ADOR'GHEHENNA!
───BOOM!
Multiple black stars sparkled the air before a resounding explosion was made. Even with such a thunderous impact, no smoke could be seen.
Countless dolls filled the skies above.
Yet, there was no panic in their faces.
"Alright, listen up girls. Ayame, Isami—you both know what to do. Tonami, guard Hibiki with everything you've got."
"The rest. You're with me. And you, Sheri—that move from before. Can you do it again?"
Sheri: "Yes!"
Ikari nodded, and the moment he said that—battle fully broke out.
The dolls coming down from the sky easily went beyond hundreds, with their sheer numbers alone blocking the sky.
"You both. Lend me your strength again."
"
The two halves of the celestial clock once again appeared behind him.
Because both
The twelfth and sixth powers of both Angel and Demon King respectively were, in a sense, in a locked state which only by borrowing the two powers could he activate it.
"
One of the first half of
Then, having located and received the coordinates—transferring them over wasn't a problem.
With Ayame and Isami gone, the rest were now completely focused on the dolls.
"Everyone, spread out!"
"""Got it!"""
While it may seem like a not-so-reliable plan, Ikari's goal was to wipe out the majority, leaving each person with the minority.
The problem for Ikari wasn't their quantity.
His main goal was to draw out all of Doll Master's force—to leave the assassination squad with little enemies to fight against.
If they were all holed up together, then surely the shrewd Doll Master would start to think of the situation.
Not only would they divide her attention here, but also draw their forces to severely reduce the time for the others.
Once more,
───BOOM!
As the dolls began to follow those that had spread out, Ikari once more released high-pressure flames from his sword, cutting their numbers effectively to a quarter.
He would have done more, but his powers nor stamina were endless.
Ikari had pushed himself to the safe limits against Tsuan—not to mention, he used
Now he was also using
While those cracks hadn't spread, he was already at the upper limit he could hold.
"Hahahahaha! I knew it!"
"Ikari. How about it? Give up and become my puppet. In my hands, you don't need to worry about exhaustion. I will give you so, so, so, much love."
Panie said that. The dolls, having descended, surrounded him.
However, to Panie's words, Ikari spat to the side, declining.
"Unfortunately, I'm not into becoming a puppet for another person."
Saying that, he accelerated, swinging his sword in a diagonal arc. Waves of flames blazed from the air, burning the dolls and their Sephirah Fragments.
One after the other, the dolls were being burnt and crushed.
The dolls were neither singular nor plural but rather a collective army.
An approaching doll waved a huge razor—not for shaving off hair or a beard, but to cut open his arteries.
Turning his head, Ikari caught the razor with his teeth.
"Hmph!"
Blowing away the skull of the astonished doll, he spat out the razor from his mouth and kicked off against the ground.
Flying out at furious momentum, the razor pierced the forehead of a doll aiming at him with a rifle.
"I knew you were going to be tenacious, however—"
A doll crawled from behind unnoticed, silently aiming to pierce his chest with a long spear.
"Not quite. You're not quite there yet."
Ikari said that, twirling his body mid-motion, slashing the doll apart.
The collective army was not attacking him one by one, but rather in a swarm.
And most especially, with his wide area of attack, he could easily wipe out large numbers.
"Kill!" "No, not yet!" "Collection!" "All members!" "Gather your power together!"
With long-handle angels (weapons) in their hands, the dolls approached forward.
Long spears and swords constantly skewered Ikari's body.
"Got it."
However, there was no feeling behind it.
"I didn't want to use this power… but I have no choice anymore."
"
The power to reverse cause and effect within a governing space. That was the seventh constellation that Lucifugus rules over.
And luckily, that power falls under his rule too.
The roar of joy─disappeared in an instant. The person that was supposed to be skewered – the spear was obviously still embedded into him – yet, why were they the ones to get harmed?
Not only that, their Sephirah Fragments were crushed with the pain.
"No – no way. He still has that much power left?"
Rather than showing signs of decline, if anything, the vigour became stronger. Dolls. She needed her dolls. Two hundred or so wouldn't be able to stop him.
Thinking of sending more, she gave her orders; however, none of them seemed to be coming back. What she saw was a bright dome of light that appeared from several kilometres away.
Musika Sheri, Nogi Aiai, Inui Yume, and Sagakure Yui – who had returned after taking Tsuan to a safe place – and even Tonami provided support guarding Hibiki…
The five of them had each handled hundreds. By providing constant support for each other.
If it were hundreds alone, Sheri would have been able to handle it alone, as she had a finisher ability that allowed her to do so.
Gathering the scattered dolls in one place and nuking them with one goal. Truly a straightforward plan.
"Give it up. You're done for. If anything, this battle is much more boring than the previous ones. I'm appalled."
With a pitiful tone, Ikari said that shaking his head.
"...S-Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! There is still much more left! Yes, you can't win!"
"Say. Don't you feel anything is amiss?"
