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

Nishio Reki's crushing defeat.

"A rat running around."

To Yuuki Yuuki's surprise, the girl who had defeated Nishio Reki spoke, her tone chilling and completely out of place with the early summer temperature.

"I've finally caught you."

This woman is not like Lin Jiezi, a mindless fighting machine who only knows how to attack. She has her own thoughts!

"It took you so long to catch me, I did a pretty good job, didn't I?" Nishio Reki forced a rather unpleasant smile onto his pale face.

"Last words?" The girl's eyebrows drooped, and she swept her gaze, devoid of joy or sorrow, and devoid of any compassion or humanity, over Nishio Reki, who was kneeling on one knee.

"You don't really think I'll fall into your hands this time, do you?" Nishio Reki swayed a few times before standing up, supporting himself on the huge white coffin.

"Yes." The girl raised her palm and, gently and slowly, plunged it into Nishio Reki's abdomen, leaving him no chance to dodge.

Nishio Reki stared wide-eyed in disbelief as he watched the hand pierce his abdomen, feeling his body being easily penetrated by that seemingly ordinary hand.

"Gu..."

The girl immediately pulled her hand away, which was stained with hot red blood, causing red blood to splatter out.

"Pfft..."

The same red color choked out of Nishio Reki's mouth, causing him to kneel down as he struggled to his feet, breathing heavily.

Warm, bright red blood began to flow from Nishio Reki's abdomen, wetting his magical costume and soaking through his clothes, which were no longer able to maintain their transformation.

That's right, Nishio Reki can no longer maintain his transformed state.

She could see the red color increase and increase, and along with that crimson, it seemed as if her own life was flowing out.

"You...you bastard, don't you want to take back your power?"

"It's alright." The girl's tone was indifferent, and magical light gathered at her fingertips, wiping away the bloodstains like flowing water: "I have almost infinite time to make the broken laws whole again."

"Seriously, well, good luck."

Gudong.

After saying his last sentence, Nishio Reki could no longer support himself on all fours and collapsed to the ground.

What I see is starting to turn black.

Damn it, this is the first time I've ever felt like this.

Is this what it feels like for life to slip away?

Is this what it feels like to be close to death?

This feeling is really awful.

I'm really a little unwilling to accept this...

I've tried my best all this time. If I try five more times, no, maybe three more times, or even just one more time, I'll be able to find the perfect solution.

Even if there is no perfect solution, even if we no longer expect so much.

Even if... I can only see Xiaoyuan one last time in the end, that would be fine...

"Varied……"

The girl's familiar scream came from above.

There's absolutely no way that Nishio Reki wouldn't recognize that voice.

Just hearing that voice made Nishio Reki's vision, which had been obscured by red and black, suddenly much clearer.

It was for the owner of that voice that she has come this far step by step.

That's the voice, it's Yuuki Yuki's voice.

Nishio Reki strained his head to look in the direction of the voice, directly above him, in the direction of Yuuki Yukino's house.

For a fleeting moment, Yuuki Yuki, who covered her mouth in utter astonishment, and Nishio Reki, who was struggling to get up from the ground but had already lost control of his body, locked eyes.

But it only lasted for a moment. Upstairs, Yuuki Yuki's body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Although it only lasted for a moment, Nishio Reki was already satisfied.

If there really is a god who can see everything, wouldn't it be incredibly kind of him to grant this small wish at the end?

To fulfill my little wish...

I won't be satisfied with just that!

A surge of magical power erupted from Nishio Reki's body once more, transforming into a magical suit that could no longer be fully formed, which then draped over Nishio Reki's body again.

"Save your breath. With your condition, if you force yourself to stand in front of me, you'll only gain more pain and despair. You can't do anything else."

The girl who was looking at Nishio Reki slightly raised her chin, her tone full of disdain.

"Giving up the struggle and slowly growing cold is the best option for you."

"Huh? Maybe so?"

Nishio Reki pouted, protecting his still-deep, dark red abdomen with one hand. He staggered a few steps on the ground, barely managing to stand by leaning against the pure white coffin.

His palm left a shocking handprint on the coffin, and then Nishio Reki gripped it even tighter.

"But I've already come this far, how can I not fight to the very end for Xiaoyuan's sake!"

Chapter Seventy-Four: The Turning Point of Fate

What happened right before Nishio Reki's eyes was something he would probably never forget.

