Fumiya’s true enemy wasn’t the Parasidolls. It was Minoru Kudou, the one controlling the swarm. Parasidolls were autonomous weapons, capable of fighting based on their own judgment. In other words, they didn’t need constant commands. However, if Fumiya could take down Minoru, the researchers at the lab could override his commands and regain control of the dolls.
It would be foolish to waste his energy and stamina fighting the Parasidolls. Prioritizing the battle against Minoru was imperative. However, no matter how much Fumiya tried to evade a useless fight, the Parasidolls wouldn’t allow it.
The Kuroba boy leaped upward, attempting to shake them off and escape into the air. But two of the dolls were hot on his heels, closing in faster than he could keep up with. Their tenacity made them seem like human-shaped projectiles.
Sensing the presence of magic, Fumiya quickly jumped to the side. But the monster-infused humanoid machines were meticulous at tracking his movements so he couldn’t escape.
Each Parasidoll specialized in its own specific type of magic, making them more akin to psychics than traditional magicians. Fumiya was shocked by the mobility of those specializing in movement magic, which far surpassed his own.
Pushed to the edge by desperation, he unleashed Direct Pain at the approaching Parasidolls, but there was no noticeable change.
It didn’t work?! he gasped.
Just as he was panicking, the two Parasidolls closed in on him. One swung its left arm, shooting out fine steel threads from the inside of its wrist. Fumiya instinctively cast a barrier shield. But the dark steel threads wrapped around him, bypassing the shield’s defenses.
The second Parasidoll was armed with a spear with two straight prongs positioned parallel to each other and a slim gap in between. A new blade, crackling with electric sparks, appeared in the gap just as the Parasidoll thrust its spear.
Fumiya charged toward the Parasidoll with the steel threads. The more he moved, the looser the threads became. He then used a clockwise air current to blow away the threads wrapped counterclockwise around him and distorted his body to dodge the spear approaching from behind.
Suddenly, the Parasidoll with the steel threads tackled Fumiya. Having just dodged the spear, he couldn’t evade this attack. The two tumbled to the ground.
Fumiya cast Direct Pain on the Parasidoll clinging to him, but once again, it had no effect.
Now I get it! Fumiya thought. Direct Pain doesn’t work on these things!
It finally all made sense. Direct Pain was a spell that directly attacked the mind to make it think it was experiencing physical pain. Since humanoid machines did not have pain receptors and the mental construct it hosted never had a physical body, there was no pain for Direct Pain to replicate.
Both Fumiya and the Parasidoll clinging to him were slammed to the ground. Unable to maintain enough inertia control, Fumiya only barely mitigated the damage enough to keep his bones intact.
“Fumiya!” Ayako screamed.
This was just what Fumiya needed to anchor his fading consciousness. He instinctively turned toward his sister, who was surrounded by three Parasidolls. Her Pseudo-Teleportation couldn’t pass through obstacles, so using it to escape in this case wasn’t an option. Yet despite her own danger, Ayako anxiously called her brother’s name.
“Move!” Fumiya urged his own body.
His mind suddenly cleared. With an explosive acceleration spell, he blasted away the Parasidoll clinging to him, jumped to his feet, and sprinted forward.
“Out of the way!”
Fumiya slammed his Knuckle Duster into the face of a Parasidoll charging at him with a knife. The part of the Knuckle Duster in his grip served as the main part of the CAD, while the portion covering his fist could be used as a physical weapon.
Fumiya left that Parasidoll to stagger to the ground. Then he sidestepped a slicing force field shot that came at him from the side, knocking another Parasidoll off balance with a compressed air bullet.
Suddenly remembering Ayako’s situation, Fumiya activated a self-acceleration spell. In an instant, he appeared behind the Parasidolls surrounding his sister. He then punched one of the dolls, simultaneously casting weighting-type magic. The force generated from the impact destroyed the Parasidoll’s internal power unit.
With the power supply cut off, the motors in the machine’s body ceased to function. The Parasidoll swayed dangerously and collapsed. After breaking through one third of Ayako’s problem, Fumiya unleashed a gust of wind at the other two Parasidolls that sent them flying.
He seized Ayako’s hand, yelling, “Let’s fall back for now!”
When Ayako spun around, she noticed there were no longer obstacles in their path. She cast Pseudo-Teleportation, and the twins vanished in thin air. Just before they left the area completely, Fumiya could have sworn he heard Minoru’s bloodcurdling scream.