Chapter 380: Not Allowed [Scatterflowers], Enemies From the Sky

Late summer, noon.

The audience sat down one by one, surrounding the giant stage—a sea of people piled up layer upon layer, looking magnificent at a glance. Above each area floated virtual screens broadcasting the stage, providing an excellent viewing experience.

Pei Xiaotong sat next to Xu Ling, her face sun-kissed red, half-closing her eyes as she enjoyed the coolness from the central air conditioning. She casually put her small fan back into her bag. After a while, she lifted her head and looked up at the sky, exclaiming,

“Wow, it feels just like outdoors, super atmospheric! Is the dome made of glass? That’s amazing!”

Under the bright sun, the sky’s color was exceptionally clear, with fish-scale clouds flowing like water, all seen through the glass-like material. The entire audience area and stage seemed like a miniature kingdom covered by a transparent dome from a fairytale.

The most incredible part was that even the sun seemed to be filtered—looking at it directly did not feel dazzling. The indoor lighting was perfectly controlled by Dazzling Stage using some special technology.

At that moment, the stage in the center spiraled upward, continually changing shape with seven or eight different forms. It resembled a wonder of civilization, extremely fantastical, making even the transparent, gel-like cool seats beneath appear plain and modest.

Xu Ling squeezed the seat in amazement.

After getting off the bus, they hadn’t gone straight to the audience seats. Instead, they lined up to sit on these nano-seats equipped with intelligent systems. As soon as a person sat down, they were enveloped into a sphere, smoothly gliding like a small vehicle to the venue, then fitting into the corresponding slots to take their seats.

Yes, the spherical form carrying a person somewhat resembled the mercury balls Honey Qing created on Canton Street to protect pedestrians and teammates, looking adorable.

Because of this, the seat was quite popular among the cooking enthusiasts in the audience.

“Massage, medical care, rescue, entertainment…”

Xu Ling scanned the various buttons on the seat and thought to herself that if she didn’t know this device was certainly not for sale, she would really want to take it home.

“This performance is totally different from before. Do you think Dazzling Stage actually applied all the official EtherTech they announced?”

Pei Xiaotong blinked, thought for a moment, and replied,

“This must be the true state of Dazzling Stage without any pretense. You see, there are actually a lot of black technologies in the program, but since the camera mainly focuses on the contestants, they don’t get much screen time.”

After finishing, the girl noticed a group of youthful and beautiful idols ascending onto the distant stage and eagerly looked toward them amidst the surging cheers.

Along with the team introductions displayed on the big screen and Dream Weaver Rabbit’s explanation of rules, the first team quickly launched into their fiery opening performance.

Thus, under the blue sky, the spotlights, stage, audience, idols, and the thunderous beats and cheers together heralded the beginning of the three performances, letting harmonious notes resound across the land.

…

…

At the same time, the view zoomed out, passing through the transparent dome, beyond the cerulean sky, arriving at the convective layer that breeds storms and thunder. Next, it ascended to the high altitudes with thin air, cold temperatures, filled with meteor particles and noctilucent clouds.

Finally, passing once more beyond the atmosphere, instead of the deep cosmos, it arrived at a strange space decorated with hand-drawn graffiti, as if directly collapsing dimensional boundaries, and a hand… encompassing everything.

Sea City, under Tianpu Bridge, bus transfer station.

Dorothy sat at the platform. Her eyes shone like rainbows, sparkling like opals beneath water. Her soft, honey-colored hair was tied into lively twin tails. On her slightly chubby, adorable face, her expression remained bright.

This popular idol from Redstone Country, the Fairy Witch of the Countermeasures Bureau, appeared only slightly older than Elise. She swung her slender legs and happily hummed a melody that sounded like a newly released song by Charlotte.

Meanwhile, the real performance was inside the fairy tale book she hugged in her arms.

—Unrestricted Technique: Fairyland.

This magic could transform large buildings and objects into a two-dimensional plane, fitting them into the fairy tale book.

Usually, she would trap enemies inside it, using the rules of Lonely Fairytale to engage them in a game.

However, today was different.

Dorothy’s Fairyland could not transform the performance venue, which held tens of thousands of people, into a two-dimensional plane all at once and place it on paper.

Because this was different from confronting an enemy, whether converting from three dimensions to two or from two dimensions to three, even a slight error could result in irrevocable consequences.

