Chapter 1103: Section 1104 Chapter Rotation
The Minotaur and Barfiment were originally embroiled in fierce combat when the environment suddenly changed drastically, causing them to be momentarily stunned. By the time they regained their senses and prepared to strike back at the floating ice, a laughter that could chill one to the bone, accompanied by an eerie melody, crept into their ears.
“Who will you be? Today is special, and everyone has put on a mask…”
The tinkling sound of a music box turning reverberated with clear metallic clinks.
The Minotaur abruptly lifted its head to look at the source of the noise above.
Its full appearance was unclear; high above, one could only see a white doll’s head that seemed to be peering down like a child leaning over a table. Its mouth was constantly open, singing a chilling bard’s song.
“Who will you be? Your mask is a bull’s head, mine is a shadow…”
“Who will you be? Chop off your mask with an axe, let me see the true face behind the blood shadow.”
Initially, the two great demons were able to control their own movements, but as the lyrics changed, they found every part of their bodies seemed to be bound by silken threads, dancing to the tune of the white doll above them.
Barfiment picked up his great axe, his eyes blood-red, and looked toward the Minotaur: “I can’t control myself, get out of the way!”
No sooner had he spoken than another bizarre chant came from his throat. These notes, filled with a bouncing rhythm, popped out one after another: “Who will you be? Let me see your true face.”
At this point, the Minotaur could no longer move and could only watch as Barfiment’s giant axe hacked toward its own head.
When a blood-seeping dent appeared on its skull, the Minotaur revealed a sinister smile: “Who am I? I am the bizarre little puppet.”
The song seemed to have reached the end of a section. As the chapter transitioned, the Minotaur and Barfiment were clearly screaming at each other, but their hands were clasping everything, dancing a puppet’s pas de deux controlled by the silken threads.
This sight, enough to dismay any onlooker, unfolded on this ethereal stage.
As the second act of this play began, after their dance ended, the bizarre melody continued to emanate from the mouth of that white doll overhead.
The new chapter transitioned from “Who Will You Be?” to “Whom Are You Looking For?” The first chapter saw Barfiment attacking the Minotaur following the lyrics; in the second chapter, the Minotaur became the protagonist, the avenger, seeking the Barfiment hiding behind the mask.
Whatever the lyrics sang, a corresponding change would occur on stage, and as the sole “actors,” they had to perform the relevant scenes.
Therefore, what lyrics would appear became a nightmare for the two great demons.
Fear had crept into Barfiment’s eyes, and he kept retreating, attempting to escape the stage. But the illusory threads completely bound him there. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break the threads… To be precise, he couldn’t even sense where the threads were.
These threads appeared to be in reality, but their true form resided in some unknown alternate space.
“We must find the alternate space where the threads exist and destroy it to leave this stage,” Barfiment immediately realized. But where was this alternate space? That remained a question. All Barfiment could do was try to shatter the real space and search for clues through the essences flowing out of the broken void.
Barfiment’s idea was good, but just as he was about to act, the song from overhead took a new turn:
“Whom are you looking for? The avenger peeks out from behind the wall, hee-hee, I found you.”
Barfiment quickly turned his head, only to see the Minotaur poking its head out from behind the phantom shadow wall on stage, grinning at Barfiment with a mischievous smile: “Hee-hee, I found you!”
The chapters cycled through, and the actors on the stage performed earnestly. The only difference was that this performance carried with it a sense of mystery and bloodshed.
All the wizards watching this puppet show felt a chill of cold sweat down their spines.
An illusory stage, a few threads, and a verse of a song had turned these two great demons into prisoners.
Indeed, none of the supreme wizards capable of creating laws could be underestimated. Just imagine, even adversaries of the demons’ rank were caught and made to attack each other; if it had been they who were cast as the actors in a puppet show, their fate would likely be even more unbearable.
However, they thought about it and realized that releasing this puppet show did not seem so easy. If not for Sanders controlling the two great demons with the Illusionary Realm for as long as one minute and silently binding them with the threads, the puppet show might not have been successful.
So, as long as one remains vigilant, one should be able to escape a puppet show the next time one encounters it.
That was the talk, and indeed it was correct, but many overlooked something. The one who released the puppet show this time was Mu Ying, not the law-creating Kundela. If Kundela were to release a puppet show, their reaction time would certainly not last a full minute.
Mu Ying continued to manipulate the puppet show and had already entered the fifth chapter: “Whom Did You Kill?”
