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

Yuuki Yukino managed to give herself, along with Nyarlathotep's wand, to Nishio Reki, who then took her into a deep sleep once more.

When Yuuki Yukino's consciousness awakened for the eighty-eighth time, Nishio Reki seemed to have changed her method. She no longer told everything directly to her present self in the world, but instead used a different approach.

After all, he had failed a full seventy times, so it was normal for Nishio Reki to change his methods. In fact, the fact that he started changing his methods so late caught Yuuki Yuuki off guard.

At least this time, this version of myself on this timeline has gone further, and Nishio Reki will tell another version of myself what I should do and what I should avoid.

In the 160th time, this version of himself successfully defeated Hong Moli, but was unable to contend with Kuroba Laisei, and was completely defeated in the battle against Kuroba Laisei.

The 308th time, Kuroba Reisei was defeated for the first time, but then the original magical girl suddenly appeared.

Yes, this guy is also difficult to deal with.

For the 309th time, I failed to defeat Hong Moli. It seems that relying on coincidences alone is not enough. The coincidence of the last time cannot be replicated.

Nishio Koyomi realized this, so he started looking for a stable path to development and decided he should try to do something himself.

It would be too dangerous to let the other self in another world take full control of Nyarlathotep's power all at once. However, since my soul has been mostly repaired, I can try to control Nyarlathotep's power and prevent the other self from fully accepting it.

Yes, that's it. By controlling the power of another version of myself, I can...

Yes, you and another version of yourself share the same soul. If you want, you can try to control the other version of yourself and use your power to help her overcome difficulties.

This method works very well. With the help of Xiaoli, it allows the other version of myself in the other world to move forward more steadily.

Countless times, the Holy Prayer was defeated, but Yuna's filth devoured his other self from another world. It seems this won't work either.

Countless times, Saint Prayer was defeated. Her other self could not withstand Yuna's defilement, but was stopped by the original magical girl.

Countless times, Saint Prayer was defeated, and another version of herself withstood Yunaia's defilement, but the original magical girl still appeared.

No, no, no, why is there never a correct answer? Why does the original magical girl always appear in front of another version of myself, no matter what I do?

Yuuki Yukino realized it.

The target of the original magical girl was herself, the self with a broken soul hidden within Nyaruko.

Chapter 316 Broken Branches

He had been targeted by the primordial forces.

After realizing this, Yuuki Yukino fell into a certain degree of despair.

But it's not completely hopeless. Yuuki Eri still has a chance to change things, such as by relying on Nyarlathotep, which she possesses, or by guiding herself in the current timeline.

So she did it, until today, until the moment she came closest to success.

"And so, I kept trying to figure out how to escape the primal pursuit, and I also came to understand more and more what the primal power really was."

Facing the other magical girls who were taking her seriously, the pink-haired girl opened her arms wide and spoke clearly.

"If, just if, the primordial power could be used by me, what kind of power would I gain? Just thinking about it, I know what I really want. To escape the primordial pursuit? Easy peasy! To keep myself existing in the current timeline is not so simple! That's not what I want; those things are no longer enough for me!"

A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, landing between the pink-haired girl and Yuuki Yuki, while a warhammer protected the barely clinging Yuuki Yuki.

Helica Tenrai's eyes were like torches as she glared fiercely at the girl who shared the same face as Yuuki Yuuki.

"Is destruction what you want? Destruction? Devastation? To destroy everything we cherish?"

The pink-haired girl shook her head from side to side.

"No, of course not. Am I the kind of pervert with destructive desires? Am I the kind of ultimate villain with unrealistic dreams? No, what I want is very simple, extremely simple, but such a simple wish requires me to use such great power to support it."

Before she could revert to her transformed state, Inuyama Tomoe extended her gun blade forward, but her trembling hands seemed to have lost all fighting strength. Even so, she still threatened the enemy before her.

"Then what is your wish?"

