Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

The Tale of Nirvana: Keeping to Your True Self: Chapter 129 The Anomaly

Lisa Imai walked into CiRCLE's lounge, looked around, but didn't see Yuki.

The light was on, the water in the kettle was still boiling, and steam was billowing out of the spout, making a gurgling sound.

There were three sofas in the lounge, one of which, a long sofa, was facing away from Lisa.

So Lisa went around to the front of the sofa, which was facing away from her.

Yukina lay flat on the sofa, her hands on her chest, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Thinking of a new song?

Lisa sat down next to Yushina.

When Yukina is composing, she always lies stiffly on the sofa or bed like she's lying on a coffin lid. Over time, whenever people see her like this, they'll ask, "Are you composing?"

Yuki blinked but didn't say anything.

Lisa shook her head helplessly, walked over and turned off the kettle, took a packet of instant coffee from the storage cabinet under the coffee table, brewed it and put it on the table, then sat back down next to Yuki.

"Witch Night?"

This time, Yuki reacted.

She nodded slightly, then shook her head.

According to the magical girl who has been monitoring the Witch's Night event, an unexpected situation has arisen, which is why Lisa asked her that question.

"The Witch's Night's stoppage in the middle of the Pacific was indeed unexpected. Its inactivity allowed for considerable flexibility in subsequent arrangements. Although this sudden stop seems to be brewing something, and a more dangerous situation might arise later... but..."

Yukina hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"Compared to the Witch's Night, Nirvana is closer to us."

“Yes, that’s true…” Lisa lowered her eyes and turned her head to the side.

Since Toyokawa Shoko used her witch powers in front of them last Saturday and then vanished without a trace, Yuki has activated her backup plan, gathering all the Protagonists magical girls from Akihara, ready to enter the Nirvana Barrier to carry out a subjugation at any time.

The only problem is that even though they can find traces of Nirvana's magic throughout the Reed Plains, they still can't find the entrance to the barrier. Their progress has been stuck at the point of "can sense it, but can't find it" since last week, as if these entrances are shrouded in some special power.

Even with more people involved in the investigation, progress is slow. At the current rate, it may take several more days to get results.

This is not what Yuki wanted, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"Sigh..." Yukina sighed.

She blames herself.

She is largely to blame for how things have developed to this point.

Lisa reached out and brushed the hair away from Yuuki's face.

"You've handled it very well, don't blame yourself anymore."

"Maybe it'll suddenly get better tomorrow? Nobody can say for sure, right?"

“You’re always so optimistic,” Yukina glanced at her.

“Someone has to be optimistic,” Lisa chuckled. “Otherwise, if everyone wears a deadpan expression all the time, they’ll quickly become desperate.”

Yuki hummed twice, propped herself up, picked up the instant coffee Lisa had made for her, and took a sip.

"..."

Just as she was about to say something, her phone, which was on the table, suddenly rang.

She is Rinko Shirogane, the intelligence officer for their team and the keyboardist in the band.

"Hey?"

Yuki immediately pressed the speakerphone button.

"What's wrong, Rinrin?"

"—This is terrible, Yuki!"

The voice that came through the phone wasn't the soft, sweet one I'd expected; instead, it was loud and energetic, almost overflowing with energy, giving off a somewhat childish vibe.

"Ayako?" Yukina frowned. "Don't you have evening classes? Why are you with Rinko?"

"Forget about evening classes, something terrible has happened! Something really, really, really bad! Turn on the TV right now!"

Yushina and Lisa exchanged a glance, picked up the remote control on the table, and turned on the TV in the lounge.

The first TV station that lit up was broadcasting the news, with an "Emergency News" sign in the lower left corner.

That wouldn't be a perfect match. If it were breaking news, every channel you switch to would be broadcasting this news live right now.

"—I'm a reporter from the Reed Plains News. I'm bringing you a breaking news report from a few minutes ago. I'm currently in the Old City Center Park, but—"

The reporter stepped aside, revealing the scene behind him.

Yushina and Lisa's eyes froze at the same time.

Where there should have been a forest, a building over 200 meters tall suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The building was entirely white, as if it were wrapped in two wings. Rather than a tall building, it was more like a statue over 200 meters tall, full of artistic beauty.

At the same time, changes were happening in Reed Plains not only in the old city center park, but also in other places. The TV station suddenly broadcast a split-screen news segment, which was filmed by a photographer from a helicopter. The segments showed the headquarters of a globally renowned public relations firm, the largest private bank in Reed Plains, and the Reed Plains Skyscraper, a landmark building in the new city center.

The public relations firm was replaced by a proportionally enlarged chess-shaped building, the private bank became a steel fortress, and a Japanese-style castle tower appeared out of nowhere atop the Reed Plain skyscraper.

Each building has its own unique characteristics, and from a distance, they look like works of art.

But no matter how artistic or beautiful they are, they are not things that should exist in the real world.

Yuki jumped off the sofa and rushed out of CiRCLE, stepping outside.

