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

Ultimately, Yuuki Yukari and Tsukimi Rie are just friends with no personal relationship. Their relationship is not that close. They only don't put a lock on the door because they know each other, but in essence, they do not interfere with each other.

Before going to work at noon, Miya Miyashita went to greet Yuuki Yuuki. Tsukimi Rie also went to Yuuki Yuuki's room after returning from get out of class and brought her some trendy snacks. However, Yuuki Yuuki said that she was fine despite their concern.

After all, what happened made it understandable that Yuuki Yukino was upset. Unlike Miyashita Mia and Tsukimi Rie, she hadn't come to this unfamiliar city with someone else, and she had no one to support her. It would indeed take her some time to recover.

In the following days, Tsukimi Rie and Miyashita Mia did pay a little more attention to Yuuki Yukino's mood. Although there wasn't much they could do, they could still bring Yuuki Yukino some snacks that might cheer her up.

The day that really caused the problem was the fourth day after Yuuki Yukino met Tenrai Herika, which was also the day Tsukimi Rie came to Tsukimi City.

Yuuki Yukino didn't get up early that day. When Tsukimi Rie was getting ready for school around 9 a.m., she discovered that Yuuki Yukino hadn't touched the stove.

Yuki Yui always prepares breakfast early in the morning, although she almost never brings it out for them—after all, the two of them have different schedules and tastes, but it is an undeniable fact that Yuki Yui makes breakfast almost every day.

Not only did she not leave her room for breakfast, but Yuuki Yuuki didn't even come out. Her shoes were still neatly placed at the door, and her luggage in the living room remained untouched.

Maybe she just slept in late today, something she hadn't done in a long time. Tsukimi Rie thought, not giving it much thought.

After Miyashita Miya got up, she noticed that Yuuki Yuki didn't seem to be awake yet, but since she still had some time before her afternoon shift, she wasn't in a hurry to wake her up.

When it was around midnight, Yuuki Yuki still hadn't made a move, which made Miyashita Mia feel that something was wrong.

Since Yuuki Yuki's room wasn't locked, Miya Miyashita simply pushed the door open and went in.

Upon entering, Miyashita Miya was stunned by the sight before her.

Everything in the room was normal. A few rays of sunlight shone through the half-drawn curtains onto Yuuki Yuki's desk, illuminating the books and cosmetic bottles on it. The half-finished glass of water on the bedside table reflected the shimmering sunlight. A pair of slippers lay haphazardly on the floor, one of them flipped over.

Outside the window, there were the chirping of insects in early summer after the rain, the shrill honking of car horns, and the cacophony of voices.

Yes, everything is normal, except for Yuuki Eri.

The pink-haired girl looked like a specimen nailed to the bedside by sunlight. Her cherry-colored hair shimmered with a single halo in the dimly lit room with the curtains drawn. One of the straps of her spaghetti strap nightgown had slipped down to her arm, revealing most of her shoulder and a large expanse of skin below her collarbone.

Yuuki Yuki leaned against the headboard in a limp and uncomfortable position.

The light in her eyes had dimmed considerably, and her face looked as if she were dead—or perhaps she had just experienced something that had left her utterly exhausted.

Yuuki Emi's pale skin glistened with the salt crystals left from dried sweat, and her lips were almost devoid of color. If Yuuki Emi hadn't glanced at Miyashita Mia weakly as she entered, Miyashita Mia would have truly suspected that Yuuki Emi had died in the room.

"Yuki Yuuki!" Miya Miya exclaimed in surprise, and immediately took a few quick steps to Yuki Yuuki's bedside. She put one arm around Yuki Yuuki's shoulder and supported most of Yuki Yuuki's weight with her arm.

As soon as Miya Miyashita touched Yuuki Yuki's body, she sensed something was wrong.

Yuuki Yukari was very cold, like a block of ice. Although that's an exaggeration, such body temperature was clearly inappropriate for a person.

Miyashita Miya didn't think too much about it. She helped Yuuki Yuki lie down slowly, and only then did her mind start to work.

This is why Yuuki Yukari won't get out of bed. Something happened to her, and she doesn't even have the strength to call them, let alone get up.

Miyashita Mia's perception ability is actually not bad. Strictly speaking, only a few magical girls who have conducted in-depth research on magic and talented individuals like Koumori have a stronger perception of magic than Miyashita Mia.

This isn't an illness! Miyashita Miya immediately realized the real problem!

The problem lies with the magic power within Yuuki Yukino's body!

Although Yuuki Eri usually keeps her magical energy at a very low level to avoid causing trouble if she goes berserk, she hasn't released much magical energy in the past few days. However, now her magical energy is almost completely drained.

