Give children a little self-destruction shock to their worldview.

Water surged in from all directions, squeezing her fragile abdomen. She struggled to open her eyes, but what she saw was not the shallow lake that had never been illuminated by the moonlight.

She saw a golden full moon hanging in the sky.

She could almost see the eye-like patterns on it, and her own figure was reflected in the huge pupil, making her appear so small.

It was while being watched by those eyes that her panic and fear slowly dissipated, and the lake water, no longer so icy cold, quickly warmed up, making her feel as safe as if she were in her mother's womb.

The ego is fading away, and the shadow that once shrouded her soul is also disappearing. The weariness and pain in her body are leaving her, and she is gradually losing consciousness of her own body...

Mayumi Haga's consciousness gradually faded, yet she seemed to be peacefully asleep in bed.

...No, that's not right...

At this moment, I clearly, clearly did not give up the struggle...

"Mayumi?! Mayumi!"

At the last moment, an anxious call from the distant horizon jolted Mayumi Haga back to reality!

She opened her eyes, but felt numb all over and couldn't lift her arms for a while. Not only that, her vision was also strangely blurry, only clearing up quickly after she struggled to regain her senses.

Once she could feel her limbs again, Mayumi Haga sat up in bed, slightly out of breath.

Turning her head, she saw Megraine's terrified expression on the bedside table. Looking around, she saw a complete mess. The water sprite's head bobbed, "What happened to you? You started doing this in the middle of your sleep..."

Strange changes began to occur in his limbs.

It looked exactly like the regenerative ability had gone out of control, unable to stop its continued growth after the limbs reached their original standard, so it almost turned into a twisted lump of flesh... But because of the world's harmony mechanism, Mayumi Haga's body did not actually go out of control in the confusion, but began to dissipate after causing damage.

If Mayumi Haga becomes completely lost in the dream, then her body will be judged as a corpse, turning into a puddle that can't be picked up even if you try.

By then, it will be very difficult to wake up again.

Seeing that Mayumi Haga was about to die, Megaran desperately tried to wake her up.

However, after waking up, Megaran also noticed the strangeness of Mayumi Haga.

Having regrown her limbs and awakened from that humanoid ice cream-shaped state, Mayumi Haga is different now.

In the past, Mayumi Haga was always so resolute that she seemed almost inhuman, but today she was a beat slower and seemed lost in her own thoughts. After sitting up, she covered her face, seemingly pondering something.

When Mayumi Haga turned her face, Megaran was so shocked that she was almost speechless.

On that gloomy face, a dark line had appeared under her left eye at some unknown time. At first glance, it looked as if it had cut open Mayumi Haga's face, but upon closer inspection, it was a line filled with an ominous aura.

Megrana knew exactly what it was, after all, she had almost been swallowed by it as well.

“Mayumi…? When did you get this…” Megaran stammered, which almost shattered her understanding. Mayumi Haga was clearly the guardian least likely to be corrupted by the calamity.

After all, the core of the Yuga Mayumi can be extracted very quickly, and the Calamity Erosion generally cannot break through the core defense of the Yuga Mayumi.

Even when fighting alone, and in more dangerous situations, it wasn't corrupted... so why is it like this now?

Mayumi Haga felt a headache for the first time in a long time. Her left eye was slightly squinted, sensitive to light, and could not be fully opened, burning with pain.

Megrana, however, saw it even more clearly.

When the black-haired girl is not in her guardian mode, her eyes do not turn a brilliant gold. Even when they do turn a brilliant gold, her eyes will only have an inorganic luster, like a gemstone.

But now, the half of the eye that was covered by the calamity lines has turned into a golden vertical pupil.

The background color was not clear, but rather murky and gloomy, so somber that it hardly resembled Mayumi Haga's own eyes.

"Hey, Mayumi, what exactly are you doing... what are you trying to do!?" Just as Megaran was about to say something, he saw Mayumi Haga take out a mirror, look at her face, and then pull out a knife and stab it into her eye socket.

The core of Mayumi Haga is in the brain. After being eroded by the calamity, it will first affect the flesh closest to the core... that is, the most important head.

Even for a guardian, if the brain is damaged, the repair speed is much slower than that of other parts of the body.

Brain damage will cause the Guardian to temporarily lose control of their body. Even if it is quickly repaired, the body control will be weakened for a period of time.

For Mayumi Haga, the best option would naturally be to avoid brain damage.

But now it's clear that I can't hold back against myself.

The eyeballs were violently gouged out, the skull was forcefully opened, and the core, which was wrapped in brain tissue, was exposed. Dark patterns appeared on the hard, golden gem that should have been flawless.

Mayumi Haga's breathing was a little unsteady and her arms were trembling, but it was already a miracle that she could still control her body.

