Chapter 137: Brilliant Fireworks

Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven
Brilliant Fireworks

Bullets—some flowing with pale-gold radiance, others bursting with brilliant sacred flame—tore through the void one after another and struck Wraith Steve in the head.

Thanks to the Clown’s control over his body, and thanks to the firearms practice he had stubbornly maintained, all six of Klein’s bullets enhanced with Purifying Slash landed accurately on the same patch—the same patch struck by the two bullets before them!

They were like fists from a giant of light, hammering the left cheek of Wraith Steve again and again and again!

Amid the bang, bang, bang of gunfire, Steve, bound by strange arms and bluish-black vines and unable to dematerialize to dodge, had his head repeatedly knocked sideways. His body trembled violently. His cheekbone caved in at visible speed, splintering into white, ghastly shards!

Bang!

The final bullet completely shattered that spot, sending dark-red blood spraying from the Sequence 5 powerhouse and allowing flames—some dazzling, some golden—to burrow inward, burning out streams of greenish-black mist.

Within that sacred brilliance, Steve’s clothes caught fire, and his body quickly charred, dripping grease.

But he was not dead!

Compared to Marionettist Rosago, the Sequence 5 of the Mutant pathway clearly possessed far stronger survivability!

However, after being so heavily wounded, Steve could no longer resist those bizarre dragging arms. His legs moved forward uncontrollably, almost as though he were flying toward the bronze door, toward the deep cracked slit, toward the pairs of eyes hidden in the depths of darkness.

Just then, Sharron, whose forehead was damp with sweat, abruptly clenched her right hand.

The subtle illusory light came to a sudden halt, and the bronze door, mysterious beyond description, lost the source of its existence.

It swayed unsteadily. Before Steve could enter, it unwillingly pulled back the arms—some full of teeth, some dripping with blood—and closed the gap.

Clang!

The door shut, swiftly turned transparent, and vanished.

Steve’s forward-leaning body froze in place. He was blackened and shriveled from head to toe, like a dried corpse that had been burned for a very long time—or, more accurately, like a charred log with only embers remaining.

Sharron, her right fist clenched and the Crimson Moon Crown held against it, rapidly turned illusory. She stepped forward and overlapped with Steve.

In Klein’s spirit vision, her trace vanished instantly. Meanwhile, the blackened Steve lifted both fists and smashed them heavily into his already grievously wounded head.

Thump!

His head became pulp like a crushed tomato. Milky white spots first sprayed upward, then scattered in all directions.

Emerging with them was a translucent phantom. It swiftly expanded, turning into an enormous jellyfish-like thing. Unreal liquid sloshed within it, and a pair of pale eyes began condensing.

Sharron was forced out by that eerie thing and reappeared nearby.

She abruptly stretched out her left hand, and from her mouth came a soundless shriek.

The ground suddenly turned black, seeming to become a muddy abyssal sea. From within it grew a twisted blood-colored vine, split into many segments, each with four sharp teeth and one eye.

That blood-red vine grew upward madly, instantly fixing the jellyfish-like phantom in place and greedily drinking the unreal liquid inside.

The phantom collapsed at visible speed, and the blood-colored vine shrank back into the muddy abyss.

But because of that delay, the headless, blackened Steve began running. He crossed the open space and charged toward the exit.

He was still not completely dead, even after losing his head!

Steve had only run a few steps when a crisp snap suddenly rang out in the quiet air.

Pa!

Klein, wearing a black double-breasted formal frock coat and a matching half silk top hat, stood sideways to him and snapped his fingers.

Boom!

The mud beneath Steve’s feet was violently overturned, and crimson flames soared upward.

They climbed to their highest point, then fell in a magnificent shower like a beautiful firework.

Within those fireworks, Wraith Steve’s body was thoroughly torn apart. Blackened hands, feet, viscera, flesh, and blood scattered across the ground. Among them, one severed finger rolled to Klein’s feet, while the translucent brown Biological Toxin Bottle fell in another direction.

The damaged body parts that were Steve’s final traces wriggled a few more times before finally growing still.

Amid the blooming flames and that gruesome scene, Klein felt his spirituality become more lively, and the power within him that did not yet fully belong to him drew a little closer to him.

Following that feeling, he shifted the gun to his left hand. With his right hand, gloved in black, he removed the half silk top hat from his head, pressed it to his chest, and bowed slightly toward Sharron.

Sharron’s blue eyes looked over.

Her gaze crossed Klein and fell upon Werewolf Tyre and Maric, who were still locked in battle behind him.

Sharron’s figure vanished. In the next instant, her image was reflected in Werewolf Tyre’s eyes.

Tyre froze where he stood, every black hair across his body rising upright.

His arms lifted with difficulty and pressed against his own head.

Crack!

With force, he twisted—and his eyes then saw the spine hidden beneath his torn clothing.

Pa!

Tyre twisted and pulled again, tearing his own head off alive!

Throughout the entire process, he did not release a single scream. He did not say a single word.

He held his own head in one hand, blood dripping continuously downward, while his headless corpse still stood perfectly straight.

Sharron did not immediately leave Werewolf Tyre’s body. She seemed to be attempting something.

Soon, points of dark-green light seeped from Tyre’s head and body, rapidly gathering around one of his fangs as the core.

It seems Miss Sharron has a way to accelerate the separation of Beyonder characteristics… The precondition should be that she possesses the target, kills the target, and completely controls the body…

With sudden understanding, Klein bent down and picked up the spent casings scattered across the ground, placing every last one into the square iron box.

He was afraid future investigators might use the special nature of the shell casings to find that Artisan, then find the lady who had bought the Barbarian and Briber formulas, thus locking onto Eye of Wisdom’s gathering and threatening Klein’s own safety.

