Under the bright afternoon sun, Klein, whose clothes were covered in dust, quickly adjusted the firing position of his revolver, turned on the corresponding device, and put himself in a state where he could fire at any time and hit the enemy. The brass-colored metal of the gun reflected a flowing luster.
He gripped the gun in one hand, extending it forward, alert to any potential changes in his surroundings.
At the same time, he was quite worried about Captain Dunn and Mr. Al Hasson in the gray overcoat, because they were both " Nightmare " and were better at influencing enemies from the shadows. He wondered if they would be able to handle a direct confrontation.
The instant Klein's thoughts raced, Al Hasson slowed his forward pace, his expression becoming serene and sorrowful.
He opened his mouth and began to recite a poem that brought peace, as if one were in the middle of the night:
"Every time the Sun sets in the west"
"Dewdrops adorn the hem of Twilight's garment."
Her bare face was as pale as the moonlight.
"Or like the Star that accompany the Moon."
Evening primroses nourished by the night dew
"It blossomed into an elegant and delicate flower."
"Avoid the sunlight like a hermit"
...(Note 1)
The chanting echoed, and Klein almost lost his tension, completely relaxing.
Fortunately, he had similar experience before, and he was not in the same situation as Al Hasson, so he quickly calmed his mind and used a semi- Cogitation state to resist the influence of "poetry".
Whew... He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, no longer doubting Dunn and Al's direct combat capabilities.
Because he had only recently been promoted, he wasn't particularly knowledgeable about Sequence Potion. He had even forgotten that the Sequence 7 " Nightmare " was an advancement from the Sequence 8 " Midnight Poet," retaining its previous abilities completely and with a slight improvement.
Klein's impression of the " Midnight Poet " came entirely from Leonard Mitchell. He knew that this profession also inherited the special characteristics of the " Sleepless," being skilled in combat, shooting, climbing, and sensing, and also adept at using different styles of poetry to create different effects on the creatures around them. In short, they are violent poets.
As Al Hasson chanted, ripples suddenly appeared on the water beside the stacks of large wooden crates, revealing a man dressed in a black tailcoat and a top silk hat.
However, the man's face was painted with red, yellow, and white paint, creating a Clown appearance with the corners of his mouth turned up high, forming an absurd and ridiculous contrast with his formal attire, which resembled that of someone attending a banquet.
Thump, thump, thump! The black-haired Lolota, introduced as a sharpshooter, sprinted forward, gun in one hand and fist in the other, closing in on the tuxedo Clown in a few steps.
The Clown in the tuxedo seemed to be influenced by the poem by Al Hasson; his body swayed slightly, his eyes calm and serene, showing no desire to resist.
Smack! The black-haired woman Lolota, took a boxing stance, raised her arm, and swung her fist, aiming for the Clown in the tuxedo in the face.
Bang!
The air exploded, and the Clown in the tuxedo suddenly shattered like a mirror, piece by piece, rapidly evaporating and disappearing.
Just then, in the shadows of the pile of wooden crates a few steps away, the figure of Clown in a tuxedo quickly appeared and reappeared.
The guy who seemed to be affected just now was just an illusion! It was all an act!
The clown in the Clown grinned as always, his smile comical. He held his top hat in one hand and snapped his fingers with the other.
Bang!
His snap of his fingers produced the sound of a gun firing, and Lolota lunged to the left, rolling repeatedly to dodge.
But nothing happened, except for the virtual gunshot.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dunn and Al each raised their guns and fired steadily in short bursts. The Clown in the tuxedo moved left and right, retreating and rolling, his movements as agile as if he were performing acrobatics.
Suddenly, the black-haired woman Lolota, appeared out of nowhere again. Known as a sharpshooter, she continued to twist her waist, swing her arms, and punch her opponent.
Bang!
The Clown in the tuxedo didn't have time to dodge, so he raised his left arm and blocked the fist.
Seeing him pause, Dunn and Al didn't hesitate for a moment, each taking aim and pulling the trigger.
Just then, orange flames suddenly burst forth from the arm of the Clown in the tuxedo that was bracing against Lolota's fist.
In a flash, the flames engulfed the Clown in the Lolota.
Bang! Bang! Dunn and Al fired their revolvers, hitting the ball of flame.
The flames burned rapidly, soon leaving only black ash flying everywhere. However, the figure of the Clown in the tuxedo reappeared not far away, half-hidden behind several stacked wooden crates.
He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers again.
Bang!
Amidst the virtual gunfire, Lolota suddenly stopped, not lunging forward. Dirt splattered in front of her, and bullet holes appeared.
The tuxedo Clown's attack was no longer an illusion!
The mix of truth and falsehood makes it truly difficult to distinguish between them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Clown in the tuxedo snapped his fingers repeatedly, dodging and appearing as he exchanged fire with Dunn and Al.
Seeing this scene, Lolota narrowed her eyes and raised the dark gold long-barreled revolver she held in her left hand.
Bang!
The Clown in the tuxedo ducked and ducked, avoiding the Fatal Strike. His half-high silk hat flew backward and fell into the dust, bearing obvious scorch marks and bullet holes.
With a few rolls, he nimbly climbed onto the stacks of wooden crates like a curly-haired baboon, snapped his fingers from above, and launched Air Bullet.
Al Hasson stepped back a few paces, lowered his pistol, and began reciting once more:
Her beauty is only revealed in the Evernight.
But the night remained oblivious to beauty.
"My love for her is completely blind."
...(Note 1)
The Clown in the tuxedo leaped between the wooden crates, then suddenly raised his hand to pick at his ear, looking at Al with his signature comical grin.
Had he plugged his ears beforehand? The Sequence Potion the Secret Order possesses are quite strange... Klein watched from afar, a certain guess forming in his mind.
The thought had barely crossed his mind when he suddenly saw a figure appear on the roof of the warehouse to the side and run quickly toward the innermost room where Riel Bieber was hiding.
The figure was dressed in gray and white dockworker's clothes, and his face appeared to be painted with red, yellow, and white paint.
The Clown in the tuxedo was tasked with distracting the captain and his men, while someone else went to retrieve the notebook? Klein's thoughts drifted, and he subconsciously raised his right hand and fired a shot at the figure on the roof.
He had just taken aim and given enough lead time when the figure suddenly crouched down and changed from running to flipping.
Bang!
Klein pulled the trigger without thinking, and the figure suddenly stopped, blood blooming on his body.
The figure glanced in surprise, then, ignoring the pain, continued rushing towards the innermost warehouse.
"Anyone can handle this shot, you know..." Klein's lips twitched, and he pulled the trigger again. This time, the bullet hit the wooden roof next to the figure.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Leonard and Borgia also fired their shots, but neither hit the figure.
Klein wanted to complain that their marksmanship was worse than his, but his finger, which was about to pull the trigger, suddenly stopped there.
Yes! Why should we stop him?
Didn't I just Divination that the warehouse was extremely dangerous? Sending this guy to scout ahead and test the waters, isn't that a good idea?
Leonard and that Mr. Borgia probably had the same goal...
In a flash of thought, Klein raised the barrel of his gun and aimed at the bird.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Amidst several gunshots, the figure reached the roof of the innermost warehouse without any hindrance.
He lunged forward, his elbow striking the roof, and he fell in along with the broken roof.
Along with this sound, the black-haired woman Lolota, suddenly turned dark, and made a strange downward motion with her left hand.
The Clown in the tuxedo froze as he tumbled and jumped, his ankle seemingly gripped tightly by an invisible hand.
Instead of firing immediately, Dunn lowered his revolver.
He opened his mouth, and without moving his Adam's apple, he resonated purely with the surrounding air through his own Spirituality, producing a faint, ethereal, and strange sound:
Her flowers bloomed overnight until dawn.
But when daylight opened its eyes...
"So ashamed of being stared at that moment, I had nowhere to hide."
She withered and died in a fit of dizziness.
...(Note 1)
The Clown in the tuxedo suddenly lost his will to live as he struggled.
Al Hasson raised his pistol, aimed at the enemy, and was about to pull the trigger.
In that split second, an exceptionally piercing scream echoed from the innermost warehouse:
"Ah!"
The scream contained an extremely intense fear, as if someone had encountered something unimaginably terrible.
Just as Klein was filled with dread, the screams abruptly stopped, and the innermost warehouse returned to silence—a chilling silence.
Bang!
Al was somewhat affected; the bullet only hit the Clown in the tuxedo in the stomach.
Hoo, hoo! Hoo! The quiet of the innermost warehouse was broken once again. A breath that should have been very soft suddenly rang out, growing louder and louder, stirring everyone's nerves.
Thump thump thump! Thump thump thump!
The "2-049" inside the iron-black box suddenly went berserk, going completely mad.
Note 1: Quoted from "Evening Primrose" by the United Kingdom poet Clare, translated by Fei Bai.