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

But something seems off?

When Nishio Reki speaks, he's too serious.

Nishio Reki's seriousness at this moment made Yuuki Yuuki feel that there was something else going on.

Unlike how she relentlessly pursued herself at school, this sentence was uttered with difficulty only after careful consideration.

After saying this, Nishio Reki silently cast her gaze into the distant night.

As Nishio Reki said, Yuuki Yuuki is sometimes really awful, and sometimes really a good person.

If you weren't a pushover, you probably wouldn't care about this guy's feelings.

Can you tell me why?

Nishio Reki lowered his head and swayed from side to side, seemingly deep in thought.

A moment later, he tilted his head back, his dark eyes seemingly merging with the darkness of the night.

Next, Nishio Reki threw out a completely unconvincing reason at Yuuki Yuuki.

"Because I like Xiaoyuan, is that okay?"

Before Yuuki Yukino could answer, Nishio Reki denied the reason himself.

"It really didn't work."

Nishio Ryū muttered to himself in distress, raising his hand and inserting his five fingers between his hair, forcefully ruffling his long, black hair with his palm.

Her fingers, held together, slid down weakly, pulling a few strands of hair from her forehead and obscuring her dark eyes, making it even harder for Yuuki Yuki to see through Nishio Reki.

"Yuki Yuuki." Nishio Reki softly called out Yuuki Yuuki's name.

"what happened?"

"Xiaoyuan, come with me. It's just the two of us. Who cares about crises or the future? It's just the two of us..."

Nishio Reki's tone was like a roller coaster suddenly accelerating down a steep slope.

It came to an abrupt end.

Then, in an incredibly abrupt and lighthearted tone, he said:

"Just kidding. If I were to kidnap Xiaoyuan, a lot of people would object."

But Nishio Reki is definitely not normal. This is no longer just a feeling; Nishio Reki's state is a constant reminder of his abnormal behavior.

It should be said that the problem really lies in Nishio Reki's mental state.

Yuuki Yukino remembered that Nishio Reki had said before that she wanted to save someone.

Wanting to save others and go back to the past, he faces countless challenges time and time again.

Knowing full well that there's an ending that's hard to change, they challenge it again and again.

Yuuki Yukino had a vague feeling that the person Nishio Reki wanted to save was Yuuki Yukino.

It might be Yuuki Yuki, but it might not be me.

Yuki Yui wouldn't place herself in that vacant position until she was 100% certain.

Such a spirit deserves praise in various works.

Yuuki Yukino's attitude remains the same as before, which is understandable but unacceptable.

Therefore, Yuuki Yukino does not intend to comment on this matter. She will not make any comments until the matter is definitively concluded.

There's a saying in Yuuki Eri's hometown: "It's better to resolve a feud than to let it fester."

There's no way to get along with that crazy woman, Kuroba Laisei, but Nishio Reki is at the level where I can communicate with her even though I hate her.

She's less annoying than Miyashita and Tsukimi.

"Even if we're enemies, you can still tell me if you have any problems," Yuuki Yui said with a touch of arrogance.

"It's okay, I already said it was a joke."

Nishio Reki gathered his long hair from his forehead with his palm, coiled it around the back of his head, and tied it into a simple ponytail, which could be considered as tidying up his messy hair.

"Okay, okay, actually it's just that I haven't talked to Xiaoyuan for too long, and I'm lacking Xiaoyuan's energy, so I called Xiaoyuan over to talk to her..."

Having tidied his hair, Nishio Reki maintained the position of having his hands behind his head while tidying his hair, and finally turned his gaze back to Yuuki Yuki.

Yuuki clearly saw Nishio Reki's hand tremble as he fixed his hair, his lips moved, and the words he was about to say were swallowed back down his throat.

In the dim light of the semi-open corridor, she noticed that Nishio Reki's eyes twitched and his pupils contracted rapidly.

The way she looked at me was as if she had seen something that terrified her.

What's wrong with me?

Why is Nishio Reki suddenly looking at me like that?

Before Yuuki Yui could have any more time to think, a black magic wand emerged from the sleeve of Nishio Reki's coat and stabbed towards Yuuki Yui.

Chapter Eighteen: Non-human Things

The cold spear tip, reflecting the moonlight, pierced straight towards Yuuki Yuuki with a flick of Nishio Reki's wrist, a cold glint growing larger and larger before Yuuki Yuuki's eyes.

From the melancholy of Nishio Reki's invitation to elope, to her self-deprecating rebuttal, and then to her inexplicable fear.

