Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

The spiderweb was fluid, and the threads, with a visible flow, injected the black substance into the monster's mouth.

Let them change.

The skeleton draped in a cassock transformed into a puppet. The puppet appeared and disappeared amidst the miasma, then disguised itself as a human. As the eerie ritual proceeded, the city center truly became a cult gathering place. Humans, connected by threads, could be seen kneeling and worshipping towards the central object.

That thing.

Ashflame watched her from afar.

Black, thread-like, spiderweb-like black matter; white, spreading, misty white miasma; broken, shattered ruins, leaving only remnants and broken walls. Add to that anthropomorphic monsters, and the thing at the very center. These anomalies construct a boundless realm.

It's like a witch's barrier.

No, that thing is a witch.

The source of those black threads is the witch.

What colors would you create if you wove together all the black in the world?

She braided, one gray-white braid after another. The strands of hair were the threads connecting countless magical beasts, and the braids were the roots of countless intertwined threads. The roots rose from the ground, one braid weaving with another, and then another braid weaving with the braids already woven together. The enormous braids wove together to form her body, yet it resembled an upside-down yarn doll.

The hem of her skirt cascaded towards the sky.

The braid extends in the opposite direction.

The upside-down branches stretched towards the sky, marking the wrong direction of gravity along with the woven skirt. A leg-like thing peeked out from under the skirt, which was actually a wheel woven from braided pigtails. Further up, the symbol of the witch's identity changed; a pink dress that looked like a magical girl's armor hung incongruously at the highest point of the braided pigtails.

The dress was also decorated with a huge crown.

Except for the dress and the crown, everything is upside down.

A strange triangle adorns the hem of the braided skirt, upside down. A strange spindle-shaped hairpin gathers from the braid and hangs above the triangle, upside down. Strange black threads, originating from the same source as the braid, are as straight as steel wires and interwoven like a frame. The threads drape around the hem of the skirt, on which are strung strange objects... oh, they are not upside down.

The object looked like a doll's head, with drops of blood flowing from the triangle.

In short, this thing with braided hair, wearing a pink dress and a crown, is undoubtedly a witch.

She dwells in the city center, receiving tributes from magical beasts, and slowly expands her territory throughout the city. Once the time is right, she will definitely take over the work of Witch's Night and turn Mitakihara upside down. Even the very beginning of her braids will give rise to something that will move the entire world.

“Shield, longbow. Besides these two things, that ‘me’ also kept a dangerous thing.”

Gazing at the witch, Ashflame murmured to himself.

"Is it dangerous? To me, it's brimming with energy. If it's released properly, it might even be able to directly reverse the 'entropy' of the universe!"

It wasn't really talking to herself, because there was a small white animal that could talk to her.

"So they won't be released properly, so they're really dangerous."

Ashflame glanced at the persistent QB.

"I always feel like you know a lot of things you shouldn't know."

"That's normal. I'm an 'Incubator,' after all. I can create as many clones as I want, and if I wanted, I could gather all the information in the world given enough time. So a mere witch is no match for me~"

The little animal proudly raised its head, its fluffy tail revealing its good mood as it swished back and forth.

"Is that so? Is it merely information from this world?"

"Yes, yes, intelligence from the entire world~"

"The whole... if the world contains parallel worlds."

"The so-called parallel world is just a human theory; who knows what the world is really like?"

"Then how can you be so confident that you can get intelligence from the whole world?"

Ashflame's question startled the little beast. Instead of expecting an answer, she continued to observe the witch.

The conversation paused for a moment. The little beast shook its head, finally giving up its pointless chatter, and jumped onto Ashflame's shoulder.

"What are your plans to do with her? And what are your plans to do with 'her'?"

It leaned close to Ashflame's ear in a slightly affectionate manner, only to be pulled up in front of her eyes by her.

"'Her'? Do you think I would tell 'her' pet my thoughts?"

Ashflame's movements were rough, and the small beast being held struggled.

"This is a frame-up! This is absolutely a frame-up! The great 'Incubator' represents the will of an advanced civilization, how could it be captured and kept as a pet by a mere demon! With countless clones, even if I can't win, I can still run away!"

"And then you find help, is that your goal?"

"Nonsense! The great QB doesn't need any help at all!"

"Then you don't need to waste your breath talking to me here."

Deep purple flames erupted from her hands.

"Wait, wait, wait! While the great QB doesn't need help, QB won't refuse help from others. If you—"

"I'm not in the mood to help you."

The flames spread to the small beast, and soon its white body began to burn.

"No! Why do you always refuse QB?! This feeling is so awful!"

The white color resembled white paper, which turned into fragments after being burned.

The ashes spread out their palms, waiting for the remains to dissipate. Turning her head, she looked over through the miasma created by the witch.

She caught up with him.

She decided to temporarily avoid the limelight.

Fifty-seven: Convincing yourself is harder than convincing others.

Life is full of ups and downs.

If you have a heart condition, these ups and downs are not fun at all.

The Survey Corps gave the magical girls a rollercoaster of emotions, leaving them reeling even as the expeditionary force began its preparations for departure—yes, the Ashes, having completed their mission, decided to linger in this world to make up for one of their regrets. They were going to see their former captain one last time.