Moreover, once transformed into two dimensions, everyone’s art style would change, and the performance naturally could not proceed normally.

Therefore, the current scene was the result of her collaboration with the Decorate Phantasm witch—Charlotte.

Simply put, the performance venue was indeed inside the storybook, but it was enveloped in a layer of [Decorate Phantasm]’s space-time bubble; as long as the bubble remained intact, the space-time coordinates would revert to their original location, restoring everything to normal.

The advantage of this was that even if Sea City were to explode, the venue would remain safe, protecting all the juniors, audience members, and the newly appointed Chief of Staff.

The downside was that Dorothy could not stray too far from the venue’s original location, or it would cause a loss of space-time coordinates.

Currently, those who had come to wait outside in hopes of catching a glimpse of their favorite fan had all been promptly cleared away by the troops, leaving the area empty for ten miles.

As for the original venue, it existed in a kind of Schrödinger’s quantum state; to the naked eye, aside from the absence of people, everything appeared exactly as before. This flaw was perfectly masked by virtual projection technology, making it flawless.

Careful calculation showed that from the fake performance venue, to Dorothy’s Fairyland, and then to the inaccessible lounge, this group of magical girls had already deployed three layers of deception to protect Chu Yuanqing.

But that was still not enough.

Dorothy patted the storybook, turning it into a two-dimensional cartoon sticker, and casually stuck it on the back of a bench seat. She activated her Magic Armor and swiftly flew to the original site of the third performance, her smile radiant and brimming with joy as she greeted:

“Sister Charlotte, Elise, Sister Little Yu, I’ve come to play with you!”

“Clumsy oaf,” was Elise’s comment.

“Don’t shout in public,” came a warm reminder from Violet.

“Hmm~ Dorothy is so cute, and her makeup looks great today. Did you keep our secret well?”

Charlotte’s greeting style was as usual; she helped the lively little girl tidy her hair, smiled, handed her a candy, and patiently listened to Dorothy’s report.

At this moment, except for the Witch of Relief, Ji Qianju, who remained in the lounge, Xie Qing Yu, Elise, Charlotte, and five magical girls of the “Full Bloom” had returned to the empty performance venue.

—Playing out the full act.

This was the countermeasure proposed by The Last Diva.

Those apostles and believers were not easily fooled; only by treating this as a genuine performance venue would Chu Yuanqing be safer.

To this end, Charlotte had cast the Sparkling Blessings on the town one day in advance, accompanied by a group of note and instrument friends, fully materializing the already extremely realistic projection into a tangible, magnificent scene.

The goal was to create the impression that the Countermeasures Bureau was going all out, dispatching many captain-level witches to protect the performance’s authenticity.

Dorothy curiously glanced at the beautiful wedding ring on Charlotte’s finger, but soon her attention was drawn to the candy Charlotte offered her. She lifted her rainbow-colored eyes, patted her chest confidently, and said:

“Of course! I’ve played hide and seek with Elise, and she’s never beaten me.”

Elise’s gray eyes blinked and fixed on the Fairy Witch. Her cheeks puffed out, and with a hint of sulkiness, she said:

“Dorothy is a cheater.”

Dorothy tilted her head and suddenly hugged the soft little girl tightly, as if this were proof of reconciliation. With a bright smile, she said:

“Sorry, but now is the part where the trickster has to step in. Let’s play hide and seek with those bad guys.”

Charlotte’s eyelashes lowered. She dispelled all shadows and revealed a childish smile. In a solemn tone, she declared:

“I hereby announce the official start of the 17th Hide and Seek Competition of the Counter-Magic Bureau!”

“The winner will receive a signed CD from Charlotte and a box of special jelly treats supplied from the Ideal State exclusively for the Emperor. There are all kinds of flavors—strawberry, vanilla, chocolate… plenty to choose from!”

In an instant, Dorothy and Elise’s eyes sparkled with excitement, showing expressions full of anticipation and desire, and even the other magical girls inexplicably felt a strange surge of fighting spirit.

Xie Qing Yu thought for a moment and also developed a strong interest in the special jelly treats made for the Emperor—Teacher Chu—and joined Violet in discussing which flavor was the most delicious.

Elise restrained her thoughts and did not proclaim the honor of the vanilla faction but instead looked worriedly at Charlotte and asked,

“Sister Charlotte, is Sister Ji alone enough?”

