Chapter 442

Those were crescent-shaped Crystal.

It emitted a mysterious, otherworldly light that seemed to emanate from the depths of the Universe.

--This is the crystallized essence of the Lunar Devil King Crystal, "Death Calamity Poison".

Just as she had guessed, even after Lily was affected by the Lost Paradise Twilight and turned into a child, the Devil King Crystal did not scatter or get lost, but remained on Haihara's body.

That's for sure.

Even if Tachibana herself had turned into Crystal, she wouldn't have wanted to leave Lily.

Although Ai Haihara has lost more of her memories, she can still use it.

Although she wanted to seal the Crystal immediately, for the time being, she still needed Lily to possess this power.

"... Um?"

Tachibana tilted her head.

If that's the case, why haven't we seen the Crystal of her Bird System sisters?

"Could it be that little Camilla still has self-awareness and ran away on her own? Impossible."

She flatly rejected it.

Camilla is the name Lilith gave to the Bird-Type Devil King.

Why isn't the Bird System "Evil Soul Suppression" Crystal here?

Speaking of which, there's another thing she's a little curious about.

That is, on Christmas Day, she remembered Lily using the Fallen Heaven Wand.

But after Lily's accident, the Magical Girl Dark Kite naturally resumed using Fallen Heaven.

Forget it, she doesn't have the enthusiasm to think about these things right now; she doesn't like using her brain at all.

Besides bringing Lily home, there's only one other thing Tachibana is currently interested in.

When she arrived at the gates of the World Apart, her Black Death Cult also came before her.

Tachibana merely glanced at these Black Death Cult.

She said with a smile:

"Besides those Magic girls, I also asked you to pay a visit to the esteemed Doctor Hong Shang, didn't you?"

In her conversation, she addressed Kougami with familiarity.

In fact, when she was living in Earth society, she had worked in archaeology and was once colleagues with Kougami Kage, but they didn't have any in-depth exchanges.

But she remembered that this mortal, whom she considered to be exceptionally talented, seemed to be secretly hiding something she didn't know about.

This bothered her a little.

And for some obvious and more important reasons.

She also dispatched the largest number of her men to attack Kougami Kage's research institute at this time.

After receiving a reply from his subordinate, Tachibana's expression showed slight surprise:

"Hmm... something happened?"

"There's nothing we can do about it, but it's okay."

It seems this matter is currently unresolved.

Tachibana clearly didn't intend to dwell on this matter.

Before the blizzard subsided, she didn't look at the city, which had fallen into chaos, and stepped into the vortex, leaving behind only an inexplicable silence and the howling of the wind.

After the riot ended in a disheartening way, the Magic girls eventually gathered in various ways in Doctor Hong Shang's empty laboratory and roughly exchanged the information they knew about each other.

This time, the Flower Demon King did something beyond imagination; it was clear to everyone that they had all anticipated the worst possible consequences if things went wrong.

Now, countless citizens have been transferred to another space.

If something unexpected happens...

Now, an invisible low pressure hangs over the research institute. The Magic girls are sitting casually in various corners of the cluttered institute, and the wind and snow outside have stopped blowing.

This doesn't mean the snow has stopped.

Instead, the entire city has been brought to a standstill by some kind of Magic from Teacher Roland.

The city's vehicles, Asuka, and children were all completely still.

Even the snow stopped.

The reason for doing so is quite simple.

Because too many adults have vanished into thin air in this city.

Moving vehicles, unmanned city facilities, and empty houses can all cause accidents.

It seems that Ms. Roland was allowed to be busy to this extent.

But this protection won't last long.

If the chaos caused by the Flower Demon King cannot be resolved and everything cannot be returned to its original state, something terrible will still happen.

When they finally had a chance to settle down and undo their transformations, they discovered something else very ominous.

"... Did the president contact us before?"

Kirishima Ai looked at the red-highlighted phone number on her phone, a grim expression on her face.

They all discovered that the president had tried to contact each of them not long ago.

However, they were both facing their own troubles at that time, and without the Doctor's help, they had no time to contact each other.

