Even if you're a corrupted magical girl, you still have to try to redeem yourself.

To Hong Moli's surprise, her seemingly sure-win attack was blocked.

The rising ice walls froze the buzzing chainsaw, freezing the straw hat debris and the protruding saw blade in mid-air as if in a frozen moment.

This level of obstruction was broken down in a short time under Hong Moli's powerful attack, but this time was enough for Yuuki Yuki to retreat to a safe place.

Hong Mali saw the flow of magic emanating from a blue magical girl on the distant beach, her palms outstretched.

She also saw, behind the shattered ice shards, the cunning smile of Yuuki Eri, the prey who should have been the target, as her scheme succeeded.

Chapter Thirty-Nine Conflict

One day earlier, at Inuyama Tomoe's house.

"Everything else is fine, but if we do this, will Hong Moli really appear?"

Yuuki Yukino picked up a pen and scribbled randomly on the draft paper on the table that was covered with writing.

"I don't know." Inuyama Tomoe held her neck, her fingers twirling a strand of silver hair that fell from her sideburns, then letting go. She always liked to play with her hair like this when she was thinking.

"You didn't know? Then all the things we just mentioned were done without knowing?" Yuuki Yuen suddenly stopped scribbling with her pen, leaving a small hole in the paper.

Ba Qi glanced at the draft paper pierced by the pen tip, released her hand from her hair, and stretched her stiff neck a few times.

"I do know about Hong, but I'm not her, so how could I possibly think exactly like her in everything? Every plan has its flaws, but I think the success rate is quite high. Don't worry, Xiaoyuan. Even if something goes wrong, I will definitely come to help you as soon as possible."

“I’m not worried about myself.” Yuuki Yui gently placed the pen on the table, and for once, she and Baqi showed a serious expression: “I’m worried about you.”

"Huh?" Ba Qi blushed and tapped her head with her knuckles, making a few thumping sounds, as if trying to dispel the chaotic thoughts in her mind.

After the blush on her face faded considerably, Baqi continued the previous topic: "I told Bai Gui that it was just the two of us, so it must be just the two of us. I'm willing to believe them."

"And another thing, if those two were capable of such petty schemes, why would Hong be so stupid as to come right up to you and say she'd kill you?"

Seeing that Yuki Yuki remained silent, Baqi added, "This girl, Hong, is ridiculously stupid at everything except studying."

"I'm willing to believe that ridiculously stupid Hong will make a choice that will satisfy us all. Oh, of course, there are other reasons too, I'll tell Xiaoyuan about them slowly..."

Yuuki waited anxiously until the chainsaw tore the straw hat apart, while firmly believing that Koumori would appear on this beach.

She didn't know much about Koumori and wouldn't believe this child who threatened her, but she believed in Inuyama Tomoe.

From fighting alone at the beginning, where even Baqi had to be wary of her, to now having partners she can trust, Yuuki Yuuki feels that she has really taken a big step forward.

If she didn't believe Baqi, she wouldn't have risked exposing herself by digging up Mizuno Yu, who was buried face down in the sand, and whispering to her that she sensed the presence of other corrupted magical girls on the beach and that she should be careful.

Yuuki Yui was able to sense magical girls, but this fabricated ability lost its purpose after the Miyashita Mia incident was resolved. Yuuki Yui wouldn't reveal her own or Tomoe's identities, and she didn't have many unknown magical girls around her.

The peace during this period was only relative. For Yuuki Yuuki, she did indeed live a carefree life before Koumori came to her.

But Mizuno Yu and Herika couldn't be carefree. They never let their guard down. The Miyashita Mia incident was resolved, but there was still a capricious pink devil around.

Even more outrageous is that they have never found a single clue about the pink demon. Its whereabouts are unpredictable, and it does whatever it wants. Today it will raid Yuuki Yuki's house, and tomorrow it will go to the shopping street to crush instant noodles. Even if they do some analysis, they can't figure it out.

That's why, after Yuuki mentioned to Mizuno Yu that there seemed to be a magical girl on the beach, Mizuno Yu immediately pulled Helika aside to discuss countermeasures.

"Is that really what Yuan said?" Herlica's gentle gaze vanished instantly, replaced by burning anger, her teeth grinding together.

"Yes, that's all Yuki said. She also said there were quite a few people, and she couldn't tell exactly who they were, so she told us to be careful," Mizuno Yu replied.

"Okay, okay, okay, I still have a score to settle with those two bastards." Helica clenched her knuckles, took a deep breath, and then exhaled as if she wanted to empty her lungs of air. She repeated this deep breath several times, and then put on a kind smile: "I will control my impulses, and you shouldn't give away your life like you did last time."

"Also, keep a close eye on Yuan. Be careful that what happened last time, when she was kidnapped in front of us, doesn't happen again."

Yuuki Yukari could tell that they weren't deliberately avoiding her during their discussion, but it certainly wasn't appropriate to openly and loudly discuss magical girl-related matters on a beach, so she decided not to worry about it any further.

She trusted Inuyama Tomoe, but before Koumori appeared, Yuuki En felt that this waiting was extremely torturous.

Only when the chainsaw began to hum and the blade was almost in front of her did Yuuki Yuki finally relax.

They arrived as expected.

Then, Mizuno Yu, who was prepared in advance, made her move at just the right moment, using layers of rising ice walls to block the chainsaw's attack.

"Run!"

Mizuno Yu shouted, not only to Yuuki Yuki, but also to the tourists on the beach.

Yuuki Yui was mixed in with the crowd, running wildly towards Mizuno Yui's direction on her legs before she transformed.

Hong Moli gripped the chainsaw tightly and it started spinning again. At first, it spun a bit, the blade getting stuck in the frozen ice wall with each turn, scraping off some ice shards. The saw blade spun faster and faster with a screeching sound, and several cracks began to spread across the ice wall. Hong Moli shook the chainsaw in her hand, shaking off the remaining ice particles.

With a magical girl intervening, and having already failed, Koumori wasn't in a hurry to launch another attack. She stuck her chainsaw into the beach and began to observe the magical girl in the distance.

She was a magical girl he had met once before. Her exact strength was unknown, but she was unlikely to be stronger than him.

Koumori sniffed, the cool magic emanating from Mizuno Yuu making her nasal cavity feel a little numb.

The scent of this magic is somewhat familiar.

Yuuki Yukino wasn't lying; it was indeed the taste of one of her companions.

But Yuuki Yuuki is a corrupted magical girl, how could she possibly mix with these ordinary magical girls?

Hong Moli's question flashed by. She came here to deal with Yuuki Yukino, not to analyze Yuuki Yukino's purpose. A rough understanding of the other party's strength was enough.

If this drags on any longer, Yuuki Yuki will disappear without a trace.

The girl's body transformed into a streak of gold and red light, rushing forward and carving a straight crack in the flat beach. The resulting wind pressure stirred up countless grains of sand, her destination pointing towards Yuuki Yukino, who was turning and running away.

The golden and red light was blocked by an even more dazzling gold. The blonde girl, who had fought with Hong Moli once before, held a magic wand that was disproportionate to her size and blocked her way. Streaks of lightning formed another barrier to protect the tourists who were scattering and fleeing.

Two magical girls blocked her way. If Yuuki Yukino transformed again, the situation would be very unfavorable for her. Thinking this, Koumori pressed down on the chainsaw.

She must complete the mission before Yuuki Eri transforms, so that she can return to Hyakki Senyu's side as soon as possible to protect the people who are important to her.

Is Yuuki Yuuki still running away and hasn't transformed yet?

So that's how it is. No wonder Yuuki Yuuki hangs out with two magical girls all the time.

You had fun playing games with magical girls, didn't you?

Using the recoil from Helica lifting the warhammer, Hong Moli staggered back a few steps, splitting her chainsaw in two, and then charged forward at an even faster speed, dragging the two saws along.

As Hong Moli drew closer, Helica, having witnessed her strength firsthand, dared not underestimate her in the slightest. Her giant lightning hammer, imbued with magic, was poised to strike, ready to meet Hong Moli's attack.

Before colliding with Helica, Hong Moli suddenly changed direction, her saw blade barely grazing the warhammer before passing by. Hong Moli also brushed past Helica, her charging momentum undiminished.

Helica lost sight of her target, her powerful blow hitting nothing but air, causing her to lean forward.

Before Helica could get into position and turn to chase after her, Hong Moli had already created some distance between them, and it was too late to catch up now.

"You fool, her goal is fate! Don't do anything stupid!"

"clear."

A rain of icy arrows took over from Helica to meet the ever-approaching Red Jasmine.

The two saws crossed, and the high-frequency sonic boom from the impact of the saw blades colliding with each other deflected the rain of arrows, and also made Hong Moli's hands numb from the reaction force.

That's how it's taken care of.

After the rain of arrows, what awaited Hong Moli was an enormous arrow of light.

Chapter Forty: The Crimson Crescent Moon Rises Slowly

The overwhelming rain of arrows was not only an obstacle to Koumori's progress, but also a feint before Mizuno Yu's powerful attack.

The rain of arrows paused in the air with the high-frequency vibrations of the sound waves, tiny cracks crawled all over the arrow shafts, and they shattered into drifting ice mist.

As the icy fog, so out of place on the sweltering summer beach, melted into tiny water droplets and fell, the radiant arrows, now unobstructed, followed the fog's dissipation.

The moonlight was as cold as ice, as flowing as water, and as sharp as an arrow shot from Mizuno Yu's hand.

As a radiant arrow shot out, Mizuno Yu softly called out the true name of her magic wand.

"Artemis".

The wand, bearing the names of the god of the hunt and the moon goddess, reveals its brilliance to the enemy for the first time.

"Tsk."

Hong Moli clicked her tongue almost imperceptibly, and the chainsaw in her hand roared even louder.

Unlike the minor skirmish at the Moonsea Tower that day, the activation of the True Name Release was done without hesitation, indicating that the other party was determined to keep him here.

In the past, even if they got into a tug-of-war, it wouldn't matter, but today, Hong Moli was determined to succeed.

If I fail again today, having learned from two failures, Yuuki Yui will definitely be more cautious, and it will only become more difficult for me to succeed in the future. I may also get into deeper trouble with the guild master.

The twin saws used to cut through the rain of arrows crossed in front of Koumori's chest. The girl's speed increased instead of decreasing, and the chainsaws drew a cross of light, slicing through the pure white light shot out by Mizuno Yu.

"The light was cut." An eyewitness at the scene said in a later interview: "In my understanding, chainsaws can only cut objects with shapes, or more specifically, chainsaws can only cut solids. Generally speaking, that's correct, right?"

"But the girl's chainsaw sliced ​​the light that was being shone at her into four pieces, just like slicing an apple."

"No, it didn't scatter, it was cut in four directions. The light that was cut into four parts flew out in four different directions. I'm sure what I saw was light, not something that was glowing."

While seemingly effortlessly using her forward momentum to deflect Mizuno Yu's arrow of light, Koumori herself was actually suffering greatly.

The power of the True Name Unleashed is not something that can be easily taken. After Hong Moli forcibly cut it open, her hands were shaken by the reaction force and became somewhat numb.

Mizuno Yu's attack failed to cause any real damage to Koumori, but it was more than enough to stop Koumori's advance.

Hong Mori gripped her wand tightly, controlling her numb hands, preparing to accelerate again. A deafening bolt of lightning struck from the sky, hitting her directly in front of her. If Hong Mori took another step forward, her body would inevitably be engulfed by the intense impact of the lightning.

The ability to mobilize the power of Heatray is undoubtedly also a form of True Name Release.

Helica and her warhammer arrived from behind Koumori in an instant, more ferocious than a thunderclap that shook the earth. Mizuno Yu, standing in front of Koumori, drew her ice crystal bow, which shone with a cold light.

Further away, Yuuki Yuuki's figure, holding her phone, had already run far away, almost disappearing into the crowded throng.

If we can't get rid of the fight with these two magical girls as soon as possible, it will be even more difficult to create an opportunity to get this close to Yuuki Yuki again.

Fortunately, from the very beginning, Koumori never intended to hide her strength.

It's just a matter of liberating one's real name; it's not like one can't use it.

"Vladtepes".

Without the slightest hesitation, Hong Moli revealed her true name.

The unchanged twin saws caught the warhammer and arrow more powerfully. The attribute boost alone after the release of her true name significantly increased Koumori's strength.

She easily blocked the attack, but Hong Moli had more to do than that.

"The Cradle of Dracula".

It was a "skill," a skill that could only be used after the True Name was released. Hong Moli was unwilling to waste a single second, so she used all her strength immediately after the True Name was released.