On the clock tower of East Balam Dock, Klein, wearing Clown mask and hidden in the deep darkness, quietly gazed at the Dockworkers' Association dormitory and the airship hovering above it.
He couldn't see the specifics of the battle, nor did he know how far the operation inside the brick-red building had progressed. He could only force himself to endure it, judging the situation as good or bad from the changes in the surrounding scenery and the occasional black dot that passed by.
Just then, he saw the gas streetlights in that area suddenly go out.
It's all gone!
It turned completely dark there!
Immediately afterwards, an extremely memorable feeling burst forth from the brick-red building. Even from a great distance, Klein couldn't help but tremble, his legs went weak, and his back bent.
It was a feeling of looking down on and crushing living beings from the bottom of one's being.
That was a feeling that was impossible to resist and impossible to face!
No, one cannot look directly at God... In a daze, Klein seemed to return to the past, back to the lobby of Blackthorn Security Company, as if he were activating his Spirit Vision, trying to spy on Megose's mental state and the baby in her womb.
That feeling is exactly the same as it is now!
No, it's even more extreme and terrifying now!
How could this be? Isn't Lanarvus only endowed with a bit of divinity bestowed by the " True Creator," maybe with one or two corresponding items? How could this create the impression of an evil god descending?
Before Klein could shake off the trembling in his body and the runaway thoughts, he suddenly felt a deep, tranquil, and profound blackness engulf the previous unseen, unfathomable, and irresistible aura.
Both disappeared simultaneously, and the surrounding gas streetlights began to glow brightly again, and the airship that had been falling uncontrollably resurfaced.
Everything has returned to its original state, seemingly unchanged.
But Klein didn't think so. He straightened up and realized that something crucial had happened inside the brick-red building.
The feeling of surpassing the Beyonder in essence and level was gone, the aura of a descent of an evil god was gone, which meant that the " True Creator," or Lanarvus's plan, had failed... But the Nighthawks must have also suffered a severe blow and might not have any strength left... At this moment, Klein's heart stirred, and he quickly untied the pendulum from his left sleeve, held it in one hand, and said in a low voice:
" Lanarvus is no longer dangerous."
After repeating this seven times quickly, he opened his eyes and saw the citrine pendant rotating counterclockwise, but not very fast or with a small amplitude.
This indicates that Lanarvus is still a dangerous figure, but to a considerably lower degree.
Klein was more concerned with another point:
The Divination failed this time!
This shows that Lanarvus has separated from the divinity bestowed upon him by the " True Creator," and that they have essentially separated!
A bone-chilling wind swept past, and Klein shivered violently, feeling as if an electric current had instantly shot from the soles of his feet into his brain.
"Perhaps, I can do something!" This thought suddenly flashed through his mind. Without further hesitation, he took four steps backward from the top of the dark clock tower and entered the Gray Fog.
He wasted no time, sat down immediately, and materialized a piece of yellowish-brown parchment, along with a Divination statement:
" Lanarvus's escape route."
Klein leaned back, quickly muttered to himself, and drifted into a deep dream.
In that illusory, fragmented, and hazy world, he saw ditches flowing with sewage, dark and filthy passages, and metal pipes that were slightly rusty.
It was cramped and closed off.
That's the sewer!
Klein awoke instantly, immediately covering himself with his Spirituality and plunging into the Gray Fog.
As soon as he returned to the real world, he immediately took a few steps back and came to the side of the clock tower that was facing away from the airship.
Klein skipped the spiral staircase and instead climbed over the dark yellow railing. Using the platforms, protrusions, and decorations on the building's surface, he leaped down one level at a time, balancing as if he were walking on the ground.
In a very short time, his feet touched the thick stone slabs of the street.
Inside the brick-red building, two Nighthawks wearing Red Gloves lay unconscious by the door. The antique silver-plated mirror had rolled into a corner, but it no longer had any special features and was completely unrecognizable as a "Level 1" Sealed Artifact.
But you can clearly feel that it is recovering little by little.
Crestet Cesimir knelt on one knee at the crossroads, a stream of liquid, resembling both blood and tears, sliding down the corners of his eyes.
His short, golden-brown hair hung limply, and the collar of his upright trench coat and shirt was tattered, revealing his pointed chin and thin, hard lips.
As he gasped for breath, a Distortion, semi-illusory, semi-transparent face appeared on each of his teeth.
Cesimir, her left hand, gloved in Red Gloves, braced herself against the ground as she strained to straighten her neck and look ahead.
Directly in front of him was the staircase leading to the second floor, where Lanarvus stood with his linen shirt completely open.
Lanarvus stood there, stiff and straight, the Pure White, lustrous sacred bone sword embedded in his chest and abdomen.
The flesh and blood without skin, which outlined the Hanged Man, have all vanished, leaving behind an empty void.
In the dim light, one could even see through the hole to the back of Lanarvus, from in front of him.
Lanarvus moved with great difficulty, then suddenly burst into loud laughter, a maniacal laugh:
"Haha, haha, thank you all!"
I really want to thank you!
"Really, look into my sincere eyes, I truly want to thank you!"
"If you hadn't discovered and arrived in time, in a few months, I would have truly become the vessel for the descent of the ' True Creator.' At that point, what difference would there be between my state and that of being dead?"
Cesimir was visibly stunned, unable to believe that the guy she had so painstakingly destroyed, her greatest asset, was now so happy.
He wanted to stand up, but couldn't; he wanted to resist, but was powerless to do so.
Lanarvus noticed his confusion, coughed, and chuckled:
"You know what? For someone like me, the saddest thing is doing something really great that I can't share it with anyone."
"Cough, when I was in Tingen City, I was deceived by the ' True Creator.' He not only returned by creating offspring, but also secretly planted a 'sapling' inside my body."
"No, I even think that Megose's child was just a smokescreen for Him. He didn't even ask the Aurora Order members to protect her or divert attention. It seems like He knew from the beginning that this would fail."
"His true descent has been arranged upon me. The divinity He bestowed upon me suddenly merged with the 'sapling' within me after I arrived in Backlund. Haha, can you imagine? I am being replaced little by little, replaced by Him little by little! In the end, I will become the ' True Creator '."
"Before I could figure out a solution, the Aurora Order found me based on their divine intuition. Luckily, they're all simple-minded Lunatic. Haha, there are always so many fools."
Cough cough cough! Lanarvus spat out a mouthful of blood, seemingly regaining some of his mobility.
He took a difficult step forward, and for some reason, his sharply defined face suddenly softened, making him look more like his original self.
Lanarvus pressed his palm against the stair railing, laughing mockingly:
"Fortunately, the True Creator needs a great deal of pessimism, despair, numbness, resentment, and primal evil to completely descend and replace me. Only Backlund, only the East Borough, the Factory Borough, and the Dock Borough, can meet his requirements. This gave me an opportunity, an opportunity to come into contact with others."
"I know it's unrealistic to report this to the police simply because of the people I've been in contact with, because those people could very well be members of the Aurora Order."
"I initially wanted to incite a strike to get the police's attention, but I was warned and tortured by the Aurora Order, so I had to end it hastily."
"I pretended to lose control and got the chance to vent in the sewers. During this process, I secretly contaminated some of the creatures living there with my blood, turning them into ferocious mutated Monster. Unfortunately, before you could investigate, the Aurora Order discovered this. It seems some of their members died at the hands of the mutated Monster. Alas, I no longer have divinity, no 'sapling,' and my blood no longer has that effect."
"After that, I was under even tighter control, but I still found an opportunity. I killed a prostitute, using the most brutal method, hoping to attract the police's attention. Who knew that the Aurora Order Society would disguise this case as part of a serial murder case? I still didn't get rescued."
"I didn't have a similar opportunity, so I had to find a more ingenious way. I volunteered to have the most vicious, crazy, and radical members of the Aurora Order look after me, which was exactly what they wanted. Heh heh, can't they use their brains? These Lunatic can cause trouble at any time. Sure enough, here you are!"
"Hoo..." At this moment, Lanarvus let out a breath, stretched his body, and seemed to have finally shaken off the lingering effects.
He pulled the sacred bone sword from his chest and abdomen, and said regretfully:
"What a pity, I can't take it with me, otherwise you would have located me very quickly."
After the Pure White sword completely left his body, the exaggerated wound did not leave a single drop of blood; the disappeared part did not seem to belong to Lanarvus.
Lanarvus placed his right hand on his chest and bowed to Crestet Cesimir and the others:
"The people on the airship outside should be recovering soon; I can't stay any longer."
Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart.
"Although you were foolish, you ultimately helped me."
"For a bunch of fools like you, this is an honor."
At this point, he straightened up and said with a mocking smile:
Goodbye, you foolish Nighthawks.
"Let your lives be my tribute."
He gripped the sacred bone sword, took a few steps forward, and attempted to stab Crestet Cesimir.
But at this moment, his eyelids began to feel heavy and he just wanted to lie down and sleep.
"So you still have some strength, this is troublesome..." Lanarvus bit his tongue and suddenly threw the Holy Bone Sword in his hand towards the unconscious Nighthawks by the door!
"No!"
Cesimir used the power she had painstakingly accumulated to wave her hand, causing the invisible force to deflect the sacred bone sword.
Lanarvus seized the opportunity, ran to the side, and climbed over the brick-red building from the window of the washroom at the end of the corridor.
Immediately afterwards, he pried open the manhole cover on the side of the street, climbed up, and plunged into the sewer.
Lanarvus seemed very familiar with this place; even in complete darkness, he could run, jump, turn, and escape swiftly into the labyrinthine depths of the sewers.
Suddenly, he instinctively stopped and leaned back.
puff!
A playing card was plunged deep into his right chest, and blood quickly dripped from the edge.
Lanarvus looked up and, with the help of his dark vision, saw the attacker.
He was a man of medium build wearing a worker's uniform, and his face was covered by a mask with upturned corners of his mouth and a bright red nose.
That was a happy Clown.
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