Chapter 40 – Puppet Show

Hyu’s secret space.

As the light point connected to Hanna grew faint, Lee Hanseong could no longer see Hanna’s surroundings through the light point either.

The Black Shadow Envoy and Puppetry Art connected to her were also severed.

If things continued like this, Hanna would likely meet her death.

“I don’t like it…”

But he didn’t want to leave her to die.

The sight of Hanna sacrificing herself to save the Bishop Candidate.

Overlapping with that was the image of Mirinae, who had sacrificed herself to save him before the regression and turned back time.

“I prefer happy endings.”

He quickly pondered ways to save Hanna.

Time wasn’t on their side.

Since she had lost consciousness and collapsed, she would no longer be able to perform healing. If the enemies’ attacks continued, she would inevitably die helplessly.

If he was going to intervene, he had to do it as quickly as possible.

The problem was that the connection point with Hanna, whose Two-star promotion had been completed, was no longer in a state where he could interfere.

First, he touched the light point of the Jester Rough among the two remaining light points.

‘If it’s Rough’s Causal Disturbance, I should be able to come up with some method.’

Zzziiing—

Just as he had done with Hanna, he connected the space, extended the Black Shadow Envoy, and turned Rough into Hyu’s puppet.

Having possessed Rough’s body, Lee Hanseong immediately activated the Awakening Skill, Causal Disturbance.

‘What needs to be deceived is the world.’

If deceiving others is third-rate, and deceiving oneself is second-rate,

Then first-rate is one who deceives even the world.

Even if it’s only for a very brief moment.

With Causal Disturbance activated, he utilized <Interface Perception> and <Interface Design> through Hyu.

Among the interfaces located near Rough, he searched for the one most similar to the interface near Hanna.

His scheme was to deceive the interface and momentarily intersect the space where Rough was with the space where Hanna was.

Ooooooong.

Under the strict laws of reality, this would be absolutely impossible. But now, with reality’s laws blurred by Causal Disturbance, such forced manipulation could sufficiently work.

Moreover, Rough’s <Fortune> also increased the success rate of this attempt.

Pat!

The next moment, Rough’s body was beside the collapsed Hanna.

Which also meant it was in front of the enemy blades targeting her.

“Eek.”

Tuk.

He lightly deflected the blade looming right before his eyes, twisting its trajectory.

Thud.

The blade embedded itself beside Hanna’s neck.

The blade’s owner seemed bewildered by Rough’s sudden appearance and let out a dazed sound.

“What the, a jester?”

“It’s Rough.”

Rough’s body, out of habit, gave a polite bow to the enemies, creating a bizarre impression.

It was less Lee Hanseong’s will and more something done by Rough, the body’s owner.

It felt like being at a circus performance rather than a time of urgent pursuit and slaughter.

“Then, let the show begin.”

Perhaps because he was a Spirit belonging to the Wind Constellation, which governs freedom, Rough freely expressed his own will even while Lee Hanseong was possessing him.

While synchronizing with the host’s will was similar when possessing other Spirits, with Rough, the degree felt more intense.

But Lee Hanseong didn’t particularly feel any aversion to it.

Now synchronized through synergy, he was also Rough.

‘After all, what I want is to save Hanna. The method doesn’t matter.’

The enemies, with faces full of irritation at Rough’s playful smile, began their attacks again.

“Don’t know where these meddlers keep coming from, but eliminate them all.”

Swaak! Swaak!

“Eek. Ack. Dangerous.”

Amidst the sword strikes swarming from all directions, he performed acrobatics as if dancing, dodging every strike by a hair’s breadth.

As if he had no bones or joints, his body bent and twisted at bizarre angles, deviating from the evasion paths the enemies had anticipated.

Chang, chaejaeng!

Moreover, perhaps due to Fortune’s influence, the enemies’ attacks frequently shook slightly or collided with each other.

Of course, if that were all, there would have come a moment when even Rough couldn’t avoid them.

But it was a boon that Rough’s will mostly moved the body on its own, creating leeway for Hyu’s Puppetry Art.

Thud— Kkireek. Seokeok.

“Ugh.”

“This wasn’t me! My body moved on its own…?”

Because new Black Shadow Envoys stealthily emerged, briefly manipulating the enemies to cause division.

All the enemies around Rough were practically Hyu’s puppets.

Thanks to that, Rough could leisurely toy with the enemies.

“Huhu. The time for the climax is near.”

After buying about a minute like that, the ones he had been waiting for finally arrived.

