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[X] Sharpen your perception. Think out of the box.
[X] Yukari

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"Scarlet Sign, 「Red-Haired Dutch Dolls」" cries Alice. Several dolls begin appearing before the Puppeteer. Their eyes glare at him ominously.

Grimnír shudders as he watches the dolls raise their arms toward him. For a moment, each of their miniature hands start glowing like candles. Then, dozens of energy bolts begin flying in his direction. He wonders idly how something so beautiful could be so dangerous.

He blinks. This isn't time to get distracted. If those hit him, he is going to end up in a body bag (hopefully Dr. Yagokoro won't experiment on his corpse in the name of science). Focus your mind. Sharpen your perception. Think out of the box.

"Oh yeah!" he mutters aloud. He almost forgot that he had this option. Carefully, Grimnír pulls out a spell card from his robes. Instinctively, he knows what to do next.

"Logos Sign, 「Calculated Risk」" he cries aloud.

Time slows down before his eyes. The shots slow down to a crawl as they make their way toward him. The dolls move at a snail's pace back and forth. Alice doesn't even look like she is moving at all.

He blinks. Slowly, he analyzes the direction and angle of the dolls and the shots they are firing. He gasps as he realizes that he can see it. The different possible angles of attack are becoming visible to his mind. The pattern of the spell card isn't difficult. Carefully, he inscribes this knowledge and insight into his mind.

Grimnír tries to raise his arms, but finds that he can barely move. Then, he understands. The spell card only reveals patterns and improves his analysis. The world isn't slowing down, it is his own mind that is thinking at a greatly improved pace. The different possibilities are running through his brain more quickly than he can move. However, his own abilities aren't actually enhanced.

The spell card won't last much longer. He closes his eyes and quickly calculates the most likely locations of the energy bolts in the next few minutes. He can almost grasp the essence of the algorithm that her spell card uses. Carefully, he comes up with a plan to survive the attack.

The spell card trance breaks. It is time to put the plan into action.

Grimnír weaves in and out of the attacks seamlessly. He does not even bother putting up a barrier. His strength is limited, but he manages to dodge each of Alice's attacks. The pattern is clear. There is no way that she can hit him now.

"Is this all you can do, dollmaker of the forest?" cries Grimnír. He can't resist showing off. The tables have turned.

"W-what? H-how are you dodging my attacks?" says Alice. She doesn't slow down her offensive, but none of the bolts are landing.

"Spell card patterns are easy, ~ze!" he replies mockingly. "My staff not even drop!"

Alice looks at him thoughtfully. She smiles at him, clearly impressed.

"Very good! Much better than I expected!" she says. "Let's see if you can handle this, then.."

The magician pauses to chant her spell.

"White Sign, 「Chalk-White Russian Dolls」" she cries out.

Suddenly, the air is filled with energy bolts. Even if he can see the basis of the pattern, this looks grim. There are too many. He can't escape this. He is going to die.

No, there must be another way! Think. There is always another path. Focus. There are countless possibilities in this world. Analyze. The solutions are endless.

"..."

Grimnír pauses as he remembers the first time he used magic. When he was attacked by fairies, he used a unique skill to drive them off. It was a powerful, dangerous spell that he did not fully understand. To him, it seemed that it was an extremely primordial class of magic. A power that was the basis of magic, and perhaps the world itself.

He raises his head and calmly watches the hundreds of bolts flying toward him. Sighing, he resigns himself to this foolishness. He isn't supposed to use this here. He isn't supposed to use this yet. It is too early.

But now, he has no choice.

"Endless, 「The Unravelling」" cries Grimnír.

The space between Alice and himself blurs violently, transforming into an indescribable miasma of color and shape. Then, it begins to collapse into itself, swallowing up the energy bolts, the trees, part of the ground, and several of Alice's dolls. A deep, unearthly rumble spreads from its center, but the ground is not the only thing that shakes. He feels the very fabric of reality ripple with the force of the magic.

By the time he completes the spell, the space between himself and the magician has completely vanished. There is no trace of any battle, as if all was devoured by the void. Nothing lies between them.

Alice looks at him with mouth agape. She holds a spell card limply in her left hand. Her battle aura has vanished, and she looks completely shocked.

Grimnír's vision blurs. He loses control of his body and begins plummeting to the ground. Alice shouts something, but he doesn't understand. This is his limit.

All turns to black.