Kill! Kill! Kill!
Felix's vicious grin was seared into the eyes of everyone present.
There was no hiding it now, no covering it up.
His family would disown him over a scandal like this.
Where did they get their information? How did they know he killed Lisette?
His teeth ground together, thoughts racing through his mind.
Silence them. Yes, there weren't that many people here. If he just killed them all, the truth would never get out.
That new student didn't have her doll with her, and the disciplinary committee members nearby were all worthless trash.
If he could just take down the only one capable of putting up a fight, he'd have nothing to worry about.
He poured his magical energy fiercely into Eliza, who stood before him, and her magic circuits activated.
In the next instant, a light bloomed from the longsword in the doll's hand.
It was the glint of moonlight reflecting off water.
A stream of water shot forth like an arrow, morphing into a sharp lance aimed directly at Charlotte's forehead.
Seeing his attack about to land, the smile on Felix's face grew even more savage.
Just then, a flash of white light appeared before his eyes as a silvery-white creature materialized in front of Charlotte.
The speeding water column slammed into the suddenly-appeared silvery shell.
Splash—
Water sprayed everywhere, the once fierce jet now pattering powerlessly against the mercury-coated exterior.
Like a misbehaving child cowed by an adult, the murderous current turned into a gentle trickle, slowly sliding down the metallic shell.
"Sigmund!"
As Charlotte's sharp cry rang out, the silvery object raised its head, revealing it was indeed Sigmund, now encased in mercury.
Dark magical energy erupted from within Sigmund, and amidst this black mist, the young dragon's form began to grow.
Felix stared, dumbfounded, at the expanding steel dragon before him. He'd never seen this move before.
Moonlight pierced the clouds, the pale, blue-white illumination lighting up the ground and the steel dragon now standing tall upon it.
However, the dragon's size wasn't as immense as before. This was Sigmund's speed mode, sacrificing some firepower for greater mobility.
Sigmund beat his wings violently, whipping up a gale that sent the surrounding disciplinary committee members flying.
They seemed slow to react, tumbling head over heels into the clusters of trees.
Sigmund immediately swung his claw down towards Eliza.
Meeting his attack was a relentless barrage of watery lances from Eliza.
The jets of water, like machine-gun fire, slammed into Sigmund's face, easily piercing through the surrounding trees.
But he paid them no mind, taking all the 'bullets' on his face as his massive claw descended with speed.
BOOM—
Dust plumed into the air. Eliza, grabbing Felix, dashed out from the side.
Sigmund slowly raised his great claw, revealing a massive crater in the earth.
The water Eliza had just fired was now trickling slowly down Sigmund's outer shell.
The flow, carrying the surrounding white snow, began to seep into the newly formed pit.
Alice glanced at the small stream that had just formed at her feet, her brow smoothing slightly.
Without turning her head, she spoke to the disciplinary committee members scattered around, lying on their backs.
"Leave, if you don't want to die."
"But..."
"You'll just get in the way here!" Charlotte, busy controlling Sigmund, shouted over as well.
The silvery dragon beat its wings, lifting off to pursue the fleeing Eliza.
The airflow from Sigmund's wings gently stirred Alice's hair.
She stood her ground, her cherry lips parting slightly as she began to hum a tune leisurely.
"London Bridge is falling down, falling down..."
The pleasant melody echoed through the woods.
Charlotte blinked in confusion. Was this Alice's magecraft?
Having come to know Alice quite well, Charlotte didn't think she was just doing something pointless.
Listening to the nursery rhyme, she turned her gaze to the battlefield nearby.
Having tossed Felix aside, Eliza faced Sigmund, raised her longsword, and water swirled around her.
She stomped hard on the ground, propelling herself into the air, closing in on Sigmund rapidly.
The 'Cursed Sword' was peerless in power, but Sigmund lacked mobility.
In close combat, the 'Cursed Sword' wouldn't be easy to land.
Felix laughed, taunting as he shouted, "Can you even keep up with Eliza's speed?"
Even though Charlotte had revealed something new, he still didn't believe he would lose.
He planned to quickly acquire the 'Cursed Sword' circuit, then hunt down and destroy every one of those fleeing committee members.
A wild smirk twisted his lips as Felix awaited his certain victory.
Eliza arrived instantly at Sigmund's underbelly, thrusting her sword upward fiercely.
Faced with this swift strike, the medium-sized dragon merely glanced down.
Then, with seemingly effortless ease, it took a single step to the side, evading the attack.
How was this possible?!
Felix's eyes widened in shock, a mirrored expression of astonishment on Eliza's face.
Sigmund, who supposedly lacked mobility, had just dodged her attack.
She raised her hand again, water surging forth, but in that very instant, Sigmund turned his head, a white-gold light flickering in his mouth.
"A foolish decision!" Felix snarled, his grin vicious. "At this range, how could a 'Cursed Sword' possibly hit?"
