A voice in her ear made Mei look up sharply, but at that moment, all her strength was focused on suppressing Kiana's resistance. She only had time to raise her head.
A wooden puppet face with a painted smile was almost pressed against Mei's own.
This is... the puppet that was fighting Kiana before?!
"Ngh—!"
A sudden attack sent Mei flying. Kiana, feeling the suppression on her vanish, immediately stood up to counterattack.
But upon seeing Mei roll several times on the ground, Kiana's body suddenly froze.
The puppet landed lightly on the ground and tilted its head at Mei, who had finally stabilized herself.
"Is this your plan? To take advantage of me being trapped and try to rescue them?"
Mei struggled on the ground for a moment before regaining control of her body. She looked up at the puppet, her expression cold as she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
"It seems so~" the puppet said, like a mischievous child, bouncing in front of Mei.
"What amazing analytical skills! Who on earth figured out my ability and set such a dilemma for me?" It swayed back and forth, its sincere tone almost deceptive.
Mei didn't answer, just looked at Kiana standing blankly beside the puppet.
She just stood there, staring back at Mei, showing no signs of continuing her attack.
The puppet seemed to notice something. Its body suddenly bent into an exaggerated arc, looking up at Kiana from below.
"Oh my! Incredible, incredible! The power of emotion can actually resist the power of a Herrscher! What a touching drama!
"What is it that supports you? Is it love? Is it friendship? Or is it family? Waaaah... what a truly moving drama!"
The puppet performed a series of exaggerated movements, then bent down in a pose as if being held by strings, deliberately making a thinking gesture toward Mei and the others.
"A drama like this can't just be seen by me alone~ But everyone is an actor, so who should be the audience? So troubling~ so troubling~"
It suddenly pointed a finger. "Ah! I've thought of an absolutely wonderful audience!"
It stood up straight and clapped its hands elegantly. Kiana suddenly trembled, then turned and ran away quickly.
Mei was taken aback and started to chase after her, but the puppet with the painted smile had once again appeared right in front of her at some unknown time.
"Aww~ I want a part too~" The puppet's face seemed to crack, revealing a ferocious smile.
It looked like it was smiling, but also like it wanted to eat someone.
"Unfortunately, it seems all the good people are gone..." Mei instantly retreated several steps, looking at the puppet with a grave expression.
"Then I'll be a bad guy!" The puppet truly cracked, transforming from an exquisite wooden doll into a three-headed, six-armed monster.
But it lacked any divine beauty, instead possessing a twisted, grotesque, and terrifying form. It was like a monster that had torn off its human skin disguise, finally revealing the twisted personality hidden beneath.
---||---
Outside the canopy, Shu, who had been standing there, suddenly noticed a change in the light curtain before him.
He looked up sharply, his expression frozen as he watched the figure walking out of the canopy.
It was Kiana...
A faint layer of light enveloped her body. A shimmering thread connected her back to the canopy, as if afraid someone couldn't see it.
It was a layer of canopy over the thread that was controlling Kiana...
Shu watched as Kiana slowly walked outside the canopy, then looked up at him, floating in the sky.
Her expression seemed to show a hint of hesitation. But the next moment, the broken bridge beneath her feet crumbled, and Shu felt a figure charge straight at him.
Kiana's fist created a sonic boom in the air. Just as Shu was about to raise his hand to block, he suddenly saw the layer of canopy on Kiana's body tremble from being too close to him.
I can't touch her! Otherwise, the canopy will shatter!
At the most critical moment, Shu retracted all his power. He didn't even leave himself a shred of defense or the ability to accelerate his escape. All his [Hope] was tightly bound within his body.
He could have turned and fled with acceleration, but in that instant, his only thought was to sheathe his own blade.
Kiana's fist slammed into Shu's abdomen without any resistance. Shu's body instantly bent like a shrimp, and a mixture of solid and liquid with a metallic taste rushed up his throat.
Shu's figure flew back several dozen meters. He lost consciousness the moment he was hit, only to be jolted back to his senses by the feeling of suffocation as he crashed into the sea like a broken doll.
Before he could spit out what was in his mouth, cold, salty seawater poured into his nose and mouth.
His mind in chaos, Shu instinctively restarted his ability, lifting himself out of the sea and landing with difficulty on the broken bridge.
"Cough, cough—blegh..." The first thing Shu did upon landing on solid ground was to spit out what was in his mouth. His throat burned, and the food from his stomach, mixed with seawater and blood, spread out before him, feeding his nausea.
At this moment, Shu felt completely drained. His supporting limbs trembled slightly. A sharp, twisting pain shot through his abdomen. A dull, throbbing brain, a frantically beating heart, and a world spinning out of control all ground Shu's thoughts into dust.
That punch had been completely unblocked... it had landed directly on Shu's already somewhat fragile body.
Kiana, who had landed safely, stood there in a daze, staring at her own fist.
Her pupils trembled, but her body remained motionless.
Shu dry-heaved twice more before looking up at Kiana, who was standing on the broken bridge.
Confirming that there was enough distance between them, Shu clutched his abdomen and struggled to his feet. The [Hope] that could finally work began to rapidly help his body recover, providing him with the capital to stand up.
But this was just a facade. Shu knew that if he were to deactivate all his [Hope] again like before, he would return to that state of being unable to even stand.
I have to get out of here... Shu gritted his teeth and began to back away.
There must be a limit to how far Kiana could be from the canopy. That fragile canopy couldn't possibly be drawn out so much to allow Kiana to travel.
As long as I leave this range...
"Ngh—!" Suddenly, Kiana clutched her head. Shu's expression froze, and he looked at Kiana in disbelief.
"I—won't... I refuse—" From Shu's perspective, Kiana seemed to be starting to struggle. The dim Key of Genesis on her body began to flicker with a faint light.
Is she forcibly activating the Key of Genesis?!
"Kiana!" Shu turned his head and shouted in terror. "Don't!!"