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

Chapter 283 Following in Her Footsteps

Nishio Reki's words were like a bolt from the blue, leaving all the girls stunned and speechless for a moment.

Lin Jiezi was taken away by Yuki Yuki; what this signifies is clear to everyone.

“No one knows where she went, but everyone here probably knows what she’s planning to do,” Nishio Reki continued.

"So... what happened back then?" Inuyama Tomoe asked, her mouth dry.

“That’s right, why is this woman here?” Koyuko’s voice came from inside Baqi’s clothes. Then a girl in a bear-patterned pajama jumped out of Baqi’s arms, glaring angrily at the girl sitting on the sofa whom half the people didn’t recognize.

Minato glanced at the other side of the sofa, her lips tightly pressed together with a complicated expression. Many people had never seen such an expression on the face of this easygoing but surprisingly reliable shop manager.

On the contrary, the girl sitting at the other end of the sofa looked calm and straightened her body.

"Then I'll start, is that alright?"

Her request was undoubtedly directed at Nishio Reki and Minato Nana, and the two who were asked nodded, indicating that she could continue.

Then, the girl finally spoke.

"Nice to meet you. Let me introduce myself. I am Hanzawa Kuriko, a fallen magical girl who was defeated more than ten years ago. I am also the culprit behind the tragedy of the Yuuki family. However, the one sitting here is not the original me. In terms of state, I am similar to that pajama brat over there."

"Hey! Who's the pajama brat! You bad guy! A complete bad guy! A big bad guy!" Sumireko Yumehara stuck her tongue out at Kuriko Hanzawa, then hid behind Tomoe.

This statement shocked everyone just as much as when Yuuki Yuki took Hayashi Kizuna away.

Everyone has heard of Hanzawa Kuriko, and some of them have even fought against her directly. However, the current atmosphere is not suitable for speaking directly, so they have chosen to remain silent and wait for things to unfold.

However, Herika and Inuyama Haki had never met Hanzawa Kuriko before, and Yumehara Sumireko and Miyashita Mia had never even heard of her, so it's normal that they didn't recognize her at first.

"Back in that pajama brat's domain, I originally planned to completely devour her soul, but then some things happened, as Yuuki Yukino has told you all about," Hanzawa Kuriko said, shrugging.

"But because I had some contact with her, our souls merged in a small way, allowing me to enter other people's dreams like she does, though I can't control them. After that, I said goodbye to Minato Nana, and I should have disappeared completely, but I just happened to leave a little bit of residue in Minato Nana's dream."

“That little pajama imp has stayed in the original cycle long enough, so she has been tainted with some of the original aura. And because of that little bit of soul fusion, I have become similar to her in her current state.”

"Later, the magic in the entire cycle leaked into every corner of Moonsea City. I instinctively woke up by absorbing that magic. I guess it was thanks to the fact that I had absorbed a part of that pajama brat's soul before? Anyway, I woke up, but I didn't do anything. I just stayed by Nana's side."

"So, I actually heard everything you and Nana talked about, as well as what happened in Tsukishima City, very clearly through Nana's ears. This time, Yuuki Yuuki almost attacked Nana, which is why I had no choice but to show myself."

Although it's a bit bizarre, it's actually quite reasonable.

By chance, Hanzawa Kuriko was awakened by being filled with the magic power of the entire Moonsea City by Genki Mashiro. Because Hanzawa Kuriko's soul was fused with that of Yumehara Sumireko, she was in a state similar to Yumehara Sumireko's current state and was able to create a body using magic power.

When Sumireko Yumehara caused the slumber incident before, no one noticed, and Kuriko Hanzawa always stayed by Nana Minato's side, so it was indeed impossible to find her unless someone deliberately investigated.

"Yuki Yukina attacked the shopkeeper, what's going on here?" Tenrai Herika was annoyed when she heard that Yuki Yukina had actually done such a thing.

Nishio Reki picked up where Helika left off, recounting how he escaped with Hayashi Mustard, how they arrived at the coffee shop, and how Yuki Eri appeared, fought with Hanzawa Kuriko, and then took Hayashi Mustard away.

