Among the countless types of Blazers, there exists a particular kind known far and wide for their infamy.
They possess an advanced form of magical control, manipulating threads ford entirely from mana—mana threads—to control objects from afar. But not just objects. Living beings, too.
These individuals are generally known as Wire Controllers or more ominously, Puppeteers.
Their notoriety stems from the horrifying reality that they can manipulate others remotely. By invading the brain through orifices like the ears or nose, they can destroy, rewrite, or even brainwash their victims in unspeakably cruel ways.
If Eiji hadn't dodged in ti earlier, those threads would've pierced his brain directly.
And after that… he'd have beco nothing more than a plaything.
Whether his mind was shattered entirely or his body forced to rampage through a city, slaughtering innocent civilians—that decision would lie entirely with the enemy.
Even if he murdered Kanata right there on the spot, he wouldn't be able to resist.
No matter how much agony tore through his heart, he could only watch himself commit unforgivable cris with wide, helpless eyes.
That is what a Puppeteer is.
Eiji's expression instantly darkened. From his eyes surged a killing intent that chilled the very air.
Puppeteers were rare even among Blazers, but each and every one was monitored closely by global organizations—desperately hoping to guide them toward a righteous path.
But for soone like this—a Puppeteer who had embraced a completely antisocial, twisted persona?
That was one in a hundred million.
"Kanata. Stay sharp and protect yourself."
Eiji's tone turned freezing, his words heavy with warning.
"I know."
Kanata instantly activated her Device, dispersing blade fragnts throughout the pressure points of her body—precautionary asures to block any invasive threads from reaching her brain.
Bang!
With a burst of force that cracked the ground beneath him, Eiji shot forward like lightning!
"So fast!"
A voice of surprised admiration rang out from the speakers.
Perfect. Add another cri to the list.
Eiji's body streaked across the battlefield like a teor, clearing fifty ters in a single second. With all the force of a missile strike, he slamd his blade into the giant's right leg.
And "slam" was all it was.
There was no elegance, no flourish—just raw, unrelenting destruction.
The massive wooden leg, as thick as a tree trunk, exploded into splinters without warning. The giant's entire form wobbled before collapsing to the ground with a thunderous crash.
In the end, it was just a construct of rock. It wasn't that tough.
Eiji twisted midair, using the montum to reorient himself before dashing forward again. He beca a beam of light as he streaked across the battlefield, now heading straight for the giant's chest.
"Tch… now I can't see a damn thing."
The cara feed shook erratically, and the enemy's irritated voice echoed from the speakers.
BOOM!
The very next mont, the image feed dissolved into static.
"Aiyaaah, now this is…"
Up on the mountain slope—
Eiji twisted his hips and legs to the limit, drawing back his whole body before unleashing a ferocious thrust with everything he had.
With a sound like an earthquake, he shot forward like a cannonball, effortlessly tearing through the giant's chest. The embedded caras were utterly destroyed.
The chest exploded into rubble, the giant's form collapsing entirely as dust and boulders rained down from its crumbling body.
"Is it down…?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth—
The debris falling from the shattered giant began to shimr and stir on the ground… before gathering and reforming into three new giants, each about four ters tall.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three giants split and charged at Eiji from three different directions.
Eiji clicked his tongue.
Then his figure blurred again—like a streak of light—darting nimbly between the openings. Even with Kanata slung on his back, the giants couldn't so much as graze him.
BOOM!
BANG!
With deafening crashes echoing through the valley, one giant after another was shattered to pieces.
But almost imdiately…
The fragnts pulled together once more—this ti forming seven or eight smaller giants, each around two ters tall.
Watching as the giants kept reforming endlessly, Eiji frowned slightly. He quickly leapt backward, his eyes like lightning as he swept the battlefield with a sharp gaze.
"Don't just rush in recklessly."
Kanata's voice called from behind him—soft, but Eiji caught every word with intent focus.
"The most dangerous thing about a Puppeteer is their mana threads. As long as the threads remain unbroken, they can keep coming back, no matter how many tis you destroy the puppets!"
Rocks were like flowing sand—so long as they were still tethered to the threads, they could reassemble again and again, no matter how many tis they were shattered.
Even if the puppet was a human, the threads could forcibly stitch the pieces back together after being sliced in half and make it move again.
"But the caster isn't even here. What am I supposed to aim at?"
Eiji kept dodging the giants' coordinated charges. Though his movents were fluid and effortless, irritation was beginning to show in his eyes.
The most efficient way to handle a Puppeteer was to eliminate the caster directly. Once the caster was down, the threads would lose all power—problem solved.
But Puppeteers got their na for a reason—they almost never showed themselves on the front lines.
Eiji couldn't afford to use charm-based abilities carelessly either. The opponent's mind was clearly unstable. Who knew what would happen if he did charm him—would he beco a loyal dog… or a rabid one?
If he beca the latter and fixated on Eiji, things could spiral into a much bigger disaster than it was worth.
"Target the relay node!"
Kanata quickly explained, "When a Puppeteer is controlling puppets remotely, there's always an interdiary relay that channels their threads!"
Just like a network system.
Dozens of threads run from a relay, each one linked to a different puppet—and through countless relays, the threads could extend across an entire nation, even the world.
"I see now!"
Eiji's eyes lit up in realization.
The giants pounded the earth with thunderous steps, shaking the very ground as they surged forward again to surround him.
But this ti, Eiji closed his eyes.
He stopped relying on his vision—and handed control over to his instincts.
The giants drew closer.
From over ten ters… down to nine… then eight… until it beca three ters—then one.
A massive stone fist ca crashing down with enough force to pulp a normal man's skull.
Kanata tensed.
She had condensed blade fragnts into her palm, ready to launch them at a mont's notice.
But she didn't make a move. She didn't know where the enemy's node was—and acting rashly might disrupt Eiji's plan.
She trusted him. Completely.
CLANG!
Just as the giant was about to strike—
Eiji's eyes snapped open.
He suddenly ducked under the blow and darted forward with simian agility, a silver flash tracing the arc of his movent.
The gleam of his blade shone for only an instant.
The giant at the very back of the formation was instantly beheaded. Even its solid stone skull couldn't resist Eiji's impossibly swift slash—it was sliced cleanly, like glass.
And the mont it fell, its rocky body crumbled into dust.
The surrounding giants suddenly stopped mid-charge.
All movent ceased—and then, all at once, they disintegrated like collapsing statues.
"So that one was the relay node."
Kanata finally let out a breath of relief.
Once the relay was destroyed, every thread connected to it instantly lost power. If the enemy wanted to resu control, they'd have to reroute and extend new mana threads from scratch.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Well done. Truly splendid!"
Suddenly—
A clear, mocking applause rang out from within the forest.
***
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