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

"You madman! You not only want to erase the magical girl from everything, you even want to erase her existence?"

“As you can see, it’s almost impossible to succeed. Even with all my efforts, I haven’t been able to make any difference, so it has lost its original purpose.” Mashiro Urokin spread her palms out: “However, it’s not entirely useless.”

"I now control the entire Rainbow Leaf City. No magical girl can escape from this fake garden."

"You're the same, Shion. You're not suited to be a bishop at all, not even a little bit. Will you continue to shoulder that responsibility imposed on you by others, and believe in a god that you yourself doubt? Or will you choose to believe in me and let Inori wake up again?"

The god of lies lowered his coat, covering all his wounds, and launched a soul-searching interrogation at Saint Shiyin.

"I understand."

Saint Shiyin swallowed hard, the sound was surprisingly loud, and then the girl nodded.

"After this is over, you have to tell me what exactly happened to you and your sister, what made you and your sister like that?"

"So, Shion has agreed to my request?" Genki Mashiro stood up from the bench, threw the used first aid supplies into the trash can, turned around and put her hands in her pockets, looking at Shion who was still sitting.

Saint Shiyin did not answer, but her eyes said it all.

This afternoon, my aunt's family decided to take the rest of the family out for seafood.

However, neither Wan nor her uncle eats seafood, so her uncle asked Wan if she wanted to go eat hot pot.

At the time, he said it was just the two of them going out for hot pot, and Wan agreed!

Then... seeing my aunt's husband and his friends arrive, everyone started eating hot pot and drinking.

The bowl is the only junior member, so... well, I guess I'll just have to keep it company...

Then, it was almost ten o'clock when I got home.

Then... I didn't want to stop updating, so the updates came very late.

That's roughly it...

　Ou Yiqi's Dad VIII Ball Machine Lu Yi So Goodnight (inverted)

Chapter Ninety-Eight: What are you fighting for?

When Nishio Reki managed to calm the student council president Niijima and the other group members who were traveling with him, and they arrived at the area below the street shrouded in black magic patterns, some time had already passed since the black magic patterns appeared out of thin air.

Beneath the canopy of black demonic patterns, the passersby gradually calmed down from their initial panicked flight upon witnessing the strange phenomenon, and order was being restored at an extremely rapid pace.

Even as the street scene seemed to be gradually returning to normal, many people were still secretly glancing at the giant object that had appeared in the sky, their fear barely concealed.

People hate enclosed environments, but the huge black demonic pattern was like a coffin lid on the giant coffin of Rainbow Leaf City, making it hard for people to breathe, and even Mizuno Yu was no exception.

If they could escape, ordinary people would definitely try to find a way to do so.

But it covers such a large area that no matter how hard you run, you can't escape its clutches, and in the end you just waste your limited energy.

As Mizuno Yu landed the next step, she looked again at the black demon mark that still existed above her head. Her breathing, which was usually calm, gradually became heavy, but fortunately she was still able to maintain that calmness to analyze her current unfavorable situation.

Helica stood there, staring blankly at the black magic pattern. She must have arrived earlier than Mizuno Yu, since she didn't need to make excuses for the other members of her group.

But Helica, who arrived ahead of time, hasn't taken any action yet.

"Tianlei, what happened here?" When dealing with serious problems, Mizuno Yuu didn't waste any time and immediately inquired about the situation after landing.

"I...don't know." Herika's brows seemed to be tied in an unsolvable knot, and her gaze deliberately avoided the huge black magic runes in mid-air.

"I can't sense where the black magic runes come from, nor can I sense where they are sent. I don't know what they are used for. I... I know nothing."

Herika could guess that the huge black magic mark was related to the magical girl who appeared at the shrine and blocked Yuuki's way, but she couldn't quite figure out how much of a connection there was.

As if her brain had stopped working, Helica didn't know what to do after abandoning Yuuki and her group.

"When this thing appeared, I was still on the bus back to the hotel, so I didn't witness the whole thing. How did it appear? Did you see it?" Mizuno Yui continued.

"I didn't pay much attention; I only saw raindrops of various colors flying backwards into the sky and then forming this huge shape."

Herika was behaving somewhat unusually, which Mizuno Yu could tell at a glance. Herika never knew how to keep things to herself, and this time was no exception.

"What do you know? Anything is fine."

The situation was critical, and no one knew what the huge black magic pattern could do. Mizuno Yu didn't care about playing the guessing game of asking a question and waiting for Helica to answer.

"In the evening, we went to the Seiun Grand Shrine to watch the sunset together. As we were about to leave, a corrupted magical girl came up the steps. She said something to Yuuki Yuuki, and then it seemed like she was about to do something to Yuuki Yuuki."

Helica began to answer without any reservations, telling Mizuno Yuu about things she thought might be related to the huge black magic mark.

"After that, Nishio Reki and I, the magical girl who warned me at the festival that I mentioned to you, stopped that corrupted magical girl. Nishio Reki was responsible for blocking her, and I was responsible for leading the rest of the people away first."

Helica pursed her lips, mentally rehearsing what she should say next, and the distance between her eyebrows seemed to shrink.

"Later, I put Yuuki and the others in a safe place, and then I found this thing in the sky. Nishio Reki and the magical girl's aura also disappeared."

"I rushed over immediately, but I found nothing."

At this point, Helica remained silent for a long time, and Mizuno Yu was certain that Helica had said everything she wanted to say.

