Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

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“It really is the only way out.” Li Xi shrugged. “But speaking of which, since Xiangzi cares so much, why hasn’t she said anything except that she happened to run into her today? Does that really seem like she cares about the safety of the lamp?”

“The little master is probably very busy. Their team is so strong, they must deal with some very dangerous witches on a regular basis,” Ai Yin said. “Maybe she thinks it’s better to stay away.”

“You just said I always take Xiangzi’s side.” Su Shi glanced at her. “Hmph.”

"I was wrong, I was wrong." Ai Yin clasped her hands together in apology, then patted Su Shi's head. "Afternoon tea is on me, don't be angry."

"Get your hands off me." Su Shi shook his head, a large "well" shape appearing on his forehead.

However, she didn't actually slap Aine's hand away.

The Tale of Reincarnation: Bonds - Chapter 667 Birthday Train

"Let's put the lamp issue aside for now and take a look at the witch we're going to defeat today." Lixi took out her tablet and placed it in front of them. "Normal class, a weakened assimilation clone. It hasn't shown any signs of harming anyone yet, but considering that the original witch was once close to Hard class and had a rather cruel personality, the Gathering Hall recommends defeating her as soon as possible."

The witch is dead, but the Seed of Grief failed to be retrieved and absorbed negative emotions again to become a witch. In the other case, the witch's familiar left the barrier and became a witch on its own. The witches born in these two situations are highly similar to the original witch and are generally called assimilated clones.

“The newly created assimilation clone is very weak, and it’s a witch who relies heavily on her familiars, so the main body must be particularly fragile,” Lixi continued. “However, its location… is a little troublesome.”

"where?"

"Probably on the Keio Line."

“It’s not far, it’s from Shinjuku…” Aine scratched her head, “If the witch is on the train, it would be really troublesome to go back and forth.”

Are they going to ride the train from Shinjuku to Hachioji all the way until the witch comes out? And after that, they'll have to turn around and ride back. It'll be a hassle going back and forth, and it'll probably be very late.

"If it's too much trouble, let's get going." Su Shi put down her teacup and stood up. "My mom's going home tonight, and I don't want it to be too late."

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

"...There are so many people. Is the underground really that busy?"

Aiyin stood in the center of the plaza on the first basement level, looking at the bustling street in front of her, and sighed.

"There aren't that many people yet," Su Shi said calmly. "Around 6:30 is when it will be busiest."

"How did you know? I don't think most people take this route to and from school."

“I was fortunate enough to squeeze through the crowd once during peak hours. It was for the school orchestra’s competition, and it went on until very late,” Su Shi said. “Back then, I was carrying my cello with me.”

"You're so dirty!" Ai Yin exclaimed, covering her mouth.

“This is the Reed Plain.” Su Shi shrugged.

“Sometimes I wonder, with such a vast area like Reed Plains, can our magical girls really manage to manage it all?” Aine said.

"The information about witches is provided by the Gathering. In addition to their daily patrols, magical girls obtain information mainly from the Gathering." Li Xi stretched. "With the help of people in society, they have established their own intelligence network. They then issue missions and provide information in the name of the Gathering, allowing magical girls to pinpoint the location of witches more accurately. This is the biggest function of the Gathering."

Lixi usually works part-time at RiNG, sometimes as a waitress at the main RiNG and sometimes as an assistant at the inner RiNG. She has a very clear understanding of how the gathering works, so when Aiyin asked, she explained it to her in detail.

"Without the gatherings, if everyone still occupies their own hilltop as before, it will definitely be much more chaotic than it is now."

"Thinking about it this way, Kasumi-senpai and the others are really amazing. They managed to make the gathering the way it is now."

“Who says otherwise?” Li Xi looked up at the sign above her head. “The Keio Line is over here.”

The group turned the corner, followed the signs on the ground down to the platform, and stood by the platform, waiting for the tram to arrive.

The lamp listened as they talked about everything from how the gathering was running to how they would get home after defeating the witch, then they went on to talk about everyday things, and then they circled back to the witch.

She seemed unable to get a word in edgewise.

Although... I don't intend to interrupt.

