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

Seeing Helica scrutinizing him, Kenchi asked, "Is there something you need?"

"It's nothing really, and I wasn't planning on talking to you about it. I just wanted to ask you a question."

"go ahead."

Why did you leave the Holy Age Academy?

……

One minute ago.

The roaring chainsaw sliced ​​through Tsukimi Rie's emerald crystal claws, forcibly pressing her towards the ground.

A faint green light still lingered around Koumori, the magic aided by Sakura Hanako taking effect, making her even more powerful in suppressing Tsukimi Rie.

The chains beside Inuyama Tomoe immediately wrapped tightly around Tsukimi Rie's body, along with her sea snake, making it impossible for Tsukimi Rie to resist.

Rie Ichigami fell from the sky and stood firmly on the square below, struggling to resist the combined pressure from Koumori and Tomoe Inuyama.

Beneath their feet, emerald green magical light spread out like a volcanic eruption, and sharp crystal clusters rose from the ground.

But as soon as they appeared, they were precisely pierced by two katana, the growth of the crystal clusters abruptly halted, and then they turned into fragments.

Hyakki Senyou slowly lowered the hands that had thrown the twin swords and walked step by step toward Tsukimi Rie, with gray smoke appearing and disappearing beneath her feet.

"Tsukimi Rie, what are you trying to do!" Baqi rolled her eyes and glanced at the crystal cluster growing under her feet, tightening the chains even more.

"You...know me?" Tsukimi Rie frowned, and the giant claws that were wrestling with Koumori stopped exerting force, letting the chainsaw cut through its claws, the saw blade almost grazing its neck and penetrating its skin.

With Tsukimi Rie no longer hostile, Baqi saw no need to continue pressuring her. She tossed aside the matchlock gun in her hand, crossed her arms, and said, "Nonsense, why would I save you if I didn't know you?"

"That seems to be the case. Senior Tsukimi probably hasn't fought us before. The only one she knows, Senior Tenryu, stayed behind to stop that Holy Temple nun, which is why she attacked us like this." Sakura Hanako provided an analysis for Tsukimi Rie.

That's true. After her fall from grace, one of the few times Rie Tsukimi fought was at the top of the Moon Sea Tower with Yuuki Yuuki. Apart from that, she didn't encounter any other magical girls.

Actually, there's another one. As a divine deity, Nishio Reki has had a lot of dealings with Tsukimi Rie, but coincidentally, Nishio Reki is currently in a coffee shop with Hayashi Mustardko, waiting for news from other people, and is not present at the scene.

Therefore, it's understandable that Rie Tsukimi instinctively attacked Tomoe Inuyama, who had joined the battle, when she saw a group of magical girls rushing over.

At this moment, Tsukimi Rie seemed to have realized what was happening.

"Senior Tianlei, are you referring to Tianlei Helica?"

"Yeah, besides that short, blond guy, whose surname is so cringeworthy?" Baqi pouted.

"So...you really are Yuuki Yukino's companions?" Tsukimi Rie's voice was filled with disbelief, and even trembled slightly at one point.

“That’s certainly true,” Mizuno Yu nodded in agreement.

"Please!" Tsukimi Rie suddenly shouted. Her legs, which were tightly bound by Inuyama Tomoe, went weak and she knelt down in front of Koumori and Inuyama Tomoe, startling the two of them so much that they involuntarily took two steps back.

Especially for Koumori, if she had reacted any slower and hadn't immediately removed her chainsaw, Tsukimi Rie would have had a large gash on her neck.

But Rie Tsukimi didn't care about any of that. Instead, she tilted her head back and looked up at the group of magical girls.

"Please! Go save Mia, save Yuuki Yukino!"

Chapter 266 Seeking Help

The return of Tsukimi Rie to Tsukimi City has caused quite a stir.

Whether others know Tsukimi Rie is irrelevant, but after everything that has happened, for a fallen magical girl to dare to release magic so extravagantly at the peak of Tsukimi City is no different from pulling a tiger's tail.

There were actually quite a few magical girls present. Even aside from the group from Nijisanji and Kenmochi who made a bold appearance, many magical girls remained on the sidelines.

After Inuyama Tomoe temporarily "pacified" Tsukimi Rie, she flew directly back to the high point of the Moon Sea Tower, twirling her matchlock gun with one hand to spread the word.

"All you magical girls here, if you have no objections, we'll take this person with us. But if anyone has a different opinion, I'll be your opponent from now on."

Click.

