"Interesting? Of course it's interesting, but this isn't fair! This is my Puppet Show, and I make the rules!"
The child puppet outside the window complained loudly. As its comical voice began singing again, its two "giant hands" smashed through the windows and reached into the model, grabbing Miss Lathers and the still-bound Miss Benanis from either side:
"The Hero and the maid defeated the Dragon, but this is not yet the end! Behind the Dragon stands a terrifying Demon King! While the ancient Hero rested, the Demon King ambushed the three of them, seizing the bound Princess and the brave maid!"
The two puppet arms instantly seized the two puppets up high and carried them out of the palace model, leaving behind only a wrecked floor and irregular holes where the windows had been:
"The Demon King said: Oh, Outlander Knight, if you wish to save them, then come to the highest point of the castle. I shall await you there!"
As the voice faded, a muffled bang sounded, and a square hole opened in the palace ceiling. A wooden staircase dropped down, bouncing a few times after it hit the ground.
"Damn it!"
Shade cursed rather uncivilly, then hurried up the stairs to the castle's true top floor—the rooftop. There were no decorations or functional items on the roof, only a gallows-like apparatus at the edge, something that had long vanished from this era.
A horizontal beam extended beyond the edge of the model castle's uppermost level. Miss Benanis and Miss Lathers hung suspended from ropes. It was worth noting that the witch was still wrapped from head to toe like a silkworm cocoon, while Miss Lathers merely had her hands tied.
Besides them, Shade heard the gurgling of bubbles and saw black smoke rising from the space