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

Having repelled Helica's charge, before Mizuno Yu's next attack could arrive, Koumori, to the astonishment of the two, released her twin saws and, as if bowing to them, slightly lifted the hem of her transformed dress.

Crimson, viscous magic flowed from beneath Hong Moli's skirt, exuding an unsettling aura like fresh blood.

The surging magic, instead of seeping into the sand like a liquid, spread across the ground, forming a pool of blood.

Helica would never do anything during a battle that could change the course of the entire fight, allowing her opponent to prepare their skills with peace of mind.

The two tacitly launched another fierce offensive against Hong Moli.

The blood river boiled the instant the ice and lightning drew near.

The splashing crimson magic rose up like a barrier, blocking the two attacks from both sides of Hong Moli's body.

The crimson magic lifted the two chainsaws that had fallen to the ground and returned them to Hong Moli's hands.

Mizuno Yuu might not have been able to sense it from a distance, but Helica, who was in close combat with the warhammer directly touching the river of blood, felt as if her attack had actually hit a puddle of water; no matter how much force she used, it was all in vain.

The crackling lightning vanished like melting ice upon contact with the bubbling, boiling river of blood, and the lightning-covered wand fell into silence.

Helica was unwilling to have any further contact with this unsettling, blood-like substance until she figured out exactly what it was.

Helica pulled her warhammer backward, and then stepped on the arcs of electricity that had been created in the air to retreat rapidly.

Her body was flying backward, but the warhammer, which was stuck in the pool of liquid, remained motionless. The crimson liquid that had clung to the warhammer held it firmly, causing Herika's backward movement to pause.

The Blood River was released by Koumori, who had anticipated this. Taking advantage of Helika's inability to move, Koumori swung her chainsaw in half, leaving Helika with no way to dodge.

At the same time, after transforming, the tip of Hong Moli's black leather shoes touched the bright red liquid flowing on the ground, and then she gently lifted her foot back and hooked it, just like a little girl playing in the water.

The crimson magic she unleashed was not as gentle as the splashes of water kicked up by a young girl; the magic condensed into a crimson blood blade, flying straight toward Mizuno Yu, who was drawing her bow.

The little vampire, who was being attacked from both sides just a second ago, instantly reversed the situation and launched a fatal attack on the two of them.

Tiny golden sparks crawled across Helica's left hand. Before the chainsaw arrived, Helica deliberately swung her fist, which was enveloped in lightning, and clashed squarely with the short saw that had arrived first.

In this contest, surprisingly, Hong Moli's chainsaw was deflected, and the grip of the crimson liquid that was tightly holding onto the warhammer loosened.

Feeling a sudden ease in her arm, Helica spun around and pulled the warhammer out completely, crashing into Koumori's second chainsaw with lightning speed.

The crimson surrounding Hong Moli evaporated rapidly amidst the lightning erupting from the warhammer, significantly reducing the blood river released by Hong Moli.

It sounds stupid to bump your body against a wand, but someone has used this stupid method to withstand Helica's warhammer.

It was during the first time Helica and the tentacle woman faced each other head-on, when the tentacle woman was being chased all over the streets by Helica. When there was no way to avoid it, she also used her magically charged limbs to catch Helica's warhammer.

Now Helica tried the same method, and the results were much better than expected.

Aside from the inevitable burns from the electric current attaching to her body and the tingling sensation from the recoil, Helica suffered almost no damage that affected her mobility. This was far better than the tentacle woman's half-dead state after taking Helica's attack.

"That tentacle woman..." Helica clicked her tongue, muttering to herself unhappily.

Using the same tactics her enemy had employed, Helica's feelings were incredibly complex.

Using a chainsaw to counter Helica's hammer blows, the blunt weapon would inevitably prevail in a clash between a sharp and a blunt weapon, and Hong Moli was thrown back several steps by the recoil.

The sound of wind cutting through the air was already close to her ears. Hong Moli's cunning crimson flames surged into the air, transforming into two vortexes that blocked the arrows hurtling towards her from behind.

The chilling aura emanating from the arrow froze the constantly spinning vortex, causing it to dissipate into the air.

In this round of confrontation, Hong Moli actually did not gain any advantage.

How much time have we wasted just now? Where has Yuuki Yukino gone this time?

When Komamori looked at the crowd again, Yuuki Yuuki's figure had already disappeared.

Before she could think it through, Helica and Mizuno Yu attacked from both sides once again.

Both of them saw Hong Moli anxiously searching for Yuuki Yuuki. In stark contrast to Hong Moli's goal, as long as they could hold Hong Moli back long enough for Yuuki Yuuki to run away as quickly as possible, their mission would be accomplished.

Hong Moli is very strong, and both Tenrai Herika and Mizuno Yui agree.

Her fight against Miyashita Mia was also a righteous two-on-one battle, but it was only then that Helica used her True Name Release in actual combat for the first time, and Mizuno Yu didn't even use her True Name Release. It was under these circumstances that Miyashita Mia was evenly matched with the two of them.

However, when fighting against Koumori, the two of them held nothing back in order to protect their companions. Even so, Koumori was still able to fight two opponents at once and not be at a disadvantage. Based on this alone, she is definitely much stronger than Miyashita Mia.

As time went by, Hong Moli, who was unable to extricate herself from the situation, also felt extremely frustrated and exhausted.

She had used all her strength from the very beginning when her real name was revealed, but she just couldn't find any chance to escape from the two of them.

If Hyakki Senyou were by my side...

No, I can't think about such things. If I have to rely on Bai Gui Qian You for something like this, then what right do I have to protect Bai Gui Qian You from this conflict?

True Name Release is a stepping stone for a magical girl's power to rise dramatically. Before True Name Release, she would have had great difficulty blocking light arrows, but after using True Name Release, she could easily block them.

If I can climb to the next level, I can get out of this damn situation.

The release of their true names was the limit for both of them, but not for Hong Moli.

It should be fine to use it once.

Hong Moli made up her mind and gripped the chainsaw even tighter.

"And then? What happened after that?"

The witness being interviewed pondered for a long time, his hand on his chin. A chill ran down his spine, and he swallowed hard.

"It was the moon. I remember the time of their battle very clearly that day, it was around three o'clock in the afternoon. Logically speaking, it was still a long time before it got dark, but I saw the moon. Not just me, I think everyone saw it."

Yes, Mizuno Yu and Tenrai Herika saw it, a sight they would likely never forget.

On the beach, a crimson crescent moon slowly rose.

Chapter 41 A Plan for Steady Progress

"Whoa—that bastard, damn it! He's ridiculously strong! Damn it! How can he have such unfair power!"

Helica lay sprawled on the beach, pounding her fists against the ground. Just as she couldn't change the outcome of the battle, her fists only produced barely perceptible thuds as they struck the soft sand.

Herika's warhammer lay diagonally embedded in the sand, and her magical armor was riddled with holes, large and small, as if reminding everyone how brutal the battle had just taken place.

"You bastard? You're still alive? You're still alive, right?"

Herlica grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and threw it at Mizuno Yu, who was lying to the side.

After the crackling sound of sand hitting her body, there were several spitting sounds as Mizuno Yu spat out the sand.

Mizuno Yu spat out the sand in her mouth and wiped her face with her palm.

"I'm fine."

Judging by appearance alone, Mizuno Yu's condition was no less dire; her magical armor was equally tattered. However, due to her powerful self-healing ability, her injuries were now much less severe than Helica's, and she was even able to sit up and brush off the sand that Helica had thrown all over her.

"Tch, if you're not dead, say something. You made me worry so much." Helica struggled to lift her head, glared fiercely at Mizuno Yu, and then turned her head back. A lot of golden sand got into her long golden hair, which she scratched unhappily at the hair that was pressed under her body.

“I’m fine,” Mizuno Yu repeated.

"Alright, alright, I saw it without you saying it." Helica grabbed another handful of sand and flung it out, but this time the target wasn't Mizuno Yu; she was just venting her frustration after her defeat. "How long did we hold that bastard off? Half an hour?"

"Not that long, at most twenty minutes? Maybe even less than twenty minutes." Mizuno Yu shifted her position and then lay back down, spreading her arms out like Helica's.

Even if her recovery ability is stronger than Helica's, the physical and mental exhaustion after a great battle will not recover along with the injury. It's already good enough that she wasn't knocked out of her transformation in a place like this.

"Great, tch." Helica sighed deeply. "Now Yuuki Yukino has plenty of time to escape, right?"

"I guess so?" Mizuno replied absentmindedly.

Mizuno's distracted tone annoyed Helica, and her tone became increasingly aggressive: "What do you mean by 'should'? Is this how you talk? You should be more concerned about Yuuki Yukino!"

"I've actually been thinking about something. Why do corrupted magical girls always target Yuuki Yuki? Miyashita Mia attacked Yuuki Yuki twice, as did the tentacle woman and the musket woman. Now, an enemy we've only met once has also set her sights on her. I always feel that Yuuki Yuki is quite mysterious, but I don't know if she's even aware of it herself."

After Mizuno Yu's explanation, Helica couldn't help but start thinking about the same question.

