Chapter 1811: Chapter 1226: Aftermath (Too Cold for Cats, Not Going Out)
With the Witch issue resolved, the Tribunal’s true strength finally revealed itself to everyone.
If anything, just that Giant Metal Warship alone was enough to completely shatter their worldview.
And as for Duanmu Huai, of course… no more pretending, cards on the table, what do you say?
After this, Duanmu Huai invited everyone onto the Tribunal’s Warship and, as usual, showed them the company’s…no, the Tribunal’s propaganda film.
After watching the film, everyone was completely stunned.
“This is… the Tribunal…”
Xitong Lingnao sat dumbfounded in her chair, her mind blank. Although AAA is also an organization fighting against Demon Possessed, she hadn’t expected the Tribunal’s scope to be so large, spanning the Star Ocean and eliminating all threats except those to humans.
“So impressive… truly impressive…”
As for Qianshu, her eyes were already glowing, nearly as excited and thrilled as if watching a science fiction movie. As for those Magic Girls, they were exchanging looks, unable to speak———what can they say really, since they are still Magic Girls, accepting Magic isn’t a problem, but when it rises to a science fiction level, their brains seem inadequate.
“An, can I also join the Tribunal?”
After watching the film, Qianshu immediately found Ann, excitedly grabbed her hand, and asked. Ann hesitated slightly and gave a wry smile.
“Qianshu, to be honest? I think… probably not?”
“Eh? Why?”
Upon hearing this, Qianshu was clearly very disappointed. She loves those blockbuster movies the most, and what the Tribunal does is even more thrilling than those films, isn’t it! Not to mention, it is for protecting humanity!
“Because you’re not qualified.”
At this moment, Duanmu Huai, who had reverted to his familiar state, walked over and muttered a complaint.
“Not qualified?”
“That’s right, you’re a nonviolence principle person, aren’t you? But you just ignore the fact that in the film, the Tribunal showed little restraint in killing. To the Tribunal, anything threatening to humanity, regardless of gender or age, the Tribunal will mercilessly eliminate.”
Upon saying this, Duanmu Huai snorted coldly and looked at Qianshu.
“Well? Can you do it?”
“This……..”
Sure enough, faced with Duanmu Huai’s questioning, Qianshu was speechless. Honestly, facing Aliens, Qianshu thought she could manage it.
But the Tribunal’s scorched-earth methods… this was a bit beyond Qianshu’s tolerance.
She looked at Ann seeking help, but the latter just shook her head.
“Chisato-san, I understand your feelings, but the Tribunal does indeed do this kind of work, ruthless, cold, merciless, efficient. This is the Tribunal’s principle, especially when facing Alien Creatures, Heretics, and Demons, the Tribunal will not discuss regulations and morality with them.”
Anya felt this deeply, for she had traveled alongside Duanmu Huai and seen many things, knowing very well that mercy to enemies is cruelty to oneself.
But Anya also knew that such things were something not everyone could accept. So to speak strictly, although she got along very well with Qianshu, Anya thought that Qianshu probably couldn’t accept the Tribunal’s methods.
“Ugh……”
Sure enough, upon hearing Anya’s advice, Qianshu hesitated herself, whereas Xitong Lingnao didn’t care about any of this and directly walked over, grabbing Duanmu Huai’s hand.
“Then, can we AAA collaborate with the Tribunal?!”
Knowing this in advance, due to that plasma gun, AAA had decided to cling to the Tribunal. Now seeing this scene, this leg———this rich man, even the hair on the leg will do! Take me with you!
“Of course.”
Regarding collaboration with Xitong Lingnao, Duanmu Huai was still quite reassured, as AAA is a professional organization for casting out Demons, and their awareness is much higher than those Licorice from DA. Moreover, during this time, AAA has indeed done well, basically acting as Duanmu Huai’s front, doing whatever he asks. Collaborating with such a self-aware organization, Duanmu Huai was quite pleased.
Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s response, Xitong Lingnao also breathed a sigh of relief.
Actually, AAA wanting to latch onto the Tribunal also had their own considerations, because Xitong Lingnao knew very well that their days weren’t easy.
At first glance, it seems AAA has significant power, even able to mobilize police, but the problem lies in one crucial factor.
That factor is those they deal with at AAA are crooked paths, people who make deals with Demons.
Of course, these people themselves aren’t very dangerous, but there’s one thing that’s very dangerous.
That thing is politicians.
For an organization like AAA, naturally, what they’re most afraid of is this kind of thing. For instance, if someone up there wants to manipulate you, asking AAA to use a demon’s strength to do some dirty work, or accusing someone of being demon-possessed and requesting AAA to handle it, what would AAA do? Would they comply or not?
It’s not that Xitong Lingnao has a conscience or anything, but both she and her mother, the actual leader of AAA, understand the principle of “a crafty rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked.” Otherwise, why is it that AAA is a civilian organization, even though it cooperates with the government?
