Alice in the Land of Steam

Is the appearance animation of the boss in Chapter 51 cool?
The sky was dark, and a gloomy yellow mist floated in the streets and alleys of the city. Steel buildings rose from the ground, like silent giants, clustered and lonely. Rusty steam pipes climbed along the water erosion marks on the surface of the high-rise buildings, eventually forming an intricate brass maze, and the end point led to the huge power furnace that was whirring exhaust.

Visible haze rushed into the sky. The slowly cruising Zeppelin was like a slowly dying whale in the deep sea. Every part of its body had decayed, and its eyes no longer emitted bright searchlights. Its flying altitude was even gradually lower than that of the buildings. The edge of the airbag scratched the exposed steel bars, causing the propeller, which could not bear the weight, to groan with a creaking sound.

This was a lifeless city, with no pedestrians on the streets, a desolate scene. In the dark alleys, one could vaguely see one or two pairs of prying eyes, flashing evil and strange lights. Blood was flowing, along the broken fence grid, into the depths of the dark and filthy sewer.

No one wanted to know how many corpses were rotting in there, just as no one wanted to know how much pus and blood was flowing in the veins of this dying city.

All tones are gray, gray death, gray heart, and gray lines... There is no light at all. Death, desolation, and corruption are the main tones of the game.

At this time, a young girl's voice sounded faintly, as if coming from the distant sky, and she said in a low voice:
[In 1855, in the cold month, due to an evil sacrificial ritual, the sad city of Linville fell completely. The black bats that feed on blood devoured the always crying city, turning it into a sinful land that breeds blood and suffering. Killing, conspiracy, death, destruction... When the fear brought by the monster takes root in people's hearts, people's malice expands. The feast for the villains has begun, but no one knows when it will end. ]

[One day, a girl named Alice stepped into this city. The evil minions followed her like a shadow, wanting to devour her flesh and blood, proving that this place is not a place for ordinary people to set foot. However, the kind and righteous Alice will not give in, because the sword in her hand and her three companions will become her strongest backing, helping her cut off the dark evil and save this suffering city.]

[The four warriors chosen by fate, Alice, Linger, Metien, and Saint Shalia, the story of love, justice and evil fighting, begins here. 】

After listening to the long opening speech, four beams of light descended from the sky on the widest street in the city center, breaking through the haze that enveloped the sky. In the beams, the four warriors chosen by fate officially appeared.

The beam shattered, and the light fragments in the sky splashed like raindrops. As the game officially began, the characters who had originally been unable to control themselves also regained their freedom of action - or rather, limited freedom.

The girl nodded gently: "I am Saint Shalia."

The edges of these small squares still retain tiny serrations that have not been smoothed out, and look very rough at first glance. However, if you ignore the details and only look at the overall effect, it inexplicably gives people a very delicate feeling, as if it contains some kind of artistic sense that transcends the aesthetic of the times.

“Don’t be sad, Metien.” Alice patted Metien’s shoulder, who was squatting on the ground with a sad look on his face, and comforted her: “You were already very cute, and you became even cuter after changing to pixel style. This is a good thing. Look, doesn’t Ringer care at all? A guy as annoying as him becomes much more pleasing to the eye after changing to pixel style. This is the charm of the classic retro style. And Saint Shallia is the same... Eh, Saint Shallia?”

Alice exclaimed: "You are Saint Shallia!?"

The pink-haired little girl cried out as if her worldview had been shattered.

When Ling Ge heard his sister's words, he subconsciously raised his head and observed the surroundings. Then, for the first time, an undisguised look of astonishment appeared in his eyes. This was not only because he found himself in a lifeless city, nor because he found that this city could correspond to Linweier City in some places, but because the city in front of him was actually made up of small squares one after another!
In fact, not only the city, but also the smog floating in the sky, the huge airship cruising slowly, the dust and gravel on the streets, and even the bloodstains that have not yet dried deep in the dark alleys... are all made up of such small squares. It looks like someone has used thousands of small squares to piece together a unique world model.

A few minutes later, after Alice's explanation, everyone had to accept the fact that they were in the game world and had been transformed from "ordinary humans" to "pixel people". In fact, the only person who minded this was Metien, because she was short to begin with, and became even shorter after becoming a pixel avatar.

……

No wonder she was able to activate the cassette.

Then he heard Alice's voice: "Don't be so mean, Metien, you are also pixelated."

Lingge was the first to hear Alice complain: "The opening scene is too long. Which idiot designed it?"

