Give children a little self-destruction shock to their worldview.

If it were just Homura Akemi, then Sayaka Miki could still complain.

But with Mayumi Haga present, she realized what had happened, and her hands were trembling.

That person... is so tall, and has such fierce eyes. What if he captures her and Xiaoyuan and kills them?

Mayumi Haga, unaware that her reputation has become so strange: ...?

I feel like someone is talking about me behind my back...

Sayaka Miki genuinely felt that Mayumi Haga would capture her and Madoka Kaname and chop them into mincemeat. Seeing them together with the transfer student in such a setting was like watching a horror movie.

So she grabbed Madoka Kaname and ran for her life. As they ran, unable to find a safe exit, they realized, panting, that they seemed to have fallen into a strange space.

"Huh? Where's the emergency exit? Where am I?"

"This is so strange, the roads here keep changing and extending..."

"Seriously, what kind of mess is this..."

"Ah! What's there?!"

Two unarmed ordinary people accidentally entered the witch's barrier, and the outcome was predictable.

Before long, the two, surrounded by familiars with beards that looked like cotton, could only huddle together for a sense of security.

"You must be joking... I must be having a nightmare... right, Madoka!" Sayaka Miki was at a loss.

Just as the familiar was closing in and the two were about to be touched, a vibrant color suddenly bloomed beneath their feet, completely different from the gloomy and chaotic hues within the barrier.

A warm, golden-red color.

The whispers that had been enveloping the two were swept away by the gentle yet powerful magic. In the brief moment of safety, a strange, gentle voice sounded behind them: "That was dangerous, but it's alright now."

Side Story: Mayumi Haga and Madoka Magica: Madoka Magica 7 - How Many Kyubey Do You Want?

Mami Tomoe.

Standing at a distance, Mayumi Haga, with her exceptional eyesight, immediately recognized the newcomer upon seeing the blond hair.

The one who rescued Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki was none other than Homura Akemi and the magical girl Mami Tomoe from Mitakihara, whom she had mentioned.

Although Mayumi Haga didn't retain memories of multiple playthroughs, fortunately, Homura Akemi shared information with her. Homura Akemi shared as much information as she knew with Mayumi Haga, especially describing several key characters clearly.

Mayumi Haga has an excellent memory; she memorized the details as Homura Akemi described the scene.

With blonde hair, golden eyes, a more voluptuous figure than her peers, and wielding a Soul Gem, appearing here with such a composed and rescuing demeanor... then it must be Mami Tomoe.

Instead of rushing over, Mayumi Haga chose to observe Mami Tomoe's actions in silence.

As a magical girl, Mami Tomoe naturally appeared to rescue Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki, who had fallen into the witch's barrier. She easily passed through the chains binding her within the barrier, the Soul Gem in her hand radiating light.

After calming down the panicked Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki, Mami Tomoe came to them, looking somewhat confused.

She seemed to be searching for something, glancing around briefly but not seeing the white magical creature she was looking for.

She could sense that there were other people inside the barrier. Her gaze paused slightly as it swept over the direction of Mayumi Haga, and her eyes showed even more doubt.

However, now is not the time to talk about these things.

After all, some innocent bystanders were trapped in the witch's barrier and had just been attacked by a familiar. No matter how worried Mami was about Kyubey, she had to deal with the immediate situation first.

"Judging from your uniforms, you're also students from Mitakihara Middle School. It doesn't seem right not to introduce yourselves, but before that..." Mami Tomoe wanted to chat with the two junior students in front of her for a bit longer, but after a moment of peace, the chains around her began to stir like snakes.

Let's take care of the enemy first.

So, Mami Tomoe chose to transform in front of her two junior classmates.

This was the first time Mayumi Haga had ever witnessed a proper magical girl transformation.

It's not that Homura Akemi is indecent, but rather that she never transformed in front of Mayumi Haga in the same elegant and ritualistic way as Mami Tomoe.

Haga Mayumi doesn't expect anything from it.

