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

Nishio Reki's brain was almost completely shut down.

"Nishio Reki, are you planning to give up?"

Yes, I was almost ready to give up. Even though I had agreed to Saint Shiyin's request and gained the power, I didn't have the courage to face such an enemy.

Give up...?

The people fighting right now are Xiaoyuan, the magical girls.

They are the ones who have been fighting for Yuehai City all along.

When it comes to fear—fear of getting hurt, fear of defeat, fear of death—those who are always fighting on the front lines are the ones who should be most afraid.

But these women, who should have felt fear, who should have given up, always stood up and started again, no matter how many times they suffered setbacks or how badly they were hurt.

The Xiaoyuan I admire will definitely do this, and has always done so.

I refuse to give up on myself!

Saint Shion moved closer, tiptoed, and pressed her lips to Nishio Reki's ear, which was red from the cold, and gently blew hot air into it: "Now, do you still believe that your comrades can overcome despair and achieve final victory?"

If it were in the past, Nishio Reki would have said "I believe" without hesitation.

However, faith alone was not enough for Yuuki Yuuki to overcome the difficulties and achieve final victory.

"I...I don't know."

"You don't know? That's a good answer." Hearing Nishio Reki's ambiguous yet already wavering answer, Seishine nodded gently: "Then, are you willing to believe me?"

“I don’t want to.” Nishio Reki shook his head vigorously, clenching his teeth so tightly that his jaw muscles became numb, and almost squeezed out a few words: “I don’t believe you, I won’t believe anything you say.”

"But didn't you say you would give me strength? Didn't you say that if I agreed, you could help me clear away the obstacles in front of me?"

"Then give me everything you have!"

Chapter 180 This is unnecessary.

Should I trust my companions?

If it were a character from a comic or anime, they would definitely face adversity without hesitation and say "I believe in them," then rise from the brink of defeat and ultimately achieve victory, right?

But what lies before Nishio Reki is a stark reality, even colder than the winter snow.

She lacks the courage to exchange a vague belief for the safety of someone she cares about.

Even Sheng Shiyin, she wouldn't believe it.

Knowing full well that Seishion must have ulterior motives, Nishio Reki had no other choice.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that she had nothing else to lose.

If I could exchange myself for Yuuki Eri's safety, if I could contribute in the end...

Even if it means death, even if it is the death he fears most, Nishio Reki feels it would be worth it.

This is probably the worst-case scenario.

"Didn't you say you would give me power? Then give me everything you can!"

"Oh." Saint Shion raised her hands and clapped her hands in front of her chest, the clapping sound much more enthusiastic than when she saw Yuuki Eri successfully block Kuroba Reisei's attack.

"So, you've agreed?"

"of course."

……

One day earlier, at St. Eternal Academy, in the student council room.

"I never expected that after being missing for so long, you would still have the nerve to swagger back."

Kuroba Laisei put down his teacup, pursed his lips to blow away the steam rising from it, and brought the rim of the teacup to his lips, his voice steady yet sharp.

Kuroba Reise's gaze remained fixed on Seishin, who, as always, came to the president's office in a daze and lay down on the sofa, though she hadn't actually done so in a long time. His reproachful and harsh tone was undisguised.

“I am the chairman of the board of directors of Saint Youyou Academy, the president. And nominally, I am also your vice president. Shouldn’t I be here?”

Saint Shion yawned, lay flat on the sofa, tilted her head back, and looked at Kuroba Laisei, who was sitting at the desk with a teacup in a very lazy and impolite posture.

Kuroba Laisei put down the teacup in her hand. The crisp sound of the teacup bottom hitting the tray made it fair to call Kuroba Laisei's action a smash.

The black tea in the cup swayed and overflowed the rim, spreading a large water stain on the tablecloth-covered surface.

"Chairperson of the board of directors of St. Yuu Academy, vice president of the student council, magical girl, what do your titles have to do with me? All I know is that you dumped such a huge mess on me, and that's your fault. If I wanted, I could make you disappear completely without having to hide yourself at any time."

"Why is the president so mean to me? Didn't I provide the president with important information before?"

Saint Shion rolled over and started to act coquettishly towards Kuroba Reisei, but her emotionless tone and words didn't seem to match well, which only made Kuroba Reisei angrier.

"You want the nun to deliver a message to me? Is that what you call important information?"

The gritted teeth in Kuroba Laisei's speech were now particularly noticeable.

"Isn't that right? I told you their whereabouts, President, and you successfully found them, but in the end, you failed to resolve this big problem, which wasn't what I wanted. I thought you could have done better."

Saint Hymn feigned surprise and asked a question.

There might be more to what Saint Shion said, but before she could finish, Kuroba Laisei slammed her fist heavily on the table, knocking the president's nameplate off and plunging the room into silence.

In the silence, the air in the room grew increasingly heavy.

The veins on Kuroba Laisei's fist bulged, and the cracking sound of his knuckles when he clenched his fist was clearly audible. After a moment, Kuroba Laisei finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the tense atmosphere suddenly dissipated.

Kuroba sighed again, his tone still sharp and assertive:

"Stop being sarcastic. Tell me, you've finally come out to see me after hiding for so long. Have you finally seen the light? Or is there something important you want to tell me? Or do you think you can't keep hiding any longer?"

