[1,069 AP!]

  The amount of AP obtained made him uand the true differeween levels. Even though the Fme had no real significe as a vilin, the record of his death deserved to be ted as an achievement worthy of geing more than a thousand AP.

  At this point, Zaydas noticed that the Puppeteer, who had previously seemed trolled, fixed her sinister eyes—emitting white neon lights—on him. It seemed she realized the real danger he represented. He even saw her retreat while flying backward until she touched the barrier's edge.

  When she saw that he wasn't pursuihe Puppeteer began pung the barrier, creating ripples in it. However, it wasn't strong enough to affect the entire barrier, only small ripples, like a pebble falling into the sea.

  "She wants to escape. Won't you stop her?" Batgirl, who had e back to her senses, approached him.

  She still had a strange expression, possibly because her ears were still ringing from the explosion caused by Zaydas's punch.

  "Don't worry," Zaydas replied. "Unless she surpasses me in power, my barrier will remain intact."

  "I uand." Batgirl seemed relieved.

  From the impact of Zaydas's attack, it was obvious who was stronger. If there were still any doubts, then she definitely needed someoo evaluate her judgment skills—because there was clearly something wrong with her perception.

  "The Puppeteer is no longer trolling the remaining monsters," Zaydas observed.

  "She must have realized that esg was her only option to survive." Batgirl gave him a strange look.

  "Don't look at me like that," Zaydas said. "Even if you look at me that way, you won't get anything."

  "Now that they're no longer uhe Puppeteer's trol, it might be easier to defeat them."

  how they began to fight less intelligently and more wildly—especially those in the Sed Phase—Zaydas nodded.

  "Aren't you going after the Puppeteer?" Batgirl asked.

  "Of course." Zaydas flew toward the Puppeteer.

  "Whaaaaaaail!"

  Upon seeing him approach, the Puppeteer, in her almost ghostly form, opened her mouth wide in a diabolical manner and roared. Her scream somewhat resembled that of a banshee—even her appearance bore some resembo historical banshees.

  'Is her transformatioed to that?'

  Zaydas ighe Puppeteer's roar and advanced. He felt a slight mental trol in her scream, but it wasn't strong enough to affect him. Even wheried to ect her troller strings to his hands, it was useless.

  "Do you really think you'll be able to trol me?" Zaydas ughed.

  The Puppeteer's already ugly expression worsened, and she created even more strings on her trollers until they formed a fishi, which she threw toward Zaydas.

  Zaydas could have dodged but chose not to. Instead, he issued a and to the Great Sage:

  'Great Sage, forcibly use Dimensional Leap bae if I don't respond within one minute.'

  [and Received!]

  As soon as the ed around him, Zaydas felt something vioting his mind. He eve as if his arms and legs were beginning to be trolled. However, when he increased his aura, all of it started to disappear.

  "Boom!"

  His violently expanding red aura dispersed any ce the Puppeteer had of trolling him.

  'So, it's not that it's impossible—she's just too weak to do it…'

  This was a troubling clusion.

  Being trolled was something he did not desire. And sidering the possibility of a future enemy being stronger or having power equivalent to his but specializing in mind trol—like Grodd, J'onn J'onzz, etc.—it could end badly for him.

  'I then my mental defenses...'

  That was the clusion he reached after almost being trolled.

  The fleetiion of nearly losing trol over his own body was not pleasant in the slightest.

  Thinking for a moment, he spent AP and created a Skill-Stealing Card.

  [-200 AP]

  It was different from the one he used on Issei since he had stolen the essence of an object lio Issei's soul, whereas a skill was something less plicated—unless it was a unique and exclusive ability.

  Wheried to replicate the Puppeteer's ability, the cost was 50,000 AP, a siderable amount, with a 98% ce of success. Meanwhile, the Skill-Stealing Card was much cheaper, with only a 1% to 20% ce of w.

  Acc to the card's description, the greater the differen strength and if the target is touched directly, the success rate increases. In other words, even if the base ce was around 10%, the odds were in his favor—meaning that, statistically, one itempts could succeed.

  Uhe card he used on Issei, this one was not invisible and had the design of a ghostly hand in the ter. Zaydas made it float using Psychic Power a it ched in his left fist.

  All of this was dohin a span of five seds.

  The Puppeteer, realizing that she couldn't trol him, seemed furious and opened her mouth to scream once more.

  "Screeeeeeech!"

  Her scream sounded slightly different, and instead of affeg him, it struck Frost, making her eyes lose focus.

  Ign this, Zaydas teleported and appeared right in front of the Puppeteer—who was four times his size—pung her directly in the chest. Activating the card, he saw the mark of the [Puppeteer] ability and applied the card to it.

  The card disied.

  He failed.

  The Puppeteer, with her skeletal hands, tried to grab him, but he simply created ice walls around them, freezing her hands, and tinued pung her while purchasing a new card.

  [-200 AP]

  [-200 AP]

  [-200 AP]

  [-200 AP]

  [Success!]

  [You have acquired the ability: Puppeteer!]

  The card glowed, and then the ghostly hand illustration now held a Puppet troller.

  [+518 AP]

  'Cashback?'

  Not only did he obtain a great ability, but he also received almost 50% of what he had spent back. It was an excellent trade.

  Meanwhile, he saw the Puppeteer's press.

  "What did he do?" Frost, who had regained trol, wit firsthand due to her proximity.

  Supergirl, who had flown in to assist, stopped right above Frost, equally surprised.

  Taking the card and st it in his pocket, Zaydas, who had lost i in the Puppeteer, created a magic circle the size of his body. From within it, with a tiger's roar, the Power of Destruerged, slithering like a serpent as thick as his waist, "biting" the Puppeteer and "dev" her until she was pletely extinguished.

  [+784 AP]

  g the red-patterned magic circle, Zaydas turo Supergirl and Frost: "Alright, girls, we're almost done here."

  Looking around, they nodded meically—still in shock at what they had just witnessed, especially Frost.

  'He just defeated someone like the Puppeteer that easily?' Frost then thought of Superman.

  Even when Supermaed a Third Phase entity, it wasn't that simple. Several buildings and nearly aire city had beeated. So... was the Puppeteer weak?

  Wrong! In fact, she was cataloged as one of the most dangerous among the Third Phase monsters. Even before being the Puppeteer, she was already extremely dangerous, with her screams capable of fusing and trolling people's minds.