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

Since things have come to this, let's get ready to go on stage.

Yuuki Yukino's mind was wandering, but she leaned back in the classroom chair in the temporary rest room, idly playing the air piano and reviewing their last piece.

I initially thought that Helica was just leading everyone in a joke, but I never expected that she would not only write her own song, but also actually go on stage.

I'm a little nervous.

From the moment everyone's songs were created, winning and losing seemed to become less important.

Standing on that meaningful stage has become not just Helika's wish, but everyone's shared wish, since some point.

In fact, as long as we can stand on the stage and be together, that's enough for everyone.

That being said, we still have to win! We need to unleash our strongest power and utterly defeat them!

"Rainbow Team! Is Rainbow Team there?"

Just as Yuuki Yuki was focused on playing the air piano, Serizawa Riko barged in again, looking around and shouting.

Having learned from her previous experience, Riko Serizawa counted the number of people in the room, confirmed that there were seven people, and then waved cheerfully.

"Everyone in the Rainbow Troupe, you only have two more performances left, get ready to go on stage!"

"I've said it so many times! We are Rainbow Dazzling Victory Street!"

……

Meanwhile, at the St. Eternal Academy, at the ballroom.

Live violin music flowed across the dance floor as beautiful and graceful young women joined hands and swayed lightly in the center of the dance floor.

In an inconspicuous corner of the dance floor, Hong Moli, dressed in a full suit, supported the lower back of Bai Gui Qianyou, who was wearing a white dress, and danced slowly with her to the accompaniment of a soothing melody.

The jet-black leather shoes and snow-white high heels stepped precisely on each note, their black and white dance steps perfectly synchronized, as if they were one.

Even though the two tried to avoid other people's gazes, their identities and achievements, as well as their tacit understanding—or rather, their well-matched dance moves—would still attract envious glances from the girls around them.

"The president is really amazing. She's number one in academics, an all-rounder, very handsome, and has such a beautiful girlfriend. Is there anything she can't do?"

"Sister Hyakki is so beautiful, like a flower on a high mountain, pure and immaculate. I can't imagine how happy the president must be."

"Inseparable and supportive of each other, wow, they're practically a model couple! Even their dance moves are so perfectly synchronized."

Qianyou ignored the whispers around her. As she turned around in her dance, she quietly raised her gray eyes, which were filled with an unyielding tenderness. Such a look was especially rare on the face of this girl who rarely showed any change in expression.

“Your dance steps have improved again, Mori. A year ago at the ball, you would often step on my feet.”

Hong Moli lowered her long eyelashes and curled the corners of her mouth like a child who was secretly pleased after receiving a compliment.

“A whole year has passed, and I should have made some progress by now. I’ve practiced especially for you.”

"I could have prepared clothes for you, so why did Mori insist on dressing like this?" Qianyou placed her slender fingers on Mori's shoulder and tapped it silently with her fingertips: "But Mori looks handsome no matter what she wears."

“Because a knight should act this way in front of a princess.” Mari smiled and nodded slightly like a true knight, giving Qianyou a light peck on the cheek like a little bird.

Qianyou's dance steps slowly came to a stop. She quietly withdrew her arm from Hong Moli's arm and stared at Moli's tie.

“But I don’t want Mori to always think of herself as my knight.”

Even though Chiyu said something that could be easily misunderstood, Koumori didn't misunderstand at all. She simply cast her clear gaze at the girl in front of her.

"why?"

Qianyou's hand landed naturally on Hong Moli's waist, pulling Moli's body closer, just as Hong Moli had done to her at the beginning of the ball, just as she had done countless times during the night.

When the positions were switched during the duet, Koumori didn't mind. Her reaction was simply to follow Hyakki Senyou's movements and hold his hand.

The synchronized dance steps began to sway once more, drawing gasps of admiration from many young women on the dance floor who were captivated by the dynamic interplay of offense and defense.

Hyakki Chiyu paid no attention to the sounds around her; her eyes reflected only the blonde girl dancing with her.

"Because, Mari is also my princess."

"Heh." Hong Moli couldn't help but laugh out loud, but a satisfied expression appeared on her face: "Isn't she Cinderella who has to leave in a pumpkin carriage at midnight?"

"Be more confident, Mori. Cinderella got into the ball by cheating with a magic carriage." Qianyou suddenly pulled Mori closer, the slight airflow causing the girl's blonde hair to brush against her nose.

"But my princess relies on herself."

The ball is still going on, and will continue for some time to come.

Until the entire venue inexplicably fell into a state of chaos.

The sudden darkness caused the girls to gasp in surprise throughout the large hall. The dance floor, now without lights, was filled with the sounds of collisions and cries of pain. The music playing for the ball also came to an abrupt halt due to the power outage.

A few beams of moonlight shone into the room through the skylight, leaving faint, scattered spots of light in the room, but the illumination provided was negligible for such a large space.

Hong Moli quietly let go of Qianyou's hand, and within seconds she realized the situation. She immediately shouted loudly to the surroundings.

"Dear students! Please stay where you are and don't panic. I'll go check the situation now. Disciplinary committee members and staff present, please help maintain order at this time."

Upon hearing the voice of the acting student council president, Hong Moli, the chaotic scene seemed to find its anchor and instantly calmed down considerably.

Several cell phone lights illuminated the darkness, setting the outline of the room.

Seeing that nothing had happened, Hong Moli finally had a chance to let go of Qianyou's other hand, which she was holding tightly, and quickly led Qianyou toward the entrance of the venue.

"Qianyou, I'll have to trouble you to come with me."

