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

This is a street, an area near the city center, which is far from sufficient to support the destruction caused by their divine liberation.

If you go on a school trip and then blow up the city center next door, that school trip will be recorded in history.

It seems that everyone thinks this way, so they still have reservations to this day.

Furthermore, although the opponent is not weak, they will definitely have to pay a price to defeat the combined forces of myself and Baqi.

This intense battle was what made Yuuki Eri most uncomfortable; her opponent could fight her at a leisurely pace, but she couldn't.

Whether Herika and the others really did catch up, or there was a magical girl fight in the city center and she and Bachi just happened to disappear, the only one in trouble was herself.

Therefore, she had to hope that some unexpected event would interrupt the argument between the people.

Fortunately, such an unexpected event did indeed occur.

Even more fortunately, the person who came was not Helica, not Mizuno Yu, and not Nishio Reki.

Perhaps it should be called misfortune.

A spinning scythe flew from the rooftop on the opposite side and landed firmly in the middle of the asphalt road, separating the three people in the midst of the battle.

Upon seeing the sickle, her owner's identity became immediately apparent.

A girl with short, light-yellow hair, dressed in a nun's habit, and the nuns behind her, like vultures eyeing carrion, densely surrounded the entire block, countless eyes fixed on them.

It was Saint Shion, the girl who had remained silent and whose true purpose had remained a mystery to Yuuki Yui, who finally couldn't hold back any longer and made her move.

Saint Shiyin only brought two nuns with her; there shouldn't be that many.

The issue now is not these elusive nuns, but rather the fact that Saint Shion interrupted him.

Which side is she on?

Saint Shion spoke, and to Yuuki Yuuki's utter astonishment, she uttered lines that Yuuki Yuuki never dreamed she would hear from her mouth.

"Yuki Yuuki! Run!"

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Mashiro

"Yuki Yuuki, run!"

Saint Hymn's voice was like a beam of light suddenly shining into reality from the depths of darkness, stinging the eyes of those who wanted to escape the darkness.

But Yukichi finally found his direction.

Whether it's a beacon symbolizing hope or an anglerfish luring prey, there's no time for Yuuki Enishi to make a choice in this race against time.

Those nuns who appeared out of nowhere? That's even less of a concern for Yuuki Yuuki.

Even if this was a favor done to her by Seishin, or even if Seishin orchestrated the whole thing herself, Yuuki Yui couldn't give up this opportunity to break the deadlock.

Saint Shion is at least on my side on the surface. If she were to block me like she did on the day of the festival, I really wouldn't be able to leave.

Choosing to retreat will at least not result in any loss to oneself.

"Walk."

Without hesitation, Yuuki Yui floated the grimoire to her feet, and stepping on it, she sent out a tentacle from its pages, wrapped it around Baqi's waist, and quickly retreated.

The girl, who had been locked in a long battle with Yuuki Yuuki, silently raised her paintbrush.

The colorful black that fell like a hammer was her deafening answer to the two men's escape.

Between the black ink and Yuuki Enishi, several nuns had already stepped forward, raising their wands to clash with the mass of color.

The colors, like tar, poured down and completely engulfed the bodies of the nuns who were trying to stop a chariot. The pitch-black color slammed the girls' bodies to the ground, making them look like ants bound by tree wax.

However, the nuns' actions bought Yuuki Eri more than enough time to evacuate.

"Explain yourself clearly then!"

Yuuki Yukino, unable to process the information she had, shouted a warning and sped off in the opposite direction.

The girl raised her eyelids, glancing at Yuuki Yuki's departing figure, silently acquiescing to their escape without even lifting her leg.

Then, the girl looked at Saint Shiyin, who was dressed in a nun's habit, and lowered her eyelids.

Her magical attire transformed back into the long coat she wore when she first appeared.

"Long time no see, Xiao Shiyin. You still seem to be as short as before. Have you been eating properly?"

The girl greeted him as if he were a long-lost friend, or as naturally as an elder offering a heartfelt greeting to a child.

Even though she saw that the other party did not seem to resist, Saint Shion never relaxed her vigilance; the fact that she hadn't taken off her nun's habit yet was the best proof of that.

The nuns, like vultures eyeing carrion, still stood on both sides of the street, wands in hand, ready for battle.

However, whether they are hunters eyeing food or a flock of lambs to the slaughter remains to be seen.

Saint Shion turned to face the girl who was affectionately calling her name, her complex emotions evident in her expression.

Despite being greeted with such warmth, Sheng Shiyin seemed unwilling to say a word to the other person. Her expression revealed a hint of resistance and a faint sense of fear.

But out of politeness, she still greeted him.

"haven't seen you for a long time……"

Then, he called out the other person's name.

“Saint Shiro”.

“That surname is no longer relevant to me; I am just an adopted daughter.”

The girl known as Mashiro tilted her head back, picked up a strand of short, bluish-green hair with her finger—a color completely different from the light yellow hair of Saint Shion and the other nuns—and emphasized it.

"It used to be."

Saint Hymn stopped speaking, her eyebrows furrowing more and more tightly.

“I have a surname, my family’s surname, my real family.” The strands of hair wrapped around the girl’s fingers twice, and as she released her hand, it seemed as if she was letting go of the ties of the past, and the hair returned to its original place: “My name is Genki Mashiro.”

