Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Xiangzi rubbed his head in frustration.

She had been there for who knows how long, and the last embers of dusk had vanished, leaving the cocoon's wings, which were wrapped in a protective shape, stained with the night.

After making a boast, he escaped and hid in this barrier that only he could freely enter and exit.

Is this a witch's barrier, or a turtle shell I'm using to escape?

Her flailing hand touched a metal object hidden under her skirt.

Xiangzi finally remembered why he had come to create the barrier.

Holding the M1911 left to him by his father, the silver gun body and ivory grip gleamed faintly under the streetlight overhead.

Xiangzi rubbed the gun barrel, staring at it until his pupils dilated, his focus shifted away from the gun barrel, and everything in his eyes became blurry.

My mind went blank.

She couldn't even understand what she was thinking anymore.

Suddenly, Xiangzi raised his pistol and pressed it against his temple.

Click.

The finger pulled the trigger, but no gunshot rang out.

The safety wasn't off, so even though there was already a bullet in the barrel, she couldn't fire it. But Xiangzi's heart still skipped a beat, and cold sweat poured down her body.

pat.

The sound of metal hitting the ground echoed in the empty square.

The ghosts coming and going did not react to Xiangzi's actions.

She tossed the exquisitely crafted pistol, a work of art, to the ground, clutched her numb temples, and leaned against the edge of the flowerbed, panting heavily.

The dilated pupils contracted to their smallest size, then dilated again, as fear permeated the depths of the heart.

"Hahaha......"

Xiangzi raised his head, looked up at the sky, and then at the cocoon-shaped building behind the streetlights. His lips twitched awkwardly backward, whether upward or downward, it was hard to tell.

"How could I possibly do it..."

What if I really die?

Some say that when a person dies naturally, their expression is very relaxed. In the instant they leave this world, it's like lying on a beach, with waves lapping at their feet, the cool sensation traveling up the soles of their feet until the waves slowly engulf their entire body and carry them away.

Xiangzi envied those who could describe that feeling, but what about unnatural death?

The last time she mustered the courage to shoot herself, the bullet pierced her brain, churning her skull in a mess. During the three days the Soul Gem repaired her brain, she felt like a drowning person, sinking into the water, always keeping the surface of the water at a distance she could see but could never touch.

When she finally touched the water and her heartbeat and breath returned, she didn't know whether what grew inside her was relief or despair.

Something is blocking my throat; I want to make a sound but can't.

Xiangzi opened his mouth and let out a silent sob.

If the safety had just failed, or the gun had accidentally discharged, then everything would be gone.

She was so scared.

I was terrified.

Wasn't she desperately searching for a solution just to survive? At least to live to the point where she could actually lie on the beach and be gradually carried away by the waves.

But......

There is nowhere left to escape.

Xiangzi knelt on the ground in despair, looking up at the starry sky, which was so different from the real world and seemed out of place.

starry sky.

"correct......"

what.

She remembered.

"Today is Saturday...it's the day of the light show's live performance..."

His knees were red from kneeling on the ground. Xiangzi staggered to the pistol he had thrown aside, picked it up, and muttered to himself in a trembling voice.

"I promised Mutsu I'd be there... first... cough cough—!"

She choked on her own saliva, and sprawled on the ground in a disheveled state, curled up, clutching the pistol to her chest, her back trembling slightly.

"First......"

Let me escape for a little while longer.

Before death.

The Tale of Nirvana: Staying True to Yourself: Chapter 121 is Coming!

Six pm.

At the entrance of RiNG, Mu stood quietly by the billboard, waiting patiently.

A short while later, a figure with long blue hair appeared on the other side of the road.

Xiangzi looked light and airy, like a kite whose string was about to break. Even though she looked like a gust of wind could blow her away, her face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and her spine was straight.

She walked up to Mu and stopped.

"Xiang."

Mu frowned.

"You shouldn't be here, right under their noses."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Xiangzi replied in a hoarse voice.

"..."

"I know what I'm doing, don't worry about me." Xiangzi waved his hand and asked, "Where are the others?"

“I didn’t tell them.”

"That's fine," Xiangzi said. "If they knew, things would just get chaotic."

“Especially Chu Hua…” She pursed her lips slightly.

Things had come to this point, and her relationship with Chu Hua had actually deteriorated, even worse than their awkward reunion after not seeing each other for many years.