We need to call back to confirm as soon as possible.

Finally, it was Sakaki Chika who got through to the president again. Her unease was obvious, as she thought about what had happened that morning, and why the president had called them at that time...

Shortly after, the call was connected.

However, there was no sound from the other end of the phone; only faint breathing could be heard.

"... President?"

Sakaki Chika unconsciously spoke a little softly.

[Um.]

The other party's response didn't even allow Sakaki Chika to confirm whether she had heard it or if it was just background noise.

"Um... we were both in trouble before, did you call us because you needed any help at the time?"

She asked cautiously.

She actually wanted to ask the student council president and Teacher Haihara if they were safe, but she subconsciously avoided the question.

There was a moment of silence on the phone.

[It's no longer important.]

This time, even over the phone, you could tell that Kazama Kiriori's tone was devoid of emotion, somewhat wooden.

Sakaki Chika blinked.

She said nothing, remaining silent. Her other companions stared at her, each displaying a different expression.

"President, we are currently... at the Doctor's research institute, if possible..."

After a while, she received a response:

[... Yeah?]

[I see.]

After that, the president didn't say anything and hung up the phone.

The phone rang intermittently.

Everyone can hear it.

For some reason, everyone remained silent at this moment, neither asking questions nor making eye contact with others.

Thinking didn't take them too long.

Apart from Sakaki Chika, who was staring blankly, everyone else was lost in their own thoughts.

In fact, they didn't have to wait long.

If it were the president, they would never have to wait long, but this time, the process was longer than expected.

Shortly after, the door to the research institute was pushed open with little force.

The president appears to have deactivated his transformation.

However, everyone could notice that even the Magic girl couldn't absorb some of her injuries; there were still obvious scratches on her neck, which had stained the collar of her shirt red.

However, Kazama Kiriori was completely unaware of this. Whether she noticed it herself or not, her expression now only made people feel frightened and worried.

No one spoke.

At this moment, they inevitably felt as lost and helpless as children.

There was no one to rely on, and one bad thing after another happened.

And what happens next is uncertain whether it will shatter the fragile balance they've always maintained.

Chapter 197 The Final Act

Naturally, under these circumstances, the Magic girls ultimately had to rely on the student council president's help.

They eventually called the president.

But right now, Kazama Kiriori looks worse than all of them, and her silence casts a shadow over everyone's hearts.

She neither sought treatment nor took any initiative; she simply sat in the corner, her face ashen, her eyes occasionally darting around blankly, as if deep in thought.

Even though they didn't want to face it, time wouldn't wait for them. Takanashi took a step forward and asked the president what had happened.

Next, Kazama Kiriori opened her mouth.

Although all the Magic girls seemed to have guessed that something terrible must have happened to Teacher Haihara, they were still speechless when they heard it from Kazama Kiriori.

She didn't hide anything and bluntly stated the fact that Haihara had been taken away by the Flower Demon King.

"Captured? Why... Uh, President, was that a joke? How could you let Teacher Haihara be taken away by the Demon King? How could you not protect her...?"

Takanashi instinctively grabbed Kazama Kiriori's arm, then asked anxiously and frantically, but in the end, her voice gradually became dry and weak.

She lowered her head, her eyes dim.

The chairman couldn't have failed to do his best.

Something unexpected must have happened.

Later, they learned from the president that the teacher had not only become smaller, but had also lost even more of her memories.

Even their perceptions, like those of the residents who were taken away from the city, showed signs of being distorted and manipulated.

She even came to regard the Flower Demon King as her mother.

Furthermore, for some unknown reason, Teacher Haihara also possessed the power of Lunar Monster...

Although some people present knew the truth, they couldn't speak up.

The president's injuries were from his battle with the Flower Demon King.

"So that's what happened back then..."

None of them could help at the time.

As a result, ordinary people and those important to them are now caught up in the danger.

The Problem Child fell silent for a moment.

Now, even the small clocks inside the research institute are no longer ticking.

The gears and the pointers froze at that moment, stagnating.