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

"Forget it, there's no point in asking you. What do we do now?"

This question is pointless. Even if Baqi is not mistaken, the possibility of finding Kuroba Reincarnation in a sea of ​​people is almost zero. Even if she does find him, it would be very difficult to take action against him.

Helica Tenrai still vividly remembers the extent of the destruction that Kuroba Reincarnation caused during the summer festival.

At the time, there were magical girls specifically responsible for handling the aftermath of the battle. It took seven magical girls to fight against Kuroba Reisei and barely manage to avoid any casualties.

Even in her dream, Helica couldn't quite grasp this concept.

Or rather, even in her dreams, she didn't want to see ordinary people get hurt because of their battles.

Helica didn't want to see or hear anything again from that orphanage.

“It’s still winter break. Only after St. Yuu Academy starts will I be able to accurately grasp the movements of Kuroba Reisei.” Inuyama Tomoe finally spoke, but her tone was much heavier and more serious than when the two of them were discussing the future crisis.

After all, a real crisis is now looming over them.

"The real problem isn't that Kuroba Reisei is still around, but that I've already fought with her and she knows my identity. If she takes any action, I'm worried..."

Baki knew exactly what Helica was trying to say. A fallen magical girl had exposed her true identity in front of an extremely arrogant enemy, which would only make things more troublesome.

If Baqi hadn't made a move, all everyone would have needed to consider was how to defeat Kuroba Reisei and prevent this ticking time bomb from exploding.

But now, not only do we need to get rid of the troublesome Kuroba Reisei, but we also need to prevent Kuroba Reisei from revealing Inuyama Tomoe's secrets.

Otherwise, the incident of teammates fighting each other in Helica's dream will happen again.

"Don't get so worked up, maybe you really did see it wrong," Herica comforted Inuyama Tomoe in a way that was quite unlike her usual self.

This was because she was in a very good mood after her conversation with Yuuki Yuki.

One sentence wasn't enough, so Helica continued, "And it's not difficult to deal with. Even you can handle her. At worst, we can just find an opportunity to kill her again, right?"

“That makes sense.” Inuyama Tomoe nodded. In their previous discussion, they had already decided to eliminate as many dangerous things as possible. Kuroba Reisei was only excluded from the calculation because Tomoe had already dealt with him.

"Anyway, she hasn't..."

Helica Tenrai continued speaking, somewhat unnecessarily trying to soothe Inuyama Baki's emotions.

However, the cold reality still slapped her in the face.

Just as a light shining brightly in the darkness of night, the pitch-black magic seemed to devour all the light around it, transforming into a fierce star flying in reverse and rising into the sky before Helica's eyes.

Just like a drop of ink falling into a glass of water, it spread out and created a stain.

Starting from a tiny point, that drop of pitch black grew larger and larger, becoming increasingly ominous.

The sky, which had just welcomed the dawn of the new year, was tainted by a darkness even deeper than the night, losing its original color and causing all the vibrant hues to return to the silent blackness.

Feathers, as black as the night and the sky, fell one after another, but they did not resemble the descent of angels, nor did they possess any trace of holiness.

All that remained was the figure etched into Helica's memory, and the sudden reversal of the jubilant atmosphere, the tourists' screams, and their frantic running against the current.

Inuyama Tomoe was not lying.

Helica recognized that figure as if it were engraved in her mind.

She once thought this was her magical girl career, and the last figure she would ever see in her life.

She still remembers that day.

The howling wind, the screams of tourists desperately fleeing just like today, the crashing sounds of stalls collapsing, and that idiot's shouts.

Helica even remembers the moment when she tried to call out her own name but suddenly changed the shape of her mouth.

"You short, blond guy, trust me and run with them. Now is not the time for infighting."

Is this the first time Yuuki Yukino has called herself that?

She still remembered Yuki Yuki's excited tone when they stood back to back.

"Then you better not get in my way!"

She also remembers how she felt at the time and what her answer was.

"I should be the one saying that, you idiot!"

But now, everything is different.

I now possess the power to protect myself, my companions, and the city.

"Hey shorty with blond hair, let's team up..."

The guy who was closest to Yuuki Yuuki, whom he both envied and was jealous of, spoke up.

Of course, Helica didn't dislike working with Inuyama Tomoe.

But this time it won't work.

At least this time, absolutely not.

"unnecessary!"

"But if we don't finish this quickly..."

“If you transform, Yuuki Yuuki will see you, won’t that make things even more troublesome?” Helica looked up at Inuyama Tomoe’s face: “Leave this to me!”

Herlica clenched her fists, golden lightning swirling around the girl like tiny snakes crawling and hissing through the air.

The little snakes gradually turned silvery-white, and a dazzling white lightning bolt struck down, illuminating the pitch-black sky and making the darkness no longer the only color.

The thunderclap dispelled the panic in the hearts of the fleeing people, and cheers rose and fell in waves.

Well, I knew people still believed in magical girls.

