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

The contents of the container inside momentarily stunned Nishio Reki.

It was a small ring.

It was just an ordinary accessory; Nishio Reki had seen it in that accessory shop before.

But if it appears here...

"Yes, it was when Xiaoli was helping me pick out a gift that I immediately took a liking to it, so..." Yuuki scratched her head and pulled her sleeve tighter to cover the Yuuki bracelet on her wrist.

Nishio Reki seemed to understand—no, she completely understood—why Yuuki Yukino had that expression when she saw the gift she had chosen for her.

Lying in the box was a small red string ring.

Just like the magic wand of Yuuki Yuuki, just like what Nishio Reki told Yuuki Yuuki, it is made of countless knots, carrying countless sentiments.

Although they had never communicated with each other, they both chose the same thing without prior arrangement.

Seriously, what is Xiaoyuan thinking?

Nishio Reki took the small red string ring from the small gift box in his palm and slowly put it on his index finger.

The feelings that Nishio Reki should have suppressed deep in his heart seemed to be rekindled with the appearance of this small red string ring.

Nishio Reki wanted to say it.

No, she has to say it now.

She had to tell Yuuki Yuuki her hidden feelings.

Immediately, right away.

"Xiao Yuan, I like it..."

The menacing metallic crackle shattered the noise and silence of Christmas Eve.

On the silvery-white snow, an obstructive sickle stands tall between the girl who is about to express her feelings and the girl who is about to listen to that confession.

Chapter 154 The Secret Chamber

There were very few times in Nishio Reki's life when he was this serious.

She felt she had never been so calm, nor had her heart been beating so fast.

I want to say it out loud.

She wants to express her feelings to Yuuki Yuuki.

"Xiaoyuan, I..."

The sound of metal slicing through the air abruptly cut off Nishio Reki's confession, bringing all sound to an abrupt halt.

The sickle blade embedded in the snow-covered ground was still humming. In this not-so-cold snowy night, in just a brief moment, Nishio Reki felt a chilling meaning rise from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

This is the second time.

The last time Yuuki successfully defeated those two corrupted magical girls, the scythe also grazed his nose like this.

Just thinking about how he had twice escaped death's scythe made Nishio Reki feel a wave of fear.

Just because you dodged it—no, just because the sickle didn't hit you—doesn't mean you're safe.

After a brief moment of surprise, Nishio Reki immediately realized this.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, Nishio Reki turned around and ran in the opposite direction from Yuuki Yuuki.

It was only a matter of a few breaths before the scythe hit the ground.

"Koyomi, you're not a magical girl, so you're the only weakness among us." Yuuki Yuki once said this to Nishio Koyomi.

"So, Xiao Li, if you encounter any special circumstances, don't worry about us, just run away first!"

That's exactly what Nishio Reki did.

As the only weak link in the team, she would be powerless to fight back if attacked, and could only rely on magical girls like Yuuki Yuki to protect her.

Running away wouldn't be abandoning Yuuki and the others and deserting their posts; on the contrary, it would be the greatest help they could receive.

Without the distraction of protecting themselves, the magical girls can unleash their full potential.

But as Nishio Reki took a step, the scythe stuck in the ground emitted an even clearer hum, and the cold light reflected off it flashed across the ground in front of him.

Through the shadow in front of him, Nishio Reki could see that the scythe was already in someone's hand—no need to guess, it must be the magical girl in a nun's habit who appeared at the exchange student closing ceremony.

Nishio Reki was already running as fast as he could, but the physical abilities of an ordinary person were no match for those of a magical girl. His reflexes and speed were simply insignificant compared to a magical girl who had completed her transformation.

She could only watch helplessly as the shadows appearing on the ground drew closer and closer to her.

The giant, crescent-shaped weapon, gleaming with cold light and covered in snowflakes, was raised high and swung straight at Nishio Reki's back.

Nishio Reki could only run; anything she did was pointless unless she could escape this place as quickly as possible.

With a clear mind and the ability to act accordingly, all that's left is to trust your companions.

Yuuki Yukino wouldn't disappoint her either.

In the snowy Christmas night, there was an extra touch of bright red.

The shadow of the scythe was stuck in mid-air. The thin red lines, so thin that they could only leave a faint shadow on the snow, intertwined with the scythe's massive blade, as if capturing a butterfly caught in a spider web, rendering the deadly wand unable to move an inch.

The magic wand that fell directly at Nishio Reki's head ultimately failed to break through the defenses set up by Yuuki En.

"Don't worry about me! Run!"

Yuuki Yukina's voice roared behind Nishio Reki.

