Melee, Part One: Saiba

(Babaluno)

In order to walk quietly, Achernar transformed her lower body into a snake covered in scales. She crouched low and snaked ahead, essentially paving the way for us.

Furthermore, Miluno's intelligence is indeed evolving...

The problem is that the direction of evolution is somewhat flawed.

"Lu--"

She's now learned how to unbutton my clothes and take them off, and she keeps trying to do it, while I have to constantly stop her...

Well, actually, she has already achieved it.

She used speed magic to unbutton my clothes, so I had to button them back up as I walked. At this point, I should have told her she shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't be too loud during a stealth mission...

Miss Achernar stopped her footless gait.

"Shh, that's the production line for Magical Girl Soldiers."

Upon officially infiltrating Aldebaran's Witch's Tower, the first thing that comes into view is the production workshop covered by a transparent glass dome.

But...

"This doesn't look to be working," I said.

The assembly line was shut down; the cold, robotic arms and tracks held no Magical Girl Soldiers in production. I honestly couldn't understand how those machines could create living beings...

However, only by seeing it with one's own eyes can one understand that the two worlds are indeed fundamentally different.

Soldiers produced on an assembly line are fully formed the moment they land; even their thought processes are mechanically programmed. Although they have flesh and blood, they are no different from machines—loyal yet pathetic, knowing only how to fight and obey.

Worse still, they took it all for granted. Think of those Monster Soldiers at the City School, fearless and ruthless, who were just cannon fodder, watching their comrades fall before their eyes, yet still numbly going to their deaths—that was the whole meaning of life...

But life shouldn't be like this.

This is something I (Barbara) only recently came to understand.

They are not heartless.

The reason those Monsters in the "Supreme Council" are afraid of death is because they have lived too long. Time has taught them emotions and fears, so they create more low-level Monster to die in their place.

Witches like Miss Alpha, who uphold honor and never forget their mission, are a minority in the council.

"Let's go check out the starting point first. There must be Wormhole Device supplying the Base Body at the beginning of the assembly line."

We followed the assembly line but still couldn't find the entrance to the workshop. We decided to have Xiaoling repeat the trick when we got to the starting point.

"The number of Artificial Magical Girl Soldiers is relatively small; we didn't see any in this battle. Perhaps Aldebaran isn't willing to mass-produce them. She seems to value those soldiers quite a bit..."

Miss Achernar, who was halfway through her sentence, suddenly stopped.

"Hidden."

Following her gesture, we hid in the corner.

A Magical Girl Soldiers dressed in... ahem, wearing a transparent hazmat suit emerged from an elevator on one side and headed towards the exit of the research institute—like a messenger.

Just as a boss wouldn't directly order his frontline employees but would instead have his secretary relay the orders, Aldebaran's instructions are also conveyed to the guards outside through these Magical Girl Soldiers.

"Quickly, find the Wormhole Device before she gets back."

Achernar increased the speed of his lower limb twisting, leaning his body forward sharply, almost sliding along the ground.

At the end of the workshop, we found jar after jar of human bodies soaking in some kind of liquid.

It wasn't human, yet it resembled one in some ways. It had pointed ears, no body hair, and a body that was more slender than a human's, but also lacked distinct sexual characteristics.

Each jar contains clones with similar faces; their features are fairly normal, but by human standards, they wouldn't be considered particularly attractive.

This is what the Base Body looked like before it was transformed into Monster or Magical Girl Soldiers...

Hmm, what's there to expect from aliens' appearance?

"That's the Wormhole Device, right?"

Xiaoling pointed to the end of the conveyor belt, which was blocked by the large cans. These Base Body were transported from the wormhole via the conveyor belt, so there was indeed a not-too-large metal ring there, with a structure similar to our Wormhole Device.

"It should be..."

However, it wasn't started, since the production line had all stopped.

"Xiaoling, let us in."

"Okay!"

The seemingly sturdy tempered glass wall was easily removed by Xiaoling, leaving a doorway.

"We need to find a way to activate this device. Let's look around; there should be a control panel or something nearby..."

Despite saying that, I couldn't find anything similar.

"The control consoles for the production line are definitely integrated into the central control platform of the entire production line."

No sooner had the Achernar finished speaking than several footsteps were heard at the entrance of the research institute.

Xiaoling hurriedly restored the glass wall of the workshop, but this also trapped us inside the glass enclosure of the workshop.

"Oh no! Did she go to call for help? Or have we been discovered?"

"No way, don't panic... Zara!"

"Woof!"

Seeing that I had re-unfolded the bubble to cover everyone, Zara understood and hurriedly reached out to touch the bubble wall.

Suddenly, a sky-blue filter covered the bubble.

"Keep searching for that control panel, slow your breathing, and conserve your oxygen."

But then, the workshop windows shattered without warning, and even the conveyor belt was burned through by something.

"Wow! What happened?"

Achernar calmly analyzed the situation.

"A fight has broken out. We can't interfere in things in the Subspace, but people in the real world can."

"But we can't see the trajectory of the attack either?!"

Not only that, but even the clothes worn by the enemy could not be seen.

There doesn't seem to be a particularly strict rule about what can be observed in Subspace.

"It seems that the Magical Girl Soldiers didn't call for reinforcements to deal with us..."

That's what the Achernar lady said, but who else would be here besides us?

Sirius.

It could only be her.

"She really did follow Dad all the way here?"

The conveyor belt must have been burned through by the laser heat ray, which is consistent with Sirius's fighting style.

Was it a bullet that broke the glass wall?

It could also be Fomalhaut's Invisible Blade.

Viktorika, along with her father and Fomalhaut, came to Aldebaran seeking refuge. As nominal allies, they couldn't possibly stand by and watch them die...

The wall was ripped open with a huge gash, the machinery on the production line was dented by something, and the cans containing the Base Body were shattered by grenades, spilling their green liquid all over the ground.

All these phenomena happen all around us, and the unease caused by not being able to see them makes people panic.

Xiaoling couldn't help but wail:

"Wow, what the hell! So hiding in the Subspace isn't safe after all!"

Even Miluno looked wary.

"At least the people outside can't see us. We can get away from the center of the chaos and leave now... or continue searching for that control panel."

"No need to look anymore, it's over there."

Ms. Achernar pointed to the other side of the broken glass wall, where a control panel resembling a small arcade machine was placed against the outer wall of the workshop.

It may not look like much, but it does appear to be the central control interface for the entire production line.

"Yay!"

But the next second...

The critical central control console exploded right before our eyes.