Amidst the swirling dust and smoke, Alice could not locate her enemy. The shadowy figures seemed entirely obliterated by the blast, yet she felt no sense of victory; rather, a premonition of danger grew ever stronger. Nor could she arrogantly assume that an unknown adversary capable of trapping her in this bizarre dimension could be so easily dispatched.

"Even if not destroyed, it must be injured. If it could be harmed to that extent…" Alice held her breath, meticulously scanning her surroundings. Though she vaguely sensed the opponent’s strength far surpassed her own, as long as the enemy revealed its true form, she still held a chance—even a sliver—and she would not surrender, for she had no retreat left!

"Not bad, for a mere puppeteer to manage this much." Just then, a low voice drifted out of the smoke. The tone was utterly devoid of emotion, betraying neither joy nor sorrow, neither male nor female.

"Who are you!" Alice whipped around in that direction, her fingers dancing as a dozen puppets materialized in a battle line, adopting aggressive postures. Then, the smoke cleared, and she saw the figure opposite, but—

"Th-This… How is this possible?!" Upon seeing the person, Alice’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief. Her legs trembled, her hands shook, her entire body vibrated. She began to step backward, and the surge of desperate fighting will instantly vanished.

The enemy standing opposite was a woman: clad in red, with silver-white hair, a lock of which was tied atop her head with two spherical ornaments, and behind her, three pairs of purple wings adorned with deep violet patterns… Alice could not fail to recognize this person, for she was the Demon Realm God—Kanzaki!

"Wh-Why?" Alice could not comprehend it. The one attacking her, the one trying to kill her, was Kanzaki! How could this be?

"Is it strange? No, there is nothing strange about it. Do parents not have the right to dispose of disobedient daughters?" Kanzaki’s expression remained blank. The three pairs of wings on her back snapped open in an instant, unleashing a torrent of terrifying, immense demonic energy—devoid of malice or killing intent, yet carrying an undeniable trace of death.

"You…" Alice retreated further, shocked by Kanzaki’s words and utterly bewildered by the look of someone already dead in her eyes.

Yes, by definition, she was the daughter of the person before her. Even if she disliked or rejected her, that fact could not be erased. Yet, no matter how much she denied it, one thing was undeniable: Kanzaki possessed a mother's greatness and tenderness.

Kanzaki had always treated her, and every other being in the Demon Realm, with profound gentleness. As a God, Kanzaki lacked the stern majesty one expected; instead, she exuded benevolence and tolerance—the kind of doting love a mother has for her child. She would never be this cold and ruthless, never view her own child as already dead. Even if that child despised her, the mother Kanzaki would never abandon her. Therefore…

"You are not her!" Alice planted her feet firmly, staring coldly at the figure opposite.

"Clever girl. Indeed, I am not Kanzaki, but I am also Kanzaki."

"What do you mean?"

"It’s simple. I merely copied Kanzaki. Because creating this space has limited my combat power, I altered myself into the form you absolutely cannot defeat to end this faster. Well? Isn't this ability rather interesting?" The fake Kanzaki smiled, though there was no hint of mirth on her face, only ruthless cruelty.

As she spoke, the wings behind the false Kanzaki swept forward, and a flowing magic circle materialized before her. Countless energy projectiles burst forth from it. "Now, let us experience what it is like to be killed by your own mother. Ah, this feeling is rather exciting for me as well."

"This is…" Alice’s expression shifted. She felt a measure of relief that it wasn't the real Kanzaki, but the power emanating from the imposter was clearly Kanzaki’s. What was happening? How could she possess Kanzaki’s strength without being Kanzaki herself? This was impossible to fight!

Before the barrage arrived, Alice rapidly retreated, manipulating her puppets into an attack while dodging sideways. However, the projectiles ignored her puppets and struck directly at her.

"That strike just now cost me one of my bodies. Where has your fighting spirit gone? Are you hesitant because this person is your mother? No, you despise her, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have left the Demon Realm for Gensokyo. Or perhaps you are merely fleeing in desperation because you know you cannot defeat me? Truly incompetent. With a daughter like you, the Demon God is nothing special. If the daughter is trash, the mother is likely trash too." The fake Kanzaki attacked while relentlessly spewing insults.

"You… what?" Alice stopped abruptly, sending her Jūmanji puppet charging forward to detonate and nullify the incoming barrage. She stared coldly at her opponent, fury boiling in her eyes, utterly unconcerned by the explosion nearby.

