Chapter 32: The puppeteer has no weaknesses, perhaps

High above the Gakryeong Theater.

Somewhere on the backstage.

Hong Seomin sat elegantly in the chairman’s chair.

“Observe. Immediately.”

Hong Seomin whispered.

[Activating the skill, ‘Observation’.]

[Sharing the vision of the controlled doll.]

Her vision expanded widely, and the doll’s vision was shared.

The [Doll Maker] shares the vision of the dolls they control.

Among summoner-type classes, it’s considered unique.

Controlling a few dolls with strings to send them out and assess the external situation?

It’s a piece of cake.

Of course, they need to be high-grade to resemble real humans, but since this is her sanctuary, is there a need for that?

“Listen.”

The D-grade doll, recognizing that it was connected to its master, stood at attention.

It was a wooden doll without a face or any special features, but it trembled as if moved.

All available spare dolls were deployed for defense.

“Insignificant one, listen carefully.”

At the master’s words, the wooden doll crouched down.

A long, straight corridor.

Two people were walking in the distance. The noisy Kang Miyoung and Lee Sunghan.

The dolls, recognizing the enemy, took up their weapons one by one and formed a defensive line.

All of them were D~F grade.

Occasionally, there were some C and B grades mixed in, forming an army. In truth, they were gathered for a delaying tactic. An S-grade is a human weapon. They can’t be swept away even with such a large army.

They are like Lu Bu from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

……..

“What should I do? Should I go and show them being swept away-“

The upper body of the wooden doll that had been given command.

A crescent-shaped sword aura was deeply embedded. And then, a black figure flew in.

-Die.

It was Kang Miyoung who flew in.

With a chilling presence.

The third being who overcame her hypnosis.

With a chilling remark, the wooden doll’s head flew into the sky.

With that as the end, the connection was severed.

The clicking of the dolls that could be heard just before. Just thinking about it sends shivers down her spine.

!!?!

-!!——

—-|—!!

That was.

Surely a scream.

Even though they are low-grades with their emotions removed, they felt primal fear. Even if they are connected by strings, they are still living beings.

“Wh-what.”

She connects again.

She thought it would be different this time. There’s no way they could sweep away such a large quantity.

She knew Kang Miyoung’s skills well.

——-!!

It’s noisy. Die.

Crack!

As soon as she connected, a blade pierced the temple.

Kicked by a boot and slammed to the ground, it stopped resisting and was cut off as if amputated. It was savage but clean.

“Oh ho.”

Every time her vision connected, it was severed.

As if they were waiting for it.

She illuminated the entire theater. Her current location was the 3rd-floor management area. Important resources had been moved out, but there was still a lot left.

Equipment.

Items.

Or even information.

“It will be hard to stop them.”

Kang Miyoung and Lee Sunghan, like sharp spears, pierced through the doll army and charged towards a single point.

That single point is her stage at the end of the theater.

The last defensive stronghold.

Breaking through that would be a painful loss.

The picture naturally comes to mind.

-You! Provide cover!

-Understood.

Whoosh.

Kang Miyoung’s horizontal slash. The dolls that had been prepared were swept away in an instant.

[Confirmed the loss of Sword Doll A.]

[Confirmed the loss of Healer Doll B.]

[Confirmed the loss of Archer Doll C.]

[Confirmed the loss of Mage Doll D.]

If a third party were to see it, they might think that too many were dying. It’s not for nothing that she’s called the epitome of S-rank.

Hong Seomin looked up at the system arrogantly.

“Repairs?”

[Impossible.]

[The ‘strings’ have been completely removed.]

[Approach is impossible.]

It doesn’t make sense.

The strings were severed?

It’s hard to maintain her composure.

‘What kind of bullshit is this.’

She grabbed the armrest tightly, as if it would break, and spoke as if spitting out the anger she had been suppressing.

No matter how broken they are, the doll maker’s privilege is to be able to restore them as long as the strings are there.

“Connect again.”

Her vision was barely shared with a wooden doll. It’s a unit that barely went unnoticed under a pile of dolls.

-You say there are strings in your hand?

-That’s right. You can’t see them, can you?

