Breathing Life into Real Dolls

1.

Inside the military base near Make Human Company.

In a dark room, several ability users looked at the light projected onto the wall. The light was projecting moving images onto a white surface, much like a beam projector.

The one casting the light was a man among them, a Familiar ability user who could connect with animals mentally, giving commands and sharing sensations.

He was currently mentally connected to a crow and was secretly tailing their group’s non-ability users.

While watching the men in the video, the ability users were chattering amongst themselves.

“These bastards are going to thrust into the Real Doll again. Don’t they get disillusioned after wrapping their dicks around silicon?”

“Those Real Dolls’ quality is damn good, so I do want to try them. Honestly, if you just look at their appearance, they’re better than real women, aren’t they?”

“What are you going to do about it? It’s cold silicone.”

Just then, the men moving in the video began to talk among themselves.

「Ah, shit. Damn ability users. Why do we have to leave real women and come to take care of dolls? Right?」

「 It’s a power that comes with status. What can we do?」

「So let’s shoot them when they’re asleep? They’ll die if they’re shot while sleeping, even if they’re ability users!」

The Familiar ability user had his right hand on a thin vibrating plate, which was subtly shaking, and reproduced their conversation.

The ability users watched the video and snickered.

“Clowns. They don’t even know we’re listening.”

“I’m getting tired of this; shall we kill them all?”

“Just let them be for a bit longer. Aren’t you curious if that bastard really has the guts to shoot?”

“What guts? He’s just a big mouth. You’ll see. He’ll be sheepishly smiling in front of us later.”

Even as they were chatting, the men in the video entered a warehouse building.

「Wait a minute. What’s this? Was there anyone who didn’t close the door last time?」

「What the hell, shit. Is someone inside?」

「Shh. Everyone shut up. Kill the footsteps and be on alert.」

A look of interest appeared on the faces of the ability users, who were watching indifferently.

“Seems like someone has entered the warehouse?”

The crow, with whom the Familiar ability user had mentally synchronized, did not enter the building but instead circled outside, approaching the window of the room where the Real Dolls were.

Then, two men vigorously shaking their hips among the six Real Dolls were revealed.

“Pfft! Hahahahaha! These bastards are damn funny. All the Real Dolls they treasured like their wives have been NTR’d?”

“Ah, they’ve been dirtily used. It looks like these two were only planning to use them once.”

“Oh, they’re in.”

The door opened, and the man who ran in first shouted, pulling the trigger right away.

「Who said you could use these freely, you motherfuckers!?」

「Tatatatatatatatang—!」

“Look at the dumb bastard. The Real Dolls will get shot like that.”

“That guy is just empty-headed.”

“I was intrigued by how this would turn out, but he just shot right away. No sense at all…”

The ability users sighed as if a sudden commercial had come on in the middle of an amusing drama.

“We’ve seen everything. Let’s stop watching.”

“They will have to resort to their hands now, so they might actually come to shoot us if they get pissed off.”

“Let’s just kill them if they come today.”

Just as the atmosphere was geared towards the group leaving the place, the situation in the video changed drastically.

“Hey, wait.”

Suddenly, a blonde woman appeared in the room.

Neither the ability users who had been watching the video nor the men on the scene could figure out where this woman had come from.

It was as if she had naturally emerged at that moment and started to become visible.

“… She’s an ability user.”

The ability users watching the video turned serious and started observing the woman’s movements.

The man who had run in first and shot both the men and the Real Dolls brightened up upon discovering the blonde woman.

「Wow, she’s damn pretty. Where did you come from all of a sudden? Want to play with us? We have plenty of food.」

One of the ability users who saw this spat out a brief comment.

“He’s a real idiot.”

And it seemed that another man in the video agreed with this opinion.

「An actual idiot, huh? She’s clearly an ability user! Shoot her arms and legs first!」

「Wh, what?」

「Move!」

An irritated man pushed the guy at the front aside and stepped forward, spraying bullets.

「Tatatatatatatatang—!」

At that moment, the blonde woman’s figure disappeared.

When the Familiar crow’s eyes caught sight of the woman again, the lives of the five soldiers at the scene had already been taken.

They were all standing with their necks twisted 180 degrees. The next moment, like dolls with their strings cut, the five lifeless bodies collapsed.

“…Did anyone see her?”

“…”

No one could respond.

Among the military force’s ability users who were focusing on the video, none of them had managed to grasp her movements.

Even though watching through the eyes of the crow might have limitations, it was still an incredibly fast motion.

And then, at that time, a new figure appeared in the video.

A man, seemingly from another room in the building, walked into the room, stroked the blonde woman’s hair, and spoke.

「Well done, Serena.」

「Hehe. Thank you, Master.」

“…Master? What kind of play is this?”

“The ability to make slaves. It could be something like that…”

“Damn, I’m envious of that ability.”

The situation was over. In the end, all that remained were the man and woman, whose origins were unknown.

The military force’s ability users exchanged opinions among themselves, each of them making a comment.

“Did you see the blonde chick’s face? I would recognize her instantly.”

“What shall we do about them?”

“What can we do? They look damn strong just by looking at them.”

“What does being strong have to do with anything? There’s no business in front of a grave.”

“Didn’t they just take out five people in one go?”

“They were just bugs without magic power. Don’t you know that the damage you take is different without magic power?”

“No matter how strong she is, if we go using ‘that,’ we at least won’t lose.”

“But… if we are going to do something, shouldn’t we depart now? It will take 30 minutes to get from here to there.”

