Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1223: Chapter 1222: Lost Souls

The next day, Fang Zheng brought Akemi Homura back to the library again, but when everyone saw Akemi Homura this time, they were almost all taken aback.

You should know that although Akemi Homura used to appear frequently, she always carried an icy aura, exuding an air of stay-away from her entire being. It was only in front of a few people like Kyoko and Fang Zheng that she would slightly restrain herself.

But now, the biggest change is... she actually smiled!

The eternally cold ice queen actually smiled, can you believe it?

At least Kyoko couldn’t believe it.

”Good morning, Kyoko.”

”Good morning, Homura, you...?”

Looking at Akemi Homura, who was wearing a gentle smile and seemed like a completely different person, Kyoko was also stunned into silence, nodding only after a while.

”...Are you... alright?”

”I’m fine, I just figured some things out...”

Homura’s smile remained gentle, and her tone was soft, completely unlike the coldness of before. Yet Kyoko felt that the current Homura, compared to before... how to put it, although Homura used to be very cold, Kyoko could feel that she was making an effort to get closer to her.

But now, although Homura appeared more approachable, Kyoko could sense that she didn’t seem as urgent as before.

”Hey, big brother, did you give her some magic potion?”

At this moment, Little Hei also came over, teasingly pulling Fang Zheng’s clothes and asking. Facing Little Hei’s inquiry, Fang Zheng could only shake his head and sigh helplessly.

”Don’t say that, I still don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.”

To be honest, from Fang Zheng’s perspective, Akemi Homura’s situation right now was similar to when he ”tamed” Atalanta in the Type Moon World. Except, if we must differentiate, Atalanta was more like a beast, immediately turning into a gentle and obedient pet once tamed.

Like a hunting dog, usually showing affection and cuteness in front of its owner, but once the owner gives a command, it instantly shows its fierce and ruthless side to the prey.

But Akemi Homura was different.

How to say... she was more like... a doll.

This was not Fang Zheng belittling Akemi Homura. The reason he said those things to her was partly to show his own stance, and partly to relieve her psychological pressure, telling her to let him bear the weight of the world and she didn’t need to worry, just follow him!

However, what Fang Zheng didn’t expect was that while his aim was achieved, it went a bit too far.

Actually, when Fang Zheng woke up the next morning, he didn’t realize anything was amiss. Homura was a bit shy but seemed much more relaxed than before, without that oppressive burden of responsibility.

But what Fang Zheng didn’t expect was that when he communicated with Homura, she directly said, ”From now on, I belong to you, Master. Please use me as you wish.”

That really shocked Fang Zheng, making him wonder if he had somehow broken Homura. After communicating with her and investigating with ”Ratziel,” Fang Zheng finally understood the whole story.

As Fang Zheng had anticipated, there were too many things for Homura to worry about: the Witch’s Night, her relationship with Kyoko, and the consequences of her ongoing cycles. It was far beyond what a fourteen-year-old girl could handle, especially considering QB’s final assertion. Even though Fang Zheng reassured her it was just an unverified hypothesis, how could Akemi Homura simply dismiss it?

If what QB said was true, then continuing her cycles would only increase the burden on Kyoko.

But if she gave up the cycles, what would happen if she failed at this Witch’s Night again?

This kind of pressure made it almost unbearable for Homura. If she was alone, she would have to keep enduring silently.

But now she had someone she could depend on.

So Akemi Homura made a decision to offer herself completely to Fang Zheng.

This wasn’t just in a physical sense but included her spirit as well—Akemi Homura even gave up her own mental will, meaning from now on, she was like a doll or a robot that would only follow Fang Zheng’s commands, without thinking, judging, or choosing for herself.

Fang Zheng found this speechless, not expecting the psychological pressure on Homura to be so great that she made such an unfathomable decision.

It was quite clearly an escape, but Fang Zheng couldn’t say Homura was wrong. She had gone through so many cycles, always fighting alone, bearing pressure unimaginable to ordinary people. In such a situation, what she would do was no surprise.

Actually, thinking carefully, an average girl clearly wouldn’t make such a move. Even though many Magical Girls had turned around thanks to Fang Zheng’s help, none of them said they owed their life and had to repay it with their body. Homura clearly wasn’t a frivolous person either.

On the contrary, she was very introverted and conservative.

When such a person goes to any extreme, it’s truly a big deal...

Watching Akemi Homura, who wore a smile and engaged calmly with others, Fang Zheng had nothing to say. In truth, Homura’s smiles were a result of Fang Zheng’s experiment. Fang Zheng was curious to see how deep Homura’s situation ran, which was why he taught her to smile.

He even told Akemi Homura, ”You look cuter when you smile.”

Of course, that was true. According to Fang Zheng, Homura with a smile certainly appeared cuter.

Originally, Fang Zheng thought that since Homura hadn’t smiled in so long, it wouldn’t be easy to get her to smile. But surprisingly, after hearing his suggestion, Homura genuinely smiled.

And it wasn’t a fake smile; it was truly relaxed, a heartfelt laughter.

This was why everyone was shocked to see Akemi Homura.

But for now, Fang Zheng didn’t have a solution. To really heal Homura’s inner demons, it might have to wait until they defeated the Witch’s Night and thoroughly resolved this world’s crisis.

Because Homura was avoiding the failure’s aftermath and didn’t want to fall into the despair of ”this was all my doing,” she chose to escape.

So right now, saying anything to her was futile.

Unless everything was completely resolved.

”How are things today?”

Pulling himself together, Fang Zheng glanced once more at Akemi Homura, then turned his focus to Little Hei. He hadn’t been idling yesterday; in truth, Fang Zheng took care of all matters at hand before going to find Homura.

What he had to handle was the transformation work of the other Magical Girls.

After Shisei’s success, the other Magical Girls were encouraged and, for the most part, accepted Fang Zheng’s plan.

However, their situations were quite different.

Perhaps it was because the suffering experienced by Magical Girls in this world far exceeded Shisei’s, almost two-thirds of them took much longer than Shisei to escape the Illusion Realm. Fortunately, they managed to rid themselves of the curse of Soul Gems and Witches, transforming into relatively ”normal” Magical Girls.

But not everyone was so lucky.

The remaining third fell into a deep slumber.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they died, but just as the words imply, they were completely engrossed in the Illusion Realm, still asleep to this moment.

Now that a night had passed, how are those girls doing?

”Three haven’t woken up yet.”

Little Hei shook her head helplessly, then sighed.

”Sister Mami is one of them.”