[30]

As the cat-shaped sapphire pendant slipped from Alice's palm, it merged into the ground as if sinking into the water.

"High diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle..."

Alice softly sang the nursery rhyme as she walked deeper into Kistynd. Once-bustling amusement rides now stood rusted and decayed, and gray starlings fluttered around her, beating their wings as they kept watch for any sign of danger on behalf of their master.

"The cow jumped over the moon, the little dog laughed..." she murmured. The abandoned amusement park had long lost the glow of its glory days. It was as though a witch of fairy tales had devoured the last remnants of twilight, transforming the place into a feast of night, a playground belonging solely to her.

Typically, any magus who dared enter would face a severe disadvantage in this environment. This was an undeniable fact. But, thanks to a friend's warning, Alice was especially cautious tonight. She had brought all her combat-type PLOYs and remained on high alert from the start.

"To see such craft, and the dish ran away with the spoon..."

"Growl, growl, we're hungry!"

"Should we eat everything?"

"Where is the guest?"

"Shall we eat the guest?"

Two strange figures emerged from Alice's shadow. They looked like toys, but the words they uttered were chilling.

"Go further ahead!"

"Let's go, let's go!"

The twin piglets urged their master to move faster, but Alice kept her steady pace.

"Get the dice ready! Get the dice ready!"

"Just make sure not to roll a six!"

A premonition flickered through Alice's mind. She raised an eyebrow and released the Rose Hounds she had been carrying. The numerous gray starlings that had been scouting had vanished, a sign the enemy was close.

The Rose Hounds, though only resembling dogs, were skilled in their work. Fog-formed, they sniffed the air, making snuffling sounds as they searched. Red, glowing eyes began to emerge from the darkness, though closer inspection revealed them to be artificial—mechanical "eyes" on the bodies of numerous dolls.

Alice narrowed her eyes, observing. These dolls were similar to ones she'd faced before: humanoid but crawling like insects, with nimble fingers awkwardly equipped with blades.

Alice scoffed as her Rose Hounds bared their fangs and surged forward. Physical attacks could not harm these fog creatures, but if any part of a doll was consumed, it was lost forever. One of the Rose Hounds bit into a doll's head, reducing it to a pile of parts with a sharp crunch.

More red lights appeared in the darkness around her—at least thirty dolls had surrounded her. Though weaker in combat than the Rose Hounds, they outnumbered them overwhelmingly.

While Alice was a powerful witch, her strength relied on her PLOYs; her physical agility was limited, a flaw her roommate Aoko often complained about. Even a single doll slipping past her defenses could mean her defeat, as her Mystic Eyes did not affect inorganic beings like these dolls. Nonetheless, she activated them, her left eye glowing red to match the dolls'.

The dolls charged, disregarding the Rose Hounds' attacks and aiming directly for Alice, sacrificing some of their own to let others reach her. This clever tactic betrayed the presence of a magus controlling them, but the Rose Hounds were ruthlessly efficient, tearing the dolls apart with ease.

Just as Alice thought the dolls would be vanquished, something unexpected occurred. Both the active dolls and the shattered remnants began to float. Runes—Runic magic—appeared all over their bodies.

Alice reacted instantly, summoning the two nearest Rose Hounds to form a fog shield around her. The remaining dolls and their dismembered parts began to glow intensely, channeling their energy into a massive explosion.

The blast echoed around her, with doll parts turned into deadly shrapnel scattering in all directions. Without the Witch on the Holy Night, this attack would have been lethal. However, Alice's powerful PLOYs easily countered the dolls' self-destruction, their mystery far superior to the dolls' mystery. Apart from feeling slightly unsettled, she emerged unharmed.

As Alice scanned her surroundings, a golden shadow approached silently. With fur of pure gold emitting a faint glow, it slipped past her Rose Hounds' defenses and came close to her.

"What...?!"

Unprepared, Alice acted quickly. She transformed all her remaining Rose Hounds into a fog shield and commanded the twin pigs to attack. Yet the golden beast merely grinned. In that instant, she saw it clearly: an enormous golden wolf, a creature of breathtaking beauty.

This was no illusion or magical creation but a true sacred being. Its essence was ancient, from the Age of Gods, and Alice realized at once—against such a creature, her magecraft was powerless.