Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

"Lixi? What brings you here?"

"We've come to pick you up and take you back to RiNG. The seniors still have to go support other magical girls." Li Xi curled her lip, her face full of disdain. "You, you almost put Lantern in danger."

"I'm clearly in more danger!"

"It's all because you're such a weakling..."

"Huh?! Can't you watch your tongue?"

"...But considering your abilities this time, it's already quite impressive...Huh?! I haven't even finished speaking, why are you in such a hurry?"

"Um... Lixi, Aine..."

"Do I really need such a long prelude to just a little praise? It's all Lixi's fault!"

"There are witches approaching from all sides..."

"You guy!"

Lixi rolled up his sleeves, intending to grab Aiyin by the collar.

However, the current environment was not suitable for them to argue. The hand that had just been raised immediately turned and gripped the greatsword, then swung it to the side.

A pillar of fire rose from the ground and roasted a witch who looked like a rat into charcoal.

Before they knew it, a few witches had gathered around them.

"Let's stop arguing for now and deal with these issues first." Ai Yin brandished her blade, assuming a fighting stance.

"Tsk, did all the people within a two-kilometer radius gather here?"

Lixi clicked his tongue, adjusted the position of his headscarf, and faced the opposite direction of Aiyin, with the two of them protecting the lamp in the middle.

"Looks like we have no choice but to fight."

But at that moment, the gradually shrinking encirclement suddenly stopped. Not only what Lixi saw, but also the magical girls fighting on the ground under the despairing sky of the entire Reed Plain discovered that the rampaging witch had stopped her actions.

"what happened."

Immediately afterwards, they seemed to sense something, as if they had lost their proud protective shell, or like rats crossing the street exposed to the sunlight, and scurried in all directions.

"What happened?" Ai Yin opened her mouth wide, revealing her eye-catching little tiger teeth.

"How would I know..."

Lixi put down the heavy greatsword and raised his head.

"A bizarre day."

==========倭〕卄衣」衤三(吾〣}IX鹨三鸸?==

High above the reed plains, Xiangzi stood atop Nirvana's head, overlooking the entire city.

"I did all of this..." Xiangzi pursed his lips, looking down at the world below.

[The sky only looked like this for about half an hour; you should be thankful.]

Cherish this second chance, with a mix of relief and guilt.

These were the last words Oblivionis left for himself in his memory.

The mentally ill Cupid suddenly appeared out of nowhere and ran to Xiangzi's feet.

It stared at the ring on Xiangzi's ring finger, the ring that held the Soul Gem. Every magical girl had one, but Xiangzi's ring, though roughly the same, had a distinct difference.

The text above is human language.

"Stay true to yourself." Xiangzi lowered his eyes and stroked the ring on his hand.

"What do you mean?" Cupid tilted his head.

"It's nothing much." Xiangzi flipped his hand and took out his Soul Gem. "Just some thoughts."

The Soul Gem in his palm was exactly the same as it had been six months ago, with a terrifying crack.

“This ring is the product of your wish… Your Soul Gem was reassembled at the moment your familiar form and your witch form died. The newly formed Soul Gem enveloped the Seed of Nirvana’s Lament, and finally became what it is now.” Kyubey stared at the Soul Gem. “This is simply a complete reversal of the process of a witch’s formation. It’s incredible.”

“Then this crack…” Xiangzi stretched out his finger and touched the crack, feeling the uneven, cold texture on his fingertip.

"It's probably because the cause and effect are insufficient, I'm not sure either." Kyubey shook his head.

"So what am I now? A magical girl, or a witch?" Xiangzi picked up the Soul Gem, placed it under the crimson sky, and looked at the filth floating inside. "I can't possibly be human, can I?"

This is what they left for themselves.

She must cherish it.

This is almost a miracle, a second chance.

“I don’t know either. I told you a long time ago that you are special.” Kyubey lowered his head and looked at the white object under his feet. “But this barrier is indeed on the verge of collapse. Logically speaking, Nirvana should be dead.”

"Emmmm......"

Hearing what Kyubey said, Xiangzi was about to take back the Soul Gem.

That's when.

—“Toyokawa Shoko!”

A furious roar, tinged with warmth, rang out from behind.

Yuki unfurled a pair of wings made of black and purple flames from her back, and when she landed on the ground, she stirred up a wave of heat, the scorching temperature almost hitting Xiangzi's face.

"Your time to act recklessly is over. Quickly remove the overlap between the barrier and reality."

"Your lines sound so familiar..."

Kyubey turned around and glanced at Yushina, then at Xiangzi's position, and at the white ground. Its long, hand-like ears covered its head, and it seemed as if an incomprehensible drumbeat appeared in its mind.

