Magia Record Main Story The Gathering of 100 Evils Chapter 10: Scampering Drastic Lovers

Summary by u/lego3257 on Reddit

Part 1

Nayuta opens the chapter with a brief recap of her and Folklore’s motives as they ride the train back to Kamihama (see Another Story 9). She reiterates that she can’t accept their conclusions, and that she will need to observe for the will of the universe in Kamihama as well; however, she is searching for hope for the future, unlike the others who search for proof of their resignation. Folklore discusses the NeoMagius; if the message Sasha received from Shigure is to be believed, then their plan has been put into motion. This act separates them from those who would publicize magical girls for words of comfort. Even if magical girls become known through this plan, it will create a new kind of unbridgeable gap between magical girls and humans. Urara suggests that maybe in such a circumstance, the will might not activate. Tasuke refutes this statement; if humans become afraid of magical girls, then contracts could be greatly reduced. If their hypothesis is correct, then they may be looking at a disaster far beyond the scale of anything they saw in Yukuni. However, Rabi adds, if Iroha continues to seek peace and understanding between all magical girls, then there may still be hope to avoid such a fate…Even so, she ticks the hand on her watch a minute closer to midnight.

There’s a brief scene with Puella Care here but I’mma just be straight with you guys, idk what they’re talking about. Basically they’re trying to stop Himena, something about magic stuffs and Mitama’s adjustments. It’ll probably be clear what they were talking about later, so I’ll come back and edit the post then.

The NeoMagius is back at their old base. Himena is responding to texts from Shigure, explaining her plans now that everything is out in the open. Kagura asks her if she explained it all, including that she had Mitsune use her power to change the motives of Kamihama’s mayor, and that she had planned to endanger the people of Kamihama from the very start; she confirms that yep, she laid it all out there (so the Mitsune theory was just inconsistent writing then…?). Kagura asks her if she thinks severing her bond with Shigure and Hagumu will make it easier for her to do what she has to do; she says that it doesn’t make her happy, but she can’t make the kind future they wanted so it was inevitable. When she thinks of how her mom and the other people around her treated her when she tried to tell them the truth, she feels that she has to use enough force to make people think black is white or they will never accept her and Hiko. Kagura asks if she told her and Miyuri those truths to convince them to leave as well. She confirms as such, and says she was surprised they decided to stay. They explain that they needed Himena’s plans for their own goals, and since she accepted that Kagura can be the ‘good god’ and herself the ‘evil god’, they have no reason to leave anymore. After that, they were able to chase Shigure and Hagumu away to let them join the Union, which Kagura suggests must make Himena happy. Miyuri sulks a bit, saying she wanted the two of them to stay even though they were planning on driving them away from the start. Kagura asks if they have a chance of winning as things are; as Miyuri points out, many of the feathers have left since learning the truth, just like Shigure and Hagumu. Himena says that according to Hiko, it’s all good; thanks to Shizuka buying them some time, they’ll win for sure at this point. Even if hundreds of magical girls attacked, they can’t change anything now, and they have some cards left to play just in case. Kagura asks Himena to promise her that she won’t harm the Mitsuzuka youth association no matter what, and she does. Miyuri gushes about how dignified Kagura is today. Himena takes the podium and declares to the remaining feathers that they will see their ideals realized. There are 11 hours left until they declare their existence to the world and reach the top. She asks everyone to follow her orders and do their very best until the end.

1-2

Kagome describes the agony and terror she felt when she tried to drink tea under the NeoMagius’s curse. She felt sick, and her heart pounded, and she felt the threat of death to her core as her body trembled. She tried to calm herself but couldn’t; it was Iroha’s reassurance that allowed her to regain her composure. Afterwards, Shigure and Hagumu explained the rest of the details of Himena’s plan, including that Himena had Mitsune use her power on the mayor. The hunger wave and the east-west conflict tear away at their hearts and minds, but in spite of that, or rather, because of it, all the magical girls present know that they have to do everything in their power to take back the automatic purification system and create a happy and peaceful world, for the hundreds of thousands of magical girls in the world and their families.

In the aftermath of last chapter’s battle, the Union and their allies panic over their loved ones. It’s around dinnertime, so most of the city should be feeling the effects by now. Yachiyo is still coming to grips with the fact that Kanagi and Mitama willingly assisted with such a plan. Iroha talks to Shigure and Hagumu, who explain that they didn’t know about the plan but emphasize that they were still the perpetrators. Iroha and Ui say that they believe them based on how desperately they tried to flee from NeoMagius, and that any help they can offer is welcome. Tsuruno asks them what Himena is planning next, and lays out the tasks in front of them: they need to save the people of Kamihama, and bring back Kanagi, Mitama, and Ao, by force if necessary. Momoko says the first thing they need to do is tell Kanagi and Mitama the truth about the mayor. She should know where to find them, and if they do that, they may leave NeoMagius and offer useful intel. Iroha asks Shigure and Hagumu for their insight; they argue that Himena will likely wait until morning to reveal magical girls to the world, once everyone has felt the effects of the hunger wave strongly and when everyone would be awake and at attention. The most likely method would be for them to use a TV station. Felicia suggests she wreck the local stations, but Ranka argues that wouldn’t be the wisest move. If they cut off the peoples’ source of information, there could be widespread panic. Yuna follows up, and declares that their best course of action would be to take control of the broadcasting network in Kamihama so they can cut the power at any time. Yachiyo, Juri, and Hikaru second the notion, and they commit to Yuna’s plan for the time being. Many of the girls hearing from their relatives; Hinano hears from her parents, and Rena from her brother. Kaede says her parents are heading to the hospital.

Many magical girls associated with the Union contact them to ask if they can go home to their families (including Manaka, Tsumugi, and Shizuku). Their panic is understandable, but some of the Witches released by NeoMagius are still at large. Shizuka and the Tokime Clan declare that they will protect the city from Witches in place of the Kamihama natives; it is their duty as those sworn to protect the land of the rising sun. With that settled, Yachiyo tells the others that those with families in the city are free to go home and reassure them for the time being, and stresses that Momoko in particular do so. Tsuruno declares she has already confirmed her father’s safety and wants to fight on the front lines. Similarly, Shigure and Hagumu are worried about their families but want to stand and fight to right their wrongs. Juri says that in that case, they can join up with Promised Blood and help take control of the broadcasting network; they agree with a bit of a fright. With that settled, they agree to split into two teams: Mikazuki and Mifuyu, and Promised Blood plus Shigure and Hagumu. Mifuyu asks if she can take care of something else along the way; she wants to make up for causing this situation in a sense, and thinks she might be able to undo the suggestion if she combines her magic with the Amane sisters. However, Tsukasa is with the enemy at the moment, so she will be sticking with Team Mikazuki for now in hopes they can get her to have a change of heart. Hinano and Rena say that they will be heading home, and will rejoin the fight as soon as they can; Shizuka and Yuna tell them not to worry, because they’ve got things covered.

As everyone prepares to head out, Iroha checks on Kagome again; she says she’ll be alright because Rii is protecting her. She is doubting herself, feeling that she’s done nothing but been saved again and again, and is once again unsure if her mission will do anyone any good in the end. She thinks about how she still doesn’t know what Touka and Nemu were trying to do, and wonders if there is even meaning in saving magical girls and humans who do evil, or this world they share. She thinks that deciding to save people without considering good and evil may be the greatest kindness there is.

As they descend the mountain, Shizuka apologizes to Yuna, who tells her to cut it out with that gross friendship shit. Shizuka continues, saying that she was also trying to save people through a self-interested evil. Yuna chuckles, and says that they’re two of a kind. Shizuka agrees, though it still pains her to admit it.

1-3

A 24-style timer declares there are 10 hours until the broadcast.

At the radio tower, Miyuri tells Kagura that the feathers are in position. Miyuri asks if the Union will really come for the tower; Kagura says that since Shigure and Hagumu jumped ship, it’s all but certain. Kagura tells Miyuri to stay on guard; she gets distracted by the former’s legs and immediately lets down her guard. Kagura gets a message from the youth association; it seems they truly were unaffected by the radio wave. Miyuri says she is seeing that Kamihama is quickly becoming a hot topic on social media, and she feels guilty even though she knew this was coming. Kagura says it’s unfortunate, but with Himena’s disposition a situation like this was inevitable. For her, Hiko comes first, then Sasha, then NeoMagius, and then other magical girls. She couldn’t care less about humans who are in a distant fifth. While she treats the members of NeoMagius like her friends, she is cold towards other magical girls. Ultimately, it is natural for members like them who still have attachments to humans to have mixed feelings. Miyuri remarks that if Hiko is her number one, then not even Sasha could stop her. Kagura says that the most she could have done was delay her plans. She says that she sharply felt Himena’s desire to change the situation where she can’t freely be with Hiko. This haste was good for her, as she wants to restart the fire festival as soon as possible before the culture fades away, so she was glad when Sasha left NeoMagius; it was as if she had removed Himena’s stopper.

En route, Yachiyo gets a call from her manager, confirming his(?) safety and asking her to appear on a special late-night program, which she rejected. Heading for the radio tower and TV Kamihama, they suspect the feathers must be gathered close to the tower as they haven’t encountered any yet. Felicia says that if things get dicey she’ll break the antenna in the fight, and Tsuruno and Sana remind her why that’s a horrible idea. Iroha and Yachiyo get confirmation that Rena and Momoko’s families are safe; however, it will be hard for the two of them to leave home again with the situation as it is so they won’t be able to join up again for some time. Tsukuyo joins up while they run, and says that as expected Tsukasa didn’t respond to her messages. She says she intends to take responsibility for cleaning up her sister’s messes. As they draw closer to the tower, they detect the feathers, as well as Kagura and Miyuri. Mifuyu says she will pay them back for humiliating her by using her ability earlier.

1-4

The Neo feathers work in three-man squads and prioritize splitting up Mikazuki, starting with Ui. Ui tells Iroha over telepathy not to worry about her, because she’s not weak anymore. As they are split up one after another, Tsuruno suggests they learn from Promised Blood’s strategy from chapter 7. They will pretend to be split up and on the run, but use their knowledge of the lay of the land to meet up at a designated location. Iroha declares she will distract the last of the feathers, and they trust Mifuyu and Tsukuyo with handling Kagura and Miyuri. Felicia says she doesn’t get the plan, and Tsuruno says she will tell her where to go in real time.

Kagura detects Mifuyu coming, and Miyuri gets nervous at the thought of fighting a former Magius executive. Kagura tells her it’s okay for her to let her mind fly (don’t remember how this is usually translated).

The feathers begin to catch on to the plan, but they’re already caught in the trap. Team Mikazuki incapacitates all the feathers in one fell swoop, and everyone praises Tsuruno for her quick thinking. The plan was possible because Tsuruno and Yachiyo used to fight in Chuo Ward often back in the day. They move to back up Mifuyu and capture Kagura.

Kagura is shocked as Mifuyu deflects an entire barrage of bullets. She says that she doesn’t seem like the weak Mifuyu she used to know, and on top of that, wasn’t she supposed to be getting weaker? Mifuyu says she doesn’t fully understand either, but she’s been in good condition since leaving the Magius. Kagura says that if she’s this strong she never needed to be saved. Mifuyu clarifies that what she wanted was her normal life back, not that she thought she couldn’t survive on her own. As they continue to fight, Mifuyu demands she tell her where Tsukasa is. However, Kagura finds an opportunity and nearly takes down Mifuyu. As she pants in exhaustion, Tsukuyo is sent flying and slams into Mifuyu, down for the count. She apologizes for not being able to do anything against Miyuri. Mifuyu tells her not to feel bad; she’s well aware that the instructor’s secret weapon is a formidable foe, and admits she’s struggling herself. She says Kagura hasn’t told them where Tsukasa is; Kagura responds that at the very least, she’s not anywhere around here, and they won’t let them take her back so easily. Mifuyu says her absence despite being stronger than the feathers is proof they’re worried about losing her. Kagura says she just doesn’t want to fight acquaintances (I think). Kagura tells Miyuri they can win if they fight together.

1-5

Before the battle, Kagura told Tsukasa to cover a less prominent radio station, because the Union would send their main force for the city’s biggest radio tower. In the present, she hears a news broadcast. The city government is taking the mysterious incident seriously, and is holding an emergency countermeasures meeting to come up with immediate solutions before searching for the cause. Reflecting on what has happened, she is shocked at herself for allowing herself to be guided by short-sighted and foolish emotions. She thought that if the problems of the east and west were not going to change, then she wanted to get out of the town with Tsukuyo even if it meant she had to become a villain. When she heard about Kanagi and Mitama’s resolutions, she felt validated in her feelings and decided to follow them. But now that the plan is in motion, it seems as if that resolution was ended in an instant. Seeing the empty streets devoid of human voice, she becomes unnerved, thinking that it is because of the death she invited to the town, and feels like she is going to throw up. A feather speaks to her, and tells her she’s happy to fight alongside a former white feather. Tsukasa asks the feather if she’s scared. She says not particularly; as Touka said she believes magical girls are superior to humans, and thinks they have to go this far to get the message across. Tsukasa points out that many people could die if they can’t eat and drink; the feather says it’s all good, because when the morning comes Himena will reveal them to the world and dispel the magic, so everyone will be okay. Tsukasa asks about the people who refuse to submit, which surprises the feather. Tsukasa further argues that even if nearly everyone has a fear of magical girls carved into them, the city is huge, and there will likely be people who die. No matter how much they force people to submit, Tsukasa thinks her guilt will never go away.

Tsukasa detects Promised Blood approaching earlier than expected. Juri complains that there doesn’t seem to be anyone exciting here. Hikaru reports to Iroha that they have found Tsukasa at a radio station in Sankyo Ward. Iroha tells her to keep her occupied so that Mifuyu can get there. Hikaru says that’ll be no problem; rather, they’ll catch her themselves. They begin combat with her and her feather allies. Iroha relays the news to Mifuyu and Tsukuyo, who retreat to meet up with PB. Kagura is surprised they found her so quickly, but undaunted.

In the fight, Yuna tells her followers to focus on Tsukasa, since there are no powerful enemies like Kagura present. Tsukasa says she might be in trouble; Hikaru says there’s no ‘might be’ about it, and that she’ll make her take responsibility for endangering civilians.

Tsukasa escapes into the sewers; the girls of Promised Blood recognize the place from chapter 6. Tsukasa runs as fast as she can; she gains some distance but can’t shake them. Yuna tells Hikaru to contact their above ground members to catch her when she comes up. Tsukasa stops running when she arrives at a familiar place; it’s the large room where she and her sister fought Mikazuki in Arc 1 Chapter 4. She tells her pursuers that this is the place where she once watched over an Uwasa, and it works well with her weapon. Juri says that it seems she doesn’t intend to let this place become her grave. Of course not, she says; rather, she’ll stop them here. Yuna catches on to her trap, but is too late to stop her, and all of Promised Blood except Hikaru is caught in Flute Resonance. She makes her escape while the sound continues to reverberate through the room like a tuning fork.

As she escapes to the surface, she finds herself thinking it might be better if she lets herself get caught, given how much she regrets getting humans involved. Just as she is thinking this, she encounters PB minions waiting for her. The feather from before engages them in combat, telling her to run for it while she holds them off. Tsukasa asks her why; she says she can tell that the instructor told her to run, that their operation might fail if she gets caught. She tells Tsukasa that she regrets getting humans involved too, but if they stop now it will all be for nothing; not only that, but they might even lose the opportunity to undo the suggestion. Hearing this, Tsukasa tells herself that while she regrets her actions that lead to this point, there are people who can be saved by the magical girl supreme principle. She thanks the feather and runs.

1-6

Mifuyu and Tsukuyo meet up with Promised Blood, who report their failure. Tsukuyo says they need to catch her soon, because she may not know the plan to undo the suggestion and is getting desperate. The lot of them are surprised that she was so quick to run; the stations should be important to the NeoMagius, but she barely even tried to stand her ground. They wonder if she might have been a decoy to buy time; if that’s the case, she did a pretty good job. Hikaru comments that none of the teams have seen Ao; they speculate she may be with the enemy’s main force.

In Chuo Ward, Yachiyo secures the antenna. Iroha tells Kagura to stand down; she has lost. Ui pleads with her to let everyone eat again; they are in pain and they will hate magical girls if the plan succeeds. Kagura retorts that she has heard that a hundred times; she won’t fall for such flimsy attempts at persuasion. She is fully committed to becoming a good god who opposes the invincible evil god. She yells to Miyuri to get the feathers who can still fight; the NeoMagius abandon the antenna and retreat, leaving Mikazuki puzzled at their goals. Yachiyo says they need to arrange for someone to watch the tower, so they don’t come back, and Tsuruno expresses relief that Yachiyo reached the tower before Felicia did. They wonder if the NeoMagius intends to broadcast through some other method, such as satellite (which makes Felicia think they’ll be fighting in space just like in Decagon Ball). Well, to begin with there were a variety of options, the problem is narrowing down which they intend to use. As they wonder where they can get more hints, Sana suggests she use a fallen feather’s cloak and her invisibility to infiltrate their base, following the magic signals of the feathers who just retreated. Yachiyo admits the plan has merit, but worries she won’t be able to maintain her magic long enough. Sana responds that she could get help from Shizuka, who was a member until a few hours ago and could show her around their base.

Kagome, who followed Mikazuki to Chuo, asks her Uwasa if she is okay with any method to reveal magical girls, even violent ones like Himena’s, since that is her purpose. Based on Kagome’s responses, she isn’t, and wants to save magical girls, not just reveal them. Kagome narrates that the hands of time are ruthlessly ticking away as the magical girls struggle to save the people precious to them.

Momoko arrives at Mitama’s office. She is unsurprised that she doesn’t find her there, but is surprised to find Mikage instead. They were both here for the same reason; Momoko says she was hoping to hear her usual greeting when she came in. Mikage says she got here by pretending to go to sleep, and Momoko says she got a chance when her parents were sent to the hospital. Almost everyone in town is awake, they say; in the hospital or glued to TV or social media. Momoko asks Mikage if she will join the fight now. She says she will keep trying to help in her own way. That way is what she calls the Big Friendship Plan (translation subject to change), which she had Tsukuyo helping with and now wants Momoko to pitch in too. In a nutshell, it sounds like she’s basically trying to have everyone talk it out and bridge the east-west gap overnight, which Momoko says ain’t happening. That being said, she worries she won’t be able to get through to Kanagi and Mitama as it is…She has a sudden change of heart, and asks Mikage to let her help.

Yachiyo gets a message from Momoko, saying that she intends to help with Mikage’s Big Friendship Plan. Everyone is mildly perplexed, but they are at a standstill for the moment and decide to let her move freely on any ideas she might have. Meanwhile, Iroha gets a message from Shizuka, who has agreed to infiltrate NeoMagius along with Sana.

Himena is alone on some unknown street. Talking to Hiko, she says the plan is going smoothly so far. She says something about feeling lonely I can’t quite follow, and then that in the end she wants everyone to leave anyway(? Bit confused, might edit later). After a pause, she says she may end up cornered, but she’ll definitely win, and thanks Hiko for worrying about her. She reiterates that she is done being denied by her mom, teachers, and friends. She’ll make sure they accept her relationship with Hiko.

Eight hours left.

1-7

The three factions meet up at a convenience store, biding their time and strategizing while Shizuka and Sana begin their infiltration. Ryoko offers to lead them in a Buddhist prayer for their success. They agree to have the Tokime Clan monitor Shizuka from afar, while the Union (complete with the members who finished visiting their families) takes over the Witch hunt. They ask if Promised Blood will continue targeting TV stations; Yuna says they have no reason to split up their forces when they are unsure if there is meaning in targeting the stations. Hikaru adds, however, that they will pursue Ao if they find her, and Iroha has no objections. Chiharu offers her Kimochi stone to Juri; she gave them the stone of respect before, so now they will give her the stone of fear in exchange. With it, she may be able to instill fear in Ao once again (damn, Charu…I mean, I get the idea, but damn…). Juri gratefully accepts.

Shizuka briefs Sana on what she needs to know as they ride a train to Takarasaki. The entrance hall is a waiting room for the feathers, the second floor is a strategy room for executives. There is also a small room on the second floor for making tea, but people will get suspicious if you go up for any other reason. Also, when entering the hall, be sure to ring the doorbell…Shizuka says there are yet more rules she will explain as they get closer. Sana thanks her, and asks if they won’t find her out. She says that there’s an unspoken rule that you aren’t supposed to trace anyone’s magic (just like in the OG Magius, Sana notes) so she should be fine. The only problem would be if she encounters Himena or any other executive. Sana tells her that if it’s looking dicey, she can tell her and she’ll be able to hide her magic. Shizuka thanks her for the offer, but says that this time she intends to pay Sana back. Sana asks what she did. Shizuka reminds her she drew the picture book for her. She says that the book helped her regain her faith in humanity and her moral code as a member of the Tokime Clan; it is a debt she can never repay.

They don their disguises and head for the youth association (CG). Sana’s concealment consumes magic and the Doppel System is inactive, so they agree to keep it to a minimum. Shizuka dings the doorbell, reports them as one white and one black feather returning from the defense of Chuo Ward, and gives a code: W03 B21, followed by つけみのろひのひ(tsu-me-mi-no-ro-hi-no-hi). Sana understands that the numbers are a code, but is lost by the second part. Shizuka explains that it is a slogan which they scramble as a verification system. The original version is たかみなるはねへ(ta-ka-mi-na-ru-ha-ne-he, which basically means “feathers to the top” in very simple language) and they shift the hiragana down the alphabet (counting the starting character, loops back to the top if it passes the bottom) according to an 8-digit number using digits from 1 to 5 sent out weekly. This time, the code was 34153224. た down three makes つ, か down four makes け, み down one (again, including the starting character) stays as み, な down five makes の, and so on, resulting in the new password. (You need a hiragana alphabet to understand it.) Sana asks her if all these rules are hard to follow, and she admits it took her a while too. As the enter the lobby, Shizuka says they should wait in the lobby until a meeting starts. She suggests that Sana should get some food from the tea room while they wait.

The others from the Union visit Puella Care, and find the coordinators are absent. They find this strange; they expected Livia to see such a situation as a prime opportunity to make some sales. Felicia says ‘who cares, let’s hunt some Witches and come back later’. Tsuruno is worried over a contact from their spies; they’ve made it in, but haven’t learned anything about Himena’s movements yet. All they can do is wait and hope.

1-8

Not much is happening, even though today is an important day for the NeoMagius. Sana decides to look around a bit. A feather speaks to Shizuka, who jumps and makes the feather suspicious. She thinks it is because she’s worried about getting humans involved; Shizuka decides to play it macho, saying that she was thinking about how they have to do it now that they’ve come this far, and turns the question back at her. The feather says she’s very nervous. She worries that using force to make people submit might not make them sympathize with them and get them to understand the weight of a magical girl’s destiny, and when she thinks about that, she isn’t sure if they are right anymore. She agrees with the feather, and thinks about the dilemma that doubtful feathers are currently facing. The situation isn’t ideal for anyone; even if they succeed, magical girls will become hated. But if they oppose the plan now, they risk preventing the suggestion from being lifted, which would be an unprecedented disaster. Both paths lead to ruin. She wants to hit herself for naively supporting such an atrocious plan. Sana returns and tells Shizuka that she heard from a white feather that a meeting is about to start. They offer to prepare drinks and snacks for everyone.

The two head to the tea room, and wait for the meeting to start. When going to throw away the tea leaves, Sana finds part of a torn courier ticket, and wonders if she can learn something from it.

She discovers that the ticket is from three days ago, and indicates that some kind of disk (among other media) was sent from a large TV station to a small tabloid publisher (Note: not sure who sent and who received). She relays this intel to the rest of her allies, who discuss it over the phone. Tsuruno catches on to Himena’s trick; she already spread the truth of magical girls. If she tried to announce herself now, she might be dismissed as not credible; however, if the reveal is framed as a preemptive announcement, the story changes. Through this method, Himena can reveal magical girls without having to make a televised appearance in person, and her story becomes more credible as the media rediscovers it. The others begin to panic, but Yachiyo tells them it’s too soon to give up. (Note: not 100 percent sure of Yachiyo’s points, but you’ll get the gist) The media outlets will have to decide which media to show. The story won’t be credible if it is only shown on small outlets, and large mainstream outlets have strict rules about depicting minors, which means it will be difficult for them to air the most convincing videos which show Himena directly. If they act fast, they could still stop the story from becoming popularized, and let it die as an urban legend. However, she warns, it is true that this plan is like gasoline waiting to be lit; once someone sets it off, it will spread all at once and magical girls will become the enemy of humanity.

1-9

Sana and Shizuka hear back from the others, but they still need more intel to plan their next move. Sana conceals Shizuka’s magic as she delivers snacks to the meeting, so that Kagura and Miyuri don’t recognize her. In the meeting, Shizuka and Sana learn several useful pieces of information. First, Himena is not in the city, and is alone somewhere biding time until the end of the operation. The worst case scenario for the NeoMagius would be if she was captured or killed, after all. Second, despite Kagura’s composure earlier, not being able to use the central radio tower is a significant loss for them. In the best case scenario, they would have used to to broadcast Himena in the morning, but in the end they are outnumbered and outskilled by the other factions, even if they cause chaos with Witches. Finally, they learned of NeoMagius’s plan B (or maybe C, or D?): the public relations loudspeaker in the Kamihama Civic Center. The speaker can’t reach the whole city by a long shot, but it’s the best move they’ve got at the moment. They decide to send Tsukasa there in hopes of having her strengthen the broadcast. The Union has enough info to mount a counter operation, and they are reassured they made the right move with the broadcasting network.

Kagome narrates that the Union is fighting desperately to stop Himena from revealing magical girls to the world. They share the goal of publicizing magical girls, but the Union can’t allow her plan which would make magical girls the enemy of humanity. Meeting up with Hinano and Promised Blood, the magical girls make for the Kamihama Civic Center like a huge wave.

Kanagi and Mitama watch the city from a rooftop. Mitama says that news is starting to spread on social media. Kanagi points out a traffic jam down below; Mitama says they are attempting to leave the city because they heard they would be cured if they did. How pitiful, she says. They don’t know yet that their only hope is to submit to magical girls. Kanagi warns that they have to avoid jumping/getting excited(?), and Mitama takes that statement as related to the message they received telling them of Himena’s deceit. Mitama says it was a ploy to get them to come back; Kanagi says it doesn’t matter if the message is real or not. Even if Himena didn’t do anything, hundreds of years of history prove that the east-west conflict will eventually rear its ugly head again. Mitama agrees, and declares that they also have to fight to bring an end to her wish. If they try to delay it or leave it to fate, the outcome will only become worse; at least this way, they can bring meaning to the destruction. Kanagi groans in pain; the Kimochi of grief which eroded Ikumi to nothing now tears at her as well. Mitama says might be able to protect her, and touches Kanagi’s bracelet despite her objections.

They are shown visions of their pasts. Kanagi recalls prejudice against Daito uniforms, westerners starting a fight with her brother, the wish the Amane sisters made to fight their own prejudice and that of the world around them. The Kimochi is attempting to take over their bodies by taking their sadness onto itself, but Mitama won’t let it. She is in turn shown visions of her own past; of the false allegations that ruined her life, and of the hatred of her peers. They fight back against the Kimochi; I will hold the reigns of her own fate, says Kanagi. Mitama says they have a chance to maintain control; she will use her adjustment to engrave their sadness into their very souls, so that the Kimochi would have to kill them to steal it. Kanagi tells her to do it without a moment’s hesitation, saying that their sadness is their own to shoulder. Mitama yells that they can’t turn back any longer.

They return to the physical world in new magical girl forms, embodiments of their grief. Kanagi smells something rotten, and declares that this is what lies at the end of destruction. However, Mitama adds, at the end of destruction and death there is new joy.

In death, we will no longer make mistakes.

No one suffers when they are a corpse.

There are neither good nor bad things any longer, one simply watches over the world calmly.

This is one form of salvation.

Ao rides a train to Yukuni, eager to meet the eradication faction.

Six hours left.

Kagome’s Interviews: Yukari Miyuri

What Miyu wants is to be with Kagura forever, of course! …Even if she says that, Kagura will graduate in two years. She’ll probably stay in the Mitsuzuka youth association, but they’ll be more separated than before, which makes Miyu anxious. Well, she figures that one way or another, they will have to leave the nest someday and stand on their own, and thinks Kagura knows this too. With that in mind, the number one thing she wants is to overcome her troublesome personality so she can live independently. She wants to be able to take care of herself; not only that, but she hopes to stand tall and compete in roller blade competitions without losing herself. She thinks that she needs to become independent to stand by Kagura’s side when they are adults.

Part 2: Gather the Will

2-1

Kagome is in her room. She was worried her parents may have been affected by the radio wave since their home is near the Kamihama city limits, but they are both fine, and she doesn’t tell them about what happened. She worries about what will happen to everyone, but tells herself through Aru-chan that if she’s got time to worry, then she needs to move. Regardless of how this conflict ends, she needs to record it; if it ends badly, then her work can be a lesson for future generations to avoid their mistakes.

In Daito, Momoko and Mikage talk with Rena and Kaede about the Big Friendship Plan. They’ve been going around trying to get people to agree to help, but only about 30% have agreed. Rena points out that the situation being as it is, a lot of people are probably annoyed by the offer, like ‘Uh, read the room? We’re all starving to death here!’ They praise Mikage and Tsukuyo’s efforts before the incident, which had more success. Mikage asks them to help. Rena says that’s fine, but feels that their method of simply asking people to join a message group and promise to cooperate is underwhelming. Momoko tells her not to poke them where it hurts, but, well, she’s right. The plan will proceed, but they are doubtful they will make a big enough difference to bring Kanagi and Mitama back by morning.

Mifuyu and Tsukuyo are traveling with Promised Blood to the Kamihama Civic Center. They are further away than Team Mikazuki, and will arrive later. Tsukuyo says they need to make sure to catch Tsukasa this time, but is unsure how they can get her to cooperate. Hikaru cries out in frustration that she hasn’t heard from Ao. Juri tells her to shut up, and Yuna says that’s nothing new. Hikaru says they’re ruthless, and she’s just worried about Ao. Yuna asks her if she means to say that she isn’t worried about Ao; she responds that she knows Yuna is worried but not showing it, and apologizes. Yuna says she’s grateful to Hikaru for letting out enough emotions for the both of them; Hikaru can’t help but feel she’s being made fun of for being childish. Hikaru notices something on her phone; Ao’s Dotube channel is preparing to hold a live broadcast. They speculate that they might be planning to broadcast Himena through Ao’s channel. Shigure and Hagumu join the conversation (or rather, Juri forces them in) and say they think the Civic Center plan didn’t seem like Himena (not sure I get their logic, something about an athletic club?). Hearing their conversation, Mifuyu and Tsukuyo wonder if the Civic Center plan was false information. Tsukuyo gets an idea, and checks an app the sisters use to track each other when they are apart. She is shocked to find that Tsukasa’s tracker is still active, and she seems to be in southern Kamihama instead of Daito. Yuna is doubtful that she would have forgotten to disable the app. Tsukuyo says that she was scared that Tsukasa might use the tracker against her as a trap, and so she hadn’t checked it until now; however, now that they have, they have no choice but to investigate. Mifuyu asks for permission from Yuna for the two of them to go check it out, arguing that they have enough manpower headed for the Civic Center even without them. She responds that they’re Union; they don’t need her permission. They head for south Kamihama.

2-2

The members of Mikazuki are frustrated to hear that the information they got from Sana could have been bait. Felicia says they’re overthinking it, but they can’t detect Tsukasa’s or Himena’s magic as they approach the building. However, they do detect other familiar signals: Kanagi and Mitama.

On arrival, Tsuruno torches the ground; they won’t be falling for Mitama’s cloth traps again. The pair was waiting for them with dull, clouded eyes. They comment that they seem like different people; Felicia and Ui say their magic feels similar, but cold. Tsuruno pleads with them to return to the Union, saying that even if the others won’t forgive them, she will. However, Yachiyo has to leap in and protect her from an attack aimed directly at her Soul Gem, as they enter their new magical girl forms. Tsuruno asks them what happened to them. They both apologize to her, and say they need to bring a meaningful destruction and end suffering through death. Let us become the ideal form of hope together, they say in unison. Iroha asks them if they heard the truth of the election; they say this is the conclusion they have come to after hearing the news, and that it doesn’t change what they have to do.

Mitama and Kanagi catch Iroha, but Ui saves her. She is shocked that the two of them are genuinely trying to kill them. Kanagi remarks that it is difficult for her to read the moves of several people at once. Everyone yells at the two, telling them to stop trying to kill them and to regain their sanity. Yachiyo tells Kanagi that she is supposed to always be on the straightforward and righteous path. She remembers when Tsukasa told her she wasn’t strong enough to worry about other peoples’ problems. Yachiyo pleads with her again, saying that she must remember when she was concerned about justice in the world around her. She remembers her resolution to end the discrimination against Daito as a person and as the magical girl leader of the east, and telling Ryo she can rely on her. She remembers when Ryo told her that her commitment to doing the right thing was dazzling. Kanagi tells Yachiyo she knows what she’s saying, but it doesn’t matter anymore. She has failed again and again focusing on the present, so she has abandoned the current Kamihama in favor of the future Kamihama.

2-3

Kanagi reads Yachiyo’s movements, and gains the upper hand against her with a powerful combo. Kanagi’s magic pattern has changed, and resulted in growth for her unique magic; she can now predict her enemies’ movements. The fight moves inside the building, and Iroha and Tsuruno check to see if Yachiyo is okay. Felicia rushes to help Yachiyo, but Mitama stands in her way. Felicia says that if she’s going to bully Yachiyo, she won’t forgive even Mitama. Mitama says that they aren’t concerned with being forgiven; the only thing that matters is if they can bring destruction or not. Felicia tries to dash past Mitama, but is incapacitated by her adjustment. Iroha, Ui, and Tsuruno face Kanagi, but she disappears in front of their eyes. They detect her magic behind them, but it’s too late. Ui manages to save their lives with her swallows, but they are downed for the moment. Yachiyo fights against both of them together, and says they saved her for last because they know she’s the most dangerous.

Kanagi tells Yachiyo she’s done a good job but now, it’s time for her to rest. She signals for Mitama to stop her from moving, but Tsuruno musters up her remaining strength to stop her and rejoin the fight. Before they can kill Yachiyo, they’ll have to get through her first. Ui and Iroha also both get a second wind. Yachiyo empties her mind and closes her eyes, and reads Kanagi’s strike through detecting her presence alone, that way Kanagi can’t read her movements. Kanagi’s is surprised that Yachiyo is still continuing to grow. Yachiyo warns her not to pass off her counter just now as a fluke, or she might get hurt. Kanagi says that while she’d love to kill every last one of them here, time is tight and they’d best avoid a prolonged battle. She and Mitama make a swift retreat. Felicia picks herself up, refusing to let them leave, and charges after them. She’ll make them open their eyes, just like in Decagon Ball. Yachiyo senses a trap, and tells Felicia not to touch the door. Her warning comes too late, and a rumbling sound booms through the whole building.

Mifuyu and Tsukuyo follow Tsukasa’s tracker. They find only her phone; she was using their promise as a trap, after all. Tsukuyo is devastated, and thinks that Tsukasa is severing their connection. Mifuyu tells her to pull herself together; it’s no time for crying. Just like with Kanagi and Mitama, even if she severs their connection, they can still work to reconnect them. They decide to pursue Tsukasa’s magic traces. Mifuyu overhears a news broadcast. The city government is still discussing countermeasures, and encourages anyone showing these strange symptoms not to panic, and remain at home waiting for further updates. In addition, nutrition can be supplemented via IV drips or gastrostomy, with priority based on certain conditions, so people are encouraged to check in with their local health center to see if they are eligible. Mifuyu thinks that a broadcast may be of use to them.

2-4

Shizuka and Sana are still undercover at the NeoMagius base. They heard from Iroha that their information was inaccurate, which makes them worry that they could be in danger. The others are currently taking a nap in preparation for their next moves, so Sana suggests they get out. Shizuka, however, has a bolder plan; this is their opportunity to take out Kagura while she sleeps. While she feels bad employing such a tactic, taking her out of the equation would cripple the NeoMagius. It’s unlikely they could get any information out of her, but without her the feathers would be demoralized and disorganized, and Miyuri would be unable to fight. They use Sana’s magic to sneak up on her. Shizuka strikes with the intent of giving her a wound bad enough she won’t be able to move for some time, but is startled when her blow bounces off Kagura’s iron skin. She had suspected Shizuka had infiltrated their base, and so used herself as bait to make her show herself. She knew that she wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to take her out, so she pretended to sleep while enabling her absolute defense magic. She wakes Miyuri and the other feathers to attack Shizuka and Sana. Shizuka asks Sana if she can use her magic again, but she says her presence concealment won’t work if they’ve already been identified.

The feathers surround the two of them. They see what seems like an escape route, but Kagura is waiting; she says that the route was an escape route to hell, and unleashes a barrage of bullets alongside a coordinated attack from the feathers. Shizuka stops Kagura’s barrage with her unique magic, and Sana blocks the feathers’ attack with her shield. Just when they feel a momentary relief, Miyuri rushes in with a follow up attack. Sunao and Chiharu join the fight just in time to save them, along with the rest of the Tokime Clan. Kagura isn’t quite ready to give up the fight, but Miyuri tells her that the neighbors are starting to notice the commotion. With that in mind, she lets Sana and the Tokime Clan make their escape, and gathers the feathers into the hall again for a meeting.

2-5

As they escape across the rooftops, the Tokime clan observes that the NeoMagius aren’t pursuing them, because they can’t afford to cause a scene here. Shizuka thanks the others for saving them, and apologizes for failing the mission. Sana suggests that she go back to the NeoMagius base for more information right now. Shizuka says that’s crazy; it’d like asking to get killed. However, Sana thinks this is a valuable chance to get information, and won’t back down. They ask her how she intends to get out afterwards, and she asks to make use of Chika’s magic. She gives Chika her handkerchief, and tells her to give it to Riko’s dog Mameji, who will surely track her scent and come help out. Why stop at one dog, Ryoko adds, when you can have hundreds of dogs all make a fuss at once to help you escape? Chika isn’t sure it will work, and asks for time to prepare.

2-6

Sana returns to the public hall that is the NeoMagius’s base. The commotion has already died down again. In a park near the hall, Sana sees Kagura arguing with Tatsu (a familiar NPC from the youth association). He scolds her for making a commotion at the public hall in the middle of the night, saying that the neighbors complained and she’ll be banned if it happens again. She asks him desperately if it’s true that they intend to discard the portable shrine for the fire festival. They will need it when the festival is restarted, she says, and they had promised they’d do what they could to keep it. Tatsu says there’s nothing he can do about it; that’s what the youth association and the neighborhood association decided. Besides that, the festival has been deemed dangerous and the suspension of the festival was their fault (referring to when the YA was possessed by a Witch in Dependence Blue). It’s time to face the facts and move forward; the festival is never coming back. Kagura refuses to accept this. She says the festival helped her change herself, gave her a goal, and made her life enjoyable and fulfilling. She says the youth association and the festival are her whole world, her very being; she was saved by the god of the festival. Tatsu says to her that like he and the rest of the association were telling her before, there is no god of the festival. She blurts out in the heat of the moment that in that case, she will become the god, and he slaps her. He apologizes, but tells her to think about this calmly. The only ‘gods’ for the youth association are the neighborhood ladies (a pun?) and the higher ups, and they’ve decided to stop the festival. After he leaves, she says to herself that she is calm; she was serious when she said she would become a living god. Seeing this scene reminds Sana that Iroha says that everyone is suffering and seeking salvation, but Sana doesn’t think that the NeoMagius are justified in making other people suffer to try and assuage their own pain.

Sana listens in by the public hall for a while, and eventually learns that the NeoMagius are planning on sending some members to back up Ao and Hebinomiya in Yukuni. They need this extra representatives to make sure that Ao, who has become dangerous since losing her sense of fear, doesn’t kill the eradication faction. They intend to have the eradication faction, humans who know the existence of magical girls, appear in their announcements and tell what they’ve been up to. At the same time, they will also pass judgment on them for their disrespect towards magical girls. They intend to punish them during the broadcast, but they need to send some of their own members to make sure Ao doesn’t overdo it. Sana is appalled to hear that they intend to make a show of strength on the broadcast. It gives her such a shock that she momentarily disables her magic, and Kagura and Miyuri find her.

Kagura and Miyuri corner Sana in an alleyway. Miyuri knocks her shield away, and then Kagura launches a direct barrage. Before she can finish Sana off, she is distracted by a dog, followed by a large pack of dogs making a ruckus. Sana escapes with the dogs’ help.

Chika thanks Mameji for his help. Sana’s wounds are serious, but Sunao is there to give her a some healing. Sana struggles to speak, but manages to relay the new information.

2-7

Back at the Kamihama Civic Center, Team Mikazuki was lucky they survived Mitama’s trap; so lucky, in fact, that they attribute their survival to Tsuruno’s luck magic. Tsuruno suspects that the trap was set up mostly in advance, and Mitama only added the detonation switch at the end. Regardless, everyone is safe for the time being, but it seems they won’t be able to get through to Kanagi and Mitama. They may have no choice but to rely on the Big Friendship Plan. Felicia says that even if they can’t reconcile with them, they still need to chase them to stop their plans. Yachiyo agrees, and speculates that they might be heading to the real broadcast location. Mitama seems to have used her magic to erase their magic traces, but Yachiyo and Tsuruno are astute enough to still detect them. Iroha is impressed, as she can’t detect a thing. Based on the traces, Tsuruno speculates they may be headed for Kamihama City Hall. With that in mind, Iroha concludes they must be planning on using the disaster warning speakers. They are similar to the speakers in the Civic Center, but are actually designed to reach the whole city. Tsuruno says that if that’s true, then they’ve got more to worry about than just a public broadcast; such a system could be used for the same purpose as the radio telescope was. With everything figured out, they prepare to contact Momoko and then move out when Yuna arrives. She says they had planned to come in a hurry, but ended up missing the action. Juri laughs at Mikazuki for looking pathetic covered in dust from the collapsing building, which ticks off Felicia. The two nearly get in a fight, but Iroha and Yuna stop them by sternly calling their names in unison. Yuna says they don’t have room to criticize them as they’ve made no progress either. Iroha gets a call from Sana’s phone, but hears Shizuka on the other end. Hikaru expresses frustration that they have no leads on Himena, and Juri asks Shigure and Hagumu if they know anything else they haven’t said (they don’t, of course). Ui calls attention to the Union group chat, where Himika has posted a message that has gotten people talking.

Himika posted a leaflet she found when helping out at a newspaper store. Kanoko says it definitely is the work of NeoMagius, and Manaka says she just checked her mail and found a copy. The leaflet claims it will reveal the truth of the strange incident happening in Kamihama, and that anyone interested should scan the included QR code and wait for the broadcast to start. It also emphasizes that preparation was needed to make and distribute the leaflet, meaning it was written before the incident began. They scan the QR code and sure enough, it redirects to Ao’s Dotube channel. Hikaru asks how affordable leaflets are; Tsuruno says based on personal experience that they aren’t too expensive if you limit the scope, and Yuna says the NeoMagius could very well have afforded it if they pooled their money. The distribution likely wasn’t that wide, but it could easily spread on social media given the circumstances and content.

Iroha finishes talking with Shizuka and reports the news from Sana: the NeoMagius intend to hurt civilians on a live broadcast from Ao’s channel. Promised Blood demands to know where they can find Ao, and she reports that she should be in Yukuni targeting a group called the ‘eradication faction’, whoever the heck they are. Yuna rallies Promised Blood and they depart for Yukuni at once, ready to bring Ao back and return to her a sense of fear with Juri’s flames.

Team Mikazuki prepares to head for Kamihama City Hall, but Yachiyo announces that she will be leaving the front lines for a while. She says she heard from Momoko that the Big Friendship Plan is moving along, and decided to make a move herself. She’s going to go and appear on the program she attempted to decline earlier. Despite her objections, her appearance had been scheduled anyway. She’s going to be a news commentator (CG). She will even be commentating on a press conference by the mayor, and she’ll make sure to make it count (EDIT: clarified the nature of Yachiyo’s program). However, since she intends to go wildly off script, there’s a chance she could get herself blacklisted in show business. If that happens, Mikazuki Villa will lose its source of income; she apologizes in advance for this possibility. Felicia says that would be a bit of a problem.

Nayuta and Folklore are at a station. As the battle against NeoMagius continues to rage, Nayuta feels there’s no meaning in their fight when they both want to make magical girls known. Rabi says that even if the goal is the same, if the methods are different then conflict is inevitable. She adds that such a conflict may be influenced by the will of the universe, in an effort to reduce the number of people spreading the truth. Urara points out that no one has died yet, though Asahi remarks that it’s what happens after the dust has settled that matters. Sasha says that it seems at this point that no matter who wins or loses, the truth will come out; it’s what happens in that scenario that matters for their hypothesis. Tasuke prays that he is wrong.

Four hours left.

Kagome’s Interviews: San Kagura

Kagura thanks Kagome for coming all the way out to a different town for an interview, and offers her a local specialty manju that goes great with tea. When it comes to what she wants for her future, everyone already knows about her desire to revive the fire festival. That’s not all, though; she also wants to convey the charm of the town where she was born and raised to Japan and to the world. She’s taking this goal seriously; she wants to study at university and acquire knowledge useful for town revitalization and then work for local government. From there, she’ll hold various events to make Mitsuzuka a famous town. Although, the god of the festival also being a civil servant would be pretty weird…Rather, becoming a living god would be the biggest way to revitalize the town.

Part 3: History Bound to Grief

3-1

Kagome narrates that the magical girls move frantically and freely through the night, fighting desperately to stop the whirlpool of grudges that would be unleashed by the NeoMagius’s plan. Some of the magical girls like Kanagi and Mitama have suffered because of human society, but now the people of Kamihama suffer because of magical girls. Thus, everyone is caught in a never ending spiral of negativity. She thinks that this feeling might be the resignation that drives the professor. However, when she learned of Mikage’s actions, she decided to follow her, thinking that hope may be born from her innocent, carefree, and honest positivity. She continues to pray for the safety of Iroha and her allies.

Sana wakes up in Mitama’s office, where Puella Care is taking care of her. Livia says her wounds are deep, and she needs her magic recovered more than she needs to be physically healed, and they decide to use a Grief Seed on her. Sudachi offers up one of hers (I think, she’s not much of a talker). Sana weakly says that she’ll pay them back, and Yozuru tells her she should rest silently and let them heal her if she wants to get back to the front lines quickly. Shizuka says she’ll cover the Grief Seed. The Tokime and Puella Care discuss how fortunate it was that they ran into each other, since Puella Care has been away from their trailer on business. Livia says something I’m too small brain to understand, which makes Shizuka say to her face that she can’t tell if she’s a good person or a bad person (dammit Livia, why do you have to be so much harder to translate than everyone else…). Livia responds that she probably isn’t a good person, but even though her methods may be dirty, she intends to be everyone’s ally.

Back at the Civic Center, Iroha tells the others the Promised Blood managed to catch a train to Yukuni; more specifically, they snuck onboard a freight train, since the passenger trains aren’t running at this time (presumably around 3 or 4 in the morning based on the countdown). Yachiyo says it’s time for her to head out too. Shigure and Hagumu, who didn’t accompany PB to Yukuni, ask for Iroha’s permission to move freely. They want to look for Mitsune, whom they had assumed would have been released after the business with the radio telescope, but no one has seen or heard from her since. Iroha tells them they can go, but warns them to be careful. With that settled, Iroha’s team heads for City Hall.

In an unknown room, Himena thanks Mitsune for her help, and tells her to take a rest here (but not in the Kanagi way, just a normal rest). Mitsune asks her if she really intends to use the trap. Himena says it’s already set up and ready to go, now all she has to do is start it up. Mitsune worries about what will happen; Himena says she gets that, but she needs to do this to get all the Kimochi stones. Mitsune tells her that she keeps crossing more and more lines, all for Hiko’s sake. Himena says that even so, she never abandons her buds (funny TL thing here, the word she used reads ‘maimen’ in katakana. So like, ‘my men’, maybe, as in her main men, her best buds, her homies? Or maybe like her soldiers/followers?). Mitsune asks her if what she’s trying to say is that the reason she took her outside of Kamihama was…Himena finishes her thought; it’s because I want to save you, of course!

3-2

Iroha’s team pursues Kanagi and Mitama. Tsuruno takes the lead, because she’s the only one of the four who can detect their magic traces. It seems their hunch was right; they appear to have headed straight across the rooftops towards City Hall. However, when they arrive, they discover they’ve been duped once again; due to the destruction of Chuo Ward in the battle with Eve, City Hall has been moved temporarily to a different building. None of them normally have a reason to go to City Hall, so they hadn’t heard. Tsuruno says this creates a new challenge, in that they don’t know where the command center for the disaster warning system is. It could have been moved to any fire or police station in the city, and they don’t have much time left to figure out which, not to mention it’s possible this could be yet another ruse like the radio tower and the Civic Center. Either way, they don’t have time to stand around trying to figure things out; they need to keep pursuing Kanagi and Mitama. Iroha and Ui say that many of the city’s magical girls can act freely now, and they decide to enlist the community’s help in their efforts to find the disaster warning system and their opponents.

Tsukuyo and Mifuyu continue to track Tsukasa, now in Mizuna Ward, but her magic traces vanish. Mifuyu thinks someone must have intentionally covered them up. Mifuyu sees Iroha’s message in the Union group chat. The message says that Kanagi and Mitama are erasing magic traces as they run through the city, and they have gone from Daito to Chuo and are now headed somewhere else. They may be heading for the disaster warning system, so she wants anyone available to check potential locations for the system in their area. Mifuyu and Tsukuyo suspect that Kanagi and Mitama kept heading west from Chuo and into Mizuna, where they erased Tsukasa’s magic traces. Furthermore, Tsukuyo learns there is a government branch office near them, which may be their destination. They check it out, and sure enough, they detect Kanagi and Mitama, though their magic reactions feel different from normal, strange and cold (Iroha seems to have left out some important information in her message…). Tsukuyo suggests stealth, but Mifuyu says they should just approach them from the front, because there’s little doubt they’ve been detected already. They show themselves, and Mifuyu and Tsukuyo are taken aback seeing their new forms. Kanagi suggests they take this somewhere else.

3-3

They move to an alleyway. Mifuyu says their new forms indicate that they have undergone a significant change in their souls, and is proof that they have committed to bringing destruction. Kanagi says she knows Mifuyu intends to stand in their way. She and Tsukuyo transform, and respond that it’s obvious they are going after the disaster warning system, and asks them what they’re gonna do about it if she does try to stop them. Mitama says the answer is obvious, and that no one will see what happens here, as she dashes between them with astonishing speed. She seals their movements in an instant, and Kanagi tells Mifuyu not to hold a grudge as she goes in for the kill. Tsukuyo saves them by counterattacking with her flute. Tsukuyo says it’s fortunate that only their legs were sealed as they regain their movement. They gain some distance from their foes while they are flinching from the counter. Mifuyu is surprised that they show no hesitation in the slightest. She tells Kanagi that the leader of the east has really fallen to a new low. Kanagi says that she’s not one to talk, as a former member of the Magius. Mifuyu reminds her of when they worked together to make peace between the east and west in Breakpoint. She says that was over a year ago now, and Kanagi responds that people change in that much time, like herself and Mitama. Tsukuyo tells her they can still go back; they could stop the NeoMagius, undo the suggestion, and avoid the worst case scenario. All they have to do is tell them where Tsukasa is, and everything can be fixed. Mitama takes issue with Tsukuyo’s tone, saying that the way she puts it makes it sound they they regret their actions. She says that they are on board with Himena’s plan whether it succeeds or fails. If it succeeds, then magical girls can manage society and create equality; if it fails, they will have caused a great deal of suffering and become an enemy for the people of Kamihama to direct all their resentment at and unite against. All they wanted was to unite the east and west, and they feel they have to go this far or it won’t happen. Mifuyu points out that they are willing to kill many people to make this goal a reality. Kanagi says that people find true equality in death, when they can no longer speak or interfere with anything, and they become an existence that simply watches over the future. When the survivors from east and west Kamihama join hands to face evil, they will look back on the city’s divided past and learn from it; in this way, those who have perished will create hope for the future. She asks if Mifuyu is satisfied with her explanation. Mifuyu says that she doesn’t give a shit about their violent, oppressive logic, and tells them Mikage hasn’t given up on uniting this city. Mitama doesn’t believe it, so Mifuyu says she’ll show her the situation with illusions. She attacks Mitama with her magic, but Kanagi strikes her in return. Tsukuyo tries to help her, but her movements are sealed by Mitama again. Kanagi once again attempts to finish off Mifuyu, when Momoko arrives to save the day. She says it was good that she decided to rush ahead to make it in time. She is surprised by their new forms, but ready to wake them up.

As Momoko stands to stop her, Mitama tells her that her eyes are clear, and this is the conclusion they have come to after thinking calmly. They endured hate and scorn for a long time, but if nothing is going to change, then they need to change things themselves. In addition, there is also her wish to consider, so they want to destroy the city for the sake of the future. She asks Momoko to tell her what’s so wrong about that. Momoko admits that she understands what Mitama is saying, but even so, they have always rejected violence and killing. Back in the fight against the Magius, the battles for the Kimochi stones, and even now when fighting the NeoMagius, that’s always been true. She and her allies don’t believe in killing people or making them suffer, because that would take away their future and hope. That’s why Iroha hates conflict, she says. If we don’t try to connect to the future with hope, then the unhappiness will only continue and worsen. Mitama says that if that’s the case, then she demands to know where their connecting hope is. Kanagi says that they tried to reach for hope, but only found sadness. From nearby, Mikage yells out that that’s not true. Mitama is surprised to hear her little sister, and Mifuyu reiterates what she told her earlier; that Mikage hasn’t given up and is doing everything she can. Mikage, Rena, and Kaede arrive, and Mikage is saddened to see her sister’s new form that is the result of her pain. Mikage says it’s up to them to make a future for Mitama and Kanagi. Kaede says that the two of them can rest easy now, because they don’t have to bottle up and endure their sadness anymore. Tsukuyo asks if the Big Friendship Plan has been proceeding while she has been absent, and Momoko says it has been going well, thanks in no small part to her prior efforts. Mikage runs up to Mitama with a smile and says everything is okay now, the future isn’t pitch black. Mitama pushes her away, and says that she won’t believe that even from her. Kanagi can’t accept it either, and tells them to stop trying to deceive them. Mikage starts to tear up, saying that she did her best and she doesn’t know why they won’t believe in her. Momoko tells her not to worry about it; they’re just agitated at the moment. She asks Mitama and Kanagi to listen to what Mikage has done.

Nearby, Kagome and the Wind Evangelist have arrived. The Uwasa can hear their conversation from a distance, and Kagome asks her to fill her in on what’s happening, hoping to find some form of hope.

3-4

A flashback begins as Mikage explains to Mitama and Kanagi the details of the Big Friendship Plan. The scene from last chapter where she recruited Tsukuyo is shown, but with more after where it ended before. They discuss Kanagi and Mitama’s motives, but aren’t sure why they have changed. She thinks Mitama’s change might have had something to do with her wish, and that something really bad must have happened to Kanagi to make her change. In response, Mikage wants to prove that people from the east and west can get along, an effort she calls her Big Friendship Plan. Tsukuyo says she gets what she’s saying, but changing centuries worth of hate is impossible. Mikage tells her she shouldn’t give up so easily, because doing your best and holding onto hope until the very end is what it means to be a magical girl. Tsukuyo can’t say no to Mikage’s smile, and agrees to help. For their first order of business, they will head to a place Mikage knows where people gather from both east and west: the Tomorrow shop.

At the Tomorrow shop, Mikage struggles to explain to some elementary school friends of hers (including the boy that threw the rock) why the Big Friendship Plan matters. They say that they can hang out there together even without it, and it’s not like a few kids could change anything anyhow. Mikage reminds them that they didn’t get along with her at first; one of them even threw a rock at her for being an easterner. Being reminded of that incident makes Tsukuyo feel like she has to apologize to Mikage as a westerner. Mikage says she’s not worried about that kind of thing, and she wants them all to just be Kamihama citizens, not easterners or westerners. Mikage introduces Tsukuyo to the kids, and they feel that if they have an older girl on their side then they might be able to accomplish something after all. They all agree to help. One kid’s older sister arrives, who turns out to be one of Tsukuyo’s koto clubmates. They ask her to help, as well.

3-5

The clubmate says she doesn’t have much to do with the east, so while she knows there have been problems in the past, she doesn’t usually think about them much. And to be perfectly honest, she doesn’t have a very good impression of the east herself, so she’s not sure how much help she could be. Well, she has her concerns but if her senpai is asking her to and her little sister wants to help, then she has no reason to deny them. With that in mind, they will kickstart their efforts through the koto club. Tsukuyo’s clubmate says that through their connections, their efforts will quickly spread from Mizuna to Shinsai and Sankyo. Things are looking up, but then Mikage and Tsukuyo feel a strange magic sensation. One of the kids starts to gag when trying to drink their juice; the others try the juice as well, and only Tsukuyo and Mikage can drink normally. They learn that the Union failed to stop the NeoMagius, and the hunger wave has been unleashed. They also learn of the election deception, but Mikage doesn’t think Kanagi and Mitama will come back even if they learn the truth, and so they decide to continue the Big Friendship Plan. They tell the humans that many people are experiencing issues eating and drinking, and they should check on their families. Tsukuyo also asks her clubmate once again to continue helping with the plan, saying that their hateful past was also manipulated in the mayoral election, which is unforgivable. She shares the sentiment. Tsukuyo will contact more people for the plan as she goes to meet up with Iroha and the others, while Mikage will resume gathering allies after checking on her family.

The flashback jumps forward to right after Rena and Kaede agreed to help in Daito Ward. They have heard that the others plan to head to the Civic Center to fight the NeoMagius, but Momoko says that with Mikazuki, Promised Blood, and Mifuyu they should have plenty of manpower, so they should focus on the Big Friendship Plan. Kaede points out multiple times that their plan for now is just to gather people, and it seems like a waste. She apologizes for being a downer, and says she was trying to make a suggestion. Rena says she should have lead with that part. She recommends they make a signature site; in other words, an online petition. She has experience with them from helping out with forest conservation efforts. It doesn’t change a ton, but it will leave proof of everyone’s opinion, and they could even submit it to a government office. Most importantly, they could show it to Kanagi and Mitama to prove there is still hope for the city. They commit to the idea and go to recruit more people, starting at the nearby Daito apartment complex. Rena says that she has contacted Himika and some others for their help as well.

They prepare the site. The page asks readers if it’s really not possible for the east and west to get along despite their cultural differences. It asks anyone who feels uncomfortable with the socially accepted hatred between the regions perpetuated by peer pressure and the older generations to leave their signature and support the Big Friendship Plan. They also intend to hold a ‘Student Conference to Create the Future of Kamihama’, where students from the east and west will come together to discuss how they can come together as a community. If they get enough signatures, they will send the petition to the city government. The signatures increase little by little, but are gaining momentum. Kaede thinks everyone is telling their acquaintances, which makes it spread quickly. Rena is weirded out that their petition is spreading so quickly but Touka and Nemu’s efforts to tell the world about magical girls on social media failed completely. Kanagi’s brother speaks to them, asking if they are friends of hers. Rena asks herself the same question, and Kaede tells her that at times like this, you’re supposed to just say you’re a friend. Momoko tells them to stop saying things that could be easily misunderstood, and covers for them. He asks them if the petition has anything to do with his sister. He tells them that she changed after finding out he was attacked by western extremists. Mikage tells him not to worry, because they’ll bring her back. He says that although it’s pathetic, he has no idea what’s going on with her. If they know, he’ll rely on them to help her. Mikage says he can count on them.

3-6

Having recruited many supporters in the east, they move their efforts towards the west. Fortunately, they’ve already made some headway in the west thanks to Tsukuyo. Rena says the basically just need to talk to their acquaintances, but Kaede points out that might be difficult for someone who doesn’t have many friends. Rena is shocked by this sudden diss, but Kaede says she was including herself when she said that. Mikage is happy with the comments being posted on their site. On the internet, you can say whatever you want without fear of judgement from peers or relatives, allowing people to say their honest feelings they wouldn’t admit in other circumstances. One particular comment of note is shown: the poster says they are a student in Mizuna, and they once had the opportunity to study alongside a transfer student from Daito. At the time, they had accepted the stories told about the east without question, and were jealous of the outstanding student from Daito, and eventually tried to push her down the stairs. They don’t think that signing the petition will be enough to erase their sins, but take it as an opportunity to change themself and stop more people from suffering. Momoko says that when compared to the whole population of the city, they still have a small number of supporters, but it may be enough to make change. They detect a Witch nearby. Kaede suggests they leave it for now, but Rena points out that the situation is urgent: someone is under a Witch’s Kiss, and about to jump from a building. It’s not just any someone, either; that’s the mayor!

They make it in time to save the mayor. When she wakes up, Momoko struggles for a moment to find a way to explain the situation, but Mikage tells her straight up: you were going to jump, so we saved you. You’re real lucky we were in the area, she says. She recognizes Mikage’s school uniform as one from Daito, and apologizes profusely for making her suffer. They speculate that Mitsune’s falsification has worn off. The mayor says she doesn’t know how she could have done such horrible things. Before, she had even been willing to accept a loss in the election and shake hands with the eastern candidate, but to think that resolve could have been lead so far astray…She further says that she realized the error of her ways when the hunger wave hit and made her feel helpless to protect her citizens. Then in a countermeasures meeting, she realized she was hurting the citizens she meant to protect, and the next thing she knew, she was here. Now that they have saved her, she intends to resign, or else she wouldn’t be able to face the people of the east. Mikage says that in that case, she should help them, and tells her about the petition. She agrees, saying that she’ll talk about her and the east-west problem in an upcoming press conference, along with her intent to resign (Clarification: the mayor is holding a press conference which Yachiyo will then react to, got it wrong in episode 2).

Momoko talks with Yachiyo on the phone. Yachiyo tells Momoko about Ao’s upcoming livestream, and Momoko tells Yachiyo about what happened with the mayor. It’s a big ask, but Momoko asks her to appear on the news program and talk about the petition. She initially objects since she could lose her job for pulling a stunt like this, but admits that with Kanagi and Mitama on the line, this is no time to be worrying about such things. Besides that, she also feels like it has been a while since she had Momoko rely on her.

3-7

The story returns to the present as they finish telling their story. Kanagi and Mitama admit that if all of that is true, then the east and west are already uniting, and their plan will do more harm than good. However, even that much isn’t enough to convince them. They attack Momoko, and the battle moves to a rooftop. Kanagi says they’ve heard such things time and time again, but in the end, such kind words are used for political gain and they continue to suffer. They say that they don’t want to hear those words from the current Kamihama, which is why they will destroy it. They have no ear to lend to them. Kanagi attacks Momoko again. Momoko points out that the two of them are hopelessly outnumbered, but they are undaunted; Mitama says they will continue to move towards the salvation they believe in. Mifuyu says that in this situation, they have to show them proof, and she asks Momoko when the press conference is. She says it should already be over, but Yachiyo’s program is on now. Mifuyu says that she will take an all or nothing gamble to force them to watch it with her illusion. If it’s only a partial visual effect rather than the entire false world of Assault Paranoia, then she should be able to do it in an instant. Tsukuyo will project the sound, and Mikage will play the broadcast on her phone. Mifuyu says she and Tsukuyo will hold off Mitama while they prepare, so Momoko’s team should hold off Kanagi. However, that’s easier said than done, says Rena. Kanagi vanishes for a moment and attempts to attack Kaede; however, Momoko stops her with a headbutt that knocks her mask off. Kanagi calls this move childish. Momoko tells her to buzz off; she was trying to stop her from reading her movements by charging in recklessly. Kanagi says her heart and emotions are all over the place; Momoko yells that they must be messy and hard to read, but that’s how she’s really feeling right now. (Note: not confident in this next bit) Momoko goes off on her, yelling at her for trying to do everything on her own. Magical girls live with other people, so the society they live in is precious to them. She says that magical girls are trying to help the two of them, so she should try taking a look around her for once. Meanwhile, Tsukuyo and Mifuyu kick Mitama’s ass because she’s way weaker than Kanagi. The program is ready, and Mifuyu tells everyone to watch the sky because she’s about to project the screen. Mikage says that she knows that her sister who is always smiling and kind is going through more suffering and exhaustion than anyone else. So together, let’s get rid of that suffering. A day will surely come when she doesn’t need to force herself to smile anymore!

The news program is projected onto the night sky. Yachiyo says she has mixed feelings on the content of the mayor’s press conference. She takes no issue with the regularly scheduled content, of course, that being the countermeasures against the hunger wave such as hospitals responding to requests for IV drips even past midnight and requests for aid from neighboring governments. But as for the rest, she says she is surprised and also deeply saddened to hear that the mayor was connected to antisocial organizations. It is not often said out loud, but there has been long-standing conflict between the east and west sides of the city that continues to have effects on the current generation. Perhaps it was the result of the recent disaster in Chuo Ward, but she thought the city was finally moving towards becoming united. However, the divide worsened again due to the incidents surrounding the mayoral election, which was painful to see. It’s no small task to heal those wounds again, but the students of the city are trying to do so themselves, through what they call the ‘Student Conference to Create the Future of Kamihama’, an endeavor which she has decided to support. She’s sorry if it sounds like a promotion, but she wants everyone to support their efforts with their signatures. She doesn’t want to see her close friends crying over the east-west conflict anymore, so it would make her happy if they could change it with their own hands.

Look, sis, says Mikage, there’s still a chance for a happy future for everyone! Kanagi and Mitama deactivate their magical girl forms, but their eyes are still dull and clouded. Mitama asks if she’s really asking her to believe in a small number of signatures. Besides that, says Kanagi, just because they are trying now doesn’t mean the happy future will actually come. It’s coming, sister, says Kanagi’s brother. She asks him what he’s doing here. He says he heard where she was from Leila and her friends and came running; on the way he ran into Iroha and her friends, and came here with them. He’s not the only one they brought, either; they’ve got a whole slew of other nameless NPCs as well.

One NPC in particular has something she needs to say, and Ui and Tsuruno encourage her to say it. Mitama immediately recognizes her; it’s the girl who tried to push her down the stairs. She apologizes for her crime, saying that her jealousy got Mitama expelled and ruined her life plan. She doesn’t think there is anything she can do to make up for that now. But even so, she will devote her life to ending the chain of suffering, so she wants Mitama to let her help her, for the sake of everyone’s future.

Kanagi’s brother says that he doesn’t know what she was trying to do, but he doesn’t want her to try and hold onto all of that desperation by herself. She may be hard to understand, but he wants to be there to support her. This time, everyone will work together with her and Mitama to change the east and west, so he doesn’t want her to try and shoulder it all herself anymore.

Kanagi says that she might be too awkward. Mitama remarks on how much the situation changes by changing who acts(?). Iroha reminds them of the last message Ryou left for them; she said she was jealous they would get to experience a fair and equal east Kamihama which is what she wanted even back in her Magius days. Kanagi remembers Ryou and Ikumi’s grief (CG part 1). The problems of the east and west have caused pain for many people. The Kimochi of Grief understands this, she thinks, for it contains Ryou and Ikumi’s grief. Kanagi now sees that in her obsession with her own grief, she ended up ignoring that of others. By looking at the sadness of the city as a whole, she lost sight of the sadness of the people close to her. In the end, what she was really feeling was desperation. On her own, she was on the verge of giving up and resigning herself to her fate, but now she knows there is no need to give up. She resolves to build a future without grief with the help of the people around her.

Mitama is in tears as Momoko and Mikage embrace her (CG part 2). Mitama tells them that if she keeps putting off the destruction from her wish, the damage will likely only get worse, and may even extend beyond the city. The incredible power of the Mirrors Witch may even be her fault. Even so, says Mikage, isn’t it painful to cause the destruction yourself? There’s no reason why she has to take that path. When the time comes, they can think about what to do about it together. Momoko seconds the sentiment, saying that she’ll be struggling desperately alongside her on that day. You don’t need to bring destruction yourself. Please don’t bring destruction yourself, Coordinator. Mitama asks Momoko if she wouldn’t resent her if she was killed by her wish. Momoko says she just said she’ll struggle alongside her; if they still can’t stop it, she won’t hold any grudges and they’ll die together.

3-8

Kanagi asks Iroha if she remembers when she said to her that she might become charmed by her foolish idealism (referring to a line from chapter 6 I believe, dunno how others translated it). She says that she thinks she resonated with Iroha’s ideals without realizing, but lost her way. She warns Iroha to take care not to fall into the same rut. Mitama tells Mikage to tell everyone to go to Sakae 1090, the location of Himena’s true objective. She explains that all of the other plans laid by NeoMagius, the disaster warning system, the leaflets, and Ao’s livestream, are all intended to connect to the main broadcast from 1090. The press should be on high alert by now, eager to learn the truth behind the hunger wave and the leaflets. Kanagi tells Mitama they should go and destroy Himena’s trap, and she agrees. Tsuruno asks if they won’t be joining them. They say that they have other messes to clean up, and besides that, they can’t walk alongside the others now. Tsukuyo asks if they know where Tsukasa is; Kanagi tells her that she is running away on her own initiative, and they only know which direction she went after they covered her tracks. Mifuyu and Tsukuyo resolve to resume the chase.

The Uwasa of the Wind Evangelist reports the events to Kagome. She is thrilled that they managed to create a miracle by saving Kanagi and Mitama and ending the negative spiral. She says the incident is proof of hope, that shows that they can resist the heavy tide and liberate themselves from the fate of magical girls.

