Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 619

This is... my previous memory? No... the memories she inherited were those of the previous 7775 versions of herself, and she had no recollection of this extra one.

In other words, these are, so-called memories of one's own in the B world line?!

It's the memory of the person who left the recording!

Xiangzi widened his eyes.

She was supposed to be the 7776th Toyokawa Shoko, but the last sentence on the tape told her that she was the 7777th, and the gap in between was this memory. The two of them existed simultaneously, but were not entirely the same. They both inherited the memories of 7775 Toyokawa Shokos, but from a certain point, a divergence occurred.

Could it be that parallel universes actually exist? — No, no, no, now is not the time to think about these things.

Xiangzi rubbed his temples and focused his attention on his surroundings.

This is... she still has a little bit of memory of the journey to RiNG.

But why here?

The train's momentum as it pulled into the station caused Xiangzi to stumble. She followed the crowd and got off the train without understanding why.

Walking on the streets of Ikebukuro, Shoko still didn't realize what had happened until she followed her instincts and walked to the entrance of RiNG. Only then did she suddenly recall that she couldn't actually see the faces of any of the passersby she had just seen.

Is this a barrier?

"This is the anti-universe." A familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar voice came from inside RiNG. "The anti-universe is a world created by reversing all entropy. It is a place that transcends time and space, existing completely independently of the normal universe. It is the abode of gods, a place that can reverse objective facts and change everything."

"Then why would it be the reed plains?"

"The Anti-Universe is a place that cannot be observed, predicted, or confirmed. Your Soul Gem will create a virtual environment that you can perceive. So this is not only the Anti-Universe, but also the depths of your memory, your deep barrier. Only when you are in the Anti-Universe can you see these images."

"What?" Xiangzi's eyes widened as he stared at the figure walking out of the door.

That person had very, very long hair, so long that when braided into an elaborate and ornate plait, it would drag on the ground.

That's yourself.

The first version of myself started the cycle of reincarnation.

“It’s not too late to leave now. The lamp should be finding this place soon,” Toyokawa Shoko said. “Don’t worry, I’ll get rid of her too. I won’t let anything like what happened in the B world line happen here.”

"You also possess that extra portion of memory?" Xiangzi frowned.

“Yes.” Toyokawa Shoko nodded. “The world line split, dividing into two independent universes, World Line B, which has had no further connection with us since then.”

"this......."

"So, get out of here right now," Toyokawa Shoko said in an unfriendly tone. "Continue the cycle until we find a better way."

"But that's why I came here."

"Your clumsy plan is simply not feasible. What good will killing me do? Replacing me will only leave you with suffering."

"Aren't you me too? We have the exact same memories. Even if I really replaced you, shouldn't you feel relieved? Haven't you always wanted to be free? Then why are you rejecting me?"

“None of your business.” Toyokawa Shoko raised her right hand, revealing the blade of her gun, and pointed it at Shoko. “Don’t blame me for being impolite.”

"You just want to take all the responsibility yourself. Sure enough... this kind of awkwardness, this wishful thinking that doing what's good for others is truly good, and never asking what others think, really makes you annoying." Xiangzi twitched the corner of his mouth and flicked his gun blade. "If you want to get rid of me, then do it yourself."

"...As expected, the person we hate the most is always ourselves."

As soon as he finished speaking, Toyokawa Shoko's figure disappeared from Shoko's sight. The next instant, the gun blades collided, sparks flying.

The gun blades bounced off each other, and while both men were frozen in place, Toyokawa Shoko pulled the trigger. The force of the exploding bullet pushed the blade toward Shoko.

"Not really."

Xiangzi ducked to avoid the burst of bullets, intending to close in on Fengchuan Xiangzi. She held the gun blade in front of her and charged towards Fengchuan Xiangzi.

"I prefer the version of myself that left me the tape recorder to you, and I want to become like her."

"Tsk."

Just as the two were about to make contact, Toyokawa Shoko suddenly disappeared. Shoko lost sight of the target she was about to bump into, and her body staggered forward two steps uncontrollably.

She stopped and realized she had already left RiNG's entrance.

This is... the second floor of my house, my room where I play the piano.

Xiangzi paused for a moment, then instinctively parried the gun blade behind him.

Sparks flew, the gun blade deflected the thrust, and Xiangzi seized the opportunity to grab Fengchuan Xiangzi's wrist. His feet gripped the ground, and the force traveled upwards from his feet, from his ankles to his calves, to his thighs, and then to his core muscles, like a whip, finally reaching the hand that was holding his opponent's wrist, forming a smooth over-the-shoulder throw.