Ikari asked that calmly, spreading his free left hands to the sides as he spoke, making something creep up her back.
Fear? No. It certainly is fear.
"Must head back!" "Must head back!" "Must hurry back quickly!" "I'll be killed; I'll be killed!"
Ibusuki Panie, controlled by the Doll Master, thought she could no longer stay here and humour him. Something was wrong, incredibly wrong.
…
Doll Master.
At first, she remembers just wanting a friend.
Because of being an incurable coward, she was at the bottom standing of the neighbouring world, so there wasn't a single quasi-spirit that could be called a close friend.
When the other Quasi-Spirits looked at her, their icy gaze treated her like leftover bento scraps, as if saying, "Ah, don't die soon."
Even now, that gaze filled her with fear.
Her Unsigned Angel created a friend. A friend that was loyal to her said that it would fight on her behalf.
But sadly, the doll was very weak alone. Moreover, the other Quasi-Spirits couldn't tolerate the existence of the doll.
{Your doll is something that is an insult and affront to us.}
Unforgivable, or so they had said. Very harsh things are to be said.
But there was no other way; she needed to increase the number of dolls. She was forced to rely on their quantity to fight. So, she increased the number of dolls, blindly increasing their numbers.
Afterwards, the Quasi-Spirits that knew her ugly past became her friends. So happy.
Each day was lovely and glistening, controlling this world and being surrounded by so many friends.
As much as possible, she wants nothing to do with the other regions. She only wants to spend her life in this miniature garden forever.
However, foreign elements occasionally came to this region. They were barbaric quasi-spirits who liked to fight and couldn't live without fighting.
Although it was very easy to crush them, there was something to worry about. If it was just a single quasi-spirit, she could crush her as easily as an ant.
With ten, it was like snapping off a puppy's neck. With 100──although there was the possibility of winning through heavy sacrifices, there was still the possibility of also losing as well.
Even if their individual power was not too great, their combat effectiveness would improve drastically when considering their ability to use different Astral Dresses and Unsigned Angels.
So, she decided to let them kill each other.
The reward was a Sephira crystal worth 100 people. Despite having said that, she didn't intend to hand that over.
The winner was always a doll. Those ugly girls usually self-destructed before getting the chance to assemble their strengths together.
Thus, she was finally able to pass through each day with my mind at peace. Though days felt so smooth as if it was a dream.
Until she met—
"Gah! Spare us the backstory!"
Isami, along with her Japanese longsword, cut down those teary-eyed backstories. She had no interest in it.
It was too late. In the first place, how had they bypassed all of her defences?
"Haah. If you're asking how, then I don't blame you. Seems like the idiot over here has gained the ability to even cut your connections to your dolls."
"Ayame! Are you insulting me!?"
"Hm? I'm praising you, though."
"Is that so? Hehehehe."
All this time, it turned out that Doll Master was always in the school building at the utmost floor, which was then locked by a powerful reiryoku.
It was akin to a heavenly palace with pure white. As though a domain untouchable by the war below.
Was it necessary for Doll Master to control this region?
The ruler lay at the summit, and the person sitting in control must want to stay at the highest location. Even the careful and cowardly Doll Master was no exception.
And Ikari, having found this location, transported them here. The remaining was history.
Silent assassination. They didn't need to fight, as they would alert the Doll Master. But that was when that idiot quasi-spirit had uttered something along the lines of.
Isami: Wait a moment; I think I can cut them without Doll Master noticing.
"And that is what led things to this moment."
Doll master was speechless. What in Deus' name was going on? However,
"I pity you. You wanted a friend so bad you even became the one thing you turned others into."
A doll. She too had become a doll. "Get down from that throne. It's no longer yours."
With a person that can sever her control over her dolls, what more could she do? She had already lost.
She could no longer feel her colony anymore. Useless.
Soon enough, that person will come and deliver the judgement she deserves.
Once again, she's left without friends. Oh, how the tables have turned against her.
And just as she thought.
"Good job, Isami, Ayame."
Appearing from what looked to be a tear in space was Ikari, dragging the Ibusaki Panie doll by the collar against the ground.
"I don't need to tell you, do I?"
Doll Master shook her head.
"Well then. I shall grant you peace."
While it would have been better for her, Hibiki, to achieve her revenge herself. Currently, she was in no state to do that.
He granted the doll master a fast and swift ending. Of course, one may feel that ending may have been an escape; however, nothing good comes out of torturing such a soul any longer.
'Might be hypocritical of me, but haah.'
Saying that, from where Doll Master was a moment ago. A crystal was left… The size of a soccer ball is diamond-shaped but with rough edges.
"Ah, yes. There is this too…"
Ikari muttered as he stretched his hands to touch it. But something happened.
His vision and location seemed to change, appearing in a strange place. A sky and a water that reflect the sky above.
"Oh, you're finally here, new Dominion of the tenth region."