Carola

## Background Story

In the northeastern part of the Empire, near the Foggy Jungle, lies Sovika, an unremarkable little town. Within it is a puppet workshop belonging to a well-known puppeteer named Oakley Linte. Oakley excelled at crafting exquisite marionettes. They were not only agile but also had lifelike expressions.

Oakler had a son named Cauche. Unfortunately, Cauche was born with a disability. As far as he could recall, Cauche was always seen as strange and ridiculed by others, causing him to become extremely withdrawn. Oakler, who loved his son dearly, crafted all sorts of puppets to be Cauche’s companions and make him feel less lonely. Oakler even imparted all of the puppet-crafting knowledge that he had accumulated to Cauche with the hope that he could pass on his craft to his son.

Cauche did not let his father down, in just a handful of years, his craftsmanship had reached his father’s level. Such progress could be attributed to his extraordinary talent or perhaps his prolonged isolation, which allowed him to invest all of his passion and effort into the study of puppet-making. Either way, he managed to catch up and even surpass his father.

After several more years, Oakler contracted an illness and passed away. Cauche, naturally, inherited his father’s puppet workshop and became Sovika town’s new puppeteer. On the first day that Cauche took over the puppet workshop, he refused all business requests and locked himself in the workshop’s basement. No one knew what the eccentric son was up to. It was not only until one month later did the door to the workshop’s basement open once again.

Cauche walked out of the basement, his face pale. He had dark circles under his eyes and had lost a significant amount of weight, as though he had not slept a wink for over ten days. However, his eyes glimmered, and his expression was full of zeal and satisfaction. Alongside Cauche appeared a human-sized marionette that was exquisite beyond imagination.

”Carola, my beloved, my masterpiece!”

The mad idea of crafting a perfect puppet companion for himself had lingered in Cauche’s mind for many years. Finally, he had turned the idea into a reality.

However, this was far from sufficient, she was neither beautiful nor perfect enough. He needed to find a way to make Carola even better…

Cauche turned his attention toward the town’s beautiful young girls…

Abductions followed by murders began to occur in quick succession within the town. The victims of these cases were all pretty girls around 18 years of age. Typically, their bodies would be found three days after their disappearance and would be in a horrifying state of mutilation; their skin was peeled off, their eyes were gouged out, their hair was cut off, and their nails were ripped out… Understandably, the town’s residents became extremely anxious and fearful.

The person behind the murders was none other than Cauche. Thanks to the young girls’ fresh bodies, Carole’s appearance was now close to perfection and was indistinguishable from a human’s. Only one step remained.

Cauche heard that Nolutral, the Tree of Life, stood deep in the woodland and that its fruit had the power to grant vitality to any being. Therefore, Cauche tried to enter the woodland by any means possible in the hopes that he could obtain Nolutral’s fruit. Naturally, such a perverse action would never be permitted. The guards of the Woodland Temple quickly discovered the trespassing Cauche, chased him toward the Foggy Jungle, and warned him against returning to the woodland.

The driven-out Cauche became enraged. He limped around with his impaired body in the Foggy Jungle, using the vilest language imaginable to insult and curse those who prevented him from reaching his goal. Cauche thought about heading toward the forbidden land, the Abyss, and perhaps requesting help from the monsters or some other beings. As long as his dream could be fulfilled, Cauche would ask for help from anyone and do anything, no matter the price.

The fog in the jungle surreptitiously grew thicker. As though it could perceive Cauche’s inner desires, the fog in the jungle slowly gathered in front of Cauche until it condensed into a phantom. The phantom called himself Nekahlis and claimed that he used to be a master of black magic when he was still alive. He was also proficient in life-force magic. Then, he held out an oddly-shaped crystal, which glowed with a dim light. He informed Cauche that this gem could fulfill his long-cherished dream. Of course, Cauche needed to pay a “small price” in return.

Though Cauche was somewhat sceptical, his rationality was overwhelmed by his relentless desires. After feigning consideration for several seconds, Cauche stretched his hand out and took the gem. Cauche did not pay heed to the “price” that the spectre mentioned and was transfixed by the opportunity to finally realise his dream.

Hurriedly returning to the puppet workshop, Cauche fetched Carola and positioned her properly before setting the mysterious crystal into her control panel. As a ray of light flashed by, Carole’s drooping head slowly lifted. Dazed, she blinked and turned to look at the nearby Cauche, who was thrilled beyond belief.

“It worked! It worked!”

Cauche excitedly rushed to embrace Carola, hoping to hug his most beloved masterpiece. However, at that moment, Carole’s slender fingers suddenly turned into sharp blades, which pierced Cauche’s chest! An astonished Cauche looked at Carola and whimpered with pain, his body slowly collapsing in a pool of blood. The last words that Cauche would hear rang in his ears with a low murmur: “This is the price that you had to pay.”

Carola’s blades slowly retracted as she continued to blankly survey her surroundings. She then cautiously stood up and walked out of the puppet workshop, her silhouette gradually disappearing into the dark night…

## Hero Skills

 Deathfall
 Puppet's Heart (Passive)
 Precise Blade (Passive)
Every 1% increase in Carola's CRIT RES Rate additionally increases her ATK by 1%.

## Rune Skills

 Dual Blades of Carnage
 Dual Blades of Carnage: Evolved
When an ally receives a buff, there's a 100% chance to double the buff's stacks.

## Hero Lines

* *What is a soul? I don't have anything like that.*

* *Awaiting your orders.*

* *Anything for you, Master. Carola will obey.*

* *Please, die.*