Superman Termination Manual - Chapter 38

Chapter 38 – 032: The Puppet Girl
Magical Girl Ash stood atop the train, her gaze fixed intently on the figure opposite her, not far away. She frowned and raised her voice, questioning them amidst the thunderous engine noise:

“What do you mean you’ve been waiting for me?”

At this moment, the moonlight intertwined with the sparks flying from the friction of the train against the rails, illuminating the ghastly appearance of that shadowy figure.

It was a human form shrouded in a hazy gray mist, its mouth twisted into an exaggerated smile, nearly reaching its ears. The closer one looked, the more chilling it became, prompting a quick avert of the gaze.

Ash’s eyes twitched wildly, feeling her sanity points nearly depleted, but she did not let her gaze wander for a second, lest it seized the opportunity to launch a sudden counterattack.

What in the world is this hideous thing?

While pondering this, she lifted Cinderella with one hand, pointed the umbrella tip at Deception Puppet, and said deliberately, “Move one more step, and you’ll be reduced to ashes.”

Is this really something a Magical Girl should be saying? Could you maybe take a course in image management at the Magical Girls’ Preparatory School before showing up?

Ke Mingye complained in his mind while maneuvering the puppet to raise its hands in a sign of surrender.

“Calm down, calm down, I have no intention of fighting you,” it said with its mouth still stretched in a grin.

“As if you have the strength to fight me…”

With those words, Ash shot the puppet a disdainful look, then extended her right hand toward the base of Cinderella’s umbrella and drew out a tachi, “I don’t know who or what you are, but thanks to you, I’ve been utterly humiliated in front of my master. I’m quite irritated at the moment, so I’ll be venting my anger on you first. Let’s hope you’re as durable as I imagine.”

The blade reflected the cold moonlight, mirroring the girl’s pitch-black pupils. Her words were nearly drowned out by the rumble of the high-speed train, but they still reached the other’s ears.

The Deception Puppet shrugged nonchalantly and continued, “Let me reiterate, I’m not your enemy. I know who you are.”

“Out of options, so you’ve resorted to playing oracle?” Magical Girl Ash said sarcastically.

The puppet lowered its face, its hollow eyes fixated on her, and whispered a name softly.

“Bai Zini.”

Upon hearing this, Ash instantly froze in place, and within the next second, her gaze turned cold. The gun barrel at the tip of Cinderella’s umbrella was already open, the dark hole ready to emit dangerous sparks at any moment.

“You have three seconds to explain,” she said gravely, “or I’ll shoot.”

“Three…”

As the countdown fell, the puppet maintained its raised hands, silent. Its slight body swayed atop the speeding train, like a humanoid weathervane.

“Two…”

Ash counted down, her right hand already poised on the handle of Cinderella’s umbrella, with magic missiles in the chamber ready to launch.

“One…”

Just as Ash was about to pull the trigger, the puppet suddenly started speaking with a smile.

“I know who Black Wukong is; it’s the person you’ve been chasing,” it said hauntingly.

Ash’s expression turned even colder, “And so?”

“I also know about your family, friends, everything around you. It’s not difficult. Once you know your name, all your information is accessible,” the puppet said, tilting its head, “So, I understand why you hide your identity. It’s for your family, isn’t it?”

“Shut up! You strange thing!”

“Oh, did you know? I was originally thinking of being called ’Riddle Man,’ but ’strange thing’ has a nice ring to it. Call me Strange Thing from now on,” the puppet suggested, raising a nonexistent eyebrow.

“There won’t be an ’after’; you’re going to die by my hand right now.”

“Didn’t your master just teach you that Magic Girls can’t kill?”

“So what?” Ash sneered coldly, “You don’t think I really dare not kill you, do you?”

“Impulsiveness is the devil, I advise you to cool down your head.”

The puppet spoke softly, raising its right hand slowly and putting up a finger: “Each time I appear, I will tell you a secret. As long as you’re willing to maintain long-term cooperation with me, I will tell you all the truths of this world.”

“I don’t need your secrets, but I will tear off that fake face of yours and see who you really are.”

“You’re really violent, Magic Girls should be cuter.” The puppet paused for a moment, “So, here’s the gift for this meeting: ’Black Wukong is right beside you.’”

Ash was startled for a moment, then shouted lowly, “Nonsense!”

“Believe it or not, that’s up to you.” The puppet laughed and said, “Well, it’s time for me to go, see you next time.”

“Next time? I’ll just catch you and take you back to the division; we can see each other every day.”

The moment she finished speaking, Ash held the blade in her right hand and the umbrella in her left, the tip of the umbrella aimed behind her burst forth with a current, propelling her towards the Deception Puppet, the blade tip pressed against his jaw.

“Hey, I would advise you to stay away from me, I’m about to explode,” the puppet abruptly said. “By explode, I don’t mean ’I’m going to fight you to the death,’ I mean… I’m seriously going to explode.”

“You think you’re funny, huh, strange thing?”

Ash said coldly, pointing the gun muzzle of the umbrella tip at his forehead, while her other hand pressed the tachi against his jaw, “Move one more time, and your head will fall to the ground.”

The puppet said, “Even if you chop off my head, I will still explode, so you better stay away from me.” And with that, it began to count down aggressively.

“Three…”

In that second, the temperature of the puppet’s body surface skyrocketed.

“Two….”

In the next second, crimson cracks filled the puppet’s entire body.

“One…”

Before the final countdown could finish, Ash swiftly swung her blade and decapitated the puppet using the tachi.

At the same time, she forcefully aimed Cinderella’s gun muzzle at its chest and did not choose to shoot a magic bullet, but rather blasted out a strong current of air, blowing the puppet’s body from the top of the bullet train into the night sky, avoiding an explosion that could harm the passengers below.

At that moment, the puppet’s head flew across the night sky.

It opened its mouth, staring at Ash’s silhouette, and still said composedly, “We will meet again, Miss Ash. I may die, but there are thousands and thousands of me that will return.”

The puppet’s voice fell with the cold wind, replaced by a sinister laugh.

The body that was hurled into the air exploded completely, turning into a flash of fireworks-like light that briefly illuminated the sky above the bustling district.

Listening to the neurotic laughter echoing in the air, Ash felt as though a large hand was squeezing her chest. She stood rooted to the spot, unable to move.

Since becoming a Magic Girl, it had been a very long time since she had felt the emotion of “fear,” so it took her a while to come back to her senses.

“What the hell is this thing…”

She stared at the flash of light disappearing into the night sky and muttered softly to herself.

Suddenly, as if realizing something, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands, eyes widening, “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, a Magic Girl just swore.”

Ash murmured to herself while hugging her shoulders and squatting on the roof of the train, shivering twice in the oncoming cold wind.

“Amitabha… Master, forgive me, I didn’t mean to swear, it’s all because of this damn strange thing!”

The more she spoke, the angrier she got, so she stood up and fiercely stomped a few times on the train roof, then raised her hand holding Cinderella and swiftly flew into the night sky.