"Oh, what a coincidence. Shinku and I were just discussing you all. And here you are." Suigintou looked at the four girls who had descended from above and burst into laughter, her soft voice carrying a hint of malicious regality, intoxicating like a bewitching fairy.

"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you not to follow!" Shinku's expression shifted, her voice losing some of its arrogance and composure, replaced by a sharp tone of reprimand and insistence.

The four girls appearing before them were the other four Rozen maidens, excluding the seventh doll.

The one struggling to squeeze out from the bottom of the pile, her heterochromatic eyes expressing displeasure, was the Third Doll, Souseiseki, a peculiar girl possessing both tsundere and yandere traits, habitually ending her sentences with "no desu." Although outwardly composed, she was actually the most sharp-tongued among all the Rozen maidens, capable of infuriating someone to near death with a single remark.

However, despite her rather unruly personality, she was surprisingly fearful of strangers and always sought to hide when frightened. Contradicting her cunning side, her heart was genuinely kind. Unlike Shinku or Suigintou, she strongly opposed the brutal method of becoming the perfect Alice through combat, dearly wishing her sisters could coexist peacefully.

Simply put, she was the type of character who appeared fierce but was inwardly naive and prone to subtle actions—a girl recognized by her sisters as both gentle and troublesome, embodying the very essence of a doll.

Perched atop Souseiseki’s back, looking on with watery eyes as if on the verge of tears from the complaints, was the Sixth Doll, Hinaichigo. Her curly golden hair was tied with a large pink bow, and she wore pink Lolita attire.

As a doll, her set age was only six, making her the youngest of the Rozen maidens, and she considered herself a child. Her speech and demeanor were quite immature, and she feared loneliness, often doing things only a child would. Because of this, Souseiseki nicknamed her "Little Demon Berry..." Without the cruel Alice Game, she would likely be the mascot figure among the Rozen maidens, and coincidentally... Souseiseki enjoyed teasing her.

Then, the clumsy girl struggling above them, trying hard to stand but flailing about without success, was the Second Doll, Kanaria. Calling herself "Little Kan," she had curly green hair topped with an ahoge (a stray lock of hair sticking up). Perhaps this feature made her look a bit vacant; she often tripped. Her personality was kind and cheerful, though despite proclaiming herself the foremost strategist among the Rozen maidens, she was actually quite scatterbrained.

Similar to Souseiseki, she had the strange verbal tic of ending sentences with "no da ba?" Furthermore, she shared Souseiseki’s view on the Alice Game, holding no ambition to become Alice herself, often prioritizing the welfare of others. Thus, it was hard to discern the considerable strength lying beneath her innocent and clumsy exterior.

Finally, having extricated herself from the pile-up and observing Suigintou with a calm gaze, was the Fourth Doll, Suiseiseki. She had short hair with angled bangs and wore a black top hat. Her male attire and somewhat masculine tone made her resemble a beautiful young shota.

She and Souseiseki were the only twin dolls among the Rozen maidens, so like Souseiseki, she possessed heterochromia: Souseiseki had green on the left and red on the right, whereas Suiseiseki was the exact opposite—red on the left and green on the right. Her temperament also contrasted with Souseiseki’s, displaying composure and coolness; her combat prowess surpassed Souseiseki’s, giving the impression of a tiny knight. Yet, her disposition was somewhat pessimistic; she was a pure fatalist, believing the destiny of only one Rozen maiden surviving to become Alice was inevitable, meaning she had already mentally prepared for the bleakest outcome.

Additionally, her hat, like Shinku’s brooch, was a keepsake from Father, cherished dearly.

Excluding the Seventh Doll, about whom nothing is yet known, the six known Rozen maidens could strictly be divided into two factions. One faction, comprising Souseiseki, Kanaria, and Hinaichigo, were pacifists who opposed the cruel method of mutual slaughter to become Alice—the Peace Faction. Suigintou, Shinku, and Suiseiseki, however, were resigned and accepted the harshness of the Alice Game, striving to fulfill Father’s wish by becoming the perfect doll to meet their beloved Father, thus becoming the Pro-Battle Faction, ready to fight their sisters.

However, from the prior conversation with Suigintou, it seemed Shinku might have shifted from the Pro-Battle Faction to the Peace Faction.

The gathering of all six Rozen maidens in one place was an unprecedented event. According to the rules of the Alice Game, this occurrence held the high possibility of deciding the ultimate victor of this era. Although the scene suggested Shinku and the recently arrived four maidens already had history, giving them an overwhelming numerical advantage over Suigintou, if a fight truly broke out, Suigintou, as the current host, would likely hold the upper hand. Moreover, Shinku, the most combative and possessing leadership aura, was in a state of indecision, with only Suiseiseki vaguely showing fighting spirit.

