Chapter 5: Called “arrogance”

The puppet theater, curtain up!
The witch named Pride gently waved the baton in her right hand.
It was a vibrant, blood-red spider lily.
Her pure white hair floated lightly backward, adorned with a small, delicate spider lily hairclip on the upper left.
A white-and-red silk magical outfit wrapped around her chest, extending along both sides under her armpits, continuing to just below her spine, slightly encircling her perky hips before flaring out into a blood-red long skirt.
The storm’s fierce winds lifted Pride Witch’s hair, faintly revealing her bare, pale back.
The hand holding the baton wore a dark red glove, and on her left ring finger was a magical ring engraved with two blood-red characters.
Pride.
With Pride Witch’s words, everything around her came to a halt.
Even the torrential rain.
“Hm~” Pride Witch looked at the obedient crowd, her voice pleasant yet devoid of emotion. “All such well-behaved actors.”
Pride Witch took two gentle steps forward, each step in the air igniting dark red flames beneath her feet.
The flames dissipated moments later, transforming into spider lilies that existed to mark Pride Witch’s presence.
The spider lilies cradled her jade-like feet, allowing her to survey the entire puppet theater from the air.
“Now, let’s see what the script says.”
Pride Witch lightly flipped her left hand, and karmic flames burned briefly, a dark red script gently emerging from the fire into her hand.
Rustle!
The script flipped according to Pride Witch’s will, its pages entirely blank.
“Lightning flashes in the sky, accompanied by the roar of thunder.”
Boom!
“This day is one of storms and rain, a day filled with despair.”
Rustle!
Pride Witch’s red lips parted slightly, her emotionless words like laws shaping the world.
Lightning and thunder roared in the sky, and the storm howled back to life.
“With the harsh weather, the pollution entity ‘Thunder Collapse’ emerges, its massive body crackling with lightning, easily destroying humanity’s thriving cities.”
“Roar!”
Thunder Collapse pounded its chest, letting out a deafening roar, lightning crackling across its body as it struck outward.
Instantly, surrounding buildings were obliterated, debris crashing to the ground, causing tremors.
Fortunately, the affected area was uninhabited.
“People have never seen such a terrifying pollution entity; they scream, trample, and begin a desperate escape for their own survival.”
The crowd stirred, erupting in countless screams of ‘fear.’
They pushed and shoved, frantically fleeing.
One person fell, but the crowd didn’t care, trampling over his body in their rush.
Everything around followed Pride Witch’s narration, unfolding as she described.
“The fallen man clutches his head tightly, curling his body, miraculously surviving.”
“But the pollution entity goes berserk, attacking everything indiscriminately.”
Thunder Collapse began to move, its gathered lightning about to crash into the crowd.
“But…”
Pride Witch looked at the script, now displaying the words of her narrated plot.
A faint trace of confusion appeared on her calm face.
The villain was here, the innocent masses were here, but the hero was missing.
How could her puppet theater lack a protagonist to defeat the villain?
“No, my puppet theater isn’t perfect yet. A protagonist must not be absent.”
Dark red flames ignited on Pride Witch’s bare arm as she frowned, scanning the crowd for someone worthy of being the protagonist.
“None.”
“None.”
“Still none.”
A faint disappointment appeared on her face.
Would her puppet theater’s first performance end in failure?
“Witch! Stop your actions!”
Two radiant streaks, one yellow, one red, flashed from the distance.
Pride Witch’s eyes lit up as she saw the perfectly timed magical girls.
“Hm, my actors are complete. You two shall play the protagonists.”
“This is my first puppet theater, so perform well.”
Huang Ran, Long Shu, as expected of my former comrades, arriving just in time.
As magical girls, you’re seasoned veterans.
Now let’s see if you have the discipline to be true actors.
Jasmine and Rose, slightly confused, gripped their weapons, magic surging as they warily eyed this unfamiliar witch.
In the official records of witches, there was no information on this blood-red witch.
This meant they were about to face a completely new, unknown, and infinitely dangerous entity.
Pride Witch ignored their expressions, continuing her narration.
“The pollution entity wreaks havoc on the city, and the magical girls arrive late, beginning their counterattack to save the people from disaster.”
As her words fell, the two girls were horrified to find their bodies moving beyond their control.
“Jasmine, what’s happening to my body!”
Rose gritted her teeth, trying to resist the force controlling her, but it was futile.
“I can’t control my body either, Rose, be careful!”
Uncontrollably, they charged toward the pollution entity with perfect coordination, cornering it.
“The magical girls, with seamless teamwork, push the pollution entity back.”
“The pollution entity, unwilling to yield, fights back, unleashing tremendous power to repel the magical girls.”
Thunder Collapse unleashed a massive bolt of lightning, sending Jasmine and Rose flying back hundreds of meters, their yellow and red trails streaking through the air.
“The magical girls stabilize themselves, launching a finishing spell against the pollution entity’s desperate counterattack, perfectly defeating it with their combined strike.”
In the distance, Jasmine and Rose channeled all their magic into their weapons.
“Jasmine, is there a way to stop this!”
“D*mn it!” Jasmine shouted.
Jasmine’s orange-yellow magical spear was thrown, rippling the air with a whistling sound that pierced through the storm, aimed at the pollution entity.
Rose connected her red dual pistols into a sniper form, taking aim in the air.
The next second, a fiery red bullet, blazing with flames, streaked through the dim sky, following the spear.
Their attacks struck the pollution entity simultaneously, unleashing immense magical power.
The pollution entity collapsed completely, dissipating in the torrential rain.
Pride Witch nodded slightly, putting a perfect end to this puppet theater.
“The evil pollution entity is defeated by the righteous magical girls, saving the crowd, who cheer joyfully.”
Clap.
The puppet theater, curtain down.
Pride Witch gently closed the script, feeling her first performance was a bit unpolished.
Forgetting to cast a protagonist before the curtain rose was a misstep.
But thankfully, the theater ended perfectly.
Hearing the crowd’s cheers below, Pride Witch was satisfied with her closing plot.
But the two magical girls seemed less than pleased.
A magical bullet shot toward her, piercing through her trailing hair.
“Witch!”