Chapter 199: The “Dice Roll” Succeeds

Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Nine
The “Dice Roll” Succeeds

The beating organs, yellow-green fluid, quietly burning black flames, and forward-collapsing body all entered Klein’s eyes at once and branded themselves deeply into his mind.

Up until now, the most dangerous mission he had experienced had been dealing with Ray Bieber, whose digestion process had been interrupted. Yet even that dangerous and terrifying monster had only caused serious injuries among those involved. No one had died.

The only teammate Klein had lost, Old Neil, and the deaths of official Beyonders he had personally witnessed, had all come from loss of control. Their “murderers” had either been mysterious beyond words or pointed toward evil gods. They had not been tied to a specific mission.

And now, for the first time during a mission, he had seen a teammate sacrifice his life.

That death had come only from one wrong choice a short while earlier.

Nighthawks fought madness, and they fought danger as well.

One mistake, and perhaps there would never again be a chance to make amends.

With a boom, Klein’s thoughts exploded.

As though struck by a tremendous stimulus, he half crouched on the floor, raised his right hand, and fired at Madam Sharon again and again, sending silver Demon-hunting Bullets through countless invisible threads toward her head and translucent nightgown.

All at once, Madam Sharon seemed to be pulled by something. She rapidly shifted sideways, avoiding Klein’s frenzied shooting.

Only after all five bullets in the revolver had been fired, only after the sound of an empty trigger reached his ears, did Klein finally sober up and recover the ability to think.

His heart tightened. Without time to reload, he threw away the revolver and reached out, grabbing a stack of tarot cards.

Pap!

Madam Sharon tilted sharply to the side and saw a card fly past, embedding deeply into the surface of her dressing table.

The corners of her lips curved. Her beautiful brown eyes were once again dyed with a shadowy black.

Just then, her waterfall-like brown hair suddenly rose, as if blown by an invisible force.

Madam Sharon froze for an instant. By the time she tried to dodge, she was half a beat too late. The Magician card that Klein flicked out with a twist of his wrist pinned her fine hair to the wall.

Pap! Madam Sharon forcibly tore away her hair and rolled forward, her body swiftly vanishing from Klein’s sight.

Invisibility again…

Holding a tarot card between his fingers, Klein slowly shifted position, vigilantly guarding against every direction.

Suddenly, he understood why Madam Sharon had given up attacking just now, why she had grown sluggish.

According to the normal course of things, unless Klein used Azik’s copper whistle, he would have no way to keep resisting this terrifying Demoness.

Right!

The Captain must have arrived nearby!

Joy surged inside his heart. His eyes moved instinctively toward the window.

At the same time, a judgment emerged in his mind:

Madam Sharon wants to escape.

She had known from the beginning that we still had a teammate—the teammate who could drag her into a dream. But she did not know whether more Nighthawks, Mandated Punishers, or members of the Machinery Hivemind would follow afterward.

Though she was powerful, she was not powerful enough to wipe out an entire Beyonder team by herself.

That thought flashing through him, Klein flicked his wrist and threw out the tarot card clamped between his fingers—toward the window.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

He threw five cards in a row. Three sealed off the window, while two turned into flying knives and slashed toward the doorway.

Crack! Pap! Pap!

Amid the sound of shattering glass, two tarot cards, one after another, embedded deeply into the half-open bedroom door. Klein heard, just as he had hoped, the sound of dodging.

He flicked his wrist again. Relying on the Clown’s intuition, he threw a card toward a certain spot beside the door.

With a sharp whistle of splitting air, the card flew toward that location at high speed. Regrettably, it drilled into the hard wall. However, a figure rapidly outlined itself in the air, none other than Madam Sharon wearing a translucent nightgown, with brown hair and brown eyes.

The moment Madam Sharon was exposed, her eyes abruptly lost focus, as though she had entered sleep while standing.

Captain…

Klein swept his gaze over but did not hurry to throw another card, because he knew Madam Sharon would soon break free from the dream. If he could not inflict fatal damage within two or three seconds, she would forcefully escape.

Nightmare at this distance was naturally easy to break free from.

Klein bent his knees and abruptly rolled diagonally forward, half sprawling onto the floor. Stretching out his right hand, he grabbed the edge of the Spirit Medium’s Mirror, which was still face-up.

Then, with a twist of his wrist, before he himself could be reflected by the mirror, he flung Sealed Artifact 3-0217 outward—face toward Madam Sharon.

Madam Sharon’s body trembled. The light in her brown eyes swiftly returned to normal, and her gaze regained focus.

Before she had even fully awakened, a layer of crystalline, solid frost appeared over her body.

However, what she saw was no flying card or silver Demon-hunting Bullet. She saw only a mirror drawing nearer, a mirror reflecting her own face—innocent and alluring at once.

That beautiful face suddenly twisted. Wrinkles appeared upon it. Blood marks appeared. Rotting patches appeared.

“No!”

Madam Sharon released a shrill cry, like someone witnessing the death of a beloved.

Her skin rapidly took on a bluish-green color, and yellow pus seeped from the corners of her eyes.

With a whoosh, Madam Sharon burned from within. Quiet black flames enveloped her, as though driving something out.

Immediately afterward, thick frost formed outside those black flames, like a sleeping coffin being created.

One invisible thread after another wrapped around it, finally stacking into a color visible to the naked eye. They covered the frost layer by layer, forming something like an enormous cocoon.