Yachiyo hears the news. She is concerned that she might not be able to rejoin for some time while she gets an earful from her bosses, and hopes they let her go quickly. She gets messages from Ria and Sayuki, saying that there is a Dotuber collab event planned to take place at 1090. With that in mind, it seems the story from Kanagi is accurate, and Himena’s preparations were even more thorough than they had realized.

Shigure and Hagumu check the Mitsuzuka public hall for Mitsune, and are surprised to find her there, and none of the NeoMagius. They go inside and find her uninjured, and ask her who put her here. She says that Himena left her here, and then left to prepare a trap. She begs them to stop Himena, and says she thinks she left her here so that she won’t get caught up in what will happen in Kamihama, and possibly in the hopes that the two of them would come find her and end up outside the city themselves. She’s not sure at this point if Himena is trying to be kind or intimidating at this point. Shigure tells her to calm down and tell them what the trap is.

At a mountaintop, Nayuta gets a message from Mikage saying her sister is back. She isn’t sure how to interpret this because she has zero context for the situation, and Rabi suggests she ask. Asahi reports that the Tokime Clan is taking care of Sana, and Urara says she hasn’t heard from Promised Blood. Tasuke says it’s understandable that it would be hard to stay in contact in this situation, and himself reports that his brother has gotten help from another hospital regarding the IV drips. Nayuta gets more information from Mikage about Mitama, and calls out Rabi for smiling when hearing the news. Urara says that Rabi, like the professor, hasn’t completely given up hope, and she says she sees Iroha as one of the few sources of hope. Sasha asks if Iroha has a chance of stopping Himena. Rabi says she doesn’t know. She asks if Sasha still regrets failing to stop her. She says she does, but knows she couldn’t have stopped her when Hiko is her top priority. Rabi says that in that case, she has no choice but to entrust the task to someone else. She almost resigns herself to this line of thinking, but Asahi tells her to search her true feelings, and that if she wants to, then she should continue to struggle until her heart has truly given up.

Two hours and thirty minutes left.

Sasha declares that she can’t leave things like this with Himena after all, and runs off. Tasuke says to let her go, because anyone is free to choose to give up or not.

Kagome’s Interviews: Yakumo Mitama

Mitama welcomes Kagome to her shop. She offers her a candy that goes well with coffee, but Kagome politely declines. Mitama says she doesn’t have much to talk about, so she tried to at least offer some Yakumo Mitama-style hospitality. She explains that she sees only darkness ahead of her, and for all magical girls. Not only that, but the relationship between the east and the west is only getting worse, and she’s made her own mistakes besides…Although, it’s not like everything is hopeless. She believes in Kanagi’s vision of equality, and in Momoko, Iroha, and the others too. Those connections are what just barely keep her in this world. She wants to create a world where Mikage can be happy, even if only for a little while longer. She doesn’t care what happens to her, but Mikage is the one hope she never wants to give up.

Part 4: The End of the Emotions Born from Anger

4-1

Kagome narrates that while Kanagi and Mitama found new hope in Kamihama, Promised Blood was also on the move. Pursuing Ao, they came to Yukuni to search for the targeted eradication faction people. However, they had no idea where to look for them in the large, unfamiliar town between the sea and the mountains. Even so, Kagome still dreams that they may restore Ao’s sense of fear and that she will come to walk alongside her one-time allies as the third daughter of Promised Blood once again. She thinks that if even Ao can be saved, then magical girls in the most unfortunate situations can realize that there can be hope for a happy future. She prays that Promised Blood’s reports will be filled with happiness.

Shortly after arriving at Yukuni Station, Hikaru sneezes on Ranka. It’s nice that the freight train was fast, but traveling on the outside of a high-speed train late at night is very, very cold. Juri asks if Hikaru wants her to warm her up; Hikaru asks if by ‘warming up’, she doesn’t actually mean ‘burning down’. They hear from Iroha about what happened with Kanagi and Mitama. Hikaru says she’s happy that nothing bad happened with the two of them, but gets chills imagining Ao’s joint broadcast from 1090. It’s all the more reason why they need to find her fast. Juri asks Yuna if she’s heard back from Urara yet. Urara had sent the first message contacting her, so she had replied, but she hasn’t heard from her since. Juri asks how they intend to find the people they’re looking for without any clues. If they have a base in the forest, then they’d never be able to find them. Ranka suggests that in that case, Juri should simply start a disastrous forest fire; Juri says she likes the way she thinks, but Yuna rejects the proposal. Yuna gets a message from Urara, with a map to the base of the eradication faction. She also says in the message that the current leader of the eradication faction is her former partner, and she wants them to save her. Juri is surprised that she would want to save someone who hurt her, and Yuna says she’s a truly kind girl.

They head to the hot springs district, from which they will take an animal road into the mountains to reach their destination. Hikaru says that if they bring Ao back, she wants them all to go to the hot springs together on their way back. Juri says that’s an awfully carefree thing to say; there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to get her back to begin with. Hikaru retorts that she said it because she believes they can. Ranka points out that there’s still a ton of shit going down in Kamihama even if they manage to bring Ao back; no matter how you look at it, this is no time for a bath. Hikaru tells the two of them to let her dream a little, or rather, she won’t let their reconciliation with Ao end as a dream. Juri says she gets what Hikaru is saying, but it’s not that easy. She asks Yuna if she has any ideas on how to handle Ao, and she says she intends to use the same method that Iroha used on her. They will use the stone of fear Juri got from Chiharu to connect with her heart and defeat the Kimochi that has taken control of her emotions to release her. Hikaru asks what they will do if it turns out that her emotions are broken, not being controlled. Yuna says that in that case, then they will have to replace her lost sense of fear with a new one, but they have no idea if it will work or not. Juri says it would be a problem for her if they can’t succeed, because then it would be hard for her to entrust thinks to Ao and Hikaru’s generation and retire. Hikaru says this is the first she’s heard of this, and asks what she’s talking about. Yuna says it’s just what it sounds like; the two of them are going to retire.

4-2

At the eradication faction’s mountain shack, Ao asks her Hebinomiya allies if they’ve detected any enemy magic signals yet. They say not yet, but that it’s probably about time for Yuna and the others to find them. Ao is getting bored out of her mind on standby waiting for the morning to come, so she was hoping she could at least pass the time with a fight. One of her minions says that she didn’t think she’d ever see someone say they want to fight Yuna and Juri personally. Kurara tells them to hurry up and untie her, saying that confining her in this shack is a crime. Look who’s talking, retorts Ao. She asks her how many magical girls they made suffer and turn into Witches up until now. She says she heard about it from Himena, including that they used to bully a girl called Sasha who used to be in the NeoMagius. Paying them back for that is too easy of a game(?). Kurara feels more than ever that the eradication faction’s belief that both Witches and magical girls harm humans is correct. Ao asks her what she’s saying now. She says they only were picking kind people as their enemies, and that’s why they froze up(?). Kurara doubles down, saying that they only say that they save humans but in reality they hurt them just like she is now. (Note: apologies in advance if I end up misinterpreting Ao’s extended metaphor here, it seems a little strange) Ao tells her that next time, she should try hitting a cop as hard as she can. If that cop feels she’s a threat, then they’ll arrest her. That’s what people who protect the peace do, and of course, that applies to us magical girls as well. We’ll protect people from danger too. Her expression darkens. Of course, there are times when the cops need to set a perimeter and crush the threat. She grabs Kurara (presumably, not that the animations can show that) and says that truth be told, she and all her allies should already be dead. Therefore, when the time comes she should place nice, look at the camera, and tell the world about their relationship with magical girls. She spits at Ao that her allies are coming to crush them. Ao asks her if she means the guys that are scattered across the floor outside. She then crushes a rock, and then warns Kurara that if she says anything she’s not supposed to, then she’ll crush her head just like the rock. Ao lets go of her. She excitedly asks her if she’s scared right now, saying that she used to make a face like the one she’s making now but has forgotten the feeling. One of Ao’s allies tells her to stop; there may be no love lost between them and the eradication faction, but they’re only trying to get her to speak honestly in front of the camera. Another Hebinomiya girl reassures Kurara that despite how Ao made it sound, they haven’t killed any of her allies, just knocked them out. Ao is annoyed with her allies for reassuring Kurara when she had gone to so much effort to get her making a good face for the broadcast. She says she was planning to prerecord the video now, cause she’s got nothing better to do, and what difference does it make if it’s live or not anyway? As Ao argues with her subordinates, they detect that their enemy has arrived, and go out to meet them.

In the forest, Yuna yells out that she knows Ao’s there, so she should come out and face them. Ao enthusiastically acquiesces to this request. She tells them they came at a good time, so they should go a round with her. She strikes at Juri for the first blow. Yuna says Ao and her allies have no chance of winning with her and Juri here, so they should lower their weapons now and free their captives. Ao says she’ll never listen to them, because they are enemies who stand in her way to reach the top. She attacks Yuna this time, and Hikaru defends her. Hikaru says that if she keeps fighting so recklessly she’ll die; she responds that that’s no problem, because it’s just a game. Hikaru is shocked by this nonsensical declaration, and Ranka says she’s getting worse. Ao’s comrades tell Yuna and Juri that they’ll release the leader of the eradication faction, so they’re counting on them to help Ao.

4-3

Kurara asks the Hebinomiya girls why they’re releasing her. They say that at the rate things are going, she might end up with more than just a scare. Releasing her will affect their plans, but it isn’t that important. The rest of her allies are fainted and tied up nearby, so they tell her to take them and run. She says she won’t thank them. They respond that they want her to understand that just like humans, not all magical girls are the same, and then make what appears to be a Buddhist reference I am unfamiliar with.

Ao dashes and attacks Juri. Juri says that her fighting style has changed; Yuna says she has become a battle maniac who charges in without any regard to defense. However, such a reckless strategy isn’t enough to beat Yuna, who counters one of her assaults with Target Change. Ao is reeling from the blow, but is smiling and wants more. She’s ready to charge back in, but Ranka catches her in her crane arm. Ranka says she didn’t want to see someone who was once so concerned about the world around her like Ao become only able to see what’s right in front of her like Juri. As Ao struggles to escape, Ranka says now’s their chance to use the Kimochi stone. Juri activates the stone of fear, intent on sending only herself and Yuna in, but Hikaru rushes to them and is sucked in as well.

Yuna asks Hikaru why she came with them to the Kimochi space. She says she just wanted to help Ao. Juri says that she can’t do stupid shit now that she’s here. Hikaru asks her what she means by that, and she says she had been prepared to die saving Ao. She says she knows it’s partially her fault that Ao ended up like this, so she wanted to give her life to make it right. Hikaru gets mad, and says that if she was planning on dying on her own then she should have left Yuna out of it. Juri finds Hikaru’s flagrant disregard for her well being in favor of Yuna’s unsurprising, and complains that her resolve was wasted. All that aside, they find Ao caught in the Kimochi’s clutches, which makes things simple for now; the first thing they have to do is destroy it.

4-4

They manage to get Ao out of the Kimochi’s grasp. Hikaru is ecstatic, but Juri warns her that it’s too soon to celebrate. Hikaru refuses to listen, and rushes to see if Ao is okay. Yuna senses danger, and warns Hikaru just in time for her to dodge Ao’s attack. Ao is disoriented, unsure how she ended up here from the forest, but she doesn’t see the change of scenery as an obstacle. Rather, there’s no one else here to get in the way of her killing her sisters and taking the top. Seeing that nothing has changed, Juri asks Yuna if she thinks it’s time to die yet. She says she thinks dying for atonement is all well and good, but it won’t make a difference in this situation. Ao says she would appreciate it if they stopped talking about suicide. There’s no meaning in reaching the top of the leaderboard due to a win by default, after all. Hikaru and Juri ask Yuna if it’s time to give her new fear using the stone of fear, but Yuna says she’s concerned about potential adverse effects of using another Kimochi on her. Yuna says she has a better idea she wants to try to restore Ao’s fear; she will retrace Ao’s memories in the Kimochi space all the way back to when she was a baby. She will find when baby Ao first developed her sense of fear, and protect that feeling from the Kimochi. Ao is getting impatient to fight, and says she’ll make the first move if they won’t. Yuna says that if she doesn’t want to accept a win by default, then she’ll set rules for their contest. She asks Ao to start over from the time she was born and live alongside them; if she still wants to fight them and go to the top after that, they won’t try to stop her anymore. Ao agrees to the bet because Yuna and Juri would kill themselves if she didn’t. She has Yuna promise that they will fight her if her feelings don’t change after the experience. With everyone in agreement, Ao tells the three of them to come close to her, and they go into her past together.

Yuna and Juri find themselves in what they assume is Ao’s house. Hikaru isn’t present; Yuna wonders if she has been given some other role. They hear a little voice, and find baby Ao in a crib (CG). Juri remarks that she looks like she could be crushed easily. Yuna warns her not to crush the baby, because that’s probably the real Ao. Juri says that seeing someone who talks so much shit turn into a cute little baby is kind of adorable, actually. Yuna initially gives a dismissive response, but Juri gets her to admit that baby Ao is incredibly adorable. Juri asks what happens now, and Yuna says they have to wait six to nine months for Ao to develop a sense of fear, then protect that sense of fear as she grows up. It’s more of a hope than a guarantee, but if they pull it off Ao may become her old self again. Hey wait, hold up a minute, says Juri; are you saying we’re gonna be here for 14 years?! She asks if it will at least be one of those ‘only an hour in real life’ kind of things; Yuna says who knows. Juri is pretty shocked to have been roped into an experiment, but they’re in this together and there’s no going back.

The Kimochi appears to attack baby Ao, and they fight to protect her. Hikaru joins the fight, and says she seems to have been assigned the role of a teenage girl in the neighborhood.

4-5

At the mall, Hikaru asks how long they’ve been at this. She has no problem beating the Kimochi, but fighting it over and over again, she feels like they may eventually reach their limit. Juri says that it feels like they only consume a small amount of magical power when fighting in this place, though the Kimochi is no less dangerous. Yuna speculates that if only a short amount of real-world time is passing during their 14 years of simulated parenthood, then perhaps the magic they consume is decreased in proportion. Juri points out that while that sounds like a good thing, like Hikaru said they’ll surely reach their limit eventually. Yuna says not to worry, because she has a plan: the Kimochi only attacks when Ao is scared, so they need to stop her from getting scared. In other words, Juri says, they need to raise her carefully and over-protectively and give her as happy a life as possible. You’re one lucky little bastard, she says to the baby. Yuna says she’s not the only one around here, and Hikaru worries that Yuna might hit her limit without having to fight. Yuna launches into an exasperated rant about what a horrible wife Juri is. When Ao cries in the night, Juri never wakes up, and Yuna always has to handle it. Juri is horrible at cleaning and laundry, so Yuna has to do it all. They’re at the store today because they ran out of powdered milk for Ao. Guess who noticed? Guess who’s always the only one who notices…Hikaru tells Yuna to pull herself together, her Soul Gem is getting tainted! She says that she’s here to support Yuna at times like this. Yuna retorts that all she does is play with the baby. She hasn’t forgotten when Hikaru told her “I’ll leave the diapers to you” and forced that shit on her alone. Hikaru apologizes and says she’ll help properly from now on. Juri takes the opportunity to gloat, and says that she’s very useful compared to Hikaru. Thanks to her father, she’s great at cooking with fire, and Hikaru admits that her home cooking of meat dishes is excellent. Hikaru adds that she helps with the dishes, at least. Yuna admits she’s thankful for Juri’s cooking, at least, but she thinks they need some more vegetables. Hikaru says Yuna has always liked veggies better than meat. Juri tells her not to be picky. Rather, Juri thinks she doesn’t eat enough meat, and that’s why she’s so skinny and pale. Yuna has no response. Juri asks what they came here to buy again, and Yuna finally blows her top and yells at her. Yuna’s yell causes the baby to start crying, and the Kimochi returns for another round.

Several years later, everyone is older and in new costumes for their new lifestyles. Young Ao shows her report card to Yuna, who agrees to raise her allowance by 500 yen as a reward for good grades. Juri says that’s all well and good, but the notes from the teacher said she’s lacking initiative, reserved, and often alone. Juri says it’s hard for her to believe with how bright and cheerful she is at home. She says she’s not really one to talk, but she should try and make some friends. Ao says she doesn’t understand what other people are thinking very well. Juri says that she can use group work in class as a chance to talk to people. However, she worries that if she talks in a group and then messes up then her group will get mad at her; Juri says that in that case, you just have to apologize. She yells that that’s hard, and runs away to go see Hikaru. Juri yells that she should be playing with someone her own age. Yuna asks why she couldn’t just have praised her for her good grades, and Juri says that at this rate she might be a shut-in when she’s 14. She understands wanting to help the kid avoid scary things, but now that she’s avoided those things everything is starting to seem scary to her. Yuna admits this might have been her fault for being an overprotective parent. She tried to raise her very carefully while avoiding dangerous things and people, but in doing so might have made her lose her social skills. Juri says they need to tell Hikaru to push back…and while we’re at it, let’s tell her to get a damn job, too. Yuna remarks that Hikaru is a fundamentally lazy person.

At the park, Hikaru suggests to Ao that it might be good if she played with her classmates once in a while instead of just with her. Ao asks her if she’s saying that because she needs to go job hunting; she admits that is a slight factor, but more than that she’s worried about her. Ao asks how you are supposed to make friends, and Hikaru says there are no rules. Hikaru points out some kids playing in the park, and says they can charge in to talk to them together. She’ll be there alongside her to get rid of the scary things one by one. Ao asks her again if she needs to go job hunting. She says she’ll do it…later.

4-6

Sometime later, Ao is at a convenience store apologizing to her parents. Yuna has her promise them she will never shoplift again. Juri says that she got called out here for this while she was at work covered in oil, and Yuna says she was preparing an answer sheet as a teacher.

