"Bang!"
With another monster blasted apart by Yaya's fist, the path ahead finally opened up.
The group dashed through the passageway, heading toward the end—where they were met by a steep cliff.
There was no road beyond—only darkness below.
But within that darkness, one could vaguely make out what appeared to be fortress-like buildings nestled down there.
The ground beneath the cliff glowed faintly, and magical energy rippled from it. Clearly, the material was no ordinary marble, but rather a magical alloy or something similar—shining as if polished.
Rozen, Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki had shaken off the pursuing horde of monsters and now dove down toward the abyss, descending toward the earth.
It was only then that they got a clear look at the fortress-like structure.
It was a palace.
A palace with domes reminiscent of a mosque, white outer walls—beautiful and filled with an air of mystery.
Around the palace, monsters roamed—yet none approached it.
That was because a more intricate, refined, and precise barrier than even the one in the underground space had been deployed around the palace, clearly keeping the monsters at bay.
Because of that, the creatures could only wander nearby, but as soon as they detected Rozen and the others, they began emitting a fierce magical aura and surged forward.
"Irori."
Rozen reached out and placed a hand on Irori's shoulder, channeling his magic power into her.
"Yes!"
Irori immediately understood, receiving Rozen's magic as her hair fluttered and her eyes turned a brilliant blue.
"Buzz!"
A swirl of icy mist glittered like diamond dust, expanding in all directions.
In an instant, moisture in the air condensed, and layers of pure white frost formed on the monsters.
Irori unleashed a raging wave of cold.
"Prison Steel of the Frosted Sky—Snow Mist!"
In that instant, a world of ice and snow was born.
The ground turned into an icefield.
The air into pale mist.
The monsters were frozen, like pillars of ice extending upward to the ceiling of this underground space, freezing even the ceiling into solid ice.
Everything around them transformed into a cavern of ice—silent and frigid.
Thanks to this, the cliff was sealed in ice, and the passage they came through was blocked off, turning this place into a sealed world.
Only two things remained unfrozen:
One was the palace, protected by its barrier.
The other was Rozen and his companions, standing within Irori's aura.
"Onee-sama is amazing!" Komurasaki exclaimed, hopping in joy.
"Ya-Yaya is also amazing, right, Rozen!" Yaya hurried to assert herself, sensing the crisis of being outshined by Irori.
"Of course I know that." Rozen chuckled and reached out to pat Yaya's head, then turned his gaze toward the palace.
"So that's the true 'Sanctuary of Fools'?"
Rozen narrowed his eyes.
The palace before them was the facility known as the Sanctuary of Fools.
Inside, research into Machine Doll was being conducted.
This entire underground area was just a container, a shell built to house and contain it.
Once they entered, they would uncover the academy's deepest secrets regarding Machine Doll—secrets Alice had been desperately trying to expose, which was why the Sanctuary had become revealed.
And then…
"The barrier… it's clearly been breached."
Both Raishin and Magnus were inside that palace.
No—not just them.
Within that palace, there was something that made Rozen almost doubt his own Wise Eye.
"Could it be…?"
Rozen's gaze flickered.
"Rozen-sama?"
"Rozen?"
"What's wrong, Rozen?"
Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki all noticed something was off and asked with concern.
"No, it's nothing." Rozen shook his head, then said with meaning, "It's just… I think I might've discovered a secret everyone would want to know."
What secret?
"Machine Doll."
Rozen murmured.
"Edward Rutherford actually plans to create Machine Doll through this method?"
"That's really…"
His expression was a mix of awe and mockery—like someone reading a grade-schooler's essay, only to find it grandiose enough to shake the heavens, making him chuckle despite himself.
Seeing that, the three girls exchanged confused glances.
Still, Rozen quickly returned to normal.
"Alright. Let's go." he said. "Hopefully those two haven't completely lost their minds."
With that, Rozen took the lead toward the palace.
Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki quickly followed.
...
Inside the Sanctuary of Fools was a vast great hall.
Its interior resembled an ancient temple. Magic circles were engraved all over the walls, and the carvings on the pillars—though goddess-like—had heads of dogs and birds, resembling deities from Egyptian mythology.
The temperature was steady—neither hot nor cold—but the place was filled with a bone-chilling atmosphere.
In that enormous hall, a life-or-death battle was taking place.
"Woosh!"
Amidst a series of air-slicing sounds, humanoid automatons wielding blood-red weapons charged forward.
Leading them was one with a veil marked with the kanji for "fire" fluttering above her head, radiating heat, and dual-wielding short sword.
Who else could it be but Hotaru?
These automaton were the elite team.
Magnus stood at the rear, unleashing his mana and coldly commanding the dolls to attack.
Raishin stood facing him, eyes burning with seething hatred that fueled a magical aura no weaker than Magnus's own.
That magic power gathered into the sword in Raishin's hand.
It was a sword filled with ominous magical power, still sheathed, but glowing with overwhelming energy, a mental blade formed from his gathered telekinesis.
Raishin had channeled Magic Resilience into his sheathed blade, reinforced his body with Rigid Body, and moved like the wind—advancing instead of retreating—straight toward the incoming team.
In terms of physical specs, not even with Rigid Body could Raishin compare to the superior performance of the automaton—let alone Hotaru, who used high-pressure blasts to amplify power and explosiveness.
But Raishin used supremely refined footwork, flickering from place to place in an instant, dodging their attacks and raising his magic sword high—then brought it down.
"Boom!"
With a roar, the Magic Resilience-enhanced strike cut through the air, shattered the earth, and left a terrifying scar across the ground.
"...!"
A storm surged forth, sending the dolls flying.
"Akabane Tenzen!!"
Raishin shouted, filled with hatred, as he charged toward Magnus.
His sword came down once more.