"President, please don't be suspicious of me. I know that those magical girls are planning a counterattack against you." Seishine rolled over on the sofa, stretched her arm out from the armrest, and pointed at Kuroba Rise.

"If they're together, it's indeed a bit troublesome." Kuroba Rise narrowed her eyes, her sharp gaze like needles piercing the air. "But so what?"

Saint Shion shook her head: "No, it won't happen. I'm just telling the president about it."

"You're done talking." Kuroba Lai Se glanced at the door of the student council room, her meaning all too clear.

As if she hadn't seen Kuroba Reisei's gaze, Sheng Shiyin simply rolled over again, avoiding Kuroba Reisei's eyes: "With the president's strength, she could easily wipe them all out, right?"

"Do you need to talk nonsense?" Kuroba Laisei was still very impatient, but being praised by Sheng Shiyin made her feel satisfied and her attitude changed slightly.

However, the fact that Sheng Shiyin suddenly disappeared for a long time still annoyed her, and she generally maintained a cold and sarcastic attitude towards Sheng Shiyin.

"But... is there anything else you want to say?"

Saint Shion let out a light laugh: "However, I think she's quite useful as the only ordinary person among those magical girls. I've been paying close attention to her lately."

"What does this have to do with me?" Kuroba Laisei's tone was impatient from the start, as if he had no interest in the matter what.

It wasn't entirely a lack of interest; she did ask another question, her tone laced with sarcasm: "Have you stooped so low as to exploit ordinary people who are as powerless as insects? And you've wasted so much of your precious time. You've fallen too."

Despite Kuroba's even more excessive sarcasm, Seishine showed no reaction and continued with the previous topic:

"Don't say that. Isn't it because we overlooked the situation at Tsukimi Middle School that so many magical girls have been created? If this continues, it will be a big problem for the student council president, won't it?"

"It doesn't matter, I'll take care of it." Kuroba Rise clenched his fist easily, completely disregarding what Seishine had said.

"President, having another capable assistant wouldn't be bad for you, would it? Hong Moli and Bai Gui Qianyou have already failed. Can you really do everything yourself?" Sheng Shiyin tempted Kuroba Laisei with a narrative tone.

Kuroba Laisheng pondered for a moment, then softened his tone, almost tacitly approving of Seishin's actions.

"Fine, whatever. I don't care about these things, as long as you don't involve me."

Having finally received Kuroba Reisei's approval, Seishine slowly sat up from the sofa. Under Kuroba Reisei's gaze, she continued to leisurely tidy her uniform, patting here and there.

After a while, Sheng Shiyin finally finished tidying up her uniform before speaking, saying something that made Kuroba Laishe frown again: "I need the president to help me with a little bit of work."

"Hmm?" Kuroba Laisei's drawn-out syllables and abrupt change in tone indicated that she was becoming impatient again.

"As long as the president corners those magical girls, then after I make my move, the president can finish them off completely."

"Why don't we just kill them all?"

"Of course not, that's why we need to trouble the president. Only the president can do this, right?"

"Yes—indeed, only I can do it. Yes, I understand. You want the person you care about to see a glimmer of hope before they fall into despair, right?"

"No matter what little thoughts you have, they can't hide them from the president."

Kuroba Laisheng crossed his arms: "Next time, just say what you want to say directly. Don't beat around the bush like that. I don't have time to play guessing games with you."

"Okay, okay, then I'll wait for the president's good news." Seishine stepped forward, picked up the name tag with the president's name written on it that Kuroba Reisei had knocked to the ground, and pursed her lips to blow away non-existent dust.

Then, Saint Shion threw the name tag she had blown into the trash can next to her right in front of Kuroba Laisei.

Before Kuroba Laisei, whose expression had changed several times, could even ask a question, Seishine answered on her own initiative.

"After today, we all need a fresh start; the old things are no longer needed."

……

The pressure from Kuroba's sword became even more intense.

Helica felt a sudden increase in the pressure on her.

What exactly happened? Did Kuroba Laisheng not go all out?

Helica didn't know whether her opponent was going all out with Thunderclap, but she was unable to unleash her full strength, which is why she was suppressed to this extent by Black Feather Reincarnation.

This is really troublesome. If I could go all out, I definitely wouldn't lose to this guy.

I shouldn't lose, right?

Even in a dream, this guy is indeed a bit too strong right now.

She seems to be stronger than when they fought before.

"Thunder! Don't get distracted!"

Several pure white beams of light grazed past Helica's ears, pushing the approaching Black Feather Reincarnation further away.

"Understood." Helica, the Thunder God, dropped the hammer, and silvery-white light once again surrounded her. She put on her divine armor again after her divine liberation.

Immediately afterwards, Helica saw Mizuno Yu's giant bow crash directly into Kuroba Laisei's body, causing Kuroba Laisei to stagger.

But he only staggered a few steps. Despite the immense impact, the force of the impact only served to harass Kuroba Reisei, rather than acting as a proper attack.

Before Helica could rush forward, both the giant bow and Mizuno Yu were sent flying by Kuroba Kiyomi's sword, forcing Helica to abandon her attack and instead catch the repelled Mizuno Yu.

No, this won't do. If we can't land any attacks, this will never end.