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

"Yuki Yuuki, can you guarantee you'll help Mia?"

Rie Tsukimi asked Yuuki En, but all she could see was a pitch-black city.

"I can."

Yuuki Yukino didn't look at Tsukimi Rie either; her sparkling eyes reflected the starlight.

"Thank you."

As Tsukimi Rie spoke, she took another step toward the empty space, taking that step in her untransformed form.

The road with no foothold was the only way out for her.

Chapter 124 A Wail That Seemed to Vomit Out One's Soul

Yuuki Yuki had never felt so dirty.

He exploited the girl's weaknesses and personally pushed her step by step into the abyss.

She might not have had to do that; she might have been able to think of a better way.

But she couldn't think of anything else; she could only tell herself that this was the only option she had now.

It's like dancing on a tightrope; one wrong step and you'll fall into an abyss of no return.

Before you berate yourself, finish what you need to do first.

As Tsukimi Rie took that step out of the empty tower, her body floated lightly, like a butterfly that no longer flapped its wings, and plummeted from the top of the tower.

At the moment Tsukimi Rie fell, Yuuki Yukino and Miyashita Mia both chose to transform.

Miya Miyashita wants to save Rie Tsukimi, who has taken that irreversible step.

Yuki Eri, however, stood in her way to save Tsukimi Rie.

"The faceless one!"

"Lilith!"

The two revealed their real names at the same time, and then their figures collided.

The impact of Miyashita Mia's transformation nearly knocked Yuuki Eri off the tower as well. Several tentacles hooked onto Yuuki Eri's ankles, forming a foothold behind her, which prevented her from falling like Tsukimi Rie.

Yuuki Yui was prepared for this, which is why she was able to stop Miyashita Mia the moment she transformed.

However, the gap in strength is not so easily bridged. Miyashita Mia, brimming with magic, exerts a suppressive force that Yuuki Yukina, who has just experienced a fierce battle, cannot withstand for long.

"Get out of here! Get out of here!"

Miyashita Mia roared, and the creations that Yuuki Enishi kept making to block her were no match for her at all.

"I don't have much magic left..."

Yuuki Yui gritted her teeth and squeezed out those words. In the intense confrontation, just speaking made her take a few steps back, and she managed to steady herself by using the foothold she had created on the spot.

"What does this have to do with me! Don't stop me! Get out of my way!" Miyashita Miya increased the power of her magic output, pushing Yuuki Yuki away even more.

"If you push me any further, Rie Tsukimi will really fall."

"What?" Miyashita Mia hesitated briefly, and her attack weakened, but she still forced Yuuki Yuki to retreat repeatedly.

"I said! Tsukimi Rie! She's here!"

The grimoire belonging to Yuuki Yuuki slowly rose from the bottom of the tower, with several tentacles wrapped around the book attached to Tsukimi Rie's body, and slowly floated to the top of the tower.

The tentacles first gently placed Tsukimi Rie on the top of the tower before floating back to Yuuki Enishi's feet, where they burst forth with large clusters of tentacles to support her suspended body.

"Megumi?" Miyashita Miya didn't have time to care about Yuuki Yuki anymore. She released the force of her struggle with Yuuki Yuki and ran to Megumi's side in a few steps, picking her up.

Having lost the support of the other party, Yuuki Yuki, who had been holding on, collapsed onto the small platform created by her own tentacles and was dragged back to the top of the tower by the grimoire.

"Why did you save me?" Tsukimi Rie asked hesitantly, looking at Yuuki Yukino who was floating back on the back of the tentacles. She raised her voice a little, but still spoke slowly and deliberately in a pleasant tone: "Why did you save me when you had already implied that I was going to die?"

"Did I give you any hints?" Yuuki asked, feigning innocence.

"You did! No, you didn't. You didn't say anything. This is what I thought of myself. I have to die. That's right, for Meiya's sake, I have to die. As long as I live, I will hurt others. If someone comes to free me, knowing your personality, Meiya, you will definitely seek revenge on that person without hesitation. I don't want that. I have to die!"

Rie Tsukimi's voice became increasingly out of control. She knelt on the ground, covered her face with her hands, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

Yuuki Yukino stood up from the cluster of tentacles, patted off the non-existent dirt on her body, and deactivated her transformation in a burst of light.

Yuuki Yuki, who was looking down from her high position, lowered her head and looked down at Tsukimi Rie, who was kneeling on the ground, doubting herself and trembling.

"Then go die."

She said those words that even she herself could not forgive.

But this is necessary.

When Rie Tsukimi chose to take that step, she was already dead; what died was her dried-up heart, despairing of her future.

The current Tsukimi Rie is nothing more than an empty shell, devoid of soul and hope.

Therefore, this is necessary, necessary to revive Tsukimi Rie's dead heart.

boom.

Miyashita Mia's slap landed squarely on her face.

But the slap didn't land on Yuuki Yuuki's face. Instead, before it could touch her cheek, Yuuki Yuuki grabbed her wrist firmly.