"Ahhh, non-existent memories are about to appear! After that, will you say something like, 'If you want to, then come and stop me yourself'?"

"What are you talking about? I can't fight her..." Xiangzi said softly, a bead of sweat on his forehead. He took a step back and muttered, "Besides, isn't this broken barrier already about to collapse...?"

But beyond that is 10,000 meters in the air. Unlike Yuki, she can't fly. If she falls, she'll turn into this.

Yuki took another step forward, the heat making it almost impossible for Shoko to breathe.

Yukina slung the scythe behind her back and assumed a fighting stance.

"You've run out of options—wait, that's your Soul Stone?"

Yushina finally noticed what Shoko was holding in her hands—a soul gem that looked extremely pitiful, as if it could shatter at any moment.

"How could it have turned out like this? And you're not..."

"..."

Xiangzi lowered his head, glanced at his soul gem, and put it back into his ring.

She seemed to have been looking at it for a century, as if this gem of the soul contained a story that could be read for a lifetime.

"That's a long story, Yuki-senpai."

Xiangzi put away the Soul Gem and revealed a relaxed smile.

A rattling, teeth-grinding sound echoed in the sky.

At times like this, having only a slightly mentally unstable Kyubey and a senior who treats you badly by your side is truly awful.

But with them around, I'm not without someone to confide in.

"With this Soul Gem, can I prove that I am a magical girl?"

"...But Nirvana, how do you interpret it—"

"—No need to explain anymore," Xiangzi said. "Trust me, senior, everything is alright."

Cluck, cluck.

First, cracks appeared on the black sun.

The translucent cracks spread like tree branches across the dark disc until they eventually covered the entire sun.

The cracks in the black sun continued to spread outwards, and the entire blood-like, viscous sky was also covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

Then, a tremendous sound resounded through the sky.

Clang——!

The sunlight stung Yushina's eyes. She rubbed her tearful eyes, looked up, and stared in shock at the shattered sky.

The sky shattered like a mirror, the crimson sky turned azure, the sun's rays returned to the world, and the ghosts walking on the ground seemed to have been erased with an eraser, revealing the normal human faces behind them.

The paused world resumed the flow of time.

The once-silent city has come alive again.

"senior."

Xiangzi's voice brought Yuxina back to reality.

"When I met you, it happened to be the strangest time of my life."

She grabbed Cupid's ear and slowly, very slowly, shifted her weight back.

"Do you remember our promise from that day? Although it was a few days late, I kept my word."

My body became lighter, I was suspended in the air, and my perspective began to rotate.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

"Wait—it's very high here, you'll fall to your death!"

The moment Yukina reached the edge, Nirvana beneath her feet transformed into a transparent crystal, which exploded with a bang, turning into snowflake-like specks of light that scattered across the sky.

Yuki's feet suddenly felt light, and she also fell into a state of weightlessness.

Stretch your feet towards the sky, and keep your head facing the ground.

Try doing this, then spin it.

Miao Meng crawled out of the pool of blood, and the slippery, sticky feeling all over her body made her want to go back and take a shower.

But here...

The plan must have succeeded. After all, Amoris is completely dead and the barrier hasn't been reset, so it couldn't have failed.

But if the witch is dead, shouldn't I return to the real world? What's going on now?

She retrieved her belongings from a pool of blood and walked out of the vault.

Although she was naked and covered in blood, her clothes were back on after she turned off her transformation, and the bloodstains on her body disappeared completely.

That way, you won't have to worry about people seeing it.

"I always feel like something is weird."

In fact, no one saw her. It was as if someone had pressed the pause button in the bank; the familiars, the ghosts, everything stopped moving.

"That's quite interesting."

Meow Dream poked the head of a familiar.

Bang bang.

no response.

Everything has really stopped. What happened?

Miao Meng blinked, withdrew her hand, and leisurely walked towards the gate.

The moment she pushed open the bank door.

The azure sky, the bustling streets, and the brightly colored world, like waves lapping against the shore, lapped against Miaomeng's body and spread towards the bank behind her.

She turned around and looked.

There was no barrier left; behind them was a bustling, normally operating private bank, the largest in Reed Plains.

"Luckily I put on clothes before coming out," Miao Meng said, her lips twitching with lingering fear. "Otherwise, I would have been incredibly embarrassed."

Your brain will crash.

Hailing witnessed the sky shatter, watching the giant humanoid figure in the sky break into snowflake-like specks of light.

Her feet felt light.

The eight-story castle tower is gone; she is now suspended in mid-air, helpless and alone.