Soon, a high-speed chase unfolded in the middle of the city.
Javey shot forward using threads wrapped around the surrounding buildings, moving swiftly like Spider-Man from a superhero film. Duanmu Huai held onto Lorena and Olgis while activating his jetpack to give chase—his power armor's jetpack could sustain flight for a short period, allowing an Inquisitor to maneuver through the air and saving a great deal of trouble.
Melodie wasn't left behind either—those mechanical wings on her back weren't just for show. Though the underlying tech was unclear, the wings let her fly gracefully through the sky. While airborne, she even raised her rifle and aimed at the fleeing Javey, pulling the trigger.
Bang!!!
Melodie's marksmanship was top-tier, but her shot had no effect. The enormous puppet behind Javey blocked the shot like a shield. Taking the opportunity, Javey accelerated again, clearly attempting to lose her pursuers. Duanmu Huai and the others pressed forward, unwilling to give up.
"We can't fight in the city!"
Lorena, clutched in Duanmu Huai's grip, cried out in panic. Her concern was valid. It was currently the city's busiest hour—crowds filled the streets. This wasn't like the curfewed quiet of night. Starting a battle here would lead to countless casualties.
"Force her into a deserted area!"
Duanmu Huai landed with a heavy thud, creating a crater in the paved street beneath him and drawing frightened screams from bystanders. But he had no time to care. He launched back into the air, jetpack flaring as he continued the chase.
Just then, several dark figures suddenly emerged from an alley below and rushed toward them. They wore masks and carried daggers—the same masked puppet-women from last night!
"Damn nuisances!"
Duanmu Huai growled as he saw them. He was about to plow straight through the group when his danger sense flared without warning.
Almost instantly, Olgis raised her hand. Her guardian puppet flashed into place, blocking the path ahead. One of the masked puppets struck with her dagger—and the blade pierced the guardian puppet's body cleanly. In the next moment, the puppet shattered into a pile of broken scraps.
Shit!
Seeing this, Duanmu Huai felt every hair on his body stand on end. He immediately raised his right arm and fired. The blast pushed the puppet-women backward with a wave of impact. Olgis, still perched on his shoulder, acted at once—her silk threads flashed, slicing the masked puppets into pieces.
Although the ambush was repelled, the delay allowed Javey to vanish without a trace.
"Tch… what a pain."
Duanmu Huai clicked his tongue in frustration, helplessly shaking his head. At the same time, he let out a silent sigh of relief. Honestly, that last strike had genuinely rattled him. Olgis's puppet had [Attack 6] and [Defense 8]—normal enemies couldn't break its defense. For that masked puppet to instantly destroy it in one hit, she either had a massively high attack stat or the [Critical Strike] trait. Fortunately, Olgis's puppet also had the [Guardian] trait. Otherwise, things would've turned ugly.
But… that didn't make sense. The last time they fought these masked puppets, none of them had such capabilities… why did it suddenly change…?
In the end, the pursuit failed. Even Melodie, who chased a while longer, was intercepted by the masked puppet-women and forced to retreat.
Still, Duanmu Huai wasn't too bothered. He had quietly ordered a Reconnaissance [Servo-skull] to tail Javey anyway.
And now...
"Alright, let's organize the intel we have so far."
Duanmu Huai sat down heavily at the table and tapped its surface. Though Liam's home had been blown up, Melodie had returned afterward to search the ruins. She managed to recover some of Liam's experimental notes and journals—which confirmed, without a doubt, that this guy had been seriously messed up.
After all, what kind of normal person even keeps a journal?
According to the diary, Liam initially wanted to create a gentle, cute puppet to heal his heart.
Basically, like one of those shut-in nerds dreaming of building a robot waifu.
But his attempt failed. The lovely, kind-hearted waifu of his imagination turned out to be a crazed yandere psychopath… which clearly dealt him a huge psychological blow. That's when a man named Ivel appeared before him, praised his talent, and granted him the power to create puppets at will.
