Magia Record Main Story Arc 2 Chapter 5: Shaky Ideals in a Hazy Love Song
Story
After the Kimochi's declaration, the factions and their primary objectives are defined. Promised Blood engages in guerrilla tactics, targeting individual Union members who possess Kimochi Stones to exhaust them. Whenever any of the selected girls are about to fight each other, their bracelets will envelop them in a Labyrinth in order to have them fight with each other.
Iroha is ambushed by Hikaru, who demands her Kimochi Stone, and Iroha is horrified that Hikaru is unconcerned about Ryo's death. Yachiyo Nanami and Tsuruno Yui arrive to assist Iroha. Kagome also observes this fight from within the conflict zone, noting she can enter without being isolated, likely because she is not a Magical Girl.
Afterwards, Hinano informs Ikumi that Iroha was targeted. Ikumi, still grieving for Ryo, is struggling to maintain her composure. Hinano encourages her to continue grieving.
In a meeting, Himena meets with Kyubey and questions how the Automatic Purification System would be used if acquired. Kyubey confirms that if one could acquire all the Kimochi Stones and bring the system under control, it would not be impossible. Himena is satisfied with this answer and is joined by San and Miyuri.
Later, the Union members discuss the ongoing attacks from Promised Blood. Yachiyo deduces that Promised Blood is intentionally trying to cut down the Union members chosen by the Kimochi, so they decide to meet with the Tokime Clan to discuss the situation and the recent theft of Chiharu's Kimochi Stone.
The Union meets with Shizuka, Chiharu, and Sunao of the Tokime Clan. Shizuka formally announces the end of their alliance with the Union, wit the reason being fundamental difference in their stances on being Magical Girls. The Tokime take pride in their role as protectors and do not view their contracts with Kyubey negatively, whereas the Union does. Despite this, the Tokime express that they hold no hostility toward the Union and would prefer if the Union were the last group standing alongside them. They agree to focus on different enemies—the Tokime will target the Neo-Magius, and the Union will focus on Promised Blood—and vow to cross blades in a final confrontation.
That night, Iroha confesses to Yachiyo that she cannot see a clear goal amidst the chaotic conflict. Yachiyo states that the possibility of an ending where everyone is saved was lost in the prison incident. Iroha also mentions her concern for Rena after she'd befriended Ranka, who turned out to be a member of Promised Blood. The other Union members, along with Ui, comfort Iroha.
The next day, with the looming election, Hagumu and Shigure report to Himena that they have observed no contact between the Union and Tokime, confirming the dissolution of their alliance. The Neo-Magius begin to formulate a plan and Himena reveals she still intends to recruit Shizuka into their ranks, believing their groups are similar. She tasks Hagumu and Shigure with attempting to persuade Shizuka despite their reluctance. After talking with Himena, Alexandra reports back to Folklore of Zero through the phone.
Meanwhile, at Suitoku Temple, using Chika's ability to communicate with animals, the Tokime have discovered that Himena attends Kamihama Future Academy in Sakae Ward. They plan a targeted strike against Himena, believing that eliminating the Neo-Magius' central pillar will cause the group to collapse. Shizuka, Chiharu, and Sunao agree that a small, focused attack is their best strategy.
The following day, Hagumu and Shigure arrive at the temple on Himena's orders and they deliver the offer to join the Neo-Magius. Shizuka flatly refuses, stating that as long as their resentment remains, she will not offer her hand, though she might reach behind her back instead. After they leave, the Tokime finalize their plan to ambush Himena.
Chiharu, Chika, Ryoko, and members of the Tokime ambush Himena near her school and Chiharu confronts her about her lack of malice while hurting others, which she finds even more dangerous. Himena expounds on the Neo-Magius ideology of Magical Girl Supremacy, arguing that Magical Girls are superior humans who should rule over ordinary people. She invites Chiharu to join her, but Chiharu rejects this philosophy entirely.
