Professor Juno looked at Copy, closely examining him, her piercing glare making his usual nonchalant self nervous. Copy knew he couldn't be too careful; she was, after all, the daughter of Rintaro and Dorothy. More importantly, he had no idea what her Ornament was capable of, which made him more uneasy. Her reputation alone made him wary, and her cold, analytical stare only added to his anxiety.
Professor Juno was well aware of this; she had the upper hand in the situation. Despite his bravado, she saw through his act. She adjusted her glasses, her rabbit ears twitching, a subtle sign of her excitement. Finally, she had what she needed: someone to throw into the rift and map it out. This was a crucial step in her research, and Copy was the perfect candidate, whether he knew it or not. She was delighted in the control she held, confident that her plans would soon come to realization.
"Copy, is it?" Juno asked, her voice sharp. "Let's clarify a few things. You're looking to sever your connection with the Forbidden, correct?" She leaned forward slightly, her gaze piercing.
"That's right, ma'am. Specifically, I want to cut my connection with the boss," Copy replied, he knew this was a delicate negotiation, and every word mattered.
"I see, well, that's easy enough. Even now, I can see the 'connection' you have with them," Juno remarked, her tone analytical as she examined Copy.
Before Copy could say anything, Juno spoke first. "Before I help you, though, I need you to help me," she said.
"Firstly, I need you to tell me how to save Bard's friend. Otherwise, I'll never hear the end of it," Juno said.
As Juno mentioned the first task, Copy understood that it was just the beginning of what she would request from him. Aware of her nature, he knew that she had a series of demands lined up.
"That's easy enough, to save the girl, you'll want a soul magic expert. Soul magic targets the core of a Forbidden directly, so you can strike at them without harming the host body. Although, if you want to brute force your way through, you can beat them senseless, smash their core, and quickly heal the host body. It's straightforward but risky if not done quickly." Copy explained thoroughly.
"Alvin, go contact Bard and inform him of this information," Juno instructed with a wave of her hand.
After Alvin promptly walked out of the room to place the call to Bard, Copy couldn't resist but smirk. With Alvin gone, he found himself alone with Juno, feeling a sense of confidence that the situation was now on equal footing, although he knew appearances could be deceiving.
"Secondly, I want you to tell me about the situation with the portal that they're making at the WWP headquarters," Juno said firmly.
"Ah, so you're curious about that too, huh? Well, if you must know, the portal had to be taken apart and rebuilt from scratch because of their screw-up. Currently, they're close to finishing the reconstruction. All that's left is aligning the energy waves between our planet and the void dimension," Copy explained nonchalantly.
"So it can be activated at any moment now, huh? That could be quite troublesome," Juno sighed.
"Well, is that all, little rabbit?" Copy asked, walking up to Juno and flicking her ears.
Juno grinned mischievously. "No, there's one more thing," she said, "which in turn also severs your connection with the Forbidden. So, you should be happy. Are you ready to hear it?"
"Just hurry up and tell me, rabbit," Copy said impatiently.
"I'm going to throw you into the rift, where you'll become my spelunker," Juno said with a sharp snap of her fingers, ethereal gold chains that emerged from portals beside her. The chains encircled Copy tightly, binding him.
"You are quite the snake like me, rabbit, but unfortunately for you, I've come to a realization. You may share your mother's cunning attitude, but you lack your father's strength!" Copy snapped the ethereal chains binding him, causing them to disintegrate into the air. He sprinted towards Juno, determined to seize the upper hand in their confrontation.
Juno let out a sigh and snapped her fingers once more. In an instant, two energy dampeners were teleported behind Copy, positioned strategically to disrupt any further attempts at aggression.
Copy showed no signs of slowing down. He told out his butterfly knives. "Looks like I'll have to beat you half to death to make sure you help me!"
Copy lunged forward with his knives, slashing at Juno and cutting open her throat. Blood began to pour out, staining the desk and floor. "Oops, I didn't mean to kill you," Copy remarked casually.
"Looks like I'll need someone else's help. Thanks for nothing, rabbit," Copy said with a smirk as he turned away. Juno's body fell to the floor, her eyes now lifeless and empty.
Just as Copy was about to exit the room, he froze at the sound of a voice behind him. "You're a bastard, you know, I was going to throw you into the rift, but now, I'll make sure you suffer for every second."
Copy immediately turned around and saw Juno, seemingly unharmed.
"What the?!" Copy exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock. "I cut your throat moments ago! How are you still standing there?!"
Juno sighed and she snapped her fingers, the golden chains encircled Copy once more. Despite the energy dampeners, Copy broke free from the magical bindings. He used his snake magic, summoning a venomous boomslang that struck Juno on the neck. The venom coursed through her veins within seconds, causing her to collapse to the ground.
"There, you must be dead by now—?" Copy's voice trailed off abruptly as he suddenly became aware of someone standing right behind him.
"Looks like two energy dampeners aren't enough for you. What a pain in the ass," Juno remarked and snapped her fingers again. Instantly, energy dampeners were teleported throughout the entire room, their faint hum filling the air.
Copy grabbed Juno's head and snapped her neck. Her body fell to the floor once more, appearing lifeless. Copy his eyes closely on his body, watching as it gradually began to fade away.
"I suppose I should explain," Juno said calmly, finding herself back at her desk and sitting on her chair.
Copy stood there, speechless and confused, unable to muster a response.
"You see, I won't argue with you, I'm not as strong as my parents. But I like to think my Ornament makes up for it," Juno smirked, hinting at her unique ability.
"My Ornament, nicknamed 'Onitsed' by my mother, gives me the ability to control fate itself," Juno explained as her rabbit ears twitched. "No matter how many times you try, you won't defeat me."
"Even now, if I wanted to, I could control your fate. Let me give you an example," Juno said confidently. "In three seconds from now, the blades from your knives will be separated." As she spoke, the screws holding the blades suddenly loosened and fell to the floor, causing the blade to drop as well.
"In three seconds, your mana reserves will burst," Juno said calmly. As if on cue, Copy's mana reserves erupted, leaving him defenseless.
"In three seconds, you'll suffer from mana poisoning," Juno said. As predicted, Copy fell to one knee, gasping heavily as the effects of mana poisoning took hold. "Do you understand now? You're nothing more than a puppet to me," she remarked, a tone of pity in her voice.
"I've really been outplayed. Well played, ma'am," Copy smirked.
"But as strong as my Ornament is, it has some limitations," Juno admitted with a sigh. "For example, it doesn't work on absolutely everything. Like this, bring back Bard's friend, bring back my mother, destroy the world." She waited a moment, but nothing happened. "See? It's a pain in the ass not knowing what these restrictions are."
However, Juno smirked confidently. "But there's one thing I know for certain, I can throw you into the rift. So I hope you'll have fun exploring other universes."
"Is there someone I can ask, ma'am?" Copy asked.
"Better make it quick because I'm just about ready to toss you into the rift," Juno said.
"What exactly am I supposed to look for once I'm in the rift?" Copy asked.
"My mother, Chaos Witch Dorothy," Juno replied.
"This explains a lot. So that's where she disappeared to, Dorothy is in the rift," Copy chuckled.
"She's not the only one missing. Alongside Dorothy, you'll also need to find Tsurugi Kuroko, but finding Dorothy takes priority," Juno said.
Copy found himself unable to argue; Juno's words were true. In that moment, he realized he was no more than a puppet, every string sewn and controlled by her.
Alvin reentered the room, and Juno ordered him to take Copy to his cell.
As they exited the room, Juno removed her glasses and looked thoughtfully at the ceiling.
"Soon enough, Dorothy, you'll have to answer to me for everything..."