She's more focused on something else now.

...Isn't it a bit too dangerous to turn the Soul Gem into a hair accessory and wear it on your head?

She thought about it carefully.

Magical girls' five senses should be beyond those of ordinary people, and Mami Tomoe in front of her clearly has ample combat experience, is very vigilant, and is quite perceptive.

But it has to be said that turning something as important as the Soul Gem into a hair accessory is still a bit too much...

For Mayumi Haga, whose physical structure is quite similar to that of magical girls, her guardian core is located deep within the most important part of her body—her brain.

Because compared to other organs, the brain regenerates more slowly after being destroyed—although the difference in speed is imperceptible to the average person—and this will greatly affect her mobility.

Limbs or internal organs are things that can be restored instantly with a little concentration if the brain is intact; they are not worth mentioning.

Even though the Guardian Core is normally indestructible, it is carefully protected by most Guardians within their bodies. How could Mami Tomoe dare to put something as fragile as the Soul Gem on her head?

Oh right, it's because Mami Tomoe doesn't know the significance of the Soul Gem.

If the other party knew that this was their true form, they probably wouldn't treat it as a decoration so casually.

The Soul Gem is the "true form" of a magical girl—a fact that cannot be casually revealed to Mami Tomoe.

According to Homura Akemi's information, Mami Tomoe seems to lack nerves, and casually revealing the truth might cause her to lose control.

……All right.

Mayumi Haga sighed. Born in another world, her way of thinking was different from that of ordinary female middle school students.

The fact that her true form had become a Soul Gem, and her body was merely a shell adorned with the gem, seemed like an incredible event to the magical girl who was kept in the dark.

Haga Mayumi herself has the same construction, and over the years, she has never had any problems.

However, the two are completely different in nature.

Mayumi Haga had long accepted the fact that she would no longer live as a human, but almost none of the magical girls knew that their bodies would be transformed into this form when they signed the contract.

Knowing the truth prematurely would definitely shock them.

Most girls living in peacetime would find it hard to accept this fact, while some with weaker mental resilience would fall into extreme emotions as a result.

This is too dangerous for a magical girl, so in the information Homura Akemi gave to Mayumi Haga, she was instructed not to say these things casually.

What's more, in previous playthroughs, Mami Tomoe had a history of breaking down on the spot after learning the truth about magical girls...

Nevertheless, Mayumi Haga stared at Mami Tomoe's headdress, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Why did you end up wearing it on your head?

Mami Tomoe, who was bombarding the witch's barrier with a magical flintlock pistol, felt a strange, cool gaze fall on her head: ?

As expected of the strongest and most experienced magical girl in Mitakihara City, Mami Tomoe seized the opportunity to escape before the terrifying barrage of firepower had even subsided.

The witch's barrier dissipated, and everything that had been so strange finally returned to normal.

In an empty floor of the shopping mall, Mami Tomoe broke the witch's barrier, but did not undo her transformation.

Her calm yet wary gaze fell upon Homura Akemi and Mayumi Haga, who stood on higher ground, facing her directly.

Upon seeing the bloodstains on Mayumi Haga's body, her previously relaxed expression froze, and after realizing what had happened, her face suddenly darkened.

"You actually..."

She closed her eyes, trying to remain calm.

Throughout her lonely magical girl life, Kyubey is Mami Tomoe's best friend. This white magical creature has been by her side ever since they made a contract.

But the two men in front of him killed Cupid.

Mami Tomoe rushed over as quickly as possible, but she was still too late.

This made her hostile towards the two black-clad servants in front of her.

But the taller, older-looking girl spoke without any remorse, raising her hand as if to display a rabbit she had hunted, and the Kyubey carcass fell to the ground: "How many Kyubeys do you want?"

Mami Tomoe: ?

Extra story about Mayumi Haga and Madoka: Madoka 8 Cat

How many Kewpie do you want?

As Mayumi Haga finished speaking, Kyubey's corpse, which she had picked up and put into her backpack, fell to the ground. It quickly piled up into a small mountain.

