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

Although it was only Nishio Ryū's stubborn belief that his words were completely unconvincing, Nishio Ryū didn't know how much Yuki Yuki would actually believe.

Being stared at by Yuuki Yuki, Nishio Reki felt increasingly uneasy. It was as if not a single muscle in her body was under her control. Even her walking posture, which she normally didn't need to pay attention to, required her to actively and anxiously control.

Moreover, he walked with a limp, each step stiff as if he were a puppet on strings.

She doesn't even know where to put Nishio Reki's hands anymore; it's as if those hands are superfluous.

However, Yuuki Yuki remained relentless and seemed unwilling to give up on the matter easily.

"Is Xiao Li really not jealous? When Tian Lei pulled me away just now, Xiao Li seemed a little uneasy."

Yuuki blinked and asked innocently, her tone making Nishio Reki feel as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

More importantly, Yuuki Yukino's casual tone immediately hit the nail on the head, leaving Nishio Reki with no room for argument.

"I already said, no means no."

This time, Nishio Reki turned his head away and muttered something under his breath.

Answering the same question for the third time made Nishio Reki feel that his words were even less convincing.

Even if Yuuki Yuki says she believes him and isn't jealous, Nishio Reki himself doesn't want to believe that Yuuki Yuki truly believes him and isn't just trying to appease him because he's been forced into a corner.

However, Yuuki Yukino didn't say anything to convince herself, but asked again, this time with new arguments.

"Really? Ever since we discovered that Tenrai and Inuyama were both missing, Koreshi seems to have been quite unsettled, hasn't he?"

So that's what Xiaoyuan was thinking?

Does he feel that he cares not about the other person, but about Helica the Thunder God?

Judging from Xiaoyuan's words, that's probably what she was thinking. In that case, her tone earlier, which suggested that this matter had nothing to do with her, could be explained.

Although Nishio Reki was indeed thinking about things related to Tenrai Helica, however...

Well, this is good too. Since Xiaoyuan didn't realize that the person she really cared about was actually the other person, she should be considered to have escaped a disaster.

"I already said, nothing happened! Xiaoyuan, don't be so gossipy! Nothing has ever happened between Tianlei and me! I don't have any feelings for her whatsoever!"

Nishio Reki was much more confident this time, and had regained some of his usual composure. He bumped Yuuki Yukina's shoulder, just like when they used to play and laugh together as children.

After being bumped, Yuuki Yukino jogged back two steps, but had to stop because of the slowly moving crowd in front of her. After Nishio Reki caught up, she continued to ask:

"That's because Tenrai was shy and expressed his gratitude to everyone one by one without telling Koremi, but went to Inuyama first, so Koremi felt it was unfair? And was very bothered by it?"

"It's obviously not like that, is it?" It wouldn't take too long to return to his previous state, Nishio Reki began to dismiss those strange thoughts and retorted.

"Don't worry, Xiao Li. Tian Lei will definitely come back to express his gratitude to Xiao Li later."

"I've already said it, that's not how it is at all!"

"Hmm... alright, alright, since Xiao Li has said so..."

Hearing Yuuki Yukino's answer, Nishio Reki finally felt a little relieved.

Yuuki Yukino had finally given up, and Nishio Reki urged them to get their actions back on track.

"Alright! Aren't we still going to worship? Let's hurry up and get to the shrine to wait for Tenrai and Inuyama to arrive!"

However, Nishio Reki did not notice that during the time when he finally calmed down after several struggles, Yuuki Yuki was secretly watching his serious expression.

However, Nishio Reki did not expect that just as they were preparing to continue forward, they would see the tourists who were entering the shrine one after another turn around and surge towards them.

No one could have predicted this, but Nishio Reki immediately saw why the tourists were running.

This has nothing to do with whether Nishio Reki frequently interacts with magical girls and obtains information that ordinary people cannot access.

Anyone who lives in Moonsea City knows just how bad the situation is right now.

After the dawn of the new year, what follows is not a new day, but boundless darkness.

The pink-haired girl beside him gripped his hand tightly and resolutely soared into the sky.

Chapter 165 Claws

So, what is this?