Following Aine, we boarded the magenta tram and found a seat. While Aine and Lixi were still chatting about everyday things, Deng took out his notebook, opened the doodle he had drawn before accidentally falling asleep last night, and fell into a vortex of thought that was hard for others to understand.

She turned to a new page and found another page of doodles. She didn't know when it was drawn, but it was definitely her own handwriting.

The graffiti resembles a sketch of a person.

Deng knew very well that his drawing skills were mediocre, but the graffiti that he had drawn at some point looked quite decent.

That was a profile picture, Xiangzi's profile picture.

This seems to be true; I drew it last night.

I was so tired at that time that I entered a state of confusion, like being drunk or dreaming, and did a lot of things in a daze.

Finally, he collapsed onto the table and fell asleep until dawn.

The lamp frowned slightly, and fragments of the dream resurfaced.

She couldn't remember what she had said, what she had done, or what had happened. But she did recall a few frozen images, images related to that graffiti.

The blue figure in my dream.

Xiangzi's figure floated in the air.

Dazzling, yet distant, like a full moon.

This was the only unforgettable scene in her dream, so beautiful that she forgot how to breathe.

Deng bit her lip, took out a pen, and unconsciously began to write in the blank space of her notebook.

The moment you appeared before me, I dared not look directly into your eyes.

You are like a holy angel, your beauty breathtaking, you are as light as a feather, floating above this murky world.

She stopped writing at this point.

How I wish... I were special enough to stand beside you.

After hesitating for a while, Deng ultimately decided not to write it in the notebook.

Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?

"Tengdeng, the witch looks like she's coming. Quick, put your notebook away."

Ai's voice pulled Deng out of her reverie. Deng looked up and saw her staring intently out the train window.

At this point, the tram should have been traveling on the ground, but outside the window was a pitch-black chaos, and nothing could be seen.

Inside the tram, no one seemed to notice the unusual scene outside; some were looking at their phones, while others chatted with their friends.

Only a few magical girls became alert.

They smelled the witch.

The witch from that report is about to appear.

Clang—Clang—Clang—

The sound of the tram wheels rolling over the gaps between the rails, mixed with the wind noise from the train moving at high speed in the narrow space, suddenly became quiet.

The train left the "underground" and entered the "outdoors".

They entered the witch's barrier, and the witch's name came to mind.

[Witch's Name: Birthday Train]

The nature of this journey is farewell. We bid farewell to trains of the past, thinking about trains of tomorrow, full of expectations for the future. Along the way, we ponder what kind of person we want to become, what kind of companions we will encounter, and fantasize about the road ahead, until we become someone who is no longer like ourselves.

Saying goodbye to the past and heading towards the future doesn't necessarily mean a bright future. Has she ever regretted it?

The Tale of Reincarnation: Bonds - Chapter 668 The Witch's Ecological Investigation

[Witch's Name: Birthday Train]

The nature of this is farewell.

Saying goodbye to the past and heading towards the future doesn't necessarily mean a bright future. Has she ever regretted it?

She regretted it all—the lost encounter on the train, the way she grew into someone she didn't want to be, and ultimately, the loss of everything. The magical girl, having lost everything, shed her human form on her favorite train, hatching the train's witch from despair.

As the tram leaves the "tunnel" and enters the "outdoors," the wind noise generated by the tram in the narrow space disappears instantly, replaced by the strange sights outside the window.

"This is......"

The lights are visible through the car window.

The world outside the window is a riot of colors. The train tracks float in the air, forming the shape of a Möbius strip, endlessly circling the barrier.

Outside the train window, bizarre and fantastical sights always appear, such as people growing like trees, an angry headmaster in "Artistic Imagination" pieced together from various random things using white corrugated cardboard, or a CD album cover composed of several Picasso Cubist paintings... Bizarre and fantastical works of art, full of imagination, float everywhere within the barrier.

"I remember the original magical girl was an art student, and art students have all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas in their heads!" Aine exclaimed in surprise.

“This is an assimilated clone. What we are seeing now should be something made up of the original magical girl’s memories.” Lixi squinted as she looked out the window.

