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

Compared to those empty shells that resembled Lin Jiezi, the Lin Jiezi before them seemed far more unsettling.

Intuitively speaking, Lin Jiezi is not an empty shell now.

She has a "core" of existence.

Even now, Yuuki Yuki still cannot sense even the slightest bit of magic power from Hayashi Kikuko.

But Lin Jiezi had already raised her hand, pointing it towards Xu Yan Zhenshiro's body.

"Aren't you going to help me?" Seeing the magical girl make an attack stance towards her—even if it was just a simple raising of her hand—Gen Ken Mashiro tilted her head and looked at Nishio Reki beside her.

"If I get taken care of, you'll be next."

“Madman,” Nishio Reki repeated bitterly.

Genken Mashiro completely ignored Nishio Reki and instead tilted her head to the other side.

On the side where Yuuki Yuki is located.

"And you, even at the risk of being defeated by me, you've remained hesitant until now. Aren't you going to show your true power?"

"What are you talking about?" Yuuki Yui had no choice but to be on high alert.

Yuuki En was completely baffled by everything Genken Mashiro said.

"As expected, you don't know your own strengths. I've already set the stage for you, it would be such a waste to leave in disappointment."

Mashiro Gorgen once said that his power came from blindness and folly, a power born from a sin that was not unforgivable.

This includes Mashiro Gorky's so-called lies, as well as her statement that the living are sins...

Everything should be fine, so why did she say something that contradicted herself at this particular moment?

Yuuki Yukino couldn't tell which were lies and which were the truth anymore.

She couldn't even see through Mashiro's motives anymore.

But there was only one thing that Yuuki Yukino saw clearly.

The words that Genki Mashiro said were not deceiving himself.

This is something that Nishio Reki once told himself, and it has been proven true.

Mashiro Gakuen is that singularity.

Mashiro Gyoken is that original magical girl, a symbol of Hayashi Mustard's unforgivable sins.

That primordial magical girl has already begun to erase the unforgivable sin before her.

As if time had stopped at that moment, Gen Ken Mashiro, who was talking to Yuuki Yuuki, disappeared from the spot.

In the next second, Genki Mashiro appeared in front of Hayashi.

If it weren't for the fact that Mashiro's face wasn't firmly gripped by Hayashi's outstretched fingers, everyone would have suspected that Mashiro had done it.

After all, Lin Jiezi didn't do anything; she just kept her hand outstretched.

That said, Yuuki Yui never sensed Lin Jiezi's magic power, just as she had when she was attacked by Lin Jiezi's empty shell.

Without magic, one should be unable to use the powers of a magical girl.

But there was a force that made Mashiro Gorgen himself send himself up.

Is it really?

Of course not. Those subtle fluctuations in magical energy made Yuuki Yuen realize something terrifying.

Every magical girl knows that replenishing mana can accelerate the recovery of magic power, but they never consider another trivial question—why magic power recovers slowly even without replenishing mana.

Let's rephrase the question: As the magic power slowly recovers, where does the magic power flowing into the body from the outside come from?

This question can't be answered? Then let's try another question.

Why do all the girls living in Moonsea City suddenly become magical girls because their wishes are fulfilled?

What exactly served as the medium that spontaneously responded to the wishes of these magical girls?

The next question is why Nishio Koku is so worried about being retaliated against for saying certain things—let's call it that for now—and why he always says "I can't say it."

Is there really a watcher constantly monitoring her, waiting for her to say something she absolutely cannot say?

The last question is, why can something as mysterious as the rules of magical girls exist and apply to every magical girl?

If Rainbow Leaf City is a magical girl aquarium created by Mashiro Gorky, then Moonsea City is also an even larger aquarium with a complete magical girl ecosystem.

In Yuuki Emi's hometown, there is a saying: "The morning mushroom does not know the difference between dawn and dusk, and the cicada does not know the difference between spring and autumn."

I am the same, like a fish drowning in the deep sea, never having seen the outside world.

From the very beginning, from the moment she became a magical girl, she was lost in the boundless deep sea. No matter how hard she swam, she could not break through to the surface and see the blue sky that was so different from the pitch-black seabed.

This is a despairing reality. The magic power belonging to Lin Jiezi, belonging to that original magical girl, has long been so vast that it can cover the entire Moonsea City.

From the very beginning, from the moment every magical girl in Moonsea City was born, everyone has lived within that immense magical power.

With this cold, hard reality in mind, Yuuki Yukino witnessed Gen Ken Mashiro's face being slammed onto the equally cold ground.

However, a large cup is roughly equivalent to the amount of two chapters, although it is actually less.

Chapter Thirteen: Are You My Enemy?

Where did Sakura Hanako stop taking a single step forward after she started talking?

Was it because Lin Jiezi suddenly displayed strength that no one could contend with after being attacked? Or was it due to Gen Ken Mashiro's various schemes? Or perhaps it was from the very beginning when she revealed her identity?

No matter where she started, Sakura Hanako stood there with an incredulous look in her eyes, listening silently as Yuuki Yukina recounted her experiences during the school trip in the most concise language.

Yuuki Yukino's narration is also selective, starting from the sudden appearance of Urobuchi Mashiro in the shrine, and only telling the part about the battle conflict involving magical girls.

As for the thoughts of others in the whole incident, and their own speculations, since those contents were all parts that Yuuki Yukina could not confirm, Yuuki Yukina chose to either remain silent or gloss over them.

The whole process is not complicated and can be explained in just a few words.