Within minutes, Nishio Reki's emotions fluctuated like a roller coaster at an amusement park, making it difficult for Yuuki Yui to grasp her true thoughts.

Even though Yuuki Yukino could no longer fathom Nishio Reki's thoughts, it didn't prevent her from understanding what was happening before her eyes.

Nishio Reki is attacking himself.

Reasons? Motives? Purpose?

Faced with an imminent crisis, there was simply no time to think about such matters.

The most urgent task is to complete the transformation before Nishio Reki harms him.

To deal with the magical girl's attack, the only way is to transform into a magical girl.

It's too late to reach for the Enmusubi Ring hidden in my pocket now; I'll just have to bite the bullet and go for it.

The transformation to avoid crisis has become an instinct. Dark purple light rises from beneath Yuuki Yuuki's feet like a waterfall flowing backward, enveloping her body.

"do not want!"

Before being enveloped in light, Yuuki Yukina heard Nishio Reki's outburst.

But this cry came a little too late.

Yuuki Yukina completed her transformation first, and then heard Nishio Reki's voice trying to stop her.

Only when Yuuki Enishi extended her tentacle-covered arm, causing Nishio Reki's spear thrust to deviate from its original direction, did her brain begin to try to understand Nishio Reki's roar.

No? No what? No transformation? No stopping me?

Or was Nishio Reki not speaking to himself at all?

It was at this moment that Yuuki Yuki realized that, according to the path of Nishio Reki's attack, even if she did not transform to block it, she would not be touched.

Who was Nishio Reki who was attacking just now?

If there were a third party present, and she were asked to describe what just happened, she would definitely say this:

The black-haired girl's thrust was blocked by the pink-haired girl.

It's that simple. Everything, from Yi Lin Yi Qi to Wu Jiu Si * Qiu Ba! Ling Meng, all happened in an instant.

However, the presence of a third party at the scene is not merely a hypothesis.

There really was a cold hand that suddenly grabbed Yuuki Yukino's wrist from behind.

Yuuki Yukino involuntarily shivered.

Just like the sudden fright in a horror game, what makes people unconsciously fearful is that sudden sense of incongruity.

On such a quiet night, and in the almost deserted neighborhood where Nishio Reki lived, Yuuki Enishi would have been able to sense any movement around her.

Footsteps, figures—things that you can detect without deliberately observing them.

However, Yuuki Yuki didn't notice anything at all.

If it was just Yuuki Yuki who didn't notice, she could use being distracted as an excuse.

But judging from Nishio Reki's reaction just now, even Nishio Reki didn't notice.

This has nothing to do with whether she is a magical girl or not; the issue is simply that the whole thing is illogical.

How did this person who suddenly appeared behind her manage to do that, and why did Nishio Reki attack her directly?

A whole host of questions piled up in Yuuki Yukino's mind like a wad of cotton, leaving her already tangled head with no time to think any further.

The key question is, who is this person?

Yuuki Yukino almost instinctively turned her head to look at the person behind her.

The wand that Nishio Reki had parried circled halfway through the air, grazed the railing, and returned with a metallic crack and a series of sparks.

At the same time, Nishio Reki was also shouting in a voice that sounded like it was about to tear his throat apart.

"Xiaoyuan! Don't look at her!"

This time, Nishio Reki successfully called out to Yuuki Yukina, who was about to turn around, and stopped her from doing so.

But Yuuki Yukino clearly saw who the person who appeared behind her was.

The first thing to brush past Yuuki Yuuki's shoulder was a strand of long hair, the milk tea-colored strands lifting slightly with the movement, brushing lightly against Yuuki Yuuki's cheek.

Then, the sensation of her ear touching the cool frame of her glasses was fleeting, and the girl's face brushed past Yuuki Yuki's shoulder.

The appearance of that face was like a bucket of ice water being poured from her head to her toes; the chill quickly spread from Yuuki Enishi's fingertips throughout her body.

Without a doubt, that was Lin Jiezi's face.

But she is completely different from Hayashi Mustard, whom Yuuki Yuki is familiar with.

Yuuki Yuen had never seen Hayashi Keiko with such a calm expression. Her eyes, which dared not look at others and would always look away when their eyes met, were calmly staring at Yuuki Yuen.

In those pupils, Yuuki En saw only an illogical calm.

Even Lin Jiezi's usually droopy lips now curve into an unusually gentle smile.

The sense of abnormality that arises when this incredibly familiar routine begins to distort is the source of fear.