This puppet is really big. I bet if we disguised it as a tree and put it in the seven mountain ranges, three different families of squirrels could live on it without getting on each other’s nerves. It’d work really well because it also blocks divine senses from peeping at it. When I try to observe it, I get the same feeling as when I tried to look through the black mana wall. It’s like there’s a giant blob I can’t see through or past. The ruler said I needed a strong soul to avoid detection, but even though she’s amazing and all that, I’m starting to think she’s wrong.

“Can you control mana?”

Why’s the ruler asking me such an obvious question? She knows everything about me thanks to her advanced Soul Scouring abilities. She knows me being unable to use mana is a sore spot for me. If I could use mana, I would’ve been treated so much better when I was little instead of just being used as free labor. I might’ve been used as free magical labor, but the treatment between regular slaves and magical slaves is much better for the magical ones.

“If the demons came up with a way to block divine sense through magic, could you copy their methods?”

I think I could, right? If I kidnap a demon and have them use the magic whenever I need it, wouldn’t I be able to block people’s divine sense? Ah, but if they used it around me, then I wouldn’t be able to see around myself. Alright, I guess the ruler wasn’t wrong. Anyway, there’s more concerning things than worrying about who’s right between the ruler and myself; the big puppet is flashing with multiple formation lines all over its body, and the lines are all different colors instead of the usual gold. There’s white, black, red, turquoise, and orange! Mm? There’s something wrong with the orange lights in the center of the puppet’s chest; they’re flickering and gradually turning gold.

“If I’m not mistaken, the demons entered that puppet and are controlling it from inside,” Mrs. Mu said with a deep frown on her face. “The formations are still in their activation processes, but the intensity of the puppet’s aura is already as strong as I am.” Mrs. Mu pointed both of her arms forward, and a stream of talismans flew out of her sleeves. She must be keeping an interspatial ring inside of her clothes, because the talismans didn’t stop coming out until the whole room was filled with talismans. When that happened, a golden flame appeared at the tip of Mrs. Mu’s finger, and she flicked it forward, lighting up one of the talismans. “Explode!”

Kaboom!

Ah!? All the talismans exploded with lightning, fire, ice, and all sorts of special effects! Is this what I get for being too greedy? Since Mrs. Mu relinquished all rights to the treasures, she doesn’t care if they get damaged or not while dealing with them! I could’ve sold that puppet for who-knows-how-many spiritual energy stones!

“It’s tougher than it looks,” Mrs. Mu said. The dust still hadn’t cleared up, and my divine sense was still blocked around the puppet. I could see the walls and floors were cracked though, and it looked like bits of the ceiling had tumbled down too. How’s Mrs. Mu able to see the state of the puppet? Maybe her eyes work better than mine. “It’s a little sad to say, but unless we can gather everyone who entered Atlantis, no one will be able to defeat this puppet.”

Something wrapped itself around my waist, and my vision blurred. Mrs. Mu carried me backwards and into the now-empty room with the treasures that the mouse-person had packed away at some point. He worked extremely fast! It couldn’t have taken Mrs. Mu more than a few seconds to unleash and explode those talismans. A second later, a bright white light flew towards us, and Mrs. Mu barely had time to create a barrier with a talisman. When the light vanished, it was completely dark because the lighting fixtures were destroyed, but I could still see with my divine sense. The room had been pretty much destroyed with the walls now being made up of more dirt than metal, and all my humanoid beast underlings were groaning on the ground except for the turtle. The turtle looked terrified and had a huge crack on his shell, but other than that, he was fine. Oh, the mouse-person seemed to be doing alright too. He was currently in the form of a small mouse, and he had clearly taken shelter behind the turtle.

The mouse ran over to me and, without saying a word, he crawled into the life pouch on my waist. Should I be worried about him stealing my stuff? The only valuable thing in there is Mrs. Feathers’ Future Husband and the flying jet. If he steals my jet…, I’ll get down on my hands and knees and beg the ruler to wipe out the treasure-sniffing mouse clan. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind doing it either. Ah? Why don’t I get down on my hands and knees and beg the ruler to defeat the puppet for me? I’ll do that right now!

“Are you sure you want me to do that? If I help you, I’ll claim the puppet for myself. I’ll be generous and give you a really big hint: inside the puppet, there’s the reason why I destroyed Atlantis.”

My mountain’s inside of the puppet? If I capture it, I’ll complete the ruler’s request, and she’ll give me a mountain. Right! Let’s see, Mrs. Mu said no one will be able to defeat the puppet unless everyone in Atlantis gathers and fights together. How am I going to get them to do that?

“They must be fighting for the treasure! Hurry up!”

Ah? Voices are coming from above us. The black mana wall is gone too! It must’ve been destroyed by that white light from earlier. I can use my divine sense to see what’s above me, and … a whole bunch of people are rushing down! “Who are they?”

“They’re the slower people,” Mrs. Mu said. “Thanks to your jet, we were able to get here almost immediately after the treasure light appeared. It’s about time for the rest of the people to arrive.”