Helica had absolutely no idea what Kuroba Reisei was planning to do.

With her jet-black wings spread, Kuroba Rise simply stood in the sky, looking down with disdain at everything, watching the crowd running below her, waiting for the magical girls to arrive.

Why talk about magical girls?

Even ordinary people could easily notice something amiss, so how could these magical girls who were present at the scene possibly ignore it?

Not only Helica Tenrai, but also Yuuki Yuuki, and other magical girls who were also preparing for the New Year's shrine visit, all landed in front of Kuroba Ryouse almost one after another.

After that, Kuroba Reincarnation only uttered a few harsh words to the magical girls.

Helica couldn't remember the specifics, but the gist was something like: "Your lives are on the countdown, and I will escort you to that painless other side."

Unsurprisingly, the magical girls then launched an attack on the corrupted magical girl who had ruined the New Year's Day shrine visit and everyone's good mood.

The result was, unsurprisingly, a draw. After uttering a few more harsh words, Kuroba left triumphantly.

She couldn't quite remember the exact content, or rather, she felt that memorizing such things was a waste of brain capacity.

But the gist of it was: "Your strength is not bad. If you continue to be stubborn, I will show you what real hell is like. That's enough for today."

Yeah, as cringeworthy as ever.

However, Kuroba Laisei didn't mention anything about fighting Inuyama Hatsuki at St. Yuu Academy, as if she had no idea that Inuyama Hatsuki was related to them, a group of magical girls.

But this is even better. Helica Tenrai originally planned to use Divine Liberation to finish the battle quickly, which is why she activated Divine Liberation directly, so as not to let Kuroba Rebirth say anything unnecessary and expose their lies.

Because Kuroba Reincarnation has not been completely defeated, the plan between Tenrai Herika and Inuyama Tomoe to have no witnesses lost its original purpose.

But in that situation, no matter how slow the magical girl's movements were, she could still see Kuroba Rise by simply looking up. A quick victory was unrealistic, so she could only engage in a prolonged battle with Kuroba Rise.

But when it came to fighting Kuroba Reisei, Tenrai Herika also sensed something was off.

This anomaly did not originate in Kuroba Reisei, but rather within himself.

She knows her own strength better than anyone. Helica Tenrai doesn't consider herself weak. Her divine release was only temporarily sealed by Mashiro Urouge, not completely disappeared, and it doesn't affect her becoming stronger.

Lava Lamp has never been liberated by a god, yet it is so powerful that no one can defeat it. Heavenly Thunder Helica doesn't think she can't do it.

Even before she was able to achieve divine liberation, she was capable of putting up a fight against Hong Moli, who had achieved divine liberation.

Now that she has mastered the liberation of the gods, she no longer believes she is weaker than Inuyama Tomoe.

However, when Tenrai Herika fought against Yuuki Yuki and the other two, as well as Kuroba Reise, she felt like she was hitting cotton, and was completely unable to exert her power.

Before Kuroba could say anything she shouldn't have, she wanted to ensure that Kuroba would never have the chance to say it—that was what Tenrai Herika originally intended.

In the past, Helica had always restrained her power and hadn't clearly felt that her power was being restricted, but this time it was different. Even if she wanted to go all out, it was difficult for her to do so.

In the end, the outcome was still good. Kuroba Reisei ultimately disappeared into the distance as a black shooting star without saying a word, and the darkness that had lingered above the shrine vanished with his departure.

The tourists who had been fleeing were not injured by the aftermath of the battle; instead, they slowly gathered together, continuing their New Year's worship while praising the magical girls who had once again protected them.

Although Helica felt a little awkward about such direct praise, she was secretly pleased when she thought about the ordinary people she subconsciously thought were hostile to magical girls in her nightmares, and when she looked at the people who were now excitedly surrounding her.

Well, the world isn't as bad as you think.

Afterwards, the magical girls who had finished their battle with Kuroba Rise found a secluded spot to regroup, and then returned to the vicinity of the shrine with the flow of people who came back to worship.

At the shrine entrance, they met up with Inuyama Tomoe and Nishio Reki, who were unable to participate in the battle, and together they stepped into the shrine, ready to complete their initial purpose for the day.

