Chapter 166

Takanashi recalled the materials he had previously read:

"Is it... to become someone else's appearance?"

After that, Kurosaki Asuka nodded.

The information Takanashi has about Chameleon doesn't mention much, but it does vaguely suggest that Chameleon are very good at scheming and trickery.

On many occasions, it used its ability to transform into other people to cause numerous conflicts among the Magic girls.

Only after this ability was broken were the Magic girls able to defeat the Chameleon together.

So, the truth is that after that, the Chameleon kept impersonating Kurosaki Asuka and deceived the Student Council and the others?

Just hearing this fact is enough to send chills down one's spine...

"But I saw you at the Maple Plain Festival a while ago, was that also Chameleon in disguise?"

Takanashi recalled something that had happened not long ago.

The reason she now feels wary of Kurosaki Asuka is because she had already seen Kurosaki Asuka's face before today.

That's about it.

A helpless yet somewhat sorrowful expression appeared on Kurosaki Asuka's face.

It seems that something has been touched upon that made her sad.

After a moment of silence, Takanashi Shiori also accepted this fact.

Indeed, it was after she saw what appeared to be Kurosaki Asuka that the Chameleon first appeared before them.

Kirishima Ai, however, was not quite sure what Takanashi was thinking.

After all, it was her first time meeting Kurosaki Asuka.

As fellow Bird System, and both using the same Magic Armament once owned by the Overlord, she felt more sympathy for Kurosaki Asuka.

But for some reason, there was also a subtle sense of unease.

"So, Kurosaki- senpai, can you tell us about that Monster person, and about Kazama -senpai?"

They roughly knew what had happened after the battle two years ago.

Kirishima Ai wants to clarify now is the matter of the Magic girl Phantom Wind and the Chameleon Monster.

There are too many questions they haven't figured out.

Moreover, they are currently in a nightmare created by the enemy. The more they learn about the enemy, the better they might be able to come up with a way to deal with them next.

Especially... the Chameleon's true identity.

How exactly did this Chameleon Monster come to be?

Despite being Monster, he is an enemy of the Black Death Cult and seems disloyal to the Demon King. His true purpose remains a mystery, and since his appearance, he has been constantly defeated and resurrected.

What twisted desires led to the birth of this Monster?

Is he simply Monster, or like the Demon King, a shapeshifter?

Looking at her earnest Magic girl juniors, Kurosaki Asuka's expression was no longer as relaxed as before. She lowered her head slightly, and her gaze seemed somewhat dim.

What I'm about to say seems even more somber than the previous topic.

Unlike his two companions.

Since waking up, Sakaki Chika has been listening somewhat absentmindedly.

She remained depressed, still reeling from the nightmare, and even now, she carried an indescribable unease within her.

However, she froze after hearing what Kurosaki Asuka said next.

"The mastermind behind everything is... Haibara-sensei."

After Kurosaki Asuka said those words, the classroom fell into a distinct silence.

Both Kirishima Ai and Takanashi Shiori had blank expressions, as if they couldn't understand what Kurosaki Asuka was saying.

However, after regaining their senses and realizing that Kurosaki Asuka had indeed said that name, the group's expressions changed completely.

First, Kirishima Ai's expression turned cold:

"Senior, could you please explain that more clearly?"

If the person in front of her wasn't a Magic girl senior, she probably would have just said, "Explain yourself clearly."

Kurosaki Asuka was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Kirishima Ai's expression to suddenly turn so bad.

And when she looked at the other people...

"Kurosaki- senpai, what do you mean?"

Takanashi's tone suddenly turned extremely cold.

Seeing the girl's appearance, Kurosaki Asuka was initially puzzled, then smiled:

"As for the younger generation, they should already know, right? The Chameleon's host is Teacher Haihara."

The "younger generation" she was referring to was Takanashi.

Takanashi fell silent after hearing her words.

"..."

She had no way to respond to Kurosaki Asuka's words.

At this moment, Kirishima Ai and the others also noticed that something was wrong and looked at Takanashi, who was keeping his head down and not saying a word.

"Hey, Takanashi? What did that mean just now? Was it real? And you... knew all along?"

Kirishima Ai's tone was hesitant and confused, but no matter how she looked at Takanashi, trying to get an answer from her, Takanashi remained there with her head down, as if she was thinking about something.

Even though she found it unbelievable, it seemed that Kurosaki Asuka was telling the truth.

The Chameleon's host... is Teacher Haihara?

Even so, Teacher Haihara is merely a victim of Monster, and shouldn't be associated with the mastermind Kurosaki Asuka mentioned...

At this moment, Kurosaki Asuka continued:

"The Chameleon Monster is an evil Monster born from Teacher Haihara's desires."

"All along, it has been acting to satisfy Teacher Haihara's twisted desires. Now that I think about it, many of the things that happened back then were actually related to Teacher Haihara."

"We've been easily fooled by the Chameleon many times, all because its host is Teacher Haihara."

