Want to be human, but cube-like

Everything related to healthcare seemed magnified many times over, much like a child's perception of a hospital during a medical visit.

Just before she was about to crash into the IV stand, Su Shi lightly leaped up and, with a somewhat clumsy movement, passed through the IV stand's obstruction from above the corridor.

As her perspective shifted, her gaze swept past the large group of strangely shaped nursing bed familiars behind her and landed on the IV stand beneath her.

Several shriveled IV bags hung precariously on the ground, containing some colorful, unknown liquids. The extended IV tubing hung haphazardly to the ground, its length far exceeding what she remembered, making it look almost like a spider web.

Su Shi suddenly had an inspiration.

Landing lightly on a giant pill, Su Shi accelerated again.

She stopped walking, the bass she was holding was still somewhat in the way under these circumstances, so she dispelled the magic that had built the bass and let the heavy instrument transform back into a bundle of bass strings in her arms.

Then, the next second after creating distance, Su Shi grabbed the bass string in her hand and swung it backward with all her might.

As she flung out the large bundle of strings, she left a single string wrapped in yellow light in her hand. The bright yellow magic seemed to come alive, rapidly spreading across the bundle of strings that had completely scattered after she flung them out.

The seemingly soft bass strings pierced the walls on both sides of the corridor, as well as the ceiling and floor above and below. Su Shi suddenly pulled on the strings in her hand, and all the scattered bass strings instantly tightened, forming a crooked and irregular spider web.

Then, the familiars that had been chasing her from behind crashed hard into the steel wire spider web.

"That way, we can temporarily stop it..."

Su Shi, who had intended to use this net to briefly hinder the demon-summoning Su Shi, was about to finish speaking when she saw a hand suddenly fly past her eyes.

She seemed to have underestimated the sharpness of those bass strings.

It's possible that Su Shi never imagined that, under these circumstances, bass strings could possess a destructive power comparable to guitar strings.

"Pfft——!"

The immense kinetic energy caused the familiars to be sliced ​​to pieces by the tough nickel steel wire, like butter falling on a hot knife. The various flying parts piled up into a small hill behind the net, and even a bandaged hand rolled and landed at Su Shi's feet, lightly touching her boot.

"What a creative way to fight, Suze."

Cupid, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, offered a timely exclamation of praise.

Only Su Shi herself, her pupils slightly constricted, covered her mouth with her trembling hand, a slight urge to vomit welling up in her heart.

The good news is... she has achieved her goal of stopping the familiar from pursuing her.

…………

Volume 2: Chapter 211 The Quiet Witch's Barrier

"Using strings to cut enemies, isn't that a great way to fight?"

In a small room that was probably a storage room, Kewpie was squatting on a cardboard box covered in graffiti.

Why do you feel so disgusted by Su Shi?

It asked curiously.

"I... didn't intend to use this method..."

With one hand covering her chest, Su Shi looked down at the soul gem embedded in her clothes near her left collarbone and shoulder, slowly calming her still violently beating heartbeat.

She lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly.

Just recalling the scene she had just witnessed, Su Shi's legs began to go weak.

Just thinking about the limb that flew past her and the other hand that rolled to her feet, with cuts clearly visible on it, made Su Shi feel nauseous and want to vomit.

In her imagination, the familiars who fight against magical girls should be more... more suitable for all ages.

There will be no bleeding; injuries will only result in tears in the clothing, and defeated monsters will disappear amidst a series of visual and auditory effects...

Although the familiars that died did disappear in a short while, there shouldn't have been a scene with the ground littered with the broken remains of familiars, which was completely inappropriate for children.

And those hands and limbs, so closely mimicking the details of the human body, made her feel extremely uncomfortable...

Taking a deep breath and barely managing to suppress her nausea, Su Shi felt that she probably wouldn't want to eat meat for the next few days.

The scene I just witnessed shattered Su Shi's illusions.

Reality is not a cartoon.

She's not one of those children's magical girls who wield magic wands and can defeat enemies with just love and hope.

Furthermore, these dangerous familiars, and the witch whose true face we haven't even seen yet, are not the kind of villains in anime who, no matter how evil they do, will never endanger the lives of passersby.

With one hand supporting her against the wall, Su Shi slowly sat down on the ground.

Her hands trembled as she gently gripped one of her arms, her body slightly curled up, as if she was beginning to feel afraid.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that Su Shi, who had been in a state of unease, finally couldn't continue to maintain the composed image she had cultivated in front of Qiu Bi.

“I…can’t do that…”

The urge to back down rose uncontrollably from the depths of my mind.

