Chapter 781: Epilogue – The Boy

Thwack─!!

The Dark Sorcerer swung his fist, once again striking Puppet’s face, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling.

Valerie didn’t stop his disciple, and thanks to that, Puppet’s head dropped under an even heavier blow than before.

Intense pain spread from one side of his face, and red blood dripped from his mouth onto the floor.

“Heh heh…”

Puppet grinned as he looked at his blood.

That blood was proof that he had become human.

The pain he was feeling now was also proof of his humanity.

Then, was this indescribable emotion he was feeling now also proof that he had become human?

“…Don’t make me laugh.”

Puppet answered the question that arose in his mind.

The Dark Sorcerer frowned, thinking the comment was directed at him, and raised his fist again, but Puppet stopped him.

“No, that wasn’t meant for you. Don’t hit me. It hurts.”

Suddenly, his speech became short.

The Dark Sorcerer, taking it as provocation, was about to swing his fist when Valerie once again intervened.

“You’ve become quite bold all of a sudden.”

“Bold? I’m scared right now.”

Puppet turned his swollen face and looked at his hands, still tied to the bed.

Contrary to his calm voice, his hands were trembling.

It was the instinct of the boy’s body— the will to live.

The human body was this fragile, acting against one’s will.

“Ha… Living long teaches you all sorts of things.”

“Are you really that old… or are you just pretending because you’re desperate to live?”

“Could be, or not. But what’s the matter? I’m just a fish on the chopping block. You can finish me off whenever you want.”

Suppressing his racing heart and trembling limbs, Puppet met Valerie’s implied threat head-on.

It must have been a good enough response since Valerie’s eyebrow twitched.

Did someone come to his mind? Or did he just find something he didn’t like?

Puppet, who had no Warlock’s Eye, couldn’t know for sure, but it didn’t matter anymore. Not now.

“If you’re the type who wants to live, you’d better hurry and prove you’re special. Because before long, I’ll feel it’s more profitable to butcher you and sell the meat.”

It seemed Valerie simply didn’t like Puppet.

Whatever, Puppet understood.

Dark magic, after all, was usually studied by the lower classes, but once they became Dark Sorcerers, they became just as power-hungry and greedy as any other wizard.

For someone like Puppet, who was just a resource, to act so arrogantly couldn’t have pleased him.

But on the flip side, not killing him immediately and giving him a chance meant Valerie had high expectations for him.

And those expectations specifically meant what?

“Do you want Puppet’s research? The magitech research?”

Valerie’s eyes gleamed for a moment.

“Why do you think that?”

“Because you’re the kind of person who wants to live forever, like Puppet.”

Puppet hit a sore spot without hesitation.

Valerie’s eyes widened, and in doing so, he practically admitted it.

With his wide eyes, he silently asked.

How did you know?

It wasn’t a tough guess. Anyone with power, wealth, and influence desired the same predictable thing.

In particular, those around the ‘Puppet Immortal’ were full of people like that.

“So, that’s why you replaced your body with machines?”

Puppet asked Valerie, who had replaced his weak human body with machines. Valerie remained silent.

“And if you could, you’d replace your bones and organs too, right?”

Valerie stayed silent again.

That silence meant Puppet saw through him perfectly.

Without a Warlock’s Eye, Puppet gazed at Valerie with just his normal eyes.

A face contorted in discomfort, yet unable to take his eyes off; subtle beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

His expression revealed nothing but intense greed, desire, and doubt.

“You… are you a test subject for Puppet?”

“Does that matter?”

“It does. Your treatment depends on that. If you’re a test subject, I’ll treat you like one. If you’re a Dark Sorcerer, I’ll treat you like a Dark Sorcerer.”

Lies.

If he were a test subject, they’d preserve him intact. If he were a rival Dark Sorcerer, they’d surely cripple him.

They probably released his restraints just to see if he could use dark magic.

“I’m no Dark Sorcerer.”

Puppet replied, looking at Valerie.

He could no longer use dark magic, so he couldn’t call himself a Dark Sorcerer anymore.

Valerie gazed at him with his right eye, which housed a crystal orb. The surrounding Dark Sorcerers also observed Puppet.