Alexandra and then the rest of the Neo-Magius arrive as reinforcements, so the Tokime, recognizing they are outnumbered, make a tactical retreat. After the battle, Himena reveals to her team that she confirmed the Tokime Clan is not a monolith and she sensed one member seemed interested in her words. She devises a new plan to "break" the Tokime from within, involving the creation of a specific costume.
Alexandra contacts Folklore of Zero to report on Himena's movements, but Himena had followed her and confronts Alexandra. She reveals her true affiliation and her role as an observer. She also delivers a prophecy to her that if Himena achieves her goals, she will die. Himena dismisses this and vows to prevent it, and for now, Alexandra is allowed to remain in the Neo-Magius.
Meanwhile at Mitama's, Union members discuss the ongoing situation and they receive reports that the Tokime attacked the Neo-Magius leader and that Promised Blood continues their guerrilla tactics. They debate attacking the prison but decide they need a more decisive strategy. Mifuyu reports that Alina, in an attempt to recover her memories, has agreed to cooperate with a team to map the Mirrors Labyrinth.
Iroha contacts Yachiyo with news that Ikumi, overwhelmed by grief for Ryo, has run away and is likely heading for Kamihama Prison alone. Iroha and Momoko pursue her to stop her.
At the prison entrance, Hinano and Sakurako catch up to Ikumi and try to reason with her. Ikumi breaks down, stating that crying is not enough and she cannot forgive Ryo's killer. Sakurako, using Ryo's memories, tells Ikumi that Ryo would not want this and would prefer to see her smiling, which manages to reach Ikumi, and she agrees to stand down. Iroha suggests that cleaning and organizing the belongings of the deceased can be a way to mourn and sort through one's own feelings. Ikumi decides she wants to clean out Ryo's old newspaper clubroom at school.
Kagome speaks with Iroha over the phone, who admits she is lost in the tangled conflict but still wishes for a way for everyone to be happy without anyone getting hurt. Kagome reaffirms her own goal of telling the world about Magical Girls, though she feels anxiety about how far she can follow the battle. Iroha suggests she consult Nemu Hiiragi for potential help.
On the next day, a team consisting of Mifuyu, Yachiyo, Kanagi, and the Amane sisters prepares to investigate the Endless Mirrors Labyrinth with Alina, who is creating a map. After they depart, Yachiyo and Kanagi discuss the city's changing political landscape and Kanagi reveals she is assisting Mitama with the mayoral election, where an Eastern candidate is, for the first time, putting up a strong fight against the West.
Meanwhile, Mikage returns home to find Mitama, who apologizes for her frequent absences and explains she is helping with the election to create a happier future for Mikage. At the same time, Nayuta receives a text from her father saying he has given up on saving Magical Girls, and she panics when she finds something moving in her futon, summoning Lavi who has already called Mikage for help.
Iroha, Ui, Sana, and Felicia investigate the university library, where they find a partial map of Kamihama Prison's underground area. They are confronted by Shigure and Hagumu, who make a final, futile attempt to recruit them into the Neo-Magius. Later, Yachiyo and Tsuruno meet up with Iroha's group and they receive the news about Ryo's phone and the map she'd made.
As Sudachi has the day off, she meets Mikage. They discuss wanting to be useful, and Sudachi suggests investigating the Endless Mirrors together. At the labyrinth entrance, they hesitate, and Lavi finds them, warning Mikage not to worry Mitama. Mikage decides not to enter and instead goes to Nayuta's house.
Touka, Nemu, and Kagome collaborate with Nayuta on a project to reveal the existence of Magical Girls to the world. Their plan involves using impactful images, which are to be gathered by Kagome and Rii, powerful text written by Kagome and refined by Nemu, and a presentation strategy devised by Touka. They aim to post their work as high-quality "creative fiction" to gain a massive online following before revealing it as the truth, using Nayuta's missing father's media contacts to amplify the message. Nayuta, despite her doubts, agrees to help, partly to prove her father's pessimistic letter wrong. As part of this project, Kagome asks Touka and Nemu to help "complete" her Uwasa, the Wind Evangelist, to better protect her during her information-gathering missions. They also agree, seeing it as a necessary step.