Have you tried to break it?

The Nishio Calendar refers to the black magic patterns in the sky.

"We tried, but failed. It contains too much magic. Even if we could, it would be dangerous to destroy it rashly."

"No one else came?"

"No, it's just the two of us. The magical girl who seemed to be a threat to Yuuki Yuuki and Nishio Reki are both gone."

Nishio Reki swallowed hard and paced around in circles several times.

"Do you remember what I told you this morning?" Mizuno Yu asked Helica the question she most wanted to avoid in a calm tone.

"Yuki Yukino, is she trustworthy?"

"Why do you doubt Yuuki Yukina?" Herica's question left Mizuno Yuu completely bewildered.

Mizuno Yu, who still didn't understand Helica's intentions, explained her reasons for doing so to Helica again.

"As I explained to you this morning, the two of us can't determine whether everyone is a suspect, which is why we need Yuki's help. Therefore, it's essential to first prove Yuki's innocence."

But that's not what Helica wanted to hear at all.

"Back in school, you said that Yuuki Yuen was a bit suspicious and wanted me to pay more attention to her. When you came to Nijiha City for the school trip, the first thing you talked about was your suspicions about Yuuki Yuen?"

The more Helica spoke, the louder her voice became.

Helica stopped just as her voice was about to reach its peak.

Helica already had her own answer in her heart.

However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, there was no opportunity to verify the authenticity of that answer.

She herself was also afraid to confirm the truth of that answer.

"I'm sorry, I'm under a lot of pressure."

Just as Mizuno Yu could ignore Helica's bad attitude towards her, Helica was also able to apologize to her companion without any psychological burden.

Even though Helica knew that what she was doing was wrong.

This isn't the first time Helica has been so sensitive to Yuuki Yuuki's attitude. In fact, when the two of them sensed the magic last night and prepared to investigate, Helica had already noticed something amiss.

Herica's attitude at this moment suggests that either Yuuki Yuuki is related to the corrupted magical girl, or there is something between Yuuki Yuuki and Herica that is inconvenient to talk about. In any case, continuing to focus on Yuuki Yuuki is definitely not a good choice.

"Mizuno Yu, I'm sorry." Helica repeated her apology.

"It's nothing," Mizuno Yu said softly.

Helica glanced again at the black magic runes above her head: "Mizuno Yu, what are you fighting for?"

“Because it is our responsibility to punish the corrupted magical girls,” Mizuno Yu replied.

Helica blinked hard: "Do those corrupted magical girls really deserve to be punished?"

"What does this mean?" Mizuno Yu felt that the topic they were talking about had gone astray.

"Every time we sense the presence of a corrupted magical girl, we will not hesitate to move out and hunt them down, regardless of what evil deeds they are committing."

Helica explained:

"But do you remember? On the day of the festival, the pink-haired tentacle woman who formed an inextricable bond with us was the first to protect the ordinary people. In order for us to retreat, she also chose to cover our retreat alone. Can such a person really be called evil?"

“But she was the one who stood until the end, and as a result, she was the biggest beneficiary of that war,” Mizuno Yu replied.

“Results-oriented.” Helica paused, her throat bobbing a few times. “What about Lava Lamp? What did she do?”

“There’s nothing there…” Mizuno Yu was completely speechless.

"Then why don't we sanction the Lava Lamp?"

"Because we can't beat her."

"So, if we can defeat the enemy, then there's no problem?" Helica asked again. "Then, why do we need to punish the corrupted magical girls?"

“Because they are magical girls who have abandoned the light in their hearts and voluntarily chosen to fall into darkness. They are selfish and dangerous individuals who cannot be understood with normal thinking or restrained by common sense,” Mizuno Yui replied without hesitation.

"And who told you all this?" Helica had a new question.

Mizuno Yu answered fluently; this was a question that any magical girl could answer without thinking:

"These are things that every magical girl knows in her heart. She should know them when she becomes a magical girl. Why did you suddenly think of asking about this?"

“I’m asking, who told us this?” Herica repeated her question to Mizuno Yu.

"Tenlei, what are you thinking about?" Mizuno Yu sensed a hint of danger.

“I just find it strange that we’ve all been genuinely fighting against the corrupted magical girl without ever questioning our reasons for it, right?” Herica looked up at the enormous black magic runes and clenched her fists.

"The duty of a magical girl is to fight against corrupted magical girls, and every magical girl should firmly believe in this ironclad rule."

"But corrupted magical girls are born from magical girls, and magical girls who want to fight against evil corrupted magical girls actively throw themselves into darkness when they become corrupted—that's what the voice in our heads tells us."

"But how could a magical girl who genuinely believes that corrupted magical girls are enemies undergo such a drastic change of heart and willingly throw herself into darkness? Don't you find that strange?"

Helica is right.

Mizuno Yu paused for a moment, trying to savor every word Helica said, intending to refute Helica's idea, but she found that what Helica said was completely reasonable.

When Helica first spoke, Mizuno Yu even began to wonder if something had happened to Helica, and if she was already leaning towards the side of her enemy.

But that's not the case, and what Helika said wasn't sophistry.

If something really went wrong, it's either that I and Helica had a problem, or there's something wrong with magical girls themselves.

"It wasn't until just now that I realized that the reason we fight is simply because we think the existence of corrupted magical girls is wrong. Indeed, almost every one of them is extremely wicked, but that should not be the reason for us to fight."