However, there was no thud when they landed. The floor beneath their feet had vanished without a trace, and the two of them plummeted into the endless darkness.

pat pat pat.

The feeling of solid ground beneath his feet made Xiangzi suddenly realize that he seemed to be in a different place again.

Spring blossoms were scattered all around, and a slight tremor and thud came from beneath her feet as a train passed under the bridge. Toyokawa Shoko stood on the opposite side of the road, the setting sun casting a desolate silhouette against her back.

The wind swept across the road, swirling up countless flower petals.

The gun blades collided and rubbed against each other in the air, the metallic sound of them striking echoing through the sky.

"Doesn't this scene seem somewhat familiar?" Xiangzi said with some emotion. "When I fought Oblivionis back then, it was like looking in a mirror."

“I don’t feel anything,” Toyokawa Shoko said, still looking at her coldly. “After all, I haven’t experienced it firsthand.”

“Oh, I forgot that the cycle you were in was saved by Yan in advance, so you didn’t develop schizophrenia.” Xiangzi smiled. “But your mental state wasn’t very good at the time, was it? You didn’t have schizophrenia, but your bipolar symptoms were much more severe than mine.”

"Are you mocking me?" Toyokawa Shoko separated from her, rubbing her wrists which were a little sore from being locked in a stalemate for so long, and gave her a look of disgust. "Just because I don't have the same mental illness as you."

"Of course not." Xiangzi's expression turned somewhat unbearable. "I know that not everyone like me has the opportunity to be cured of mental illness."

Like many others, Xiangzi endured that dark period, postponing the problem for much of the time. But many others never had the chance for treatment and, under the influence of loneliness and despair, underwent a rebirth.

“If it’s out of pity for me, then there’s even less need for that.”

Toyokawa Shoko raised her hand, and the magic reappeared, generating dozens of missiles behind her that flew towards her.

A barrage of bombardments derailed the train passing under the bridge, and the bridge in his memory was also broken into pieces. Xiangzi rushed out of the smoke from the explosion, covered in bruises.

The explosion shattered the setting sun hanging in the sky, along with the backdrop and stage lights beside it. The backdrop fell from the sky, revealing the cameras and studio walls behind it.

The "sun" also fell down, landing at Xiangzi's feet. It was a large lamp simulating sunlight, with an orange-red filter.

"Back then, I worked with Chu Hua and was a stage manager for a while." Xiangzi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. "I thought that if I could live a normal life, the experience I gained while working could help me form a band."

"I don't remember these very well either." Toyokawa Shoko recreated several machine guns floating in the air.

A barrage of bullets rained down on the other side.

"After all, you haven't experienced it firsthand, so it's quite different." Xiangzi shrugged, his legs moving in butterfly-like steps on the ground, rushing to Toyokawa Xiangzi's side before the bullet left the cannon barrel.

The two figures collided once again, and the sparks from their weapons caused temporary blindness, leading them to a new place.

A coastline covered with blue-green flowers.

“…When the Sea Witch came along.” Xiangzi exhaled a breath of hot air. “I’ve always regretted not being with Chuhua back then, wasting so much time on the sea.”

“You could have done better,” Toyokawa Shoko said expressionlessly.

"Of course I know that." Xiangzi gripped the gun blade tightly, and a pair of explosive jet engines reappeared on his back.

The engine's exhaust flames ignited the blue-green wildflowers, instantly raising Xiangzi's G-force to over 300G. Of course, it was only for a moment; she was already in front of Toyokawa Xiangzi.

boom--!

The clash of their weapons produced a sound comparable to the detonation of a missile.

In the anti-universe, they are all connected to the flowers of creation and destruction, and magic is something that is completely unnecessary to care about.

However, after their next encounter, both of them unanimously abandoned the theoretically omnipotent magic and resorted to the purest form of swordsmanship.

“You’ve always admired Hailin and secretly learned her swordsmanship.” Toyokawa Shoko gave a sarcastic smile. “The reason is simple: you just think it’s cool.”

"Are you going to expose this too? You're just as bad." Xiangzi smirked and ducked to avoid the horizontal slash.

"After that, he studied the IX Lin Suo Shi Liu for a period of time on his own. After obtaining Reinhardt, he finally integrated what he had learned and turned it into his own unique swordsmanship."

Toyokawa Shoko pulled the trigger, and the accelerating blade traced an anti-physical trajectory before returning to Shoko.

"I'm praising you, because you taught me such a cool move."

when--!