In exchange, Liam gave Javey to Ivel and agreed to help him build puppets. That's why he came to live in this city.
This made the contrast between Liam and Olgis's creator even more apparent. The puppeteer who built Olgis was more like a scientist—creating a puppet with a heart was his life's research. Liam, on the other hand, was just a tech-obsessed shut-in who saw some notes and went, "Wow, a waifu! Awesome!" Then scampered off to build one. But the moment it didn't go his way, he spiraled into a meltdown.
Those masked puppet assassins were the product of the mysterious power Liam received. Perhaps because of his failure with Javey, he no longer attempted to give these puppets "hearts." Instead, he programmed them to hunt and kill other beings with hearts—to steal theirs.
What shocked them most, though, was a unique trait among the assassins.
There was a core called "Fia" among them. This core couldn't be killed—or rather, even if it was destroyed, it would simply resurrect in another puppet body.
Huh… that sounds like something out of a horror movie.
In short, to eliminate the masked assassins, every single one of them had to be destroyed. Otherwise, they'd just keep coming.
Which led to the next big question…
"What does Ivel want with all these killer dolls? Who's he trying to kill?"
After reading the journal, that was what concerned Duanmu Huai most. If the diary was accurate, Ivel was likely the real mastermind behind everything. So why did he have Liam create killer puppets? What was his endgame?
Surely it wasn't just building an army of waifu figures like Liam…
Duanmu Huai turned to look at Melodie. She noticed his gaze and shook her head solemnly.
"Sorry… the Archbishop hasn't shown himself in a long time. I don't know either…"
Figures.
Duanmu Huai wasn't surprised. He shrugged and turned to Lorena.
"Miss Lorena, is the Church still unable to act?"
"I-I'm sorry…"
Lorena looked like she was about to cry.
"I've reported everything to the Bishop… but without solid proof… and since Lord Ivel is a core figure in the Mechanicus, making a move against him could spark widespread chaos, so…"
"No surprise. I knew it'd be like this."
Duanmu Huai was calm as still water. After all, this was just how quests worked for players. The powerful factions that could fix the problem always sat on their hands until everything blew up in their faces.
Following typical game plot logic, what would happen next was a mad scramble chasing Javey and the assassins. Time would be wasted. The mastermind would complete his plan. The Church would freak out too late. And then… well, then it'd be over.
The city would be reduced to soul fragments. Game over. Wasn't hard to predict.
So…
"Where is this Ivel guy?"
"What do you plan to do?"
Melodie tensed at Duanmu Huai's question, and he didn't bother hiding his intentions.
"What else? I'm going straight to him and asking."
Simple. Crude. Direct.
Scare the snake? Doesn't matter. Blow up the bush, kill the snake—problem solved.
In Duanmu Huai's eyes, this world was already on rails. Most likely, if they followed the "main questline," Ivel's plan would succeed, the city would fall, and they'd have to start over again like at that haunted mansion.
But he didn't want to go through that again. For one, it would lower the [Mission Evaluation], and besides, he actually got along well with the people here. He didn't want to see them die.
"Where is this Ivel guy?"
"...…"
Melodie went silent for a moment, then stood up.
"Follow me."
Under Melodie's lead, the group passed through the city and arrived at a small island behind the mountain.
"If I remember right, Archbishop Ivel lives in seclusion here…"
"Seclusion??"
Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow, glanced at the place ahead, then turned to look at Melodie again.
"You call this seclusion?"
His reaction was understandable. In the center of the island stood a twin-towered cathedral. While not as grand as the city's central cathedrals, it was bustling. The bridge leading to the island was packed with cloaked pilgrims—possibly even more than the main churches.
"I… I don't know…"
Even Melodie was speechless, visibly stunned. She clearly had no idea what was going on either.
"I… I have a bad feeling…"
Lorena swallowed nervously, her voice trembling.
"This cathedral… it feels wrong…"
Duanmu Huai looked up at the church and thought for a moment, then waved to the others.
"Alright, I have a plan."
And with that, he began to speak.
(End of Chapter)