Raising magical girls, and leave them with eternal regret?!

Not long after finishing their meal at the restaurant—along with a “friendly” conversation—Bai Yu happily took his hand and led him back home. The others, though appearing to have come to terms with things, still watched with an unbearably heavy gaze as they left.

The whole situation unfolded surprisingly smoothly… almost unnaturally so. What should have been a bloody mess instead resolved without any real resistance.

Recalling the expressions on Liu Meng and WuYue’s faces, YouYu pondered for a moment before coming to a conclusion:

“They… really meant it, huh?”

Maybe it was because of what happened yesterday, or maybe Bai Yu had said something to them. Whatever the case, when they met today, aside from the way they looked at him—like something was slightly off—there was still that all-too-familiar emotion lingering in the air.

Guilt.

He hadn’t directly expressed his “feelings” during the conversation, but through Bai Yu, he had conveyed his “message” in a roundabout way. That was enough for Liu Meng and WuYue to understand his state of mind, and in turn, their guilt deepened even further.

And because of that realization—because they recognized their actions from the day before as a “mistake”—they ultimately handed him over to Bai Yu today, no matter how reluctant they were.

Simply put, the reason was: “We don’t want him to get hurt again.”

And if there was another reason… it was probably because they didn’t want to hand him over to someone even more “dangerous.”

That was the logic behind their decision.

But…

“It’s not a perfect solution yet.”

Looking at Bai Yu, who had been sitting right next to him ever since they got home, YouYu thought to himself.

Sure, Liu Meng and WuYue acknowledged Bai Yu’s approach for now, but from the emotions they conveyed afterward… it felt more like a forced “compromise” rather than genuine acceptance.

If the opportunity presented itself, YouYu wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to “snatch” him back from Bai Yu in the future.

After all, Bai Yu—regardless of her true intentions—had far too much physical contact with him.

If this dragged on any longer, it was only a matter of time before she “lost control.”

Which meant he needed to address Bai Yu’s attitude toward him before that happened.

And once that was taken care of… there wouldn’t be much else left to do.

“So next…”

“What should I do with Bai Yu?”

Turning his head, he met Bai Yu’s curious gaze.

“……”

After watching her for a moment, YouYu parted his lips, about to say something—

But just then, a voice echoed from within.

“YouYu.”

Mamba, who had been in a brief period of dormancy, stirred awake, sensing a familiar presence in the distance.

“That gray shadow has appeared again.”

“This time, it’s in the abandoned district of the city. It probably arrived a few hours ago… seems to be conducting some kind of experiment. I can sense several negative beasts fusing in that direction.”

“So… what do you plan to do?”

“Hmm? Gray Shadow, appearing now of all times?”

“……”

“Then… maybe I can shift my approach.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, YouYu altered the words he was about to say and instead turned to Bai Yu.

“Bai Yu, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

“Ah? What is it?”

“Take me on a walk around the city. I still haven’t shown any signs of regaining my memories, so I’d like to keep trying.”

“And while we’re at it, you could tell me about what happened before I lost my memories. Maybe hearing about the past will help me remember something.”

“This… fine.”

After a brief moment of thought, Bai Yu didn’t find anything suspicious about his request and agreed without hesitation.

“Alright, then let’s go right away!”

Seeing that, YouYu wasted no time in urging her along. The two quickly gathered their necessities and stepped out the door once again.

And while they were out “searching for memories”…

YouYu had some preparations to make.

…

Nightfall

Deep within the abandoned district of the city—inside a decades-old, derelict factory—an eerie green glow flickered to life, foreboding an ominous presence.

After all, this was where Gray Shadow resided now.

“……”

“I need to find a way to kill him.”

Inside the factory, Gray Shadow stared at a temporary screen displaying a stream of parameters, its thoughts cold and calculating.

“The fusion of negative emotions and magical girl power… if I don’t resolve this soon, I might lose my chance entirely.”

“I cannot fail.”

After all, last time—when it failed its sudden ambush on YouYu—the price was steep. The precious “puppet” had been destroyed, forcing it to spend a significant amount of time rebuilding it.

And its actions had not gone unnoticed.

Both Night Demon and the Tower Master, along with the other high-ranking cadres, quickly caught wind of its movements.

Aside from the Tower Master, every one of them—including Night Demon—expressed their desire to “help.”

Their reasoning? If even the strongest among them, Gray Shadow, couldn’t defeat YouYu, then they couldn’t afford to sit idly by.

To that, Gray Shadow hadn’t even hesitated—it refused them outright.

After all, they were all villains.

There was no such thing as trust among them.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be there in the first place.

Trusting them?

It would be less ridiculous to believe that begging a magical girl for mercy would spare its life.

Or better yet—

Believing in its own power.

“But even now… I can’t find the right parameters.”

Staring at the endlessly calculating data, Gray Shadow fell into silence.

After its last failure, it knew better than to underestimate YouYu’s unique abilities.

So, it had digitized all the historical records stored in the Dark Spire, feeding them into its database for cross-referencing—

Searching for anything similar to YouYu’s existence, hoping to find a way to defeat him.

Yet after all this time…

Nothing.

Which had forced it to seek answers here, in the human world.

If it still couldn’t find anything…

Then it would have to determine the solution on its own.

Gazing at a mechanical egg-like structure beside it, Gray Shadow sank into thought.

“……”

But at that moment—

“Actually, I have a simple solution~”

A deep voice suddenly echoed from the entrance of the factory.

“Why not just ask the ‘author’ who created this monster directly? Wouldn’t that be the easiest way to learn how to defeat him?”

Gray Shadow jolted in alarm. Without hesitation, it swung its arm—launching a crackling sphere of lightning straight toward the factory entrance.

“BOOM!”

The sphere exploded upon impact, shaking the entire building. But the one who had spoken… was nowhere to be seen.

Because—

“Now, now, no need to be so unfriendly.”

“Gray Shadow…”

Somehow, the voice’s owner had already moved.

Now, he stood right beside it.

And that man was—

“……”

Turning its head, Gray Shadow’s tone darkened as it gazed at the black-and-white figure resting a blade against its throat.

“Ouja…!”

“What are you doing here?!”