You call this a love game?

"I know, Sayaka, you like Kamijou-kun too, right?"

“I didn’t—” Sayaka instinctively tried to retort, but was immediately interrupted by Hitomi.

“No need to explain, I saw it all.” Hitomi Shizuki shook her head, her eyes immediately reddening. “Sayaka has been walking home from school with Kamijou-kun these past few days, right? And I saw you two when we were shopping the other day…”

Hitomi Shizuki didn't finish her sentence; the scene was too cruel for her.

“Although I also like Kamijou-kun, seeing how inseparable you two are…” Hitomi Shizuki’s voice choked up noticeably, “so I’ve decided to quit.”

"Wait! Hitomi, you've misunderstood!" Sayaka waved her hands frantically, seeing her friend's sad expression, and hurriedly tried to explain, "We just..."

"No, there's no need to say anymore." Hitomi Shizuki forced a smile, tears uncontrollably streaming down her face. "You two must be happy. Sayaka, you also need to tone down your personality a little, okay? You can't let Kamijou-kun hate you."

After saying that, Shizuku Hitomi immediately picked up her bag, turned around, and left without any hesitation or lingering feelings.

Faced with her friend's sudden confession, Sayaka was happy to have one less competitor, but she still felt a sense of emptiness in her heart.

Even if she and Bai Yu were not already lovers, as Renmei had imagined.

"Drip-"

The phone rang suddenly. Sayaka picked it up and saw that it was Shiraha calling. She quickly answered the call.

"A witch has appeared! Come quick!"

The call ended abruptly after I finished speaking, as if something had happened to the person on the other end.

Before she could recover from the low mood after her friend's confession, a sense of unease suddenly welled up in her heart. Sayaka quickly transformed and rushed to the location sent by Shiraha.

Baiyu-kun, please be alright...

Chapter Nineteen: I'm a Chemistry Teacher, and This is a Strong Base!

They arrived at Bai Yu's side.

Bai Yu was trying to trick Kyubey into transforming again like he did at the hospital last time, but Kyubey refused. Helpless, he could only take Kyubey along, aimlessly searching for the witch's trail.

Finally, he found the witch's egg that was about to hatch near an abandoned tram station. He immediately called Sayaka, but as soon as he finished speaking, the witch's barrier enveloped him, and the call was cut off.

"Hey, Cupid, what were these witches like in their previous lives? How come they all look so terrifying?"

Holding Qiu Bi in his arms, Bai Yu walked slowly through the eerie barrier, as if only by constantly stroking the furry creature in his arms could he barely alleviate the creepy feeling in his heart.

The moment he stepped into the barrier, he felt as if he had fallen into a distorted dream. The surroundings were filled with thick darkness, as if countless eyes were watching him from the shadows. The air was filled with a suffocating sense of oppression, making it difficult to even breathe. With each breath, he could feel an invisible weight pressing down on his chest.

"The designs of witch barriers are mostly reflections of what we experienced in our past lives, so it's normal for them to look like this," Kyubey said nonchalantly, though his eyes shone with wisdom.

"In that case, this witch really harbors a lot of resentment."

Bai Yu looked around. The walls were covered with strange runes and patterns that shimmered with a faint red light in the darkness. Some blurry shadows swayed gracefully in the darkness, sometimes like a distorted face, sometimes like a distorted human figure, as if the souls devoured by the witch were struggling in pain.

If he were to become that disgusting creature inside the barrier, he would rather die outside sooner.

"Well... there's no need to worry too much. Sayaka is on her way, and I believe she'll be able to take care of this witch soon."

"What if this witch wakes up before Sayaka arrives?"

He could indeed die easily, since all he had to do was start the next simulation. But before he died completely, he could feel all the feedback his body was receiving, and the pain made him want to do math problems.

1000 - 7 equals...?

"If it really comes to that, you can sign a contract with me right away. With your talent, you should be able to defeat this witch easily."

Qiu Biru was just trying to fool him.

However, the next second, Kewpie turned into Kewpie sauce.

Below the head of the rabbit, it exploded and turned into a sticky, bloody mess that fell to the ground, splattering all over his body and face. All that remained in Bai Yu's hand was the rabbit head he had been stroking. His pair of red eyes, now devoid of their luster, were still staring back at him.