Seishion remained silent, her gaze seemingly questioning what Mashiro was trying to do.

In Mashiro's eyes, which seemed to swirl endlessly like a vortex, she could also see through Seishin's questions, Seishin's resistance, and everything Seishin wanted to express.

What came out of Mashiro's mouth was still a casual, everyday greeting.

"Qi, is she alright?"

"Thanks to you, my sister is doing very well." Sheng Shiyin's eyes flickered, and she answered in a calm voice.

"Is that so?" Mashiro asked, as if talking to herself.

Silence still greeted Mashiro.

Mashiro didn't need Seishine's answer anyway; she continued asking questions on her own, sounding like a distant relative making an awkward, endless chat about their recent situation.

"So now, Shion is in charge of all of this?"

Saint Shiyin still did not reply, but judging from the reactions of the nuns surrounding her, the answer was not hard to guess.

A series of silences made Mashiro unable to continue asking questions. Finally, she ended the conversation with a meaningful word of comfort and understanding.

"You've worked hard."

"What were you doing just now? Why did you bother with the magical girl from Moonsea City?" After those greetings finally ended, Seishin seemed to have no intention of wasting another word with Mashiro and went straight to the point.

“Because he hurt my people in Rainbow Leaf City, I feel I need to get an explanation,” Mashiro replied casually.

"Would I believe that reason? Do you even believe that reason yourself?" Sheng Shiyin's emotions were no longer as calm as before, but it was clear that she was still holding back.

"If you cared so much about your subordinates, you wouldn't have burned your sister's and Saint's life's work to ashes. I can't even imagine how the Sisters felt when you betrayed them."

"Because I've changed, and now I cherish my subordinates very much." Mashiro spread her palms out in front of her, using body language to demonstrate her honesty.

Unfortunately, her honesty didn't resonate with Sheng Shiyin.

"Don't treat me like a child!" Sheng Shiyin shouted, unable to bear it any longer, her teeth grinding together.

"Why did my sister become like that? What did the nuns do to deserve this treatment? What did you go through to escape here? And... why do I have to bear all of this? You owe everyone an explanation."

"Let me confirm a little, is the person I'm talking to right now Shion? Or His Holiness the Bishop?" Mashiro put her hands together, her index fingers raised to her lips.

“I am who I am.” Sheng Shiyin did not give a direct answer.

“Alright, let’s get down to business.” Mashiro opened her palm and made a waiting gesture: “You’re afraid I’ll have contact with that pink-haired girl, Yuuki Yukino, right? I guess you’d like to talk about that?”

Saint Shiyin's eyes sharpened.

As if oblivious to Seishin's increasingly resistant gaze, Mashiro began reminiscing about the past.

"You always have your own little ideas, but you never succeed. Do you remember? Before, when the two of us and Qi were eating cream puffs together, you secretly added chili to Qi's cream puff. You were so nervous the whole time, and in the end, Qi found out and you even burned yourself with the spice. Do you remember?"

"Can you please not mention my sister?" Sheng Shiyin's emotions, which had just begun to calm down, became difficult to suppress again.

"Okay, let's get back to the topic we started with. I didn't need to explain, but who told you to be Shion?" Mashiro clapped her hands.

“You shouldn’t be in Rainbow City at this time, or even at all. It’s not the weekend, it’s not a holiday, and it’s not a trip, but you still came.”

“Your personality wouldn’t allow you to get involved in such trivial matters, but you did, using your transformation to drive away those parasites—that lets me know you’ve arrived, at this inopportune moment.”

“Those parasites have run into the same group of people again, and they’re magical girls. They can solve the problem well even if you don’t interfere, so I’m curious about who they are.”

"I was just curious, so I came to take a look. It turns out you're involved. I was just playing around, but Xiao Shiyin, you don't want them to stay with me for even a second longer."

"It's like you're afraid of having a wolf and a sheep in the same room. You haven't thought about the consequences or made any plans. Xiao Shiyin, it's your self-righteous caution and your abnormal behavior that led me to her."

"But why are you so afraid? She's just an ordinary corrupted magical girl, only she grows up faster. So tell me, Shion, tell me why you're so afraid of her and me."

Mashiro stretched out her fingers one by one, her posture not at all like an enemy blocking Seishin's way, but like a good older sister teaching her younger sister a lesson, telling her about the little mistakes she shouldn't make again.

Cold sweat began to trickle down Sheng Shiyin's temples, and without her even noticing, her breathing became erratic, growing increasingly rapid.

Even if these sacred sounds didn't detect it, the sudden increase in heart rate already proved many things.

"These are just your personal guesses."

Saint Hymn composed herself and replied.

"If you don't want to answer, I'll answer for you, Shion."

Genken Mashiro stretched out his finger and naturally poked Seishin, who was dressed in demonic attire and holding a giant scythe, on the top of her head. The action was so practiced that it seemed like he had done it countless times.

"Because that girl can help me achieve my goals, or at least help me make a breakthrough, you're very sure of that."

"Some of her qualities might help me to completely erase magical girls from this world."

Chapter Seventy-Eight Before Dawn