The doll's lifeless, unmoving eyes, as its body straightened, gazed at the area untouched by the crimson Moonlight. The man with small red, swollen patches on his face, along with the other cult members who had been standing quietly, now lowered their heads and raised their hands, as if in a posture of prayer, devoutly listening to the "divine pronouncement."
Just two or three seconds later, the rag doll finally stood up. Just as it was about to open its mouth, which had no tongue at all, and make a sound that did not belong to this "body", all its movements suddenly became stuck, like a severely rusted Robot.
Klein, who was hiding among the cult members, had just seen the rag doll strangely extend " Spirituality Threads," so he began to Manipulation without hesitation!
In the brightly lit room, the light suddenly dimmed, and the rag doll with its curved eyes and mouth seemed to have lost its skeletal support, slumping abruptly onto the table, motionless.
As the streetlights flickered thousands of meters away, Klein lost control of the " Spirit Body Threads " and, with the help of the rag doll's power, leaped out of his range in just a second or two!
Ugh!
A chilling wind swept through the room, and the carpet with tables and chairs suddenly jerked, throwing the man with a small red, swollen patch on his face and most of the cultists to the ground. Only Klein, who was disguised, jumped up in time and avoided the accident.
Of course, Enzo, the " Winner," was right at the edge of the carpet and was unaffected.
Ugh!
In the cold wind, the carpet rolled up, tightly wrapping around several cult members, then covering their mouths and noses, and tying it around their throats.
At the same time, the round-bellied fountain pens on the desk spontaneously removed their caps and shot out, embedding themselves in the necks of the man with small red, swollen bumps on his face, densely packed with them, leaving no gaps.
The wooden chair with its backrest exploded with a bang, sending out a spray of fine spikes that didn't spare any of the remaining cult members.
The pipe of the wall lamp near the wall cracked, and gas was seeping out.
The curtains spread on the sofa then stood up, twisted into ropes, and wrapped around the train conductor's throat; several floorboards snapped and pierced the bodies of several cult members from below.
In an instant, everything in the room became aggressive, attempting to kill every life within it.
Klein tried to dodge, but his shirt, trousers, belt, coat, and top hat all seemed to come alive, forcefully sealing him in place.
His mouth suddenly opened, and a sound came out:
"Smack!"
He simulated the sound of snapping fingers.
Crimson flames erupted from his pocket, instantly engulfing his body and releasing him from his restraints.
Just then, the curtain on the other sofa was lifted up, as if draped over someone unseen.
Klein's eyes immediately saw this strange image, his body trembled, and he froze on the spot, tragically possessed by an " Evil Spirit "!
The flames that had risen earlier had not yet died down and were about to burn away the clothes and flesh, but instead burned the person into a blackened paper figure.
The paper figure's back is covered with feather-like patterns, giving it an unreal, semi-illusory feel.
This is a "mutated paper doll" contaminated by the aura of Artificial Death!
Klein understood from the beginning that there were only two possibilities for him to wait for the rag doll to change: either the one impersonating a god was nearby and could sense the death of the believer, so he prepared and deliberately descended to set a trap for those who wanted trouble; or the one using the rag doll was indeed a Hidden Existence who was unaware that the sacrifice had been broken and still descended as expected to give further "divine pronouncements."
Either way, it means things are quite dangerous, so why would Klein perform unprepared?
Based on the fact that the target could descend upon or possess a rag doll, he placed the mutated paper doll, which had been corrupted by the aura of the Artificial Death Reaper, into a metal cigarette box beforehand, and kept the Marionette's performance at the level of an ordinary person, in order to lure the target to possess him directly!
At this moment, the object possessed by the "god" worshipped by the cultists changed from Klein to the " Death Paper Doll"!
Crimson flames rolled inward, the pitch-black paper figure burst into flames, and its pale color suddenly expanded, tinged with a sinister green.
A slightly painful groan followed, and a transparent afterimage flashed across the window, which was bathed in the crimson Moonlight.
Almost simultaneously, the items that had "come to life" in the room fell to the ground, returning to a state of lifelessness, while flames surged from Enzo, the " Winner," enveloping him.
At this very moment, in this port city at the northern tip of the Southern Continent, residents are enjoying the relaxation of the night and the warmth of family in their houses, completely unaware that their windows and the surfaces of their wall lamps are occasionally dimming before quickly returning to normal.
Along with this dimming light, the fire in the fireplace grew larger and smaller, and the kitchen scraps reignited and then went out.
During this process, the glass mirror of one house dimmed the most times, as did the changes in the firelight, while inside the house, several believers were praying to the " The Moon Primordial " without noticing.
