The world before Madoka's widened dark pink eyes shifted and changed instantly.
A gray sky replaced the brightly lit ceiling- above which float countless gears dripping with blood.
A scarlet moon hangs in the sky, its crimson glow casting over her fearful face.
All the people and objects around her disappeared. The ground changed from uniform white tiles to distorted and chaotic colors, while one after another, grinning dolls appeared out of thin air around her.
"Heeheehee... Hehahaha..."
These puppets laughed- maniacal, incomprehensible, and chilling laughter that rang throughout the whole space and distorted the air.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Aaaaaah! AAaaaaaaa!"
Painful and ferocious screams sounded one after another, overlapping with the laughter.
At the same time, one group started frantically killing each other with tools such as axes, sickles, and hammers, while another group held hands, surrounding Madoka as they danced strangely on tiptoe.
They circled around her, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far. She had no way to escape!
Click...click…
Accompanied by the sound of gears turning in the sky, countless puppet arms rose from the ground, stretching towards the sky in a grasping motion.
"Eeek-!"
A scream of primal fear escaped Madoka, her trembling form staring teary-eyed at all the puppets that trapped her.
"G-get away! W-what are these t-t-things?!"
In fear, she kicked away a puppet arm that was reaching towards her feet-
BAM
But another hand immediately appeared right behind her and grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall to the ground.
As the pink-haired girl watched the dolls surrounding her move closer with gradually glowing red, her raised hands slumped down on the ground.
She closed her eyes, her body trembling once again. She curled inwards to a fetal position, her hand rising with difficulty to cover her already closed eyes.
'P-please, someone... Anyone! Please save me!'
"Fear not, for I am here!"
A gentle and stable voice suddenly appeared in this vast space full of puppets.
-And immediately, Madoka felt all the terrifying sounds around her disappear- as if that voice silenced them all.
She cautiously opened her eyes and-
Her pink eyes reflected the figure of a breath-taking silver haired boy who stood towering over her.
His own beautiful and brilliant cosmic blue eyes were locked on her own, looking at her with concern and a gentle smile.
"Are you okay?"
Adam reached out his hand to the frozen pink-haired girl.
The scene of him reaching out his hand to her in such a situation, where there were countless monsters rushing to them from behind, made Madoka's heart tremble violently.
Yet, despite the severity of the situation, she still felt a sense of relief washing over her entire being.
Because…someone actually listened to her prayers and answered!
"I...I'm f-fine!"
Madoka felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment.
She nervously and shyly placed her hand on the silver-haired boy's palm, trembling lightly as she exerted her strength to stand up with his help.
"W-what should we do?"
With someone by her side as a pillar, the pinkette regained her courage and asked
"You don't need to do anything." The boy put one hand on his hip. "Just sit back, relax, and watch me as I annihilate this fallen one."
Adam calmly extended his hand as he narrowed his blue eyes.
Behind him, 6 small black balls the size of a fist materialized.
They are called: Truth-seeking orbs!
The small black balls rapidly collided and merged with each other. As only a larger black ball remained, Adam opened his hand, and his eyes glowed golden.
The ball flew in the air, transforming into a vague sword shape. With a mind of its own, it landed right into his open palm.
He then took a relaxed posture, retracting his hand back-
"Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
The silver-haired boy shouted, swinging the vague sword-shaped structure in his hand quite casually-
And the originally gray sky lit up.
…
She couldn't see much, but the sight that registered in her eyes a moment later was that of a golden, bright glow emanating from the sword in the boy's hands.
It lit up everything. With an unstoppable momentum, it swept away all with its brilliance.
Gears, dolls, and other objects along the way were all reduced to ashes.
Countless dolls tried to rush forward to try to stop it, but before they could even move, the light also took away their lives.
A blink later, the dazzling golden light burst surged even more, causing the world in Madoka's eyes to lose its color, turning into abstract black and white stripes.
She raised her hands, covering her eyes to close them and shield them from this brilliant light.