In the beginning, Mu Ying appeared relaxed, but by the time of the fifth chapter, the two great demons had become riddled with wounds under the direction of the song, with Barfiment’s limbs even dislocated. Yet, the play did not stop.
As long as the demons in the story were not dead, the chapters had to go on. This, in turn, gradually increased the burden on Mu Ying.
Ordinary demons would probably be hacked to death by an axe in the first chapter, never making it to the fifth chapter still lively and active. This is the terror of the great demons, with indestructible flesh, that, even under continuous torment, remain strong enough to drive one to despair! This is also the reason why many wizards transplant demon bloodlines.
The others also noticed that Mu Ying’s forehead was covered with cold sweat.
“How about we all go up together, take advantage of them being controlled, and then kill him?” someone suggested.
No sooner had the words left their mouth than Mu Ying shook her head, “Until the seventh chapter, the bizarre puppet play has no roles for side characters. If you enter the stage now, it will only lead the play towards the brink of collapse.”
Since Mu Ying had said so, the others could only endure.
As everyone continued to watch the puppet play, awaiting the outcome, Monty, standing at the forefront of the floating ice, suddenly felt an inexplicable sensation—a pressing sense of oppression that turned his erstwhile calm mood into one filled with anxiety.
Could something be about to happen? Monty furrowed his brow, looked back at Maher, and communicated with the Spell of Whispering, “How are Samantha and Kanter doing? Have they been in touch with you?”
Maher: “No, they haven’t sent any messages since they left.”
“What about Sinafa?”
“She got in touch once. Lady Sinafa said she found a hidden spot for meditation. As soon as her Magical Core reserves recover slightly, she will go ahead and scout.”
“Let’s not worry about Sinafa for now.” Monty pondered for a moment, “Contact Samantha and Kanter, see what’s happened to them, and if they’ve managed to get in touch with Angel.”
After Maher acknowledged, he immediately began trying to establish contact with Samantha, but after a good while, he simply couldn’t find any trace of her.
The lack of news from Samantha and Kanter made Monty’s mood even worse. The oppressive sensation that had arrived out of nowhere seemed like an omen, a reminder for Monty to be alert, though what exactly to be wary of was still hard to pin down for Monty himself.
Monty even considered whether to directly spread his spiritual power and scout the entire Lassudral. Doing so would not only help find Angel but also quickly pinpoint the location of Aoluxiya.
If it were anywhere else, he would have done so already. But this was the unknown and terrifying Lassudral; if his spiritual power were detected by some powerful entity, he would be the one to suffer injury.
Scouting was difficult, yet progress couldn’t remain stalled indefinitely. A wizard’s premonition must never be taken lightly. After deep contemplation, Monty made a decision.
Monty said to Sanders, “You stay here to protect Mu Ying. If the puppet play reaches the seventh chapter and they are still not dead, you go on stage in cooperation with the puppet play and kill them.”
Having said this, Monty turned to the others, “Let’s continue moving south.”
No matter what, they needed to adapt to see the next steps.
Everyone agreed, but just then, Sanders suddenly said, “It might be too late.”
Sanders pointed towards the distance where a streak of golden light swept across the fiery sky, like a meteor, hurtling towards their position on the floating ice.
When the golden light collided with the location of the floating ice, its speed gradually slowed, finally revealing a tall figure.
This was a demon covered in golden fur with a lion-like head and horns that spiraled and twisted, their sharp tips gleaming with a golden light. Its stature was comparable to Barfiment, very muscular, holding a trident, an imposing figure indeed.
With each step it took, a curious jingling sound could be heard. On closer inspection, it was found that its tail had a golden bell hanging from it.
From its overwhelming aura, it was clear that this was indeed a great demon.
“I saw you on the ground, Barfiment and Minotaur, are you performing a play? I didn’t realize you had such a hobby.”
At that point in the puppet play, with Barfiment as the protagonist, even if it heard the mockery, it couldn’t move or respond, only able to follow the script of the play.
On the other side, the Minotaur had become a fugitive, looking malevolently at the newcomer, “Urdixinos, if you’ve got time for taunts, you’d better help me cut these damn strings.”
No sooner had the Minotaur spoken than the chapter drew to its close.
Because it had spoken up, Barfiment found it.
Accompanied by a terrifying rhyme, Barfiment directed its filthy, resentful black aura from behind, stabbing into Minotaur’s eyes.
Screams of pain and the stench of blood rose simultaneously.
Urdixinos frowned, glanced up at the sky towards the bizarrely gigantic white doll, then back at Mu Ying on the floating ice, sweating profusely.
“I can’t find the strings, but I can help you kill the person controlling this play!”