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

Yuuki Yukino widened her eyes in slight surprise: "Then how did you get here?"

Besides Yuuki Yuuki, there must be others who know that Yuuki Yuuki is here, otherwise Yuuki Yuuki wouldn't have asked this question.

That person wasn't from Nijisanji, and wasn't even one of their own.

Who hasn't asked everyone yet? Is it Minato Nana? Yuuki Tamaki? Or is it Gon Mashiro who knows the truth but is unwilling to tell everyone?

It wasn't appropriate to think about these things now, so Helica shook off the strange thoughts and answered directly, "I've been looking for you all this time. I've been to many cities, including Rainbow Leaf City, Kazehara City, Seiri City, Kanade City... and here."

"Are you just blindly searching for my tracks like this?" Yuuki Yuen asked again.

“Yes, I didn’t have any clues at all. I was just searching randomly when I sensed a different kind of magic in this place, so I came here. It’s that simple.” Herica’s answer was swift and decisive, without even a moment’s pause.

“I see.” Yuuki Yui nodded, placing her hands, which had been behind her back, in front of her, and grasping her right wrist with her left hand.

Immediately, Yuuki Yukino raised her head: "Herika, I never expected you to go to such lengths for me. You've really had a tough time these past few days."

Helica suddenly felt a lump in her throat, and something seemed to be welling up in her eyes. She forced down the flutter in her chest and said in a slightly trembling voice, "It's nothing. At least, I found you."

“Yes, you found me. That’s really not easy.” Yuuki Yuu nodded repeatedly. “Now that you’ve found me, you can go back.”

Chapter 260 Even so, shall we still go together?

The lightning illuminated Yuuki Yuuki's face before quickly disappearing back into darkness, leaving only Helica with her unpredictable profile and the seemingly endless darkness behind her.

Silence returned, leaving only Helica's murmurs carried away by the wind.

"What do you mean by telling me to go back?"

“Go back to Yuehai City,” Yuuki Yui replied casually.

Helica was momentarily unable to understand what Yuuki Yuki meant; her brain was instinctively refusing to comprehend what the sentence was almost literally saying.

It took a few seconds for Tenrai Herika to finally understand what Yuuki Yuuki meant: "Then... what about you?"

"I will not go back."

Yuuki Yukino's voice was very soft, like a leaf that might be blown away by the wind at any moment, but the firmness in her tone was like a boulder that could not be shaken by anything.

Yuuki Yukino doesn't want to go back with me.

From the moment Helica first met Yuuki, she sensed something was off. At first, she thought there was something wrong with Yuuki herself, but that wasn't the case. There was nothing wrong with Yuuki as a person; the problem was with the thoughts in Yuuki's mind.

At first, Tenrai Herika thought that Yuuki Yukino's unwillingness to cooperate with her was just her own guess, not reality.

Yuuki Yukino may have just not expressed herself clearly, or she may have become a little neurotic after being alone in a foreign land for a month, rather than truly not wanting to go back with him.

But now that Yuuki Yuki has personally admitted it, Helica's suspicions are no longer just guesses, but have become an undeniable reality.

"If you're not planning to go back with me, why did you come to see me?" Herica's voice trembled. The excitement she felt when she first saw Yuuki Yuuki was gradually cooling down, and then it began to heat up in another way, turning into a hidden anger.

“If you don’t see me, you won’t give up. You might keep looking, which will affect your life,” Yuuki Yuuki replied.

"So, you're worried about me?" Helica's tone became even more volatile, as if she could be ignited by her anger at any moment.

“Yes. I don’t want anyone’s life to be seriously affected by my situation. The fact that you came here alone is already a serious disruption.” Yuuki Yuuki readily admitted to Helica’s obviously angry question, which only made Helica’s anger intensify.

If you ask whether there's anything wrong with what Helica Yuuki said, the answer is no.

Although Herlica had temporarily considered giving up, it was due to unavoidable factors such as her lack of funds, not because Herlica truly intended to abandon her search for Yuuki Yuuki.

Even if Helica does return to Moonsea City, it probably won't be long before she runs away again in a fit of pique, embarking on a journey to find Yuuki Yuki, a place she's never been before.

Moreover, Helica had to admit that she had temporarily abandoned her duties as a magical girl in Moonsea City, temporarily given up studying for the entrance exams, and as a good student in terms of grades, she had even stopped going to school and was lying to her family that she was taking extra classes. She had been sleeping in the open all day long without getting a good night's sleep... All this has seriously affected her life.

If Yuuki Yuuki hadn't appeared in front of him, he didn't know how much longer this kind of life would have continued.

When it's time to make a clean break, cutting off unrealistic expectations for the future and accepting reality is an approach that Helica can understand.

However, understanding does not mean that Helica will accept it readily.

"Yuki Yuuki! Stop talking to yourself! You disappeared without a word, then showed up here saying it was for my own good, and now you want to kick me out. Do you think everything will go according to your plan?"

Yuuki kept her lips tightly shut, showing no intention of answering Helica's furious question, leaving Helica feeling powerless, as if she had punched cotton, despite her venting.

"At least... at least you should explain everything to me clearly!"

“Okay.” Yuuki Yui answered very readily this time, which surprised Helica, who had nowhere to vent her anger.

Why is Yuuki Yukino suddenly so easy to talk to at this time?

“I forgot. I should have told you all the information I have. It was my oversight.” Yuuki nodded several more times. “I don’t know where to begin. How about this, just ask me whatever you want to know. There’s nothing I can’t answer.”

Yuuki's cooperation only made Helica unsure of what to do, and her suspicion and wariness towards Yuuki increased: "You're really being this kind?"

"Why not? What I did before was indeed inappropriate. Leaving Moonsea City without a word was my fault, but I'm not the kind of person who says things like, 'It's all fate, I have something I have to accomplish,' right? Xiao Li had no choice back then. If she didn't hide things related to the Primordial, the Primordial would be awakened. But her secrecy was indeed troublesome. If circumstances allowed, I wouldn't want you to suffer because of this."

"Then I should thank you, right?"

"You are welcome."

“You…” Herica’s forehead twitched.

This isn't the time to argue with Yuuki Yukino. I need to understand her reasons for doing this and find a way to persuade her to go back.

Now that things have come to this point, with Yuuki Yukino even appearing in front of him, he'll definitely regret it if he doesn't seize this opportunity.

Helica took a few deep breaths, letting the damp, earthy air fill her lungs and cool down the rising anger in her chest.

"Did you really go looking for Mashiro to commit suicide?"

"Did Genki Mashiro say that?" Yuuki Yuuki asked in return.

"So what if it is?" Helica replied irritably.

"What did she say to you?" Yuuki Yuen asked again.

"Don't answer questions with questions!" Helica shouted angrily, but then honestly recounted what had happened that day.

"Because we couldn't find any trace of you anywhere, we went to find Genken Mashiro. She told us that you wanted to reunite the primordial forces and then completely erase them, so that Moonsea City wouldn't suffer because of your rampage."

"that's it?"

That's all.

"Sigh." Yuuki Yui sighed, "It seems that Gen Urobuchi Mashiro didn't tell you anything."

Helica suddenly became alert: "What do you mean?"

"Sigh." Yuuki Yu's sigh grew louder: "Let me tell you why I left Yuehai City."

Helica nodded, and despite her anxiety, she quietly shut her mouth and listened attentively.

"That night, the filth within me had reached its limit. Then I seemed to see endless darkness surging into my body, staining my soul with pitch black. I don't know what happened next, but I know one thing: that night I lost control again because of my corruption."

"This matter itself is not a big deal. The filth within me has accumulated enough that it's understandable that it would devour me at any time. But wasn't the timing a bit too coincidental? It's as if it deliberately seized the moment when you were least on guard, and the actions of that corrupted me were far too purposeful—directly destroying the primordial wand and then absorbing the mixed primordial power into my body. This cannot be explained by a simple berserk state, unless I wanted to obtain that power, or someone else wanted to obtain that power."

"You know what happened next. You were on the battlefield that day too. Lava Lantern used her power to temporarily suppress my rampage. At that moment, I felt dazed and confused. I wanted to continue sleeping, but I felt that I absolutely could not just fall asleep like that. So I opened my eyes with all my might and temporarily regained control of my body. Or rather, I think it was okay to wake up."

"At the time, I originally planned to immediately deactivate the transformation, but there was a voice in my heart telling me—tear Lin Jiezi apart, take back the power in her hands, and make all the primal power whole again... Although it sounds a bit chuunibyou, it was telling me to let this world full of malice receive its due judgment. As long as that voice existed, I had a very strong impulse in my heart, like a moth seeing a fire, like a person who has been thirsty for days in the desert seeing water, like... an addict who has tasted the marrow seeing narcotics."

"I had no choice, really no. If I didn't leave there quickly, I don't know what I would do. So I just kept flying and flying, flying as far as possible. Later, some unimportant things happened. Anyway, I left Yuehai City to prevent that impulse from completely engulfing me, and also to prevent myself from doing something really terrible."

Herlica nodded several times. Yuuki's reason was reasonable, but this feeling couldn't have arisen out of thin air. There must be some other secrets about Yuuki.

As if she could see through Tenrai Helika's thoughts, Yuuki Yuuki temporarily stopped her narration.

"Herika, are you wondering why I feel this way?"

"Mmm," Helica replied, having fully taken it all in.

"You've had quite a bit of dealing with those corrupted magical girls, haven't you?" Yuuki Yuen asked again.

Herica thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, even excluding the three of you who possess the Three Pillars, and those who were awakened by Asahimi. Inuyama Tomoe, Koumori and the other two, Yumehara Sumireko, Kuroba Kisei, and Senpai... I have indeed seen quite a few corrupted magical girls."

"All the corrupted magical girls have one thing in common: they go berserk when they are affected by the defilement. Although it is called berserk, it is actually just that their minds are affected, and they do some evil and extreme things, but in essence, they are still themselves. Do you remember when I was on the Moon Sea Tower, I used my ability to help Tsukimi Rie cleanse herself of the defilement? She woke up immediately and began to feel guilty for what she had done. And Kuroba Rei also confessed to her actions. As for Koumori, who was corrupted by the defilement after she opened the God Liberation, it was the same."