No one will stand by her side now, except for Mu.

"Xiang."

"What are you doing?"

"We should go with you to find Roselia. I'll let everyone know after the live stream."

"......"

Xiangzi responded to Mu with silence, then looked away at the billboard next to Mu, which listed the schedule of live performances for the day. A band with "Unknown" in parentheses occupied one of the slots on the schedule.

She was a minute late; the performance had already started.

“We’re late, let’s go inside,” Xiangzi said.

Let's go in and see what this so-called new team of Deng and Su Shi is really like.

Snapped.

A hand grabbed Xiangzi's wrist as he leaned forward, staring intently at him.

"Really, stop pushing yourself."

Xiangzi gritted his teeth, shook off Mu's hand, quickened his pace and walked into the inner room, leaving behind a sophistry-like remark.

"I do not have."

She retracted her earlier thought; now she was all alone, and no one was standing beside her anymore.

===========

—“…￥(%&#)—”

With an almost solidified low pressure, Xiangzi pushed open the soundproof door of the livehouse.

The completely off-key singing reached her ears.

The drums, bass, guitar, and lead vocals were completely out of sync, and the rhythm guitar had so many wrong notes that Xiangzi immediately thought he had wandered into a zoo, with the distinctive sounds of the instruments resembling the sounds of animals.

The dog barked, the cat meowed, the wolf howled, the penguin quacked, and the fox remained silent.

Simply put, everyone does their own thing.

No wonder the venue was so sparsely populated; in fact, quite a few people were leaving when we first entered.

Xiangzi felt as if these voices had transformed into a pair of hands that hadn't cut their nails for over a decade, scratching and scratching at her heart, making her restless.

貳邻II2尹陵（二）蘊邻II2尹陵（二）蘊。

Although playing music and being magical girls are neither a sufficient nor a necessary relationship, the level of synergy a team displays when standing on stage is quite obvious. The same applies to magical girls; if they lack synergy when playing music, they certainly won't have any synergy when fighting witches.

If this team standing on the stage today were to actually defeat a Hard-level witch, Xiangzi would have to wonder if the Hard rating standard had been lowered.

Xiangzi crossed his arms over his chest, closed his eyes, furrowed his brows, and tapped his fingers rhythmically to the beat.

The fingers tapping out the beats were much more accurate than the rhythm guitar, the drums and bass were subtly vying for control, and the lead vocalist was completely absorbed in his own music.

Xiangzi could imagine the chaotic scene of this group of people inside the witch's barrier.

What exactly are they doing?

—"(We live with fragile hearts...we are born easily hurt animals...)"

The singing was so soft it was almost inaudible.

So this was the team that Su Shi wanted to show off to him.

Does she think Crychic is only this good?

Even if you look down on someone, you should still have some self-awareness.

How far do you want to go in the future if you're like this?

Full of complaints.

She was already in a bad mood, and after entering the Livehouse, she began to doubt why she had come there at all.

Unable to bear it any longer, Xiangzi raised his eyes and looked at the five people on the stage, his face full of disgust and loathing.

——!

But my train of thought was interrupted.

Her gaze met a pair of eyes.

The lead singer... Deng's gaze met Xiangzi's.

Just then, the verse of the song ended, and as it prepared to transition into the chorus, a moment of silence fell over the venue.

Xiangzi seemed to hear the sound of glass shattering, and a light strong enough to illuminate the whole world tore through the roof of the livehouse, illuminating the night sky.

A brief pause, followed by a burst of singing.

"You've already tried your best!"

The chaotic instrument sounds seemed to be tamed by the lead singer's voice; the disorderly rhythm before the chorus was unified the moment the lead singer opened his mouth.

"Even though I stumbled and fell, I still got up and came here!"

Their week of wasting time, being late, running away, arguing, and feeling lost eventually came together under Gao Songdeng's influence.

Some audience members began to clap and wave slightly, while others went out of the livehouse to call back those waiting outside for the next performance.

Xiangzi immediately understood why they were able to stand on the stage as victors. His restless heart was calmed, and even the psychological shock that should have occurred upon seeing the lights was soothed by the singing.

The gap between fantasy and reality became zero at this moment.

The lamp standing on the stage has now become the lamp that Xiangzi envisions.

"I read their battle report. The Hard-class witch named 'Hanayashiki' was killed by them in one blow through coordinated efforts."