Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

"That's right, it is the culprit that directly caused the tragedy of the magical girl. Its appearance in the witch's barrier is also intriguing. If possible, I don't want it to directly realize the fact that there are 'two Homura Akemi'."

"In that case, wouldn't it be very dangerous for you to follow those two alone?"

"I still have a helper now, although he's not very reliable."

As she spoke, Xiaoyan waved behind her.

Then suddenly, arrogance jumped out from Xiaoyan's shadow, puffed out his chest, and saluted Zhi.

"Where did this guy... jump out from?"

"It's a bit complicated to explain, so just think of her as an extension of my abilities."

"Huh? You seemed to be having a good time fighting with her back then..."

"Ahem, back then we hadn't even confirmed her true identity yet, right? Anyway, I won't be rash, so I still need you to do your best to gain Mami's trust and infiltrate the magical girl group as soon as possible!"

"No problem, Your Highness!"

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It has to be said that the witch recreated Mitakihara very realistically, not only the school where the group studied and the main road leading to the school, but also the shopping street, the department store, and even the alley behind the factory, all exactly the same as Homura's memory.

At this moment, Homura was following behind Madoka and Sayaka, arriving at the largest department store in Mitakihara City.

"Ah~ It really brings back memories of going out with Madoka like this~"

"Yeah, I remember before I met Mami-senpai, we often had dinner around here and then strolled around together~"

"Hehe, back then I kept dragging you to the CD section to listen to music."

"Oh yeah, yeah, during that time, Sayaka seemed to really like music played on the violin, and she often brought me to buy CDs."

"Let's not talk about it; those were mistakes from when we were young."

"You bought this CD for some jerk, didn't you?" Homura thought to herself, following behind. She knew very well why Sayaka had become a witch. Come to think of it, Hitomi seems to be with Kamijou Kyosuke now, so why does Sayaka seem so indifferent, as if she's seen through the illusions of the world?

Could it be because of Kyoko, who transferred here for reasons unknown?

Hmm, Sayaka is definitely one of us—what the heck! If she could be so open-minded, Homura wouldn't have been unable to defeat Witch Night in each of her reincarnations due to a lack of fighting power!

This world is indeed full of strange things. There are still many things that cannot be explained by witches. Or is it that the guy not only altered his own memories, but also got so bored that he would take the initiative to alter the memories of other magical girls to resolve their emotional entanglements?

Forget it, there's no point in thinking about it so much. Let's see if there's any chance to get closer to Xiaoyuan.

The two people in front of them browsed around and eventually went to the CD section. They each found their favorite music, put on their headphones, and listened happily.

Homura hid in the crowd, watching Madoka from afar. This was a good opportunity. Sayaka and Madoka were separated by the crowd, but QB was still perched on Madoka's shoulder.

What should I do? Should I pretend to be another Homura Akemi and get closer to the past?

No, I already clearly arranged to meet Kyoko at noon. If she shows up now, it doesn't make any sense. Even if I wanted to find another excuse, it wouldn't work on the other two people, but trying to fool QB, who is emotionless and only capable of rational analysis, is basically impossible. It would only leave clues for her.

Ugh, in the end I can only watch from the sidelines? I'm a little unwilling to accept this.

That's it! If I can't get close myself, why not have another guy distract QB?

Homura was excited about having come up with a plan and was about to call out her confidence to take action when the blonde doll girl suddenly jumped out, grabbed Homura, and they left the CD area in an instant.

"Hey! What are you doing? We're going to lose them now!"

A good opportunity was lost because of the familiar's lack of cooperation. After being dragged to a corner of the department store, Xiaoyan roared at the arrogant one in a fit of excitement.

But the arrogant woman drew a barrier in this corner with a knitting needle and then locked herself and Xiaoyan inside.

Upon seeing the barrier, Xiaoyan realized she had discovered something, so she remained silent, only observing the outside of the barrier with some displeasure.

Sure enough, four girls dressed in gothic attire, standing out from the crowd, appeared near the CD store.

One of them ran happily ahead, wearing a medieval village headdress, with her brown hair, tied in a bun, peeking out from under the headdress.

I've heard about the goddess. A beautiful and holy goddess. If the goddess were to speak, she would surely love us.

The second girl, wearing a nun's hat, followed behind the first girl.

This piece of trash is truly ugly.

The third girl looked a bit older. She had beautiful long blonde hair, wore a formal suit, and a round hat. She walked gracefully behind them.

[How about cutting the waste into smaller pieces for easier carrying?]

The last girl was petite, with her blue hair styled in two buns, adorned with a lady's hat and an off-the-shoulder dress, exuding both demureness and liveliness.

Let's hold a beautiful funeral like in the story someday. A pretty girl, a cute animal—let's bury many things together.

"Tch, this is troublesome."

It's obvious that these four girls are all familiars of the witch. Although that guy probably won't lay a hand on Madoka, witch's familiars are all capricious and willful. What if they suddenly act up...?

Xiaoyan immediately became alert. Seeing them enter the CD area, and worried about Xiaoyuan, she rushed out of the barrier.

PS: Yunxi: The content in 【】 is research on Madoka Magica, and all information comes from the Madoka Magica Baidu Tieba forum.

Eleven Familiars

An old-fashioned hand-cranked organ produced crisp, clear notes that echoed throughout the distinctive restaurant, serving as background music and soothing the guests' emotions.

"And then, what are you going to say?"

Yan invited Xingzi here, and they sat under a large tree adorned with decorations, listening to organ music, and began their conversation.

"Um... Sakura-san, don't you think something's been off lately?"

"Huh? What do you mean by 'something's not right'?"

Flame ordered a coffee, while Anzu completely disregarded the comfortable environment and ordered a golden fast food combination of a hamburger, fries, and cola.

"Well... I can't really explain it. But, I just feel like nothing's right."

"What are you talking about? Are you alright?"

Yan tried to express the strange things she had been feeling these past few days, but with her braided hair and glasses, she couldn't express them well.

"The reason I consulted with Sakura first is because you and Ryougi are the strangest, but Ryougi was taken away by Mami-senpai, so I wanted to talk to you first."

"what?"

"As for Ryougi-san, it's because I've never seen her before, and she suddenly appeared, and I could even see Beibei and QB... But Sakura-san, the impression I had of you... is just too different from what I had of you. I always felt that you shouldn't be like this."

"Hey, what's wrong with you? Are you picking a fight with me and Ryougi?"

The fact that Xiaomei, who was usually timid, suddenly said such pointed words made Xingzi feel a little uncomfortable. She half-jokingly said something in an attempt to divert her embarrassment.

"Sakura-san, where are you living now?"

But Yan wouldn't give her a chance to change the subject; she went straight to the core question.

"You live at Sayaka's house, shouldn't you have known that sooner?"

When did you transfer to Mitakihara Middle School?

"Before you..."

When exactly?

The relentless questioning kept Kyoko's mind racing, but like a machine missing a gear, she momentarily stalled while sorting through her memories.

"Oh, let me think... it's from last year..."

Xingzi put her feet on the chair, crossed her arms, leaned against the table, and tried her best to recall her past memories.

The sound of the hand-cranked organ continued, and on the lawn in the distance, girls sat around the organ, watching the musician release balloons one by one.

【MADE IN CABINET】

"When was it again... but why do you care about something like that?"

"Where were you before you came to Mitakihara?"

The girls chased after the balloons, playing around the lawn. One, two, three, four... there were six doll-like girls in total.

"It's in Kazamino City next door! Since things have calmed down there, I came to Mami to deal with her and resolve her troubles."

Have you been back to Kazamino City recently?

Those arrogant fools, they cannot be forgiven; this affection belongs only to us.

[The useless master is actually a very remarkable comedian.]

"No, there's nothing to do."

Kyoko was caught up in Yan's questions and her own memories. Somewhat irritated, she poured all the fries into the corner of her mouth and chewed them forcefully.

I can't stand having sticky blood stain my shawl.

[The funeral procession hasn't arrived yet? I've even practiced crying as fast as I can! I can't wait a second longer!]

"Sakura-san, would you like to come with me to Kazamino City now?"

"Huh? Where are you going?"

The playful girls hung various decorations, such as roses, wheels, baseball bats, butterflies, syringes, and clock faces, all over the trees around the restaurant.

Can I please stop helping this game? Knitting and stuff is such a hassle!

【…】

"Just go and see for yourself. If it really is the city you know—then I'll apologize! That means I misunderstood everything."

"This feels really weird... It doesn't seem like you're teasing me, are you serious?"

After biting off half of the last fry, Anzu suddenly pointed it seriously at Homura.

"Yes."

After finishing the hamburger in one bite, Xingzi pushed back her chair, picked up her schoolbag, and stood up.

"There's a really good ramen shop over there that I used to go to. Let's have dinner there, it's on you!"

She took two steps forward first, then looked up and turned back to look at Yan.

"...These are the conditions."

The remaining half of the fries was thrown over, and Yan picked it up with two fingers, happily agreeing to accept it.

"Ok, no problem!"