Supporting Kyoko Sakura and placing her on the sofa where Olga Marie had been sitting, Lancer shook his head helplessly. Although he had held onto a sliver of near-impossible hope at the start, now that all the answers were out, he knew it was time to make a decision.
"Are you planning to take action against that monster called 'Kyubey'?"
Even though Olga Marie was annoyed by Lancer "lolicon" behavior, she at least knew how to prioritize. Lancer, however, shook his head.
"Even though I want to, it's not that simple. It... or rather, they, aren't that easy to kill. Whenever one of them dies, the memories and knowledge are passed on to the next 'Kyubey' that appears. It's not resurrection, but in practice, there's not much difference..."
"Then what if you kill them all?"
"I'd like to. The problem is—how many of them are there? Where are the remaining Kyubeys hiding? I know nothing about that. If I had a machine that could locate them, I might have started hunting them across the globe a long time ago."
Was it hard to kill a Kyubey?
In reality, it wasn't. With Lancer strength, killing it was easy; it wouldn't even have a chance to escape. But the problem was: what would happen after killing one?
Another one pops up, and you just keep killing?
He only had half a year. He didn't think he could kill every single Kyubey, not to mention there was an even bigger problem ahead.
"Walpurgisnacht."
Or rather, the "Stage-Constructing Witch." It could be said to be the oldest Witch in the world, or perhaps the oldest "Magical Girl." Her initial strength wasn't as terrifying as it is now, but as countless Magical Girls turned into Witches, most were hunted by successors, while a lucky few escaped. "Walpurgisnacht" is the collection of these Witches—a "natural disaster" composed of multiple Witches. Once formed, it even possesses the power to destroy civilizations.
It was precisely because of its terror that Madoka Kaname became the "Law of Cycles." However, if Lancer guess was correct, the timeline he was currently in was the one where Homura Akemi had not yet become a Magical Girl—the original world. In this timeline, Madoka became a Magical Girl first, and Homura became one later to protect Madoka, eventually performing "Time Leaps" because of Madoka death.
Leaping through time again and again, trying to change the future over and over, yet in the end, she had always failed...
"Such a powerful opponent, one that even the protagonist group couldn't handle together... just thinking about it is a pain."
Olga Marie, hearing Lancer mutterings, just rolled her eyes and said nothing. After all, she didn't see even a hint of wanting to give up in Lancer eyes.
"Olga, help me keep an eye on Kyoko Sakura for a bit. I'm going back to my room."
With that, Lancer turned and left his lab.
After closing the lab door, he took out a "gem" with a complex expression.
Indeed, it was one of the three gems given to Lancer by the "Law of Cycles"—the last one.
Both Olga Marie and Zero had already used theirs to transform, significantly boosting their combat power.
Zero had temporarily gained abilities similar to a Kagune via the "gem," even being able to undergo Kakuja transformation; Olga Marie spellcasting abilities had also been enhanced.
Lancer, however, had delayed using his. The main reason was that he couldn't quite accept it. The thought of transforming and possibly becoming a "buff man in a skirt" made his skin crawl.
Lancer didn't personally discriminate against "cross-dressing"—otherwise, he wouldn't have become friends with Astolfo. To him, clothing was a matter of personal interest; as long as it didn't affect others, there was no need to pay it any mind.
But the premise was—it shouldn't affect others.
A cute boy in girl's clothes is a trap, but a weird-looking guy in girl's clothes is a "mobile public nuisance," the kind of person you call the police on immediately when seen on the street.
As for Lancer?
He had a rugged face, and his hair wasn't long—no special hairstyle, just a simple short cut. He wasn't the standard bishounen from a shoujo manga, but he was the type who easily gained people's favor.
He was tall, and his muscles weren't the exaggerated, explosive type, but rather the streamlined muscle groups of a leopard.
Without a doubt, if Lancer aura weren't so intimidating, he'd be the type who could walk down the street and get hit on by a few passersby.
Lancer was quite satisfied with his appearance. But the thought of possibly wearing a frilly skirt like a "Magical Girl" made his hair stand on end. After all, hairy legs hidden under black stockings would be as horrifying as Sadako hiding in a videotape.
This was why he had never touched the "gem" despite knowing it could enhance his combat power. He had been trying to find a viable method through his own efforts. After all, combat power can always be raised with hard work, but once you lose your dignity, it's not easily picked back up.
Unfortunately, nearly a month of effort hadn't yielded the results he wanted.
"Anyway, let's give it a try. If the combat power boost isn't enough to compensate for the loss of dignity, then I'll just 'seal' this thing away along with my dark history."
He held the pale blue gem in his hand, and blood-colored mana began to slowly pour from his palm into it——
The gem in Lancer hand began to pulse slowly, as if it were breathing.
The azure light flickered, its brightness gradually increasing until the light completely submerged Lancer...
Because of the intense light, Lancer had to close his eyes. Once closed, he began to feel as if his body were being covered by something. This sensation came and went quickly. When the light filtering through his eyelids began to weaken, Lancer knit his brows and slowly opened his eyes.
'At least let it not be lace...'
Amidst Lancer "humble" prayer, he fully opened his eyes. Looking at the ice mirror he had prepared in advance, he froze for several seconds before slamming his fist down.
"Nice!"
He let out a sharp breath of relief.
Of course, it wasn't that Lancer had awakened some strange fetish. It was because the image in the mirror was far more "normal" than he had imagined.
He was wearing a blood-colored leather bodysuit. There were thickened armor layers at the joints and vital areas, along with some strange patterns. As Lancer injected mana, these patterns emitted a faint glow.
"As long as it's not a dress, I'm satisfied..."
Lancer really couldn't imagine himself fighting enemies in a dress. Setting aside whether his opponent or onlookers would die of laughter, just the thought of such a high-shame-level scene gave him the urge to turn into a berserker and silence all witnesses.