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

Although Helica couldn't put her finger on what made it different, she just knew it.

As Nishio Reki watched Helica, who was kneeling on the ground, raise her head and very slowly raise her hand, as if she were trying to grab something.

In Herlica's pitch-black vision and in her chaotic consciousness, Herlica clenched her fists and reached for the fleeting red glint in the sky, as distant as a star.

Helica held a small, delicate red thread tightly in her hand.

In that instant, the noise around Helica vanished, and the chaotic sounds around her became clear.

They sang in unison, singing songs by her favorite band that Helica had watched on television when she was a child.

Herlica opened her mouth and sang along with the voice, singing the song that symbolized the rainbow at the Christmas party.

She sang, singing the song of the lost star that she had sung under the moonlight, just for Yuuki Yuki, in that hot spring where she and Yuuki Yuki were alone.

Unbeknownst to her, the top of the girl's head dimmed as the magic power emanating from Helica continued to leak out.

It wasn't a cloudy, overcast day, but rather an endless darkness that began to spread from Helica's center.

It was not a lonely, dark night, but a shimmering starry sky, a starry sky that existed solely to respond to the girl who had gazed at the sky countless times beneath the stars.

At that moment, the stars in the night sky reached their correct coordinates, and from the distant horizon came the celestial music played by Helica.

In the shadows of the stars, an even larger planet slowly revealed its true form.

It was so enormous that it seemed capable of easily crushing an entire city. The rust-red surface of the star was covered with faults and rifts, and the surging gold in the center of the star made it look like an eye, an eye exactly like the one on Hanzawa Kuriko's shoulder.

A judgmental eye that seems to proclaim death and destruction.

A star of judgment slowly descends.

Just looking at it felt like my breath was being held back; I couldn't feel anything but immense pressure.

But in an instant, the sky cleared up again, as if everything that had just happened was just an illusion.

But in Helica's hands, a battle axe inlaid with an eyeball that looked like a celestial body was firmly in her grasp.

In Nishio Reki's eyes, Helica was no longer holding a battle axe, but the future.

Helica's roar shattered the silence that followed.

"Bring destruction upon you, Geheros!"

A massive, rust-red, crescent-shaped blade of light rose from the ground, cleaving the portal floating in the sky in two.

Chapter 293 Overturning the Chessboard

A massive, rust-iron-like crescent blade sliced ​​across the sky; such a powerful strike could not be ignored by anyone.

The children from the orphanage jumped up and down, pointing out the window and grabbing the villager's hand, shouting, "Teacher, teacher! What's happening outside! It's so red, so big!"

Through the huge window of the activity room, Murakami looked at the enormous blade of light in the sky that rivaled the teleportation gate, and unconsciously clenched his fist.

Murakami then gently shook his head, clearing the extraneous thoughts from his mind. He then slowly squatted down, raised his hand to stroke the head of the little girl who had asked him the question, and looked at the other equally curious children.

"It's nothing, it's just a brave magical girl fighting for our safety."

The children immediately responded in unison with a knowing shout.

"Oh--"

Then, the children started discussing it all at once.

"The magical girl sisters are amazing. I want to become a magical girl when I grow up."

"Yes, defeat those bad guys!"

A discordant voice rang out from among the children.

"But, how scary, magical girls are all so scary, those outside... and... those we've seen before."

The child's voice grew softer and softer, and the faint sound of sobbing began to emerge.

"No way!" A loud, childish shout interrupted the girl's sobs. "We're the elite of the Yuuki Clan! How could we desert our posts?"

"That's right, that's right. The boss told us to be brave. Can you still be considered the boss's little brother after this?!"

"Think about the boss! She's not afraid! Even if this scoundrel who's made such a mess of the city stood in front of her, she wouldn't be afraid!"

The girls' voices drowned out the girl's low spirits, making the atmosphere in the activity room more positive. Even the little girl who had already shed tears wiped her eyes several times.

"Yes, you're right! I'm not afraid! I won't be afraid!"

Murakami, who was worried that the children would cause trouble because of the situation outside, secretly breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the huge teleportation portal in the sky outside the window again.

But a sigh escaped from Murakami's lips.

"Yuki Yui, you mustn't let the children down."

……

Hyakki Chiyuu got up from the bed and walked to Hong Moli, who was sitting at her desk deep in thought, and softly called her name: "Hong..."

"I don't know. This magic feels somewhat familiar. It feels more like the kind of magic we experienced in the Dreamland before, the kind of mixed magic of the Primordial Darkness, but it's not the same."

Hong Moli rested her forehead against the double-headed stand on the desk, her head bowed, staring blankly at the empty surface. She answered in a somewhat hoarse voice.

Hyakki Chiyu gently pressed her seemingly nonexistent weight onto Koumori's back, resting her chin on Koumori's shoulder, and gently shook her head, causing the girl's gray hair to brush against Koumori's cheek.

“No, that’s not what I’m asking. I’m worried about you. You’ve been sitting here all day since Nishio Reki and that woman left.”

“It’s nothing.” Hong Moli shook her head. “What we need to do now is find one…”

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh, ugh, ugh!"

Koyuko, who was playing a game console that was charging on the desk, suddenly started acting up, startling Hong Moli so much that her hand supporting her head trembled and she almost fell down.

