Why are the magical girls in your area male?

Yuan Qing also suppressed his smile, picked up his canvas bag again, and followed Shiori Shiomi's footsteps.

Shiori Shiomi led him to a corner of the observatory and stopped in front of a black stone slab that blended seamlessly with the surrounding stone walls.

Shiori Shiomi extended her finger, a tiny glimmer of light gathering at its tip, and quickly traced several complex paths across the stone slab.

Several intricate and obscure runes lit up one after another, and then a dark blue, vortex-like portal silently unfolded before them.

"Let's go."

Shiori Shiomi stepped into the portal without looking back, her figure instantly swallowed by the dark blue light.

Yuan Qing followed closely behind and stepped in.

After a brief feeling of weightlessness, Yuan Qing found himself standing on the edge of a forest shrouded in a thin mist.

The trees here are exceptionally tall, their branches and leaves blocking out the sun, making the air feel unusually still, and even the passage of time seems to slow down.

"This is the forbidden forest behind the Tarot Association. Because it has ancient restrictions, it is easy to accidentally injure magical girls, so ordinary members are strictly prohibited from setting foot here."

As she explained, Shiori Shiomi continued walking along an ancient path almost entirely covered in moss.

Her figure appeared and disappeared in the hazy mist, and Yuan Qing couldn't help but frown slightly, feeling that he would lose her if he wasn't careful.

An ancient, magical aura permeated the air, giving one the feeling that they existed here since the beginning of time.

After passing through the forbidden forest, the view suddenly opened up before us.

Before us lay a vast lake.

The lake was deep and still, reflecting the dark sky and the eternally crescent moon.

The lake surface was as smooth as a mirror, without a single ripple.

Shiori Shiomi tapped her finger in the air, and two soft ribbons of light flowed from her fingertips and entered the two people's bodies.

"Follow."

Shiori Shiomi spoke succinctly, taking the lead on stepping onto the lake surface. Her body seemed like a feather, moving across the lake as if it were flat ground.

Yuan Qing followed suit, stepping forward as if walking on a soft sponge, with the lake water rippling gently beneath his feet.

The two walked one after the other towards the center of the lake.

Strangely, the closer you get to the center, the denser the fog becomes, and the dimmer the light becomes.

Shiori Shiomi stopped again when she reached a certain spot in the middle of the lake.

"...Ready?"

Shiori Shiomi turned her head and glanced at Gensei beside her. Before he could answer, she took his hand and jumped down.

The expected feeling of drowning did not come.

Gensei saw his body rapidly falling to the bottom of the lake, pulled by Shiori Shiomi.

The icy lake water soaked his body, but he still breathed freely, as if he had a water-repelling bead.

After an unknown amount of time, a faint light appeared from the deep lake bottom.

Yuan Qing looked at the faint light rippling in the distance, the surface of the water shimmering.

Shiori Shiomi leaped out with him and landed on the water's surface.

Upon seeing the scene before him, even Yuan Qing, who had experienced lunar erosion, couldn't help but show astonishment.

They...it seemed as if they traversed the entire lake, swimming from the bottom to "another surface" of the lake.

Gravity is inverted invisibly. There is no sky or earth here. All around is a soft, uniform white halo, like a thin mist.

Beneath my feet lay a boundless lake, shimmering like the surrounding waters.

And in the very center of this luminous water stands a plant whose magnificence defies description—

A giant lotus flower!

Its scale is comparable to a magnificent city, its petals are pure, its light flows, its veins are clear, and it exudes a peaceful, serene, and incredibly powerful aura.

The lotus stems extend downwards, disappearing into the water of light below, their depths unfathomable.

Yuan Qing looked up at this incredible creation and couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

Even without the Flower of the Heart, he seemed to resonate with the power flowing within it.

Its name is 'Forgiveness'.

Shiori Shiomi's voice came from the side, her tone carrying a hint of complexity and remembrance:

"It is said that it gave birth to the goddess of 'virtue,' making it the mother of 'pure beauty,' and the source of all magical girls."

"...Is it really that exaggerated?"

Yuan Qing couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

He himself wasn't very interested in so-called gods.

However, having heard so many myths and folk fantasies, he was still quite shocked to be able to see with his own eyes the magnificent object that might be the cradle of "gods".

"...Let's go."

Shiori Shiomi didn't give Gensei any more time to marvel. She took his hand, and in a flash, she appeared in front of the enormous lotus flower.

The petals are comparable to towering skyscrapers outside, and when you look up, you can't see the end of them at all.

Shiori Shiomi carried Ao to one of the lotus seeds, which was enormous and comparable in size to a hill.

As they approached, the lotus seed silently slid open an entrance, revealing soft light inside, allowing the two to step inside.

It is said that a flower is a world, and inside the lotus seed is a neatly trimmed, vibrant Western-style palace garden.

Exotic flowers and rare herbs bloom in profusion, the air is fresh, and a faint floral fragrance permeates the air.

The path meanders, and in the distance you can even see exquisite Western-style buildings.

After a short while, Shiori Shiomi stopped.

Yuan Qing looked up and saw a giant, ancient tree standing in the center of the garden.

