Escape

Lanevus endured the Demon-Hunting Bullets and actually leapt back to his feet, resurrected. He looked at Luther, a crazed smile in his eyes.

"Very good. You're quite impressive... I misjudged you earlier..."

He laughed maniacally, clutching his stomach as he said, "But look, I've come back from the dead. The gods are on my side... Hahaha..."

"Nighthawks! Lanevus, you're surrounded!"

Luther shouted, rapidly backing away and widening the distance between himself and Lanevus. Of course, he had no reinforcements. He was only trying to bluff Lanevus.

However, Lanevus was a con man himself, so he did not believe Luther at all. Hearing Luther shout that, the smile on his face only grew brighter. He drew a dagger from his waist and charged at Luther.

One step, two steps!

He was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, the distance between them had shrunk to less than a meter.

Just then, he suddenly saw Luther raise a bell.

"Jingle..."

Luther poured spirituality into the bell, and a crisp chime rang out. The sound seemed to echo within one's mind, affecting Lanevus's thoughts. Soon, the madly cunning smile vanished from Lanevus's face. He stood there blankly, his arm holding the dagger falling naturally to his side, his eyes hazy and unfocused.

Seizing the chance, Luther widened the distance between them once more.

He had originally intended to use the opportunity to replace the revolver's bullets, but Lanevus unexpectedly broke free of the control very quickly. His gaze turned vicious again as he pounced on Luther. He wanted to kill the bastard who had ruined his plans and made him suffer!

"Jingle..."

Seeing this, Luther did not hesitate. He immediately raised the bell again, infused it with spirituality, and shook it.

And so, the two fell into a strange stalemate. Luther rang the bell, and Lanevus was controlled. Luther used the chance to pull away, but Lanevus quickly broke free and attacked again, so Luther rang the bell once more...

Their actions looked almost like children playing around, but Luther knew how dangerous the situation was. He was only a Sequence 9 Secrets Suppliant. The spirituality within him could not sustain this mystical item for long.

The spirituality in his body drained rapidly, making it difficult to maintain the mystical item's operation. The time Lanevus remained controlled grew shorter and shorter. The latter clearly noticed this, and a mocking smile appeared on his face. "Are you waiting to die?"

"I'm waiting for you to give birth."

Luther shot back.

Lanevus's smile froze. He lowered his head to look at his lower abdomen, as though recalling what had happened earlier, and killing intent quickly filled his eyes. He stopped talking and simply launched fierce, relentless attacks, forcing Luther to use the mystical item more frequently.

The distance between them gradually closed.

I still have two Demon-Hunting Bullets, but they don't seem to work on him either...

Luther gritted his teeth, secretly considering how to deal with Lanevus.

Damn it, if it comes to it, I'll fight him to the death!

Just as Luther was about to raise his gun and risk his life against Lanevus, he suddenly saw Lanevus's body jerk to a halt. Numerous flesh tumors erupted across his face, and his expression became twisted with suffering.

Could he be losing control again?

Luther thought to himself, without lowering his guard in the slightest.

At that moment, the commotion finally woke the people sleeping in the asylum. Lights came on in many rooms. Some patients pressed themselves against the windows to look down, while several people who looked like doctors and nurses appeared at the entrance to the ward building.

Lanevus held his face as the writhing tumors calmed somewhat. He swept a glance over the increasingly lively scene, then shot Luther a resentful look. Without the slightest hesitation, he turned and ran toward the altar.

Seeing Lanevus flee, Luther immediately chased after him with his gun in hand, though he kept some distance from him. Lanevus was far too cunning. Luther feared it might be a trap meant to lure him in.

Lanevus ignored Luther entirely. He staggered forward, rushed to the altar, and suddenly crouched down. When he stood up again, there was a handbag in his right hand. Luther remembered it—it was the thing Lanevus had been carrying when he first entered Hood Eugen's room.

He really was trying to escape!

Luther raised his gun, aimed at Lanevus's head from roughly ten meters away, and fired.

Bang!

The shot made Lanevus stumble. When he got back up, his steps became unsteady, but he still kept running without stopping.

Bang!

The second shot rang out. The bottom of Lanevus's handbag was pierced, and bundles of banknotes spilled across the ground as he ran.

Holy shit... What a coincidence...

Luther marveled at his luck-based marksmanship, but his attention was quickly drawn to the huge pile of banknotes on the ground. How many pounds were there in such a massive pile of cash...?

Lanevus's body suddenly froze. He turned to look at the scattered banknotes, then raised his head to stare at Luther, his eyes filled with venom.

Don't look at me. I didn't expect to hit it that accurately either...

Luther thought to himself, but he wore a confident smile as he faced Lanevus, as though the previous two shots had both been deliberately aimed.

Just as Luther thought Lanevus would grab a handful of banknotes and take them with him, or fight him to the death, Lanevus instead decisively tossed aside the ruined handbag. Without looking back, he accelerated out of the asylum gates and ran into the darkness beyond the streetlights, disappearing just like that.

He was so cunning, vicious, and insane, but his own life still mattered most to him.

Luther did not dare relax. With the Demon-Hunting Bullets spent, he took out spare ordinary bullets from his holster and loaded them into his revolver. Then he jogged over to the pile of banknotes.

My God, that's a lot of money.

Looking at the stacks of finely printed notes sprawled so freely before him, Luther felt a little dizzy. Just how many people had that bastard Lanevus swindled out of their money?

The two gunshots completely woke the asylum. The patients began shouting and making a ruckus, followed by the anxious voices of doctors and nurses.

Several guards escorted a doctor as they cautiously approached Luther.

"Mr. Rondal... I've already had someone call the police. Please put down the gun in your hand and don't make any more mistakes!"

The doctor was Wilder, Luther's attending physician from before. Looking at Luther, who was covered in blood and brain matter—splattered by Hood Eugen—he remained astonishingly calm and even tried to persuade him. "You must have done something this wrong because you were afraid..."

He seemed to think Luther had suffered an episode and started shooting people at random. Well, judging from the scene alone, it really did look that way.

"You called the police? That's great. Saves me the trouble of reporting it myself."

However, to Wilder's surprise, Luther actually showed a relaxed smile when he heard that. The police would happen to hand the matter over to the Nighthawks, so he would not have to worry about it himself.

It was just a pity that Lanevus had escaped.

Wilder was utterly bewildered by his reaction, unable to tell for a moment whether he was serious.

"Don't look at me like that, Dr. Wilder. I'm not sick."

Luther smiled and patted the brain matter and bloodstains stuck to his body. "Don't just stand there. I'm still waiting for you to write me a certificate proving I'm mentally sound."