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

After the sword struck the massive yellow gemstone, it shattered with a deafening crack, splintering into countless fragments.

Then… those shards began to rise, gradually covering YouYu’s entire body, fusing seamlessly with him.

Now, standing before  gray shadow was—

A figure whose once emerald-green hues had been replaced by a radiant gold. His arms, legs, and chest were encased in rock-like armor, resembling a warrior clad in battle gear.

The hood he wore had transformed into a golden helm, with a single horn protruding from the front.

The sword in his hand had morphed into a heavy greatsword.

TL: Kamen Rider Buster

His face was now concealed beneath a thick, armored mask, glowing with crimson, V-shaped eyes.

“Hmm… not bad. A power form?” YouYu remarked, his reflection glinting off the greatsword. He observed his new form—robust and imposing, akin to a “tank.” His frame had noticeably expanded, likely due to the surge of mana.

“Now… time to put an end to this battle.”

Raising his head, YouYu fixed his gaze on gray shadow, who was struggling to prop itself up.

A cold, disdainful smile crept across his face as he hoisted the greatsword onto his shoulder, tapping it lightly, each knock echoing ominously.

“Cough… damn it… what the hell did that Ouja create…?” gray shadow wheezed, watching YouYu approach, each step growing louder, more final. Realizing escape was futile, it ceased trying, focusing instead on gathering data on YouYu.

Yet, strangely, its scans revealed nothing—as if an unseen force was blocking any analysis. All it could see was YouYu’s looming figure growing larger.

“…I’m not interested in torturing you.”

With a dismissive grunt, YouYu crouched down, grabbing gray shadow’s damaged head, exposed circuitry flickering, and effortlessly lifted it.

Instead of crushing it immediately, he seemed to be testing something.

Golden light radiated from his hand, and then—

“…?! What are you doing?! How can you…”

Gray shadow felt it clearly—its remaining negative emotions were being rapidly drained. But that wasn’t the shocking part. What stunned it was that YouYu was converting those emotions into mana—no, it didn’t feel like mana. It was something new, a different kind of energy!

“Damn it! What are you?!”

Sensing danger, gray shadow activated its self-destruct system without hesitation, hoping to force YouYu to stop.

“Self-destruction, huh? …Well, I was done testing anyway.”

Unfazed, YouYu casually tossed gray shadow high into the air. Gripping his greatsword with both hands, he swung.

“Whoosh—!”

A simple yet powerful golden slash shot forth, slicing cleanly through gray shadow mid-air before it could explode. Its body fell to the ground, severed in two, disintegrating into black dust.

Exhaling a breath of relief, YouYu knew the battle was finally over.

He turned to leave, heading back to Liu Meng.

But—

“YouYu! Thank goodness… you really won!”

Liu Meng ran up to him, her face alight with joy and excitement—an expression YouYu had never seen on her before.

“How did you defeat it?! My mana… you can really use it smoothly? That sword energy just now was… no, no, this isn’t the time for that!”

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but couldn’t hide her concern.

“You’re hurt, aren’t you? How are your wounds? Have they healed?”

“Yeah, I’m fine now.”

Smiling at her, YouYu replied, “Thanks to you… that card really worked. Not only did it heal my wounds, but it also gave me incredible power.

“And most importantly… I don’t look so ugly now, right? I must look like one of those heroes from tokusatsu shows.”

“…Yeah, not so ugly anymore. But that’s not important—”

Shaking her head, Liu Meng laughed, her gaze soft on his masked face.

“Honestly… I can’t even put my feelings into words! YouYu, you defeated it and came back safe… it’s unbelievable!

“Let’s go home, quickly! I’m really curious about your current state!”

“Alright, alright. But before that, what about all the destruction here…?”

“It’s already fixed, isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

Startled, YouYu looked around—the once-damaged surroundings were completely restored, as if untouched.

“I told you, didn’t I? After magical girls battles, the damage around them automatically repair! So you don’t have to worry.”

“…I see.”

He hadn’t expected to inherit that feature as well. Clearly, there was more to explore about mana.

“Now, come on home with me, YouYu! I wonder what else you can do with my mana…”

“Alright.”

Nodding, YouYu dispelled his transformation, returning to his usual self.

Seeing his familiar face, Liu Meng smiled, reaching out to take his hand, leading him out of the mall.

…

A minute after they left—

Two figures, one red and one blue, arrived at the scene, now silent after the battle.

“Only nine minutes…”

Bai Yu stood in the mall’s center, scanning the surroundings.

“Just nine minutes, and the fight’s already over? Besides that magical girl’s mana… there’s another familiar presence.”

Feeling the lingering energy, Bai Yu fell silent, turning to speak to WuYue—

“Huh?!”

WuYue’s expression had shifted dramatically.

“WuYue? What’s wrong…?”

“I can still sense YouYu’s negative emotions here.”

Her voice was cold, sharp.

“YouYu… he might have been defeated by another magical girl.”