Poor magical girls, work for me!

Chapter 73: The Fifth Target

Fifth target: Nakano Broadway Thrift Store.

The building looked particularly eerie in the night.

After hunting all afternoon, the sun had already set.

Broadway Mall is a paradise for anime fans and vintage enthusiasts during the day, but at night... things that hide in the shadows will try to emerge from the darkness.

Five people stood in front of the secondhand store.

The shop wasn't big, and the window was filled with dusty dolls, yellowed comics, and rusty tin toys. In the most conspicuous spot was a half-person-sized doll dressed in a European noblewoman's dress, with golden curly hair and blue eyes.

Those eyes reflected the moonlight slightly, as if they were looking at them.

"This is the place."

Ryosuke Miyagi looked at the information in the manual.

【Nakano, Broadway, Secondhand Shop, Cursed Doll (Level 3)】

[Type: Resentment-infused object/Possession type]

[Information: The shop owner acquired these dolls three years ago from a failed doll auction. Since then, strange things have started happening in the shop: the dolls change positions at night, their reflections in the mirrors move differently than the actual dolls, and customers have reported seeing a little girl crying in the window. A week ago, the shop owner disappeared. The shop has remained open, and no one dares to close it.]

[Note: Level 3 vengeful spirit, already possessing a certain degree of materialization ability.]

"Level 3..."

Hikawa hoisted the chainsaw onto his shoulder and grinned.

"Finally, someone who can fight!"

"Don't be careless."

Matsushima Yukio has entered battle mode, ice crystals condensing at her fingertips.

"Misty Sound, set up a barrier first. Level 3 monsters should be perfectly suppressed by your barrier."

"Um!"

Nanatsuji Kirine took out some refreshing salt from her cloth bag and sprinkled it in an arc at the shop entrance.

The imperial coin in his hand was stuck into the ground.

A faint golden light flashed, and a simple barrier was formed.

Hikawa stepped forward and pushed open the shop door.

squeak

The door hinges made a piercing sound.

The air inside the shop was stale and musty, filled with the smells of old fabrics and rust. Various odds and ends were piled up to the brim, leaving only a narrow passageway barely wide enough for a person to walk through.

Ryosuke Miyagi's flashlight beam swept past behind him.

Rows of dolls sat on the shelves, their glass bead eyes reflecting a faint glow in the darkness.

Everyone was watching them.

"This place... is fucking terrifying."

Hikawa gripped the chainsaw tightly.

Where is it?

Ryosuke Miyagi did not answer.

His gaze passed over the shelves and looked into the deepest part of the store.

There is a rocking chair there.

The rocking chair creaked and groaned as it rocked.

A doll, about half the height of a person, sits gracefully in a rocking chair.

Golden curly hair, blue eyes, and a pink princess dress.

It was facing them.

The light shone on the doll's face, and the next second...

The curve of the doll's lips suddenly changed!

Upward!

"Be careful!"

Matsushima Yukio instinctively erected an ice wall!

At the same time, all the toys on the shelves of Jinjiang Bookstore started moving!

They jumped down from the shelf and swarmed towards the five people in dense numbers!

Cloth puppets, porcelain puppets, plastic puppets, tin puppets—hundreds of idols swarmed over like a tidal wave!

"What the hell?!"

Hisakawa's chainsaw roared, and flames erupted!

The doll at the very front was shattered into pieces!

But more are still coming!

Matsushima Yukio transformed instantly, descending in the form of a magical girl. As soon as the transformation was complete, she immediately formed hand seals, and ice walls rose up on both sides, temporarily blocking part of the obstacle!

Seeing everyone enter battle mode, Momose Sena immediately transformed as well.

After becoming a magical girl, she slammed her weapon into the ground with a bang, flames coiled around her fist, and blasted the flaming fist to the other side, turning more than a dozen dolls into ashes!

"Too many!"

Nanatsuji Kirion's barrier lit up, and a pale golden light enveloped the five of them.

The dolls crashed into the barrier, making a sizzling sound, and were temporarily blocked.

But their numbers...

Too much.

And they keep coming in.

Ryosuke Miyagi stood in the center of the barrier, his gaze fixed on the rocking chair at the deepest part.

The doll is still sitting there.

look at them.

The doll's expression kept changing.

[Used by Extraordinary Observation]

In an instant, the world slowed down.

His gaze pierced through the layers of dolls and landed on the doll.

Its body...

There was a thick mass of black resentment.

But that's not all.

Something was glowing deep within that mass of resentment.

Multiple items related to obsession were detected in the target's body.

The doll on the rocking chair controls other dolls to attack; once entangled by a doll, you are dragged into a hell of resentment, trapped in painful memories, unable to escape.

Ends in 2 seconds.

Ryosuke Miyagi withdrew his gaze.

"Hikawa".

"exist!"

"That doll is the real thing. It controls all these toys."

"I guessed that too, but the most important thing now is how to get through this."

Hikawa gritted his teeth, and with a mighty swing of the chainsaw, cleared a space!

Then she took a deep breath!

"Transform!"

A burst of red light!

The sportswear transformed into a form-fitting crimson combat suit, with flames leaping across its surface!

Level 4 Magical Girl, Homura Hisakawa, has arrived in battle stance!

As the only magical girl in the team to reach level 4, Homura Himawari still possesses formidable combat power even without transforming into a magical girl.

She's going all out now!!!

"I don't have time to play with you little punks!"

She leaped up!

Stepping on the heads of those dolls, I charged straight to the deepest part of the shop!

The dolls pounced on her frantically, but she was as fast as a red lightning bolt!

Three seconds!

She had already rushed to the rocking chair!

The chainsaw flew high into the air!

"Go to hell!"

hum! ! !

The chainsaw came down!

The doll's smile froze.

It sprang up suddenly with astonishing speed, dodging the attack!

Seven ice spears descended from the sky, sealing off all its escape routes!

"Sena!"

Momose Sena was already prepared.

She transformed into a ball of flame, charging forward with fierce speed. The dolls were sent flying by the flames, and her incredible speed propelled her through the group of dolls, crashing into the special doll from the side!

Blue flames burned wildly on her fist!

boom! ! !

A punch landed squarely on the doll!

The doll let out a sharp screech!

The three worked together flawlessly.

From Hikawa's attack and pull, Matsushima Yukio's blockade, to Momose Sena's fatal blow!

Perfect teamwork!

Your employees are becoming increasingly skilled at cooperating. Now, all you need to do is provide them with endless intensive training to maximize their positive impression of you. Their cooperation with you will then be seamless.

[Bonus: How to handle four girls at the same time? (Oh, not five, no, six! Damn, maybe even more!)]

But the doll that had taken a hit from Momose Sena did not fall down.

Instead, its blue eyes suddenly lit up with an eerie light.

Staring intently at the three of them…

Momose Sena's body stiffened.

She saw...

An empty room.

A girl sat in the corner, hugging her knees, and kept crying.

"Mommy...Mommy, where are you...?"

"Why...why don't you want me anymore..."

Those are the memories of dolls.

That was its despair after being abandoned by its owner and waiting in the warehouse for three years.