Now at home, Yuna asks her why she did it, and says it could have been a much bigger deal if Hikaru hadn’t found her. She says that she thought she had to overcome her fears, and thought that if she could pull off shoplifting, she might gain a little courage, and then maybe she wouldn’t be scared of other people anymore. Juri tells her that she won’t get what she wants through crime. She’ll just end up falling into bad habits and putting distance between herself and other people. In the first place, says Yuna, she doesn’t need the courage to hurt other people. She tells Ao to go to bed for the time being. Juri says to Yuna that they need to change how they approach this. They discuss again how the failures of their parenting have resulted in more fear for Ao, not less (also something about guilt, not sure how it’s related). Juri says she can sharply feel the Kimochi’s presence, and sure enough, it shows itself. Yuna says she’s getting too old for this.

After the battle, they meet with Hikaru at a park. They comment that they Kimochi is stubborn, still trying to erase Ao’s fear after all this time. Yuna says she still wants to keep fights to a minimum to preserve their strength; Juri says that she doesn’t mind the opportunity to relieve stress, but she gets the point. Hikaru says that Ao is having a hard time at school, and is suffering…but fortunately, she has come up with a good idea to help. Yuna says that’s rare, and asks her what she’s planning. Hikaru says that you can’t talk about Ao without talking about…actually, it’s a surprise for later!

At the Kureha-Ooba (or would they call themselves the Kasanes, since this is centered around Ao?) household, Hikaru offers Ao a present. She excitedly opens it; it’s the latest game console! Ao says it’s just what she wanted. Hikaru says they’ve got plenty of games to go with it, so when she’s having a hard time she should destress with some gaming. Over telepathy, Juri tells Hikaru she’s really done it now. Hikaru is surprised at their response, and asks what she did wrong. Yuna explains that they were concerned that she would become dependent on video games and use them to escape from her problems, and so they have done everything they can to keep her away from them. Hikaru defends herself, saying that she wouldn’t know that if they don’t tell her. That aside, she says, isn’t this way more like Ao to begin with? Ao asks her mother and her mama if she can play now. They give in and tell her to do whatever she wants.

4-7

Sometime later, Juri yells at Ao to get off the game and come get dinner. She says it’ll be over in three minutes, and it would cause trouble for the other players if she quit now. Juri asks her if she’s saying it’s okay to cause trouble for her family instead, and says that if she tries to pull this again, then next time she’ll burn the game console well-done. Ao smugly retorts that Hikaru would be sad if she did that. Juri says that’s she’s had quite the mouth on her ever since she started gaming. Yuna thinks it’s because she’s been interacting with adults more through her games. Juri asks her if it’s really a time for her to be smiling like a happy retiree. Yuna says that the current situation is better than when she was becoming a shut-in, and besides that, they have a bigger problem now: she’s become a magical girl, which means the end is approaching, and their biggest enemies will appear. Juri says she took the initiative and crushed the Bat of Monzenbashi ahead of time; however, the enemy Ao is most afraid of still has yet to appear. Hikaru rings the doorbell but then enters with a key, which irritates Juri. Yuna called her over to play with Ao tonight. Since she became a magical girl, she started leaving the house at night. Yuna and Juri have business tonight, and don’t want to encounter her while they’re at it, which is where Hikaru comes in. Besides that, they want to finish off their stubborn opponent with the two of them, and clean up after their past mistakes themselves.

They head outside and detect their enemies: their past selves. Juri says Yuna was right in predicting that Ao’s greatest enemies would appear before her. Yuna asks her younger self if she has business with her daughter; she says she is here to erase a magical girl for the peace of Futasugi. Yuna wonders about how her younger self learned Ao was a magical girl, and says something else I can’t follow. Juri asks her younger self if she’s got enough power stored up to burn her well-done. Young Juri says of course she does, and she’s looking forward to going at it with the leader of Hebinomiya. Juri tells her sorry, but that’s our daughter you’re talking about. Yuna and Juri say that they won’t let them crush Ao’s heart, or give her a reason why she needs to go to the top.

After a tough fight, the older pair wins. After fighting for 14 years without much time passing in reality, they’ve nearly hit the limits of their magic. Juri wonders if it’s because of their age; Yuna says they still have the souls of teenagers. They thank each other for working hard for 14 years, but the Kimochi still stands in their way. Juri says that if they can’t beat it, their daughter will never be free. Yuna says she feels bad for Hikaru, but they will be staking their lives on this final battle. Juri says she’s got no problem betting the life she already threw away once. Yuna demands the Kimochi give them back the real Ao.

4-8

Yuna and Juri fight as hard as they can, but they don’t have enough strength left to defeat the Kimochi. They will have to burn through the rest of their lives to win, after all, but as long as Ao is saved and Hikaru is still around, it will be worth it. They will entrust the future of Futasugi to those two. The Kimochi attempts to finish them off, but Ao comes and saves them. She says that ever since becoming a magical girl, she could tell that they were magical girls too, and that they and Hikaru had been protecting her all this time. Yuna and Juri tell her that if she knows that, then she should get out of here, because they had decided from the beginning that they would save her. Ao gets mad and refuses. She’ll beat the enemy that’s targeting her herself, because she doesn’t want to live in a world without her moms. She’ll fight hard enough to make up for all the times she’s been protected until now. As she makes her declaration, Yuna’s Kimochi stone of rage resonates with her. Ao continues, saying that when she saw the two of them throwing themselves into danger without caring what will happen to them, she got angry. She’s had a lot of fears up until now, but that anger made her realize that the thing she fears the most is losing her three most precious people. Hikaru arrives, and reminds Yuna and Juri that she is simply a horse who supports them, so they aren’t allowed to go dying and leaving everything to her. Ao and Hikaru team up to defeat the Kimochi and bring everyone back safely. Juri yells out to stop them, but Yuna says that this may be the right answer. This is a fight for Ao’s heart, after all, so in the end she should fight for herself. It seems she needed rage to protect her heart.

(Weird detail, in the fight in this stage the Kimochi is in the wrong Labyrinth; instead of the Kimochi barrier, it’s the Candy Witch barrier. Also, it’s only just now occurring to me, but why is the Kimochi they’re fighting the Docile Ruby Navel? Wasn’t that the one Shizuka had? Wasn’t the one Ao had that possessed her the Beauteous Pearl Eye? Anyone know what’s going on here?)

The Kimochi returns to its bracelet; Ao has finally achieved her True End. Their long battle of 14 years is over. Juri says it might have been better if she died, and Yuna says she doesn’t think she should be forgiven. Ao says she hadn’t thought she could ever forgive them either, but after seeing her sisters go so far to save her, she can’t hate them anymore. She apologizes for causing so much trouble, and they return to reality, completely exhausted. Hikaru asks Ao if she’s okay. She says she’s still trying to work out what was a dream and what was reality, but when she thinks about what would have happened if her moms and Hikaru weren’t there, she gets scared and anxious. Juri points out that she means her sisters, and she gets embarrassed. That aside, Yuna properly welcomes Ao back.

Ranka gets mad at them for acting so casually. She says she was worried about the four of them. Their Soul Gems were clouded but weren’t able to be purified for some reason, and now they’re in tatters. She asks them to tell her what happened as they get purified and head down the mountain, and the Hebinomiya girls offer to help them walk. Yuna asks Ranka to remind her the situation, as her memory is hazy; Ao’s broadcast and the disaster warning system have been stopped, but the main broadcast at Sakae 1090 is still on course. The media people that heard ahead of time will be watching, so if they can’t stop them there too it may all be for nothing. Juri says that in that case, they should go too, but Ao and Ranka shut down that idea on account of their condition. Hikaru says it would be good if Himena would lay down her weapon and surrender like other people would. Ao says that might be difficult, and worries that she is the only person that can’t be saved. Speak of the devil, a message arrives from Himena to the Hebinomiya girls. Ao tells her to read it out loud.

It’s a message addressed to the entire NeoMagius. She says it is her final order for the NeoMagius, and reminds everyone to keep following her orders until the very end. It is now one hour and thirty minutes until the broadcast, so she orders all members of NeoMagius to get out of Kamihama as fast as they can. Over!

Kagome’s Interviews: Kureha Yuna

Yuna says she wants to make Futasugi a place where magical girls don’t have to fight each other. Ao will need to come back and they’ll have to find a way to calm Juri down, and she’ll have to be the leader who pulls everyone together. Thanks to the automatic purification system it may become a town where they won’t have to fight much, and they might be able to finally go back to being ordinary students. As Promised Blood, the girls of Torayacho, Ryugasaki, and Hebinomiya were able to join together as one and experience the joy of supporting each other. They used to fight against other magical girls for a time, but since reaching a new dawn thanks to Iroha’s determination to save even them, now they have no more reason to fight and the joy of supporting each other is all that remains. Yuna doesn’t know what the others think about things, but it sounds like a very attractive future to her. That being said, she hasn’t tasted peace like this since before becoming a magical girl. She doesn’t think she knows how to live in a peaceful future; she only knows how to live with blood. With that in mind, she does have a wish to tell Kagome: she wants to entrust the future of Futasugi to Ao and Hikaru, and die before she disturbs the new peace.

Part 5

5-1

At the mountaintop, Urara says that the NeoMagius seem to be at an overwhelming disadvantage. But as Rabi points out, if this situation was created intentionally by them, which may be the case based on Himena’s latest message, then the conversation changes. A major upset is still possible. One way or another, the battle for the Kimochi stones is finally coming to an end, which Asahi calls their Last Judgement. Nayuta tells Rabi that she intents to join the fray now. She knows where Mikage is, so just like Sasha before her she’s going to do everything she can to keep her friends safe. She asks Rabi what she will do, reminding her that by her own logic their choices should not effect the outcome. If Rabi has truly given up, she won’t argue with her, but she wants Rabi to follow the true feelings smoldering in the bottom of her heart. Rabi turns to Tasuke for his opinion. He says that their role is only to observe a future that doesn’t change no matter what they do, so she is free to do as she chooses. No one will blame her for following her emotions.

Sasha desperately runs through Kamihama. She remembers a call she just had with Himena. In the call, she tells Himena that she heard from Urara that Ao’s part of the NeoMagius plan failed. Himena says she achieved her goal there, actually. What she wanted was to beat up Sasha’s bullies, and that much was achieved. Sasha asks her if she means to say she was doing it for her. She says that’s right; she’ll never forgive anyone who hurts her buds. Sasha says that she never asked for such radical retaliation, and that she can’t believe Himena is actually carrying out this operation. Himena blames Sasha for her actions, saying it’s her fault for leaving even though she told her to stay. Sasha doesn’t accept this logic, and says that with Hiko as her number one she would have ended up doing this plan someday no matter what. That’s why she left; she hoped that when she was gone, Himena would have thought about what she would have wanted if she was there, and stopped the plan. Himena apologizes for not being as good a person as Sasha thought, and warns her to get out of the city. If everyone stays in the city, then she will have pushed them away for no reason. She hangs up. Back in the present, Sasha thinks that she should have faced Himena properly instead of running, and fought her as a friend.

The Union meets in Sakae Ward. Iroha and Tsuruno say that anyone who is free should search the ward for Himena, especially in the vicinity of 1090. Momoko complains that it would have been good to have Kanagi here, since she could read the mind of any enemy leaders they find to discern her location, but Rena says it can’t be helped because she has to take care of that trap. Mifuyu and Tsukuyo remind everyone that finding Tsukasa is just as important, because they may not be able to undo the suggestion without her. Mikage says she’s good at finding people from helping Nayuta. Hinano reports that most of the Witches have been taken care of, and tells everyone to report to her in an organized fashion for Grief Seed distribution. Iroha apologizes for giving her a clerical job; Hinano says it’s an appropriate job for her, because she got caught up with her family for a long time and isn’t fully up to date on the situation. Felicia tells Iroha that Chiharu has been trying to call her and she hasn’t noticed; she says it’s because she’s super busy. Felicia says Chiharu told her the Tokime Clan will be joining them soon. Sana, however, is still heavily injured and will be staying with Puella Care. Promised Blood also seems to be unable to make it, and the generic Union girls are tired from fighting Witches (and presumably also from being awake and fighting constantly through the night and most of the day before, these main story girls have got some serious grit). Ui says everyone did their best, and now it’s up to them to stop Himena. Iroha hopes they can save her from suffering while they are at it.

5-2

The Tokime Clan, sans Sunao who stayed behind along with some branch family healers to help Sana, arrives at the destroyed part of Chuo Ward. Shizuka had a hunch that there might be some NeoMagius members hiding out here in the restricted area, and it looks like she was spot on. Ryoko suggests it might be a trap, but they look into it anyway and meet some feathers. Chiharu asks them if the retreat order from Himena was fake given that they are still here. A black feather says the order was real, and they decided to stay on their own. Chiharu says it would be nice if they could actually believe a word they said. The feather continues to say that Tsukasa was doing a good job running, and it was almost time for the broadcast, too…She interpreted the command from Himena as meaning that the mission was a failure, but she thinks it’s better to go down with a fight than run away, and attacks Chiharu. She deftly dodges and makes a hero-like declaration that no matter what bad things happen, one should never stain their hands with evil deeds, and beats the feather. However, as they detected earlier there are many more likeminded feathers in the area, and they find themselves surrounded. A white feather entreats Shizuka to surrender, saying that as a former member of NeoMagius, she should understand their suffering. She refuses, and the feather responds that she’s acting quite confident for someone caught in a trap. Of course I am, she responds, I meant to get caught in your trap. She says that saving all of the people of the land of the rising sun, good and evil, is the mission of the Tokime Clan. Therefore, they need to take down all of Himena’s followers before they can target her herself. The white feather says that even if they say that, they won’t be able to find Himena. Chiharu says she’s wrong; she’s heard Himena do a speech before, and so the Todoroki Koichi in her is saying that she will appear in front of the media for sure.

Elsewhere, Mifuyu and Tsukuyo are searching for Tsukasa while the Tokime Clan occupies the feathers. Everyone is searching the area for abandoned buildings and other facilities where Himena and Tsukasa could be hiding, but having no luck. Tsukuyo says it would be good if they could find Kagura and get some clues of out her, or else they may run out of time. Mifuyu says she might be on to something; given that there are still feathers around despite the order to retreat, it wouldn’t be surprising if Kagura and Miyuri are in the area as well. If Himena is really hiding in the vicinity of 1090, then it would make sense if the two of them were nearby as well to defend her, and know more than the feathers do. In addition, considering her fighting style…Mifuyu asks Tsukuyo to handle the search for Tsukasa on her own, because she knows where Kagura is and wants to team up with Iroha’s team to take her down. While she is capable of precision, Kagura prefers to fight in large, open areas where she can fight flashily with her Gatling guns, and the only place like that around here is the field at Sakae Comprehensive School. She apologizes to Tsukuyo for leaving the search to her, but as she said before she wants to pay Kagura back personally. Tsukuyo understands, and they part ways.

One hour left.

5-3

Iroha’s team and Mifuyu arrive at Sakae Comprehensive School, and detect Kagura, Miyuri, and a bunch of feathers as Mifuyu predicted. Miyuri makes the first move, but Felicia detects her coming in time to protect Ui from a nasty gash to the face. Miyuri dashes away again as Kagura shows herself. She says they had been planning on sneak attacking them once they were getting close to finding Himena, and didn’t expect they would be found first. Mifuyu says they’ve known each other for a long time, which is why she was able to find her. Kagura admits that it was probably inevitable that Mifuyu would know what she was thinking Kagura says she won’t talk, though; all they have to do now is eliminate their enemies. Mifuyu jumps back to avoid her opening barrage. Kagura yells out that Himena’s strategy will succeed, and gives the feathers the order to attack. Tsuruno says that there are a surprisingly large number of them, but if that was enough to stop her, she wouldn’t be able to call herself the strongest. She attacks a black feather, and is surprised at the girl’s endurance. The feather says that they can’t lose now that they’ve come this far. Felicia warns the others that these feathers are surprisingly tough, and Ui gives her some backup. Not only that, says Iroha…The white feather she is fighting signals Kagura for a targeted barrage. The enemies are coordinated enough that Kagura can provide them supporting gunfire without hitting her allies. The white feather attempts to attack Iroha while she is flinching from the barrage, but she avoided major injuries and counters the attack. Iroha asks them why they aren’t withdrawing like Himena ordered. The white feather says they don’t want to just rely on Himena at the very end. Kagura says there must be some meaning in Himena’s sudden order for them to retreat, but if they leave now, they would be putting the burden of creating the happy future they desire entirely on her back. But they all share those feelings, and they can’t afford to fail now. For their own happiness, they will fight to the end. Kagura fires wave after wave of bullets at Mifuyu, who evades them all, but gets winded. Seeing an opportunity, Kagura signals Miyuri for a follow up strike. Miyuri’s strike lands, but Kagura is still shaken that Mifuyu is able to evade her attacks so deftly. Kagura once again finds herself asking where the weak Mifuyu of the past went. Mifuyu recovers and comes in for a combo. She says she doesn’t know why, but she’s in great shape nowadays, and they never would have been able to defeat her before if they hadn’t drugged her. After finishing her assault, she tells Kagura to stop this already, because all Himena’s plan will create is grudges from humans against magical girls. Kagura says that they will force them to submit to their new gods.