Facing Suiseiseki’s determined gaze, Suigintou remained unconcerned, merely observing the messy spectacle below with an expression of detached amusement, flashing a smile laden with unknown meaning.

"Suigintou." With a swish, Suiseiseki soared into the air, quickly positioning herself several meters away from Suigintou, gripping a massive pair of shears with both hands, staring intently at her.

Suigintou still showed no overt reaction, but Shinku was the first to look towards her. "Why have you come?"

"I have Suigintou’s invitation, and this is the Alice Game. To defeat enemies through combat to become the perfect Alice and fulfill Father’s wish—this is the duty of a Rozen maiden. Of course, I must come," Suiseiseki replied without hesitation.

"Enemies?" The moment she finished speaking, Souseiseki, having broken free from the pile-up, swiftly flew up to the mid-air as well and shouted at her, "What enemies? Only one can become Alice. Is big sister also an enemy? Suiseiseki, would you kill even your own sister just to become Alice, no desu?"

Suiseiseki froze, speechless before Souseiseki's questioning. She instinctively turned her head away.

"Suigintou!" Seeing Suiseiseki remain silent, Souseiseki turned her gaze back to Suigintou and loudly declared, "Although I know you want to be Alice, no desu, we won't fight you, no desu!"

"Hoh~~" Suigintou looked entirely unconcerned. "But can you really stop something like this?"

"Even if I can’t stop it completely, I will stop it for you to see, no desu!" Souseiseki asserted firmly.

Suigintou’s tone dripped with disdain. "Then go ahead and try, you crybaby."

"Souseiseki is not a crybaby, no desu! Little Demon Berry is the crybaby, no desu!" Souseiseki clenched her fists and protested loudly.

"Little Hina... Little Hina is not a crybaby," down below, the innocent Hinaichigo looked genuinely hurt.

"Why did you come here?" At this moment, Shinku finally spoke to Souseiseki again. "I can understand Suiseiseki, but Souseiseki, Hinaichigo, and Kanaria—didn't I tell you all to stay outside? Why did you come?"

"Of course, we had to come! If it were just you and Suiseiseki, you two would surely start fighting Suigintou, no desu! Souseiseki doesn't want that, no desu!" Souseiseki shook her head vehemently.

"I've grown tired of this childish game. Let's begin..." Suigintou, who had been smiling, suddenly turned cold. The air vibrated, and instantly, countless black feathers shot out like arrows towards Shinku, Suiseiseki, and Suigintou.

"Be careful!"

Sensing that Suigintou's attack this time was far more potent than before, Shinku's face changed instantly. While dodging, she made sure to warn the two beside her. However, despite her warning, Souseiseki had no time to react. Seeing the myriad feathers rush towards her, she instinctively shut her eyes, crossed her arms in front of her, and cried out loudly.

Immediately, a series of clang, clang, clang sounds rang out.

Souseiseki felt no pain and quickly opened her eyes, only to find Suiseiseki shielding her.

"I apologize... But this is my fight. Please do not interfere," Suiseiseki said without turning her head, her cold tone betraying no fluctuation of emotion. Then, with a swing of her gigantic golden shears, she charged towards Suigintou in an instant.

"Wait... Suiseiseki!" Souseiseki called out her sister's name with deep anguish, but the latter seemed not to hear.

"Heh heh heh, having a little sister is much more useful," Suigintou laughed wickedly, leaning backward to evade Suiseiseki’s strike. Then, more feathers shot out from her wings—not aimed at Suiseiseki, but at the location of Shinku and Souseiseki, blocking them both from the active combat zone between her and Suiseiseki.

Is Suigintou... that strong?

Shinku felt unable to break through Suigintou's barrage of feathers and was inwardly astonished. Logically, even with her lingering hesitation, the gap between her and Suigintou shouldn't be this vast.

"Suiseiseki, what is it that you seek in the Alice Game?" As Suigintou maneuvered past Suiseiseki after locking down Shinku and Souseiseki, she asked in a bewitching tone close to her ear.

Suiseiseki’s piercing gaze remained unmoved. "That which Father desires."

Saying that, the massive shears moved to cleave towards Suigintou.

However, before her attack could land, Suigintou had already appeared behind her. "I asked for your thoughts."

"Father's pursuit... is my pursuit!"

A sharp glint flashed in Suiseiseki’s eyes; she clearly no longer intended to listen to Suigintou’s questioning. With a sharp shout, her attack slashed out fiercely.

"Heh heh heh." Easily dodging Suiseiseki’s furious assault, Suigintou ascended higher and laughed. "Is that your answer? In that case..."

Roar!

A great roar erupted as her black wings transformed into a black dragon, lunging to devour Suiseiseki.