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

“Your Excellency the Bishop,” the woman bowed her head to the man she addressed as the Bishop, a hint of nervousness flashing across her face, “there are still people exercising on the playground.”

"Hmm." The bishop nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then turned his attention to the little girl still running on the track: "Is this the child?"

"Yes." The stadium manager nodded.

"She doesn't look very old," the bishop said, observing the girl running by the moonlight.

"Yes, she was just selected from Ms. Hojo this year." The manager answered truthfully: "One day, this girl asked me if she could train here. At first, I was reluctant, but she asked for several days in a row, so I agreed."

“I know this violates the rules; the sports field should be closed at this time, but she’s just a child… I’m worried about her exercising here alone…” At this point, the manager quickly added, “Your Excellency, if you care, I can make her stop.”

“No need. I didn’t intend to blame you. You have a kind heart, and our gods will be pleased to see your actions.” The bishop waved his hand, interrupting the administrator’s further explanation: “She’s new here, so she’s only six or seven years old?”

"Yes, only six years old."

"How long has she been here? I mean, how long has she been exercising alone?"

"She started not long after she came here from Ms. Hojo's place. I estimate it was after she settled down, so it must have been about half a year, right?"

Did she explain why she needed to exercise?

"I don't know who told her that as long as she is good enough, she can become a member of the Holy Sisters, and then she can take revenge on the corrupted magical girl."

"Tch, she actually told you all this, but it doesn't matter. You were a nun in the Holy Church before you retired, right?" the bishop chuckled.

"That's right, but it's shameful. I didn't achieve anything remarkable, and I was even rescued several times while on missions." The manager clenched his fist shyly, it was hard to tell whether he was being modest or telling the truth.

“Those who can become nuns in the church are all exceptional talents, one in a hundred. Your honorable retirement is enough to demonstrate your excellence and the contributions you have made to the church.” The bishop said, then suddenly changed the subject:

"To become a nun in the Holy Temple, it takes more than just training; talent is also essential. Besides, even if she does become a nun, her enemies will no longer be around."

Without exception, all the children who were able to enter Ms. Hojo's orphanage had become orphans due to the attack by magical girls, and very few of them were selected to enter the church through the selection process.

Most of the children who enter the church share the same idea: to become nuns and take revenge on the evil, corrupted magical girls with their own hands.

Magical girls have an age limit; a six-year-old girl cannot receive a response from the gods, and a magical girl who is no longer a girl will gradually lose her power, so the girls cannot take revenge on their own.

The bishop was already used to this.

The desire for personal revenge is not uncommon, but revenge is merely a sweet bait for those children. Driven solely by revenge, they cannot become nuns of the Holy Church.

In the years before they become church nuns, the church has ample time to change their minds.

“Your Excellency, she is not seeking revenge against her own enemies, but against all the corrupted magical girls.”

"All of them?" The bishop showed some interest in this statement.

“That’s right, she said she wanted to take revenge on all the corrupted magical girls and eradicate this evil thing completely.”

"To have such lofty goals at such a young age, I really don't know whether to praise her greed or naivety. It's not good to be blinded by hatred. However, her perseverance for so long is indeed commendable."

The bishop looked approvingly at the girl who was still running, but whose speed was now almost walking.

"So, what is this child's name?"

"I remember, her name is Genken Mashiro."

……

Genjiro Mashiro walked on the abandoned playground, scanning the gravel and pebbles with his heterochromatic eyes before slowly withdrawing his gaze.

"Mashiro, you actually found a place like this. It's almost too perfect as our new base!"

Asahimi's eyes gleamed with excitement as he twirled on the tattered artificial turf like a dancer on a stage, as if he wanted to embrace the whole world.

"You don't remember anymore?" Genken Mashiro raised her eyelashes and calmly looked at Asahi Miya, who was admiring her surroundings like a child.

The cold wind howled past her ears, as if venting its final resentment at the end of winter, causing the hem of Xu Yan's white trench coat to flutter up and down.

Apart from that, there was only silence.

"Should I remember?" Asahimi slowly lowered her arms, the light in her eyes began to dim, as if a constantly rotating chaotic black hole was gradually enlarging in her pupils.

“No.” Genken Mashiro, with her hands in her coat pockets, slowly took a step: “It’s just the place where we first met.”

"This is where you and Seiki first met." Asahimi raised her head, and the pitch-black ground beneath the girl's feet expanded and boiled like a quagmire, but Asahimi's tone seemed to pull people back to that cold winter: "And I am Asahimi."

"Correct."

As if completely oblivious to the flowing blackness on the ground, Xu Yan Zhenbai stepped onto it, the tiny spaces breaking apart beneath her boots, uprooting the mud and the grass along with it.

Genken Mashiro, who had come to stand in front of Asahimi, took Asahimi's hand and continued walking forward. She turned her head and looked at Asahimi with those eyes that seemed to have chosen her.

How are your preparations going?

"Everything is progressing smoothly. Apart from a few completely useless idiots, most have succeeded," Asahimi replied silently, as he subdued the writhing darkness beneath his feet.

"That's good." Genken Mashiro praised, "It's really rare to hear you call others idiots."

“I told you, I am not Saint Prayer.” Asahimi squeezed Genki Mashiro’s hand a little harder, but the reaction she expected did not appear on Genki Mashiro’s face, leaving Asahimi feeling embarrassed.

After taking a few steps, Asahimi asked again.

"Can you tell me about the first time you met Shengqi?"

Even Asahimi's attack couldn't stop Genki Mashiro's steps, but when the question was asked, Genki Mashiro's steps clearly paused for half a second.

'Your memories...'