Megran swallowed hard. Although the scene before her made her slightly uneasy, the thought that Mayumi Haga would recover in a short time and that the finger she was eating might suddenly move and tear open her upper jaw at any moment immediately put an end to her little thoughts.

Anyway, such a small wound will heal completely in a short time until the scar is no longer visible... Huh?

Megrana noticed the problem.

Despite the extent of her head damage, her body's self-healing mechanism failed to activate. Instead, her hands trembled and grew increasingly weak, and finally, the black-haired girl collapsed silently.

"Mayu?! Hey, why don't you heal yourself?! Hey!"

The core rolled out with a gurgling sound. The body was judged to be a corpse the moment it lost its core, and immediately turned into a semi-melted humanoid ice cream the color of orange juice. Fortunately, the core still had the ability to resurrect the dead. After a surge of flesh color, the girl reappeared in front of Megarane intact.

Yuga Mayumi knelt on the ground, drenched in sweat, and it took her a while to come to her senses, but the lines on her face did not disappear.

Although she will not die, she has lost the ability to heal herself.

Main Text: Chapter 126 The Only 53 Lives Left

Because of the calamity, Mayumi Haga lost her ability to heal herself.

Whether it's a temporary or permanent loss, it's not a big problem for the guardians.

Although it can no longer heal itself after being injured, it can still be resurrected and rebuild a complete physical body after death, as long as the core is preserved intact.

The other guardians' self-healing abilities are far less powerful than Mayumi Haga's, and most of the time they survive by resurrecting after death.

But Haga Mayumi is a little different.

Before becoming a guardian, she suffered from a severe congenital heart disease.

Even after becoming a guardian, the disease was not eradicated, but was suppressed by her powerful self-healing ability, no longer causing any ripples.

Now, having lost her self-healing ability, Mayumi Haga is once again feeling waves of discomfort coming from her heart.

Her vision blurred, and her chest ached so badly she could barely speak. The recent resurrection had taken a toll on her, and the emotional turmoil had caused her illness to relapse. She could only sit down slowly, trying to calm her breathing, and then take out some medicine from her backpack and gulp it down.

When he came to his senses, Megaran sat in her lap with concern, leaning close: "Mayumi? What's wrong with you...? Can't you heal yourself? And what's this calamity?"

Megaran noticed the difference between Mayumi Haga and himself in their state of being corrupted.

Perhaps because the calamities eroded them in different ways, the original Megaran was only affected in her mind. Moreover, because her mind was not filled with much, and she had no desires other than to manipulate Mayumi Haga, she was fine as long as Mayumi Haga purified her with fire.

Overall, the calamity did not affect Megarane's soul... but it directly entered the core of Mayumi Haga.

The core of Haga Mayum, after being corrupted, is actually quite different from that of Urzana.

The biggest difference is that the core of Yuga Mayumi has been shattered, and the calamity has tainted the brilliant gold with a light gloom. Moreover, the shattering process is increasing with the number of times Yuga Mayumi is resurrected. However, the corruption of Urzana only affected the surface of the core. Although there were cracks, they did not penetrate deep into the interior.

Megrana was very anxious: "You can't just resurrect like that anymore, you know? That will make you completely devoured! That's when you'll truly die... I really don't understand! You've always been so dense, how come your mind is so fragile right now?"

She knew that what Mayumi Haga was going to endure was on a completely different level than what she was going to endure, and on a completely different level than what anyone else was going to endure... but couldn't she just hold on a little longer?

She was unaware that, due to the Despair Monster, Mayumi Haga's spiritual protection had completely disappeared.

The shadows of Mayumi Haga's past have now truly engulfed her already crumbling mind.

Mayumi Haga didn't have the strength to speak to Megaran, but she chuckled softly twice, a rare occurrence: "Then be devoured."

“If you’ve been devoured, then… what did you say?” Megaran’s words caught in her throat. Her eyes widened as she finally noticed the most unusual thing about Mayumi Haga. She leaned closer, observing in astonishment every familiar detail on that face.

Unfortunately, she could not find any evidence that Mayumi Haga said this against her will.

In other words, Mayumi Haga genuinely said those discouraging words.

“What are you thinking? Do you feel like you can’t go back, so you’re okay with anything? Aren’t you living well enough in this world? Why would you say something like that…” This time, Megarane began to truly examine Mayumi Haga’s own thoughts.

She always thought that Mayumi Haga was the least likely person to want to die.

If someone can persevere to this day on their own, there's no reason for them to give up in this wonderful new world.

Mayumi Haga simply looked away, her eyes lowered, her eyelashes casting small fan-like shadows on her cheeks: "I have no intention of actively embracing death."

Even though this is the peaceful ending she has been unable to achieve despite her many journeys, Mayumi Haga will not step into her grave until the conditions are met.

