"Forget it. Let's look for another one."
Looking at the doll Black Jeanne had already burned to ashes, Mash, Ritsuka, and the others could only sigh helplessly before preparing to find another. Fortunately, present-day Shinjuku had no shortage of such dolls.
"Miss Black Jeanne, you handle the lookout."
This time, Mash and Ritsuka did not let Black Jeanne act. Instead, they joined forces with the three Black Arthurs to capture a doll alive. They brought it back to their base, where Black Arthur severed its limbs.
"So that's how it is." Inside the base, Shinjuku Archer nodded knowingly after examining and dissecting the doll.
"Senpai, don't look." When Shinjuku Archer was examining the doll, Ritsuka wanted to come over and see what was happening, but Mash immediately stopped her.
"Ritsuka, listen to Mash." Black Arthur spoke up from the side as well.
"There's no reason you can look while I can't. Mash, I know you're doing this for my sake. Don't worry, I can handle it." With both Mash and Black Arthur trying to persuade her, Ritsuka immediately understood roughly what was going on. She then looked firmly at Mash. Feeling Ritsuka's resolve, Mash stepped aside.
The moment she saw the doll's condition, Ritsuka's face turned deathly pale. Her lips trembled as though she were about to vomit, but she ultimately forced it down.
"Senpai." Mash immediately looked at Ritsuka with concern, stepped forward, and grabbed her shoulders.
"I'm fine, Mash." Pale-faced, Ritsuka gave Mash a gentle smile.
After everything she had gone through on the journey to restore humanity, Fujimaru Ritsuka had seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Ordinary horrors no longer affected her much. But this doll was different, because the mask on its face had been opened, revealing what lay inside: a human brain.
Even