Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 178

Or perhaps it is a nebula that resembles a wall.

Xiangzi was too insignificant in front of the high wall; he wasn't even an atom.

Her mouth was slightly agape as she marveled at the spectacle before her.

“How spectacular…”

She drifted into the gaps between the nebulae, passing by every star that makes up the nebulae.

"This is......"

Before getting close, Xiangzi thought it was a wall. But as she got closer, she realized that it was a nebula made of stars. Once she was fully inside the nebula, she finally saw the foundation that made up the wall. What exactly were these "stars" that floated in the air, attracting and circling each other, shining brightly and illuminating the entire space?

Those were spheres of light, each flashing with an image.

Each sphere of light contains a different still image, rotating around a larger sphere like a carousel.

The frozen image began to rotate, creating the illusion of motion, and played out inside the large sphere of light.

"Chuhua, come play with me."

It was a very young girl with healthy wheat-colored skin and medium-length black hair. She was holding a rag doll and standing on a flower-covered hillside, looking at Xiangzi.

Xiangzi quickly realized that the girl in the picture was not looking at herself, but at the person who was looking at the picture.

"Chuhua, I'm going out now. Remember to listen to your mother."

It was a man whose face was obscured, standing against the light at the doorway, carrying a weathered backpack. He knocked on the door with his knuckles, looking at the homeowner.

"Chuhua, remember to come home early."

She was a very beautiful woman with golden hair that cascaded down like a waterfall, almost touching the ground. She sat at a desk, her eyebrows raised, staring at her with displeasure.

"Chuhua, from today onwards, we are professional artists!"

It was a cute girl with chestnut hair, dressed in pretty clothes, who excitedly held up a contract and approached her.

——“Chuhua…”

That is...

——“Chuhua…”

besides......

——“Chuhua…”

"Chu Hua, let me forget everything about Shan (] Si Ling/7II Er Shi Ba Si".

That was... a blue-haired girl, curled up in her arms, hooking her arms around her neck, speaking in a hoarse, almost voiceless voice.

That is...

I?

It was as if I heard a buzzing sound.

"Are these... fragments of Chu Hua's memories?"

Xiangzi murmured.

She remembered who she was and what she was supposed to do.

She is Toyokawa Shoko.

She came here to take Chu Hua, the owner of these memory bubbles, back completely.

Xiangzi furrowed his handsome eyebrows and continued to drift deeper into the bubble of memories.

"It seems this is deep within Chu Hua's memories," she murmured to herself, "an unformed witch's barrier."

Before becoming a witch, a magical girl goes through a transitional phase. The Seed of Grief takes shape within the Soul Gem, and then immense magical power shatters the Soul Gem from the inside out. Like a fledgling bird emerging from its cocoon, the newborn witch arrives in this world.

During this period, the witch's barrier was gradually taking shape.

Therefore, Xiangzi is currently deep within the nascent witch's barrier.

What she saw was like the scene she had seen deep within the barrier of Nirvana; it was a dream constructed by the subconscious of the barrier's master.

They continued to drift deeper into the barrier.

Xiangzi saw more fragments of memories.

The timing of memories is not fixed; sometimes it's from when I was very young, sometimes it's now, and the people who appear are also different. They can be roughly divided into two stages: before leaving my hometown and after leaving my hometown.

During the time when he was still in his hometown, besides his father, who occupied a large part of his time, the most frequent contact was with Xiangzi's childhood friend, Yaeyama Mio, whom he had just met.

These are all wonderful memories.

We played together, caused mischief together, and built sandcastles together on the beach.

It turns out that what Mio said wasn't a lie.

In addition, he also appeared for a short time, but his scenes were few.

After all, I only stayed on the island for a little over a month.

As for what happens after leaving one's hometown, the person who appears most often is... oneself, so much so that they make up the vast majority.

Finding myself in the pine forest, broken; stopping myself from making a wish when we first entered the Nirvana Barrier together; breaking down after accidentally killing someone, vomiting in the toilet, talking to myself in the mirror; falling from the sky; watching the stars together on the boat...