Even though it happened only half a year ago, Nishio Reki felt like a very, very long time had passed, because so much had happened during that time.

Even though it happened half a year ago, Nishio Reki remembers every tone of voice, every expression, and every detail as clearly as if it were yesterday.

Her future began to change dramatically from that day on.

If someone were to ask Nishio Reki whether he would regret that day, Nishio Reki would answer without hesitation.

Never before.

The beginning of Nishio Reki's life began on that ordinary day that she had been looking forward to for a long time, but ultimately gained nothing but anger.

……

"I'm so angry, so angry! What's wrong with Xiaoyuan?! Even if she doesn't want to do 'that' with me, it's okay, why does she have to use that kind of excuse to brush me off?!"

Nishio Ryū stormed down the stairs and headed toward the tram stop he had passed countless times.

boom.

A loud bang exploded behind Nishio Reki, causing him to turn around in alarm, but he saw nothing.

Even though she didn't see anything unusual, after spending so much time with Yuuki, or rather, living in Tsukimi City where magical girls exist, the ability to discern danger simply by sound had become an instinct.

Near Xiaoyuan's house, a magical girl appeared at the same time she left.

Nishio Reki wanted to think it was a coincidence, but she couldn't help but connect it with the strange behavior of Yuuki Yukino earlier.

Could it be that Xiaoyuan sensed some kind of danger and used that method to get rid of him?

Although Nishio Reki was still bothered by Yuuki Yuuki's strange statement that "because I transmigrated, I can't replenish your magic," she never really thought of Yuuki Yuuki as bad as she thought.

If Xiaoyuan is truly worried about being in danger...

Before Nishio Reki could even process the whole story, his body was already moving before his mind could.

"The direction of the explosion should be this way, right? It's behind Xiaoyuan's house. If we go around there like this..."

Nishio Reki started jogging, and in the world that was completely silent because of the explosion, only the sound of the girl's footsteps could be heard.

We have to be quick, we have to be even faster.

To keep up with the pace of a magical girl with human physical abilities, one must push oneself to the limit.

Now, Nishio Reki has forgotten everything—anger, resentment—none of it matters in the face of Yuuki Yukino's safety.

Even if Nishio Reki actually went, it wouldn't bring about any change, but she just felt that she absolutely had to go.

Nishio Reki's subconscious action became the turning point in her fate—and the fate of all girls.

But no matter how many times it happens, she will always make the same choice.

Nishio Reki would absolutely stand up for anything, no matter how small the connection was with Yuuki Yuki on the train.

But the scene that Nishio Reki saw was completely different from all the situations she had imagined.

The black-haired girl, standing on the broken road, leaned against a blood-stained white coffin, one hand protecting her abdomen, facing off against the light-yellow-haired girl.

The standoff might just be wishful thinking on the part of the black-haired girl; the girl with light yellow hair was standing there calmly, and that was all.

It's a magical girl!

Despite the extensive destruction, Nishio Reki was nowhere to be found, except for Yuuki Yuki.

If it were Yuuki Yuki, it would be impossible for her not to appear at such close range, right?

No, compared to this, the battle is already over?

No, no, whether the battle is over or not isn't that important. What's important is that the black-haired girl is injured.

Was that shocking, slightly dried crimson stain all from this black-haired girl?

Why does she look so familiar, yet so sad?

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Nishio Reki's mind, like a jumble of lines, leaving her unsure which one to grasp or which one would lead to something extraordinary.

As soon as Nishio Reki saw the two people, the two people also saw Nishio Reki without any surprise.

"Nishio Reki! Run! This is none of your business!"

The black-haired girl let out a sharp shout.

If it has nothing to do with Yuuki Eri, then protecting the safety of himself, an ordinary person, becomes Nishio Reki's top priority.

"I don't really understand people who hesitate to leave even though someone is covering their retreat. I know these are just sentimental scenes in movies, meant to evoke emotion, but if you hesitate, isn't that a kind of disrespect to the person who stayed behind? They stayed because they wanted everyone to be alright."

Yuuki Yukino once said this.

"So, if one day I stay behind to cover Xiao Li's retreat, Xiao Li must make sure she leaves me behind and runs away, okay?"

At that time, Nishio Reki did not know that she and Yuuki Yuuki had kept this promise in a future that would never happen again, a very long time ago.