CiRCLE is not far from the old city center, so when Yuki rushed outside and looked up, she saw a huge, dark shadow towering into the clouds in the night.

But the next moment.

The enormous building, wrapped in wings, simply vanished into thin air.

"Yuki-na! Stop watching the news!"

Lisa followed closely behind her and also witnessed the moment the building disappeared.

She took out her phone and turned on the TV station's live broadcast channel, but only saw the message "No live signal detected." Even after searching on the forum, she couldn't find any news or rumors related to the strange phenomenon she had just witnessed.

It was as if everyone in the world had shared an extremely short dream.

Yushina's pupils dilated with an unknown emotion.

She remembered those few minutes of amnesia on Saturday, and how she felt then was exactly the same as she felt now.

The magical energy that erupted the moment Toyokawa Shoko committed suicide in front of her is the same magical energy that is now appearing alongside the pure white skyscraper, along with a magical scent that has kept them on edge all this time—the scent that belongs only to the witch Nirvana.

It's so strong now that you can smell it in every corner of the city.

The Tale of Nirvana: Keeping to Your True Self: Chapter 130 I Made Me Forget Who I Am

Does this seem a bit sudden? Like something's been missed?

How long after Xiangzi met Su Shi, and what happened, did it lead to the witch's barrier invading reality?

Want to know?

Let's search for 'Toyokawa Shoko' in the search bar and relive the story from Shoko's perspective.

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Wuwuwu————

The hot water in the kettle boiled, and the steam blew open the spout, making a loud whistling sound.

A hand reached over, turned off the switch, then grabbed the kettle handle and poured the boiling water into a glass.

The transparent glass immediately became fogged up, with white smoke drifting upwards. It didn't look like a temperature suitable for drinking directly.

So Xiangzi poured in some cold water to neutralize it.

Red and blue pills were placed in front of him.

Xiangzi opened the box, hesitated for a moment between the two kinds of pills, and took the blue one.

The red pill was too dangerous; its effects were so potent that even she herself felt a little scared.

If it's blue...

She suddenly understood the methods used to treat patients in mental hospitals before the advent of medication.

A hole is made in the forehead with a nail. The nail pierces the patient's frontal lobe, causing the patient to stop thinking and become an obedient puppet.

Actually, giving up thinking doesn't feel so bad.

Xiangzi picked up the blue pill, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it with warm water.

Feeling the warm water flowing down his throat, Xiangzi breathed a sigh of relief.

I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time.

After meeting Su Shi, she lived in seclusion for a few more days, spending her days taking medicine in the morning and then lying in bed doing nothing.

Even Toyokawa Shoko, who was watching from the side, shook her head and simply lay down with her.

Once the medication takes effect, thinking becomes sluggish, and time seems to speed up, with a day passing quickly.

There must be complete chaos outside. After I caused a ruckus in RiNG as a familiar, they have no reason not to look for me.

Chu Hua used the doctor's diagnosis to help Xiangzi get a week's leave from school. The day after meeting Su Shi, she stayed at home with nothing to do.

Ostensibly, it was to avoid seeing people and being caught red-handed by the people at the gathering, who would then trace it back to this place.

In reality, Xiangzi simply had a plausible excuse to escape.

Xiangzi felt like a sloth crossing the street, not knowing when she would be run over by a vehicle that was moving at lightning speed.

But she didn't care. As long as she hadn't realized what had happened, it didn't matter.

Xiangzi thought slowly.

I got sleepy while thinking about it.

Sleep when you're tired.

She's been like this for the past few days.

Xiangzi simply closed his eyes, and within seconds, his breathing became steady, and his consciousness drifted into a deep dream.

It was supposed to be a dream, but in reality, there was nothing there.

Perhaps it was the effect of the blue pill that suppressed brain activity, even depriving me of the ability to dream.

When Xiangzi realized it, he found himself lying in a pitch-black space, his brain like a rusty gear set, slowly trying to turn but unable to.

--"Hello."

A shout came from the pitch-black space.

Xiangzi slowly moved his eyes toward the direction from which the sound came.

Toyokawa Shoko lay beside her, looking at the empty sky.

When did your dreams become so barren?

Toyokawa Shoko seemed to be complaining.

"It was so rich and exciting before, like watching a movie."

“It’s our dream, don’t talk like you’re not part of it.” Xiangzi turned his head and asked, “Why are you still out here? I’ve already taken my medicine.”

"Drug resistance".

"Nonsense, I don't believe it."

Xiangzi turned to the side and stared into the eyes of his other self.

Her seemingly casual side profile revealed the youthful curves of a sixteen-year-old girl. Strands of blue hair fell down with gravity, brushing against Xiangzi's face. Her languid eyes reflected Xiangzi's expressionless face.

"I'm not even human, so why would the medicine work on me?"

"Because you believe the medicine should work for you, the medicine will work for you," Toyokawa Shoko said calmly. "As long as you believe you are human, you are human."

"Self-deception and deception, that is the power of Oblivionis."

"So you're saying you're only here because I don't think the medicine is working for you?"