It’s simple. They all know that if something happens, they’d just be thrown under the bus!
Previously, there was no choice but to keep working while finding ways to protect themselves.
Now, isn’t it better?
Look at this giant metal warship. If I could cling to just a hair of the Tribunal’s leg, who would care about you damned wine-and-meat politicians! And you want me, Lady, to drink with you? Drink my ass! Pull out a plasma gun and shoot you dead, and even the Prime Minister wouldn’t dare to interfere!
Therefore, after getting a definite answer from Duanmu Huai, Xitong Lingnao also breathed a sigh of relief and felt at ease.
Of course, Duanmu Huai more or less understood Xitong Lingnao’s thoughts, but he wasn’t collaborating with her for nothing. After all, with the magic girls of this world—well, Duanmu Huai wasn’t saying he wanted all of them, but indeed, he really did want some of them!
Since AAA is so adept, and considering they’re specialized in dealing with Demon Possessed, Duanmu Huai thought making them an affiliate of the Tribunal to manage the magic girls here wasn’t a bad idea.
As for the magic girls…..
Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai turned to look at the others.
“I think, you already know the origins of the Tribunal, what we do, and the clear mission and objectives we stand for. Now, there’s one more thing to say, which is that the Tribunal is still expanding. We need powerful people to join us. You’ve also seen that this world is not peaceful. QB is just one of the countless alien creatures threatening the existence of humans. The Tribunal is fighting against these damned aliens. You’ve also noticed, the Tribunal’s fight is for humanity, but it’s not about justice. You can describe it as bloody, cruel, ruthless, however you like, it’s all true. The Tribunal spares no effort for humanity, so if you want to join, you’d better be mentally prepared.”
Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s words, the magic girls looked at each other, quite troubled. They indeed hate QB a lot. If not for QB, so many people wouldn’t have been harmed. If they could, they’d like to contribute their own strength as well.
But the Tribunal’s promotional video was really horrifying. Those bloody, scary, cruel scenes left the magic girls very shocked. The witches and familiars they’ve fought don’t bleed. Although QB’s schemes are terrifying, in fact, whether it’s the witches, the familiars, or even the bodies of the magic girls, they aren’t scary at all, nowhere near as bloody or cruel as in the Tribunal’s promo video.
So…… hearing Duanmu Huai’s words, the magic girls who initially intended to join the Tribunal started to have second thoughts.
Yet at this moment, Homura Akemi stepped forward, looking at Duanmu Huai.
“I, I am willing!”
“You?”
Needless to say, seeing Homura Akemi step forward, Duanmu Huai was somewhat surprised.
“Are you sure? Aren’t you good friends with Madoka Kaname? In the Tribunal, you’ll barely get to see others, are you sure this will work?”
“……Yes.”
Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s inquiry, Homura Akemi remained silent for a moment, then nodded.
“Because I once promised Madoka that I would save her from being deceived by QB, and now that the QB Clan has been destroyed, she can’t become a magical girl anymore. For me… that’s enough.”
At this point, Homura Akemi’s eyes showed a hint of loss, but also a touch of calmness. Indeed, as Duanmu Huai mentioned, she and Madoka Kaname are good friends, but not the Madoka Kaname of this world. She’s abiding by the promise made with the Madoka Kaname from her original world with whom she was friends. Meanwhile, this world’s Madoka Kaname probably only sees her as an ordinary classmate.
So Homura Akemi doesn’t intend to stay in this world any longer. Interacting with this world’s Madoka Kaname only makes her heartache. In any case, she is another person, not the magical girl who sacrificed her life to save her, who fought alongside her until the end, and sacrificed herself to eliminate Walpurgisnacht; just an ordinary girl.
Therefore… out of sight, out of mind, taking a trip to the Star Sky sounds quite nice.
“Alright then, since you’ve made up your mind, I won’t say much.”
Duanmu Huai didn’t say much more. He quite appreciated Homura Akemi, and her abilities were indeed very useful.
Time stopping,
Scenes from a notebook,
Movie material… but alas, one can only think about it, right?
Besides, Homura Akemi’s ability actually suits the Tribunal very well. Because her power is only time stop, apart from that she has no other offensive means, so she must rely on weapons to deal damage. And when it comes to weapons——who could top the Tribunal’s weapons?
“Oh, right.”
With this thought, Duanmu Huai turned to Xitong Lingnao.
“When I transformed the magical girls initially, I gave AAA’s contact number, so you should go check it yourself. If there’s anything to report, just contact Ann directly.”
“……Huh?”
Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s words, Xitong Lingnao was completely stunned. She knew about this, and initially found it a bit funny hearing it from other magical girls.
But… couldn’t you have left the Tribunal’s number? Why give ours to begin with?
Now it’s great. Isn’t AAA’s customer service hotline about to be bombarded by magical girls!