Miracles and magic existed in this world.
Young girls, in exchange for having a single wish granted, could enter into contracts with an extraterrestrial creature known as Kyubey and become magical girls.
If something like that happened in the real world, it would sound suspiciously like an elaborate scam.
And, as it turned out, that was exactly what it was.
Magical girls were required to spend their entire lives fighting creatures known as witches, using the Grief Seeds dropped by their defeated enemies to sustain their own existence.
And as for these so-called witches—
Just as girls were the immature forms of adult women, magical girls were the immature forms of witches.
The twisted irony of enemies sharing the same origin was something that, when it happened in reality, was impossible to laugh about.
Magical girls who made their wishes while filled with hope would eventually transform into mindless witches that hunted and attacked anything around them, either when they fell into despair or when their magical power was exhausted without being replenished.
And the time between a girl becoming a magical girl and eventually transforming into a witch was often not particularly long.
After all…
A naive young girl would wager the entirety of her remaining life on a single wish that could only solve the problem immediately in front of her.
Once she discovered the enormous gap between her ideals and reality, was it really surprising that she might come to regret her decision?
When a girl named Homura Akemi first became a magical girl, the wish she made to Kyubey was:
“I want to meet Madoka Kaname again. But this time, instead of being someone she protects, I want to become someone who can protect her.”
Her wish was granted.
As a result, she obtained powers related to the manipulation of time.
In the beginning, when she returned to the past, Homura was filled with excitement at having become a magical girl.
She eagerly joined the events of the first timeline.
And then, at the very end, she witnessed her best friend, Madoka Kaname, transform into a witch with her own eyes.
After that came the second attempt.
The third.
The fourth.
Again and again, she traveled through time, returning to the same starting point.
Her hopes were trampled over and over.
Her enthusiasm was shattered time and time again.
If Homura’s original impression of magical girls had been something resembling a children’s television show, where a group of young heroines worked together to overcome adversity, then everything began descending into the abyss of reality once she learned the true relationship between magical girls and witches.
The beautiful fairy tale had its comforting disguise stripped away, revealing the cruel truth concealed beneath it.
For instance, the moment a girl became a magical girl, her soul was extracted and transformed into a gemstone, while her physical body was essentially converted into a puppet designed for combat.
Or how one of her companions, after becoming a magical girl, would inevitably fall into endless despair and transform into a witch because she had used her wish for someone else’s sake.
No matter what Homura said or did, she could never persuade that girl to change her mind.
Or how the dependable senior magical girl she had once admired was actually someone who would suffer a complete mental breakdown upon learning the truth.
In an attempt to prevent her companions from becoming witches, that senior would turn against her own teammates, attacking them and attempting to kill everyone.
Or how, in the end, Homura had personally destroyed the Soul Gem of her best friend Madoka.
She had done so at Madoka’s own request, to prevent her from transforming into a mindless witch.
She had been forced to end her best friend’s life with her own hands.
Compared to all those experiences—
The very first timeline, before Homura had made her wish…
Back when she knew absolutely nothing about the secret that magical girls and witches were fundamentally the same beings…
The ending in which all of Mitakihara’s magical girls fought to protect their town and lost their lives battling the approaching enemy almost seemed like the best possible outcome.
So, after struggling for so long, what exactly had she been fighting for?
—Wasn’t the answer obvious?
“I will protect Madoka. I’ll find a way to save her from despair. And for that purpose, even if I have to repeat everything an infinite number of times, even if I’m trapped in this eternal labyrinth forever, I don’t care.”
A violet gemstone began glowing in her hand.
The moment everyone’s attention shifted away from her, Homura Akemi initiated her magical girl transformation.
Her ordinary school uniform disappeared in an instant.
In its place appeared a pale lavender dress adorned with ruffles, a white jacket with short sleeves, a light purple shoulder cape, and black knee-high boots with raised heels.
The distinctive, enchanting outfit lent the young, aloof girl an additional air of elegance and feminine charm.
The instant her transformation was complete, Homura acted without the slightest hesitation.
The circular device attached to her right wrist, which allowed her to manipulate time, began rotating in response to her thoughts.
In Homura’s eyes, the entire world turned into a motionless scene of black and white.
Time had stopped.
Within this frozen world, she began walking toward Makoto Tsukimi, one step at a time.
“Now then, let’s find out exactly who this person who suddenly appeared is.”
In the familiar classroom, the presence of a single unfamiliar individual was simply too conspicuous to ignore.
This was Homura Akemi’s sixth time loop.
In theory, when someone traveled from the future back into the past, the events of that past should not undergo any major changes.
Even if small details were altered by the butterfly effect of her time travel, the overall course of events should remain largely consistent.
In that case…
Who exactly was this additional person, someone she had never encountered in any of her previous timelines?
For Homura Akemi, who was now constantly on guard against Kyubey, anything that defied common sense was something that deserved her suspicion.
Especially since this person had appeared right beside Madoka and was even attending the same class as her.
Her long black hair swayed gently with her movements.
Slowly walking up to Makoto Tsukimi, Homura Akemi carefully examined the boy before her.
He wore a neatly pressed Mitakihara Middle School uniform, and his facial features were delicate and clean-cut.
He had blue eyes, with a pair of black-framed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.
At first glance, he wasn’t someone who could be described as particularly handsome, but he possessed an appearance that made others feel comfortable looking at him.
However, upon closer inspection, one could detect a peculiar sense of detachment about him, as though he were somehow disconnected from everything around him.
Of course, to Homura Akemi, his appearance meant something entirely different.
She was now one hundred percent certain.
She had never seen this person before.
At that moment, Homura could feel her heart beating faster.
Her muscles tightened slightly, and even her movements seemed to grow sluggish.
Fear, nervousness, hesitation…
She even felt the urge to turn around and leave, pretending she hadn’t noticed anything.
The reason was obvious.
Her ability to travel back into the past repeatedly was the only bargaining chip Homura possessed in her struggle against Kyubey, the creature responsible for creating magical girls.
If Makoto Tsukimi’s sudden appearance was truly something Kyubey had orchestrated, and if Kyubey likewise possessed the ability to influence or interfere with the past…
Then every effort Homura had made would become utterly meaningless.
She would lose every possibility of saving Madoka.
“Phew…”
Closing her eyes, Homura gently exhaled, steadying her emotions.
With each breath, she gradually suppressed the turmoil within her heart.
After everything she had experienced, including countless devastating ordeals and even personally ending the life of her best friend amid cries of despair, Homura had long since learned to keep her emotions under control.
Her violet eyes opened once again.
This time, her expression betrayed absolutely nothing.
The black-haired magical girl reached into the circular shield on her right arm and withdrew a handgun.
She took two steps forward.
Then she pressed the muzzle against Makoto’s forehead.