Hyakki Chiyuu also staggered, but straightened up by holding onto Koumori's shoulder. Her gray eyes looked at Koumiko, who was rolling around on the floor in the suddenly lit game console, and she asked her softly.

"what happened?"

Hong Moli adjusted her posture and then asked, "Do you know what this magic is?"

"Ah! I know! Of course I know! This is the most annoying thing!" Sumireko Yumehara sat down on the ground angrily, pouting her cheeks.

The magic that she herself hadn't recognized was actually recognized by Sumireko Yumehara. Koumari quickly grabbed the game console and shook it vigorously a few times, which was completely out of character for her.

"What? What is this magic?"

Yumehara Sumireko was shaken until she was dizzy, and she lay on the ground raising her paws.

"Stop shaking! Stop shaking! What am I supposed to say if you keep shaking me like this!"

Hong Moli immediately stopped what she was doing, and Yumehara Sumireko rolled over and got up from the ground, then pointed outside with her bear paw.

"This magic... it's that woman! The woman who almost stabbed me to death! It's the magic she used when she was still near my castle! No! It's even more terrifying! Even more hateful! In short, it's the magic I hate the most!"

Hong Moli's pupils suddenly contracted.

That guy has actually started making moves?!

……

The portal beneath the giant blade seemed to have shifted slightly, and then the large light curtain that made up the portal began to collapse along the rust-red light blade.

In the open space, Nishio Reki saw it even more clearly, as if the entire sky had been sliced ​​open by Helica's lightning strike.

"No...no way?"

Not only the enormous central portal, but the smaller portals surrounding it also began to crack under the pressure of the leaking magic, and shattered along with the central portal.

Magical specks of light rained down, making it seem as if the entire city was being showered with a dazzling downpour.

In the heart of the downpour, a pink-haired girl stood with a somber expression, surrounded by tangled black tentacles that seemed to be enveloping two girls who appeared to be asleep.

Helica the Thunder God really did it.

Her attack destroyed not only the portal, but also the entire space where Yuuki Yuuki was located.

It should be understood that the collapse of the dream world was due to direct contact between the real world and the magical world, which caused this world in the gap to be smoothed out by two irresistible forces.

Even the mighty M'Sishha, who could traverse space at will, and Yog-Sothoth, who wielded both space and power, had never accomplished such a feat even once.

Amidst the shock, Nishio Reki felt ecstatic.

Even for Yuuki Yuki, who possesses three powers, opening a space would be extremely difficult. Having already done it once last night, she has no way of having the magic of time to repeat it now.

Having lost their hiding place, Yuuki Yukino is now exposed to everyone's view and has no choice but to confront them head-on.

Yuuki Yui lowered her eyes. Even though they were far apart, it was still clear that her gaze was fixed on the blonde girl standing in the Moon Sea Park.

Helica, the Thunder God, made a very simple movement, raising her battle axe and pointing it directly at the pink demon floating in the sky.

……

Inside a room, Genki Mashiro slowly raised her head and looked out the window at the massive portal that had begun to crack, cut by the rust-red giant blade.

"Has it started? They're moving much faster than I expected."

Asahimi's brows furrowed slightly: "Start? Mashiro, what are you talking about?"

“When Yuuki Yui returned last night, her companions didn’t show up immediately, which means Yuuki Yui managed to get rid of them. Everything that happened afterward was also part of Yuuki Yui’s plan. If we keep waiting, it will be absolutely impossible to defeat Yuuki Yui,” Genki Mashiro replied.

Asahi nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite: "If it were you, Mashiro, what action would you take?"

"When two sides are playing against each other, if one side knows the rules of the game, then they will do something outside the rules. If it were me, I would just flip the whole chessboard and let all the pieces fall on the board I have drawn. Even if I have no layout, I can still put both sides on an equal footing, at least they will not be at each other's mercy."

"Mashiro, what's the difference between you saying it and not saying it at all?"

"There's no need to think about what I should do. What we need to think about now is what they did. Judging from this situation, they must have received some unexpected assistance. Although I can't sense the magic right now, just by looking at its performance, it should be an aid that has touched the power of the Primordial Darkness."

"It touched the power of the primordial darkness? How is that possible? Isn't it only Rise Tsukimi's own power and the three pillar gods who are related to the primordial darkness?"

"No, do you remember the person who controlled Nordens? Just like her, it's entirely possible to create a magical girl tainted by the power of the Primordial Darkness. Ah, I think I know how they did it. It was that magical girl. For them, without Yuuki Yuki, to come up with this method is truly remarkable."

"So, are we just going to keep waiting like this?"

“Of course, it’s not the right time yet, but…” Genken Mashiro said, turning his gaze from the window to the doorway of the room, and raising his voice slightly: “Inoue.”

The door to the room was pushed open, and a woman in a suit walked in. However, she was not looking at Gen Ken Mashiro, but at Asahi Miya sitting on the bed.

Genken Mashiro didn't care who the other person was looking at; instead, he issued orders in the most peaceful tone.

"We don't need your protection here for now. I have some other things I need you to do."

Sister Inoue, the one known as the Holy Sister, glanced at Asahimi again: "But, Holy Sister, what should we do on your side?"

Asahimi waved his hand: "Wherever Mashiro is, that's the safest place. Listen to Mashiro."