Chapter 9: The Three Legends and the Puppets

“Then I’ll begin, alright? Don’t imagine I’ll explain this to you repeatedly, like a teacher would. This is the only time.”

Akuma smoothed the slight wrinkles from her clothes, which had gotten rumpled when Mo Ya had pinned her against the wall. She adopted a mysterious air.

“Do you know? There are three legends circulating within this academy…”

“No.”

Mo Ya’s response, it had to be said, was absolutely devastating.

Akuma had painstakingly built up a suspenseful atmosphere, a surge of emotion brewing within her, ready to launch into a grand exposition. Yet, Mo Ya had interrupted her just like that.

It was a manner that was utterly maddening.

“Would you please not interrupt me?”

Akuma leaned helplessly against the nearby wall, as if struck by some unspeakable, grievous blow.

‘Calm down, Akuma,’ she thought. ‘How could someone like this make your heart race? It must be a delusion, definitely a delusion!’

“I understand.”

Mo Ya said this, leaning against the wall beside Akuma, casting a profound gaze out the window. It was a look no one could decipher. Akuma was suddenly stunned by Mo Ya’s action.

Then, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks, and the agitation in her blood grew even more intense.

“In any case! I’m going to start now!”

She suddenly cleared her throat, attempting to mask the surging tides and tumultuous waves in her heart with a loud voice.

Yet, this only earned her Mo Ya’s expression of “caring for the intellectually challenged.” She averted her gaze once more, her eyes darting erratically up and down, though Mo Ya seemed oblivious to Akuma’s strange behavior.

“In this academy, three mysterious legends circulate. They are stories that no one can prove, yet no one can deny, passed down among each new generation of students. And one of those stories is about the Puppets.”

Akuma declared this, swiftly closing the distance to Mo Ya’s face and raising her finger.

“Oh, continue.”

“…” Akuma’s rich body language garnered not a single shred of praise from Mo Ya, nor even a ripple of emotion. This left her feeling a little disheartened.

She didn’t even realize that she would feel disappointed by Mo Ya’s lack of response—something utterly impossible just minutes ago. Was this, indeed, the majesty of a King (van♂)?

Regardless, if he wanted her to continue, then she would. After all, it was all common knowledge anyway.

“Once, for reasons unknown to us humans, the Ethers poured out in vast numbers from a single nexus point. What we deemed impossible, happened then. Massive quantities of Ethers ravaged human lives and lands, alarming the Royal Palace.

They immediately dispatched elite troops to confront them. There was some success; in the areas where the troops went, the Ether disturbances were quickly suppressed.

The people adored them, presenting them with beautiful green flower crowns woven from blossoms.

However, the Ethers did not appear from just one nexus. Vast numbers of Ethers emerged across the kingdom, and the army was no longer sufficient.

If this continued, the people would eventually be consumed by the Ethers, which was the worst possible outcome for the Royal Palace.

And it was precisely when everyone believed there was no hope of salvation that they appeared.”

“The Puppets?”

“Yes, the Puppets, a special unit, appeared. A force of merely ten individuals, they seemed so small and insignificant on that battlefield. But… it is always the few who change the tide of battle, and their arrival was no exception. The Ethers began to retreat.”

“Retreat? Why? There were only ten of them, right?”

Akuma shook her head in denial, revealing the profound secret.

“The reason is simple: each one of them was an army unto themselves.”

It was Mo Ya’s turn to fall silent. Akuma’s words were remarkably clear and straightforward. To put it more colloquially, one of them was more efficient than an entire army.

While armies, equipped with fine gear, hesitated and pondered battle strategies, the Puppets would stride into hordes of Ethers, armed with cleavers freshly bought from the market, becoming utterly surrounded.

Then, they would hack wildly in every direction, shouting, “Oh no… I’m lost.”

If there was no path, they would simply carve their own.

Thinking about it this way, the Puppets truly were terrifying. But this explanation failed to satisfy Mo Ya, for he still didn’t understand why Akuma would compare him to a Puppet.

He was merely a bottom-feeder; there should be no common ground.

“I…”

He was about to say something, but Akuma swiftly covered his mouth with her hand.

“I know what you want to ask. I haven’t gotten to that part yet.”

“Mmm-hmm…”

Even with his mouth covered, Mo Ya remained as placid as an ancient well, slowly nodding his head.

“The Puppets possess immense combat power. They are secret weapons, cultivated by the kingdom from a young age. And their training ground is right here, within this magic academy.”

Akuma released her hand from Mo Ya’s face, casually flicking it through the air, and adopted a serious expression.

“Humans are emotional beings, but they are different. Just as their name suggests, they are puppets. They are emotionless machines…

Those who enter the Puppets are subjected to high-intensity training and secret arts to strip them of their human emotions, transforming them into specialized machines solely for combating Ethers. The reason for this is also quite simple, because…”

“Machines are always easier to control than people.”

Akuma finished, speaking these words almost as if in lamentation.

Mo Ya felt a touch of surprise at this. This man, it seemed, was unexpectedly interesting.

“Now do you understand why I think you’re like a Puppet, you bottom-feeder?”

“Perhaps.”

Mo Ya nodded, preparing to leave. After taking a few steps forward, he chose to stop again.

Akuma was still standing there, her face a little flushed?

Mo Ya suddenly felt as if he was hallucinating. He definitely needed a good night’s sleep when he returned to his dorm today.

Despite this, he hadn’t forgotten why he had stopped.

“Aren’t you going to class?”

“Eh… well… walking with a bottom-feeder like you would detract from my image.”

Akuma cleared her throat, putting on the same exaggerated performance as she had during class that morning.

Mo Ya chose to ignore her, slowly turning the corner. He vanished from Akuma’s sight.

He had finally left, but Akuma’s heart pounded even more fiercely.

Mo Ya’s forceful demeanor replayed in her mind, and she felt a burning sensation on her face.

Yet, that wasn’t the point at the moment. She tremblingly raised her arm, gazing at the hand that had just covered Mo Ya’s lips.

Her hand moved back and forth between her chest and cheek, appearing hesitant.

“What exactly am I doing…?”

As if waking from a dream, Akuma finally lowered her hand and walked towards the classroom.

‘This bottom-feeder is surprisingly interesting.’

***

“Akuma, Mo Ya, Building B, Room 233.

That concludes the personnel assignments for dorm reallocation. Class dismissed.”

Indeed, fate sometimes truly does play tricks.