This is not normal, it is extremely abnormal.

The problem can only lie with the true soul of that primordial magical girl within Yuuki Yuuki's body.

Miyashita Miya frowned, trying to find a way to help Yuuki Yuki.

Just then, Yuuki Yuen slightly opened her mouth and let out a low, breathy sound from her throat.

At first, Miya Miya completely ignored Yuuki Yu's voice until she noticed that Yuuki Yu's lips were moving slightly, and then she put her ear close to her.

Yuuki Yuki's voice was very soft, and even though Miyashita Miya put her ear very close, she still couldn't hear the words that Yuuki Yuki seemed to be rolling in her throat.

So Miyashita Mia lowered her center of gravity even further, almost touching Yuuki Yuuki's lips.

This time, she was finally able to hear it, albeit barely.

"Because of Helica, my mind was in turmoil, and my suppression of the power within me weakened. She took the opportunity to try and take over my body, and I couldn't hold on any longer."

The power of magical girls is a very subjective thing; it can be strengthened by the power that erupts from within, or it can be weakened by their lack of self-confidence.

Even Miya Miyashita, who has hardly studied magical girl powers, knows these things, let alone the source of magical girls, the incarnation of the Primordial Darkness, the real Rize Tsukimi.

Taking advantage of Yuuki Yukino's wavering emotions, they seized control of her body, choosing the dead of night to prevent her from even calling for help...

If I hadn't been so curious about what Yuuki Yuki was doing that I came in to take a look, she probably wouldn't have been able to hold on by now.

"Yuki Yuki, what do we do now?" Miyashita Miya was at a loss for what to do.

She has never been a person with her own ideas; otherwise, she wouldn't have attacked innocent students just because she was infected, nor would she have wanted to kidnap Yuuki Yuuki because of her abilities, nor would she have impulsively sought to kill herself by approaching Tenrai Herika and Mizuno Yu.

So right now, Miyashita Mia has no idea what she can do.

"Replenish...replenish mana...I...if I don't have mana, I can't hold on. Mana is...the power of the soul. Give me...replenish mana..." Yuuki Yuen's voice was extremely weak, like a thread that could break at any moment.

Seeing that Yuuki Yuki had become like this, Miyashita Miya did not dare to delay and immediately began to unbutton her clothes.

……

"I'm home! Melia! Didn't you go to work?"

The door was pulled open with a thud, and Rie Tsukimi noticed that Miya Miya's shoes were still left at the door. She couldn't help but call out curiously into the room.

Rie Tsukimi called out several times, but no one responded, which made her even more confused.

The living room was completely empty. In his own room, the door was wide open, but there was no sound and no one was there.

However, Yuuki Yuki's shoes and Tsukimi Rie's shoes were both left at the door, so there was no way the two of them could have gone anywhere else.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, and this strange atmosphere instantly put Tsukimi Rie's vigilance to its peak.

The remaining room is Yuuki Yuki's room.

If Rie Tsukimi's intuition is correct, that is where the answer ultimately lies.

Rie Tsukimi crept closer, calming her breathing.

Just as she was about to step into Yuuki Yuki's room, she found Yuuki Yuki standing at the doorway, looking at her with a subtle, ambiguous expression that was neither a smile nor a frown.

When exactly did she appear there?

More importantly, what does Yuuki Yukino's look mean?

Rie Tsukimi had never seen Yuuki Emi with such an expression before, and alarm bells immediately went off in her mind.

Behind Yuuki Yuki, Miyashita Mia lay there helplessly. Even though she was mostly hidden by Yuuki Yuki's body, it was clear that Miyashita Mia's clothes were tattered, indicating that something had just happened.

Could it be that the two of them secretly... while I was away from home?

No, impossible. Although Miyashita Mia's desires are a little strong, she is not the kind of person who would cheat, and Yuuki Yukino is not the kind of person who would do such a thing.

When Tsukimi Rie slowly raised her head again and looked at Yuuki Emi's subtle expression, an extremely terrifying thought, along with a bone-chilling cold, pierced through her spine, rushed straight to her brain, and shocked her nerves.

And the next second.

Whoosh.

puff.

Yuuki Yukino's hand and Tsukimi Rie's body moved almost at the same time.

Yuuki Yukina reached out to grab Tsukimi Rie, but missed. Tsukimi Rie immediately transformed and escaped from Yuuki Yukina's side.

Yuuki Yukino raised her delicate eyes and glanced at Tsukimi Rie again, their eyes briefly meeting as Tsukimi Rie was rapidly retreating.

Rie Tsukimi seemed to see a darkness, unlike anything she had ever heard of or seen, lurking around Yuuki Yukino, spitting out its cold, sinister tongue at her.