During this time, at Nayuta's home, Mikage arrives and Nayuta shows her security camera footage of her father holding the final volume of his book, convincing her he has not given up. Nayuta resolves to follow her father's footsteps to Yukuni City, and though Mikage is upset at being left behind, Lavi suggests she investigate the Mirrors for Mitama instead.
At Hozuki High School, Ikumi, Hinano, and Sakurako clean the newspaper clubroom, which belonged to Ryo. Ikumi has brought Ryo's broken camera, which was damaged by Promised Blood. During the cleaning, they discover Ryo's old photos and Sakurako reveals that Ryo's camera automatically transferred photos to her smartphone. Realizing the phone may contain Ryo's final work from inside Kamihama Prison, they contact Touka to bypass the phone's security.
At Touka's office, Touka decides to contribute by successfully unlocking Ryo's phone.
In the radio telescope lab, they find that the phone contains a video message from Ryo, where she explains her method for navigating the prison's maze and how one can trace the correct path. In the event of her death, she'd also left personal messages for Hinano, Kanagi and Mitama, Sakurako and Ikumi. Touka and Nemu confirm that Ryo's photos perfectly fill in the missing parts of the Union's underground map, providing a clear route to Promised Blood's secret and the suspected Mirror Witch offshoot.
Promised Blood plans to lure the Union into the prison, which they view as a perfect cage for their enemies. Yuna checks on Ao, who is struggling with the guilt from killing Ryo, but Yuna advises her to freeze her emotions like she does.
The Neo-Magius plan to actively recruit members for their cause of Magical Girl Supremacy through a secret conference. Himena, San and Miyuri, learn from Kyubey and their own research that the Magius once summoned Walpurgisnacht and that Touka's family was involved in building a radio telescope. Himena devises a strategy to use the radio waves for a plan of her own, similar to how Touka did, as well as make costumes to infiltrate the Tokime.
Meanwhile, Alina, Mifuyu and the Amane twins continue exploring the Endless Mirrors.
The followig day, while Chiharu, Chika, and other Tokime Tribe girls attempt to investigate the Neo-Magius in Kamihama, Neo-Magius agents, including San and Miyuri, secretly embed themselves within the Tokime ranks with Tokime disguises as well. San and Miyuri, while in disguise, slowly try to get the other girls more comfortable with the ideals of the Neo-Magius.
At sunset, Chiharu and Chika return to report to Shizuka and Himena, but San and Miyuri arrive to confront them, where Himena reveals that their "erosion" tactic has succeeded and that several Tokime members, including Sunao and Chika, have already defected. A brief skirmish ensues, but Neo-Magius retreats, promising to return for the remaining members the next day.
Meanwhile, that evening, Mikage asks Mitama for permission to investigate the Mirrors and is allowed to go with Sudachi under strict conditions. Concurrently, Mifuyu updates Yachiyo on the investigation, noting Alina's map has proven accurate through sixteen layers, and she agrees to let Mikage and Sudachi join them despite concerns about managing Alina.
In the Mirrors, the group encounters a copy of Mitama, which attacks them after Mikage tests it. They reach the sixteenth layer and discover a terminal connected to countless Witch Labyrinths, but the room's impurity summons a powerful Witch and they are forced to escape. Afterwards, Mitama and Livia confront them, with Mitama apologizing for being overprotective and Livia agreeing to properly teach Sudachi coordination. Mikage decides the Mirrors are too dangerous for now.
Later that night, Himena discusses with Alexandra how their tactics have unfolded until now and tells her that the two will visit Himena's hometown tomorrow.
