Chapter 110. Dollmaker
Two bears reacted to my words.
They muttered the word “Doodoomba bear.”
“······.”
I took a step forward toward the teddy bears.
At that moment.
［Gooom!］
［Gooom!!!］
［Goooom!!!!!］
As if I had trespassed into their territory.
The other teddy bears let out sharp roars and began rushing at me all at once.
【Yumi】─ Gasp! It’s dangerous!!!
【Bubble Bubble】─ It’s not dangerous.
The teddy bears flew at me at high speed.
I calmly observed their movements.
［Daddy’s in danger!］
［I’ll protect you, Father!］
Before Princess and Arachne, who were running from behind, could reach me.
I twisted my shoulder slightly to dodge one teddy bear.
Moving smoothly to the side as if sliding, I lightly ducked and avoided all the attacks with ease.
【Pururu】─ Wow, he dodged everything.
【Mysticism】─😮 Amazing!!!
【Rizenova】─ How marvelous.
While dodging the attacks, I immediately countered the teddy bears that were now floating in midair.
I struck the back of the nearest teddy bear with my right hand, then quickly hit another with my left.
I repeated that simple action in rapid succession.
［Gooom!!］
［Go···!］
［Goooooom!!!］
The continuous strikes shattered the teddy bears’ bodies into pieces, scattering them in all directions.
Despite being nerfed.
They were quite underwhelming for B-ranks.
【Pururu】─ㄷㄷ He killed all the S-ranks in one blow.
【Mysticism】─😶 They’re nerfed to B-rank!
【Yumi】─ Oh, right. Mr. Geon is currently in the second stage of unsealing, so he’s A-rank…
When the short battle ended.
Only two teddy bears remained under the tree.
Unlike the other teddy bears that had immediately shown hostility and attacked, they were still standing idly, staring at me under the tree.
Their attitude solidified my suspicions.
【Bubble Bubble】─ Why are those standing still?
【Rizenova】─ Maybe they’re broken?
“…It’s natural they won’t attack me. Tamed monsters never betray, no matter what happens.”
【Bubble Bubble】─?
【Rizenova】─ What do you mean?
【Mysticism】─🤔
I took another step.
And then stood right in front of the two teddy bears.
I gazed down at them, observing them closely.
The closer I got, the stronger the feeling became.
An invisible bond between us that could never be broken.
［Father, are you saying one of these teddy bears is the Hedgehog Summoner?］
Kinogine Arachne approached and asked.
I nodded my head and said.
“Yes, that’s right. The monsters I tame feel connected to me by an invisible thread, and these guys feel the same connection as you.”
I squatted down and patted the teddy bears’ heads as I continued speaking.
“This big one is definitely an Abyssal Undead Spirit, and the small one is without a doubt the Hedgehog Summoner. For some reason, they’ve ended up in this form.”
［I can’t believe it…］
The connection with the large teddy bear was faint.
But the connection with the small one felt as strong as with the monsters behind me.
That meant…
The big one was an Abyssal Undead Spirit summoned by a tamed monster, and the small one was a monster I had personally tamed, the Hedgehog Summoner.
And the teddy bears I had just defeated were probably Poison Apple originals.
There were no other nerfed B-rank monsters around here that would be so weak unless they failed to meet certain conditions.
If I had gauged the threat level poorly, the teddy bears would have been detected as far below B-rank.
【Pururu】─ So how do we change them back to their original form?
“I have no idea. We’ll have to catch the one who turned the Hedgehog into a teddy bear and force the method out of them.”
After answering, I turned my gaze toward Omega and asked.
“Omega, do you have any idea which monster could do this? It doesn’t seem like a common ability.”
［Bloop bloop… A power to turn someone into a teddy bear and erase their presence…］
Omega tapped her head.
She seemed to be searching her memory.
［Sorry. There’s no monster like that in my data. Bloop bloop.］
“No need to apologize.”
There was a way to find the monster responsible anyway.
Like the Puppetmaster, Niara Nepensis also had tracking abilities.
Asking Omega was just a way to try to identify the opponent in advance.
［Son. Mom found the bad child connected to the teddy bears.］
Just in time, Niara had succeeded in her search.
Even though I hadn’t asked her to, she was a sharp woman.
［I think I can reach them in 30 seconds… Should I go kill them now, son?］
“No, capture them alive. There’s no guarantee that killing them will return Hedgehog to its original form.”
［My son is so thoughtful. Hehe. I’ll bring them back alive then, son.］
【Pururu】─ Am I the only one annoyed by her calling Geon “son” all the time?
【Mysticism】─😠
Niara disappeared from view in an instant.
She must have gone straight to capture the culprit who turned the Hedgehog into a teddy bear.
She said she’d reach them in 30 seconds, so…
She’d probably return with the culprit in about a minute.
If she exaggerated a little, it might take around two minutes.
While waiting for Niara to return.
［Pururur. That teddy bear must be your friend, right?］
Suddenly, a voice came from the side.
I turned my head toward the source of the voice and saw a Poison Apple hanging from a nearby apple tree, staring directly at us.
It wasn’t much different from the other Poison Apples.
Except for a couple of things.
It could speak fluently, and unlike the other Poison Apples, it wasn’t afraid of us or averting its gaze.
［Do you want to know how to return your friend to their original form? If you’re curious, I could tell you, especially. Pururur.］
【Mysticism】─😮 It’s my first time hearing a Poison Apple talk!
【Yumi】─ So there are intelligent Poison Apples too.
【Pururu】─ An apple talking, geez.
I strode over to the talking Poison Apple.
The monsters that came with me followed closely behind.
As we approached, the nearby Poison Apples trembled in fear and lowered their heads, clearly terrified of making eye contact.
Of course, the one who had spoken was an exception.
“What’s the method?”
［There’s a condition in exchange for telling you.］
“A condition?”
［Yes. If you don’t meet my condition, I can’t tell you the method. Pururur.］
As the Poison Apple said that.
Kinogine Arachne furrowed her brow and raised her voice.
［How dare you try to make a deal with Father? Are you not afraid of losing your life?］
“Kinogi, don’t interfere. Step back.”
［…Yes, Father.］
She immediately lowered her tail and backed off.
【Pururu】─ The little one listens to Geon so well. Lol.
【Yumi】─ You have to listen to your father.
【Mysticism】─🤭
“So, tell me your condition first. I’ll decide after hearing it.”
［Pururur. The condition is simple. You guys regularly come here and kidnap our kind, right? From now on, whenever you come, leave me out of your kidnapping list. That’s the condition.］
Ah. We were already famous here.
Well, we had been regularly kidnapping Poison Apples to feed our summoned monsters.
【Yumi】─ So it’s just asking to be spared.
【Pururu】─ What a selfish apple.
【Bubble Bubble】─ It’s just being smart and opportunistic.
In any case.
It wasn’t a difficult condition to meet.
Exempting one from the kidnapping list was no big deal.
I nodded at the Poison Apple’s offer.
And after agreeing to the deal, I asked how to revert the teddy bear to its original form.
The Poison Apple first revealed the name of the monster that had turned the Hedgehog into this form.
［The one who did this to your friend is called Dollmaker. It’s known as the strongest among the weak in this Ancient Labyrinth.］
“The strongest among the weak? What do you mean by that?”
［It means exactly what it says. It’s powerless against anyone stronger than itself, but it can easily turn those of similar or lesser power into dolls. It can turn someone into a doll just by making eye contact. Pururur.］
“…It can turn someone into a doll just by eye contact?”
【Pururu】─??? What kind of absurd ability is that?
【Mysticism】─Isn’t that a lie? 😠
【Yumi】─ It sounds like a Medusa type.
【Bubble Bubble】─ I don’t believe it either. It’s one thing if it’s against a weaker opponent, but affecting even those of equal strength? That’s a bit…
At least I understood the danger posed by the Dollmaker.
Its ability didn’t work on SS-rank beings, so it was clearly an S-rank.
And while it did have a broken ability, saying it was the strongest among S-ranks was an exaggeration.
Just don’t look it in the eyes, right?
It was a monster with a simple weakness.
“So, what’s the method to turn the doll back to its original form?”
