"Seele, be cautious! I didn't expect the Herrscher of a Thousand People to pull us directly in here; there must be some scheme involved. Remember to stay close to me... Seele?"
Wendy turned around but found that the little girl who should have been following behind her had vanished without a trace.
"...Is this spatial manipulation? Truly unpredictable."
Taking several deep breaths, Wendy composed herself.
This complicates things.
Initially, Wendy planned to rely on Ideal Fluid's absolute destructive power to forcibly flatten the Theater of Domination and find their way back to reality.
Now, she couldn't proceed with that strategy, as it risked endangering Seele... The potential for injury was secondary; primarily, Ideal Fluid's unyielding nature made control impossible. With the slightest mishap, she could inadvertently split Seele in two.
"Tch!"
Wendy narrowed her eyes. Left with no choice, she continued moving forward, hoping to locate Seele's whereabouts.
"Wendy... Wendy! Where are you?"
Seele, gripping her massive scythe, wandered through the empty and shattered Ruined Theater. The eerie silence, devoid of any presence, instilled fear within her.
"Gulp!"
"Seele... don't be afraid! You can do this!" She patted her chest, suppressing her anxiety, gathered her courage, and continued searching throughout the theater.
Unbeknownst to her, an invisible thread had been tied around her wrist at some point, subtly channeling energy from it. Moreover, she didn't notice that Tsundere Seele, who would frequently mock her regardless of the situation, remained eerily silent now.
"Huh? Is this the mental image world of the Herrscher of Death's personality? Why so many white dresses and stockings... Oh shit!"
"Crash!"
"Clank-clatter—"
A massive black metallic claw crushed the doll peeking inside, then slowly retracted amidst the pull of iron chains.
"Snap!"
With a grim expression, Seele clicked her fingers, causing the room filled with various personal belongings of the other Seele - primarily intimate clothing items - to gradually vanish. In its place emerged a dim and shadowy world.
"I... Where am I?" asked Seele, clad in a dark dress, brimming with murderous intent.
What she truly wanted to ask was: "Where is the other Seele? Why can't I suddenly contact her anymore?" Moreover, she felt different, as if she had gained a physical form... It wasn't the sensation of possessing the other Seele's body; instead, it felt like transitioning from a purely spiritual being to having corporeal existence.
Honestly, Seele found this feeling deeply unsettling.
"You now possess a physical form! No need to thank us; it's just a small greeting gift."
"Rip!"
The emerging doll is torn apart once again by colossal metal claws.
Outside the Pictorial Domain, the observing dolls burst into animated discussions.
"Holy crap! As expected from the Herrscher of Death, utterly ruthless!"
"It shows she must have been suppressed for far too long. Undoubtedly, she harbors deep resentment towards that weak secondary personality, right?"
"Hahaha! There's hope, a significant chance indeed!"
"Persuade her! We still need to contend with the Herrscher of Wind, which will be truly challenging. Let's minimize our expenditure here; ideally, we should reach an agreement directly."
Pushing and shoving each other, they eventually select "Orator," who crosses the boundary between the Theater of Domination and the mental image world.
"Please remain calm! Herrscher of Death, I am here to negotiate with you!"
"Boom!"
The massive metallic claw halts before Orator's raised white flag, its immense force generating gusts that howl incessantly in her ears.
After a moment, the giant claw slowly retreats, revealing Veliona gracefully seated on the other claw, legs crossed. She leisurely approaches Orator.
In truth, Seele isn't naturally this patient; however, uncertainty about the situation would make her increasingly anxious.
"Where is the other me?" Seele asked bluntly, her expression devoid of emotion.
Inside, the Orator rejoiced.
'As expected, she despises that weak personality restraining her the most! Nice!'
"Cough! I understand you're concerned about Seele Vollerei. Rest assured, she belongs solely to you; we won't harm her."
"...Hm." Seele responded impassively, her antenna-like hair unconsciously beginning to sway.
Belongs solely to you... belongs to you... yours...
Despite her stern face, Seele internally nodded in agreement.
Although from the experiences of the other Seele, she had deduced that this individual before her was supposedly the Herrscher of a Thousand People, yet... this Herrscher sure knows how to speak eloquently!
Decision made: based on this alone, after finding out the whereabouts of the other Seele, she would grant her a respectful end.
"As you know, humanity is far from friendly towards Herrschers. Our comrades have already sacrificed much, and even you were confined within that cowardly, inept shell, forced..."
"Where is she?!" Seele grabbed the Orator by the neck.
Her earlier decision was nullified; this thing clearly didn't know how to speak properly.
"Cowardly and powerless"... Only she had the right to say such words about the other Seele! No one else deserved to criticize or judge her!
"Cough... Calm down! I'm merely stating the truth. I understand it angers you deeply; you must constantly fantasize about grinding her into pulp..."
"Crunch!"
And with that, Seele crushed the Orator into pulp—or rather, puppet debris, which was essentially the same.
"All talk, no substance!" Seele exclaimed impatiently, then turned towards the pitch-black mental image world. Her eyes glowed with a sinister red light, and the corners of her mouth curved into a menacing smirk.
"I've found you all. Come now... let's have some fun together! Nothing delights me more than adorable toys!"
Outside the mental image world, chaos erupted.
"Damn! She's out!"
"How useless is the Orator?! And she boasted about her eloquence!"
"What should we do? What do we do? Should we engage?"
"Don't engage! Why waste our effort on her? Her target is clearly Seele Vollerei, who has restrained her for so long. Just lure them together and let them fight it out! Our main focus should be on Wendy!"
"Agreed!"
"+1!"
The Herrschers of a Thousand People sprang into action, connecting Veliona's path to the Ruined Theater where the other Seele awaited.
Then, they shifted their primary attention towards the invincible Wendy.
In the Ruined Theater area, Seele had circled twice without encountering anyone. Feeling lost, she stood still, scanning her surroundings uncertainly.
"Wendy... Is she okay? How do I get out of here?"
Suddenly, a pitch-black passageway opened before Seele, prompting her to hastily raise her large scythe, ready for defense.
"Come play with Seele... Play... You're here too?!"
Veliona, clad in black and wielding massive metallic claws, nearly collided with Seele, who gripped her scythe nervously.
Seele: "(?o . o?)..."
Veliona: "(?? д ??)!!!"
In a corner, several secretly hidden dolls eagerly watched their standoff.
"Fight! Fight! Come on, start fighting!"
"Holy crap! The Herrscher of Wind is fierce! Our Ice Herrscher's powers might not be enough to handle her!"
"No worries! Let them battle it out! Once these two clash, we'll eventually obtain the Herrscher of Death's abilities. Then, after dealing with Wendy, we'll become the ultimate Herrscher of a Thousand People, wielding three portions of Herrscher power!"
"The future looks bright! So promising!"
"Wait! What's going on between them? The black one is tapping the white one's head... Doesn't seem like they're about to duel."
"The white one's crying now; they should fight soon... Damn! Black, what are you doing? Shouldn't you command those giant claws to attack? Why are you so flustered?!"
"S-she suddenly hugged..."
"Blushing! The black one is actually blushing? Didn't she just say... 'I love cute toys...' or something? What did they talk about? Weirdly, I suddenly want to get closer and listen carefully!"
"Snap out of it! The black one is coming! She's approaching!"
"Boom!"
"I just adore cute toys!" Veliona laughed gleefully, standing on a doll's head as dark energy radiated around her.
Behind her, Seele, clutching her scythe, cautiously followed like an adorable princess trailing after her knight. She treaded along the path bravely carved for her amidst the battlefield.