Seeing such a thrilling scene, Bai Yu wanted to let out a sharp explosion, but after seeing a familiar shadow in the sky, he managed to calm down.

If she doesn't argue, it seems to be Homura Akemi.

This is even worse.

He found it hard to imagine what a cold-blooded executioner with extraordinary abilities who didn't value animal lives would do to him in this place where no one could restrain him, especially since the other party likely had some goodwill towards him.

I'm a chemistry teacher, and this is a strong alkali!

Bai Yu casually tossed aside the lifeless rabbit head in his hand, wiped the sticky liquid from his face, forced a smile, and began his performance.

"Xiaomei, what are you doing here?"

However, Homura Akemi acted as if she hadn't heard him and walked straight toward him with her gun in her hand.

Despite being a petite girl, he could inexplicably feel an invisible pressure hanging over his heart.

"Xiaomei, have you taken a fancy to this witch? Then you can have it. I'll just tell Sayaka not to come over later."

Bai Yu smiled awkwardly, trying his best to appear gentle and modest, but his steps kept retreating.

Just kidding, even if the other person was a normal girl, he wouldn't dare to go up and fight her with a gun.

From seven steps away, the gun is fast; from seven steps away, the gun is both accurate and fast.

"I know!"

Seeing the girl still approaching, Bai Yu decided to just explode at her.

"Xiaomei sneaked into my room last night, didn't she?"

Upon hearing this, Homura Akemi finally stopped in her tracks, her purple eyes fixed on him, seemingly curious about what else he would say next.

However, Bai Yu was completely out of options. Even after being exposed, the man still acted as if he had no shame whatsoever. Bai Yu knew that this man's shamelessness was beyond the control of modern social morality.

Moreover, she's a magical girl, so moral high ground doesn't apply, and the law is useless. Sayaka, who is also a magical girl, is no match for her at all; she's invincible.

"Okay, Xiaomei, could you be a little gentler later? I'm afraid of getting hurt."

Bai Yu strongly suspects that Homura Akemi is a yandere, and the most likely thing she'll do next is to beat him with strong alkali, then cut him into a human pig to maintain his vital signs, so that he can stay with her forever, a plaything that belongs only to her.

In that case, he might as well be killed by the witch.

"No, I won't lay a hand on you." Homura Akemi shook her head, clearly feeling that Shiraha had misunderstood her.

You're not going to use your hands or mouth, are you?

"Okay, so what exactly do you want from me?"

Bai Yu shrugged, completely baffled by the situation.

"I'm here to protect you." Homura Akemi raised her submachine gun and fired another burst at the intact rabbit head on the ground. "Also, don't believe Kyubey."

Looking at the bloodied and mangled body of Kyubey on the ground, Bai Yu nodded in agreement.

"Well, I believe you."

"Then come with me. You are too weak. No one can protect you except me, and you can't protect everyone either. Just take care of yourself."

Seeing Homura Akemi's outstretched hand, Shiraha swallowed hard, barely suppressing his nervousness, and took her hand with his trembling right hand.

See? I told you, Homura Akemi doesn't look like a good person at all.

He knew that a storm was brewing for him. Images from the graphic novels he had read before flashed through his mind, and he seemed to have already imagined his own ending.

What happened to the youth romance game we were promised?

However, after holding hands, Homura Akemi did nothing to him. She simply tightened her grip on his hand and then led him to a corner to hide.

Just as he was wondering what Homura Akemi was going to do, he suddenly saw a similarly familiar figure running in quickly from not far away.

Great! It's Sayaka, we're saved!

P.S.: Please vote for me! ≡(▔﹏▔)≡

Chapter 20 Homura Akemi: Of course, we're going to my house!

It wasn't until Sayaka entered that he realized the witch's barrier had completely hatched.

Sayaka was relentlessly fighting off the familiars that kept appearing to block her way, and she looked incredibly fierce as she fought her way through the fray.

However, the endless stream of familiars severely slowed Sayaka's progress. The snake-head-like shadows kept regenerating and rushing towards Sayaka, seemingly endless and impossible to kill.

Sayaka brandished her longsword, but her movements grew increasingly sluggish.

"Damn it! How can this be so troublesome..." Sayaka took a step back, moving slightly away from the shadow's attack range, panting heavily.

She felt constantly exhausted. The emptiness of the Soul Gem prevented her from using magic in large quantities, and even if she was accidentally injured, she could only let it bleed.

There were too many minions for her to kill in an instant. Even though the witch's true form was right in front of her, she couldn't break through her defenses.

"You bastard, give Bai Yujun back to me!"

After a short rest, Sayaka roared and continued her attack on the witch.

Even if her body is pierced through, even if she is too weak to lift her sword, she will kill this hateful witch with her hands and teeth.

"Did you see that?" Homura Akemi sat beside Shiraha, her eyes coldly fixed on Sayaka's figure fighting in the distance. "Do you want to save her?"

"Yes." Bai Yu nodded obediently.

"Do you want to save her yourself, or do you want me to save her?"

"Uh……"

Bai Yu weighed the current situation and felt that he didn't seem to have that ability, so he tentatively said, "You... right?"

Homura gently patted his head, looking at him with a complicated expression. "If you want me to save you, you have to listen to me. Can you do that?"

After a moment's thought, Bai Yu felt that the condition wasn't too difficult to accept, and nodded readily.

"As long as I don't have to do anything to hurt others, then I'm fine with it."

Upon hearing this, Homura Akemi smiled, a rare occurrence for her, and gently took his hand. "Let's go together and save your dear childhood friend~"

Although Bai Yu felt there was a strange sour undertone to Homura Akemi's words, he had no reason to complain since she was willing to help.

"But is it really okay for me to be such a burden?"

Holding Homura Akemi's hand, Shiraha stood on a shadowy tree branch in the air, looking down at Sayaka with a slightly worried expression.

"I will protect you."

Homura Akemi said no more, took his hand and jumped down.

Just when he thought he was going to fall to his death, a soft body suddenly appeared in his arms. The panic of falling gradually weakened, and the surroundings were quiet. Even the roar of the familiar disappeared.

When he opened his eyes and looked around, it was as if the whole world had stood still.

The ferocious familiar froze in mid-air, and Sayaka, who had been relentlessly slashing with her longsword, also fell silent.

Upon seeing this scene, he instantly thought of an ability—time stop.

That's practically a bug-level ability; no wonder Sayaka was defeated before she even had time to react.

If he had the ability to stop time, wouldn't it be easy for him to peep into the women's bathhouse?

Just as he was stunned, Homura Akemi pulled out dozens of bombs from the shield in her left hand and threw them around the witch. Immediately afterward, the hourglass in the shield stopped flowing, the air resumed its flow, and the breeze brought by the shadow tentacles cutting through the air gently brushed his cheek.

"Boom——!"

A series of violent explosions rang out simultaneously, and the once menacing tentacles instantly lost their vitality, turning into dust and dissipating into the air as the witch's true form perished.

Sayaka, who was still swinging her longsword, also missed her target and fell forward uncontrollably.

"Sayaka!"

Upon seeing Sayaka collapse, Shiraha immediately ran towards the girl.

He gently lifted Sayaka and held her in his arms, looking at the girl's wounds all over her body, blood flowing down from the wounds and soaking his clothes.

"Bai Yu-jun? You're alright, that's so good..."

Upon seeing Bai Yu, Sayaka, who had thought something had happened to him, breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed weakly into his arms, panting heavily.

“But what was that just now…” Sayaka looked in the direction where the witch had disappeared, her face full of doubt.

"It's Akemi! We're so grateful to her for saving us." Bai Yu pointed to Akemi Homura behind him, and the girl's cold expression returned.

"It's you!" Sayaka's pupils contracted, and she glared at her hatefully. "Hmph! I don't need your help, mind your own business!"

"Don't be stubborn at a time like this." Bai Yu gently tugged at the girl's soft cheek. "You were seriously injured just now. You would have died without Xiaomei."

"Huh? Shiraha-kun, you actually spoke up for her!" Sayaka stared wide-eyed in disbelief.