The giant tree soared straight into the sky, quite impressive, but its branches and leaves were not lush, instead appearing somewhat sparse.

On the thick tree trunk, countless silver vines, emitting a faint light, tightly wrapped around a figure.

It was the silhouette of a woman, with a graceful and alluring figure and breathtaking curves.

But her skin had an ominous black color, like charred charcoal.

Thick, inky turbid energy seeped from her body, only to be barely suppressed and dissolved by the pure magic emanating from the surrounding silver vines and giant trees.

Her long hair, like withered seaweed, was disheveled and covered most of her face, leaving only the sharp outline of her chin visible.

She remained motionless, appearing as if she were in an eternal slumber, like a black sculpture of despair and anguish.

Even from a distance, Yuan Qing could sense the dark, turbid aura emanating from the bound figure.

Shiori Shiomi stopped in her tracks, gazing at the imprisoned figure, her crimson eyes swirling with complex emotions.

"She is Asakawa Sena..."

Her tone was low and full of pity, her voice trembling slightly.

"Once you fall into witchhood, you will completely lose your human consciousness and become a bloodthirsty beast that only knows how to kill and does not distinguish between friend and foe, just like the shadow beast that wanders around the moon-etched."

"When it comes to witches, the association often has no choice but to kill them to end their suffering and the desecration caused by their tainted nature."

"As for Asakawa Sena, I, and Nakado Go, we took pity on her and captured her alive, bringing her back to the association. We secretly hid her in 'Forgiveness' and used the pure magic of forgiveness to suppress the turbid energy in her body."

"There's a saying that forgiveness loses its divine power after nurturing the goddess of 'virtue,' so it can only suppress witches, not purify them."

"Physical wounds can heal, but how can a wounded heart be soothed?"

As Shiori Shiomi said this, a self-deprecating sneer appeared on her face.

Yuan Qing stood silently in place, his gaze fixed on the black figure bound to the ancient tree.

The system's prompts were popping up one after another in his eyes:

[Unit: Moonfall Crow's Cry (Asakawa Hoshina), Level: 22 (C)]

[It has been discovered that the Moonlit Flower and the Crow's Heart Flower have been corrupted by turbid air.]

[Erosion level: 100%]

[Erosion Effect: Level reduced by 34]

[Status: Witch Transformation]

[Note: Because Moonfall and Crow's Cry have not formed a vow with you, you cannot use your own power to purify the impurities in them.]

[Evil | Corruption, now available for use]

"Shiori."

Yuan Qing suddenly spoke, calling out Shiori Shiomi's real name in an extremely heavy tone.

The latter turned to look at him, her expression sorrowful.

"If I could bring her back to consciousness, the price would be that she could never be a magical girl again..."

Do you agree?

Shiori Shiomi lowered her eyelids slightly, her eyes filled with an inscrutable expression.

She didn't even doubt Yuan Qing's abilities, simply shaking her head slightly in response:

"I won't interfere with your decision; I just hope you can respect her will. If it were her, perhaps she would agree."

"I understand."

Yuan Qing nodded, said no more, stepped forward, and with a thought, selected the [Evil, Corruption] option in the system bar!

The moment he used this option, Yuan Qing clearly sensed a subtle resistance emanating from the mangled, charred remains of the witch before him.

This will, like a candle flickering in the wind, is filled with pain, fear, and confusion.

Yuan Qing couldn't help but frown slightly.

With his power, he could easily crush this insignificant resistance by simply using the power of the king.

But after a brief pause, he canceled the "evil, depravity" process, squatted down, unzipped the canvas bag at his feet, took out the heavy bowling ball, and then smashed it to the ground without hesitation!

"boom!"

The bowling ball shattered, and Kitano Gawa's head, frozen in terror, rolled out, rolling all the way to the old tree and stopping below Asakawa Sena's lowered gaze.

A faint smell of blood wafted through the garden, creating an eerie contrast with the surrounding floral fragrance.

"Sena Asakawa."

Yuan Qing spoke calmly, his gaze intense as he stared at the other person's body, as if he could see through her charred shell and into the depths of her fragile soul.

"I know you are a kind and good person."

"It is because of morality that pain arises, and it is because of kindness that torment is felt."

"That's why you were driven mad by villains like Kitano Gawa and fell into this infernal hell."

"Now, the head of your enemy is at your feet."

Yuan Qing's voice suddenly rose, and a dazzling golden light surged from the depths of his pupils, permeating his entire eyes:

"Abandon your pointless, naive kindness, and awaken anew!"

His gaze swept over Shiori Shiomi beside him, staring directly into her crimson eyes.

Through her, Yuan Qing seemed to see all the magical girls struggling in the darkness.

He continued speaking, each sentence heavy, each word carrying immense weight—

"The heavy burdens weighing you down, the shackles you were forced to wear, the terrible price you paid for so-called 'virtue'..."

"From now on, I will take responsibility!"

"Those you can't kill, I will!"

"What you can't do, I'll do!"

"I will bear all the sins and their consequences alone!"

His gaze returned to Asakawa Sena, the unyielding command sounding like the tolling of a verdict: