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

And now, the transformation of that building is complete.

Meanwhile, in mid-air.

"It made quite a commotion; I'm even tempted to test just how hard that thing really is."

With one hand, Lamp swung the molten greatsword like a windmill, slashing diagonally like hitting a baseball. It burned the strange colors splashed by Urouge Mashiro into ashes, once again forcing Urouge Mashiro, who was trying to advance, back a few steps, making her unable to pay attention to the battlefield below.

Genji Mashiro remained silent, but her forehead was already covered in sweat as if she had splashed cold water on her face. Whether it was due to the heat or nervousness, only she herself knew.

"Weren't you quite talkative before? Why are you so quiet now? If you're not enjoying this battle, it'll be so boring for me!"

"Melting Dream (Cold (#=%Mountain Lantern) sang a tune, but the burning sword marks never stopped for a moment, one faster than the other, dyeing the entire sky crimson."

Genki Mashiro remained silent, parrying Genki Mashiro's attacks time and time again.

Just as Yuuki Yuki had thought, her battle with Lava Lantern wouldn't end so quickly. Not only was Lava Lantern not launching a full-scale attack, but she herself wouldn't recklessly try to challenge this truly difficult opponent.

"You still have power left to use, right? Like when you suddenly appeared behind me at the beginning, why don't you use it? What good will it do you to keep dragging this out with me?"

The sword marks became even denser, forming a giant net, but Genki Mashiro had no desire to engage in a head-on confrontation with this overwhelming net, nor did he want to have any interaction with this battle maniac who seemed to have become a different person.

The rapidly moving net of fire arrived directly in front of Genki Mashiro, passing right over him. However, Genki Mashiro remained standing in place as if he were unaffected, though even more beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Your presence vanished for a fleeting moment." Lava Mountain Lantern briefly lowered his greatsword, stroking his chin with one hand: "Space?"

The only response from Lamp was endless silence, along with the sounds of battle below. Even Mashiro's expression remained unchanged, but Lamp seemed convinced that what she said was true. She pursed her lips and stopped pressing for more information about his abilities.

The total amount of information about the Lava Mountain Lantern has been temporarily suspended, but the information about the Lava Mountain Lantern to Genki Mashiro has not stopped.

"Sigh, why be so silent? You look exactly the same as when I first met you." Loomaki ran his fingers through his hair, scratching his head in frustration.

"When you live in this world, you always have to find something you like to do. I still prefer your crazy and eccentric way of being. At least it makes me feel like you're still alive."

The seemingly loose and unsteady Lava Lantern would never give Genki Mashiro any chance to escape while she stopped fighting, and Genki Mashiro had no such intention either.

This was the first time in a long time that Mashiro Gorogen had spoken.

"You remember me?"

"Of course I remember. Back then, you looked just as bitter and resentful as you do now, with an unhappy expression on your face. And you were quite capable, weren't you? You were able to hold off me all by yourself for so long back then. You didn't have this... Three Pillars God back then."

Lava Lantern slung the greatsword over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow slightly: "I remember any magical girl who's even remotely interesting. I have a lot of respect for my opponents."

"So?" Lava Mountain Lamp raised an eyebrow again: "You turned back?"

A frown appeared on Genki Mashiro's face for the first time, as if Laughing's words had caused her intense displeasure.

After a long pause, Genki Mashiro gently shook her head, as if talking to herself, but her voice was loud enough for Genki Mashiro to hear clearly:

"That's right. You're the only fallen magical girl in Moonsea City who not only escaped unscathed after fighting the Holy Sisters, but also almost wiped them out."

Lava Lantern nearly wiped out the entire Holy Sisters, but this "nearly" wasn't due to Lava Lantern's lack of ability; quite the opposite, he could have done it at any time. If Lava Lantern truly wanted to exterminate them, Genki Mashiro would definitely not be standing here now.

"I don't have that kind of idea. Yes, I am a corrupted magical girl, but I have absolutely no interest in causing destruction." Lamp Lava Mountain didn't intend to deny what the other party said at all, and accepted all of Mashiro Urokin's praise and flattery.

This is something he can do himself; the word "humility" doesn't exist in Rongshan Deng's dictionary.

“You certainly don’t have that thought.” Genki Mashiro silently clenched his fist, then released it, then clenched it again, repeating this several times while watching the movements of his hand.

After a few times, Genken Mashiro raised his gaze from his fist and placed it casually on Lava Lantern: "Because you don't have this thought, you are completely unaware, and you could never know that today's Yuehai City is all because of you."

Chapter 189 The Old Days

Moonsea City, night.

On the deserted streets, the figures of several magical girls crisscrossed each other, occasionally colliding violently.