-It’s hard to believe.

How her abilities were being countered was being revealed in detail.

Someone is spying on us.

-Spying, ahem.

Lee Seong han approaches.

Straight ahead.

At some point, the connection was severed.

[Confirmed the annihilation of Sector 2.]

****

The sound of dolls being ground by saw blades.

Even the dolls with severed strings.

“What.”

She unconsciously stopped moving. It was a sight that was hard to understand with the knowledge she had accumulated so far.

Her reaction naturally stopped.

It doesn’t make sense.

To be able to block someone else’s abilities? And with their bare body.

-Many of our strings have been severed.

A doll attached to the ceiling reported. It was one of the few dolls she could still share vision with.

She’s also watching.

There’s no way she wouldn’t know.

“The decoy?”

-Successful.

“Then that’s fine.”

Hong Seomin responded indifferently.

A shadow where not even a ray of light entered. She had hidden it there. They wouldn’t think it would be attached to the ceiling.

‘I wonder when I’ll be caught.’

That’s what she thought when she looked at the opponent.

Especially that Lee Seong han.

He’s really something.

Is he really a beginner?

She had such a delusion.

Recently, the results had been so mediocre and repetitive that it was a boring time, but it felt like a big catch had finally taken the bait after a long time.

Anyway, a guy who climbs trees well will fall, and a guy who swims well will drown.

She just needs to harvest the dead seeds with the mindset of a farmer in the fall. But now things had to change.

“He’s really amazing.”

She opened her eyes languidly.

‘But how did he find out? The secrets of the dolls. Hehe.’

She didn’t know what kind of trickery it was, but he figured out the doll’s weakness in an instant.

Judgment, execution, physicality.

“When he destroyed the doll I cherished the most.”

Haa.

Hong Seomin giggled as if satisfied, a smile of pleasure on her face.

It’s not for nothing that that PTSD patient is crazy about him.

The doll hung from the theater ceiling and projected the situation to its master.

“He’s fast. Not bad.”

Hong Seomin, who had been silent.

That was the first thing she said.

Snap.

She snapped her fingers. A doll, having received its master’s command, approached from afar.

The office was hard to walk straight through because of all the junk, discarded dolls, and dolls she had used and thrown away for fun.

The doll, zigzagging its way through, bowed its head 90 degrees.

What is your command?

“Deploy more. Immediately. Pour everything you’ve got.”

The doll raises its head. As if surprised.

“……”

The doll thought of its master.

Stubborn, and hostile to the advice of others.

But this can’t be done.

The doll can say with certainty.

If more are deployed, the mana will be depleted.

Where the needle goes, the thread follows, but a thread without a needle is worthless. Looking at the sky through a needle hole is still the same.

Not only the master’s trust but also the direction of the grand plan will go awry.

That is unacceptable.

“…….”

“What are you doing? Not going.”

“……!”

But how can a loyal subject disobey the order of their lord!

The doll hurried away.

Originally, waking up the dolls was Hong Seomin’s job, but this time it was different.

That doll.

It’s a messenger sent from the tower.

“Stupid one. How dare you raise your head stiffly in front of your master.”

Hong Seomin clicked her tongue, looking at the door the doll had exited through.

Like a typical Korean, she hates wasting time and loves to do things quickly.

Lee Seong han.

And the Kang sisters.

There were countless mayflies aiming for her neck right now.

And she killed and subjugated them all.

But this time was different.

It’s the first time she’s felt danger so close.

She has to crush it here.

And take the spoils.

Hong Seomin changed her gaze.

[『Traitor Quest』]

[Your help is needed to restart the tower’s .]

Hong Seomin bit her thumb.

“Is it enough? Is there enough force to stop that monster?”

A habit that arises when she’s nervous. She thought it wasn’t enough. Because ‘it’ wasn’t ready yet.

The traitor quest wasn’t completed yet.

But it’s okay.

“No, I must win. It’s a fight I can’t lose. Hehehe.”

She made a deal with the system.

To sacrifice people to unseal the deactivated tower.

So she did.

Using the dolls.

“Because I can become stronger.”

Hong Seomin revered strength.

