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

"Yuki, thank you for your hard work."

The girls who had been waiting for Yuuki Yuki also offered their congratulations.

"Yes, thank you for your hard work."

Besides the three of them, a fourth person backstage also offered their condolences.

The moment the girl spoke, she instantly attracted everyone's attention.

Nishio Reki did not recognize the girl, but she was certain that this was their first meeting.

Her short, golden hair covered her ears, her bright red eyes revealed little emotion, and her sculpted face showed no sign of celebration.

She simply raised her hands, which were beneath the insignia-covered cuffs of her St. Eternal Academy uniform, and gently clapped them together, producing an overly slow clapping sound.

The girl's gaze never fell on the group of people, but rather through the door of the podium and preparation room to the gray-haired girl who was giving a speech.

Nishio Reki was puzzled, but upon seeing the other person, the expressions of two of the magical girls underwent subtle changes.

Helica was initially surprised, bit her lip, and then her gaze returned to normal.

Yuuki Yukino frowned immediately.

However, Nishio Reki did not notice the changes in their expressions.

However, the blonde girl noticed it out of the corner of her eye.

The girl with short blonde hair narrowed her eyes and turned slightly toward Nishio Reki and the magical girls with her.

"The idea of ​​exchanging students with Yuehai Middle School was proposed by the student council president."

Nishio Reki couldn't understand what the other person was saying, nor did he know why they were saying these things for no reason.

But without a doubt, the other party was talking to himself and the people next to him.

The next sentence made everyone's expressions turn serious.

"The president's goal is to find the magical girls at Tsukimi Middle School. But I don't think it's necessary at all."

“One.” The girl pointed her finger at Mizuno Yu, who was standing on the far left.

"Two." The index finger flicked lightly, as if drawing a checkmark in the air, and landed on Yuuki Yukino.

“Three.” The raised fingertip fell a little lower, moving to the top of Helica’s head.

"The president's idea is to find three magical girls," the blonde girl repeated, then placed her hands on the bow tied at the collar of her uniform.

"Then..." The bow was gently untied, followed by the top button, and the other person's neck was thus revealed to the girls.

The index finger that had once been used to point out several magical girls gently hooked onto one side of the open neckline, exposing more of the girl's skin—her collarbone.

The bright red brand below her collarbone, resembling a bat with outstretched wings, spoke volumes about everything she wanted to say.

"I will take care of everything."

Clang.

A buzzing chainsaw was pulled out from under the girl's skirt, at least that's how it appeared to Nishio Reki.

However, before the chainsaw could touch the magical girl's body, it first touched the red thread that was knotted between Yuuki Yuki's hands, like a cat's cradle.

The fragile red wire was in a completely different league from the chainsaw, yet it made the chainsaw seem to cut into a steel wire, abruptly halting its attack.

Even the sound of them colliding was like metal striking metal.

Driven by the roar of the motor, the saw teeth on the chainsaw began to rotate at an accelerated speed.

The serrated edge and the red thread in Yuuki Yuuki's hand collided, sparking a string of sparks.

Yuuki Yukino's hands were trembling uncontrollably, which Nishio Reki could see clearly.

Yuuki Yui's wand can block the most direct attack of the chainsaw, but that force is not so easy to neutralize.

Using such a soft wand to withstand such a strong impact, Yuuki Yukari's hands must have endured a considerable burden.

Herika's warhammer slammed down from above, the whistling golden hammerhead carrying a powerful gust of wind, heading straight for the blonde girl's head.

The chainsaw in the blonde girl's hand split open.

The smaller weapon continued to press down on Yuuki En's defenses. Although Yuuki En felt the pressure lessen considerably, the threat remained.

Meanwhile, the blonde girl held the massive single saw in her hand, almost touching it to her arm, using the saw blade to block the path of the falling warhammer.

Another, even more violent roar than before, the shockwave from the direct clash between the magical girls sent the clutter in the preparation room flying out in an explosive manner, centered on the three of them.

Tables, chairs, benches, wall decorations, and objects on the table all crashed against the wall and shattered into pieces. Even Nishio Reki, who was very close by, could only squat down to steady himself and avoid being thrown out along with the other objects.

The anomaly in the preparation room occurred in just a few breaths, but the noise it made was unprecedented. The attention of everyone in the auditorium was immediately drawn from the girl speaking on the podium to the room next to the podium that they could not see.

The moment this anomaly occurred, the event could no longer continue.

The battle between magical girls and their natural enemies, the corrupted magical girls, is not something that can be settled simply by comparing who is better.

"Nishio, I'll escort you away. Leave things here to these two."

After transforming, Mizuno Yu first fired two arrows, then grabbed the hand of Nishio Reki, the only ordinary person present, and rushed towards the auditorium podium with her.

A magical girl dragged an ordinary person out from backstage, causing an even bigger uproar.

The source of the anomaly has been found, and it is the one they feared most—magical girls.

Some people might stop and watch a magical girl if they see one in the city, but in a confined space, the danger posed by a magical girl is no less than that of an earthquake or fire.

The crowd erupted in excitement, rising from their seats and rushing towards the exit of the auditorium.

Mizuno Yu was already used to this kind of thing, and the commotion in the crowd did not affect her clear thinking at all.

