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

With lingering fear, Mia seized this brief opening, raising her whip to press her advantage. Even though she had the ability to fight two against one, she couldn't let her guard down. No matter what, she had to temporarily incapacitate the magical girl who had truly frightened her.

Before her attack could land, Helica's powerful hammer blow was already upon her.

Meia's body collided with the giant hammer, like a volleyball being hit in a sports meet, and fell to the ground at an extremely fast speed, making a dull impact sound that was completely unlike the sound of flesh colliding with a wall. Stone fragments from the building that was shattered by her body flew everywhere, and the dust raised was several meters high, obscuring the surrounding vision.

"That idiot."

Helica remained in the same position as after swinging the lightning hammer, muttered a curse under her breath, hooked the back of her foot around Mizuno Yu's waist, and carried her to a safe place not far away. Her body then spun around once, and with the acceleration of inertia, she rushed into the invisible smoke and dust like a falling meteorite.

Behind Helica, a giant net of intertwined electricity spread out, shielding the unconscious students from the onslaught of rubble.

Herlica's body disappeared into the smoke and dust in an instant, and then she was sent flying backward with a loud thud several times louder than when Miya Miya fell. Her feet stepped on the lightning that served as a temporary foothold and she staggered back several steps in the air before she could barely regain her balance.

The hand holding the giant hammer was trembling uncontrollably and numbly, and the hammer was emitting a series of metallic hums.

The billowing smoke was sliced ​​apart by the pink shadow, then exploded and disappeared instantly. Miyashita Mia, who was unharmed except for a little dust on her clothes, raised her eyes and looked at Helica in mid-air with disdain, lowering the long whip in her hand.

Then, without warning, the two moved at the same time. The pink and yellow figures briefly crossed paths in the air like shooting stars before switching positions.

The two, back to back, turned around one after the other, and collided a second time in mid-air.

The third and fourth time, the two figures kept intersecting, transforming into a two-colored double helix that continued to rise in the gray sky illuminated by thunder.

After several clashes, the thunder that occupied half the sky could not penetrate the ethereal pink mist even slightly.

The two intertwined rainbow lights finally separated, and the two stood back to back, several meters apart, in mid-air, far from the school.

"Hoo..." Meya exhaled a long breath of hot, stale air, calmly rubbing her wrist, which was slightly numb from the electric shocks, and turned around to look at Helica's back with a playful expression.

In contrast, Helica, who was superior in both weaponry and momentum, was at a disadvantage in several rounds of clashes. Her half-crouched body swayed a few times before she slowly stood up, and a new tear appeared in the clothes on her side.

"As expected, this method is definitely not enough to deal with someone like you."

Helica got up, rubbed her neck and moved it around a few times, the sound of bones grinding together rang out, and she sighed helplessly, still with her back to the enemy behind her.

"Oh?" Meiya raised an eyebrow with interest, her disdain only increasing. "You mean? You still have some trump cards up your sleeve?"

Helica tilted her head back at an odd angle to her cervical spine, then turned her head to the side and grinned, revealing sharp little fangs.

"Of course!"

A lightning bolt far stronger than before exploded around Helica's body, and a strong wind pressure spread outwards like ripples, causing Miyashita Mia's dress to flutter up and down. She took a half step back and used her hands to shield herself from the fierce airflow that seemed to be blowing her away.

Lightning, air currents, and all sounds suddenly seemed to be sucked into the girl's body, and the surroundings fell into a deathly silence. The sudden decrease in volume caused Miyashita Mia's ears to ring for a moment.

But it was only for a moment. A bolt of lightning, accompanied by an even louder hiss than before, struck Helica's body.

The girl's fair and slender fingers emerged from the barrier of lightning, as if lifting a curtain to deflect the violent lightning strikes. She stepped out of the lightning, and the lightning pillar behind her dissipated.

Just like the heart-shaped light that flickered in Miyashita Mia's pupils, Herika's eyes shone with golden lightning that was even more dazzling than thunder.

"Thor!"

The power Helica used was undoubtedly True Name Release.

For magical girls, the release of their true name is a threshold that marks the beginning of their understanding of their own power.

Before learning the true name release, fighting with a wand is like wielding a weapon haphazardly; against a well-trained enemy, it's like throwing an egg against a rock.

But now...

Miyashita Mia put away the playful expression on her face and readjusted her posture.

Having mastered the release of her true name, Helica, even if she is weak, has the right to stand in her way, which deserves her due attention.

"Are you satisfied with this trump card? You viper!" Helica raised her face, her expression filled with fanaticism and joy.

"Ugh, Viper? What an annoying name. But wasn't it you who died tragically from venom? You poor thing, your wand bearing the name of Thor."

"You are not the world serpent that encircles the human world, but merely a shameless, lustful banshee hiding in dreams; this is not Ragnarok, but your doomsday!"

"Hmph, what a smooth talker, little girl. I hope all your mouths are equally hard."

"Likewise, I hope you can hold on a little longer and not fall before I can use my full strength."

"Pfft."

"Hum hum!"

The girls exchanged relaxed smiles.

"Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you've mastered the True Name Liberation, brat!"

This was the first time Miya Miyashita had shown such intense emotions.

"Painful lashing!"

The reason why True Name Liberation can be called the threshold for becoming a magical girl is because only after True Name Liberation can a magical girl possess her own skills.

It's like the agonizing whipping that Miyashita Miya is currently using.

It resembled the azure light that Helica, the Thunder God, had just released.

"The Fire of St. Elmo!"

The flickering blue flames illuminated the sky, which had become darkened by lightning, and shot out towards Miyashita Mia's body.

The flame traveled less than a third of the distance before being sliced ​​into pieces by the pink light blade.

"Oh? Is that all?"