Unable to see anything clearly, the sound of a huge explosion magnified and became more pronounced, causing her eardrums to ring and ache.
The bright light gradually faded, and she cautiously opened her pink eyes.
A series of overlapping illusions appeared and dissipated in an instant.
And the moment her vision snapped back to focus, she clearly saw the scene before her- which vaguely resembled the impact crater of a nuclear explosion
"Wow, that's amazing…!"
Except for the ground near her and Adam, which remained intact, the rest of the area was completely wrecked- no, it wasn't like a nuclear explosion, it was as if it had experienced a meteorite impact!
As for the dolls that had just surrounded her and tried to kill her? Those things, along with the gears in the sky, had long since vanished without a trace.
Not even ashes remained.
"Come on…" Adam stretched lazily, looking at her with a lazy smile and still being very casual. "It's time to go."
"Y-yes!"
As if being called on by a teacher, Madoka stood up straight and answered loudly.
"Heh."
Seeing her adorable appearance, the silver-haired boy simply chuckled.
Then, he walked over to her, kneeling slightly as he gently put his arms around her knees and neck.
With a light tug, he hoisted her up horizontally- that's right, he started carrying her in a princess carry.
"E-eh? W-what are you d-doing?!"
The pink-haired girl let out a surprised yelp, completely bewildered by his actions.
"Of course, I'm taking you out of this place."
He smiled casually, as if this was completely normal.
"Now, let's get out of here."
Adam gently held her in his arms, feeling her soft and warm body that emitted a faint fragrance that lingered around.
As Madoka listened to his rhythmic breathing, her fear and unease gradually dissipated in his embrace.
She rested her head on his shoulder, inhaling his reassuring scent as her cheeks slightly flushed again. Her body felt relaxed and pliant, and her eyes wanted to close themselves.
…..
Leaving the witch's gradually collapsing barrier, Adam arrived at the rooftop of a nearby building and gently placed the girl on the ground.
After regaining her footing, Madoka bowed deeply to the silver-haired boy and thanked him:
"Thank you for saving me."
Her hands nervously pinched the corners of her skirt. Her pink eyes fixing themselves on him.
"You're welcome." He nodded, a bright smile flashing on his face. "How could I possibly stand by and watch such a lovely girl like you get hurt?"
With such direct praise, the pink-haired girl felt both happy and shy.
"Hehe."
She put her hands behind her back and twisted her body in place, a low and awkward giggle escaping her mouth.
"Aren't you going back to find your friend?" Adam raised an eyebrow at her carefree and unfazed behavior. "She seems to be looking for you."
"Oh no!" The pinkette's eyes cleared up and widened in an instant as she came to realization, "Sayaka!"
It's only now that Madoka remembered that Sayaka is still at the record store. She must be very worried about her sudden disappearance!
"I'm sorry!" She panicked, hurriedly bowing. "I have to go find Sayaka right away!"
"It's alright." The silver-haired boy waved his hand in dismissal. "You can go ahead."
Madoka stumbled, hurriedly running a few steps- but then she suddenly seemed to remember something and promptly froze.
"Um... " She turned around, looking at Adam with a little embarrassment on her face. "Could you tell me your name?"
The pink middle school girl seems a little sheepish. She stood there fidgeting, stealing a glance at him before quickly looking away as she waited for his answer.
"My name is Adam."
The silver-haired boy raised a fist over his heart as he nodded with a smile at her.
"Adam…" Madoka repeated his name in a low voice. "I'll remember! My name is Kaname Madoka!"
She abruptly raised her head, her dark pink eyes looking back at his eyes
"I'll remember you too, Madoka."
Adam's smile widened.
"Um!"
The schoolgirl nodded rapidly, then, with a final farewell, she quickly ran away.
"...."
Seeing her back gradually disappearing from view, Adam turned to the side and spoke:
"Madoka-chan is so cute, don't you think?"
