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

She might be angry, sad, self-deceiving, or hysterical... Even if Yuuki Tamaki isn't like that, this matter is of great importance, and Nishio Reki can't speculate based on his usual experience.

But now that her younger sister is missing, Tamaki Yuuki doesn't show those emotions in front of him; instead, she comforts herself.

Just thinking about it made Nishio Reki's eyes well up with tears again.

……

The day after the riots, the entire city of Yuehai was in a semi-shutdown state. Various companies chose to take temporary leave, schools had to suspend classes, and the number of shops open on the street was much less than the previous day.

Even if it's not quite a case of everything needing to be rebuilt, Yuehai City does need to pause briefly to properly tidy itself up, and the bustling people of the entire city need to regain their confidence in the future before they can move forward.

Since it was a riot caused by magical girls, and undoubtedly the largest and longest-lasting magical girl incident in the history of Moonsea City, the number of casualties was naturally not small.

Perhaps it needs to be revised: that night there were only the injured, but no one died as a result.

However, the fact that no one died does not mean that no one went missing. Children who got separated from their families, pedestrians buried under the rubble, or unfortunate people who were completely destroyed in the magical girls' attack and therefore not counted as casualties are all possible.

Over the next few days, the missing persons were gradually found, but one name remained missing from the records.

The missing person's name is Yuuki Yukino.

　For a long time to come, this name will continue to exist.

Chapter 248 Stagnation

Starting from the third day after Yuuki Yuuki's disappearance, the situation and the girls' thoughts began to undergo some subtle changes.

The reason why Baqi and Herika were so anxious when Yuki Yuki turned to leave was because they knew the reason for Yuki Yuki's drastic change in personality.

The darkest magic existing in the primordial darkness altered Yuuki Yukino's personality, making her even more dangerous.

If they leave it alone, Yuuki Yui might do something that would turn the entire Moonsea City upside down.

Any magical girl who has heard Nishio Reki recount her past reincarnations knows, to some extent, just how destructive Yuuki Yukino is.

The girls couldn't even begin to imagine what Yuuki Yukino, who had gone berserk because of Nyarlathotep, would become now that she controlled all the Primordial Darkness.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be frantically searching everywhere for any clues related to Yuuki Yuki.

They searched the school, home, the coffee shop where she worked, and places where Yuuki Yuuki often appeared, and even almost every hotel in Tsukishima City, but Yuuki Yuuki was nowhere to be found.

They also tried reporting the incident to the police and requesting their help, and they did so immediately.

But at the time when Yuehai City had suffered such great destruction, the police really didn't have time to divert their attention to an ordinary girl.

Even though the girls all knew that Yuuki Yukari was no ordinary girl and could really bring destruction to Tsukimi City, they couldn't tell the police about this, so this storyline had to be left unresolved.

But after Yuuki Yuki had been missing for three whole days, the girls began to vaguely realize that something was wrong.

If Yuuki Yui wanted to do something underhanded, three days should have been enough time for her to prepare. Besides, Yuuki Yui had no reason to disappear for three days to make any preparations.

Of course, nothing is absolute. Yuuki Yukari might really be hiding somewhere, preparing for her plan to overthrow Moonsea City, and that plan might actually take a lot of time.

However, many people believe that Yuuki Eri's departure was due to her own subjective desire; she needed sufficient personal space.

If Yuuki Yuuki has had enough time to be alone and has thought things through, she will definitely return to everyone.

Many people think this way.

So the search for Yuuki Yuki slowed down for the next week, and the girls hoped that Yuuki Yuki would appear in front of them one morning and tell them that she was alright.

But that dream was never realized, and Yuuki Yuki truly vanished without a trace.

Her social media accounts hadn't been logged in, her phone was off, and she couldn't be reached by phone. It seemed that Yuki Yuki had already nipped any possible way to find them in the bud, which made everyone even more convinced that Yuki Yuki might be deliberately avoiding seeing them.

In fact, they had also registered missing person notices for Yuuki Yuuki in the city. In this digital age, as long as Yuuki Yuuki accidentally showed her face to someone, as long as someone responded to the missing person notice, the girls would receive the news immediately.

Even if it's pointless, they can't let go of any possibility, and besides, they'll feel at ease after doing everything they can.

A week later, there was still no news of Yuuki Yuki, and the girls continued to search for her relentlessly.

In fact, during this week, some people, and more than one person, had already thought of the worst-case scenario.

Yuuki Yukino may have already died in some unknown corner.

But no one mentioned it, and they couldn't possibly mention it. As long as there was even the slightest possibility, the girls absolutely could not give up hope.

Although the hope is slim, it is like the last glimmer of light in the darkness. If even that is extinguished, not only will Yuuki Eri be unable to be found, but something inexplicable within the girls will also seem to disappear.

Some people have wondered if Yuuki Yukino has used the power she gained to travel through time and leave, but this possibility has been denied by Nishio Reki.

The coffin was essential for time travel; it was the wand of the original magical girl and also a vessel. Now it has been destroyed, and Yuuki Yuuki can no longer use it to return to the past.

Another important argument is the related reasoning about the time anchor. The specific reasoning is extremely complex, but simply put, if Yuuki Eri or the time anchor no longer exists in this world line, then the entire world line will come to a standstill.

Therefore, the final conclusion is that as long as they can continue to move and think, it means that Yuuki Yuki cannot travel through time.

Time continued to pass.

Herlica became even more irritable, but after each outburst, she would grit her teeth and apologize before embarking on her journey to find Yuuki Eri again.

Nishio Reki often frequents the areas that Yuuki Yuuki frequents, asking people nearby if they have seen a girl who looks like Yuuki Yuuki, but he almost always gets negative answers. Even if there are a few pieces of information that could become clues, in the end it all comes to nothing.

In the past, Yuuki Yuuki searched for Nishio Reki throughout the city in this way, but now their positions have been completely reversed.

Inuyama Tomoe was the least active; most of the time she was alone somewhere, lost in thought, trying to reconstruct Yuki Yuki's thoughts from the past year based on her and Yuki Yuki's experiences.

She always boasted that she and Yuuki Yuuki were on the same wavelength, but she had no idea where Yuuki Yuuki would go or what she would do. Although she had a few flashes of inspiration, the final result was not satisfactory.

At first, Baqi was able to think calmly, but as time went on, she gradually began to sit there reminiscing about her relationship with Yuuki Yuuki.

And so, another week passed, and another week went by; a month flew by in the blink of an eye.

At school, Yuuki Yuuki is described by her classmates as a victim of the magical girl incident.

The girls would occasionally talk about a pink-haired girl from the next class. She was gentle, very popular, and used to be the subject of gossip, but she never got angry with anyone because of the rumors.

Nobody talks about Yuuki Yukino's gossip anymore; when she's mentioned, people mostly sigh.

No one knows whether Minato Nana knows Yuuki Yuki's identity. Perhaps Yuuki Tamaki told her something, so Minato Nana has never contacted anyone else, let alone inquired about anything related to Yuuki Yuki.

Nishio Reki had met Yuuki Tamaki several times. Although Yuuki Tamaki always treated her warmly and with impeccable manners, there was always a faint sense of sadness lingering between her brows.

Over time, the girls even began to distrust each other.

Suspicion > Reimu Yi Er @ Lin Shan Er 0 < The origin of the name "Finji Dam" is an unintentional remark made in the Rainbow Club's activity room during a lunch break.

"Could it be that Yuuki-senpai secretly contacted one of us and has been hiding until now?" That's what Sakura Hanako said at the time. It was just a pure sentiment, without any other meaning.

Later, Tenrai Herika pointed out that Inuyama Tomoe did not often go out to see Yuuki Eri, and that she was alone most of the time. This undeniable fact, in this context, became a blatant accusation.

Then, Baqi said that Nishio Reki and Yuuki Yuuki were childhood friends and might have some unknown secrets. Moreover, Yuuki Yuuki might have said or done something to her before the two of them arrived.

Of course, Nishio Reki wouldn't admit it, but instead of shifting the blame back to Tenrai Herika, she unleashed a furious tirade on the two of them.

The three of them argued for the entire lunch break, and even though Lin Jiezi and Sakura Hanako tried to break them up, it was to no avail.

In the end, everyone realized that such a thing could not possibly happen, and their anxiety about Yuuki Yuki's disappearance was genuine.

