"Sneeze!"
A sneeze echoed somewhere in the quiet forest.
The one rubbing her itchy nose was a young girl with long blonde hair flowing down her back, a small braid neatly tied and resting across her chest. It was none other than Rina, the host and referee of the puppet competition Tris once participated in.
At that moment, she thought to herself:
'(´･ω･`)? Is someone cursing me again?'
And right after that fleeting thought, Rina stopped caring. After all, plenty of people cursed her; she was long used to it.
As the saying goes, "When lice are many, you stop worrying about the itch." But in Rina's case, even lice wouldn't dare jump near her, for fear of being slapped to death in an instant.
"Feeling sick, little miss? Then you should climb into my bed so I can take good care of you."
Surprisingly, she was now surrounded by a rowdy bunch bold enough to make such remarks. There were more than a dozen of them, each shabby-looking, clad in leather, and armed with weapons.
Rina: "(￣y▽￣)╭ Ohohoho….. A bunch of uncultured fools, clearly. Who invites a girl to bed by saying something like that?"
She laughed in a haughty, flamboyant manner, showing both disdain and her playful mood.
Feeling insulted, the bandits around her clenched their teeth in anger. In contrast, their leader, upon seeing his prey remain so calm, grew serious and visibly cautious. He no longer dared to toss out careless taunts.
As the leader fell silent, his men gradually quieted down as well, waiting for his command. Rina, her eyes sparkling with mischief, also stood silently, tilting her head as she watched him.
The atmosphere suddenly sank into an awkward, tense stillness.
Unclear of the reason, the leader suddenly felt immense pressure, like a giant monster ahead was opening its jaws, waiting for him to willingly jump in.
Knowing he couldn't simply retreat or stand idle, the leader immediately barked an order:
"Seize her at once!"
At the same time, he stepped back slightly, ready to use his underlings as human shields and flee at the first sign of trouble.
As he spoke, Rina pointed and shouted:
"(｀∀´)ノ Aha! He's planning to use you as meat shields so he can escape!"
For some reason, she instantly saw through his intentions, and her voice even drowned out the leader's command.
Hearing this, the henchmen hesitated, glancing at one another, each hoping someone else would rush forward first. The atmosphere once again fell into awkward silence.
Realizing his plan had been exposed and his men were disobeying, the furious leader roared:
"What are you waiting for? Attack!"
Rina: "(｀∀´)ノ His scheme got exposed, so now he's lashing out in anger."
Timing her words perfectly, Rina shouted in sync with the leader's command. Everyone could hear the joy and mockery in her tone.
Blinded by rage, the leader drew his sword and charged at Rina.
But before he could reach her, a massive bear with bizarre pink fur appeared, blocking her path.
In the leader's vision, a huge bear paw swung straight toward his face. Without time to block or dodge, the paw struck him squarely, slamming his head down into the ground below.
All around, the bandits widened their eyes at the sight of their leader's body convulsing violently, then quickly falling still, no longer moving at all.
A brief silence followed. Then, without needing any signal, the entire group turned in fear and fled at once.
Rina: "Stone Cage."
As she spoke, countless jagged stone pillars rose up like fangs, forming a circle around the area. Their sharp tips all curved inward toward the center. Thus, every escape route was blocked.
With enough time, the bandits might have climbed out, but time was a luxury they did not have.
ฅʕ•̫͡•ʔฅ The pink bear rampaged through, attacking anyone in its path.
Some were pierced through the chest by its claws. Others had their necks snapped in its jaws. Some were hurled into the sharp stone pillars, impaled on the spot. The scene instantly became a blood-soaked nightmare.
Of course, some tried to fight back against the bear, but each was slain in an instant with a single strike. Others turned their attacks toward Rina, who was controlling the beast with threads of spiritual energy streaming from her fingertips.
Seeing herself targeted, Rina continued directing the bear with her left hand, letting it slaughter those farther away. Meanwhile, her right hand picked up the fallen sword of the former leader, wielding it against those who closed in.
Three men charged at her. The one in the center thrust his spear toward Rina. Before it could strike, she swiftly sidestepped. Her sword swung, striking near the spear's tip, knocking it aside into another attacker and disrupting his advance.
At the same time, Rina stepped forward quickly, closing in on the third man approaching from her left.
As he prepared to swing his blade sideways, Rina hurled her sword, driving it precisely into his neck. Then, with quick reflexes, she snatched the bandit's falling blade and used it to block the spear thrust at her by the first attacker.
When the two weapons clashed, Rina skillfully angled the blade, forcing the spear down into the ground. In that instant, she lunged forward with a long stride toward the second bandit, slashing sideways and severing his head.
Immediately after, Rina threw the blade in her hand, sending it flying straight toward the spearman's chest. Startled, he dodged quickly. Though the weapon missed his chest, it grazed his shoulder, leaving a deep cut.
Meanwhile, Rina calmly picked up the weapon of the man she had just decapitated—a spiked mace. She swung it experimentally, testing its weight. The mace whistled through the air, producing sharp, satisfying sounds.
The remaining bandit, seeing his two comrades slain so easily and himself wounded, was overcome with fear. He no longer dared to fight, already envisioning his skull crushed beneath that terrifying mace.
Dropping his weapon, he trembled and stammered:
"I surrender. Please…"
Before he could finish, a heavy blow struck the back of his neck, slamming his head into the ground with a sickening crack.
The culprit was the pink bear.
Having finished off the others, it had returned under Rina's command to deal with the spearman. Her playful swinging of the spiked mace had been nothing more than a distraction to toy with him.
Humming softly, Rina searched through the bandits' belongings for spoils. Once she had gathered and cleaned everything, she cheerfully continued her journey.