Ddrdrdrdrdrd!

A group of cavalry thundered across the ground.

The knights belonging to the Million family, who had come to rescue the Bishop Candidate, had returned with the Bishop Candidate boy to save Hanna.

“Dare to eliminate the bandits who targeted Young Master Alex!”

Faced with an obviously powerful force, the assassins disguised as bandits ultimately had no choice but to abandon the assassination.

Rough’s role was also coming to an end.

“…We retreat.”

“A pity, but the show ends here.”

Towards the retreating enemies, Rough left a polite and exaggerated bow, just as he had when he first appeared.

Poof.

With a simple smoke screen, he vanished.

As the time limit of Causal Disturbance ended, the intersected spaces unraveled, and Rough also returned to his original location.

* * *

A short while later, the boy who returned to the side of the collapsed Hanna wore a sorrowful expression at the sight of her arms severed.

“Sister…!”

“She’s in a state no different from death. Unless it’s a Regeneration miracle of at least Bishop-level, she won’t survive.”

Despite the experienced knight’s explanation, the boy instead held onto hope.

“Bishop-level… That’s fortunate. Surely, you said the Divine power dwelling in me is Bishop-level, right?”

It wasn’t for nothing that he became a Bishop Candidate at such a young age.

He became a Bishop Candidate because his innate Divine power rivaled that of a Bishop.

But a candidate is just a candidate; he wasn’t a Bishop yet, so he couldn’t perform miracles a Bishop would use.

“Young Master… But you haven’t learned Divine arts yet, have you?”

“Of course not. But I know the basic principles of how miracles occur.”

After all, even a Sister with no Divine power had performed a healing miracle to treat his wounds.

“A strong wish and a will to sacrifice. That’s what calls forth miracles.”

“What are you trying to do now…?!”

“[I, Alex Million. I vow all my Divine power to revive the Sister who protected me.]”

The vow towards the Constellation in the sky became chains, elevating the will of the boy, Alex.

“[Regenerate!]”

Thus, the words poured out with the resolve to abandon all Divine power soon became a miracle, illuminating the Light of Regeneration.

Whoooosh! Squirm squirm—

Exposed to the Light of Regeneration, Hanna’s severed arms rapidly regenerated.

A powerful miracle that regenerated even the lost blood and stamina!

But forgetting propriety at the atrocity of abandoning Divine power just to save a mere Sister, the knight shouted.

“You fool! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!”

He roared at the act, which was no different from abandoning the path to becoming a Bishop, but he had to shut his mouth at the scene that followed.

Paaaaaat!

Because Alex, upon Awakening, came to possess even more Divine power than what he had abandoned.

“What did I do? As you can see. I merely acted as Radiance desired.”

“Indeed… My thoughts were short-sighted. You had it all planned, Young Master.”

At the sight of the knight kneeling to take responsibility for his rash words and repenting, Alex did not pursue the matter further.

Instead, he focused his gaze on Hanna.

“…Umm.”

She was waking up.

* * *

Again, Hyu’s secret space.

Though Lee Hanseong could no longer see Hanna’s subsequent situation after Rough returned to his original location, thanks to Mirinae separately sharing her vision, he could confirm the outcome of Hanna safely waking up.

―Now that we’ve confirmed she’s awake, it’s best to check elsewhere.

“Yes.”

The moment Hanna opened her eyes, Mirinae immediately cut off the vision sharing.

Observing the altered history beyond that point was a waste of power, and besides,

Rough’s situation was also coming to an end.

When he shifted his consciousness back to Rough’s light point, a System Message announcing the completion of the Two-star promotion was rising before his eyes.

[Conditions met. General Skill <???> blooms into <Travel>.]

[Achievement, ‘Expedition Performance within Overlapping Phases’ attained.]

[The Wind Constellation records your achievement and altered history.]

[Second Awakening Skill 《Phase Superposition》 blooms.]

[Rough’s Two-star promotion is completed.]

[Historical Alteration related to Rough concludes.]

Zzzzzzzz—

Soon, like Hanna’s light point, Rough’s light point, filled with noise, also grew faint, and the connection with Rough was severed.

But there were still more messages to check.

Returning his consciousness to Hyu’s body, a new message had also appeared before Hyu’s eyes.

[Achievement, ‘Puppet Show Behind the Black Curtain’ attained.]

[Third Awakening Skill 《Black Curtain in the Dark》 blooms.]

[Hyoo Guild’s Three-star promotion is completed.]

