Chapter 152: Chapter 151 - Puppetry

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”Good work.” Hope greeted happily and handed Karna a drink. “I’m under the impression that we’re now talking to the heir of House Titannica.”

Karna had not been able to return and inform them of the details after the ceremony, because of the meeting concerning Kronus. They watched the ceremony itself but didn’t know what happened behind the scenes. The only ones not present currently were Tsumi, who was still suffering from the aftereffects of her time in the Netherworld, and Arjuna who was watching over her. Both had made an appearance during the ceremony but had left once that had passed. “Thanks.” Karna received the small bottle and drank it all in one go. Negotiations were thirsty business. “And you are.”

The others, including Envy, were in the observation area reserved for other races. Envy had slinked in not too long ago. Karna didn't say anything to her fellow sin and just pumped fists with her. "What's the plan now?" Wisdom asked.

“Well, for now, I’ll have to go un-fuck a situation Kronus left behind. Oh, he’s dead if you were still wondering.” She replied briefly.

“We suspected when he didn’t show up during the ceremony.” Valor said while smiling just like always. Everyone quite pointedly avoided looking at Envy. “What kind of mess, and do you need help?”

“I can’t explain the details, as they’ve been declared a house secret. For the same reason I can’t take you along either. However, I have a feeling that if you ask the right person, you might find out the details. The whole thing shouldn’t take too long, assuming nothing goes wrong. Most of the pressing business was handled in the meeting just now. We need to decide what to do after I’m done with this errand though.” Karna suggested. “I’m going to be somewhat busy with the heir business for some time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t deal with other outstanding issues. Additionally, if you have personal business to take care of, now would be the perfect time.”

“Hmm, I would like to start laying the foundation for my brotherhood, and others of my kind returning to the Divine Planes.” Valor said thoughtfully.

“And it might be useful if I started forming some connections in the social circles. You also mentioned the Harpy, and we should keep him updated and on our side. It’s likely I’m the best to act as an ambassador of sorts.” Hope looked at the others with a bit of judgement. Envy especially might create trouble if she ran into Lust.

“We need more time to recover from all our recent adventures and to meet with our families. We’ve gained a lot of glory with you, and now would be an excellent time to capitalize.” Lancelot admitted and nodded towards Helen. They had their own situations and needed to deal with the internal politics of their houses. They had been brought along mostly because it would've looked bad if they had not been included.

“I’m going to stick with Arjuna.” Silvanus, Arjuna’s Dragonborn assassin friend stated simply. As someone Arjuna trusted, he was more welcome than the other two.

“Arjuna will most likely be sticking with Tsumi until she recovers. Which might take a long time even with my help.” Karna pointed out.

“Then I will watch over them and cultivate. I need to integrate all the recent benefits either way.” Silvanus didn’t seem to be planning on changing his mind, and Karna didn’t mind.

“Speaking of watching over, you know I’ll be sticking with you. Even with this cleanup operation.” Envy said simply and stepped up to Karna’s shadow. It seemed like she sunk inside the shadow, not leaving even a hint of her presence, and even Karna had trouble sensing her.

“This one is recent. When did you pick it up?” She asked curiously. She’d seen similar techniques of course, but Envy hadn’t used one before.

"I always had the skill in theory, but our little crusade allowed me to pick up a few things." Envy's voice came out of her shadow.

"Fair enough." Karna was fine with that explanation and looked towards Wisdom and Kensei.

“I’m going to do some planning.” Wisdom said. “The Grand Marshall suggested another crusade with a larger scale, and I think I might as well see if I can find him and help him plan things. The logistics alone are going to be a nightmare. So much to plan and calculate.”

Kensei didn’t even bother responding and just lifted her sword.

"Alright then. I also suggest that everyone take time and try to get close to ranking up as well. We don't have endless time and we need to become stronger. The recent battles should've provided everyone with ample opportunities for forging yourselves. I'll also make any pills and arrange any cultivation resources you might require." Her tone clearly hinted that Karna had just given them an order disguised as a suggestion. Things were coming to a boiling point, and it would be very useful if they could become as strong as possible before that.

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Karna had assumed her Kun-Peng form to travel to Kronus’ house to make the trip as quickly as possible when she sensed something. She didn’t hesitate for a moment before dodging, which turned out to be the correct decision, as a powerful stream of arcane energy flashed through the place she would’ve been at if she had not dodged. The attack wasn’t powerful enough to have killed her, not even close with how sturdy she was, but it would’ve been quite bad if she’d taken it head-on.

