CHAPTER 153: THE PUPPET MASTER’S STAGE

The flight to Portentia was a blur of wind and cold starlight. Nox pushed his new wings to their limit, the void energy propelling him through the night sky at a speed that would have torn a normal man apart. Below him, the dark, sleeping landscape of the new world rushed by.

’The high school,’ he thought, his jaw clenched. ’Of course it’s the school. The universe has a sick sense of humor.’

He arrived in a little over an hour, a dark, winged shadow descending from the heavens. He landed silently on the rooftop of a building overlooking his old high school. The place was a warzone.

The "base" the girls had established was under siege. A small, fortified section of the school, probably the old gymnasium, was surrounded by a massive, chaotic army of players. They weren’t fighting with any kind of strategy; they were just a mob, throwing themselves at the walls in waves.

And controlling them, standing on the roof of the main school building like a conductor leading an orchestra, was a single figure. He was a man in a long, tattered coat, his face hidden by the shadow of a wide-brimmed hat. Thin, almost invisible threads of purple energy extended from his fingertips, connecting to the players below, making them dance and fight like marionettes.

The Puppet Master.

Nox could see Kendra on the barricades, her skin hardened to a stony gray as she held the line against the tide of puppet-players. He saw Vasa on the roof, creating walls of ice to slow their advance. And Yeda... Yeda was a whirlwind of silver light, her soul-linked blade a blur as she cut down anyone who managed to breach the walls. They were holding, but just barely.

[Analysis: The enemy commander is a high-level Controller-class player,] Liona’s voice reported. [His ’Puppet Strings’ ability allows him to dominate the will of weaker players. The dominated subjects retain their combat skills but lose all sense of self-preservation. A direct assault on the army is inefficient. The commander is the primary target.]

’I know,’ Nox thought, his eyes fixed on the man on the roof. ’Cut the strings, and the puppets fall.’

He didn’t wait for his army to arrive. This was personal.

He leaped from the rooftop, his void wings carrying him across the distance in a silent, deadly glide. He landed on the school roof behind the Puppet Master without a sound.

"The show’s over," Nox said, his voice a low growl.

The Puppet Master spun around, a flicker of genuine surprise on his hidden face. "Who... who are you? How did you get past my sentries?"

"I flew," Nox said. He let his wings dissolve into black smoke. "Now, you have two choices. You can let my people go and walk away from this city, or you can die."

The Puppet Master just laughed, a high, unhinged sound. "You think you can challenge me? I am the master of this city! These people are my toys! And you... you will be my masterpiece."

He thrust his hands forward, and a dozen of the purple energy strings shot toward Nox, aiming to bind him, to turn him into another mindless puppet.

Nox didn’t even move.

’Monarch’s Dominion.’

A sphere of absolute blackness erupted around him, and the Puppet Master’s strings just... dissolved, consumed by the void before they could even touch him.

The Puppet Master stumbled back, his laughter dying in his throat. "What... what is that power?!"

"The power of a king," Nox said. He flickered.

He appeared in front of the Puppet Master, his armored hand clamping around the man’s throat. He lifted him off the ground, the man’s feet kicking uselessly in the air.

"You made a mistake," Nox said, his voice a cold whisper. "You came into my city. You threatened my people."

He looked into the man’s terrified eyes. ’Void Eater.’

The Puppet Master screamed as his skills, his mana, his very soul, was ripped from him and consumed. His body went limp, an empty husk.

[Puppet Strings (Master) skill consumed.]

[Domination-class mana signature assimilated. Your affinity with mental-status magic has been significantly increased.]

Nox dropped the body and looked down at the chaotic battle below. The moment their master died, the puppet-players all froze. They stood completely still for a moment, then looked around, their expressions a mixture of confusion and horror as they realized what they had been doing.

The siege was over.

Kendra, Yeda, and Vasa looked up at the rooftop, their own faces full of a shocked, dawning relief.

Nox just stood there, looking down at his new, broken city. He had left for a few weeks, and his kingdom had almost fallen.

’This is my fault,’ he thought, a cold, hard anger settling in his gut. ’I got complacent. I thought winning one battle meant the war was over. I was wrong.’

He heard the sound of a massive army approaching from behind him. He turned to see Vexia, Elisa, and Mela at the head of his forces, their faces grim.

"It is done?" Vexia asked.

"For now," Nox said. He looked at the confused, leaderless players who had made up the Puppet Master’s army. "But we have a lot of work to do."

He looked at his own army, at his companions. "This scenario, this King-Maker game... it’s not just about getting Flags. It’s about building something that can last." He looked back at the school, at the place where his old life had ended and his new one had begun. "It’s time we took this city back. For real this time."

The second day of the scenario was coming to a close. One day remained. And the game had changed once again. It was no longer a free-for-all. It was a war of kings. And Nox, the Butcher of Portentia, the Void Monarch, was finally ready to claim his throne.

---

The reunion was a quiet, almost somber affair. Kendra, Yeda, and Vasa just stood on the rooftop, looking at Nox. The relief of their rescue was overshadowed by the sheer, overwhelming power he now commanded.

"You got... stronger," Kendra said, the words an understatement.

"I had to," Nox replied, his voice flat.

Yeda just looked at him, her eyes full of a hundred unspoken questions. ’What happened to you out there, Nox? What turned you into this?’