Because of Kuroba's disruptive interruption, many tourists who were planning to visit the temple chose to return home, and the crowds were not as dense as they had been earlier; those who remained were also somewhat affected, at least the magical girls were.

The worship process was as expected, just like when everyone visits the Hsing Yun Shrine: wash hands, rinse mouth, insert coins, ring the bell, make a wish, and everything is over quickly.

There was also the necessary step of drawing fortune sticks. Among the six people in this group, the worst they got was a "small fortune" and no one got a "great fortune". So they just exchanged their fortune sticks and then folded them up and hung them in the shrine.

Although everyone was trying to stay alert, the appearance of Kuroba Reincarnation on the first day of the new year gave them a rude awakening. Many people were planning to ask Baqi if she had misjudged the situation, but they couldn't bring themselves to ask in the atmosphere.

The New Year's shrine visit ended in this somewhat awkward atmosphere.

"Ugh, what a terrible day! That wretched guy even gave us a hard time, how annoying! But we managed to chase him away!"

Despite everything that had happened, nothing unexpected had occurred, so Rehelica was in a pretty good mood that day.

After everyone left the shrine's torii gate, Helica was the first to stretch lazily towards the sun on the horizon.

"Indeed, but thankfully, the result is still pretty good!" Yuuki Yui chimed in, trying to lighten the slightly somber atmosphere.

Actually, the atmosphere at the scene wasn't that dull; it was just not as excited as when everyone first arrived, making a lot of noise.

While Kuroba's reincarnation was partly the reason, Nishio Reki's feelings for Yuuki Yuuki made her somewhat jealous of Helica. Even after such a change, she was unable to fully adjust her mindset, which led to her being somewhat absent-minded during the subsequent shrine visit.

Absent-minded Nishio Reki repeated Yuuki Yuuki's words like a broken record: "Hmm, the result is not bad."

"So, Yuuki, what are our plans for the future?" The most composed of all, Mizuno Yu, sought Yuuki Yu's opinion: "Should we disband now, or..."

When Mizuno Yu spoke, her eyes glanced in Inuyama Tomoe's direction, which could be considered a clear indication.

Inuyama Tomoe personally stated that Kuroba Reise was ambushed by Seishin, yet today Kuroba Reise appeared here as if nothing had happened, refusing to mention Seishin's matter, and instead turning her anger towards the magical girls.

No reasoning is needed; either there's something wrong with Seishine, or there's something wrong with Kuroba Rei, or the person with the problem is Inuyama Tomoe, who's right next to them.

A gaze that defied easy understanding made both Inuyama Baki and Tenrai Herika somewhat flustered.

Even though the two of them knew that they now held the power of interpretation that allowed them to stick to their previous statement—that Saint Shion had launched a sneak attack on Kuroba Reisei—it would not arouse suspicion.

After all, he had misjudged the situation. Kuroba's reincarnation killed Seishin. She was just putting on an act for him, or there were various other reasons that could prove what Inuyama Hatsuki had said before. Anyway, the magical girls couldn't verify it, and Helica was covering for Hatsuki.

But even just that one sentence from Mizuno Yu sent chills down their spines.

Both of them admired Yuuki Yui again without hesitation. How did she manage to stay so secret for so long in front of such strong intuition and reasoning, and Mizuno Yui, whose emotions and motives were inscrutable?

"Let's disband first. Everyone is tired. What do you think, Kotori?" Yuuki first gave a suggestion that could be considered, and then asked someone that everyone could trust, who was also the only one who could persuade her.

"I'll listen to Xiaoyuan and we'll disband for now." When Nishio Reki was mentioned by name, he was slightly surprised for a moment before answering.

It's a bit strange.

Even if everyone is tired, they shouldn't just not ask a single question.

Whether Yuuki Yukino had any doubts about him or not, Inuyama Tomoe became even more insecure.

But there was no other way. Since it was Yuuki Yukino's suggestion and it could save her from disaster, Inuyama Tomoe had no reason not to support it.

Besides, I still have a chance to make amends.

After that, the magical girls said their goodbyes to each other and left in the direction they had come from.

However, some people secretly gathered together again.