Harvey's hysterical voice echoed through the silent night sky.
Nome's assault gave Duke a moment to catch his breath. Harvey struggled to fend it off, forced to watch Duke escape right under his nose.
Boom!
A gaping hole burst through the wall near the top of the Black Church, and a figure flew backward out of it.
Joey ached all over, the Transparent Crystal Ball clutched in his hand.
Seeing this, Nome hurried forward and caught him.
"Are you all right?"
Joey had thought he was done for. When that surge of energy hit him, he had even wondered what landing position would let him die with some dignity.
When he opened his eyes and saw Nome's face, he knew he had been saved.
Unfortunately, he couldn't hear anything. He could only see Nome's mouth moving, with no idea what he was saying.
"Can't hear?" Nome asked again.
This time, Joey managed to read his lips and nodded slightly.
The earlier scenes still haunted his mind. If he hadn't used his own spirituality to forcibly shut down all five senses at the critical moment, he might already have gone insane.
Just then, a deafening roar rang out:
"How dare you? How could you dare?"
Harvey stared at the crystal ball in Joey's hand, his face filled with terror.
In stark contrast to his expression, Duke climbed down from the roof along the Glazed Tiles on one side.
Making no attempt to hide his delight, he said loudly, "You really have given me an unexpected surprise!"
Nome popped a Blue Pill into Joey's mouth. It was Healing Medicine specially made by the Holy Hall.
The instant it entered his mouth, a cooling sensation spread across his tongue. The pain in his body eased considerably, and his deafened ears could just barely