Want to be human, but cube-like

This was the first time she had ever seen a familiar move so fast.

…………

P.S. I suddenly realized that Suyo's magical girl character design is a bit too similar to Mami's...?

Volume 2: Chapter 209 Isn't this a bit too rock and roll?

"This is... the entrance to the witch's barrier?"

Standing in front of a strange, pale white pattern, Su Shi looked down at the Soul Gem in her hand, which was emitting a bright yellow light, and hesitated before asking the question to the Kyubey at her feet.

Following the guidance of the Soul Gem, they arrived at a huge warehouse. The peeling paint on the exterior walls and the rusty roof showed that it had been through many hardships.

There was no one around, not even a security guard in sight; it had probably been abandoned for a long time.

This does indeed align with what Kyubey said about witches' preference for seclusion.

"That's right~ As long as you approach with the Soul Gem, the entrance will appear. Inside is the witch's barrier. Su Shi, please be prepared before going in, otherwise, it won't be so easy to get out."

He peeked around, looking out. "I can't believe it," Cupid kindly reminded him.

Despite saying she was preparing, Su Shi didn't really know what else she needed to prepare besides transforming into a magical girl.

Holding the Soul Gem to her chest with both hands, she recalled the wonderful feeling after making her wish last night. As if by instinct, bright yellow magic enveloped her entire body and covered her Moon Forest school uniform.

Strands of silk were woven into magnificent garments, which, as the light faded, replaced the clothes Su Shi had worn before.

The feeling of power gradually surging up... that was just an illusion—the so-called transformation was nothing more than using magic to create a more durable and defensive outfit to replace the original ordinary clothes for battle. As a magical girl, her physical attributes were always present.

She stared at the white syringe-shaped pattern in front of her, which was two or three meters in diameter and stood in the air, exuding an eerie aura. She nervously swallowed and slowly stepped inside.

A hazy, illusory feeling flashed through her eyes. It was only a step away, but when Su Shi came to her senses, she found that she had already stepped into another world.

The imagined spacious warehouse interior did not appear; instead, there was the lobby of a dilapidated hospital.

"The details of the scene inside the witch's barrier are usually influenced by the characteristics of the witch, while the building itself, on which this labyrinth is based, is presented in a relatively complete structure."

Just like what she sees now, this looks like a small hospital set up in a warehouse.

Qubi explained to Su Shi, who was stunned.

"Su Shi, have you decided what methods you should use to fight?"

After briefly recounting a few details about the witch's barrier, he asked another question.

"...A magic wand?"

Upon hearing this, Su Shi, who had snapped out of her daze from the slightly distorted scene around her, pondered for a moment, hesitated, and then answered softly.

Unfortunately, in her more than ten years of life, the only thing Su Shi had ever come into contact with that could be even remotely related to the concept of aggression was the kitchen knife she used to chop vegetables while cooking.

Su Shi imagined herself charging into battle against a monster with a kitchen knife no longer than her arm, and she felt that the scene was not quite right.

Besides, even if she were to fight with a kitchen knife, it probably wouldn't have much offensive power, right?

Indeed, it would be better to fight like the magical girls in anime, wielding wands or magic staffs and using dazzling magical attacks...?

This is probably a stereotype about magical girls.

Recalling the cartoons she watched as a child, Su Shi gathered her magic and tried to create the staff she imagined.

Threads enveloped in bright yellow light appeared in her hand, gathered, and intertwined to form a staff three fingers wide, which landed in her palm with a weighty, almost steel-like texture.

"this is……?"

The familiar silk threads and touch made Su Shi pause for a moment, but she didn't pay much attention to it. Instead, she gripped the staff tightly with both hands, casually pointed the slightly heavier, rounded end at a wall, and swung it forcefully.

"..."

Several seconds passed, and nothing changed.

"Su Shi?"

A puzzled Cupid tilted his head and asked.

"Um...no, shouldn't some kind of magic fly out of the staff?"

Slightly embarrassed, Su Shi gripped her staff, her face flushed, and turned her head to ask in a low voice.

"If what you're saying, Su Shi, is to condense a ball of magic and throw it out, then the effect might not be very good."

Kyubey wagged his tail.

"Compared to this, the various weapons that you humans have invented throughout the history of war should be more suitable for combat."

It proposed.

"Weapons...guns?"

When it comes to war, firearms, as firearms, are indeed the most frequently mentioned weapons in modern history.

But wouldn't it be too strange for a magical girl to use firearms?

However, it's better than going up and fighting monsters at close range with a kitchen knife or other cold weapon. Su Shi doesn't have much confidence in her combat abilities, and she's not keen on such violent behavior.

With a slight frown, Su Shi dispersed the staff in her hand. Relying on her memory, she then conjured a weapon that resembled a pistol commonly seen in movies and TV shows.

"Kaka."

However, after pulling the trigger, only a slight clicking sound was heard.

After forcefully prying open the barrel and glancing inside, Su Shicai realized that the pistol was entirely constructed from her imagination. She didn't understand the internal structure of a pistol, so there was nothing inside at all; it was just an empty shell model of a pistol.

Are we really going to have to fight the witch with a kitchen knife?

Or should we get one?

Weapons like longswords will appear?

Su Shi, who was really reluctant to engage in close combat, bit her lip, looking somewhat conflicted.

