The Traitor's Shadow, Miluno

(Miluno)

I once thought there was a massive army of Monster on "the Other Side," which led to the Expeditionary Force being ambushed and instantly crushed after passing through the wormhole, without even a chance to fight back...

But what is the truth?

I've been to "the Other Side" many times, and those "Fusion Soldier" alone aren't particularly strong.

Those armed soldiers in standard uniforms are nothing but cannon fodder. An ordinary magical girl could take on ten of them. There's no reason why the elites sent out seven years ago should be dragged down by such weaklings. As for the stronger Monster, they just create one and then discard it; they have no personnel reserves at all.

It is said that the Monster belonging to the "Supreme Council" are the strongest. If they were to take action, they should be able to suppress the thirty-person magical girl Expeditionary Army. However, Aldebaran also said that those Monster sitting in the council are very afraid of death. Even if they are transformed into witches, they are unwilling to come to Earth to die.

The Supreme Council will not act rashly.

Therefore, the magical girls of the first expedition will not be easily defeated.

Furthermore, the "Monster Production Line Factory" that Fomalhaut used to guard was quite conspicuous; it was impossible for the magical girls not to notice such a large building.

Even if their landing location wasn't nearby, Aldebaran's "Second Research Institute" also had Wormhole Device. These things weren't uncommon in this world. Even if they were truly defeated, there should have been an opportunity to send someone to report back or even to withdraw before that happened.

But the result was exactly as it has already happened.

Thirty magical girls disappeared without a trace, and years later were "made" into weapons of invasion called "Witches"...

SpiCa, the initiator of the operation, blamed herself for seven long years, causing the entire human society to lose the courage to fight back.

Tell me, Betelgeuse.

I want to know the truth; perhaps it's the key to unlocking all sorts of mysteries.

What happened back then?

"I am not the Magical Girl Betelgeuse that you think I am."

Although reluctant, Betelgeuse still tried to recall the events while organizing his limited vocabulary.

"At first, their invasion went very smoothly; they breached the Breeding Facility immediately..."

"Etc."

I interrupted Betelgeuse.

What is a 'Breeding Facility'?

She frowned and replied:

"... is a factory that produces Base Body."

The Base Body factory, presumably a cloning laboratory or something similar, is used to create both the Fusion Soldier of Stratos and the Magical Girl Soldiers of Aldebaran, as they all require Base Body that are extremely similar to the Natives.

If that factory could be destroyed, it would completely cut off the manpower of "the Other Side," preventing them from replenishing their lost fighting strength...

It seems like a pretty feasible solution; I'll discuss it with SpiCa later.

I continued with my question.

"Does that 'Breeding Facility' have Wormhole Generator?"

"If you can master these technologies, how could we not?"

Those Base Body were transported to various production lines via conveyor systems. I suspect that each facility has a conveyor system, which confirms my guess and deepens my doubts.

"Since the Breeding Facility had Wormhole Device, why didn't the Expeditionary Force manage to evacuate back then?"

"... Everyone's Crystal have been contaminated."

"Ha!"

"Even though so much time Past, I still don't know exactly what happened back then..."

Betelgeuse's tone suddenly turned sinister, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a collection of ghost stories.

"At that time, the Expeditionary Force repelled wave after wave of guards and successfully retreated to the room where the Wormhole Device was activated. Hope was within reach, but the sudden appearance of black mist corrupted everyone's Crystal, suppressing Crystal performance..."

Will contaminated Crystal be suppressed?

"You all know that they're not as strong as normal magical girls, right?"

Ceruno has been fighting with weakened Crystal...

"Even so, you should be able to escape, right? The Wormhole Device is still usable, isn't it?"

Betelgeuse shook its head.

"Opening the wormhole takes time. They had already retreated to that side, and their Crystal were weakened and couldn't hold out... Moreover, someone deliberately sabotaged the control panel of the Wormhole Device."

Who did it?

"Monster?" I asked.

"Expeditionary Force," Betelgeuse replied.

"... You mean, a magical girl deliberately ruined her escape route, resulting in her being turned into a witch? How is that possible?"

"Do I have a way to lie to you now?"

I really can't understand it. Even if there really was a traitor, there's no reason for them to do such a thing, is there?

It's completely self-defeating and harmful to others.

"These are all the memories and thoughts of the original Betelgeuse. I don't know who that traitor is. Thanks to her, I can't trust anyone..."

So that's how you developed this bad habit?

But I didn't ask her any of these questions; she just kept talking to herself.

"Alright, you can continue tinkering with the Ancient Computer."

I stood up, ready to leave.

But when he reached the door, he turned back.

"If you ask me, you shouldn't even think about running away. Anyway, someone like you values life more than anything else, so the life or death of 'Great Will' doesn't matter to you, right?"

She stood there, frowned, but did not refute.

"If you honestly do good deeds to atone for your sins, you might still be spared in the end, understand?"

Without waiting for her response, we removed the Mono from the yard and left the villa.

A traitor within the Expeditionary Force.

If nothing unexpected happens, it'll be Aldebaran.

"Why?"

The little thing asked me a question inside my head.

"If Aldebaran were a traitor, why would she help you time and time again?"

To this, I answered as I walked:

"Sun Ji's indirect approach to achieving national salvation is now showing its outline; however, we still don't understand Aldebaran's plan... She says Sun Ji will become an obstacle for her, but in my opinion, everything she's doing is no different from Sun Ji's."

The development of Special Monster, the transformation of Monster into witches, and the creation of new Magical Girl Soldiers —none of these crimes were committed by Sun Ji alone. Aldebaran was at least an accomplice and conspirator.

But what is her plan?

I have absolutely no sense of direction.

Mono followed closely behind me and asked:

Where are we going now?

"Go back and say hello to Sirius first, then go find SpiCa to discuss the next operation plan."

"Oh? You're going to the Other Side again?"

Hmm, there's quite a lot to do next time Past.

I'll give the antidote to Fomalhaut, lest she rush out of her confinement cell and chop me up;

Then there's the "Breeding Facility" that Betelgeuse just mentioned; that place might be hiding some secret.

Finally, there's Aldebaran. She's ultimately someone you can't trust, and I'd better figure out her schemes as soon as possible.

I have a vague feeling...

I am also a piece on her chessboard.

Key piece.