Bang!
The silver bullet traveled several meters and accurately pierced the Clown in the tuxedo's neck, causing large gushes of blood to flow out, staining his skin and bow tie red.
The Clown in the tuxedo couldn't scream; he could only make a gurgling sound in his throat. He tried to raise his hand to move the fatal wound, but his shoulder and elbow joints felt as if they were filled with glue, making his movements stiff and slow.
Bang!
Klein, who was in a semi- Cogitation state, was not frightened by the blood and pulled the trigger again, as calmly as if he were doing his daily practice.
A grotesque hole suddenly appeared on the Clown's forehead, from which crimson blood gushed out, dimming the light in his eyes. The power of that exquisite revolver was much stronger than Klein had anticipated.
With knees bent and arms hanging down, the Clown in the tuxedo slowly collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with utter bewilderment.
His body twitched a few times, then slowly relaxed, and there was no further movement.
With a single shot hitting the target, Klein coolly turned around, shook the cylinder, and let the empty cartridge cases fall to the ground one by one.
Then, dressed in a black suit and wearing a top silk hat, he walked towards Al Hasson, taking out the last silver Demon Hunting Bullets from his pocket and inserting the slender bullet into the magazine.
The reason he didn't look back at the Clown in the tuxedo was purely because of the discomfort of killing for the first time, but he had no choice but to kill him; he had no idea what would happen to the other person once he was completely controlled by the Puppet.
Moreover, he didn't want to risk entering the influence range of the Sealed Artifact "2-049" again, since no one could say for sure whether strange changes would occur this time, rendering the " Luck Enhancement Ritual " ineffective.
As for the items on the Clown in the tuxedo, Klein only cared about whether there was the so-called " Clown " Potion recipe or any related clues. But that wasn't something that needed to be done in a hurry. He could do it with Dunn, Al, and the others later. Nighthawks team got it, it would be almost the same as them getting it. They couldn't possibly be reluctant to part with Sequence 8 Potion recipe. At worst, they could just spend more time accumulating merit. Anyway, they had only been " Seer " for a short time and were still a long way from "digesting" it.
As his thoughts raced, Klein strode over to Al Hasson, the gentleman in the grey overcoat who struggled to sit up several times but failed each time, falling and getting covered in mud and dust.
"Mr. Hasson, is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, crouching down and pointing his revolver diagonally at the ground to prevent accidental firing.
Al took a breath and sighed:
"That Monster is too strong. If it weren't for its weakness..."
At this point, he pointed to a small, sky-blue metal bottle beside him and chuckled self-deprecatingly:
"I meant to take the medicine, but my hand trembled..."
That day, the small blue metal vial was about the thickness of Klein's thumb and no more than five centimeters tall. The cap, with its hidden spiral pattern, lay to one side, completely soaked with liquid.
Klein reached for the small bottle, squinted at it, and replied helplessly:
"Mr. Hasson, there are only a few drops left on the side of the bottle."
"Go... look on Borgia, inside, in the inside pocket." Al said, panting heavily.
"Okay." Klein stood up and casually asked, "Is this a healing potion?"
Items from the mystical side?
"No, it only has a certain therapeutic effect. Mainly, it stimulates our spirit, squeezes the potential out of our bodies, allowing us to maintain a good state for a short time, to hold on until we return, to accept, to accept treatment." Al tried to sit up, but failed again. "Its name is, ' The Goddess's Gaze '... You remember to have Borgia drink half the potion."
Klein didn't delay any longer. He turned around, strode over to the groaning Borgia, and retrieved the standard sky-blue metal vial from the half-conscious Nighthawks's arms.
He unscrewed the cap and carefully brought the bottle opening to Borgia's lips.
Borgia sensed something and forced his lips open.
The bottle tilted, and the dark red liquid flowed into Borgia's mouth.
After estimating the amount, Klein stopped in time and screwed the cap back on.
The potion seemed to be working really well. A few seconds after Borgia swallowed it, the light in his eyes returned, and he spoke in a low, hoarse voice:
"Thanks."
After saying this, he propped himself up with his hands, slowly sat up, treated his own injuries first, and then walked towards the unconscious Lolota and Dunn, taking " The Goddess's Gaze " from the latter's inner pocket.
Klein then returned to Al's side and fed him the remaining half-bottle of the potion.
Al caught his breath a few times, then suddenly became agile, standing up as if he had never been injured.
"I'll go help Borgia; you take care of your companion." The charming middle-aged man gestured to Leonard Mitchell.
Klein had no objection, turned around, and jogged over to "Poet" Leonard.
"No need, I can drink it myself." Leonard, with his messy hair hanging down, smiled and held up the small sky-blue metal bottle in his hand.
Seeing the other person push themselves up nimbly, Klein, who was about to complain inwardly, suddenly froze:
Leonard's injury is less serious than I expected...
He has the ability to take the medicine from the very beginning!
In other words, he may have witnessed my "luck -Luck Enhancement Ritual " of walking four steps counterclockwise!
No, this is alright. My thoughts were all in my mind, and the " Luck Enhancement Ritual " didn't show any outward abnormalities; otherwise, the Clown in the tuxedo wouldn't have fallen for it...
