章 35: A buddha’s face is three times
He didn't consider what he was doing; it was practically an instinctive move.
From the Dáinsleif that Jack wielded, there was a hissing sound of space rupturing. For a split second, the long sword grew to over a dozen times its length.
It precisely cleaved the White Queen's Noppera-bō face… even penetrated her torso and gouged the ground. A blast of wind swept through.
As the air rushed into the vastly torn space, Jack was flung by the torrent and crashed to the ground, spewing nosebleeds and bloody sputum inside his helmet. He was slammed backwards against the black water, his eyes dazzling side to side. His hand, holding the Dáinsleif that he never let go of, was trembling. Struggling to stand up and wade through the black water, Jack frantically raised his face.
The White Queen had come to a halt with her hands lifted to the sky. The black hole she held up above ceased to rotate. A beat later, the "hole" was first disconnected from the middle, and the bottom half dropped to the ground in a thread. Then it turned into sludge and dissipated.
"Ga… ga…"
The face of the White Queen groaned slightly. It's like a mannequin with nothing on it, only the face part was pulled apart by gravity… and slipped away. The black blood sprinkled from the disconnected surface like a fountain.
Even the torso was split in half, tainting the area with a spray of the queen's blood. The body of the White Queen, split in two, collapsed back and forth into the water. The water rose up. As a result of this, Jack was swept towards the shelter, along with his Dáinsleif.
"Master Jack!" Philrain shouted, wading through the water and leaping at Jack. The men hurriedly grabbed them and dragged them into the shade of the shelter. The White Queen, severed and without her face, still struggled in the water.
"Gege… ge…"
Emitting a strange sound, she turned the severed side of her pitch-black head towards the shelter and extended a twitching hand.
"Ali… ce… A… li… ce…"
While muttering like a curse, the White Queen thrust her claws into the ground and began to crawl towards the shelter, dragging her body in a slithering manner. The surviving priestesses screamed and stiffened.
Philrain looked at Jack, who had gone limp and weak in a panic. The inside of his helmet was stained with blood, and he seemed to have fainted, even though she couldn't see his countenance.
… I will… I will do it…
Without delay, she picked up the Dáinsleif from Jack's hand and dragged the tip of the blade on the ground, approaching the White Queen, who was twitching and writhing. Gasping wildly as if hyperventilating, she tried to calm her racing heart by forcefully sucking in a breath.
"Bubu… bu… vu…"
The White Queen extended a shaking hand, releasing an eerie sound like the wings of a bug. Disregarding it with cold eyes, Philrain stood in front of the queen.
"Ali… ce… you…"
In the face of the convulsing monster that raised her vindictive voice, the girl grasped the Dáinsleif to the utmost of her strength.
"White… Knig… ht…"
Then Philrain brandished the sword broadly.
◇
Humpty Dumpty, who had been levitating in the air, descended upon the corpse of the White Queen, which had turned into a soggy mass of flesh and had ceased all movement. He had a cigar in his mouth, but his face was distorted in aversion.
Treading on the black blood, he approached the White Queen. There was a small hole in the cross-section of her face, and it was hollow. Her core had been taken away, apparently.
"…"
Observing this silently, Humpty clicked his tongue and kicked the White Queen lightly in the torso. He then plucked at his cigar and let out a breath.
"… Meeting with you again is."
As Humpty said this, Raffi peeked out from behind the pillars of the… shelter with a sharp glint in his eye. The black cat came straight out and sat down at a distance from Humpty. Behind him, several frightened-looking priestesses holding large stun guns were waiting.
"We have the core of the Hatter and the White Queen here. Even you, I don't suppose you'll be safe against two Seventh and two Alice…?" Raffi said, the corners of his mouth twisting into a grin. "What do you say?"
"…"
Turning around and placing his hands on his hips, Humpty drew in a breath. He then glanced around at the priestesses with bulging eyes and directed his gaze to Raffi.
"I see. A transaction huh."
"It's not a transaction. It's a warning." Raffi stated adamantly.
Humpty, however, laughed pleasantly, picked up his cigar, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Warning… warning. You say such interesting things."
"…"
"Fine. It will be interesting to learn what the 'warning' is. But keep this in mind. Mr. Kitten."
The egg monster stuck his fingers out in front of Raffi. Slowly, he folded one or two of them.
"Have you ever heard of the saying? 'A buddha's face is three times'?"
He folded the third one and he abruptly put pressure on his mouth and spewed out the cigar like a blowgun. Like a meteor, it flew at a speed that none of them could react to, and as if pierced by a bullet, it penetrated the head of one of the priestesses… and poof! A light sound was made and it burst. Vivid red blood splattered around her, causing the priestesses to back away and gasp.
"There won't be a next time."
Humpty's body disappeared like a mirage. With a thud, the priestess' body toppled to the ground, her head crushed. Raffi let out a small breath and looked up at the shelter.
This is bad… He's going to tell his allies about this place.
Cold sweat trickled down the cat's cheeks.
Now… what shall I do…?
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