?


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    "The Hall of Torture?!" Rita panicked. "I-It really looks like it will be a torture for my ankles…"


    "It looks like a yground, but everything''s filled with deadly traps!" Laughed Lace, very proud of his own creation. "Aren''t you amazed?! Aren''t you terrified?! Lady Dorothea never recognizes my genius designing talent! But you seem surprised!"


    "I-It really does look quite dangerous." Mark sighed. "So we have to cross this? Maybe if we just fly using the broom…"


    "No flying!" Lace said. "That is the one and only rule! You cannot fly across any traps, you must go through them, however you can, but you MUST! Kukuku~!" The little Jester began tough maniacally.


    "That''s the only rule? To not fly?" yne asked, her eyes showing clear horror and fear!


    "That''s right! Hehehe! I can see you''re terrified!" Laceughed.


    However, the mood of yne quickly changed, smiling confidently.


    "I see, so the only rule is not flying, you cannot disobey the rules you already set, isn''t it?" yne smiled.


    "H-Huh? What?" Lace was confused. "Well… I can''t. It is already set in stone!"


    "Good." yne nodded, hitting the floor with her shovel. "[Wooden Shield]!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    Suddenly, yne conjured arge quantity of Wooden Shields, which she rearranged across the entire area, the deep pit below, covered on sharp spikes was covered on this wood, generating a huge and safe bridge to the other side.


    There were huge Teddy Bears named Teddy Bear Sentinels, but they werepletely ignored as yne set up a bridge. Looking at her friends.


    "Let''s go then! No flying as he said." She smiled confidently.


    "T-That''s right, that was the only rule." Mark smiled.


    "Heh, serves you right dumbass." Rita smiled, pointing her gun at the Teddy Bear Sentinels. "I''ll shoot down these guys for the Magic Crystals!"


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    While leisurely walking across the bridge, Rita shoot down the bear sentinels from far away, who werepletely incapable of fighting back from such a long distance, and brought them over by using long, Shadow Tentacles. yne quickly stored the magic crystals.


    "We''re here!" Lily smiled. "Phew, that was easy."


    The entire group reached the other side in just five minutes and were already in front of the door leading to the next trial. Although they were incapable of seeing what face Lace was making, the sound of his clenching fists and his legs hitting the ceiling could be heard very clearly.


    "Y-You cheaters! That''s not FAIR! You can''t just ignore the traps!" Lace started toin like a little child.


    "You didn''t specify the rules." Said yne. "You only said: "Do not fly"… We didn''t fly, and we crossed over, we yed alongside your own rules."


    "T-That''s…!" Lace suddenly stoppedining and sighed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It seemed he was indeed chained to his own self-made rules, as if the entire dungeon was like a yground, whenever he set a rule, it had to be obeyed, but also hisck of insight made it so there were many loopholes one could abuse if they yed with words well enough.


    Or so, this was yne''s idea to win against someone that could turn them into dolls…


    "I guess you won fair and square…" Lace sighed, crossing his arms. "I admit your damn wits! But that doesn''t mean the next trial will be easy either! A-And I''ve decided to change the rules a bit, it will be made of three different trials!"


    "You can''t do that though." yne stopped him. "You would be viting your already preset rules of saying that there are only three trials."


    "Yeah, she''s right." Mark nodded. "You''re ignoring your own rules by changing the third trial to beposed of three more trials, that would make it five trials in total! You did not set a rule regarding this."


    "T-That''s right…!" Lace was shocked that he couldn''t fool them. "T-Then…!"


    "But how about a deal?" yne giggled. "Right, Mark?"


    "Yeah." Mark nodded. "Let''s see… We''ll do your three trials, and then let''s make a fourth one. You like them, right? So let''s make a fourth trial. In this trial, it will be a battle. We''ll fight against one another. You cannot use tricks like turning people into dolls, and you''ll be putting your life on the line, just like us."


    "Eh?! A fourth trial… a battle?!" Lace started tough. "You are too arrogant to think you can win against me in a battle! But fine, let''s do that! I abide to your rules as well, and through our agreement, the previous rules have been changed!"


    FLAAAASH!


    A sh of pink light spread across the entire space, as if the rules of reality themselves changed. The Great Spirit was right all along, Lace was some sort of Spirit of Dreams, and this entire reality could be considered a dream he manipted, but somehow, perhaps to control him, Dorothea had forced him to obey "rules".


    "The Rules have changed…" Laceughed. "Now, my dear guests, step into the next three trials if you''re brave enough! Haahahahahah!"


    "Uwaah! So smart, yne! I never thought this could be abused like that!" Lily said. "But I''m a bit worried… Won''t he get ahead of himself and give us something insane as a trial?"


    "We have to just bear through it, however we can." yne sighed. "Let''s go, together!"


    "Alright, fine…" Rita sighed. "You better invite me to a cold beer and some nachoster! Once we get your girl and the rest of the girls trapped here to safety."


    "I-I don''t think this is the time to talk about this…" Mark sighed. "Let''s concentrate in the next trial, everyone."


    "Yeah Rita, stop thinking about beer, let''s go." yne said.


    "Eh?! It''s my way of coping! I mean look at this ce! We''re in an insane clown castle of nightmares!" Rita cried. "You better promise me that beer!"


    "Fine, fine…" yne sighed, as they stepped into the next door.


    And what greeted them was… a huge pitch-ck hole, and the other door to the end of this hole.


    "Wee to the true third trial! The rules are… You can''t fly, nor you can make bridges!" Laughed Lace. "Hahaha! I got you now! Fall to your demise!"


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