Chapter 560

Woong-

Puppeteer slowly moved her gaze down, her expression unreadable. A blade, shining with a murky radiance of countless colors chaotically swirling together, had... pierced through her chest?

What... is this?

For it to be able to shatter Lunatic—her own fabricated miniature world—and force itself inside.... What could such a thing even be made of? Not even the Perfect Ones and Harbingers of Destruction could easily do that.

And yet, the sword had accomplished the impossible without the slightest strain.

“...”

Puppeteer raised her head toward its wielder.

With Lea held tight in his arms, Se-Hoon was still holding the blade. On his face was some faint surprise, likely from having broken in through such a way—and nothing else.

She could find no doubt whatsoever. No doubt at his sudden appearance on stage; no doubt at the sight of her brought low before him. The only thing on his face was the certainty that such an ending was only natural.

“...I can’t accept this.”

The words slipped out of her mouth before she realized it. How much pain had she endured to craft an ending where everyone could be happy? All of that for her precious ending to be undone by one man?

Absolutely unacceptable; such an ending should never have occurred.

“This sort of ending I’ll never—”

Flash!

Before she could finish her furious shout, dozens of spotlights focused on her from above, cutting her voice short. Then, bit by bit, the savage twist in her expression eased as the defiance in her eyes sank into resignation.

Now the focus of attention, Puppeteer—who rejected the script’s ending—was completely revised.

“...I see,” she murmured with a bitter expression. “In the end... I have no choice but to accept it.”

When Lea altered the script and Se-Hoon placed the final period upon it, Puppeteer was bound to acknowledge it to the end—even if it was an ending she would never want.

Such was the limitation, the constraint, of Puppeteer: a being reduced to a component of Lunatic’s stage.

“

Phew...

”

Letting out a breath at the state of Puppeteer, Se-Hoon dispelled the Celestial Infinity Blade.

Seeing that, Lea cautiously looked at him from her position in his arms.

“...What about the finishing blow?”

“There’s no need. It’s already over.”

The script had been completely rewritten, and Puppeteer accepted the defeat it now decreed.

Before, the only way to fully end things was to destroy Lunatic itself and nullify the script, but that was pointless now. If they still did so now, that would just destroy Puppeteer’s body and soul which were already fully enslaved to the law of the script.

“...”

Lea looked at the motionless Puppeteer for a moment.

“Can you put me down for a second?”

She had made up her mind.

“...Don’t push yourself.”

“Of course not.”

Step-

On her own two feet now, Lea staggered briefly before steadying herself and walking toward Puppeteer.

“Do you have something to say?”

Standing blankly under the lights, Puppeteer’s tone was completely even.

“What will happen to this place if you die?”

“It’ll vanish. Your man over there wrecked the power core when he broke in; Lunatic will be pulled in by Earth’s gravity and scatter into pieces.”

“And the people outside?”

“Well... I don’t know exactly how the Tower of Heroes works, but if the trial collapses, won’t they just get ejected?”

Lea glanced toward Se-Hoon for confirmation, which he provided with a nod.

“She’s right. Terra’s helping, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Whew...”

The news that the scattered allies and strike team would be able to evacuate safely relieved Lea. She had been worried that things would be complicated if Puppeteer or Tuner had taken them hostage.

“Oh, right! What about Tuner?”

“Looks like he ran away already when I crossed over... anyway, you don’t need to bother with him for now. I made sure to give a generous parting gift before I came.”

Even Tuner would not be able to walk away unscathed from the stake forged from Meirin’s condensed Blood Essence that he had forced into him with the Genesis Hammer.

Of course, Tuner hadn’t been fully subdued, but unless he had a death wish to go down with Puppeteer, he had likely long fled to the surface.

He’s next once this is settled.

He wouldn’t let Tuner escape anymore.

Just as he made that resolve, Puppeteer spoke up. “Any other questions? Ask me whatever you like.”

Perhaps because she’d accepted defeat, all of her lingering attachment was gone. It made Lea’s eyes tremble faintly, despite herself, as she forced herself to move on to the next question.

“How do you turn the people who became living dolls back?”

“You can’t.”

“What?”

“All Lunatic spread was knowledge about enlightenment; the physical transformation was done by the people themselves. Even if I die and Lunatic is destroyed, they still can’t revert to normal human beings.”

The color drained from Lea’s face..

“...Still, it won’t be much of a problem for them to live on, so don’t worry,” Puppeteer added, sighing at Lea’s reaction.

“It won’t be much of a problem?”

“Yes. While their bodies have been altered, it’s only a part of their hearts. Aside from that, everything else—reproductive functions included—should be fine.”

“Then the reason they fell into comas or couldn’t revive under Blessings was...”

“Because their souls were imprisoned in Lunatic. Anyway, they should have been released by now—check for yourself.”

Wasting no time, Lea immediately glanced back to see that Se-Hoon had already contacted the Netherworld.

“There’s a flood of souls appearing all at once. We won’t know until we confirm identities, but the numbers match the casualties who became living dolls.”

“Nice!”

And with that, most of Puppeteer’s crimes during the attack were resolved. Satisfied, Lea’s expression eased.

“Is that all? If you’ve got more to ask, do it quickly—we don’t have much time.”

Rumble-

Just as Puppeteer’s reminder rang out, a faint tremor rippled through the theater. The white cracks Se-Hoon had torn through earlier were spreading in all directions, putting the innermost chamber on the verge of collapse.

At the current rate, Lunatic would break apart before the script could even finish.

“...”

Lea’s gaze swept the stage.

Then her voice sounded. “Is there anything that

you

have to say to me?”

Her eyes widening at those words, Puppeteer gave her a wry smile.

“Do you want to hear some sort of resentment from me or what?”

