Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Her hands, which were holding the gun, were always tucked into her chest, so she could easily turn the gun around.

Two shots rang out, taking down the familiar, and then they stopped running forward.

Xiangzi's face was pale, his breathing was rapid, and his lips were as red as blood.

After she stopped being a magical girl, physical strength became Xiangzi's weakness. Running would only deplete her energy, and when the ants caught up, she might not even be able to aim.

A dead end is a dead end, after all.

But with your back against the wall, you don't need to worry about what's behind you.

"Huh...huh..."

Xiangzi stopped, turned around, leaned against the dead end, stared at the corner, and switched his CAR-style gun-holding posture, which was convenient for movement, to the triangle stance, which was slightly less convenient but more stable.

The rustling sound was getting closer and closer.

The ant familiar crawled out of the ceiling, revealing its enormous compound eyes.

Xiangzi pulled the trigger.

boom!

Disgusting contents were splashing everywhere.

The bullet pierced the familiar's compound eyes, entered its skull, and remained inside, wreaking havoc on the familiar's interior.

Then came the second, and then the third figure appeared around the corner.

Remain calm, maintain your shooting posture, and fire two steady shots, accurately hitting the familiar's compound eyes.

The contents of the compound eyes spilled all over the ground.

Xiangzi then realized that it was not the compound eye of an insect at all, but an eye made up of individual human eyes that looked like a compound eye.

"(Holy crap, this familiar looks so awful.)"

"(Xiao Xiang, we've spotted the pursuers' tail! Hang in there a little longer!)"

Miaomeng's voice came over again, as if it were still out of place. It seemed that they had found the "mark" left by Xiangzi.

Xiangzi ignored the little drama playing out in his mind, continued aiming, pulled the trigger, and mechanically killed the familiar that emerged from the corner.

boom!

Perform consistently.

The familiar was blown off its head in mid-air and slid down to Xiangzi's feet due to inertia.

Although her physical abilities as a magical girl have disappeared, the skills she learned specifically to adapt to firearms are still there. Even without her previous dynamic vision and muscle control, she can still aim as long as she focuses.

Within ten meters, she's still pretty good.

But the two familiars were already so close that the one behind charged forward, stepping over the corpses of its companion.

Xiangzi scrambled away from the ants, his golden eyes meeting for a moment with the dozens of miniature human eyes on his compound eyes.

He pulled the gun back to his chest, aimed it at his compound eye, and pulled the trigger twice in quick succession.

Boom!

Xiangzi lay half-reclined on the ground, aiming his sights at the man who came out from around the corner.

Two familiars were clinging to the man, controlling his actions. He was holding a knife and charging towards him.

With a hint of venting rage, Xiangzi pulled the trigger.

boom!

One familiar fell, and another, the one that had been killed, leaped from the man's shoulder and flew toward Xiangzi.

Click.

The pistol clicked shut when it was empty; all eight bullets were gone.

The pupils froze.

The familiar's body flew towards Xiangzi in mid-air.

Zzzzz—

As the blade flashed, the demons split in mid-air along the center line, landing on either side of Xiangzi.

It's Hailing.

She wore a pure white leather coat over her shoulders, with a dark green to almost black lining adorned with silver studs and a snap-buttoned overcoat. Only her right arm was visible through the sleeve. Underneath the coat, she wore only a simple bodice, revealing her defined waistline and abs. Her lower body was covered by a white long waistband and black leggings that matched the coat, and she wore traditional wooden clogs.

Like a traditional samurai, she carried two swords at her waist, one long and one short. Because the indoor environment was relatively cramped, Hailing drew out the shorter wakizashi.

Retracting the wakizashi, Hailing stepped over the unconscious homeless man lying on the ground.

Chu Hua followed Hai Ling into Xiang Zi's line of sight.

She ran a little slower than Hailing.

"Damn it! Aren't they all dead?!"

The sound of a cat came from behind the corner.

"What's the point of chasing them now?!"

"The barrier isn't there yet..." Xiangzi gasped for breath as he got up from the ground.

When Xiangzi got up, everything went black before his eyes, and his legs went weak.

With a thud, she fell into Chu Hua's arms.

"You're a little short of breath, don't talk so much."

"The barrier hasn't disappeared yet, which means there are still remnants of familiars..." Xiangzi said intermittently, his vision still shrouded in darkness.

Just then, the barrier vanished in a flash.

They returned to the real world.

"Meow Dream...can I leave it with you?"

"Wow—I'm really impressed by you."

Miaomeng lowered her head and shook it.

"I'll chase him."