Baqi's finger was on the trigger of the matchlock gun, the barrel pointing at a magical girl who had not yet appeared in the shadows. The magical girl was so frightened that she almost screamed.

Immediately afterwards, the dark muzzle of Baqi's gun moved away from her direction, but Baqi's gaze, still fixed on that direction, seemed even more terrifying than the gun muzzle, making the magical girl being looked at freeze in place, too afraid to move.

"Hey." Baqi grinned, revealing a bright smile, but no one doubted that Baqi would clear away the troublesome magical girls with a smile as bright as a little sun—in the battle of Moonsea City, Baqi had demonstrated strength commensurate with that.

"So, I'll give you one minute. If you're not planning to leave, I'll assume you want to join in the fun."

As soon as Baki finished speaking, the magical girl who had just been pointed at by her musket breathed a sigh of relief, abandoned the commotion, and turned to leave.

"I'm leaving, I'm not joining in this fun!"

As the magical energy disappeared into the distance, several whispers immediately arose around them.

"Yeah, this corrupted magical girl is amazing. We're no match for her. We'd better leave as soon as possible."

"I thought I could just watch the excitement, but I think I'd better not get involved myself."

"Let's go, let's go, let's not provoke this bad luck."

Several more magical girls turned and left, and Baqi felt that the magic power lingering around her had decreased considerably.

Baqi turned her neck, her eyes glancing intentionally or unintentionally over the other dark spots where magical girls were still hiding, as if a teacher standing on a podium was looking for someone to answer a question.

Under Baqi's gaze, the magical girls who had been hoping for a lucky break felt immense pressure. After hesitating for a moment, they all turned and left.

Seeing that most of the chaotic magic around them had disappeared, the remaining few Baqi didn't bother to point them out one by one. They randomly pulled the trigger in a direction behind them, and a scream rang out behind them. Then, several more people sped away from the scene.

……

Some time later, in a secluded private cinema in Yuehai City.

Hong Moli walked in from outside carrying two bottles of juice and sat down next to Bai Gui Qianyou.

After sitting down, Hong Moli placed the juice on the table, glanced at the horror movie playing on the screen, and turned to Inuyama Baki.

"Big sister, there are no magical girls around anymore, and no one followed us here, so don't worry."

Inuyama Tomoe nodded: "Okay, that's good. You've worked hard too."

Then, Baqi looked around. There were many people sitting in this private cinema, but almost no one's eyes were actually on the movie playing. Instead, they were all looking at Baqi herself.

It was no coincidence that everyone gathered here; their purpose was quite clear: to see Tsukimi Riko, who had suddenly returned to Tsukimi City.

Everyone has heard of Tsukimi Rie's glorious deeds, but very few people have actually met her. Apart from Helica, Mizuno Yu, Hayashi Mustard, and Yuuki Yuuki, who were eating barbecue at the time, no one else had any dealings with her.

Therefore, it's understandable that people don't trust Rie Tsukimi. Even if Rie Tsukimi is asking others for help, it's still better to be careful not to take her to Nana Minato's coffee shop.

So this convenient public place became their temporary meeting room. With Baqi's scare and Hong Moli checking around from behind, it was guaranteed that almost no one would follow.

If someone can be both unafraid of Baki and able to evade Koumori's detection, then that magical girl must be quite powerful, and if she really wants to hear something, she can't be stopped.

"Let's wait a little longer, there are still some people who haven't arrived yet," Baqi said, turning to look at the movie playing on the small screen.

Ten minutes later, the door to the private cinema room was pushed open again, and Nishio Reki arrived late with Hayashi Keiko.

Rie Tsukimi's situation reflects Yuki Yuki's situation. Knowing Yuki Yuki's current condition, it is absolutely impossible for Reki Nishio and Mustard Hayashi to be absent.

Upon seeing Nishio Reki enter, Tsukimi Rie's usually unchanging gaze suddenly shifted, but she ultimately remained silent.

A hint of embarrassment crossed Nishio Reki's face. Her last meeting with Tsukimi Rie was near the Moon Sea Tower, but before that, it was Nishio Reki who had caused Tsukimi Rie to fall into darkness and brought them to this state.

Although Nishio Reki was acting according to the past script, she was still the one who did these things herself, so it's understandable that she would feel a little awkward seeing her again.

"Ahem, um." Baqi cleared her throat, restoring the expressions of Nishio Reki and Tsukimi Rie, who had been glancing at each other from time to time, to their usual state, which also attracted everyone's attention: "So, now that everyone is here, can we begin?"