[Continuing Historical Alteration to complete Four-star promotion.]

[Remaining achievement consumed. Current remaining achievements held: 1 > 0.]

“Rough’s Second Awakening Skill is an ability to overlap the phases of another space with the current phase, bringing two different spaces together in one place. Hyu’s Third Awakening Skill is a Stealth-type ability, I see.”

It was a case where two Spirits achieved promotion in succession from a single event.

As a result, the connection points between Hyu and Rough had also increased.

Rough’s faint light point grew slightly brighter.

It was a brightness level that, while not allowing for alterations sufficient for the next promotion, permitted minor interference.

“If we keep intertwining the histories of different Spirits like this, a Legend Resonance might occur, right?”

―The Steward’s thought is correct. That is the direction Joint Historical Alteration should take.

Affirming Lee Hanseong’s speculation, Mirinae then showed clues for the alteration needed for Hyu’s Four-star promotion.

[Due to the Nameless Constellation’s intervention, clues for Historical Alteration are partially revealed.]

[First Clue: Great thief’s Art.]

[Second Clue: Secret eavesdropping.]

[Third Clue: Conspiracy plotting.]

“……”

Lee Hanseong, having examined the clues, fell into brief thought.

The Great thief’s Art probably meant to learn the techniques left by Hyu’s master.

Secret eavesdropping and Conspiracy plotting likely meant to achieve achievements without revealing his identity from behind the black curtain, similar to when completing the Three-star promotion.

Having roughly guessed the direction the clues pointed, he immediately took action.

However, he had no intention of leaving the Shelter at all.

Twinkle.

As he was about to check the last remaining light point, Duren’s, he suddenly noticed that around the light point, several more noticeable connection points—though not as prominent as Duren’s—had increased.

Seven twinkling small light points.

Tuk.

When he touched one of them, the image of the serf Hans gripping the Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword arose.

But unlike the light points of Hanna, Rough, and Duren, direct intervention was impossible.

All he could do was watch the scene.

“The Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword and Hans…?”

When he touched the other small light points, there too, images of Spirits whose Historical Alteration was in progress due to Legendary Equipment arose.

Having started Historical Alteration in a Transcendent state or achieved a Half-Step Promotion, their Vocation Awakening Skills had changed to General Awakening Skills. With the help of the Legendary Equipment’s skills, they were smoothly or arduously writing new histories.

The most precarious was Hans.

―Obtaining the Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword has ironically become a disadvantage.

Mirinae’s projection, which had settled on his lap at some point, uttered her impression.

At her words, Lee Hanseong briefly recalled Hans’s memories seen during Heroic Spirit Synchronization.

In the original history, Hans was an ordinary serf.

But one day, Hans encountered the King traveling incognito and committed an impropriety against him, earning the King’s disfavor.

The King, notorious as a tyrant, tried to execute Hans, but on a whim, instead of killing him, he executed all of Hans’s family.

And looking at Hans, driven mad by his family’s deaths, the King left, laughing as if amused.

‘Ugh, ughhh!’

The pure hatred and desire for revenge against the King that Hans harbored from that day onward reached even the Heavenly Slaughter Constellation.

The Heavenly Slaughter Constellation gifted Hans with the Mutual Destruction Curse.

Though he didn’t know much about the curse, realizing he could kill the King with it, Hans immediately moved to kill the King.

And finally catching up to the departed King’s procession, he succeeded in dying together with the King by unleashing the curse that cost his life upon the King.

This was the achievement that made Hans a 1-Star Spirit belonging to the Heavenly Slaughter Constellation.

But the newly written history was different.

“I have something to ask you.”

“Tyrant King…!”

The encounter between the King traveling incognito and Hans was the same up to that point.

But by then, the Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword was already in Hans’s hand, and recalling the original history, he tried to kill the King directly with Heaven-Slaying Gang Qi.

Whoooosh!

“Die!”

“How dare you!”

Naturally, at the attack from the Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword, which looked vicious even from the outside, a Royal Knight secretly guarding the King stepped forward.

Kakaka— Thud!

Hans, a serf who knew no Swordsmanship, lost his life to the knight’s sword.

If not for <Zombification>, Hans’s Historical Alteration would have ended in failure there.

But Hans’s corpse, which still had a chance to revive as a zombie even in death, was moved to the storage room of the inn where the King was staying for investigation.

“Grrrl. King. Kill.”

When night fell, Hans awoke as a zombie, and his Historical Alteration continued.