Different abilities

Hearing the clanging sound and feeling an unusually cold sensation on her shoulder, and unable to pinpoint the source of the danger, Lya's first reaction was to use her "Paper Figurine Substitute."

Her body rapidly shrank and thinned, transforming into a well-cut Paper Person.

The Paper Person quickly darkened, turning yellow and brittle in an instant, as if it had been sitting for ten or twenty years.

Silently, the aged, pale yellow Paper Person disintegrated into countless tiny fragments.

Lya's figure reappeared at the top of the stairs, still holding the same Kerosene Lamp, but the next second, she felt her shoulders getting cold.

In a flash, she raised her right hand and pinched the tip of her nose.

She activated her "Spirit Vision" and looked towards the room opposite the bookstore, focusing on the Glass Window there.

Against the backdrop of the night outside, illuminated by the dim yellow light of the Kerosene Lamp, the glass of the Washroom, almost like Mirror, reflected Lya's upper body.

A transparent, blurry baby sat on each of her shoulders!

The two babies had round, fleshy faces, Paleness skin with a bluish tinge, and extremely Distortion expressions.

At this moment, they all lowered their bodies and brought their mouths close to Lya's neck, as if they were sucking on something.

Seeing this, Lya was not frightened at all; instead, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Discovering the source of the anomaly is far better than having everything unknown!

In this way, she can discern the nature of the problem and make targeted choices.

Just like now!

Lya drew her exquisite silver Pistol, aimed it at the transparent yet terrifying infant on its left shoulder, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

A Golden bullet flew from the muzzle, wreathed in illusory Flames.

The baby immediately let out a "waaaaaa" cry, and flew away from Lya's shoulder with the Golden Flame that burned it.

Bang! Lya fired another bullet above the other shoulder.

The Burning infant Ghost cried as it followed its companions toward the end of the corridor.

There appeared a Women figure, with near-blue Eyes, soft features, a round face, and flowing black hair. She was clearly the Parish Priest's mistress, the sister of the Shepherd Pierre Berri, Sybil Berri.

Her skin was covered with a bluish tinge, and there was a growth that looked like a tumor on each side of her neck.

The two transparent, blurry infants flew back to her shoulder and each began to suckle at its corresponding "tumor," as if being breastfed.

As they suckled, the Golden Flame that had ignited them gradually died out.

However, Lya wouldn't just stand by and watch; she aimed at Sybil Berri and pulled the trigger.

With a bang, the Gold-Cast through the mere meters and struck Sybil squarely in the head.

For some reason, Sybil didn't try to dodge, and a bloody hole instantly appeared on her forehead.

Inside the hole, milky white and blood red intertwined, and illusory Golden Flame rapidly devoured them.

With a thud, Sybil collapsed, showing no signs of life, and the two pale, translucent infants vanished with a mournful cry.

That solved it? Lya couldn't believe it.

The Silver Bells on her veil and boots were still jingling, even more intensely than before with the book!

In an instant, Lya felt something cold and sinister growing rapidly inside her body.

She quickly looked towards the Washroom, then at the Glass Window, and saw that the skin on her face had turned bluish at some point.

The next second, her body degenerated into Paper Person.

The Paper Person crumpled into a ball and fell heavily to the floor.

Lya's figure appeared in the Washroom, but the feeling of something cold and sinister growing inside her did not disappear.

Almost simultaneously, a soft voice sounded in her ear:

"I made Contract with a strange Spirit World Creature, which allows me to utilize one of its special abilities."

"No matter who kills me, I can Rebirth inside them and take over their body."

"You're very beautiful, I like you a lot, and I think the Parish Priest likes you a lot too..."

Upon hearing Sybil's words, Lya grabbed her Silver-White Pistol and Kerosene Lamp and ran out of the Washroom without a second thought.

She was going to find Valentine.

Exorcism is one of the things the "Sun" realm excels at, and they are very effective at controlling such things!

Valentine was trapped in the area near the balcony.

The place was surrounded by jet -Pitch-Black, thorny Vines hanging from the roof, covered with giant, Blood-Colored, foul-smelling Flowers.

Valentine spread his arms wide, letting Golden Flames appear out of thin air, scorching the strange surroundings.

Just then, a figure appeared in mid-air.

He wore a long white Robe with gold trim, had short black hair, serious blue eyes, and a slightly hooked nose; he was Béné, the Parish Priest Guillaume of Cordou Village.

Having ended his Invisibility, he floated in mid-air, gazing down at Valentine, and whispered in Ancient Hermetic, "Valentine!"

Along with the sound, a dark light seemed to flicker inside the Parish Priest's Robe.

This is an ability that Guillaume Béné acquired from a Spirit World Creature by utilizing the special nature of the "Contracted One":

By calling out the target's real name, their Spirit Body is affected, causing them to experience reactions such as dizziness.

The closer the language used is to nature and the closer it is to the Spirit World, the better the understanding of the target's true situation will be during this process.

If one's own Spirit Body strength is significantly greater than that of the opponent, one can even directly extract the enemy's spirit, leaving them completely dazed and unable to resist.

Upon hearing the Parish Priest's call, Valentine's mind went blank for a moment, and he suddenly felt dizzy and unable to think clearly.

However, he quickly regained control of his state and came back to his senses.