"Did I say something wrong, Miyashita-senpai? Or do you have some other—better—way to save her, whom you cherish?"

Yuuki Yukino raised her eyes, her tone so calm it was as if she were discussing life and death.

Rie Tsukimi is a smart person; she can understand my hints. Miya Miya is no fool either; I must avoid her.

To save Tsukimi Rie, someone always has to be the villain.

If asked for a reason, Yuuki Yukari had the same attitude towards Tsukimi Rie and Miyashita Mia's previous actions—they did not deserve to die.

Death, or becoming an empty shell that only knows how to beg for pleasure, is never a proper way to atone for one's sins, but rather an escape from one's own sins. Only when one is alive is there a chance to change.

She wanted Rie Tsukimi to live, she wanted Rie Tsukimi to truly come back to life.

Very well, Miyashita Miya was unaware of her own little scheme.

"Yuki Yui, shut up!" Miyashita Miya tried to pull her arm back, but Yuki Yui's strength was excessive.

For a fleeting moment, Miyashita Mia had a strange feeling.

The corrupted magical girl that he could easily defeat was not someone he could defy.

Whether it's the ominous magical aura surrounding Yuuki Yuuki or the weight of every word she utters, the incredibly weak Yuuki Yuuki undoubtedly holds absolute dominance right now.

Despite having the ability to defeat Yuuki Yukino, all she could do was weakly plead, "Megumi, Megumi! Don't listen to her! Don't do anything foolish!"

"But if I don't die... if I continue to live like this, I will definitely cause more harm to you, to Meiya, and to many more people..."

Rie Tsukimi spoke as if to herself, repeating the words that gave her courage that wasn't even necessary.

Is this considered an answer?

Yuuki Yui finally released Miyashita Mia's hand that she was holding tightly: "That's right, but Tsukimi-senpai, I want to ask you a question."

"What?" Rie Tsukimi's lips moved.

"Do you really want to die?" Yuuki Yukina moved closer.

“Of course,” Rie Tsukimi answered quickly.

"Hui! No!"

Miya Miyashita shouted, but was yelled back by Rie Tsukimi in a way that was more forceful than she had ever seen before.

"Meya, shut up!"

Yuuki Yukino subtly pursed her lips.

Things are developing just as she expected.

"Then I want to know, what about all the efforts Miyashita-senpai made so as not to be a burden to you? What about everything he did to bring you back to your senses?"

Yuuki Yukino spoke, slowly yet resolutely walking towards Tsukimi Rie.

"Why don't you just say you're going to die? Then you run away from everything. What about the pain you leave behind for your family, for Helica Tenrai, for Miya Miya, and for everyone who cares about you?"

"But if I don't die, then..." Rie Tsukimi hesitated.

"Tsukimi-senpai, I'll ask you one more time, do you really want to die?"

"I……"

"Tell me, do you really want to die?"

Yuuki Yukino calmly and deliberately asked the same question she had asked Tsukimi Rie, which was also the last question she intended to ask.

"I...I..." Rie Tsukimi's pupils trembled violently, and a layer of mist blurred her eyes.

Yuuki Yukino raised her voice, using an inexplicable force to command the girl who had no obligation to obey her.

"Tell me! You want to live! Tell me loudly that you want to live! You want to witness so many more things with Miyashita-senpai!"

Rie Tsukimi's trembling pupils stabilized, and large tears welled up in her eyes.

The girl looked up, sobbing, and spoke softly.

"I don't want to die! I want to live. I want a brighter future with Meiya. I want to stay with Meiya forever. I want to go to so many places with her. I want to spend the rest of our lives together! I don't want to die!"

"I regretted it as soon as I jumped. Why did I have to die? I wanted to... I wanted to see Xiao Meiya more. I don't want a world without Xiao Meiya. I don't want to see it!"

"But there's nothing I can do, nothing I can do! As long as I'm here, I'll lose control again, I... I'll cause even more trouble for Xiao Meiya... But I still don't want to die!"

"I don't want to cause trouble for anyone anymore, I... what should I do..."

With each word she spoke, Tsukimi Rie's sobs became more pronounced.

"Enough!" Miyashita Mia interrupted Tsukimi Rie's sobs loudly, hugged the girl kneeling on the ground and crying incessantly, held Tsukimi Rie's trembling body tightly in her arms, pressed her head into the crook of her neck, and gently stroked the girl's back. Her voice was very soft. Yuuki Yui never expected that Miyashita Mia would utter such a soft voice.

"Hui, that's enough."

Rie Tsukimi grabbed Mia Miyashita's clothes, paused briefly, and hugged Mia Miyashita even tighter with her trembling arms.

The sobbing that had stopped started again, surging forth more intensely and turning into a silent, heart-wrenching cry.

Rie Tsukimi knelt on the cold ground, embracing the only girl who could bring them warmth.

She cried out desperately, as if she were about to vomit her soul.