"My wish? Yes, my wish. Aren't magical girls' powers all supported by wishes? It's this simple wish that has sustained me through this dark and hopeless world until today." The pink-haired girl asked rhetorically, then laughed out of confusion.

"My wish is to reclaim the world that belongs to me, and to reclaim the happiness that belongs to me."

"I have witnessed countless stories, stories belonging to another version of myself. The more I see, the more I envy and resent. Why is it that the other me can obtain beauty and taste happiness? Why is it that in an imperfect world that is on the verge of despair, she can still live with her head held high? Why is it that, despite being such an imperfect version of myself, all the enemies who once fought against me stand by my side without exception?!"

The pink-haired girl murmured, her eyes seemingly extinguished, leaving only a bottomless chaos.

But she was watching, watching Yuuki Yuki, watching everyone behind Yuuki Yuki.

"Why is it that I, who gave another self infinite possibilities, have to hide in the shadows of the soul forever, watching the happiness that I created with my own hands, but which does not belong to me, continue to be passed on to you?"

She raised her finger and pointed at Yuuki Yukino, who was being embraced by Hanzawa Kuriko, her enemy.

"Of all the people in history, the one I envy the most is you."

Yuuki Yukino gently patted Hanzawa Kuriko's hand, and stood up from Hanzawa Kuriko's embrace: "So, you're going to destroy all that I cherish?"

"Destruction? Yes, in your eyes I am destroying, but that is merely a means, not my end. I need the power of the primordial, I need that power to help me destroy all the futures that belong to me, I need the power to start everything anew. I want to go back, and to go back I must burn the present, burn all the futures that I am dissatisfied with. Only in this way can I reclaim my life, reclaim the life where everyone can live without worries!"

Nishio Reki hesitated for a moment: "So...you..."

“Yes.” The pink-haired girl answered crisply: “So I used you, or rather, not only you, but everyone. I pretended to be a kind and understanding older sister, pretended to sacrifice myself for another version of myself, pretended to give up all my embers to fulfill your wish, and even pretended to be myself who went berserk due to the influence of the corrupted power, all for this moment, for this moment when I completely master the original power.”

“I have been working hard for this moment. I have tried to collect information about everything in the beginning, but I have discovered that there is a huge gap in this history. The missing pillar of the three pillar gods, the person who knows about her, almost all the people who experienced it firsthand, are missing. So I have been waiting, waiting for that coincidence to come.”

"I was very lucky, my other self. You not only helped me find that missing piece of history, but you even went all the way to the very end. If it weren't for me, maybe you really would have succeeded?"

Yuuki Yukino hasn't thought about her memories of another world for a long time.

But now a proverb came to her mind: "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits."

This other self, almost identical to oneself, which has always been lurking within one's body, is the lurking, cunning creature.

"So you're interfering with us? But why did you..." Baqi's words were barely out of her mouth when she discovered a whole new question.

If the Yuuki Eri in front of us could have done all this in the past, why would we need to go through all that trouble to put on such a grand show?

From Hoshimi City to returning to Tsukimi City, and then to Helica's lightning strike that cleaved her space, the other Yuuki Yuuki should have had countless opportunities to win during that long period of time.

However, the actions of the other Yuuki En were tantamount to abandoning what was near and seeking what was far.

However, Yuuki Yuki is not the type of person who would go to great lengths for something that is not close at hand, especially in this kind of situation, where going to great lengths for something that is not close at hand would undoubtedly be a very foolish thing to do.

Even if the other person is not the same as the Yuuki Yuki I know, the core of her will not change.

"To weaken our strength?" Helica blurted out.

"I guess so? But that was just a side effect." The pink-haired girl curved her eyebrows and eyes: "But I really have to give you guys a compliment. Although all of this was within my expectations, you really did kill the embers of the gods."

"The embers of the gods...?" Nishio Koyomi muttered to himself.

"The consciousness of the Primordial Darkness and the Primordial Darkness has long since been extinguished over a long period of time. Unlike the three pillar gods born from the Primordial Darkness, ordinary people cannot use the power of the Primordial Darkness because that power is still tainted with a wisp of the Primordial Darkness's own consciousness."

