Magia Record Main Story Arc 2 Chapter 6: Raison D'etre on Thin Ice
Story
Livia and Kyubey discuss the current state of Kamihama. Livia confirms that Himena was defeated, and the group has dissolved. However, a rumor she started—that Kamihama Magia Union's eastern and western factions had a secret agreement leading to Ryo's death—continues to spread and cause tension. Kyubey notes this infighting is beneficial as it causes Magical Girls to fight.
At Crescent House, Felicia shows signs of emotional distress, haunted by a dream where she killed her own parents, and the team attempts to cheer her up.
At her cafe, Ikumi struggles with her work, burdened by Ryo's death. After work, Kanagi and Mitama discuss the political fallout from a recent mayoral election assault, while Mikage mentions the damaging rumor about the Union is spreading in the east.
In Yukuni, Nayuta continues her search for her father with Lavi and Alexandra. After seeing a girl with a Witch's Kiss, they save her from jumping and defeat the Witch. When she wakes up, she sees Nayuta's ring and becomes hostile when she realizes they're Magical Girls. She decides to simply stay away from them, but advises Nayuta to conceal her Magical Girl status in Yukuni.
The Union holds a strategy meeting at Ryushinkan. To counter the rumor and distrust, they plan a joint operation with eastern and western members. The goal is for members not chosen by the Kimochi to destroy the Mirrors Witch and sever Promised Blood's shortcut from Futatsugi.
Rena gets a call from Ranka, begging them to speak to her, as she was leaving Promised Blood in favor of the Union. Rena, as well as other Union members, meet Ranka at the game center to receive the information about their shortcut. After giving them some info regarding its hereabout, the meeting is interrupted by Juri, who violently retrieves Ranka. Once out of their range, Ranka tells Juri she overdid the act and actually hurt her. The Union plans to attack via two routes: the old trainyard and a route through Kosho Ward's Electric Town, based on information from Ranka. Union confirms the location of the base but remains suspicious of a trap.
That evening, Yuna goes to get Coordinated in the Puella Care trailer. She notifies Livia that after she redirected Felicia's magic back at her, its started to make her remember something she'd used her magic to erase. Yuna now plans to use this to sow discord within the Union's ranks.
At night, during the operation, the teams assemble and Kanagi leads the eastern team to the old trainyard, while Yachiyo leads the western team to the Electric Town route.
The operation fails and the Electric Town route is blocked by a magically reinforced excavation shield used for tunnels, trapping Yachiyo's team. Promised Blood's main force, including Ranka, also ambushes Kanagi's team at the trainyard. The eastern members who cannot fight are cornered, and Kanagi is severely injured while protecting them by Ao, who is briefly overtaken by her Kimochi. Yachiyo's team breaks through to rescue them, forcing a full retreat.
After the battle, at Mitama's office, the injured Kanagi warns the others that the Kimochi can overwhelm their users, as happened with Ao. Rena also feels sad due to Ranka's betrayal and the failed operation and heavy injuries deepen the existing distrust between the eastern and western factions. Yuna analyzes the battle, recognizing Union's attempt to operate outside the Kimochi's rules solely to defeat their local Mirrors Witch. Ao is left emotionally distraught after her Kimochi overtook her during the fight.
The next day, Mikage and Sudachi hear news reports about the ongoing investigation into the mayoral election assault, which implicates Mitama and Kanagi. At the Crescent House's laboratory, Touka analyzes a black photograph from Ryo's phone, finding a clue. At Kanagi's home, Iroha treats her injuries and they discuss the burdens of leadership, with Kanagi advising Iroha to hold onto her idealism.
Felicia meets Kako and Ayame in a park, and Ayame, concerned about Felicia's distress over her dream of killing her parents, suggests they visit Suitoku Temple to find ghosts. At the temple, which serves as the Tokime clan's base, they learn that clan members Sunao and Chika are recovering from their injuries. The "ghosts" of the people in the temple are a manifestation of Asahi's unique magic, used to monitor the Magical Girls' proximity to death.
As she's going home from the temple, Felicia encounters Yuna by chance, who says she was on the way to Suitoku Temple. Felicia stops and asks her what she did to her in Kamihama Prison. Yuna reveals that, after she'd seen Felicia use her magic, she realized Felicia's magic may have originated from her contract making her forget something. Yuna merely redirected the magic back at Felicia, making her start to remember what happened. Yuna then transforms and makes Felicia remember everything.
