As Hanako and Shinju rush Koharu towards the hospital, Hanako opens up about her friend Ueno, whose mysterious death nearly drove her to kill herself. Shinju expresses her frustration at her inability to do something about Rui’s reign of terror. When Kohaku learns of her younger sibling’s missing soul from Hanako, she realizes the construct she summons during battle¹ must be Shinju’s soul itself and sets it free, Immediately eager to join the fight, Shinju calls for Kyubey and wishes to bring Hanako’s friend Ueno back to life, only to learn that this is impossible — as Ueno is apparently still alive. Before Hanako is able to properly process this shocking news, Shinju comes up with the idea to wish for Niko’s resurrection instead, stating she might as well use her wish to repay a debt. This time, Kyubey has no trouble granting Shinju’s wish, and the latter is exhilarated to try out her new, water-based powers.

Niko, on the other hand, doesn’t take the resurrection well. Not only has coming back to life stripped her of her Puella Magi powers, something is clearly wrong with her. Akari Fueki is the first who manages to track Niko down — using her magical ability to locate anyone by hijacking their vision. Rui soon finds out Niko has been given a new lease on life too, however, and abducts her in order to lure Shinju and Hanako to a warehouse in the industrial district. With a little help from Akari, the two decide to meet Rui’s challenge head-on. While Hanako elects to go face to face with Rui, Shinju manages to free Niko, but matters take a turn for the worse when Chiemi — still acting on Rui’s orders — incapacitates Hanako using her magical sniper rifle. Rui orders her subordinates to finish Hanako off, but when the girls hesitate, Rui uses her psychic powers in an attempt to force them to — only to end up causing so much psychological agony she fully corrupts one poor girl’s Soul Gem, causing her to transform into a Witch.

As the birth of a new Witch warps the entire warehouse into an otherworldly domain, Rui and her subordinates, including a horrified Chiemi, manage to escape, leaving Hanako, Shinju, Niko and Akari to be annihilated by the Witch. Eager to test out her new powers, Shinju disposes of the monstrous creature with relative ease, but as the girls return home after yet again proving powerless against Rui, they are tormented by the terrible truth they’ve learnt — when a Puella Magi’s Soul Gem runs out, her fate is to become a Witch. Niko’s anxiety and guilt get the better of her, and she lashes out at the other girls, begging Shinju to give her some time to figure herself out.

The next day, Yasu pleads with Rui for the madness to stop — to no avail — while Koharu is released from the hospital. Celebrating the recuperation along with Koharu’s older sister Midori, the three girls manage to have fun for the first time in what seems like forever, picking the interest of two of Midori’s college friends. Despite their hospitality, the friends seem to know more about the goings on in the city than they let on, leaving the girls with little more than a lot of questions — with the exception of a business card with their contact details. To distract from the befuddlement of this odd encounter, Koharu announces the only way to put an end to Rui’s reign of terror she can think of — surrendering unconditionally. Considering her intentions non-negotiable, she leaves the other girls with the message that the next day will be the last one they spend together.

When Koharu arrives at school early the following morning, she is told to go back home. Her interest piqued, she manages to sneak in, only to find the bloodied corpse of Rui Tomatsu lying in the entrance hall. Before she can have a good look, however, she is dragged off by the teachers and sent back on her way, with another mystery to solve.

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1. As seen during her team-up with Hanako and Yasu in Chapter 2. — ↩︎