The story, which was neither too long nor too short, came to a close with the last sentence inserted by Hanzawa Kuriko.

"In the end, Yuuki Yuuki must have used the power of Yog-Sothoth. She suddenly disappeared from our sight, and the girl with glasses disappeared with her. If I'm not mistaken, she paused for a moment."

After nearly a minute of silence, Nishio Reki, as if trying to lighten the mood, added another sentence.

"Sakura Nana woke up not long after that and went home. We had nowhere to go, so we came to the shop manager's house together. I was trying to contact you, but I couldn't find your contact information, and then you came to our door."

Then, everyone fell silent, but all wore thoughtful expressions.

There are too many things to consider right now, and since we're in someone else's home, sitting on the floor makes us feel a bit awkward, which is causing everyone's thoughts to become somewhat confused.

Everyone knows that the most urgent task is to find Yuuki Yuki and stop her, but because things are so chaotic right now, no one can figure out what to do next.

It was Mizuno Yu who remembered something first.

"Everyone, I have a question. Before we went to Hoshimi City, we contacted Lamproyana. She said that if we failed, she would go to Yuuki Yukino. Inuyama said that, right?"

Baqi immediately replied, "Yes, it was at the construction site where she was working. She didn't want to go with us..."

Halfway through the conversation, Baqi realized what Mizuno Yu was talking about.

"Yeah! Where's Lava Lantern? With the whole Moonsea City in such chaos, why isn't he out? Could it be that Xiao Yuan locked him up again with that little dark room ability?"

After Mizuno Yu and Baqi pointed this out one after the other, everyone realized this blind spot.

Yuuki Yukari caused quite a stir, and it's impossible for Lapis Lazuli not to know about it. Moreover, even if Lapis Lazuli isn't a normal magical girl, she wouldn't allow anyone to make a mess of her living space. Besides, Lapis Lazuli is a complete battle maniac, so from any perspective, she's bound to get involved.

However, when they encountered Kuroba Reise before, the answer they received was that they only noticed Yuuki Yui's magic appear once, which was during the battle at the coffee shop, and the person who fought Yuuki Yui was Hanzawa Kuriko. So where did the Lava Mountain Lantern go?

“Ask her?” Helica suggested.

“It’s not impossible,” Baqi echoed.

"But who among us has her contact information?" Sakura Hanako then asked.

But this question was answered in an instant, when both of them spoke at the same time.

Minato Nana spoke first: "If the Lava Lantern you're talking about is the one who introduced Yuuki Yuki, I have her contact information."

Mizuno Yu followed up with a very concise statement: "I have."

After some internal struggle, the girls then had Mizuno Yu, who was the person most familiar with Laura, call Laura.

The phone had barely rung once when Rongshan Deng answered it.

"Hello? Mizuno Yu?"

“Yes. It’s me,” Mizuno Yu replied.

Without Mizuno Yu saying anything, Lava Mountain Lantern immediately guessed Mizuno Yu's purpose.

"You want to ask me about Yuuki Yukino, right? Where are you now? On your way back from Hoshimi City?"

“I’ve arrived in Moonsea City,” Mizuno Yu replied.

"Okay." Rongshan Deng agreed, and then came the rustling sounds of someone turning over and the creaking of the mattress as it was being squeezed, which sounded like Rongshan Deng getting up and turning over.

A few seconds later, the sound stopped, and then the sound of the lava lamp came out.

“Come to Yuehai Square, let’s talk face to face.”

……

After a period of time.

When the group arrived at Moonsea Square, Rongshan Deng was already there, sitting by the roadside with an ice pop in his mouth, waiting.

Seeing the girls arrive, Lamp Mountain waved and stood up from the ground.

"There are quite a lot of people?"

Apart from Nishio Reki, Minato Nana, and Hanzawa Kuriko who was staying with Minato Nana, all the magical girls came together, so Laughing Mountain's comment was perfectly reasonable.

Ba Qi didn't intend to waste a moment longer and asked immediately, "Anyway, have you met Xiao Yuan?"

Rongshan Deng's answer was also very straightforward.

