LotM: Surviving as a Marionette

"Protect your mother." Baron Lamud said.

"I might be away for a very long time, and at the same time... at the same time I cannot be certain what I will do when I remember something again." He leaned back against the high-backed chair behind him, not knowing what he was thinking about, his voice very low, as if wanting to say something, but soon only leaving behind a final sigh, "Don, my child..."

What the Death God's fall and the contingencies He left behind symbolized—Don, whose knowledge of these matters hadn't been shielded, understood very clearly.

Don remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

He didn't stop it, nor did he have any way to stop it.

He was only Sequence 5, not an angel, much less a deity.

...

[Host, the rules brought by the mystical item [Sinner's Shackles] are as follows:]

The mystical item [Sinner's Shackles] was a mystical item created from the Beyonder characteristics left behind by a Sequence 6: Judge of the Arbiter pathway.

With the same rank and Beyonder characteristics as Sequence 6, but when created through the system's built-in 'Artisan Module,' mystical items made using Beyonder characteristics would have their retained extraordinary abilities conform to Don's imagination, and the negative effects would likewise be within his tolerance.

The system gave this mystical item only one constant extraordinary ability: weakening the mystical while strengthening reality. Under the condition of having only one constant extraordinary ability, even a Beyonder who was about to digest a Sequence 6 potion would find it difficult to break free from this 'decree' in a short time.

This had extremely high compatibility with the extraordinary abilities of a Marionettist.

Weakening the mystical while strengthening reality—this not only meant that the Beyonder's own extraordinary abilities would be severely weakened, but mystical items, charms, and other such things on their person would similarly be weakened, thereby prolonging the time needed to break free and assisting the Marionettist's spirit body threads in controlling others.

Of course, the negative effect it brought was that within twenty-four hours after use, the user needed to follow the rules established by [Sinner's Shackles].

If the rules were violated, severe punishment would be suffered.

Don: "Feels like some kind of rules-based horror game."

[Current rule: Family is a warm harbor. Only with righteous fathers and benevolent mothers, brotherly friendship and fraternal respect, can family harmony be maintained.]

[Remaining time: 22:59:52.]

Don: "Even more like a rule-based horror game... and there's only one rule..." It didn't look too difficult.

[Host, you're clearly relieved too early...]

Walking out of the study, Don planned to test his marionette. His current psychology was like a child who had just gotten a new toy, maintaining some curiosity.

"Don."

He hadn't walked far when Don saw his dear silly, cough cough, older brother.

Fake smile.jpg

You better have something important.

Don coughed lightly a few times. His spirituality told him it would be best not to get too entangled right now. "Father is looking for you."

Owen had just wanted to say something when he was interrupted. Hearing that father was looking for him, he didn't say any more nonsense and said seriously, "Mother wants to make a trip to Tingen. You should go with mother later. Tingen hasn't been very peaceful recently."

Don made an OK gesture.

Owen turned and walked into the study where Baron Lamud was, while Don headed toward the garden.

Lady Boianca's health hadn't been very good since giving birth to him. She didn't like going out, maintaining only the most basic social interactions. Knowing this, father had planted many flowers that Lady Boianca liked in the castle's garden. Ever since the castle was filled with flowers, Lady Boianca had spent very long periods in the garden, tending to the precious flowers she and Baron Lamud cultivated together.

On the way, Don summoned his marionette.

As a marionette, its essence was almost equivalent to a dead Beyonder, and it could easily be stored in the system's space.

Tsk tsk, this system is quite convenient...

[Host, interested in switching pathways to Mysticologist/Alchemist?]

Don: "Get lost, thank you."

Look how polite he was—even when cursing, he had to say thank you.

[Roger that.]

The system efficiently rolled away again. Don looked at this somewhat tall man, acquired his vision, experienced immersive VR while recalling the basic information about his sequence.

The most powerful aspect of a Sequence 6 Devil was the ability to demonize, while also providing advance perception of malice and danger.

A devilish form was quite powerful compared to other Sequence 6s who weren't particularly good at close combat. Of course, this couldn't match the Sequence 6 of the Warrior pathway, Dawn Paladin, but compared to his kind of fragile spellcaster Marionettist, it was already much stronger.

"Add to that the system space's instant access and storage—if someone tries close-range DPS next time, let them experience the feeling of being suddenly pinned down and ground into the dirt by an appearing devil."

"Tank Beria—as his name suggests, he naturally has to shoulder the responsibility of a tank."

"...However, the Beria family—traces of Blood Santify Sect activity nearby? Hmm, I should report to the Goddess Church sometime, hope they'll pay attention to it."

Don, who had learned quite a bit from books, naturally and matter-of-factly began to take advantage of the Goddess's wool. In the current Fourth Epoch, the Pale Disaster and the war stirred up by Death along with the Primordial Demoness had already ended. The gods no longer walked the earth, and the churches of the deities were gradually being established one by one in every city of the Loen Kingdom as everything was being rebuilt.

And now, the Nighthawks had not yet taken shape, the police system of the Loen Kingdom had not yet appeared either. In the Loen Kingdom where everything was being rebuilt, there were still quite a few cultists, evil god rituals, and factors related to supernatural powers roaming about. Even if they wanted to manage it, the church sometimes truly had the will but lacked the power.

At the end of the day, the newly born kingdom was strong on the outside but weak within. It had not yet established good diplomatic relations with surrounding countries, and was just one spark away from ignition.

Even the Goddess didn't have the ability to make churches spring up all at once, nor the ability to eliminate every cultist.

After all, deities had things that deities needed to do, and human affairs should be left for humans to handle.

After examining his marionette, Don put it away and came to the garden.

In the garden, Don walked to Lady Boianca who was sitting in the pavilion, looking at his mother who was tending to the flowers in the potted plants. "Mother, when are you planning to go to Tingen?"

Lady Boianca paused for a moment, stood up, and looked at her child with smiling eyes. "In a little while. Your father might go too. Don, I've been having a dream recently."

"What dream?"

Don was stunned for a moment and asked subconsciously.

"I'm no longer very clear about it, but I vaguely feel it's not a very good dream."

Lady Boianca had a smile in her eyes. She was just an ordinary person. The essence of dreams was revelation given by the Spirit World. Logically speaking, even if an ordinary person's dreams had prophetic signs, their accuracy couldn't be guaranteed.

But Don always felt that Lady Boianca already knew something.

(End of Chapter)