Chapter:28 Marionettist and the Puppet pt-4

"I am known as [The Sin of Dragon], last time I met a Yotsuba, I nearly killed him and today.....I am here to kill you."

Erik crossed his right leg on top of his left leg, comfortable sitting on the stool with a straight back.

"Then why I am alive....?"

Miya also regained her elegant composure as she observed the figure sitting in front of her with a calm expression.

Judging from the person's relaxed posture and the strange happening around her, Miya was sure that this Skull masked man had already taken control of the whole situation.

'His relaxed posture is full of openings and faults.'

'Is he trying to bait me into attacking him? But that doesn't make sense! He was able to seriously injure Tatsuya so why would he bait me?'

'He just said that he is here to kill me, so why hasn't he done so yet?'

'How did he even find me?'

'I must gather as much information I can from him, someone like him must be protected against!...'

'I can't allow such a big threat to continue to exist!'

Very quickly, Miya went through a barrage of ideas within her mind as she searched for a way to take care of Erik or at least inform the Yotsuba Family.

Being the former candidate for the Yotsuba Clan Head position, she was very decisive with her decisions and actions.

Of course, Erik could predict his thoughts accurately yet he didn't say anything to her. He had used [Time-Rewind], to slow down the flow of time to such extreme levels that the speed of a single moment passing was tending to zero.

He was carefree and relaxed while talking to Yotsuba Miya because of her being incapable of using her magic anymore and also the fact that none of her actions matter, at this moment within the flow of time, all her actions were meaningless.

ᒥ....𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕....ᒧ

"Why are you still alive? Hmm....good question..."

Erik leaned forward, his fingers interlocked as he spoke in a curious yet amused tone.

"Tell me, Yotsuba Miya, how does it feel to be hated and betrayed by your own family?"

Instead of answering her question, Erik asked her another question, wanting to know about her thoughts regarding what she knew.

"W-What do you mean!!?...."

Naturally, the sudden interjection of such a question stumped her, confusion reflected within her eyes even though she maintained her calm facade.

"You and your sister stripped Tatsuya of his humanity, made his own sister his limiter and then even despised him for his unique powers....."

"You took away 15-years of your own sister's emotional experience, the reason behind that scarred personality of your sister..."

"You were betrayed by your husband for another woman, just a breeding stock in the eyes of those Yotsuba Clan Elders...."

"You 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 protect your own son from your clan....."

"You 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 protect your sister from the kidnappers..."

"You 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 inherit the mantle of the Clan Head which was meant to be yours....."

"You 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 protect your marriage....."

"Most of all, you 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 protect yourself from your own magic..."

"How does it feel to be so pathetic...?"

Erik spoke very slowly, highlighting every single point. He was engaging in a psychological battle against Miya, he wanted to see if she would break before he kills her or if she is able to shrug it off as nothing happened.

Hearing Erik's words, Miya's eyes widened in shock, she trembled ever so slightly as she replied to his words with a calm expression.

"I did what was necessary..."

'How does he knows all of this!? Only the clan elders had access to this information!'

'He must have someone infiltrated the clan! But....that's impossible! So how!?...'

'Who is he and what does he want to achieve by telling me all this..!?'

Once again, after hearing her elegant, almost monotonous reply, it was very easy for Erik to deduce her train of thoughts.

'No remorse.....even after hearing all these things, she doesn't even have an ounce of remorse...'

'Is this what it means to be a 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧?....'

'Nobody thinks what it's like to be the other guy.....'

'They all are the same...awfully individuals driven by their own ambitions....'

Looking at the beautiful woman in front of him, Erik thought to himself as his own ideals strengthened.

'These are the people who are at the top of the food chain, what is it with these people!?....'

'To think about someone other than themselves, they don't...'

'This world is indeed heading towards a vicious cycle of hatred, with such individuals roaming free without an ounce of attachment to anything, no wonder why all these conflicts are emerging every single day.....'

"You don't regret any of it....?"

"I don't, what I did was for the advancement of my clan....."

Unlike the previous time, Miya didn't tremble while answering Erik's question and spoke in a resolute tone.

Deciding that he had gotten all the answers he needed, Erik activated his ability to permanently copy his target's ability.

"[Hollow's Eyes:-Copy Outer-Systematic Magic]...."

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→Side Mission (Part-1):-

•Kill Yotsuba Miya and copy her ability [Outer-system manipulation].

•Status:- Partially Completed

•Reward:-[Terpsichora]

The user can attach an invisible clownesque puppeteer to a target to exercise complete control over them. They can not only move it but also make the target speak and even have them use Magic regardless of whether the owner of the body was a Magic-user.

If the person is indeed a Magic-user, user can have them use their magic abilities. The orders of each puppet can be set by the user beforehand, so they are able to move automatically, but the user can still reposition them as they please. 

The number of people a user can control at the same time is 3-Strategic Level Magician/10-High Level Magician/20-Medium Level Magician/30-Low Level Magician.

The user can perceive aura through their puppets and sense when they are disabled, which, combined with their own senses, allows them to monitor immense areas.

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[𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜!....]

→Two Side-quests have been completed, updating the conditions for the partial quest.

[𝙽𝚎𝚠!...]

→Side-quest (part-1)

•Add Yotsuba Miya to you puppet collection and copy her ability [Outer-system manipulation].

•Status:- Partially Completed

•Reward:-[Mastery Over Outer-Systematic Magic]

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'Hmm...? The side-quest was updated? Interesting...I am receiving two rewards for doing a single quest!? Noice...!'

'Now that I think about it, Miya is an extremely formidable magician though she isn't able to use her magic due to her damaged soul....'

'If I heal her soul, I will have a strong pawn which can help me access the information database of the Yotsuba family, I can even use her magic to control politicians and government officials.....'

'Once I add her into my puppet collection, she wouldn't be able to betray me or act against me, like a good puppet with conscious and limited freedom.....'

'Convenient ability indeed!.....'

After monologuing for some time, Erik let out a smile as he straightened his back.

"Well, its seems you are lucky, Yotsuba Miya...."

"You aren't going to kill me?...."

"Kill you? No no....!"

Erik let out a dark chuckle as he spoke in a low tone.

"I have bigger plans for you now....."

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