The next day, the Kamihama Magia Union prepares to assault the city's prison to find and destroy the shortcut to Futatsugi created by the offshoot of the Mirrors Witch. At the Mikazuki Villa evacuation site, Crescent House, Kagome meets with Touka and Nemu to complete the Uwasa of the Wind Evangelist. Nemu explains that creating an Uwasa normally consumes a life-threatening amount of magic, but to mitigate the risk, she has pre-charged tools with her own magic. Touka warns Kagome of the dangers, stating the Uwasa could be linked to her ears or even directly to her brain, potentially causing intense pain or unknown consequences. Despite her fear, Kagome resolves to go through with the procedure, wanting to become stronger to help other Magical Girls and repay Iroha for saving her. She successfully merges with the Uwasa, which transforms its appearance.
Separately, throughout the day, Himena brings Alexandra to her hometown, and at a specific location, Himena reveals that this is where her boyfriend, Hiko, died and subsequently entered her mind through her contact with Kyubey. Their secret relationship, due to social standing differences, was discovered, leading to Hiko being bullied into a state of despair that Himena failed to notice until he ended his own life. She aims to create a world with no restrictions on love, where she and Hiko can be together without ridicule.
During this time, the Tokime Clan investigates for the Neo-Magius base in Daito Ward with no success. Shizuka then reveals that two of their members, Sunao and Chika, along with some branch families, are not true defectors, but undercover agents pretending to have joined the Neo-Magius to locate their base. Sunao and Chika make contact, confirming their infiltration and promising to discover the base location by the next day.
Sunao and Chika successfully infiltrate the Neo-Magius gathering at the Kamihama Civic Center, where they identify the location as the base and plan to contact Shizuka. However, they are discovered by San and Miyuri and a battle ensues where Sunao holds off San and Miyuri to allow Chika to escape and send the location to Shizuka. Both Sunao and Chika are defeated and left injured outside the hall.
Upon receiving the message, Shizuka, Chiharu, Asahi, and Ryoko immediately rush to the Civic Center. They battle San, Miyuri, Hagumu, and Shigure at the entrance to break through to the main hall.
At the prison, the Union begins its infiltration. Their strategy relies on Tsuruno, who has memorized a map from Ryo's photos, navigating to the goal while the others fight off enemies. The team is equipped with whistles to communicate and locate each other through the magical interference caused by the enchanted rocks as well. Iroha and Felicia are initially ordered to stay behind to protect the Kimochi Stones, but later they'd decided to disobey and join the battle too. Along the way, they also meet Ikumi, who insists on joining.
Promised Blood uses enchanted rocks not to fake greater numbers, but to create a "jamming" effect, flooding the tunnels with magical signatures to confuse the Union members and separate them. They are aware of the Union's assault and take up defensive positions.
The Union teams are immediately separated and forced into individual battles. Momoko's team is ambushed from all directions by Hikaru and her army. Yachiyo, Ui, and Sana are targeted by Yuna's "Target Change" sniping magic, which allows her to attack from unexpected angles, as well as Urara.
Tsuruno is intercepted first by Ao and later, after Kanagi arrives and takes her on, Tsuruno is able to continue. However, she is soon intercepted by Juri. Their fight reaches a stalemate that nearly exhausts both of their magic, and Juri, in desperation, attempts to collapse the entire underground section they are in, but ultimately lacks the power to do so.
Ao, traumatized by her accidental killing of Ryo, is confronted by Ikumi. Overwhelmed, Ao's emotional turmoil causes her to lose control of her Kimochi Stone and enter a berserk state, threatening to bring down the entire prison underground. During the fight, Yuna locks Felicia's attack with her own power of Target Redirection, making Felicia cast her Oblivion magic upon herself, which initially only makes her faint. Ao's rampage forces a temporary, uneasy truce between the Union and Promised Blood to stop her and escape the collapsing tunnel. However, Kanagi is able to subdue Ao, but Sakuya protects Ao from further harm.
Both sides are forced to regroup outside the tunnels. Iroha and Felicia's timely intervention saves several Union members from being overwhelmed. Tsuruno deduces from her conversation during the fight with Juri that the Labyrinth connecting Kamihama and Futatsugi likely has multiple entry points beyond the prison. Separately at Crescent House, Kagome and the Uwasa of the Wind Evangelist are successfully merged.
