– 13 Days Since the Kidnapping –
On another desolate night, the stars were the only source of light.
A dust-covered, sand-buried magic circle began to glow again—its first activation in what seed like ages.
But now, it shimred once more, shaking off the filth and allowing Frey and Clana Starlight to pass through.
As soon as they arrived, the two found themselves still inside the mountain pass that split the ridge, but this ti they had reached the far end. They were now closer to their friends than ever before.
"Where are we?" Clana asked in confusion as her mind gradually cleared, recovering from the madness caused by the demonic blood she had consud.
"We’re on the other side," Frey replied. "Rest for now until the headache and hallucinations fade completely."
Heeding his advice, Clana sat down, one hand gripping her head, the other pressing against her forehead.
"Frey... what exactly did we drink back there?"
Clana genuinely wanted to know. She had never experienced anything like it before, especially given she couldn’t recall a single mont from the chaos of that insane party.
Frey didn’t hide anything. He answered plainly.
"It was demon blood."
The mont he said that, Clana’s face darkened as mories of Exevir ca rushing back.
"Are we going to turn into sothing like those things?!"
Unable to bear the thought of becoming a kind of zombie, panic began to take over.
"Calm down. You’ll be fine."
With a long sigh, Frey sat down beside her.
"What we drank wasn’t pure demon blood. It was just ordinary alcohol—mixed with a bit of demon blood to amplify the effect. The Ultras do it all the ti. As long as we didn’t consu too much, we should be safe."
"Are you sure?!"
"Yes." Frey nodded.
"You’ll be alright. Just focus on circulating your aura and purging the toxins."
Revealing more of the obscure knowledge he possessed, Clana nodded, not asking for further details—sothing Frey appreciated.
She used her Stardust Flow technique to speed up her recovery, her white hair fluttering around her glowing body as her healing accelerated.
During that ti, scattered images started flashing through her mind ..mories of what had happened inside the tent... and the party.
After a few more minutes, she stood and walked toward Frey, who hadn’t strayed far.
"Clana... are you fully recovered?"
"Yes. I’m fine now."
"Good. Let’s move."
At his signal, the two bolted forward, using aura to boost their bodies and move faster.
Frey led the way, as always, shielding Clana from harm should anything happen.
Especially in a place like this—trapped between mountains—they had no choice but to keep moving forward until they reached the end of the pass.
But Frey had already sensed nurous strange auras that kept him on high alert, wondering what awaited them at the end.
Draxler had said the magic circle could lead to three different paths.
But the question now was—which one had they taken?
Lost in thought, Frey was interrupted by Clana, who sounded hesitant.
"Frey..."
"What is it?"
"Back at that party... did I do anything strange?"
"..."
"Sorry for the sudden question. I’m just confused."
Frey didn’t respond right away, which made Clana rephrase her question.
But soon, he gave her the words she needed to hear.
"Nothing happened, Clana. We escaped from that place. No need to dwell on it."
"...Alright."
Clana nodded reluctantly, while Frey’s expression darkened even more—those strange auras were getting stronger.
A few more minutes passed.
They reached the end of the pass and stopped without a word, stunned by what lay ahead.
"...Incredible," Clana whispered, her eyes wide as she gazed upon the massive city at the end of the path.
With structures that seed straight out of a Victorian-steampunk era, and factory chimneys constantly spewing black smoke...
It was a marvel of architecture, its lands ticulously constructed, hidden behind an ornate iron gate that separated them from the world inside.
Then suddenly—
The gate creaked open on its own, as if it had been waiting for them, inviting them in.
The view from the inside was even more breathtaking.
Standing at the entrance, Clana voiced her awe.
"I never imagined I’d find a city like this here... in the land of the Ultras."
But it wasn’t just any city, and she realized that the longer she looked.
"...Why is it so empty?"
The streets were deserted. The gate was unmanned. And the vast grounds behind it—completely silent.
Clana wanted to move forward and see what lay inside, but Frey’s hand imdiately grabbed her tightly.
"Frey... what is it?!"
Startled by his sudden grip and the dark expression on his face, Clana instantly understood that sothing was wrong.
"Clana, listen to carefully—burn this into your mory."
"From this mont on, no matter what happens once we enter that place... I want you to focus solely on survival. Think of nothing else."
"Frey... what are you—"
"Don’t get involved in any fights. Don’t do anything unnecessary!"
Shocked by Frey’s sudden intensity, Clana could only nod several tis in agreent.
"Good."
With a heavy sigh, Frey took the first step forward—Clana right behind him.
"But Frey... what exactly is this place?"
His reaction wasn’t normal, and that alone made her even more anxious.
He naturally recognized the place—he had described it many tis in the distant past.
"The Puppet City."
Crossing through the gate, the two entered quickly. They had no choice .. passing through it was the only way to reach their friends.
After Frey’s earlier reaction, Clana was on full alert, ready for an ambush from anywhere.
But the attack never ca.
Instead, she was shocked to see people living their lives peacefully.
n and won in fine clothes strolled through the streets. So wore traditional police uniforms and seed to be responsible for maintaining order.
But upon closer inspection, Clana realized sothing critical.
"These... aren’t humans??"
"Welco to the Puppet City!"
One of the strange policen jumped out in front of them with a beaming smile. But Frey imdiately sliced his neck, dropping him to the ground.
From the severed neck, a strange blue fluid leaked out, along with sparks and exposed wires.
"A robot?" Clana frowned.
"No—a puppet." Frey corrected instantly.
He dashed forward, and Clana followed behind.
As they moved deeper into the city, all its inhabitants turned their heads, staring at them with glowing red eyes from afar.
"They’re all puppets?"
From the n, to the won... even the children.
All puppets.
"They’re the cursed inhabitants of this place... we need to get out, fast."
Continuing forward and destroying anything in their path, Frey and Clana reached the heart of the city in record ti—only to stop abruptly as they stared grimly at what lay ahead.
Unlike the clean, elegant streets they had just passed, this place was in complete chaos.
Hundreds of bodies were scattered everywhere—so spilling red blood, others blue.
The corpses of both humans and puppets alike. Along the road stood spears impaling those less fortunate, hoisting them into the air.
At the center of this carnage, a giant banner stood proudly. Both Frey and Clana read it at the sa ti:
"hypocrite."
"Ahahahahahahahaha! Welco, welco, my esteed guests!"
A voice they had never heard before bood across the city, amplified by countless loudspeakers.
"Today, we have two special visitors! Guests from another continent... and from a prestigious family too! Kihihihi, what a delightful pair!"
The voice was thrilled, and the city gradually fell into eerie silence.
"Frey..."
Clana stepped closer to him, anxiety on her face.
And rightly so.
The streets around them began to fill with puppets approaching slowly—surrounding them.
So were larger than others—a giant police officer walking on all fours, over four ters tall, and a fat clown dancing between the crowd while laughing maniacally.
All stared at them with red, glowing eyes.
"My dear guests, show your true worth. Let see what color of blood you’re made of!"
As his words echoed, the puppets charged at them in madness—all at once.
Frey drew his swords, his body now shrouded in a violet aura of power.
Surrounded by thousands of puppets attacking simultaneously, Frey unleashed a massive wave of shadow aura that tore through the horde with terrifying force—clearing a path.
"Now! Clana! Go!"
His shout snapped her out of her daze. She rushed forward at full speed, while Frey followed behind, cutting down every puppet that approached.
With each destroyed puppet, red and blue blood gushed forth. Still, they kept coming.
Among them, the giant officer and the clown were insanely powerful, and there were many of them.
It was enough to make Frey curse as he amplified his voice with aura...
"Simon Manus!!!"
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