Hunter/Betelgeuse

(Bai Ziye)

He emerged from the burning window on the east side of the mansion.

Ceruno and UI-31, who were with Sirius, were nowhere to be seen. In their place was a white ring above their heads.

"Where are Ceruno and the others?"

"Spica is coming, so I told Ryu to go hide. Ceruno- chan said she wanted to protect him, so she went with him."

Protect the Monster?

What's wrong with that idiot? Besides, UI-31 might be stronger than her, and it's hard to say who was protecting whom in the Past.

The buzzing sound amplified, and Miss Mummy, wrapped in a white silk scarf, fell out of the wormhole—a rather daring act...

Bang--!

My fears soon came true. A long burst of gunfire erupted from the northern rainforest, birds scattered, casting noisy shadows across the night. SpiCa in the sky was sniped, its body severed in the middle by a large-caliber bullet; its lumbar vertebrae seemed to be shattered, with only a piece of silk scarf connecting its upper and lower body...

Wrong.

It was a hollow target made of silk scarves. Only then did the real SpiCa pass through the wormhole and fall. The Monster seemed to have no time to prepare for the next attack and gave up.

"That's really tragic."

The mansion was engulfed in towering flames, which Spica could see clearly from the air, so she landed precisely in front of Sirius and me, and the silk scarf that made up the mannequin was also taken back onto her body.

"Communication was lost, but the satellite detected an explosion and fire here, so I used a wormhole to come and check the situation... What do the enemies look like?"

Sirius shook his head.

"I don't know yet, but it's very likely that guy."

Wait, who is that guy?

"... As expected? Dealing with her at night is too troublesome."

SpiCa seemed to understand everything as soon as she arrived, but to me, their conversation was like a riddle.

"Excuse me, who is this 'guy' you're talking about?"

"Betelgeuse, or rather, the former Betelgeuse."

Sirius only gave me a name, then said, "I don't have time to explain in detail. Ceruno- chan went to the air-raid shelter on the north shore. As for more information, just ask the Magical Girl Encyclopedia."

"No, I do know something about such a famous magical girl..."

After all, I do go online sometimes.

One of the seven legendary magical girls nicknamed "Hunter," Betelgeuse is the code name she was given.

Seven years ago, he led a team to "the Other Side" with Fomalhaut and Aldebaran, and was also a Past comrade-in-arms of Sirius and SpiCa...

Of course, she has now been transformed into a hostile witch.

SpiCa followed up on Sirius's question by asking, "Then do you know what hunter magic is?"

"... I'm not entirely sure about that."

All that is known is that she is an assassin-type magical girl skilled in assassination. There are very few audio or video records of magical girls from that era, let alone jungle guerrillas like Betelgeuse who carry out secret missions.

"Go ask Ceruno- chan, she'll definitely know~"

I nodded and added, "Miss Melissa is with the maids trying to salvage the documents in your study, so don't worry."

"... How could I not be worried? Magical girls aren't immortal."

"I'll help too. First, stabilize the building structure on the east side to prevent the study from collapsing... Use your light and my ribbon to reinforce it, then isolate the fire source for the children and build ventilation ducts... Miluno, you go find Ceruno first. Once things are settled here, we'll Past to provide support."

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you."

Although Betelgeuse's primary target was not Ceruno, UI-31 was also with her.

I'm still wearing Ceruno's protective membrane. Because its purpose is fireproof, it's not the most robust, but it's enough to allow me to accelerate to more than twenty times the speed.

In the instant I accelerated, everything around me slowed down and became quiet. I dodged the traps on the ground as I sprinted toward the air-raid shelter Sirius had mentioned.

However, there are quite a few traps. How did this Hunter Witch manage to set up so many traps in such a short time, while also having the ability to ambush Ceruno and UI-31 and snipe SpiCa?

Does she have more hands than others?

"Ah, I see it."

Before long, I burst out of the dark rainforest and arrived at the north shore, which was also dark. It was almost a mudflat with a short shoreline, but there was a clear underground entrance at the foot of the mountain to the west.

That's the air-raid shelter Sirius mentioned. Since it's in Hawaii, it's most likely an abandoned fortification left by the US military during World War II.

"Um?"

Only after decelerating did I hear a series of loud explosions coming from the jungle, the treetops shaking violently from the impact.

What trap did they fall into?

Although Ceruno's protective membrane is sturdy, it certainly cannot withstand the impact of such continuous explosions.

But with UI-31 around, it shouldn't be too bad... Wait, why should I trust that guy?

These past two days have indeed lulled me into a false sense of security. He's also Monster from the Other Side, and his words aren't trustworthy enough. Maybe this whole purge is just a ruse to gain trust.

I accelerated towards the location from which the explosion had come, and from the towering acacia tree, I looked down at the battle below.

UI-31 is locked in a fierce battle with a cloaked female android... no, it should be said that it's being utterly thrashed.

Betelgeuse, now known as the Hunter Witch.

Her combat experience far surpassed that of UI-31. Although the latter had a faster reaction speed, the former controlled two flying mechanical arms, launching rapid, continuous, and multi-angle attacks. UI-31 was overwhelmed and its armor was constantly being slashed away by the black daggers.

Although Ceruno, also surrounded by four mechanical arms, was in a sorry state, she didn't suffer any real harm. All that was left was a toilet peg stuck in her head—no physical damage, but extremely humiliating...

Just as UI-31 was about to be stripped bare, and I was preparing to jump down and join the battle, the Hunter Witch threw down a smoke bomb.

She noticed me, so she chose to run away.

I won't let her get away so easily!

Although I wanted to say that, I didn't see her rush out of the smoke. Ceruno compressed air to disperse the pervasive smoke, but I couldn't find any trace of the witch. She just vanished into thin air.

Invisibility?

Wrong.

If it's just about stealth, its size should be enough to dissipate the smoke, and I should still be able to see its outline.

Perhaps it's similar to Zara's ability to move across the projection plane?

It's tricky, I can't figure it out.

Ceruno helped UI-31, who was kneeling on the ground, to her feet.

He was completely overwhelmed by the previous attack, and although he wasn't entirely defenseless, the Hunter Witch was able to seize every opening in his defenses.

The most important thing is...

This witch really does have several more hands than others.

With the help of those multiple mechanical arms, she can set up traps all over the jungle, and launch surprise attacks from blind spots during battle, making her impossible to defend against.

Conversely, if those robotic arms are dealt with, even UI-31 could overpower her with its reaction speed...

The laws of victory have already been determined!

Perhaps.