The Witch of Relief was not suited to stay on the front lines; holding the rear was the correct decision.

Even if there were traitors inside the venue, it would be difficult to instantly defeat the Golden Temple.

But having only her there still made the little girl feel somewhat uneasy.

Charlotte crouched down and stroked the little girl’s head. The corners of her eyes lifted, a bright smile played on her lips, and no trace of heaviness showed, which inexplicably eased Elise’s mood as well.

“Of course, Elise will be with us to keep all the bad people outside, right?”

Elise nodded vigorously. She clutched the chain beside her little cloak as if she could command storms and ancient dragons, transforming into a brave hero from a fantasy tale. She nodded and said,

“Yes! Mom said magical girls are a power used to protect everyone. Sister Chu saved me, whom she had never even met, and saved many, many others. I want to protect her.”

Dorothy blinked her eyes, and on her innocent face appeared pure gratitude. She smiled brightly and said,

“The place where the World Tree fell is where my mom and dad lived. Without Sister Chu’s [pure white], there wouldn’t be today’s Dorothy.”

“Sister Chu is a very powerful adult. Dorothy isn’t that strong yet, but she also wants to help more and more people like her.”

“So, even if I have to use [Scatterflowers], it’s okay—I will protect Sister Chu.”

Hearing this, Charlotte’s heart ached. She held Dorothy’s face with both hands; her usually charming and smiling expression became serious and earnest as she said,

“Don’t say such unlucky things.”

“Isn’t Dorothy still applying for vacation to go to the amusement park with Mom and Dad?”

“This world is big and wonderful, full of countless things more interesting than amusement parks. You have to experience all of it—even until you become an old lady—before you have the right to talk about death.”

The Last Diva’s eyes revealed sadness as she spoke softly,

“Whether it’s Little Qing or me, letting such a small child go to battle already weighs heavy on our consciences.”

“So promise me, Elise, Dorothy, Little Yu… for your parents, for yourselves, and for us—whenever there is hope of escape, do not use [Scatterflowers].”

“With the authority of the [Lighthouse], I notify you that in critical moments, the Countermeasures Bureau permits you to abandon the mission and retreat immediately.”

Dorothy covered her cheeks, pinched red from Charlotte’s grip, and said with a mischievous little voice,

“I’m not an idiot. I’ll only use it if I really can’t run away.”

Elise nodded in agreement, clearly afraid of being pinched tightly by Charlotte as well.

Xie Qing Yu remained silent; she recalled the Witch of Relief’s prophecy poem—“Ode to a Withered Violet”—and summoned back the lively violet butterfly, gently stroking it without a word.

After that, everyone tacitly skipped the topic, returning to the lively atmosphere, crouching in this bustling and dazzling performance venue where dance music continued to echo.

Time passed, and the clock hands moved to one-thirty in the afternoon.

Kirimi Miyuki, Xie Qingxuan, Tang Liuli, and Chu Wang Shu—the four little idols dressed in distinct performance outfits—stepped onto the stage amidst roaring cheers and applause, becoming the center of attention.

At the same time, in the tranquil Sea City, the first signs of disaster appeared.

The dome atop the elevated highway and the blue sky shattered with a thunderous crash. Serpent-like chains surged like tides, writhing shadows spread like ink stains blurring daylight, swallowing the sun’s warmth and forming dark islands. Hundreds of snarling heads emerged, moving their eyes, overlooking the world below.

Blazing magma, mixed with tangible shadows, poured down from a slowly opening bloody mouth, unleashing a meteor shower like a natural catastrophe.

The ancient Giant God Tartarus, who had slumbered in the Shadow Dimension for seventeen years, finally awakened under the Supreme Lord Khaos’s command. He reached the sky’s domain and released his subordinate, Hydra.

But this was clearly only the beginning.

This Giant God, fused with the Shadow Maze, was not the sole enemy arriving in Sea City.

If you pulled the view farther, and farther still, you would find that behind the entrance of the Shadow Dimension, no color of sky remained—replaced by cold, snowy phosphor flakes and the thunder and hurricane stirred with every breath.

High above, a monster from mythology blotted out the sky. It came alone, its head and tail connected, slowly reawakening an ancient will as it descended to the world.

—World Python, Yggdrasil.