The villainous magical girl's daily mission is to find fault.

[Shh...]

[This is Mengmeng, now we're starting our first recording.]

Clear audio emanated from the sacred stone, and the girls couldn't help but cheer softly and high-five each other.

Hyacinth had no time to celebrate; she listened intently to the recording that she had finally managed to obtain after many twists and turns.

"It really was a long detour," Xin Yuehu said softly from the side.

Bai Lili and Qiu Gui, who were beside him, nodded in unison.

"Yes, who would have thought that we got our hands on this intelligence two years ago?" Qiu Gui couldn't help but reply.

"The intelligence sent out the day before yesterday actually reached Bai Ling two years ago. It's really strange when you think about it," Bai Lili added.

Bai Ling, Yue Tianxin, and Da Ju, who came to Rongcheng with Qiu Gui to help, were three stargazers who fiddled with the Divine Stone, categorizing the decoded recordings into playlists.

The magical girls around were all summoned by Hyacinth, but there weren't many of them—only one of each of Bai Lili and Qiu Gui's teams came, and only Benhu from the villain group was present; the others had their own things to do.

Moreover, intelligence analysis doesn't require too many people to be present. Too many people talking at once means no intelligence can be gathered. It's better to concentrate elite forces to accomplish important tasks.

But thinking of the hyacinth's weeping appearance, Su Tianqing couldn't help but feel a strange emotion welling up inside her:

It was so delightful, so incredibly delightful.

She could finally understand why Rabbit enjoyed seeing magical girls cry so much—their pitiful appearance was so endearing, and just watching them helplessly weep in front of her filled her with a strange sense of pleasure.

Ahem, going any deeper would probably lead to the destruction of the world. Let's listen to the recording in the Divine Stone first.

I don't know exactly when this divine stone will be projected onto the present world, but if it were to be precisely projected onto you, Bai Ling, the point would probably be when you graduate from the Stargazer School.

When projecting objects directly from our mental imagery into the mortal world or the astral realm, Albatross and I must personally visit that location in the mortal world first.

If you really lose it, it shouldn't be too hard to find. You should meet at least one of the following conditions, and at the same time, when you think of me, you will trigger the last round of your present-life return before the cycle of reincarnation begins.

Next are several conditions that are relatively easy to meet, one of which is "failing eight or more courses before graduation".

Once the conditions are met, the modified sacred stone will be placed in your home. Combined with the cipher text that Albatross sent to the mortal world, it should be easy to decipher with the computing power of your era.

[This recording ends here. Preparing to begin the cycle of death.]

The first file has finished playing.

After a brief moment of reflection and summarization, everyone finally understood something—

From the moment Bai Ling obtained that divine stone two years ago, before she became a hyacinth stargazer, and even before she came to the mortal world from the astral plane, the gears of fate had already begun to turn quietly.

"Next, we'll play the second recording, which is accompanied by many pictures. I'll project them later."

Bai Ling said, raising her hand to unfold a series of images on the magical light screen in front of her.

[In the second recording, I will explain in detail Albatross's plan, which is currently the only way to fight that undead monster.]

[First, let's talk about the principle of time loops and the specific operations to achieve them. This part may involve the theories of advanced sorcery and divination. I suggest that Bai Ling find a friend who is very proficient in advanced magic to help you.]

The specific principle is to use the power of the mental world to reverse and mirror time itself, which is detached from the current plane, within a Mystra unit, and then...

Hyacinth was dizzy from listening, but she had an inexplicable willpower that made her read and listen attentively, not daring to miss a single detail.

Bai Lili seemed to have heard something quite interesting, and remained focused, carefully considering the information Mengmeng had left in the recording.

The girls pondered and discussed amidst their turbulent thoughts, trying to find a way to access the world of their own minds.

……

Somewhere, a pure white-haired girl opened her eyes and looked up at the sky.

The city is in ruins, buildings are collapsing, the sky is torn apart by scars, and houses on the ground are burning fiercely.

Her gaze pierced through the smoke and dust clouds, looking at the giant jellyfish floating in the air.

An unnamed, powerful monster, a predator drifting through the starry sea. For the first time, the inhabitants of the present world witnessed this colossal creature from the astral plane, and for the first time, they fled in panic at its unconscious predation.

"Looking back at it now, I actually find it quite strange."

The albatross seemed to be talking to itself as it summoned its staff in its hand, and countless magical lights emanated from around it.

"Despite their enormous size and immense power, they lack the cognition and soul to match their strength, acting like wild beasts driven by instinct."

"Maybe that's why it's immortal? It seems the less intelligent you are, the longer you can live."

No one responded to her, and no one could give an answer.

The albatross glanced back at what was behind him.

Lilac was seriously injured, and Crimson Snow collapsed from exhaustion. Autumn Poplar was doing everything he could to heal them. Everything seemed to have returned to that day:

A rift in the stars appeared above Chengdu, and a jellyfish drifting in the sea of ​​stars entered the mortal world, stretching out its tentacles that descended from the sky, shrouding the city in a veil of death.

"...At this rate, with the remaining Guardian Star reserves I have, you can probably repeat this twelve more times." The Stargazer Elf's voice rang in my ears.

"The time loop is not perfect. Every time you seal it into reincarnation, you lose a considerable amount of magic. Twelve times is just the ideal situation. In reality, it will be even less."

The albatross didn't turn to look at the meerkat spirit perched on its shoulder; it simply gazed silently up at the giant jellyfish high in the sky, a pleasant smile on its face.

"Twelve times..."

"Mengmeng, if I can find a way to completely perfect reincarnation within these twelve cycles, can I also completely seal it off after I die?"

"It's difficult, harder than climbing to heaven," the meerkat spirit said without hesitation. "But since you've chosen this path, we'll persevere no matter how hard it is."

"..."

Halfway through her sentence, Mengmeng suddenly fell silent, as if she had thought of something, and whispered in the albatross's ear:

"I don't really understand why you suddenly became so determined to push forward with the [Death Cycle Project] after meeting Hyacinth?"

"Before this, you clearly supported the [Eternal Prison]. Wouldn't it be better if a powerful magical girl appeared in the future and broke the jellyfish's immortality?"

"Well..."

The albatross opened its mouth, as if to say something, but was interrupted by the giant jellyfish's sharp roar, which seemed to have sensed something.

The girl activated her flight magic and soared into the sky, ignoring the cries and advice of her companions behind her, launching her first and final charge against the Astral Jellyfish.

"—From the moment I saw the hyacinth, I knew that I would do everything in my power to keep the danger at bay."

Why?

"There's no reason why! I just suddenly felt that I should do this! There are always things that I would defend even if it meant giving up my life!"

The albatross's staff emitted a dazzling magical light, and the world's most powerful magic took shape in her hands, blossoming with her shouts.

"I will do anything to protect her; it's the most important responsibility of my life!"

"Respond to me! The stars are everywhere!!"

The guardian star shattered instantly, unleashing a torrent of magical power that ignited a spark of the most powerful magic, which quickly transformed into a raging inferno.

Magical Girl Albatross☆Shadow of the Stars

【Gravity☆Collapse】

The dazzling light was fleeting.

For a moment, the sky over Chengdu was completely empty, and all was silent.