This argument was merely an outlet for the girls' pent-up emotions that they had been suppressing recently.

At the same time, they also realized that Yuuki Yuuki's departure was not just the departure of one person, but also the departure of an extremely important part of her life.

Although Yuuki Yuki didn't do anything while she was around, the girls can no longer get used to a world without her.

One and a half months after Yuuki Yuuki disappeared.

Perhaps it could be called desperate measures, or perhaps it could be described as a sudden inspiration; the girls set their sights on someone who was almost impossible to connect with Yuuki Yukino anymore.

But they actually gained some unexpected information from there.

Chapter 249 Recent Situation

In the reception room of the Holy Age Academy.

The reception room has only six single sofas: two facing the door for the main guest, and two more on each side, a very standard layout.

Sitting in the main seat, Sheng Shiyin looked much more haggard than before, both mentally and physically, but she was still much better than when she was first rescued.

At this moment, she was wearing an ordinary St. Eternal Academy uniform, and she had slumped her back completely into the sofa. Looking at her thin and sunken cheeks, no one would feel that she was being impolite because of her behavior.

Kuroba Laishi stood respectfully beside Seishin, his gaze never leaving her for even a moment.

The group of visitors sitting in other seats in the meeting room was both unexpected and within Sheng Shiyin's expectations.

Sitting next to Seishion, Inuyama Tomoe placed her hands on her knees, leaned forward slightly, and kept her gaze fixed on Seishion. On the same side of the chairs as Inuyama Tomoe sat Nishio Reki and Koumori.

The two chairs on Saint Shiyin's side were completely empty; there were only these five people in the entire reception room.

Originally, the position of Hong Moli was supposed to be reserved for Tian Lei Helika, but Tian Lei Helika said that if she went, she would easily mess things up because of her personality, so she waited outside.

Hong Moli should have been on the host's side, as she was the one who brought the group to the reception room, but because of her position, she sat on Baqi's side.

Hyakki Chiyu had originally come along, but since Helica hadn't come in, he stayed by Helica's side for the time being, partly out of concern that she might get lost, and partly so that they could look after each other.

"I never expected that you would come looking for me."

Saint Shiyin scooted forward, stretching out her body as she leaned against the sofa back.

Inuyama Tomoe and Nishio Reki exchanged glances, but neither of them spoke.

Saint Shion knew they were waiting for her to speak. They had been enemies before, and although this could be considered a formal visit, formalities would only slow down their communication.

Of course, Inuyama Tomoe and the others didn't want to come looking for Seishin, and Seishin also disliked receiving these people.

So Saint Shion skipped the unnecessary pleasantries: "Where's Yuuki Yukino? If we want to settle accounts, isn't she going to show up herself?"

Inuyama Tomoe frowned slightly.

Saint Shion's words didn't sound like she was kicking someone when they were down, but rather like she was certain that she came to Saint Yuu Academy to seek retribution for the past.

Saint Shion, did you not know that Yuuki Yukino has gone missing?

“Xiaoyuan has gone missing,” Nishio Reki replied.

This answer is not good, in fact, it is very bad. In this situation, Nishio Reki should not have been so frank, as it would have made it seem as if he had shown weakness to the other party first.

However, since the other party was Sheng Shiyin, it was actually harmless, and Sheng Shiyin would always make an even more inappropriate reaction.

"What is that?!" Sheng Shiyin jumped up from the sofa, her face full of disbelief.

Hong Mali glanced at Inuyama Tomoe for his opinion, and seeing that Tomoe gave her an affirmative look, she briefly recounted the story of Yuuki Yukino's disappearance.

Hearing this, Sheng Shiyin became even more agitated. She rested her hands on her knees, seemingly deep in thought, but her disheveled appearance and the beads of sweat rolling down her forehead made her look utterly lacking in authority.

From the moment Seishin learned that Inuyama Tomoe and her group were coming to visit, she had been thinking about how they might start the conversation, what they might say, how she should respond, and how she should answer each of their questions.

The moment she heard that Yuuki Yuki was missing, all of Seishin's plans were disrupted. Seishin sat there for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence, and could only use silence to cover up her wavering.