Amidst the bewildered looks of the crowd, the pink-haired girl generously offered her explanation.

“That’s right, the consciousness of the Primordial Darkness does exist, even if it’s only a tiny wisp. But it was the biggest obstacle to my complete mastery of its power. Thanks to you all, the last obstacle in my sight has completely disappeared.”

She went to great lengths, staging this whole charade in front of the girls, dragging both cities into it, all to achieve that fleeting moment of balance. When the Primordial Darkness was at its weakest, she used the power of Nishio Reki—no, the power of all the magical girls—to completely erase that almost indelible consciousness. That was her goal.

The fact that she said it can be seen from the backwards of that possible timeline is true.

"Of course, it's also important to eliminate these obstacles along with you," the pink-haired girl added.

"So, all magical girls aren't an obstacle for you?"

Suddenly, another voice, which had never appeared on the battlefield before, rang out.

boom.

A huge rock fell from the sky and embedded itself in the ground in front of the girl.

Her swift and powerful figure landed on the boulder without making a sound, bending her knees and putting her hands into the pockets of her magical armor, her short black hair falling in the strong wind.

The girl lightly jumped down from the boulder, tapped the boulder behind her with her heel, sending it flying, and without even glancing at it, she reached out her hand behind her.

Her palm embedded itself in the boulder, crushing the outer shell, and she held the giant sword forged in molten fire firmly in her hand.

The undisputed strongest magical girl in Moonsea City, who has yet to make a move, stands before everyone at this moment.

The pink-haired girl's response didn't come until the lanterns were in position.

"Ah, yes."

"Our agreement was that after you regain all your power, we would have a proper fight, right?" Loboro grinned, his dashing smile brimming with killing intent.

The pink-haired girl moved her lips.

"of course."

The hot wind tousled the girls' long hair, and the giant sword of the Lava Mountain Lamp had already landed on the head of the pink-haired girl.

The giant sword cleaved from the girl's left shoulder to her right waist, and the heat emanating from the sword completely engulfed her.

"It hit?" Saint Shion frowned.

“No, no.” Jian Chi, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, shook his head.

That's an illusion.

Even the magical girls with sharp eyes noticed it.

The girls were well aware of the speed and power of the Lava Mountain Lantern, yet they only managed to slash at a phantom image.

The eye of the Lava Mountain Lamp, engraved with black demonic patterns, also shrank sharply, and it swung its sword to disperse the air currents in front of it.

"We agreed to have a proper fight, but you're dodging like this, which is making things difficult for me."

The pink-haired girl's voice rang out from not far away, sparks still remaining on the ribbons fluttering on her magical armor: "A proper fight isn't about sending me to my death. Even if I stopped time, I still got hit. The Destruction Branch that ended the Age of Gods, I don't want to actually take a solid hit."

Lava Lamp weighed the giant sword in his hand, and flames formed a wall of fire around him, encompassing an area with a radius of tens of meters.

"That's not up to you!"

Chapter 317 The Sky Remains Still Out of Reach

exaggerate.

The girls couldn't think of any better words than "exaggerated" to describe the situation.

"You blond dwarf, can you even see what Lava Mountain Lantern is doing right now?" Inuyama Tomoe asked solemnly.

"Yes, I can see it clearly. If I were to fight her, I could fight her to a standstill. But if I make even the slightest mistake, I would be defeated instantly," Helica answered truthfully.

The first and only time that Helica, who initially loathed corrupted magical girls, was so frightened by them that she didn't even dare to transform was in front of Lava Lantern.

She grew stronger, and kept growing stronger. She also increasingly felt that the Lava Mountain Lamp wasn't actually that strong, at least not to the point of being invincible.

But she was just a little bit short of Rongshan Deng, separated by a seemingly insurmountable chasm.

Yes, she could see the chasm clearly, and she knew exactly what Inuyama Tomoe meant by asking that question.