Chapter 681: Collector

"Alright, let's head inside first."

Loren connected the Puppet Strings to Orianna, bringing Orianna back under his control as well.

Then Loren had them release him, though he didn't push Naclis away.

"Where's Cecelia?"

Loren held Naclis and looked around, but didn't spot Cecelia. Normally she should have come rushing out at this moment.

"Oh, she set up some traps waiting for you to walk into them. Cecelia told me not to tell you."

Gwen still wore her blank, innocent expression as she told Loren everything.

"Alright..."

That was indeed very much Cecelia's style.

But Loren didn't call Cecelia out on it. He pretended not to know and planned to go find Cecelia.

Yet when Loren pushed open the door to Cecelia's room, he suddenly triggered some mechanism. In an instant, Loren was bound by ropes and then yanked onto Cecelia's bed.

"You're mine alone now."

Cecelia, who had been lying in wait, immediately pinned Loren down. Her deep crimson hair fell across Loren's face, tickling him.

Loren had always preferred to be the one in control, so he activated the Temperance Card, converting Intelligence into Strength. In an instant, he snapped the ropes and turned the tables, pinning Cecelia down instead.

"Now I'm the only one who belongs to you."

Cecelia immediately changed her tune, her eyes still burning with the same intensity as always.

Truthfully, she was fine with however things went, as long as she could have Loren to herself at some moment in time.

...

"What are they doing?"

Gwen noticed Anna crouching by the door, eavesdropping, and casually asked.

"Yes."

"?"

Gwen didn't quite understand, but couldn't be bothered to think too hard about it and simply walked off.

Naclis stared at the doorway, biting her lip, unsure whether she should burst in.

"What are you squatting by the door for?"

At that moment, Gwen asked Anna another question, though her tone was different from before.

"Didn't you already ask? I'm eavesdropping on Master Mentor's... wait, no..."

Anna stiffly turned her head, looking at Gwen's expression with some awkwardness.

She knew that Loren had now taken over Gwen's control.

"You two get some rest for now. I'll arrange what comes next in a bit. No rush."

Now that Loren had reclaimed Gwen and Orianna, his tactics would need some adjustments.

Loren even felt that just these two weren't enough. He could recreate the entire KDA girl group... After all, from the moment he transmigrated until now, through all the gifts he'd received and things he'd plundered, he'd accumulated quite a lot of valuable items. Making a few more puppets wouldn't be difficult.

Although puppets of Orianna's caliber were far too costly, and even the current Loren couldn't mass-produce them, slightly weaker versions were still doable.

He didn't need them to be able to shatter Angels, just to hold them off.

Probably only Loren in the entire world would dare to think this way. Angels were the undisputed ceiling. Even Ninth-tier mages, the pinnacle of humanity, wouldn't dare be certain they could hold off an Angel.

"I think you've got more important things to do..."

Anna flashed a mischievous grin and, after tossing out that remark, ran off before Loren could discipline her.

Loren didn't say anything more. He released his control over Gwen. His original goal had simply been to drive away Anna, who was squatting by the door.

Although this sort of thing was already tacitly understood by everyone, Loren still found it a bit strange.

"I'll go cook."

Mirrorheart walked into the Kitchen. This time, Cecelia's home had far more ingredients available. Gwen and Orianna had also been taking care of Cecelia during this period.

After discovering the changes here, Mirrorheart didn't seem surprised at all and skillfully began cooking.

By the time Mirrorheart finished cooking, Loren had just finished up as well. He emerged alone from Cecelia's Bedroom.

Feeling everyone's gazes on him, Loren coughed to ease the awkwardness:

"Ahem... let's eat first. While we eat, I'll fill you in on the next step of the plan."

Loren sat down and began steering the conversation:

"We'll be staying here for a while. During this time, I'll be continuously making puppets and sending them out to gather information for us."

"Won't that be too exhausting for you?"

Laila asked with concern. She knew that Loren's method of controlling puppets was especially draining on his energy.

Controlling one or two was fine, but controlling many, Laila genuinely worried Loren wouldn't be able to handle it.

"It's fine. As I reclaim more and more authority, my spirit grows stronger as well. I estimate that I could directly control an entire army now without any problem."

Anna had barely eaten, focused entirely on listening to Loren's plan.

"Next, I'll first send a puppet to check on the situation with Noah. Once he's finished building the nuclear bombs, we'll go retrieve them."

"As for the remaining puppets, I'll have them search for information about the Holy Spring Water, as well as the remaining Tarot cards and key items."

"What about us?"

Gwen promptly raised her hand. She wanted a mission too.

"You two wait for now. If any urgent situation comes up, I'll have you deploy."

Loren wasn't worried about Gwen's intelligence sabotaging his plan. When it came time for real action, he'd be the one controlling her anyway.

"By the way, Master, when I had consciousness, I noticed something extra on me."

With that, Gwen pulled out a gun and placed it in front of Loren.

It was a large-caliber old-style Pistol, and Loren was very familiar with it.

"The Collector?"

"Yeah, it's the Collector."

"..."

Loren was somewhat speechless. He hadn't expected Gwen to actually have the Collector. This was indeed Cassian's style.

"Is the Collector's effect the same as what I know?"

"It's the same. This gun has an execution effect. It will directly execute enemies who are at low health."

"Execution... What's this gun's status? Could it kill Angels or even Orthodox Gods?"

If it really could, that would make things much easier.

Loren didn't dare hope for killing Orthodox Gods. After all, even the Death Card couldn't kill them. Orthodox Gods might be weak, but their status was high. The authority they possessed came from The Final Singer.

But if it could at least kill Angels, that would provide Loren with considerable help. Even the current Loren, if he wanted to kill an Angel, would have to rely on the restricted Severance Ritual.

If the Collector could really kill an Angel, Loren wouldn't need to be in such a hurry to get the Death Card.

"I don't know. Haven't tried."

Gwen shook her head. She'd never had the opportunity to encounter an Angel, so there was no way she could have tested it.

"Alright..."

Loren picked up the Collector and examined it. The gun was very heavy, and the feel wasn't actually very good.

"This gun is Cassian's creation. He doesn't have a similar authority, so this gun absolutely cannot execute Angels."

Just as Loren and the others were talking, a small hand suddenly took the Collector. Death had appeared here at some point:

"So, you'll still have to find a way to obtain me first."