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......

On the path in front of Mitakihara Middle School, Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki were playfully bickering, while Hitomi Shizuki watched them gently from the side.

"Isn't it wonderful?"

Li Xiao spoke to Akemi Homura, who was also watching them but remained silent.

They were standing on the roof of the teaching building, looking down at the scene below.

"This is just a false sense of beauty."

Homura Akemi's pupils reflected the pink figure, and her gaze softened slightly.

"Fake? But the smiles on their faces aren't fake. Xiaoyan, you actually want to join in too, don't you?"

“I don’t have such a silly idea. I won’t play house with them anymore until I’ve saved everyone.”

Homura Akemi had tried to trust her companions in the past, but after experiencing despair in each cycle of reincarnation and shedding too much blood and tears, she finally decided to stop relying on anyone and face everything alone.

I will definitely save you, Madoka! Even if...

Homura Akemi thought this with unwavering conviction in her heart.

"Little Flame, how many reincarnations have you completed?"

"Still 43 times."

Not long had passed since her last chat with Li Xiao, so she did not begin the next cycle of reincarnation.

"Alright, let's find an opportunity to get closer to Xiaoyuan first. You're more familiar with her, so you can make the arrangements."

Homura Akemi thought for a moment before speaking.

"Based on past experience, Madoka should encounter a witch today. I originally planned to lure Madoka away, but this might be an opportunity."

After school in the afternoon, Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki said goodbye to Hitomi Shizuki, who was going to tutoring, and walked home together.

"Xiaoyuan, let's go to the record store together. There's a new record that I really want to buy."

"Yeah, okay."

Although Madoka Kaname has little interest in music, she never refuses requests from her friends.

The two walked all the way to the record store, with Li Xiao and the other person following silently behind them.

To be honest, the architecture in Mitakihara gives off a strange feeling. Despite its high level of technology, the overall art style has an extremely oppressive and distorted feel. I wonder if this is because of Kyubey's guidance of human civilization.

After arriving at her destination, Sayaka Miki began selecting records, wanting to send a copy to her beloved Kyosuke Kamijou.

She does this every time a new album comes out.

She just hoped that with his favorite music by his side, Kyosuke Kamijou wouldn't become so depressed because of his injury.

While she was enthusiastically making her selections, Madoka Kaname started wandering around the store.

"This is... a doll?"

Madoka Kaname suddenly saw a peculiar doll in the store.

This is a wooden doll with a small ball connecting its joints. A smiley face is painted on its face, but much of the paint has peeled off, making it look very old. It seems out of place in this trendy record store.

She touched the doll out of curiosity.

"Hehehe..."

A chilling laugh suddenly broke the silence.

The world before Madoka Kaname's eyes changed instantly.

The brightly lit ceiling has been replaced with a gray sky, above which float countless gears dripping blood, and a scarlet moon hangs in the sky.

All the people and objects around her disappeared, the ground changed from uniform white tiles to distorted and chaotic colors, and one after another, grinning dolls appeared out of thin air around her.

"Hee hee hee... He ha ha..."

"Ahhhh——!"

These puppets kept emitting maniacal and incomprehensible laughter, and painful and ferocious screams.

One group was frantically killing each other with tools such as axes, sickles, and hammers, while another group held hands, surrounded Madoka Kaname, and danced a strange dance on tiptoe while circling around her.

Click...click...

Accompanied by the sound of gears turning in the sky, countless puppet arms stretched out from the ground, grasping at something in the sky.

"Wow!"

Kaname Madoka was trembling with fear at the horrific scene before her.

"Get away! What are these things?!"

In fear, she kicked away the puppet arm that was reaching towards her feet, but another hand appeared behind her and grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall to the ground.

As Xiaoyuan watched the dolls surrounding her, their eyes gradually glowing red, she closed her eyes in fear.

Someone... please save me!

"Don't be afraid, because I'm here!"

A gentle voice suddenly came, and immediately Madoka Kaname felt all the terrifying sounds around her disappear.

She cautiously opened her eyes and found a boy standing in front of her, looking at her with gentle eyes.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

Li Xiao reached out his hand to Madoka Kaname. The scene of him reaching out his hand to her while his back was to countless monsters made Madoka Kaname's heart tremble violently.

Despite the critical situation, she still felt a sense of relief when someone actually answered her inner call.

"I...I'm fine!"

Kaname Madoka nervously and shyly placed her hand in Li Xiao's palm, using his strength to stand up.

"What do we do now?"

With someone by her side, Madoka Kaname regained her courage and asked Li Xiao a question.

"You don't need to do anything from now on, just watch my performance."

Li Xiao crossed her arms and struck the same pose as Zhong Li.

"The heavens are moving!"

As Li Xiao spoke, the originally gray sky was suddenly tinged with gold, and a huge golden rock pillar appeared in the sky before falling straight down.

Gears, dolls, and other objects along the way were all torn to shreds. Countless dolls rushed forward to try to stop it, but they were like mantises trying to stop a chariot, unable to even slow down the falling rock pillars.

After the rock pillar fell to the ground, a dazzling golden light burst forth, causing the world in Madoka Kaname's eyes to lose its color, turning into abstract black and white stripes.

She had to close her eyes and cover them with her hands.

Unable to see anything clearly, she could only hear a huge explosion that made her eardrums ring.

As she sensed the bright light gradually fading, she cautiously opened her eyes.

After a series of overlapping illusions, she saw clearly the scene before her, which resembled a natural disaster.

"Wow, that's amazing..."

Except for the ground near her and Li Xiao, which remained intact, the rest of the area was completely wrecked, as if it had experienced a magnitude 10 earthquake.

As for the dolls that had just surrounded her? Those things, along with the gears in the sky, had long since vanished without a trace.

Li Xiao looked at her and reminded her, "It's time to go."

"Yes!"

As if being called on by a teacher, Kaname Madoka stood up straight and answered loudly.

Seeing her adorable appearance, Li Xiao simply smiled, then walked over, put his arms around her knees and neck, and picked her up in a princess carry.

"Eh? What is this?"

Kaname Madoka was completely baffled by Li Xiao's actions.

"Of course I'll take you out."

Li Xiao gently held her in his arms, feeling her soft and warm body, and a faint fragrance lingering around her.

As Kaname Madoka listened to his breathing, her fear and unease gradually dissipated in his embrace.

She rested her head on his shoulder, inhaling his reassuring scent, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Leaving the gradually collapsing witch's barrier, Li Xiaofei arrived at the rooftop of a building and gently placed her on the ground.

After regaining her footing, Kaname Madoka bowed to Li Xiao and thanked him, saying, "Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome. How could I possibly stand by and watch such a lovely girl like you get hurt?"

When Li Xiao praised her for being cute, Kaname Madoka felt both happy and shy. She put her hands behind her back and twisted her body in place.

"Aren't you going back to find your friend? She seems to be looking for you."

"Oh no! Sayaka!"

It was only then that Madoka Kaname remembered that Sayaka Miki was still at the record store, and that she must be very worried about him having disappeared for so long.

"I'm sorry! I have to go find Sayaka right away!"

"It's okay, just go ahead."

Kaname Madoka hurriedly ran a few steps away, but then suddenly seemed to remember something, turned around, and looked at Li Xiao with a little embarrassment.

"Um... could you tell me your name?"

Kaname Madoka seemed a little shy, her toe, clad in white stockings and small leather shoes, lightly touching the ground as she stole a glance at him before quickly looking away. She stood there, seemingly waiting for his answer.

"My name is Li Xiao."

"Li Xiao... I'll remember! My name is Kaname Madoka!"

"I'll remember you too, Xiaoyuan."