Even so, Leonard, who had already recovered but chose to remain on the sidelines, must have witnessed quite a few things, such as, "I wasn't affected by '2-049,' and I ambushed the Clown in the tuxedo..."
Just as Klein's eyes narrowed slightly, Leonard, who was approaching from the opposite direction, stopped beside him, looked straight ahead, and chuckled softly:
"I wanted to save you, but I realized you didn't need to."
"Don't worry about it. There are many special people in this world who can always do things that others can't, like you..."
"... For example, me." Leonard's lips curled up as he walked past Klein toward the awakened Dunn and Lolota.
"Narcissist... "Klein muttered to himself, feeling much more relaxed.
It seems Leonard Mitchell is hiding quite a few secrets... He thoughtfully rejoined the main force, watching as Captain Dunn put on gloves and picked up the Antigonus Family Notebook stained with tan and blood.
The notebook's cover was made entirely of dark black cardboard, exuding an ancient and timeless aura. It showed no signs of softening or decay, almost identical to what Klein had seen in his dream, to the point that he began to suspect that opening it would reveal a the Fool wearing a dazzling headdress.
But he soon realized he was overthinking things, because Dunn carefully opened his notebook to make a final check.
Klein couldn't see the words clearly from his poor angle, but he was certain that there were no the Fool dressed in fancy clothes and wearing dazzling headdresses among them.
"Cough, no problem." Dunn closed his notebook and gripped it tightly, then looked at Al and the others and said, "For the next few days, store it together with the Sealed Artifact '2-049' behind the Chanis Gate in Tingen City until you recover, or until Backlund sends someone over."
Hearing this, Klein felt both disappointed and relieved. He wanted to read the Antigonus Family notes again to find out the cause of death of the original owner, Welch, and Naya, but he also felt that this ancient item was full of misfortune and always brought disaster, so he dared not touch it.
Submitting it to the church headquarters and sealing it tightly is the best option... He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay." Al Hasson, Borgia, Lolota nodded to each other, then turned around and went to the Sealed Artifact "2-049".
They woke each other up, stuffed the Puppet, which had somehow regained its movement, back into the cracked, black iron box, and kept a close watch on it.
"Everything is normal." Al's tone was more relaxed.
Inside the dimly lit, iron-black box, the Puppet wrapped in oil-stained cloth creaked and rolled over, turning its Clown- painted face towards the light source.
On this eerie face, beneath those pure black, pupil-less eyes, two tiny, barely visible dark red cracks appeared.
Meanwhile, Dunn, Leonard, and a courageous Klein searched the tuxedo Clown's body, finding bizarre items such as paper flowers, handkerchiefs, playing cards, and shards of glass.
However, apart from that, the other party did not bring anything of value, or anything that could provide clues.
Well, except for wallets with seven or eight pounds or a dozen Soli... Klein sighed quietly.
The thought of money immediately made him lower his head, scrutinize himself, and his face almost fell.
His suit, worth several pounds, had five or six scuff marks from being rolled around, requiring mending, and was covered in dirt and dust.
Dunn glanced at him, a subtle smirk playing on his lips, and said:
"Any losses incurred during the mission are reimbursable."
Reimbursement... Hearing this word "invented" by Emperor Roselle, Klein's mood instantly brightened:
Well, with a proper cleaning and mending, this suit can still be worn and is still presentable enough...
Once the reimbursement comes through, I can buy another set, creating a rotation system!
Well, I'm not the kind of person who misappropriates reimbursement funds...
However, we'll have to consider "combat attire" from now on, like the black trench coat the captain wears... If the material is slightly inferior, it'll be much cheaper than a tuxedo... Hmm, Leonard has never liked wearing formal attire, is that something he's considering...?
"Let Frye handle the body and see if he can identify his original appearance and find any relevant clues." Dunn touched the Clown's face paint with his gloved hand.
Afterwards, they searched the innermost warehouse and found several clumps of flesh and blood, crushed by boulders, and scattered white, broken bones everywhere.
" Riel Bieber is probably absorbing the power contained in the notebook through an ancient ritual, just like when we directly consume a high-grade Sequence Potion. This is fraught with danger, requires an undisturbed environment, and necessitates a period of slumber. This is probably why he hasn't left Tingen yet." Dunn examined the notebook, speculating on the possibilities.
Upon hearing this description, the black-haired woman Lolota, gave a pale laugh:
"What a pity, we woke him up early; his anger upon waking was truly unforgettable."
"This is one form of loss of control," Dunn said, looking at Klein, half explaining and half instructing.
"Then why doesn't he just leave Tingen and try to absorb it elsewhere?" Klein asked, puzzled.
Al Hasson smiled and pointed to his head, saying:
Those influenced by ancient or evil forces are often of little use here.
At this moment, Dunn took a breath and said, with a hint of pain in his voice:
" Leonard, you're alright. Stay here and don't let ordinary people near... A few of us will immediately collect Riel Bieber's remnants, take them, along with the Sealed Artifact and the Antigonus Family's notes, and return. Also, get Frye, Loyao, and the police here."