Chapter 20. The One and Only One

Kuttanai carried Etinnei to a forest clearing, stopped near a large gray rock and lowered the wrench. The Arctic fox girl fell to the ground, covered with sparse grassy vegetation.

"You are well made," Kuttanai said. "Your design combines colors and shapes well."

Etinnei rose to her feet, but could not raise her head. The appearance of a man with a carrot nose instilled fear in her, which only intensified from his voice.

"You could be a good doll," Kuttanai continued. "It's a pity, only living beings can be turned into dolls."

Suddenly, Etinnei heard a sound similar to the cry of a bird, which was accompanied by a sharp pain in her head. The arctic fox girl fell to her knees.

"Help me, refrigerator girl," a voice was heard in the animal girl's head. "I don't want him to get me."

Etinnei looked to the side and saw next to her a penguin with an antenna in the form of an ice cream cone on its head, hovering in the air.

"I can't, Minniges," Etinnei thought. "I'm scared. I'm so scared that I can't use my skills to fight."

Minniges disappeared. The pain and screams in Etinnei's head stopped.

Kuttanai turned a wrench on the character.

"There's something about you," Kuttanai said. "I'm feeling it."

Kuttanai made a circular motion with the wrench counterclockwise. A blue energy gear appeared between the creatures, after which Kuttanai repeated the movement with the wrench.

Etinnei's eyes closed and her mouth opened. A cloud of white energy burst out from it, which turned into a white glowing silhouette of a penguin. The energy cog disappeared.

Etinnei fell to the ground. The silhouette turned into a blue and white penguin that lived in the brain of the arctic fox girl.

The light bulb on Minniges's forehead, which looked like an ice cream cone, turned white and blue and opaque. A white and blue aura appeared around the penguin, releasing icy vapors into the air.

Tuot came out of the forest in a green energy aura. In one hand he held a short curved sword. At the elbow of the second arm was a semicircular purple shield with a black symbol in the middle.

"You're late," Kuttanai said. "I've already pulled the character out of Etinnei's head. Now I have two new characters instead of one."

"Why do you need Etinnei?" Tuot asked.

It was created in my account in the "Mausoleum of Nature" program, that's why this is my character. And the character from her head is also mine.

Tuot did not understand Kuttanai's words, but understood that Etinnei should not get to him. He saw how his girlfriend was afraid of this strange creature. The dinosaur did not share many of the feelings of other creatures, but he understood well what fear was, because he himself often experienced it.

"Etinnei is afraid of him," Tuot thought. "I don't want this girl with ears and a tail to be afraid." She may be a different species, but she feels fear the same way I do."

Previously, Tuot was afraid of everything that could somehow threaten him. But now the fear for her playmate was stronger than other fears.

The icy vapors around Minniges began to spread in all directions and turned into an icy fog. Tuot summoned a yellow lizard, which a moment later was surrounded by a yellow aura.

The icy fog reached Tuot and slowed his movements. Luckily for the dinosaur, the lizard released a wave of yellow energy from its aura, after which the negative effect disappeared. The radius of the icy fog had decreased and now covered the area around Minniges himself.

Kuttanai pointed the wrench at Etinnei and made a clockwise circular motion. The blue energy gear appeared in front of the wrench again.

Kuttanai repeated the movement with his weapon. Etinnei's body rose above the surface of the earth and hung in a vertical position. Her mouth fell open. Minniges' body turned into a glowing silhouette, and then into a white cloud, which moved into the mouth of the arctic fox girl. Etinnei fell to the ground unconscious.

Tuot released two long energy feathers from the tail part of the aura, which then flew towards Kuttanai. The man with the carrot nose pointed a wrench at one of the feathers and redirected it towards the rock. The second feather approached Kuttanai, but only damaged the edge of the mask.

"He can only hit one thing with his weapon," Tuot thought. "Now it's clear how to attack him."

Etinnei opened her eyes and immediately felt fear, which reminded her that somewhere nearby there was a scary person with a carrot nose. The arctic fox girl got down on all fours, looked around and noticed a yellow lizard that was releasing waves of yellow energy from the aura around itself, and then disappeared.

Tuot again attacked the enemy with energy feathers from the tail part of the aura, but this time there were several times more of them.

Kuttanai responded with several lightning bolts from his hand, which collided with the feathers and destroyed them.

"He can still attack several objects, but with the help of a skill," Tuot thought. "So I need to try something different."

At that moment, the dinosaur noticed the arctic fox girl, who was kneeling and looking at him.

Kuttanai pointed the key at Etinnei. The animal girl fell face down on the ground, and then abruptly rose to her feet. Her eyes emitted an orange glow, and part of an icicle appeared from her sleeve.

"What's happening to her?" Tuot thought. "Is this the skill of this carrot-nosed guy?"