"Not bad, right? Just a little off in accuracy. Keep it up!"

Lava Lamp curled her lip, swung the giant sword made of rock, and like hitting a baseball, sent the nun holding a sniper rifle flying at her feet. The magic wand shaped like a sniper rifle, which was formed from magic power, was casually stomped in two by her foot.

Taking advantage of the open door behind Lava Lantern, the nun wielding the battle axe shouted and, with all her might, swung her wand toward Lava Lantern's shoulder.

"Eeya—Gua!!"

Before the battle axe hit Lava Lamp, Lava Lamp's elbow struck the nun's nose first. The force was so great that the nun's entire face caved in. The poor nun cried out in pain before she could finish her scream and fell from the roof.

"If you're going to launch a sneak attack, then do it properly. Learn from a sniper. What are you yelling about?" Lava Lantern lowered his arm with disdain and glanced sideways at the nun who had already fallen to the ground in a spread-eagle position.

"Oh, by the way, I can find you even without a sound. Your killing intent is too strong, isn't it? Remember to tone it down next time."

Without even glancing at it, Lava Mountain Lantern casually flung out the giant rock sword in his hand. The sword flashed like a shooting star and pierced through the huge neon sign next to it.

The neon sign, now pierced, flickered a few times, bursting into a series of sparks. The overburdened metal support shattered into several steel bars, the sign swayed back and forth a few times, and then tilted forward.

The greatsword, the light board, and the nun holding the double blades all fell to the ground. The nun convulsed a few times, foamed at the mouth, and fainted.

Lava Lantern clapped his hands to the left and right, then opened his palms toward the open space to the side.

"return."

The rock sword that pierced the advertising light board was summoned by its master and landed steadily in the hands of Lava Mountain Lamp.

With a flick of his wrist, Rongshan Deng hoisted the greatsword onto his shoulder and turned to look at the three remaining people behind him.

Boom, boom, boom.

Magic erupted from the remaining three, and the wind pressure blew up the bangs on Lava Lantern's forehead, causing the corners of Lava Lantern's mouth to involuntarily turn up, revealing a row of white teeth and a slightly twisted, excited smile.

"The gods have been liberated, and there are three of them. That's interesting."

At the very moment that Lava Mountain Lantern finished speaking, a bright red shadow flashed in front of the three of them. The rock sword sliced ​​through the air, heading straight for the nun in the center with a heavy whooshing sound.

A slender, burning candlestick had been waiting in the path of the greatsword, and with a force completely different from its gaunt appearance, it smashed into the greatsword.

The breeze stirred by her movements lifted her long, blue-green hair, which fell slowly with her movements. The two magic wands wrestled against each other, sparking a series of sparks.

When the two wands clashed, the candlestick proved to be inferior.

The giant rock sword still fell, sending the girl holding the candlestick and the long-haired nun behind her flying.

The two shadows were like two tennis balls that had gone out of bounds, falling together from the sky and creating a crater several meters in diameter on the ground.

As the smoke cleared, the two girls who had landed were almost unharmed, standing on the ground with their wands in hand.

“Holy Maiden, you should wait in the back instead of coming directly to the battlefield.” An unreadable look flashed in the girl’s swirling eyes.

“Ghostly Mashiro, I’ll say it again, I’m not a pampered young lady. I also possess the power of divine liberation, and I have the strength to fight enemies. As the next bishop, I must set an example.” Saint Prayer glared at Ghostly Mashiro.

"This isn't a playground. If you want to play the game of leading from the front, we can find a weaker enemy." Genken Mashiro's face was expressionless, but her words were unusually sharp.

“I don’t need you to teach me! What you can do, I can do too! I can fight too! I’m no weaker than you!” Shengqi clenched his fists even tighter.

“You’re right, Your Grace. When you give it your all, you’re no less capable than the Holy Sisters who are dedicated to battle. But you have a more important mission. Please leave now. The captain and I will handle the rest.”

Genjiro lowered his head respectfully, performing an inappropriate knightly salute to Seiki in such an inappropriate place as the battlefield.

Veins bulged on Sheng Qi's forehead: "Stop being sarcastic with me! I..."

Rumble.

The erupting lava lit up the night sky, and the remaining nun, her body mostly charred, fell from the sky with lifeless eyes.

"Since you guys are having such a good chat, I'll take care of the last one first. How about it? Are you done chatting? Want to spar with me again?" Lava Lantern beckoned with his finger. The giant sword made of rock in his hand had disappeared, replaced by a huge blade of flowing lava.

"..." Genken Mashiro raised the candlestick in his hand and silently aimed it at the molten mountain lantern in mid-air.

