The disturbance behind them didn't escape Ellen and Phaga's notice—they both turned sharply. Ellen, especially, instinctively jumped back, landing beside Phaga.
Suddenly, she seemed to sense something. Her mind shifted, and she stared down at her palm, murmuring,
"The buff's gone?"
"Looks like it's really entered Phase Two."
Phaga tilted his head briefly, then focused on the black-and-white doll—no, the black doll. Its back had split open, revealing dark cotton inside. A thick cloud of black mist emerged, laced with faint traces of purple Ether, rising toward the ceiling. Within seconds, the Ether-infused mist recondensed midair.
The black doll sank into the water. Massive bear paws burst from the surface, followed by a hulking, fur-covered torso—and then a giant bear's head. The transformation complete, the black doll roared in fury. Waves surged violently, and a piercing, feminine voice screamed with rage:
[You... will all die!]
Then it slammed its fist into the water.
[Waves! Rise!]
At once, whirlpools began swirling across the surface, their centers glowing with skyrocketing Ether activity. One appeared right beneath Ellen's feet!
"Ellen, watch out below!"
Phaga shouted.
Without hesitation, Ellen reacted purely on instinct and trust in Phaga. She jumped clear, landing beside him just as the vortex beneath her erupted violently. Dozens of whirlpools responded in unison, waves bursting upward and crashing into the ceiling.
At the same time, two serpentine streams—one black, one white—formed behind the black doll and lunged toward Ellen and Phaga.
"Move!"
Phaga grabbed Ellen's shoulder, and the two leapt back together!
Missing their mark, the twin serpents continued their assault. The white one snapped open its massive jaws and lunged, biting wildly. Water exploded everywhere, and even the floor cracked beneath its strikes.
Phaga and Ellen kept retreating, their attention flicking toward the sky—where the black serpent hovered, its body half-raised. A bright light gathered in its maw, forming a glowing blue orb that rapidly swelled—then fired!
"Ellen!"
Phaga spread his wings. With the Kunmutu in his left hand and his vampiric blade extending from his right, he struck down the white serpent's next attack and shouted back,
"Go!"
"Got it!"
Ellen stepped on Phaga's back, vaulting into the air. She sliced apart the blue water sphere shot by the black serpent, then dashed forward using [Roaming Hunt]. In a flash, she appeared beneath the black serpent and cleaved it clean in two.
Landing beside Phaga, she regrouped with him.
[Die!]
Across the room, the black doll bellowed. Its massive hand came crashing down. The waves clinging to the ceiling condensed into a single enormous sphere. Before it could stabilize, the doll hurled it downward.
Boom!
The colossal water mass slammed toward them, shaking the entire floor. Waves rebounded from the ground to the ceiling, leaving the room drenched. The air thickened with the stench of rot and decay—death and despair itself.
[Hmph! Pathetic insects, not even—]
The black doll's words stopped abruptly. Its gaze shifted from the mist surrounding Phaga—something was glinting inside. That… was Miss Shark's scissors!
They'd blocked the attack!
Whoosh—!
Before the black doll could react, its body twisted instinctively, narrowly dodging the massive flying shears that buried themselves in the ceiling. But avoiding the scissors didn't mean avoiding Ellen.
She burst through the mist like a missile, twisting midair. Her powerful shark tail, coated in chilling frost, whipped across the black doll's face!
Smack!
The impact shattered half of its monstrous visage. Ellen landed, sprang forward again—not to attack, but to climb. Using the doll's back and shoulders as footholds, she ascended and kicked off, grabbing the blade embedded in the ceiling.
Crack—
The hilt loosened, and Ellen fell. A flash of icy blue lit up as she shouted,
"Sharknami!"
Danger! Danger! Danger!
Panic surged through the black doll. It was too late to defend—it spun around, striking out with its water-wreathed palm, intent on trading injury for victory.
In its mind, the calculation was simple. Ellen's strike would crush its arm—but she'd be incapacitated in return. Worth it!
It poured more power into its palm.
Then, a calm voice rose from below.
"Hey, ignoring me is kind of rude, don't you think?"
The sound sent a jolt through the doll's core. It looked down—straight into Phaga's blood-red eyes, his trembling wings half-spread...
...and the glint of his crimson blade.
Whirr—Crash!
One clean strike severed the black doll's right arm!
But it had no time to scream. Above, Ellen's Sharknami was already descending.
