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

"Then... what should we do? And what can we do?"

"I can't do anything anymore. Let's go back. When I can't hold on any longer, everything will be over. It should be soon, right? My body, which has traveled through countless times, can't hold on for much longer."

"Then... what are you going to give to Xiaoyuan?"

“I can’t get it out anymore. If I try to take it out again, there’s a risk of breaking the cage. So… there’s nothing left, absolutely nothing.”

"How much longer can you hold on?"

"If we're lucky, it could take a year and a half, or three to five years? I don't know."

What if you're unlucky?

Nishio Reki looked at his other self, pursed his lips, and pondered for a long time before uttering a despairing answer from the other's mouth.

"The next second."

Nishio Reki fell into deep thought again.

After a long while, Nishio Reki tentatively and cautiously asked, "What if I were to bear all of this for you? If we were one person, what you could do, I should be able to do too, right?"

“You have never seen such hell, and it should not be your responsibility. You are just an ordinary student, an ordinary girl, and you should enjoy every day that you can enjoy, instead of risking your life for something like this, just like me.”

"Ah, yes, because I met another version of myself and witnessed a battle that I may never see again in my life, I had such an extraordinary experience, so I bet my whole life on it. Isn't that stupid?"

"Don't you know this very well?"

"But it's not 'for this kind of thing,' it's for Xiaoyuan, isn't it? To achieve an ending where Xiaoyuan and the world are both safe and sound, isn't it? If we are the same person, you should know that Xiaoyuan's importance in my heart is the same as her importance in yours, right?"

The other Nishio Reki remained silent, merely touching his own wound with his hand, looking with a complex expression at the expression that knew nothing yet had resolutely made up his mind.

But Nishio Reki was still talking, and his emotions were becoming more and more agitated.

"If we were the same person, I could share the burden with you, right? Shouldn't we join hands to create a happy future for everyone?!"

“No, we can’t join forces.” The injured Nishio Reki shook his head.

“You…” Nishio Reki gritted his teeth. If his other self hadn’t been injured, he really should have slapped the other person across the face.

But the other Nishio Reki sat up even straighter.

"Nishio Reki, my other self, I have a question for you. Even if you don't know what's happening, or how treacherous the future will be—it might cost you your entire life with no chance of turning back. The world might be irrevocably plunged into chaos because of your every move. You might not be able to stay by Yui's side anymore, and might even be hated by Yui, all for a potentially better future. But even so, would you still go on without hesitation?"

"I will."

“I understand.” Nishio Reki nodded slightly, took the red thread ring off his other self’s hand, and gently put it on his own ring finger.

That was the first time she did it, and it was also the only and last time she acted so recklessly.

The willful girl revealed her pearly white teeth, tilted her head, and slightly raised the hand adorned with the red thread ring, forcing a victory sign towards her other self.

"Well then, I'm going to be even more greedy."

"You will receive everything that belongs to me: my memories up to this point, my power to change everything, the burden imprisoned within me, and my mission to save the entire world and the girl who is more important than the world."

"And I will vanish with the old world, unable to stay by your side, but I will use all the time I have left to pray for you and bless you."

"You must follow the path I have walked, forge your own way through the thorny wilderness, and find that undying glimmer of light in the desolate wasteland."

"If you can go any further, then this world, all worlds, will be saved."

As Nishio Reki spoke, she extended her hand.

Of course.

As Nishio Reki spoke, he took her hand.

Countless magical forces converged in her palm, forming refreshing raindrops, gentle rivers, and the final smile left in this world by the fading figure of the black-haired girl.

"Then take my entire soul."

Something has been incorporated into my body, and something else has been lost.

Nishio Reki had a feeling that those were the magical girl powers she had always longed for but could never obtain.

But she could only borrow it; after all, it wasn't her power, nor was it the power of another version of herself. It was a final gift given to her by the girl she longed for.

