Dolls and Other Such Sinister Things

Qian Huanyue did as she said, raising her left hand and summoning her Angel.

"[Seraph of Thousand Blades]."

The Angel transformed back into the shape of a sword.

"Though I don't know where we're going, if we keep traveling through this place, perhaps we'll find that Quasi-Spirit, the 'Puppet Master.'" Qian Huanyue chuckled, spreading her hands.

"You two, come hold my hand."

"Mm!" Hii Hibiki clasped Qian Huanyue's hand.

"My, is this some new setting?" Though she said that, Kurumi reached out without hesitation. "I don't recall hand-holding being part of this before."

"Because there are still lots of places we haven't visited." Qian Huanyue smiled. "We might be doing this rather frequently from now on, so hold tight, ladies."

Tearing open a rift in space, Qian Huanyue pulled Kurumi and Hibiki into the teleportation.

In an instant, the sight before them changed into another location.

Qian Huanyue pressed the side of her palm against her forehead as though looking into the distance. "Apparently, it's not here either."

The area before them was still empty—

Oh, no.

Qian Huanyue spotted humanoid figures. They clearly were not alive, yet they looked like perfectly normal girls, making the sight strangely unsettling.

Were they dolls?

"Is that one of them, Hibiki?" Qian Huanyue pointed over there and asked.

"Those are dolls controlled by the 'Puppet Master.'" Hii Hibiki confirmed it, her expression startled as she lowered her voice warily. "They retain the memories they had in life, as well as their [Nameless Angels]."

"But they are completely controlled by the 'Puppet Master.' From the moment they become dolls, their hearts are loyal only to the 'Puppet Master.'"

As Hii Hibiki finished speaking, the doll girls seemed to notice them. They rushed over aggressively, summoning scythe-shaped [Nameless Angels].

Then, even more doll girls emerged from the shadows and from behind piles of props. Their movements were initially somewhat stiff, but they quickly became fluid as they summoned the [Nameless Angels] they had possessed in life.

They looked remarkably coordinated.

Kurumi fired a testing shot. A hole the size of a head was blasted through a doll's chest, and the Soul Crystal on her body shattered as she swiftly collapsed.

Qian Huanyue could not help letting out a little snort of laughter when she saw that. "So weak—"

They had looked so imposing, but were they really just paper tigers?

With only several flying swords of varying designs summoned, the swords' blades effortlessly chopped the dolls into fragments before Hii Hibiki's astonished eyes.

"[Seraph of Thousand Blades]."

The scene before them shifted again.

Qian Huanyue watched another group of doll girls approach with playful curiosity and sighed sincerely. "There are so many."

"Could it be that the 'Puppet Master' likes winning through sheer numbers?" Qian Huanyue tilted her head and smiled mischievously. "Then let's see who has more."

She snapped her fingers lightly, looking supremely confident.

"Go."

In an instant, while Hii Hibiki stared in utter disbelief, countless corresponding swords appeared in the air. Before the dolls could use any of their techniques, the light swords blasted every one of them to pieces.

"[Seraph of Thousand Blades]."

Qian Huanyue scratched at nonexistent sweat on her cheek, her eyes turning blank.

By now, they had taken down at least a thousand dolls.

Was the Puppet Master's ability really this disgusting?

"My," Kurumi also displayed an unusually speechless expression as she lightly nudged aside her right bangs with the barrel of her gun.

"Does this Miss Puppet Master have no ideas beyond human-wave tactics? Even I am beginning to find it somewhat... tedious."

Hii Hibiki had gone from nervousness, to shock, to admiration, and had now become somewhat numb.

"Maybe... she is just trying to exhaust our stamina and spiritual power?" Hii Hibiki guessed uncertainly.

"Exhaust our stamina?" Upon hearing that, Qian Huanyue sensed the spiritual power within her, which remained surging and had even become more active and smooth from her frequent use of her Angel. Her expression turned even subtler.

"Um... how should I put it? I don't feel anything at all."

There was no doubt that if this were a Quasi-Spirit, human-wave tactics at this level would certainly drain their spiritual power and stamina.

But she was undoubtedly a Spirit.

If the purpose had been to wear away some of their emotions, then that Quasi-Spirit had succeeded.

Qian Huanyue became exceptionally helpless and waved her hand.

"Still, every teleportation lets us eliminate one wrong answer. We should be getting closer and closer to the end point."

"And she can tirelessly create more dolls? She sure has stamina."

"..." Hii Hibiki fell silent, her face stiffening as she did not know how to respond.

"My..." Kurumi, who had learned some of the truth through the [Tenth Bullet], also fell silent.

"...These dolls are made from deceased Quasi-Spirits."

The truth quietly spoken by Kurumi instantly froze the previously somewhat lighthearted atmosphere.

"..."

The smile on Qian Huanyue's face gradually faded. Surprise flashed through her purple eyes, and after a few seconds, an exceptionally intense anger surfaced in her expression.

Whenever Qian Huanyue killed the magicians attacking her, she did so in a single strike, never leaving them in excessive pain.

That shocking number of dolls truly... truly made her uncomfortable.

If she could still face this with an easygoing attitude, Huanyue would either have a very big heart, or simply be heartless.

"Sigh—" Qian Huanyue held her forehead, feeling somewhat pained.

Calm down, calm down!

"—I have no interest in continuing to play hide-and-seek with someone who toys with the dead." Qian Huanyue's voice calmed, but her displeasure was unmistakable.

In Huanyue's imagination, as a Spirit whose combat power far exceeded anything here, she only needed to rescue Hii Hibiki's friend as if it were a game, then ask the other party to guide her around the Neighboring World.

Yet in so little time, the filter through which Qian Huanyue viewed this place had begun to crack.

Did Quasi-Spirits really have it this hard?

Croak!

That Puppet Master was practically something evil!

What a vile person.

Kurumi thoughtfully opened the [City of Devouring Time] over the ground, which seemed covered with doll fragments.

White arms stretched out from the crimson-black shadows and dragged those doll fragments inside.

Hii Hibiki could not help shuddering at the particularly horrifying sight.

"Thanks, Kurumi."

"My, it was nothing." Kurumi elegantly put away her flintlock pistol. The shadow beneath her skirt gradually settled, and she noticed Hii Hibiki's slightly pale face. A teasing curve formed at her lips. "Did that scare you, Miss Hibiki? Sometimes, complete devouring is instead a form of mercy."

Hii Hibiki shuddered instinctively, then vigorously shook her head. "No... it's just that this is the first time I've seen something like this from so close..."

As she thanked her dear friend, Huanyue reached out and covered Hii Hibiki's head with her hand, smoothing down the other girl's slightly raised ahoge. A gentle curve appeared at her lips; this kind of smile was what Huanyue did best.

"It's all right, it's all right. San-san is an incredibly kind Spirit, you know. She never kills innocents indiscriminately."

The smile at her lips as she spoke was especially warm, an honest expression that could make anyone lower their guard.

Hii Hibiki looked up at Qian Huanyue's gentle profile so close to her, feeling the warmth from the top of her head. The timid fear brought about by that bizarre scene gradually faded from her heart.

"I wasn't scared of Kurumi at all." Hii Hibiki hurriedly shook her head. "I just... have never seen such a huge spectacle before."

"Really? Hahaha—" Qian Huanyue laughed brightly. "Then I'll let you see plenty of it later, right, San-san?"

"My, being praised like that by Huanyue-chan is making me a little embarrassed." Kurumi lightly pressed the barrel of her gun beneath her chin. Shadows curled at her feet in elegant arcs before finally shrinking back to their normal size.