She couldn't let go of Qianyou's hand, nor could she relinquish her responsibility as acting student council president.

"It's alright, Mari." Chiyu gently shook her head.

The reason why Hong Moli stayed at the ball instead of going home and being intimate with Qianyou was not just because she wanted to attend the ball with Baigui Qianyou.

Maintaining the current situation as the acting student council president, or keeping an eye on any new or strange developments so that Yuuki and the others can be notified immediately, are all within Koumori's objectives.

This is perhaps the strange development that Hongmo was worried about.

Koumori lowered her voice even further: "I can't tell she's a magical girl yet. I don't sense any magical energy, but don't let your guard down."

"I know." Qianyou nodded slightly, tossing her high heels aside. "Does Molly have any ideas? Is there anything I can do for her?"

"Not yet. All we can do is find the cause first," Mori replied, then muttered to herself as she began to organize the possibilities she could think of.

"The circuit was checked several times before we started, so it shouldn't have any problems at this crucial moment. Therefore, a short circuit is unlikely. If it were a power outage, the power supplier would have given us advance notice. This is Saint Yuyou Academy, after all..."

"The electrical circuits at St. Yuu Academy have been modified to handle high-powered appliances, making the possibility of a circuit breaker breaking negligible. For sabotage, the person would need to be able to enter St. Yuu Academy, be familiar with its structure, and... and..."

As she was talking to herself, Hong Moli had already arrived at the entrance of the auditorium and reached out to grasp the doorknob.

Before she could even twist the handle, a beam of light, several times brighter than the light from a cell phone, shone from behind the girl and illuminated her dark hand.

That wasn't the light from the dome, but the intense light emanating from the large screen in the auditorium.

The huge screen that had always served as the backdrop for the ball suddenly lit up in the darkness, attracting everyone's attention.

As everyone looked at the big screen, the scene displayed there captivated everyone's attention.

When Hong Moli saw that scene, her heart skipped a beat.

That's so strange, how could it be her?

Saint Shion, the former headmistress of Saint Yuu Academy, was sitting there adjusting the direction of the camera, causing the image to shake.

Behind the sound of the sacred hymn is the same background as the previous video that caused a sensation in Moonsea City.

A few seconds later, the image finally stabilized, and Sheng Shiyin returned to her previous upright posture.

"Hello, fellow students of St. Yu-You Academy, fellow journalists, and fellow citizens of Moonsea City."

Saint Hymn gave a concise and clear opening speech.

Her remarks revealed that the video was not intended solely for students of St. Eternal Academy.

Saint Shiyin intends to release this video to the entire Moonsea City!

On the giant screens in shopping malls, on billboards along the roadside, on television channels... Sheng Shiyin's face appeared in countless places, attracting countless people to stop and watch.

"Saint Shiyin! Isn't this the former chairman of the board of directors of Saint Yuyou Academy?"

"What's the deal with this video? Is it a response to the establishment of a foundation by St. Eternal Academy this afternoon?"

"I thought it was already amazing that St. Yuu Academy had been supporting magical girls all along, but could there be another expert among them?"

People immediately started talking about it, and even the girls from St. Yūki Academy couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

Saint Shiyin's next words were like a bombshell, igniting the suspicions in people's hearts.

"By the time you see this video, it should be Christmas Day. The campus open day that I strongly advocated should have already ended, and Mashiro Gorky should be able to handle this matter perfectly."

"If I had been able to attend the meeting normally, you would never have seen this video, and you would never have heard these words."

"If the release time of this video is correct, at this moment, Mashiro Gorogen is having a celebration party in the main building conference room of St. Yuu Academy with the board members who are also aware of the situation but are acting as accomplices."

"You may have heard that I was seriously ill and passed away, that I resigned to take responsibility, that I sacrificed myself for something, that my body could no longer bear the heavy workload, or that I was unable to attend for other reasons."

"But those are all fake."

wow——

The crowd watching the video was in an uproar.

"Was this video prepared in advance? Did Sheng Shiyin anticipate that this would happen?"

"Who is this Mashiro Urouge she's talking about? Is she Chairman Mashiro Sei?"

"It's all fake? Then could it really be that Saint Zhenbai imprisoned Saint Shiyin?"

"There are still experts! There are still experts!"

In the video, Sheng Shiyin slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and her eyes suddenly sharpened.

"The truth is—Gen Mashiro, who lied to you, is the real demon entrenched in Moonsea City!"

"She is the true evil magical girl! The culprit who caused a series of tragedies in Moonsea City and Rainbow Leaf City! She is a lawless person who disregards the lives of others and only wants to achieve her own goals! She is the epitome of inhuman evil that the law cannot punish and that even magical girls cannot defeat!"

……

Saint Eugene Academy, meeting room.

"What's going on? Dean of the Holy Academy? Is what she said true?! Didn't you say you could perfectly resolve this matter?" The woman sitting on the board slammed her hand on the table and stood up, her eyes glaring as if they were about to bleed as she stared at Gen Ken Mashiro, who sat calmly in her seat.

"That's right! Where did you get the idea that you're a magical girl? When did we become accomplices to evil? This is an infringement on our reputation! Do you understand?" A board member next to him couldn't suppress his anger any longer and slammed his water glass heavily on the table, making a dull thud.

Then someone else stood up and began to denounce Mashiro: "Our board of directors needs an explanation from you. Otherwise, you can forget about sitting comfortably in your position as chairman!"

Xu Yan Zhenbai remained calm and composed, ignoring the surrounding insults. He merely raised his eyes slightly and looked at Sheng Shiyin, who had appeared in the room where the PPT had been placed, as she challenged him.