"Oh, please, Pei Geduo..."
Rayne looked terrified, but he could not move, as though he had been nailed to the spot.
Pei Geduo took the dagger expressionlessly and turned around.
"You've gotten yourself into some serious trouble."
As he spoke, he swung the short dagger cleanly and decisively.
"No!"
Rayne screamed as if he were being led to the execution block, but the rope around his wrist was cut instead.
Pei Geduo turned to face the hooded figures and raised the ritual dagger before him.
"Get the fuck out of here!"
The figures arranged in a semicircle hesitated.
Then they began to tremble.
Every soft, creamy-white robe quivered, as though connected to high-pressure pipes and being inflated.
They gradually swelled in an ugly, bloated fashion, evoking all manner of malformed things. Then they began to convulse and twist, as though restless ghosts were hidden beneath the robes.
The dustproof robes bulged and deformed like balloons. Then a shrill screech rang out, growing ever more piercing.
That sharp wail came from the broadcasting speakers.
"Damn it!"
Rayne and Pei Geduo clamped their hands over their ears. After the noise reached its peak, it abruptly stopped.
The hoods of those trembling figures fell one after another, releasing streams of air into the dim room.
Golden currents surged out from the collars of the robes and immediately vanished like smoke. Eight empty dustproof robes collapsed softly onto the floor.
"What... were those sorcerous puppets? No, not quite..."
Pei Geduo lowered his head and stared at the ownerless garments, at this impossible sight.
Just moments ago, every robe had contained something. Even the most sophisticated teleportation method could not remove objects the size of several people from inside their clothes unless they were things without physical form...
Pei Geduo realized he was breathing heavily