Inside the Civic Center, Himena holds a speech for the captive Tokime branch family members, outlining the Neo-Magius' goals. She explains their ideology of "Magical Girl Supremacy" and their concrete plan to seize control of Kamihama's Automatic Purification System.
Shizuka's team breaches the hall. To counter them, Alexandra uses her magic to drain the will to fight from Shizuka, Chiharu, and Asahi. Himena then orders Mitsune to use her Doppel's power to alter the perceptions of the Tokime members, making them believe they have always been part of the Neo-Magius. Shizuka resists by injuring herself to stay conscious, and she then uses a non-magical Tokime technique of the Locked Gaze to project her strong emotions and convictions to the brainwashed clan members. She rallies them by reaffirming the Tokime Clan's core ideal of standing alongside humanity and protecting people, not ruling over them. This speech successfully breaks the Doppel's mind-altering effect on a significant portion of the audience, causing a large-scale rebellion within the hall.
A chaotic battle erupts between the loyal Tokime members and the still-brainwashed faction. Chiharu confronts and defeats Himena in combat, and upon Himena's defeat, the Kimochi Stone she possessed emerges and interacts with her. In a subsequent mental confrontation, Himena resists the Kimochi's attempt to possess her body, reasserting her own will.
With Himena defeated and the Kimochi Stone reclaimed by Chiharu, the Neo-Magius' plan fails. Shizuka offers Himena a chance to disband the Neo-Magius and join the Tokime Clan, but Himena refuses. As Shizuka, angered by this, moves to attack the defeated Himena, Asahi intervenes and apparently kills Himena with a single blow.
In the aftermath, it is revealed that Himena's death was part of a final contingency plan using Mitsune's Doppel to alter her allies' perceptions, allowing the Neo-Magius to retreat from the public eye. However, the overuse of her power left Mitsune with lower-body paralysis, a condition similar to what Nemu suffers from. The Neo-Magius leadership regroups in hiding to plan their next move.
After being accepted by the Wind Evangelist, Kagome witnessed a clash between the Neo-Magius and the Tokime Clan at the Kamihama Civic Center, and from a distance, saw what she believed was Himena's death. She now understands this was a deception, and curses the fact that this illusion led to the current strained situation among Magical Girls.
That night, shortly after the confrontation at Kamihama Civic Center, Shizuka is troubled by Himena's accusation that the Tokime Clan's pride is a form of Magical Girl supremacy, akin to the Neo-Magius ideology. She reflects on her belief that all people are inherently good and that the clan's mission is to protect them, not look down on them. She struggles to reconcile this with how others might perceive the clan's pride.
Later, at Banbanzai, Iroha, Yachiyo, Tsuruno, Felicia, Sana, and Ui discuss their recent discoveries. They learn from Tsuruno's father about an urban legend of a "Phantom Tunnel," an abandoned subway project near the prison that was halted after the prison's underground was discovered. Separately, after Yuna had used her own unique magic to redirect Felicia's Oblivion magic back to her, Felicia awakens from a nightmare where she saw herself killing her parents.
During a campaign speech for Touka's father, who is running for office, a sudden wave of intense malice is felt by Chiharu and Shizuka. A man in the crowd, seemingly not influenced by any magical entity, throws a stone at the candidate, nearly inciting a riot. This event forces Shizuka to confront the reality that human evil exists independently of magical influence.
Meanwhile, as Nayuta is about to depart that day, Mikage and Mitama see her and Lavi off at the station, but their farewell is interrupted when they witness the same attack on the political speaker. They chase the assailant into an alley before Lavi warns them back, and Nayuta arrives after delaying her trip, sensing something ominous. Lavi identifies the attacker as from the East and mentions unsettling rumors, and Mikage gives Nayuta crushed sweets bought with her allowance before promising to look after Mitama while she is away.
As the group processes the event, Kagome reflects that Magical Girls exist because of humanity itself, not Kyubey, and that for others to truly help them, mankind must reconsider how it brings about peace.
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