One-way traffic

"I won't let you go."

The book floated slowly in mid-air.

A series of purplish-black runes then emerged from the pages of the book, coiling around Alice's entire body and amplifying the magical power—

The seven-colored light completely transformed into a somber purplish-black hue.

"You're right, you're absolutely right. We have the same kind of personality. We're both gloomy and unwilling to accept others, which is why we can understand each other. So only I can understand you, and only you can understand me."

"So, that's exactly why—"

"I won't let you just leave like this, or leave my side."

boom----! ! !

A magical force far exceeding the norm exploded over a wide area.

Alice, the doll-wielding girl.

He has gone from being manipulated to being manipulated by the power of that book.

"What's going on...?"

Accelerator couldn't help but raise his hand to shield himself from the raging power.

Because he possesses the ability to reflect, Alice's power, no matter how strong, cannot threaten him.

Even so, that eerie aura still made him subconsciously put his hand in front of him.

Could it be that the book... harbors some kind of strange power, which is why she always carries it with her?

"It actually went berserk... no, rather, it was willingly manipulated?"

He could more or less guess what had caused Alice to become like this, what kind of feelings she had.

But the most urgent task is still to bring it back to its original world.

and.

"...If we continue, there is a possibility that we will be discovered."

If Accelerator, who was supposed to be dead, is noticed by the people at the banquet and they realize he is not dead, then there could be a lot of trouble.

The biggest problem, however, is that the girl in front of him needs to be controlled first.

"whee."

She was surrounded by darkness, and the dolls became twisted and chaotic.

The girl's clothing even changed to a dark color scheme consisting of only blue and white.

"I won't let you go. It's dangerous to leave here and go to that monster's side, isn't it? No way, you've already died once. I can't let you die a second time."

"It'll be alright if you become a doll, right? As a doll, you can recover well no matter how you get injured. If you lose a hand, you can reattach the severed limb. If you lose your head, you can reattach it. Even if you lose all your internal organs and blood, I will prepare new replacements for you."

"I will protect you, hehe, absolutely, I will keep you by my side forever, after all, we are kindred spirits who understand each other."

Alice, now completely transformed, raised her arms high.

The books are open.

Countless wisps of dark mist surged forth from within the book in an instant.

Accelerator, in a wary stance, instantly planted his right foot on the ground.

Boom! A gust of wind swept up from the ground.

The impact and the waves dispersed the dark fog, but even after it was dispersed again, the fog still enveloped the passage from both sides and flowed back towards one side.

If we use a larger force, we can directly overwhelm all of Alice's offensives.

But doing so would be tantamount to introducing oneself here.

"What a troublemaker I am..."

Now, Accelerator can also use the power of space to leave directly here, leaving Alice behind.

But he would never do that.

In the blink of an eye, darkness swallowed up that last glimmer of white.

however.

What rose from the darkness was an even more dazzling flame.

—Burning in the flames of karma.

In an instant, Accelerator produced a huge scythe with a dark red tip, Nathos, which allowed him to break free from the encirclement.

"You can't escape."

With a faint smile, the girl suspended the book in mid-air and turned the pages, causing a series of runes to once again enter her body.

Dozens, hundreds, or even more dolls emerged from the dark space.

The puppets, in their largest numbers and at the fastest speed, attacked One-Way Street in one fell swoop.

boom--! ! !

The first one merely raised his scythe and slashed forward, and endless karmic fire engulfed all the puppets.

however.

"—There are still more?"

Even if the karmic fire engulfs all the puppets, a new batch of puppets will be reborn in the next instant.

Nathos's karmic fire is indeed an inextinguishable flame.

However, there is also no limit to the number of those puppets.

"Wouldn't it be much better with dolls? You wouldn't have to worry about birth, aging, sickness, and death. No matter what, they can be reborn. Even if they are engulfed by flames and their bodies are gone, you can still create many more."

Using nonsensical language, the girl continued with a grin.

"And most importantly, the doll is my only partner who will never betray me."

