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

"What you need to do now is to wake up, wake up even more, and wait for this nightmare to end, and then everyone will be happy. So, let's go back now."

Helica was about to leave when she suddenly stopped, her tone more serious than ever before.

"By the way, you should take the general's body back to the monarch city. Before, when you mentioned General Yumimoto, I always thought it was troublesome, but now it's different. I know she was a true hero."

hypocritical.

Mizuno Yu cursed inwardly.

But she nodded again, picked up the general's already stiff body, and tied it to the general's warhorse.

Let this warhorse carry its master one last time; that's the only thing Mizuno Yu can do now.

……

Upon returning to the monarch's city, Mizuno Yu heard many rumors.

For example, a prime minister assassinates the monarch and then commits suicide by burning himself out of fear of punishment; another example is when a prime minister and the monarch become enemies, and the prime minister's residence is burned to the ground.

When Mizuno Yu brought the general's body back to the city, angry crowds still threw stones at the general's corpse, but the stone thrower was later driven away by the soldiers.

But a few things were certain: the monarch was dead, the general was dead, and the prime minister's residence was burned to the ground.

Later, some of the rumors subsided, but new rumors emerged.

Finally, the rumors that circulated became fixed: the prime minister betrayed the country and assassinated the monarch, while he himself infiltrated the prime minister's inner circle to avenge the monarch.

It's easy to guess that these rumors, which are in their own favor, are undoubtedly embellished by the intelligence chief, Yuuki Enishi.

It should be the former Minister of Intelligence; Yuuki Yuki has now succeeded Nishio Reki as the new Minister of Home Affairs.

Meanwhile, Nishio Reki was promoted to Prime Minister; Tenrai Herika's position remained unchanged, but in accordance with her rank, the power that the deceased monarch had not entrusted to Herika was finally handed over to her.

What Mizuno Yuu couldn't understand the most was that the person who sat on the throne was the regicide. She didn't know how Yuuki Yukari and her group had managed to make this happen so smoothly.

As for Mizuno Yu herself, she took over the position of the deceased general.

However, just like Helica in the past, she was all in name only; she could not return to the general's former territory, nor could she even entertain such a thought.

In order to become the ultimate victor in this game of power where it's either win or die, Mizuno Yuya gradually learns to hide herself.

The simplest way is to avoid showing any expression; the fewer expressions you have, the fewer flaws you reveal.

If she were to reveal a flaw, or show her intention to avenge the general, then she would never be able to do what she wanted to do.

Mizuno Yu needs power to exact her revenge, and not just physical power.

Not all battles are resolved by force on the battlefield. Even such powerful generals have died, let alone someone like myself who is far from reaching the level of a general.

But Mizuno Yuu also discovered another weapon of hers: wisdom.

Later, in her interactions with others, especially Yuuki Yui, Mizuno Yui tried her best to be more cautious and think more in order to keep up with Yuuki Yui's train of thought.

Natural as water, indifferent as ice—this is Mizuno Yu after she has grown up.

To her bewilderment, seeing herself like this, the others not only didn't guard up, but instead felt immense joy.

However, this is for the best, so that when others lower their guard, Mizuno Yu can do everything she can to become stronger.

What troubled Mizuno the most was how to deal with Helica.

"I understand how you feel; I think we're the same."

She once said this to Helica.

But this is how Helica answered.

"No, you can't. You can't possibly understand how much pain I'm in. Even though we have plenty of time, you still need to hurry and not keep people waiting too long."

Should I hurry up?

What exactly Helica was referring to puzzled Mizuno Yu for a long time.

After eliminating possibilities multiple times, Mizuno Yu finally arrived at an answer.

Helica knew what she was doing in secret, and she was supported by others. Although Helica was the direct murderer of the general, she was also dissatisfied with the person who manipulated her to do these things.

Mizuno Yuya is beginning to understand that feeling of shared suffering.

After a long period of effort, Mizuno Yu's hard work finally paid off.