Previously, the retarded AI told Alice that she had to use "fate" to activate the cartridge, and isn't Saint Shallia's class [Girl's Royal Power·Fate]?

"Eh!!?"

How is this going! ?
Even when he saw the vampire in front of him, Ling'er's reaction was not that surprised.

The familiar name awakened the girl's memory. She raised her head and stared blankly at the pixelated figure who was holding a bent wooden stick, wearing a white dress, and had an elegant and tranquil temperament. She finally understood where the familiar feeling she had when she saw her came from.

Then Metien's panicked voice said, "Where is this place? Why do these buildings look so strange?"

Why didn’t I figure it out sooner?

Alice was immediately distressed, but then she thought again, it seemed useless to figure it out earlier, as she couldn't find Saint Shallia at the time, and she might not even recognize her if she found her. Her first meeting with the other party just now had already proved this point well.

It can only be blamed on the huge gap between the pixel style and the real style, which made the talented player misjudge, and from then on there was an indelible black spot on his career. After a melancholy sigh, Alice decided to let this matter go with the wind. She cheered up and said to her three teammates: "In short, ignore these insignificant little things for now, and get ready to deal with the next enemy."

"Enemy? Are you talking about Miss Fialli? Has she also entered this world?" A question mark popped up on Metien's head, although there was no expression of doubt on that pixelated face.

"Nonsense." Alice rolled her eyes. "She's the boss. How can we continue playing the game without the boss? Also, she's the enemy. Why are you being so polite to her? I suggest that we call her 'that guy' from now on. This way, we can show our sense of justice!"

Her words were righteous, but unfortunately no one agreed with her. In today's materialistic age, there are too few people with a sense of justice, which makes Alice feel extremely sad.

Closer to home.

"When the fight starts, you all have to listen to me." Before the boss battle began, Alice instilled the battle strategy into everyone: "Because you are all crutches... ah, I mean, you are all auxiliary professions, without any damage skills, so you must play closely around me. In simple terms, I'll deal damage and you guys heal. Got it?"

Including Lingge, the three of them shook their heads in unison, indicating that they did not understand.

What bird language are you speaking?

"Okay." Alice said helplessly: "It seems that I can only explain it to you after the fight. Anyway, remember one thing: only I can lead us to victory!"

She puffed out her chest, trying to imitate the majesty of a certain important figure, but before she could fully display her power, she was interrupted by a sudden voiceover:

[The activities of the four warriors in the city soon attracted the attention of Fiallie Jane Edward, the minions of the evil god, the messenger of darkness, and the monster who had fallen from human to monster. In order to sacrifice their flesh and blood and gain the blessing of the evil god, she decided to hide it from other people of her kind and hunt these four arrogant outsiders alone, and she firmly believed that she would be able to win.]

[How will the four warriors deal with her attack? ]

[In this end of the world, a fierce battle is about to begin in the ruins of Linwell City. 】

As soon as he finished speaking, a passionate yet sad music came from somewhere. The high parts of the music were exciting, while the low parts were enough to make people cry. It perfectly fits the dead silent and desolate atmosphere of the city, and implies a sense of oppression of impending storm, indicating that the next battle will not be easy.

call--

A strong wind blew past.

The haze in the sky suddenly began to gather inwards, and under the manipulation of an invisible hand, it slowly twisted into a whirlpool. From the center of the black whirlpool, the calmest and most depressing eye of the storm, a gorgeous blood moon slowly squeezed out of the clouds and fell down. The closer it got to the ground, the heavier the sense of oppression it brought, stealing everyone's sight, and in the end even making it difficult for them to breathe.

【ah--】

Amidst the depressing music, a chanting voice suddenly rang out, completely different from the previous narration, like weeping, complaining, and praying:
【Great Lord of Heaven! 】

[When the blood moon falls from the sky, I sincerely ask you. ]

【Join us in this bright red feast! 】

boom--! ! !
A powerful aura was released from the falling blood moon, sweeping across the darkness of the entire city in an instant. The blood moon, which was extremely solid on the surface, instantly exploded into countless fragments. In the blood-colored moonlight that was surging like a tide, a curled-up figure slowly opened his eyes and stretched his body. The black bat wings behind him stretched to both sides until they pressed against the gloomy steel buildings. The sharp ends easily pierced the glass windows, making a crackling sound.

Above her head, there was a line of bloody words, identifying her:
[LV35 Blood Vanguard-Fiali]

At the same time, the same pop-up window flashed in front of the four people on the ground:

[You encountered a BOSS]

[You have entered combat mode]

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(End of this chapter)