The puppet’s vicious accusations echoed like hamr blows collapsing on cracked vases, threatening to shatter the amber of determination still burning inside.
Adam snapped his face to the chair behind him, paling as he saw the emperor’s face crumble.
The steely glint in his eyes dimd, leaving an almost empty gaze behind. The vengeful drive that forced his fingers to dig into the armrest faded, replaced by guilt reflected in their weak twitch.
He clenched his jaw. He couldn’t let this happen! They had a real chance of defeating the puppet, if not, to at least buy enough ti to endure until the blessed land expelled him and the other disciples. But he couldn’t do it alone, nor let a father’s guilt crush his last hope.
Cursing his dependence on the emperor, he roared without wasting a second.
"Don’t listen! His arrogance is a deception, a clever weapon to infiltrate our heads and destabilise our psyche."
He gritted his teeth, snapping his head back to the window and glaring at the smirking puppet. "None of your eight children I’ve t resented you. The triplets wished to play once again with you. The princess continued to hone her tea-making skill to share a cup, and the second prince hailed your heroism until he dissipated. There was even one whose trial was to impress him as you did with your exquisite techniques. So, focus! Focus on the battle and hope we can save your other children instead of letting despair eat you inside out!"
Eyes blazing with mana, he controlled the arms to swing the six broadswords at the puppet.
While he was proficient, his movents looked dull compared to the emperor’s refined technique. The golem’s sluggishness heightened his frustration, forcing him to click his tongue as he watched the puppet evade the sharp edges without effort and hurl its burning fist against one of the arms.
CLANG
tal groaned like a ship caught in a storm, the impact sending a terrifying tremor through the golem. Green flas liquefied the armored plates in a rain of molten liquid.
The unbreathable air scalded his lungs as he pushed back with everything he had.
anwhile, a spark ignited in the emperor’s eyes as Adam’s words thundered. Doubt and guilt crushed him, yet a new hope burst forth from his heart’s depth to support his crumbling mind.
Despite the passing years, he had never dared to see his children. How could he when the puppet had cursed them because of him? No... he could only bear the sin silently and pray for soone to deliver them. That’s why eting him required gathering five clues from them. It was all to save as many as possible.
His fingers tightened around the armrests, and a tear trailed down his cheek. They still praised him after fifty thousand years of solitude?
His deflated aura rose, his hair swirling upwards, and his crown trembling. Why was he lanting when the source of their despair stood before him?
His arms trembled as he clenched his jaw. Adam was right. Perhaps he still could save them from the puppet.
As the amber of determination ignited into an inferno, sharp noises of ripped tals reverberated. A half-lted arm crashed on the ground, accompanied by Adam’s frustrated roars. "Wake up, damn it! You’re driving mad!"
He swallowed the following insults clawing at his throat, his eyes widening as the five remaining arms whistled.
In a lethal dance and with a subtle step forward, they drew four sparkling arcs, forcing the puppet to give up on his assault in surprise before...
"ARGH!" An agonising scream pierced through the sky, a wing bursting into a rain of dagger-like feathers and blood.
Adam’s fist trembled as the fifth broadsword, which moved last, cleaved through the seemingly untouchable puppet.
The emperor’s voice sliced through the chaos next, his tone lding apology and anger. "Who do you take for, rude brat? Shoot! We kill this puppet today."
Adam’s lips curled into a smirk, the four cannon arms rumbling with terrifying energy. "Don’t be a deadweight old man and corner him. One clean hit is all I need to obliterate this demonic leech!"
With a delighted grin, four frozen halberds erupted from the cannons. Their vibrating surfaces tore through the air with a deafening hum, blurring to the fuming puppet.
Rage distorting his owl’s features, he hurled his arm before him. A fiery wall as thick as an inverted waterfall rose before him.
The vibrations split the flas apart, digging a few centiters through the inferno before the thick ice sculptures vaporised with loud sizzles, and his roars rocked the palace.
"You weren’t so prone to recover when I sucked your first wife’s soul out of her still twitching body right before your eyes." His voice cracked into a guttural, cursed cacophony. "The kid with a mouth as foul as the infuriating Aamon’s cleaver. I’ll teach you not to ruin my fun!"
A string of ancient words left his smirk, each syllable causing the wind to recoil and the flas raging at his feet to curl back as if horrified by what he was saying.
"WHAT?!" The emperor and Adam yelled, the first in rage at the mory of his wife’s pleading gaze even when the puppet devoured her. Adam because he wanted nothing more than to shred this fool and the raging cleaver.
’You dare?! Even the slaves from the demon realm loathed you after your defeat in this weak realm. You’re a walking sha, a piece of junk! Use , Adam! I’ll show him true demonic flas.’
Worse, the cleaver tried to summon itself forcefully, causing Adam’s soul to throb and a pained yelp to escape his lips.
Hearing it, the puppet laughed viciously. "Your screams are lodies to my ears, and your sufferings a sweet drug I’ll savor down to the last drop."
Adam frowned as he locked his soul sea. No matter what, he’d never cooperate with the cleaver who bound itself to him without his permission, forced him to sign a bullshit contract, and had hidden but obvious intentions.
Then, he clutched his chest as he felt an evil force bypass his heart’s defenses. His soul roiled, making him gasp for air.
Instantly, the emperor’s eyes narrowed.
"Not good. It’s the sa curse he used to separate my consciousness from my soul. You’ve done enough. Leave! I’ll hold him back until the blessed land expels you."
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