Boom!!!
The frozen gale struck like a meteor, slamming the doll into the ground. Moments later, a forest of ice spears burst upward, piercing its chest and lifting its body into the air.
Ellen stepped back beside Phaga. Seeing her trembling hand, he asked quietly,
"You alright?"
"Mhm…" She nodded faintly. "Just a little drained. I'll be fine soon."
"That's good. Don't overdo it."
Phaga turned back toward the doll, narrowing his eyes. Ellen frowned.
"It's still not over?"
"Almost…"
Phaga nodded. Under his monocle, crimson light flickered. "Its Ether activity dropped a lot—but it's not dead yet."
Crack… Crack…
The sound came from the black doll. It was still moving. Slowly, it raised its ruined head—half of it crushed—and croaked,
[So... if Miss Shark says she doesn't hate you anymore, will you let me go?]
It was begging now.
Mercy? From us?
Phaga walked forward, Kunmutu in hand. The blade's polished surface reflected the doll's filthy face.
"Do you like hinged or sliding coffins? I can buy one for you later."
That was mercy, to him.
But the black doll disagreed.
[No, no! I'm a Doppelgänger—when I die, not even my body remains. No coffin needed!]
[How about something else, Your Fragrant Vampire Lord?]
Phaga raised an eyebrow at the odd phrasing but didn't question it.
"In that case, maybe an urn will do."
[What?! We won't even leave ashes behind!]
The black doll roared in frustration.
So there's no way out? You're really just joking your way to the afterlife, huh?
But I can't laugh, damn it!
As Phaga drew nearer, the doll gritted its teeth.
[I can give you information! Don't kill me!]
"Oh?"
Phaga stopped. "Go on."
[First, lower your blade! And don't get so close—you're a married man, aren't you afraid Miss Shark will get jealous?]
The doll was stalling, desperate to make him back off.
Phaga didn't move an inch. "No one gets jealous over someone about to die."
"Talk. Or I'll cut you."
[Alright, alright! Big Sis will talk!]
The doll coughed twice and hurriedly began. Meanwhile, Phaga tapped his earpiece, connecting to Rina and Lycaon.
[Inside the Ballet Tower, there exists a Notoriety Ethereal.]
"Why not start from the Old Capital's fall? Keep it short—or I'll cut you."
[Fine, fine!]
[That Notoriety Ethereal used to be a pair of dancer sisters. Even after turning Ethereal, they kept some of their old habits.]
[For example, when they hear music, they can't resist coming out to dance with the guests. So, uh, maybe... don't play any music.]
[They were kind in life, and even now, they lock themselves away to suppress their Ethereal urges, avoiding harm to others.]
[So unless absolutely necessary—don't look for them. You'll regret it.]
[And if you do meet them—remember—they share one life. Their existence is connected.]
Finishing, the doll sighed in relief and grinned.
[Finally bought some time. My slow colleagues should be here any second!]
What? This thing has colleagues?
Phaga froze. Hadn't Rina said they'd already encountered four dolls?
One that separated everyone.
One blinded by greed.
One that trapped people in sealed rooms.
And one built for combat.
This was supposed to be the last one. So how...?
Wait—
Phaga's thoughts raced. On the other end, Rina and Lycaon fell silent.
Another colleague... Could it be—?
In that instant, all three realized it at once—
The Exquisite Doll was never dead!
Crack!
A massive spatial rift tore open. Before it stood the Exquisite Doll.
[Bye-bye, no need to see me off~~]
The black doll waved, forcing its way through the ice restraints before diving into the rift. The Exquisite Doll followed, and the crack sealed shut.
Silence returned.
"...Well," Phaga muttered, rubbing his forehead with a wry look. "That's that. Let's move the Ether batteries—they probably didn't get wet..."
Before he could finish, a powerful force slammed him from behind, knocking him straight into the water.
"Ellen, wait—Ellen—!"
"Enough talk. I told you I'd bite you. No running."
"But... but—"
"Mmmph~~"
...
On the other end of the comms, Lycaon's face turned pale. He shut off the line.
Rina, meanwhile, smiled fondly, nudging his shoulder.
"Ah, young ones really are full of energy, don't you think, Lord Lycaon?"
Lycaon's expression darkened even further, his hand pressing the console button with extra force.
"What... just happened?"
Without the headset connection, Corin felt completely cut off from the world, a giant question mark practically hovering over her head.