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

However, after being in darkness for a long time, Nishio Reki gradually began to get used to it.

The girl continued to look around. Although it was still pitch black, she could now make out the general outline of her surroundings.

This looks like a church.

It has benches, a high platform, candlesticks on both sides, the outline of a huge pulpit, and dim stained glass windows... so it must be a church, right?

Nishio Reki frowned and strained to look at what was in front of her, but her vision did not become clearer as she focused.

However, she still noticed some other differences here.

In this enclosed space, it seems that I am not the only one.

From the rows of benches, Nishio Reki could make out many figures sitting sparsely on them.

Each figure wore a long headscarf, and they were probably dressed similarly to the nun who had captured them here.

Nishio Reki didn't notice at first because they sat there quietly the whole time, without the slightest sway, as if time had frozen at a certain moment.

When Nishio Reki realized this astonishing fact, a chill ran through his brain.

What's more terrifying than loneliness is loneliness in a crowd.

No, can those things really be called "people"?

It is impossible for a normal human being to sit there motionless for a long time.

But Nishio Reki's mind clearly conveyed a message: they were living beings, undeniably living beings, not sculptures of girlish silhouettes, and it was impossible for anyone to place such sculptures in such a place in such a form.

So what exactly are they...?

The more Nishio Ryaku thought about it, the more chills ran down his spine.

If Nishio Reki hadn't been paying close attention to her surroundings from the beginning, she might not have realized this terrible truth.

The more he knew, the more helpless he felt. Nishio Reki could only close his eyes and refuse to look at the strange shapes of the humans sitting on the benches looking at the prayer altar.

However, this did not alleviate Nishio Reki's inner fear, and bound to the spot, Nishio Reki was unable to even escape.

She could do nothing but endure.

It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid as to fall, I wouldn't have been caught here, and I wouldn't have had to endure this fear.

I'm not of any use at all except causing trouble for the protagonist!

Nishio Reki himself knew that his current thinking was definitely incorrect.

In every strategic planning session and every magical girl meeting, Nishio Reki played a crucial role, not just in a morale-building capacity, but by genuinely offering many well-adopted and correct suggestions.

Even when helping Yuuki Yukino replenish her magic power, there are many things that only she can do, even though Nishio Reki is not a magical girl.

But now, in the pitch-black environment surrounded by some unknown humanoid figure, Nishio Reki's sensitive mind couldn't help but start to let her thoughts wander.

He had always been under Yuuki Yuuki's protection, accepting everything from her without a care in the world, but he had no way to give back to her.

This version of myself has caused Yuuki Yukino trouble again.

As Nishio Reki thought about it, he quietly clenched his fist.

As Nishio Reki clenched her fist, she sensed something new.

Finally, this time, what she felt was no longer something that terrified her.

On Nishio Reki's index finger, she could clearly feel the rough yet delicate ring as she clenched her fist.

That was something Yuuki Yukino gave to herself.

Yes, I'm already doing my best to give back to Xiaoyuan.

Even if it's just a red thread woven into a bracelet.

I also received a sincere response from Xiaoyuan.

Even if it was just a ring woven from red thread.

But enough.

As if grasping at a straw, Nishio Reki clenched his fists even tighter.

He pressed the pad of his thumb against the ring, stroking it one knot at a time, counting the knots on it.

As she herself said, it was her longing for Yuuki Yuki, the courage Yuuki Yuki gave her, something that transcended time and space, something that could truly stay by her side.

Holding the ring, Nishio Reki felt as if Yuuki Yuuki was right beside him.

As if caught in a strange environment, the fear gradually faded away as Nishio Reki stroked the red rope-woven ring.

Just feeling the ring beside him, Nishio Reki seemed to see hope, a ray of light piercing through the darkness.

It wasn't just a feeling; Nishio Reki truly saw the light.

Amidst the dull thud, a sliver of light pierced the darkness before Nishio Reki's eyes, shining down upon him.

The swirling snowflakes fell together with the appearance of that light, finally revealing other colors in the darkness.

A pink-haired girl dressed as a shrine maiden descended from the light and extended her hand to Nishio Reki.

"Xiao Li! I've found you!"

Chapter 155 Snowy Night

Time, which seemed to stand still forever, quietly began to flow the moment Yuuki Eri appeared.

From the pure white beam of light that pierced the sky, the girl in the shrine maiden's outfit descended gracefully as if performing a Kagura dance.

The red thread that had been surrounding Yuuki En quietly wrapped around Nishio Reki's wrist, as if a sharp blade had easily cut the ropes binding him.

Nishio Reki found that he could move again, and his hands, which had been constricted and were in pain, were freed once more.

However, Nishio Reki was not the only one who had regained mobility in this huge room.

At the moment the sky shattered, sharp gazes were directed at Nishio Reki.

The girls who had been sitting motionless all along, like puppets on tethers, all turned their stiff necks in unison, turning towards Nishio Reki.

