One-Eyed Monster

Igor walked straight toward the monster and punched it!

”I’ve noticed, you bastards are all terrible at Physique Technique. You can only control others through energy, that’s just pathetic!” Igor said after throwing the punch.

The punch was powerful and aimed at the puppet monster’s chin, making its whole body wobble two or three times.

”Haha, I almost forgot about this. Let me get a shot in too!” Kadi said as he ran up after seeing Igor’s strike.

The puppet monster hadn’t regained its footing when Kadi punched it again, this time hitting the other side of its jaw. The staggering body finally flew backward and landed heavily on the ground with a crash!

”You...” The puppet monster was about to speak when Kadi kicked it again!

”You sure do talk a lot. Even at this point, you’re still jabbering on!” Kadi said.

The puppet monster thought to itself, I haven’t even said a word yet, you’ve just been beating me up. Where’s all this jabbering you’re talking about?

”Alright, Kadi, it can’t feel pain. We’re just venting. Once its energy is exhausted, it won’t be anything!” Igor stopped Kadi, who was ready to land another punch on the monster’s face.

”Hmph, this bastard still talks a lot.”

”We still need to hear what it has to say!” Igor said.

”Whatever you say, you don’t seem like an idiot at the moment, which is kind of strange,” Kadi chuckled.

Igor scratched his head, not paying much attention to what Kadi meant. He borrowed some iron chains from Master Lao and tied the four smoky figures together. It was unnecessary, as the four of them were already beaten into complete immobility. Whether they could stand up again was another matter.

”Don’t get cocky too soon, it’s not over yet!” the Puppet Master shouted loudly!

”You can keep putting on a brave face, it’s not like I haven’t dealt with bastards like you before!” Igor said while adding shackles to the puppet monster. Previously, in the Border Realm, the Soul Devourer Master was the same way, always jabbering on despite being utterly defeated.

”I’m telling you, you’d better devour me now, or when I recover, I’ll make you my lapdogs!”

”I’m not a Soul Devourer Master with a devouring fetish. Just give up on that!” Igor shrugged and dragged the puppet monster into the blacksmith’s shop.

”Then what do you want? You’re tying me up for the power in my body, aren’t you?”

”You’re mistaken again. Your power has nothing to do with me; I’m not interested in that. Tying you up is just to keep you from running away. We have other questions to ask you.” Igor forcefully pressed the monster down onto a chair.

”I have nothing to say!” The puppet monster looked determined, seemingly resolved to remain silent.

”I’ve seen plenty of your kind. Tough talkers at first, who end up spilling everything soon after!”

”Shut up, you old thing! If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have turned out like this! It’s all your fault that I’m losing my power.” The puppet monster roared at Master Lao!

Master Lao shrugged, ”You used to be a puppet master, which is a decent profession. On stage, many would cheer for you. It’s really bewildering that you ended up like this. Also, I’m not old; don’t make me sound so ancient!”

”Get lost, you old thing! You know nothing!” The puppet monster suddenly became agitated.

Kadi was about to say something when Igor stopped him. Igor winked at Kadi, who then kept quiet, understanding that Master Lao might get the puppet monster to talk. Their questioning was unlikely to yield much.

”I know you’re a puppet master, a puppet master performing in the circus. Are you saying you’re nothing?”

Master Lao’s words almost made Igor burst out laughing. He never expected Master Lao, usually so serious, to say something like that.

”You...” Clearly angered by these words, the puppet monster could only glare and fume at Master Lao and the others.

”Am I wrong? You had a good life and chose to become this hideous creature. Is this a successful life?” Master Lao’s words were like needles, piercing right into the puppet monster’s heart!

”You... you know nothing. The circus is just a crowd of ignorant spectators cheering, but what about us? To them, we’re less than objects. When they need an object, it’s considered precious; when they don’t, they discard it. But what about us? When our performances are good, we receive cheers; when not, we are abandoned...”

”Everyone has their struggles!” Master Lao tried to console the monster. Clearly, the puppet monster’s inner turmoil from defeat and Master Lao’s words was unraveling it entirely!

”If that’s all it was, I could accept it. Being abandoned just means our performance wasn’t good enough. But launching personal attacks, what is that?! If our performance is poor, that’s on us, our skills are lacking. But how can that lead to calling us trash?!”

Igor realized the puppet master had hit a low point in life.

”They cursed us, threw things at us, pelted us with eggs. We could endure all that, but why attack our families?!”

”That kind of thing is truly regrettable!” Master Lao understood the puppet master’s sense of helplessness from his words.

”What are we? In the end, we became clowns in the circus, bringing them joy from our suffering. Yet that’s not enough. They still aren’t satisfied and go after our families!” The puppet monster became more agitated, as if unleashing years of pent-up bitterness!

Igor deeply sympathized with the puppet master’s plight, but he couldn’t condone this path because of his painful experiences.

Igor knew the puppet master’s next experiences would also be grim. Whether he wanted to hear them or not, he’d have to wait for the puppet master to finish. Only then might the puppet master divulge more information. Once emotions are let loose, people lose restraint and reveal everything, relevant or not.

Igor listened quietly to the puppet master’s tale without speaking a word.