For Homura Akemi, there was only one path she could take.
After all, even though she had matured greatly after a hundred loops, and even though her current appearance was far more noble and aloof than before, deep down, she was still the same country girl from back then.
To make her openly admit that she liked either Su Mo or Madoka more was a bit too much for her sense of shame to handle.
However, she didn't tell Madoka the whole truth.
It wasn't because she wanted to be cryptic, but because doing so would only lead to a disastrous outcome. She had tried it many times in previous loops and confirmed it was a taboo that must never be broken.
The truth might be able to stop Sayaka, but it would never stop Madoka. Therefore...
"...I chose to leave to clean up those cultists, and to avoid letting the enemy find my tracks." Homura gave her reason, concealing part of the truth.
Hearing this, Madoka nodded, only partially understanding. "So, Homura-chan, you chose to leave because you wanted to protect me and Lord Su Mo?"
It was precisely because of her pure nature that she could cut straight to the heart of the matter.
"..."
Homura was at a loss for words and turned her head away. "As it turns out, it seems Big Brother Su Mo didn't need my help. That group of cultists was already wiped out before I got there."
Remembering this, Homura cast a slightly suspicious glance at the calm-faced Su Mo. Seeing nothing, she didn't press the issue and turned back to Madoka. "But, Madoka, you have to promise me one thing."
"Wh-What is it?" Seeing her solemn expression, Madoka was curious.
"Absolutely do not become a magical girl," Homura said with the utmost seriousness. "That is not a path suited for you."
"Eh?" Madoka was taken aback, a hesitant look in her eyes.
She actually did kind of want to become a magical girl.
It was cool, and she could uphold justice. Wasn't that a dream job?
She hadn't known such a thing existed before, but now that she did, she couldn't help but feel a little tempted.
Seeing her hesitation, Homura became anxious. "Being a magical girl is absolutely not what you think it is—a companion of love, friendship, and justice. Madoka, you must promise me you won't do it!"
She was here to stop Madoka from becoming a magical girl.
"But, aren't you a magical girl yourself, Homura-chan?" Madoka asked, completely bewildered.
"Therefore, I don't represent a positive character," Homura stated.
"That's not true! You're wonderful, Homura-chan! You're pretty and kind!" Madoka said, looking unconvinced.
The praise made Homura's pretty face flush, and the content of the words made her both shy and anxious. Seeing that she couldn't convince Madoka, she could only turn to Su Mo.
"Big Brother Su Mo, you absolutely cannot let Madoka become a magical girl." Her eyes held a look of hope and pleading. She had clearly noticed the relationship between Su Mo and Madoka and believed he could stop her.
Homura's judgment was correct, but unfortunately, Su Mo was even harder to deal with than Madoka.
"If you can give me a suitable reason, I can help convince her," Su Mo said, stroking Madoka's head.
"A suitable reason?" Homura hesitated for a moment. "Kyubey cannot be trusted. Is that enough?"
"Because it's an alien?"
"Yes, that's right, because it's an ali—" Homura's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait! Big Brother Su Mo, how do you know it's an alien?!"
Kyubey, full name Incubator, looked like a mascot from a magical girl manga, but was in fact a member of an ancient, technologically advanced race from space.
They had witnessed human civilization develop from primitive society to the present day and possessed the technology to convert emotions into energy.
To meet the energy consumption of countless races in the universe and prevent the universe from falling into a state of heat death, they sought an energy source.
They later discovered that the energy converted from human emotions could defy entropy, and thus decided to sacrifice a small portion of individual humans to provide energy for the entire universe.
It could form contracts with girls who had the potential, granting their wishes and turning them into magical girls. To call it an incubator of magical girls wasn't entirely wrong.
Even after a hundred loops, Homura had only managed to learn bits and pieces of this information. But the information Su Mo provided was far more comprehensive than what she knew.
Before this, Homura had no idea why Kyubey was so persistent in making contracts with magical girls.
"Big Brother Su Mo, how do you know so much?" Homura pressed, shocked.
Even with the many suspicious points surrounding Su Mo, she still didn't suspect he was connected to Kyubey and continued to trust him unconditionally.
She was just curious how he had obtained so much information in such a short amount of time.
