Awakening of the Weakest Slayer

[Your Puppet has been destroyed]

The voice announced in his head, a final, unceremonious eulogy for the creature that had been his only true ally in this hellish place.

Sezel closed his eyes for a second, for a moment of peace for the monster who had helped him multiple times in this hellish place, it even protected Mari when he was under the influence of hypnosis.

'Thanks,' he thought, the sentiment a strange, unfamiliar ache in his chest. 'You did a lot for me. However disgusting you were, you did help me a lot.'

But there was no time for sentimentality. If his puppet was dead, that meant the beasts were now after him. He tried to increase his speed, to push his battered body to its limits, but failed miserably.

And then, something strange happened. The black and purple energy that had made up the puppet's body, that had given it form and substance, returned to him. It swirled around his body, like a phantom shroud, and then seeped inside, spreading through his every nerve and muscle.

Sezel felt as if he were being fed with power. He suddenly felt a surge of strength, a vitality that he hadn't realized he had been missing.

He was startled for a second. He had never felt the strength leave his body when he had called upon his puppet. But now, as the energy returned to him, as it filled the empty, aching spaces within him, it felt as if his long-lost strength was finally back.

He gritted his teeth, his body finally feeling a lot better, his mind a little clearer. He halted abruptly and crouched down in front of Mari, gesturing for her to climb onto his back.

Mari, understanding the severity of the situation, the urgency in his eyes, climbed on without any question.

Sezel once again shot up to his feet and turned to run, but froze at the sight of Vesta standing at the other end of the factory, her form a silent, menacing silhouette.

He quickly turned to where he had entered from, but here, too, the way was blocked by several beasts, their forms, a solid wall. He was trapped, caught in the factory with no way of going out. His own plan had backfired on him.

Whatever this beast, or whatever it was that was controlling them, was, it was more than just intelligent. It was cunning. And now, the flame of uncovering its identity, burned brighter inside Sezel's heart.

He took in a few ragged breaths and then, with a slow, deliberate movement that was a silent admission of defeat, he simply sat on his knees, leaving Mari on the ground beside him. He raised his hands, his gaze fixed on the thick, tangled wilderness beneath him. He was out of options here, and had no way of fighting back.

Sezel felt as if its puppets sacrifice was just a waste at this point. He had been caught at the end, his desperate, reckless gambit ending in a quiet, ignominious surrender.

Vesta slowly walked over to him, her face a mask of quiet regret and a deep, internal struggle. Sezel didn't look at her for much longer. She was in the same condition he had been in just some time ago, her mind a prisoner to the unknown. He couldn't say anything to her. He couldn't blame her.

"Don't touch Mari," he announced slowly, his voice echoing through the empty, silent space of the factory, a soft command that startled Vesta, that seemed to pierce through the hypnotic fog that had claimed her.

Her ruby eyes looked at him, but he didn't look up. His gaze was fixed on the ground, on the dirt and the wilderness.

"Leave the girl alone. Do you understand?" he stated again, his voice firm.

"Yes," Vesta replied, her voice a soft, almost hesitant whisper. "I promise nothing will happen to her." She tied his hands, her movements gentle, almost apologetic.

She deliberately touched his broken, mangled finger, from which blood, now black and clotted, had flowed down his hand.

Sezel let out a small yelp of pain, but bit it back, his jaw clenched tight. "Does it hurt?" Vesta's voice was soft, as if she were trying to comfort him, to offer some small, pathetic measure of solace. "Why did you do that to yourself?"

Sezel let out a faint, bitter laugh. "You should try doing it, too," he said, his voice a sardonic murmur. "It will surely make you see things clearly."

Vesta's hands froze at his words, her eyes wide as she tried to make sense of them, to understand the meaning behind the strange, cryptic statement.

But she couldn't. Her mind didn't allow her to. It was clouded, the emotionless, commanding voice, constantly pouring its poison into her head, suppressing any other thought, any other feeling.

Sezel was bound and taken to the underground Sanctuary, along with all the Spirit Essence they had harvested the night before. He was first presented in front of the curtained stage.

Everything was very quiet for a while, the only sound the soft, rhythmic hiss of the ancient machines that lined the vast chamber.

As the pain in Sezel's hand suppressed, as the adrenaline faded, the voice in his head returned. And this time, he was more shocked, more terrified, than he had been before.

What the fuck, he cursed under his breath as he heard the command. He looked around. Everyone else, beast and human alike, bowed their heads in silent, reverent obedience. From that, he deduced that they were all receiving the same command.

All of the beasts stood up and then locked their eyes on Sezel. But they didn't touch him. Only Vesta and Shiki led him to a corner of the Sanctuary, revealing a hidden, metal cage that was built into the rock wall.

He was thrown into the cage, both his hands chained to the metal bars. He was left alone in the corner, a prisoner in the heart of this strange, terrifying world.

But it didn't bother him much. The only thing that bothered him, the only thing that filled him with a cold, coiling dread, was the command that was still echoing in his mind.

"Treat the vessel well. Feed it, and make it perfect."

Sezel repeated the command in his mind, his eyes squinted, a cold sweat breaking out on his back. "What the fuck does that mean?"