First, ensure the safety of Nishio Reki and the others, then turn around and help Yuuki Yuki and Tenrai Herika resolve this major problem.

But now it seems there's an even bigger problem.

The banner above the podium that read "Inaugural Ceremony of the First Exchange Student Program of Shengyou Academy and Yuehai Middle School" fell down along with the entire beam.

Was it broken due to years of disrepair and the impact just now?

Mizuno Yu thought quickly, then stepped onto the ground. The rising ice spike pierced through the huge beam, pinning it in mid-air.

Something's not right.

The cross-section of the beam, which broke due to years of disrepair, should have contained many jagged splinters, typical of a broken beam.

The one pierced by the icicle, however, was so smooth that it looked as if it had been cut off by something sharp.

This cannot be a sign of natural destruction.

Moreover, the gray-haired girl who was giving a speech on the podium had disappeared during the commotion.

It would be understandable if the host or school leaders waiting on the side of the stage ran so fast, but the girl standing in the middle of the stage should not have run so fast, whether she jumped off the stage or left from the other side.

unless……

The "unless" that Mizuno Yu had been thinking about came true right before her eyes, in front of Nishio Reki.

A gray-haired girl in a kimono approached Mizuno Yu from behind like a ghost, placing her hands on the hilt of the katana at her waist.

Two sharp blades flashed in a cross shape behind Mizuno Yu.

Half an hour after the start of the exchange ceremony at St. Yuu Academy, Nishio Reki witnessed firsthand the true terror of the corrupted magical girl.

Chapter 148 Gradual Entry

"I never expected that there would be a corrupted magical girl in St. Eternal Academy. Fortunately, everyone worked hard to stop them. You all worked really hard today."

On his way back, Nishio Reki's enthusiasm was no longer as high as it had been when he arrived at St. Yuu Academy that morning.

That sudden turn of events shattered most of her illusions about St. Eternal Academy and disrupted the original rhythm of the Moonsea Middle School team today.

After the welcome ceremony, students should have returned to normal school life, but due to this incident, they were temporarily asked to return home for refuge.

However, Nishio Reki still actively encouraged the other magical girls, which was one of the few things she could do in this team.

Having not seen any dark magical girls for a while, Nishio Reki thought that Tsukimi City was about to usher in peace. But today, she unexpectedly saw them at St. Yuu Academy, a place she considered incredibly sacred, and there were two of them.

The more dangerous and critical reality was deliberately ignored by Nishio Reki; the enemies' targets were not ordinary people, but these magical girls.

Fortunately, the attack launched by the two corrupted magical girls was thwarted, and no one was injured in the end.

Nishio Reki was unaware of the specifics, which is why he assumed the two sides were evenly matched and that the two corrupted magical girls were temporarily avoiding a direct confrontation because they couldn't gain the upper hand.

However, the actual situation is certainly not as simple as Nishio Reki imagines.

However, no one corrected what Nishio Reki said.

No one could remain calm after experiencing that battle.

Only magical girls who have fought against them can truly understand how terrifying the power displayed by those two magical girls was.

In the end, the two corrupted magical girls on the other side held back, and for some reason, they were unwilling to push the magical girls into a corner, so they both retreated.

However, the battle that took only a few minutes in the Great Hall wiped the entire Great Hall off the map of St. Eternal Academy.

Seeing that the magical girls around him were all silent, Nishio Reki spoke first, trying to ease the incredibly dull atmosphere.

"Why is everyone so quiet? Cheer up! We know who our enemy is now. All we need to do is work hard to defeat them."

Yuuki Yukina was the first to recover from her heavy expression. She secretly clenched her fist and then followed Nishio Reki's lead, encouraging the others in line with Nishio Reki's words.

"Xiao Li is right. Although the enemy is very strong, we are not weak either. As long as we work together, we will definitely be able to defeat the enemy!"

Mizuno Yu nodded, though her expression didn't change. She must have figured things out and was trying to improve the atmosphere.

“Yuki is right. This is a trial before us. As long as we overcome it, we will become stronger.”

But Helica, who is usually the most quick to point out faults, remained silent today, biting her lip and keeping her head down at the back of the group, seemingly deep in thought.

"Tianlei, don't be so upset. We didn't lose, did we?"

Yuuki Yukina slowed her pace and waited until Tenrai Herika walked up to her, then whispered something in Herika's ear.

“I’m not upset, I’m just thinking…” Helica immediately answered, but swallowed the words back halfway through. Then she cleared her throat and raised her voice even louder: “Never mind, it’s nothing! I’m just upset!”

"Don't worry about it. We haven't been magical girls for that long, and we haven't experienced any decent battles. We also had a break of a few months, so it's okay if we're not as skilled as others."

Mizuno Yu calmly listed all the magical girls' current shortcomings, then offered a positive vision: "As long as we work hard, we will definitely be able to defeat those corrupted magical girls."

“That’s true. As long as we work hard, there won’t be any problems.” Helica clenched her fist after hearing Mizuno Yu’s words.

Nishio Reki felt that Helica's attitude seemed somewhat perfunctory. Whether she was dejected or suddenly perked up, it all seemed deliberate and not like her usual self at all.