Ch.251Chapter 251 – Doll (1)

Threads of magical energy extended from Phobia’s fingertips.

The threads burrowed into the ground, and soon her dolls hidden beneath the earth began to emerge.

They were mostly humans and elves, along with some humans who had animal ears protruding from their heads.

Their attire lacked uniformity, but at a glance, they appeared to be merchants or adventurers.

“Sorry~ It’s just so hard to properly source materials in the dwarven kingdom. All that isolationism and whatnot, I really hate it~.”

Phobia said with a bright smile.

“Even these were gathered by searching throughout the entire country. I’ll apologize if you’re not impressed.”

Phobia spoke with a casual smile.

I immediately gripped my halberd tighter and quietly asked.

“…The entire country?”

“Yes, the entire country.”

Phobia replied with a smile.

Then Eve pointed her sword at Phobia and asked.

“How did you get here?”

“I waited.”

Phobia answered with a smile.

“Not exactly here, but I wanted to meet him. So I spread my dolls at every convergence point.”

Phobia continued, still smiling.

“So that I could rush to wherever he appeared.”

With a bright smile, she pointed at me.

“If you’re the one I’ve seen before. If you’re the one who appeared in Sestas, and then in Albheim. I thought you would surely come running to resolve this situation.”

Phobia’s mouth curved into a delighted arc.

A bit of saliva dripped from the corner of her mouth.

“Just like a hero from an old tale. I believed you would appear with your companions.”

It was all just coincidence and scheduled contracts.

Grumbling a bit about causing such a strange misunderstanding, I asked Phobia.

“How long have you been waiting for me?”

“Right after the Demon Lord was summoned, would that make sense to you?”

“Why me?”

Phobia smiled slyly and said.

“That day, I couldn’t get the image of you fighting the Demon Lord out of my head. Yes, you were so cool. So beautiful.”

“…Beautiful, you say?”

“Yes, beautiful.”

Phobia said, her face flushing.

“With so little lifespan left, yet burning that lifespan to fight the Demon Lord—if that’s not beautiful, what is?”

Phobia’s face reddened as she drooled, seemingly both embarrassed and unable to contain herself.

“I told you before. I hate it when beautiful things are consumed in an instant.”

“……”

“So, I came straight from Albheim.”

Phobia reached her hand toward me and said.

“To make you my doll.”

Phobia lowered her head slightly, as if embarrassed.

“To make a beautiful person like you mine forever.”

—BOOM!!

At that moment, an explosion occurred near Phobia’s face.

Smoke enveloped her, and Sera, in a throwing stance, said with a sheepish expression.

“My hand slipped.”

“Well done, Miss Seraphina.”

I was slightly bewildered watching Eve calmly praise Sera.

Then, looking back at Phobia, I saw her lowering her arm with a smile.

“What a cute bomb. Are you throwing a tantrum?”

Looking closely, I could see threads forming a web-like pattern attached to the back of her hand.

She must have used that to block the explosion.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to make that man over there, and those ladies, and the ladies who aren’t here—I’ll make all of you mine.”

Phobia spoke with a composed face.

I glanced at Eve and Sera, who were wearing extremely angry expressions, and was just preparing to lunge at Phobia when—

“…I have something to ask you.”

“Oh my?”

Mask stepped forward and addressed Phobia.

Soon Phobia’s eyes widened in surprise, and she quietly asked.

“Why are you here?”

“Let’s just say various things happened, fellow kin.”

Mask spoke calmly.

Then she planted her greatsword in the ground and said to Phobia.

“…Judging by your attire, you seem to belong to the Emiris Order. So let me ask you.”

Mask quietly gestured around and said.

“Are those golems outside your work?”

“Yes.”

Phobia answered with displeasure.

“I dislike things that aren’t beautiful.”

“Not beautiful?”

“The dwarves, I mean.”

Phobia said quietly.

“They don’t meet my standards at all. They’re not very beautiful. Honestly, I didn’t want to make dolls out of them.”

“…So that’s why there are no dwarves among your dolls.”

“Yes. But materials are materials, there are plenty of uses beyond just dolls.”

Phobia said this while pulling something out from inside her clothes.

It was a purple crystal, now quite familiar to my eyes.

“So I used this to make corpse golems. It’s not bad to have minions to do your bidding, right?”

“…So Kei was right about the Emiris Order being behind this.”

“Well, yes?”

Phobia answered with a smile.

“Somnus and I made these crystals together.”

“…You’re the creator?”

“Yes.”

Phobia answered Sera’s question with a smile.

“Of course, we had to run several tests. The ability to merge undead into golems was a byproduct discovered during the development process.”

“…A byproduct.”

“Yes, a byproduct. So it was perfect.”

Phobia spread her hands and said.

“Perfect for recycling things that aren’t beautiful.”

Phobia finished speaking.

Then Mask quietly asked again.

“…Don’t you feel any guilt?”

“Is that necessary?”

Phobia said with a smile.

“Isn’t it better for the world to have more beautiful dolls than dirty things?”

Mask sighed and drew her sword.

“That woman has crossed a line from which there’s no return.”

“I know.”

It was something I had noticed when I met that woman in Sestas.

That she was insane.

“…What kind of past could have made her like this?”

“Whatever her past, it doesn’t make her crimes any lighter.”

Mask nodded somewhat bitterly at my words and raised her greatsword.

And Phobia gradually stopped smiling and said.

“I think we’ve talked too much.”

Phobia wiggled her fingers.

“Now, here I come!”

Soon her dolls began to move nimbly.

