Klein, hiding in the shadows, felt a sudden tightness in his chest, but quickly calmed down, showing no fear whatsoever.
Because he was absolutely certain that the figure reflected on the smooth surface of the golden disc was not him, at least not the real him!
If it really is him, " Winner " Enzo will also see the Gray Fog and the strange image that resembles some kind of Mythical Creature Form, which will cause Klein to faint on the spot!
Since I'm completely unharmed, it means the person in the "mirror" isn't me... Klein activated his " Spirit Body Threads " vision while Manipulation " Winner " Enzo, carrying the " Words of the Sea " staff, approaching the collapsed pale pillar and the broken ancient house, and quietly releasing some of his "luck."
The dark-skinned Marionette approached the golden disc step by step, bent down with its staff, picked it up, and examined it carefully:
The disc is divided into inner and outer layers. The core area is smooth as a mirror with only a few patterns, while the edges are engraved with bird-shaped creatures, giving it an overall ancient and magnificent feel.
The image it projected remained unchanged. Although it was clearly aimed at the Marionette Enzo, it instead showed Klein, a pale-faced man with a sinister aura and lifeless eyes. Even the triple crown and papal robes attached to the " Sea God Scepter " and the " Tyrant " card were not omitted. If it weren't for the lack of Gray Fog, Klein would definitely have thought that the disc could directly affect him through the lines between the Marionette and the Spirit Body Threads, or that he would have been unknowingly split into a second self, like the " Saint of Darkness " in the Ruins of the Gods' Battle.
What does this mean...? Klein calmly emerged from the shadows, reverting to his appearance when he first Calderon, and then, using the " Clown's" extraordinary abilities, projected his current state into his mind:
He held a white bone scepter inlaid with sapphires and wore a papal robe with a cape. He wore a triple crown adorned with different "jewels." His face was hidden in the corresponding shadows, making it appear rather blurry. His overall demeanor was sinister and decaying, like Living Corpse that had just been dug out of a grave!
This... Klein was suddenly startled, not expecting that he had really changed. The golden disc was indeed reflecting himself, except that the part where the Gray Fog blended with reality was missing!
It doesn't involve the Gray Fog, and it's not a big deal... He quickly reassured himself to calm down.
Normally, given Klein's rich experience and excellent self-regulation, there would be no need for him to do this. However, he was aware that he was holding the "Scepter of the Sea God," which made him prone to impatience and required constant attention. He also knew that this place was once the divine kingdom of the Phoenix Ancestor, Greta Garley, and contained arrangements for her resurrection, which would inevitably lead to various strange occurrences, making him more nervous than when he went to other places.
After Manipulation " Admiral of Hell " Ludwell back and using his extraordinary abilities to examine himself, Klein made a preliminary judgment:
"When living beings enter Calderon, they will naturally transform into the dead, similar to the Underworld, but with fundamental differences. Here, living beings do not suddenly die and slowly become mindless undead, but directly become the dead."
The reason I didn't notice this earlier is because Enzo and Ludwell were essentially already dead and didn't need to be transformed... Neither " Magic Mirror " Arrodes nor " Red Light " Al Moria mentioned this, is it because the " Traveler," Spirit World beings, and Angel who left alive naturally returned to their normal state afterward? This transformation couldn't affect the power of the Gray Fog merging into reality, and the disc only reflected me as the dead, not my whole self, or the self that interacted with Calderon? Klein leaned more towards the latter, but he wasn't sure.
Just then, a voice rang out nearby:
when!
Clang! Clang!
The sound was deep and clear, like someone striking metal.
Klein didn't react immediately. He listened carefully for two seconds before letting the " Winner," Enzo, put down the heavy golden disc and walk towards a broken tombstone not far away.
The broken tombstone corresponds to a building that extends underground, and it is inscribed with the Words of the Dead:
"... a man who was easily angered died because he tried to outmaneuver someone else's hammer with his mind."
" Winner " Enzo bypassed the broken tombstone, arrived at the entrance of the mausoleum-like building, stretched out his left hand, turned the handle, and forcefully pulled open the door.
With a creaking sound of cracking rust, the heavy door slowly opened.
Whoosh whoosh!
One after another, arrows condensed from pale light flew out!
They grazed Enzo's face, head, torso, and inner thighs, flew into the distance, plunged into the ground, and disappeared, while the " Winner " was unharmed.
... It must be said, such a Marionette is simply a godsend for adventure and exploration... Klein exclaimed sincerely, prompting Enzo to turn his gaze towards the building below:
It was a blacksmith's shop, and a Giant with bluish-black skin and a head like a smashed watermelon was holding a large hammer and constantly striking the anvil, but there was nothing on it.
Because the Giant's split head had normal " Spirit Body Threads " and didn't belong to someone else's split soul, Klein quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as he was about to have Enzo observe him further, he suddenly felt numb, and his thoughts slowed down.
He had felt this way before, back when he was affected by the Sealed Artifact "2-049" in Tingen City, he was in a similar state!
