Having lost the struggle for the lantern, Kaito returns empty-handed to the waking realm, lamenting not only his failure to reunite with his fiancée, but also the impending loss of his closest confidante, a dying Puella Magi he only refers to as Sai. In his frustration, Kaito lashes out at the few remaining loyal members of his former criminal empire, including his ward — a troubled teenage runaway and acquaintance of his daughter’s named Shiori Nakae. As Sai’s final moments draw near, Kaito returns to the Dreamscape and seeks René out again, striking him down in despair when René tells him he already gave the lantern to Yui. Rather than killing him, however, René’s demise in the Dreamscape causes him to wake up from his coma in a hospital. As Kaito wakes up as well, he finds his hideout empty and surrounded by the police. Realizes he’s been set up by the Conductors from beyond the grave, and is forced to surrender to the police as Yui manages to resurrect Cecilia in Sai’s body using the magical lantern.

Hearing about what happened to Kaito, Niko is outraged at Nebbia for using her to get the last laugh against Kaito’s mob. It is revealed that Niko, on Nebbia’s orders, contacted child protective services to get in touch with Shiori’s parents, who, upon learning their daughter is still alive, called the cops on Kaito, leading to his arrest. As she confronts her benefactor in the Dreamscape, however, she realizes Kae’s growing influence over the domain, which was supposed to seal her away, is starting to affect its warden as well. The fact that after taking René into custody and interrogating him, the Sixth Bureau has learnt of the old opera house’s secrets and begun to investigate it isn’t ideal either. Nevertheless, when the Bureau fails to find the entrance to the cellar where Nebbia is resting, Shinobu orders her second-in-command — revealed to be none other than Yuna Sakurauchi¹ — to have the site put under constant surveillance.

In order to discuss Nebbia’s corruption and Kaito’s quest for vengeance against the Conductors, Niko gathers her allies at the penthouse, where Shinju begins to realize Niko’s feelings towards her go beyond mere gratitude for bringing her back to life. Meanwhile, Yasu and Koharu dig around the penthouse and discover a flash drive containing information on Koharu’s mother, which leads Koharu to believe she might be in the Dreamscape, while Yui explains what exactly Kae is, having fought a similar hybrid of Puella Magi and Witch four years ago. This Puella Malefica — as is apparently the proper term — was a madwoman named Anisa Nobunaga, who tortured and nearly killed Alice in an attempt to bring about the end of the world, but was ultimately defeated by powers beyond even Yui’s understanding — almost as if the afterlife itself sought to punish Nobunaga for escaping it.

Matters become a lot more pressing, however, once Kaito begins attacking the remaining Conductors in the waking realm, first attempting to strike at René and then heading towards the opera house, to take on Nebbia. This draws Yui and her friends to the scene, still surrounded by Bureau officers. Koharu tries to sneak in as well, looking for a way into the Dreamscape, but gets captured by Shinobu’s men, prompting Hanako, Shinju and Yasu to hurry to her rescue. In the ensuing panic, Kaito stirs Nebbia from his slumber, breaking the seal on Kae’s imprisonment and setting the Puella Malefica free to wreak havoc on the Bureau soldiers, while Kaito escapes. Yui fights off Kae for a while, but is ultimately ordered by Shinobu to stand down as her team uses smoke grenades to give Hanako, Shinju and Yasu a chance to escape. Dashing to safety, the three pick up Koharu along the way, only to have their way out of the quarantine zone blocked by an infuriated Kae. Before the hybrid can attack, however, Kaito runs her down at full speed in a car he has stolen from the Bureau, allowing everyone to escape unscathed as Kae retreats.

As the dust settles, it is revealed that Shinobu has taken the unconscious Nebbia into custody, as well as another mysterious woman, who claims to have lost her memory. Meanwhile, Shiori is still on the run from the police following the dissolution of Kaito’s crime syndicate, only to run into Cecilia, who introduces herself as a friend of Yui’s. Shiori announces she wants nothing to do with the Arashi family any more, but ultimately concedes when Cecilia tells her she can offer Shiori a better life. This turns out to be a mistake, however, as Cecilia — seemingly having foreseen Shiori’s future — rats Shiori out to the police, upon which she is sent to a youth correctional facility.

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1. The school’s guidance counsellor and advisor to the newspaper club, as depicted in Chapter 4. ↩︎