Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 567

and......

"The only way to get to that place is by car," Xiangzi said, glancing at the surrounding markers on Google Maps. "There are no trams or buses available."

"Ah...is that so...?"

"Hmm." Xiangzi nodded and pointed out another route to the girl. "But there's a taxi stand nearby, so it's easier to get a taxi there."

"Okay, thank you." The girl let go of Xiangzi's hand and looked at her gratefully. "I'll try over there. I won't bother you any longer. Thank you very much."

How polite.

Xiangzi thought of it.

She smiled and said goodbye to the girl before continuing on her way home.

The library isn't far from home, so I can walk back slowly. The clattering of my leather shoes on the paving stones of the sidewalk is the most noticeable sound, apart from the occasional passing car.

Xiangzi quite liked the "da da da" sound.

As I walked, I began to recall the mysterious foreign girl I had just met.

He looked quite unusual, but surprisingly, he was quite ordinary once he spoke. He was just a foreigner who really liked JDM culture, the kind of foreigner you often see, fitting my stereotypes. After I gave him directions, we didn't exchange any more words. After a brief goodbye, I headed straight for the taxi stand.

Was he being too neurotic? It couldn't be that much of a coincidence; he probably just was an ordinary foreigner. Xiangzi adjusted his scarf to keep out the cold wind, lost in thought as he walked.

Thinking back carefully, besides her silver hair, the girl's eyes, eyebrows, and even eyelashes were also silver, and not just any ordinary silver, but rather... as if she had a flowing light effect.

Of course, judging solely by appearance might be a bit extreme, but Xiangzi just had a feeling that she was very special.

That girl is very likely a magical girl.

Xiangzi trusted his intuition.

Kasumi-senpai mentioned that there had been cases where mysterious magical girls were discovered in the past, only to be found out that they were just tourists. Could this be the same case?

You're just here for tourism, don't overthink it. The future that Flame mentioned won't happen. After all, this is a new world created by Light; how could something Light doesn't want to happen occur?

That's what she was thinking, but Xiangzi still honestly reported it to Xiangcheng. She took out her phone and explained the situation she had just encountered to Xiangcheng.

Kasumi replied almost instantly, telling Shoko that she had received the message and that she planned to investigate it immediately.

So, by doing that, I can leave the task to my seniors, and I've already done what I was supposed to do.

Xiangzi put his phone back in his pocket and enjoyed the quiet and comfortable journey home alone.

On my way home, I didn't see a soul, and there were very few cars. At this time of day, at this temperature, no one would usually be wandering around outside. The whole world felt like I was all alone—empty and quiet.

Xiangzi turned and went from the main road into the side road, continuing towards the apartment.

Da da da.

Hey.

The sound of leather shoes heels striking the ground suddenly stopped. Xiangzi stood still for a moment, then continued walking forward as if nothing had happened.

Da da da.

"So there really is a problem." Xiangzi sighed and muttered to himself, pretending nothing had happened.

She turned from the side path into a dimly lit alley.

The peaceful and serene atmosphere seemed to have been torn apart without anyone noticing.

There was someone nearby, and they'd been following her for a while. Not behind her, but above her. She'd just seen it with her own eyes; as she turned the corner, a dark shadow darted through the gap between the buildings.

The tracking was highly sophisticated; they knew that being vertical would make her less likely to be detected, and the tall buildings here would provide cover, making her safer.

They are professionals.

Xiangzi drew a conclusion.

Is it that magical girl I met briefly earlier? Or...?

Just as Xiangzi was still thinking, the wind above his head suddenly became chaotic, and a faint whooshing sound accompanied a dark shadow descending from the sky.

hum!

The radiant light of transformation enveloped Xiangzi, and Reinhardt, who was already prepared, pulled out of the Soul Gem and collided with the object that was cutting through the air.

when!

A dazzling spark flashed on the path.

By the light of the sparks, Xiangzi could see the faces of the attackers.

It wasn't the silver-haired person I'd imagined; it was someone else entirely. Twin ponytails, a round face, short stature, and a pair of red and blue metallic gauntlets—someone I knew.

Xiangzi widened his eyes.

"Rebecca?!"

The Tale of Transcendence: Stars and Us: Chapter 757 A Light Punch Kills

Xiangzi still has a deep impression of the faces that are so close to him.

Back when they were chasing Medine, the magical girl agent from the CIA they captured later proved to be a great help. However, that happened over forty lifetimes ago, and in this lifetime, Xiangzi has never met her, so—

How do you know my name?!

Rebecca's pupils contracted to their smallest size in an instant, and the force applied to the gun blade wavered for a moment. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xiangzi broke free from the stalemate and kicked Rebecca in the stomach.

Her petite body flew out like a baseball and landed at the end of the alley.

Xiangzi rubbed his wrists and gazed at the figure at the end of the alley.

The lights outside the alley made Rebecca's figure a silhouette with indistinct details. Xiangzi squinted, as if that would allow him to see her expression.

Even without looking, she knew the other person must be in shock.

whoosh-

A burst of high-temperature steam erupted from the silhouette's fist, and blue flames first shot out from the nozzle at its elbow. Then, the silhouette rapidly magnified in Xiangzi's eyes.

The metal gauntlets clashed with the gun blade once again.

The metal gauntlets were very powerful, and if Xiangzi didn't pull the trigger, it would be difficult for him to contend with his opponent. Incidentally, due to the changes in the timeline, the core and ammunition of this beloved gunblade had changed from the Seed of Lamentation to the Lamentation Cube produced by the monster. Both the power it contained and the power provided by the ammunition were far less than before.

Conversely, since the Soul Gem has been completely restored, Xiangzi can now use his magic without any worries.

