“Wow, what the heck is this thing…”
Quinn felt a headache coming on. The situation hadn't improved after he chopped off the puppet's head; it had only become more troublesome.
The "puppet" black-robed man's head was gone, but his body seemed disoriented, jumping around inside the barrier and letting out an occasional howl that caused even stronger mental attacks.
Quinn knew instantly—this thing was about to lose control. If he didn’t act quickly, the situation would get even uglier—in other words, this boss had a second form.
What comforted him was that without the interference of this demigod, the remaining Extraordinary members of the Rose School had been dealt with by the support of the Mechanical Heart team.
However, due to the special nature of the “Cradle,” they couldn’t pass through its flame barrier to assist Quinn until the “Cradle” determined the victor.
“Now what…”
The “headless” puppet was getting increasingly agitated, its body gradually transforming into a massive puppet entwined with vines. Curses burst forth aimlessly, creating a suffocating pressure.
Quinn rummaged through his pocket and pulled out his last iron golem, infusing it with spirituality.
“Go!”
The iron golem expanded on the spot, transforming into a three-meter-tall iron colossus, lunging at the struggling and howling “headless” puppet.
The now gigantic “headless” puppet was entangled. Its ability to manipulate inanimate objects was ineffective against the golem since it was composed of broken spirits, making it half-alive.
The wooden body of the “headless” puppet slowly grew tough bristles, its hands gradually turning into claws, frost creeping across the ground. The iron golem was struggling to hold it off, and Quinn couldn't hesitate any longer.
Taking three steps in two, he charged into the sea of curses, repeatedly healing himself from random injuries like fractured skulls and knotted blood vessels, until he leaped onto the neck of the “headless” puppet.
By then, the iron golem was on the verge of disintegration.
Viciously plunging the Cradle’s scythe into the “headless” puppet’s spine, Quinn braced himself for its frantic retaliation, readying his next move.
He grinned,
“Here, taste my French kiss!”
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Smack! Smack! Quinn bent down swiftly, both arms plunging into the flesh surrounding the “headless” puppet’s spine.
While trying to control the monster's mind to reduce its madness, he also spurred the growth of endless vines, which began to rampantly expand within the puppet's body.
“Waaaaa—”
The piercing wail, like a baby’s cry, struck Quinn's spirit like a heavy hammer, and he vaguely heard the illusionary murmurs of the Fallen Mother Goddess again.
“Classic two-slices-of-bread-and-cheese corruption... good thing I’m used to it!”
Forcing himself to focus, he meticulously nurtured the vines.
Wherever the cold, malevolent vines spread, the puppet’s flesh dissolved, feeding the vines which swelled further. The monster seemed to become nutrients for the vines' growth.
“Good child… good child… damn brat! Stop crying!”
As the limbs broke and reformed, the puppet’s retaliations grew fiercer. Quinn gradually closed his eyes, quietly feeling the struggles beneath him weaken.
Until only the skeletal frame and the entwined vines of the colossal puppet remained, Quinn finally ceased the growth, and the Cradle’s black flame barrier dissipated into the air.
Father Utravsky cautiously approached, still maintaining a certain distance.
“Phew… should be over, right?”
Quinn leaped off, landing on his back, seemingly with no intention of landing safely.
Father Utravsky hurried over to catch him, giving the playful bishop a helpless look.
After healing them both, Quinn waited for the Extraordinary characteristics of the demigod’s “puppet” to condense, forming a blood-red ball of light.
By then, the Mechanical Heart and Night Watcher teams had arrived.
“Stay away from the skeleton and the nearby head; there might still be curses on them.”
Quinn warned them before turning his gaze to the demigod's skeletal remains still standing:
“Leaving it like this seems like a waste, we’re already here…”
With a wave of his hand, the vines rapidly expanded, continuing to proliferate wildly, slowly re-covering the demigod’s skeleton, forming a headless vine giant exuding strong curse energy.
“Hey, don’t leave.”
Quinn grabbed the departing spirit of the black-robed puppet, ignoring its desperate and angry wails, tearing it into many broken soul fragments.
“Might as well make a golem; seems fitting.”
Quinn, like a child finding a new toy, kneaded the spirit fragments, while the others saw him seemingly playing with the air. In reality, Quinn was molding the broken spirit into a shape suitable for the demigod golem’s body.
“Captain, what’s he doing?”
A Night Watcher team member whispered curiously. The Night Watcher captain squinted at Quinn's hands, then exclaimed in disbelief,
“That’s… the spirit of the Rose School’s demigod! He’s manipulating the demigod’s spirit!”
The Mechanical Heart team leader adjusted his glasses, astonished:
“A demigod-level golem…”
After a while, Quinn stopped, looking troubled at the now still spirit, scratching his head.
“The spirit seems too weak, dissipating too quickly…”
Then, to everyone's disbelief, he drove his fingernails into his skull, tearing off a piece of his own soul!
Quinn kneaded the soul fragment into his palm, blending the ferocious, polluted spirit with his own calm, corrupted soul until it formed a stable soul cluster.
“There, that should do it!”
Seemingly unfazed by the soul-deep pain, he tossed the soul cluster into the cursed golem’s body.
After a moment, the golem emanated a lifelike aura, its curse energy spreading like liquid over the southern part of Backlund Bridge.
To him, everything seemed perfectly normal, but the other Extraordinary members were all silent.
After a while, sensing the atmosphere, he turned around, confused at the quiet group:
“What’s up?”
His expression slightly out of control, he appeared to be trying to convey his confusion.
Father Utravsky sighed inwardly, feeling the scene was oddly familiar.