Her future could have been made omnipotent by the power that had merged into her body, but she felt that she was still the girl who could do nothing.

Nishio Reki tightly gripped that cold, increasingly unreal hand; it was the last thing she could do when she could do nothing else.

The other version of himself grew dimmer and gradually dissipated, leaving only the bubble containing a red thread ring in Nishio Reki's palm, which was slowly flowing into his body along his palm.

Besides these, the only thing the other self left behind was a single sentence.

It was a promise, very short, yet carrying boundless power, worth fulfilling with all of Nishio Reki's might.

"Please, my other self."

Actually, I'm not satisfied with what I wrote. I couldn't properly express all my feelings and girlish thoughts in the words.

I've come to a profound realization of my shortcomings, and I feel quite disheartened.

But it does fill in the huge foreshadowing that was set at the beginning of the book, right?

Well, he was also criticized for being a riddle-maker and having a confusing narrative.

In short, the author will continue to work hard and will try to make the timeline narrative clearer and reduce the number of riddle-like elements in the future.

I hope that one day I can write the works I want.

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Another Wave Rises

Having witnessed those memories, Yuuki Yukino's feelings were incredibly complex.

With Sumireko Yumehara's help, Yuuki Yuuya quickly understood the cause and effect of what had happened.

Let me give a simple summary.

The first memory revealed the existence of a powerful enemy within the St. Yuu Academy, which was absolutely bad news for Yuuki.

Not only will I have to deal with Mashiro, but I will also have to fight against Inori, who appeared out of nowhere but is definitely somewhere in St. Yuu Academy. It will definitely be a tough battle for me tomorrow.

However, compared to the content of the second memory, it seems less exaggerated.

Through that memory, most of the mysteries surrounding Nishio Reki were solved.

Because he couldn't replenish his mana, Nishio Koyomi argued with himself and encountered another Koyomi who had returned from the future. With the help of the two, the original magical girl who had been chasing Koyomi was sealed inside the body of the other Nishio Koyomi.

Because of the original magical girl's dying struggle, a large part of her power entered Lin Jiezi's body. When Lin Jiezi is in danger, the soul of that original magical girl will appear.

As a result of the aftershocks of the broken anchor point, many historical events changed the moment the original magical girl and Hayashi Mustard came into contact—Hayashi Mustard filled in almost all the scenes in which the original magical girl appeared in a bizarre yet reasonable way.

If we use a computer as an example, it's equivalent to replacing the original Magical Girl file with the file named Hayashi Mustard.

However, what entered Lin Jiezi's body was only the "power" of the original magical girl. A small part, which was also the most important part of the original magical girl's "consciousness", was transferred to the current Xiao Li's body with the disappearance of the other Li.

The disappearance of the other calendar left behind many important things: memories of countless reincarnations in the past, the power of the Ancestral Dragon, the Enmusubi God that the other calendar had obtained not long ago and which later helped them a great deal, and the pure white coffin that Yuuki En still doesn't know what it is.

Having accepted all this, Xiao Li had no choice but to follow the path taken by her past self, pretending that she was truly a traveler who had traveled back in time, repeating the safest path of the past—although because she could never become her past self, Yuuki Yukino ended the impasse.

The original magical girl's consciousness within Xiao Li's body has always been in a state of "vague consciousness".

If Xiao Li tries to violate certain conditions, such as telling Yuuki Enishi the truth about the original magical girl or related matters, that part of her consciousness will be temporarily awakened. Of course, this condition is also very mysterious, and no one can completely figure out the pattern.

However, because the original magical girl's power and consciousness are now separated, that part of her consciousness can only trigger the automatic counterattack program within Lin Jiezi's body, and cannot truly complete the fusion.

No wonder Nishio Reki has always been tight-lipped about those things; it is indeed difficult for a student who is constantly under the teacher's supervision to cheat.

No, after saying all that, Yuuki Yukari finally confirmed one thing.

