Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

The blood of familiars is bluish-black, so Aine never truly felt like she was killing any creature, but—but—

It was a living person; his blood was red and scalding hot, gushing from his body and staining the entire corridor red.

The lonely head, with its entire spine attached, held in the narwhal's hand, still held the gaze of its last moments before death, staring straight at Aine, its open mouth seemingly saying—"Save me."

help me.

Aine's heart suddenly clenched, and she was engulfed in a tremendous tremor. Her whole body stiffened, and she was unable to move, forgetting to express the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness she should have shown.

The narwhal lifted the head, savoring the look on the man's face before he died, and chuckled.

"Don't be afraid, brother. The moment you die, you will be our brother."

The narwhal grabbed the carcass and threw it overboard.

The sea slug clinging to the side of the ship caught the corpse with its tentacles and swallowed it. Soon after, a tentacle resembling the head held by a narwhal grew out of the sea anemone.

"Why......"

W-shaped pupils stared at Aine, and a few syllables were uttered crookedly from her crack-shaped mouthparts.

"No... save... me..."

"Ah..." Aine trembled and took two steps back, the katana in her hand falling to the ground. She stammered, her words barely audible, "I...I wanted to save you...but I..."

I......

I can't do it.

Those terrified heads were reflected in Aine's eyes. Just minutes before, those faces had been smiling and encouraging her, saying they had done their best... It had only been a few minutes... What had happened...?

Shouldn't the story continue with things getting better and better, with everyone working together to drive these bad guys out? Isn't a school trip supposed to be for fun? How did it turn out like this? Is this the set of some horror movie?

If that's true, does that screenwriter hate the characters they created?

So much hatred... that you want everyone to die in despair?

With a "bang," a string in Aine's heart suddenly snapped.

She tugged at the corners of her mouth, revealing a twisted smile that was hard to decipher—whether it was up or down—that even a mirror couldn't comprehend.

"Ha ha......"

Despairing darkness gradually crept up her soul gem.

What hero, what important person, what the center of attention.

My life has always been about escaping, running from one place to another, from one field to another. I'm just running away from the me who can't do anything right.

They even said that if you fall down, you should get back up.

After starting over so many times, actually I...

It's already over.

"Xiao Ai!"

boom--!

A flame ignited in front of her, crackling and popping, and a wave of scorching heat hit her face, blowing her pink hair back.

At the same time, Aine felt herself being hugged by someone.

Aine and the person who had been holding her fell to the ground together, a wave of heat washing over them.

Ai Yin stared wide-eyed at the person who had tackled her to the ground.

The narwhal, burned by the flames, became the only source of light, casting the person's face completely in shadow, making it hazy and indistinct. But even so, Aine recognized her, recognized those amber eyes reflecting the night and the firelight.

"...A light?" Aine stared blankly into those eyes. "How could you...?"

"It's not over yet!" the lamp's voice interrupted her. "It's not over yet, Ai!"

"what?"

"You were the one who told me to get up where I fell, so I can't give up on myself, little Ai!" Deng grabbed Ai's hand and stuffed a string of cards strung together with rings into Ai's hand.

This is......

Aiyin glanced at the small cards briefly. They were the same style as the vocabulary cards she had prepared for studying abroad, except that each card had various insects printed on them as background patterns, giving them a very lamp-like feel.

The card had some scattered words written on it, such as "escape," "no escape," "confused," and "lost."

"You keep moving forward, even when you encounter a dead end..."

She remembered the day the entire reed plain was enveloped by a mysterious witch's barrier, and Aine's unwavering figure in that dead-end alley.

Stay here and hide. No matter what happens, don't come out.

"...I will also try to find a way out and try to move forward...It made me realize for the first time that there is not only an end ahead..." Deng said intermittently, "It made me realize that...even if I am confused, I must continue to move forward."

Those powerful eyes occupied most of Aine's vision, making her unconsciously become captivated by them.

"Hey, now's not the time to chat."

However, there are always those who spoil the mood at times like this.

Lixi walked over to the two of them, leaned against the wall helplessly, and sighed.

"It's far from over."

The Lost Tale: A Young Man's Spirit: Chapter 249 Becoming Your Eyes

"Even if you feel lost... you still have to move forward?" Aine murmured.

“Running away will only keep you stuck in the same place. You have to keep moving forward no matter what to make more possibilities.” Deng’s eyes became firm. “So even if you don’t know where to go, you have to step forward. That’s what Xiao Ai told me.”

"I never said anything like that..."

"This is what I saw in Ai when I was young."

Deng straddled Aine's waist, pressing her hands against the floor on either side of Aine's head.

"Xiao Ai," she whispered, "we're going to get lost together."

"...Okay, I promise you—"

"Ahem—!" Li Xi cleared his throat, emphasizing his presence once again.

