Eleo raised his hands, pressing them together as ink swirled and coalesced between his palms. "INK CANNON!" he shouted, firing a powerful blast of ink toward the doll.
The doll smirked, effortlessly catching the inky projectile midair. "Pathetic," she sneered, crushing the ink cannon into a harmless splash.
Eleo blinked in amazement. "Ugh, she stopped it. That's so cool!"
Kenji groaned. "Stop admiring her and focus!" He darted forward with blinding speed, his blade slicing through the air toward the doll.
She dodged with uncanny agility, twisting and flipping in midair like a gymnast. Kenji's slash barely missed her, cutting through the air with a sharp hiss. Before he could adjust, the doll ducked under his follow-up strike, rolling out of reach.
Tony rushed in next, his movements fluid and precise. His palms struck out in rapid succession, aiming for the doll's joints and weak spots. She sidestepped one strike, ducked under another, and spun away from a sweeping attack, her movements almost mocking in their grace.
"Is that all you've got?" the doll taunted, dodging a powerful downward strike from Kenji.
Kenji growled, slashing horizontally, but the doll leapt over the blade and landed lightly on his shoulder. Before he could react, she kicked him squarely in the side of the head, sending him stumbling.
Tony stepped in to cover Kenji, unleashing a flurry of palm strikes aimed at the doll's torso. She flipped backward, narrowly avoiding his attacks, then darted forward, sliding between his legs to evade his final strike.
Eleo's eyes widened as the doll landed gracefully in front of him. "Uh-oh."
She smirked, twirling like a dancer as Eleo leapt back to put distance between them. "Is that really all you three have? I expected more from intruders in my room!"
Kenji steadied himself, his grip on his sword tightening. Tony glanced at him and Eleo, silently formulating a new plan. Eleo, still grinning despite the danger, began forming more ink in his hands.
The doll tilted her head, her glowing eyes narrowing. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come at me!" Eleo yelled, "INK BARRAGE!" as his fists blurred, throwing rapid punches infused with ink toward the doll. Each strike shot out with force, but the doll gracefully dodged every one, weaving through the attacks like a seasoned fighter.
"Too slow!" she taunted, flying toward him with incredible speed. She drove her head into Eleo's gut, knocking the air out of him, and unleashed a flurry of punches that pummeled his body. As her assault ended, she grabbed his arm, spun him around effortlessly, and hurled him toward Tony.
Tony, just getting to his feet, barely had time to react before Eleo crashed into him with a loud thud. Both of them tumbled to the ground in a heap.
The doll floated above them, her glowing eyes narrowing. "You're all so weak. If you can't beat a doll, you deserve to die!"
Kenji, Tony, and Eleo groaned as they struggled to get up. Eleo, clutching his stomach, was the first to stand, though his legs wobbled beneath him. He glared at the doll with fiery determination.
"No," Eleo growled. "I won't die. I can't die. Not until I become the strongest! And when I do, then you can kill me all you want!"
Kenji and Tony exchanged bewildered looks. "Kid, what the hell are you even talking about?" Kenji muttered.
Tony sighed. "I think he hit his head harder than I thought."
Eleo ignored them, bending forward slightly as ink began to gather on his back. "INK NEEDLE!" he roared, shooting dozens of sharp ink needles from his back in a sudden barrage.
The doll moved like a whirlwind, dancing through the onslaught with ease, each needle missing her by a hair's breadth. As the attack ended, she landed gracefully and smirked. "Foolish boy. You wasted your energy. I dodged all of that!"
Eleo grinned despite himself. "Yeah, I was hoping you would."
Kenji's brows furrowed. "Kid, we're trying to beat her, not wasteing our attacks!"
Tony nodded, brushing himself off. "Yeah, what's the point in all this?"
Eleo simply held up three fingers, counting down. "Three… two… one!"
Before the doll could react, a massive explosion erupted where the ink needles had landed, shaking the entire room. The force of the blast sent debris flying everywhere.
"Gotcha!" Eleo shouted as he quickly formed an ink bubble shield, covering Kenji and Tony just in time to protect them from the blast.
The dust settled, and Eleo wiped the sweat from his brow. "See? Told you it would work."
Kenji glared at him. "You could've warned us!"
Tony chuckled nervously. "At least it worked… I think?"
The doll emerged from the smoke, slightly battered but still standing, her expression now one of anger. "You little brat! You think that's enough to stop me?!"
Eleo clenched his fists, his grin unwavering. "Nope. But I've got plenty more where that came from!"
The doll's sinister grin softened into a sly smile. "I'm impressed," she said, crossing her tiny arms. "Anyone who tries to fight me usually ends up dead, but you three... you've got guts. I like that."
Kenji blinked in disbelief. "Really? You're just gonna let us go?"
The doll nodded nonchalantly. "Yeah, you guys were… decently strong. Kinda." She then pointed directly at Eleo, her glowing eyes narrowing slightly. "Especially you, bunny boy. You actually made me hurt a little. That's rare."
Eleo's ears perked up as he removed the helmet with a wide grin. "You hear that, Helmet-kun? We get to live! Yahoo!" He threw the helmet into the air, caught it, and started dancing in victory.
Kenji sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This kid…"
Tony chuckled nervously, adjusting his coat. "Well, I'm not complaining about not dying today."
The doll's smile quickly faded. "Alright, enough celebrating. Get out of my room!"
Before any of them could respond, the doll flicked her tiny hand, and a surge of energy blasted through the room. In the blink of an eye, Eleo, Kenji, and Tony were hurled out the door and into the hallway, landing in an ungraceful heap.
The door slammed shut behind them with a loud thud.
Kenji groaned as he pushed himself up. "Decently strong, she says… and then throws us out like trash."
Eleo sat up, dusting himself off with a grin. "Hey, we're alive, right? That's what matters!" He held up Helmet-kun triumphantly. "And I still have Helmet-kun!"
Tony sighed, shaking his head. "Let's just focus on finding that sword and getting out of here. No more fighting dolls, okay?"
Kenji smirked. "Agreed. I'm officially done with creepy rooms and possessed toys."
The three of them got to their feet, brushing off the dust and preparing to continue their journey through the mysterious castle.