"Nothing. Just eliminating you quickly so I don't have to maintain this useless form," the fake Kanzaki stated calmly, pointing forward, unleashing another volley of projectiles.

"Using her power while utterly insulting her—You… deserve to die!" Alice manipulated her puppets to defend as best she could, speaking coldly. Never before had she felt such searing anger.

"Why so angry? You always hated her anyway, didn't you?"

Boom! The smoke kicked up by the explosion obscured the sight between them, but it could not mask Alice’s rage.

"Yes, I dislike her, I don't accept her, and I don't want to be near her, which is why I left the Demon Realm for Gensokyo. But… I will absolutely not allow anyone to insult her!" Alice declared with resolve as her puppet legion quickly reassembled around her.

"I see. This is what they call emotion? What a pity. With your feeble strength, your refusal is meaningless." The fake Kanzaki sneered, releasing an even denser spray of projectiles.

"Then let’s try it… Shanghai, Hourai!"

With a sharp cry, two puppets flew out from Alice’s left and right flanks. These were Shanghai and Hourai, the only two puppets possessing true souls, capable of commanding other puppets for Alice.

"Charge! Charge! Kill it!" Shanghai held a blade, pointing it forward. Instantly, nearly a hundred dolls flew out from the Western-style house not far behind—not only cloth dolls and clay dolls but even Terracotta Warriors. Under Shanghai’s command, they ferociously assailed the opponent.

Shanghai herself fought with exceptional ferocity, slicing away every projectile aimed at Alice.

On the other side, the Hourai doll gathered the puppets under its command. "Form ranks… Hurry up, you fools! Integration complete, firepower ready… Fire!"

Shanghai was dedicated to melee combat, while Hourai focused on magical offense. Both dolls completed their preparations at maximum speed. As Shanghai led her army in a charge, Hourai gathered over a dozen puppets and jointly unleashed a massive magic cannon, not only clearing the fake Kanzaki's projectiles but carving out a pathway.

Simultaneously, Alice herself, controlling the majority of her puppets, broke through this corridor, instantly surrounding the fake Kanzaki.

"Magic City… Return to Nothingness!"

Dozens of puppets formed a triangular formation and detonated once more before the fake Kanzaki could react. The power of this explosion was incomparable to the previous ones. The moment the sound erupted, even this strange space seemed on the verge of shattering.

Then, when the sound of the explosion completely ceased, the projectiles were gone, and the fake Kanzaki's presence had vanished.

"Finally defeated… Hah!" After about ten seconds passed without any sign of the fake Kanzaki reappearing, Alice finally let out a sigh of relief, her face etched with exhaustion. Shanghai and Hourai flew back to her side.

"Useless." Just as she relaxed, the fake Kanzaki’s cold voice echoed from across the space. Alice snapped her head up and saw the opponent… completely unscathed!

"What?!" Alice’s face changed drastically. To endure such a massive explosion and remain unharmed… She was now left with only Shanghai and Hourai; winning was impossible.

"Wow, why isn't she dead yet."

"Waaah, let's do it again."

Shanghai and Hourai cried out in alarm, readying themselves in earnest.

"Didn't I tell you? Trash like you could never defeat me," the fake Kanzaki declared with disdain.

"How dare you insult Master! I will tear you apart!" Shanghai roared.

"Hmph!" The fake Kanzaki didn't even glance at the puppet, her gaze fixed only on Alice. "No need to delay any longer. Die."

As the icy words fell, the three pairs of wings in front of her closed, and a massive beam of purple light shot forth.

It was over!

Watching the terrifying beam rush toward her, Alice’s face turned ashen… Her puppet army had been annihilated by the suicide attack; only Shanghai and Hourai remained. She had no strength left to fight.

"W-Wait… Master, run!" Shanghai and Hourai still had strength and desperately pulled at Alice’s body, jostling frantically in the air, but Alice remained immobile.

"I'm sorry, Shanghai, Hourai, I already…"

Alice offered a wry, helpless smile, intending to close her eyes and await death, when her pupils suddenly dilated. She saw tiny sparks gathering before her, instantly coalescing into an arm, and from that palm surged a white shield, standing like an impenetrable fortress before her.

Boom!

The purple beam slammed into the shield, but the shield did not move an inch!

"This…" Alice instinctively turned to look back, seeing a familiar figure standing behind her.

Slap!

Lin Luo placed his other hand on the girl’s shoulder and smiled. "My apologies, Princess. Though I am a bit late, allow me to be your knight just this once."

: Tentatively setting a minimum of two updates for now; taking a short rest before the final burst later this month. RO