"You're right…"
Looking at the scene outside the window, now pitch black, Wendy's expression grew serious.
"My powers seem to have failed… No, it's not that my powers failed, but there's simply no 'wind' here at all… A windless illusion, a dark field of view, and a narrowly restricted contact range. Damn it, they're completely targeting me."
"So what on earth is on the other side? Archbishop Otto? But his voice shouldn't sound this strange…"
"Judging from what we know so far, this is most likely the Herrscher of Domination."
Lynelle positioned herself protectively in front of Wendy.
Though Wendy's Deadzone was resting right behind her wheelchair, as Wendy had just said, the current environment was extremely hostile to her.
In these conditions, Wendy's combat power might not even match Rita's.
"What I wanted to tell you earlier was actually about this. I just didn't expect them to move so fast and already get close to you…"
"Have there been any new staff members at the Oceania Branch recently? Or has anyone been showing signs of psychological issues?"
"I'm not really sure about that. Most of the branch management work is handled by the old staff left by Teacher Ragna. Over here in Oceania, I'm just the designated combat specialist and mascot…"
"Plus, if you're counting everyone who enters the region, the list of suspects might even include cleaners going in and out of the branch's outer grounds daily."
Wendy shook her head, her voice low.
"So, are we waiting for rescue now? My leg brace has a locator and vital signs monitor. Since we're in Imaginary Space, the sisters at the branch must have gotten the alert…"
"No need. The two most powerful fighters in all of Oceania are right here. If we can't handle it, no one else will be able to provide effective support. Even if they contact Kiana right now, we'd need to hold out for at least an hour. Better to figure this out ourselves."
Lynelle deftly 'hooked' herself onto the back of Wendy's wheelchair. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."
"Really? Then I'll be looking forward to it."
"Ahem, enough of this boring little show!"
Just then, as if welcoming them into the trap, the voice from the puppets rang out again.
"How sickening, how nauseating! We'll kill both of you soon, bury one at the North Pole and the other at the South Pole!"
"Boo hoo, why do they get comrades they can trust with their lives? Where's the mental health counselor? Counselor, I'm feeling a bit unwell…"
As Lynelle 'drove' Wendy's wheelchair out of the room, the previously subsiding puppet voices quickly rose again in a noisy clamor.
Lynelle and Wendy finally saw the true form of this isolated space—a vast, theater-like structure floating in the Imaginary Space.
"Order, order!"
Then, accompanied by the sound of a gavel, Lynelle noticed all the puppet voices in her ears suddenly fall silent.
Immediately after, a single puppet slowly descended from above at the far end of their field of vision.
As for why it was called a puppet… Besides the obvious jointed features on its body, reminiscent of little Herta, shimmering threads were wrapped around its head and limbs, making it literally a 'marionette'.
"Tsk, how annoying. We didn't actually want to invite you, but whatever. Since you're here anyway, might as well see if we can finish you both off—"
As it spoke, the puppet twitched a few times as if its control was glitching, then spread its arms wide.
"Welcome… to the Theater of Domination!"
"Pfft."
Wendy offered no mercy with her sharp retort.
"That thing wriggling on the ground just now really looked like a m— I mean, we're all Herrschers, right? The earlier ones were all so cool and beautiful, but when it comes to Domination, it's just… pathetic."
"You— How dare you!"
Seemingly struck on a sore point, the puppet's voice instantly cracked with defensiveness.
After all, the Herrscher of Domination was itself a 'motley crew,' mostly composed of individuals with psychological scars. Wendy's comment had probably hit a nerve for many of the puppets.
"Like you're some pure and innocent soul! Let me ask you this: we originally planned to strike yesterday. So why didn't you two leave your room all day yesterday? What were you doing in there? Have you no shame!"
"Exactly! We had to expand the Theater's capture range at the last minute to pull you in, house and all. Didn't your mother teach you not to cause trouble for others!"
With one taking the lead, puppet voices rose and fell all around them again.
However, though the voices were everywhere, Lynelle and Wendy couldn't see where the puppets were.
They were in a classic corridor area of the structure, some distance from the main theater section. Both Lynelle's senses and Wendy's detection could only lock onto the single physical puppet in front of them.
"Wait, so they delayed their move for that reason… No wonder they didn't strike on the first day, even though they could block our detection and pull us in. It turns out their capture requires some kind of medium too."
From the surrounding puppet chatter, Wendy quickly pieced it together.
According to them, they hadn't initially planned to pull in Lynelle. But because Lynelle and Wendy had been holed up in the room together all day, they had no choice but to bring them in, house and all…
"Whatever, we don't need to waste words on those who are about to die—"
The puppet in front of them swayed unsteadily back to its feet. "Let's skip the boring dialogue and jump straight to the climax of the show!"
"Miss Wendy… would you like to play a game with us?"
Bang—
Its answer was a sharp, angry gunshot.
"No. Next."
Wendy gently blew on the barrel of her gun.
Her shot had precisely severed the thickest thread above the puppet's head—the one that seemed to control its head—so the puppet immediately slumped forward.
"Just as I thought. They rely on these threads to move…"
Lynelle casually thrust the Seven Thunders of Retribution into the ground. A barrier of lightning instantly enveloped Wendy. "Wait here. I'll go see if I can retrieve some of those threads."
With that, Lynelle's figure instantly appeared above the puppet. The threads controlling it began to be enveloped by rapidly multiplying pink crystals.
But at that moment, the puppet suddenly raised its head in an eerie motion and reached out to grab Lynelle.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.