Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

"Whether it's true or not, can you just put me down first?!"

A string of curses with an accent came from inside his arms.

Chu Hua belatedly released the girl who was squirming in her arms.

Mio jumped out of Chu Hua's arms and landed on the ground. She calmly stretched and loosened her joints, which had been confined to Chu Hua's arms and couldn't move.

She blinked and looked around at the pitch-black surroundings.

"Oh no, now I don't even know where we are."

"It's alright. Since we've already reached the bottom, it means we're not far from the Sea Witch," Chu Hua said.

"It's not far at all."

Xiangzi leaned softly against Chuhua's back, clutching his throbbing head.

Upon reaching the bottom of the valley, the sea witch's magic had become so intense that it made her severely uncomfortable, and the direction of the fluctuations had changed from directly downwards to a more specific direction.

Getting closer and closer.

Almost within reach.

"Head in this direction, Chuhua."

Despite his discomfort, Xiangzi pointed out a path for Chuhua.

"We need to hurry. The horde of familiars outside is already attacking the Scroll, and... nobody knows when the Sea Witch will emerge from her cocoon."

"Okay, let's hurry up and go."

"Then what should I do?" Mio stood next to Hatsuka, spreading her hands. "Wait for you here?"

"It's best to find a safe place and wait until we're finished..."

“No, she’d better come with us,” Xiangzi said to Chuhua. “There’s no such thing as a ‘safe place’ here; the smell of familiars is everywhere.”

As Xiangzi spoke, he turned his gaze to the distance of the canyon.

They were now standing on a relatively high stone platform, surrounded by darkness.

But it was no longer as dark as the area above the canyon. The surrounding rock walls emitted a dim light, and these lights, like veins, spread throughout the valley floor, seemingly pulsating and jumping beneath the rock walls, barely illuminating the surroundings.

As far as the eye can see, there are graveyards of ships.

Countless wrecks piled up at the bottom of the valley, and the green fluorescent veins that spread across the rock walls like blood vessels resembled the stomach of a whale in the story of Pinocchio, the ships that had been swallowed by the whale.

“These shipwrecks range from ancient wooden sailing ships to modern metal fishing boats,” Xiangzi said. “Seeing them, I can finally confirm a guess.”

"What guess?"

"The sea witch's familiars are not just those she kills."

"Remember what came out when the sea slug was cut open? Those were human faces. If each face represents a lost soul, then the total number of missing and dead people in Ryukyu over the past two years, even including all the residents of this island, couldn't possibly constitute so many familiars."

Xiangzi looked at the decaying wooden wreckage of the sailboat.

"The sea witch devours not only the living, but also the dead."

"She dragged the souls of the entire sea from ancient times into this abyss, and not just humans, but also many... many, many... resentments from who knows where."

Xiangzi frowned, raised his hand, and held back the resentment that permeated the surroundings.

Such intense magic is far more than just being close to the sea witch.

It's almost like... inside its body.

"Chuhua...did you see that?"

Xiangzi opened his eyes.

A name suddenly popped into my mind.

"Are you talking about its name?" Chu Hua nodded. "I 'saw' it too."

Chu Hua also saw the name composed of witch script.

Xiangzi and the others had long since left the real world and somehow entered the sea witch's barrier, where they "saw" the sea witch's true name.

Its name is——

【漈 (Cascade)】.

The Lost Tale: The Spirit of Youth: Chapter 240 Why did you break up with each other?

The two, who had suddenly realized the witch's true name, stood there stunned.

"Now that we've sensed the witch's true name, does that mean we've entered her barrier?" She sighed, her gaze sweeping over the rather magnificent ship's burial mound. "When exactly... was it the moment of descent?"

"Probably." Xiangzi looked at the surreal scene before him with a sense of awe.

Without a doubt, the Shipmaku, something that only exists in legends, could only be a witch's barrier. In the two or three minutes they were falling, they may have unknowingly entered the barrier.

"But don't sea witches not need barriers to operate?" Chu Hua asked again. "If you release so many familiars out of the barrier to hunt, why are you still in the deep sea abyss...?"

“It needs to incubate, just like Nirvana,” Xiangzi said. “A magical girl with ‘flowers’ will become incredibly powerful after she is completely transformed into a witch, but this process requires a long period of regeneration and incubation. This is what Kyubey said, remember?”

"So, for witches who possess 'flowers,' the barrier is an incubator?" Chu Hua said.

“That’s one way to understand it.” Xiangzi nodded. “Nirvana created a barrier that could reset time to protect itself, and Ji also chose to place his barrier in the deep sea abyss where it is hard to find. What we see now is just as Qiubi said.”

Xiangzi excitedly grabbed Chuhua's shoulder.

“We came to the right place. The sea witch is inside the barrier, and she’s not far from us.”

She once again pointed out the specific directions to Chuhua.

"Just keep going in this direction! It's waiting for us up ahead."

"Hey, why are you standing there like that?"

The person who interrupted Xiangzi was Mio. Curious, she went around to the front and waved her hand in front of Chu Hua's eyes.

"Are you standing there talking to the female ghost?"

When Xiangzi and Chuhua chatted, it was like a magical channel between magical girls; they didn't need to open their mouths, so Mio could only see Chuhua standing there in a daze.