Immediately afterwards, the girls dressed in nuns' habit rushed towards Nishio Reki like pigeons that had spotted food.

Having never seen anything like this before, Nishio Reki was so frightened that he froze on the spot and instinctively moved towards Yuuki Yuki's direction.

As a magical girl, Yuuki Yukino was much more sensitive to danger than Nishio Reki, and reacted quickly when she caught a glimpse of the nuns acting strangely out of the corner of her eye.

"Go first!"

As Yuuki Yuki spoke, in her haste, she didn't bother to ask Nishio Reki's opinion. She directly reached out and wrapped her arm around Nishio Reki's waist, holding him tightly in her arms.

Supporting Nishio Reki's body with one hand, Yuuki Yuki, like a firebird with outstretched wings, rose from the ground with her long, bright red tail, shooting straight into the sky through the hole in the ceiling.

The nuns who rushed forward were a step too late. They fell together like bowling pins in the spot where Nishio Reki had once been, and then blankly looked up at Yuuki Eri's receding figure overhead.

As Yuuki Yuki held him in her arms and he rose higher and higher, Nishio Reki witnessed the bizarre scene below.

Even though Yuuki Yuki rescued him, Nishio Reki was still shaken.

The strange location and the abnormal nuns instilled in Nishio Reki a fear even greater than that of the fallen magical girl.

Those unusual occurrences lingered like a dark cloud in Nishio Reki's mind.

"Xiao Li?"

As Yuuki Yuki flew with Nishio Reki on her back, she seemed to notice Nishio Reki's gloomy expression and called out softly to the girl in her arms with concern.

“Hmm…” Nishio Reki pursed his lips and nodded very slightly.

"Have you been wronged in any way?" Yuuki Yuki hugged Nishio Reki even tighter.

Flying high in the winter sky, Nishio Reki felt even colder. Perhaps he wanted to be pampered more, so he hunched his neck and snuggled closer to Yuuki Yukina, shaking his head slightly: "Mmm—"

The denial didn't completely reassure Yuuki Yuki, but she just looked at the girl in her arms again, then raised her head and gazed into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

Nishio Reki swallowed hard, then secretly looked up at Yuuki Yukino, who was carrying him away into the distance.

Back then, in the darkness, Nishio Reki couldn't clearly see Yuuki Yukino's current state.

Now, under the bright moonlight, she realized that Yuuki Eri's situation was far from as easy as she had imagined, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it wasn't optimistic.

Yuuki Yui's pure white shrine maiden robe was covered with wounds of all sizes. A shocking tear ran from the girl's magical robe on her shoulder to her side, and the edges of the tear were stained with an unusual color by solidified crimson.

Yuuki Yukino's skin was covered with countless red threads, which clung tightly to the girl's body and outlined her figure, but Nishio Reki's attention was not on them.

The red thread that covered almost the entire upper body of the girl made it impossible for Nishio Reki to tell whether it was the original color of the red thread or stained with the girl's blood.

To save herself, Xiaoyuan must have paid a price far greater than what Nishio Reki is seeing now.

Nishio Reki had witnessed the battles of Yuuki Yuki, who had been released from divine power, more than once. He could hardly imagine how strong an enemy could be, or how brutal that battle must have been, to have forced Yuuki Yuki to the point where she was now.

“Xiaoyuan…you…” Nishio Reki hesitated, unsure of how to begin.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Yuuki Yukino pulled Nishio Reki a little closer to her and asked softly.

After gathering his emotions for a long time, Nishio Reki finally dared to ask, "Your injury, it must hurt a lot, right?"

"My injury? It's nothing!" Yuuki Yuuki gave Nishio Ryū a thumbs-up with the hand that wasn't holding him, as if the injury didn't exist, revealing a very calm and relaxed expression.

Even with Yuuki Yukino's expression, Nishio Reki felt no relief whatsoever.

It must have hurt a lot after such a serious injury, right?

Unfortunately, Yuuki Yukino's situation is all because of her...

Nishio Ryaku gritted his teeth and swallowed the saliva in his mouth.

"but……"

Nishio Reki was still somewhat hesitant, but Yuuki Yukina didn't wait for her to finish speaking before continuing to boast about her achievements to Nishio Reki with an excited expression.

"Oh, right! Xiao Li! I haven't told you yet! I've already defeated that girl! Although it took me a lot of effort and there were many twists and turns to beat her, I finally won!"

"Well, although she managed to escape in the end, it's okay. It should be alright now, no, it won't be a problem in the future!"

Yuki Yukina suddenly stopped speaking at this point.

As Yuuki Yuki held him in her arms and they flew together in the sky, Nishio Ryū could feel her deep breaths through her chest pressed against his.

Is it because of pain?

Or is it because of nervousness?

Nishio Reki guessed, cautiously looking at Yuuki Yukino, afraid that she would notice his gaze.