Chimeric Doll Number Two charged toward Qian Ling and Yang Mo with violent movements, its spider-like appendages striking the ground in a rhythmic, forceful cadence that emitted a powerful clanging sound.
Previously, it had been able to move stealthily because some of its appendages were not equipped with weapons. Now, however, it seemed to have abandoned its former etiquette. It utilized the weapon-bearing appendages alongside the others as it moved, its form radiating a palpable killing intent toward the two girls.
To prevent it from targeting Yang Mo, Qian Ling took the lead and rushed forward.
“Can you help me stall its movements?”
She began to run before she had even finished speaking.
While she was still within earshot, Yang Mo shouted back at her, “No problem!”
Yang Mo flicked her paper cutter more urgently than usual. In the next instant, pages flew out from the massive book at her waist, quickly catching up to Qian Ling’s pace and flanking her as she advanced.
Before they reached the distance for close-quarters combat, Number Two suddenly accelerated and raised two of its appendages.
With a sword on one side and an axe on the other, the weapons swung down diagonally from the left and right, forming an “X”-shaped trajectory.
The attack came sooner than Qian Ling had expected, but she still managed to react in time. She jumped over the “X” to dodge the cross-slash. The floor tiles struck by the sword and axe were smashed into powder.
While she was still suspended in mid-air, Number Two already had an appendage equipped with a lance thrusting toward her.
Seeing that she was about to be skewered by the tip, Qian Ling hurriedly twisted her body, narrowly avoiding the lance by turning sideways.
Yet, even though she was barely managing to evade, Number Two’s attacks continued to flow like moving water.
The moment Qian Ling’s feet touched the ground, two more appendages were raised above her head, poised to strike. However, just as they were about to swing down, they were obstructed by the entangling pages.
With the current number of pages, it was far from enough to completely restrain Number Two like before, so the appendages were only delayed for one second.
But that one second gave Qian Ling an opportunity. The moment she ducked, a scimitar’s horizontal sweep whistled over her head — an attack launched by a third appendage.
While dodging, she aimed at the doll’s ravaged torso and manipulated the iron thorns in their tentacle form to stab forward ruthlessly.
Just an instant before the strike landed, an appendage equipped with a circular saw sliced the iron thorns in two. The wide saw blade also prevented the remaining portion from penetrating any deeper.
Qian Ling’s calculation had failed. Not only that, but after losing the obstruction of the pages, the swinging appendages began to move without restraint.
Horizontal, vertical, diagonal; up, down, left, and right. With a mixture of hacking and stabbing, Qian Ling could only perform small movements to evade. Even if she took a step ahead to circle around to its side, she would quickly be overtaken by the appendages’ attacks.
After all, for a monster that had lost the conventional form of a biological creature, there might not have been any distinction between front, back, left, or right to begin with.
Even with Yang Mo’s support, Qian Ling’s situation became increasingly distressed. Forget counterattacking; she was already exerting every ounce of her strength just to dodge.
Soon, there was another vertical chop from the axe. She dodged by jumping to the left, but… the longsword raised on that side had been waiting for a long time.
“Watch out!”
Yang Mo reacted in time, using her pages to form a shield for Qian Ling.
However, the pages she manipulated were easily sliced through by the longsword as if they were ordinary paper.
The malice directed at Yang Mo within the original work was on full display at this moment.
What would happen when a doll-type enemy specializing in cutting met paper magic that was ill-suited to handle cutting? One did not need to think deeply to understand the result.
In the next second, the longsword cut through the air and landed heavily on Qian Ling’s left shoulder.
“…Tsk!”
A sharp pain shot through her entire upper arm, causing her to click her tongue again.
Being able to feel such pain proved that her left arm had not flown off.
In the fraction of a second before the slash hit, she had desperately turned her body, allowing the longsword to merely graze her arm.
Unfortunately, a layer of the casing on her upper arm was still sliced off. Beneath the similarly shredded sleeve, the hollow interior of the doll was exposed.
Just as Qian Ling was worrying about how to handle the next attack, her waist was suddenly wrapped by pages.
A massive force pulled her away from Number Two’s pursuit. She was dragged directly back to Yang Mo’s side by the pages.
Before the fiend could react, Yang Mo immediately asked in an anxious tone, “Is there a way? Does it have a weakness?”
“I don’t know! If it has one, it should be the doll’s heart!”
This was the only piece of information Qian Ling had gained from the previous exchange.
When she had attacked that spot with the iron thorns, Number Two had clearly reacted defensively. That indicated its weakness was the same as other dolls — that mana core.
“But… how can we find an opening?”
Yang Mo wanted to think, but Number Two had no intention of leaving the two of them a moment to breathe.
*Clang, clang, clang, clang.*
The sound of appendages smashing the ground rang out continuously as Number Two charged at them again with fierce momentum.
At the same time, Qian Ling rushed toward it without looking back.
“Qian Ling!”
Yang Mo wanted to call her back, but she had already heard Qian Ling express her resolve with her own ears.
Just as Qian Ling would never agree to her escaping with a burden, she would never agree to abandon Qian Ling here.
All she could do now was support Qian Ling to the best of her ability. That was all.
Just like before, the pages quickly followed Qian Ling’s footsteps.
Only… just as the second round opened, Number Two’s attacks became even sharper.
It extended the appendage equipped with the lance, thrusting at Qian Ling from a greater distance. What was more, during its progression, the form of the lance underwent a certain change.
The light hitting the lance suddenly refracted, and then its form vanished into thin air.
‘This is — !’
Qian Ling reacted immediately. It was the optical camouflage used during the earlier sneak attack.
‘Even if its true form is exposed, it can still be used this way?’
While thinking this, she extended her right arm to strike the shaft of the lance. With a sharp *clack*, her entire body was knocked aside, and she thus avoided being hit by the transparent tip.
After that, Number Two did not continue to approach. Instead, it completely hid its form and leaped onto the wall, crawling along the buildings surrounding the square.
It switched to the appendages specifically used for walking, making almost no sound. It was like a predator looking for the right moment to pounce on Qian Ling.
In reality, this was useless against Qian Ling. Its initial sneak attack had worked because the stealth magic was still in effect then. After revealing its true form, the effect of the stealth magic had mostly vanished. Merely being invisible was not enough to deceive Qian Ling’s perception.
‘What on earth is that thing trying to do? Does it not know this is useless against me?’
…Wait.
‘Although it’s useless against me…’
After a moment of thought, Qian Ling understood. Yang Mo did not possess a perception ability equal to her own. The pages she used for support were currently hovering aimlessly in mid-air.
“Qian Ling! Where is it?”
The shout from behind her confirmed her guess. Number Two’s true goal was to seal off Yang Mo’s support.
“It’s coming from the streetlamp!”
Although Qian Ling reported Number Two’s location to Yang Mo, the pages’ attack still missed its mark.
As the slight *click-clack* sounds grew more distinct in her ears, the ruthless combo unleashed by the transparent enemy arrived in a flurry.