And as if receiving her command, the surrounding corpse golems began to charge.

“I’ll handle the puppeteer!”

Mask immediately rushed toward the corpse golems.

With each swing, the golems were helplessly bisected.

I easily deflected an attacking doll’s strike with my fist and used my halberd to cut down several more.

Just as I was about to rush toward Phobia, someone else charged at her first, as if anticipating my move.

“Here I go.”

Eve immediately swung her sword.

Phobia, now fighting Eve alone, used her threads to catch and deflect Eve’s sword.

Then, as if spotting a momentary opening, she smiled and shouted.

“You first!”

“Do you think that will work?”

As if already knowing where the threads would fly, Eve avoided and cut through Phobia’s threads with minimal movement.

“Not bad?! So that’s why you were so eager to fight me!”

Phobia laughed with delight.

Then she turned to the elf she had been dragging along and said.

“Now it’s your turn!”

“Ugh… uuuuugh…!”

For some reason, the red-haired elf who hadn’t spoken a word stood up.

The elf immediately charged at Eve bare-handed, and Eve, slightly furrowing her brow, swung her sword to cut down the elf.

Or rather, she tried to.

—Clang!

“…Claws?”

Suddenly, sharp claws grew from the elf.

Made of who knows what material, the claws easily blocked Eve’s sword.

Then as the elf swung its arm, Eve couldn’t withstand it and was sent flying backward.

“Tch!”

Eve, who was trying to land properly, quickly brought her sword forward.

And as if on cue, the red-haired elf pounced on top of Eve and swung its claws.

Because of the sword she had brought forward, the claws couldn’t scratch Eve, but in return, Eve couldn’t execute a proper landing technique and had to fall on her back.

“Ugh!”

“Diiiiieeee!!!”

The red-haired elf swung its claws while crying.

However, those claws never reached Eve.

—Clang!

I had immediately moved to where Eve was falling and blocked the claws with my halberd.

I kicked the elf in the abdomen to knock it away, then cut down the dolls that were rushing at Eve from another direction.

Then I shouted to Eve.

“Eve, fall back!”

“No, I’ll handle this!”

Eve said as she got up.

“You’re the one who shouldn’t push yourself! So…”

“Just get out of here first!”

In the brief moment it took to retrieve Eve, we were already being surrounded.

I immediately swung my halberd, grabbed Eve by the waist, and retreated slightly.

Sera, who had somehow approached us after watching our movements from afar, extended her staff forward, and the legs of the charging dolls began to sink into the ground that had suddenly turned into a swamp.

“Kei!”

At Sera’s shout, I pulled my halberd back and threw it with all my might.

The halberd spun fiercely like a boomerang, flying toward the enemies and bisecting the dolls.

The upper bodies of the dolls fell lifelessly to the ground, and Phobia laughed loudly.

“I have more friends!”

Phobia’s threads went into the ground.

Then, breaking through the earth, huge teeth began to emerge.

—Groooooar

Soon a massive monster appeared, shattering the ground.

With powerful jaws and a tail.

Standing firmly on two muscular legs, I couldn’t help but say:

“…A Tyrannosaurus?”

“It’s a Tyrant Rex!”

“What the—it’s several times the normal size, where did it—!”

While Sera was shouting in surprise, a giant wolf and lizard also appeared from beneath the Tyrannosaurus’s feet.

Looking closely, each one had some kind of mark around its neck.

“Could those be…”

“…I hope those aren’t the livestock Miss Lorona was raising.”

Eve muttered with dismay, but they certainly looked like some of Lorona’s livestock.

And beneath their feet, more dolls made from adventurers and merchants appeared again.

Glancing behind, I saw that the number of corpse golems rushing at Mask had also increased.

“We need to target the puppeteer or this won’t end!”

Sera was right.

If we didn’t do something about Phobia immediately, we would be crushed by the dolls she was summoning.

At this rate, we would be pushed back.

‘If we’re pushed back?’

I turned to look at Eve and Sera who were guarding the surroundings.

Yes, these two would be in the most danger.

And Mask, who was fighting brilliantly right behind us, would also be in danger.

Even Lorona and Lirina in the distance wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.

And in my mind, I pictured them getting hurt.

‘I don’t want that.’

I don’t want them to get hurt.

I immediately focused my mind and gathered magical power.

I summoned that power that could protect everyone.

As white armor began to form over my body, Eve and Sera widened their eyes and shouted.

“Kei, wait…!”

“Kei!”

They were shouting like that to stop me.

They were clearly trying to stop me out of concern for my life.

But my body was already covered in the white dragon armor.

“Here I go.”

I immediately spread my wings, summoned magic swords in both arms, and charged at the dolls.

I flew while slaughtering enemies with the swords in both arms, recovered my halberd from the ground, and swung it as I flew.

Breaking through the encirclement of dolls, I swung my weapon through the army of corpse golems that Mask was holding back, cutting down everything in my path.

“Good, good!! This is it, this is it!!”

Despite her dolls and forces being greatly reduced, Phobia’s excited voice could be heard.

After smashing an approaching doll, I looked at Phobia with Eve and Sera behind me.

“This form, I’ve been waiting for it!!”

Phobia had an ecstatic expression, her hands pressed against her cheeks.

The greed and madness in her eyes were undisguised.

“It’s you. It’s you. It’s you. It’s you.”

Her fingers on her cheeks moved like caterpillars.

Each finger moved independently, adding to the grotesqueness.

“I will make you my doll above all else!!!!!”

Her voice, filled with madness, spread throughout the area.

Her dolls began to rattle violently.