Dark, damp, and reeking, the sewer echoed with the rustling of rats and cockroaches scurrying across the ground.
After accidentally being separated from the Saint of Secrets and falling down here, Lanevus wore a carefree smile. He could smell the long-missed scent of freedom.
"Cough..."
He covered his mouth and nose and gave a light cough, regretting that he had just taken such a deep breath. The air in the sewer was simply too foul.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Pfft!
The sound of something slicing through the air rang out without warning. His instincts lagged, and he failed to notice and dodge in time. Two playing cards slashed through his chest and throat.
The smile on his face froze. Then, as if nothing had happened, he pulled the cards from his throat and chest.
Not a drop of crimson blood flowed. The flesh on his body writhed, and in the blink of an eye, the wounds vanished.
Some distance away, Klein, dressed in a worker's uniform and wearing a Clown Mask, furrowed his brow slightly.
There was something very wrong with Lanevus. This level of control over flesh and blood was an ability only a Rose Bishop possessed.
...What was the special mark Cyril had mentioned? Why hadn't the person who didn't want Lanevus to leave alive simply acted directly? Now that he'd escaped the notice of both the Aurora Order and the Church of Evernight, this should have been the perfect opportunity.
As his thoughts raced, Klein drew the Peacemaker from his waist.
He was suddenly glad he'd borrowed this Mystical Item from Cyril in advance. It countered Corruption, darkness, and the uncanny. Given the strangeness Lanevus had just displayed, Klein would otherwise most likely have been walking straight into his death.
The moment their gazes met, a gunshot rang out.