Smoke hung over the battlefield.
One Origin after another awoke from the puppeteer's control. Even after that control was lifted, the overwhelming terror and dread lingered in their minds, refusing to fade.
They now understood what had just happened.
They also knew that, without their knowledge, someone had planted seeds in their minds, turning them into puppets and blades in another's hands.
And there was only one who could do such a thing.
The Dollhouse of Dark Night City!
But that was not what frightened and unsettled them most. What terrified them most was that, even then, they had failed to defeat the black-robed figure. Even with all of them fighting together, they had been utterly helpless against him.
Especially when time had flowed backward over their bodies.
They had felt an almost uncontrollable despair welling up from the depths of their hearts.
Bzz-
Lynn's figure suddenly appeared in midair like a storm. The ripples released by his arrival swept across the entire battlefield in an instant.
"He's back!"
In an instant.
Every Origin scrambled up from the ground. Gritting their teeth, they backed away in fear and hostility, staring from afar at the terrifying being who chilled them to the bone.
The people of Dark Night City were breathing hard as well.
The Self-Binding Angel and the others understood almost immediately.
The Dollhouse had lost.
Lynn stood high in the sky, looking down over the entire battlefield, his blade in hand.
"Who's next?"
"If anyone else has a problem, step forward now. Or you can all band together and try again. That's fine, too."
His voice was not loud.
Yet it made every Origin present tremble.
Whether they were Fallen or Origins who had existed since the previous era, not a single one dared take a step forward to