[1,069 AP!]
The amount of AP obtained made him understand the true difference between levels. Even though the Flame Clown had no real significance as a villain, the record of his death deserved to be counted as an achievement worthy of generating more than a thousand AP.
At this point, Zaydas noticed that the Puppeteer, who had previously seemed controlled, fixed her sinister eyes—emitting white neon lights—on him. It seemed she realized the real danger he represented. He even saw her retreat while flying backward until she touched the barrier's edge.
When she saw that he wasn't pursuing her, the Puppeteer began punching the barrier, creating ripples in it. However, it wasn't strong enough to affect the entire barrier, only small ripples, like a pebble falling into the sea.
"She wants to escape. Won't you stop her?" Batgirl, who had come back to her senses, approached him.
She still had a strange expression, possibly because her ears were still ringing from the explosion caused by Zaydas's punch.
"Don't worry," Zaydas replied. "Unless she surpasses me in power, my barrier will remain intact."
"I understand." Batgirl seemed relieved.
From the impact of Zaydas's attack, it was obvious who was stronger. If there were still any doubts, then she definitely needed someone to evaluate her judgment skills—because there was clearly something wrong with her perception.
"The Puppeteer is no longer controlling the remaining monsters," Zaydas observed.
"She must have realized that escaping was her only option to survive." Batgirl gave him a strange look.
"Don't look at me like that," Zaydas said. "Even if you look at me that way, you won't get anything."
"Now that they're no longer under the Puppeteer's control, it might be easier to defeat them."
Observing how they began to fight less intelligently and more wildly—especially those in the Second Phase—Zaydas nodded.
"Aren't you going after the Puppeteer?" Batgirl asked.
"Of course." Zaydas flew toward the Puppeteer.
"Whaaaaaaail!"
Upon seeing him approach, the Puppeteer, in her almost ghostly form, opened her mouth wide in a diabolical manner and roared. Her scream somewhat resembled that of a banshee—even her appearance bore some resemblance to historical banshees.
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'Is her transformation related to that?'
Zaydas ignored the Puppeteer's roar and advanced. He felt a slight mental control in her scream, but it wasn't strong enough to affect him. Even when she tried to connect her controller strings to his hands, it was useless.
"Do you really think you'll be able to control me?" Zaydas laughed.
The Puppeteer's already ugly expression worsened, and she created even more strings on her controllers until they formed a fishing net, which she threw toward Zaydas.
Zaydas could have dodged but chose not to. Instead, he issued a command to the Great Sage:
'Great Sage, forcibly use Dimensional Leap back home if I don't respond within one minute.'
[Command Received!]
As soon as the net wrapped around him, Zaydas felt something violating his mind. He even felt as if his arms and legs were beginning to be controlled. However, when he increased his aura, all of it started to disappear.
"Boom!"
His violently expanding red aura dispersed any chance the Puppeteer had of controlling him.
'So, it's not that it's impossible—she's just too weak to do it…'
This was a troubling conclusion.
Being controlled was something he did not desire. And considering the possibility of a future enemy being stronger or having power equivalent to his but specializing in mind control—like Gorilla Grodd, J'onn J'onzz, etc.—it could end badly for him.
'I need to strengthen my mental defenses...'
That was the conclusion he reached after almost being controlled.
The fleeting sensation of nearly losing control over his own body was not pleasant in the slightest.
Thinking for a moment, he spent AP and created a Skill-Stealing Card.
[-200 AP]
It was different from the one he used on Issei since he had stolen the essence of an object linked to Issei's soul, whereas a skill was something less complicated—unless it was a unique and exclusive ability.
When he tried to replicate the Puppeteer's ability, the cost was 50,000 AP, a considerable amount, with a 98% chance of success. Meanwhile, the Skill-Stealing Card was much cheaper, with only a 1% to 20% chance of working.
According to the card's description, the greater the difference in strength and if the target is touched directly, the success rate increases. In other words, even if the base chance was around 10%, the odds were in his favor—meaning that, statistically, one in ten attempts could succeed.
Unlike the card he used on Issei, this one was not invisible and had the design of a ghostly hand in the center. Zaydas made it float using Psychic Power and kept it clenched in his left fist.
All of this was done within a span of five seconds.
The Puppeteer, realizing that she couldn't control him, seemed furious and opened her mouth to scream once more.
"Screeeeeeech!"
Her scream sounded slightly different, and instead of affecting him, it struck Frost, making her eyes lose focus.
Ignoring this, Zaydas teleported and appeared right in front of the Puppeteer—who was four times his size—punching her directly in the chest. Activating the card, he saw the mark of the [Puppeteer] ability and applied the card to it.
The card disintegrated.
He failed.
The Puppeteer, with her skeletal hands, tried to grab him, but he simply created ice walls around them, freezing her hands, and continued punching her while purchasing a new card.
[-200 AP]
[-200 AP]
[-200 AP]
[-200 AP]
[Success!]
[You have acquired the ability: Puppeteer!]
The card glowed, and then the ghostly hand illustration now held a Puppet Controller.
[+518 AP]
'Cashback?'
Not only did he obtain a great ability, but he also received almost 50% of what he had spent back. It was an excellent trade.
Meanwhile, he saw the Puppeteer's power regress.
"What did he do?" Frost, who had regained control, witnessed it firsthand due to her proximity.
Supergirl, who had flown in to assist, stopped right above Frost, equally surprised.
Taking the card and storing it in his pocket, Zaydas, who had lost interest in the Puppeteer, created a magic circle the size of his body. From within it, with a tiger's roar, the Power of Destruction emerged, slithering like a serpent as thick as his waist, "biting" the Puppeteer and "devouring" her until she was completely extinguished.
[+784 AP]
Canceling the red-patterned magic circle, Zaydas turned to Supergirl and Frost: "Alright, girls, we're almost done here."
Looking around, they nodded mechanically—still in shock at what they had just witnessed, especially Frost.
'He just defeated someone like the Puppeteer that easily?' Frost then thought of Superman.
Even when Superman defeated a Third Phase entity, it wasn't that simple. Several buildings and nearly an entire city had been devastated. So... was the Puppeteer weak?
Wrong! In fact, she was cataloged as one of the most dangerous among the Third Phase monsters. Even before becoming the Puppeteer, she was already extremely dangerous, with her screams capable of confusing and controlling people's minds.