=======

P.S.: The characters of Hailin and Lixi are based on Yuzhou Zishi's (you can find it by searching for Yuzhou Zishi on Bilibili) Guilty Gear x MyGO sketches. They are very well designed and inspired me.

The Tale of Nirvana: Keeping to Your True Self: Chapter 85 Where Are There So Many Good People in the World?

"(I bit its tail and am following it.)"

The voice of the cat dream echoed in their minds.

"(Do you need any help?)" Hailing asked.

"(No need, you can't help anyway. Just wander around and wait for my message.)"

Miao Meng curled the corners of her mouth.

"(I'll pretend I didn't see someone's disheveled appearance just now.)"

Xiangzi had almost recovered from the hypoxia and low blood pressure she had just experienced. When she heard Miaomeng's words, she rolled her eyes.

"Since she said that..."

Xiangzi, supporting Chuhua's shoulder, stood up unsteadily.

"Then let's wander around."

......

Wandering around sounds easy, but it's unrealistic to truly relax and wander aimlessly while waiting for news.

Finally, Xiangzi randomly found a coffee shop, sat down, ordered a dessert and black tea to replenish the energy he had just used up.

She had only been running in the maze for six or seven minutes when she was already at the point of oxygen deprivation.

This ordinary human body truly has no ability to resist.

Xiangzi looked at the witch's kiss in his palm and thought quietly.

Even if we bring Mutsu along, there are only four people with combat capabilities. Who can we entrust with dealing with the last mysterious Oblivionis?

She didn't even know what Oblivionis's characteristics were, let alone who could solve the problem.

If all else fails, I'll just sign another contract with Kyubey and become a magical girl.

"Xiao Xiang, what are you thinking about?" Chu Hua turned her head and asked softly.

Xiangzi shook his head and said it was nothing.

There's really not much to say; I've already raised this issue with Chuhua once.

Of course, Chu Hua did not agree.

I sat in the coffee shop all afternoon, until the sunlight turned golden and the golden thirty minutes before sunset arrived, but Miaomeng still hadn't sent any messages.

I messaged her and she said she was following him, not to rush him, that he was circling around and probably hadn't noticed me, and that she would follow him a little longer, but to be careful not to rush him.

Similar replies.

Miaomeng said that the escaped familiar seemed to follow a specific trajectory, and would occasionally touch certain places with the tentacles on its head.

After it left, Miaomeng went up to check and found that there were very faint traces of magic left in the places it had touched.

Just like a real ant, it used magic (pheromones) to find its way home. It seems that it went through many twists and turns before finally landing in this alley near Haneoka.

Just as Xiangzi was feeling a bit numb from sitting for too long and wanted to go out for some fresh air, a few new customers arrived at the outdoor seating area of ​​the coffee shop.

They were four people I had just met not long ago.

Xiangzi squinted, sat back in his chair, and shrank back behind Chuhua.

Chu Hua curiously peeked out.

"It's them again?"

"Yes, what a coincidence." Xiangzi twitched the corner of his mouth.

Hailin's samurai outfit was a magical girl transformation, but now she has reverted to her usual casual clothes. She finished her hot chocolate milk with a straw in her mouth and looked thoughtfully at the new guests outside.

Xiangzi and his group sat indoors as dusk fell. Sunlight streamed onto the glass. The coffee shop used one-way glass, so people outside couldn't see inside, but those inside could see outside.

"It doesn't seem like it'll be that easy to mend a broken mirror," Hailing murmured.

It seems that the former teammate that Lixi mentioned before is sitting right across from me.

"Hailin, what did you just say?" Xiangzi's ears twitched, and he turned to ask.

Instead of looking out the window, she turned her head so that the back of her head faced outside.

Seeing that person brings back some... inexplicable memories.

So she didn't want to watch.

“It’s nothing serious… ah.” Hailing pointed out the window, “They seem to be arguing.”

Xiangzi was drawn in by her words and turned his head.

It was like watching a silent film through a screen. Chihaya Aine and Shiina Tatsuki were blaming each other outside the glass. After a few words, Aine seemed to lose her temper, stood up, shouted something, and then ran away.

Then, the lamp also left, probably to chase after Aine.

Su Shi and Li Xi exchanged a few words, then Su Shi picked up her bag and slowly walked away.

Lixi was left sitting outside. She stared at the direction the lamp and the others had left for a long time before finally lying down silently and burying her head in her arms.

A forlorn look was reflected in Hai Ling's eyes. She put down her glass and said abruptly.

"Do you know her?"

Xiangzi nodded.

"It would be troublesome if someone saw me when I wanted to leave."