Stage of Despair

(Sun Yao)

Miluno suffered severe burns to her right leg and was unable to fight.

Even if she were in perfect condition, could she really fight Miss Halley?

Let's expand our thinking a bit more...

If I were to become a witch someday, would Miluno harm me?

"Spica! Can you keep her calm?"

On stage.

Sirius and Miss SpiCa are joining forces to attack Halley... the Calamity Witch.

"No! The darkness emanating from her body is extremely destructive. My White Silk, which even strong acid cannot corrode, has become exceptionally fragile under its influence. Controlling her will not be easy!"

After explaining, Miss SpiCa complained, "In the end, you shouldn't have let her participate in that Idol Festival! If you had brought her under the Association's control earlier, this wouldn't have happened!"

"She's still human at heart! If you treat her like Monster, then she really will become Monster."

"So she's become a witch, are you satisfied now?"

"How was I supposed to know that Aldebaran would send Betelgeuse to cause trouble!"

The two of them managed to bicker while fighting the witch.

After all, they are all living legends, and they are quite capable of handling this situation.

The Calamity Witch, however, was in a fierce battle. Although her claws had become longer and her tail had turned into blades, she still couldn't even touch the hem of their clothes.

According to Miluno, Miss Halley's long tail is a deadly weapon; anyone who gets pricked by it will suffer misfortune. However, the upgraded version of the tail is a sharp Trident, and getting pricked by it will cause serious injury.

Ahhh--!!!

She resorted to her old trick of sonic attack again, her penetrating soprano voice so powerful that even covering her ears couldn't block it out, leaving even Miss SpiCa dizzy.

Even so, she wasn't completely unable to dodge the attack, but the Calamity Witch took this opportunity to extend her tail towards... the wormhole in the sky.

Buzz--Buzz--

As if in response to the witch's actions, the wormhole emitted an even more intense buzzing sound than before, and the energy fluctuations could even be seen with the naked eye.

What is she going to do?

Nobody knows.

But the scene inside the barrier began to distort.

From the sky... to the ground beneath our feet, everything has changed.

In the set

"Hmm..."

When I got up from the ground, I found myself on a huge stage.

This is definitely not a stadium; judging from the surrounding scenery, it looks more like a large broadcasting studio.

But this stage is clearly abnormal.

It's too high.

A stage hundreds of meters high, with a huge number of chains hanging around it.

"Ceruno! Are you alright?!"

Miluno came to my side with the help of the Golden. On the stage were Ryu, the Shark Princess Witch, Sirius, and Miss SpiCa.

"I'm fine... the change of scenery doesn't seem to cause any harm."

Miss SpiCa, who was walking not far away, muttered to herself.

Are we still awake? Is what we're seeing real?

Sirius retorted, "Nobody knows anything about that kind of thing."

We were chosen by the Calamity Witch to remain, and if I'm not mistaken...

I ran to the edge of the stage and looked directly below it.

"Hmm!"

Birdcage.

The chains surrounding this enormous stage were meant to hold a huge number of large birdcages, each cage being a large platform holding hundreds of people. Beneath these densely packed cages lay dark, deep pits from which the ground could not be seen.

The mother and Yezi, who weren't on stage, should also be in those cages, but they couldn't be found at a glance...

Startled, Miluno patted me on the shoulder.

"Once we defeat the Calamity Witch, we should be able to turn back."

Where is Halley herself?

"Over there."

One side of the semi-circular stage was covered by a bright red curtain.

What's behind that is self-evident...

"This abnormal space is Halley's domain."

As it walked towards us, its girlish dress burst into flames, and its body transformed back into a lean male form, donning red and black wolf-shaped armor.

"UI-31?!"

Miss SpiCa looked surprised.

But she also knew that now was not the time to capture Werewolf.

He then asked, "Continue, what is a domain?"

Liu scratched his wolf helmet and replied, "I'm not quite sure either... Perhaps it would be more appropriate for Achernar to explain."

Really.

Perhaps the Samehada Shark Princess Witch, being a fellow witch, knows something.

She hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly, "... Before I was transported here, this technology was still in the testing phase. The conclusion at the time was that this world did not yet have the conditions to form a 'domain'."

I surrounded us with a protective bubble to guard against a surprise attack from the Calamity Witch.

What are the conditions?

"To maintain a certain degree of balance between the forces of the two worlds."

Miluno frowned and pressed, "What do you mean?"

"Simply put, it's about getting the density of what you call 'Dark Energy' to a certain level."

What, then, is that domain itself?

Although I wanted to ask that question, I could only hear the dense sounds of gears and hinges turning and rubbing around the stage.

"It seems the opening ceremony is about to begin," Sirius said.

The heavy curtains slowly parted to both sides, revealing a golden throne atop a staircase higher than the stage. The Calamity Witch lay there languidly, while the spotlights from the ceiling were all aimed at her.

Clearly, she is the queen of this "domain".

But isn't it glaring to the eyes when the spotlight shines like that?

"Witch..."

Around the stage, chains suspended enormous birdcages into the air.

Their status is that of hostages;

But they are still just spectators.

"... What exactly do you want to do?"

"Miluno."

But the witch spoke.

"Why don't you join my audience? I really like you..."

"If you're sober, why do such a thing?"

Her face showed disdain in response to my question.

"Sober? I've always been sober... As long as I have this power, I can get everything I want... The stage! The lights! The audience! Yes, what you can easily obtain, I can't get without doing this!"

She spread her wings and flew to a higher place.

"If you stay here obediently, I'm willing to sing for you, but if you try to get in my way..."

"Alright, there's no need for that kind of villainous talk."

Sirius waved his hand.

"Halley, the process might hurt a little, but I'll make sure you wake up alive, I promise!"

As he spoke, Wings of Light.

Sirius tilted its head back and hurtled towards Miss Halley in the sky.

But on the ground, a huge number of pure black humanoid figures appeared from the void.

"These are... grunts?"

These faceless Shadow Soldiers moved slowly, but their actions were highly purposeful. Dressed in dance costumes and carrying prop-like swords, spears, and clubs, they walked slowly toward us in the center of the stage with unsteady steps.

They're just like zombies from movies and TV shows...

"Don't be surprised, it's normal for the Queen to have guards around her."

Miluno isn't very good at creating a lively atmosphere.

But she patted me on the back.

"Prepare for battle!"