Chapter 468: Absurd

Only the blood ring on the audience seats, of its own accord, emitted a dark red glow, like a malicious single eye.

Amidst this extreme interweaving of darkness and red, the puppeteer's silhouette appeared within the blood ring.

Cheng Shuili couldn't even manage an expression; in the silence, she heard the crisp sound of bones dislocating, coming from the puppeteer's elegant neck.

Before she could fully process that sound, the puppeteer's white-gloved hands jerked upward, movements stiff, still not fluid, yet exerted full force, even the fingers twitching.

Nevertheless, she acted as if oblivious, digging her fingertips deep into the flesh on both sides of her cheeks.

Blood… flowed out.

The force was so great it seemed as if she wanted to split her own skull open!

Immediately, under the horrified gaze of all survivors, the originally perfect red lips beneath the mask tore violently outward.

The corners of her mouth extended, slicing through the pale cheek skin, passing over the jawbone's curve, and split all the way to below the ear.

A huge, grotesque grin abruptly hung on her face.

The bright red lips mixed with traces of blood were smeared across the edges of the torn flesh, as if the mouth had just devoured some raw meat.

The obedient boy was terrified by this sudden scene, his lips weakly trembling as he scrambled backward.

His back slammed hard against the cold seatback of the audience stands; he felt no pain, only a bone-deep chill surging up his spine.

The short-haired girl clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling a gasp; her face turned paper‑white, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Qing Qing sucked in a breath of cold air, her palm sweating as she gripped the dagger; she stared fixedly at the twisted figure in the blood ring, throat dry: "Is… this really her true form?"

Cheng Shuili stood rooted, motionless.

In the darkness, her profile was outlined in clear lines by the blood ring's light.

"That's one way to put it." Cheng Shuili spoke softly, stating the fact plainly: "She can't fight in this skin, so… it can only reveal its ugliest form. That's also why it tried to drive us away with the agreement."

As if confirming Cheng Shuili's words, the cracks on the puppeteer's face spread, passing the jaw, tracing the neck, and finally stopping on her thin shoulders.

That beautiful facial skin now hung like two tattered curtains, limp and drooping to either side.

"Honored guests…" a voice issued from the depths of that horrifying cleft, no longer the puppeteer's elegant tone, nor a woman's voice.

Freed from this skin, it could not even produce a normal voice: "Why… are you… different?"

With that resentful question, its entire body began to swell unnaturally.

Beneath the splendid performance costume, countless slick tentacles seemed to writhe wildly, straining the fabric into groans on the verge of tearing.

Shoulders, chest, waist and abdomen…

The graceful curves were violently twisted and ruined.

Then, like a cocoon breaking open.

"Whoosh!"

From the skin tears on the back, beneath the ribs, and shoulders, several needle‑sharp objects stabbed out.

No… not like needles; they resembled overstretched, joint‑less human arms.

These limbs thrashed violently, tearing the already ruined human skin apart from within, as if shedding an old garment.

Countless splendid fabric scraps and skin flakes scattered like withered petals.

Amidst this wreckage, the true puppeteer finally revealed its real outline.

The several pallid limbs that had pierced the human skin now connected clearly to this torso, like twisted spider legs, their sharp ends digging deep into the stage planks, emitting a soft "thud‑thud" as they adjusted the body's balance.

Where its head should be, there were no features, only a constantly shifting white mass.

Occasionally, the surface of this white mass would show a few outlines of anguished human faces, only to be quickly swallowed by more white.

The shock lasted only a moment; Cheng Shuili and Qing Qing quickly calmed.

Even Qing Qing swallowed and asked, "How on earth did it manage to stuff itself in there?"

Cheng Shuili couldn't fathom why Qing Qing's focus was here, but she had no time to figure it out.

It——

The puppeteer's true form inclined slightly, its faceless face turned toward Cheng Shuili: "Now… is this the result you wanted?"

Although untimely, Cheng Shuili felt it spoke more easily now than before.

The voice wasn't very lovely, but at least it was finally clear.

No need to keep up appearances; how freeing.

Moreover, before it struggled to walk, to speak, even to move on its own.

Why… must it confine itself in a beautiful skin?

It asked, so Cheng Shuili answered:

"You are the most human." It had confined itself in a human skin.

"You are also the least human." It could not change its true form.

"You can't even control your own body, yet you call yourself the Puppeteer."

Cheng Shuili lifted her head, her face unreadable, and countered: "Don't you think all this is utterly absurd?"

Qing Qing laughed heartlessly, then added to Cheng Shuili's words: "We came… to put an end to this absurdity!"

"End… absurdity?" the puppeteer repeated, then resignedly accepted the word: "My… very existence… is absurd."

"Hehe," it emitted a weird, slightly pitiful laugh; several pallid limbs supported it as it paced slowly across the stage, the tips tapping the planks, producing a creepy sound.

"The audience needs… a beautiful story. Needs… an elegant narrator. Needs… horror that can be understood. So… I brought them all this."

"Since you despise false performances," the puppeteer leaned forward slightly, and Cheng Shuili's expression hardened—usually a prelude to attack.

"Then welcome to the true… final act."

Before the words faded, one of its limbs suddenly elongated, like a pallid spear, tearing through the air and thrusting straight at Cheng Shuili's face!

"Watch out!" Qing Qing reacted instantly, crossing her dagger to intercept.

Cheng Shuili kicked her aside, sidestepped, and even sliced off that limb with her long blade.

She didn't hold back; she raised her hand and used all her strength.

The puppeteer showed no mercy either—if one strike missed, the next followed instantly; in moments, the person and the monster had traded over a dozen blows.

Only a kiss from Qing Qing could barely be inserted.

And the short‑haired girl… She knew her own strength, and also knew how strong Cheng Shuili and the two of them were; from the very start of the battle, she had already shrunk into the corner.

Of the four survivors, three were still alive and well; only the obedient boy…