Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

However, the witch's barrier is not a straightforward path designed to cater to casual players. The barrier's structure is often more complex, with very complicated puzzle-solving mechanisms.

Whether it's a complex barrier or an annoying familiar, these are all means for witches to protect themselves. Often, the more powerful a witch is, the better she knows how to protect herself, and the more complex the construction of her barriers becomes.

What the magical girls have to do is unravel the witch's mystery and break through the barrier.

The guard stood dumbfounded at the doorway when suddenly a one-handed sword, resembling an art piece, pierced his head. Chu Hua stepped on the guard, pulled out the sword, and used her small round shield in her left hand to deflect the incoming spear. The shield slammed hard into the head of the guard holding the spear.

The building's alarm went off instantly, and white familiars poured out of the doorway, like an automatic cat food dispenser pouring out cat food.

Xiangzi pulled the pin on the grenade, intending to throw it.

"Wait, no need." Chu Hua stood in front of Xiangzi.

Xiangzi silently put the pull ring back.

Since the soldiers are called soldiers, they must all be lowly soldiers. Chu Hua is a magical girl who can hunt down Hard-class witches by herself, so the lowly soldiers blocking her way are not even a warm-up for her.

"Xiangzi hasn't seen my magic yet, has he?" Chu Hua stood in front of Xiangzi, looking calm. "My magic is 'Hundred Appearances,' which can use magic to imitate the features of all living things in the world—wings, tails, fangs, horns, anything."

A thick, black tail extended from the tailbone and grew to two or three meters in length in an instant; it was the tail of some kind of reptile.

Chu Hua turned around, letting its tail circle around it, gathering enough power, before whipping it at the surging white soldiers.

boom----!

"Cough cough... If you're going to do anything big, you should tell me in advance." Xiangzi covered his mouth and nose, and shielded his eyes.

The smoke and dust kicked up by the giant tail covered the surroundings. Xiangzi took a deep breath of dust, coughed twice, and only opened his eyes after the smoke dissipated.

A fan-shaped vacuum zone appeared in front of them.

Chu Hua was pulling the one-handed sword from the remaining enemy soldiers, while the soldiers who had been swept away by the giant tail had already turned into magic and flown to the top of the building.

"Sorry, it's hard to control if a fight breaks out, Xiangzi, it's better if you stay away from me."

Chu Hua's demeanor changed; a bloodthirsty and arrogant smile curled at the corners of his mouth, making him resemble a wild beast that had broken free of its shackles.

The Tale of Nirvana: Keeping Your True Self: Chapter 39 Reload

"Cough cough..."

Xiangzi walked over to Chuhua's side, his face clouded by the smoke and dust.

"I can understand that being an artist is very stressful, but I didn't expect you to choose to vent in this way."

“There’s no better way. Most melee magical girls have a bit of a violent streak.” Chu Hua smiled helplessly. “After all, there’s a real sense of catharsis.”

"Too."

Xiangzi stepped on a White Army soldier who wasn't quite dead yet, pressed the muzzle of his gun against its head, and pulled the trigger.

Watching the soldiers struggle until they died, Xiangzi's manic and violent tendencies began to spiral out of control.

If only I had killed all those people.

She started to think that way.

Shaking his head to clear his mind of the frantic thoughts, he told Chu Hua that they should go, and the two walked side by side into the building, through the now empty lobby, and up the stairs.

The newly emerged enemy soldiers clearly made up a significant portion of the building's population, and we walked up from the first-floor lobby for a long time without encountering any more enemies.

The interior structure was actually quite similar to that of a public relations firm's building, except that the emergency staircases were blocked, and every few floors you had to walk through the entire corridor to reach another staircase.

Every time they passed through the corridor, it meant they had to fight, as if this corridor was specifically designed to give Xiangzi and her friends monsters to fight.

Although Chu Hua solved most of the problems, Xiang Zi had to finish them off when a couple slipped through the net.

After firing several shots, his shoulder became red, swollen, and painful.

When Xiangzi saw that the stairwell above had turned into a white cement wall again, he knew that they would have to change their route again.

There was no other way but to go through the corridor to the stairs on the other side.

Xiangzi leaned against the wall, catching his breath, and cursed under his breath.

Only the worst map designer could create such a terrible map.

"Do you want me to carry you?" Chu Hua asked.

"...That's...the top floor," Xiangzi said breathlessly. "There's no need."

Chu Hua turned away in disappointment and continued walking uphill.

The top floor is not divided into rooms; it is a large, independent single-level floor.

It only contains Dolores.

When Chu Hua reached the top floor, it was preparing its own weapon—a sword and shield just like Chu Hua's.

Doloris, which looks exactly like any other Stormtrooper, doesn't emanate any more powerful magic than the Stormtroopers, as if it really is just a soldier.

"Xiangzi, I have a bad feeling about this." Chu Hua sheathed his one-handed sword at his waist. "It looks too weak."

"I know."

Xiangzi aimed at Dolores and fired a shot, which was blocked by the opponent's shield.

But that bullet still made Dolores take a step back.

Ordinary bullets were enough to force it to this point.

Very strange.

"I just want to find out what's going on."

"Understood, then I'll go." Chu Hua drew her sword and stepped forward.

"Be careful," Xiangzi reminded him from behind.

"..."

Chu Hua turned her head to the side and smiled.

"Thanks for caring."

======

The battle was so simple it was almost suffocating.

Specifically, this manifests as follows:

Doloris rushed forward, and Doloris launched an attack. Doloris's attack was blocked, and Doloris did not deal any damage. It was Hatsuka's turn, and Hatsuka made a normal attack. Doloris collapsed from exhaustion.

Chu Hua ended the battle without even having a chance to use any of the Hundred Transformations magic.

"...This?" Chu Hua turned around in astonishment. "Is this reasonable?"

"This doesn't make sense," Xiangzi said.

"Is it right?"

"That's not right."

The two stood staring at each other beside Dolores's fallen body.

"How could he be so weak?" Xiangzi squatted down and carefully examined Dolores's corpse.

Dolores was covered in white ivory armor, just like the other Stormtroopers. The only difference was that Dolores' armor had many more detailed carvings, making him look like a leader.

But that's it.

Swords and shields are weapons that many melee fighters are equipped with; there's nothing particularly special about them.

Could it really just be an office-based familiar responsible for scheduling? Would such a familiar even exist? If so, then Nirvana's barrier is far too urbanized.

Even office workers have their own familiars.

correct.

What exactly is underneath these tin cans? Is it empty, like the golden armor inside the money barrier?

Xiangzi suddenly became curious.

Thinking of something and immediately putting it into action, Xiangzi grabbed Dolores' helmet and pulled it off forcefully.

"what----!"

But before she could see Dolores's true face under the helmet, she heard Chu Hua scream.

"Xiangzi! Look at its face!"

Chu Hua pointed at Dolores's face, her pupils trembling, because what was hidden under the helmet was not an empty shell of armor, nor a faceless human form; it had a face, not an ordinary passerby's face, but a girl's face, a very beautiful face.

And it's very familiar.

Doloris's face was Chu Hua's face, except her skin was whiter, as white as plaster, and her eyes were not purple, but more like Xiangzi's gold.

Chu Hua's gaze moved downwards.

"Xiangzi, do you remember what kind of armor it was wearing just now?"

"It's just ordinary melee armor..."

"But look."

Xiangzi followed Chuhua's gaze.

Upon closer inspection, Xiangzi noticed that Dolores' armor had also changed. It was no longer the plain iron armor of ordinary storm soldiers, but a more slender women's armor.

No, that's not right.

Xiangzi couldn't remember what style Dolores' armor was; it was as if it was meant to be this dashing women's armor.

How is this going?

"Chuhua... what do you think is going on..." Xiangzi looked at Chuhua with difficulty.

She saw something in Chu Hua's eyes that neither of them wanted to see, which meant that their thoughts had reached an unprecedented synchronization.

"Doloris is a trap!"

The two said in unison.

"Run!"

Just as they were preparing to escape directly from the top-floor window, a white light enveloped them, along with the entire barrier.

......

......

......

Xiangzi stood directly in front of the "cocoon," in the center of the city square, staring blankly at the building enveloped by wings.

drop.

That was the sound of eight o'clock in the morning, coming from the huge clock in the center of the square.

Xiangzi's eyes regained their clarity.

The Tale of Nirvana: Staying True to One's True Self: Chapter 40 - The Evolution of the Bottom Line

Xiangzi stood in the center of the square, staring blankly at the "cocoon".

She had experienced this feeling many times before. Every time she left the barrier and came back, she had the same feeling. After a moment of confusion, she heard the clock ticking. When her vision became clear, the surrounding environment had become the city center square.

But she remembered that she hadn't left the barrier just now, so why did time reset?

She looked around. The ghosts with X-shaped markings on their heads were wandering around as usual, their feet making no sound as they stepped on the ground. The square, which looked crowded, was actually filled with an eerie silence.

Chu Hua stood beside Xiangzi, still in a daze.

Xiangzi grabbed Chuhua's shoulders and shook her violently.

"Hey, Chuhua! Wake up!"

"Ah...ah? Ah!"

Chu Hua's consciousness returned to her body from her wandering state.

"what happens?"

Her reaction was exactly the same as Xiangzi's when she first woke up: she looked around in surprise, and finally her gaze settled on the "cocoon" directly in front of her.