A flash of silver light appeared, and the scenery around them changed once again.

Where is it this time?

Xiangzi glanced around out of the corner of his eye.

All around was a golden hue, as if I had returned to the reed plains, but it was filled with a sense of age, like stepping back into the last century. This reed plains, full of a sense of history, was bathed in a golden light, the source of which was unknown, as if it flowed in the air, illuminating the night, and even the sky was a hazy, pale gold.

here it is?

"This is the fairyland of Fairy Tale Town, you've been there too."

"But when I went there, it was all gray and hazy, not as beautiful as it is now." Xiangzi was somewhat captivated by the scenery.

“This is what they looked like when they started up. What you see is what they look like when they are already dead,” said Shoko Toyokawa. “You think you are omnipotent and can save both Sosei and Ayakahara, but the reality is not as you wish. Reality is full of trolley problems.”

"I won't make the same mistakes again." Xiangzi gripped the handle of the gun blade tightly. "This time, I'll keep my word."

when----!

Sparks exploded amidst golden streaks of light, cleaving the misty sky, while the sound of trains pounding on the tracks continued unabated.

Their figures crossed paths, they switched places, and the distance between them widened again.

A locomotive that was lying on its side on the ground suddenly began to roll over without warning.

—rumble rumble

The overturned train made an unpleasant and unnatural sound, spinning several times in mid-air. Scattered rubble, parts, flames, and other miscellaneous objects knocked over by the train all began to converge towards the overturned locomotive. In the end, the wreckage of the train became a train traveling in reverse, running alongside a train traveling in the same direction.

On the roofs of two trains traveling side by side, Xiangzi stood on the left, and Toyokawa Xiangzi stood on the right. Sometime later, Toyokawa Xiangzi had put on a mask.

Toyokawa Shoko jumped over in a very counterintuitive way, and a somewhat distorted voice came from under her mask.

"This feeling is truly amazing." Only after Toyokawa Shoko's voice drifted out did Shoko notice the muscles in her cheeks move.

"Kamihama, the first collision between this shore and the other shore." Shoko skillfully blocked the attack from the other shore. "How did you end up on the other side?"

“After all, I haven’t personally experienced this place.” Toyokawa Shoko lowered her eyes. “I personally killed Homura just as she was about to become a witch.”

With Flame dead, there is naturally no more witch on this shore.

"I never imagined that you, from the B timeline, could use the Other Shore to return to the time when Chu Hua disappeared and create such an opportunity for you."

Toyokawa Shoko lowered her head and took several bullets out of the magazine.

!--boom

Flames flew back into the muzzle of the gun, and while she was reloading, Xiangzi threw a smoke grenade at her.

The two were engulfed in smoke, and the tremors beneath their feet gradually disappeared. The rumble of the train and the rumble of the reversed playback ceased to exist, and the ground beneath their feet turned into loose mud. A smell of roasted meat mixed with the burnt smell of plastic wafted into Xiangzi's nostrils.

Before the smoke cleared, Xiangzi already knew where he was.

At this moment, the red light tore through the smoke screen, but what appeared was not the figure of Toyokawa Shoko, but a bipedal walking tank called "Moonlight" with artificial muscles, and the red light came from its main camera.

Moo-!

The moonlight roared like a bull and kicked out.

Xiangzi blocked the moonlight from the donkey's kick, which weighed tens of tons, leaving a long drag mark in the muddy ground.

Toyokawa Shoko jumped down from the moonlight's head and landed behind Shoko.

“Medion, an ordinary human being, actually possesses the power to change the world,” Toyokawa Shoko said. “All these tragedies were accomplished by her with just her words…”

"What, are you envious?" Xiangzi gritted his teeth and swung the gun blade backward.

At this moment, Moonlight kicked from behind, forcing her to abandon her attack and dodge Moonlight's kick with a roll.

Being attacked from both sides made it very difficult for Xiangzi to cope.

“I’m not envious.” Toyokawa Shoko gripped the gun blade, but lowered her eyes. “I’m wondering if even if we make all the witches and magical girls disappear, it won’t change many things.”

"Don't think about things you can't reach." Xiangzi rushed towards Fengchuan Xiangzi, "Think about things you can do."

“For example, sending you back.” Toyokawa Shoko raised her head, gritted her teeth, and swung her sword, clashing with Shoko’s slash.

when--!

Raindrops fell on Xiangzi's face.

Rainwater slid down Xiangzi's hair and cheeks, dripping onto the ground and splashing up ripples.