After an unknown amount of time, the crimson Moonlight brightened slightly, and the entire city seemed to be draped in a soft veil.
The brightness quickly returned to normal, and a crimson flame rose from the top of a silver candle on a certain dining table.
Enzo, the " Winner," emerged from the scene, his body and face rapidly transforming into Gehrman Sparrow.
Just now, the moment the red moon brightened, he lost sight of his target.
"Not only does he possess extraordinary abilities from the High-Sequence ' Wraith ' pathway, but he can also borrow the power of the Crimson Moon... One of these two aspects must have been achieved through Sealed Artifact or magical items..." Klein muttered to himself, making a preliminary judgment.
After the Demigod possessing the rag doll was corrupted by the " Death Paper Doll," he originally thought he would have a chance to defeat the opponent. Who knew that the enemy's strength and methods were stronger and more sophisticated than he had anticipated.
The only thing he could be certain of was that it wasn't Angel; their strength and level were vastly different.
Amidst a flurry of thoughts, Klein left the dining room and entered the living room, where several believers were praying to the " The Moon Primordial."
Unlike the cultists on the Steam train, they knew exactly who their idols were and seemed to belong to a more formal group.
One step, two steps, three steps, Klein walked into the room at a leisurely pace. The believers noticed and turned around.
Under the powerful Illusion of the " Bizarro Sorcerer," they mistook Gehrman Sparrow for a divine messenger, seeing a red moon silently shining above his head.
Thump, thump, thump, the believers prostrated themselves on the ground one after another, bowing in devout prayer.
Klein didn't mince words, and asked in a low voice:
"Who was that Saint you met before?"
One of the believers, though puzzled, still respectfully gave his answer:
"Reporting to the divine messenger, it is ' Warlock King ' Calamity."
" Warlock King " Calamity... That name sounds familiar... Ah, right, the author of my " Book of Secrets "... Wasn't he long ago? His era was over a thousand years ago; no Saint could live that long without special means... He joined the Rose School of Thought, but still worshipped the " The Moon Primordial," prolonging his life through some method? Or perhaps his Sequence essence allowed him to become an immortal being? Klein's thoughts raced, and he remembered the origin of the name Calamity.
Inside the cabin of a sailboat moored at the port dock, the pale Moonlight shines through.
A figure with tousled, black hair tinged with white emerged from the mirror. He wore a black robe with crimson patterns, and his forehead, the corners of his eyes, his cheeks, and the corners of his mouth were lined with wrinkles of varying depths. His eyes were bloodshot.
At this moment, on the back of his hand and the rest of his exposed skin, the pores had opened, and strands of white downy hair stained with a light yellow grease had grown out.
The old man's expression was slightly Distortion, as if he were enduring some kind of pain.
He quickly sat down on the edge of the bed, lowered his head, clasped his hands together, and began to chant something softly.
In the difficult and awkward language, his forehead slowly cracked open, revealing what seemed to be a red Full Moon embedded within!
The Moonlight diffused and enveloped the old man, causing the white downy hair on his body to shrink back and disappear.
At the same time, the old man's abdomen swelled up little by little, as if it were filled with liquid.
Finally, the clothes and skin there were all torn apart, and a mass of flesh covered in white feathers flew out, landed on the deck, wriggled and struggled for a while before rotting and disappearing.
Huff... The old man raised his head, slowly exhaled, his blood-red eyes filled with confusion.
He muttered to himself:
" The Death Reaper's Blessed?"
"But there's no Death at all..."
At dawn, the Church of Storms's " Mandated Punishers " team, which had taken over the case of the mysterious deaths of Steam train workers, received new intelligence:
The missing train conductor and driver, along with several other individuals suspected to be passengers, have been found!
Before long, the members of this " Mandated Punishers " team followed the clues to a certain location in the city and discovered their targets.
They were hanging silently outside a house, in a row.
"This is a provocation! Mandated Punishers!" the captain growled through gritted teeth.
But when they put down the body and entered the house to investigate, they found several people in the living room devoutly praying to the " The Moon Primordial " and performing a rather evil ritual.
"... Arrest them all! Mandated Punishers!" The captain hesitated for a second before issuing the order.
Only then did the followers of the " The Moon Primordial " seem to regain their rationality and begin to resist, but they were quickly suppressed, and the rebels were either killed or injured.
The captain of the " Mandated Punishers " looked around and said to his companions with incomprehension:
"There was a whole row of corpses hanging at the entrance, and they didn't even notice?"
One of the team members who followed the " Reader " approach pondered for a moment and said:
"Those corpses are likely guiding us to investigate this place."
The Mandated Punishers " leader, calmed his agitation and nodded thoughtfully.
"Which Demigod from which church is passing by?"