---

Samuel waited patiently as Ms. Selas performed an incantation, which revealed the marks on the walls around them. However, before any of them could even wonder what they were for, they began to glow, and the alley around the trio changed seemingly of its own volition.

Samuel's brow furrowed as he witnessed five contraptions step out of the sudden darkness, attempting to surround the smaller group.

"Oh. Well it appears we have walked-" he didn't even have time to comment as Grain advised caution, before lashing out at one of the automatons.

"I'm going to assume negotiation is not in your wheelhouse then, Lady Blackmore..." he responded in a slightly bothered tone.

He then turned in the opposite direction of Grain, as he assumed she could handle herself with how she initiated.

Samuel thought quickly, dropping to a squat and planting his hand on the bricks below, before uttering a phrase in well-practiced manner while shifting his hand forward swiftly. "Lutuso disdo." A wave of energy would wash over the feet of those near him and saturated the ground, as he would release quite a bit of it to perform his task.

His intention was to reduce the bricks under two of the machines to a pudding-like substance, before rapidly hardening it and shifting it away from his comrades - effectively nullifying the only visible weapons their ambushers had. If it was successful, those caught would be drug to a safe distance, accompanied by the sound of bricks scraping and rasping against each other as they shifted.

There, they would be easy targets for Grain once the others were dealt with.

"Seventy-four? Well, it'll do," Euphemia said. She wasn't sure how she felt about that number, it was a fair distance from a hundred. After some thought, she decided that it was close enough for her. "Shall we go, then? Stay close, remember."

She clasped her hands together, giving a sweet smile to her companions. Then her eyes closed, and her face twisted to concentration. Suddenly, without any warning for the others, she used her magic. To anyone who was watching, it would just look like they had just disappeared instantly. But it is a little more complex than that. Bending the light in such a way with such detail is a lot more work than it seems.

It is easy to create a bad illusion. It is difficult to create a good one, one that would fool people from a fair distance away. Making a perfect one, that is indistinguishable from reality, is something else entirely. But the Dalraans strive for perfection, and Euphemia is no exception. So, through years of relentless practice, the flawless illusion of invisibility had been carefully crafted. When Effie opened her eyes, and looked down, there was absolutely nothing there.

Of course, that only meant she had done a good job. It was a little disorientating, having yourself disappear. Everything was still there, but it didn't look that way. With her apparent absence and her silent footsteps, she began to make her way past the policemen, trying to keep an eye on her companions. Well, at least where her companions should be. Any slip-up, no matter how minor, could mess the whole thing up. She was a Dalraan, and she did not make mistakes.

Truth be told, she was a little nervous about what exactly investigating a crime scene entailed, but that was overshadowed by a morbid curiosity. It couldn't be that bad. Effie was sure she could handle anything that came up, and after all, she wasn't alone.

@Rabidporcupine@Chi

The doll that had attacked Arinne and been slowed in place fell in two halves. Disturbingly, it appeared that it was no simple automaton: rather, its body was somehow filled with red, flowing blood. It wasn't only that, however. Saturday's scythe had sliced not only metal and other inorganic materials, but what appeared to be a human lung positioned roughly where it would be on a living human.

Arinne's eyes narrowed slightly. The other doll that had been attacked fell to pieces to reveal a mess of blood and what appeared to be a violently deconstructed internal organ of some sort, Paul's attack having rendered it unrecognizable.

As if all of this wasn't enough to indicate what was going on, the flowers that Lillia had used to track the organs were now slowly shifting to follow each of the dolls, though others were still pointing off in other directions.

"... I see. It's not simply alchemy, but necromancy as well. How disgusting," commented Arinne, brushing her hair to the side as she did. Using the internal organs of murdered girls to power some sort of automated familiar... it was vile. And it was poor resource management as well. Killing people for such a minor reason? That couldn't be it. There had to be more to it. "Destroy the rest. They're quite abominable."

The remaining three dolls seemed to react to the swift destruction of two of their number by drawing back. But they weren't retreating. With a strange clanking sound, their limbs seemed to shift before suddenly launching themselves from their body, mounted on chains that swung towards Arinne's investigators!

@Rin@Raineh Daze@TheFake

---

The doll that Grain attacked fell backwards into a heap. While its interior was impossible to see, what was clear was it was now gushing red blood onto the cobblestones, seeping between the cracks. Undeniably, there was something inside of the doll that was allowing it to operate in such a manner. Something organic. Given the circumstances, it was quite likely it would not be difficult to discern what.

The two dolls caught in the floor thrashed for a few moments, but it immediately became clear that they were not out of options. Their arms clanked as they suddenly swung outwards, mounted on chains, aiming for Grain in particular in this case. Meanwhile, the other two remaining dolls immediately sprang towards the other investigators!

@KoL@Anza@Bartimaeus

---

The moment that magical energy was detected being activated in the alleyway, it suddenly seemed to extend in both ways and darken, as if the sun had set. But that wasn't all. From the shadows emerged a set of strange, feminine automatons, blank faces resembling masks. As they encircled the investigator's position, they swayed slightly from side to side, robotic limbs clanking as they spun in their sockets. While they had yet to attack, it was clear it was only a matter of time.

