The entrance to the Cinema was not barricaded. It was wide open.
It was an invitation.
Aria stood at the dark corridor leading to Hall 1. The air was freezing cold. Her [Perfect Body] instinct was screaming: Danger.
"Stay close, Onyx," she whispered. Her grip on the cleaver was white-knuckled. "This one feels different."
She stepped inside.
Click.
The moment her heel touched the carpet, floodlights exploded into life.
Blinding white light focused on her.
"And... ACTION!"
A voice boomed from the speakers, distorted and manic.
Aria shielded her eyes. Through the glare, she saw the scene.
The theater seats had been ripped out. The entire hall was a hollow arena.
In the center, a mountain of furniture, bones, and metal was piled up to form a grotesque throne.
Sitting on it was a man in a purple suit. He held a silver cane, and his face was painted like a weeping clown.
But the terrifying part wasn't him.
It was the wires.
Thousands of them.
Aria's [Eye of Truth] activated instantly. The world turned into a grid.
The air was filled with razor-sharp, translucent mana threads. They crisscrossed the entire room like a deadly laser grid.
One wrong step, and she would be diced into cubes.
"Welcome, my dear!" The Director stood up, spreading his arms. "I watched you on the security cameras. You killed the spider. Marvelous! Brutal! Elegant!"
He pointed his cane at her.
"But you made a mistake. You entered my set."
He flicked his pinky finger.
ZING!
A thread invisible to the naked eye snapped toward Aria's neck.
Aria threw herself to the floor.
Snip.
A lock of her black hair was severed silently. It floated to the ground.
If she had been a millisecond slower, that would have been her head.
"Reflexes!" The Director laughed, clapping his hands. "Let's see if you can dance!"
He began to conduct an invisible orchestra. His fingers moved frantically.
The wires around Aria came alive. They weren't just traps; they were weapons. They swept toward her like a closing net.
"Onyx! Shadow!" Aria yelled.
She rolled forward, dodging a horizontal slash. A thread cut through the sleeve of her Chanel jacket, drawing a line of blood on her shoulder.
First Blood.
Aria gritted her teeth. She ignored the pain.
Onyx tried to jump toward The Director.
"Ah, ah, ah! No pets allowed!" The Director sneered.
He pulled a thick red thread.
BOOM!
The floor beneath Onyx exploded. A trapdoor opened, and a massive, hulking figure climbed out.
It was a Mutated Butcher Zombie (Level 3). But it was modified. Its eyes were sewn shut, and massive steel blades were surgically grafted onto its arms.
Thick mana strings connected the Zombie to The Director's fingers.
"Meet my Stunt Double!" The Director cackled. "Kill the cat!"
The Butcher roared and charged at Onyx. The sheer force of its swing cracked the concrete floor. Onyx was forced to dodge, his shadow abilities suppressed by the relentless attacks of the puppet.
Aria was alone.
She was trapped in the wire web, bleeding, with the Boss watching from his high throne.
"What's wrong?" The Director taunted, leaning on his cane. "Where is that arrogance from the lobby? You are just a fly in my web."
Aria stood up slowly. Blood trickled down her arm, staining the expensive tweed.
She took a deep breath. She looked at the wires.
Her [Eye of Truth] was analyzing rapidly.
Material: Mana-infused Steel.
Weakness: High tension. If struck at the anchor point, it snaps.
Boss Weakness: He cannot move while controlling the Butcher and the Web simultaneously.
Aria smiled. It was a terrifying, bloody smile.
"You talk too much," she said.
She didn't run away from the wires. She ran at them.
"Suicide?" The Director raised an eyebrow. "Cut her to pieces!"
He swept his hand, bringing a wall of wires crashing down on her.
[Skill: Shadow Step]
Aria vanished.
But she didn't teleport to the Boss. He had shields there.
She teleported into the air, directly above the main chandelier.
She wasn't aiming for him. She was aiming for the Anchor.
All the wires in the room were connected to the massive chandelier above the throne.
"Gravity works for everyone," Aria shouted.
She swung her heavy cleaver with both hands. [Strength: 25].
CLANG!
The thick steel chain holding the chandelier shattered.
The Director looked up, his eyes widening in horror. "No! My lighting!"
The two-ton crystal chandelier, dragging thousands of razor-wires with it, crashed down.
CRASH!
The impact shook the entire building. Dust and glass exploded everywhere.
The wires went slack instantly. The "Stunt Double" zombie froze, its strings cut by the falling debris. Onyx immediately pounced, tearing the zombie's throat out.
On the throne, The Director was pinned under the wreckage. His legs were crushed.
Aria landed gracefully on the debris. She wiped the blood from her cheek.
She walked over to him.
The Director was coughing up blood. His purple suit was shredded. He looked up at her, pain and fear replacing his arrogance.
"Wait..." he wheezed. "Wait! It was... just a performance! I am... I am a genius! You can't kill art!"
Aria looked down at him. She didn't look angry. She looked disappointed.
"The set design was good," she admitted.
She raised her boot and stepped on his chest, pinning him down.
"But the villain talked too much."
The Director's eyes bulged. He tried to stab her with a hidden knife, but his arms were broken.
"Negan would have bashed my head in by now," Aria whispered, referencing an old TV show. "You? You just played with strings."
She raised her cleaver high.
The Director screamed. "CUT! CU—"
CHOP.
The blade descended.
Silence returned to the theater.
[Ding!]
[Target Eliminated: The Director (Level 3 - Elite)]
[Combat Assessment: Hard Fight.]
[Reward: +5 Agility, +5 Intelligence.]
[Loot: Skill Book - "Puppet Mastery"]
[Loot: The Director's Cane (Rare Weapon).]
Aria let out a long breath. Her shoulder was throbbing. She was tired.
This wasn't a game anymore. The humans were evolving just as fast as the zombies.
She looked at her ruined Chanel jacket.
"Damn it," she sighed. "I really liked this one."