Bab 25: You’re too much of a tease for a senior!
"What are you frightened of?"
The voice was hurled at her intimidatingly, and Alice shrunk more and more, hiding in Jack's shadow.
The same face.
The same voice.
Iberis had her hair up and tied in a single knot at the back of her head, but the resemblance was so striking that it would be confusing to have them side by side. No, it was not a resemblance.
They were the same.
An instinctive part of her was aware of this, and Alice was reflexively terrified.
I don't know why.
I don't know, but… this.
This is abnormal.
Looking at her, Iberis sighed and contemplated a bit. Then, in a calmer voice than before, she asked Alice. "By any chance do you have no… memory?"
Alice gave Iberis a puzzled look for a while, but eventually made a small nod and answered.
"Yes…"
"… Originally we weren't given much of a memory, but…. this is the first reinforcement we've had in a while…" Muttering in exasperation, she looked up at Philrain behind her. "So…?"
"Alice apparently defeated the Original Nightmare in the previous shelter."
When Philrain stated this in a small voice, Iberis responded with a snort.
"… The Original? There's no way an imperfect Angel with no memory can defeat it."
"But…"
"It's true. Alice killed the Nightmare and saved us." Jack stepped forward to protect Alice and opened his mouth.
Iberis stared at him as if he were an idiot, then retorted. "I have no business talking to a human."
"Unlike Alice, you're quite contentious… But it's the truth. I heard that the station was also attacked by what you call the Original Nightmare… Alice has been fending it off all by herself."
"…"
Iberis tilted her head to face Alice, who was shrinking back in fright.
"Lies."
Being snickered at, Alice bit her lip and gripped the sleeve of Jack's garment. She wanted to get away from this unusual place at once. She didn't want to have a conversation with Iberis. Then the bishop, who had been quietly listening, interrupted.
"If you think it's a lie, Iberis. Try it your way. I'll leave it up to you to decide for yourself."
"…"
When Iberis heard this, she stared at Alice with glazed eyes.
"Let's do that. We can't progress like this."
Immediately, rainbow-colored fluctuation gradually appeared on the legs of her skirt and began to flicker. In the next instant, the fluctuation extending from Iberis' legs created a screeching metallic sound and charged towards Alice. Upon seeing this, Alice screamed and fell on her butt.
"Alice!"
As Jack, who was unable to see the situation, rushed to hold Alice in his arms… Alice saw the rainbow-colored fluctuation driving towards Jack. As if in slow motion, "something" attempted to slowly reave… Jack's body. There was a horrific high-pitched sound as if metal was rubbing against metal. The rainbow-colored fluctuation collided with the fluctuations that were overflowing from… Alice's mouth, the Bandersnatch, sending up sparks.
"…"
Iberis' face shifted. The fluctuation returned to her lower body and then formed "legs" that blurred in rainbow colors. Slowly standing up, Iberis stomped the ground with her fluctuating feet, folded her arms, and gazed at Alice.
"No…" Alice yelled to Iberis, sweat beading heavily on her forehead as she spat out the Bandersnatch from her mouth. "Run!"
It was all she could do to say that. The Bandersnatch crawled out of Alice's body and began to spread, emitting a high-pitched sound of metal scraping around her.
"I see…" Iberis muttered thoughtfully as she said this. "From what I've seen… it doesn't seem to be under control. But what's this feeling…?"
Iberis gritted her teeth as she seemed to feel a sense of dread. "You guys need to leave. I'll deal with this girl."
Iberis stepped firmly on the floor with her wavering legs and approached Alice unceremoniously. As she slumped to the floor, the glow in her eyes slowly faded. Turning her hollow, glowing red eyes to Iberis, Alice stood up, wobbling her head like a different person.
"Alice…!"
The moment Iberis shoved Jack away with her hand, there was a sound of cutting air, and something passed through the place where the girls had been. Iberis, who had dodged it with a twist of her head as if she could see it, put her right foot on the floor with a thump. The fluctuation from Iberis' right foot spread out and rushed towards Alice, who was standing unsteadily like a wraith.
It was a quiet movement, yet a swift one. In the blink of an eye, the rainbow-colored fluctuation that surrounded Alice made a squeaky… sound like bugs chirping.
"You're too much of a tease for a senior," Iberis said coercively and snapped her fingers. "… Newcomer!"
At the sound of her voice, the Bandersnatch of fluctuating Iberis that had surrounded her swelled to envelop Alice. Then, as if to crush her, it spread into a spherical shape and began to compress the center. Enveloped by the fluctuation, Alice was rendered immobile by the Bandersnatch, and her body shook unsteadily.
"Stop the violence! Alice has no intention of fighting!"
Jack seized her by the shoulders, and Iberis brushed it away with cold eyes.
"Don't you dare touch me." Spitting the words out simply, she slowly approached Alice, who was stuck in place. "I suppose I will have to hurt that out-of-control Bandersnatch a bit. It's certainly dangerous…"
The air sounded just barely… Iberis frowned doubtfully for the first time there.
"… What…? I can't break it… It's unusually hard…"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone