The moment Yoshino passed through completely, she felt a strange sensation, as if she had stepped through a mirror. That sense of incongruity when space and subspace transition, and not only that, but even the world itself began to change.
It was like suddenly transitioning from a normal three-dimensional world to another dimension. While this is something every otaku wishes for, this world wasn't as good as imagined.
The art style of this world wasn't exquisite; it was more like Picasso's abstract paintings or a child's random doodles, but this world was filled with dark tones, as if its owner was complaining about it.
"This place really doesn't feel good, Yoshino. This resentment or malice, and most importantly, that despair. I can't believe this is a world imagined by a girl." Yoshinon said with a heavy heart. Yoshinon, who understood this world, truly detested this malicious place.
"As expected of a world that makes every girl who likes Magical Girls come to hate them, especially that beast Kyubey, who makes one wish to tear it to shreds. No wonder gaia and the others sent you to this world; they probably want you to help resolve the despair within it." Yoshinon speculated, which meant their enemy was Walpurgisnacht.
"Yes, Yoshinon. Right now, it's as if we've entered a world made of paintings. This world is also the manifestation of those who transform into Witches." As Yoshino spoke, an ice cone suddenly appeared behind her, piercing something that was trying to attack her.
Turning around, Yoshino saw the thing that had tried to ambush her. If she had to describe it, it was probably a black cat. (Not Ruri Gokou!) But this black cat had no head; instead, a spiky, sea urchin-like sphere was connected to its neck.
Although this thing didn't look like it had any destructive power, wouldn't it still hurt if you were hit by it?
"What a grotesque thing. What could have caused her to produce such a Familiar?" Yoshinon said, watching the Familiar gradually cease its struggles and disappear.
"I don't know, but I really dislike this place. Let's resolve this quickly, Yoshinon. This thing is still in its 'newborn' state. If it were to grow, many people would commit suicide because of the despair it emits." Yoshino whispered, looking at the scene before her and walking deeper into the labyrinth.
On the way to find the Witch, the path was filled with peculiar scenes, like the meaningful paintings by medieval artists. Simply put, it was 'non-reality.' This world was built around a certain theme, a world pieced together from numerous abstract paintings, but the atmosphere here made Yoshino feel very uncomfortable.
These Witches' Familiars seemed to have no fixed shape, constantly changing under Yoshino's attacks. But this must be a characteristic of this Familiar.
After Yoshino didn't know how many Familiars she had dealt with, how many strange scenes she had walked through, and how many places with special meanings she had seen, the scene before her changed dramatically. It was a darkness even deeper than before, as if a terrifying monster had opened its enormous mouth, making one feel incredibly cold.
"This should be where the Witch is, but it's really dark, Yoshino. There's not a single trace of light." Yoshinon said, looking at the terrifyingly dark scene. However, her gaze remained fixed on a certain spot in the darkness.
"Hmm, do you feel it, Yoshinon? This Witch must be powered by darkness. The deeper the darkness, the stronger its power becomes. It seems that in this complete darkness, it should be invincible." Even in this pitch-black environment, Yoshino could still see.
It was something that couldn't be described as a 'creature'; rather, every Witch should have lost the qualification to be called a creature. However, in terms of shape, it should still be distinguishable, if one ignored its gigantic size. If forced to describe it, it was a Little Girl curled into a ball, though even in this form, she was several meters tall and lacked true limbs.
"So big, Yoshino. Do all Magical Girls become this huge after turning into Witches?" Yoshino asked, sounding a bit confused.
"It should be that way. But if we want to defeat her, I think it would be better to create some light. This Dark Witch Suleka probably only appears in dark corners because she has little power in a brightly lit modern age. The reason those Familiars could transform earlier might be because her duty represents what is called 'dreams'."
"Hmm, I understand. Creating light is still a simple matter. [Lighting]" A glowing orb appeared in her hand. Upon release, it automatically flew into the sky, illuminating the surrounding pitch-black world like a lamp.
"Roar!" The Witch let out a piercing shriek after feeling the strong light. Then, her massive body toppled towards Yoshino, seemingly wanting to kill Yoshino, the spellcaster, to resolve the current situation.
"Yoshino, let me out! I want to show her what true power is!" Seeing the opponent falling towards them, Yoshinon said, sounding eager to try.
"'Her'? Do they still seem human in Yoshinon's eyes?" Yoshino asked after waving her hand to create a rectangular ice pillar beneath the Witch's body, deflecting her. Although she knew all Witches were transformed Magical Girls, the opponent's current appearance couldn't be called human at all.