As Alice said, the number of those dolls was truly endless.

Accelerator could easily destroy them and save Alice at the same time, but all of this depends on using attacks with greater impact.

Trying to rescue Alice without attracting the attention of those monsters would be far too difficult.

and so--

Rather than attack, he decided to stay put and let the puppets surround him.

Darkness engulfed the first one at his feet.

"I have never truly opened my heart to anyone until now."

The darkness, acting as a prison, completely engulfed Accelerator's body, and the puppets emerged from it as well.

The girl in the sky was speaking her most genuine thoughts to herself.

"As a magician, it is difficult for both humans and monsters to get close to me. I was once just a lowly human. It wasn't until I became a magician that I truly understood that dolls are the best partners. Only dolls can truly open their hearts to me."

"But it's not just like that. Although I can't open up to others, I've always believed that there must be someone who has something in common with me."

"Although I have never said such things to anyone so far, it has always been buried in my heart. I have been searching for a human being who can communicate with me without caring about my identity, and who can get along well with me."

"So, finally, we found it."

"Even though we only spent a short month together, you really made me realize that people who can confide in me and are like me really exist in this world."

"It's okay, hehe~ Even in this fantasy world full of girls, it doesn't matter if you're a boy. As long as you become a doll, no matter what kind of predicament you encounter, it won't be a problem."

As she poured out everything from the depths of her heart, she concentrated all her immense magical power in front of her.

Darkness completely engulfed the first person's body.

"That way, I won't let you go anywhere else, and I won't let you leave my side to go to anyone else's place."

"Because we understand each other."

Facing the moonlight, the girl in blue and white clothes lost all her charm—even though a smile still lingered on her face.

She could no longer hear what the sound was.

—Bang.

Therefore.

At that critical moment, something flew directly from in front of them.

That's a sickle.

The scythe named Nathos was thrown by its owner and immediately pierced the front of the book.

"Huh?!"

Alice quickly covered her chest, her eyes narrowing instantly.

"I'm sorry, what you're saying is completely useless."

boom! !

It was like a farce; the place, filled with countless puppets and shrouded in darkness, was instantly wiped out and escaped.

A white nightmare.

"This is merely the effect of being bewitched by pure power. You say this is your true feeling? Ha, don't make me laugh! This woman's heart is far from as fragile as you say."

With eyes flashing a crimson light that could suppress even the darkness surrounding Alice, Accelerator's body appeared before her in an instant.

"If you want to say these things to me, then at least use a normal person's words."

"You lowlife who came from who-knows-where, get the hell out of here and go a million light-years away, you bastard!"

Ignoring Alice's astonished gaze, he placed his hand on the girl's forehead.

A radiant light appeared.

In that instant, the girl's true spirit slowly awakened from its depths.

Accelerator leaped backward in an instant, drew his scythe, and tore the book to shreds.

The dark nightmare broke free from it.

However, Accelerator grabbed it in his hand.

No matter how much the creature in the book struggled, the first one merely curled his lip and, with a fierce gaze that surpassed even that of a demon, crushed the thing in his hand in an instant.

The darkness receded.

The bright moonlight shone down, and the girl's figure fell with it.

And that white light, brighter than moonlight, caught the girl's body in that instant.

He stood on the ground of Gensokyo, holding a scythe in one hand and a girl in the other, with his back to the moonlight.

Chapter 506 The Last Moments of the Night

When Alice came to her senses, about ten minutes had passed.

It was still the same forest, and the sky was still covered by moonlight.

It was still that same pure white figure.

"Finally awake."

He turned his head indifferently and spoke calmly.

No matter how dark and apocalyptic everything that had just happened, it meant nothing to the person in front of him.

He was always like an inextinguishable flame.

No matter how dark or lonely the place, that figure, entirely white, will never be harmed in the slightest.

That's exactly why.

That's why he's called Accelerator.

"That's what I thought."

Alice then got up and found herself in a large clump of bushes, with the book beside her that had been torn open on the inside.

Alice picked up the book and looked at it with a wry smile.