Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Chapter 204 Neighborhood Arc: The Puppet Show (Middle Section)

As Hibiki collapsed, the girl's body, which had been blank, gradually began to change.

"Hehehehehehehehe—!"

Frenzied and trembling, more out of fear than anger, a doll let out a strange cry and lunged forward.

The puppeteer's puppets can even simulate and recreate the spirit dresses from the Quasi-Elf era. Her spirit dresses unleash flames at rocket-like speed.

Faced with the doll charging at her with tremendous force, the seemingly powerless girl laughed and defeated the doll as if swatting a fly.

"……What?!"

The puppet troupe began to stir. The puppeteer who witnessed this scene had not experienced such a choking, extremely unpleasant feeling in a long time.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't have any particular feelings about this doll."

—She was telling the truth. After all, from her perspective, that doll was nothing more than a stranger.

"Therefore, I think leaving here is the most appropriate choice for me."

If she wants to leave, no one can stop her.

"However, how should I put it? I'm 'a little annoyed,' and 'fuming.' Whether it's getting involved in this trouble or your very existence, I'm utterly fed up."

The tone was different.

Their voices are also different.

Upon closer inspection, the spiritual power emanating from the spirit dress was also significantly different from before.

Calm down. The group of dolls told themselves this. Tokisaki Kurumi is a fake, an imposter, nothing more than Hibiki Hii transforming into a quasi-spirit that can be seen everywhere.

Besides, what if—no, even if there's only a one in a billion chance she's an elf—how could they possibly lose with such a large number of people gathered on their side? The "Puppet Master" desperately tried to convince herself.

Defeat is impossible. He, the ruler of the tenth domain—

Will fear a lone enemy?

Absolutely impossible!

"Everyone, charge! Go!"

The girl neither advanced nor retreated, but opened her arms as if welcoming a surprise attack. One hand held a short gun, and the other a long gun.

A huge clock was visible behind her.

This is her angel—the [Zeffect] who controls time and shadow.

"No, saying I'm annoyed wouldn't be quite right. I'm sorry, but I'll be more direct—'I want to kill you all.'"

Black and white can be freely interchanged.

It's not a mixture of black and white, but a smooth transition.

It felt like darkness enveloped the surroundings.

Prostrate yourselves in fear, sit and wait for your doom, you ants.

What stands before you is not a dying beast.

They were not bloodied people waiting to die.

Holding an old-fashioned pistol, with a shadow bullet in his mouth, the shadow that stands alongside trembling is undoubtedly a non-human being.

Shout out loud, O calamity!

You are a steadfast non-human being, the ruler of time and shadow. One of the tenth of the principles constituting the neighboring realm.

Her name is Tokisaki Kurumi.

The most evil, terrifying, and numerous elf in history, and also a courageous young woman in love.

"I'll mercifully trample on you, you bunch of trash."

The play titled Despair has officially begun.

Of course, that doesn't refer to Kurumi Tokisaki, who will be fighting alone next—

Rather, it refers to the puppet troupe facing the calamity of the most evil spirit.

The guns, raised with both hands, fired bullets in rapid succession, each one accurately piercing the fragments of the doll's soul crystal. Kurumi laughed maniacally as she reloaded the gun.

"Let's warm up first. [Zfkl] - [First Bullet]!"

Kurumi, who had fired a shot at herself, charged forward at lightning speed.

The group of puppets approaching Kurumi and unleashing their slashes, but Kurumi was nowhere to be seen, immediately plunging them into panic.

"Where did it go?!"

The doll, located far behind, was suddenly struck and thrown into the air.

The doll that was acting as Ibusuki Panie's visual assistant was several beats late in turning around.

"...What happened?"

The doll was crushed underfoot. Kurumi's foot held the doll in place, and the doll struggled incessantly. She aimed at the person...

My skull, pull the trigger.

"What is this! This... monster! Just who is it?!"

The puppets were smashed one after another.

However, the puppets were not a single one or multiple, but an army. One of them approached Kurumi, wielding a huge razor, not so much to shave her hair or beard, but to sever her arteries.

Kurumi scoffed – using her teeth to block the sharp blade.

"Alas!!!"

The doll looked utterly astonished. Kurumi blasted her skull away, kicking the razor she had spat out of her mouth in mid-air. The razor, flying at incredible speed, pierced the doll's forehead, which had been aimed at her with a gun.

"So didn't I say? I'll play with you bunch of trash for a bit. So—you guys better hold on a little longer."

A doll sneaked up behind Kurumi and, without a word, plunged a spear into her chest.

"Oh dear, oh dear."

"He's dead!"

"No, not yet!" "Everyone, gather together!" "Everyone!" "Kill her together!!"

A swarm of puppets wielding long-handled angels rushed forward, spears and swords thrusting one after another into Kurumi's body. The sensation of shattering her soul crystals was palpable.

