Golden threads materialized from Phineas's fingertips, spreading through the chamber like spider silk. The strands caught the light from Marie's orb, creating a shimmering web that filled the space between them.
Reinhard rushed forward, Zenuken cutting through several threads that tried to wrap around his legs. The severed strands fell away harmlessly, but more emerged to replace them instantly.
Marie rushed to the right, her spear spinning to deflect threads that reached for her arms and torso. Joseph ran to the left, his ears twitching, and detected the nearly invisible strands through subtle air current disturbances.
"I can feel them moving. Be careful, some of them are by themselves and not stacked together." Joseph called out, his lance sweeping in precise arcs that severed multiple threads simultaneously.
Reinhard pivoted sharply as he slashed down through clusters of golden threads that had been rushing toward their ankles. The severed strands dissolved into golden mist, but Phineas was already weaving more, his fingers dancing like a master puppeteer.
Marie lunged forward, her crimson-white spear twirling in her hand as it cut through the threads around her. Phineas responded by yanking his threads upward, and suddenly a massive iron cart came hurtling through the air toward them. Marie dropped into a roll while Reinhard stepped forward, meeting the cart with a devastating upward slash that split it in two.
Iron debris scattered across the floor while Phineas smiled and gestured.
The threads attached to debris throughout the chamber pulled taut, sending broken crates and metal fragments hurtling toward the three attackers.
Reinhard twisted aside as a crate flew past his shoulder, then brought Zenuken up to deflect a metal shard that would have struck Marie. The blade rang against iron while more projectiles continued their assault from multiple angles.
Marie's spear blurred as she began knocking away objects while simultaneously cutting through threads that tried to entangle her weapon. A piece of broken timber grazed her cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.
Joseph spun his lance overhead, creating a protective circle that batted away incoming debris while his other hand traced patterns through the air. Wind currents shifted at his command, deflecting some projectiles off their intended course.
They pressed forward despite the barrage. Reinhard activated Drasil Step as threads converged on his position from multiple directions.
Time slowed around him as he moved through the frozen web, severing strands with precise cuts before time returned to normal.
Marie hurled her spear at Phineas directly. The golden weapon shot forward, rushing out in a streak, but the threads caught it mid-flight and redirected its trajectory into the ceiling. She recalled it immediately, the spear dematerializing and reforming in her grip.
"Hahaha, it seems my audience this time isn't first timers~" Phineas says with a smile before he spreads out his arm.
Dozens of threads erupted from his palms, latching onto barrels, crates, and loose cobblestones. Then objects were lifted off the ground before becoming a whirling storm of projectiles.
Reinhard's sword became a blur of motion, batting away a barrel that would have struck Joseph's head. Marie's spear deflected two crates before she swung her spear in a circle, deflecting several smaller projectiles rushing at Reinhard.
They pushed through the maelstrom, closing the distance.
Twenty feet.
Fifteen feet.
Ten feet.
Just as Reinhard brought his sword down in a crushing overhead strike, Phineas leaped straight up, golden threads shooting from his fingers to create an aerial web. He landed on a thread as if it were solid ground, then immediately jumped to another as Zenuken flew through the air and sliced through where Phineas previously was.
"Can't hit what you can't reach." Phineas taunted, bouncing between threads like a child bouncing around in the area.
Reinhard grabbed a broken metal pole from the ground and hurled it like a javelin, forcing Phineas to leap to another thread. Marie followed up immediately, her spear leaving her hand in a perfect throw that nearly caught Phineas's shoulder. He twisted mid-air, the blade grazing his coat as he created new threads to swing away.
Then Reinhard hurled Zenuken at the thread platform supporting Phineas's left foot. The sword severed the strand, causing Phineas to shift weight rapidly to maintain balance.
Marie followed up by throwing her spear at another support thread, forcing Phineas to create new connections while moving.
Joseph tracked Phineas's movement through the air currents, and he hurled his lance. The lance blasted through the threads and forced Phineas to drop fifteen feet before catching himself on new threads, but the momentary disruption was enough for Reinhard to close in.
Zenuken turned into a blur as he cut through the thread and swept out towards the falling Phineas. But then the thread swept horizontally, forcing Phineas to bend backward at an impossible angle, using his threads to pull himself away.
As he was being pulled away, more threads emerged from his fingers and wrapped around unconscious townspeople throughout the chamber. The bound civilians began stirring, their movements jerky and unnatural as invisible strings pulled at their limbs.
"What are you doing?!" Marie shouted in slight horror.
"Well, we can't have a show without our dear supporting actors now?" Phineas says with a laugh.
The trio's expressions shifted into a grimace.
Weapons appeared in the townspeople's hands as threads solidified into crude swords and spears. The controlled civilians advanced on the three Inquisitors with stumbling steps.
"Don't hurt them!" Marie called out, immediately shifting to defense as she parried attacks without causing injury.
Reinhard caught a thread-sword on Zenuken's blade and twisted to disarm his attacker without harming them. But the civilian simply picked up another weapon that Phineas created through his threads.
Joseph used Wind Drift to alter incoming strikes, causing weapons to miss by inches while he retreated. The townspeople showed no signs of pain or awareness, they were simply puppets being manipulated through Phineas's control.
A possessed baker swung a rolling pin at Joseph's head. He ducked, using his lance's shaft to trip the man without causing serious harm.
Marie found herself surrounded by three controlled townspeople, forcing her to redirect their clumsy attacks rather than striking back.
Reinhard gritted his teeth as he chopped apart the swords in the three townspeople's hands and sidestepped an axe strike. Then he ducked under a meat cleaver being swung behind him before swiftly disarming the woman.
Before then, he stepped back as two adults rushed at him with blank looks.
"Try to attack the threads controlling them!" Marie called out, parrying a butcher's knife with careful precision.
Phineas laughed from above, weaving between his aerial threads while simultaneously conducting his puppet army. "Indeed, try to aim but be careful not to miss~ Or you might just strike them by accident, or maybe you won't~"
The three Inquisitors found themselves pushed back, unable to press their offensive while avoiding harming people. Sweat beaded on Joseph's forehead as he deflected another attack, his movements growing slightly slower.
Phineas continued moving through the air above them, his threads creating an ever-changing network of support and attack vectors.
Then Lloyd's voice rang out. "We've got them!"
The Cup team had recovered enough strength to move. Lloyd grabbed one of the controlled townspeople from behind, pinning their arms.
Jessie and Suzy worked together to restrain two others while Bruno and Kyle pulled weapons from civilian hands and positioned themselves as barriers.
"Go!" Kyle shouted, struggling to hold a thrashing townsperson. "We'll handle the civilians!"
Freed from their restraint, Reinhard, Marie, and Joseph immediately pressed their attack. Phineas expression slightly frowned as he realized his defensive screen had been removed.