"I've met you."

Chapter 284 Sudden Intrusion

Several hours earlier, on a bench along a street in Yuehai City.

“I… actually have no intention of fighting you right now.” Yuuki Yuuki straightened up and said to the man beside her, Lava Mountain Lantern.

"You were just saying you'd deal with me, and now you're saying you have no intention of fighting me. You know this isn't something you can decide." Rokuzan Tamamo wasn't angry; she simply used the most ordinary tone to deliver the most direct threat to Yuuki Yukina.

If Yuuki Yukino refuses, I might do something; anyone who understands their own personality would know that.

While Lamp Lava Mountain is always amiable at her part-time job, that doesn't change the fact that she is a corrupted magical girl.

As a fallen magical girl, she naturally possesses some of the pride and capriciousness typical of fallen magical girls. Although these traits have become part of her confidence, they have never been erased.

Yuuki Yukino met Lava Mountain Lantern's gaze, which was utterly ordinary yet seemed to flow like magma. Her gaze was calm, without any anger at being offended or any fear of Lava Mountain Lantern. She simply met Lava Mountain Lantern's gaze calmly, and that was all.

"I will give you a condition that you cannot refuse."

The Lava Mountain Lamp blinked, and the black demonic runes engraved in its pupils seemed to shine even brighter.

Tell me quickly, that's what she meant.

“I will become stronger and give you a battle that will absolutely satisfy you, but that will take time,” Yuuki Yui replied.

"Hmm, very good. You want me to turn a blind eye to what you've done, and just quietly wait to get everything you want? By then, the entire Moonsea City might be filled with lamentations because of your greed, and you'll have bypassed your biggest obstacle."

Loomaki Lantern nodded slowly, not hesitating to praise Yuuki Yukino's plan.

Yuuki Yukino smiled, her eyes crinkling as always: "So, are you going to refuse?"

“No, I accept.” Laughing Mountain answered readily, making Yuuki Emi’s eyes crinkle into a deeper smile.

But then, Rongshan Deng spoke again, saying, "I have one more condition."

Yuuki Yukino's smile didn't fade in the slightest: "Tell me about it?"

Lava Lamp glanced at the turmoil in the city, then quickly looked away: "Stop this pointless action."

"Why? You've taken pity on them like everyone else? If you want, you can do what those magical girls do and clean them up yourself." Yuuki Yui's tone suggested she had no intention of stopping there.

"Because I don't want to have nowhere to go back and play pachinko after we've had a good, satisfying match," Lava Mountain Lantern replied.

"Just because of something like that?" Yuuki Yuki's smile vanished instantly.

"Yes, if you don't even leave me a place to buy some snacks and play some games after a busy day, then I'll have to make a difficult choice between a long-term stable life and this one indulgence. And I'll probably choose to maintain my own life, right? After all, power is meaningless if it's not for making yourself comfortable, or would you rather feel the childish thrill of standing on scorched earth?"

As he spoke, Rongshan Deng narrowed his eyes slightly, but the light shining from his eyes was unusually sharp.

"Although you're very good at disguising yourself, don't think I don't know who's sitting here talking to me right now."

……

"That's it. I don't intend to care what Yuuki Yuen did, nor do I intend to care what you did. If you want to stop Yuuki Yuen, then so be it. However, Yuuki Yuen did keep her promise. After talking to me, her monsters stopped causing destruction."

With his hands in his pockets, Lava Mountain Lantern spoke to the girl and her group.

It turns out that there were monsters lurking along the way, but the destruction did not escalate further, all thanks to the Lava Lamp?

But this was indeed the choice made by the Lava Mountain Lantern Festival, and no one or any rules could force the Lava Mountain Lantern Festival to do anything.

Yuuki Yui temporarily stabilized Lava Lantern with a promise and released a large number of monsters to block the other magical girls' progress, while she kidnapped Hayashi Mustard—all of which happened when the group most likely to stop her was not in Moonsea City.

What a meticulous plan.

But what happens next?

This trip only revealed that Lampa had met Yuuki En, but that was all; the girls' trail had once again gone cold.