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

Seeing that Mizuno Yu looked thoughtful, Helica frowned and asked.

"So, Mizuno Yu, what are we fighting for?"

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Beneath the Sacred Mark

"So, what are we fighting for?"

Setting aside her duties as a magical girl, Mizuno Yu has her own answer in her heart.

Because she wanted to become stronger.

To put it more clearly, battles inevitably bring setbacks, and for Mizuno Yu, setbacks mean experience. Through continuous experience, Mizuno Yu can become stronger.

Becoming stronger means facing even more rigorous trials, and this cycle continues, which is what has sustained Mizuno Yu to this day.

But this answer did not convince Helica the Thunder.

Moreover, this answer doesn't belong to Helica the Thunder; she has to find her own reason for fighting.

"Don't you want to continue?" Mizuno Yui directly raised the issue to a deeper level.

“I didn’t say that!” Helica denied it outright, then her mood gradually dropped: “But if our reasons for fighting are all imposed on us, then what are we magical girls?”

After a moment of silence, Helica raised her head and turned her gaze back to the reason they had initially gathered here—the enormous black magic rune.

"Could we also be corrupted by it?"

"You think you can corrupt a magical girl with something like this? Shion is overestimating me."

Having given herself the best possible treatment for her injuries, Genki Mashiro moved her body, stretching so that the pain caused the wounds to reopen, making even the battle-hardened Mashiro hiss and gasp for breath.

"Although it was originally designed to corrupt the entire magical girl system, it is far from that goal. At most, its current effect is to prevent magical girls from being affected by the responsibilities imposed on them."

"What do you mean?" Sheng Shiyin replied perfunctorily.

"This brings us to my research with Inori. Shion, let me test you. Why do magical girls fight so fiercely against corrupted magical girls?" Genki Mashiro, still feeling excruciating pain, sat back down on the bench.

"Because corrupted magical girls are enemies branded with holy marks, every magical girl who gains the power to grant wishes also bears the responsibility of fighting against corrupted magical girls," Seishin answered reluctantly.

“Absolutely right. Because of responsibility, but where does this sense of responsibility come from?” Genken Mashiro didn’t keep them in suspense and answered her own question directly: “To put it mildly, the magical girls were given suggestions; to put it more seriously, they were brainwashed while gaining the power of magical girls.”

“And it,” Genken Mashiro pointed to the huge black magic rune above his head, “cannot corrupt magical girls. Perhaps with further improvement, it will be able to do so someday? But it cannot do it now.”

"At most, it would only cause the magical girl to take a small step towards corruption, roughly to the point where the magical girl was influenced by her suggestion or her brainwashing was just broken?"

Seishion glanced in the direction of Gen Ken Mashiro, but didn't say a word.

"Shion can't sense it, right? Because her followers don't need to be controlled by brainwashing. It's the same for us who became magical girls because of the church. That's why I'm able to get closer to the truth with Inori, right?"

Genki Mashiro seemed completely oblivious to Seishion's gaze.

"You said you needed my help, but all you want me to do is wait here?" Sheng Shiyin had finally reached her limit.

After Mashiro asked her if she wanted to cooperate, he actually pulled her back to sit down and started chatting about unimportant topics.

“Yes, we just need to wait here for the fish to bite.” Gen Ken Mashiro’s interruption was met with calm and composure, as if she had everything under control.

“But…” Sheng Shiyin thought for a moment, “Do we really not need to go and see where Yuuki Yuki lives? I know she lives there.”

“No need.” Genken Mashiro answered decisively, “If she wanted to avoid me, she wouldn’t stay obediently in the hotel waiting for us to arrive; she would definitely find somewhere to hide.”

"Even if she wasn't hiding, if we went straight to the hotel, it would only alert her and give her a legitimate reason to hide."

“Then…” Saint Shiyin’s eyes darted around: “Shouldn’t I contact her? Whether I call her or send a nun to look for her, I’ll get her to come find me. I’ve been urging her to leave as soon as possible, she should believe me, right?”

"Little Shiyin, you are indeed not suitable for your current position. The responsibility of Qi has been forced on you. You must be suffering."

Along with Mashiro's comforting words, she also conveyed her denial of Seishin's abilities.

But Sheng Shiyin couldn't refute it, nor did she intend to.

She herself knew that she simply couldn't take on those heavy responsibilities.

"You're right." Although this wasn't the first time Sheng Shiyin had heard this in the past few minutes, her reply was still listless.

"Shion also said that you contacted Yuuki Yui this morning to persuade her to leave Nijiha City, but then you suddenly contacted her again. Isn't that obviously making her suspicious?" Genken Mashiro hit the nail on the head.

"I'm quite badly injured right now, and my magic isn't at its full potential. Compared to taking the initiative, waiting for them to come to me is more worthwhile."

"Hmm..." Saint Shiyin listened.

After hesitating for a moment, Sheng Shiyin stretched out her arm and gently touched Xu Yanzhenshiro's hand with the back of her hand.

"If you don't have enough magic power, would you like... me to help you?"

"Okay."

Surprisingly, Gen Ken Mashiro readily agreed, and then placed her hand, which had been touched by Seishin, on the back of Seishin's hand.

As Seishin's heartbeat quickened, her hand was taken by Gen Kenmashiro and slowly brought to his lips.

Saint Shiyin had never had such an experience before, and the number of times she had to take action was very small.

But because of my sister's words...

The girl's lips merely pecked at the back of Sheng Shiyin's hand before being released.

"Thank you, I feel much better."

Sei Mashiro knew very well that such an action did not involve any exchange of magic power, let alone help Gen Urobuchi Mashiro replenish the large amount of magic power he had lost.