Klein was unaware of the true nature of things in the past. Only after becoming the " Marionettist " did he realize that it meant his " Spirit Body Threads " were being controlled by the Sealed Artifact!
This means that his " Spirit Body Threads " is now being controlled by someone!
Moreover, unlike in the past, his body not only had "rusted" joints, as if they had been filled with glue, but also had a strong numbing sensation as if he had been struck by lightning, making it even more difficult for him to move.
Oh no... It's Spirit World Plunderer... I was on guard... It used a split soul... to distract me... and secretly approached... But I didn't expect... Besides the split soul... it also had... a collaborator... that... Giant... blacksmith... which made me... careless... And the existence of the Marionette... made me... somewhat... neglect... my own... safety... Various thoughts uncontrollably surfaced in Klein's mind, interfering with his normal thoughts of self-rescue.
At that moment, the Giant blacksmith with his split head raised his hammer and charged at the Marionette Enzo, intending to smash him into mincemeat. Meanwhile, a chilling wind seemed to blow from Klein's neck, making the hairs on his body stand on end.
In the once unusually quiet place, one after another, strange creatures surged out from the pale stone pillars, from the broken houses, and from the tombstones and mausoleums.
Some of them only exist on their upper body, some are so transparent that they are almost invisible, some are stretched and soft like noodles, some have their chests and abdomens split open and their internal organs are bloody, some have faces that are dark green like Evil Spirit, some have eyes growing on every part of their bodies, and some seem to be jellyfish living in the air.
Countless gazes fell upon Klein from different directions, devoid of emotion and utterly indifferent.
Just then, Klein opened his mouth with difficulty and slowly uttered a single word:
"Sing..."
Before he could finish speaking, a gaping hole appeared on the glove on his left hand, revealing gleaming white teeth.
Praise be to you!
" The Lord Who Created Everything;"
The Dominator Behind the Shadow Curtain;
" The Degenerate Nature of All Living Things!"
Amidst that sharp, fingernail-like sound of scraping across a blackboard, the " Words of the Sea " staff, which had just tripped " Winner " Enzo, allowing him to avoid the hammer's devastating blow, excitedly emitted bubbles:
"Impulse! Impulse! Impulse!"
Klein suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, but his thoughts returned instantly, and he was no longer sluggish for a brief moment.
However, his body remained "rusty," filled with a numb sensation.
Immediately afterwards, without moving, he relied on his Spirituality to Manipulation the Marionette Ludwell, which had just returned to his side, to throw its left fist at him.
Bang!
Klein staggered back a step, instantly breaking free from the paralyzed and sluggish state.
Then, in a moment of impulsiveness, wearing a triple crown, he unfurled the cloak behind his papal robes and raised the " Sea God Scepter."
One after another, the blue-green gems lit up, and then streaks of dazzling silver-white lightning suddenly fell from the sky.
These lightning bolts unfurled like "branches," enveloping the entire outer region of Calderon, spanning hundreds of meters, within a "Thunder Forest," exuding an aura of destruction and a palpable sense of devastation!
The bizarre creatures that rushed out from all directions shattered, evaporated, and vanished completely in this silvery-white expanse.
Just as the raging silver Storm subsided, the " Sea God Scepter " in the hands of " Tyrant " Klein once again emitted a dazzling light.
Those violent bolts of lightning Distortion and tangled, then descended once more, like giant waves, one after another.
After unleashing two consecutive " Lightning Storm," Klein was quite exhausted and regained his composure.
His heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he remembered something:
Lightning Storm is an area-of-effect attack that does not distinguish between friend and foe. Everything except himself, who is holding the " Sea God Scepter," and his companions nearby will suffer devastating damage!
In other words, " Admiral of Hell " Ludwell is alright, Marionette Enzo has most likely been "eliminated".
Klein instinctively looked over and saw " Winner " Enzo curled up intact next to half a tombstone, with a large metal hammer behind him that was still crackling with tiny electric currents. Not far from the hammer, there were two charred toes that didn't look like a human's.
The tombstone corresponding to the mausoleum had collapsed more than halfway, and the iron-black anvil on the ground still had silvery-white lightning crackling remnants.
... They're still alive, no wonder they're " Winner." Most of their accumulated luck must have been passively used up... Klein felt relieved and used his " Spirit Body Threads " vision to look around.
He's searching for Spirit World Plunderer!
He believed that the distance at which the Spirit World Plunderer Manipulation the " Spirit Body Threads " couldn't compare to the range covered by the " Lightning Storm "!
The surrounding buildings, already in a state of collapse and decay, were now almost completely leveled. The remaining stones and bones were mostly charred black, and even the heavy golden disc was shattered into pieces.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from a pile of rubble about a hundred meters to Klein's side.
It was a semi-transparent white robe, without a head, hands, or feet, seemingly held up by an invisible person.
At this moment, its exterior was tattered, covered with cracks and black marks, making it look rather pathetic.
This must be Spirit World Plunderer... My reckless and impulsive " Lightning Storm " double attack just now seems to have been quite effective against it... Seeing this, Klein had some inexplicable thoughts.