Ding! “King of Apples has been activated. Please ensure that others are a safe distance away. Activating in: 10...9... You will feel a strong shock wave, please stand back. 3...2...1...”
Five apples floated around her. “Harden. High-speed rotation.”
Ding! “All apples will be hardened and be applied with high-speed rotation. 3...2...1... Upgrade complete.”
The floating apples started to rotate with extreme speed. The gatekeeper cautiously slowed down as it closed the gap. Creak. Creak.
“You guys are smart too? You have a good eye,” Fresa said.
How are these mannequin gatekeepers sensing anything at all? They don’t have eyes, mouths, or ears.
“Furutsu, those aren’t alive. They’re not animals or plants,” Grida said.
Oh, makes sense. The announcement also said they were “creating” these gatekeepers, so I guess they’re just dolls that automatically fight or something. It looks like they made one for each trespasser.
“Eek! Get away! Stay back!” Gruszka yelled.
Upon closer inspection, it does look like the gatekeeper’s aiming for Gruszka. I mean, he looks absolutely terrified while he’s fleeing. I’d want to punch him once too.
“N-No! Ack! Ow!” Gruszka had tripped over his own feet.
Now’s your chance, go! Wait, I shouldn’t be rooting for the gatekeepers, should I?
Creak. Creak. Creak.
Gruszka screamed as the gatekeeper lurched around oddly, heading straight toward him.
“Raaah!” With a roar, Datil’s sword cut through it.
That was close. The mannequin was sliced in two at its stomach, and it sprayed a mysterious, bouncy material. Its upper half lay at our feet, while the bottom rolled to a stop near the wall.
“Apologies for the wait. Are you all okay?” Datil said.
“Hey! We didn’t wait at all! What should I do with all these apples?!” Fresa said, sounding frustrated but with a smile on her face. At the end of the hallway were the other two gatekeepers, sliced into shreds. As always, you work fast!
“Whew. I-I’m okay,” Gruszka said, shakily standing up as he wiped sweat off his brow.
Man, you’re really just dead weight. Why did you come here in the first place? Oh wait, I’m the one that dragged you here with my shackles.
Creak. Creak. Creak. Suddenly, the upper half of the closest mannequin grabbed Datil’s ankles. This thing can still move?!
Datil cried in pain as we heard crushing sounds. Loga’s Leather Armor didn’t protect his ankles.
“Datil?!” Fresa yelled.
“I-I’m fine. Take care of those guys over there!” he said, pointing his sword toward the two other gatekeepers that had been sliced to shreds.
Those guys can seriously still move too?! They’re hacked into tiny pieces!
“Got it! Explode. Incinerate.”
Ding! “All apples will explode with an incinerating effect. 3...2...1... Upgrade complete.” At once, the apples around Fresa stopped rotating. The ends of their stems glowed with tiny sparks of fire.
Crack! Datil used his sword to sever the wrist of the mannequin that had grabbed onto him. He kicked the ground, gaining a safe distance between himself and the doll. His ankle was firmly imprinted with the mannequin’s hand, as drops of blood rolled down his foot. Those things are really strong!
“Datil...I’ll never forgive these guys! Apple Meteor!” Fresa yelled, her voice bouncing around the hallways. The apples whooshed as they headed straight toward the lurching mannequins. The light from the explosions illuminated the area. In the next moment, the entrance was engulfed by a big fire.
I understand your anger, but this is going a bit too far, Fresa.
“Eek! Why are apples exploding?!” Gruszka said, wide-eyed.
That’s actually a fair point. I wish she wouldn’t go overboard with her moves—people will get a bad impression of apples.
“Actually, you’re to blame for that, aren’t you?” Grida asked.
I’m deeply sorry.
Grida giggled. “As long as you understand. Just kidding!” After a brief pause, she screamed. “That’s so gross!”
What’s going on? I’m not gross.
“No, look at that thing over there! Look!”
Huh? What? Oh...ew! Yeah, that’s gross! The hand that Datil had severed earlier was scuttling around on its own. The upper body, now handless, was also slowly moving.
“I slashed that thing to pieces, but it can still move?!” Datil said.
The hand, upper body, and lower body all moved in a grotesque way, ready to pounce.
“I guess I need to grind them into dust. Cell Manipulation!”
Ding! “Cell Manipulation has been activated. Remaining time: 59...58...57...”
“The blue dragon is always by our side! Blue Dragon Sword: Rain!” Blue light started to gather toward Datil’s sword. In the next moment, drops of water started falling from above.
What? Rain?! We’re indoors! As the sound of rain grew louder, the gatekeepers began to crumble. Can each of these droplets slice through them?! Before long the rain stopped, and not a trace remained of the gatekeepers.
“Th-That move was amazing...” Gruszka said with awe, unable to hide his shock.
“Datil, how’s your leg?” Fresa asked, jogging toward him.
Datil smiled back. “I’m fine, look!” His leg was slowly returning to its original state.
“This...isn’t magic, is it?”
“No, I think this is the Pseudo-blessing ability that I got from Apple-san back at the chasm.”
Judging from its name, it probably works similarly to the blessing card, allowing the user to fully heal, restore lost body parts, cure poison, regenerate mana, and stuff like that.
“Furutsu, what about the ‘nourishing, protecting, family, increased business sales, high academic achievements, and praying for a safe childbirth’ parts?” Grida asked.
Uh, we can ignore those.
“Really? Aw...”
Why do you sound disappointed? The healing speed is a lot slower than my blessing card, but it definitely allows the user to fully heal. His torn ankle is totally recovered.
“Huh?! A-Are you an undead?!” Gruszka yelled as he trembled.
Is shaking like a leaf your character quirk or something now?
“Datil, I think he thinks you’re some sort of Nosferatu,” Fresa said.
“Well, I might as well be an undead. With these regenerative capabilities, I won’t die so easily.”
The two whispered to each other, giggling. Come on, let’s not go too far. Gruszka’s getting paler by the second.