Wraith

Wilt was not surprised in the least that Trissy had a ring bearing the Primordial Demoness's imprint.

What's coming will come sooner or later. It's better not to tell Trissy. After all, ignorance is sometimes bliss.

Wilt nodded at Trissy and offered a measured compliment. "Impressive. I didn't expect the Demoness Sect to value you so highly that they'd just hand you a demigod-level Sealed Artifact."

As Trissy was about to speak, Wilt cut in first. "Let's go. We've wasted so much time today already. Hopefully, we can find a few more factory owners to scare tonight."

With that, Wilt headed outside.

Seeing this, Trissy hurried after him. "Vincent, wait! I haven't finished what I was saying..."

Tingen City, East Borough, at a factory in a remote location.

"Is this the only place we can come to today?" Wilt was somewhat dissatisfied.

Trissy glanced at him. "Isn't that your fault? You didn't know when to stop yesterday and practically scared every prominent capitalist in Tingen City out of their wits."

"The Nighthawks, the Mandated Punishers, and the Machinery Hivemind were all mobilized during the day just to get to the bottom of it, and there are a lot more police around the factories now!"

Wilt did not deny it, but he was still somewhat puzzled. "That may be true, but we're only here to collect resentment. It would be easy to slip past those police officers."

"Instead of taking me to collect resentment at the other large factories, you insisted on coming to this one that's almost abandoned. Can I really achieve my goal here?"

"Don't worry," Trissy said confidently. "Just listen to me."

Nevertheless, she explained her reasoning to Wilt. "This factory may look like it's on the verge of closing down, but half a year ago, it was among the top five in Tingen City. The death rate among its workers was so high that the city government intervened, and this is what became of it."

"I guarantee it in the name of a Demoness: you'll definitely be able to collect plenty of resentment inside."

Wilt nodded as though he understood. "I see. Then there's no problem."

The two of them then approached the factory gates.

"There's no one at the factory this late at night. We can just go straight in."

With that, Trissy conjured two balls of Black Flame and hurled them forward.

Boom!!! The gates collapsed instantly.

But Wilt frowned. "Something's wrong. I can smell blood, and it's very strong!"

Wilt's pupils suddenly contracted. He saw a brutal, bloody scene on the floor inside the factory.

More than a dozen mutilated corpses lay on the ground, and only two men were standing there.

One was as pale as a corpse all over. His right hand had pierced someone's chest, and he held a heart in his palm.

The other man was nearly transparent and floated in the air, watching everything around him indifferently like a Wraith.

Trissy's breaking down the gates caught their attention. They both looked toward the entrance and saw Trissy and Wilt.

These two were members of the Rose School of Thought's Indulgence Faction. The former was a Sequence 6 Zombie, and the latter a Sequence 5 Wraith.

Not long ago, they had been passing Tingen City by boat with a Werewolf from elsewhere, but the Werewolf had lost control and slaughtered people indiscriminately, eventually attracting the attention of the official Beyonders.

They had been forced to leave the boat and enter Tingen City to hide for the time being. Then, the day before yesterday, the Werewolf had suddenly disappeared. The Wraith had determined through divination that he was dead, but had been unable to divine any more specific information.

So today, the two of them had come to this remote factory, intending to use a bloody ritual to improve the accuracy and strength of their divination.

What they had not expected was that, just as they finished dealing with the workers to be used as sacrifices, someone would break through the Wall of Spirituality and barge in.

Just then, the Wraith's Spirituality suddenly gave him a frantic warning. He sensed mortal danger.

"Mirror Jump!"

Whoosh! The Wraith vanished from where he stood and appeared in a distant mirror.

Then he opened his mouth. "Wraith Shriek!"

Meanwhile, on Wilt's side.

After he saw the situation inside, the Cryptologist's ability instantly gave him a general understanding of what was happening.

The Rose School of Thought, the Indulgence Faction!

Almost at the same moment he understood, Wilt unleashed the Spectator Pathway's strongest ability at the Sequence 5 Wraith. "Mind Breath!"

But in the next second, the Wraith sensed the danger and vanished from where he stood. Wilt's attack missed.

Immediately afterward, a sound sharp enough to pierce eardrums rang out inside the warehouse.

"Pfft!" Wilt's spirit body was instantly dealt a heavy blow, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

But it was not over. In the next second, the Wraith's figure appeared in his eyes, growing larger and larger in Wilt's pupils.

"Wraith Possession!"

Wilt knew the Wraith had possessed him. His body could not move, and his thoughts were beginning to grow sluggish.

As expected, a Sequence 5 isn't that easy to deal with. No, I have to get away quickly!

At that moment, Wilt was immensely glad that he had put a monocle over his right eye as a precaution before coming. It had finally come in handy.

Wilt channeled Spirituality into the monocle. "Steal!"

Whoosh! At the cost of most of his Spirituality, Wilt successfully stole the Wraith Possession ability. Having lost the ability, the Sequence 5 Wraith appeared a short distance in front of Wilt.

But Wilt did not seize the chance to continue attacking. Instead, he chose to flee immediately. "Dream Traversal!"

Whoosh! Wilt vanished from where he stood and left the place.

The Wraith froze for a moment. His exchange with Wilt had lasted only about ten seconds in all, and he had not expected Wilt to flee so decisively. It was truly beyond his expectations.

Having lost his target, the Wraith had no choice but to turn his gaze to Trissy, who had just recovered from Staff Substitution. His eyes were full of indifference and madness.

Trissy: !!!

Tingen City.

Wilt emerged from someone's dream, his face pale.

"Cough, cough... pfft!"

"I didn't expect them to be so difficult to deal with at Sequence 5!"

He had intended to use the demigod Sealed Artifact to strike first, but had not expected his opponent to sense it instantly and dodge.

"Whew!" Wilt rubbed his aching head. "Good thing I ran quickly. If I'd been a few seconds later, I might very well have been done for."

Only then did Wilt realize there was another problem. "Right, Trissy!"

But after worrying about it for only two seconds, Wilt put the matter out of his mind.

Trissy has Cheek's Ring now, and the Primordial Demoness has her eye on her. She'll be fine.

As soon as the thought crossed Wilt's mind, a mirror beside him suddenly turned dark and deep.

Thud!

Covered in blood and in a sorry state, Trissy emerged from it and fainted on the ground.