“…”

“…We might as well go; they’re probably gone by now.”

That place was now a Real Doll company warehouse without any Real Dolls. There was no reason for those two to stay any longer.

As the mood visibly dampened after the last comment, a man stepped forward and spoke up.

“There is a way.”

“What way?”

“Did you see the knife that guy was carrying at his side earlier?”

“The white knife? It looked pretty cool.”

“Yes, that one. Don’t you remember? It’s the one the woman at Jeongbalsan Station had.”

“…Ah!”

“That’s right…!”

They all nodded their heads as if recalling it.

The ability users in this place were using Familiar ability users to gather information about the surrounding survivor groups, such as roughly how many people were there, what abilities they possessed, and so on.

And when they became confident of victory, they planned to choose the right time to attack and absorb the surrounding forces. The main goal was to capture new women.

Of course, the department store group located next to Jeongbalsan Station was among them.

“What was that woman’s name?”

“Jin Serim.”

“Right, Jin Serim! So those two must also be part of the Jeongbalsan Station department store group?”

“Considering we’ve never seen them before, I don’t think so, but there must be some connection.”

“We were planning to hit the department store soon anyway. Shall we go there tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.”

“I’ve been wanting to get Jin Serim quickly, and this works out well.”

So, the next target of the military force’s ability users was determined.

2.

Serena and I managed to arrive at Make Human Company’s warehouse before the sun went down. The problem, however, was that there were already customers there.

As we entered the warehouse, we heard the panting sounds of two men. It was obviously the sound of them using the Real Dolls.

‘Sigh… were we a step too late?’

There was nothing we could do. We couldn’t say anything to them.

The Real Dolls here were not mine. They were just a collection of custom-made orders. Even if someone had come and used them first, I had no right to blame them.

In the end, Serena and I decided to hide in the next room and wait.

If they left the Real Dolls behind after using them, I would retrieve them.

And if they tried to take them all?

‘Then… I’ll have to take them back by force.’

Those Real Dolls were not theirs, either. As I absolutely needed the Real Dolls, I was prepared to suppress them and take them if there was no proper way.

But then… a sudden situation arose.

People who appeared to be the armed forces of a nearby military faction, armed with rifles, entered the building.

“Who told you to use this as you please, you motherfuckers!?”

Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-tang—!

As a result, the two men who had come first and used the Real Dolls were killed in the gunfire.

‘These guys have killed people often.’

I commanded Serena:

“Serena, kill them all.”

“Yes.”

My command was carried out immediately, their execution taking less than 10 seconds.

“You did well, Serena.”

“Hehe. Thank you, Master.”

Serena looked up at me expectantly with a flushed face. I felt her bright green eyes follow my hand’s movement as I raised it.

I then placed my hand on her head and gently stroked her beautiful blonde hair.

“Hu-hu-he-he.”

Serena tilted her head up to encourage me to touch her face. She always chose to do the cutest things.

However, the happiness on Serena’s face soon turned into a sad expression.

“Master… The Real Dolls…!”

“They were all hit by bullets. Not one is intact. This… I can’t use my ability.”

“They could have all become my sisters…!”

I held the sobbing Serena tightly and gently stroked her until she calmed down.

“Hmm…”

When she calmed down, what caught my eye were the five K2 rifles lying on the floor.

It was an opportunity to experiment first-hand.

Would bullets without magic be able to inflict fatal wounds on someone with abilities, or not?

The problem was…

‘To experiment, I’d have to shoot and hit directly. Even though Serena’s durability is A+, what if she suffers a fatal wound with a one-in-a-million chance…? What then?’

I couldn’t play around with Serena’s life. I couldn’t do something that could endanger her.

At that moment, I suddenly remembered the special ability that Serena had recently acquired.

‘The Knight’s Vow. She said she could arm herself in the White Knight state. What if Serena, with an A+ durability, becomes a White Knight and dresses in armor made of magic?’

She wouldn’t be wounded, even with a one-in-a-million chance.

Besides, I had to see how powerful the White Knight state was for future use.

This time, I could try two experiments simultaneously.

“Serena. Let’s check the strength of your special ability today. Arm yourself in the White Knight state.”

“Yes.”

I immediately shot bullets at the White Knight Serena to test her power.

Bang—!

“……”

Ta-ta-tang—!

“……”

Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-tang———!

“…Master.”

“…Hmm?”

“Is this weapon called a rifle… really dangerous?”

“…Probably.”

The result was beyond expectation.

3.

After testing the power of the White Knight, we were tormented by a late-arriving sense of futility.

“Phew… to think we couldn’t find even one Real Doll this far.”

“… I’m fine, Master.”

Serena said with a glum expression. She didn’t look fine at all.

Since departing from the department store, Serena had been excited about soon meeting her sisters. But when those hopes were dashed, her energy wilted like a withering flower.

Feeling regretful, I searched the warehouse area thoroughly. In my heart, I hoped that perhaps there might be a Real Doll somewhere…

But I discovered something strange.

“…On this side, the building walls are thicker than the interior room size?”

I, who had been looking outside the building, quickly went in to see.

It was clear. Compared to the width visible from the outside, the size of the room inside was smaller.

‘There’s a hidden space.’

While suspecting this, I noticed a suspicious metal storage cabinet on a wall where there seemed to be more space behind.

I pushed the storage cabinet aside. Then…

[Special Inspection Subject Storage Room]

A door appeared.

“…What kind of company is this?”