"Speaking of which, as a magical girl, you should have a unique ability that belongs to you. I suggest that you try to build your own fighting style around the ability you are good at."

Looking at Su Shi, who was clutching a pistol and looking troubled, Qiu Bi seemed to have just remembered something and said...

"Inherent ability?"

This was something that Kyubey had never told her before, and Su Shi was puzzled.

But she immediately thought of the sensation she had felt when she had just created the staff.

Su Shi, who had a conjecture in his mind, immediately dispersed the pistol model in his hand, letting it return to the state of being wrapped in magic threads.

Then, Su Shi picked up one of the threads.

No, to be precise, it should be steel wire.

That familiar feel...

"Strings?"

She said this with surprise, gently rubbing her delicate index finger and thumb together.

Moreover, this familiar feel and thickness should be from the nickel steel strings that I am more familiar with.

That is, her bass string.

"So, my fighting style is to fight with musical strings?"

But how can the strings be used for attack?

In her memory, the only thing that could be associated with these strings was her bass. Su Shi thought about it with a troubled expression, but she instinctively constructed the image of the bass she was most familiar with and held it in her arms.

Are we supposed to just grab the bass and smash it?

She glanced at the dirty hospital bed beside her, then looked down at Beth with some hesitation.

How about we try it out first to see how it feels?

Su Shi thought to himself as he raised the bass.

…………

P.S. While writing this, I started to feel more and more like my senior...

I'm really afraid I'll end up writing a scene of her turning around later.

Volume 2: Chapter 210 Spider Web

So this demon can run this fast?

Leaping between buildings, Alex kept a close eye on the rapidly moving familiar below, feeling somewhat surprised.

The Familiar of the Witch of a Hundred Diseases

The bed sheets were dirty and yellowed, the hands were withered and thin, wrapped in tattered bandages, and the bed frame was rusty.

Alex never expected that when she followed the red dot on the minimap and caught up, she would see this familiar guy.

She had indeed searched for the familiar of the Witch of a Hundred Diseases because she was worried that Aine would be targeted by the familiar again. However, she had not encountered such a familiar since that day. Even when she asked Kyubey, it refused to answer the question, saying that it did not know the location of the witch and that a wish was required to find her.

Alex, of course, wouldn't make a wish so easily, and after that, Aine really didn't encounter any more danger, so naturally, she put the matter aside for the time being.

After that... Aine went to London, and for Alex, the main motivation to find the witch was gone.

Moreover, in a sense, she actually didn't really want to see this familiar at the moment.

The appearance of this dilapidated hospital bed always reminds her of what happened that night.

That was also the beginning of a dramatic change in her relationship with Aine.

It could even be said that if Aine hadn't been captured by the familiar that day and needed Alex to rescue her, then none of those things would have happened at all.

Perhaps Aine wouldn't be so averse to her role as a mother?

Lost in thought, Alex noticed the red dot on the minimap gradually receding into the distance and snapped back to reality. She quickly sped up and caught up with the dot again.

Above the pitch-black night sky, she quietly followed behind the familiar, trailing its movements.

Alex was genuinely curious as to why the familiar, who had been so slow when she was carrying Aine, was now moving so fast that she had to constantly check the minimap to keep up.

The four hands crawled so fast that they left afterimages.

Is Aine too heavy?

Or perhaps the familiar was simply too weak?

Are there differences in power among these familiars?

Moreover, judging from its clear and purposeful movement, it seemed to be heading to some place. Guessing that the familiar might be Alex returning to the Witch's Barrier, I abandoned the idea of ​​finishing it off with a Dimensional Slash and chose to follow it.

Perhaps, by following it, I can find the barrier of the Witch of a Hundred Diseases.

She hurriedly stuffed a piece of strange meat sushi into her mouth, restoring her hunger and extending the duration of her soon-to-end monster form by four minutes. The silver-haired, red-eyed rabbit-eared girl followed closely behind the familiar's back.

……

"Kyubi! ​​Why didn't you tell me that the hospital bed was the familiar?!"

Meanwhile, Su Shi, running down the hospital corridor, ignored the "keep quiet" slogan she caught glimpsing on the wall and shouted frantically at Kyubey.

Of course, she also ignored the "no running" sign that was also written on the wall.

Because at that moment, behind the brown-haired girl, there was a whole bunch of hospital beds with four hands, frantically chasing after her.

"So, Su Shi, you attacked it because you knew about its existence?"

Despite being chased along with Su Shi, Kyubey's tone remained remarkably calm.

Holding the bass she had just used to smash her familiar, Su Shi gritted her teeth and didn't answer.

If she had known, how could she have stayed there discussing weapons with Kyubey for so long!

Fortunately, after becoming a magical girl, her physical abilities improved significantly. Even after being chased by so many familiars for several minutes, Suze did not feel tired.

But this won't do. The witch's barrier is a maze-like structure. If she keeps running around in a panic and accidentally bumps into the witch's territory without warning, it will be dangerous.

After all, Su Shi still hasn't figured out how she's going to fight.

Lost in thought about how to escape her current situation, she looked up and saw another huge IV stand in front of her, its rusty stem broken off, leaning against the wall and blocking her way.

In fact, this was not the first time Su Shi had seen items in this witch's barrier that were completely different from her usual understanding, apart from her familiar.