The coldness of the blizzard spell that Yuki-Onna conjured can be felt inside the castle and we can even feel it seep into our skins.
"I wouldn't have expected you to gain the favor of a Yuki-Onna! She is one of the hardest to talk into and ask for favors as a yokai! How come you managed to get her to help you though?" Queen Tori started to bombard me with questions.
"I just happened to get into her good graces. As a result, she allowed me to call her anytime but with limited uses only."
"That's still amazing though even with limited calls. Seeing how she just froze over the whole area alongside all of the soldiers there, getting her help was already something of a big boon for us," Even Queen Tanya who don't have much knowledge regarding yokai agrees how tremendous the help of Yuki-Onna earlier.
"We should save the conversation for later, we should focus on what is up ahead. I can feel a powerful presence up ahead, waiting for us. Get ready," Queen Tanya interrupted us as we approach the next area.
It's kind of strange that the castle is pretty barren and pretty much empty. No servants, no retainers, and no other people are present at all. It's like they are abandoned for quite a while now seeing how it looks like the castle has been unmaintained due to the signs of wear and tear plus the cobwebs hanging around the ceiling and corners of the castle.
Focusing on what's ahead, we continue to push through, maintaining vigilance in case there are traps or enemies lying in ambush but so far, no surprises have been encountered. It took a bit of navigation before we arrived at the next area where someone is waiting for us.
We entered the large room of the castle and before us is someone who exudes a huge amount of dark powers in her body. She doesn't have many weapons in her body but she is currently smoking and from what I can tell, it's either this woman is some kind of an assassin or she might be one of the new classes in the game that will be released in the future, Hexer.
"I was tired of waiting for you dear guests. However, it is time for you all to stop your journey right here, right now. You all will not lay a finger against the shogun."
We were about to confront the enemy but Queen Tori stopped us.
"I feel like it's time for me to handle this, Bladeheart, Sis. You guys go on ahead. From the looks of it, we still have a few enemies waiting for us upstairs. It's better we confront them one by one. And I can also feel that I needed to test my mettle against this woman right now."
"Hoho, a brave soul decides to sacrifice herself to let the others proceed? How interesting, however, I am not going to let you all pass."
She then blows her smoke and all of a sudden, her smoke started to move like it was being blown by the wind but with many different strokes of blows. It's pretty irregular in movement.
But Queen Tori didn't flinch and deployed a massive [Kekkai] and contained the smoke using it.
"Try me. I am not some pushover. Sis, Bladeheart, go. I will take care of this."
Hearing this, we both nodded and went on up ahead and headed to the stairs to reach the next floor.
"Hey! You won't escape from me!" the woman tried to use her abilities on us again but Queen Tori, stopped her again by wrapping her body with talismans.
"I already told you, try me before you can harm them."
The woman tears apart the talisman binding her but she is now angry.
"Now, you make me mad. Fine, if death is what you want, then death is what you get!"
I can hear the fight happening below but I couldn't see it now as we now climb the stairs to reach the next floor.
Just like on the ground floor, the second floor is pretty barren. But this time, there are lots of scattered toys present in the area and the constant laughter of some kids can be heard, making it a bit creepy. However, since we are not in a horror story or anything, this leads much to nothing horrifying. There's only an enemy trying to instill fear in us, and failing as we have close to immunity against fear.
"Another presence. It seems we will be facing enemies on every floor," Queen Tanya guessed.
"Are you going to also do something similar to Queen Tori?" I asked Queen Tanya.
"Heh, I didn't expect her to do that. I was more expecting myself to be the first one to actually be doing something similar to what she did and yet, she easily stole my thunder right there and looked badass like a natural. Guess even if we are sisters, it's still in our blood to show off like a badass."
I chuckled a bit as we entered a room similar to the room where someone is waiting for us. And just like what happened below, someone is indeed waiting for us. This time, it's a kid, carrying two life-sized dolls beside him. Behind him are two maids who have their heads hung low. One look would make anyone think that the maids are human but there's no denying that they are not human. Although concealed in their clothing, I can see the pivotal joints sticking out.
"I see, so this guy is a puppeteer."
"Puppeteer?" Queen Tanya frowned.
"People who can control dolls and command them with control in their hands. They act similar to shikigamis of Onmyojis like Queen Tori but this time, it's direct control, and depending on the doll they are controlling, they vary in danger. It's not the puppeteer that is dangerous, it's the puppet themselves that the puppeteer controls.
"Oho, looks like someone is knowledgeable in my profession. Doesn't change the fact that you all will die here."
SNAP!
As he snap his fingers, the room lit up, revealing variety of dolls present in the room.
"Welcome intruders. Today, I will show you what kind of show that will entertain the masses will be. Be my audience and witness the spectacle of my performance!"
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