Reaching the Top: Miluno

(Miluno)

Phoenix flew away with Tiger Cub in his arms.

Of course, the Thousand-Kilogram City-Breaking Hammer was put away; otherwise, even Phoenix wouldn't be able to fly.

They had to go back to help defend the outpost;

Lin Quanyin and Ceruno went to the edge of the barrier to try and open the door for help;

Mono and I are focused on finding SpiCa... Why did we have to disappear when we need her right now?

Thanks to the dense Dark Energy of the Witch Domain, Mono's detection range has greatly increased. If a reasonable route is planned to cover the entire Witch Domain, and provided SpiCa doesn't wander off or get into trouble, finding her is not a matter of probability, but a certainty.

But Mono indicated that there was another way to expand the scope of the investigation...

"Going to higher ground?"

Mono stretched out his arms and gestured to me.

"That's right! By going to higher places, I can expand and broaden my field of vision!"

The higher the better? What kind of signal base station is this?

I pointed to the roadside trees in response.

"If it's high up, why don't you just climb a tree?"

"Huh? That's only a few meters!"

But there really aren't any particularly tall buildings in this North Suburbs Old Town...

"If you had said so earlier, Phoenix would have taken you flying."

"No, there are too many glowing parts on her body. Who knows how many Monsters have long-range sniping abilities? Flying in the sky, she's like a moving target! Besides, it's not me who needs to go up high, it's you who needs to go up high! This Base Body is just a terminal; the Crystal inside you is the core!"

Falcon's magic is theoretically capable of manipulating any approaching flying object, but she doesn't have time to react to attacks that are too fast or unexpected, which is why she was shot down by Alpha.

"So, flying like that must be very dangerous!"

The Wolf Woman's Base Body, manipulated by Mono, gives off a delicate and sweet impression, a stark contrast to her previous rabies-like aggression...

A person's inner qualities greatly influence their outward demeanor.

Mono, who could hear my inner thoughts, immediately became smug and started lecturing me with his hands on his hips.

"I've told you before, you usually give the impression of lacking femininity! Take this opportunity to learn more from me!"

She patted my shoulder in a lecturing tone, then pointed to her own face.

"Oh right! You told me to devour this witch's Dark Energy, right?"

"The only way to control the Wolf Woman's corrosive black mist was through this method, but I didn't expect that you had to come into contact with it to consume it... Now you don't have to consume it anymore."

"Then can I devour the darkness within this Witch Domain?!"

"Ha?"

This Witch Domain is so vast that the darkness it contains is likely greater than everything she has ever consumed so far...

I wouldn't dare let her eat at the buffet.

"That's precisely why I have to consume them! Otherwise, once this darkness spills out, who knows how many percentage points the Corruption Rate would increase!"

Mono said that, but I don't believe she has such a selfless reason.

"Well, besides, if I absorb enough darkness, I might be able to evolve again, and maybe that will make you stronger too? Miluno ~ Don't you want power?"

Mono circled around me in a fawning manner, its triangular wolf ears twitching.

"Let's not talk about how you want to eat it, or even whether you want to eat it at all, for now. We need to find SpiCa first."

She pouted and asked:

"How do you search? Are you really going to do a thorough, blanket search?"

No, I'll take you to the highest place.

Where?

"Where else could it be?"

I pointed to the Shuttle Tower.

Undoubtedly, that is currently the tallest building in the North Suburbs Old Town.

Since both the Monster and the witch are pushing outwards from the Shuttle Tower, the closer you get to the Shuttle Tower, the fewer enemies you encounter.

Ultimately, the density of these hundred-plus Monster spread over a radius of several kilometers was not high to begin with.

Even when we occasionally encountered a few Monster, they didn't attack us because Mono and I both appeared as witches...

But I shattered the Simulacrum Factor with a counterattack.

Sometimes I feel... maybe you are the real witch.

Mono, however, still felt uneasy about it and complained about me.

The Shuttle Tower is indeed quite enormous up close, much taller than the power towers along the roadside, probably close to 100 meters tall. Because it landed slightly off-center, it looks like an elongated version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Our goal is to reach the top of the Shuttle Tower.

"Your clone is waiting downstairs; I'll go up invisibly."

"Huh? There are stairs inside!"

Mono seemed to have confirmed the situation inside, adding, "There's no one left here. Just climb the stairs."

Is it just stairs?

It would be even better if there was an elevator in such a tall tower.

I left Mono's Wolf Woman clone to guard downstairs while I entered the Shuttle Tower alone...

"Even if my clone stays down there, I'll still be with you."

The little thing projected its image into my field of vision again, and then perched on my head.

As I walked up the stairs, I also observed the Shuttle Tower.

In keeping with the hexagonal shape, the tower's interior is also very high-tech. The gray-white metal walls are somewhat cold, and each floor has a ring of single-person capsules, which are probably protective measures to prevent occupants from being thrown out upon landing.

But apart from the capsules, there's nothing else there. The tower was purely designed to transport Monster, so it's useless after being thrown over.

"This is a large, disposable landing craft, which is why this tower is unguarded; once it lands, it's no longer worth defending."

So, those Monster came with no intention of leaving?

With my questions in mind, I continued climbing. Because the tower was tilted, the stairs inside were not easy to navigate, but overall it didn't affect my pace...

Near the top floor.

"Miluno, there's an Artificial Crystal on it!"

The little creature that was perched on his head suddenly flew up to report.

"Artificial Crystal?"

"Yeah! Just like the ones used to Modified Witch and Magical Girl Soldiers!"

The top-floor room didn't have any capsules, but a pink Artificial Crystal was embedded in the central base, faintly glowing...

That's probably a replica of the Vega Crystal.

Was it because Ceruno's magic enveloped the Shuttle Tower that it was able to break through the world's limitations and send so many Monsters and witches at once?

"So, the enemies this time are all Monster and Modified Witch from the 'Supreme Council,' not only the witches led by Sun Ji, but also none of Aldebaran's daughters."

Mono said that, and I retorted:

"But this Shuttle Tower is inextricably linked to Aldebaran; everyone knows that the Artificial Crystal was her invention..."

"Oh dear? Miluno- chan, I snuck away to help out, and you don't trust me at all... I'm a little sad~"

The golden loli crawled out from under the floor behind her.

He asked with a joking smile:

"Long time no see~ Have you missed me?"

(Miluno: Disgusted face)