He knew the importance of mentality in battle. Seeing this seemingly impossible shot about to be fired, he didn't hesitate to open his mouth. "You blonde tsundere, you really are still—"
"Flash Burst!"
Utterly different from the usual 'Cursed Sword' technique, a scatter-shot barrage of light pellets shot from Sigmund's mouth.
Countless needle-thin rays of light scattered, raining down over Eliza's entire body.
The pellets exploded mid-air, engulfing everything nearby in the blast.
No amount of speed could evade a full-screen attack. The magical energy Eliza used for defense vanished instantly, and she plummeted powerlessly to the ground.
"This young lady doesn't make the same mistake twice!"
Charlotte swung her hand down sharply, commanding Sigmund to deliver the final blow.
Suigintou had used similar tactics against Sigmund before.
Analyze the reason for defeat, devise a new strategy.
She'd even developed a new application for the 'Cursed Sword'.
The same trick wouldn't work on her twice.
A pale, blue-white magical energy surged from within Charlotte, a light akin to moonlight enveloping the golden-haired girl.
The moon in the sky shone upon the dragon, the moon on the earth supported the dragon.
"Beam Cannon!"
Lines resembling weapon charging sequences appeared along Sigmund's neck, crawling upward to converge in his mouth.
A white-gold brilliance erupted, shooting towards Eliza on the ground.
A metallic clashing sound rang out. Something chain-like, gleaming with a silvery-white luster, wrapped around a distant tree and pulled taut.
Charlotte recognized this magecraft. It was the same used by the doll targeted by the Mage-Killer at the end.
Eliza shot past the beam of light, rushing straight for Alice.
Using multiple types of magecraft, and all ones they'd seen before.
It was confirmed. Felix's attack had a specific purpose.
Calmly, Charlotte manipulated Sigmund to turn and give chase.
The chains pulled Eliza, sending her flying towards the black-haired girl.
But the dark-haired girl in the distance acted as if she saw nothing, continuing to hum her song.
'I never thought she had this move up her sleeve... Hard to deal with head-on...'
'Then I'll take a hostage!'
Felix glanced at the distant Charlotte. Since she was the type to buy back the magic circuits of her old dolls, she surely wouldn't be able to ignore the safety of those around her.
The distance between Eliza and Alice closed rapidly, yet Charlotte remained focused on controlling Sigmund.
This stirred a sliver of doubt in Felix's mind.
Wasn't she going to use the 'Cursed Sword' to stop her?
Eliza flew unhindered towards Alice. The chains reached their limit, and she touched down on the ground, continuing her sprint.
Just as she was about to reach Alice, the suddenly uneven and rugged ground made her body lurch and stumble.
"...My fair lady."
The earth began to change shape, the ground started to tremble.
Soil and stones rolled in waves as something enormous began to be born.
The outer wall of the nearby concrete coliseum began to crumble, steel reinforcement and concrete being drawn into the birth of the Giant of the Bridge, Thames Troll.
The ground swelled like a rising tower, a concrete finger emerging as the giant manifested!
The Giant of the Bridge appeared between Eliza and Alice, devouring concrete as it raised its massive arm.
Moonlight was blocked out, the sky was obscured.
Eliza stared uncertainly at the suddenly appeared giant, struggling to steady herself.
She frantically released magical chains, woven from her energy, lashing out towards Alice, hoping to kill the giant's master before it fully formed.
But the giant's steadily rising form easily blocked her assault.
Sigmund's steel body also reached Eliza's side.
The giant's arm and the dragon's form intertwined, and then, they simultaneously slammed down onto Eliza.
CRAAASH—
Dirt flew. The body of the young girl automata within vanished.
In its place, a mass of white mist coiled around the giant's arm.
The sound of corroding matter echoed in the air.
This was no ordinary mist. It was a vaporized, magical solvent with dissolving properties.
Transformed into this aggressive, fluid substance, it was an unsolvable problem for dolls reliant on physical attacks.
"So this is Lisette Norton's 'White Mist'. I was saving this to use against Magnus."
A deeply malicious smile spread across Felix's face. With this move deployed, victory was assured.
He could already picture the giant being completely corroded.
And indeed, the scene matched his imagination. The giant's arm was gradually being eaten away by the white mist.
"Charlotte Belew, I'll be taking your 'Cursed Sword'—"
His words cut short as the bizarre scene before him made his jaw drop.
The concrete arm was indeed corroding, but the moment a section was destroyed, fresh concrete surged in to fill the eroded part.
The gentle moonlight spilled over what remained of the large coliseum, casting a huge shadow.
The shadow fell upon Felix's frozen face, seeming to mock his powerlessness.
The speed of corrosion simply couldn't keep up with the speed of regeneration.
The giant thrived and grew within the gas that eroded all things.
It looked down at its arm almost humanly, then slowly turned its gaze towards Felix.
That's it?
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.