If there's anything special about Yuuki Yuki, the only thing Helica can think of is the ability Yuki Yuki mentioned—the ability to identify which magical girl is who.

This may only be the tip of the iceberg of the secret Yuuki Yuuki carries. Although Yuuki Yuuki herself seems unaware, she has already been drawn into the conflict between magical girls...

Herlica wanted to think about it some more, but for some reason, her mind would become a jumbled mess whenever she thought of Yuuki Yuuki.

It must be these noisy waves that prevented me from thinking clearly.

"Oh..." Helica gave a perfunctory reply and then fell silent, leaving only the sound of the waves crashing against the beach as the tide rose.

"You seem to care a lot about Yuuki Yuuki." Mizuno Yuu's tone was calm.

Herika couldn't quite grasp the hidden meaning behind Mizuno Yu's calm tone, but the literal meaning of the sentence alone was enough to leave Herika at a loss.

"Who, who cares about her! Why should I care about her! She, she, she's nothing special! Why would I care about her! What's wrong with me caring about her...?"

Helica suddenly shouted a few words, but received no response from Mizuno Yu. Belatedly realizing that her reaction seemed a bit strange, she blushed and pulled back her words.

"Aren't we in the same club? Is it strange to care about a fellow club member? It's not strange at all! Aren't you also considering all this because you care about her?"

"I guess so?" Mizuno Yuu said noncommittally, "Aren't you going to keep pretending to be a good child?"

This time, Helica didn't refute Mizuno Yu's perfunctory response; she simply said something softly.

"I've just figured something out a little, haven't I?"

While the magical girls were engaged in a chaotic battle on the beach, Yuuki Yuuki had already left the beach area, mixed in with the crowd of tourists fleeing the beach.

"If Hong really shows up, for safety's sake, Xiaoyuan must not have any conflict with her. I don't want Xiaoyuan to encounter any danger." On the day before departure, when they were discussing more details, Inuyama Baqi suggested: "Didn't Xiaoyuan agree to go out with the yellow-haired dwarf? If the situation allows, let the yellow-haired dwarf and the other girl stop Hong, and Xiaoyuan can take the opportunity to leave the scene as soon as possible."

“But I can’t just run away and leave Tenrai and Mizuno in danger because of our plan, can I?” Yuuki Yuen retorted. “Fighting against Koumori is completely different from fighting against us. We know to hold back, but Koumori might not do that. What if they are subjected to something excessive because they are protecting me…”

"Xiao Yuan is so gentle," Ba Qi sighed. "But Xiao Yuan is also an idiot! A super idiot! Haven't you ever thought about who Hong is targeting?"

“It’s me,” Yuuki Yukino replied. “Precisely because Koumari’s target is me, I can’t just leave them there and run away alone, can I?”

"Xiao Yuan knows that Hong is after you, so why would she think that others are in danger? It would be Xiao Yuan who would be in danger if she didn't run away."

"What's going on here?! What the hell?" Yuuki Yuki was confused by Inuyama Tomoe's words and couldn't understand what Inuyama Tomoe was trying to say.

“If Yuuki stays there, she won’t be able to transform because of the two dwarfs, right? If she encounters danger, she’ll either have to transform and expose her identity, or she’ll just have to watch helplessly as danger strikes. Yuuki wouldn’t want either of those options, would she?” Baqi sighed helplessly, looking exasperated, and continued explaining to Yuuki:

"Besides, if Xiaoyuan stays there, they will definitely do everything they can to protect her. Hong will take action against Xiaoyuan whenever she has the chance. But if Xiaoyuan is not there, they don't need to be distracted by taking care of her and can focus all their efforts on attacking her. On the contrary, if Hong wants to capture Xiaoyuan, she will have to overcome both of them. In this way, the disadvantage will turn into an advantage."

"In a two-on-one situation, no matter how strong Hong is, she will be in a tough fight. Besides, even if they don't defeat Hong, Hong won't waste time on them. She will definitely come to find Xiaoyuan first. At that time, even if she has no choice but to transform, Xiaoyuan will be in much less danger."

"Furthermore, Hong also said something like that you are flowers that have not yet grown up, which roughly means that she will not kill them all before the yellow-haired dwarfs fall into darkness? Something like that."

"So! So! If Danghong approaches Xiaoyuan, Xiaoyuan should run away without worry! That way, our plan can progress to the second stage!"

I hope reality is just as Baqi said; I hope so.

Yuuki Yuka walked quickly with the increasingly sparse crowd, constantly sensing whether the magic of the few people had disappeared.

The disappearance of magic means the transformation is over, and it also likely means that danger is about to befall them.