Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 394

"You think you can just take what you want from me?"

Xiangzi's voice was translated into normal speech by the translator under the mask and transmitted to Mami's ears.

Xiangzi put away her gun, and her figure retreated from mid-air back to the train she was originally on. Mami noticed her clenched teeth and seemed to understand something.

She raised her gun and aimed it at Flame beside her.

One.

She held up a finger.

two.

three.

Four.

five......

A sharp pain shot through her chest, tearing Mami's expression beneath her mask into a grotesque grimace.

This body is about to give way, and its flowers have also been damaged, with no sign of recovery whatsoever...

Am I about to die?

Mami suddenly realized this, and her pupils contracted sharply.

"Hurry up! I'm too lazy to play negotiation games with you anymore!" she shouted at Xiangzi.

"Wait a moment, then you will know me."

Xiangzi's voice was once again translated to her through the mask.

"Give me the stuff!" Mami shouted somewhat urgently.

However, Xiangzi on this side continues to regress, drifting further and further away from Mami.

"..."

As Mami watched the train carrying Xiangzi get further and further away from her, she breathed a sigh of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

No, I was too hasty just now.

At this point, everything is done, there's no need to rush...

Thinking this, Mami shifted her gaze to her side and looked at Homura.

Yan looked up at her.

The gazes of those on this shore and those on the other shore collided, and Mami could see the shock in Homura's eyes as she looked at herself.

Just then, the sound of a train traveling in the opposite direction came from the other side. A locomotive was coming from another track—the same train that Xiangzi was currently riding in, which was also going against the flow. To be precise, it was their side that was going against the flow.

The train traveling in the opposite direction was going faster than Mami and Shoko's train. As it passed, Homura was suddenly thrown into the air and landed on the other train.

Mami saw several magical girls sitting in a car carrying Homura from the roof into the carriage, and then driving towards the warehouse.

ended.

Asami placed her hand on the hole in her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

Those magical girls who "transported" Flame back were mostly killed in the battle just now.

When she was on the other side, she often saw people who had died come back to life. This happened frequently, and Mami was used to it.

She raised her hand, the ribbon threaded through the driver's cab below, and used the control lever to begin slowing down.

After that, all you need to do is return to the port, tell your past self all the information you've gathered, and that's it—

Well--!

The excruciating pain in her chest became unbearable once again, and Mami knelt down on the ground, clutching her chest in agony, causing the ribbon controlling the lever to loosen.

The locomotive, which was originally slowing down, accelerated instead and crashed straight into a switch that was veering off to the side!

Boom——!

The train derailed, flipped in the air, crashed to the ground, and continued rolling forward. Then it exploded with a bang, scattering a pile of parts of all sizes on the ground. Mami was like one of the small parts, thrown out along with it, rolling several times on the ground before curling up like a shrimp.

The pain that erupted from the depths of her soul tormented her; it was the exact same pain that Xiangzi had felt, as if something was trying to break free from the depths of their soul gems.

However, Mami did not yet know what this excruciating pain meant; she attributed it to the pain caused by the hole in her chest.

She struggled to her feet, clutching her chest wound, and stumbled back around.

As Mami swallowed hard, watching the train wreckage rise into the sky, casting a small mushroom cloud of black smoke.

Why did it turn out like this...?

she thinks.

No.

She (意柒_（一%)伞倭9谰 quickly rejected her own idea.

That's how it should be.

What's done is done, and your goal has been achieved. Being injured might affect your judgment, so... is that why you chose not to tell?

Then... I won't tell.

Mami limped towards Free Port, twisting her ankle and falling to the ground, panting heavily. She struggled to her feet and, amidst the flames of the train explosion, continued towards the port...

......

......

......

After some time, Mami returned to the Freeport warehouse before the train carrying Homura came back.

She waited for her men to lead Yan out of the car, then grabbed Yan's arm, dragged her, and brought her to two other men who came out of the warehouse.

"The things... are in the car. You can get them when the car comes back."

Asami's voice was transmitted to her subordinates on this side through the translation function of her mask. She pointed to the place where the train first stopped on the other side and told them where the flower would appear in a while.

Then.......

"Take her to the car on this side and drive in that direction. Hand her over to me later."

She handed Yan over again, watching as her men on this side backed up and carried Yan into the warehouse.

This is the time for the person on this side to hide in the interlayer and tell their subordinates, "Remember to report the situation to me in real time."

From the very beginning:

He delivers Flame to his other self—enters the mezzanine to await information from his other self—comes out to interrogate Flame, and is then forced into the passage by Xiangzi to enter the other side—

From this moment on, the arrow of time reversed, and this shore turned to the other shore.

Next.

—She boards the train to the other side and is ambushed by Xiangzi, who is also on the other side. —Xiangzi on the other side leaves because of Xiangzi on this side, and her opponent becomes Xiangzi on this side. —Xiangzi on this side leaves (actually, he hasn't arrived yet). —Yan leaves (actually, he hasn't arrived yet). —The train derails. —In the end, she stumbles back to the warehouse and "sends" Yan back into the warehouse. Correspondingly, she sends someone to send Yan out on this side.

