Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 605

Miaomeng didn't dare touch her, so she just left it as it was until she woke up.

"..."

Xiangzi tried to use his magic to repair his body tissues through regeneration. His magic had been replenished, so it was still plentiful, and the effects of the magic were indeed no longer suppressed, just as Miaomeng had said.

The skeletal body grew muscles at a visible speed, followed by fair skin, sky-blue hair, and a coat draped over its body.

Xiangzi touched his face, opened his mouth, and felt the muscles in his face moving.

"Okay," she said.

That means you've fully recovered.

Then, she focused her gaze on the black box that she had been holding in her arms.

"Have we succeeded?" She looked up at Miaomeng.

“All the effects have disappeared,” Meow Dream said. “The centaur that fought me suddenly went silent. Otherwise, why do you think we were able to find us?”

“Me too,” Hailing said.

“Del’s inventions are really cutting-edge technology, whether it’s the time machine or the black box.” Miao Meng put her hands on her hips and looked at the black box in Xiangzi’s arms. “If it weren’t for the black box, we would have no way to deal with these guys.”

"It also has an automatic storage function. Otherwise, given my physical condition at the time, I definitely wouldn't have lasted until I encountered the super-causal entity." Xiangzi lowered his head and gently patted the black cube. "This guy finally proved reliable for once."

"Well, now that we've succeeded," Miaomeng gestured behind her with her thumb, "Shall we go?"

Xiangzi nodded, then got up, clutching the black box.

"Let's go."

==================

Following Miaomeng back the way she came, Xiangzi realized just how steep the path she had climbed was. When she got to the upper part of the stairs, they were only wide enough for one person to walk on, and if she took one more step outwards, she would fall down.

This underwater tower is at least three or four hundred meters tall.

I actually climbed three or four hundred meters? Just with that kind of physical condition?

Really unimaginable.

If she could see back then, would she have wanted to give up? If Mu hadn't been by her side all along... And now, with the mental pollution blocked, she naturally can't hear Mu's voice anymore.

Xiangzi lowered his head, looked at the black box in his arms, and walked down the narrow stairs to the bottom.

The earth, made of flesh and blood, seemed to have lost its original vitality, but it was still some distance from death, maintaining a rhythm like breathing, rising and falling.

“It looks like these guys aren’t dead yet,” Miao Meng said. “But if we leave them like this, they’ll probably die in a while. After all, without supercausality, it’s like losing the most important energy source, which is like losing a heart for a human.”

“Then it’s no different from a corpse,” Hailing said.

"That's how it is."

Miaomeng and Hailing walked ahead, chatting casually, while Xiangzi carried the black box and silently followed behind them.

As you move upwards, the amount of flesh and blood tissue gradually decreases.

Continuing upwards, the surrounding walls returned to normal, and they were back inside the abandoned hospital.

“Ah, Xiangzi, you fell from the elevator side, didn’t you?” Miaomeng turned her head and said, “Haizi and I took a different route, which leads to the port. We can leave directly from there by taking a diving ball.”

Xiangzi nodded without saying anything.

Miaomeng and Hailing exchanged a glance, shrugged, and led Xiangzi toward the port.

Miaomeng turned the valve leading to the port, and when she finally pushed it open, what appeared before her was a lifeless, quiet port where you could hear a pin drop.

The monsters that were transformed from humans lay quietly on the ground, unmoved by any punches or kicks.

"It's really over." Miao Meng finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the scene in front of her. "The diving ball we rode on when we came should still work. We can ride that back to the surface, find a place to dock, and then we can start our journey home."

She glanced at Xiangzi out of the corner of her eye, and seeing his calm and composed expression, she continued.

"I need to take a good shower and relax when I get back, then I can work on this super-causality thing." Meow Dream stretched. "I haven't had a break in ages—"

"You guys go first," Xiangzi interrupted Miaomeng, looking up as he said, "Take the black box with you."

Miao Meng looked at her, and the feigned relief she had shown earlier vanished instantly. She put one hand on her hip and looked at Xiangzi seriously.

"I know what you want to say, but don't say it now."

"If you know, then let me go." Xiangzi looked into her eyes and said earnestly, "Let me go and bring Mu back."