［There’s only one way. You need to find the Dollmaker who did this and kill it.］
“Just kill it? That’s all?”
［Yes. If killing it doesn’t return your friend to their original form, you can come back and eat me. Pururur.］
【Pururu】─ Wow, that’s all? Such an anticlimactic solution.
【Mysticism】─😠 I thought it was going to be something more dramatic.
【Yumi】─ Is the information reliable?
【Rizenova】─ It must be. It even staked its life on it, so it wouldn’t be false.
I quickly verified the information.
Through Iris, Necro Puppetmaster used telepathy to read the Poison Apple’s mind.
By the way.
Even if we hadn’t asked the Poison Apple, Niara was on her way to capture the culprit, and we could have used telepathy on them to extract the method.
The reason I even entertained the Poison Apple’s deal was simple.
I wanted to see if it really knew the method.
And if so, what condition it would propose.
In short, I was just killing time and having a bit of fun.
In the first place, we didn’t need the Poison Apple’s help.
［Son, are you done talking?］
Niara’s voice came from behind.
I turned around to see a monster in her grasp.
A skull with a pair of small horns on its head.
Its back was torn open, revealing a space holding countless teddy bears.
It seemed like this monster was the Dollmaker.
【Bubble Bubble】─ Is that the culprit?
【Pururu】─ What a hideous creature.
【Mysticism】─ You messed with the wrong monster! How dare you turn Geon oppa’s tamed monster into a teddy bear? 🤬
［Let me go!!!］
［I overheard your conversation… You’re saying it’s fine to kill this filthy creature, right, son?］
Niara raised her hand.
She seemed ready to kill the Dollmaker as soon as I gave the word.
“Niara, let go of that thing and step aside. I’ll kill it myself.”
After saying that.
I stretched my arm toward the Dollmaker.
It was a stance for one of the techniques I had mastered while in Elemencia.
My secret technique, First Stage.
【Bubble Bubble】─ Huh? That stance!
【Bubble Bubble】─ It’s here! The Gauntlet’s First Stage!
【Pururu】─ What is that, you nerd?
【Mysticism】─🧐
The First Stage technique.
You lock your thumb in place, then pull your thumb back with your middle finger, making it taut.
Then, with a quick flick of the middle finger, you strike the opponent.
【Yumi】─ What’s the First Stage? Is it the name of a technique?
【Bubble Bubble】─ Yup! It’s one of the techniques Gauntlet used a lot! You flick your finger and hit your opponent! It’s a terrifying move!
【Mysticism】─🤔🤔🤔
【Pururu】─ That’s just a flick to the forehead, you nerd. Don’t give it a fancy name.
【Rizenova】─ But why is he preparing the flick from such a distance?
【Bubble Bubble】─ Because it’s not just an ordinary flick.
As Niara threw the Dollmaker to the ground like trash.
I focused all my senses on my fingertips, waited for the right moment, and flicked my finger.
Paaaang-!
A sharp sound of the air splitting rang out.
A shockwave shot forward horizontally, rushing toward the Dollmaker, who had been scrambling to get up, and in an instant, it sliced its body in two.
As expected, the power wasn’t overwhelming.
But even with its modest strength, it was enough to take the Dollmaker’s life in one blow.
【Mysticism】─😱😱😱
【Yumi】─ The flick was actually a terrifying move…
【Pururu】─ It really was a secret technique…
Afterward.
As soon as the Dollmaker died, the two teddy bears clinging to my legs began to distort.
Their forms twisted and transformed until one returned to the Hedgehog Summoner, and the other became the Abyssal Undead Spirit.
［Doomba!］
［Doodoomba!!!］
【Pururu】─ Huh? It’s the Hedgehog Summoner!
【Yumi】─ I remember now!!!
【Mysticism】─😱 How could I have forgotten about our hedgehog…
【Rizenova】─ I also regained my memories of the Hedgehog Ball.
【Bubble Bubble】─ Its existence has returned.
As they regained their original forms.
Everyone’s memories of the Hedgehog also returned.
—
■ Dollmaker
─ Actual Danger Level: S-rank.
─ Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: B-rank.
─ Ability: Dollification.