Until now.

Only when one's own time-pincer action is complete can the task be considered fully accomplished.

Mami found a quiet corner where no one would notice her and waited quietly for the Maybach carrying her and Homura to leave. Only when everything returned to calm did she, with her tattered body, walk into the passage to the other side and return to this side.

ended.

What's done is done. Now she just needs to wait for everything to happen, and then get the flowers... and all the scattered flowers of the witch on this shore will be gathered.

The Tale of Reincarnation: The Shore of Oblivion: Chapter 513 Trust

Mami's situation is over, but Xiangzi's is still stuck on the rusty steel bars.

She saw a small mushroom cloud rising in the distance and gave an exhausted, bitter smile.

"Did it go off track...? Looks like you're not doing well either. We're in the same boat in many ways..."

A sharp pain shot through the spot where the steel bar had pierced him. Xiangzi forced a smile, gripped the steel bar with both hands, and prepared to slowly pull himself out of it.

But it's not that easy. The steel bars rusted, and the rust rubbed against the flesh, making the pain even more intense.

If she didn't have to worry about tetanus, she probably would have been sentenced to death.

Xiangzi pulled himself out little by little, and with one last effort, he pulled hard.

"Uh-huh!"

Blood, coated with black liquid secreted from the protective suit, seeped into the cracks between the pebbles on the ground.

Xiangzi gasped for breath, lying prostrate on the ground, and remained quiet for a while.

The effects of the adrenaline wore off, and the pain that he hadn't felt before surged up all at once. The two bullets Mami had shot him with, the wound from the steel bar, and all sorts of small, unhealed scars—the itchy and painful sensation tormented Xiangzi's entire body, as if he were being scrubbed with a brush full of nails.

"Ha ha......"

Xiangzi was panting heavily, sweat dripping down his face.

Although Mami was seriously injured, Shoko's current condition is probably not much better than Mami's. The intense, continuous fighting has exhausted too much of his physical strength, not to mention the numerous injuries he has sustained.

She hadn't felt this tired in a very long time...

Xiangzi, supporting herself on her knees, managed to stand up and took a step forward. She subconsciously used the normal way of exerting force, forgetting that she was on the other side.

The awkward friction caused Xiangzi's foot to slip, and his whole body fell forward uncontrollably.

Instead of the expected undulating, gravelly ground, I fell into a warm embrace.

Xiangzi smelled a familiar fragrance.

That was a scent unique to Mu, carrying a faint, refreshing cucumber fragrance.

"Mu..."

Xiangzi collapsed into Mu's arms.

For some reason, Xiangzi suddenly felt very wronged.

"I couldn't get the flowers..." Xiangzi's nose stung with tears as she nestled in Mu's arms. "Mami Tomoe executed the entire process flawlessly... I really..."

Despite all her efforts, Mami still managed to get the flowers in the end.

Asami's understanding of this shore and the other shore far surpasses her own, and every step of her plan, from formulation to execution, is flawless.

What has happened has happened. The self on the other side knocked the self on this side off the train, and in turn, the self on this side knocked the self on the other side off the train. If it weren't for—no, this matter cannot even be analyzed using normal cause and effect. Xiangzi felt a sense of grievance but didn't know how to express it.

“Sho ruined Mami’s plans and caused her irreparable damage.” Mu hugged Shoko and said softly, “That’s enough. Let’s rest for a bit.”

She gently stroked Xiangzi's back.

"Don't think too much, get some rest, and everything will gradually get better when you wake up."

"Is...is that so..." Xiangzi's voice sounded like a lost kitten, and it grew softer and softer under Mu's comforting words.

Finally, it turned into steady breathing.

Mu picked up Xiangzi. Although Xiangzi was now wrapped in a dark protective suit, she could still feel the warmth emanating from him.

In Mu's mind, Xiangzi usually maintained a calm, rational, and strong image. She never told anyone about her injuries or grievances, but silently licked her wounds in a corner by herself.

That was the Xiangzi of the past. The Xiangzi of today still maintains her composure in front of others, but she has learned to confide in those around her.

The fact that Xiangzi would say these things to her shows that... Xiangzi considered her a very important and close person.

Mu was very happy that she was someone Xiang could rely on—even though she already knew this before, every time she felt it firsthand, she was genuinely happy.

Mu picked up the sleeping Xiangzi, turned around, and slowly disappeared into the world that was moving backward.

=================

I don’t know how long it took.

Xiangzi slowly opened his eyes.

She opened her eyes to a dimly lit room. Though dim, it wasn't pitch black. She sat up and looked towards the only source of light in the small space.

It was a desk lamp, not very bright, with a warm yellow hue that was comfortable to look at.

A figure sat motionless next to the desk lamp, resting with eyes closed.

It's peace.