Mashiro Urouge is a magical girl, Shion Seishun is a magical girl, herself, Rei, Baki, and everyone related to her are magical girls. Then comes the arrangement and combination of battles, and the final result.

"Senior Yuuki, you're joking, right?" Sakura Hanako's tone wavered.

The only possibility that Sakura Hanako could think of was that Mizuno Yu and Tenrai Herika had a conflict or disagreement during the battle.

Herlica's personality made her unwilling to apologize, while Mizuno Yuuna always had a cold demeanor and didn't seem like the type to apologize proactively. Over time, this created a rift between the two.

Once you understand the root of the problem and act as a mediator, the two of you will reconcile.

But what Yuuki Enishi tells is far more fantastical and far beyond reality than Sakura Hanako had imagined.

"No, that can't be. If what you said is true, Senior Yuuki, and Senior Hayashi is the one with the power of the first magical girl, then many things don't make sense."

Sakura Hanako's eyebrows furrowed into a ball of yarn. From her expression, it was clear that she wanted to treat what Yuki Yuki said as a farce, but she also knew very well that Yuki Yuki had no reason to tell such a clumsy lie to deceive her.

It was precisely because what Yuuki Yukari said was so different from the reality that Sakura Hanako knew that she felt even more strongly that everything Yuuki Yukari said was reality.

"I met with Senior Lin a few days ago, and I even invited her to have lunch together at the Rainbow Club's activity room, and she didn't refuse my request..."

What Sakura Hanako said was not to refute Yuki Eri, nor did she intend to refute Yuki Eri. She was simply using this method to subconsciously deny that what she heard was true.

"If... if Senior Lin is really that kind of person, why can she act as if nothing has happened?"

“I don’t know. I don’t even know if that person is the Lin Jiezi we know.” Yuuki Yuen shook her head. “She gave me the feeling that another person inside me came out and caused a ruckus, and then went back satisfied.”

Although the actual situation may not be that Lin Jiezi's other personality returned satisfied, but rather that it shut down on its own due to a lack of energy.

It's hard to say whether that was a personality or not. Lin Jiezi didn't say a word the whole time, she just used her hands to launch simple and unadorned attacks on all the fallen magical girls.

Yuuki Enishi still feels a chill run down her spine whenever she thinks about how everyone had to fight tooth and nail just to barely save themselves from Lin Jiezi's clutches.

……

"Is it... over?" Helica wiped the sweat from her forehead with the sleeve of her magic armor, unable to believe that the hell she had just endured was really over.

Even though she said that, Herika was essentially just an observer. The ones who were truly in danger were Yuuki Yuki and Urobuchi Mashiro, who were the targets of Lin Jiezi's attack.

After being pushed to their limits countless times, Lin Jiezi's attack finally stopped, and she collapsed to the ground, fainting once again.

If it weren't for Nishio Reki protecting Yuuki throughout the entire process, Yuuki definitely wouldn't have survived.

On the contrary, Mashiro Gorgen, seemingly because she came into contact with the black magic runes that she had set up in the outside world, actually managed to persevere using her limited magic power.

After shutting down and restarting, Lin Jiezi opened her eyes again and regained her usual timid expression. She looked around cautiously and asked what had happened in her usual stuttering manner.

It was as if all her memories from the time she was attacked until she passed out again had vanished.

Of course, no one else believed these words. After witnessing the scene firsthand, no one else could allow Lin Jiezi to continue pretending to be stupid and getting away with it.

After all, Lin Jiezi initially joined Nijisanji because of Helica's suspicion of her.

No matter how much Helica reminded her of what had just happened, or how much she urged Lin Jiezi to stop pretending and tell the truth, Lin Jiezi acted as if she were a completely innocent person, saying that she knew nothing.

Her acting was so realistic that Yuuki Enishi felt it was completely indistinguishable from the real thing.

Seeing that Helica's emotions were becoming increasingly agitated, Lin Jiezi maintained an expression that seemed as if she was about to cry at any moment, trying to prove her innocence.

“She really doesn’t know,” Nishio Reki interrupted Helica’s brutal behavior towards Hayashi Mustard.

Seeing that she couldn't get anything out of Lin Jiezi, Helica resorted to asking Nishio Reki instead.

"How did you know?"

Before Hayashi Mustard turned into that strange form, it was Nishio Reki who first told Herika to leave Hayashi Mustard.

Helica will ask what Nishio Reki knows sooner or later, so there's no harm in asking now.

“I can’t tell you, because of some special reasons…” Nishio Reki posed a riddle, but had no intention of answering at all: “If I say something I shouldn’t say, what just happened will happen again.”

"You?!" Helica frowned, on the verge of exploding.

“She didn’t lie to you.” Mashiro Gorgen unexpectedly spoke up for Reki Nishio at this moment: “That girl just didn’t know.”

Faced with the greater crisis of Genki Mashiro, Herika temporarily ignored Yuuki Yukino; after the incident with Hayashi Mustard, Herika couldn't care less about the exhausted Genki Mashiro and the unconscious Seishion lying on the ground.

At this moment, Mashiro Gakuen's appearance inevitably makes Helica suspect that she has some other scheme.

Not only Helica, but also Nishio Reki, who was being supported by Genki Mashiro, couldn't figure out what Genki Mashiro was up to this time. Several pairs of eyes turned to Genki Mashiro.

Everyone present regarded Goraku Mashiro as an enemy, yet Goraku Mashiro remained calm despite being in such an unfavorable situation.

Gathering her short, blue-green hair, Gen Ken Mashiro spoke.

There is only one target.