"Let's do this!"
"Yeah, let's..."
Alice positioned several dolls above.
"Huh? No bullets?" I muttered to myself, preparing my stance.
Alice maintained her calm smile as she raised her arms forward, directing the dolls to move toward me.
"Huh?!"
The dolls started closing in on me, and no matter how much I dodged, they seemed to be closing in faster. "Gah, these little dolls are surprisingly quick!"
I didn't want to harm Alice's dolls by cutting them, but I needed to find a way to handle the situation.
That's when an idea struck me—maybe the threads holding the dolls together would do the trick.
I dashed backward and crouched down, activating my spellcard. "Sword Sign: Alpha Thread Slashes!" In an instant, I disappeared from my position and reappeared behind the dolls, swiftly cutting the threads that held them together.
The dolls I cut started falling to the ground, leaving Alice surprised. She quickly gathered the remaining dolls armed with weapons and began jabbing forward repeatedly.
Reacting swiftly, I evaded her sudden rush, However, as I dodge, the other dolls caught up and began spinning around with their blades.
Despite my efforts, they managed to land a few cuts on me, prompting me to immediately step back once again.
"Shun, Why are you hesitating?"
"But I wasn't..."
"Hmm? But you were clearly hesitating... cutting threads won't do, you know~" Suddenly, a magic thread connected to the dolls that had fallen to the ground, and they rose up again, ready to attack once more.
I look down and took a deep breath.
She's right, I need to step up my game. Hesitation would only hinder me in this battle.
I tightened my grip on my blades and pointed them directly at Alice. "Sorry for hesitating!" I locked eyes with her then dashes forward.
"Fufu~ That's the Shun I know," Alice remarked with a smile, preparing her dolls for the battle. As the dolls swiftly advanced toward me, I deftly cut them down one by one, steadily closing the distance between us.
The magic circles beneath me illuminated, and I unleashed my spellcard "Blood Sword: Scarlet Fang!" I slashed through the dolls while launching a barrage of crimson slash projectiles toward Alice.
Alice gracefully leaped backward, she unleashed a flurry of magically-charged dolls, each brimming with explosive energy.
"A bomb!?"
I propelled myself into the air with a powerful leap and a radiant magic circle materialized beneath me. "Sword Sign: Final Cut" I disappeared in an instant, reappearing right in front of Alice.
As I relentlessly sliced through Alice's defense, inching closer to her, my focus suddenly shifted to a glaring red light behind me.
Turning my gaze, I saw a formation of Alice's dolls, their eyes glowing with an ominous intensity. Before I could react, the dolls unleashed a barrage of lasers, emanating from multiple directions.
Instinctively, I leaped to the side, narrowly evading the lasers as they scorched the ground where I once stood. The searing heat grazed my skin.
"Hahh..."
"Are you tired?~" Alice smirks as she summons another wave of dolls.
"Slightly... but." I raise my crimson blade, channeling my energy into it. "Lunar Clock: Perfect Crimson Mist." A dense mist billows around us, shrouding our surroundings in an ethereal crimson hue.
When the mist dissipates, Countless crimson knives materialize in the air, their sharp tips pointing directly at Alice. Without hesitation, they surge forward her.
Alice's eyes widen as she sees the knives hurtling toward her. "Interesting..." she murmurs. she lowers her arms, observing the knives descending upon her.
However, just as the knives are about to make contact, I exert my control over the lunar energy that permeates the mist.
With a swift motion of my hand, I halt the knives in mid-air, freezing them in their tracks. They shimmer briefly before dissipating into thin air.
"Hm?" Alice looks at me with curiosity. "Why did you stop it?"
I meet her gaze.
"Well..." I turn around slowly, my attention shifting toward the approaching dolls poised to strike. "I suppose I simply felt like I had reached my limit."
"Ara~ So you sensed it," Alice remarks, a playful smile playing on her lips.
I nodded.
"Fufu~ Well done." Alice regains control over her dolls, retracting them back to her side.
Feeling the exhaustion weighing heavily upon me, I lower myself to the ground ""That was truly draining."
Alice approaches, her gaze gentle as she looks down at me. "Welcome to Gensokyo, I suppose," she says, a soft chuckle escaping her lips as she covers her mouth.
I let out a weary sigh and closed my eyes. "Hahhh... Thank you."