Project Alice-02 (5)
A surprise attack, driven straight in.
The jet-black thorn pierced OZ's face clean through.
And so a perfect face donut dangled from the darkness, swaying in place.
“......”
Of course, that was not enough to kill him.
After all, he was one of the top three key figures among the Cultists.
Flinch.
The body with its head blown through moved.
OZ freed himself from the thorn skewering him and calmly straightened his clothes.
<......>
Crrrack, crunch-!
A bizarre tearing sound rang out as the hole in his face filled in.
His flesh bubbled as if boiling, then returned to normal.
There was not the slightest hint of agitation in his movements.
Before long, OZ's voice returned, and he tossed out a casual line.
<Oh dear, that hurt, you know.>
“If it did, I'm glad.”
A reaction far too calm for someone whose head had been blown away, and a reaction far too indifferent for someone who had blown someone else's head away.
Neither side bent.
The man smiled as if imitating my mask.
His doctor's gown had returned to a clean, spotless white, without a single wrinkle.
<Hmm... since things have come to this, I suppose I will recover Miss Alice. I imagine all sorts of data have accumulated while she was released into the wild. While I am at it, I should inspect the ongoing project as well.>
“That will be difficult. Miss Alice has long since defected to our side.”
<I was not exactly asking for your agreement. I was simply informing you that I will be taking back my property.>
“That is quite a primitive statement. A father treating his daughter as property...”
<She is property. She is not my daughter, but my creation, and not human, but a monster.>
“Then I will make her mine now.”
<I have no intention of selling her.>
“I have no intention of buying.”
A payment method passed down for generations from ancient Nordic Viking warriors.
Plunder.
“She was mine from the start.”
<You seem to be quite the lunatic yourself.>
“What nonsense.”
As if anyone were as normal as me.
Grab.
Lua had already returned to my hand.
I unfolded the scythe and pointed its pitch-black tip at the man.
"Shall we kill the father-in-law, then?"
A calm declaration.
Beside me, the other team members stood in formation.
Just like us, the dark mages surrounding us on all sides were also drawing up dark mana.
OZ spoke as if disappointed.
<Oh dear... do you truly intend to try? If you handed over Miss Alice, I had planned to spare the rest of you.>
“That's fine. I won't spare you.”
<Usually, is one not supposed to say they will spare someone if they surrender?>
“Usually, yes. But you are far too awful to qualify as usual.”
<Ahaha.>
My hand searched inside my clothes.
Beyond the inventory, I grasped and pulled out something without form.
Ding-!
[Broken Crown]
-Category: Accessory
-Grade: A-
-Status: Destroyed
-Description: The crown worn by the Black Queen, sovereign of the Nightmare. Now destroyed, only her remnants remain. Can be worn for up to 5 minutes per day. When equipped, the skill 'Nightmarification' becomes available.
Pitch-black settled above my head.
The atmosphere changed completely.
The air was sucked into blackness, and dense shadows spun in place.
OZ noticed the crown floating above me and muttered.
<Hooh. That is clearly Miss Alice's...>
“Shut it.”
Puh-eok-!
The next moment, the scythe I fired severed OZ's neck.
Black blood sprayed out and drenched the floor.
Maybe that was the signal.
The standoff, stretched thin as ice, shattered.
Figures charged at one another, setting off fierce rupturing sounds.
Kwaaaang! Pajik-!
Even in the middle of that explosion, I calmly swung my scythe.
In front of me stood OZ, whose wound had already regenerated.
Dark mana writhed around him.
<Ambushing me twice? You truly have no manners at all!>
“If you fell for the same trick twice, shouldn't you blame your own stupidity?”
The two of us launched attacks at each other.
Right after, a brutal roar exploded.
Kwaaaang-!
“Whew.”
All right.
Time for the first meeting with the in-laws.
***
Viktor wearing the crown, and OZ wrapped in dark mana.
As the two beings clashed, a violent gale swept through the space.
Without giving anyone room to interfere, the two continued a razor-thin exchange of offense and defense.
“Activate. Thorn.”
