Chapter 381

That way, he won't bother her for the time being.

"What exactly is this tree?"

The strange behavior of the Malicious Apostle just now was clearly related to this tree.

This tree rose from the botanical garden and grew to several thousand meters high. The Malicious Apostle was released from its flower bud. It seems that this tree is the root of all the anomalies in this world.

She tiptoed and flew up.

Just by standing here, she could feel that this tree was nourished by an unimaginable amount of Magic Power, even surpassing the Magic Power of the previous Thousand Fiend.

When Thousand Sins saw this thing that looked so evil, his first thought was whether he could destroy it immediately.

However, acting rashly before finding Sakaki Chika's trail could lead to something terrible.

Let's look around for clues first; Kirishima and the others might come to our aid soon.

Then, an unexpected situation arose...

"Huh, I didn't expect that child to be defeated so easily. I even used a lot of nutrients to replenish her Magic Power to a healthier state. No wonder she's Mother's second most wary Magic girl."

A voice that sounded very familiar yet very strange.

That was... the voice of Star Flower?

She was puzzled for a moment, then looked up and saw a Magic girl riding a branch-like Magic Wand in front of a giant tree.

The girl's features looked very familiar.

But if it were the Magic girl she knew, she would be very beautiful in such a dark environment, instead of blending into the darkness and emitting a faint, ominous red glow.

"... Star Flower?"

Thousand Sins stared at the figure in utter confusion.

Without a doubt, the Magic girl in front of me looks very similar to Star Flower.

At least the Magic Gear is basically just a recolored version of the Star Flower.

How to put it... the face is very similar, only a bit more alluring.

The strange Witch who suddenly appeared shook her head--

"I'm not Star Flower, my name is Prison Flower."

She rejected Thousand Sins's conjecture.

"Isn't that right..."

Thousand Sins was completely bewildered.

"Leaving aside who you are, if I'm the second most wary Magic girl of that so-called Mother, then who's number one?"

Hearing what the other person said, she began to worry about the safety of her other companions.

The last time a similar situation occurred was with Kirishima Ai.

Is this time targeting one of them?

The Magic girl who called herself Prison Flower pondered for a moment, then laughed lightly and brought up a name that was both unexpected and perfectly logical:

"It's Magic Girl Phantom Wind."

Thousand Sins and the others haven't seen the president for a while.

Because they were afraid of bothering the current president, they rarely communicated with her lately.

Because she had too little information, the Magic girl Thousand Sins was also unclear about the logic behind the actions of these new enemies, so she decided not to think about it for the time being.

"So, I'm guessing that the Sakaki Chika I was just chasing, could it be you?"

Thousand Sins's gaze was malevolent as he slowly gripped the handle of the Cross Nail, ready to respond to any sudden attack.

At this moment, the Prison Flower revealed a mischievous smile similar to that of the Star Flower:

You guessed right!

She stuck out her tongue---

"Although I feel like I didn't act very convincingly, it seems like no one but you guys saw through our disguise. Just like what they say online, idols are all frauds."

She said things that even a Thousand Sins couldn't comprehend.

Thousand Sins raised his eyebrows:

"I have no interest in hearing this. Where is the real Star Flower?"

Now that it's confirmed the other party isn't the real Sakaki Chika, and wasn't brainwashed like the previous Malicious Apostle, Thousand Sins can act without any burden.

Upon hearing this, the Witch on the broomstick suddenly giggled. She covered her mouth with her hand, then slowly opened her eyes and stared at Thousand Sins.

She raised a finger, and upon it, a dark purple Magic Power light shone.

"She's receiving education from her mother. Once she's fully trained, she'll become one of us. As for wanting to know where she is, do you think I'd tell you something like that?"

The Prison Flower let out a laugh that infuriated everyone.

Thousand Sins's expression instantly turned cold.

The next moment, Prison Flower's laughter subsided. She lowered her head and pointed at Thousand Sins. Almost without blinking or catching her breath, a flash of Magic Power instantly filled Thousand Sins's entire field of vision.

This attack was far superior to the Star Flower that Thousand Sins knew, and in terms of Magic Power, it was even more exaggerated than the Magic Power of Kirishima's original Fate Kite form.

However, when Prison Flower looked again in the direction where the light had faded and Thousand Sins had been, she discovered...

"Um?"

The Thousand Sins are gone.

She sensed the impending threat of death in the next instant, and sure enough, before she could react, a terrifying figure of a black and red Magic girl had already appeared in front of her.

Then, without uttering a word, he raised his fist.

"---boom!"

Thousand Sins's fist slammed down, creating violent waves in the air. In an instant, the shockwave visibly stirred up dust and rocks from the ruins on the ground.

The shockwaves continued until they subsided, but Thousand Sins never actually hit a person.

Upon closer inspection, all that could be seen were the phantoms of the Prison Flower and scattered petals.

Just then, a smug, provocative voice came from behind:

"Ew~ That was so dangerous! If I had gotten hit by that punch, I would have died! How could they be so cruel as to punch someone who looks so much like their companion?"

Thousand Sins simply smiled---

"You'll understand once you let me punch you."

Next, Thousand Sins began to focus on dealing with this mysterious Magic girl who resembled Star Flower.

This is still in the exploratory stage.

The opponent's attacks posed virtually no threat to her.

But Thousand Sins discovered that the Magic Power of this Prison Flower was incredibly abundant, and that it shared the same source as the Magic Power of the giant tree.

"Tsk, why are none of my attacks effective against you?"

It seems this is the first time Prison Flower has encountered an opponent like Thousand Sins whose attacks are completely ineffective.

Before she could react, Thousand Sins had already raised his finger, and a blood-red flash of light shot towards Prison Flower.

This was far more terrifying than what Prison Flower had just done.

However, Thousand Sins discovered that when the attack was about to knock Prison Flower down, the numerous vines on the tree blocked Prison Flower's path.

I'm surprised you have this ability.

However, this is meaningless.

"Huh..."

Prison Flower thought she could save herself from this attack, but she never expected to see such an unimaginable scene unfold before her eyes.

The Magic Power flash that had just appeared exaggerated in her eyes instantly coalesced into an even larger one at Thousand Sins's fingertips.

"----boom!"

Thousand Sins intensified her efforts, and the next round of even more threatening demonic flashes had already burned away the surging plants. She clearly heard the sound of the Prison Flower being destroyed.

She even saw charred flower petals falling from the sky.

"Were you defeated so easily...?"

When the smoke cleared, Thousand Sins was stunned for a moment.

Generally speaking, given the strength that Prison Flower just displayed, she shouldn't be this fragile, right?

She had absolutely no sense of having dealt with a formidable enemy.

Just then, she heard Prison Flower's playful laughter again.

Thousand Sins turned his head with considerable annoyance, and then saw that the Magic girl Prison Flower was flying in the air unharmed, without even the wounds from the battle.

This time, Thousand Sins was confused.

How come even she didn't notice? How did Prison Flower dodge that attack and emerge completely unharmed?

"I didn't expect you to survive that attack."

Thousand Sins's eyes narrowed slightly.

To everyone's surprise, the Prison Flower flashed a bright smile, as if she had heard something very funny.

She let out the same clear, silvery laughter as before:

"Huh? No, you did just kill her. Now it's my turn to deal with you."

The Magic girl, who looked exactly the same as before, was uttering such incomprehensible words.

Surprisingly, Thousand Sins did not immediately make a move, but instead carefully examined his opponent.

Her mind was replaying the other person's words.

"What?"

As she carefully examined all the details of what had just happened, she realized that logically, she should have indeed killed the Prison Flower.

Who is this guy in front of me?

Before the Thousand Sins, beneath the colossal tree that made the city's buildings appear so small, the Magic girl named Prison Flower once again raised her Magic Wand, Magic Wand tip gleaming with a dark red light.

And soon, it wasn't just this one dish.

In the depths of darkness, in the distant buildings, and within the hollows of the trees, beams of the same light shone forth from the newly formed flower buds at the treetops.

It was like accidentally wandering into Black Forest inhabited by Witch.

Around Thousand Sins, laughter from other Witch rang out, mingling together and sounding particularly eerie and jarring.

"Oh, I misspoke. To be precise, it should be 'we'."

The eerie moonlight illuminated the figures of Witch flying through the night.

They were all exactly the same as the Prison Flower that Thousand Sins had just defeated.

Dozens... even hundreds of Prison Flower appeared before Thousand Sins, all exuding the same aura, clearly not illusions.

"Next, we'll capture you first. That will solve the problem of the most dangerous Magic girl for Mother. Hehe, after that, both you and Little Star Flower will become one of us."

"By the way, you have other companions, right?"

"Although they will soon be defeated just like you, Mother doesn't seem to be interested in them. What should we do? This is really worrying."

The second Prison Flower to appear said this.

Thousand Sins stared at the far greater number of enemies than he had imagined, remaining silent. He simply raised the Cross Nail, slung it over his shoulder, and tapped it.

"Since you're so confident, we'll do our best to make you and your so-called 'Mother' disappear together."

After encountering the Magic girl named Prison Flower, Kirishima Ai and the others transformed and dragged the Magic girl outside the agency to fight her.

Coincidentally, they and this Prison Flower are all types who are very skilled in aerial combat.

At first, when they encountered a Magic girl who looked exactly like Star Flower, Fate Kite and the others couldn't go all out as usual. After all, they were worried that this girl might have some connection with Star Flower, and that Sakaki Chika herself might be affected by the battle.