Felicia and Tsuruno have defeated the feathers they were fighting, and are ready to team up and take down Kagura. Iroha tells Ui they should make an opening for Felicia and Tsuruno. Ui suggests that she can stop Kagura if she surrounds her with swallows, but Miyuri attacks them; they’ll need to defeat her first. Felicia and Tsuruno unleash their strongest combo attack, but it glances off Kagura’s iron skin, and Felicia is left reeling from the recoil of her own blow. Kagura says that such direct attacks won’t work on her, and Mifuyu tells them to retreat. Mifuyu says to Kagura that if she keeps fighting, she won’t forgive her. Kagura asks if she intends to beat her alone. Mifuyu says that no matter how much she attacks her body she’d never win, but her heart is a different matter. She says that she used her power to make people suffer, and that she’ll never be able to forgive her for that. Kagura says that she knows how Mifuyu thinks just as well as Mifuyu knows how she thinks, so her illusions won’t work on her. Mifuyu retorts that she’s changed since then, and that she’s stronger than she ever was. She tells her to be prepared, because it’s her turn to suffer at the hands of her illusions. Kagura attempts to evade, but Mifuyu is too fast for her. Mifuyu asks Kagura not to forget that she knows her worries as her senpai as she traps her in an illusion.

5-4

Kagura watches the blazing bonfire at the Mitsuzuka Fire Festival. The flames are so hot that you can feel them from a distance, as if they are burning your eyes, nose, and mouth. She thought it was scary at first, but when she thinks about how there is a god on the other side of the flames, the intense blaze in front of her seems to shine with a divine light and the sparks flying around seem like gems. Yes, this is the place that made Kagura San who she is today.

Kagura finds herself in a park in the evening. She can’t place why, but she is filled with feelings of preciousness and nostalgia. While she thinks that it isn’t something unique to Mitsuzuka, she loves the slightly dry and dusty air in the town which carries the scent of home, especially at this time of evening when everyone is preparing dinner and many scents are mixing together. These scents are signs through which she can feel the presence of the people living their lives in the town.

She goes to a street shop and orders her usual: a minced cutlet. The illusory man responds with unintelligible sounds as she pays and promises to bring Miyuri with her next time. She then speaks to an old woman, and asks if if her hips are alright. The woman responds with strange sounds as well, and Kagura says that if that’s what her doctor says, then she’s sure to get better. She adds that she wants her to get better so that she can come see her at the fire festival.

Kagura says that this is the cradle that raised her. No matter how mundane and simple every day was, just having that world was enough to make her happy. She couldn’t stop the passage of time, but the truth was that she wanted nothing to change, no one to die, for everyone to keep smiling at her. She never wants to leave.

She comes to the public hall, where the youth association chairman and Tatsu are. However, she sees them doing the one thing she never wanted to see: they are breaking the portable shrine for the fire festival. She begs them to stop, saying that they still need the shrine for next year. The chairman tells her in strange sounds that the festival is over, but she refuses to accept it. Tatsu says something as well. Kagura asks him what he means when he says she can’t stay here; this town is everything to her. They won’t stop destroying the shrine, even as she says she’s been struggling to create a future where they can bring back the festival. After they say something else, she asks why they are avoiding her, even though this is supposed to be her place to belong. They speak again, and she tells them it’s not hopeless and it’s not an impossible dream; she will keep the festival alive. The background changes to darkness and the two men become a sinister red. She begs them not to destroy her world, and the background fades to red.

(TL note: the shrine is referred to at one point as a shinkai, meaning an object of worship in Shinto in which a god is believed to reside; in other words, this means it is likely an important religious artifact rather than an easily replaceable prop for the festival

No…you can’t erase them…Mitsuzuka and the fire festival are everything that make me who I am…that’s why…I won’t let you erase them! Kagura escapes the red background and finds herself in front of the public hall again with the chairman and Tatsu, who are blue again. She asks them if they are going to try and break her world again, and pleads with them not to, saying that her heart will break. They speak again, this time with happier sounds like the people from earlier. She asks why they are looking at her with sad faces. Tatsu tells her they should move forward. This statement confuses her, because she feels like she’s been doing everything she can to move forward and overcome the challenges threatening to end the fire festival; he’s the one whose been trying to give up. She notices they are looking at something, and turns to look herself. At first she sees nothing, but then a brilliant blaze appears, and she is taken aback by its beauty. The chairman repeats Tatsu’s statement that she should move forward. She notices that the portable shrine is burning in the fire. The god she was trying to protect is burning…so then, why is it so beautiful? It makes her remember that the god of the festival burns everything away to prepare to bring nourishment anew. Then maybe, if she values their tradition, then what she needs to do now is burn away the present that traps her so she can move forward to the future. That is the shape of the festival she believed in; her god not only protects, but shows the way forward. Tatsu reminds her that when she first discovered the festival as a child, the sacred flame made her into a new version of herself (old CG, the memoria ‘Flickering Aspiration’ that also appears in her MGS). She decides to move forward like they have been telling her to; she accepts reality.

Mifuyu’s illusion comes to an end, and Kagura wakes up crying back in the field at Sakae Comprehensive School. Miyuri is calling out to her as she gets up, and demands Mifuyu tell her what she has done to her. She has shown her a horrible illusion, along with one that showed her how to look to the future. Miyuri doesn’t get it, so Mifuyu further explains it was an illusion to help her move forward from loss. Mifuyu says that there was a time when the girl at the origin of the festival protected the people’s peace of mind, but now, that iron defense had come to stop Kagura from moving forward. Kagura says she knows now that the festival isn’t around anymore, but that means they are on a new path, not that they have given up. Mifuyu says she’s sure that the people of Mitsuzuka care for her. They weren’t trying to push her away for sticking to her beliefs, they wanted to keep changing alongside her. Kagura says she thinks she understands. Mifuyu also takes the opportunity to tell Miyuri that just being self-sacrificing and obedient isn’t love. Miyuri tells her to shut up.

Felicia and Tsuruno interrupt the moment to remind everyone that they’re running out of time, and Iroha asks Kagura where Himena is, but she refuses. She admits she lost, but still wants to protect Himena’s feelings. Felicia tells her to cut it out or she’ll send her flying. A white feather gives in to Felicia’s threat and says that Himena is at the former location of the Uwasa of the Memory Museum. Kagura gets mad at her for spilling the beans, and she defends herself saying they’ve already done enough. Whether it’s a trap or not, they have no choice but to go.

Shigure and Hagumu rush to meet up with the others. Based on what they know, Himena’s order for everyone to leave the city is suspicious. According to Mitsune, she used synthesis to imbue something with her falsification, and based on what they know it seems she will target the whole city again. They speculate that she may be planning to target all magical girls in the city this time instead of humans, to turn the tables when she seems cornered.

5-5

Tsukasa is at the Satomi Medical Center. She asks herself why she came here. Because there are a lot of people here? Because even if someone finds her, they won’t be able to fight here? She looks around and sees some people. She thinks they came because they felt the changes in their bodies due to the hunger wave, and she’s sure they aren’t the only ones. She remembers a time when she was here together with Tsukuyo in their MGS. She came here avoiding Mizuna Shrine, but this is also a very important place for the two of them. She wonders if she came because she was hoping Tsukuyo would find her.

However, someone else finds her instead: it’s Kanagi and Mitama (side note: in case I didn’t make it clear before, their eyes still have that dull/clouded effect; they left NM but their souls are still engraved with sadness). They say they’ve been looking all over for her, and were worried because they sent her a message and got no response. She says that’s because she ditched her phone to throw off Tsukuyo, a move Mitama calls bold. She asks them how the operation is looking. Kanagi apologizes to her, and says the two of them have cut ties with the NeoMagius. She says they were shown new hope. Tsukasa objects, saying that she doesn’t believe the east and west can change now, citing the fact that her parents put her under house arrest for trying to meet with her sister from the west and vice versa. Mitama points out that Tsukuyo was one of the people working to connect east and west, and shows her the petition. Even now, the signatures are still increasing. There have never been so many young people speaking out against the problem together before. Tsukasa asks if it is real, and Kanagi confirms that they met some of the signees, including her own brother. It made her realize that a united future was not at the end of their path of destruction. And finally, they add that the incidents in the mayoral election were Himena’s fault. They say they’ve told their story, and now she can decide what to do for herself; all they can do for her now is apologize for leading her around. Tsukasa says she doesn’t need to apologize for that, because she decided herself to join NeoMagius. Kanagi tells her that Mifuyu and Tsukuyo are looking for her, because they think they can undo the suggestion with her help. They say they need to get moving quick, to take responsibility.

Tsukuyo is at Mizuna Shrine. She thought Tsukasa might have stopped by, but there is no trace of her, so she wonders if she went to their other special place. She encounters Take, who mistakes her for her sister. He looks like he’s about to keel over, and can barely form sentences. He says that her dad found out she was going to meet with her sister. She tries to tell him that she’s not Tsukasa, but he doesn’t hear. He tells her to come home, because everyone is worried about her. She thinks he’s about to lose consciousness, and is dehydrated and has a fever. She thought it was too early for such symptoms. He says that he wasn’t able to eat the food she made her, so he would be happy if she would make his favorite again sometime. She tells him to hang in there, and thinks to herself that he must be someone from the Amane Bamboo Studio, yet another thing reminding her of her sister. She decides to take him to the Satomi Medical Center for an IV drip. She has the same flashback her sister did, and hopes to find her there.

5-6

Tsukuyo finds Tsukasa at Satomi Medical Center. She says she found her half thanks to remembering their bond and half thanks to a young man from the Amane Bamboo Studio who needed to be taken to the hospital, who Tsukasa discerns from her description must be Take. Tsukasa says she was only thinking about herself and it made her do something terrible that put her dad and Take in danger. Tsukuyo says she Tsukasa did was awful, but she understands what she was thinking; she did it for the two of them and to confront the east-west problem. She says that even so, she was just being manipulated by the NeoMagius, and she may as well be a murderer. Tsukuyo purifies her Soul Gem. She says that what Tsukasa did was a mistake that she can never take back, but there are things you can still do even if you can’t change the past. Tsukasa agrees, and the music enters a heroic swell. They agree to meet up with Mifuyu and undo the suggestion. They hear Himena’s location from a text, and start heading there themselves.

Kagome and her Uwasa are also en route. She tells the Uwasa she can sense everyone. The first to arrive will be Iroha’s team, followed by Momoko’s. With others like Mikage and Hinako heading there as well, she should be surrounded; add in the Tokime Clan, and she shouldn’t stand even the slightest chance. Everyone is cornering her, to prevent the existence of magical girls from coming out in a dangerous way…however, there’s no time to waste.

Thirty minutes left.

Iroha’s team gets close and detects a magic reaction; without a doubt, it’s Himena. Felicia says she will never forgive her for what she has done to the town. Yachiyo agrees and says not to forget the east-west thing too as she joins up with the team. Tsuruno welcomes her back and thanks her for her efforts. Yachiyo remarks that she spent more time apologizing than she did on the show. Iroha says it was thanks to her that Kanagi and Mitama came back, and they’ve also got a lot more signatures since the broadcast; Yachiyo says that if that’s the case, then it was worth it. The east-west relationship collapsed because of Himena, but she hopes it will be rebuilt stronger. Mifuyu says they don’t have much time until the broadcast. They see the museum. Ui observes that it seems partially collapsed; Iroha says that happened during the battle with the Wings of the Magius (meaning Sayaka’s bomb iirc).

They head inside and yell for Himena to come out. Felicia says she’s going to make magical girls into the bad guy, Yachiyo says you can’t make people submit by binding them with fear and making shows of strength, and Mifuyu tells her to hurry and come out so they can end this. She comes out to face them sighing. She says it really dampens her mood that she got found right before the broadcast; not only that, but they started dissing her right away. Iroha says that she’s not denying that magical girls should become known to the world. However, she doesn’t want to rob anyone of their future, and so she doesn’t even want to think about a world in which magical girls rule over humans. She says there will be people who understand without the need of force; with that in mind, it must be possible for them to take hands and support each other. Himena breaks out laughing hearing this, saying that Iroha doesn’t get it at all. Humans are all about appearances; there’s no one out there that would really understand and sympathize with them. Beyond that, she’d never accept such a convenient solution even if there was. That’s why she will become a god who rules over humans that no one can resist. Get it? Tsuruno says she wanted to talk her down, but it’s looking too difficult. Mifuyu says that unfortunately, they don’t have time to waste. Himena says that if they’d ever really dealt with adults, they’d get what she’s saying. They all pretend they get it, but in their hearts they don’t really believe you. In the end, we’re the ones who always get hurt. If you try to take hands with people like that, you’ll only get yourself stabbed in the back later. She knows this because right now, she’s the same way. As long as people have emotions, they will hide their true intentions; in the end, they’re all like Kyubey. Felicia is shocked by the sudden revelation that all adults are Kyubey, but Yachiyo briefly clears up for her that that’s only in Himena’s view. Yachiyo declares that targeting people’s lives is contemptible no matter what reasoning she gives. Iroha tells Himena this is the end, and they already stopped Kanagi, Mitama, and Ao. She says she’s already heard. Iroha says that every magical girl is struggling in search of salvation, and the current situation is the result of Himena’s own pursuit of salvation. If they ruin her form of salvation, then they intend to help her find another way she can be saved. She asks Himena to search for it together with them. A line straight for my heart, says Himena. However, she’s done waiting; the time for her salvation is now. She’s already hit her breaking point, so she’ll fight alone.

5-7

Yachiyo says she must not be sane to challenge this many opponents. Felicia leaps in for the first strike, but loses sight of Himena before it lands. She appears behind Felicia and give her a little tap to steal her memory loss magic. Yachiyo attempts to come to Felicia’s aid, but Himena disorients her with her newly acquired magic, and then uses a follow up attack. Iroha and Ui observe that she is using objects with her synthesis to wield other girls’ magics. Mifuyu attempts to attack her from her blind spot, but she is able to land a lucky counter using the power of Tsuruno’s good luck. She tries to get Mifuyu’s magic, saying that she will use it to sink them all in a nightmare, but Yachiyo intercepts her. As Mifuyu thanks her, Yachiyo remarks that Himena is slow but her combination of magics is troublesome. Mifuyu worries about the time; Tsuruno says it’s okay because they’ve just about won. However, just as she says that they detect a tremendous amount of magic energy above them in the rafters. Yachiyo asks where she’s been hiding that much power. She says she was gathering magic from them during the fight using UI’s harvest magic while taking their attacks, and is going to finish them off in one blow (not sure when she got Tsuruno and UI’s magic, but I don’t have time to search rn). However, she falls out of the rafters without unleashing the attack. Felicia asks what’s wrong with her, and Iroha notices her Soul Gem is blackened. Iroha and Yachiyo speculate that synthesizing and using a bunch of different abilities must consume more magic for Himena than it would take them to use their magic normally. Yachiyo tells Himena she misjudged her own power, which she doesn’t deny. Tsuruno tells her to undo her transformation and give up; they don’t want to fight anymore. Himena says that she didn’t want to use it, but it’s time for her last resort…or rather, you could say that it’s time for the main event, because she never had any chance without it. Tsuruno says there shouldn’t be anything she can do anymore. Himena reminds them that she was planning on taking the eight Kimochi stones in the end, but wasn’t interesting in fighting everyone one by one to take their stones. It’s easier to just collect them all at once after she’s done, and then she can combine them with Mokyu to take back the automatic purification system. Yachiyo and Felicia tell her to stop bluffing. She continues on to say that she prepared a mechanism/trap attached to the city’s power grid that will activate at the press of a button. When activated, it will use Mitsune’s falsification to issue a command to all magical girls, just like the previous plan with the radio telescope: Break your Soul Gem and die.

At a power plant, Kanagi and Mitama can sense Himena’s device nearby. They find that someone else is already there trying to destroy it: it’s Livia. She is surprised by how much magic energy is packed into one device. She tells them to hurry up and help her, or Himena’s plan will succeed.

They manage to break the device, and Livia says that was a close one. Kanagi says it was pretty scary that it took three people to break. Yozuru and Sudachi appear and tell them not to move, for they need their help or they will run out of magic. After she adjusts them, Yozuru says she noticed that all three of them were willing to die to stop the mechanism. Kanagi says that’s because if it activated, then only Himena would be left alive(?). Yozuru says that Livia hadn’t originally intended for her and Sudachi to assist. Livia explains that the device to massacre magical girls had to be destroyed at all costs, but if someone had to die, it’s better that it be the master than the disciples. Mitama asks her how she knew to come here. She says she found out Himena’s intentions through adjustment, and from there did more research to find out how she planned to do it. She says that magical girls definitely can’t be saved if they are wiped out, that’s for sure. Kanagi asks Mitama if this means they stopped their reason for living; Mitama says this time they did (referring to living for destruction/peace in death?).

Himena asks in disbelief why they aren’t breaking their Soul Gems. Yachiyo judges from her reaction that it wasn’t a bluff, her plan failed. Iroha is shocked and Tsuruno saddened that she really intended to kill all the magical girls in the city. Himena doesn’t understand why her mechanism didn’t activate, even though she made final checks and everything. Tsuruno says she doesn’t seem to have any other tricks left, and calls on Felicia for a combo attack. Himena partially dodges, and makes a run for it. She apologizes to Hiko, saying she didn’t know this would happen. Ui catches up to her and summons a swallow. She says she knows Himena is out of magic, and tells her to let her catch her; she won’t make her suffer. She rejects UI’s plea, refusing to admit she’s lost. She says that if she uses her back up, then they won’t die right away, but…! Yachiyo tells everyone to hurry and steal her phone, she’s trying to do something. Felicia and Tsuruno line up their combo right this time, and send her flying. Tsuruno says she still hasn’t dropped the phone. Yachiyo tells her to stop; they don’t want to fight her. Iroha asks her to hand over the phone. She tells them to die, and moves to use the phone. Yachiyo tries to attack her to stop her, when suddenly Kagura, Miyuri, Shigure, and Hagumu appear to defend Himena (CG). Himena doesn’t know why they are here. She says to Kagura and Miyuri that she told them to leave the city in her last command, and Shigure and Hagumu, didn’t they leave NeoMagius?