"Oh, it feels so pathetic. Even dreams aren't their own," Aine said.

“There’s nothing to pity. You should pity the passengers on the train.” Su Shi squinted and glanced at the passengers in the carriage. “It has a huge appetite. There are a whole carriage of people here.”

Following Su Shi's words, the lamp shifted its gaze back to the interior of the carriage.

Apart from herself and a few other magical girls, all the remaining passengers seemed to be frozen in time, remaining motionless in the same positions they had been in before leaving the tunnel. From their bodies, witch's kisses, faintly resembling a train pattern, began to sprout one after another, like mushrooms.

at this time.

hiss.

Deng felt a sharp pain in his neck.

"Dengdeng, you have one on your neck too."

"I know," Deng said softly, clutching his neck. "You don't need to worry about me. I'll find somewhere to hide."

"Of course I'll protect you, what are you thinking?" Li Xi shouldered the Feng Yan Sword and stood protectively in front of her. "Don't worry, we won't let anyone on the train get hurt, including you."

"That's what they say." Su Shi glanced at some small black dots approaching outside the window and said calmly, "But this witch is acting a bit strange. We might be in trouble."

"A normal-level witch couldn't possibly have such a big appetite, is that what you mean?"

"This is a whole train full of people; only a Hard-level witch could have the appetite to fit them all."

“But it was only recently born,” Li Xi said. “Information shows that it has never hunted before. This should be its first time hunting… It’s making such a big move right away. First, it may not be able to eat that many people. Second, it’s making too much noise. It’s like telling everyone that it’s here and they should come and kill it. Even wild animals can understand such a simple principle. On the contrary, this should be their survival instinct.”

She clicked her tongue softly.

"I should have invited Lena."

After listening to Li Xi's analysis, Su Shi lowered her head and began to think.

“Someone in the community of the gathering published a study on witch behavior, which happened to mention the possible reasons behind when witches do things that are not in line with their usual behavior.”

"Long and difficult sentences," Ai Yin said. "They're so awkward to pronounce."

thump—

Li Xi chopped Ai Yin with a knife to the hand.

"Ouch!" Ai Yin covered her head.

Su Shi glanced at her, then continued:

"Once upon a time, there was a magical girl who, in order to find out what witches would do when faced with survival pressure, kept putting pressure on a witch, found her, defeated her, and then deliberately let her escape."

"In order to survive, this constantly fleeing witch took an extremely abnormal action and carried out a large-scale predation in an attempt to become stronger and cope with the survival crisis."

“They’re exactly the same,” Li Xi said.

"Wow... what happened in the end?" Aine said.

"It is said that the operation was overturned, leaving only the relevant records. The witch eventually advanced from Normal to Hard level, causing a serious accident that killed dozens of people. However, the witch herself also became particularly twisted due to 'indigestion.' After briefly causing the accident, she swelled into the shape of a writhing lump of flesh that could not move, and was easily defeated."

"How terrifying..." the lamp murmured.

"Would she do anything to get through this?" A bead of sweat trickled down Ai Yin's forehead. "Su Shishi said that this witch is also afraid of something, which is why she plans to kill so many people at once..."

"probably."

"But we should be the first team to take on this mission, so who else could pose such a great threat to it?"

“I don’t know,” Su Shi said helplessly. “Instead of staying put and thinking about this, we should think about how to take it down, or in the worst case scenario, how to escape.”

“No need to run.” Li Xi walked to the car door, smashed the glass cover of the emergency switch with a punch, and forced the car door open.

The wind outside rushed in all at once, making a high-pitched sound like a whistle.

“This is an assimilated clone that has already been attacked before, so it has plenty of information about it,” she said. “Its true form is the train we are standing on, and the carriages are actually its ‘stomach’.”

"The main body is at the front of the train, I remember. The main body witch is an art student," Aine said, raising her hands in a flurry. "And its familiars are named 'Monday Train' to 'Saturday Train,' each a different kind of handcrafted art, like—"

She pointed at the strange thing made of corrugated cardboard that was drifting closer and closer outside the window, and her eyes widened suddenly.