Mifuyu's investigation team continues to search the Endless Mirrors, but progress is stalled as Alina remains asleep and unable to map deeper floors. Karin creates a manga, "The Alina Gray Reform Project," hoping to inspire Alina to change. Inspired by this, Mifuyu proposes a plan to destroy the Mirrors terminal, severing all shortcuts at once. She gains the Tokime clan's approval for this plan.
Later that day, Iroha and Kanagi discover that the route from Kamihama Prison to the subway is not blocked, as Ranka had claimed. Tsuruno also finds out about a ventilation shaft that leads to the subway and Yachiyo's team formulates a new three-pronged invasion plan using these routes.
At the game center, Rena, Kaede, and Momoko have a tense encounter with Ranka and Juri. Rena is emotionally devastated by Ranka's betrayal, and Felicia, who is also present, becomes enraged and destroys a punching machine, later breaking down in tears.
Meanwhile, continuing the search in Yukuni, Nayuta finds a lead at a local folklore museum, where an assistant professor directs them to an inn called "The Cradle of the Earth." Nayuta contacts the inn and learns her father has a reservation for the following day, all the while Lavi and Alexandra feel bad for hiding their involvement with Tasuke from her. However, that night they receive a call at their room notifying them that Tasuke has cancelled his stay for tomorrow. They receive a letter at their door from Tasuke, arranging him to meet with Nayuta after he speaks with his brother, Touka's father.
That evening, the Union holds a final strategy meeting at Ryushinkan. They finalize the plan to attack the subway at 5:30 AM the next day, simultaneously with Mifuyu's operation to destroy the Mirrors terminal. Yachiyo states that any member, including Felicia, will be subject to a final evaluation before the operation begins.
In the subway, Yuna and Promised Blood continue to search for the offshoot Mirrors Witch, counting on the internal strife within Union to buy them time. At Puella Care, Livia expresses concern for Felicia, and at Crescent House, Felicia cries alone, believing she does not deserve to be with her friends.
That night, Felicia confronts Kako through a text message, having deduced that she knew the truth about her wish, and how Felicia was the one who killed her own parents.
Felicia runs away and Iroha, Yachiyo, Tsuruno, Ui, and Sana pursue her. Kako and Ayame also join the search after learning of Felicia's distress.
Felicia escapes their pursuit by unleashing her Doppel and returns to her burned-out family apartment in Minaminagi. She relives the traumatic memory of the accident: during an argument with her mother, she kicked her, causing a pot of oil to spill and start a fire. In a panic, Felicia threw water on the oil fire, which worsened the blaze. In that moment of despair, Kyubey appeared, and Felicia wished for the incident to have never happened. Her unique magic of oblivion was a direct result of this wish, causing her to forget her own role in the tragedy, as the wording of her wish was changed due to her emotional state.
The team finds Felicia on the 15th floor. Her Kimochi bracelet reacts violently, and the Kimochi itself attempts to seize control of her body by amplifying her self-hatred. Iroha uses her own Kimochi bracelet to connect everyone's hearts to Felicia's.
Despite their pleas, Felicia remains consumed by guilt and is willing to let the Kimochi take her. Kako and Ayame then arrive with Asahi, who, using her unique magic, summons the spirits of Felicia's parents. They absolve Felicia of blame, explaining the accident was a result of family tensions and their own failures as parents. They tell her to live happily and bless others.
By dawn, she is freed from her guilt by her parents' forgiveness, and Felicia rejects the Kimochi, reclaiming control of her body and her future. She resolves to live on and make others happy. The immediate crisis ends, but Asahi reflects cynically on the value of a Magical Girl's life.
During the operation, 5:30 AM, the Union launches its three-pronged attack on the subway to destroy Promised Blood's offshoot Mirrors Witch. Iroha's team from Mikazuki is absent, having been delayed by Felicia's emotional crisis, but Momoko's and Kanagi's teams proceed with the mission.
Kanagi's team enters via Kamihama Prison but they're immediately ambushed. Kanagi stays behind to duel Ao, who's now lost her sense of fear entirely, while Momoko's team advances. Throughout this, Kagome herself goes to investigate the ventilation opening and finds Urara, who is waiting for the girls of Mikazuki. She questions Kagome about her interviews, but when Kagome mentions Tasuke, Urara attacks her, prompting Rii to emerge and protect her, which makes Kagome realize Urara knows the professor. Meanwhile, Mifuyu's team enters through the Endless Mirrors to destroy the parent terminal. Rena, her team and other Union members fight against Juri, Ranka and their team, while Alina negotiates with the voice inside her, saying that if they don't help, Alina will give up and live as a new person. The voice temporarily takes over her body and allows Alina to open a sudden shortcut, accelerating their descent.
