Something's wrong with how I'm watching anime.

"Who?"

Huo Chen shouted subconsciously.

"I'm here..."

Huo Chen turned around and looked into a deep alley.

She slowly took a step and walked towards it.

Deep in the slightly dark alley, she saw a pair of bright red eyes.

A white, unidentified creature was crouching on the ground, watching her.

'you...'

Huo Chen was stunned when he saw the unknown creature.

Unlike Chen Nan, who rarely used electronic devices due to her orphanage experience and was completely unfamiliar with the internet, she was taken in by a kind-hearted shop owner. The owner's only son, who was ten years older than her and a fan of anime, had recommended some anime series to her.

One of them is "Puella Magi Madoka Magica".

And isn't the alien sitting on the ground right now one of the core characters in the animation, named Cupid?

Unbelievable...

After confirming that what he saw was real and not something he had imagined, Huo Chen's first feeling was disbelief.

Things from fictional works have come into reality... How is that even possible!

But immediately, this phenomenon made Huo Chen connect it with other things.

Chen Nan's strange behavior...

Previously, he had been so eager to ask me about the "Madoka Magica" series.

And, inexplicably, I apologize to myself.

Everything connected in this way, leading her to such a surprising answer.

"You...you signed a contract with Chen Nan?"

"You're very perceptive..."

Cupid nodded.

"Yes."

"But let's get back to the original topic... I know where Chen Nan is."

Looking at Cupid in front of him, Huo Chen felt a sense of foreboding.

“Perhaps you’ve already thought of it…” Kyubey began:

"That child, out of despair, has now transformed into a witch."

"Now that you know the truth, you should know what a witch is, right?"

"You lied to her?!"

"No..."

Cupid shook his head.

“I didn’t deceive her. If I had to say, it was her own desires that deceived her. She was blinded by the beautiful prospects of those desires, and when she finally came to her senses, she became what she is today.”

"There's nothing we can do about it."

"Are you angry? Are you furious?"

"Ah, it's normal for humans with emotions to react this way when faced with such a situation."

"But if I told you that it was Chen Nan who beat up the kind boss who took you in, and that you lost your place to live because of it, would you feel any better knowing that Chen Nan is in this situation now?"

"Are you kidding me?" Huo Chen shouted.

“I’m not joking.”

"Khubi continued."

"Alright, let's get straight to the point..."

Those bright red eyes stared straight at Huo Chen, and Qiu Bi smiled.

"I would like to invite you to sign a contract with me..."

"In exchange, I can grant you one wish..."

"Become a magical girl?"

Huo Chen's first reaction was to refuse.

If she had some longing for magical girls before because of certain anime, that longing was shattered after watching Madoka Magica.

Moreover, this demon has actually appeared in reality.

"Don't be so quick to refuse..."

"Khubi said."

"You need to think this through carefully. This is your only chance to 'protect' right now."

"Witches destroy the world and harm humans; without magic, it is impossible to stop them."

Ordinary humans cannot observe witches; in the eyes of ordinary people, witches manifest themselves in the form of some specific disaster.

"What's it to me!"

Huo Chen said subconsciously.

"Are you sure it's okay to leave me alone?"

"The place where Chen Nan transformed into a witch isn't far from the orphanage..."

"You might be able to escape far away, but what about the people in the orphanage?"

"Moreover, given Chen Nan's obsession with becoming a witch, she might actively gravitate towards that direction."

"Didn't you crave a place to stay? Now, you've lost your place again, and you'll be back to a life of wandering..."

"I..."

"Furthermore, can you bear to see your kind boss, who once helped you, suffer the consequences?"

"That boss was affected by Chen Nan's power before, which is equivalent to being marked. These marked people will inevitably be sought out by the witch's familiars."

"Think about it, when you were going through your most difficult and painful time, it was that boss who reached out to you. Can you really just stand by and watch that person be killed by a witch?"

"Furthermore, isn't it possible that you're partly to blame for how that boss turned out this way?"

"It's precisely because I helped you that I ended up like this..."

"I..."

Huo Chen was stunned and stood there motionless.

Looking at the girl in front of him, Kyubey waited quietly for her to make a decision.

To be honest, even if the girls knew the whole truth, it wouldn't panic at all.

The miracle that can grant wishes—even if it comes at a price—will draw countless people.

More often than not, there is no choice.

The girl is about to die, but signing a contract will allow her to live, or at least live a little longer than if she dies immediately, and she can also have one wish granted... Even if she knows the truth, she will still choose to become a magical girl.

Or rather, the girl herself was already trapped in despair. Becoming a magical girl was merely a transition from one kind of despair to another; what difference did it make?

Therefore, as long as human 'emotions' still exist, it is not a problem to get girls to sign contracts.

Emotions will always lead living beings to make decisions that they know are wrong.

"Time is running out..."

"Khubi spoke up."

While seemingly urging Huo Chen to make a decision as soon as possible, Qiu Bi was actually speaking to himself.

The danger comes not only from the strange phenomena occurring in the city, but also from the human who possesses magic.

Judging from the disappearance of the abnormal phenomena at that underground casino and the contact between the other party and Chen Nan the day before yesterday, that person must be trying to deal with the 'abnormal' phenomenon.

Therefore, it is only natural that the other party and oneself are in a state of mutual enmity.

Because of her special abilities, Chen Nan's personal information has not been leaked, making her difficult to find in a short period of time.

However, this may not be the case after she becomes a witch; such anomalies will be quickly detected.

Fortunately, the witch still needs time to fully form. It must collect all the energy during this time and, incidentally, form a contract with the girl in front of it.

'Unfortunately, we can't find that person's identity information...'

Aside from the other person's appearance, name, and Clow Card information, there was nothing else.

'However, it's not a big problem... Just wait and see, they'll eventually slip up.'

With this in mind, Qiu Bi asked Huo Chen again:

"So? Only magic can defeat the witch now..."

"You can obtain that kind of power..."

"I..." Huo Chen raised his head with three parts struggle, three parts determination, and four parts confusion.

But at that moment, a hand grabbed Cupid's neck.

A figure slowly emerged from the air.

After removing the card, Kazama captured the incubator.

"Only magic can defeat the witch, so leave it to me."

"Don't make decisions you know you'll regret... at least, don't do them before you grow up."

Kazama spoke to the girl in front of him, and then applied the power of the illusion card to her. Huo Chen stood there in a daze.

Kazama then looked at Kyubey in his hand.

"Nice to meet you... Incubator."