Trying to discern whether Puppet was lying or telling the truth.

In the meantime, Puppet took a look around the workshop.

Hanging corpses filled the vast space, and magitech equipment, presumably stolen from various places, dotted the area.

There was a mounted machine gun that used magic power to scan the area and fire at targets.

A totem turret that could discharge electric magic within a hundred meters.

Strength Gauntlets for augmenting physical power.

A spatial sniper rifle capable of sniping across space.

A spatial teleportation supply device.

There were even multiple corpses equipped with prosthetic combat limbs.

They were probably created and customized for sale.

Some families that couldn’t acquire quality corpses of wizards or Dark Sorcerers would either stitch together multiple corpses to make zombie golems or sell corpses enhanced with magitech equipment at a high price.

Though magitech equipment was expensive— often more expensive than the corpse itself— finding a large supply could change the story.

The Valerie Family, the Flesh Cook, the Eternal Child Fen, the Pied Piper, and the downfall of lesser Dark Sorcerer families following the chaos caused by Sleeping Beauty… with such competition eliminated, there was a window to dominate the Dark Sorcerer market.

It was suddenly amusing.

Just some time ago, it seemed like the world was about to end, yet here they still were, doing the same things.

There didn’t seem to be a ‘happily-ever-after’ ending like in fairy tales.

And more amusing than that was the fact that Puppet himself was now at the center of it all.

For what purpose?

Puppet wondered while blankly observing the blinking lights of the magitech equipment.

-… .- -.- . -… -.. …- ..- …- .-.. .-.. . -.-.

The blinking lights continued in a regular pattern.

Just then, the voices of Valerie’s underlings reached Puppet’s ears.

“It’s vague, but it seems he’s not lying.”

“What about the rest of you?”

“Same here. There were plenty of moments where a Dark Sorcerer would have used magic, but he didn’t.”

“And don’t forget— he didn’t use magic right after seeing the old man die.”

“-Rasmussen.”

Puppet suddenly interjected.

Everyone turned to look at him.

“Leopold Rasmussen. That’s the old man’s name.”

The statement was so out of the blue that the Dark Sorcerers nearby let out suppressed giggles.

“He’s definitely not a Dark Sorcerer. I mean, in this situation, he’s remembering the name of a past subject…”

“Indeed, it seems unlikely.”

“I see.”

Valerie agreed with his disciples.

From his perspective as well, Puppet didn’t resemble any Dark Sorcerer he knew.

Puppet had to admit it too, amusing as it was.

“Well, whether or not he’s a Dark Sorcerer isn’t important. What matters is—”

“—how much I know about Puppet’s research, right?”

Puppet interrupted Valerie again.

Despite being interrupted, Valerie didn’t show anger, nodding slowly instead.

“Exactly, it’s why I’ve forgiven your arrogance. So, how much do you know?”

“Everything.”

Puppet confessed without hesitation.

Even if his body had changed, his mind and memories hadn’t.

Every detail of his past research was still vividly etched into Puppet’s mind.

With the room sinking deeper into a chilling silence, the only sound was the audible gulping of those around.

“If what he says is true, a new kingpin could rise from those bleak shadows.”

Valerie had a warning, but his eagerness was evident.

“If that’s a lie—”

“—why should I lie? I have no intention of telling you anyway.”

“What…?”

Valerie’s face, a mix of excitement and greed, twisted in disbelief.

A treasure trove, the most expensive of all, had just vanished like a mirage before his eyes.

Pssh-! Pssh-! Pssh-!

Valerie’s body hissed loudly with magical steam escaping erratically from the pipes attached to him.

Unable to hold back any longer, Valerie jerked to his feet.

But he didn’t strike Puppet.

If he damaged Puppet too much, the treasure he had finally acquired might get ruined.

It was like being unable to kick a stalled expensive car for fear of damaging it.

But the difference here was that these Dark Sorcerers knew how to get the car back on the road.

Valerie put his face close to Puppet’s.

“You fool! If you had cooperated, I would’ve treated you well! Did you think I’d forgive such arrogance!? What can you possibly do?!”