@Aviaire@Rabidporcupine

@Aviaire @chi

"Hey, it's better than zero, right?" Leo asked with a shrug, as he waited for her to cast her spell.

He honestly hadn't known what to expect, but he had to let out a whistle of appreciation when he looked down to realise they were now completely invisible.

"Ok, yeah, this is pretty neat. Nice job." He said, before he too followed her around the police. Once he was a couple of meters past them, he placed a sticky not on each of the alley walls on their side and whispered a command phrase. This caused the runes on the notes to glow, before fading away completely. However, he froze before he could place any more, as the alley extended in both directions, sending taking the police off into the distance as the area darkened.

"I'm gonna go ahead and guess this isn't either of you two?" He asked, the casual tone of his voice not really representing just how alert he had suddenly become. This only increased when he saw the doll-like automatons emerged from the shadows, and he began whispering to himself.

"Stab stab sharp block cut stab sharp fly hunt."

As he spoke, the words appeared in the air around him before coiling around each other to take the appearance of a long glaive.

"I don't suppose you're planning to help us out in our investigation, are you?" He asked, knowing all the while that he wouldn't be getting an answer from the creatures. "Shame... I would've liked to get a little rest."

And then he turned to look to the others, only to remember that they were all actually still invisible.

"Ok, I don't really know where you guys are, but do you have a plan? Otherwise I'm gonna say we should get back to back to make sure we don't hit each other when these things make their move."

"Huh, negotiation? I don't think these creatures came here for it," Grain replied to Samuel as she hit another one of the automatons that came close with with a swiping hit of her weapon's pole in the chest, cracking its metal ribcage and sending it flying.

"But, if you want to try to talk with them, feel free to do so," she said as she caught the chain arms shot at her and yanked the dolls off their trap with all of her ripping the two dolls right off their legs, causing the—now limbless—automatons to splash on the ground before Samuel.

Effie jumped back in surprise as the automatons appeared, the sound of her expensive shoes against the ground sounding out. Moments later, she reappeared a little behind the spot she had landed. She was no longer holding her bag, though it was nowhere to be seen, and instead had her delicate fingers curled around the handle of a knife.

"Oh, I do not like this," she whined. She took a few more steps backwards, somehow making less noise than when she was sneaking past the police. First day out of the house and things were not going well. "Do you think we could solve this diplomatically? I suppose not." For as much as she might act annoyed by this, the truth was that she had much more experience in using magic and combat than she had talking to people. So maybe she was a little relieved.

Leo's magic seemed interesting. It was difficult to tell exactly how it worked, especially after only seeing one example. Not to mention, she couldn't understand a word of what he had just said. It was probably safe to guess it was part of the casting process. She was pleased to see the weapon, though. The more capable the fighters, the easier this would be. Perhaps it was time for a little magic of her own, too. The alleyway was too dark for her liking.

After a few seconds of concentration, the light brightened in the alley. It was not blinding by any means, but it dispelled some of the shadows, and it was a bit easier to see. She made a note to try and count how many automatons there were when she could.

"Yes, that seems like a fine idea, Mister Leonardo," Effie said. "If you stay close, I can keep you invisible too. Ah, but if you wish to reappear, I can do that for you." She stepped a little closer to where Leo was. "I think that we can win this, hm?" She stayed in place, eyes glued to the automatons, waiting for them to make their move.

@Rabidporcupine@Chi

With Saturday cleaning up one of the dolls, Lillia could only stand there--still somewhat astonished by the proximity, but also by the worksmanship. "This is... shoddy. Someone would have to be very inept to rely on physical organs as some form of motive component rather than accessing a soul far more directly. Organs have far better uses."

The threat of the oncoming chains didn't budge her, with Maria moving forward in front of her charge, knives flashing to deflect them--and giving the teenager time to do something that would, hopefully, make it quite trivial for the others to finish the automata off.

"Life is but a fleeting warmth, draining into shadow..." she started... and repeated... again and again. There were much better ways to do this spell, more powerfully and with more duration, but why would she want that? Everyone around Lillia was a target, and a stronger version might do more than merely cause fatigue if it had to be sustained for long.

But its affect on such fragile creations, with so little to apparently keep them going...

The remaining dolls, at Lillia's draining spell, began to slow. They were stumbling, quite clearly crippled by the magic that had been used against them. It wasn't as if Arinne had feared them at any point, but now that she didn't even have to be concerned about being attacked(at least not effectively, as they were struggling to even remain on their feet), the blonde girl was able to observe them quite a bit more effectively.

While the craftsmanship of their components were fine, what was notable was that the method of their composition, everything about them in terms of magical craft, was, to put it simply, shoddy.

If these were created by the killer, then surely that killer put vastly less effort into them then they had the killings themselves. The use of displacement to remove not just one organ, but many, was undeniably a complicated craft. But these dolls were, while dangerous, quite magically unimpressive. However, it also allowed Arinne to perceive the nature of their very creation on a deeper level. The use of human blood and an internal organ within a mechanical shell... some combination of necromancy and alchemy?

Even though the dolls were still somewhat active, Arinne decided to voice her opinion.

"They're trash," she said, "Complete fodder. Whatever their motivations may be, our new Jack the Ripper should be embarrassed."

She cocked her head towards the already-destroyed dolls, leaking blood onto the floor.

"Unless, of course, they're a byproduct and not the goal."

@Rin@Raineh Daze@TheFake

---

Soon enough, the remaining dolls had been dispatched. The closed space remained active in spite of this, the limb mechanical frames still lying there uselessly on the ground. They were quite clearly bleeding very real blood, however, and something fleshy could be seen inside of those with larger injuries.

Now, perhaps, was the time for a closer investigation.

@KoL@Anza@Bartimaeus

---

It seemed as if the dolls were unable to locate the magi in the alley... at least, for the moment. They seemed to know something was there, but not how to target them. They circled slowly, turning their expressionless heads about blankly as they attempted to locate their prey. There was a strange clicking sound, suddenly, and then each of their heads turned in unison to focus on the spot where the cloaked magi were hidden.

It was time to act, before the dolls did.

@Aviaire@Rabidporcupine

---

Samuel half-knelt down to the two heavily damaged automatons that laid on the ground only a couple feet away. Much to his surprise, naturally, both of them seemed to be amassing pools of blood as they shifted around on the ground. His faced darkened.

He placed a hand on each of their heads before whispering a short phrase, "Pente", and removing his hands as their struggling ceased.

"I suppose you are correct, Lady Grain..." he said as he stood and circled around the two bodies, visibly inspecting them "...they were not interested in negotiation." he said solemnly. The other machines had been dismantled already by his partners.

Samuel was not exactly sure why these machines had attacked them, but he had an idea as to why they were seemingly pooling blood. He wedged the end of his shoe under one of the bodies and rolled it over, revealing a large gash on its chest.

There were organs inside.

He turned and stepped away from the bodies, his arms crossed and head down as thoughts raced through his head.

No respect for the dead whatsoever.

That simple thought had his blood boiling. Whoever did this had no concerns for anyone except themselves. They had not even a drop of empathy in their entire body. They weren't human.

He tried to calm himself inwardly as he turned back to his two companions.

"Well...I think we've found the organs."

Saint glanced with contempt at the blood and viscera on his bare fist. He touched the metallic body of the last puppet he had destroyed and the metal covered his hand, giving it the texture of polished steel. The metal flaked off, taking the blood with it.

"It makes little sense. Whatever spell was devised to remove the organs while leaving the body intact is a mastful example of control and precision. These dolls are... amateurish in execution."

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@Rin

@VitaVitaAR@Aviaire
"Oh, I'm sure we can." Leo said, a smirk that would sadly go unseen on his face. "I mean, I don't know about you, but this is hardly my first rodeo, and with them not being able to see us? Too easy."

Of course, his grin faded a little when all the dolls heads turned towards them with an unnerving click.

"Or, maybe being invisible won't even matter. I guess this means you should decloak us for now, because hey, if it they can still see and hit us, what's the point in risking it ourselves, right?"

And then he threw the spear up into the air, the movement almost appearing lazy in how casual it was, before uttering a single world, loud enough this time for everyone to hear it, even if they couldn't understand it.

"HUNT."

As soon as the command was spoken, the spear was already flying, driving itself through one of the dolls legs, obliterating it. He stared in only somewhat contained disgust as he saw what looked like blood pour from the wound, even as he pulled out the pistol he'd brought with him to London and fired three rounds into another's chest.

"The hell?" He asked, his voice making it even cleared how off-putting he found the revelation than his expression. "Ugh, now that's just not right..."

Effie sighed as she uncloaked them both. At least she could use less mana, but it was always a disadvantage when her magic was ineffective. She began to wonder if her other tricks wouldn't work too - but she decided to stay optimistic. Either way, she would find a way to win, and she had backup just in case. Magic or no magic.

She watched her companion as he dealt with some of the dolls. Well, she could do that too! Breaking away from Leo, she ran towards another automaton, slashing at its neck as she passed it. Effie wasn't too sure if they functioned the same way that humans did in terms of injuries, so she plunged it into its back for good measure.

She pulled her knife out, cringing a little at the sight, but persevered. Effie did the same to another automaton, injuring it the best she could, gritting her teeth as she used the admittedly limited amount of strength she had. Leonardo was looking further away than she would have liked.

That wasn't very good. So, she made it her next priority to get back to him, making her way back through the alley.

@Rabidporcupine@VitaVitaAR

While it could not be said that the dolls didn't put up a fight, their limbs lashing out on chains as they hurled their bodies towards their opponents, it was evident that without the element of total surprise in their advantage they were significantly less threatening. Soon enough, the last of the dolls had fallen, twitching as its cracked metallic frame split open.

Indeed, the most disturbing feature of the automatons was that they were pouring quite real blood from their wounds onto the concrete. That wasn't all, however. Through the larger injuries in the chest cavity of one of the dolls, something fleshy could be seen. Closer inspection would reveal that it appeared to be a single internal organ inside of it, attached by a series of red-colored wires. It was a kidney.

@Aviaire@Rabidporcupine