To her, the S-rank position is like the top of a mountain that cannot be climbed any higher. Just as a bird must break out of its egg to gain freedom.

Through this, she will be able to reach a higher level.

There’s no reason not to do it.

Why should we, the new-humanity, sacrifice ourselves for inferior beings?

This is the solution to that question.

She reconnected her vision. Lee Seonghan. Even at a young age, he already stood out.

“He’s crazy.”

If you’re pious, you’ll be moved, but wouldn’t it be possible to turn him into a doll someday? Such an expectation arises.

Her appetite is whetted after a long time.

She’s confident she can devour anything.

Her ability doesn’t work?

Is it a unique constitution?

Or a trait?

‘I want him.’

Hong Seomin smiled.

The best resource.

A trump card she can have.

A unique move that is second to none.

Is this how the Former Han’s Liu Bei felt?

Zhuge Liang on the left, Guan Yu on the right. Wouldn’t it feel like gaining the world.

After some time, someone came running towards the two.

-Sister.

A voice coming from below.

Familiar.

She leaned forward.

…Kang Jinyoung.

-Sister, you touched someone else’s, do you want to die? Have you no manners? That’s a crime. A crime.

It’s her younger sister.

She must be Kang Jinyoung.

She’s seen her on broadcasts a few times.

She heard her sister brag about her a few times.

These days, their relationship is a bit strained.

“They’re fighting.”

The sisters exchanged fierce blows for quite a while, then calmed down.

-Stop it.

Because of Lee Seong han, who intervened in the middle.

-Let’s deal with this first and then talk. If the hatchling appears, who knows what will happen. You know, right? Now is not the time to fight. If you want to fight, do it secretly. Okay?

The sisters, who had moved apart, glared at each other as if they wanted to kill each other.

There was a tense atmosphere as if they would rush at each other at any moment.

…Did I say I hated my sister? She’s hopeless. She kills people and then cries all by herself.

-Don’t be ridiculous.

-If you look at how you’re trying to take credit, you’re no different, Kang Jinyoung. The security officer made a mistake, so what can you do.

Hong Seomin leaned her chin on her hand and smirked arrogantly.

“Ah, watching a fight is so much fun.”

When two parties fight, the third party gains the advantage without any effort. Hong Seomin felt like that fisherman. Is there such an easy job?

She spoke to the doll attached to the ceiling.

“Closer.”

The screen zoomed in.

“Zoom in on the man’s face. More. A little more.”

Lee Seong han’s face was zoomed in and then fixed. She observed him for a while.

He’s good-looking, and unlike other male awakeners, he’s not weak or whiny.

In a way.

He seems like a person from another world.

Suddenly, Lee Seong han turned his gaze.

Hong Seomin felt like her heart stopped.

A saying came to mind.

His appearance is like jade decorating a crown.

So neat and beautiful. It’s no wonder those Kang sisters are sharpening their knives to get that jade.

“Where is he looking?”

Lee Seong han’s gaze was fixed precisely on the doll’s location.

“Here.”

Even when she moved it left and right, it was the same, and after staring intensely for a few seconds with a murderous look.

…Something is watching us.

-What are you talking about?

He draws his bow. It was cracked and flickering as if its durability had run out.

The sisters’ gazes focused on him.

-Is there something there? Suddenly…

…Here.

-That’s it. Good.

Hong Seomin didn’t expect him to find it.

The location was that good. It was full of shadows. Even if they knew the location, it would take a long time to find it.

“H-how?”

Lee Seonghan waited, then pulled back the bowstring, which even female awakeners found difficult, and.

He pierced the forehead of the observing doll precisely. The vision was cut off, and a brief blackout occurred.

The connection was lost.

“C-crazy.”

Hong Seomin laughed wildly as if she liked it.

Lee Seong han.

She wants him.

No matter who wins, it’s a win-win situation for her.

“There’s no way he can win this. It’s completely sweet. Hehe.”

In the end, she’s the one who will arrive and get him.

Doll play.

It’s not called doll play for nothing.

“Is the preparation complete~”

[The paper doll, Mirginos, has appeared.]

“You’re mine.”

She didn’t even consider defeat.