5-8

Ideology plays for the rest of the CG. Himena says there should be no reason for them to rush to her aid. Shigure says she doesn’t know why she’s doing this either; she came here to fight Himena because she thought she was putting everyone in danger just like with the radio telescope, not to save her. But when she got here, her body moved without thinking. Hagumu says she thinks she gets it; it’s because the Himena that hurts everyone and the Himena who told the NeoMagius to run are the same person. They want to save the kind Himena that they know. She was working to spread the magical girl supreme principle for herself, but she was also working hard for the rest of their sakes, too. Shigure says that may be true, but she couldn’t agree with Himena’s methods, and grew bitter towards her. That’s why she betrayed the NeoMagius, but even so, she doesn’t want her to lose here. Kagura says she didn’t want Shigure and Hagumu to get caught up in her terrible methods, so she tried to drive them away from her. She says there was no meaning in pushing them away if they were going to come back like this. Himena says that she did the same with her and Miyuri, and asks them what they’re doing here. Kagura says that while she has her own goal as well, she doesn’t want to see Himena fall here. Miyuri says that’s why she and Kagura are here. She says she’s scared and doesn’t know how it will turn out, but she doesn’t want to see everything they have built up as the NeoMagius fall apart. Kagura says she used to just be following her orders, but ended up liking Himena more than she expected; Shigure and Hagumu say they are the same way.

Yachiyo and Mifuyu say it will be difficult to stop the broadcast now that Himena has allies standing in their way. However, the Union’s allies arrive to tip the scales back in their favor once again; Sana, the Tokime Clan, and Momoko’s team all arrive in succession, and Rena says that Mikage and the others will be here soon as well. Miyuri says it looks like they’ve already lost. Kagura says that if they broadcast here and now, it will be difficult to show what they want to show. They won’t be able to show that magical girls are above humans like this, so she says they have no choice but to give up this time. Miyuri says they should try again another time with a more peaceful method. Shigure seconds this idea, saying they should do their best together next time. Hagumu says the magical girl supreme principle will stay the same, only the method of conveying it will change. Shigure says that next time, they can try to be kind gods. However, Himena refuses their offer. She tells Shigure that their situations are completely different. She tells Shigure and Hagumu that unlike her and the NeoMagius, they are really strong now. They’re so confident now that no one will bully them anymore; they can live proudly now without needing the magical girl supreme principle. She tells Kagura that when she becomes an adult, the way she fights for the festival will change, and she will be able to clash with the opinions of adults as an equal and make her voice heard. Shizuka was able to be forgiven by her allies and find a new way forward to protect the land of the rising sun, the eastern pair was able to find new possibilities for the future, and Ao was saved by people who understand her pain. Shizuka says that she is also one of the people she is sworn to protect, and asks if there is anything she can do to help her; she responds there’s nothing. What she wants is to make her old friends, her teacher, and her mother accept her. She asks everyone who is there saying they want to save her think they can make them accept Hiko. No one responds as she says that it’s hopeless, no matter what she said she couldn’t make people accept that she has a second person in her head, and he’s her boyfriend. After all, when she tells people they will always treat her like she’s crazy. And when words don’t work, how else to you get people to accept that something is normal? You have to use force. That’s why she has no choice but to struggle to the end.

5-9

Himena’s Soul Gem is overflowing with darkness, and she falls to the ground. Kagura and Miyuri tell her that if she uses any more magic, then she will turn into a Witch. She sees Hiko (rip he got blue guy’d, at least he has special hair). She thinks (seemingly from something he said, but we only see ellipses) that she can crush everyone at once with one last trick. However, she says that she won’t listen to him this one time. She can’t activate it now that she knows the others from NeoMagius are still in the city. Shigure and Hagumu tell her she needs to give up now, and she says she’d rather go out fighting. Iroha offers her a Grief Seed. She says that what she’s done is unforgivable, but her built up suffering is genuine. There’s no need for her to choose a path down which she can’t be saved here; there surely must be a way she can be saved without hurting anyone. She tells her to live for everyone’s sake. Himena tells her she doesn’t need it. After purifying her Soul Gem, she would run away and then start trying to control humans with force again; she’ll just keep hitting her limit again and again. Iroha asks her why she’s going so far. She says she can’t wait anymore. She doesn’t want to live in a world that won’t accept Hiko for even a second longer; this world is her own personal hell. Iroha says once again that she’s her ally and will help her look for a solution, but knows that it’s meaningless to say that now. Himena says she likes the idea of it at least, but there are things that have fallen(?). After a pause, she calls for Kyubey. They say she seems to be at a disadvantage, and she retorts that they’ve been watching the whole time. They say that things don’t seem to have gone as she planned. She says it’s just another disturbance, just like they wanted. She tells Kyubey to manipulate the automatic purification system to let her use Doppel. Mifuyu says it seems she’s been working with Kyubey this whole time. However, as Himena expected Kyubey denies her request. More than simply that the Witches are more efficient, they say, she is needed as a control subject to show how much energy will be generated by becoming a Witch under the same conditions as the Doppels. They are very welcome to her becoming a sample. She says that when they told her of a good way to use Mokyu, she thought they had a pretty good thing going. Kyubey says they don’t remember forming a team with her, and that they intended to use her as their sample from the start. With that settled, Himena says this really is the end for her now. She tells Iroha that she won’t be using a Grief Seed, and will soon try to kill everyone. She tells her that Mokyu is locked up in the public hall; if they have them, then they can become the core of the automatic purification system instead of Ui. Iroha asks her why she’s telling her this. Himena says she’s going to die now, but she’s rooting for Iroha. She tells her to look after Shigure and the others for her. She groans, and Kyubey she’s hit her limit. Himena says at least she’ll be useful to the universe this way. She says goodbye to her comrades (CG). She thanks them for everything and tells them to apologize to Mitsune for her. She says she has a lot of regrets, but in the end it was the worst and the greatest youth. As the screen fades to black, she says to Hiko that she did her best.

Voices call out Himena’s name. The world slowly regains its light as Sasha purifies Himena’s Soul Gem. Sasha says she once predicted that she would die, but with this she has changed the result. Himena asks her if by purifying her Soul Gem she means that she should keep fighting until they kill her. She says that’s not it; she purified her to save her. Back then, she ran away from Himena, but what she should have done was stood up to her as a friend and scolded her for becoming radical. And if scolding her wasn’t enough, then she should have fought her. Himena says there’s nothing she can do now; all that’s left if she lives is the everyday where she is denied. Sasha says it will take some time, but she’ll help her change it. If she goes out of control again and thinks she can’t take it anymore, then Sasha will take on her suffering until she is healed. She asks Himena to let her stay by her side. She says that if Himena stops fighting and brings this to a peaceful and safe resolution, that will be an irreplaceable hope for her. Himena says she might really go and try to kill a lot of people again. Sasha says she will stop her. She says she might start thinking horrible things again. Sasha says she will scold her. She says she might become unable to take it anymore. Sasha says she will comfort her. Sasha says she thinks it is her duty as the one who gave Himena hope. No, that’s not the right way to say it. This is something she wants to do as her friend, because she is one of Himena’s buds (‘maimen’, like Himena said to Mitsune before, and also when she was on the phone with Sasha). Himena says that she thought she wanted to take advantage of everyone, but when she found out that everyone in NeoMagius stayed in Kamihama, she couldn’t press the button. Then Sasha came and she was so happy she couldn’t breathe. She wasn’t able to hurt people anymore, but she worries she will lose her way again without them. She asks Sasha and the others to stay with her. Sasha says she will support her. Kagura says that they will face judgement for what they have done together, and if it’s allowed, they will walk alongside each other once more. Himena thanks them.

She then apologizes to Kyubey for not turning into a Witch like they wanted. Kyubey says it’s not that big a deal; it just means they need to keep investigating how to most efficiently make use of the automatic purification system now that it’s under their control. She says they’re a real crafty bastard. She then apologizes to Iroha, and says the rest of the NeoMagius are her buds. Iroha says she’s got no problem with her deciding to live. She thanks Iroha for understanding and says they need to fix this situation she created and save everyone. Right on cue, the Amanes arrive along with Mikage. Tsukuyo says she helped Tsukasa understand, and that there are only five minutes until the broadcast is scheduled to begin. Mifuyu says they have the three people necessary to undo the suggestion, but Himena tells her to wait, because she knows a more effective method. She asks Felicia to come over for a sec. Felicia doesn’t trust her in the slightest, but agrees because Iroha tells her it’s okay, though she still reminds her that she’ll have Yachiyo to answer to if she tries anything funny. Himena uses her synthesis to combine Mifuyu’s illusions with Felicia’s memory erasure. By combining these powers, they can erase the peoples’ memory of the incident along with the suggestion itself. Another magical girl appears and suggests adding her power to the mix as well; it’s Rabi, whose arrival gets a ‘who?’ out of Himena. She introduces herself as a friend of Sasha’s, and says that bringing the turmoil in Kamihama to an end without incident would be her salvation. Nayuta says to Rabi she went to all this effort hearing where they were from Mikage and bringing her here, so she would like her to be a little more honest. She brushes this statement aside, saying that they don’t have time to waste. She strengthens the Amane sisters’ magic, as well as the other two magics they are combined with in the process. She advises them that it would be problematic if everyone forgot everything that happened tonight, so they should try make sure that the media people aren’t targeted, and the people only forget the incident itself (not sure exactly, but the results speak for themselves in the next scene). With only ten seconds left until the scheduled time, the sisters’ flutes ring out across Kamihama as the sun rises on a new day.

5-10

Kagome narrates that as the morning glow illuminated Kamihama, so too did the sound coming from the museum envelop the town. Both those who were struggling from hunger and thirst and those who were searching for the truth felt as if they were waking from a daydream, and forgot all about what happened to their bodies. But on the internet, a huge amount of data proving the incident took place remained, demonstrating the truth of what took place that half-day in an unnatural way. Confusion was born when people who lived outside the city asked the citizens about the incident and they could not give an answer. In the end, not once did someone hear the words ‘magical girl’, the exact opposite of what Himena’s plan attempted to achieve. Knowing the truth that all of Japan was searching for, Kagome and the magical girls all kept their silence, but regained their normal lives. With all the Kimochi stones assembled and the method to regain the automatic purification system known, the magical girls enjoyed a brief moment of peace. Kagome, meanwhile, was to meet with the professor who once taught her the importance of spreading the truth of magical girls.

The NeoMagius meet at the site of Hiko’s death. Himena apologizes to Hiko. She had planned to kill herself if the operation didn’t succeed, but now she has companions who rely on her and she relies on them in turn. They will scold her, cry with her, and help her find new possibilities for the future. She asks Hiko to give her a little more time, because she will fight without rushing to make a future where their relationship can be recognized. She waits for his response, and then thanks him. Shigure asks her how it went, and she says Hiko gets it. Some local girls recognize Himena and gossip to each other, laughing at them and saying they must be a gathering of people who hear voices in their heads. Hagumu worries about Himena, but she says that’s not enough to set her off anymore. Kagura says that next they will be heading to the Mitsuzuka public hall; Miyuri says they have to clean it up after they used it. Shigure asks Kagura how she’s doing. She says she’ll walk in line with the others in the youth association now, and she’ll revive the festival when she’s an adult. Sasha says they also have to go buy Himena a new smartphone. She threw away her old one because it had become an extremely dangerous item, what with the ‘kill everyone’ function and all. Himena says her mom’s anger might not have subsided yet, so probably best to wait.

At the arcade, Juri is telling Ranka a funny story about a time Ao threw her udon noodles when she was a baby. Ranka is laughing so hard her stomach hurts, and Ao tells Juri to stop digging up those old fake memories. She says that if Juri keeps telling stories about her as a baby, then she’ll put stories about her and Yuna fighting on the internet. Juri says there aren’t any embarrassing stories about Juri-sama to tell. She starts telling a story about a time when Juri forgot Yuna and left her behind in the service area at her work as she drove home on her motorcycle, which gets her flustered and makes Ranka say ‘yikes…’. Yuna says that’s a nostalgic story they’re talking about; she still remembers it, too…Juri says they shouldn’t go getting mad about things that happen in dreams, and then she asks what Yuna’s here for. Yuna gives her an envelope, addressed from Yachiyo to her. Hikaru announces it’s the invoice for Mikazuki Villa’s broken window.

Felicia cries out in celebration as Team Mikazuki finally returns home. Sana says it smells nostalgic, and Ui says it feels like it was waiting for them. Iroha and Sana say they need to clean their rooms since they haven’t been opened in a while. Iroha asks Yachiyo about the window; she says it’s as good as new. The gas and electricity are also on, so they can live here normally from today. She also checks with Iroha to make sure she gave the invoice to Yuna, so she could give it to Juri. Tsuruno arrives to congratulate them on their homecoming. They ask her how her father is; she says he’s doing so well that Banbanzai is open today. With that, they’ve confirmed the safety of most of the families they know. Although, no one’s seen Kanagi and Mitama since the incident. Felicia says that’s a problem because they can’t assemble all eight Kimochi stones without them. Yachiyo says they have been keeping in touch, though(?).

At the Puella Care trailer, Yozuru performs an adjustment on her teacher. Livia winces in pain, and tells her to be a little more careful or she’ll die at this rate. Yozuru says she’s exaggerating. Livia says those are the words of Yozuru who has no heart, but Yozuru retorts that Sudachi says she is exaggerating too. Livia says something smart-sounding about how when people who don’t often get hurt get hurt, it hurts like a more serious injury. In other words, says Yozuru, she’s exaggerating. She says yeah, I am. That aside, Livia wonders where Kanagi and Mitama went after the battle. Yozuru says it was good they prevented Himena’s mechanism from activating, but Livia was injured so they had to prioritize her care and couldn’t follow those two even if they wanted to. Livia tells her she did a good job of following her kindness manual. Yozuru says that besides that, she and Sudachi felt sick after adjusting Livia, and weren’t mentally in a state to follow. Sudachi attempts to adjust Livia and falls down. Livia says that if seeing her past makes her fall down then she doesn’t need to push herself. She says that her past when she wished to become ‘evil itself’ makes her feel sick too. Sudachi says through Yozuru that Livia needs to heal quickly so they can chase Kanagi and Mitama. Livia says she’s right.

Kagome meets with Folklore and Nayuta at the aquarium. She asks Tasuke if his answer has changed. He says they saw the Kimochi battles and the large scale conflict with the NeoMagius as a chance to see if they were bound by the universe or not. Rabi says that this incident was on a larger scale than the one they were involved in, yet it ended with everyone safe. With that in mind, while they still admit their fault in the matters, they can start to think of the tragedies in Yukuni as coincidences and not fate. Kagome asks if this means that they are all finally facing the future again. Tasuke says that at the very least, Sasha is facing the future along with the NeoMagius, and that’s why she’s not here today. Kagome says that’s a happy thing, and Tasuke agrees. Rabi says she’s not the only one; Asahi says she had hoped for a future where she could live with the Tokime Clan, and Urara just wanted a future where Yuna and the others from Promised Blood are alive (rip Sakuya), and Rabi wanted to return to her happy days with Nayuta and Mikage. Tasuke says a ray of light has shown into their hearts, and now he is going to try spreading the truth of magical girls again with the second volume of his book. Nayuta says she will be working with him, and Tasuke invites Kagome to cooperate with them. However, though he doesn’t say it, Tasuke gets an uncomfortable feeling that he takes to mean he can’t let his guard down. He remembers that the last time they were so happy was right before the worst incidents came and sank them into resignation. He thinks that their invisible enemy, if it exists, will strike when they forget about it.

Later, Kagome meets with Kyubey at Satomi Medical Center. Kagome asks them what’s up, and they say that they felt like she could already see the shape of her wish. Kyubey says it doesn’t seem to have been their imagination, and they say if she’s okay with it they could grant her wish right now. She says she’s fine for now. Actually, she says she was considering making her wish during the battle, but now that it’s over she’s decided to refrain. Kyubey asks why, and tells her she has a strong karmic destiny compared to other girls because she has been entrusted the hope of many magical girls; he says that even this large incident could have been stopped by her wish. Even so, she knows that there are people who would be saddened if she became a magical girl, so she wants to wait to make her wish come true until the time comes when she can use it to make magical girls smile. Kyubey asks her the contents of her wish that will make magical girls smile. She says that’s a secret, Kyubey.

Karin stands in the Mirrors Mansion with a determined look on her face.

Kagome’s Interviews: Aika Himena

Hmm, the future she wants? To be honest, she’s got too many things to list. Well, she definitely wants to take the top and revive Hiko. They’ll enjoy their youth to the fullest (EDIT: question answered, she meant youth but was saying it in an unusual way, see comments), they’ll go to the same college—well, that’s not happening, so she wonders if a long distance relationship will work. Nope, definitely not gonna work, so she’ll try to go to a college near his, at least. Wait a minute! Long distance yet close…in other words, they would live together! She’s incredibly excited at the idea, and says she’ll try super hard to cook for Hiko. After that they’ll keep riding the good vibes; when Hiko graduates, Hiko’s shy but they’ll get married, and they’ll be lovey-dovey all through their thirties and forties, and maybe two kids would be good…huh? Hiko? Stop talking about unrealistic fantasies? But I was just painting a picture of our happy future! And heck, this was only part one! She asks Kagome if she still has time, because she has a lot more to say. She’s got to talk about Shigurin, and Hagurin, and the instructor, and Miyurin, and Miwarin, and all the feathers. There’s a ton to say! For now, just tell me where to begin!

To be continued in Arc 2 Chapter 11…

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