In that case, shouldn't I be even more determined to protect these guys?

Even in a dream.

Helica transformed into the most dazzling and reassuring bolt of lightning, casting it into the boundless darkness.

Chapter 164 Jealousy

Should I choose to believe something like this?

Even Nishio Reki himself couldn't make up his mind.

Logically speaking, she shouldn't doubt her comrades who fought alongside her and the other magical girls.

However, Tenrai Herika's behavior was sometimes so suspicious that Nishio Reki had to begin to doubt her true motives.

It was like that before, and it's like that now...

Nishio Reki sensed a sense of crisis from Tenrai Herika.

But Yuuki Eri, who was walking with him, seemed to think everything was ordinary and always acted indifferent.

No, I can't let this happen. If I do nothing again, Xiaoyuan will... Xiaoyuan will...

Xiaoyuan will be taken away!

Nishio Reki harbors special feelings for Yuuki Yuuki, feelings that blossomed from childhood friendship but also stem from a desire to take things further than simply being Yuuki Yuuki's childhood friend.

Therefore, Nishio Reki is extremely sensitive to the way people look at Yuuki Enishi, and can always tell for no reason whether someone also harbors such extra feelings for Yuuki Enishi.

But Helica, the Thunder God, is an easy person to understand.

Moreover, Helica the Thunder is not an introverted person. On the contrary, she likes to make excessive jokes and force people to do things that they don't dislike but are unsure about.

While this personality trait may occasionally cause minor trouble, it often helps others to get back on their feet. However, it also makes it easy for others to notice that Helica's attitude towards different people varies.

Herica's occasional restraint and subtlety when facing Yuuki Enishi, compared to her attitude towards others, easily reveals her differential treatment of Yuuki Enishi.

Nishio Reki saw all of this, but never said a word.

Perhaps it was just a misunderstanding, or perhaps Yuuki Yuuki was like a bond connecting the others in the team, making Tenrai Herika embarrassed or unwilling to show too much.

Nishio Reki had countless ways to explain Tenrai Helica's unusual attitude towards Yuuki Yuuki, but none of those explanations could convince him.

However, since Yuuki Yuuki was called away by Tenrai Herika today, some more negative emotions, which are even harder for her to accept, have begun to arise.

What Nishio Reki understood was the emotion born from a growing sense of crisis: jealousy.

She felt that Tenrai Herika's confession was sincere, and that the other party genuinely liked Yuuki Yuuki.

They also felt that Helica Tenrai deliberately pulled Yuuki away, secretly wanting to have Yuuki all to herself at sunrise.

She also believes that Tenrai Herika came up with those strange excuses after her confession failed, successfully fooling Yuuki Enishi.

Right and wrong thoughts merged together, leaving Nishio Reki no time to think about anything else, yet he couldn't help but think more about Yuuki Yukino's matter.

Fortunately, she wasn't a magical girl, otherwise Nishio Reki would have wondered if she would fall into darkness because of these thoughts.

"Xiao Li, what are you thinking about?"

Yuuki Yuki's voice rang in Nishio Reki's ears, suddenly breaking his train of thought and causing him to shudder and take a half-step to the side in the opposite direction from Yuuki Yuki.

This kind of thing seems to have happened not long ago, but this time Nishio Reki wasn't so scared that he bumped into Yuuki Yukino's chin.

"There's nothing there." After a brief moment of distraction, Nishio Reki immediately replied.

Although Nishio Reki tried her best to keep her voice normal, she knew she couldn't hide the slight panic in her tone.

"Huh? Really? There's nothing there?" Yuuki Yu took a small step towards Nishio Reki, bent down, and stared at Nishio Reki with an incredibly cunning look that seemed to see right through him, a malicious smile playing on her lips.

In Yuuki Yukino's eyes, half-covered by her eyelid, Nishio Reki's even more flustered expression was reflected.

"Really, really." Nishio Reki stammered.

Make her admit that she feels jealous of Tenrai Herika, and make her express her feelings for Yuuki Yuuki.

This is simply impossible.

"Hmm, after I told Xiaoli that Tianlei had pulled me away, Xiaoli started acting strange, like she was thinking about something..."

Yuuki straightened up and continued walking with the crowd, but her gaze remained fixed on Yuuki walking beside her. She tapped her lips with her finger, slowly drawing out each word.

"Hmm—hmm? Could it be that Xiao Li is... jealous?"

"No, I didn't!"

Like a kitten that had been stepped on, Nishio Reki suddenly screamed. The sound was so loud and his reaction so abrupt that many tourists around him couldn't help but turn their heads to look in Nishio Reki's direction.

But it's normal for everyone to be noisy on the first day of the new year. Apart from Yuuki Yuki, no one's gaze lingered on Nishio Reki for more than a second.

Nishio Reki also lowered his head awkwardly and whispered to Yuuki Yuuki, "I'm not jealous at all."

While it's true that Nishio Reki is jealous, his guilty conscience while lying makes his rebuttal seem completely unconvincing.