Lava Lantern nodded repeatedly, grinning heartily: "Yeah, that's right. Anyway, you all seem to be here for me. But it's a bit of a pity. I haven't really enjoyed the battle yet, and you're destined not to get anything you want from me."

"I'll go with you!" Shengqi swept his hand through the air, and the golden holy sword landed in the girl's hand. Several beams of brilliant golden holy light condensed behind Shengqi, transforming into several pairs of huge wings of light, protecting himself and Xuyan Zhenbai within them.

Genki glanced at Seiki out of the corner of his eye, then looked at the target of this trip, Lava Lantern, who was waiting in the air for him to make his move.

Despite her reluctance, Gen Ken Mashiro gritted her teeth and squeezed out a single word.

"it is good!"

……

In recent days, there has been an unusually large number of topics circulating in the church, which has provided the nuns, who usually have little entertainment, with many opportunities to pass the time.

"Have you heard the news lately? The nuns of the Holy Church actually failed their mission this time. This is the first time in history, right? It is said that the captain was seriously injured and has not fully recovered yet. Have you noticed that she has not shown up yet?"

"I know some inside information. This time, the Holy Maiden personally led the team, and almost all the nuns of the Holy Temple were mobilized. There were several of them who had mastered the Divine Release technique, but that corrupted magical girl defeated them all without even using the Divine Release technique."

"That's not all. This is what I heard, and I can't guarantee it's true. Apparently, after defeating everyone else, that corrupted magical girl did nothing and just left. That doesn't make sense, does it? Aren't corrupted magical girls all extremely evil? Shouldn't they be wiped out completely?"

"The version I heard is a little different. Do you know that Lady Xuyan? It's said that she fought that corrupted magical girl all by herself, not only protecting her other companions and giving them time to retreat, but also risking her life to protect the Holy Maiden, ensuring that the Holy Maiden was unharmed even on such a fierce battlefield."

The sources of information are varied. It may be the stories of passersby who accidentally glimpsed magical girls fighting on the street, the information that the parties involved accidentally revealed when they were complaining, or it may just be the associations that people can't help but make because of the strange things that have happened recently.

The nuns used information gathered from all over the place to try their best to reconstruct the truth of what happened.

They weren't just gossiping; this first-ever defeat had shaken the invincible legend of the nuns and even the very foundation of the church. The nuns wanted to know the church's intentions, their situation, and their future.

Some people care, but others have no interest in it at all.

In the single room, Seiki idly fanned the white steam rising from the steaming porridge with her palm, watching Genji Mashiro lying on the bed covered in bandages, staring at the ceiling.

Seeing that Genki Mashiro hadn't made a move for a long time, Seiki couldn't help but reach out her finger and poke one of the few places on Genki Mashiro's waist that wasn't wrapped in bandages.

"Gen Mashiro, why are you so unhappy? Many people say that you have become a hero and that you are the next leader of the Sisters of the Holy Church. You used to worry that your power was not given by Him, but now you have proven your strength and your ideas. Shouldn't you be happy?"

Genjiro rolled her eyes and glared at Seiki, her swirling pupils seeming to say, "Don't bother me."

Although Mashiro Urouge doesn't seem to mean it that way, that's what Seiki thinks!

This guy definitely isn't thinking about his own good, after all, she's never been able to keep her mouth shut about him!

Xu Yan Zhenbai glanced at Sheng Qi again, as if she could see through his thoughts of plotting something bad, and spoke helplessly.

“Your Excellency, that’s just what they say, it doesn’t represent the truth. You should know that seeing is believing, and blindly believing those rumors will not help you in managing the church in the future. At the very least, you should learn to distinguish what is true.”

“I can tell for myself, and I was also a witness at the time. In my opinion, what they said is absolutely right.” Seiki crossed her arms, clearly dissatisfied with what Genki Mashiro had said.

Genken Mashiro didn't argue with Seiki, but instead asked, "I don't see anything wrong with those rumors?"

"You protected me from that corrupted magical girl, that's true, isn't it?"

"That's because you are the Holy Maiden, the future Bishop. Since you are participating in this operation with us, each of us has a responsibility to protect your safety."

"But only you protected me. No one else did. Only you did."

"That's because everyone else was already on the ground and couldn't get up. Apart from you and me, there was no one else who was capable of fighting at that time."

“Your captain, she’s also capable of fighting! She didn’t care about me! And you were also able to successfully protect me. Others might not have been able to withstand several attacks from that corrupted magical girl, but you could. You withstood so many blows… You lasted much longer than your captain. You held on until everyone else retreated.”

"Even so, I still couldn't defeat her. Also, I need to correct something. My intention was to protect your safety, but your own strength is also considerable, so you protected yourself. Therefore, you don't need to thank me."