"no problem."

"Let's begin."

"it is good."

The girls responded a few times, then all looked at Tsukimi Rie.

Rie Tsukimi was seated near Helica Tenrai, who was not only the only person Rie Tsukimi knew well, but also a safety net; if Rie Tsukimi made any unusual moves, Helica could react accordingly.

Faced with a group of strangers, including a mysterious woman who had indeed helped her but had ulterior motives, Tsukimi Rie appeared somewhat hesitant and awkward.

But she didn't linger for long. After biting her lip, she asked the others, "Where should I begin?"

Although Tsukimi Rie appeared anxious, she was very cooperative with the other magical girls, indicating that although something had happened in Hoshimi City, the situation was not extremely urgent.

Of course, there is also the possibility that Hoshimi City is not close to Tsukimi City. If something happens, it would be too late for them to rush over now. It would be better to take this opportunity to clarify things.

Ba Qi, who was hosting, thought for a moment and said, "If you can, let's start from the beginning. How did you end up with Xiao Yuan, and what happened afterward?"

Without thinking, Tsukimi Rie touched her chin and then sat up straight on the sofa.

“Last year, before graduation, Mia and I left Moonsea City… I’m not sure why, but a lot of things happened. We ended up settling down in Hoshimi City. Mia found a job at a bar, while I had actually passed the entrance exam for Origami University in Hoshimi City before graduation and am now a regular university student. Back then… well, I actually went to the vicinity of the university a few months earlier to familiarize myself with the environment.”

Everyone already knew perfectly well the reasons why Tsukimi Rie couldn't say, so no one asked.

However, it was a bit unexpected that Tsukimi Rie was actually attending university normally; everyone thought the two of them had gone off to wander the world.

"After changing our living environment, the magic within us calmed down a bit. Although we could still feel the filth slowly eroding us, the rate of erosion would be much slower if we intentionally controlled it. We really have to thank the mysterious Faust for his help."

Upon hearing the name Faust, both Helica and Baki couldn't help but turn to look at Nishio Reki.

This was the cringeworthy name Nishio Reki gave himself when he was hiding his identity, and it was exclusive to his limited-edition form with a disposable paper bag over his head.

Nishio Reki shrank back, partly because the way he was addressed sounded too shameful now, and partly because the fact that Tsukimi Rie and Miyashita Mia could share the filth, with one taking the other's place, was actually caused by Nya's ability.

On one timeline, Yuuki Yukino once discussed and conducted an experiment with Tsukimi Rie, so there is still some of Nya's aura in Tsukimi Rie's soul bubble. Therefore, another Nishio Reki has been using it as a gimmick to trick Tsukimi Rie and Miyashita Mia into cooperating.

Finding a way to control corruption... wouldn't be bad, would it?

It's quite impressive that they were able to find a way to suppress the effects of corruption.

"So for a while afterward, we were all quite well-behaved, living in a city without magical girls and with almost no magic at all. It really gave us a sense of relief and letting go of everything."

This content has nothing to do with Yuuki Yuuki, but it is, after all, background information, so people will just listen to it without thinking.

But what follows is the important part.

"Although we know that a lot has happened in Moonsea City, and we can see it online, such as the heavy rain caused by the Pink Demon and her threatening letters, the great destruction at the festival, the commotion at St. Eternal Academy on the eve of Christmas, and what happened on Christmas Day, we know about it, but we don't intend to interfere. Even if we wanted to, it might be too late."

"However, the entire Moonsea City was thrown into chaos a while ago, which is no small matter. We've lived in Moonsea City for so long, and we've never seen such a large-scale operation. Besides, although we're in Hoshimi City now, in a few days, after I graduate from university, I won't be a magical girl anymore, and we'll have to come back eventually. We can't just stand by and watch Moonsea City fall into chaos. So, after discussing it, we decided to come back directly."

Rie Tsukimi spoke with absolute certainty and in an incredibly sincere tone, leaving no room for criticism.

If any magical girl present were in another city and learned of the incident in Moonsea City, she would definitely want to return, provided she could potentially change the situation.

"I remember it very clearly. It was almost bedtime. Meiya and I went straight to the station, but there were no direct trains to Moonsea City. So we took the nearest train to the station closest to Moonsea City and decided to fly the rest of the way."

"And it was around that time that the two of us met Yuuki Yukino."

Chapter 267 Her Story in a Foreign Land