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

Summer? So when did this happen?

Immediately afterwards, a figure entered Yuuki Yukino's field of vision.

Upon seeing that figure, Yuuki Yukino became even more puzzled.

That person is, Nishio Reki?

As Nishio Reki slammed the door of Yuuki Yukino's house, he pouted and stomped his feet heavily, walking angrily down the stairs leading down to Yuuki Yukino's house, deliberately making a loud thud with each step on the cement and brick stairs.

As Nishio Reki walked, he muttered to himself. Although his tone was fierce, it didn't seem aggressive at all; instead, it sounded rather cute.

"I'm so angry! I'm so angry! We clearly agreed on everything, we clearly made a promise! Now you're trying to fob me off with these kinds of excuses. If you don't want to, can't you just say so? You idiot! You moron! That's too much! That's too much!"

Is it really okay for Xiao Li to show me such a shameful side of herself? If someone saw her like this, Yuuki Yukino wouldn't be able to stand it.

Yuuki En thought to herself and secretly glanced at Nishio Reki beside her, but Nishio Reki remained unmoved and quietly watched the situation unfold.

Either Koyomi is putting on a brave face—though it doesn't seem likely—or something is about to happen that will prevent Koyomi from feeling ashamed.

"This isn't what we're looking at, it's the other side. Anyway, come with me first, Nishio Reki has already told me everything."

Yumehara Sumireko interjected appropriately, then walked ahead towards the back of the building.

Nishio Reki then followed without saying a word, and Yuuki Yukina, though puzzled, quickened her pace to keep up with the two.

Although the main stage isn't here, it's really not far away. If Yuuki Yuki were in her transformed state, it might only take a few seconds.

Sumireko Yumehara stopped on the other side of the high-rise building where Yuuki Emi's family lived.

There were already two people standing there.

Although one of them had her face covered, Yuuki Yuuki didn't feel unfamiliar with any of them.

One was a silver-haired girl wearing a hoodie.

The other was a girl wearing sportswear, but with a paper bag over her head, a strange-looking cloak, and carrying a huge pure white coffin on her back.

Inuyama Tomoe, Nishio Reki?

Yuuki Yukino seems to know what time it is.

The two people who would appear here at this time are Nishio Reki, who is still hiding his identity and carrying a coffin.

Wasn't that the day I secretly fell into depravity?

This is what Yuuki Yukino still cannot understand: why she witnessed Nishio Reki lying in a pool of blood on that day.

The conversation between the two then confirmed that Yuuki Yui's guess was correct.

"That woman's off the stage, now it's your turn. Your final task is to corrupt that kind girl who's gentle to everyone. Doesn't that feeling of breaking the rules excite you?"

Although Yuuki Yukari knew that Nishio Reki's words at this time could not be trusted at all, and that he was only saying them to trick the clueless Tomoe into doing those things, she really had the air of a villainous Riddler.

She's calling that other woman, not herself.

"Don't worry, it's perfectly fine. Leave it to me." Ba Qi patted her chest.

"Also, to ensure your mission is successful, kiss her forehead, cheek, or anywhere else after you're done. If you feel her magic power has indeed been restored, then you've succeeded," Nishio Reki added, fully armed.

A kiss, and then magic flows in—isn't that replenishing magic?

After a little thought, Yuuki Yukino understood why Nishio Reki said that.

She possesses the ability to purify corruption, allowing Baki to unconsciously replenish her mana to eliminate the effects of the dark magic runes and corruption on her.

That took a lot of effort.

However, the fact that Nishio Reki had foreseen this much did surprise Yuuki Yuuki, and it also made her feel more favorably toward Nishio Reki as a magical girl.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I remember it perfectly well. I mean, Faust, why are you so worried about me?" Baqi patted her chest and called out Nishio Reki's pseudonym from back then.

“It’s never a bad thing to be cautious,” Nishio Reki replied. “Say it again, what do you need to do next?”

"Break into that pink-haired woman named Yuuki Yukino's room, and then put this thing inside her body—basically, it will go in by itself when you put it on her body, right?" Baqi showed her little canine teeth and asked a question halfway through her sentence.

“That’s right, that’s it. And then?” Nishio Reki asked.

Baqi turned her head, thought for a while, and made sure she hadn't missed anything before continuing.

"Then kiss her on the cheek. This step is absolutely essential. That's about it, right?"

“That’s right, we have to make sure it’s inside her body.” Nishio Reki nodded. “You kept that thing safe, didn’t you?”

“Of course,” Baqi said, taking something out of her pocket.

This is the second day that Yuuki Yukino has seen this item.

The last time was just now.

The thing that Inuyama Tomoe was holding in her hand was a bubble that carried the soul of a magical girl.

A purplish-black magic bubble.

Chapter Seventy-Three: Struggling Until the Last Moment

Yuuki Yuki and her group saw Inuyama Tomoe transform in their memories and leaped up, then went straight into the room through the open window of Yuuki Yuki's living room.

At that time, Inuyama Tomoe had no idea that she would walk this route countless times in the future.

Yuuki Yukino was able to understand the purpose behind Nishio Reki's actions during their previous battle, and she could also guess the general development that would follow.

