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

This time, however, Baqi finally reacted noticeably. She raised her head and nodded several times, forcefully and stiffly, as if afraid that Hong Moli would not see her movements.

"Yes, we can't let Xiaoyuan's sacrifice be in vain..."

Baqi murmured in her voice, which was as dry as a desert, as a formal response to Hong Moli's words.

An hour was not enough for Baqi to calm down all the sadness in her heart and accept the current situation wholeheartedly.

But Inuyama Tomoe had to be strong, because this was Yuuki Yuuki's last wish.

No one touched Inuyama Haki, but Haki's body began to sway unsteadily again.

Inuyama Tomoe, dragging her numb kneeling legs, used her battered hands to prop herself up, then collapsed weakly back down, struggling once more…

Hong Moli and Bai Guiqian humorously put their arms around Baqi's arms, one on each side, and helped her to her feet.

They all knew that it was time to retreat.

But for them, the timing of this retreat seemed a bit too late.

On the deserted streets, which had been deserted due to the attack by Kuroba Reisei, a figure suddenly appeared and walked towards them.

On this deserted street, that figure was even more likely to attract their attention.

She walked slowly and lazily with heavy steps, her flowing skirt fluttering gently with each step. Even against the pale light cast by the street lamps, one could see the reluctant and listless expression on her face.

They all recognized the person at the same time; it was Sheng Shiyin.

Saint Siyin simply maintained the form of an ordinary person, walking from one side of the street to the other.

Despite Yuuki Yui repeatedly emphasizing that Seishine was Kuroba's companion in the afterlife.

However, no matter what they did, they couldn't connect Saint Shion with the nun-clad magical girl who helped Kuroba in his next life. This was the effect of the cognitive impairment that came with the transformation.

The effects of this magic will persist until you confirm it with your own eyes.

Even if Saint Shion stood in front of them, they would still doubt whether this person was really the same person who blocked them along with Kuroba Reisei.

However, the others remained vigilant, waiting for Sheng Shiyin to stop a short distance in front of them.

Running away is useless; if we were going to fight, the other side would have already done it.

These few steps are nothing to a magical girl.

They were curious to see what kind of tricks Saint Shiyin would pull.

"The secretary of the student council of St. Yuu Academy; Koumori; Hyakki Senyu, who is nominally a member of the student council but does not hold a position; and Inuyama Tomoe, who was the most popular candidate for the previous student council president but did not run for office for some reason and later transferred to another school."

Saint Shion let out a long, lazy yawn, her gaze sweeping over the three tense faces of the countermeasures team. Each time she looked away from one person, she would directly point out that person's name.

"My dear sisters, it's such a wonderful coincidence that we've met at this time and place. Please allow me to formally say to you, it's been a long time."

Saint Shion's every move lacked the innate elegance that belonged to Saint Yuu Academy; she seemed more like a lazy girl who was never fully awake.

Yet, with her languidness that had nothing to do with elegance, she spoke the same words as every other student at St. Eternal Academy, maintaining the politeness that was taken for granted.

The children who grew up under the influence of St. Eternal Academy carried a lazyness that was out of place with the atmosphere of the entire academy.

How should I describe it...? It's more like a sense of disharmony.

The fact that this very person is the future successor of the Holy Age Academy further exacerbates this sense of incongruity.

After Seishin greeted him casually, Inuyama Tomoe took half a step forward, blocking Koumori and Hyakki Senyu behind her.

Inuyama Tomoe was undoubtedly the weakest among them, but she never considered the matter of being strong or weak. As the senior of the others, she not only enjoyed the privilege of being called "onee-sama" but also had to shoulder the responsibilities of a senior.

I don't care whether Shengshiyin is strong or not.

She had only one thought in mind: to complete what Yuuki Yui hadn't finished. Since Yui was willing to sacrifice herself to protect Hyakki Chiyu and Koumori, she had to risk her life to fulfill Yui's wish.

Inuyama Tomoe walked gracefully to Seishin's side and their eyes met.

"Sacred Hymn".

"Wow, Inuyama, we used to be classmates. By the way, you cut your hair short. I still prefer your long hair."

Saint Shion chatted casually with Inuyama Baki without any sense of tension, as if nothing had happened between them and it was simply because they hadn't seen each other for a long time.

"Let's skip the small talk." Ba Qi Ke had no interest in chatting with the other party about everyday matters.

The reason she didn't make a move was simply because the other party hadn't transformed yet.

The magic that hinders her perception prevents her from associating the two people, even though she knows the other party is very likely the culprit who harmed Yuuki Yukino.

Yes, before the magic was broken, Baqi still had a sliver of hope.

"Oh, is that so? I see." Sheng Shiyin took two steps back and tilted her head.

"Because of Koumari? How could such a subtle magical aura be detected? Haaah—this is so troublesome. I'm definitely not good at this kind of thing. But oh well, it's the president's request."