"Is this your plan? Will it really help?"
Homura suddenly appeared like a ghost- as if she was always here.
And she was.
She has been watching everything very closely, but she still can't quite understand Adam's actions.
He had only saved Madoka once; So what? What is the point?
In past reincarnations, she has saved Madoka countless times- but in the end, she is still unable to save her.
The black-haired girl is really starting to doubt his plan now. Did he actually want to save Madoka, or was he just greedy for her…body?
This Admin does have power, but his plan of inducing feelings into Madoka and saving her that way….Homura is really skeptical.
If it wasn't for the fact that he is her only hope of saving Madoka, the black-haired girl would never have let him come in contact with her.
"Don't worry. Just trust me."
The silver-haired boy shrugged casually
The regressing magical girl didn't ask any more questions; As long as Adam could do what he promised, that was enough. She can cast aside her doubt.
"By the way, is this something you'll need?" Adam casually tossed something to the gloomy, dark-haired girl. "Take it."
It is a dark, ornate pendant or amulet on a cord, with a circular emblem and decorative metalwork around it.
"Grief Seed..."
Looking at the black gem in her hand without any change in her expression, Homura casually put it away.
Magical girl's soul resides in the soul gem outside their body- this is often made into a necklace.
However, this soul gem gradually accumulates negative emotions, slowly turning from a vibrant color to a dark, evil black.
When the soul gem becomes completely black, the magical girl turns into a Witch- a mad abomination with only destruction and killing in its mind.
Normally, the darkening of the soul gem is irreversible. Once darkness stains the soul gem, it can't be undone. Thus, the ultimate fate of all magical girls is to turn into witches- and this destiny can only be slowed down, not reversed.
…Unless a Grief Seed dropped by a Witch is used. A Grief Seed can purify the corruption of a soul gem and revert it to its original state.
-But of course, this doesn't treat the root. A magical girl's soul will still accumulate darkness- forcing them to hunt Witches to purify their soul again and again in a continuous cycle.
What a…twisted and cruel fate imposed upon them by Kyubey.
"So…" She parted her lip, her violet eyes fixed on the ground beneath her. "What are you planning to do next?"
Although he has told her the general plan, the specific steps are too vague. She wants to know what exactly he will do next so that she can be prepared and offer help.
"From now on, just let things take their course."
As he spoke quite casually, Adam's eyes glowed lightly golden, looking at a certain 'place'.
"What does 'let things take their course' mean?"
Homura frowned, finding his answer very lackluster and casual.
"Interact with Madoka often as we accumulate karma for both of you." Adam played with a dark ball of light that suddenly appeared in his hand. "Then use the power of love and friendship to shatter every barrier and defeat Walpurgisnacht!"
The silver-haired boy threw forward one hand dramatically, smiling widely as he used the famous shounen protagonist phrase.
"Can we win?"
The black-haired magical girl's frown widened as she stared at the bright purifying light that appeared in his hand and seeped into the dark orb.
She doesn't know Adam's power. But Walpurgisnacht had already wiped out these magical girls many, many times.
It's a despairing opponent. No matter what she does, THEY seem undefeatable.
"Yes, we're guaranteed to win!"
As the dark glob in his hand finally turned a pure white, the traveler from another world confidently exclaimed with an easy-going smile.
'Though, I don't want to turn to Ad/am...'
"I hope so..."
Homura watched the pure white orb disappear inward into Adam with a sigh. Then, she lowered her head and disappeared from the spot.
Adam put his hands in his pockets, not paying attention to her departure.
"Oh?"
He tilted his head, sensing something additional. A light of interest appeared in his eyes as he smiled yet again.
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A/N:
Over the past few weeks, I've been banging my head against the wall to create a Python script that will make translating fanfics easier.
Well, it's finally done. So now, I can officially start translating a fanfiction!
The account is named: 'Adam_The_Observer' , and the translation is: '99 Wives: They're All Me'
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Patreon at: Adam_Flores