Ch 527: A Narrow Victory And A New Discovery

Remilia parried one of Garrick’s Thread Control attacks with her Dagger. Then, she threw the Dry Ice used for creating artificial Mist, which was placed backstage, and using the resulting Mist, Remilia hid behind a pile of Boxes to think of a countermeasure.

“Miss, are you planning to play a game of hide-and-seek?”

Garrick’s voice sounded distant. Remilia dared not answer, because skilled individuals could use sound to locate their target. Remilia took out the Necklace Phia had lent her; it wasn’t glowing, meaning she wasn’t yet under Garrick’s Control. She still had one chance to take a risk. Then she looked at the Bracelet on her right hand; she wasn’t sure if Garrick would block Communication. Remilia could only try activating the Bracelet.

“While I’d love to play this Game with you, your Friend doesn’t seem to be that patient. Besides, my Time is precious, and I don’t want to waste it on such a meaningless matter. Excuse me, my beautiful Miss…”

Garrick’s voice grew closer, and Remilia’s heart pounded.

“Cat and mouse time is over.”

A Thread appeared in Garrick’s hand. With a flick of his wrist, the Boxes concealing Remilia’s body were severed like Butter cut by a hot knife.

“Hmm? Not here?”

Garrick looked at the collapsed Boxes, puzzled. His Detection Technique was excellent, arguably surpassing even Clova, the Grand Archmage. This was a characteristic of his Puppeteer abilities; without sufficient Detection Technique, his Puppets wouldn’t get far.

Garrick went behind the Boxes, Remilia’s former hiding place. Seeing the small Bloodstain on the Ground, his uncertainty turned back into confidence.

“Oh, dear, how careless of you~”

Garrick turned around and used the same technique to slice open the backstage Vanity. Many Cosmetics scattered on the Ground, their strong scent filling the Room.

Remilia, using the Mist, hid far from the Gate. Her current priority was to stall for Time; she knew her current strength couldn’t defeat the Man before her. Looking at her injured arm, Remilia took out a Handkerchief and pressed it against the wound.

“I said, my patience is limited; I don’t want to play this boring Game.”

Garrick’s smiling expression remained, but the anger in his voice betrayed his displeasure. Seeing Remilia had no intention of appearing, Garrick began to wreak havoc.

Countless Threads appeared behind Garrick. They shot out rapidly towards every corner of the Room, like a pack of wolves spotting their Game, ready to pounce on Remilia at the slightest movement.

Seeing she couldn’t avoid this search, Remilia, as if making a decision, emerged from her Cover.

“Garrick, there’s no need for pointless destruction. Your target is me, right?”

“You finally showed yourself, my beautiful Miss. I hope you won’t resist. You’ve seen my Threads; they aren’t as gentle as I am.”

Through the Mist, Garrick could see Remilia’s figure by the backstage lights. He retracted most of the Threads; at the same time, some Threads extended from his feet, quietly approaching Remilia.

“Why are you trying to catch me?”

“You know, your Friends seem to underestimate me. I just want to give them a Lesson, to let them know some things, such as…”

The Threads Garrick extended towards Remilia suddenly lunged at her.

“When facing someone powerful, politeness is paramount.”

But the Threads missed. Remilia appeared behind Garrick, her Dagger at his throat.

“Wow, you surprised me.”

Garrick’s ever-present smile turned to surprise. He couldn’t understand how Remilia had gotten behind him.

“For disgusting people like you, I know exactly how to deal with them.”

Remilia didn’t explain. She pressed the Dagger harder against Garrick’s neck, but the feel was wrong. Just as she was about to strike, Garrick said with a smile.

“Good, good…”

He didn’t finish his sentence before Remilia severed his head. After Remilia dispersed the Mist with Wind Magic, she discovered that what should have been a head was a bare Puppet’s head—this Garrick was a fake.

“Tsk… that feel just now was clearly wrong.”

At that moment, Marlos arrived backstage with Bal and Phia.

“Nonori, are you alright!”

Marlos went to Remilia’s side, surprised at the headless Puppet before him.

“What’s this? Where’s the person who attacked you?”

“That guy wasn’t a person, it was a Puppet.”

Remilia looked at Bal and Phia, surprised by their arrival.

“How did you get here?”

“Thanks to Garrick’s Puppet, we immediately recognized this as the Theater’s backstage. We arrived just as Mr. Marlos was calling for help, and we followed him. Are you alright?”

Phia checked Remilia’s body; aside from a wound on her arm, she was fine. The Necklace used to resist Garrick’s Control emitted a faint, deactivated glow.

“Looks like you’re okay. Let me heal you.”

Bal went to examine Garrick’s Puppet; the backstage Ground was in utter chaos.

“Did you do this?”

Bal picked up Garrick’s Puppet’s head and asked Remilia, who nodded.

“I did.”

“Impressive. How did you manage that?”

Bal pulled an undamaged chair next to Remilia. After Phia healed her, Remilia’s wound was closed, and she began to recount her ordeal.

“After I pushed Marlos away, I blocked one of Garrick’s Threads with my Dagger. Seriously, those things are as sharp and hard as swords. Then I broke the Box containing the Dry Ice to create Mist, and hid behind the Boxes. But Garrick’s Detection Magic seems pretty good; he attacked my hiding place with Threads directly. Luckily, I dodged in time, or I would have lost my Handkerchief.”

Marlos handed Remilia a Water Cup. After taking a sip, she continued.

“I originally wanted to escape, but he was closer to the Gate. I had no choice but to hide behind a mirror deep inside the Room. He ran out of patience and started destroying things with his Threads. To avoid further losses for Marlos, I used a life-size cardboard cutout to disguise myself as me. He couldn’t see through the Mist anyway. I was gambling. Then, using the stealth techniques I learned from Cres, I got behind Garrick. He thought the cutout was me, so I put my Dagger to his neck.”

“Amazing.”

Marlos praised her repeatedly. He knew Remilia was capable, but he hadn’t expected her to be so resourceful.

“By the way, I noticed something odd when I decapitated him.”

Remilia looked at the Puppet in Bal’s hand, took a deep breath, and said,

“That guy likely possesses a technique that allows him to switch places with his Puppet.”