Chapter 230
Chapter 230
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 230
Chapter Title: The Mayoral Election and the Round House (8)
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Clang!
Dozens of knives flew from the woman’s body as she was sent flying, clattering loudly as they hit the floor.
Was it because of her large frame? The number of knives scattered on the ground was unusually high.
I’m still worried about Raven, so it would be great if this was the end of it.
As if to betray my hopes, the woman pushed herself up from the floor.
The speed of her knives was already unusual, but was her body also tougher than I thought?
Still, it seemed she wasn't unharmed; she staggered heavily as she stood.
It looked like my strike to her abdomen had definitely been effective.
*...I see, so that's what it is.*
As the woman righted her posture, I finally understood the source of the unease I’d been feeling.
Why couldn't my heightened senses, sharpened by my enhanced athletic state, detect her presence?
Why had she, neither a robot nor a corpse, not blinked even once?
And why, inside her body where organs should be, did I only feel hard metal and knives?
Drawing on my knowledge of the original story, the answer was simple.
She wasn't human... but an automaton powered by a mana engine!
*Not a robot, not a corpse, but a doll... I really didn't see this coming.*
The Dollkin, also known by the nickname Creepy Dolls.
They were a metahuman race where each individual possessed a distinct personality and could even reproduce through some unknown means.
Their most significant trait was the existence of a supreme being known as a Masterpiece.
With her will alone, she could command all Dollkin as she pleased.
You could compare it to the relationship between a queen ant and her soldier or worker ants.
Their ability to move without eating gave them incredible stamina, and their automaton-like toughness made them quite strong.
*No wonder the number of knives seemed strange. She was storing them inside her body.*
I-I thought it was a magic trick...! I was completely fooled!
I pressed my lips together and glared at the doll woman who had shattered my childhood innocence.
Meeting my gaze, she, who had been wary of me, tilted her head slightly as if she didn't understand my intent.
I wasn't in the mood to explain, so I simply answered by turning my head away with a huff.
*But this is strange. The Dollkin aren't supposed to appear until a year from now, in Part 2... If she came looking for the Black Anchor, does that mean she's joined the Metahuman Liberation Army?*
...Well, on second thought, it wasn't that strange.
They were already collaborating with the Invaders, who were supposed to become active much later.
They must have secured the Dollkin's Masterpiece somewhere and added her to their forces.
This was a bit of a problem.
The Metahuman Liberation Army had grown stronger than in the original story, while the Fixers had grown weaker with Tempest's departure.
I had a feeling the upcoming war between the Liberation Army and the Fixers might not go as smoothly as I’d expected.
I might have to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
As I was thinking this, breaking out in a cold sweat internally...
The doll woman, who was touching her own neck, suddenly made a strange sound, as if she were being choked.
“Ghh, gk...”
“...?”
Had the blow I'd landed made her unable to speak properly?
She crossed her arms, looking somewhat troubled as she tapped her lips.
Soon, the woman stroked the exact spot where my fist had connected.
Then, she suddenly sharpened her hand and stabbed herself right in the abdomen!
“...Hiek!”
“Aah!”
“Wha-what...!”
Surprised reactions erupted from the people watching from behind cover.
Self-harm. It was an act that startled even me, who had been watching her intently, determined not to let my guard down.
But regardless of the reactions around her...
She calmly fiddled with something inside her abdomen, and after a few seconds, she spoke again.
“Ah, ah... Ahem, can you hear me well?”
“...”
“To think you destroyed my vocal device in a single blow. I truly didn't expect that. For a beautiful young lady, you certainly handle people roughly.”
“Eeeh...”
It seemed the doll woman had repaired the broken device inside her own body.
So she really was an artificial lifeform whose organs were made of magical mechanisms.
Still, just by looking at her, she was almost indistinguishable from a human.
I really wish she wouldn't do things like that. It’s going to give me nightmares.
*...Phew, anyway. I've got a grasp of my opponent's level now. She's about on par with Alice, or maybe slightly weaker. Roughly on the level of the Seven Extremes' Royal Guard.*
Unable to hide my momentary shock, I slowly calmed my emotions and thought rationally.
In truth, I was just surprised by the sudden appearance of a Dollkin; her strength itself wasn't all that impressive.
She was nowhere near the level of the Seven Extremes, of course. Maybe she was comparable to their guards.
By Fixer standards, she was close to a lower-ranked Double-Number Fixer.
In other words, an opponent I could beat quickly if I got serious and used my psychokinesis.
On top of that, since her fighting style was limited to throwing knives, the matchup was overwhelmingly in my favor.
*But I think I can manage without it for now. Besides, there's something I want to try.*
I kicked up two of the knives scattered on the floor with the tip of my foot.
Then, I skillfully caught the spinning knives, one in each hand.
The so-called dual-wielding table knife style, I suppose.
Perhaps because I'd watched the dual-wielding Alice for so long, I had a rough idea of how to hold my stance.
“It won't happen a second time. I will not let my guard down again.”
“Hmph.”
Having taken a clean hit, the doll woman had no choice but to be wary of me now.
She didn't throw her knives rashly, instead watching my movements quietly.
Dollkin are generally level-headed. She probably considered me stronger than her.
So perhaps... her next move would be an attack meant to inflict definite damage, even if it meant taking some herself.
*Please, I hope you do just that!*
I lowered my stance so much that it looked like I might fall over.
My body right now wasn't just stronger; it was as flexible as a mollusk's.
Power comes from muscle, but posture comes from flexibility.
My body, tilted to its limit, shot toward the doll woman like a bullet.
“Try and knock this away like you did before!”
“...!”
Of course, the woman, who would be at a disadvantage if I closed the distance, wasn't just going to wait.
She threw her knives in a much denser pattern, impossible to deflect like before.
However, a higher density of the same attack meant more room to dodge.
I kicked off the ground hard, circling counter-clockwise around her to evade the attack.
But the knives were just too fast. I couldn't dodge them all just by running.
So, I took temporary refuge behind the cover where the people were hiding.
The people who suddenly experienced dozens of knives flying at their hiding spot were naturally terrified.
But maybe they realized I was fighting and bleeding for them. They even started to cheer for me timidly.
“G-Go for it...”
“You have to take her down!”
“...Yeah.”
After receiving such enthusiastic cheers, I couldn't afford a pathetic defeat.
I touched the inside of my pocket, my eyes quietly gleaming.
A few seconds later, I burst out from behind the thick pillar.
And ‘I’ reached right in front of the doll woman, knives in both hands.
At this rate, it wouldn't be strange for her to be diced to pieces by my knives.
But even in this touch-and-go crisis, she remained perfectly calm, her expression unchanging.
Was she planning on letting herself be stabbed?
Rather, as if she had been waiting for this very moment, she simply spread her arms wide.
“Iron Maiden.”
“...!”
Shlick!
Blades burst through the doll woman's skin, erupting from the inside out all over her body.
She had become a living weapon, capable of killing someone with any part of her body.
It was an unexpected attack that I couldn't possibly counter with just two knives.
Seeing ‘me’ frozen in shock, the woman must have seen her chance. She pulled ‘me’ into a tight embrace, like a hug.
Like the ancient torture device of the same name, what followed was a truly gruesome sight.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
“Y-Yuria!”
A fountain of blood erupted from ‘me’ as I was enveloped by dozens of blades.
The process of being hacked to pieces by blades all over was a sight that would make anyone’s heart drop, even from a distance.
The blades were sharp enough to cut my skin, no matter how tough I’d become, so this was truly dangerous.
Well... I'm not an idiot. There was no way I'd fall for something so obvious.
“...Hup!”
“K-huk!”
Having secretly clung to the ceiling, I brought both hands together and slammed them down on the crown of the doll woman's head.
I guess she never imagined that the opponent she thought she'd defeated would suddenly drop down from above.
Unable to even react properly, her eyes rolled back as she pitched forward and collapsed.
And at almost the same time, the ‘me’ held in the doll woman's embrace distorted and vanished.
In its place, a crescent-shaped stone—Crescent—fell and rolled across the floor.
“H-how... I-I definitely... embraced you...”
“...”
Shaken from the blow to her head, the doll woman trembled as she looked up at me.
It seemed she had no idea that the moment I hid behind the pillar, I'd had Crescent imitate me.
Of course, I had no need or obligation to tell her that.
So, I just shrugged nonchalantly as if I didn't know what she was talking about and retrieved Crescent from the floor.
*Crescent, you did great.*
[ Y-Yes...! ]
Was Crescent that happy with my praise?
Its voice was filled with an excitement that was impossible to miss.
I, on the other hand, had learned that while it couldn't mimic psychic powers, it could mimic physical abilities.
If anything, I should be the one who's more excited.
[ *I'm so jealous. I want to become Mama too. Do something, Crescent!* ]
[ *Th-that's... I'm sorry...!* ]
[ *Waaah!* ]
Meanwhile, Tesseract seemed to want to transform into me.
It whined to Crescent. It didn't seem possible, though.
The doll woman, having taken a solid blow to the head, could no longer maintain consciousness.
Her eyes closed and her body went limp. Perhaps the blades that had pierced her own skin had had an adverse effect.
I'll have to leave her interrogation... to Raven.
I raised my hand high and waved to the people hiding nearby, letting them know the situation was over.
Then, amidst the sighs of relief from all around, I once again looked out the window.
It seemed all I could do was pray that things over there would end safely.