During the operation in the offshoot Mirrors, Momoko's team engages Juri and Ranka in battle. Miyako and Ikumi are incapacitated by Sakuya, while Kanagi, fighting Ao, is ambushed by Yuna, Hikaru and Urara. Ao reclaims the Kimochi from Kanagi, who is severely wounded and on the verge of being killed when Iroha's team finally arrives. Together, they hold off Promised Blood and rescue Kanagi.
Mifuyu's team arrives in the offshoot Mirrors through a linked mirror in the Mirrors terminal area, but they aren't strong enough to fight the Witch directly with Promised Blood going against them. Juri also uses her Kimochi to send her opponents into its Labyrinth, picking them off one by one, though Alina's immune to its effects. Ikumi, in a final act of despair, makes a pact with her Kimochi Stone, apologizing that she won't be the one to take it to the Automatic Purification System. She uses its power to destroy the offshoot Mirrors Witch, but in doing so, her body is completely consumed, and she vanishes.
With the Witch defeated and the shortcut severed, the battle ends, but Promised Blood now has gained Ikumi's Kimochi Stone as well. The four Kimochi Stones held by Promised Blood resonate with those held by the Union. Through this connection, Ui and the others perceive all the Kimochi's true intention: to gather all eight stones, return to their original form as the Witch Eve, and use the Magical Girls' conflict to create openings to possess the main twelve of them to the girls' destruction. Despite this revelation, Yuna remains confident that she can control the Kimochi and the Automatic Purification System, and Promised Blood retreats with their victory.
In the aftermath, at Mitama's office, the injured Kanagi works to prevent the eastern Magical Girls from blaming the west for her injuries. Everyone present, especially Hinano mourns Ikumi and her sacrifice.
The Tokime hear news from Mifuyu that Ikumi has died. Shizuka decides they should investigate the stone throwing incident, as she suspects the Neo-Magius had something to do with it. After talking with Chiharu and Sunao, they decide to pay Mitama a visit.
Nayuta, Lavi, and Alexandra go to her uncle's office and, after waiting for a very long time, Nayuta decides to investigate on her own. She finds the director's office and overhears a phone conversation where he mentions confining Tasuke to "cool his head" and discusses bringing his brother's Magical Girl research to the public from a "scientific point of view." Lavi, seizing the opportunity to sever Nayuta's ties with her cousin Touka, manipulates Nayuta into believing her uncle plans to steal her father's work for fame. This successfully turns Nayuta against her uncle and, by extension, Touka.
A few days later, Iroha goes to Mitama's to help Kanagi heal completely before they head out. At Ikumi's cafe, a memorial is held by Kanagi for her final performance. The Union mourns their losses, having learned they are being manipulated by the very power they sought to control, yet the conflict with Promised Blood continues.[1]
In Kamihama, the mayoral election concludes, and as the ballots will be called the following day, the political atmosphere remains tense. At Mitama's shop, she, Mikage, and Kagome watch a news report alleging election law violations involving minors, which they recognize refers to Mitama's own assistance with the eastern candidate's campaign. Mitama reveals she participated hoping to improve the east's reputation and, by extension, her own view of Kamihama. The report causes her significant distress.
That night in Kamihama, Mitama, Mikage, and Kagome, who are then joined by members of the Tokime clan, investigate the election. Using Chiharu's sense for malice and a listening device, they overhear a conversation between the newly elected mayor and Touka's father. They learn the stone-throwing incident was a plot by western factions to frame the east and maintain negative stereotypes. This revelation devastates Mitama, causing her to nearly relapse into the despair that originally led to her Magical Girl wish. After the others sense her darkened magic, she is calmed by Kanagi and Momoko, but the event deepens the political schism.
Iroha, after hearing Mitama's breakdown, has a personal revelation. She openly declares her resolve to "create a world where everyone can live" and save all Magical Girls, including those in Promised Blood, by ending the conflict without taking lives, focusing on their shared desire for salvation. Nearby, Lavi observes her.
Later, in a separate meeting, Folklore of Zero, discuss these events. They have successfully isolated Nayuta and note Iroha's pacifist "Mohist" ideology. Lavi expresses doubt that Iroha's approach can succeed alone against the impending "Awakening," a central tenet of their own beliefs.
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- ↑ Shown in Arc 2, Chapter 6