By her calculations, he had only been in contact with Kyubey for a minute at most!
Faced with this question, Su Mo replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "I just asked Kyubey directly."
"Huh?" Homura was dumbfounded. You could just ask it directly?
Faced with her shock, Su Mo explained calmly, "As an alien creature, Kyubey doesn't have the function of lying. At most, it can guide others' judgment by stating partial truths, but it won't tell falsehoods. So if you ask a few more times, you can basically get anything out of it."
Like the Trisolarans, this had nothing to a with Kyubey's character, but was simply because they hadn't mastered the skill of lying.
It communicated using telepathy, a technique that was inherently difficult to conceal things with, at least for them.
For the girls in the original story, most of whom were just middle schoolers, Kyubey's tactic of guiding people astray with partial truths was highly deceptive. But to Su Mo, such rhetoric was far too clumsy.
Even without using any extra power, he could easily get what he wanted from Kyubey with his eloquence alone.
"It's that simple?" If Kyubey was this easy to deal with, what had she been doing for the past dozens of loops?! Much of what she had learned could have been obtained just by asking Kyubey directly?
"Of course," Su Mo nodded, then added, "However, Kyubey's words aren't 100% reliable. Although it can't lie itself, the 'facts' it speaks of may not be understood the same way by others. For example... the alien matter."
"Hmm? Is Kyubey not an alien, but a creature from Earth?" Homura's curiosity was piqued. From this perspective, it seemed that a creature like Kyubey could indeed lie.
"Not a native Earth creature, but not an alien civilization from the observable universe either." Su Mo looked up at the starry sky and shook his head.
He had confirmed this point when he first arrived in this world. There was no civilization in this world that could have given birth to Kyubey.
"Furthermore, based on its behavioral patterns and existence itself, they are by no means natural lifeforms. On the contrary, they are likely created beings."
The world of Honkai: Star Rail had aliens aplenty.
Although many lifeforms there were also dedicated to solving the problem of universal destruction, or dedicated to destroying the universe, these were all acts of free will, not innate racial traits.
But Kyubey was different. It was more like a tool that had been created, like the Glamoth Iron Cavalry. As for its purpose, that was probably not in question.
Averting the end of the world by turning emotions into energy... what a foolish act.
"Created beings... created by whom?" Hearing the series of revelations from Su Mo, Homura's heart was in turmoil, and she immediately pressed for more.
"Haven't asked yet," Su Mo said with a shrug. "Just as I was about to ask, you shot it."
"..."
Homura hung her head, a look of apology on her face. Damn it! I shouldn't have been in such a hurry.
If only she had met Su Mo sooner. She felt that with her combat skills and his intellect, they might have been able to clear this in a single run, with no need for looping at all.
"So, does this mean that if we encounter Kyubey again, you'll be able to get more information, Big Brother Su Mo?" Homura asked nervously, clenching her fists.
"I can, but are you not planning to eliminate Kyubey anymore?" Su Mo asked in return.
"No." Homura shook her head. "Kyubey can't be completely killed anyway. I was just worried it would manipulate you two. With your wisdom, Big Brother Su Mo, I don't have to worry about that. But if it's just Madoka..." She looked at the pink-haired girl with concern.
"What about me?" Madoka puffed up her cheeks, a little annoyed. "Is Homura-chan calling me dumb?"
"...No." Homura turned her head away.
"You hesitated!" Madoka's eyes widened.
"I mean, Madoka, you're very cute," Homura said, clumsily changing the subject.
"So am I dumb or not?"
"..."
"Homura-chan, say something! What does it mean if you don't say anything?"
"Ahem! Big Brother Su Mo, given Kyubey's habits, it will definitely come back to find you. But even with your wisdom, it's best not to be alone with that thing. It would be best if you were with me, so I can protect you." Homura cleared her throat and looked up at Su Mo.
In just one minute, Su Mo had managed to dig up so much information. His adult wisdom made her feel he could be trusted.
Coupled with their relationship, she felt that by relying on Su Mo's observation and analytical skills, she might really be able to end the loop this time.
Of course, the prerequisite was that she had to protect Su Mo and not let him become a magical boy or something.
"Homura-chan, you're so mean!" On the other side, Madoka was already glaring at her friend with puffed cheeks.