Thanks for dender104, Ashura and Slashdog1793 for becoming as Supporters!
===BREAK===
The Golden Hour.
"What's going on?"
Firefly sensed the sudden upheaval in this place and immediately snapped out of her daze.
She had just been sitting there, enjoying a brief moment of peace, when she accidentally slipped into a vacant, thoughtless state.
She stood up and looked down from the rooftop.
The entire Golden Hour appeared unusually deserted, as though only three people remained.
Silver Wolf, Sol Mercer, and a red-clad girl—along with hundreds upon thousands of chibi dolls.
…Oh. So, they're fighting.
Firefly hesitated slightly. At a time like this, what should she do?
She didn't recognize the red-clad girl, and she had just received partial information about Sol Mercer from Kafka.
At this moment, it didn't really seem appropriate to help either side.
Firefly relaxed her body, leaned against the balcony railing, and quietly looked down.
She would watch first, then act once she understood the situation.
"Miss, may I ask if you know what's happening here?"
An Emanator of Remembrance draped in purple gauze appeared beside Firefly and asked curiously.
"?" Firefly was briefly puzzled, then shook her head apologetically. "Sorry, I was a bit lost in thought just now, so I don't really know what's going on."
"What a pity. To miss the origin of such a splendid memory means that this otherwise priceless recollection will inevitably be discounted."
The Remembrance Emanator sighed softly, then stood beside Firefly. "My name is Black Swan, an Emanator of Remembrance of the Garden of Recollection. This beautiful lady—would you mind if I admired this scene together with you?"
"Mm."
Firefly nodded and shifted slightly to make some space.
Black Swan looked down at the people below with intense focus.
She hadn't originally been at the Golden Hour, but had been following that Stellaron girl to record her remarkable life.
Yet the strange fluctuations of memetic matter here suddenly caught her attention, so she slipped in during the final moment of chaos.
Although it seemed she couldn't leave now, at least she hadn't missed a spectacular battle.
Fortunately. Fortunately indeed.
…
At the same time.
Within the area where Sol Mercer, Sparkle, and Silver Wolf stood, thousands of Sparkle dolls appeared throughout the streets.
Some were thirty-centimeter plush toys, others were half-meter wooden puppets, and there were even gigantic fifty-meter-tall Sparkle colossi.
Their bodies trembled as they emitted all kinds of noisy chatter, turning what should have been a tense and serious battle into something resembling a lively cartoon.
Sparkle herself had vanished, having transformed into something hidden in the shadows—possibly any one of the Sparkle dolls, or perhaps even a trash can.
"So, the Masked Fool does have a few tricks up her sleeve."
Silver Wolf clicked her tongue in amazement as she looked at the dolls filling the street.
With her level of perception, she still couldn't locate Sparkle's true body—it was a perfect concealment.
Sol looked at the indistinguishable dolls before him. Not only was he unflustered, he even smiled. "The dolls haven't disappeared, which means she's still here."
This was also his first time using such confinement techniques, and even against a Masked Fool renowned for cunning, he didn't have absolute certainty.
But the Sparkle dolls scattered everywhere proved that Sparkle hadn't found a way to escape—this was nothing more than a turtle trapped in a jar.
Of course, there was another possibility: Sparkle did have a way out, but was deliberately staying inside to toy with him. If that were the case, he'd have to act a bit foolish to see if he could lure her out.
However, based on his instincts and judgment, the first possibility was far more likely. A Pathstrider of Elation shouldn't be that absurdly powerful—unless Aha personally descended.
"Mr. Sol, can't you really let me go?"
Sparkle's voice echoed from all directions, seemingly everywhere at once. "I was so sincere when I apologized."
"Was that so? I didn't see any sincerity at all."
Sol Mercer remained unmoved, his gaze sweeping across the many Sparkle dolls. "If you surrender now, I guarantee humane treatment—two fewer ropes, at least."
He reached out toward one suspicious doll, only for it to explode into a shower of streamers and sparks, along with four words reading "Thank you for your patronage."
Heh. Truly shameless.
"Wrong one, you dummy!"
"Come catch me—catch me and I'll let you hehehehe!"
Sparkle's coquettish voice echoed throughout the space, brimming with confidence.
At the same time, at the edge of the Golden Hour, dozens of dolls bounced around but never managed to leave the dreamscape.
Then, as if out of sheer frustration, several dozen dolls self-destructed.
Aside from producing smoke, they achieved no real effect.
Sol's methods were… rather troublesome.
…
A Sparkle doll wearing a mask at its waist frowned slightly, unease creeping into her heart. Am I really going to fail here today?
Sparkle swallowed lightly. While continuing to test escape routes at the boundary, she simultaneously manipulated the Sparkle dolls to keep Sol Mercer occupied on the other side.
At that moment, Sol sensed the disturbance at the edge of the barrier, and his heart settled.
As expected, the little troublemaker couldn't escape. Next would be a simple process of elimination.
"Dolls one through ten, go harass that guy and slow him down!"
"All other Sparkle dolls, attention—form ranks!"
A Sparkle plush stood atop a trash can and shouted commands at the top of its voice.
"Unit 1, acknowledged!"
"Unit 2, acknowledged!"
…
"Unit 1424, acknowledged!"
A cascade of voices rang out as countless little Sparkles responded in unison.
Several Sparkle dolls blocked the path before Sol Mercer and Silver Wolf, enthusiastically hurling spherical bombs.
Each one was condensed from imaginary energy, and their explosive power was considerable.
Boom boom boom!
Sol dispersed several with a single slap, his expression unchanged, casually suppressing a few Sparkle dolls and reducing them to dissipating smoke.
Meanwhile, the Sparkle doll army on the other side completed its formation.
They assembled into a neat square formation, well-proportioned from large to small.
Standing atop the trash can, the commander doll looked spirited and proud, hands on hips as it shouted at Sol Mercer, "See that? Our four thousand Sparkle doll army is fully assembled—why aren't you surrendering yet?!"
"That's right! That's right!"
The Sparkle doll army roared in unison.
Buoyed by their perceived superiority, the commander doll didn't wait for Sol's response. Waving its baton, it shouted, "Advance from the east and west! Flank from north and south! Fancy equipment—everyone load ammunition!"
"Strike from head to tail, make it bloom at the center! If we fail, then strategic retreat!"
It waved both hands wildly, crossing left and right, instantly plunging the entire doll legion into utter chaos.
"Stop issuing random commands, there are too many orders—we can't process them all!"
Several Sparkle dolls protested loudly.
"What are you saying?!"
The commander doll barked back.
"I said, brilliant command, sir!"
The protesting dolls immediately changed their tune.
"Mmm~" The commander doll nodded in satisfaction, then shouted excitedly, "Four thousand versus two—advantage is ours! Artillery Sparkles, advance five meters and prepare for battle!"
"Attack! Attack! Attack!"
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa