Chapter 75: Self-Rescue

Chapter Seventy-Five
Self-Rescue

Crap! I have been controlled by the puppet!

The Captain and the others are either unconscious… or they have not recovered yet… They cannot even stand… There is no way they can wake me in time…

No. I have to… save myself!

Everything Klein saw turned into slow motion from his previous life. His joints and the brain he used for thinking seemed to be filling with more and more glue.

He had no interest whatsoever in becoming a real-life puppet. Seizing the chance before he was completely controlled, he desperately searched for a way to rescue himself.

Hitting myself… definitely… will not work… It has to be… an external force…

An external force… Try it… There is no time to hesitate, no time to think more.

Within two or three seconds, Klein caught hold of a flash of inspiration. He drove his “rusted” knee joint and took one step counterclockwise.

At the same time, he did not try to break free from the invisible rope that had “pierced” his throat. He only recited silently in his heart:

“Celestial Worthy… of Heaven and Earth… for Blessings…”

He was going to borrow the mysterious world above the gray fog to wake himself and break free of Sealed Artifact 2-049’s assimilation.

Creak. Creak. Creak.

Klein’s knee and ankle made harsh, difficult sounds at the same time. In a slow and distorted posture, he took another counterclockwise step.

“Celestial Lord… of Heaven and Earth… for Blessings…”

His thoughts grew more and more sluggish. Klein felt like a computer that had installed every possible bloated security suite and toolbar, lagging frame by frame as he lifted his left foot and stepped to the intended position.

“Lord… of Heaven… and Earth… for Blessings…”

The thoughts in Klein’s mind became increasingly rigid, increasingly slow. Relying only on instinctive awareness, he completed the final step.

By this stage, he knew that he was almost completely controlled. Even if El Hassan stood up in time and ran over to rescue him, Klein estimated that awakening him might no longer be possible.

But an intense desire to live still made him silently recite the final line of the incantation:

“Celestial… Worthy… of Heaven… and Earth… for… Blessings…”

The instant that silent recitation ended, those shrieks and whispers that were chaotic and mad to the extreme abruptly rang out, instantly shattering Klein’s solidified thoughts. They broke into pieces, turning into one uncontrolled thought after another.

Klein’s mind became a pot of boiling porridge. In a muddled state, he felt his “body” grow lighter, felt his spirituality drift upward.

Boundless gray-white fog and crimson stars at different distances appeared again before his eyes: empty, mysterious, vague, and hazy.

Klein’s disordered thoughts quickly settled. At last, his ability to think returned, and he saw the towering, magnificent temple.

“Hoo… Good. It worked.”

He whispered with lingering fear.

Based on his previous observations, he understood that once one sank deeply into Sealed Artifact 2-049’s control, it was basically equivalent to death. Under normal circumstances, no medicine or method could rescue the victim.

Fortunately, his “luck-changing ritual” and the mysterious world above the gray fog did not belong to normal circumstances.

He paced back and forth several times, then began considering his current situation.

“I cannot just stay here forever, can I?”

“When the Captain and the others wake up, or come closer, I will have no way to explain this…”

“The ‘me’ outside should now be only a flesh body, even more like a living corpse than an actual living corpse…”

“But if I risk going back, I cannot guarantee safety… What if I am controlled by 2-049 again?”

…

As thoughts flooded through him, Klein suddenly slapped his own forehead and laughed softly.

“It seems I still have not truly adapted to the identity of a Seer.”

Before his voice even faded, his figure had appeared at the head of the bronze long table, seated in the high-backed chair bearing the strange symbol.

Klein reached out and picked up the fountain pen that had appeared before him out of thin air.

With rapid strokes, he wrote a statement on the illusory white paper:

“Returning to the real world is safe.”

Immediately afterward, Klein took out the projection of the “pendulum” from his pocket. After several gatherings, he had discovered that any item he carried with him could be projected above the gray fog, though those projections were considerably more illusory.

Holding the silver chain in his left hand, Klein let the citrine pendant hang so low it nearly touched the paper, nearly touched the “matter” itself.

After the swinging calmed, he half-closed his eyes and, in peaceful concentration, silently recited the sentence written on the page:

“Returning to the real world is safe.”

…

“Returning to the real world is safe.”

…

Again and again, Klein performed a complete pendulum divination without skipping any step.

Opening his eyes, he saw the pure citrine pendant slowly sway, drawing the silver chain into a clockwise rotation.

Clockwise means affirmation. Counterclockwise means negation… Returning to the real world is safe…

Klein breathed out in relief and habitually put the silver chain away. Then he unfolded his spirituality, wrapped it around himself, and simulated the sensation of falling rapidly.

The hazy gray fog and crimson stars swiftly blurred and rushed upward. Klein soon saw his own body standing motionless in place. He saw the brownish puppet with half its body hanging out of the iron box and discovered that the Sealed Artifact seemed to have stopped all movement.

Sensation returned to his body. He was just about to move his arm and confirm his condition when a voice hidden in the wind suddenly sounded beside his ear.

“Do you want to be awakened? As long as you agree to do one thing for me, you can be rescued.”

“That thing is to help me pick up the Antigonus family notebook.”

“If you agree, nod. I know you can still do that much.”

Who?

Mm. 2-049 does not seem to be trying to control me anymore… Right, it does not influence the same person continuously. There is an interval…

Klein was startled, but outwardly he remained still.

At that moment, the voice swiftly added several more sentences.

