Future Sight

(Miluno)

"Morning Star, I know you're right across from me."

The robotic clone responsible for guarding the area said this.

"Although I'm very reluctant to part with my new companion, rather than letting you take him back, I'd rather execute him here myself."

She spoke insincere words, behind a hardened glass barrier that couldn't be destroyed by batteries, right in front of me...

Goodbye.

Bang--

SpiCa was shot and killed while still unconscious and offering no resistance.

These are the fragments that flashed through my mind. Although my intuition has always been accurate, I have never had such a specific premonition before.

This is more like... predicting the Future?

My magic is related to time.

I can accelerate or decelerate time in the present; I can also Rewind to go back to the Past.

So having a magic that can predict the Future seems logical, since it's merged with Sirius, it should have some new skills.

However, this predictive ability doesn't seem to be so controllable.

But problems arise as well. If we continue to advance rashly, even if I manage to find SpiCa, that Betelgeuse might execute her first.

Oh, no, that's not right.

That's Betelgeuse's machine clone.

Etc.

Since this is her base, is there any way for me to find out who she really is beforehand?

She must be in the safest place in this base...

Where would it be?

With a try-it-out mentality, I activated the "Memory Tracking" spell sealed inside the helmet.

"Oh, praise Mom."

Through the goggles on the helmet, I could actually see multiple afterimages composed of red pixel dots.

There was only one person; the image was very clear, and judging from the direction, they were heading downwards from the base...

"Odo!"

I see, I understand now!

The acceleration gave me ample time to think.

Whether it's a mechanical arm that controls weapons or a mecha girl clone that's in charge of command.

These cold, mindless machines leave no trace of "longing," and her reclusive nature, distrustful of everyone, would never allow other witches to have direct contact with her true self. Therefore, the Book Witch under her command, or those she entertains, mostly have their own separate areas in the upper levels. I did indeed see her flying upwards...

So, who would be able to move freely in the trap-filled lower levels?

The answer is self-evident.

Therefore, I decided to truly infiltrate Betelgeuse's base and remain silent until I caught her in person... However, I first went upstairs and triggered some traps to make Betelgeuse think I was searching upwards, thus reducing her vigilance towards the Lower District.

It wasn't until I actually started doing it that I realized the surprises my mom's magic brought me didn't end there.

"Wow! That's really lucky!!"

Since Betelgeuse is still active in the Lower District, she must have left herself a safe path. And now, this only path to survival is being marked by the red image of longing, guiding me downwards to the location of Betelgeuse's true form in the deeper levels...

That should be the case.

Thanks to this route, I didn't trigger any traps or mechanisms, and the patrol teams were all transferred to higher levels. We progressed smoothly, but were ultimately blocked by a final obstacle...

That's the door to the "bedroom" of the secluded witch Betelgeuse.

I can't sneak in if the door isn't opened. If there's any movement, she'll use the guard's mechanical clone to kill SpiCa.

Previously, Fomalhaut also used a clone of Betelgeuse to operate. That clone had no consciousness and needed to be remotely controlled. If there is a way to interfere with the connection between her and the clone, I can use the encapsulated battery to break in and control Betelgeuse.

Then, I actually saw a mechanical claw carrying a tray fly over my head. Although I couldn't see the contents clearly, it was probably food or something like that.

Although witches do not need to eat separately, they do have emotional needs related to food.

Instead of closing the door directly, the robotic arm leisurely flew upwards.

Above the bedroom door is a hidden door about half a person's height, with a lift-up door panel. The robotic arm goes in and out through there to deliver meals to Betelgeuse.

If I can catch the opening and flip Past, I can sneak into Betelgeuse's bedroom without anyone noticing...

Soon, the robotic arm that had just delivered the food floated leisurely out of the door, carrying the tray again...

This was a golden opportunity. Two meters was a piece of cake for me. Taking advantage of the moment when the robotic arm left and the door panel had not yet fallen, I jumped up, flipped over, and reached into the half-person-high doorway, while simultaneously slowing down to prevent the falling door panel from trapping me.

Magic enabled them to perform actions that were impossible for ordinary people.

I got in successfully.

But this is not the NEET girl's cocoon room that one might imagine.

Countless thick cables connect to a futuristic hemispherical cabin from all directions. Inside the cabin is the only bright area in the room. Numerous curved monitors surround a blue-haired girl wearing only panties and a vest. She is wearing a headset that looks like VR glasses, stuffing triangular pieces of cake into her mouth while operating a joystick in her hand.

Undoubtedly, she was the afterimage I saw in the magic of Memory Tracking.

"Damn it, where did that bastard Morning Star go?"

She was muttering and cursing to herself.

It's said that people who live alone for too long develop this habit of talking to themselves, Betelgeuse is no exception.

Instead of rushing up to spank her, I circled her spherical cabin and found a much thicker cable in an inconspicuous corner, with a power symbol drawn on it as usual, just like those machine clones.

Then, I unplugged the power cord.

"Ah!!!!!!"

Betelgeuse emitted a scream that could pierce my eardrums.

"A power outage at a time like this?! What's going on?!"

She was completely unaware that I had already sneaked in, and, with a flashlight in hand, she crept over the countless cables toward me.

I've disabled her ability to control her mechanical clones. Now she can only act with her real body. But can a coward who's used to hiding behind the scenes and controlling her mechanical clones really fight me head-on?

I could even execute her outright; considering all the trouble she's caused us, that would be the right thing to do...

"Ah!"

Thump--

She tripped over a cable on the ground, stumbled, and fell, her head hitting the metal wall of the spherical cabin...

He Past.

"... So weak."

This guy's true form is so weak!

No wonder they only dare to hide behind the scenes, they're so weak!

Generally speaking, magical girls or witches wouldn't easily be knocked unconscious by such a collision, because our physical abilities far surpass those of normal people...

However, this doesn't seem to apply to Betelgeuse, perhaps because prolonged long-range combat has caused her physical condition to decline sharply.

Although the situation is somewhat comical, this has changed the plans.

I took out a sturdy hemp rope, climbing rope, iron chain, hood, handcuffs, and gags and tied her up a little, then reconnected the power.

How do I use this thing?

After fiddling with the joystick and control panel for a while, I put on the VR glasses and tried operating them based on my memory and intuition...

Then.

My consciousness connected to a machine clone.