Homura Akemi, standing beside her, seemed to have never expected her to say such a thing; her usually calm gaze was now filled with shock and speechless disbelief.

Is this what we should be saying now?

Although Homura Akemi learned not to say unnecessary things during her repeated time travels—in fact, she picked up the bad habit of not talking much—she still didn't expect Mayumi Haga's situation.

Didn't you see that Mami Tomoe was already trembling with anger? How could you add fuel to the fire at this moment?

Homura Akemi struggled to figure out how to end this.

Homura Akemi couldn't think of a way to save the day.

Homura Akemi gave up and shut her mouth.

Homura Akemi: "..."

Never mind, I can't think of a way to explain it. I'll talk about it next time.

Next time, I must stop this guy from talking nonsense.

Then the scene fell into an eerie and subtle calm.

Mayumi Haga was oblivious to the subtle shift in the atmosphere. She was carefully observing Mami Tomoe's expression and mentally interpreting it.

Hmm...it seems I'm not entirely satisfied.

When Mami Tomoe saw the pile of Kyubey's corpses being dumped out, her expression was a mixture of emotions.

After all, she had never imagined that there might be more than one Kyubey she knew. It was only after seeing Mayumi Haga pour out the Kyubey that she realized that this white, unidentified creature was actually a group.

But why did Kyubey never say this to himself?

Which Kyubey do I recognize? Or are all these Kyubeys that look exactly alike the same?

While Mami Tomoe was in a daze, Mayumi Haga noticed her astonishment but mistakenly thought she was not satisfied. After thinking for a moment, she threw out the only Kyubey that was still alive, which she had put into her backpack.

It's said to be "alive," but that only means its bodily functions haven't been destroyed.

Mayumi Haga's backpack cannot contain living things; all items will remain in the state they were in at the moment they were put in, and even items that are still alive will be frozen.

But the creature Cupid was strange; when she tried to insert it, she actually succeeded.

However, just like a machine that has lost its power, Kyubey lost its ability to move the moment it entered the backpack.

The moment she took it out of her backpack and came into contact with the outside world, Kyubey's red eyes lit up again and started working again.

These mysterious, unknown creatures don't completely overlap with the definition of "living things" in Mayumi Haga's world, so you can take advantage of a loophole in your backpack at times like this.

Mayumi Haga originally wanted to take Kyubey back for research, but since Mami Tomoe wanted it, she decided to give it to her.

Without hesitation, Mayumi Haga tossed the only live animal accurately into Mami Tomoe's arms, ignoring Mami's expression. She then turned to look at Homura Akemi.

Homura Akemi: "...Let's go."

She sighed slightly to herself.

Homura Akemi's intention in chasing Kyubey, who had come into contact with Madoka Kaname, was to prevent Kyubey from getting close to and deceiving Madoka. However, if Mami Tomoe were to witness this, a direct confrontation would be difficult to initiate at this time.

While Homura Akemi's time-based magic can certainly inflict unexpected damage in the initial battle, Mami Tomoe was, after all, her ally in a previous playthrough. It's unreasonable for them to start a fight over Kyubey the moment they meet.

Although it seems unlikely that Mami Tomoe can help her now.

Moreover, Mami Tomoe is stronger than her, so it wouldn't be a good thing to waste her strength on civil war now.

After much deliberation, I had no choice but to leave.

Mayumi Haga saw through Homura Akemi's thoughts but said nothing.

This is a wise choice.

Under Mami Tomoe's wary gaze, the two turned and left.

After the two dark figures left, Mami Tomoe breathed a slight sigh of relief.

She lowered her eyes, looking at Cupid curled up in her arms with mixed feelings.

"...Chubi, are you alright?" She hesitated for a moment before asking the question.

She feels as if she has suddenly discovered that a friend she has known for many years has countless clones, and that the other person has been keeping it a secret from her all along, and she doesn't even know if the person she knows is the same one.

There's a slightly subtle feeling.