Xiao Li is Xiao Li, the Xiao Li who lived with me, grew up with me, and played and made a fuss with me.

No one took away Nishio Reki's life, nor did anyone impose heavy responsibilities on her; Reki's path was her own choice.

For some reason, Yuuki Yukino felt incredibly relieved after learning about this.

The last knot in Nishio Reki's heart that had been troubling him for so long was quietly untied.

It would be impossible for Yuuki Yukino to feel nothing after seeing all this, but if you were to ask what emotions are stirring within her right now...

Shouldn't I be happy?

"Thank you, Xiao Li. I really like this special gift."

Having gone through her memories, and feeling nothing physically, Yuuki Yukino closed her eyes slightly. When she opened them again, her gaze had become even gentler.

"But, did I really not cause any trouble for Xiaoyuan?"

"Troubled? Why?"

"Since it's Christmas Eve, and I'm giving Xiaoyuan this as a gift, it might actually spoil her mood, right?"

"No, not at all. This gift is something only Xiao Li can give me. It's unique, and I'm overjoyed." Yuuki Yu rubbed her hands together and tapped the screen of the handheld console on the coffee table with her finger. "Also, Sumireko worked hard for this gift."

"Hmph, of course I've worked hard! So buy me a new game! I want to play that new action game that came out recently, the one where you hunt monsters with all sorts of weapons."

Having been freed from divine liberation, Sumireko Yumehara reverted to her previous childish self, standing proudly with her hands on her hips in front of the snow-covered farm, not forgetting to ask Yuuki Yukina for more benefits.

Yuuki Yukino poked Yumehara Sumireko's face through the screen. Although she couldn't actually touch her, this intimate gesture satisfied Yumehara Sumireko's vanity, making her look very happy.

But Yuuki Yukino's next words made her unhappy.

"I heard that game is really grindy. You have to make weapons and farm hunting orbs. You can't play too many games at the same time, or you won't be good at any of them. Maybe you can buy it after you've finished building the bridge on your island in the game."

"Hey! To build a bridge, you need money and materials. To get money and materials, you need to fish, chop down trees, and plant things! If you want to fish, you need to collect materials for bait and fishing rods. And to make bait, you need materials to make insect nets... Do you know how long all of this will take?"

"This game was bought for you, I had no idea!"

"Damn it! I helped you for nothing! I protest! I protest! I shouldn't have played with you!"

Nishio Reki leaned over and waved his hand to separate the bickering Yuuki Yuki and Yumehara Sumireko: "Alright, as agreed, I'll help you collect the materials."

"Hmph, that's more like it. But no cheating, or your account will be banned." Yumehara Sumireko crossed her arms and snorted.

"Don't worry, it's definitely hand-brushed, safe and non-toxic." Nishio Reki gave an OK sign.

"Alright then, you two can keep being affectionate, I don't care anymore." Sumireko Yumehara shrank back, and specks of magic began to leak from the charging port of Yuuki Yuuki's handheld console, forming a pair of legs beneath the console.

The handheld game console, now with legs, trotted into Yuuki Tamaki's room, lay down on the bedside table, and remained motionless, leaving Nishio Reki standing there in a mess.

"Isn't this... a little bizarre?" Seeing this scene, Nishio Reki's lips twitched twice.

Yuuki Yui was already used to it: "Using magic to condense into a physical form is no different from us using our abilities to create water or fire. Anyway, Yumehara Sumireko always has to maintain her transformed state, so it's normal for her to be able to do this. Didn't I used to fly on books all the time?"

If Sumireko Yumehara's game console hadn't grown legs, she wouldn't have been able to run to Yuuki's side and pull her away the moment she suddenly turned evil.

However, the reason why the original magical girl who appeared in the previous memory was able to be absorbed by Nishio Reki was mainly because her body had long since disappeared, just like Yumehara Sumireko. It was only because of the special nature of the original magical girl that she was able to move by constructing her body with magic.