Chapter 269 Before the Expedition

"She's incredibly strong... I've never seen such a powerful magical girl before. Her speed, strength, and abilities... she completely overwhelms me in every way. I can't even imagine how I managed to escape from Yuuki Yuuki's clutches."

As Tsukimi Rie spoke of these things, she still had a lingering fear on her face, as if the Yuuki Eri she had seen back then was right in front of her.

Upon hearing that Yuuki Yukino had gone berserk, the girls' nerves were on edge, as this was exactly the situation they had feared most.

In the entire private cinema room, apart from the ghostly screams on the big screen, the girls were eerily quiet.

“I don’t mean to offend you, but I’d like to know, if Yuuki Yui can completely overwhelm you, how did you manage to escape?” Koumori raised her hand.

After all, Tenrai Herika and Tsukimi Rie were once senior and junior colleagues. Seeing Koumari's aggressive questioning, she took a slight breath and shielded Tsukimi Rie from the problem: "I don't understand, is this really that important?"

“It’s very important.” Hong Moli nodded vigorously.

Herika sees Koumori as someone who won't cause trouble unnecessarily, and even someone who, like Mizuno Yu, can consider the bigger picture. Since Koumori has said so, Herika has decided to be patient.

Can you explain your reasoning?

“Sure.” Hong Moli answered readily: “I know about Yuuki Yuen’s strength. During our fight just now, I also got a general idea of ​​her strength. Although we have the advantage in numbers, even considering her individual strength, I don’t think she can escape from Yuuki Yuen so easily—I mean, without paying much of a price.”

Hong Moli paused slightly at this point, then glanced at the expressions of the various magical girls in the room. Seeing that no one expressed any objection, she continued.

"I might be being a bit blunt, but it's not a bad thing for everyone to be more open. The fact that she was able to escape from Yuuki Yuki and run all the way back to Moonsea City means either she's hiding something from us, or she might even have some bad intentions; or Yuuki Yuki deliberately let her go. Of course, when I say Yuuki Yuki, I don't just mean Yuuki Yuki herself, but also Yuuki Yuki who was controlled by the Primordial Darkness. In short, I'm referring to this body."

Baqi interjected, "Was it really necessary to let her go on purpose?"

“For example, what if one of them wants to trick us into going to Hoshimi City?” Mizuno Yu continued, following Koumori’s train of thought.

“But how could we not go when we know that Yuuki might be in trouble?” Nishio Reki retorted, which made Tsukimi Rie look at Nishio Reki with a more subtle expression, as if she was wondering why Yuuki was such an absolute core member.

“It’s possible that Yuuki knew we were going, so she sent someone back to warn us. That’s certainly a possibility. I agree with Mari’s idea.” Hyakki Chiyu also joined the discussion.

For a while, everyone was talking at once, and the discussion was very lively, but no conclusion was reached for a long time.

Just then, Rie Tsukimi stood up from the sofa and turned to face everyone: "That's not how it is."

The girls who were discussing the matter all fell silent, wanting to hear what Tsukimi Rie had to say.

"Actually, the situation was like this: after I sensed Yuuki Yukino's power after her transformation, I immediately ran out. That power was terrifying. If I didn't leave quickly, our place would be razed to the ground."

Rie Tsukimi then described it in more detail.

"I was running away the whole time, but the main reason I was able to escape was that Mia used her last bit of magic to transform and temporarily hold off Yuuki Yuki. She also told me to quickly find someone to help, because the two of us alone couldn't stop Yuuki Yuki."

“This is what Mia said at the time: ‘I saw that Yuuki Yuki was in a very bad state and her magic power was completely depleted. I thought that Yuuki Yuki really needed magic power, but actually Yuuki Yuki had depleted her magic power to prevent herself from going berserk. At that time, I took it upon myself to replenish her magic power, which actually replenished her magic power while she was berserk. So you must find someone who can suppress Yuuki Yuki.’”

"It was Mia who first suggested helping me. At the time, I was only focused on escaping and didn't want to let Mia down, so I didn't dare to look back. But Mia did help me temporarily stop Yuuki Yuki. I found a place to undo my transformation and then took the train directly to Tsukishiro City. If I wanted to find someone to help me, you guys who know Yuuki Yuki best are the most suitable."

Miyashita Mia's words made perfect sense, and although Koumori still had some doubts, she accepted them anyway.

The next topic became how to save Yuuki Yukino.

That's right, the question of whether or not to save Yuuki was skipped over. All the magical girls assumed that they had to go to Hoshimi City to stop Yuuki, who might have gone berserk.