Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 360 Puppet Making

By now, Shard and Priest Augustus had a rough understanding of the basic traits of the Relic painting.

The model house depicted in the painting would be consistent with the real building, and when someone inside the house directly touched the painting, a puppet corresponding to that person would appear within the painting.

The puppet possessed its own innate intelligence and would actively evade the murderer within the model house. The movement of the puppet depended on the real person’s location. If the real person was inside the house, the puppet could only move within the corresponding rooms in the building in the painting; if the real person was not inside the house, the puppet’s movements were likely random.

The Bandage Murder Puppet would continually chase other puppets in the painting, and any injuries to a puppet would directly reflect on the real individuals, eventually causing their death in reality. It is feared that Mr. Freeman’s death from falling might indeed be due to the puppet corresponding to him in the painting, which, after being pursued by the Bandage Puppet for half a month, was finally killed.

Ordinary people touching the painting would forget everything about the painting afterwards, only to occasionally see phantoms of the Bandage Puppet in reality and suffer mental torment in their dreams, leading to psychological issues.

The only known possible containment method so far was to remove the painting itself from the house, a feat Mrs. Freeman, an ordinary person, had once accomplished.

After the death of Mr. Freeman, in the absence of any corresponding puppet in the model house of the painting, the painting could be removed from the real building. Once removed from the real building, it would no longer meet the conditions necessary for a puppet to appear in the house model within the painting when touched inside a building.

However, now neither Shard nor the boys from the Freeman Family could possibly commit suicide, so this method could not be attempted.

Shard had another idea, which was to demolish the real building, making the painting lose its corresponding structure. But Shard was unsure if this would cause other strange changes to the Relic, such as the Bandage Puppet directly breaking through the limitations of the house model. Hence, this idea was reserved as a last resort.

The arrival of the five people to the street in a hurry had already attracted the attention of passersby. After Shard, Mrs. Freeman, and Little Freeman returned to the house and confirmed that the Bandage Puppet in the painting was still some distance from the first floor, Shard said to the priest outside the door:

"Priest Augustus, take the girl to Dr. Schneider’s clinic, and let the doctor look after her for a while. If Dr. Schneider is available, have him come over too. Although I have some ideas, safety comes first. We can never be too cautious handling this kind of thing."

Mrs. Freeman also agreed it was best to temporarily send her daughter to a safe place, while taking advantage of the priest’s departure, Shard had the two ordinary people stand back and tried various ways to destroy the painting at the vestibule, their backs turned to them. But as this was a Relic, it naturally would not be so easily destroyed. Whether by gunfire, a Slash of Moonlight, or even the Moonlight Greatsword, none could leave a mark on the painting.

Indeed, Shard’s attack seemed to have sped up the movement of the Bandage Puppet inside the painting considerably. It seemed the painting knew someone was attempting to destroy it and thus hastened its efforts to reach Shard.

However, this entity was at most Scribe Level, and most likely even Poet-Level, belonging to the type of urban legend that could be talked about everywhere. Its efficiency in killing was terribly slow and, even when dealing with ordinary people, it tried to face only one person at a time.

For a Circle Sorcerer, although it was unfortunate to be involved, it was not without other solutions.

Priest Augustus returned quickly, but Dr. Schneider was not with him. Luckily, the doctor was out on a house call and temporarily not in the clinic, so he would not be drawn into this matter.

Priest Augustus looked somewhat worried, and when he learned that Shard had tried to destroy the painting without success, the wrinkles on his forehead deepened as he lowered his aged voice and asked Shard in the vestibule:

"Before I left, you mentioned you had other methods."

"Yes, Mr. Freeman was engrossed in woodworking before his death, and this likely wasn’t just a change of hobby. He might have forgotten the painting and not understood what he was undergoing, but he definitely had an idea. At least a week before his death, he faintly realized what he needed to do. That painter’s inspiration is truly incredible, he must have thought of a solution while he encountered the painting in his dreams."

Shard obtained Mr. Freeman’s relic from Priest Augustus, which was the crudely made wooden carving, and then carefully placed the carving on the painting.

The boy, held by Mrs. Freeman, stood behind the nearby staircase, with only two Circle Sorcerers directly looking at the painting. Under their gaze, the wooden carving of the man, astonishingly, melted into the surface of the painting like butter.

Subsequently, inside the model house in the painting, a new puppet appeared. It appeared at the model’s doorway, and as a gray light moved from the deep in the painted scene into the puppet, the new puppet joined the other two, representing the detective and the boy.

Though the puppets showed no expression, the three could clearly see Mr. Freeman’s puppet move closer to the smaller one. It "came to life"— Mr. Freeman’s spirit was actually inside the painting.

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Suddenly, the boy George, held by his mother, widened his eyes and looked around:

"Father, oh, is that you? Father!"

The middle-aged woman, although unable to see what the detective and priest had done, seemed to understand; she sobbed quietly, knelt down, and embraced her son.

Shard then quietly asked the priest:

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"It seems this idea was correct, the carver of the puppet was killed by this painting, so it can enter the painting to help us. But what’s the use of puppets carved by the living? Could we get more puppets, like the priest’s puppet, a soldier’s puppet, or even a god’s..."

"Only puppets handmade by those affected by this relic are useful. Detective, remember? Mr. Freeman had been to the church before his death and also received the Holy Prayer Day commemorative puppet, but he still died. So, I think only handmade puppets are effective, otherwise, wouldn’t the solution to this relic be too easy? How could it be so simple?"

Priest Augustus deduced, then turned to Shard:

"Although I don’t know what use putting our own carved puppets in there will be, detective, can you carve puppets?"

"Of course not, but I have another way."

Shard said, pulling out an MI6 issued revolver from his waistband, and then took out a handkerchief.

Covering the gun with the handkerchief, and once he removed the handkerchief, a small wooden toy pistol appeared in his palm:

"My own handmade puppet gun."

Shard said with a smile.

"You really do have a way."

Priest Augustus also revealed a smile.