While we're at it, let's also take down some giant monsters.

"This is such a hassle. You're all doing extra work for nothing. Please, don't drag me into it. I'm not going to resist arrest or run away. Why not just let me stay in the stadium and spend more time with Xiao Da? After all, I've already reluctantly decided not to take him with me. Can't you be a little more generous and give us some time to create memories?"

The entire unit operated efficiently and meticulously. After Zhi and several veterans of the legion pinpointed the likely location of the monsters—the center of Mitakihara City—Ash immediately began another march. Of course, with such a large force, there were bound to be some discordant elements. For example, a certain self-proclaimed lady, Mist, was complaining to Little Flame.

“Create memories? Hmm—Little Da is only three years old. Why does he have to create memories with you, an old lady who is hundreds of years old, pretending to be a lady here, and who is indeed very ‘ladylike’ (chiv)?”

The witch, undeterred by the complaints, immediately turned sharp-tongued.

"Old lady my foot! You bastard, are you deliberately trying to cause trouble? Don't think I'm the only one here, Fog. If you piss me off, I'll..."

When her secret (age) that a lady should never reveal was exposed, Sha Zi immediately became furious and embarrassed.

She abandoned her composure and raised her arm, a mist of blood rising. Just as the flesh and blood were about to multiply, Little Flame advanced instead of retreating, suddenly looming close to her.

"What are you talking about?"

"I……"

The power of the mist ceased. She glanced at the surrounding ashes, then at the witch who was using the mistress's power as a pretext.

Finally, gritting his teeth, he withdrew the blood mist.

"A lady like me doesn't fight a losing battle. We'll see about this, hmph~"

"Yes, yes, Lord Sand is not a prisoner but a distinguished guest. He will be treated like an honored guest in Lordran. So please don't be upset with us rude soldiers. You are a magnanimous man. If you come with us one more time and do your part in the fight against the monsters, we will be even more grateful, won't we?"

Feeling smug after gaining the upper hand verbally, Xiao Yan proudly pulled Sha Zi's arm and caught up with the marching troops.

The ribbon flame, which had been silently standing beside them, also started to move.

"Tsk tsk, I wasn't exactly a prisoner to begin with. Aren't you all counting on the information I have to complete your mission? So don't expect me to help you when you're fighting that monster. I only came with you because I'm bored in this world."

"Hmm, being all smug, huh~"

"No, no, no, my role is clearly that of a cunning young lady."

Having experienced the highs and lows of life, Ribbon Flame lacks their relaxed demeanor.

The reason she strongly supported Mami in the meeting was because she harbored a selfish motive: to reclaim her magic power after Ash defeated the monsters. Therefore, her current situation is somewhat awkward. Unlike Mami and Kyoko, she won't participate in the battle as part of the fighting force. Nor has she explicitly requested Ash to help her regain her magic power.

She was a thief who evaded fares and hitched a ride, allowing him to reap the benefits without lifting a finger.

However, her stance in persuading the Ashes to fight the monsters was at least correct. Therefore, even though everyone noticed her fare evasion, no one said anything, essentially tacitly approving her actions. But this couldn't make up for her awkward position within the expeditionary force.

As the representative of the magical girls, Mami will participate in decision-making together with Ori.

Kyoko, being carefree and having overslept, didn't experience any major emotional ups and downs. She followed Mami around without a care in the world, adopting an attitude of "You guys give the advice, just call me when it's time to fight."

The remaining ribbon flames really didn't want to go near the ashes, so they stayed near the sand, which was nominally their mortal enemy.

Well, she did have another option, but she was even less willing to be with three idiots, especially a bunch of goblins.

Incidentally, this group of goblins was also caught up with the ashes and is being prepared to be used as cannon fodder.

"Oh dear, I was so busy teasing the cunning young lady that I forgot to take care of my older sister~"

Little Flame, who was walking ahead of the ribbon flame with Sand, suddenly ran back to her side.

"Don't look so gloomy, sister. If you need help, just tell us and we'll definitely help you."

The witch took the arm of Ribbon Flame, acting like a younger sister and trying to get close to her.

Unfortunately, the attempt to get closer to her touched on the most awkward spot for Ribbon Flame.

"I... your defeat of the giant monster is the greatest help you can give me."

"Hoo hoo, does that really mean it, sister? Your goal and your act of exterminating are a bit different, aren't they?"

Xiao Yan smiled sweetly, her words pressing on relentlessly, as if trying to force her to utter that request.

"Really? No, you just need to defeat the giant monsters."

The ribbon flame still didn't say what it truly wanted the ashes to do.

She simply couldn't bring herself to pray to the guys who had invaded her world.

“Miss Graffiti, don’t waste your energy. It’s always easier to do things secretly than to ask for help openly. Doesn’t this Homura Akemi see herself as a victim? Maybe she even thinks it’s your duty to fight monsters and clean up the mess she made.”

Sand slowed her pace and landed beside them. She truly lived up to her reputation as the twisted mist, the antithesis of ash. Beneath that restrained elegance, she uttered words more venomous than those of a wicked witch. She mercilessly exposed Ribbon Flame's thoughts, revealing something that even those who harbored such thoughts found uncomfortable.

"..."