Standing beside the now unconscious officer, Oborofuji slowly raised her palm.
Mana flowed from the officer's body into Oborofuji.
Gush...
The unconscious officer spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Oborofuji was a killing weapon created by Shouko using Kyoushirou's perfected 'Ame-no-Tejikara', the internal organs of death row inmates, and a puppet body of the highest durability.
Even without a Puppet Master, she could act on her own judgment.
Thus, the moment her Puppet Master lost the ability to act, she followed her original command and launched an attack on the enemy.
'Ame-no-Tejikara' began to operate, and she unhesitatingly began siphoning her Puppet Master's mana.
The officer's life force was ruthlessly converted into mana for Oborofuji's use.
An invisible force radiated out from Oborofuji, the heavy pressure causing the very air to tremble.
She swung her arm sharply, and the surrounding chess pieces assaulting her were violently shattered.
Seeing her damaged chess pieces, Alice narrowed her eyes in displeasure.
I was going to be gentle with you.
She leaped lightly from the tree branch, landing on the ground, and began walking towards Oborofuji with light, brisk steps.
As Alice moved, the thick fog enveloping the island gradually began to dissipate.
A little violence, then.
"London Bridge is Falling Down, Falling Down."
Alice's cherry lips parted, and a pleasant nursery rhyme hummed from her mouth.
As if to provide a dance, the surrounding vegetation began to sway slightly.
Is she casting a spell...? No, is she singing?
Who sings on a battlefield? How strange.
Oborofuji tilted her head curiously, but the movements of her hands did not cease.
She spread her arms slightly, and the mana absorption accelerated.
Enemy puppets: two small pigs. Specific Magic Circuit manifestation: inability to move upon touch. The enemy is highly proficient in telekinesis, manipulating numerous tableware items for attack.
Accomplice is at a distance. The warship that fell from the sky earlier is preliminarily inferred to be a strength-type Magic Circuit.
She stared intently at the distant Alice and swung both hands down violently.
"Eliminate her before her accomplice arrives!"
As her words fell, a heavy pressure manifested around Alice.
The dust drifting around Alice instantly stilled, compressed together by an invisible force, pressing down upon her.
And then, a layer of thick fog materialized around Alice—her defensive magecraft.
Alice, bearing the heavy pressure imposed by Oborofuji, showed not the slightest falter in her step.
Oborofuji's eyes widened instantly.
Why was it ineffective?
"Hey! Sneak attack!"
"Woo! Assault!"
The twins cheered playfully as they leaped out from behind Oborofuji, fat yet surprisingly agile.
They opened their large mouths and pounced towards Oborofuji.
The next moment, two pig-shaped holes appeared in the ground.
Oborofuji didn't even grant the twins a glance.
She continued to watch Alice closely. If she couldn't break the enemy's defense here, then...
She bent her knees, her Magic Circuits beginning to heat up.
And then, she began to flee.
The officer on the ground was nearly dead; the supply of mana was becoming increasingly insufficient.
Oborofuji had no choice but to slightly reduce her own gravity and escape towards the distant forest.
The forest's edge was the coastline. The forces that had come were only the advance team; several ships were waiting further out.
The earlier signal flare must have been detected by the fleet stationed even farther away.
As long as she reached the coastline, there would be reinforcements.
Believing this, Oborofuji continued to run.
The moment she entered the forest, the earth began to shake.
As if tectonic plates were colliding, the entire island trembled slightly.
An earthquake?
Stepping onto a tree branch, Oborofuji glanced down.
Aside from that, she didn't think anything else could shake the earth like this.
Just as well. The earthquake would aid her escape.
While their ships might also be affected by the quake, the enemy certainly couldn't survive on an island experiencing an earthquake either.
Thus, she continued running towards the shore.
"Falling Down, Falling Down."
The pleasant children's rhyme echoed through the forest.
Still singing, even a nursery rhyme at that.
Oborofuji, mid-escape, felt inexplicably irritated.
A feeling that something was happening—was it the pursuing enemy?
She casually grabbed a nearby tree and hurled it behind her without looking back.
The trembling of the earth grew increasingly violent.
Oborofuji leaped lightly onto a nearby tree trunk, slowly bending her knees. The sound of the wood creaking and splintering under external pressure grated through the air before she shot away into the distance like a projectile.
She moved at a speed no living creature could match, rapidly putting distance between herself and her pursuers.
A few seconds later, Oborofuji's view suddenly opened up, and the feel of sand transmitted from beneath her feet.
Several warships were approaching.
Safe.
She let out a sigh of relief, took two more steps forward, and then turned her head to confirm the safety behind her.
"—?!"
Oborofuji's petite frame froze stiffly in place.
Upon seeing that towering figure, she knew her earlier flight had been utterly futile.
Her lips parted slightly, a look of astonishment plastered on her face.
The emotionless killing machine now clearly displayed emotion.
"My Fair Lady."
The rhyme still rang in her ears, eerily out of place in the island's night.
The earth surged in waves, dust flying everywhere.
The warship that had been in the center of the battlefield mere moments ago had long since lost its original shape.
The Giant of the Bridge (Thames Troll) devoured the steel warship and raised its massive arm.
The gigantic hand, composed of wires and steel, reached down to grab Oborofuji.
The colossal giant blotted out everything in Oborofuji's vision, the sparking wires illuminating her stunned expression.
A fierce wind howled, the hurricane stirred up by the Giant of the Bridge's movements blowing Oborofuji off her feet.
The hurricane soon subsided, but the fear bubbling up within Oborofuji did not cease.
Because close behind the hurricane came the Giant of the Bridge's enormous palm.
"What... is this?" Her trembling words revealed the horror in her heart as Oborofuji sat paralyzed on the ground, legs shaking.
She stared blankly at the approaching hand, not moving for what felt like an age.
A scream coming from the other side of the island suddenly jolted her awake, and she hurriedly raised her hands.
The officer's last vestiges of life force were brutally drained by Oborofuji.
Mana once again filled her Magic Circuits.
"Haa—!" With a sharp cry, 'Ame-no-Tejikara' surged into operation.
Invisible force shot towards the giant hand, resisting its descent.
So heavy!
Gritting her teeth, she maintained the operation of her Magic Circuits.
There, before her, Gravity itself was repelling the Giant of the Bridge.
But alas, the momentum of the Giant of the Bridge's descending palm did not diminish in the slightest.
The arm, carrying its heavy atmospheric pressure, shifted slightly to the side and gently brushed against Oborofuji.
BOOM—
The giant hand smashed into the ground. After the tremendous sound, silence fell.
Alice walked with light steps upon the Giant of the Bridge's arm.
A pleased smile played on her lips as she hummed the nursery rhyme.
Standing on the palm, she leaped lightly, landing beside Oborofuji.
Half of Oborofuji's body was crushed beneath the Giant of the Bridge's hand.
From the cross-section, her right arm and leg had been flattened into a thin plane, revealing the Magic Circuits within her chest.
Seeing Alice approach, she tremblingly lifted her head, only to let it fall back powerlessly.
Alice reached out, touched the 'Ame-no-Tejikara' Magic Circuit, and gently traced it. The light in Oborofuji's eyes instantly vanished.
'Ame-no-Tejikara' GET DA☆ZE.
The witch allowed a faint smile to grace her features.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 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.