As for the bullets themselves, just like charm materials, they had long since been sacrificed to the corresponding deity amid holy light and flame.

After putting away the revolver, Klein was just about to take a step when Sharron appeared beside the Biological Toxin Bottle with exaggerated speed. The bottle floated up on its own and landed in her palm.

Before Klein could have any further thought, the pale-faced lady flicked her wrist and tossed the translucent brown bottle and the dark-green fang toward him.

…Saving time by helping me pick up the spoils?

Klein froze for a moment. Instinctively, he pulled out a sheet of paper and covered the two objects with it, not touching them directly.

In his field of view, Sharron’s elaborate black court dress had lost its usual neatness. It swayed gently in the wind. Several strands of her fallen pale-gold hair clung to the sides of her cheeks, making her seem a little more human than usual.

Mm… This Biological Toxin Bottle comes with a lid… I just do not know what its negative effect is…

Klein lowered his head, examined his spoils, and resealed the Biological Toxin Bottle with the black lid hanging beside it, preventing it from continuing to harm him.

As for that dark-green fang, it was the Beyonder characteristic left behind by Werewolf Tyre.

While Klein placed the two items into a small iron box prepared in advance and used Night Sanctifying Powder to create a wall of spirituality that sealed off their influence on the surroundings, the corner of his eye saw Sharron’s figure vanish. Meanwhile, Steve’s remaining flesh and blood wriggled, separating out nearly transparent points of light.

At the same time, Klein stayed wary of Maric, lest the other party suddenly go mad.

Amid that wariness, he discovered that the Living Corpse’s power of recovery was indeed astonishing. Those wounds that had been deep enough to reveal bone had already mostly closed!

Maric also looked deeply at him, seeming to have remembered something, or understood something.

After finishing what he was doing, Klein made a detour of a dozen steps. He first picked up the square iron box that had been dug out by living corpses and shades, then found Azik’s copper whistle and the Master Key, surrounded by one humanoid “candle” after another.

He glanced at them—and awkwardly discovered that he did not dare pick them up.

The Crimson Moon Crown’s effect was still radiating across this open space!

This was the final preparation he had preset, the most last-resort kind. For it, he had specifically found time to visit a hospital morgue, testing what those corpses would do and what they wanted to do after seizing Azik’s copper whistle. Only then had he created the corresponding process design.

“Cough. Could you stop the Crimson Moon Crown’s effect?” Klein turned his head and looked toward Sharron, who had reappeared.

In her hand was now a translucent puppet.

Sharron said nothing. She put the Crimson Moon Crown in her other hand against her chest.

The ring of crimson gemstones swiftly dimmed, and the full-moon radiance disappeared from the abandoned open space.

Only then did Klein bend down. Pinching the ring with the tips of his fingers, he lifted Azik’s copper whistle and the Master Key, placed them into the square iron box marked by dented bullet scars, and swiftly sealed it.

At the same time, Maric also circled the area, dealing with the scene.

Sharron lifted that small black soft hat with invisible force. Her figure first dematerialized and vanished, then reappeared before Klein.

“The Book of Secrets is in the guest room of your home,” Sharron said calmly.

In other words, regardless of the final result, as long as I can return alive, I will receive part of the payment and not have worked for nothing…

Klein smiled, then bowed slightly.

“Thank you for your generosity.”

“The official Beyonders may arrive at any moment. We should leave.”

Sharron nodded once.

“Need help?”

“No.” Klein gave a soft laugh. “I still have many fireworks left to set off.”

The moment he finished speaking, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The remaining bombs exploded one after another, sending columns of flame rushing upward.

They gathered around the largest, most eye-catching bloom near the center, creating a dreamy and dazzling sight.

Sharron’s gaze was instinctively drawn for one second. When she looked back again, Klein’s figure had already vanished. Only a cluster of firelight slowly faded.

Outside the open space, on a road that looped slightly northwest and would not directly encounter the official Beyonders, match after match ignited in succession. Flame after crimson flame soared up, then swiftly disappeared.

Klein’s figure repeatedly appeared within them, jumping away from the West Balam Dockyard.

Immediately afterward, he removed a bottle of specially made hydrosol, smeared it across his face, and wiped lightly with a piece of paper, removing all the greasepaint.

Pa!

Klein shook his wrist, letting the paper burn into ash.

Then he picked up the cane hidden nearby, tidied his clothes, and walked onto the street like an ordinary person.

Before long, Klein arrived before a church. Its name was:

Lever Church.

Because many believers were not wealthy, and because they might not be able to rest on Sundays while their weekdays were even busier, the major Churches kept their churches open until the early hours of the morning, allowing most believers a chance to pray and confess.

Klein looked up at the church, tapped the steps with the black cane in his hand, and walked inside.

He intended to hide here from the next wave of checks on the surrounding crowd.

…

Several minutes later, a Machinery Hivemind team appeared in the open space surrounded by abandoned warehouses.

Five members had come in total, each carrying different Beyonder weapons. Yet the sight before them—the scene as though the entire place had been plowed over—made them frown.

After looking around for some time, they solemnly began searching for clues.

…

Inside Lever Church.

Because it was not yet eleven, there were still quite a few people here. Yet not one of them spoke. The whole prayer hall was peaceful to the point of sacredness, making one unwilling to break that stillness.

Klein sat in the aisle seat of the third row. He leaned his black cane forward and removed his half silk top hat.

Wearing a black double-breasted formal frock coat, he clasped his hands together and pressed them beneath his chin. With closed eyes and an exceptionally calm expression, he faced the triangular holy emblem at the very front.