Mareine suddenly realized that one skill hadn't been disabled: the Lord of Hope, Uriel. Just at the right moment, this skill radiated its light through the darkened surroundings.
“Uriel: Hymn of Hope!”
A melodious voice, reminiscent of an angelic choir, repelled the skill "Song of the Dead" unleashed by the mysterious individual.
"It's blinding. Keh. I despise that light piercing through this girl," muttered the girl, floating in the sky surrounded by ravens and crows.
"I am Belen, one of the Demon Kings," she introduced herself to Mareine. "And you?"
Although it was difficult for Mareine to believe that this girl was a genuine Demon King, considering the deactivation of her skills and the oppressive aura she still felt even with Uriel's protection, she concluded that Belen was indeed a true Demon King— a being superior to a Demon Lord.
Her voice trembling, Mareine replied, "M-My name is M-Mareine. I am just a person who doesn't know why I ended up here."
"Keh. Your sudden appearance piqued my interest. I was also surprised that you can still use a skill."
"...Why are you trying to kill me?" Mareine questioned, her voice filled with confusion.
Belen's expression remained unchanged, devoid of any concern. "I can only speculate," she began. "You didn't accept the offer of the PseudoChristos, did you?"
".... I... didn't."
"Then you must die."
"That's it? That's not a valid reason to kill someone!"
"That radiance... It's too much. I will dim that shining aura of yours."
[ Curse of the second: Hymn of Death ]
Once again, the world froze. Belen, now bathed in a red hue, was the only one capable of movement in this suspended reality.
Slowly, she approached Mareine, who stood motionless like a statue. A black object glimmered in Belen's left hand, transforming into a long black baton.
Pointing the baton at Mareine, she whispered, "May this song bring you a peaceful death. Coda!"
The world returned to its normal flow, and the last sight Mareine beheld was Belen aiming the baton at her. She had no understanding of how this had transpired.
Collapsed with no signs of life, Mareine teetered on the edge of death, if not already dead. Perhaps Mareine had not taken the superstitions surrounding crows and ravens—symbols of death and misfortune—seriously, although she might have heard their cawing.
But it was too late. Her opponent this time was a Demon King, far beyond the likes of mere barbarians or assassins seeking her life.
The Raven Princess and Demon King of Purgatory, Belen, was not someone easily defeated.
"Keh. Do not worry. I will make you my servant in Purgatory," Belen declared, casting her gaze upon Mareine's lifeless body.
"I must leave now. I need to search for Father once more..."
A black elliptical portal materialized, and the Demon King disappeared into it.
The Raven Princess vanished, and with her, the aura of terror dissipated. The place returned to its normal state, everything resuming as it had been before.
Only the lifeless body of a young girl remained on the ground, laying motionless.
【 Error 】
「 ‹Life on a Puppet› cannot be activated.
Reason: ‹Subject Unknown› 」
◇◆◇
Sleeping in the Vatican's room, a lady jolted from her sleep. She was somewhat awakened— it could be due to a bad dream or some more.
She looked at the blank space in front of her, blink her eyes twice and—
“It disappeared..... The skill I casted on the puppeteer....”
She was baffled. She tried to check it a few times, but her skill was no longer attached to someone she was trying to telepathy, Mareine the puppeteer.
‘What's going on? Did she found a way to break from my skill?’ Perplexed and worried she was, she knew a saint like her has a skill that can never be broken by someone the same level as Mareine.
It can only be broken by someone the same level as her— the saint. And a saint, opposite, has the same level as the Demon King.
This made her to crucially think about the possible things that might have happened to Mareine.
Since there was no longer attachment to Mareine, she couldn't know the exact location Mareine was standing.
The last resort left was to teleport to the place where she left the puppeteer. Though it sounds a bit impossible to find Mareine directly in there since Mareine was moving very fast.
What's more worse is that the area where Mareine was located at when she called her via telepathy was a place she couldn't relocate for now.
She tried to teleport in that area but her skill failed. Only far from that place can only be accessed, it seems.
This emphasized that a certain powerful individual was prohibiting someone to enter the said location.
‘What’s happening to the puppeteer? I have not experienced this kind of event. Why are all of my skills blocked in that area?’
Just as when she looked in the window of her room, a raven flew by and it reminded her of someone.
….
“RELOCATE!”
YOU ARE READING
The Marionette's Puppeteer (Volume 2)
FantasyA lot of things happened. Be it a good or bad. But mostly all the things were bad. Yeah. When I came to this world, I met many dangerous things, encountered bandits, barbarian, battled with a PseudoChristos Witch and made some friends. But that was...