The Tale of Transcendence: Stars and Us: Chapter 814 I Don't Believe in Miracles

"Go and bring Mu back..." Miaomeng paused, then repeated, "Go and bring Mu back?"

Her eyes suddenly widened.

"Wait, judging from your tone, are you looking for Mutsuko's body, or are you really planning to bring Mutsuko back alive?"

"Of course she's alive," Xiangzi said calmly. "She's not dead yet."

“But Mu is gone. Even if we go to find her, she’s already become the same thing as those… monsters,” Miao Meng said, confused.

Even so, even though Mu has become one with this city, there is still hope.

"What hope?" Miaomeng raised an eyebrow. "You're not thinking of doing something stupid, are you? Even if you wanted to go looking, how do you plan to go? Where can you even look? Let me tell you..."

"Shh, let her finish." Hailing reached out and covered Miaomeng's mouth. "Xiangzi must have discovered something."

"Heh." Miao Meng puffed out her chest and crossed her arms, looking like she was ready to listen to his explanation.

Xiangzi glanced gratefully at Hailing, then turned away.

The silence she had maintained earlier wasn't out of despair, but rather because she was thinking. She was trying to figure out what other ways P could pull Mu out of this dying city.

In theory, everyone in this city, both in mind and body, has become one with the city lord. Mu is no exception. It's impossible to take something out of the blender intact once it's been thrown in; everyone knows that.

However, Xiangzi searched through his memories and recalled what he had seen along the way, and discovered a blind spot that he had previously overlooked.

"We couldn't kill either of the magical girls we encountered in that area, right?" Xiangzi made a two-pointer and said, "When do magical girls die?"

“If you run out of magic, or if the Soul Gem shatters,” Meow Dream said matter-of-factly.

"Then, what about their Soul Gems?"

“The Soul Gem is of course with the city lord… no, if that’s the case, then how can they still use magic?” Meow Dream frowned. “According to your logic… if the city lord absorbed their Soul Gems as well, shouldn’t he be able to possess their magic? Why is it that only the two magical girls who blocked us have their own magic?”

Snapped.

Xiangzi snapped his fingers.

“You’ve discovered it,” Xiangzi said. “The Soul Gem may not have been absorbed, or rather, it may not have been able to be absorbed. So, there’s a high chance that Mu’s Soul Gem is still intact. Moreover, while the others’ spirits have already merged with the city lord, Mu is still resisting. She guided us to the end with her own will, which means there’s still hope for her.”

“?!” Miao Meng’s pupils suddenly shrank.

Is this even possible?!

"You plan to go find Mutsu's Soul Gem." Hailing nodded, acknowledging Xiangzi's deduction. "Then what do you plan to do—"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Miaomeng ran out and blocked their way. "Let's put aside what Xiangzi plans to do for now and get back to the reasoning itself. Even if you guessed that, what's the evidence? All subsequent actions are based on this guess. What if you're wrong?"

“I have the evidence, it’s right here.” Xiangzi pointed to his head. “That was the closest I came to completely merging with them. The city lord even went through all my memories. In return, I also saw their memories.”

"You saw Mutsuko's gem?"

“Not only that, there are also many different magical girl gems, all concentrated somewhere in this city,” Xiangzi said. “If we can get Mutsu’s Soul Gem, we can separate her from this city.”

“It’s separated, so what?” Hailing interrupted her. “Mu’s physical body has disappeared, leaving only the Soul Gem. What use is that?”

A normal magical girl's healing ability is not enough to repair her body from scratch; the required magical power would be astronomical.

They are almost out of ammunition and food. Who can expend so much magical power? Even if they want to take them to a refuge first and then figure out a way, the Soul Gem's ability to repair the body will continuously consume magical power, and the current resources are not enough to support their return.

Xiangzi naturally knew all this as well.

“My magic can conserve the mana required to regenerate the body.” Xiangzi looked up at the two of them. “I can do this, and only I can do it.”

“Your magic…” Miao Meng recovered from her shock and began to seriously consider the feasibility of this matter, “…If that’s the case, perhaps it really isn’t impossible.”

