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

In the quiet forest, Sakura Hanako didn't dare to breathe loudly.

She covered her mouth tightly with both hands and stepped lightly on the grass covered with fallen leaves, as if making no sound would allow her to perfectly hide in the darkness.

Even without doing so, it would be extremely difficult for ordinary people to see her. In the undeveloped hills behind Moonsea Park, in the unlit suburbs, even Sakura Hanako, who was hiding, could not clearly see her own hands.

She still managed to escape.

All those excuses about covering their retreat and the necessary trials were just that—excuses.

If you want to run away, then run away.

Faced with such overwhelming power, there was no point in staying there if I had no desire to fight.

This was the first time she had ever directly experienced the oppressive power of a god's liberation since becoming a magical girl.

Not long ago, Moonsea Park was deserted.

"Hanako, can you promise me? Just consider it a whim of mine as a senior."

Mizuno Yu did indeed ask that question.

But she had no intention of considering Sakura Hanako's thoughts at all.

A thin stream, silently flowing from beneath Mizuno Yu's heel, had reached Sakura Hanako without her noticing in the crimson moonlight.

Until the trickle suddenly froze, the resulting icicles, like spears piercing the ground, struck Sakura Hanako with unerring accuracy.

If it were a real spear made of solidified ice crystals, Sakura Hanako would have been pierced through by it.

But the power it came with was genuine. Sakura Hanako's attention was entirely focused on the two enemies, and she never expected that her senior would launch a surprise attack on her.

A typical surprise attack is intended to kill, but Mizuno Yu's purpose was the complete opposite, and Sakura Hanako realized this the moment she was hit.

The powerful force sent Sakura Hanako flying, away from Mizuno Yu and away from danger.

Mizuno Yu, however, took a resolute step, and despite her expertise in ranged attacks, she willingly threw herself into the enemy's arms.

What greeted Mizuno Yu was the two shattered curse marks.

The break was clean, the fragments scattered, as if it had been cut into pieces in an instant. The fragments of the black magic pattern that had once been pieced together fell like snowflakes.

Next came the chanting of the maidens during the liberation of the gods.

“I have walked in the valley of the shadow of death.”

“I have waded into the trickle of blood.”

"I once plucked a new bud from beneath the rock face."

"I once picked up seashells from the shallows."

"I once dedicated it to the boundless darkness."

"I once threw it into the bottomless abyss."

The girls, hand in hand, walked slowly past the curtains floating with fragments of black magic patterns, toward the bright moonlight that remained untouched by any other color, even amidst its crimson glow.

Those points of light, like fireflies chasing flames, trailed slender tails as they hurtled towards the girls' bodies, igniting the magical costumes they wore.

Amidst the red and gray flames, the girls burned and walked silently, leaving a trail of footprints on the ground.

The trail of footprints drew closer and closer to Mizuno Yu, while Sakura Hanako was forced to drift further and further away from Mizuno Yu.

She could only watch, watch as long as she could see, and witness with her own eyes this moment when three magical girls simultaneously called upon the name of God—a moment that had rarely occurred even in the history of Moonsea City.

She had to record this final, swan song that belonged to her predecessor.

"We once played ethereal poems."

"We exchanged a bright red vow."

A gentle breeze blew by and dispersed the raging flames.

The wisp of ember in the dissipating flames, and the two girls reborn from the ashes, made Sakura Hanako instinctively sense danger.

Blooming. The first thing that came to Sakura Hanako's mind was blooming. That ominous flower bud, which had been watered by some unknown source, was now in full bloom.

The liberation of the gods will change the magic armor, and such changes are usually significant, resulting in a completely different style.

But the changes in the two girls were quite different.

While both are changes, the only difference in their magical attire is that it has become even more magnificent.

It was still a formal dress, but it was so magnificent that it seemed to be the most expensive jewel set in a crown called a grand feast.

She was still wearing a kimono, but it was as gorgeous as the most dazzling jewel adorning the hairpin in the flower market.

The floor-length fishtail skirt and the blooming courtesan dress belong to the divine liberation of those two girls.

Just as a beautiful rose is always accompanied by thorns, the blossoming of young girls can also make people feel uneasy.

It's as if the creature that had always restrained itself, the writing girl who should have been read as a monster, has finally broken free of its shackles.

The girls raised their wands in unison.

"We will travel the whole world."

"Let the world witness our unwavering love."

"To this world, we offer our eternal love."

The long sword that Hyakki Chiyu had been holding tightly was thrown into Koumori's hands, and the short saw was also passed from Koumori's grasp to Hyakki Chiyu.

The deadly wand reverted to a two-colored magical bubble, enveloping the girls' hands.

What is extracted from the foam is a brand new power that belongs to them, yet is not just theirs.

A katana, longer than the combined height of the two girls, became Koumori's new weapon, with crimson waves flowing across its gray blade.

The length of Hong Moli's new wand was just as long as the dagger in Bai Gui Qianyou's hand, with only the length of her palm on the blade, yet it exuded a pressure no less than that of the long sword.

The girls, chanting eulogies to mark the end of the magical girl era, had already arrived before Mizuno Yu.

That was the last thing Sakura Hanako saw and the last words she heard.

"To this world..."

"A predetermined death."

"Offering the blood oath to the moon."

Chapter 53 What a coincidence, we meet again?

Stepping over fallen leaves, bathed in the crimson moonlight, feeling the cool night breeze, all I could hear were the rustling sounds of every tiny movement and the faint beating of my heart.

Aimless yet incredibly pleasant, if this scene were called a date, it probably wouldn't raise many objections.

The girls walked along, just like any other girls, through the pitch-black night.

"It's unbelievable, the last time I was here was a year ago, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it just so happens that it was Halloween that day."

"That's true, but the stance has completely changed, which is really incredible."

"Yes, last time we were the ones hiding like this, but it was that woman who was leisurely searching for the little guy hiding in the shadows like us."

……

A year ago, on the back hill of Yuehai Park.

"Oh dear, what a coincidence, we meet again?"

The girl with long, bluish-green hair, her eyes narrowed to slits, gently sliced ​​through the trees blocking her path. Turning her seemingly stiff neck, she stepped on the crunching fallen leaves and slowly approached the terrifyingly gloomy-faced girls.

"But, but if we meet, the cat-and-mouse game should end, right?" The girl leaned closer with her hands behind her back, tilting her head as if she wanted to snap her neck.

As the opponent drew closer, Hong Moli shielded Hyakki Chiyu behind her—although she had no ability to protect Hyakki Chiyu from the opponent's grasp, and Chiyu was stronger than herself, this action was done instinctively without any thought.

Hyakki Chiyuu wasn't much of a talker, and now she was completely silent, as if making a silent plea for help. This only strengthened Hong Moli's resolve not to fall after Chiyuu.

"Huh? Not going to say anything? That's so boring! Why don't you just scream and beg for mercy, like those bastards who are also tainted by corruption and don't care about other people's lives, do before they die?"

Genki Mashiro opened her arms, and a rushing, colorful waterfall rose into the sky behind her, forming a magnificent stage.

All they had to do was wait for the director's command, and on this makeshift stage, the grand yet insignificant finale of these two poor little creatures would unfold.

"Rotten person." Hong Moli spat fiercely. At such a critical moment, she didn't need to care about her image at all.

“Oh right, in your eyes I might indeed be the worst guy, and you two are the calmest guys I’ve ever met, um, and also the weakest.” Genken Mashiro seemed to suddenly realize something, pounding her palms and slightly pursing her lips into a thoughtful smile.

Hong Moli had no idea what she was thinking, but it certainly wasn't anything good.

"But, how boring!" Genken Mashiro raised her arm and pinched her chin with her palm: "You guys just get killed by me without any fun, it's really boring."

Is it just boredom?

Hong Moli had heard about the disasters caused by the corrupted magical girls, and as a magical girl herself, she deeply hated them.

Similarly, she had seen many corrupted magical girls, but none of them were as indifferent to life as the woman in front of her.

There is someone who is as strong as the woman in front of me, so strong that I have absolutely no chance to resist.

If you think about it calmly, even just having the desire to resist this woman takes courage.

"Oh, I've got it. Why don't you just watch the child you're protecting get messed up by me, and see her eyes gradually become empty? You'll see what kind of interesting expression you make then, right?"

Rotten person.

Hong Moli began to lose control of her facial muscles, letting herself reveal an expression of utter disgust.

No matter what he did, he couldn't fully express his disgust for the woman in front of him.

"Yes, yes, that's it, that's the expression!" Genken Mashiro clapped her hands, offering her utterly worthless respect for Koumori's expression.

"But it's a bit of a pity. I have no interest in bullying this child. The only one I want to touch and caress is her, only her. It's such a shame."

Chaos, disorder, incoherent statements, yet possessing a bizarre logic—these are the common characteristics of corrupted magical girls.

Even among that garbage heap of hopeless bastards, this woman was an exceptionally wicked one.

Although at that time, Koumori did not know Yuuki Yuuki, nor did she learn from her the name Urobuchi Mashiro, the power behind her, or the reason for her very unhealthy mental state.

"Why don't you speak? Why don't you answer? Aren't you embarrassed if I'm the only one talking? I'm very embarrassed."

"Do whatever you want, I have nothing to say." Hong Moli's narrowed pupils burned with raging anger, as if she wanted to incinerate the other party.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the ability, nor did he likely have the courage.