Asahi didn't allow Gen Ken Mashiro to say the words she didn't want to hear, and interrupted her directly.

"To talk or not?"

“Okay.” Genken Mashiro nodded slowly: “At that time, I had not yet become a member of the Holy Church nun, but in order to become a Holy Church nun, I would train here every day.”

"Oh..." Asahimi's slightly curious eyes turned a bit bored. She didn't need Genki Mashiro to say anything; she had already imagined a scenario where a girl would meet a gentle young lady while exercising, and the two would become friends.

However, in order to cooperate with Genki Mashiro's narration, Asahi still urged her to ask about Genki Mashiro's next development.

"And then? Did you two meet while working out? Or did she see you working out? Or something else?"

“No, none of those.” Genken Mashiro shook her head: “She is a corrupted magical girl.”

Asahimi frowned in confusion, let out a soft "hmm," but did not continue to ask questions. Instead, he cast a curious glance at Gen Ken Mashiro.

"It was a corrupted magical girl who brought us together."

Chapter 158 Progress Made

Several years have passed since Mashiro Gorgen joined the church, and she has grown from a naive little girl into a young woman.

For her, church life over the years has been as routine as ever.

After waking up, a unified prayer should be offered, praising the nameless deity according to the scriptures, asking for His blessings, and offering one's devotion to Him.

The church has no name, and their one and only God has no name, as if all of this has been deliberately concealed by someone.

Even with such a flawed or even deformed church, it still maintains normal operations and presents a thriving scene.

There were quite a few nuns who attended the morning prayers, numbering over a hundred, and they all crowded together in that huge underground sanctuary.

Among these praying nuns, some were responsible for handling church affairs, some were "blonde" and whose work was unknown, and the rest were novice nuns like Genki Mashiro, but the church nun that Genki Mashiro longed to become was not among them.

The requirements to become a novice nun are not simple. First, one must pass a selection process before being able to come to the church and learn knowledge from it.

During this process, children who fail to meet academic standards or behave too rebelliously and disobey discipline will be removed from the ranks of novice nuns and re-adopted by other welfare institutions.

Since we've mentioned achievements, we must also talk about the daily life of the novice nuns after their prayers.

Breakfast was followed by a unified study session, which included not only the basic knowledge that students should learn, but also some church history and knowledge.

For example, the deity helped the farmers have a good harvest, or He drove away the pests in the field. Then, starting from some small things, they expand on how great their deity really is.

In short, there is a daily schedule, and each class is taught by a dedicated nun. Sometimes, several classes are taught by the same nun.

There were quite a few novice nuns, but not many of them were the same age. The teaching pace was also very fast. However, Mashiro Gonnoken was always able to complete her lessons smoothly and get good grades in the exams.

After the morning study session, there were some voluntary labor tasks or helping to take care of the church interior, which were not difficult.

Then comes lunch, followed by more studying and working, and finally dinner.

After dinner, there will be a group prayer, but afterwards, apart from the occasional scheduled activity, it's free time.

This is just a weekday. On weekends or holidays, the novice nuns are sometimes organized to carry out some activities, but most of the time they are free to do as they do every night.

The novice nuns will not be restricted in any way; they can move freely within Moonsea City as long as they do not reveal their true identities.

However, most of Mashiro's free time was actually quite boring.

Although she herself did not think so.

Training, training to become a sanctuary nun who punishes fallen magical girls.

Mashiro Gorgen didn't know if what she was doing would make any difference, but her physical condition was improving day by day, and her athletic ability was much stronger than that of girls her age.

However, her training may very well end today.

Despite not yet achieving her training goals for the day, Mashiro was running on the track as usual. Years of training had transformed her from the little girl who would be out of breath after just a few steps.

Her exercise stopped when she heard the commotion at the entrance.

But the sports field was too dark since the streetlights had been turned off. She could only hear a dull thud that sounded like something was hitting something. If it weren't for the current environment, she would definitely have ignored it.

So, Genken Mashiro began heading in the direction of the sound.

Even if you take a shortcut, it will still take some time to cross the entire sports field. As Mashiro Urokin approached, that dull sound rang out several more times.

When Genjiro Mashiro saw the scene before him by the moonlight, a chill ran from his feet to the top of his head, and the sweat on his body evaporated rapidly.

Aside from the chill, Genki Mashiro couldn't feel anything for a moment.

Ms. Kawasumi—who is also the manager of this sports field—was only learned of Mashiro Gakuen's name almost a year after she arrived. Now, she lies on the ground, barely alive, her body covered with marks of being violated.

The corrupted magical girl with greyish-white eyes turned her head in the moonlight, looking up and down at Genki Mashiro, who was only wearing a sports vest and sports shorts and had her long blue hair tied back.

Although at that time, Mashiro Urokin couldn't distinguish between the powers of magical girls and corrupted magical girls, and at most just looked at the other party like an ordinary person to see if there were any strange clothes on their body, at that moment, the alarm bells in Mashiro Urokin's heart were deafening.

Many years later, Mashiro Gorgen would still think about that day, about how she faced the corrupted magical girl so closely for the first time.

She couldn't remember exactly what the magical girl's face looked like, but those eyes and the twisted smile of that corrupted magical girl remained unforgettable for a long time.

At least at that time, Mashiro Gorgen, who was only a junior high school student, only had one thought in her mind.

Run away.

After that, the corrupted magical girl launched a fierce attack on Genki Mashiro.

It wasn't actually that fierce. With the magical girl's physique, she instantly closed the distance between the two of them. Then, with a light kick, she knocked Urouge Mashiro to the ground. The momentum caused Urouge Mashiro to roll several times on the grass before barely coming to a stop.