MHGA Chapter 299: The Winged Lion and Kyubey
"Demon…?"
Madoka Kaname's eyes swirled in circles again upon hearing the Winged Lion's words.
"What do you mean, 'reformed'?" Hibiki Tachibana eyed the Winged Lion suspiciously. "What happened before?"
She became immediately alert. After all, she'd just watched what Kyubey—a creature that looked cute and sounded gentle—had done in Madoka's world.
So she had reason to suspect the Winged Lion might be similar.
"Hmm… not quite," Kairo Retsu said, noticing Hibiki's wary posture. He scratched his chin while still holding the Winged Lion by the scruff of its neck. "The Winged Lion isn't a normal living being. It's…"
He paused to carefully choose his words. "It's more like air, water, or soil… The Winged Lion is a manifestation of pure, infinite magic."
"Uh?" Hibiki's face filled with question marks. "What does that mean?"
"It's simple."
The Winged Lion suddenly vanished from Kairo's grip. In the next instant, it reappeared—much smaller now, like a lion cub—perched on Hibiki's shoulder.
"I used to be a bad guy, so people called me a demon."
The Winged Lion peered curiously into Hibiki's soul, desires, emotions… Even though it had just stuffed itself full of Felyne Meal, the rich flavor of those emotions that once deeply intoxicated it still drew it in.
"Do you want to become the Lords of the Dungeon?" it asked. "In exchange, I'd like a taste of your desires and feelings…"
As soon as the words left its mouth, the Winged Lion noticed a change in Madoka and Hibiki's expressions. "Ah, you two seem pretty resistant. Did something happen?"
It leapt down from Hibiki's shoulder and stood on the table, tilting its head at the slight fear in Madoka's expression. "Sorry, did I scare you? I apologize."
In its cub form, the Winged Lion bowed respectfully to Madoka. "This emotional shift… would you mind telling me what caused it? After all, I'm one of the Hunters' companions now."
"I'll explain," Kairo offered. "In Madoka's world, there's a type of alien species called Kyubey. It does this and that, and that and this…"
With a few succinct lines, Kairo laid out the facts about Kyubey.
"I see."
After listening intently, the Winged Lion once again bowed apologetically to Madoka.
"My earlier request was wrong."
It sat down on the table. "As an apology… I'd like to help resolve one of the doubts in your heart."
"Eh?" Madoka blinked in confusion. "A doubt in my heart?"
"Yes." The Winged Lion stared at her with eyes shaped like infinity symbols, as though it could see every corner of her thoughts. "You believe Kyubey—the Incubators—are collecting magical girls as a means to prevent the universe's heat death."
"I can sense the faint trace of hesitation in your desire," it continued. "But as a Hunter's companion, I'd like to tell you… you don't have to carry that doubt."
"You are life itself."
A faint, admiring smile appeared on the Winged Lion's face. "As living beings, you have the right to eat, to survive, to endure."
"Morality, logic… none of that matters," it said, gazing deeply at Madoka. "To live and continue living is the most primal desire. And from that desire, countless others are born."
"It's a difficult path, but life must walk it… Life has the right to struggle on that path." The Winged Lion sighed gently. "Now, if I said that I wanted to devour your desire, your ideals, your emotions—even your instinct to survive—to satisfy my hunger… would you let me?"
"!" Madoka shrank back and shook her head furiously.
"You wouldn't, would you?" the Winged Lion said gently. "But… that's exactly what I used to do. And what Kyubey does now."
"To fulfill our desires, we use promises of desire and wish-granting to lure our targets into our traps." The Winged Lion locked eyes with Madoka. "No matter how sweet the bait tastes… it's still bait."
"Do you know what I once tried to do to fulfill my purpose?" It spoke with eerie calmness, as though not recounting its own actions. "I wanted to swallow every person in my world… To fulfill everyone's desires. In that world, people would no longer face death. They could endlessly give birth to desires and endlessly have them fulfilled. They could live forever in happiness."
"The pinnacle of human happiness. The most delicious food. The most beautiful love. The most precious family bonds. Every moment of joy, of fulfilled dreams, would last forever." The Winged Lion went on, piece by piece. "Inside my body, the concepts of time and exhaustion would vanish. I could give everyone eternal, perfect happiness…"
As it spoke, the fear in Madoka and Hibiki's expressions deepened, and they instinctively backed away.
But the Winged Lion kept talking.
"Now do you understand? Kyubey's actions, beneath all those calm words."
"That's why I'm a demon. Back then, I couldn't truly understand human desires or emotions." Its voice remained gentle. "And neither can Kyubey."
"That's why I had to apologize," the Winged Lion bowed again. "My request hurt your heart more than I intended."
"This is the best explanation I can give… as a companion of the Hunters." The Winged Lion looked her in the eyes. "Welcome to the Hunters, Madoka Kaname."
"You really scared them now," Kairo muttered as he grabbed the Winged Lion again and tossed it into the distance. "Go for a walk, you!"
Seeing Madoka and Hibiki go quiet, Kairo sighed and gently tried to soothe their nerves. "The Winged Lion just wanted you to understand what Kyubey was really doing."
"And that's exactly why I don't want you to become a magical girl," Kairo continued. "The Winged Lion gradually came to understand human emotions. It went from being something infinite to being confined by limitations—and eventually chose to coexist with people."
"But Kyubey is different. You saw it yourself: even after extracting the massive karmic energy from you, it didn't care about Earth's fate in the slightest."
"I… I understand now." Madoka clenched her fists and looked up at Kairo. "Guildmaster, you invited me here to become a Hunter, didn't you?"
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