Black Iron Magician

Chapter 434 Bloodsucking Doll

「I have nothing to talk anymore! You foolish sisters, I will erase you without a trace!」

Ursula’s vampire wings became huge as she shouted so. The wings, which reached the ceiling of the vast dance hall, seemed to be constantly scattering something.

「Envious Lily-senpai, be careful! Ursula-oneesama is serious when she’s in that form!」

The gigantic wings of Ursula are neither intended to intimidate those around them, nor to fly more powerfully. They are designed to scatter the source of the explosion from the large wings, like a butterfly scattering its scales, and detonate it over a very wide area. At this rate, the room would soon be filled with scale explosives, causing a huge explosion that would kill Lilyvia and Odile instantly.

「I know, my dear Odile-kouhai! Are you ready to intercept!?」

「Of course! Come out, my cute straw dolls…!」

A number of straw dolls appear from inside Odile’s maid’s skirt. For a moment, Lilyvia wondered why they came out of that place, but she did her best to shut her mouth so as not to say anything unnecessary.

Setting Lily’s feelings aside, what should be noted now are Odile’s dolls. These multiple straw dolls are powered by Odile’s Unique Skill, 『Bloodsucking Doll』. This ability takes effect by giving a certain amount of her own blood to an object that Odile recognizes as a cute doll (there is a rather individual criterion). Then, the doll will be given status and abilities according to the amount of blood it received.

For example, it will become level 5 if given the minimum amount of blood required, and if Odile gives it enough to cause mild anemia, it’s possible to give it power equivalent to level 8. It all depends on the strength of the user, so if Odile is getting stronger, the dolls will be stronger too even if given the same amount of blood.

And about the ability given to the dolls, the dolls have the ability to suck blood and collect it on Odile’s behalf. The dolls have a certain level of intelligence, and can be controlled automatically based on some commands. Odile, who was living a shut-in life, was using this ability to collect blood for her own sustenance. And perhaps, this ability to suck blood is the key to the battle against Ursula.

「My ability is also a degraded version of Mama’s magic. I can’t create an unlimited number of dolls like Mama, and the strength of the dolls is insignificant. But for Ursula-oneesama, they could be her natural enemy. You are aware of that, right? Is it really okay for you to grow your wings that big? Are you so angry that you are losing your composure, Ursula-oneesama?」

「Kuh…」

Other than sucking through the fangs like normal vampires, the dolls also have an unusual method of sucking directly into their bodies through the gaps in the straw. The latter method is used to collect blood leaked from the wounds of the prey during battle without wasting it in a pool of blood. Originally, it has no other use, and is not the type of ability that can be utilized in battle.

But against Ursula’s Unique Skill, this ability has a dramatic deterrent effect. Sucking the surrounding blood means that it’s also sucking the source of explosions that Ursula scattered in the air. Ursula’s blood, which was supposed to spread, is automatically collected in the straw dolls. If this happens, when the trigger is pulled, the explosion will be confined to a very limited area around the doll. If she mistakes her timing, Ursula could be in danger if the doll suddenly jumped at her face just like a while ago. Therefore, no matter how widely Ursula spreads her wings, it would be a bad idea to carelessly scatter explosive scales.

「Ah, I’m not good at close combat, so I’ll stay here and support you. Lily-senpai, I will leave fighting her directly to you.」

「Yes, I understand. Now that it has become like this, please give priority to the battle against me just like a warrior, Ursula-oneesama. In the first place, you’re superior, so this is a good handicap, don’t you think?」

「…… Are you planning to take the initiative?」

「I want you to call it a foolish sister’s ingenuity. Or are you going to call me a coward? Are you going to ignore me and go after Odile-oneesama, who’s not good at close combat? Well, it’s not like a warrior at all, but I think that’s a good plan. It’s not like a warrior at all, though!」

「Fine! I will punish Lilyvia first, and then Odile!」

「Yay~, thank you very much~ ♪」

It was an immediate decision. It may be because Ursula’s anger has exceeded the limit. But even so, the current Ursula is too easy to trick.

Anyway, the battle continued. Odile is hiding at the entrance while looking at the situation on the battlefield. Lilyvia and Ursula are facing each other again in the center of the ballroom, and the straw dolls are waiting everywhere in the room. Considering the castle’s defense, Ursula would not want to prolong the battle any longer. If this is the case, it is about time to settle the battle.

「Now, the only threat remaining is a self-destruct attack using the blood in your body. Is it going to be close combat? How about it, Urusula-oneesama? You still can use that explosion movement, right~?」

「I told you I have nothing to talk anymore! Here I come!」

「You were talking a lot just now, though――!?」

Ignoring Lilyvia’s words, the largest explosion of the day roared. The place of ignition was Ursula’s wings, which were spread wide open. As Lilyvia said before, Ursula used the explosion to move with her utmost anger. She sacrificed her wings, since they were useless anyway, to gain speed to charge forward. The blood in the wings was used for the explosion, so there was no need to worry about the blood being sucked by the surrounding straw dolls. It’s a reckless charge, but the speed has already reached a level comparable to that of Alezel. And when Ursula is about to swing her fist――

「――What are you doing, Ursula-chan? Are you trying to oppose Mama?」

『Mutation』, the highest rank of 『Disguise』 skill. This is an ability to perfectly reproduce the object’s appearance by changing the physical structure, and there’s no one better at that than Lilyvia in this world. 『Leading Actor』, the highest rank of 『Acting』 skill. Even if it’s a married couple who have spent time together for a long time, if Lilyvia were to act as one of them, the other one would believe that she’s the real person. With the combination of these two techniques, Lily completely copied Maria. Just before the attack, she showed this appearance to Ursula.

「!!!???」

Lilyvia suddenly became Maria. Of course, Ursula’s head understands that she’s a fake. However, the orders given by her head are not so smoothly transmitted to the body. Maria is the only one worshiped by Ursula, so if Maria suddenly appeared in front of her and is about to be attacked by her, she would be shaken for sure. Moreover, Ursula is not in a normal state of mind right now. She hesitated slightly and her body stiffened―― Lilyvia was aiming for this momentary opening.

「Go sleep, Ursula-chan. Leave the rest to Mama ♪」