Kapitel 26: Battles aren’t always decided by pure power
The Bandersnatch wrapped around Alice's body "screamed" in a screeching voice a beat later. Alice, with her vacant eyes, opened her mouth wide and uttered a "voice" at the same time. The inaudible scream swiftly traveled around her and reverberated in layers within the Bandersnatch of Iberis enveloping Alice.
"…!"
With an inaudible grunt, Iberis staggered as if in torment. The next moment, Iberis' Bandersnatch shattered with a sound like glass breaking. Iberis, who was standing on rainbow-colored fluctuating legs, let out a scream and fell backwards.
"Lady Iberis!"
Philrain and the others were about to rush over to her, but in a posture where she was lying on the ground with her legs missing, Iberis extended her hands to restrain them from doing so.
"Don't come! Do you want to die!"
Her terse voice alerted them, and she controlled her breathing to focus her attention. Bandersnatch flowed out of her lower body again, forming rainbow-colored legs. Iberis gritted her teeth as she watched Alice rise to her feet and step out, her neck dangling.
"You certainly seem to have a powerful Bandersnatch… It's frustrating but strong. It's unbelievable that it could crush mine the other way."
But Alice's eyes were dark and cold, a dramatic change from the ridiculous look she had previously worn.
"But then again, battles aren't always decided by pure power."
Again, she snapped her fingers. At the sound of her fingers, each of the rainbow-colored fluctuation that had been shattered and scattered pulsated. Then it floated up into the air and stormed at Alice with a burst of sound like a shotgun.
Although she didn't seem to be paying particular attention to her surroundings, Alice fixed her vacant eyes straight on Iberis and then screamed again. No sound or anything was heard, but in the blink of an eye, Alice's Bandersnatch swelled up and attempted to attack Iberis… She was flung backwards, driven all the way through by countless shattering fluctuation.
Alice's Bandersnatch momentarily halted its movement in the form of crucifixion, shattering parts of the wall. Alice herself was slammed into the wall and paused briefly.
"I can't believe this thing can't be crushed… It's staggeringly solid."
Then Alice heard a voice in front of her and raised her face. Iberis was looking down at her with cold eyes, not knowing when she had moved. Her movement were comparable to the high-speed movements of Humpty Dumpty. Within blinding seconds, they were so close together that Alice's reaction was delayed for a moment.
"But you see, my Bandersnatch is by far swifter than yours."
As Iberis remarked, she pressed the large stun gun she had pulled from her waist belt against Alice's chest and idly clicked the switch. For an instant, a white discharge swept through the surroundings and the lights malfunctioned and went out. A beat later, the lights came on again. The smell of burning drifted around, and Iberis blew the stun gun in her hand with a puff and pointed it at her belt. Alice, her body emitting white smoke, was stretched out limp on the floor, unconscious.
"I sent a large anti-nightmare electric gun straight at her. No matter how hard they are, I expect they'll be quiet for a while." She stumbled to her feet and settled wearily into the wheelchair. Her fluctuating legs disappeared and dissipated like a haze.
"Alice…!" Jack raised his voice and hurried over to Alice. He picked her up and shook her a few times. She seemed to be unconscious, but her heart was rising and falling. Astonishingly, there seemed to be no external injuries.
"Why! I told you that Alice has no intention of fighting!"
Iberis shrugged indignantly. "What makes you so sure? If you hadn't put her to sleep, she would have killed us all."
"What the hell…!"
"I don't know the identity of the Bandersnatch inside her, but she's not in control of it at all. She's almost taken over by it." Quietly, Iberis maneuvered her wheelchair towards the elevator. "… When the girl wakes up, send her to my room. I have something to discuss with her."
"…"
Looking sideways at Jack, who stared at her silently, Iberis said in a spiteful tone.
"It's for the girl's own good, too."
◇
After all the formalities, Jack and the others returned to their room, and about half a day had passed since they had put Alice to bed, who had remained unconscious. Philrain handed a cup of tea to Jack, who was sitting in a chair deep in thought.
"Here you go. Let's take a break, too."
"Oh… thanks…"
Sipping his tea, Jack asked Philrain, "That Angel is a bit of a loose cannon. Suddenly shooting Alice with a stun gun."
"I apologize… Lady Iberis used to be a kind person…" Philrain looked down and bit her lips. "She changed after the White Queen… shredded her legs while she was conscious about two years ago."
"The White Queen…?"
"The Original Nightmare who rules this area. She is a formidable… devil."
That was when Philrain said that much, Raffi, who had been listening silently, looked up and opened his eyes.
"… It's here…" The black cat muttered and stood up.
Philrain was about to ask, "What's going on?" when the emergency lights flashed and the sirens sounded.
"The Nightmare…!" Jack picked up his crutches and raised his voice. Philrain ran over to the intercom on the wall and uttered something, then regarded Jack.
"Let's take Master Alice and leave this place. It seems that the Original Nightmare has appeared in the halls of the shelter!
"What the…!" Turning pale, Jack gasped. Philrain gritted her teeth and slammed the intercom receiver back into the wall.
◇
A siren sounded in the shelter. Red emergency lights were flashing, and in a large area that appeared to be an auditorium, a group of girls with silvery-white hair were forming a circle, holding short guns and other weapons. The muzzle of the gun was aimed at the center. There, a huge Nightmare… the White Knight, clad in pure white armor and glowing red eyes, stood with his back outstretched, his double-edged long sword stuck in the floor.
"Ugh… the Nightmare…"
The priestess girls were gnashing their teeth in frustration. In a dignified manner, the White Knight glanced around in the circle, seemingly unconcerned about them.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein