Chapter 33: Muppets, Lappets, Marionettes (Part 1)

“I’ll take care of everything.”

I stood before the monster, as if protecting Nina.

I didn’t see all of her memories. I had only seen the brief period after I used the Hamanabuda on Nina. I witnessed her father being killed right in front of her, and that moment when they made her laugh.

My head felt like it was boiling.

I could feel my heart pounding.

I wanted to turn everything into a mess.

“Clean up?”

“It’s good when the toy box is messy.”

“It’s okay.”

I exhaled. I had never experienced such turbulent emotions before, and I didn’t know what to do about it.

I feel that I must exorcise the monster in front of me, the monster whose body is bound up with “guiding thread silvate” like a bagworm, at any cost.

“Don’t you think so?” 

“Kisaragi” 

“Itsuki-kun?”

I felt a strong compulsion to exorcise the monster in front of me, the one that had played with Nina-chan and her family, rather than something driven by a sense of justice.

I had to kill this one.

So I released “Guiding Thread” and chanted.

“Consume it, Haze Moon.'”

An early resolution through “Composite Attribute Transformation: Night.” The five “Guiding Threads” I had created shot straight toward the monster. As they bound its body, the moment it attempted to change, the monster’s body burst.

“Oh!”

“It’s dangerous!”

“Haze moon is a finishing move!”

“It’s Itsuki-kun’s!”

With a sound like a snap, the monster’s body disintegrated without me having done anything. The “Guiding Threads” that should have restrained the monster had suddenly come loose, entangling in the air.

“I saw everything!”

“Your magic is all!”

Meanwhile, something black and sticky flowed from the scattered masks. It turned into plush toys.

“Was it tree binding?”

“That’s a good magic.”

“You’ve got talent!”

“I’d give it 100 points!”

They turned into plush toys and stood up.

“But, you know…”

“You’re facing a real 7th degree King.”

“You didn’t even prepare.”

“Show some respect!”

Amidst the incomprehensible retorts flying around,

I directed the next “Guiding Thread Silvate” towards the stuffed animals that had stood up.

Several of the plush toys ensnared by my “Guiding Threads” burst simultaneously. However, I couldn’t pick up everything, and some plush toys escaped from my magic.

The escaped plush toys gathered in a distant location and merged together. At the same time, my body was wrapped in a pure white cloth that fell from the sky. While wrapping Guiding thread Silvate’ tied up my body.

Then, it transformed into those worm-like monsters again.

…Can’t I immobilize them?

But what concerned me even more was…

“…Were you the one who created the troupe members?”

“Hmm! That’s half correct, in a way.”

“It’s half incorrect.”

If that doesn’t work, just use another method.

“Everything you saw is us!”

“Actors from the troupe are the cast.”

“In Wonderland!”

“There are many hands to help.”

“Because we have them.”

The voices I heard were of all ages, men and women, and I felt like some of them sounded like I had heard them before.

“I am Master Leader!”

“Personality splitting is like a piece of cake.”

“Taking in personalities, too!”

Taking in personalities.

Did it mean taking in the split troupe members?

Or…

While I pondered that, I decided to stop thinking further.

There was no point in thinking about it.

There was only one thing I had to do.

“Well, then, I’ll have to exorcise them all.”

“Exorcise?”

“You can do it? You can’t?”

“Don’t get so upset.”

The masks all tilted their heads at the same time.

Continuing to tilt their heads, they began to spin around in a circle.

“Let’s just do fun things.”

“Let’s just do happy things.”

“Let’s just do interesting things!”

“Turning people into plushies and killing adults… Is that fun?”

“No, it’s the opposite!”

“It’s for the kids to laugh.”

“We don’t need adults!”

“Kids have to be considerate of adults!”

As they spun around, all the masks laughed in unison.

I felt a sense of disgust that made me want to vomit at their movements.

“So…”

“A world for children only exists.”

“A world of dreams.”

“That’s my Wonderland!”

While listening to the monster’s words, I began weaving “Guiding Threads” again.

Nina-chan was behind me.

Therefore, I couldn’t use “Oboro Tsuki” openly.

“Oboro Tsuki” was a powerful magic, but it was so powerful that it needed restrictions.

So, I came up with “Koroyo-Rakuyo”, which creates a wall with “Compound Attribute: Night” to surround “Oborozuki” and surround the surrounding area.

The magic used to exorcise the bugs of Harunaga Adashino was a magic that could only be used to keep the opponent in one place. However, the creature in front of me had escaped my restraints. In that case, ” Koroyo-Rakuyo” couldn’t be used either. So, I had to use my next move.

“You look like you’re thinking. How to exorcise us, right? Let’s surprise you right here! Let’s see if we can startle Itsuki-kun!”

The monster shouted. The moment they yelled, the monster extended five “Guiding Threads.”

“…Nina-chan!”

I briefly considered creating a barrier against it, but I instinctively chose “Body Enhancement.” I grabbed Nina-chan and leaped backward. I had a feeling they were going to do something, and a sensation of heat and cold ran down my spine.

“A surprise is sudden! It’s fun, isn’t it? It’s a gift to Itsuki-kun!”

The five “Guiding Silver Threads” merged in the air.

“‘Oboro Tsuki’…”

I thought I was done for. My mind went blank for a moment. The moment it happened, my body, which had kicked off the ground, was pulled forward.

“Mix all the basic attributes,” “Impromptu ideas are,” “simple, aren’t they?” “Because I lack magic,” “It’s not that I can’t do it, but I just can’t!”

I extended the “Guiding Thread Silvate” backward.

Even though I tried to extend it, the magic power dispersed without forming at my fingertips.

“But I can do it!” “With one personality,” “one life,” “using life to gain magical power,” “equivalent exchange is,” “the oldest” “magic, right?”

That’s right. This magic seals magic.

Those taken into the range of “Oboro Tsuki” would become unable to use magic.

Before I knew it, my “Body Enhancement” had already disappeared, and my body was being sucked toward the black sphere. The sphere was already scraping the ground in the amusement park.

Once you were swallowed by it, there was no escape. It would grind anyone or anything into fine dust and absorb them.

“Itsuki…! That’s…!!”

Nina-chan shouted because she had seen me use it several times. She knew the power of “Oboro Tsuki” and understood what would happen next.

“It’s okay.”

But I controlled it.

“It’s okay, Nina.”

Of course.

I knew that magic better than anyone else.

“Trust me.”

Controlled, I plunged into “Oboro Tsuki.”

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