But right now, Yuuki Yuuki has no idea which way she should look.

Is it Nishio Reki who traveled back in time? Is it Inuyama Tomoe upstairs and myself? Or is it the angry Nishio Reki again?

The three of them were walking in three different directions, so no matter where Yuuki Yuki was looking, the other two directions would definitely be ignored.

Sumireko Yumehara seemed to see through Yuki Yukino's thoughts and began to explain.

“In Nishio Reki’s memories, only things she knows will appear. Even if you go to other places, you will only see still images, like those empty houses in the dream world.”

“I see. Then we’ll just stand here and wait…” Yuuki was about to ask more questions when Nishio Reki suddenly spoke up, leaving Yuuki’s sentence unfinished.

However, the one who spoke was not the real Nishio Reki who was with Yuuki Yuki, but the Reki who traveled back in time and instigated Tomoe to do those bad things.

"Tsk, they're here."

Nishio Reki, whose entire magical costume was covered by a cloak, clicked his tongue, raised his head, and looked up at the sky through two holes cut in the paper bag.

Almost at the same moment Nishio Reki looked up, a magical girl flashed across the sky like a shooting star, and then descended from the sky.

Calling the magical girl's descent a "fall" would perhaps be more accurate to describe the situation at the time.

The magical girl's slender figure seemed to possess limitless power. With just a tap of her thin toes on the ground, it was as if half of the ground had been hit by a large-caliber artillery shell, instantly creating a huge crater.

The worst part was that the magical girl hit the spot where Nishio Reki had been standing.

If Nishio Reki had dodged any slower, he might have been hit by the cannonball-like attack, not the ground beneath his feet.

Even though Nishio Reki dodged, the magical girl's pursuit remained swift.

The girl who landed took a half step back, assuming a stance ready to confront Nishio Reki head-on.

In Yuuki Yuuki's view, the magical girl had only thrown a punch.

Immediately afterwards, countless fist shadows appeared out of thin air, launching a dazzling barrage of attacks towards Nishio Reki's body.

A thousand strikes in an instant—that's no exaggeration.

Nishio Reki reacted very quickly to dodge.

With one hand she lifted the coffin on her back, and with the other hand she pulled out the halberd that once belonged to Yuuki Yukino and was now hers to use from under her cloak.

Two wands were held in front of him, like a soldier's spear and shield.

However, Nishio Reki's dodging and blocking were not very graceful. Amidst the flying fist shadows, he could only barely defend against the magical girl's attacks.

The girl's attack and Nishio Reki's defense canceled each other out, and the sound of their weapons clashing was as rapid as firecrackers during the New Year.

Yuuki Yuki had witnessed Nishio Reki's skills firsthand; he could easily block even a rain of arrows. Since Nishio Reki was still using two wands, his fists shouldn't be a problem.

However, Nishio Reki's skills were completely inadequate against that magical girl. Even against an impenetrable iron wall, the girl's fists were able to find gaps that allowed her to attack.

If there is no gap, then create one yourself—create one with the strongest attack.

The fist twisted the trajectory of Nishio Reki's defense, then broke through Nishio Reki's iron wall, creating wounds of all sizes on Nishio Reki's body, making Nishio Reki's movements increasingly sluggish.

Finally, the girl delivered a powerful final punch, striking the coffin squarely and tearing through Nishio Reki's defenses, sending him flying like a shot put.

Nishio Reki adjusted his body in mid-air, barely managing to maintain his balance and avoid falling to the ground by forcefully plunging his wand into the ground.

What seemed like a long confrontation was actually just a matter of a few breaths.

In just a few breaths of exchange, beads of sweat were already streaming down Nishio Reki's face.

The girl managed to force Nishio Reki back temporarily, but she had no intention of giving him any chance to catch his breath. She charged forward again with her fists raised, relentlessly attacking him once more.

Did anything else happen that day? On the very day I fell into darkness?

Countless questions flashed through Yuuki Yukino's mind.

One of them particularly concerned Yuuki Yuuki.

Who is this guy?

It's important to understand that this is not the chaotic time of magical girls fighting each other a year ago.

Having survived two waves of purges led by Mashiro Urouge and Kurohane Reisei, how could there still be a magical girl with such formidable fighting power? How could she possibly render Nishio Reki completely powerless?

In Yuuki Yukino's memory, the only magical girl capable of doing this is the original magical girl within Hayashi Mustard.

The only one who can rival the original magical girl is the original corrupted magical girl.

So, could this girl be...?

Yuuki Yui searched the girl's body but found no trace of the Black Demon Mark.

Let alone the black magic runes, Yuuki Yuuki couldn't even discern the opponent's wand or abilities.

If I had to put it bluntly, this magical girl gave Yuuki Yuuki a feeling similar to Lava Lantern, not in terms of appearance or aura, but in how she achieved an invincible effect through the most basic attack methods.

Also, there was only the girl's light yellow long hair, which was very similar in color to that of Seishin and Seishi.

No, I can't see anything else besides these.

While Yuuki Yuki was watching the battle, the fight between the girl and Nishio Reki had already been decided.

In fact, the outcome was already decided before the battle even began.