"Got it!"

The joyful roar vanished in an instant.

"Why……?"

The person they were jubilantly killing was the puppet that had first pierced Kurumi with a spear.

The doll group panicked. The dolls that made up Ibusuki Panie suddenly remembered something.

"shadow……!"

That's right, they all forgot that the other party could freely manipulate shadows and move through space using them.

"Gone!" "Where is it?!" "It's gone!" "Not here!" "Not there either!"

She couldn't be found. She had vanished into the shadows.

"Don't panic! Keep searching, keep searching—"

Hehehehehehehehehe.

...At this moment, it was as if the battlefield was filled with the maniacal laughter of demons on the other side~

The black embers of flame scorched the land, and the puppets that had gathered around were pierced by chains growing from Wuming's backs as they approached, their soul crystals instantly extracted.

He strolled gracefully across the battlefield, his expressionless face reflecting endless cold light, appearing as death to the puppets.

The human army gathered in mid-air, attempting to devour the beast on the ground.

"Damn it!" "Why?!" "What happened to Master's mission?! How could she let him live?!"

"Noisy."

Before the puppets could launch an attack, their bodies were instantly engulfed by the sky-piercing attack, and spiritual energy spread throughout the atmosphere.

Q: Why has the Nameless Spiritual Power increased so much now?

The answer was swift and effective. Swinging the crystal fragments bound by the chains, Wuming devoured these already damaged soul crystals without any restraint.

"I apologize for continuing my resistance. Although I didn't want to defile you, I ate you all in order to see her."

Wuming muttered earnestly to himself, relying on the noise of the outburst to reach a small alley.

Looking down at the faint movement there, Wuming only narrowed his eyes for a moment before retracting the chains that had been generated from the back of the head's body.

As I stepped inside, all I saw were my teammates, gathered together, quietly watching each other.

"Hey everyone, how's things going on your end?"

Wuming silently approached the group with his hands in his pockets, and the sudden sound startled everyone.

"what……"

"Ok!"

"Ugh!"

"ah!"

"Ah! Wuming, you've finally arrived! I've been looking for you for so long! I've been chased twice!"

While everyone was still shocked by the sudden sound coming from behind them, only Rine was the first to react, grabbing Wuming and bursting into tears without any restraint.

"...Ouch, could you please stop wiping your snot on my suit...?"

Wu Ming twitched his lips. Undoubtedly, the mystery he brought when he first appeared had been completely diminished by Rinemu's gratitude.

"They're still alive after all."

"Oh! The boss is back!"

Hijikata and Ayame called out, but quickly looked warily at Tonami and Sherry who were walking forward step by step behind them.

"Don't be wary, they are our partners now."

Hearing this, although some doubts remained, everyone relaxed their guard. Rinba and Sherry stepped forward, and Rinba nodded slightly, saying:

"I apologize for my previous offenses. I was also drawn here by the charm of Lord Wuming, so there's no doubt that my goal now is to overthrow the rule of the 'Puppet Masters'."

"Wow! Charm... has gathered here? Wow! So you're quite charming after all."

Rine looked at Wuming with a strange expression, as if her face was saying something like, "So someone like you can be charming?"

But the moment those words were spoken, Tokiwa's eyes sharpened, only to be glared at by Mumei before returning to their normal gaze.

"Forget it, I'm too lazy to argue with you. Just behave yourself."

After covering his face, Wuming gave everyone a brief explanation of what happened during the period of separation, and also mentioned the issue of becoming a ruler and his travels to various regions.

"Oh! Not surprising at all! I completely agree with the boss being the ruler! After all, there will be an endless stream of people to kill! So let's have a showdown!"

Masami Hijikata raised his knife, eager to try.

"I have books to read; you just need to keep the promise we made."

Ayame pushed up his glasses, expressing the same meaning as Hijikata.

But Wuming shook his head.

"Everyone, you don't need to follow me when we meet later. Just protect this good-for-nothing here."

"why?"

"what?"

"Sigh! Who are you calling a good-for-nothing! It's the truth, but you dare say it again!"

"Sorry, I'm used to calling you that, so I don't want to change it."

Wuming was the first to give a separate answer to Rinemu's question.

He simply nodded and said, "..."

"Since I can handle the number of puppets, and with the 'Puppet Masters' operating in the shadows while we are in the open, it's better to maintain some combat strength."

Everyone agreed with this statement, even though... it was a lie.

Wuming's true intentions remain unknown.

"This spiritual energy feels so familiar. Although the memory is hazy, the taste is easy to remember. Kurumi, let's wrap up this boring puppet show."

After throwing Rion Dream to everyone, Wuming fiddled with his gloves, took a step forward and looked ahead. Black flames burned on his body, and a set of pitch-black military uniform was woven from spiritual particles.

"Then... let's begin our war."