"But your magic hasn't recovered yet..."

"Xiao Shiyin, you don't need to do these things."

"But what if we fail because of magic..."

“You helped me for Inori's sake, and I did all this for Inori's sake as well. If I can use Yuuki Eri's abilities, then Inori won't need to stay in that cold and cramped space anymore, and she can see the outside world again.”

"Even if Shion doesn't help me, I will continue to do it. Even if I'm all alone, I will continue to do it. The secret of Yuuki Yui is absolutely enough to overturn the rules of the entire magical girl genre."

As Genki Mashiro spoke, she reached out and put her arm around Shion's shoulder, gently patting it: "I will handle everything. Shion doesn't need to force herself because of Inori."

In that embrace, devoid of any superfluous emotions but filled with doting tenderness, Seishin seemed to have returned to the past, to that carefree childhood when her eyes were only on her older sister and Mashiro.

The ringing of her phone interrupted Sheng Shiyin's reverie. She took out her phone and saw the message on it.

"Mashiro-neechan, Inuyama Tomoe... that magical girl who was with Yuuki Yuuki, she actually came to ask me where you might be. What should I do?"

"Answer truthfully." Upon hearing this news, Mashiro Gorgen didn't show much joy or surprise.

"But won't they avoid you?" Sheng Shiyin was unsure.

"Trust me, do as I say, and I will definitely get Yuuki Yukino and the secret behind her." Genken Mashiro gently rubbed Seishin's head:

"Until then, let us wait peacefully beneath this sacred mark."

On the way to the city, Yuuki Yuen gripped the handlebars and kept pedaling with both legs.

Baqi was gripping the handlebars that had been extended from Yuki Emi's seat and were unable to control the direction, and she was pedaling hard.

Nijiha City truly lives up to its reputation as a tourist destination; you can easily rent tandem bicycles on the street, saving two people a lot of trouble.

But in this extremely urgent situation, they had no mood for fun and were all sweating profusely as they headed towards the city.

Shortly after they returned to the inn, Herika and Mizuno Yu's magic disappeared one after the other.

The fact that they didn't have a third person's magic is enough to prove that they didn't encounter any enemies at all.

If nothing unexpected happens, the two of them deactivated their transformations together, probably in a corner of the street shrouded in black magic patterns.

Under these circumstances, Yuuki Yuki and Tomoe immediately abandoned their plan to transform and fly back. If they were to run into each other on the way, a conflict would be inevitable.

In this fast-paced world, the only way to eliminate the enormous threat of Genki Mashiro without anyone noticing is to act cautiously, strike swiftly, and end the battle cleanly and decisively.

"Xiao Yuan, Sheng Shiyin replied! She said that the one dressed in such a flashy shark-tooth outfit must be under that huge black magic pattern."

The phone vibrated, and then Baqi excitedly reported the latest information to Yuuki Yuki.

How did she know?

Panting heavily, Yuuki Yuki bent down and pedaled her bike desperately, using the momentum to slide down the slope. She took the opportunity to ask.

"She said that the purpose of that black magic mark is most likely to corrupt the entire Rainbow Leaf City. What does that mean? Anyway, that's what she said. Gen Ken Mashiro plans to use that black magic mark to do something bad, so it will definitely appear below the black magic mark. We must not get close."

"Should we definitely not go near her?" Yuuki Yui wondered to herself. "Didn't she ask us why we were curious about this?"

“I didn’t ask! But as long as Seishion is on our side and doesn’t want you to have any contact with Genken Mashiro, then she has no reason to lie.”

Yuuki Yui completely agreed that Seishion had no reason to lie and deliberately go to the location where Genken Mashiro might exist.

However, Seishin's candid answer also served as a wake-up call for Yuuki Yukino.

But no matter what awaits her ahead, she has no way out.

While he was pondering this, the bicycle had already driven into the area beneath the massive black magic pattern.

Chapter 100 Aquarium

This time of day should be the evening rush hour before or after dinner, a time when tourists enjoy the local cuisine, admire the city's night view, and buy souvenirs.

However, Yuki found that the closer he got to the city center on his bicycle, the fewer pedestrians there were on the road.

Most shops and restaurants closed their doors early, using sturdy locks to shut out the outside world, as if doing so would make them blind to the huge strange object in the sky.

More and more people chose to try every means to escape this area and even the city. Even the number of private cars parked on both sides of the street has decreased significantly.

The panic caused by the massive black magic runes in Rainbow Leaf City continues to escalate.

Just like a spring that is constantly being compressed, even if it does not cause any harm in itself, how long can an ordinary person endure such a high-pressure atmosphere?

"Did Seishion say the exact location?" Yuuki asked first, then dismissed the somewhat redundant question: "That's right, there's no way she could know exactly where Urouge Mashiro is."

“Unless they’re together,” Bage continued. “But how could the two of them be together? It’s impossible.”

"Then let's take our time looking."

As Yuuki Yuen spoke, she turned the handlebars and made a turn, paying attention to the flow of magic around her.

However, in this area where the magic concentration is significantly higher than the surrounding area, it is probably impossible for anyone other than Hong Moli to use magic to pinpoint the location of others.

Not wanting to drag Hong Moli into this trouble, Yuuki Yuuki abandoned her unrealistic ideas and focused her attention on the surrounding situation.

This neighborhood... seems to be where we all went shopping together yesterday.

In just one day, the situation changed dramatically. She went from a happy middle school student enjoying her school trip to a magical girl who now had to use magical girl methods to eliminate any future troubles.

A familiar figure appeared before them again.