“Do come out. There’s no point in hiding after missing your first attack.” Karna called out while returning to her normal form.

No one else said anything, but several beings clad in dark clothing surrounded her. The assailants didn't waste time by making small talk and just attacked her directly. They worked well as a team, with one acting as a supporter buffing their allies, three attacking in melee, one using a magical bow, and two casting spells at her. The melee ones also used different weapons with different reach to make countering them more difficult, while the archer waited for an opportunity to take a shot when she was vulnerable and distracted. One of the mages was gathering power for another powerful attack, while the other one cast debilitating spells at her, rendering her less able to resist. Or at least that was the plan.

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As the trio of melee dashed at her, Envy suddenly leapt out of her shadow and struck down one of the melee fighters in a single accurate blow, while also sending a deadly burst of Qi at the so-far hidden assassin, that fell to the ground clutching at their chest in pain. Karna on the other hand shifted her eyes to those of a basilisk, fully powering them to attack the enemies. The archer was the most unfortunate one as they'd been staring at her with the focus of a hawk, trying to spot any moment of weakness, and their perception was now their undoing as they fell to the ground as nothing but a corpse. One of the melee fighters started turning to stone, his movements slowed down to a point where they were not a concern. The mage that was casting a devastating spell lost their concentration, stunned by the backlash from a miscast spell, while the de-buff mage found their magic ineffective simply because Karna was quite easily countering their magic as it was cast. She knew well the effects that debilitating magic could have and prioritized stopping it.

The final melee fighter managed to close the distance, thrusting at Karna with their spear. They had clearly placed all their power into this single attack, with glowing wings of power surrounding their weapon, and it would’ve been quite dangerous if it were to hit. The problem was that with Karna’s speed and perception, it looked like the enemy was thrusting in slow motion, and she rather easily slammed aside the spear with the war hammer that materialized in her hand. The devastating power behind the attack was thrown off target, destroying a huge swath of the mountainous terrain they had been fighting in, and wasting all that effort.

It seemed like everyone froze for a moment, before all the enemies suddenly just collapsed. “Suicide?” Envy asked, a bit surprised, kicking at the petrified fighter that had just fallen down while half stone.

“No. Puppets.” Karna corrected, using the corner of her hammer to remove the veil covering the spear wielder's face, revealing a rather young human man. "Living puppets to be exact."

“Ah. Makes sense with some of the stuff that was in Kronus’ basement.” Envy suddenly made the connection. “But who’s behind the attack? Kronus is dead.”

“Obviously he wasn’t the only one connected to this. And it’s not like he’s the only one with the required knowledge. I’ve been wondering when someone would try to assassinate me. There are certainly enough people with reason to try.” Karna was rather efficient at making enemies, although she was also good at making allies. “In fact, I’m almost shocked that Hoeth at least hasn’t tried before now.”

“Well, you have been surrounded by members of the Host and even the Crusade since your meeting with the Emperor and the other successor candidates. Maybe there simply hasn’t been a good opportunity. I mean, even now we’re deep in the heart of House Titannica territory. Which does raise some questions about how they knew you’d be here.” Envy speculated while gazing at their surroundings, trying to stop any hidden enemies or spells that would explain how they’d been detected.

“That one’s easy. Someone from House Titannica gave them the information. I’m almost positive there are multiple people that were present in the earlier meeting that have reason to see me dead and they all knew I was coming this way and when. I don’t think Hoeth was behind this though. Or at least if it was, I don’t think it was a serious attempt.” Karna suggested.

“It did feel a little half-assed for a serious attempt. Their first attack was quite decent. It’s not easy to hit a Kun-Peng traveling at full speed, and while it wouldn’t have killed you, it would’ve done some damage. Their chances dropped significantly when they missed though. This was clearly not a team of elite fighters. They didn’t have the ranks nor the staying power. Well, if they really were just puppets as you said, then it makes sense why they sucked so bad. They were a sacrificial pawn meant to just take a stab at you.” Envy speculated. “I wonder if they observed the fight somehow? I can’t spot anything, but any traces might have disappeared as these guys died.

“If they succeeded, then great, and if not, then nothing important lost. And they gained some information to do better next time.” Karna nodded. “Not a bad theory.” There were also several mental aspects that might have been at play from trying to make her act more cautiously, all the way to the opposite of making her more reckless by making such a feeble attempt, but it was a fool’s errand to try and guess at those kinds of motives. “It also could’ve been the best they could do with such a short notice. That said, I think we can safely assume this won’t be the last attempt. The game has begun to quote the old proverb.”

“We should also warn the others. They might be targeted as well when they move independently.” Envy pointed out. That might have been another reason for the attack, to corral their movements by deterring them from independent action.

Karna pulled out a messaging talisman and sent the silent warning. “I think the bigger issue is that I’m almost certain these were puppets. They didn’t commit suicide. Their controller just abandoned them. That means whatever Kronus was up to is not limited to him.”

“We suspected as much already.” Envy pointed out.

“Yes, but at least I was hoping to be wrong. It’s not pleasant to get a confirmation. What we need to find out now is whether this is confined to just House Titannica, or if it’s a more widespread plot. If it is more widespread, then we have a purge on our hands. And if we have real puppet masters on our hands, then things just got a lot more complicated.”

“Agreed.” Envy nodded with pursed lips. “I’m not one to balk at most things, but even I draw a line when it comes to turning people into puppets. It’s vile. It’s also unfortunately rather effective if done right.”

“Let’s get to Kronus’ place. I need to torch it, and we might as well see what sort of puppetry we’re dealing with.” Karna suggested.

The two made the rest of the trip. The distances were not too long with the speed of Kun-Peng, though Kronus did have his dwelling in a relatively remote location, for reasons they now understood. Titans also liked their space in general, so it wasn’t suspicious in normal circumstances. With Envy hidden, the information blockade group allowed Karna to pass without any trouble. As they reached the property itself, the bodies had mostly been cleared out already after being inspected, lined up at the front to be burned along with the building, while the prisoners had been taken away for questioning.

Karna’s investigation of the basement was quickly completed, and what she found reinforced the idea that turning people into puppets was just a minor part of the horrors that had been done in that place, although one that she and Envy particularly despised. She also confirmed that this was where the worst of the worst methods for multiple already unethical fields were tested. It wasn’t just that unethical things had been done and tested here, but that the tests were almost seeking the most despicable and brutal way to accomplish those goals. Now that the enchantment hiding the basement had been broken, the entire area seemed to be filled with an aura of brutality, suffering, and gory experimentation. She could almost hear the wails of all the souls that had their lives cut short here as those voices had mixed with the very materials of the building. And those were likely the lucky ones.

It was with considerable eagerness that she turned into her fully grown phoenix form in all its glory and burned the entire area into nothing but ash. The purifying effects of the fires of a sacred phoenix were amongst the most powerful cleansing forces in existence, and her flames were quite efficient at their job. Her form had reached its full size and beyond, perhaps due to the influence of her other forms, however her flames also had to struggle against the protective enchantments of the building. Just because the defenses had been disabled before she arrived, didn’t mean that the enchantments reinforcing the building itself weren’t active. Any building in the Divine Planes would be reinforced just by the ambient power, and this place certainly had additional enchantments. Still, she happily allowed her flames to wash over the area for hours, just to make sure nothing remained. Even stone and metal was molten down and turned into slag.

Once she was done, she kept her promise and turned into her draconic form and sent her breath at the mountain itself, annihilating it completely, making sure no evidence was left behind. “Feeling better?” Envy asked.

“Better is a bad way to put it. Less tainted perhaps, knowing this place is no more. I'm afraid we'll more than likely find more of its kind before we're done." Karna grimaced.

Her words turned out to be quite true. In the next two weeks, they found three smaller similar places at sites owned by either Kronus or his allies, who were quite quickly executed after being questioned. During the questioning, and while going through every lead they’d found at the sites, they were able to deduce this wasn’t just a problem within House Titannica. That meant they would need to make contact with the other houses and reveal what they’d found to be able to further their investigation.

Some argued against it of course, unwilling to allow a dark secret like this out, even if only to a limited group of other people. They argued, rightly, that once a secret was allowed to spread like that, it would not remain a secret much longer. However, Karna was quick to point out that if she wanted to truly keep the secret, then she would have to kill all of them as well, as they'd already proven the existence of malicious actors within the House. To placate any further protests, she also pointed out that a shared dark secret was actually a great way to ensure the silence of anyone they contacted, and that a secret like this also made for a great way to form alliances.

And it just so happened that one of the other Houses implicated was House Draconis, which could prove to be a very useful ally.