Neither of them knew the true extent of Su Mo's power.
Even Homura, who was more familiar with him, had only just learned that he could rewind past events.
And while Su Mo's feat of traversing the river of time across millions of light-years was far beyond the capabilities of any being in this universe, to the uninformed—including Kyubey—it still seemed like a support-type ability, one without any direct combat strength.
Concept-based powers were a common occurrence among magical girls, and often, the more reality-bending the effect, the weaker the user's personal combat ability.
So, when they sensed Su Mo's presence overlapping with that of a witch, their immediate reaction was panic. If a witch got the jump on him, Su Mo might not be able to defend himself.
"Time stop... So your ability is related to time after all, Homura Akemi!"
Within the time-stopped domain, Kyubey, held by the ear by Mami, still had the presence of mind to observe Homura's power.
It had suspected as much before; after all, Homura was the only magical girl it hadn't incubated itself. It now seemed she was an anomaly incubated by its counterpart in another timeline.
"Eh? Homura-chan?" It took a few seconds for Madoka, held in Homura's arms, to realize her situation.
"Don't move. We have to save Big Brother Su Mo first!" Homura told Madoka succinctly.
Faced with the emergency, her first instinct was to activate her time stop, ensuring they wouldn't be too late.
Her second was to bring Madoka with her; she couldn't leave Madoka alone with Kyubey under any circumstances. It was too dangerous to be caught between a rock and a hard place.
"Oh!" Madoka nodded in understanding, then immediately shook her head. "You don't have to worry about Big Brother Su Mo!"
Although she was just an ordinary person and couldn't sense the witch's presence, in this world, no one knew Su Mo better than she did. How could a mere witch possibly threaten Lord Su Mo?
"No, you don't understand the power of witches," Homura said, naturally dismissing the words of a powerless civilian.
She knew the strength of witches all too well.
They weren't something an ordinary person could handle, especially not the one whose familiar presence she sensed now. "Charlotte, the Dessert Witch. That one is an expert at disguise. Even if Big Brother Su Mo had the power of an average magical girl, he'd still be in grave danger!" Homura glanced at Mami, speaking as they rushed forward.
Even the veteran magical girl Mami Tomoe had her head bitten off by this witch dozens of times. Anyone without prior intel couldn't possibly fight it.
"Hmm? You seem very familiar with this witch," Mami said, looking at Homura with surprise.
She was dying to know where Homura got her information and to ask about the truth of magical girls that Homura had hinted at earlier. But now was clearly not the time, and as expected, Homura ignored her question.
"We're here!"
In just a few leaps, the two of them arrived at the street in front of the school and saw the witch's barrier. Inside the barrier was the witch's lair, where it would typically hide. Anyone who entered was its prey.
"Big Brother Su Mo's presence isn't outside. He's entered the witch's lair!" Homura's expression turned grim.
Even if time was stopped, in the brief moment it took for them to sense the witch's presence, Su Mo could have still been in danger.
"If we go in now, we should still be in time!" Mami had no time for questions either, her face equally serious. "Homura-san, I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush! Witches are not to be underestimated. Even I need a lot of preparation. You'll have to listen to my command, or at the very least, we need to coordinate. That's the only way we can rescue Su Mo-senpai faster!"
As Mami was speaking, Homura had already reached the barrier. With no time for further discussion, she nodded in agreement and prepared to charge in.
Just as the two of them simultaneously channeled their magic...
*POP!*
It was like a punch hitting empty air. The magic they had gathered suddenly dispersed. The witch's barrier they had sensed simply vanished.
"How can this be?!" Homura's pupils constricted, a terrible premonition washing over her.
Could it be that the damned witch had already succeeded and was making its escape?
A nameless fury suddenly surged in her heart, igniting a flame in her dark eyes. An emotion hotter than hope and deeper than despair began to brew, its dangerous aura threatening to rewrite the world itself.
In that critical moment...
"Big Brother Su Mo!"
Madoka's joyful voice brought Homura back to her senses.
Looking at Su Mo, who was standing before them completely unharmed, Homura was taken aback, her eyes clearing. "Big Brother Su Mo, are you alright?"
"Of course I am." Su Mo, who had appeared out of thin air, closed the black book in his hands.
Homura noticed the name on the cover—Avesta. She knew it was a classic text of Zoroastrianism but didn't know the specifics.
Seeing Su Mo, Mami also relaxed and asked curiously, "Did the witch escape?"
"Escape?" Hearing this, Su Mo shook his head.
"Hmm? It didn't?" Mami didn't quite understand what he meant.
Beside her, Homura had already figured it out.
The witch's barrier hadn't fled; it had completely collapsed. They were still inside the time-stopped domain, and she hadn't even attacked the witch yet.
Even if it were to flee, it couldn't have done so within stopped time.
Therefore, there was only one explanation for the witch's presence disappearing.
"Big Brother Su Mo, did you defeat the witch?" Homura asked, voicing her suspicion.
"Su Mo-senpai defeated a witch? In such a short time?" Hearing this, Mami couldn't help but stare at Su Mo with wide eyes.
It seemed impossible. From the moment the witch's presence appeared to the time they arrived, excluding the time stop, only a few seconds had passed. That was barely enough time for Su Mo to enter the barrier.
If Su Mo had defeated the witch in such a short time, the only possibility was an instant kill. Not even ten of her could pull that off. Even if Su Mo had combat abilities, he couldn't be that powerful, could he?
Faced with their shocked gazes, Su Mo nodded slightly. "You could say I defeated it. To be precise, I was simply interested in the witch's concept of despair. I happened to run into one, so I sealed and collected it."
"Sealed and collected?"
Hearing Su Mo's nonchalant tone, no matter how much Mami disbelieved it, she didn't think he would lie.
Which meant Su Mo really had managed to kill a witch in an instant. It was just his method of "defeating" it that she didn't understand.
How do you "collect" a witch?
As if sensing her confusion, Su Mo opened the Avesta to a page on the "evil" side and tapped one of the newly inscribed entries.
The next second, a little white-haired girl who looked no older than eight or nine appeared before them.
Seeing this unfamiliar child, Homura and Mami were both startled and instinctively went on guard. "Big Brother Su Mo, if I'm not mistaken, this aura of despair..." Homura subconsciously took a step closer to Su Mo, her eyes fixed on the white-haired girl with utter shock and vigilance.
Mami's expression was equally one of disbelief. If neither she nor Homura was mistaken, the aura coming from the white-haired girl was identical to the dangerous presence they had sensed earlier.
Which meant...
"That's right." Su Mo nodded, confirming their suspicions. "This child's name is Nagisa Momoe. Or, as you might know her better, Charlotte, the Dessert Witch."