MHGA Chapter 364: Witch Hunt
"Sayaka Miki, are you sure your friend suddenly went missing?"
In front of a Witch's Barrier, Mami Tomoe wore a solemn expression as she looked at Sayaka.
She had encountered Sayaka by chance yesterday, after the girl had accidentally wandered into a Witch's Barrier.
Moreover, after learning about the Witches—how they plant the mark of the Witch's Kiss and lure people into their barriers—Sayaka quickly thought of the suddenly absent Madoka.
Sayaka reported Madoka's disappearance to Mami, who deduced that Madoka may have been marked by a Witch while on her way to school.
Thus, Mami began searching the path between Madoka's home and the school, hoping to locate the Witch and rescue her.
But upon entering this Witch's Barrier, neither Mami nor Sayaka found any trace of Madoka.
Although strong as a magical girl, Mami could clearly feel something was off—Witches in Mitakihara City had grown more frenzied and aggressive, for reasons unknown.
While protecting Sayaka, Mami tried searching the barrier for any trace resembling Madoka.
However... what she failed to notice was that outside the barrier, a man running at high speed—with a miniature Winged Lion perched on his shoulder—had just arrived before the entrance.
"This is the place."
The Winged Lion's pupils were deep and still. As pure magic incarnate, though not the same as this world's magical girls or Witches, it could nonetheless "feel" the touch of magic, detecting a labyrinth-like structure within this space.
"Phew."
Kairo Retsu caught his breath after the run. Though he couldn't see the barrier, he began stretching his limbs. "Can you open it? I need to gear up before heading in."
He took his hunter equipment from his pack and started putting it on with practiced speed. The Winged Lion squinted at the air before them, its pupils shifting into the ∞ symbol, as it attempted to analyze the structure of the barrier with its magic.
Kairo Retsu soon donned his full hunter armor—his entire body now cloaked in the fearsome and dignified Nergigante gear, including his helmet.
His Great Sword was strapped across his back, and he was fully prepared for battle.
"Not difficult to understand," the Winged Lion soon said, having grasped the barrier's structure. "I can open a way in—but someone is already fighting inside."
"Hmm?"
Beneath his helmet, Kairo Retsu raised an eyebrow. "Someone?"
"Doesn't matter. No matter who's inside this time, I'm dragging that Witch back to the Assembly for research!"
"Let me in!"
He declared without hesitation. The Winged Lion responded in kind—pouring its invisible magic into the barrier, violently prying open a path into the Witch's realm.
"GOGOGO!"
Kairo Retsu stepped boldly into the barrier and was immediately greeted by a chaotic, surreal space—like something straight out of abstract art.
The swirling, disorienting space made one's head spin.
Gunshots echoed in his ears—flintlock-style—and confirmed to Kairo Retsu who was already inside.
"Mami Tomoe, huh…"
He glanced around, trying to match what he saw with the references he had recently reviewed on Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
Familiars flitted through the barrier, but what drew his attention most was the distant scenery resembling a rose garden.
The Rose Garden Witch… Kairo Retsu recalled its data.
Its appearance mimicked a butterfly, and its nature was "Disbelief."
"There are two people inside the barrier," the Winged Lion said in his ear. "But… I don't sense that creature called Kyubey."
"Kyubey's not here?" Kairo Retsu dashed forward. The Witch's familiars had already detected his intrusion and swarmed toward him in fury.
The Rose Garden Witch despised human trespassers—her familiars always attacked invaders with hostility.
At the center of the barrier, just as Mami Tomoe was struggling to deal with a Frenzy Virus-infected Witch, she heard a thunderous battle cry.
After blasting away the familiars closing in on Sayaka with her musket, she warily looked up—only to see a monstrous armored figure charging out from a staircase above.
He had two of the Witch's familiars clenched in his fists, which he crushed mid-air before slamming down toward the ground.
The armor was so savage in appearance that if it weren't for the fact he had just annihilated familiars—and clearly didn't match the Witch's aesthetic—Mami would've mistaken him for some newly manifested Familiar himself.
"Mami Tomoe. Sayaka Miki."
Kairo Retsu gave the two girls a brief glance before charging toward the Witch. The massive butterfly-like entity slammed downward in an attempt to crush him.
Now that a being brimming with overwhelming vitality had entered its territory, the Witch's instinct compelled it to feast on his life force.
But that telegraphed attack gave Kairo Retsu all the information he needed. He drew the Great Sword from his back and slid forward into a low charge, letting momentum carry him beneath the incoming strike as he crouched—charging his sword behind him.
As the Witch's giant form came crashing down, he released the rising slash with full force.
The explosive clash of power not only stopped the Witch's attack—it sent her reeling backward.
Just as she staggered, a grappling claw shot out, pulling Kairo Retsu in close, where he followed up with a devastating horizontal slash, leaving a deep wound across her body.
He immediately transitioned into a fully charged True Charged Slash, swinging the sword in a wide arc and slamming it down with monstrous power.
The Rose Garden Witch couldn't even react—already reeling, she was struck hard and thrown back, writhing in pain.
"!"
Mami Tomoe stared at the scene in shock.
It was the first time she'd seen someone fight a Witch so… brutally. And that appearance—was this really a magical girl?
What kind of magical girl transformed into a towering suit of armor and swung a several-hundred-pound Great Sword to bludgeon a Witch senseless?
Just as she puzzled over this, a small, winged creature flew in front of her and Sayaka.
And for some reason… Mami couldn't shake the feeling that its expression looked—
Hungry?
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