Does the Assassin Girl Dream of the Mana Doll?

What appeared before them was something that resembled a human, yet was clearly not.

Indeed, the rough form was that of a human—two arms, two legs, and one head.

…But it was definitely not human.

Gone was the beautiful woman in her luxurious dress; in its place was a hideous creature that induced physiological disgust. Its entire body was encased in a gnarled exoskeleton, like that of an insect. Spines protruded from its elbows and knees, and its hands were enlarged, with claws as sharp as large knives.

But most of all, her head. Her face was an inverted triangle reminiscent of a praying mantis, with two horns protruding and eyes swollen insect-like compound eyes.

Those grotesque eyes scanned the surroundings.

They fixed on Egret, who had just finished off the chancellor.

In that instant, Egret leapt sideways, as if spring-loaded, just before the spot where she had stood was blown away.

With another leap, she put a large distance between herself and the creature, drew her short sword again, and stared it down.

“Your Highness, fall back! Get back as far as you can, scatter, and focus only on dodging!”

It was the first time Riohart had ever heard Egret shout like that. Understanding the gravity of the situation, Riohart immediately called out.

“Get back! Everyone, retreat! Scatter and evade at your own discretion!”

The knights hurriedly backed away, scattering, while keeping their gaze locked on the transformed queen…(TL Note: Queen sized insect? Got it? Nvm I’ll delete this later…)

No one was foolish enough to put up unnecessary resistance. After all, they couldn’t see what was happening. Although some had managed to barely follow Egret’s movements, they couldn’t keep up with the queen’s.

Egret took deep, rapid breaths, forcing air into her lungs. If she slowed down even a little, she would be killed. The tension was so palpable, it felt almost physical.

Slowly….

The queen, who had torn up the floor with her claws, rose to her feet. She turned toward Egret with a deliberate, slow gaze.

Egret’s heightened senses picked up on something—a feeling, more than sight. Instinctively, she dove forward, rolling.

A heavy sound of air being crushed rang out, followed by the metallic clang of two weapons colliding.

As the queen passed right next to her, Egret swung at her ankle in a crossing motion, but her blade was deflected by the exoskeleton.

No good…she thought as she readied her stance again.

The queen turned around and raised her claw as if to strike.

Then, one of her legs wavered slightly.

It wasn’t cut. There was no blood. But that meant…

… The impact was getting through? Was she still human inside?

If that were the case, then there was still a chance. If she could keep dodging and land a blow with every pass, maybe….(TL Note: is she fighting a dark souls boss?)

She reversed her blade, aiming to strike with the flat of it instead of the edge. She needed to inflict impact without breaking the blade.

In the next moment, the grotesque creature, furious at the insolence of the one who had wounded it, roared.

“GYUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

The roar was like a concentrated blast of magic, and the more attuned to magic a person was, the more they felt it. The intense pressure made Egret’s head swim, and she fought desperately to keep herself grounded.

Then, her still-functioning senses caught a cold, chilling presence.

“Watch your feet! Dodge the magic

She shouted as she fought to keep her balance. She couldn’t even look around; she was too focused on the deadly magic gathering at her feet.

If it connected with the ground, she could easily imagine the devastation it would cause.
But she was surrounded by a dense concentration of magic, and all she could do was dodge.

“AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! SYOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

Just barely dodging, a lightning bolt struck the spot where she had been.

The prince and some knights, in an area where the lightning wasn’t as concentrated, managed to evade after sensing it. A few knights weren’t as lucky and were hit by the lightning.

Without a moment to breathe, the lightning continued to rain down, forcing them to dodge and flee..

“Damn it!!!”

Egret sensed a presence leaping toward her as she dodged lightning, throwing her off balance. She deliberately fell, rolling away.

The force nearly knocked her sword out of her hand, but she held on and quickly got back to her feet. She felt as though she locked eyes with the creature as it spun around, but before she could think, she leapt aside, dodging the floor debris it hurled at her.

Ignoring the pain from the flying shards, Egret rolled forward, jumped again, and heard the floor shatter behind her as she spun and got back on her feet.

Her breathing was ragged, and she couldn’t calm it down.

She raised her small sword again, glaring at the grotesque creature, and noticed something odd about its left knee. While it could still walk, its right leg had enough strength for jumping.

Before she could fully comprehend it, the creature lunged at her.

She rolled to the side and twisted her body. A heavy sound echoed as the floor shattered. She threw her dagger towards the sound, and it struck with a clang. It seemed that the creature had sunk deeper into the floor with the force of its jump, and her attack had landed on its weakened leg. But it was too light. It barely seemed to have any effect.

Egret inhaled deeply, trying to take in as much air as she could during the brief respite.

But before she could even exhale, she was already dodging again. This time, her short sword missed its mark as she tried to strike in passing.

She knew she was being worn down.

But there was no choice but to keep going.

She was still alive. The prince and the knights were still alive.

So, giving up was not an option.With renewed resolve, Egret glared at the grotesque creature and readied her small sword again.

Next: The only way forward

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TL Note: I got Orphan of Kos flashbacks….

P.S: Git Gud Letty