The icicle became covered in an electrical aura and was then released at Tuot. The dinosaur covered himself with a shield. The icicle hit the shield and broke.

"Etinnei, I'm not an enemy!" Tuot shouted. "Don't attack me! Attack him!"

"She doesn't hear you," Kuttanai said. "She is under my control."

Tuot looked at Kuttanai and noticed that he was holding a wrench pointed at the arctic fox girl.

"What happens if I make him point the wrench in the other direction?" an idea appeared in the dinosaur's head. "This should work."

Several icicles flew towards Tuot, through which electricity passed. The dinosaur jumped to the side and dodged them, but then noticed an icicle sticking out of its shoulder...

... Etinnei stood behind Tuot and pierced his back with an icicle. A moment later, the icicle was surrounded by an electric aura, which sent a current through the dinosaur's body.

Tuot began to shake. His tail rose sharply and threw Etinnei along with the icicle into the middle of the clearing. This worked. The current stopped hitting the dinosaur, and its body returned to normal.

Etinnei landed on her feet. A white-blue ball with icy vapors around it appeared in her hand. The girl's hair turned white-yellow, and her clothes changed to winter ones: a white-blue fur jacket and shorts.

"In games, such a skill usually freezes the enemy," Tuot guessed mentally. "I wonder if they freeze me, will I stay alive."

Etinnei extended her hand with an ice ball, and it flew towards the enemy. Tuot noticed this and jumped to the side. The ball flew into the forest and crashed into the trunk of the first tree it came across. Ice formed at the site where it hit, which quickly spread and covered the lower part of the trunk. Moments later, the ice cracked and then shattered.

Tuot attacked Kuttanai with energy feathers again. The carrot-nosed man released lightning bolts from his free hand and destroyed the feathers, after which he lowered the wrench.

Etinnei's eyes became the same. The girl fell to her knees and lowered her head so as not to accidentally see the face of the one she was afraid of. Her hair turned black and her clothes became summer.

Tuot approached his friend in several leaps.

"Are you okay?" the dinosaur asked.

"I'm scared," the arctic fox girl answered.

"I won't be able to stay in the aura for long. It uses a lot of energy. And without an aura, he will quickly kill me. I need your help."

"I can't. I'm scared of him."

"Now is not the time for that. We need to act."

Etinnei looked at Tuot. A clear liquid, reminiscent of tears, flowed down her face from her eyes.

"Sorry," Etinnei said. "The only thing I can do is tell you how to defeat him."

The conversation was interrupted by lightning released by Kuttanai. Tuot reacted in time and blocked it with his shield.

"His carrot-shaped nose works like an antenna and sends signals to the brains of other creatures," Etinnei explained. "If you cut off the nose, it won't be able to send signals."

"How did you know that?" Tuot asked.

"He sent a signal to my brain, and I understood where it came from."

Tuot had to block another lightning bolt from Kuttanai.

"We can freeze it and then cut off the nose," Tuot suggested.

"You won't be able to get close to him," Etinnei said. "And I won't be able to freeze it. If I'm scared, I can't use skills."

Kuttanai aimed the wrench at Tuot. The dinosaur realized that he wanted to control him. So he quickly ran towards the forest, then turned around and ran to attack the enemy.

Kuttanai tried to capture the dinosaur with the wrench, but due to his fast movement, he was unable to do so. Tuot approached the enemy at a distance of several steps, after which he began to run around him in circles. The man with the carrot nose tried to stop him with the wrench, and even launched lightning, but did not hit the target.

"I can't do it anymore," Tuot thought. "A little more and my aura will disappear. I'll have to attack now."

Tuot approached Kuttanai and hit him in the face with his tail. The carrot-nosed man held the key in front of him, so Tuot's blow was stopped along with the dinosaur itself.

Tuot stopped moving. His tail was one step short of reaching the tip of Kuttanai's nose.

"You fought well," Kuttanai said. "You could make a good doll. But I already have a similar one. So I'll just throw you out."

Kuttanai turned the wrench to the side. Tuot's body flew to the edge of the clearing.

***

Itinit's body "hung" in the air above the coastal stones and could not move. Yuehei is flying motionless over the shore and looked at him.

"What should I do now?" Itinit thought. "This doll can control objects with her gaze. Taikuron had a similar skill. Then the energy barrier saved me from his ability, but now I can't use it. I can't do anything at all now. I can only think, see and hear."

Itinit began to examine the doll: pink hair down to her knees, chains that did not hide her figure with large breasts; a thin waist and wide hips, but covered her nipples and crotch; purple glowing eyes against the background of a cute doll face, thick short legs, one of which is bent at the knee.

"She's perfect," Itinit thought. "Finally, I can look at a girl and not hide it. I simply have no choice. This is the only thing left for me. It's actually good that it happened this way. Now I'm ready to be in this state for as long as she makes me."

Then Itinit remembered that a person's eyes can interact with the energy of the surrounding space.

"I once read on the network that you can use your eyes to summon an interface," Itinit thought. "I didn't believe it then. Now this can be checked, but I don't want to. I want to look further at this beauty."

... Itinit did not know how long he spent in this state. But the moment came when he was tired of just looking at the doll, and wanted to touch it.

The guy blinked one eye and closed the other at the same time. The faint outline of a virtual screen appeared in front of him and disappeared almost immediately.

"It works," Itinit thought happily. "I need to focus."

Itinit repeated what he had done before. A virtual screen with icon buttons appeared in front of him.

"Now I just have to figure out how to press these buttons," Itinit thought.

But he didn't have to think long. A red frame appeared around the button Itinit was looking at. When the eye moved to another button, the frame moved there. Itinit found the button he needed, and then closed one eye. The button began to flash red, after which the screen disappeared.

Itinit fell on a stone near the shore and looked around. A blue translucent energy barrier in the shape of a sphere appeared around him.

"Inconvenient controls, of course, but it works," Itinit thought. "As long as I'm in the barrier, she won't be able to control my body. I will have to fight her like I fought Taikuron."

Several blue energy balls with lights inside appeared around Itinit. A red translucent energy barrier in the shape of a sphere appeared around Yuehei.

"Judging by the color of the barrier, it can heal those who are in it," Itinit mentally guessed. "It doesn't work like mine. It does not protect, but restores."

Balls with lights flew at the enemy, passed through the barrier, and exploded near the doll. Smoke filled the barrier, but after a few moments it cleared.

Itinit saw Yuehei without arms and part of her leg. The barrier filled with pink gas and became opaque. A few moments later, the barrier became the same, and the doll completely restored its lost limbs.

"I thought so," Itinit guessed mentally. "The barrier restored the doll. But at the same time it is clear that the enemy's skills pass through the barrier. This means that I need to use a very powerful skill that will destroy the doll to such a state that it will take a long time to recover. I can do this and not be afraid that I will kill her."

A stone pot appeared above Itinit, which soon began to fill with blue energy. Yuehei noticed this, disappeared along with the barrier and appeared high in the sky, also along with the barrier.

"She thinks that my special skill will not reach her," Itinit thought. "I hope the Comet of Pity will blow her apart, but not kill her. It's good that she's a doll."

The pot stood in a vertical position with the hole facing up. Blue smoke poured out of it, filling the barrier and then extending beyond it. A blue energy comet burst out of the pot, leaving a trail like a beam behind it.

Yuehei looked at the approaching comet, but did nothing. The comet entered the doll's barrier. There was an explosion that turned the sky over the coast blue.

The doll's barrier disappeared. Parts of Yuehei's body fell from the sky onto the shore. Itinit saw the doll's head near the water's edge and smiled. But he soon regretted it. A pink aura surrounded Yuehei's head, after which she rose from the ground and hung in the air. Then the same thing happened to the rest of the body.

Yuehei opened her mouth filled with pink energy. Her body parts flew up to her head and began to come together.

"What should we do with her?" Itinit thought in despair. "Even without a barrier, she can heal. Maybe I should just give in? Then I will look at her again and do nothing. Maybe this is better?"

Yuehei restored her body and chains, then closed her mouth and disappeared. Itinit noticed this and looked around to find her. But the doll did not appear anywhere.

"She ran away," Itinit was frightened. "She didn't like me?"

Itinit removed the barrier and jumped onto the shore.

Suddenly the guy noticed that something soft and pleasant was pressed against him from behind. He turned his head to the side and saw a strand of pink hair blowing in the wind. Itinit was scared, because he realized who it was. But the doll's touch was so pleasant that the guy forgot his fear and closed his eyes.

"A girl is hugging me, even if she is non-living," Itinit thought. "I never thought this would happen. Now I'm sorry to die."

Itinit felt something heavy wrap around his neck, and there was no more touch from the doll. The guy touched his neck and realized that there was a chain hanging on it.

Itinit looked up. Yuehei hovered in the air above the shore and held the end of a chain in her hand. The guy felt the chain tightening and squeezing his neck, but continued to look at the doll.

"I will admire her to the end," thoughts flashed through Itinit's head. "I finally met her, the one and only one. She hugged me and I realized that under different circumstances we could have been together. But, unfortunately, we are enemies."

The chain that Yuehei was holding began to be covered in a white-pink electric aura from beginning to end, and spread to the chains that covered the doll itself.

The last thing Itinit saw was a doll with pink hair, covered with chains that glowed with something bright.