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

"We've already waited so long, let's just wait a little longer. Things are already out of our control."

Mizuno Yu turned her head slightly, fixing her gaze on Helica, and openly whispered something in front of her.

Sakura Hanako glanced at Helica, who was also looking at her but didn't react even though she knew what she was saying: "Do you think Yuuki-senpai has some kind of scheme going on?"

Mizuno Yu shook her head: "I don't know, but it's always good to be more careful. If there really is one, then Tian Lei has already taken the bait, which is why we can't leave."

“Besides,” Mizuno Yu explained, “Yuki Yuki and Inuyama Tomoe are both under our noses. If they want to do something, we can react immediately.”

“That’s right.” Sakura Hanako breathed a sigh of relief. “We’re all here, nothing unexpected will happen. And even if something does happen, we can… solve… it…”

Her words, which were only halfway through, did not end properly; instead, her tone was filled with doubt and insecurity.

The more relaxed Sakura Hanako appeared when she had just breathed a sigh of relief, the more confused and embarrassed she became when a real problem arose.

Is it impossible for something unexpected to happen?

An accident has already occurred.

In a corner of Moonsea City, an accident has already occurred.

An aura, clearly perceptible to every magical girl, rose from the ground, making no attempt to conceal its existence.

It was the magical aura of a corrupted magical girl, appearing at this time without warning, yet by sheer coincidence, as if guided by someone.

"How is that possible?!" Sakura Hanako's lips twitched a few times as she looked towards the area near the bar.

Whether it was Yuuki Yuuki or Inuyama Tomoe, they continued to work in the shop as if nothing had happened. Amidst the sound of guitar strings and the shop manager Minato Nana's a cappella singing, the coffee shop was filled with a peaceful atmosphere.

Only these magical girls knew that something was stirring beneath the surface.

Analyzing whether Yuuki Yukino has some kind of conspiracy is no longer something we can do leisurely.

Just as Sakura Hanako was about to look away, she happened to meet the gaze of Yuuki Yuuki, who was busy taking coffee grounds out of the coffee machine.

Yuuki Yukino smiled gently at Sakura Hanako.

That smile, however, seemed to plunge Sakura Hanako into an ice cave.

That smile seemed to say that everything was under her control.

Even more intense than Sakura Hanako's reaction was Tenrai Helica, whose coffee had been completely drunk and who suddenly stood up as if she might rush out at any moment.

Upon sensing the presence of the corrupted magical girl, she is always the first to stand up and rush to the battlefield; such actions have become an unconscious habit for her.

This time, it is no exception.

Even so...?

Helica's eyes flickered, she swallowed hard, and then sat back down.

At the bar, Yuuki Yukino's smile seemed even happier.

……

Meanwhile, Moonsea Park was already packed with all sorts of stalls, all kinds of people, and candies being thrown from hanging baskets.

The Halloween atmosphere was strong. A crescent moon hung far away on the dark stage where the stars were sparse in the autumn day, casting silvery light and making the park, which was usually bustling and noisy, seem even more eerie.

The pupils of the crookedly hanging pumpkin lanterns shimmered with lively light, reflecting strange faces in the leaping firelight.

Laughter, cheers, and shouts echoed one after another on this unusual night, as the ghosts of tonight's procession would revel until dawn.

"Am I seeing things? Were those two people just here?"

A young girl rubbed her eyes and pointed to two people walking side by side, holding hands, amidst the faint light from the scattered bats and ghosts.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

The crisp sound of shoes stepping on the paving stones drowned out the music and the noise of the crowd, like a countdown clock striking people's hearts at midnight.

The two girls being pointed at strolled hand in hand through the crowd, seemingly out of place in this world.

No one knows when they appeared here. The reason it is described as "appeared" is because if they had simply walked by, they would have already attracted the attention of those around them.

After all, they are so dazzling.

Formal dresses and kimonos, gleaming gold and ashen gray, leather boots and clogs, and something completely out of place with the rest of the outfit—a chainsaw and double blades.

Even though there were even more extravagant costumes around them, and even though their costumes weren't strictly speaking as overt or Halloween-like.

But they undoubtedly became the focus of everyone's attention, and people walking around them involuntarily stepped back, making way for them and creating a large open space.

This is an unspoken understanding, something that everyone present would do.

This was a sign of crisis, prompting everyone to do the same thing—to stay as far away as possible from those two girls who exuded an ominous aura at all times.

"Do you know what I mean? You should be able to understand, right? It's the difference between a fake and a real thing!"

The eyewitness was still in shock when he said these words, gesturing wildly as he described the harrowing scene.

"Those two people looked different from ordinary people participating in the Halloween costume parade. It's like you know nothing about jewelry, but you can immediately recognize the extraordinary quality of gold."

"Dangerous, really too dangerous. Just seeing them makes me feel uneasy. I thought the Halloween party back then actually got a real response."

"You asked me what they did? Did they cause any damage? Of course not! It's precisely because they did nothing, as if they didn't even see us, that's what's scary!"

"Hmm... Let me ask you a question. When you walk on the street, do you pay attention to how many ants you step on? Yes, in their eyes, we ordinary people are probably just like ants."

"Did they really do nothing? No, they just walked around, as if they were waiting for something."

……

The night before Halloween.

Inuyama Baiki family.

"Why are you being so restrained today? I was prepared to have a sore back all day tomorrow."

Yuuki Gently touched her cheek, the spot where Tomoe had just taken a bite.

According to Baqi, this was her reward for clearing up the misunderstanding between Yuuki Yuki, Yuuki Tamaki, and Minato Nana through her straightforward approach.

Yuuki Gen genuinely felt that Tomoe might forcefully pounce on her and then grope her for revenge. This was completely unlike the behavior of the raging Rape Wolf, which made Yuuki Gen feel quite uncomfortable.

Well, I'm not quite used to being pushed down like this either.

"Hmm, does Xiaoyuan want to spend the whole day tomorrow basking in the afterglow of our revelry tonight?" Baqi smiled maliciously, her eyes crinkling, as if she wanted to devour her completely.

"Of course not! I have to go to school and work tomorrow!" Yuuki Yui replied immediately.

"Isn't that good? Hehehe." Baqi hummed a few more tuneless tunes, but they expressed her current cheerful mood: "What? Feeling disappointed? Didn't receive my affection?"

She certainly had the opportunity to take advantage of her, but Baqi simply chose not to do so for the time being.

"No way!" Yuuki Yuuki denied immediately.

“Xiao Yuan seems to have thought of something terrible, hmm, something on her mind!” Ba Qi stroked her chin and nodded repeatedly, then spread her hands: “So what is Xiao Yuan thinking about? What is it that’s on her mind? Is it related to that original dark magic girl?”

"Why would you think that?" This time it was Yuuki Yuuki's turn to be puzzled.

"Because that expression is Yuuki's mischievous expression, the kind that only appears after she becomes a magical girl! So Yuuki must be thinking about that kind of thing!" Baqi gave Yuuki a thumbs up.

"No way!"

She didn't know how Baqi made her judgments. Perhaps it was some kind of terrifying intuition. Baqi relied on intuition and decisiveness in everything she did. While she could help Yuuki Eri solve many problems, she also made it difficult for Yuuki Eri to keep anything to herself.

But what she was thinking really was related to magical girls, so Baqi wasn't entirely wrong.

But that's not entirely accurate either.

"What is Yuuki thinking? If you don't tell me, you won't have a chance to say it." Baqi put her middle and ring fingers together and beckoned to Yuuki, making Yuuki feel a chill run down her spine.

So, there was no chance to explain why things got so bad?!

"Ha, it's not really related to magical girls." Yuuki sighed and sat cross-legged on the bed.

"What my sister said to me tonight makes a lot of sense to me."

"Tonight? What did you say?" Baqi scratched her head.

"You're the one who dragged me home to make up with my sister in person, how come you don't know what you said?!" Yuuki Yui's train of thought was interrupted for a moment, and she loudly complained to Baqi.

"Because I've said too much, I don't know what I'm specifically referring to anymore," Ba Qi muttered.

Well, telepathy isn't always present.

Yuuki Yukino wouldn't mind explaining it to Baqi.

After all, she would need Baqi's help with the things she wanted to do later.

"My sister hid the reason why our house was destroyed when I was little, because it was for my own good, right?"

"Mmm." Ba Qi instantly switched into a cooperative, spectator mode, nodding her little head in agreement.

“But I’m already so old, I can’t remember anything from when I was little,” Yuuki Yuen continued. Although her reason for not remembering was that she had no memories of her time travel, this explanation was harmless.

To draw an analogy, it's like a classmate you absolutely hated in elementary school, but now when Yuuki Enishi thinks about them, she realizes they weren't so bad after all.

Time will dilute many things. Things that you once cared about deeply will be washed away by time, and their excessive weight will be washed away.

"So when I heard my sister say that, I thought, 'Oh, so that's how it is? Is that all? Should I be sad? Should I be angry? It doesn't seem to matter, so let it be.'"

Baqi shouldn't interrupt here; whatever she says wouldn't be appropriate. So she quietly shut her mouth and listened to Yuki Eri continue.

"But I'm still a little angry, right? Not because they hid these things from me, no, it's precisely because they hid them from me that I'm angry. It's not the content of their hiding, nor that I exposed them, but the fact that they hid it from me."

"Think about it, Baqi. It's not like I can't accept it, so why go to all the trouble of hiding it from me? Doesn't that mean you don't trust me? Essentially, you don't really trust your own sister, right?"

"So what! Why not just tell your sister what's wrong? Why go through all this trouble!"

Yuuki Yukina stretched out her hands and drew a large circle around herself. Then, she lay flat on the bed with her arms outstretched, her whole body spread out in a starfish shape.

After rolling around on Baqi's bed, Yuuki Yukino pursed her lips, arched her body and leaned directly against Baqi's knees, who was kneeling on the bed listening attentively to her, using her knees as a pillow to support her head.

"Me too."

"What's the same?" Baqi curled her finger and asked in confusion, but her hand mischievously flicked Yuuki Yuen's forehead, as if to flick away the negative energy that Yuuki Yuen suddenly generated.

"Ouch!" Yuuki Yui covered her forehead and rubbed it vigorously, then looked up at Baqi's face and said to her:

"Whether my sister hid things from me or told me the truth, it was all for my own good, but she never considered my feelings, which is why I'm angry, right?"

"Me, with those magical girls... Oh right, you know I actually get along quite well with them, and I really enjoy being with them, right?"

“I know.” Ba Qi flicked it again, but this time very lightly, with a more affectionate touch: “Xiao Yuan cares about them, of course I know.”

"Phew, I'll continue then." Yuuki Yuen returned to the main topic, blinked to hide the playfulness in her eyes, and looked at the ceiling and the uncertain future with clear eyes.