Kurosaki Asuka spoke slowly and deliberately about things that Magic girls could not even imagine.

When she spoke of this past event, her expression showed both shame at being deceived and sadness at being unable to let go of the past.

"Even I... was deceived by Teacher Haihara and made an irreparable mistake."

Although no one knows the details of what happened two years ago, Kurosaki Asuka's words, along with her sincere expression and tone, make it very easy to believe.

No one would think that a girl as innocent and beautiful as her is lying.

She looked up again, trying to make out the expressions of the other Magic girls.

Seeing the unwavering doubt still on Takanashi Shiori's face, Kurosaki Asuka smiled slightly.

"Besides, junior, you've been deceived by Teacher Haihara just like me, haven't you?"

After saying that, Takanashi initially looked confused.

But then, as if realizing what Kurosaki Asuka was referring to, Takanashi's face gradually turned pale.

After that, Takanashi's body became extremely stiff, and she didn't even dare to look at her two Magic girl companions beside her.

Seeing this, Kurosaki Asuka's smile turned satisfied.

"Do you know who Dark Feather's current user is? It's a child named Kuroki Yuka."

"And what she looks like is probably... like this?"

As she spoke, points of light appeared on her hands, and she used Magic Power to recreate a picture as realistic as a photograph.

The image depicts a beautiful and quiet young woman in a black shirt and skirt, wearing a black butterfly hair clip.

That mysterious smile was very similar to Dark Feather's.

Takanashi had seen this face from afar before, and with Magic girl's eyesight and memory, she wouldn't mistake it.

That was the girl who, a few days ago, on a rainy weekend, shared an umbrella with Teacher Haihara and walked home together.

"... I don't believe it."

Takanashi said blankly.

However, seeing Takanashi's gloomy expression and wavering gaze, Kurosaki Asuka knew that she had helped Takanashi begin to accept part of the truth.

It seems that the next step is to wait for these girls to gradually accept reality and then completely believe her.

"Next, we'll find the mastermind hiding behind this nightmare: Kuroki Yuka and Teacher Haihara..."

After learning the shocking truth, the Magic girls present will need some time to process it. However, after a brief period of doubt, more and more evidence will convince them of everything.

The classroom fell silent, except for her voice.

Kurosaki Asuka smiled and was about to explain what they were going to do next when something unexpected happened to all the Magic girls.

"Shut up."

It was a voice that was so cold it was almost terrifying.

The person who made this sound was someone no one expected.

Kurosaki Asuka was grabbed by the collar.

Sakaki Chika stood in front of Kurosaki Asuka with her petite frame, her hands gripping Kurosaki Asuka's collar, looking up at Kurosaki Asuka with a deathly cold and terrifying gaze.

Previously, Sakaki Chika, who had always been as gentle and obedient as a little rabbit, was now in her most terrifying form, grabbing Kurosaki Asuka roughly slamming her against the wall.

Even Kurosaki Asuka seemed to be frightened by Sakaki Chika's appearance.

Ai Kirishima Ai and Takanashi Shiori stared blankly at Sakaki Chika. It was the first time they had ever seen this petite girl look so terrifying and angry.

"I won't believe a word you say; it will only make me extremely angry."

And this petite and adorable girl, while gazing at Kurosaki Asuka, spoke in a chilling tone:

"But."

"If you say anything strange about Teacher Haihara again, or make up stories and slander Teacher Haihara, even if you're Magic girl senior..."

Her dark red eyes were filled with Malice, as if she wanted to kill the girl in front of her.

Her voice, usually described as sweet and melodious but weak and feeble, now carried a terrifyingly sickly quality.

"--I'll tear your mouth apart too."

Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Sacred Domain

After that, Kurosaki Asuka's words completely enraged Sakaki Chika Sakaki Chika, who left the classroom alone to find a way to leave this world. Takanashi and Kirishima Ai were worried about Sakaki Chika, but when they went to chase after her, they found that she had already disappeared.

Kurosaki Asuka also looked worried after Sakaki Chika's sudden departure.

"So she really can't accept it right away. I'm really worried that she might encounter Chameleon if she goes out alone..."

Takanashi and Kirishima Ai fell silent for a moment.

Although what had just happened was unsurprisingly terrible for them, they quickly calmed down after a brief moment of reflection.

They are still living in this nightmare world.

Meanwhile, the Dark Feather and Chameleon, their enemies, are still hiding somewhere and could appear and attack them at any moment.

So even though there are still many things that haven't been clarified, now is not the time for them to get angry. At least they should do something that might be useful, such as listening to as many stories about the past as possible from the senior in front of them.

Next, Takanashi heard many details from Kurosaki Asuka about her battle with the Chameleon back then.

Although they didn't discuss the previous topic again, it took Takanashi a long time to calm himself down after hearing what Kurosaki Asuka had said.

She did not choose to believe.

However, it's not to think that everything they just said was fabricated.

Even if everything Kurosaki- senpai said was wrong, it might contain some truth to it, at least that's what she thought.