Reminded by Li Xi, Deng's face flushed red, and she hurriedly got off Aine. Aine grumbled at her spoilsport companion, picked up the knife from the ground, got up, and dusted herself off. The two turned their heads in opposite directions, puffs of steam rising from their heads.

Li Xi always had the illusion that she was somewhat superfluous.

Huh? Who are you calling superfluous!

“Um…” Aine walked up to Riki.

"What are you doing, newbie?"

"...You saved me again." Ai Yin scratched her face shyly and said softly, "...Thank you."

"Hmph." Li Xi crossed her arms and turned away.

Aine noticed that the burns on her hands were getting worse and were spreading, with some of the burns even creeping up to her cheeks.

The Soul Gem doesn't look to be in very good condition either.

At this point, Ai Yin remembered to check her Soul Gem. To her surprise, it was already more than half full.

When did you use so much?

Ai Yin strangely took out the Seed of Lamentation that she had prepared beforehand, purified her own gem, and then threw the rest to Li Xi.

Lixi took the Seed of Sorrow, used up the rest, looked at his withered and charred hands, and clenched his fist.

"Are you sure you're okay doing this? Aren't you pushing yourself too hard?" Ai asked, looking at her hands.

"If we don't give it our all now, we might never have the chance to do it again," Li Xi said irritably.

"But..." Aine still felt bad.

After all, Lixi saved him with this body and with such a huge fire.

She glanced at the still-burning narwhal; given Lixi's usual habits, that kind of exertion would definitely hurt her.

"It'll be fine in a couple of days, it's nothing serious." Li Xi waved his hand as if it hadn't bothered him at all.

Is this not serious? The hand is almost just carbonized bone. If it were a normal person, this would be life-threatening.

"Ah, if only Su Shi were here," Aine sighed.

As a result, everyone suddenly fell silent upon hearing Su Shi's name.

Su Shi cut off all contact with everyone, and no one knew how she was doing. However, the group of them still happily went on their school trip... They only remembered her when they needed her... Although Su Shi was the one who cut ties, the thought still made them feel very guilty.

"Ahem." Ai cleared her throat, abruptly changing the subject. "Speaking of which, why are the lights outdoors? Isn't it dangerous outside?"

“It’s not much better inside either,” Lixi said.

"Huh? What happened?!"

"That guy's familiar suddenly got a clue. Some of them held us back, while the rest tried to find a way to pry open the door and rush inside." Li Xi sighed. "Although we stopped most of them, a few still managed to sneak in during the chaos."

"Isn't that the end?!"

“Not yet.” Lixi shook her head and said, “When I found the light, there was no one left in the corridor. They probably evacuated to a relatively safe place.”

"Why is that lamp...锍:1V翼/2罢（'四）罒（八）...?"

"...I was hiding in my room the whole time and didn't notice what was happening," Deng said weakly.

She didn't mention that she was so engrossed in watching Delete's screen mirroring, otherwise she would get scolded.

"Sigh..." Ai Yin sighed and spread her hands. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know, we'll see how it goes." Li Xi shook his head. "The wildcat is still on the back deck, as is the big star. I was the only one who went in to catch the ghost just now."

She shrugged.

“I’ll continue going in to catch ghosts. Your weapons aren’t suitable for confined spaces, so just keep looking outside to see if anyone needs help—oh, and by the way, the lamp is yours too, take good care of it.”

Although he said he would take it one step at a time, Li Xi quickly made a decision.

"Just like the lamp said, if you retreat one step, you can advance two steps; there will always be a way."

"What kind of summary is that...?"

Ai Yin's lips twitched, and she nodded, just about to agree.

"Hmm? My feet are shaking."

Ai-yin lowered her head.

It wasn't my imagination; there really was something underneath them—

The tremors intensified hundreds of times in an instant, as if the heavens and earth themselves trembled. The sound of steel twisting came from directly below them, eventually culminating in a deafening roar that sounded like a ship wailing in agony.

Boom——!

=========

"see it!"

Mio stood in front of the boulder with her arms outstretched.

"This is me, this is the sea witch you've been searching for!"

The boulder, like a heart, pumps energy in all directions while simultaneously receiving the flow of dim, vengeful spirits. These spirits materialize into black mist, gathering before Mio.

"This boulder is not my true form, but my heart! Break it, and you will defeat the Sea Witch! Come! Kill me, Erqiu Eryi Chanling!"

She grinned wildly, laughing maniacally at Xiangzi and Chuhua.

The black mist in front of her became increasingly solid, gradually forming a human figure.

"Xiao Xiang, what happened?"

Chu Hua stared wide-eyed at the empty space, but could see nothing.

“Mio…” Xiangzi changed his words halfway through, “Ji is summoning something.”

"So it really was her."

"Ah."

"..."