Shwaaaak-!
Thorns shot out with a roar.
Their shape was vicious, but his opponent charged in without caring.
<Did I not tell you it was useless?>
Puk, puh-buh-buk-!
His body was shredded into rags.
OZ ignored it and rushed toward the boy.
Even as his body was damaged, the torn flesh healed at frightening speed.
“Tch.”
Rapid Regeneration. An annoying authority.
Viktor clicked his tongue but prepared his next attack.
His opponent also formed magic, but that was nothing the boy needed to worry about.
“Activate. Hammer.”
<Burst.>
Puh-eok-!
Both attacks landed, but only OZ's body was crushed.
The attack that had headed toward Viktor vanished without a trace.
Crrrack, crunch.
His body regenerated again with a bizarre noise.
The man stared at the boy with fascinated eyes.
<As expected... that crown contains the authority of the Black Queen.>
The nullified attack.
OZ seemed to already know about this phenomenon.
Of course he did. He was the person in charge of Project Alice.
<I would like you to hand over that crown as well. It seems worth researching.>
“You're noisy.”
<Geh.>
“Activate. Thorn.”
<Gguehk.>
Puhwaaaak-!
OZ's body exploded from the inside.
The fragments that had rained down soon wriggled and regenerated.
Viktor kept a straight face the whole time, bursting the man apart one piece at a time.
“You really are... annoying.”
<Ahaha! The world is overflowing with wonders! I will secure that crown and Miss Alice, then complete an even greater project!>
“Ha.”
Kuuung.
Scythe and magic collided.
Behind the Jester Mask, the boy wore a cold blue sneer.
OZ raised the output of his black magic to its limit.
“Try it, then. Go ahead.”
<Then I will not hold back!>
Kwaaaang-!
Under the empty ceiling, explosions rang out again and again.
Meanwhile,
while Viktor was tied down by OZ's regeneration,
“Here they come!”
the other team members were also in the middle of battle.
Black magic unfolded everywhere, and chimeras surrounded them.
<Gilhgilhgilhgilhgilhgilh>
<Sekssekssekssekssek>
<Milmilmilmilmil>
Beyond the writhing monsters, Cultist members commanded the formation.
A few of them directly formed black magic and aimed at the children.
As OZ had mentioned, they meant to recover their target.
Anything that got in the way would be annihilated.
The deeper the shadows fell over the children, the more fiercely they fought off the Cultists.
“Fuck! These bastards never end...!”
“Something big is coming from behind!”
"This one shall stop it...!"
Kwaaaang-!
The ceiling was so high its end could not even be guessed.
Beneath it, bursts of air exploded and echoed.
Every one of the children was busy defending the front line.
“Dame Saeugang, you must conserve your Stamina! If you overdo it, you'll collapse from exhaustion like before...!”
“Damn it! I know that, okay? I'm already starting to hit my limit...!”
“Everyone, focus. Each of them does not seem particularly strong.”
“The problem is that they're not alone! The numbers are this bad, and with the Stamina we have left, suppressing all of them is...”
Pajijik! Puh-eok-!
Blood sprayed, and current flashed.
From time to time, a spear of pure white light crossed the space.
Dozens of chimeras were shredded each time, but it was nowhere near enough to reduce their numbers.
“They're coming from behind too!”
“Shit... kill them and they refill, kill them and they refill. Over and over!”
“Blond child! Can you keep swinging that radiance?”
“No. Five more times is my limit.”
Shwaaaak-!
At the center of the battlefield, where flesh lay scattered and death writhed.
Caitlin electrocuted nearby enemies and burned them away.
Carmilla spread Bloodcraft and tore apart the Cultists' black magic.
Ranne gathered radiance and swept away the army with wide-range attacks.
“Over here, I think we need help...!”
“Hold them there.”
“Huuup...!”
Kuuuung-!
In the constantly unfolding chaos, there was only one person being protected.
Only the gloom of black hair hung over her slender shoulders.
'Ah.'
Her consciousness had been driven to the brink of collapse.
Alice sat there precariously, treading the boundary of dreams.
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