"Do we really have to go... and fight those things?"

She asked in a trembling voice.

"This is the price you have to pay for making a wish, and it's also the responsibility of being a magical girl."

Cupid advised.

"It's normal to feel uncomfortable at first. As long as you muster up the courage to fight, you'll get used to it."

If this can be considered persuasion.

"Besides, hasn't Su Shi already found an effective way to fight? As long as you continue to develop your abilities on that basis, perhaps future battles will become easier and easier."

It would have been better if it hadn't been mentioned, because once this matter was brought up, Su Shi would recall that scene from before.

"..."

She lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the bass string in her hand, her expression hesitant.

I can't keep hiding here forever.

Ultimately, she was in a dangerous place like a witch's barrier. Even if she didn't want to fight, her familiar would find her sooner or later. She had no way out.

Gritting her teeth, Su Shi was about to stand up.

"Knock knock!"

A perfectly normal knocking sound suddenly came from outside the tightly closed door.

"...!?"

Caught off guard, Su Shi was startled and her hand went limp. She had just managed to stand up by holding onto the wall when she fell to the ground again.

She instinctively covered her mouth with one hand, her expression terrified.

What's going on with this scene that looks like it's from a horror movie?!

In this witch's barrier, besides myself and Kyubey, there are only witches and familiars, so how could someone suddenly knock on the door?

A bright yellow light condensed in her palm as she gripped several bass strings tightly, poised to fling them toward the door at any moment.

Although Su Shi strongly resisted this kind of fighting method, which she found extremely bloody and cruel, only this string could provide her with a tiny bit of security.

At that moment, the knocking on the door stopped.

Su Shi held her breath, staring intently at the door with a tense expression, as if afraid that something unknown outside might suddenly burst into the room.

"...Is anyone inside?"

But then, a soft and pleasant voice came from outside the door, making Su Shi pause slightly.

Is that... a girl's voice? Why is it in the witch's barrier?

"Chubi? I see you. Who else is with you?"

These words left her even more astonished.

Do you also know Cupid?

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to her, and her eyes lit up.

Could it be another magical girl who made a contract with Kyubey?

But didn't Kyubey say that she's the only magical girl in all of Tokyo right now?

……

The Witch Who Cures All Diseases

【100%/100%】

"so quiet……"

After entering the witch's barrier, Alex glanced at the BOSS's health bar displayed above her vision and murmured something softly.

Looking around, this witch's barrier inside the warehouse appears to be a maze built using a hospital as a template.

That does suit the witch's name quite well.

With a single slash, Alex sliced ​​the nursing bed familiar that had guided her to the witch's barrier in half, depleting its health. She then opened the minimap, intending to kill some familiars first and create some commotion to see if she could lure the witch out directly.

However, after observing the minimap for a while, I couldn't see any hostile creatures nearby.

Even the familiar that had just collapsed beside him failed to cause any other disturbance.

Has it been cleared once?

She was a little confused.

Could it be that someone provoked these familiars within the witch's barrier, causing them to become agitated?

Is that why I discovered this familiar that was moving so fast toward the witch's barrier?

Although it is unknown whether familiars that have left the witch's barrier will still be able to connect with other familiars or witches inside, it is reasonable to speculate based on this idea for now.

Alex pondered for a moment, then randomly chose a direction in the corridor and ran off.

Then, just a few minutes later, she noticed a familiar white avatar on the minimap, and next to it, another avatar of a brown-haired girl.

"Kyubi?"

So, was it this girl who alerted the familiar within the barrier?

…………

P.S. I had originally written a hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress entrance, but after reviewing it, I felt it was too formulaic and would make Su Shi seem useless, so I deleted it all and rewrote it.

Volume 2: Chapter 212 Do Monsters Eat People?

Following the directions on the mini-map, it wasn't hard to find the location of Cupid and the girl.

Finally, Alex found their small room next to a corridor filled with steel wires.

Alex knocked on the door for a while and even called out a few times. She stared at the door, which remained silent, and then glanced at the two avatars on the minimap.

It seems the person inside doesn't want to open the door for them?

She tilted her head, looking somewhat puzzled.

"Click."

However, soon after, the sound of the door hinges turning came, and Alex took a step back upon seeing this.

The tightly closed door slowly opened.

But what she saw was not the brown-haired girl that Alex had seen on the mini-map.

"Long time no see, Alex."

A white shadow leaped off the doorknob, raised its small head, pursed its cat-like mouth, and greeted Alex.

So Kewpie can open doors by itself?

Alex blinked, but didn't say it aloud.

Have you thought about the wishes you want to fulfill?