“If that’s truly what you want to say.”

Despite the sarcasm, Lea still answered plainly. At that, something in Puppeteer’s—Lea’s mother’s—expression shifted.

“You... just what—”

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“Didn’t you say time is short? Let’s skip the nonsense and talk.”

Cutting her off, Lea pressed for an answer. Was that mockery from the victor? Or was Lea expecting some kind of useful revelation? Wondering, Reyna checked the script... only to see that the stage direction was not what she expected.

“Is there anything that you have to say to me?”

—The following exchange is improvised.

“...”

Her first taste of freedom since becoming bound to the script. It was... an alien sensation that made her mouth work soundlessly.

Has... speaking my own mind always been this hard?

In that moment, Reyna realized just how comfortable it had been to follow a set story... and how much that comfort had made her weak.

Rumble!

The cracks spread wider. The audience seats beyond the stage were already gone.

“Lea.”

Se-Hoon’s voice carried a warning: stay any longer, and she’d be caught in the collapse.

“Sorry. I just need a bit more time.”

“Seriously...”

Despite the exasperation in his voice, Se-Hoon moved closer to shield her.

It was a sight that made Reyna’s eyes widen, her storm of thoughts coalescing into a single line.

“...No.”

“What?”

“I’ve got nothing to say to you. I already said it all on stage.”

All she had genuinely ever wanted was for her family to be reunited and live happily ever after. Even in defeat, she would not regret or reject that choice.

“...Then that’s enough.”

Lea finally turned away and headed off, with Se-Hoon turning to follow suit.

“Se-Hoon.”

His footsteps paused. Her tone had changed.

“Will you keep protecting my daughter... from here on?”

“...”

Was Dane, Lea’s father, truly speaking through her? Or was it just Reyna mimicking her husband? Se-Hoon couldn’t tell. However, he had noticed.

“Even if it costs me my life, I will.”

Despite being a monster who had lost herself... her worry for her daughter was genuine. That was crystal clear.

“I see... I can rest easy now...”

Click-

The lights over her dimmed one by one, darkness creeping across the stage.

With Reyna accepting her death and Lea starting on a new path, their long story had finally reached its end—

“How anticlimactic.”

Amidst the collapsing Lunatic, a monster crawled forth from the shadows and coiled around Puppeteer’s corpse.

“?!”

Lea turned, startled. Meanwhile, Se-Hoon had already unleashed the Celestial Infinity Blade again and sent hundreds of sword auras lancing forward.

CRASH!

Both the corpse and the shapeless monster were entwined into ribbons—yet that alone wasn’t enough to kill it.

“

Ugh...

Attacking me right after I speak? Bit harsh, no?”

The amorphous creature plucked the blades from its body one by one, unfazed. Seeing that, Se-Hoon’s eyes hardened upon recognizing the figure: Tuner, broken from their earlier fight.

What is he thinking? Isn’t it basically suicide coming in here wounded like that?

The sight of Se-Hoon’s narrowed eyes, his mind clearly racing, made Tuner smirk.

“Ahh, relax. There aren’t any traps. I just figured that since everything’s gone to hell, I might as well take my last gamble~”

“Gamble?”

“I didn’t think she’d win... but I figured she might still have some trump cards up her sleeve. Guess it was a total bust in the end.”

He had thought that by absorbing her daughter, Puppeteer could ascend to the realm of the Harbingers of Destruction. But she lost instead, never even getting close to that domain. And on top of all that disappointment, due to having to stall, he had even taken a critical blow from Se-Hoon.

“At this point, running topside just means you’ll just hunt me down. So, I’m putting all my cards on the table to flip the board.”

A clearly ominous declaration. Se-Hoon immediately scanned their surroundings, glancing at the crumbling cracks in space. And that was when he spotted something completely unexpected.

That’s...

Some of the cracks were now stained by Tuner’s power, pivoting from collapsing Lunatic’s core to isolating and shielding the area.

I could break through it right now by attacking, but...

With Lea in his arms, he couldn’t speed up fast enough to slip in. However, leaving her behind wasn’t an option either, since that’d just give Tuner an opening.

He was stuck in a dilemma—which Tuner used to the fullest.

“There’s not much time left... so, how about a heart-to-heart?” Tuner whispered, having managed to fully slip into Puppeteer’s corpse.

“You acted as if you accepted it at the end, playing the parent... but you know, don’t you? You never truly did.”

Crack.

“Bending your will for your daughter’s happiness is touching, but it was never the right decision. Because~”

Tuner’s whispers now spilled from Puppeteer’s lips, freezing the collapsing theater in place.

“Happiness is always ruined by others.”

“...”

“Those who hate you might take revenge on your daughter. Or she could die pointlessly of some disease or disaster just like your husband~”

“...”

“He’ll protect her? Hah. Sounds like he’s earned your trust fast. Then... what if I said I’d kill her myself?”

“...”

“Either way, you’ve lost. Better to drag as many down with you when you can. Using every last means at your disposal,

take

your daughter and—no.”

The whisper stopped, and now, two voices mingled through Puppeteer’s lips.

“What’s the answer then? How about~ you creating a world where she can be happy? And make that an eternity?”

A world where she had total control over everything, over everyone who could harm Lea... Puppeteer had a vision: both she

and

her daughter could be happy

forever!

Put into her mind by Tuner’s whisperings, the thought crystallized into an epiphany—her very first balanced vision of ascension and destruction. Her desire sank into Lunatic, stirring the Harbinger Shard sleeping within.

Distorted Law: Universal Harmonization

WOONG!

To create eternal happiness, though, the world would have to be destroyed.

Final Act: Deus ex Machina

Wooooooooong-

Above the collapsing stage, a golden ring that was tethered to countless white threads appeared.