The light blade that Miyashita threw out did not lose momentum after shattering the tiny flame, and continued to rush towards Helica's body.

A glimpse of blue fluorescence from behind was reflected on Miyashita Mia's face.

Miyashita Mia looked up and realized that the countless stars in the sky were so close to her.

She knew that the shimmering blue wasn't stars, but the same thing as the fluorescent light she had just shattered.

Those surging blue plasmas, each one flickering like a dying flame, were obscured by the darkness of the sky.

The faint light seemed insignificant on the stage filled with thunderous roars, which is why it wasn't until Miyashita Mia came to notice it at such close range.

However, a faint flame should never be equated with a weak force.

Pink mist surged from the black magic runes on her chest, enveloping Miya Miya's entire body. When the mist came into contact with the eerie blue flames that fell like a meteor shower, it melted away as quickly as ice and snow.

Meiya flicked her wrist to quickly retract the whip she had drawn, intending to defend herself, but the falling flames were undoubtedly one step ahead.

The heatless flames instantly spread all over Miyashita Mia's body.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear? Is that all there is to it?"

Helica, the Thunder Goddess, arrogantly tossed her hair and gave a thumbs-up to the struggling humanoid figure enveloped in dark blue.

Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Nightmare Girl Spreads Her Wings

"How could I only be this good?"

Miyashita Mia murmured, and a large cloud of pink mist burst out of her body, spreading wildly in all directions like a paint ball punctured in water. The resulting wind pressure dispersed the scorching, heatless flames burning on her body.

The flames of St. Elmo completely dissipated, the mist abruptly ceased its spread, and then, as if time were flowing backward, surged towards the center, returning entirely to Miyashita Mia's body.

Having taken the hit from Helica's cunning attack, Mia looked quite disheveled. Her protective magical armor was tattered, her skin was covered in wounds of all sizes, her hair, which had been burned by plasma, was curled and charred, and her whole body reeked of a burnt smell.

But she was still standing.

Helica knew that she was far behind Miya Miyashita in terms of magic power, experience, and control over her wand.

Therefore, she also knew that her best approach of direct confrontation was useless against Miyashita Mia. If she clashed directly, her chances of winning would be very slim. Even though she always preferred head-on confrontations, she would have to use tricks to win.

Herlica's plan can be summed up in four words: catch them off guard.

Instead of using True Name Release at the beginning to lull the opponent into a false sense of security, use True Name Release while the opponent is off guard to deliver a full-force blow. It's that simple.

And Helica did just that. Before Mia underestimated her and didn't go all out, Helica used a feint to further weaken the enemy's vigilance, and then launched a massive, overwhelming attack on her with all her might.

If given time, Helica could certainly launch an even more powerful attack than before, but to achieve this level in such a short time is already her limit.

Helica really didn't expect to be able to completely defeat Miyashita with such an attack. If the opponent could be defeated so easily, it would be a disservice to the black magic markings on her body.

However, the damage she caused to Miyashita Mia was far less than she had imagined, which worried Herica greatly.

"Not bad, you little rascal."

Miyashita Mia's expression was contorted, the muscles in her face twitching with barely concealed rage, and the heart in her pupils, which were fixed on Helica, dimmed considerably.

"You flatter me, you big-breasted, brainless old woman." Helica gritted her teeth, her smile somewhat forced.

Even if she doesn't achieve the desired effect, Helica absolutely cannot show weakness. If she backs down here, she might never have another chance to subdue Miyashita Mia and rescue her senior who has been coerced into being held hostage.

"A pointless provocation."

Miyashita Mia grabbed the demonic armor in front of her, crumpled the collar into a ball in her hand, and ripped the large, tattered piece of cloth off her body with a tearing sound.

"But I accept your provocation!"

Miya Miyashita moved so fast that she seemed to vanish from her spot, appearing in the blink of an eye diagonally above Helica's head, raising her wand high on her scarred shoulder.

Miyashita Mia's face was mostly obscured by her arms, but her eyes, which were visible, gleamed with the ferocity of a hunter poised to pounce on its prey; her earlier composure was gone.

A similar scene had occurred when Helica chased after the pink-haired book girl with a wicked grin, but this time, she was the one being treated as prey.

Helica had already endured Lilith's attack once, and the pain was something she never wanted to experience again.

So she had to block it, raising her warhammer with lightning that formed a curtain in front of her, deflecting the falling whip.

If a long whip, as supple as a snake and constantly writhing, could be so easily blocked, then it wouldn't deserve to be called a magic wand for the liberation of true names.

The whip tail bypassed Helica's hammer, passed through layers of electric netting, and landed on Helica's back.

By the time the warhammer had completed its swing, Miya Miyashita had already retreated several meters away, causing Helica's attack to miss its mark.

"Goo."

The impact of the whip traveled through her spine to her internal organs, causing Helica's stomach to churn and something to nearly rise to her throat. If she hadn't deliberately suppressed the discomfort, she would have vomited it out like Mizuno Yu.

A burning sensation began to spread from the wound. For some reason, Helica's mind flashed back to the scene of her first time replenishing mana, and a feeling of lingering satisfaction arose spontaneously.

This is an effect of the wand Lilith, an effect I saw back when Helica and Miya Miyashita first clashed.

Just as Helica was trying to calm the restlessness that shouldn't exist in her heart, Miya Miyashita moved again, this time appearing at Helica's feet.

The same tricky attack struck her thigh squarely, and Helica's warhammer missed its mark again.

At this moment, Miyashita Mia seemed to have already transformed into a wild beast, angry but not crazy, calmly lurking in the shadows, launching an attack when the prey was off guard, and then disengaging in a single strike, slowly wearing down her prey's stamina.

Miyashita Mia stood there, making no attempt to conceal her next attack, but Herica simply couldn't defend against it completely.