She doesn't really need Reinhardt anymore; she just prefers to use it out of habit.

After several rounds, Xiangzi was able to deal with Rebecca's punches with ease. Gusts of wind from the punches grazed past Xiangzi, but could not touch her at all.

How could this be? It shouldn't be like this.

Rebecca found herself in an unexpected stalemate.

She chose the location to launch the attack—a narrow alley where the two could only move forward or backward.

In boxing, this means you can only attack and defend head-on. However, she can also use jabs, straight punches, and even, when the angle is right, wide-angle hooks. Her opponent's weapon, a combination of a revolver and a broadsword, prevents her from using the most damaging slashing techniques; she can only thrust like a rapier, and the shape of that knife isn't suited for that kind of movement…

Even if the weapon is a few inches longer, shouldn't I have the greater advantage? But why can't I gain any advantage over her at all, and she seems so relaxed?

Of course it's easy.

Because she knew Rebecca's fighting style well enough, while Rebecca knew nothing about her—or at least not much.

The metal gauntlets with propulsion are Rebecca's magical girl weapon. The gauntlets can unleash a punch that can blow someone apart. Even Rebecca herself probably couldn't withstand a direct hit from one of these punches. But as long as they don't touch anyone, they are just empty vessels with that immense power.

To ensure he wouldn't get punched, Xiangzi used a conservative strategy to entangle with Rebecca, even though the knife wasn't designed for stabbing, and had no intention of launching an attack.

This conservative approach made him appear exceptionally at ease. His opponent, unable to break through with their relentless attacks, would inevitably become impatient and make mistakes.

Rebecca's punching speed was indeed getting faster and faster. Left straight punch - right straight punch - left uppercut - right hook. Behind a series of punches, there was also a self-sacrificing move where she would throw her boxing gloves directly out of her hand like a missile.

But Xiangzi saw it.

She never intended to launch a direct attack, so she could focus more on observing her opponent's movements. She had already seen through Rebecca's little scheme to throw away her boxing gloves.

Xiangzi casually dodged the flying fist, then stepped forward with his backhand, slipped into the side where the gauntlet was missing, and struck his opponent in the abdomen with the hilt of his sword.

Boom!

"Uh!"

Her petite body fell to the ground.

As Xiangzi walked towards her, just as he was about to say something, she saw Rebecca raise her other fist.

boom!

Just before the glove left her hand, a .500 Magnum bullet pierced Rebecca's arm, the loud gunshot echoing like thunder through the night sky.

The boxing gloves fell to the ground along with her severed arm, and Rebecca winced in pain.

Soon, the smell of blood filled the deserted alley.

"Such a quick reaction, both times?" Rebecca clutched her severed hand, half-kneeling on the ground. "No, you saw through my movements? That's impossible, I clearly..."

That move was clearly well hidden!

"I don't know why you ambushed me, but give up." Xiangzi put away the powerful revolver that had reappeared. "The gap between us is too big."

Despite her seemingly thoughtful actions, once Rebecca is inside the barrier, she'll be completely at my mercy.

The reason I don't do that is simply because I don't feel any sense of crisis.

Just like a professional fighting game player using only light punches to fight against a regular player, she can easily defeat her opponent even using only light punches.

Rebecca's presence was perhaps less striking than that of the magical girl they had just met on the street.

Wait, if the intrusion is real, then that magical girl we just saw must also be...

Xiangzi glanced down at Rebecca.

“There was quite a commotion just now. The police will probably be here soon. You probably won’t be able to escape in your current state.” Xiangzi dusted himself off, walked up to Rebecca, and said in accented English, “If I’m willing to let you go, would you be willing to talk? Face to face, from beginning to end, tell me what you want to do.”

“You know my name, and you can say it right away... that means you know me, and even the organization behind me.” Rebecca grinned at her. “What else do you want to ask me?!”

"..."

Xiangzi twitched the corner of his mouth.

She couldn't very well say it was a coincidence, could she? That would expose the fact that she knew nothing at all.

"You're all ready, aren't you?" Rebecca continued to bar her teeth menacingly when she saw that Rebecca didn't react. "The magical girls of this country are ready to fight for that thing."

Xiangzi's pupils shrank to the extreme, and he suddenly grabbed Rebecca's collar.

"What did you say?"

The Tale of Transcendence: Stars and Us: Chapter 758 - Viewing JDM

Boom!

Rebecca was thrown onto the concrete floor of the rooftop, along with her severed hand.

Xiangzi took a few breaths, took out his phone, and glanced at the message history.

For now, no one has come forward to confront him.

Someone must have called the police after hearing the gunshot. A police car arrived shortly after I left, and the bloodstains Rebecca left behind probably won't stay hidden for long.

However, there are senior members in the system who have covered up the big incident at the church before, so the gunshots and such are not a big problem.

I have always had great confidence in the ability of the assembly center to handle affairs.

Xiangzi turned his gaze to Rebecca, who was giving her amputated arm emergency treatment, and his feelings became much more complicated.

She didn't tell anyone about Rebecca's existence, not only the seniors at the gathering place, but also any of Mujica's teammates.

It's enough that only Rebecca knows what's going on.

I had to solve everything myself.

There will absolutely be no messy wars.

Xiangzi walked up to Rebecca and squatted down.

"My hand, do you need my help?" She pointed to her severed arm, which she had lost to a bullet. "The bullet wound is complicated, and there are charred parts. It won't be easy to put it back together."

“You think I don’t know?!” Rebecca glared at her. “Damn Japanese, acting all high and mighty.”

“You’re not much different from the Rebecca I know,” Xiangzi said.