power, causing the injuries on Walpurgisnacht's body to become increasingly severe.

Mitakihara Shelter.

Perhaps because the battle between Akemi Homura and the others and Walpurgisnacht was too intense, the shelter was also affected, and the entire shelter swayed slightly.

In this situation, Kaname Madoka could finally no longer sit still; she stood up abruptly and came to the window of the shelter.

Outside the window was a scene of dark clouds pressing down on the city and fierce winds howling, causing Kaname Madoka's heart to sink. And beside her, a Kyubey had jumped out, though she did not know when.

"Kyubey, do you think they can win?" Kaname Madoka asked softly.

"If I say no, would you believe me?" Kyubey said indifferently. "Although this time they have gathered the power of five Magical Girls, which is unprecedented, Walpurgisnacht's power is also unprecedented. Anything said now is superfluous; let you witness with your own eyes just how much they can actually achieve."

"But, isn't there still the teacher?" Kaname Madoka asked, clenching her fists.

"Sorry, up until now, neither your teacher nor the girl beside him has appeared on the battlefield!" Kyubey said.

In fact, when Kyubey first saw Tokisaki Kurumi, it had also wanted to lure Tokisaki Kurumi into becoming a Magical Girl. After all, the karmic power on Tokisaki Kurumi was truly powerful to a degree it could not imagine. But after experiencing the situation where a bizarre and miserable death would occur whenever it touched Tokisaki Kurumi, Kyubey could only helplessly and unwillingly give up on this idea.

"If they continue to fight like this, they have no hope of winning at all!" Kyubey's flat voice carried a cruelty that was unprecedented.

"Ho, how can it be like this! If, if it really is like this..." Kaname Madoka wiped away the tears that had appeared at the corners of her eyes, stood up straight abruptly, and her eyes held a resolve that was unprecedented.

"Where are you going, hey!" Just at this moment, a hand suddenly reached out from behind Kaname Madoka and grabbed her arm.

Kaname Junko had appeared behind her, and hidden within the eyes that looked at her were unclear emotions.

"Mom, I, I must go save my friends!" Kaname Madoka did not dare to turn back to look at her mother.

"Leave it to the fire department; outsiders shouldn't interfere!" Kaname Junko said.

Kaname Madoka shook off Kaname Junko's hand and turned her head abruptly: "It has to be me!"

Only Magical Girls could join the battle of Magical Girls. And now, only she, who possessed the qualifications of a Magical Girl, could participate in the battle against Walpurgisnacht.

"Slap—" Kaname Junko slapped Kaname Madoka across the face.

"Life is not yours alone! I'm telling you, after doing such a willful and reckless thing, how much will the people around you..." At this moment, Kaname Junko, as a mother, showed obvious worry for Kaname Madoka's actions.

"I know!" Kaname Madoka interrupted Kaname Junko's words. "I am also very clear about it, and I also love Dad and Mom very much. Because I know you value me very much, that is why I cannot ruin myself! Because I value everyone, I must protect everyone. For this, there is a place I must go to right now!"

"Can't you explain the reason?"

Kaname Madoka nodded.

"Then, take me with you!" Kaname Junko said.

"No, Mom, please stay by Dad and Tatsuya's side and let them be at ease! Mom, you told me you raised me to be a good child, right? I won't lie, and I won't do bad things. Do you still believe in me now? Do you still think I am doing the right thing?"

Kaname Junko reached out her hand, seemingly wanting to place it on Kaname Madoka's shoulder, but she ultimately gave up. As a mother, her understanding of Kaname Madoka was something others could not compare to. Although the usual Kaname Madoka looked a bit weak, once she determined a goal, she would move toward that goal unwaveringly, and no person or power could stop her.

"You definitely won't do anything stupid, right? You haven't been instigated by anyone's lies, right?"

"Mm." Kaname Madoka nodded.

Kaname Junko reached out her hand and gently pushed Kaname Madoka's shoulder. Just this one action already expressed her thoughts.

"Thank you, Mom!" Kaname Madoka flashed a smile at Kaname Junko, then turned and ran quickly toward the outside of the shelter.

"To let a girl who is only in adolescence bear such a thing, sure enough, I am not a good person either!"

On the roof of the shelter, Lingyun watched Kaname Madoka's back quietly and let out a soft sigh.

The posture Lingyun was displaying now was completely different from when he was usually in front of Kaname Madoka and the others; his pure black hair and pupils had turned into silver hair and golden eyes, and the space around him was also constantly twisting irregularly.