We were surrounded.
SpiCa's plans were never reliable.
Enemies kept appearing one after another, yet the promised reinforcements were nowhere to be seen. I hadn't run particularly far either. Could White Silk have malfunctioned somehow, preventing SpiCa from learning what was happening on my end?
"If we surrender now, can we live?"
I raised both hands in a French salute, only to be met with Locust Man's surprise.
"Huh? M-Miss Miluno has decided to surrender?!"
"What choice do we have?! I'm crippled now, and the unstable darkness inside you has been calmed by me, so you can't use that power from before anymore! Without reinforcements, how could we possibly be their match? Staying alive comes first, doesn't it?! Raise your hands already! A wise man submits to circumstances!"
After hesitating for a moment, Locust Man raised his hands and surrendered with me.
The second wave of enemies consisted of three Witches, along with several Fake Magical Girls who had escaped earlier and been caught. Their lineup was even more impressive than the previous group's.
If I wasn't mistaken, the core Witch controlling this entire space was mobilizing her forces to continuously intercept the three of us—me, Locust Man, and Rhinoceros Beetle—preventing us from further expanding the territory of the "SpiCa Empire." She had even used some method to interfere with SpiCa's senses, or obstruct our reinforcements.
"Hey! We're surrendering! Are you accepting it or not? At least say something!"
These Witches were not easy to deal with. Though I couldn't see their faces, they hadn't said a word since earlier.
Had they learned from the core Witch that I'd done something cruel to that carrot-eating horse Witch?
"Why aren't you talking? You wouldn't attack enemies who've surrendered, would you?"
Still, they refused to communicate.
After waiting quite a while, they