Even without Yuki Yuki saying it, Nishio Reki already knew.

Instead of attacking Yuuki Enishi immediately, the enemy targeted him, and his objective seemed quite clear.

Before causing Yuuki En any more trouble, Nishio Reki broke free and sprinted away from the crowd, quickly moving away from the center of the argument.

During this time, Nishio Reki had no intention of turning back.

Now is the time to race against time; even the slightest hesitation could undo all of Yuuki Eri's efforts so far.

The sound of wands clashing echoed incessantly behind Nishio Reki's head; it was the sound of Yuuki Yuki fighting against the magical girl wielding a scythe.

What's even more terrifying is that no matter how desperately Nishio Reki ran, the sounds of battle followed her everywhere.

On several occasions, Nishio Reki even saw pink hair flash in front of him.

The other party's target is already very clear; they're coming for me.

Although Nishio Reki didn't know, and didn't have time to figure out, the reason why the other party was targeting her, there was only one thing she had to do from beginning to end.

Use all your strength to escape from the enemy.

This matter sounds simple, but the reality is often contrary to expectations.

Nishio Reki is just an ordinary girl after all. Even if a magical girl is blocked, it is not difficult to catch up with her.

Battles between magical girls often require several exchanges, but to deal with Nishio Reki, one attack is enough.

Even if the attack hadn't hit Nishio Reki precisely, the aftershocks of the magic would have been enough to shake Nishio Reki's body.

The closer the sounds of battle came from behind, the more urgent Nishio Reki felt, and the more unsteady his steps became.

As the magical energy blew against her body, the staggering Nishio Reki lost her balance and was thrown off balance.

Concentrating only on escaping, Nishio Gogisaki (⊙7鹨一历) didn't even sense the unusual magical energy flowing behind him. He simply felt his feet slip and fell to the ground.

what happened?

Why did I trip and fall at such a crucial moment?

Before Nishio Kotsuki could think any further, darkness enveloped her.

Even her consciousness was plunged into darkness.

……

When Nishio Reki opened his eyes again, he found that the scene around him was completely different from when he closed his eyes.

The snow-covered shopping street was no longer around her, and the colorful lights along the roadside were gone. All she could see was endless darkness.

Nishio Reki was certain that nothing was obstructing her view, yet it was still pitch black in front of her, confirming that the environment was indeed completely dark.

Although Nishio Reki's vision was not deprived, and no foreign objects were stuffed into her mouth to deprive her of the right to speak, she was unable to move freely.

The girl's wrists were bound behind her back by something soft yet impossible to break free from, and the very thing that should have been restraining her was also fixed to something else.

Nishio Reki first tried to stand up, but the restraint on her hands prevented her from even getting up.

It was expected that he couldn't get up significantly, so Nishio Reki softened his movements and tried to move his bound arms to see how much he could move while restrained.

But the result was not optimistic. The heavy feeling pulling on the back of her wrist made it impossible for her to move her arm at all, as if the two were already embedded together.

However, Nishio Reki's attempts were not entirely fruitless; at least she learned what had bound her hands to.

It was a chair; Nishio Reki quickly realized that his wrists were tied to the chair.

Moreover, it wasn't an ordinary chair; it was a stone bench. Both the touch of his fingers and the hard object beneath him, warmed by his own body heat, told Nishio Reki this.

She was still wearing the same warm coat she had been wearing before she fainted, and the buttons were fastened tightly.

Although Nisio Reki is currently unable to move freely, it seems that nothing excessive has been done to him, which is different from what Nisio Reki knows about the actions of the corrupted magical girls.

Perhaps nothing too outrageous has been done to them yet.

Nishio Reki took a few deep breaths and continued to try to understand his surroundings.

Undoubtedly, I am currently indoors.

There were no snowflakes falling from the sky, and I couldn't feel any airflow on my skin. I had been unconscious for some time, but my body temperature hadn't dropped much due to the cold.

Therefore, Nishio Reki determined that this was a sealed room.

It should not only be a closed space, but also a secluded place. Otherwise, the other party has no reason not to gag you, otherwise if you shout, it will attract the attention of the people around you.

However, because it was in a confined space, Nishio Reki was able to discover some other clues.

For example, instead of smelling dust and snowflakes in the nasal cavity, one smells of burnt wood charcoal and ash.

The smell of dust is easy to understand; it's hard to avoid such a smell in such a confined environment.

However, the smell of charcoal after burning is not common in Moonsea City.

Nishio Reki searched through all his memories but couldn't find a single place that matched this place.