In the countless bubbles of memories, most of them are of myself.

Xiangzi blushed, lowered his head shyly, and pretended not to see those memory bubbles.

However, so far, most of what she has seen are good memories. These beautiful memories form bright orbs of light, like stars, which make up the outer wall.

While navigating these places, Xiangzi did not feel any resistance.

"really weird."

Xiangzi frowned.

"If that's the case, why would she...?"

What if they lose their minds?

Before Xiangzi could finish his mutterings, something new appeared in his field of vision—a pitch-black bubble, completely different from the bright bubble of memories.

One after another, jet-black bubbles piled up in a density that could trigger trypophobia, blocking Xiangzi's path.

The boundaries between the bubbles were faintly visible, covered with dark red lines, which resembled blood vessels, pulsating and transporting something deep into the wall.

"As expected, these are the things hidden behind the beautiful memories."

Xiangzi floated to the front of the black bubble, raised his hand, and touched it.

Shine——

"Eh?"

Xiangzi lowered his head, staring in astonishment at the sharp claws that had pierced him.

Bear----

The patterns on the wall seemed to be lit on a fuse, suddenly bursting into flames and igniting the entire boundless wall.

A jet-black wolf's head emerged from the wall and bit Xiangzi.

The ensuing fire ignited a raging inferno that set the world ablaze.

"what----!"

Xiangzi's body was pierced by fangs burning with flames.

The wolf's head seemed to be biting its prey, trying to tear Xiangzi apart.

at the same time.

Through his contact with Wolf Head, Xiangzi also witnessed the memories that shattered Chu Hua's spirit.

From the moment she met the sea slug until her despair.

every moment.

......

“AUGHHHHHHH——————!”

The beast roared madly, and its tailbone quickly pierced through the coccyx, covering it with new flesh and blood to form a new tail.

It transformed into a dark shadow whose shape was indistinct and pounced towards Hailing.

This time it succeeded.

Hailing was still confused about whether she was facing Chuhua or a witch, and in desperation, she had no choice but to raise her knife to block in front of her.

when--!

The katana spun and flew into the sky.

The beast pressed its advantage, its claws gripping the ground, its waist twisting violently, and its long tail whipping towards Hailing.

"Varied--?!"

The long tail appeared to Hailing rapidly.

It crashed solidly into Hailing.

Boom!

......

"Meow Dream Kiss."

Mu raised his head.

"Hey, Hai Zi's at a disadvantage!" Miao Meng shouted loudly.

"Meow Dream!" Mu raised her voice.

"Musuko?"

This was the first time Miaomeng had heard Mu call her that since she had known Mu for so long.

“The seed of lamentation,” Mu said again.

The Seed of Sorrow that Hailing threw over was then given to Miaomeng for safekeeping by Xiangzi.

"Oh? Oh, oh, oh!" Meow Dream hurriedly took out the Seed of Sorrow and handed it to Mu, "What are you going to do?"

Mu took the Seed of Sorrow, shook his head, and did not answer Meow Dream.

She lowered her head and pulled a handful of seeds of lamentation from the bag.

Then it was pasted onto Xiangzi's soul gem.

It was only then that Miaomeng noticed that Xiangzi's Soul Gem was rising continuously for some unknown reason, and several used Lament Seeds were already lying next to Mu.

"What happened?! Could it be Xiangzi too?"

Mu shook his head and said:

"I do not know."

She paused.

"But Xiang is trying to save Chuhua."

She held Xiangzi's hand tightly, constantly using the Seed of Sorrow to purify the gemstone of Xiangzi's soul.

She unconsciously bit her lip until it bled without even noticing.

"Certainly possible."

Mu spoke in a voice that was almost audible only to himself.

"As long as it's auspicious, it's definitely possible."

......

“Ah ...

Xiangzi was held by a wolf's head, suspended high above the flames.

She stared at the burning black bubbles behind the wolf's head, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Chuhua..."