Thud, thud, thud. Sealed Artifact 3-0217 fell to the floor, rolled forward several times, and stopped beside the enormous “cocoon” that contained Madam Sharon.

Just then, a crash rang out. Dunn broke through the window frame and rolled into the room.

He cast one glance at Kernli, who had lost all signs of life, and his expression abruptly darkened.

At that moment, the “cocoon” cracked open, the ice coffin collapsed inch by inch, and the black flames scattered in all directions like fireflies.

Madam Sharon’s skin color returned to normal. Her eyes looked slightly tired, but otherwise showed no abnormality.

Reflected within her pupils were Klein, still half prone on the floor, and Dunn Smith, who had closed his eyes with one hand pressed to his brow.

Invisible ripples spread one circle after another. Madam Sharon’s eyelids sank uncontrollably, while beneath Dunn’s thin black windbreaker, one thing after another writhed like venomous snakes.

Understanding that the Captain could not control Madam Sharon for long, just as during the fight against the monster Bieber, Klein rolled once more, grabbing the revolver he had thrown onto the carpet—his own revolver.

His left hand snatched out three silver Demon-hunting Bullets and skillfully inserted them into the chambers.

Pap!

Klein snapped the cylinder shut, rose to his feet, and aimed with both hands at Madam Sharon—at the center of her brow.

Bang!

Using the Clown’s ability to control his body, he pulled the trigger.

The silver Demon-hunting Bullet flashed and accurately struck the “stationary target.”

A line of blood appeared at the center of Madam Sharon’s brow, but the bullet seemed to have passed through layer upon layer of invisible obstacles, losing most of its force. It failed to blow open her skull.

Klein did not hesitate. He fired twice more in succession, and saw Madam Sharon’s eyes suddenly open.

Bang! Bang!

A rain of blood burst outward, mixed with white flecks. The stunningly beautiful Madam Sharon became a shattered-headed female corpse that would give every man nightmares.

Her “substitutes” had already been used up earlier.

Huff. Huff.

Klein lowered both arms, the revolver pointing diagonally downward, and gasped for breath. Madam Sharon, left with only half her head, slumped softly toward the floor. Her figure was still outstanding, her skin still fair, tender, and moist.

Dunn straightened and opened his eyes, lowering the hand pressed to his brow. His expression was somewhat pale. Although he clearly had no wounds, he seemed to have lost too much blood.

“If she had not wanted to kill one or two people before escaping, and if Sealed Artifact 3-0217 had not happened to show her own appearance when it reflected her, we might only have been able to injure her…”

Dunn slowly walked forward until he came to Klein’s side. His voice was exceptionally low.

If I had not had something special about me, both Kernli and I would have been done for barely ten seconds after the fight started…

Klein turned his head and looked at Kernli, who was lying quietly amid black ashes. He exhaled and said, “Captain, Kernli…”

“I know…”

Dunn answered in a hoarse, sinking voice. “I made a mistake. I was deceived by Madam Sharon. I did not expect that she had quietly broken free of the dream long ago.”

He paused, then spoke again with solemnity.

“However, you must become accustomed to it. For a Nighthawk to die during a mission is a normal thing. Perhaps the next one will be me.”

Klein fell silent, not knowing how to answer. Nearby, Kernli’s eyes remained open, hollowly staring at the ceiling.

“May the Goddess protect you and grant you true sleep.”

Dunn came to Kernli’s side and drew a crimson moon over his chest.

Then he crouched and closed the eyes of his teammate.

May the Goddess protect you. May the tranquil night no longer contain danger and madness…

Klein also drew a crimson moon and silently prayed in his heart.

Several seconds later, he forcibly withdrew his gaze and asked in a low voice, “Captain, should I perform spirit channeling now?”

Dunn nodded almost imperceptibly.

“Do not attempt to ask about matters involving the Primordial Demoness. That would be very dangerous.

“I will stand guard beside you and prevent accidents from disturbing you.”

Klein did not delay. He took out various materials, swiftly arranged the altar, and began spirit channeling.

After chanting the incantation, he stepped back and used the technique of dream divination.

“Madam Sharon’s accomplices.

“Madam Sharon’s accomplices.

“…”

After repeating it seven times, Klein entered the dream and saw Madam Sharon’s spirit within a gray, hazy world.

He touched the transparent, illusory spirit, and the scene before his eyes abruptly changed.

It was some place at night. Madam Sharon, dressed in a black hooded robe, handed a bronze ancient book to the round-faced, kind-looking Instigator Tris. After hearing the other party’s question about the name “Witch,” she laughed somewhat neurotically and said:

“Have you not always found it strange? Strange that our higher-ups are all women…”

So it really is the Demoness Sect… Leonard’s guess fit the truth perfectly. He really does have a huge secret… The Sequence 7 corresponding to Assassin and Instigator is Witch? What a trap…

Klein thought involuntarily.

Immediately afterward, the scene changed. Klein saw a deep, shadowy hall. He saw a narrow window high above. He saw a woman draped in a white, holy robe.

With her back turned toward Madam Sharon, the woman smiled.

“So long as we draw close to the Primordial, we can receive sanctification, receive strength, receive redemption, and escape the final apocalypse.”

Madam Sharon lowered her head and asked in confusion, “But why must we become women? Because the Primordial is a woman?

“Does womanhood symbolize destruction and disaster?”

The woman, whose back was turned toward Madam Sharon so that Klein could not see her face, answered calmly:

“No. Men are the same. They are the synonym of war. These are two neighboring Sequences.”