“If you can complete this, you will receive an additional reward. I know you are a Seer, and I also know the Church of the Evernight Goddess does not possess the subsequent Sequence 8. But we of the Secret Order can provide it to you.

“Heh. To be honest, I was once a Seer myself. Otherwise, I would never have dared return. To show you my sincerity, I will tell you now: the Sequence 8 corresponding to Seer is Clown.”

Clown?

Secret Order…

Klein nearly failed to maintain his “puppetized” state.

He had never expected Seer to be connected with Clown.

What is this supposed to be? The twin pillars of a circus?

“Now, make your decision. Believe me, you do not have much time to waste,” that voice carried over with the wind once again.

Far away, Dunn and Lorotta were still unconscious. Borgia seemed seriously injured, groaning without moving. El Hassan and Leonard Mitchell were in better condition; they were attempting to turn over and sit up.

Why me? The Secret Order… Is it that tailcoat clown? After escaping, he secretly returned, hoping to grab a cheap gain… But why ask me for help? He should be able to deal with everyone here right now…

Hearing the other party’s words, question after question flashed through Klein’s mind.

Since the other party said he had once been a Seer, Klein began attempting to analyze the matter in the thinking style of a Seer.

“He dared return because he must have divined ‘hope.’ He believed the monster Bieber would be destroyed and believed we would suffer heavy injuries.

“He does not pick up the notebook himself, nor directly deal with us, probably because he divined that this matter contains enormous risk. Therefore, he suspects that the Captain and Madam Lorotta might be pretending to be unconscious. He suspects this is a trap laid out for him.

“He does not perform more divinations or confirm my present state. First, there may not be enough time. If he waits longer, Mr. El Hassan and the others may recover a certain degree of combat strength. Second, he also underestimates me, believing there is no need.

“He understands Seer very well. He must believe I cannot escape the puppet’s control… He is using me as cannon fodder to test whether this is a trap.

“From another angle, this shows that the external signs of the luck-changing ritual are almost abnormality-free…”

His mind completely free of sluggishness, Klein felt his train of thought become smooth from beginning to end. He had roughly grasped the tailcoat clown’s thoughts and purpose.

As for the promise the other party had made, Klein did not believe a word of it. Cannon fodder had no human rights.

Thoughts flashed swiftly. Klein controlled his neck and nodded with difficulty and stiffness.

At the same time he made that motion, he truly confirmed that he had escaped the control of Sealed Artifact 2-049.

The moment he nodded, a transparent “curtain” lifted two or three meters to the side, outlining the figure of a man in a tailcoat with clown greasepaint on his face. It was none other than the Secret Order member who had fled earlier.

At this moment, because of Klein’s earlier attempt to turn around and throw himself out of 2-049’s range, his back was toward the iron-black box and toward the puppet. The tailcoat clown stood at a diagonal in front of him, keeping away from the Sealed Artifact while also avoiding his gun muzzle. He appeared extremely cautious.

The tailcoat clown drew a long strip of paper from his pocket and snapped it out sharply, flicking it straight until it became like a wooden rod.

Holding that “rod,” he stretched it across the two or three meters between them and prodded it toward Klein’s shoulder, trying to wake him.

This guy understands 2-049 very well. He knows that in a place with remnants of an Antigonus family descendant’s aura, the puppet will go berserk and can control two people at once… He also knows that throwing stones likely has no effect. At least I never saw the Captain and the others try anything like that before…

Although Klein did not understand why 2-049 was no longer trying to assimilate him, he did not dare remain within five meters for long. His heart tightened as he waited for his chance.

Just as the wooden rod formed from the paper strip was about to touch his shoulder, Klein’s left hand suddenly rose and grabbed the end of it. He jerked it backward with force.

Caught off guard, the tailcoat clown was pulled directly forward and stumbled, the distance between him and Klein shrinking once again to less than two meters.

At the same time, Klein exerted force with the finger on his right hand, which had already been prepared, and pulled the trigger of his revolver.

Bang! Bang!

He fired two shots in succession, but he did not aim at the tailcoat clown. He fired behind him—toward the side farther from Sealed Artifact 2-049!

Before the gunshots even rang out, the tailcoat clown had transformed his stumble into a roll, instinctively evading ahead of time.

Klein released the paper-strip rod and ran several steps, rushing several meters away and escaping the “dangerous” range.

The tailcoat clown had only rolled twice and was just about to reverse course and pounce outward when his head suddenly buzzed, his thoughts swiftly sinking into sluggishness.

Not good!

He deliberately forced me… to dodge toward… the Antigonus puppet!

I am inside… its five-meter… range…

How… could he possibly… not be controlled… by the Antigonus… puppet…

…

The tailcoat clown’s roll came to a halt. His joints rusted as he tried to crawl outward.

At that moment, Klein had already turned around. Holding the revolver with both hands, he aimed at the slow-moving target.

In his eyes, this was no different from shooting a fixed target.

Because he had previously witnessed the tailcoat clown fighting Dunn, El, and Lorotta, Klein knew the other party’s movements were nimble and that he was skilled at rolling. Therefore, even though the distance between them had only been one or two meters, he cautiously abandoned a direct shot. Instead, he forced the other man to dodge toward Klein’s preplanned “home field”—the area near Sealed Artifact 2-049.

And if the puppet had not worked, then the tailcoat clown would also have confirmed that he had fallen into a “trap.” His counterattack would have been for the sake of escape, not a true threat.

Bang!

In the tailcoat clown’s indescribable gaze, the man dressed in black formalwear calmly pulled the trigger.