"I know what you're thinking, Yoshino. The Witches in this world are all created when hope turns into despair, causing them to fall into inner darkness, or when their soul gem couldn't change in time. Because each Witch's experiences before transformation were different, their appearance, abilities, and barriers also vary somewhat. Although these Witches can no longer be called people, you cannot deny that they were once Magical Girls with hope and dreams. This fact has not changed."
"Now that they've become like this due to despair, your mission is to eliminate her and grant her liberation."
"...I understand." She nodded. Although she still didn't quite grasp it, she would slowly understand this matter in this world. "After so many years, let's fight together again, Yoshinon."
"Oh! I've been waiting to fight alongside my cute Yoshino! Let me beat this Dark Witch Suleka to a pulp!" Yoshinon shouted loudly. "At this moment, I am the star of this stage!"
"Ice Binding Puppet (Zadkiel)!" With Yoshino's cry, the ground of the barrier suddenly cracked open. A giant rabbit puppet, similar in size to the Witch, appeared. After Yoshino jumped onto the rabbit, she placed her hands on the puppet's back, and then the rabbit's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Roar!" With a loud bang, ice began to form centered around the Ice Binding Puppet (Zadkiel). This abstract world slowly transformed into a world made of ice. The light above became even more dazzling, reflecting off the ice. The Witch in front of them, illuminated by the light, found it extremely uncomfortable but had no way to stop it. She could only slowly feel the energy within her body gradually disappear, eventually slumping to the ground, unable to move.
"This can be considered your final send-off. Although I don't know your name, I hope you can live happily in your next life and never become a Magical Girl again." Yoshino said softly, looking at the Witch whose body was gradually icing over. At this moment, she seemed to understand something, but she couldn't pinpoint that feeling.
"Crack." With a sound, the ice on Dark Witch Suleka's body shattered, then turned into fragments and disappeared into the air. What was strange, however, was that the surrounding barrier did not return to its original appearance despite the Witch's disappearance. Even though the surrounding ice had been eliminated, the world still looked like a painting.
"What's going on? When a Witch is eliminated, shouldn't the barrier disappear? Did some special reason prevent the barrier from disappearing?" Yoshinon asked, looking at the surrounding abstract scene, confused. "Even the Grief Seed has appeared, why is it like this?"
"Because her despair hasn't disappeared yet, Yoshinon." Just as Yoshinon felt confused, Yoshino's voice came. She released the Ice Binding Puppet (Zadkiel) and spoke, looking at the scene before her. "I can still see lingering despair around. Perhaps the other party still has some attachment, which is preventing the barrier from being released."
"Then what do we do? Can't we go back? Are we going to stay in this awful place forever? No! Although I'm happy to be alone with Yoshino, if I stay in this bizarre place for too long, I feel like I'll go crazy!" Yoshinon said frantically, covering her head with her hands.
"It's okay, I'll purify her." A pair of pure white wings appeared behind her, and she spoke with a holy aura emanating from her body.
Obvious black aura appeared in the barrier, staying away from Yoshino, seemingly afraid to touch the light emanating from Yoshino's body.
"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. If you feel despair, then give me your despair, and I will bear all of it for you." Yoshino extended her hands and smiled her purest smile at the black aura. "It must be very painful, isn't it? When you're in despair, and there's no one by your side. Now I will bear all of this, so you can face your future life with peace of mind."
"..." After listening to Yoshino's words, the black aura spun a few times in the air before flying in front of Yoshino. Under the illumination of the light emanating from Yoshino, the black aura slowly faded, turning into a clean, pure white.
"This is..." After the purification, the light transformed into the figure of a cute girl. She smiled at Yoshino, then disappeared. If she wasn't mistaken, she must have gone to be reincarnated. She wondered if she would meet that dignified loli judge.
After the black aura was absorbed by Yoshino, it had no effect on her. Her necklace absorbed a portion of this energy, while the rest was absorbed by the 'evil' and demons within her. The barrier began to distort, returning to the original gloomy street. Yoshino walked to the Grief Seed and picked it up. Its essence was a soul corroded by despair, containing the soul energy brought by despair.
'If I can analyze the energy within it, I wonder if I can use my abilities to turn it back into a soul gem? It seems I have something to do in the coming days.' Looking at the Grief Seed in her hand, she thought about what would happen next. She had new homework to do in this world.
"Phew~ It seems our first battle in this world ended smoothly, Yoshino. Next, let's figure out where to sleep tonight. If worst comes to worst, we can use Natsumi's ability to transform into an adult and then exchange some jewelry for money. Anyway, when adventuring with Red Wings, things like that are as common as stones."
And there were also some bounties, all paid with things similar to gems. If all of Yoshino's reserves were sold, she would probably become wealthy.
"Oh my~ It seems I'm a bit late." Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came from behind Yoshino.
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