Team up?
Suigintou never imagined she'd join forces with Shinku, the sister she despised most.
Earlier, she'd only saved Shinku because she needed someone to draw Alice's attention.
But now... if they didn't cooperate, they might actually lose...
After a moment of silence, Suigintou swung her sword, cleaving through another wave of approaching pegasi.
"Though it disgusts me," she spread her wings, countless black feathers materializing from nothing, gathering behind her.
A pair of massive black wings suddenly manifested, and that familiar smirk returned to Suigintou's face.
"But today, I'll fight by your side!!!"
She swept her sky-obscuring wings forward, the hurricane they generated ravaging everything in sight.
Petals rode the violent winds, hurling toward Alice.
The gale howled, sucking pegasi from the sky and gingerbread men from the ground alike into its vortex, even toppling the giant Ferris wheel man.
"Gwaaah!!!" That was Robin's pained cry as the little blue bird was tossed about by the storm.
Tableware manifested, a giant plate shielding Alice and Charlotte from the brunt of the hurricane.
Sigmund also enlarged, using his own wings to protect the two ladies.
A few seconds later, the hurricane subsided, and the tableware vanished.
Alice opened her eyes. The fairy tale army that had stood between them and the two dolls was completely swept away by the storm.
The four of them exchanged glances.
A temporary calm settled over the scene.
But the next moment, two petal-whips lashed out from the flanks, aiming for Alice from behind.
Had they been carried within the storm?
Feeling the whoosh of air behind her head, Alice didn't react.
"Sigmund!"
The dragon swung his claw, smashing the whip on the right, but the one on the left struck his back squarely.
He gritted his teeth with a sharp hiss of pain.
Charlotte shot a worried glance at Sigmund before turning a wary gaze back to the two dolls in the air.
Suigintou and Shinku were whispering to each other.
"Did you spot that doll?"
"...No."
The hurricane's main purpose had been to sweep the area clean of the rides; attacking Alice was just a secondary move they knew wouldn't likely succeed.
The primary goal was to find that mist-like doll.
Now Alice would surely be on guard against another hurricane.
Seeing their hard-won opportunity come to nothing, Shinku lifted her head in frustration.
And then... she froze.
Suigintou beat her wings, forcing the surrounding amusement rides back again.
'What a nuisance. Just piercing them with my feathers isn't enough to stop them.'
She flapped her wings, rising higher into the air.
It was then she noticed something was missing from the battlefield.
Where were Shinku's petals?
She looked around and found her sister-doll staring blankly at the sky.
"Shinku, what are you doing? They're starting to surround us again," Suigintou snapped impatiently.
"...Suigintou, is the moon supposed to be full here?"
"Don't be absurd. My line is about the crescent moon," Suigintou mocked. "Have you exhausted yourself into delirium?"
For once, Shinku didn't retort. Instead, she slowly raised her hand, pointing at the full moon in the sky.
"...Then I know where that doll is."
Frowning, Suigintou looked where Shinku was pointing. A bright, full moon hung in the sky.
...A full moon?
Charlotte, standing beside Alice, also looked up.
The full moon hung high in the night sky, emitting a serene, almost holy light.
But the moment everyone's eyes fell upon it, the moon in the sky began to warp.
Ripples spread across its surface, like the disturbed calm of a water's surface.
Like a monarch proudly displaying his form, the Oil of the Moon gradually revealed its true body.
Come, gaze upon the sky.
A dim, hazy, mysterious visage composed of green mist and azure clouds.
It was a gigantic, inverted skull hanging in the air.
Even the full moon in the sky was merely one of the skull's eyes.
Though just a skeleton, everyone could see a mocking expression on its face.
Its jawbone clacked open and shut, as if laughing at the two dolls below who dared to resist him.
The dolls below stared grimly at the skull in the sky. Charlotte, holding onto Sigmund's arm, was even trembling slightly.
This... this is really an automaton?
The inverted skull in the sky defied everything Charlotte had learned over the years.
Under the gaze of the colossal being above, her voice trembled. "This... this thing is really an automaton?"
It gave life to the surroundings, yet itself was in a state of mist.
Shouldn't each automaton only carry one magic circuit internally?
Remembering the mist Alice had released, Charlotte muttered in stunned disbelief.
"A doll that is mist itself... does such a doll really exist?"
Clap, clap—
A sound of applause, similar to the one before the battle began, rang out, pulling everyone from their thoughts.
"The final round," came Alice's calm voice.
As the words fell, the skull laughed arrogantly.
Mana converged, forming a massive block of ice large enough to crush the entire amusement park.
He tossed it downward, almost like teasing a child.
"Pass this, and you win." Simple words dictating the terms of victory.
"Shinku!" With just that call, Shinku understood Suigintou's intent. She swept her hands, and countless petals surged skyward.
Simultaneously, Suigintou manipulated her black feathers, sending them spiraling and intertwining with the petals.
The crimson petals and jet-black feathers, saturated with mana, merged together perfectly.
A black-and-red dragon opened its eyes, roaring as it charged the block of ice.
This definitely isn't enough.
Biting her lip, Suigintou exchanged a look with Shinku.
The next moment, they both drew their weapons and leaped into the dragon, ascending with it as it coiled upward.
The ice block plummeted rapidly, the distance between them closing in an instant.
BOOM—
The dragon and the ice collided violently.
The moment they made contact, the dragon shattered and scattered apart like a snowman smashed by an adult.
The petals and feathers forming its head fractured inch by inch, revealing the stunned faces of Suigintou and Shinku inside.
We couldn't even slow it down?
Suigintou was filled with bitter frustration.
The gap between herself and Alice's other dolls was this vast?
Facing just this one doll, even teamed up with Shinku, they were utterly powerless.
As the first of the Rozen Maiden... was she really about to lose?
Suigintou gritted her teeth, raising her rapier high.
Beside her, Shinku similarly raised her cane.
Then,
Together, they swung down.
The rapier and the cane slashed towards the same spot on the ice.
A black-red flash of light passed.
SHHHK—
Innumerable tiny ice shards flew outwards.
The massive ice block was torn open from top to bottom, a deep fissure appearing on its surface.
But alas, it wasn't split in two.
The two dolls had no time for another strike. Their eyes widened, watching the ice block now right upon them.
The fissure in the ice, like a monster's gaping maw, swallowed them whole.
"Snark."
A cool, clear voice rang out.
The next instant, the ice instantly melted into liquid.
A deluge of icy water cascaded down over the two dolls' heads.
Drenched from head to toe, Suigintou and Shinku stared at each other, looking rather comical in their shock.
Then, simultaneously, they turned displeased glares toward Alice.
Fine, we lost, but did you have to humiliate us too?
Couldn't the ice you conjured from nothing just vanish into nothing?
The thought made Suigintou even angrier. Her fair little face puffed up in rage, and she turned away, clutching her soaked skirt.
Shinku similarly crossed her arms, her expression thoroughly displeased.
Once the green, oily liquid filled the small vial, Alice gently closed the cap on Flat Snark.
Then she looked somewhat resigned at the two soaked little ones in front of her.
While Snark had obediently returned, it had still been nasty enough to dump water on their heads.
"He did that on his own," Alice said, shaking the small vial in her hand, promptly pinning the blame on the real culprit. Let the one responsible take the blame.
"Hah. An automaton that makes its own decisions?" Suigintou sneered, clearly not buying it.
"There's also an automaton who tried to attack her master the moment she opened her eyes."
"Who?"
Alice stared quietly at Suigintou.
Suigintou stared blankly for a long moment before realizing Alice was talking about her.
Under Alice's calm gaze, she fidgeted slightly, clenching her small fists, and muttered a low apology. "Sorry."
"Good girls." A slight smile touched Alice's lips as she stepped forward and gathered both dolls into her arms.
The soaked dolls dampened Alice's clothes.
"Let's go home."
Calling out to Charlotte, who was still standing dumbfounded in the distance, they set off together on the path home.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.