Since entering the Cordou Village, he has never given his full name, Parish Priest Guillaume Béné's ability certainly won't be very effective.

Guillaume Béné hadn't expected to succeed either. Before Valentine had fully recovered from his dizziness, he threw out a human bone that he had prepared beforehand.

With a thud, the bone hit the ground, and the Parish Priest in mid-air chanted rapidly in Hermetic: "Unable to see, unable to hear, unable to wake up."

This is a Curse, also a power that Guillaume Béné gained through Contract:

Throw out bones symbolizing the dead, so that the target can't see, hear, or open their eyes, just like a dead person.

Valentine wasn't sleeping, so there was no chance he wouldn't "not wake up." However, the dizziness that hadn't completely subsided was getting worse, to the point that his vision was blurry, his ears were ringing, he couldn't see anything more than three meters away, and he couldn't hear anything beyond that range.

Seizing the opportunity, the Parish Priest extended his right palm.

His blue Eyes suddenly lightened, becoming so transparent they seemed almost ethereal.

Around Valentine, one after another Mercury-Colored Complex Symbols, like tiny rivers Entanglement themselves, appeared, forming a vast, shimmering, Illusory Long River.

The lower reaches of this long river have countless tributaries, but as the main stream advances, most of them are swallowed up, leaving only one.

Guillaume Béné observed for a few seconds, and before Valentine could break free from the Curse of being unable to hear, see, or sense anything, he reached for one of the Mercury-Colored symbols.

He wanted to amplify the corresponding tributary, making Valentine's Destiny of being Paralysis by the Abyss Demon Flowers a reality.

The shadowy figure raised Axe and swung it at Ryan, but the astute Warrior dodged in time, dropping the Kerosene Lamp he had been carrying.

His body was quickly covered in Silver-White Full-Body Armor, and a giant sword formed of light appeared in his hand.

Ta-da!

As Ryan continued to slash, sending the shadow crashing back onto the wall, he also filled the surrounding area with specks of Dawn, dispelling the shadows in the area.

The arms that had been reaching out from behind the shadows—some Pitch-Black, some Paleness, some Evil, some terrifying—were pushed far away, making it difficult for them to grab Ryan's body.

At that sound, the shadow completely shrank back inside the wall and returned to normal.

It then disappeared into the Dawn light.

Not far away, the remaining shadows grew larger, and out emerged Pierre Berri, Shepherd dressed in a long coat and wearing a hood.

He bent down slightly, picked up the Axe, and charged towards Ryan.

With each step he took, a certain power accumulated within him was unsealed. After a few steps, Pierre Berri, though not taller, seemed to have the stature and strength of Giant.

Ryan, who was opposite him, had also grown considerably larger, wielding the "Dawn Sword" in both hands as he slashed at the enemy who was charging like a bison.

When!

The greatsword and the Axe clashed, sending sparks flying.

Pierre Berri and Ryan both stumbled backward; one took three steps to regain his balance, while the other only took one.

Ryan braced himself with his back foot, seizing the opportunity before Pierre Berri could regain his footing, and pounced Past, slashing at him.

Just then, Pierre Berri opened his mouth.

His tongue mysteriously transformed into a strange chameleon.

The chameleon's head was tucked between its legs, and one of its front paws was stuffed into its mouth.

Upon seeing the chameleon, Ryan experienced a sharp pain in his head, so much so that his attempted attack failed.

The headache Curse!

Pierre Berri, the Shepherd, acquired his abilities through Contract with a strange Spirit Body who had a penchant for studying various Curse in his previous life.

Seizing the opportunity presented by Ryan's headache, he unleashed the retreating shadows and launched a ferocious attack.

Amidst the clanging sounds, Ryan was forced back by the blows.

As soon as the commotion outside started, Lumian sat bolt upright and instinctively said to Aurora beside him, "Something's wrong!"

"Go out and meet up with Ryan and the others!"

This is a principle that Ryan repeatedly told his siblings:

If attacked, try to stick together. A coordinated team is far better than five people fighting alone!

"Okay!" Aurora got out of Bed, reaching for Hidden Pocket in her Long Dress as she ran towards the door.

As Lumian approached the open door, he suddenly saw someone.

That was the Assistant Parish Priest, Michel Galligu, wearing a white Robe embroidered with gold thread.

The handsome young man with curly hair had Cavern eyes. He smiled at Lumian and said, "Want to pray?"

With a thud, Lumian swiftly drew his Axe and chopped it into Michel's neck.

Michel's head tilted to the side, but not much blood flowed out.

He glanced sideways at Lumian, and with a bright smile, asked as if nothing had happened, "Would you like to pray?"

Lumian was about to raise his axe to chop again and break the man's neck when he suddenly had a strong Danger Premonition.

Using the terrifying flexibility of a "Dancer," he suddenly turned his body and swung the Axe behind him.

The next second, his gaze froze.

He saw Aurora.

Aurora's light blue Eyes had become unusually Cavern at some point, and she was throwing a handful of powder made from some kind of tree at Lumian.

Gazing at her Older Sister's familiar face, Lumian's Axe swings slowed more and more until they stopped completely.

He even forgot to dodge.

A crackling sound erupted, and a bolt of Silvery-White Lightning struck Lumian's head.

He Past fainted.

His vision was completely dark.