"What kind of 'female ghost' is that? That's so rude!" Xiangzi pouted in dissatisfaction. "Even a ghost is better than a female ghost."

“…Hmm.” Chu Hua shook her head. “We talked about some things.”

"Something? Why all the secrecy?" Mio muttered softly. "So what are you planning to do? Leave me here or take me with you?"

"Xiao Xiang said it's just as dangerous down there, so it's impossible to leave you here."

"Ah, so you mean you want me to come with you?" Mio sighed. "Okay, okay, I have no objection. Anyway, I don't know where we are."

Chu Hua nodded, took a step forward, and jumped off the stone platform.

"Hey, why did you just jump like that?!" Mio leaned over the edge of the stone platform and looked down.

"Jump down, I'll catch you." Chu Hua stood below, looked around to make sure there were no familiars crouching and ready to ambush her, then turned around, looked up at Mio, and said.

But don't be fooled by how casually she jumped down; the drop between the stone platform and the ground below is four or five meters.

"..." Mio pursed her lips, lying on top of him, unwilling to get down.

Four or five meters is taller than a single floor of a building for the average person.

Landing on your neck could be fatal.

Even if she's lucky enough to only suffer a broken bone, she can forget about having a good time in this environment.

"I'll catch you, it's safe." Chu Hua looked up. "Just like before, I'll catch you."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she shouldn't have said them.

Because Mio's expression visibly darkened.

Chu Hua twitched the corners of her mouth and changed her tone to urge him on.

"Time is limited, hurry up."

"......snort."

Mio snorted sullenly and sat on the edge of the stone platform, her two beautiful, evenly dark legs dangling in mid-air. She stared at the spot where Chu Hua had her arms outstretched, her inner thoughts twisted like a ball of yarn.

How could I just jump from such a high place? I'm not like you, a superhero in a "magical girl" outfit.

What if I don't catch it?

"I'll say three, two, one and you jump, okay?" Chu Hua said again, "I promise I'll catch you."

“You have to finish counting down three, two, one,” Mio said. “You never counted down properly when you pushed me into the water.”

"I'm not behind you right now." Chu Hua spread her hands, looking at her innocently.

"Tsk..."

In the end, Mio closed her eyes.

"Ready? Don't give me any interruptions!"

"OK, three..."

Who knew that as soon as Chu Hua uttered the word "three," Mio closed her eyes, shifted her buttocks forward, and fell down with a whoosh.

Chu Hua hurriedly caught Mio, his breath hot against Mio's face in dissatisfaction.

"Didn't we agree to finish reading it?!"

"Um, I was a little nervous, I forgot..."

Their eyes met.

Have you ever heard of a "friendship magic" that makes people reconcile? Once you're under this spell, even people with terrible relationships will sit together peacefully.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment, as if someone had cast a "magic spell of friendship" between them.

They became as close as before.

Chu Hua's slightly stern and caring voice made Mio instantly forget that Chu Hua was an incredibly mischievous tomboy when he was young, and instead he seemed like a blond prince from a fairy tale.

Chu Hua's image is indeed very fitting; although dressed in black, he is enough to evoke images of a knight or prince, a figure straight out of a fairy tale.

Nestled in Hatsuka's arms, Mio's slightly dark face was flushed with two faint blushes, and her bright blue eyes shone even in the dim light, making her look just like a princess from a Disney animation with exotic charm.

Under the magic of friendship, they were as beautiful as a fairy tale in each other's eyes.

but.

The magic lasted only a few seconds.

The gazes that met between the two pairs of eyes turned cold.

Chu Hua realized that it was this girl who had jumped into her arms with her eyes closed who had taken the initiative to break off their friendship, and then they really never communicated again, even though she tried to win her back but couldn't find any opportunity.

Mio also remembered that it was this girl who had been holding her who had abandoned her on this island, leaving her all alone. No matter how much she tried to persuade her, she was determined to leave.

They were childhood sweethearts, each other's only friend. But now, the word "formerly" must be added before that list of titles.

The magic of magical girls is not the magic of fairy tales; true miracles and magic do not exist in this world.

Even if it were, it wouldn't happen between them.

"Why haven't you put me down yet? Aren't you in a hurry?" Mio said coldly.

"..."

Yeah, why would I still be holding you?

Chu Hua put Mio down in an annoyed tone.

"Remember to stick close to me. Who knows how many laser-shooting familiars are hiding in the darkness here."

"I know, you don't need to remind me." Mio walked behind her, turning her head to the side.

Chu Hua was right. At the bottom of the Abyss, there were many familiars that could fire lasers, hiding in the darkness, ready to ambush them at any moment.

After walking only a few steps, Chu Hua had to stop for a while to clear out the familiars hiding around her.

The familiars that fire purple lasers are like starfish stuck to a wall. Their everted lumbar cavities can shoot out high-temperature lasers. They are very inconspicuous in appearance, and only the purple light that shines when they fire can determine their location.

Chu Hua was disgusted by these guys.

She was fine on her own, but protecting Mio, who had no ability to defend herself, made progress in this environment extremely difficult. Moreover, the sea slugs and their tentacle friends were hiding under the ruins of some ships, and together with the starfish that could fire lasers, they caused Chu Hua considerable trouble.