"Did you notice?" Yuuki asked again, "No matter who they are or what they did, even if the filth in their bodies has been purified, they still have complete memories, and there will be no loss in their memories because of this change."

Yes, that's right, that's exactly how it is. Every time Yuuki Yukari goes into a frenzy, she wakes up with no idea what she did, as if she's become a completely different person.

The only one who can be compared to Yuuki Eri is Yumehara Sumireko. Yumehara Sumireko's personality was completely different before and after she awakened her divine liberation. This was Yumehara Sumireko's method of separating herself from the corruption of darkness, and also a means of self-suppression. However, Yuuki Eri clearly did not do these things.

There is another one, Lin Jiezi, who was possessed by the power of the original magical girl. She can only transform into a fighting machine, and after waking up, she has no idea what happened to her.

Seeing Helica's thoughtful expression, Yuuki knew that she understood what she was talking about, so she continued.

"How exactly I found out and how I deduced it would be a long story, but almost every time I lost control, it was related to the original magical girl—once when I was touched by the empty shell shaped like a mustard seed, and the power of the original flowed into my body; once in your dream, when Nishio Reki accidentally mentioned the original, leading to the invasion of the original; and recently, when I actually touched all the original magic power in the chaotic magic and pulled that power out of Seishin's body."

“Yuki Yuki, you mean…” Helica covered her mouth, both incredulous and feeling that this was the only answer at the moment.

"That's right. As long as the primordial power comes into contact with my soul, or rather my magic, something will be awakened—let's call it awakening for now. That power will invade my body and use it to do many excessive things, just like Lin Jiezi did back then. But in terms of danger, I might be many times more dangerous than Lin Jiezi in this state."

"Then... what exactly is it?" Helica had completely given up on independent thinking and could only follow Yuuki Yuki's train of thought like a wooden puppet, without considering whether there were any loopholes or lies in Yuuki Yuki's words.

"Now that things have come to this point, isn't the answer obvious? The primordial consciousness within Xiao Li has no memories; it's merely a monster with the ability to think that automatically hunts down Nishio Li. As for the primordial power within Lin Jiezi, it relies entirely on instinct. Neither of them truly belongs to the primordial consciousness. Or, to put it another way, they are only a part of the primordial power, lacking the most crucial element."

"The primordial and the primordial darkness are two sides of the same coin. Although they can be divided into two, they lead to the same goal. Shubnigs governs life and corresponds to the primordial body. It is not wrong to call it magic and power. Yog-Sothoth, in addition to the power of space and time, also has omniscient and omnipotent perception and corresponds to the primordial spirit. Because of the spirit, it is able to think and act. The primordial power that chased us before was this part."

At this point, Yuuki Yukina paused slightly: "And finally, what corresponds to my Nyarlathotep is the soul in the narrow sense, the core part that makes up this primordial magical girl. Without the soul and spirit, then the magical girl is just an empty shell after defeat. If you add the spirit, then she is just a beast that only knows how to act on instinct, like Hanzawa Kuriko who went mad before. Only when the soul also returns can it be considered the complete primordial power."

Herica raised her hand, temporarily interrupting Yuuki Yuuki: "Wait a minute, I'm a little confused. Soul...you mean the original magical girl's own soul, which is now inside you? Then it...no, I still don't understand."

"Okay, to put it simply, there is another personality lurking within me. Given the right circumstances, this personality will take over my body and want to use me to restore all the power that once belonged to her."

As Yuuki Yui spoke, she pulled down the collar of her dress slightly, revealing her collarbone. But what Yuuki Yui actually wanted to show was something more inner, something that couldn't be seen with the naked eye.

"In the simplest terms, Rise Tsukimi is the original magical girl who was corrupted. She has existed within me from the very beginning and has always wanted to use my body to become a complete original magical girl again."

“And every time I come into contact with the primordial power, her power will become stronger. Now I can hardly suppress her power. If I were to return to Moonsea City and get close to Lin Jiezi... or rather, the primordial power, she might just wake up and create a tragedy that you cannot stop and do not want to see.”

"I don't know what she will become after she becomes whole again, but for Moonsea City, it will definitely be a disaster, a disaster far worse than what Genki Mashiro did in the past. It is a tragedy that absolutely cannot happen."

Yuuki closed her lips and then looked intently at Helica.

"Helica, even knowing all this, are you still going to make me return to Moonsea City?"

Chapter 261 The Girls' Rainy Season

"I understand, Yuan, I understand everything you said."

Herlica muttered to herself, what Yuuki had told her, though it sounded fantastical, actually made perfect sense when she thought about it carefully.

Yuuki nodded slightly, relieved that Helica was so sensible.

But then, Helica changed the subject.

"But what you're saying is too black and white! You know who the power within you belongs to, and you know how to deal with it. Now we just need a method that will definitely succeed. We can think of a method together. We can hide Lin Jiezi, no, we can hide the primordial power somewhere else. We have many solutions. Why do you have to leave us?"