"My esteemed guests.

" Mynna's magically enhanced voice resounded through the ballroom.

"I hope our master musicians have helped you to work up an appetite because our chefs have given their all to prepare our meal.

"

The audience clapped at their host before moving to the adjacent room. Mynna and Manohar approached Baron Mox, who was hosting the meat puppet most likely to survive the extraction process along with its host.

"Baron Mox, my father would like to have a word in private. He is waiting for you in his office.

" She gave him a graceful curtsy before offering to accompany him. Mynna held his arm while making small talk and giggling at every of the Baron replies.

He didn't even notice Manohar walking a few steps behind them. The Professor whispered one spell after the other, to make sure the events with the first meat puppet wouldn't happen again.

The Baron was so distracted by Mynna's flirting that he didn't pay attention to his surroundings. There were many people waiting for him in the office, but Marquis Lanza wasn't among them.

The moment they stepped inside, a mage from the Association struck the back of Mox's neck with an enchanted club, making him faint.

"Good, this will cut the connection with his master. Now make me some space.

" Manohar stepped forward and activated the tier five spell Life Ward, enveloping all those present but the Baron with a thin layer of light magic that prevented their life forces from being affected by external sources.

He had developed it to counter all those abilities similar to an Abomination's touch, making it impossible for vampires or meat puppets to harm his mind or body respectively.

Then he cast in rapid succession his diagnostic spell Third Eye and his Split spell. They were both tier five spells that Manohar had created when he was still a fifth year student and had kept perfecting them every time he expanded his knowledge.

The core of the spells was always the same, but Manohar had updated them so many times that if he bothered keeping track of all of their different versions, he would discover to have recently reached the triple digits.

Third Eye was similar to Invigoration, allowing Manohar's mana to resonate with the patient's body. By shifting his focus whenever he perceived an anomaly, Manohar would obtain detailed information almost up to the cellular.

Split was one of his most prized spells and the reason behind most of his achievements. A normal tier five healer spell would use darkness magic to destroy diseased tissues and replace them with healthy ones.

Split defied this logic. It used darkness magic to surgically cut the diseased tissues, or in this case the meat puppet, from the patient's body while nurturing them both. This way Manohar would heal the patient and collect a perfectly preserved sample to study afterward.

Since Baron Mox was unconscious and the vortex dormant, the whole process required less than a minute. The meat puppet screeched and squirmed while the Professor pulled it out in one piece from the Baron's mouth.

The puppet looked like a section of intestine, except it was full of throbbing veins which burst open and released dozen of small tentacles. The tentacles shapeshifted into small hands, clawing the air in an attempt to harm Manohar, but to no avail.

His shield made of light prevented the infection, while his armor blocked the weak limbs. The thing then turned into a small head. Its blue eyes had just opened when the Professor shoved it inside a darkened container which he promptly sealed with a spell.

He ignored the retching sound the guards and Mynna were producing while putting the magical jar in a bag. It was made of a thick black cloth, covered in runes which would prevent the puppeteer from locating the position of their minions.

"What in the gods' names is that thing? Who could be so evil to create such an abomination?

" Mynna managed to say between barfs. Manohar was supposed to tell her to turn around, or at least to warn her about the nature of his task.

Unluckily, all the time lost made him impatient and unwilling to cuddle a young miss's feelings.

"That which is done out of love is always beyond good and evil. And we mages do love our work. If you are done puking, your Ladyship, I need to collect another specimen.

" Manohar said while casting a few cantrips that cleaned Mynna's dress and made nausea disappear.

Cursing her bad luck, Mynna stepped outside the room and moved to their next target.

***

'That should be impossible!' The one controlling the meat puppet couldn't believe their own eyes.

'Manohar managed to extract my puppy bypassing its self destruct mechanism, keep it alive despite the lack of a host, and even sever our connection thanks to that bag. To add insult to the injury, this time he was even faster.

'Now I'm certain there is a flaw in my opus. Centuries of hard work ruined by a mere brat! I need to capture him alive and force him to reveal to me how can I fix this flaw. Even if I kill him, whoever inherits his legacy would still be a threat to me.

'It's time to get serious.'

***

Mynna and Manohar approached Viscountess Ebla and lured her in the Marquis' office. Everything went as predicted until the meat puppet was flushed out of its host. Unluckily, it had already a completely formed mouth, which allowed it to activate an array hidden inside the room.

Manohar's focus was on the puppet. Keeping three tier five spells was demanding even for him. When the creature triggered the trap, he was helpless against it just like Mynna. Chains of lightning turned the room into a thunderstorm.

Manohar managed to cast a few healing spells, but since it was made from the flesh of its master, the creature was immune to the lightning. It controlled the array with cruel precision, focusing the lightning bolts on the Professor as soon as the others lost consciousness.

"This shouldn't be happening. I checked this room for arrays.

" He said while the array tormented his body.

"I know.

" The creature replied with a grin.

"That's why I placed it right after you left.

"

Before fainting, Manohar could almost recognize that low, feminine voice.

Almost.

***

Jirni and Lith were respectively keeping an eye on the guests and the Marquis' office. When they heard screams of pain coming from the latter, they immediately shapeshifted their clothes into their much more comfortable uniform while running toward their destination.

"Secure the perimeter and send back up! Something went wrong, we…

" Before Jirni could finish giving her orders via the communication earpiece, more screams ensued but they came from the main hall.

This time they were screams of fear. Jirni and Lith turned around just in time to see all the remaining suspects with glowing blue eyes. The nobles' bodies expanded as they absorbed those near them and turned into a mass of bulging muscles.

A dozen Carpenters roared their challenge as they charged toward the Marquis' office to protect their companion.

"We need help, and we need it yesterday!

"