Saint Shion did not transform, but her words were tantamount to admitting her identity.

The magic that hindered cognition was dispelled the moment Saint Hymn implicitly acknowledged her identity.

"How did you find us?" Baqi's eyes sharpened for a moment, but she gradually suppressed her displeasure with a few breaths.

“This will do all the trick~” Sheng Shiyin pulled her phone out of her pants and showed it to the group of people.

"A cell phone?" Hong Moli frowned.

“It’s a very simple principle~ triangulation. We were classmates in the past, so don’t you have Inuyama’s contact information?” Seishin put away her phone.

"Just look at the distance between the two people, then look at the distance again from a different location, and then draw a circle with the two locations as the center and the distance as the radius. It's that simple."

As she spoke, Sheng Shiyin squinted her eyes, which were barely visible due to her sleepy state: "It's really a big help that Inuyama didn't move; it saved me a lot of trouble."

Baqi calmly asked, "What if we've already moved?"

“Then there’s no way to find you. There really is no way to find you,” Saint Shiyin replied.

"So, you're using technology to find us because you can't find us as a magical girl?" Baqi continued to ask.

Saint Shion put her index finger to her lips, rolled her eyes, and looked thoughtful: "Hmm~ that's true."

"Is that how it is? I see." Inuyama Tomoe tilted her head, just like when Seishin had spoken.

Fenrir!

A crimson military uniform appeared beside Baki, along with chains and matchlock guns floating in the air.

A barrage of bullets rained down.

Within arm's reach is not a fighting distance that Inuyama Tomoe is good at.

But this distance is also the most likely to catch someone off guard.

The explosion from the arquebus that fired autonomously obscured Tomoe's vision, and the dazzling flashes of light made Tomoe's eyes appear blurry and white.

She had used this firelight to obscure Mizuno Yu's vision and escape during her first real battle, but this time it had the opposite effect on her.

She could feel that her bullet exploded before it even touched Saint Shion.

Were they stopped?

But where is Saint Shiyin?

As the smoke cleared, Saint Shion still hadn't transformed, but a nun appeared out of nowhere in front of her, using her mace and body to block the attack aimed at Saint Shion.

Before the battle, Baqi had noticed that there should be no one else on the entire street except for the four of them.

But where did these eight nuns from the Dream Ball Bar come from?

The same thing happened before; when they were preparing to retreat, a group of nuns appeared out of nowhere.

There was more than one that popped up last time.

Sure enough, nuns carrying various weapons began to appear one after another among the surrounding buildings.

"You guys go first."

Baqi's chains intertwined into a giant net, dividing the entire block in two. One half consisted of Inuyama Baqi and the nuns raising their wands at her, while the other half was occupied by Koumori and Hyakki Senyu, who had just completed their transformations.

“But, elder sister, you…” Hong Moli hesitated.

"Don't worry about me, you guys go first!" Baqi's chains pushed the two of them in another direction.

Hong Moli and Bai Guiqianyou glanced at Ba Qi's retreating figure, exchanged a look, and then walked away together into the distance.

"Is it alright for one of you to stay here alone?" The speaker was not Saint Shiyin, but the nun who had blocked Baqi's attack.

"But you guys, is it really okay not to chase after them?" Baqi tossed her hair, and the overwhelming chains retracted from her feet.

“Because you are here,” the nun standing atop the streetlamp said.

“You won’t let us pass.” Then came the nun standing on the roof of the car.

“We must stop you here,” the nun on the sidewalk continued.

"want!"

A nun under the shade of a tree.

"To you!"

The nun on the rooftop.

"test."

All the nuns spoke in unison.

"Come on, Inuyama Tomoe, show your resolve, show your strength, show whether you are worthy."

"Chatter, chatter, chatter, it's so noisy! I can't listen to a single word of your nonsense!"

Baqi twisted her neck, took a deep breath, and tilted her head back to exhale the hot air into the cold air.

"But it's just as well, so that they won't have to see me in this embarrassing state if they leave."

Inuyama Tomoe stuck out her tongue, and the dark red light shimmering on its black magic markings became even more pronounced.

“When Xiaoyuan first sat down and chatted with me, she once told me that I was too indifferent to life. That’s true. At that time, I didn’t understand what was wrong with that person named Nishio Reki, or why Xiaoyuan got so angry with me because of her. I really didn’t understand.”

Then, the black magic pattern detached from Inuyama Tomoe's body and floated in mid-air.

"However, I think I understand now. So that's what it means. So this is how painful it is to part with someone you love."

"Xiaoyuan must really like that kid named Nishio Reki, right?"

Baqi slowly raised her gun, pointing it at her own black demonic runes that floated in the air, radiating brilliant light and depicting claws and fangs in distorted, totem-like patterns.