She once possessed immeasurable value, so she dedicated herself to her duty.

Now, she has only a few things left, but she will not take them to her grave peacefully.

She would burn away all of her remaining energy, and when she could no longer get up, she would be able to fall asleep peacefully.

This is definitely not a desire to die, but it doesn't exactly suggest a will to live either.

After all, Mayumi Haga doesn't actively protect herself in battle; she wishes her brains could be splattered evenly. In that case, even if she had 999 lives, she wouldn't survive for long.

As Mayumi Haga thought about this, she suddenly felt a little happy. She laughed in front of the anxious Megaran, which puzzled him: "What are you laughing at? What are you laughing at a time like this?"

"Knowing that my life is becoming finite actually feels better than before," Mayumi Haga said, her tone becoming much lighter.

She remembered a lot.

I think back to the time when I was physically weak before I became a guardian.

Whether it was the first cherry blossom in spring, the torrential rain and chilled watermelon in summer, the scene of everyone in the village working hard in the fields in autumn, or even the blizzard that almost collapsed the roof in winter... all of these were much more vivid in color than they are now.

Those memories should have shone brightly in her mind, and should have been an essential part of her being, but they were buried by the long passage of time that followed.

In fact, it is the finite lifespan that often gives birth to infinite miracles.

Mayumi Haga's smile looked somewhat like a snowflake, melting away instantly upon falling and leaving no trace, but that pleasant coolness still lingered on the tip of her nose.

It's like the aroma emanating from the last piece of firewood in a fireplace after it has burned—quiet yet fiery.

Under Megaran's worried gaze, Mayumi Haga leaned against the wall and sat up from the ground.

Her clothes were soaked through. Even after she was resurrected and put on a new nightgown, it was still stained with the highly sugary corpse fluid on the ground, making her look like a mess.

The frailty that had been suppressed by the Guardian's self-healing ability resurfaced, her face pale to the point of being almost transparent. After calming down for a while, she estimated the number of resurrections she could use left based on her core status and the damage she had inflicted with each resurrection.

There are a maximum of 53 more chances.

Haga Mayumi knew what was going on.

Chapter 127 I Didn't Do Anything Wrong

During class, Hitomi Tono would frequently cast worried glances at those around her.

Mayumi...why didn't you come to school today?

The seat that belonged to Mayumi Haga was empty, and the seat next to Belle was also empty.

Although the return visit day for magical girls and gem monsters is coming soon, if she weren't still adjusting her body and unable to transform, she would probably be taking time out of her spare time every few days to work harder on magical girl activities... But Mayumi isn't a magical girl, is she?

Although in the eyes of the people of Miracle City, the Guardian Girl who often hangs out with the magical girls might not be much different from them, Hitomi Tohno, as a magical girl herself, is well aware of the difference.

The guardian Mayumi Haga is not bound by the rules of magical girls and is much freer than magical girls.

However, after the homeroom teacher, Ms. Kirino, made a home visit, Mayumi should not have skipped class without permission.

Tono Hitomi has known Mayumi Haga since childhood. The latter's adherence to rules is outrageous. Before this special situation, Mayumi Haga had never taken a single day off.

Even Hitomi Tono would sometimes pretend to be sick and skip school when she was a child.

So, what happened today...?

Hitomi Tono couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Unable to transform, her magic is severely limited, leaving her with almost nothing but telepathic communication and a few harmless everyday spells.

Unable to fly or use enhancement magic, not to mention magic cannons... unable to even conjure magical costumes, basically cut off from combat.

In that case, if I rashly go to help Mayumi, I might end up holding her back... no, I should say I definitely will.

If Mayumi Haga knew magic, that would be fine, but Mayumi Haga's fighting style isn't really the type to protect anyone from enemies. If another person suddenly enters the fray, the magical girl will cover the passerby with a magical shield, while all Mayumi Haga can do is protect them with her body.

And it might even distract Mayumi.

Mayumi Haga needs to be highly focused during battle. Although Mayumi herself is unlikely to be easily distracted, it's always better to be on the safe side.

Taking this possibility into consideration, Hitomi Tono will not actively disturb Mayumi Haga when she is on field missions.

...Well, actually, part of the reason is that she was also preoccupied with her own problems.

With too much homework to catch up on and no way to transform, Hitomi Tono is currently in a terrible predicament.

Having discovered her own feelings for Mayumi and learned a little about her secrets, Tono Hitomi, who felt she had been receiving too much information lately, decided it was best to give herself some time to calm down.

Without a doubt, she liked Mayumi the most.

When she first met Mayumi, she noticed that Mayumi was a loner, so she took the initiative to hang out with her so that Mayumi wouldn't feel lonely.