A completely unnoticed child, under Mizuno Yu's instructions, carrying Mizuno Yu's token and the arrow she pulled from the soldier disguised as a bandit, finally returned to the general's territory and made contact with the troops there.

As the general's tacitly approved successor, and having nominally inherited the general's position, Mizuno Yu's words immediately garnered widespread support. Under Mizuno Yu's command, a vast army began to assemble, eventually overwhelming the capital and surrounding the monarch's castle.

Mizuno Yu found the will left by the general to the monarch in the collapsed prime minister's mansion. With it, she joined the army gathered there and launched her long-awaited revenge against the regicide.

Upon learning of this news, Yuuki Yukino offered an incredibly sharp comment.

"No way? Has Mizuno Yu lost her mind? How come she's even more abstract than reality?"

Chapter 113 The Crimson Lotus Frenzy

"What's going on! Wasn't Mizuno Yu already awake? Didn't we say we could leave once she gradually woke up? What's with the army surrounding this city now?!"

Yuuki Yuuki strolled through the main hall of the monarch's residence. The blood-stained carpet beneath the throne steps had long been replaced with a brand new one, and the floor had been carefully swept, leaving no trace of the tragedy that had occurred there.

It was as if the vengeful spirit of the monarch still lingered here, making Yuuki Yuen feel that she could smell a strong stench of blood as soon as she entered.

Even though Yuuki Yuuki knew she was experiencing a dream, and that everything happening in the dream was fake, it was still very difficult to accept the feeling of watching life slip away right before her eyes.

What's even more unacceptable is that Mizuno Yu actually gathered an army right under his nose and launched a rebellion against the royal city.

Perhaps in Mizuno Yu's eyes, she was the rebel. Yuki Yu spent a lot of effort explaining to Mizuno Yu that most things had nothing to do with her, but now it seems that Mizuno Yu didn't listen to a word she said.

"How did she do that? Huh? Why didn't any of us find out that she secretly organized such a large army? Helica! You're so close to her, how come even you didn't know?"

Yuuki Yukino paced back and forth faster, vigorously rubbing her head as she walked, making her pink hair look like a messy bird's nest.

For a long time, I tried to explain to Mizuno Yu that Yuuki Yuki wasn't the only one who approached her; everyone had entered Mizuno Yuki's dream to fight against the slumber, and we would definitely work together to find a way to break the deadlock.

Now, apart from Mizuno Yu, the owner of this dream, all the other magical girls have gathered here.

"Xiaoyuan, you wouldn't have said something like this before. It seems you're having a lot of fun playing the villain," Nishio Reki said sullenly.

"You too! You're quite good at playing the enigmatic riddle-maker!" Yuuki Yuu retorted. Nishio Reki always approached Mizuno Yuu in a mysterious way, just like what she had done to him before when she pretended to be a mysterious person.

While Yuuki Yuki and Nishio Reki were talking, they both looked at Helica, who was sitting with her legs crossed next to them.

"Didn't you guys not notice either? Why are you looking at me? Do you expect me to take all the blame?"

Helica, sensing the gaze, jumped up like a kitten, rubbing her temples hard with her thumbs. The stupid thing Mizuno Yu had done was giving her a headache.

Moreover, she simply couldn't stand watching Yuuki wander around the room anymore; just looking at Yuuki made her head ache even more.

"Alright, alright, alright, stop walking, you're making me dizzy! I do have a problem! But you can't keep harping on this one issue!"

Yuuki Yukino stopped and sat down on the steps in front of the throne.

"Then what do you suggest we do? Brute force is definitely out of the question. We don't even know if what happens in the dream will have any impact on reality. Are we really going to let Mizuno Yu break in and arrest us all?"

"If we defeat that blue-haired, expressionless woman and parade her through the streets, maybe she'll get excited and wake up?" Baqi, who was lying on the throne like she was on a sofa, rolled over and lay face down on it.

"Wake up, they've already hit you in the face, why are you still talking about such unrealistic things?" Helica had no interest in arguing with Baki anymore, and just gave a dry remark.

"If I could wake up, I would have woken up long ago," Baqi sighed.

“I don’t know if you’re awake or not, but Mizuno Yu definitely doesn’t realize she’s dreaming. For her, the nightmare is probably not over yet,” Nishio Reki suddenly said.

The others nodded in unison, expressing their complete agreement with this statement.

"So, the blue-haired guy's expressionless face was all an act? I thought she would have regained her real-life grumpy face and woken up long ago. Wait, wasn't that what the short, blond guy said?" Baqi pondered for a long time, stroking her chin, before turning her attention back to Helica.

"You?! We're discussing how to help that idiot right now! Why do you keep bringing me up?" Helica's lips twitched.

"I was just thinking about how to help the blue-haired guy with the stoic face. Think about it, since she hasn't woken up and we can't break the dream, we can only continue to play along with her role-playing."

Baki, who was lying on the throne, pointed at Helica.

"Among our characters, who has the best relationship with the blue-haired, expressionless woman? Of course, it's you, the poor little general whose whole family died and who shares her plight."

“Although I feel like you’re insulting me, it seems like there’s some truth to what you’re saying.” Helica couldn’t refute it.

Ba Qi clasped his hands together, making a crisp sound: "That's right! When the time comes, you can use your words in front of the two armies to make her cry her heart out, regret her past actions, defect, lay down her arms, and surrender with courtesy, and you will still retain your position as general. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Alright, alright, why are you spouting one weird thing after another?" Yuuki Yukina steered the conversation back on track before everyone went off-topic.

“Bachi is right. If Mizuno Yu is still dreaming, she must hate us to death. You really have to do it to persuade her.”

“What if I can’t persuade her?” Helica frowned.

"Fight her! Even if it's just acting, we can't ruin our persona, right? It's not like there aren't any troops in the city. Besides, what are we magical girls afraid of in a dream?" Yuuki Yuki half-seriously and half-heartedly got up and patted Helica on the shoulder.

“That’s true.” Helica nodded, cracking her knuckles as she clenched her fists. “Then let’s teach her a lesson.”

……

Outside the city, General Yumimoto's army had already assembled and laid a heavy encirclement around the vast monarch's city.

However, Mizuno Yu was in no hurry to attack. Regardless of whether the enemy in the city resisted with all their might or risked running out of ammunition and food to hold out, they could only fight like cornered beasts.

Mizuno Yu gripped the unopened will tightly in her hand, standing on a high slope outside the city, gazing at the monarch's city in the distance.

Beside Mizuno Yu was the warhorse with its head drooping and snorting. It was the general's horse, and now it had a new master.

That city is very high and dangerous; this war will surely end in a very tragic outcome.

The ultimate victor must be oneself, and it must be oneself.

He had finally gotten his chance for revenge, but he felt no joy, only endless sorrow.

It was this heartbreaking city, and the people within it, that took away everything that belonged to Mizuno Yu.

Originally, whether it was the general or Mizuno Yu, as long as they stayed in the general's territory and did their duty, they would not have gone to the trouble of coming to the monarch's city, and thus would not have suffered this undeserved disaster.

The closer they got to such a critical juncture, the more cautious Mizuno Yuu became. She had learned a lot in the city, one of which was that one must not be careless, otherwise, failure would inevitably result.

The messenger came running down the hillside, panting, and stopped in front of Mizuno Yu, taking a few more breaths.

"Lord Mizuno, your subordinate has finally found you."

Mizuno Yu had heard this before, in the distant past, before she came to the Monarch's City, and before she realized the danger lurking in the undercurrents of the Monarch's City.

If she could go back in time, she would definitely warn the general and her foolish self about the dangers involved.

Unfortunately, she could not go back to the past. The messenger who had found her on the city wall had perished in the flames along with the Prime Minister's residence.

Now, everything has changed.