The answer was that there was nothing Puppet could do. Which was exactly why he did it.

“Enough! Take him away! We’ll get the information out of him another way. First, let’s clean this place up.”

Valerie barked orders at his subordinates before stepping away from Puppet.

The disciples, following their master’s orders, moved to take Puppet away.

It was at that moment.

“I know there’s nothing I can do. I’m fully aware.”

Puppet opened his mouth.

No one dared to interrupt him, not when his value had just skyrocketed.

They couldn’t risk missing out on any more information.

Using the brief moment of freedom he’d been granted, Puppet spoke.

“Since I can no longer use dark magic, the only thing I can do now is pray.”

“Pray? Ha!”

Valerie and the surrounding Dark Sorcerers burst into mocking laughter.

In this workshop, how many people had cried out to gods, only to be ignored and left to their fates? The idea was simply laughable.

But Puppet didn’t care.

Even if God abandoned him, even if it meant facing torture, accepting that fate was enough. The act of being able to pray as a human being was what mattered.

“Lilith…!”

Puppet prayed.

“Help me.”

The Dark Sorcerers, stunned by the strange prayer, began to frown as their expressions contorted.

Vrrrrrrrr…

Magitech equipment installed throughout the workshop started activating of its own accord, responding to Puppet’s prayer.

Vrrrummmm…!

Pssh-! Pssh-! Pssh-!

Clank…!

Somewhere deep in the workshop, a communication device automatically powered on, and a woman’s voice emanated from it.

[Gladly.]

The magitech equipment released refined magic energy, which gathered into Puppet’s bound hands, forming not a typical circular magic pattern, but a ring-shaped one.

In sync with Puppet’s gestures, the magical ring moved.

Click.

The surrounding magitech equipment activated.

For example, the mounted machine gun that scans the area using magic to hunt for targets.

Brrrrrt!! Brrrrt!!

The gun, mounted on a flexible stand like the neck of a giraffe, sprang to life and sprayed deadly bullets at the Dark Sorcerers around it.

As the bullets streaked across the room, Dark Sorcerers either ducked for cover or were struck down in their tracks.

The bullets were also aimed at Puppet.

“Damn it–ugh!”

Not only did the bullets pierce through a Dark Sorcerer lunging at Puppet, but they also shredded the restraints that held him to the bed.

Though his hands were the only part freed, it was enough.

“Stop him!”

One of the Dark Sorcerers generated a shield to block the incoming barrage of bullets.

Brrrrrt!! Brrrrt!!

It seemed this Dark Sorcerer was of a high caliber since his shield withstood the machine gun’s relentless onslaught. Encouraged by his success, others began erecting shields as they drew closer to Puppet.

Puppet wasted no time. He moved the ring-shaped magic pattern in his hands.

Vrrrrrr!

A totem turret that released electric magic powered on.

The cylindrical turret emitted a buzz as the surrounding air crackled with electricity, discharging enormous amounts of energy upwards.

Zzzzzzzt—!!

The electrified air struck directly above the Dark Sorcerers, who had only been protecting themselves from the front.

Boom!

When the flashes of light subsided, all that remained in the Dark Sorcerers’ place was charred husks.

The former Dark Sorcerers’ husks toppled over like burnt logs as the remaining Dark Sorcerers, who had been observing the situation, trembled before crumbling to the ground in terror.

Despite not having the Warlock’s Eye, Puppet could sense their emotions.

Shock, fear, confusion, terror.

Their minds were likely paralyzed by the sudden and incomprehensible turn of events.

Puppet carefully manipulated the magic ring that Lilith had given him.

Whish—snap!

He summoned a Strength Gauntlet from atop a nearby workstation, slipping it over his hand to tear off the remaining restraints binding him.

Riiip!

[Body Control]

Just as Puppet finished freeing himself, Valerie’s booming voice echoed throughout the space.

Any Dark Sorcerers who had been hiding and watching the scene suddenly stood up like puppets on strings, rushing toward Puppet.

Body Control was a manipulative type of dark magic that allowed the caster to control the bodies of others like dolls.

It was no easy dark magic to execute.

Controlling corpses differed vastly from manipulating the living.

Using this magic in a room full of corpses when he could have easily controlled the dead was a deliberate decision—there was a reason for it.

Despite this, Puppet mowed them down with his machine gun while Valerie reacted swiftly.

[Corpse Amp]

Valerie activated the Corpse Amp spell.

It was dark magic that could amplify magic using freshly deceased Dark Sorcerers as mediums.

Valerie, using the corpse of a fresh Dark Sorcerer, amplified his dark magic.

He did so through this spell.

[Revive]

[Objective Hate]

Using the amplified dark magic, Valerie cast both [Revive] to reanimate corpses and [Objective Hate] to target Puppet specifically.

The soaring tendrils of dark magic spread from Valerie to his dead disciples, transforming into a swirling wave that cascaded toward the corpses.

It resembled a black tidal wave, flooded with necromantic energy.

“Gurrrghhh…!”

“Grrrrrrrr!”

“Aaah… Aaaaah!!”

Nearly a hundred corpses roared and rose simultaneously.

“Die!”

At Valerie’s command, they all rushed Puppet simultaneously.

Puppet tried to hold them off with the machine gun and the totem turret, but there were simply too many.

Bam! Bam!

And yet, he managed to fend them off.

One of the reanimated corpses, armed with prosthetic combat limbs, had fallen under Puppet’s control and used its claw and chainsaw to cut through the advancing undead.

“Dark magic…?!”

Valerie was shocked, having lost control of the corpse.

However, Puppet still wasn’t using dark magic.

He wasn’t controlling the corpses. He was controlling the magitech equipment attached to their bodies.

The saws, claws, and metal fists were powered by magitech.

Even with so many zombie-like creatures swarming towards him, they were no match for the tech-driven defenses Puppet had in place.

Whirr… Boom!

At least, as long as their specs weren’t high enough to overpower them.

Valerie shattered a tech-equipped zombie, an auto-turret, and a totem with an empowered magic laser shot from his mechanical arm.

Anger turned Valerie’s face red and blue from the thought of being overpowered by a mere boy.

He aimed his mechanical arm at Puppet once more, preparing to fire another magic laser.

As magic power concentrated into the brass arm, ready to fire.

Boom—!

It exploded.

Puppet had shot a spatial sniper rifle just before the energy could be released, causing Valarie’s arm to explode catastrophically.

Before Valerie could unleash the magic gathered at his fingertips, the high-speed sniper round hit, wrecking his arm and causing severe injuries.

“Aargh… Aaargh!!”

The pain sent Valerie writhing on the ground, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Even while writhing in agony, Valerie threw a fierce glare toward Puppet.

“What… are you…?!”

Puppet, without a word, looked down at him.

Though their roles had entirely reversed, Valerie’s rage flared up and he invoked another dark spell.

[Flesh Clay]

Flesh Clay was a manipulation-type dark spell that allowed the caster to mold corpses like clay.

The spell’s power varied depending on the number of corpses and the strength of the caster, making it highly versatile.

It could form weapons to pierce enemies, shields to block attacks, or massive zombie golems to tear through enemies with brute force.

“Groooar─!!!”

Dozens of corpses merged together under Valerie’s control, forming into a gigantic figure.

The zombie golem created from the corpses was massive. As it stood, its sheer size caused the ceiling of the workshop to collapse.

Through the holes in the falling ceiling, the sky was visible.

The sky seemed so far away.

‘Perfect.’

“I’ll crush you completely!”

Valerie’s voice, coming from within the golem, roared.

His tone was filled with both anger and confidence.

Puppet agreed.

With the size of the golem, neither the sniper rifle nor the zombie with magitech equipment would be able to stop it.

But in the end, Puppet agreed with Valerie’s statement that he would be crushed completely.

“You’ll crush it perfectly. That’s just fine.”

Puppet manipulated the ring-shaped magic array in his hands and activated the spatial teleportation supply device.

This piece of magitech allowed specific objects to be relocated to a designated location.

Under Puppet’s control, the spatial teleportation device emitted magic power into the surroundings, gathering every scattered object.

Broken fragments of magitech equipment, tools from workstations, debris from the collapsed ceiling— all fused into a single mass.

Normally, teleporting such heavy and random objects into mid-air would be almost impossible.

But with Puppet’s skills added to it, the teleportation succeeded, and thus the massive clump of debris was suspended directly…

Above the golem where Valerie was hidden.

Whoosh…

The tremendous object hurtled down from the sky, crashing into the golem’s head and obliterating everything beneath it.

Including Valerie, hidden within.

Bang!!

***

Once the dust finally settled, the remains of the golem came into view.

It hadn’t been entirely crushed.

The mass of debris wasn’t as heavy as Puppet had hoped.

Still, it was enough to render the golem immobile.

As a result, Valerie crawled out of the squashed corpse pile, his body covered in gore.

“Uuugh! Uuuugh─!!”

The ambitious Dark Sorcerer, who had hoped to rise to power, vomited bile until his insides were empty, trembling violently.

The pain in his body was one thing, but the blow to his mind had been far worse.

It seemed that he couldn’t comprehend why things had turned out this way.

“Tch, relying solely on dark magic gets you nowhere.”

A shadow loomed over Valerie and someone spoke.

He slowly looked up to see Puppet standing there, holding a broken metal rod.

“…”

“I’ve told you multiple times— the true power of dark magic is in catching your opponent off guard, yet…”

“Y-you… are you really Puppet?!”

282: Valerie yelled out in utter shock, but Puppet shook his head in denial.

“No. My name isn’t Puppet. I finally remembered what my name was. My name is-”

-Thunk!

A metal rod stabbed into Valerie’s neck.

“It’s Pinocchio. That was the name my grandfather gave me.”

Valerie, with her throat pierced, sputtered and collapsed, fizzling blood. Puppet—or rather, Pinocchio—sat blankly beside her body and let out a deep sigh.

There was no joy of survival, no thrill of victory in his expression.

Only confusion and exhaustion could be seen.

From the communication device tossed on the floor, tangled in the aftermath of the battle, came Lilith’s voice.

“Do you regret it?”

Lilith asked Pinocchio, who had done anything to become human.

She asked if he regretted the actions he had taken on his journey to become human.

“No. Not at all.”

Pinocchio shook his head in denial.

Regret… now?

Just because of a few old men and children I barely even knew dying?

That wasn’t worth shedding tears over—a cheap, cliched melodrama.

After all the things he had done to become human, regret at this point? It was absurd.

It was hypocrisy.

Becoming human, gaining everything he’d ever wanted, only to start having moral qualms now—that was pure hypocrisy.

······.

···········.

·················Yet, strangely enough.

Very strangely, Pinocchio’s hand, which claimed to feel no regret, trembled ever so slightly.

Looking at his trembling hand, Pinocchio grasped it tightly and spoke.

“Even if I could go back, I would do the same things to become human.”

······.

“Even this sense of regret feels like an indulgent luxury to me.”

······.

“Therefore, I will not regret anything. I will savor this blessing and live, and if it leads me to Hell, so be it. That is my choice.”

Pinocchio clenched his hand so tightly that it turned as pale as a sheet.

Lilith watched his hand as she asked,

“So, how do you plan to live now?”

“I have no idea… how I should live.”

Pinocchio, who had tried to resurrect his grandfather, said this.

Back then, it had seemed clear what he needed to do, but now, he wasn’t so sure.

Whether he truly wanted to do it or not…

He needed advice.

He needed to know how to live.

He needed to know how to resolve this inexplicable emotion inside him.

After sitting deep in thought for some time, Pinocchio finally stood up, gathering the still-intact magitech equipment, and asked Lilith.

“I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you know where Sleeping Beauty is?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I need to ask her something.”

Pinocchio remembered that there was only one person who could pull the princess trapped in the Sleeping Forest back into the real world.

“I need to know what I should do. I should ask what He wants from me.”

Lilith, after a moment of thought, answered.

“······She’s quite far away. It will be a long journey.”

“That’s perfect.”

Pinocchio said this as he packed the magitech equipment he had gathered and began walking in the direction Lilith had indicated.

And thus began the journey of the boy named Pinocchio.