He closed the distance between them in an instant, his fist slamming into her gut with a sickening thud. The impact knocked the wind out of her, her body folding as she crashed to the ground, gasping for air.
The battlefield fell silent once again, the only sound the crackling of Ty's black flas as he stood over his fallen opponents. His chest heaved, his eyes scanning the clearing, searching for any remaining threats.
But there were none.
The man with tribal markings lay unconscious in the trees, the man with blue glasses was slumped against the shattered bark, and the white-haired woman was struggling to breathe, her body crumpled on the ground.
Before she could finish, Ty's eyes caught movent above. Strung up in the high branches, barely visible in the shadowed canopy, was Gisorn. His body hung limp, blood dripping from his arms, and frost clinging to his skin. Ty's breath caught in his throat as the horrific realization settled in.
Rosana gasped, her hand covering her mouth. "No... Gisorn..."
"Damn it," Kern muttered, trying to pull himself up but failing. "How... how did we not see this?"
Suddenly, a cold laugh echoed through the trees, and from the shadows erged the puppet user. His fingers twitched, and the nearly invisible strands of silk hanging from his hands glinted in the fading light. "He's been with this whole ti," the man said, his voice dripping with amusent. "Quite the sharp shooter you had there. Now... he's mine."
Ty's entire body tensed, black flas flickering at the edges of his fists again. "Let him go."
The puppet user tilted his head, his lips curling into a smile. "Oh, I don't think so. You see, I control everything now." He flicked his wrist, and Gisorn's body twitched violently, suspended like a marionette. "A single thread can shut down the body. But it's so much more fun when I make them dance."
Rosana's claws flexed, her eyes glowing with barely contained rage. "You sick—"
Before she could finish, the puppet user pulled harder on his strings, and Gisorn's body convulsed, the frost spreading across his limbs. The sight of their teammate, helpless and being controlled like a lifeless doll, sent a jolt of fury through the group.
Ty stepped forward, fists clenched tightly, black flas swirling around his hands. "You're done," he growled, his voice low and filled with barely controlled rage.
The puppet user tilted his head, his grin widening. "You think so?" His fingers twitched, and the thin, almost invisible strands of silk shimred in the air. "Let show you just how wrong you are."
With a flick of his wrist, the puppet user tugged on the strands, and the bodies of the fallen enemies—charred and broken—began to twitch. Their stiff limbs jerked unnaturally as they rose from the ground, the grotesque remains now puppets under the control of their master.
"What the hell?" Kern spat, gripping his scimitars tighter. Blood seeped through his fingers as he pressed a hand against his side, the earlier bullet wound already slowing him, but he still stood firm. "These bastards were dead!"
"They were," the puppet user sneered, "but death is such a fleeting thing when you're in control."
Kern's breath was ragged, his scimitars trembling in his hands, but he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay upright. "I'm not going down to so puppeteer freak," he muttered under his breath.
"John," Ty barked, eyes never leaving the puppet user. "You got anything on him?"
John, standing slightly behind them, glanced at Ty, then at the approaching puppets. "I need to make contact first," he said through gritted teeth. "Can't read his mind from a distance."
Ty cursed under his breath. They didn't have ti for John to get close. The puppet user's minions were already closing in, their stiff, unnatural movents speeding up, jerking toward Ty and his team.
Rosana let out a growl, her hands flexing as her claws extended. The air around her shimred with heat as flas ignited on her gauntlets. "We're wasting ti. I'll burn these freaks down again!" Without waiting for an order, she launched herself forward, her claws slashing through the air, a trail of fire left in her wake.
Her first strike cleaved through the white-haired woman's reanimated corpse, the flas consuming the body, turning it to ash in seconds. But the others were relentless. The tribal-marked man, his body charred from Ty's earlier attack, lunged at Rosana with surprising speed, his dead eyes gleaming with the puppet user's control. Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire
Rosana spun, her flas flaring as she deflected the attack, her claws slashing through his chest. But the puppet-controlled body didn't stop. It kept coming, its broken form twisting and jerking in a grotesque parody of life.
"They're stronger," Rosana shouted, frustration boiling over as she ducked beneath another attack. "I don't know how, but they're faster than before!"
"They're not faster," John said, his eyes narrowing as he watched the fight. "It's him. The puppet user is controlling them directly, making them more efficient. He's using them as extensions of himself."
"Then we need to cut off the source," Ty growled, his fists burning with black flas.
Before Ty could move, a sudden sharp crack rang out, echoing through the clearing. Ty's heart skipped a beat as he saw Kern stumble, his hand going to his side. A thin, almost invisible thread was embedded in his chest, and blood began to pour from the wound.
Kern's eyes went wide, his scimitars dropping to the ground as his knees buckled. "Damn it…" he muttered, his voice weak as he collapsed onto the ground. His hand trembled as he tried to grip his side, but the blood was flowing too fast.
"Kern!" Ty's voice was filled with panic, his flas surging as he rushed to his friend's side.
Rosana, her face contorted with fury, turned her attention to the puppet user. "You bastard!" she roared, flas flaring around her as she unleashed a torrent of fire in his direction. The flas tore through the air, a wall of heat and destruction aid directly at the puppet user.
But the puppet user was ready. With a flick of his wrist, he yanked the threads attached to the reanimated corpses, pulling them into the path of Rosana's attack. The flas engulfed the bodies, burning them to ash, but the puppet user remained unhard, his grin widening.
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