When the Show Began

(Ceruno)

"Stop them! We can't let those thorny monsters reclaim Betelgeuse! But we can't defeat Aldebaran directly either! Play with her a bit more!"

I followed Miss Viktorika to the "director's room" on the second floor of the prison, which is Betelgeuse's prison. Sirius was directing the magical girl guards'... uh, performance? through the monitors on the wall and the walkie-talkie.

Summoned by Aldebaran, a large monster formed from intertwined vines is confronting the magical girls in the courtyard. These monsters are over three meters tall, and their three-body form alone is enough to hold back more than a dozen magical girl prison guards, making them formidable enemies.

"Director, these monsters must be tough to deal with."

When I asked this, Sirius spat and cursed:

"Pah! They're not tough to deal with at all! They're just moving props! They break at the slightest touch, shatter at the slightest poke, Aldebaran was even made hollow out of cheap materials! And we still have to pretend we can't beat them, do you know how hard everyone had to put on this act?!"

Oh, so they're all just paper tigers.

Looking at it this way, those magical girl guards did seem a bit fake.

As if afraid of damaging the expensive stage props, none of them used magic much. They were like villains in a martial arts movie, jumping around in the background. Then, like the Calabash Brothers saving their grandfather, they rushed up and were knocked away one by one, twisting and turning on the ground while letting out exaggerated screams.

This pomp and circumstance truly gives Aldebaran a lot of face.

"Will the 'Supreme Council' really be fooled by such acting?"

Everyone was very dedicated to their performances, but they lacked experience, and their over-the-top acting made it look fake.

The magical girls guarding this prison are all elites, yet they were utterly defeated by the monsters summoned by Aldebaran. Won't the council question this situation?

And...

"Isn't Miss Regil still sleeping soundly outside the prison gate? She's a prisoner too, isn't she? Is it okay for her to be photographed? And what is the Golden doing?!"

The humanoid, clumsy dog was cradling the unconscious Regil, the two of them lying together at the entrance of the courtyard, enjoying a midday nap in the radiant sunlight, amidst the palace's wine pools and debauchery...

No way!

This Doggy is hopeless!

Sirius waved his hand dismissively and said:

"Oh dear, these kinds of continuity errors are normal; they'll be cut out in post-production."

"Huh? Isn't this a live stream?"

In short, the current situation is that they are giving Aldebaran enough face, but they are not giving Aldebaran a chance to break in and take away Betelgeuse.

In order to get Betelgeuse to hand over the technology we need regarding the Witch Domain.

"Hmm, are you still not going to hand over what we want? It seems our guest has a rather impolite nature!"

Sirius snapped his fingers, and a multicolored laser beam shot out from behind him.

"Then I'll go get it myself."

She left me and Achernar behind and ran out.

Then, several laser beams pierced through the vine monster from top to bottom, igniting it as well. The massive, burning body crashed to the ground, and Sirius himself appeared on the monitoring screen.

Sometime later, the "fallen" magical girl guards disappeared, and someone even dragged away Miss Regil, who was fast asleep...

It was Miss Viktorika who did it; she carried Regil back to the "studio".

The extras leave the stage.

Only Aldebaran and Sirius remained in the vast central courtyard.

Sirius changed into Battle Dress, a cropped idol outfit with a shimmering golden cloak trailing behind him, and faced Aldebaran, who held a golden bow. For a moment, neither moved, creating a tense atmosphere of king versus king.

The left side is gold, and the right side is also gold.

Looking at it this way, their theme colors are somewhat similar.

"Honestly, why isn't Miluno back yet?"

Turning back, Betelgeuse, lying in the cabin, showed no signs of waking up... Should I wake her up and ask her what's wrong?

I glanced at Miss Achernar, but she shook her head.

"We can't just pull her out rashly; after all, you don't know what's going on 'the Other Side'."

"That's true..."

Is waiting all we can do?

I looked back at the monitor screen.

The thorny Aldebaran, supported by a golden arrow, is drawn and pointed at Sirius, which bends down, poised as if ready to pounce at any moment.

"Aww!"

A pack of wolves forged of light burst forth from behind Sirius. Aldebaran, seeing this, calmly drew his bow and fired an arrow at the ground. The arrow exploded in the Midgard, creating a golden storm that turned everything it touched into gold...

This was an absolute steal!

However, Sirius's magic is, after all, light, and light cannot be alchemized. Seeing that she could not stop the approaching light wolves, Sirius pulled out the thorns supporting the ground and swept them across, scattering more than half of the wolf pack with a whirlwind whip. The wolves that leaped over the thorns did not pose much of a threat. She then wielded her longbow and arrows at close range, systematically defeating them one by one.

However, the wolf pack was merely a cover.

Sirius, which was close behind, had already pounced on Aldebaran.

Aldebaran also had a solution to this.

The thorns she had been bracing herself against had already burrowed into the ground. Now, they circled around behind Sirius and emerged, stabbing fiercely into Sirius unsuspecting back.

Sirius's reaction was unexpected. Just when she was about to be pierced through, she transformed back into Star Crystal and plunged headfirst into Aldebaran's petite body.

"Huh?!"

This is not a magical girl's fighting style.

This is a tactic that Sirius can only use as Star Crystal.

Aldebaran looked somewhat uncomfortable. She withdrew the Thorned Touch tentacles that had been supporting her on the ground, and her spotless feet finally touched the ground.

Not everyone can merge with Sirius, and a witch who already possesses two powers has even less room within her body to contain Sirius.

However, Sirius's original intention was not to merge with Aldebaran...

I think she went there to negotiate terms.

"Bang--"

Sirius was ejected from Aldebaran's body.

Aldebaran, panting heavily, threw out another handful of Simulacrum Factor, conjuring a swarm of vine monsters that surrounded Sirius, while he himself plunged headlong into the prison...

Huh? She's coming up?

Miss Viktorika paused for a moment, then summoned two fairytale-like cages from the book. She carried Miss Regil into one, then climbed into the other herself, and said to me:

"I'll leave the rest to you."

Huh?!

Achernar also gave instructions:

"Ceruno, we can't let her take the person away Aldebaran hands over the technology of the Witch Domain. If necessary, we can go all out and beat her up."

Can I defeat the witch if I get serious?!

The footsteps approached, but stopped before they got close.

Just as I was thinking of going out to take a look, Aldebaran's thorny tentacles pierced through the wall and stabbed directly into the wall, heading Past for Betelgeuse.

Achernar also disappeared without a trace, leaving only a puddle of water in the corner of the wall.

Is it really all up to me?

He summoned his wand, raising a bubble to cover the three of them. The thorny tentacles with sharp spikes then turned their spears and wrapped around the solidified bubble in a surrounding manner.

As long as the bubble doesn't burst, it won't hurt me, but I'll be unable to move for a while. A golden arrow shot in from outside the door, once again raising a storm capable of turning everything into gold.

"Oh no!"

While the bubble-protected cabin seats won't be turned to gold, the exposed power cables are destined to become gold.

Then, the indicator lights and screens on the cabin seats went out.

Betelgeuse first moved its feet, then raised its hand to take off its helmet, and sat up somewhat blankly...

Finally, she met the gaze of Aldebaran of the battle.

"Why?"