“But the risks are still very high,” Hailing said. “Even if your magic can save the mana needed for regeneration, there still won’t be enough mana.”

After all, they were really running out of ammunition and supplies.

They had already brought the Sorrowful Cube, which was beyond their budget, but unexpectedly, the magic was suppressed. Everyone's use of magic power far exceeded the budget, especially Xiangzi. It was only because Hailing gave up her share that Xiangzi had a chance to repair his body.

Given this situation, they had no supplies left, so how could they possibly go looking for Mu? They might even end up getting themselves killed.

"Can't we go back to the shelter first and then come back?" Meow Dream suggested.

"Impossible." Xiangzi shook his head. "We've already taken away this city's energy. Those who are still alive are just taking their last breaths before they die. If we were to leisurely return..."

Xiangzi bit his lip.

"You all know without me saying it."

“…” Miao Meng fell silent, looking at Xiangzi.

"I've calculated my magical power, and it's barely enough," Xiangzi said. "Barely enough, but I can give it a try."

"Are you trying to put yourself on the table again?" Miaomeng said softly. "How many times has this happened already?"

"It's worth a try, isn't it?"

“I definitely won’t agree.” Miao Meng pouted. “You’ll only make Mu Zi’s sacrifices go to waste.”

"That's why I asked you to take the super-causal relationship with you," Xiangzi said solemnly. "As long as you can bring the black box back, it won't have been in vain."

"But we did all this for you..."

“It doesn’t have to be for me. Even for the world, it would be worth it.” Xiangxiangzi brushed a strand of hair aside and smiled gently at Miaomeng. “Don’t forget, it wasn’t me who lived with you in the apocalypse for over thirty years, it was everyone in the shelter.”

Miao Meng was captivated by that smile.

How could you be so unfair? How can anyone refuse after something like that?

She turned her head away, looking unwilling: "Then you decide for yourself, I don't care anymore."

"Wait, I've got it, maybe magic isn't the problem."

At this moment, Hailing suddenly spoke.

Her gaze drifted to the black box that Xiangzi had handed to Miaomeng.

At that moment, the air froze.

Xiangzi followed Hailing's gaze and finally fixed it on the black box. Miaomeng did the same; after their three gazes lingered on the black box, they remained silent for a long while.

"Hai Zi." Miao Meng cleared her throat, breaking the silence. "What are you trying to say by looking at it?"

"When we were discussing whether we had enough magic power, did we forget that the Soul Stone is actually located, Xiangzi?

"..." Xiangzi lowered his eyes and shook his head.

She could only vaguely see that it was in a very open area.

"Even if we find the location of 'those' soul gems, how long would it take to pinpoint Mu's specific one?"

“That’s true…” Meow Dream murmured.

"And then there's how we get there? What if we encounter other obstacles along the way? And once we find it, how do we get to the surface? These are all questions," Hailing said. "Even if we only consider the most ideal scenario, we don't have enough supplies. So what if we encounter any of the unexpected events I just mentioned?"

She looked at Xiangzi.

"Are you hoping for a miracle? To me, what you just said was like giving your last words before committing suicide."

"That's precisely why I planned to let you take Super-Causality and leave first..." Xiangzi turned his head away and said softly, "If we lay everything out in the open, wouldn't it just get worse and worse..."

The more you talk, the less confident you become. If you don't even have confidence in yourself, then miracles are even less likely to happen.

“No, you’re wrong.” Hailing interrupted her, walked up to Miaomeng, took the black box from Miaomeng’s arms, and put it back into Xiangzi’s arms. “What I mean is—you should take it with you.”

She pointed to the black box.

"This thing transcends causality; it is an infinite energy source."

"Huh?!" Miao Meng's eyes widened. "Hai Zi, do you want to hear what you're saying? We went through so much trouble to lock it in the black box, and you mean you want Xiang Zi to release it?"

“If we open the black box, the whole city will come back to life immediately,” Xiangzi said. “We will be dragged back into mental pollution.”

Then, she would hear that voice again, as if millions of people were speaking at the same time, and her body would begin to dissolve and merge with the city.

Although we have gained unlimited energy, is it worth it?

If not controlled properly, it won't just be a matter of being stuck at the bottom of the sea.