The ability Terpsichora shared similarities with Shalnark's [Autopilot Mode] from [Black Voice]. Both used automatic control to enhance their own power.
Shalnark's Autopilot erupted with a massive amount of aura, while Terpsichora enhanced strength, speed, and reaction time.
Pitou believed her speed and reactions were already at the pinnacle. But after facing Law, she realized there was always someone stronger.
Even though she had been suppressed before, now she had Terpsichora...
'I can become stronger!'
Muttering this in her heart, Pitou charged forward without hesitation, like an eagle swooping down on a rabbit.
Facing Pitou's renewed attack, Law's eyes shimmered with the unique light of Aura.
To see the Terpsichora's movements, he had to allocate a small portion of his Aura to his eyes.
'Even faster. That's the puppet's ability.'
Law thought to himself, summoning the White General.
No matter how fast Pitou became, Law had at least two methods to defend: the White General, or the deceleration function of his Domain.
The former was more reliable, the latter riskier.
Clang!
Pitou, her speed increased by another level, was once again sent flying.
Pitou was stunned. With no time to think deeply, she launched an even more exaggerated, ferocious assault.
Utilizing Terpsichora, the moment she was knocked back, she could reverse her trajectory mid-air like a swallow's return, rapidly turning to attack again.
However, the White General's slashes could come from any angle. Despite Pitou's increased speed, her attacks continued to miss.
For a time, accompanied by sharp, resonant impacts, with Law's position as the center point, Pitou's afterimage-like movements outlined a complex, uneven kaleidoscope pattern in the surrounding air.
'Completely lacking in combat experience.'
Law gave an honest assessment.
Admittedly, under the enhancement of Terpsichora, Pitou's speed and offensive power were enough to make any Triple-Star Hunter break out in a cold sweat. But her combat style was too naive, only straightforward aggression.
If she had properly utilized the characteristics of Terpsichora, she could have, within that super-high-speed assault, performed all sorts of bewildering feints. But Pitou did not do this.
Despite this, Law couldn't immediately subdue Pitou because of the now seemingly even stronger Terpsichora, which allowed Pitou to continuously evade danger.
But Law wasn't worried at all. His gaze followed Pitou's figure as it shifted rapidly, while simultaneously committing every detail of the puppet's movements to memory.
The primary control area of each finger, the amplitude of each joint's movement...
Any action, even as subtle as a slight bend of a fingertip, was a fixed control command.
This was the flaw of puppet control, and a mistake by the user. In developing the ability, the considerations were insufficient. If she had traded harsh conditions for the Terpsichora's invisibility, she could have avoided this weakness.
Thus, Pitou's frenzied assault continued for a full cycle, and Law had memorized all of the puppet's actions.
'He can only be forced into defense.'
During the round of frenzied suppression, Pitou naturally came to this conclusion.
She was certain she wouldn't make a mistake. So, all she had to do was wait for her opponent to err.
Harboring this thought, even a protracted battle was acceptable. The most important thing was to eliminate this formidable human.
The second round of the frenzied assault began!
Pitou continued pouncing, her eyes cold, the Aura she emitted laden with deep killing intent.
However, the second round of attacks had only just begun when Law finally swung his blade. Leaving no room for evasion, it perfectly struck at the precise timing of the puppet's control.
'Was it a coincidence?'
In her lightning-fast pounce, Pitou stared in shock as her right arm flew through the air, the familiar gleam of light flashing again in the corner of her eye.
The White General's long blade stabbed down from above, piercing through Pitou's back, forcibly pinning her to the ground mid-high-speed movement.
Even with enhanced speed and reaction time, she was still critically wounded in the same way...
Pinned by the blade, Pitou lay face down, a flicker of darkness passing through her eyes. She nearly gave up resisting due to the sense of defeat.
'For the King's safety, I couldn't fall like this.'
"Aaaahhhh!"
Pitou let out a furious scream. Her small frame, now missing both arms, erupted with intense Aura as she struggled madly. The force she exerted cracked the surrounding ground inch by inch.
But, having lost both arms, no matter how much power she poured in, she couldn't break free from the blade.
Her scream, mixed with unwillingness and rage, instantly echoed throughout the entire palace.
Everyone inside the palace heard it. This included Komugi, kneeling before the Gungi board in wait, Selina, standing in a daze, and Youpi, who held the absolute advantage.
Without a doubt, the cry affected others.
Selina seemed to wake from her stupor. She suddenly ran out of the palace, heading in the direction the King had flown.
In the combat zone, Law raised his hand, retracting Shin and catching the falling severed arm of Pitou.
He used his old method, continuously draining Aura from Pitou. When the arm stopped releasing Aura, he sealed it into the book and enacted punishment.
With a soft squelch, blood welled from Pitou's right shoulder.
Even so, she did not give up, still struggling. But the White General's long blade was like a mountain, pinning her firmly in place.
Law stood before her, looking down at that face contorted with madness, and asked, "Have you ever seen a puppet show?"
The response was Pitou's savage glare, as if she wanted to devour him alive.
"Probably not. If you had, you would know that the audience, seated in the viewing area, absolutely cannot see the puppeteer or the controls."
"That is the essence of a puppet show. To obscure the puppeteer's presence as much as possible, even separating the audience area from the performance area. This is done to highlight the value of the puppets."
"You, as the puppet, if you had perfectly concealed the puppeteer, even I might have had to pay a price to defeat you."
"So, the moment you let me see the puppeteer, your defeat was already sealed."
Pitou's frenzied expression suddenly froze. She abruptly understood something. That perfectly timed slash hadn't been a coincidence.
"You've guessed it, haven't you? Your movements were completely betrayed by the puppeteer."
Before the words fully settled, Law reached out his hand, wrapped in a bright light, and plunged it directly into Pitou's back, extracting a large heart from within.
"Due to my conditions, I can only target the heart."
Law turned away, ignoring Pitou's expression. He sealed the heart into the book, then simply enacted punishment.
In that instant, Pitou's body shuddered. She was acutely aware that her heart was gone, destroyed. Even with her strong vitality, she was not far from death.
'He's too powerful...'
'I can't let him get close to the King...'
Feeling her life force draining away, Pitou's final thought was to prevent Law from approaching the King.
She stared fixedly at Law's departing figure, as if wanting to etch him into her pupils.
As Law walked over ten meters away, the White General dissolved into motes of light and vanished. Pitou's life had less than three seconds remaining.
The luster in her eyes slowly faded, eventually disappearing entirely. In its place, a pure, malevolent black Aura, like ink, instantly filled her eyes.
It was a resentment so pure it contained no impurities. One wondered what kind of obsession and single-mindedness in life could, after death, condense into such profound resentment.