What kind of battle leaves the strongest visual impact?
Probably close-quarters combat, where every blow lands with brutal clarity, is the most visceral for the senses.
But when that kind of raw, flesh-and-bone brawling is performed by puppets, it can feel a bit like children playing house.
Just imagine.
A puppet made of cloth and cotton, with those soft, plush fists—what kind of damage could it possibly do?
No matter how large the puppet, it's hard to believe it could actually kill someone.
After all, no matter how big it gets, those fists are still soft. If anything, its material might just end up smothering a person.
The fact that Alice excelled at magic was well-known within the Loki Familia. Recently, its members had noticed that when Lefiya used spells, she didn't seem to chant at all.
After some asking around, everyone learned that Alice possessed techniques to shorten—or even skip—chanting entirely.
She had disbanded the Apollo Familia and made Apollo send his own members away.
In everyone's eyes, most of the credit went to Alice's otherworldly and peculiar magic. And while that was true, very few people held much respect for the puppets Alice created.
They had seen her Finn puppet and her Ais puppet before.
But back then, the puppets Alice made weren't particularly powerful. Even if they could momentarily unleash combat power around Level 2 or 3, being one-off creations made them far less impressive.
Besides, whether it was the Finn puppet or the Ais puppet, their combat abilities were just scaled-down versions of the originals.
They were nowhere near as awe-inspiring as the giant puppet now standing before them.
Its fist looked incredibly soft, yet when it struck the Goliath's body, this adorable puppet actually sent the monster stumbling back several steps.
Watching the attack delivered by Alice's puppet, everyone inwardly clicked their tongues.
If a blow like that landed on them, they certainly wouldn't get off easy. Broken arms and legs would be the bare minimum.
The massive black giant was forced back several steps by the Goliath Doll's punch, then halted, standing completely still.
But everyone could see it—the red glow in the black giant's eyes was growing brighter, its aura becoming more and more frenzied.
Clearly, it did not take kindly to the Goliath Doll's punch.
Earlier attacks from the Loki Familia hadn't been useless.
On the contrary, they had inflicted significant damage—it was just that the Goliath's absurd regeneration had allowed it to heal every wound almost instantly.
The Goliath Doll's attack was the complete opposite.
Though spectacular—forceful enough to drive the giant back—it didn't cause any real injury. Yet this very lack of damage only seemed to infuriate the Goliath even more.
The Goliath roared.
With a ground-shaking 'boom,' the entire cavern trembled, rubble raining down from the force of its cry.
Then, the Goliath raised its own fist and swung it down toward the giant puppet in front of it.
Facing the attack, Alice's puppet simply lifted its cute 'little' fist, adopting a boxing stance none present had ever seen before.
It threw a straight punch right into the black giant's exposed chest, the sheer force once again shoving the massive creature backward.
Still, no real damage was done.
And the black giant only grew angrier.
It rose with another roar and charged the Goliath Doll, which responded with simple, straightforward punches.
Again and again, it was repelled. Again and again, it attacked.
The two exchanged several rounds in short order, neither dealing any real harm to the other.
The members of the Loki Familia went from initial shock to sheer bewilderment.
Alice, though, was enjoying herself immensely—with every strike from the Goliath Doll, she gathered a wealth of data.
"Miss Alice, how long do you think it will take to defeat this floor boss?" Even Finn was taken aback by Alice's puppet.
Under normal circumstances, Finn wouldn't mind waiting around with Alice.
But now wasn't the time—they were in the middle of an expedition. Their goal wasn't the 17th floor, but the unexplored realms below the 59th, the deepest levels.
They couldn't afford to waste time here.
Alice clearly understood, but this was a rare chance to encounter an 'evenly matched' opponent. She really wanted to collect as much data as possible.
So, she hesitated.
Finn didn't grasp what Alice was thinking, but Riveria, as a fellow magic researcher, saw it immediately.
She spoke up to Finn.
"Finn, Lefiya and I will stay with Alice. You all go on ahead—we'll catch up soon."
Hearing Riveria's words, Finn sighed. "I suppose that's the only way."
Then, raising his voice, he called out to the group.
"We'll leave the floor boss to Miss Alice. Let's keep moving down—no more delays."
With that, Finn clapped his hands, stepped to the front, and led the group downward from the 17th floor toward the 18th.
Alice looked at Riveria with deep gratitude.
"Thank you, Riveria. This test subject is just too rare—I want to run a few more experiments while I can."
Riveria waved a hand lightly. "It's no trouble, I understand. Opportunities like this don't come often—best to seize them. Besides, I'm quite curious about this puppet myself."
She turned her gaze toward the Goliath Doll, still trading blows with the floor boss.
"Judging by its appearance, it's just an oversized doll. The materials must be quite valuable, but since it can be enlarged, it should also be possible to shrink it. In that case, it can't only have close-combat functions, right? Alice, haven't you incorporated any magic into it?"
Riveria looked curiously at Alice.
Hearing this, Alice scratched her head.
"I did add some, but the mana consumption is… a bit high."
Back in Alice's Gap, the reactor's output was growing more and more unstable.
The Goliath Doll's mana drain was no joke. If consumption increased any further, close-combat power could be boosted and magic could be used, but the Gap's reactor alone wouldn't be enough—
Alice would have to supply the mana herself.
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