NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

The golem was something that we had not seen before. It was a puppet that could predict our movements even before we could hit it. That's what Okami mentioned when we arrived at the place.

And when I tried attacking the golem, that puppet dodged my attacks, even at point-blank range. It surprised me to experience it firsthand, which was an impossible feat to do.

But it happened.

"If it could even predict my lightning speed, how could we outmanoeuvre the puppet?" I asked Okami, hoping to get some answers.

I was a veteran for fighting against enemies and whatnot. And I cleanly assassinated every one of them using my Penitent's blade.

However, when confronted with this puppet, everything had turned upside down.. It was as if Alice had slapped us with the puppet she created, hindering us from getting to our next objective.

"Do we have a plan, or what?" I asked Okami once again, waiting for answers.

"Wait! I'm thinking! I've never faced someone that would follow the script… The game developers would never make something like that….," Okami answered, but afterwards looked at the citadel in front of us. "But Alice can since she could manipulate something like that. She could apply a script to her puppets."

"You lost me with the word 'script'. I keep hearing that from the two of you. But I still have no idea about it!" I exclaimed.

"You don't need to worry about it! For now, focus on attacking the puppet on the right, and I will attack it on its left. Try synchronizing our attacks into one and don't let that golem think! That puppet surely can't defend two attacks at the same time," Okami cried, while giving out his orders. "

While that happened, Okami sent a whisper (or private message) to our party. A box appeared in front of me, paired with a blaring ring that notified the message.

[Ryoshi, don't join the fight. Try launching those three arrows at once and capture that golem's movements.]

[Got it, Wolf. I'll do just that] Ryoshi replied instantly after reading the message. [Damn, I feel like a sniper playing inside this game.]

[Focus, Ryoshi. We only have one chance.]

[Two, actually.]

After their exchange, Fenrir and I came face to face with the golem once again. It was just the two of us who could fight, considering that our ranged attackers still had some job to do at the back. Match needed to protect our rear and above from the incoming magic projectiles. Ryoshi needed to conceal himself from the puppet while participating in this fight.

But if we're up against this puppet that could detect our movements, I doubt Ryoshi could position himself outside the enemy's range.

I did not voice my concerns and tried Okami's strategy. Since he was the veteran player in this game, following his lead would increase our chances of achieving our goal.

And that was what we did.

Okami went to the left side and dashed straight at the golem. I tailed his behind and went to the right, hoping I could find an angle against the golem. The two of us attacked at the same time, just like what Okami had instructed me to do.

However, the golem had the upper hand in this clash. It jerked backwards and attempted to manipulate our hands to attack each other.

Fortunately, the two of us were no pushovers, as we effortlessly evaded that cheap trick. The golem expected that occurrence to happen. So the golem retreated backwards and reset its position.

"Tsk. You son of a bitch. Come back here, you coward Alice!" Okami shouted, while pointing his sword towards the puppet. "Who told me to come here to your palace, huh? You! Why aren't you deactivating these puppets of yours!?"

Within a few seconds, the golem faced Okami as if glaring at it with its eyeless face. Upon looking at the puppet's flat surface, a flash emerged in front of us. When we squinted our eyes, an image of a distorted girl's figure welcomed us.

The puppets stopped firing for a second, respecting the presence of their creator appearing on the battlefield. Match and Ryoshi, who focused themselves on the back lines, finally found a breather from the battle. All of us, including our enemies, stared at the holograph before us.

After a moment, a corrupted chuckle emerged from the window, sending shivers down into our spines. We could not discern Alice from the box, but we had an idea who was behind that screen.

Those two crimson eyes were enough to spook everyone away. But since we were still in battle, all of us had no other choice but to wait for Alice's words.

[You finally came, Fenrir. I've been waiting for you] Alice exclaimed, with her soft, angelic voice coming from the window. [But you're…. different. Are you using a different account from your usual? The Fenrir I know has a menacing look in his eyes, paired with his dirty appearance. You don't like someone who could beat strong opponents.]

Despite the image she projected from the box, Alice was like a young girl around Match's age. However, after hearing her story from Okami, I doubted she was just a young, ignorant girl.

But as we dug deeper at her enigmatic features, Alice knew about Code more than anyone of us combined.

"Hey! You want to meet me, right? Then why don't you open this goddamn gate, and let us through your castle!" Okami shouted, while growling at her. "And, yeah! I'm not using my main account since I already logged into this game before I could even have the chance to change my account!"

[Ah, yes. You do have those intense eyes, like the ones who had in your Fenrir account. Although you're using a smurf account, you're still capable of killing my puppets... But let's see how long you would last fighting against my finest creation.] Alice replied, while flashing us a snicker. [Forgive me, Fenrir, but I need to test your strength before meeting me. Like every other boss fight you faced, I need to gauge your capabilities, especially that you're using a smurf account, instead of your main. And I really love the way you control my puppets without even defeating them. Don't worry about a single thing, Fenrir. I already ceased the puppets from firing their magic projectiles in your direction. You could thank me afterwards if you successfully meet me.…. This will be over soon.]

After saying those words, the screen disappeared. The golem reactivated itself again and readied itself to fight against the two of us. Fenrir and I positioned ourselves once again and prepared our weapons to battle. Match and Ryoshi also did the same, hoping they could finish this fight without having no casualties.

"Well, there goes our chance. You heard the puppet. We need to trap this golem and run straight towards the gate! We only have two minutes left before that other golem starts moving!" Okami shouted, with his eyes dead serious against the puppet.

This fight was our last chance if we wished to enter the gate. If we couldn't trap the golem, we would have to fight the two puppets, while avoiding the raining magic spells. And since those puppets from afar stopped firing their abilities, Match could finally join this battle.

The little girl already made her way beside me while gripping her stave. Match met my eyes and greeted me as soon as she positioned herself on the battlefield.

"I've come to help you guys! Is there anything I've missed while I was gone?" Match asked.

"Nothing. It's just that we're having trouble fighting this golem who has future sight," I answered.

"Future sight?"

"Yeah. This puppet could predict our attacks even before we launched them. And this puppet still has some tricks under its sleeves that we couldn't grasp."

After our exchange, Match nodded after learning about the fight. She immediately rehearsed herself and prepared some magic circles at the palm of her hands.

"So I just need to attack the golem randomly, right?"

Before we knew it, Match discharged those magical flares towards everywhere on the battlefield. Each fireball she launched could burn our hands or body parts. Despite these repercussions, Match continued firing her spells at the scene.

Fenrir, Ryoshi, and I immediately dodged the attacks, unsure what to do about it. Before Ryoshi could retort, he looked at the golem, who took a hit against Match's spell. A grin emerged from his mouth as he finally realised the weakness of our enemy.

"Why did we not figure that out earlier! If the golem could predict our movements, attacking the puppet without thinking would eliminate that part!" Okami shouted, and charged straight at the golem.

The golem readied its stance and protected itself from Ryoshi's attacks. However, thanks to Ryoshi's super-speed, the golem could not keep up with him. Half of Okami's attacks hit the puppet, while half of it got deflected. Although that happened, we now had a way to win this fight.