The Second Round Begins

Twenty minutes later,

"Aoko."

Alice Kuonji called out, sounding slightly weary.

"Wait a moment. Let me listen to it one last time, just one last time, okay?"

Though Aozaki Aoko was shivering from the cold, she still clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture. It was rare to see her acting so coquettishly. It looked adorable, but Michael instinctively shuddered, sensing a certain malice drawing near.

"One last time."

Alice Kuonji agreed helplessly. There was nothing she could do in the face of Aoko acting cute.

"Since I can't go to this year's Live House, let me be a little selfish."

Aozaki Aoko once again wore a flattering smile. Alice Kuonji shook her head repeatedly, then could only close her eyes and wait for the next train to arrive.

The notice board said the next train would arrive in five minutes.

The sound of whimpering wind echoed through the dark tunnel. In that instant, the space of the subway station was cut off from the outside world by powerful magical energy.

--It was an artificially constructed barrier.

There were no staff in the deserted subway station, and the passages leading outside were too narrow, with only a handful of them. Even without raising a barrier, this was already a secluded enough place.

At that moment, six dark figures had appeared on the stairs leading outside at some point. But they were definitely not human shadows, because their structures and forms were nothing humans should possess.

Naked, hardened bodies, spherical joints, and faces wearing the same stiff smiles.

"No matter how slow you are, there should be a limit..."

Alice Kuonji sighed at her own oversight.

"What is it, Alice?"

"Nothing. But Aoko, didn't you notice that only you, Michael, and I got off here?"

It seemed Aoko had not noticed anything amiss either. Still, Alice herself had no standing to criticize her, nor any right to complain or blame anyone.

"A barrier was set up here long ago, like a spider's web. And we are the prey that fell into it."

Michael stood up and stretched his joints, looking utterly unconcerned.

"You noticed it already?"

Aozaki Aoko widened her eyes and looked at Michael in surprise.

"That's right. But it took so long to activate. It seems Touko has run out of patience too."

"You bastard..."

Seeing the smile on Michael's face, Aozaki Aoko gritted her teeth. She suddenly felt that trusting this guy had been a mistake, one that would sooner or later become an irreversible mistake that dragged even herself down with it.

"Enough. Stop talking nonsense."

Alice Kuonji cut them off and looked around. "Let's deal with these troublesome dolls first."

At the same time, the dolls standing on the stairs began to move. New members continuously emerged from the shadows, eventually gathering into an army of dolls.

As though they had forgotten they could walk on two feet, the dolls dropped to the ground and began crawling on all fours. They looked like spiders, gradually closing in on the prey caught in their web.

Fine, chaotic footsteps echoed through the tunnel as well. Every exit had been blocked. If they wanted to leave, the only path was to fight head-on.

"Honestly, I think Touko must be secretly rich. All these dolls put together could buy half of Misaki City."

Michael looked at the mass of dolls before him and sighed sincerely.

"They're just a pile of junk."

Aozaki Aoko snorted, clearly unimpressed by Michael's praise. The Magic Bullet Formula unfolded as she launched a tentative attack at a doll not far away.

Her Magic Bullet was effortlessly blocked by the doll's outer shell. At the very least, attacking these dolls with magical energy alone would not work.

"Dolls specialized in resisting magical energy? Looks like Touko developed these specifically to deal with you, Aoko."

Michael spoke in a slightly teasing tone. During Aozaki Aoko's earlier Magic Bullet attack, he had naturally noticed the light cast by the Rune Script beneath the dolls' outer shells.

"That woman really is..."

Aozaki Aoko increased her magical output and used the Modified Magic Bullet Formula Michael had taught her. A deep blue Magic Bullet, far more condensed than before, slammed heavily into the doll's chest. Though its magical resistance negated part of the damage, the remaining force still blasted a large hole through its outer shell and sent it flying.

"Hmph. Thinking a pile of junk can deal with me? That woman is dreaming in broad daylight."

"Stack a few more layers of the formula. Try to destroy the core in one hit."

Watching the doll that had been sent flying crawl back to its feet, Michael reminded her.

"I know."

Aozaki Aoko replied with slight impatience, but she obediently stacked several more layers of the formula as Michael had instructed. This time, the Magic Bullet blasted the doll directly into fragments that filled the air. Seeing the destroyed doll, she felt an inexplicable thrill.

If I destroy all this junk here, that woman's expression is bound to be spectacular.

With that thought, she could not help gathering even more magical energy, preparing to turn the place upside down.

"Ah..."

Watching the high-spirited Aozaki Aoko, Alice Kuonji let out a soft sigh. They had played long enough today. She suddenly missed the soft sofa and warm black tea in the mansion.

"What an idiot."

She spoke quietly. Vast magical energy surged from her slender body, and the sound of an evening bell rang underground. As though embraced by the god of the sea, the platform and every corner of this isolated space were covered in white sand.

"Let's finish this quickly. I'm rather tired."

The swarming dolls sensed something unusual and began to stir. As inhuman mystical beings, they understood far better than Aozaki Aoko just how terrifying that girl was.

--More precisely, she was a monster with the form of a girl.

Impossible to defeat.

Having reached that conclusion, the dolls prepared to retreat. After all, their creator had also told them, "If you can't win, run." But the problem was that they could no longer move, like exquisite specimens arranged after being processed.

Alice Kuonji removed her black gloves and gently folded them on the platform. As she moved, thick mist rose around them. The dolls let out mournful cries, trying to escape.

"Come, let's play a game together."

A certain will lay within the girl's cool voice. A dense stench of blood spread with her words, sending chills down the spine.