Chapter 165: The Performance Begins

Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Five
The Performance Begins

Wearing a pitch-black crown and covered in dense, solid armor, Klein stood before the entrance. After adjusting for several seconds, he took a step forward.

His body, almost material, passed through the door without a sound, entering Capim’s villa.

The first thing that appeared before him was a spacious foyer furnished with many chairs and coat racks. Behind it was the magnificent hall, whose main color was gold.

The hall had no ceiling. One could see directly up to the three-story dome, from which hung an enormous crystal chandelier. Atop every “petal” stood a pure white candle.

To the left of the hall, beyond a heavy door, lay an elegant, tasteful dining room. From within, the rich aroma of roast meat was strongest, masking the scent of alcoholic drinks and other foods.

Klein did not rush into the dining room. Instead, he first circled around outside for half a lap. From time to time, he stretched out a hand and tugged twice at the gray-white gas pipes, as though testing how much strength his Spirit Body possessed after carrying the Black Emperor card, and how strongly it could interfere with real, physical objects.

During the Diviner and Clown stages, Klein’s Spirit Body state could, aside from divination and instinctive premonitions, only perform two spell-like abilities: directly attacking the soul, and causing a target to freeze through touch. After he advanced to Magician, however, several of his Beyonder abilities that did not depend on the physical body could also be used in Spirit Body form, such as Paper Figurine Substitute and Air Bullets.

In addition, he could now possess others, completing a preliminary form of manipulation.

And under the support and elevation of the Black Emperor card, the strength of his Spirit Body itself increased. The amount of matter he could carry increased as well. His spell-like ability of directly attacking the soul had evolved into a “Wraith Shriek,” which used sound waves inaudible to humans to injure the souls—that is, the Spirit Bodies—of all living creatures within range. Likewise, the freezing effect from touch had been greatly strengthened.

After confirming all this, he found a wall in a corner, passed through it, and entered the dining room.

Next, he suppressed every thought and swept his emotionless gaze over the long table.

Heras, wearing a white wig; Katie, dressed in a thin shirt; Parker, whose face looked aged and who was drinking red wine; and the slightly plump Capim, currently cutting into a piece of beef eye, successively entered his sight.

The moment his gaze touched them, it withdrew. Klein did not dare to look for too long, lest the Beyonders among them detect him through spiritual intuition.

Using the spiritual glow—the aura colors—of the male and female servants standing by as cover, he cautiously drifted around the dining room and figured out the specific layout.

For instance, this room was about the size of his own sitting room, dining room, and living room combined. There was a fireplace inside where charcoal burned steadily, spreading warmth throughout the room through pipes. Sixteen elegant gas lamps hung around the walls, their light weaving together and creating an impression almost like daylight. On the wall beside the fireplace hung frame after frame of artwork—some sketches, some oil paintings—all by masters.

“That bearded Bellis is not here. He should be taking his turn guarding the entrance to the underground area… For a Beyonder to be willing to do such hard, dreary work, what Capim is involved in definitely cannot be simple human trafficking…” Klein thought for several seconds. Then, leaning beside an oil painting of a sunset, he reached into his body and unscrewed the lid of that small semitransparent brown bottle.

This was the Biological Toxin Bottle!

The reason he had placed such importance on timing, choosing to arrive before dinner, was precisely because at this moment, the major figures were gathered in the greatest number and most orderly fashion—perfect for the Biological Toxin Bottle to display its effects!

And in early winter, the tightly closed doors and windows would make the Biological Toxin Bottle take effect faster and better!

In addition, Klein had not soaked the Biological Toxin Bottle in water beforehand to create a “preventive dose.” At the moment, he was in Spirit Body state and had no fear of biological toxins whatsoever.

Relying on the concealment and tolerance of his Spirit Body, he stood there quietly and patiently admired one elegant wall lamp after another connected to the gray-white gas pipes, while colorless, odorless toxins rapidly diffused outward.

…

Heras, wearing a white wig, cut off a piece of fried dragon-bone fish that had only the main spine. He dipped it in a little black-pepper sauce and placed it into his mouth.

After chewing and swallowing, he picked up a glass of pale-gold champagne bubbling with strings of pearls and took a pleased sip.

Unconsciously, he had already begun picturing the evening’s entertainment. He imagined the pleasure of conquering a stubborn young girl.

This weakened his appetite and made it difficult for him to focus.

Katie refused to let a servant help carve her roast pullet. Head lowered, knife and fork in hand, she swiftly divided the food into many pieces in a style precise enough to resemble dissection. Every piece was almost exactly the same size.

Parker tasted red wine while eating stewed lamb, occasionally chatting with Capim at the head of the table. In that sense, he could be considered the most competent guest present.

Dinner proceeded methodically. Capim placed the final piece of beef eye into his mouth.

Smiling, he said to the three Beyonders, “Mr. Heras, Madam Katie, Mr. Parker, tonight’s desserts come from the head chef of Labory Restaurant. There are three kinds: fruit crème caramel, cream shortbread, and carrot cake.”

The perpetually cold Heras gave a small nod.

“Our country truly loves desserts.”

He had only just finished sighing when he saw Capim lift a hand and scratch his cheek. Then Capim scratched again.

“A little itchy.” Capim smiled apologetically.

Before his words had faded, he could not stop himself from scratching once more, tearing a clear bloody mark across his skin.

That bloody mark swiftly swelled. Its surface turned semitransparent, and a pale-yellow liquid within could vaguely be seen through it.

“It really is a little itchy.” Capim smiled again.

He scratched the same spot once more. Because he used too much force, the swollen, translucent skin split open, and foul-smelling pus sprayed out.

Heras’s eyes narrowed. He suddenly stood, warily surveying his surroundings.

“Hahaha.”

“Haha, hahaha.”

At that moment, he heard exaggerated laughter, and his body abruptly tensed.

He saw one male and one female servant clutching their abdomens as they burst into wild laughter—laughing until they could not straighten their backs, laughing until tears flowed from their eyes, laughing until the whole room was otherwise silent.

As though a chain reaction had begun, the other servants either fainted or vomited continuously, bringing up yellow-green liquid again and again without stopping.

Not one was spared.

Bang! Katie overturned the dining table, sending gold-inlaid tableware, leftovers, wine, and food scattering across the floor.

A revolver and a black soft whip had already appeared in her hands.

Parker rose as well, but his mind showed a slight daze. Looking at Capim—who screamed for help while unable to stop scratching himself, tearing several strips of bloody flesh from his own body—he inexplicably felt that the man’s current ugly, disgusting appearance seemed rather delicate and good-looking.

At that point, Heras discovered that he was having trouble breathing and instantly understood that the entire room was probably filled with poison.

He roared in a low voice, “Hold your breath!

“Parker, open the door.

“Katie, follow me and search for the intruder!”

At that moment, Heras felt extraordinarily fortunate that dinner had been shared with Capim and that many attendants surrounded them.

Ordinary people had far weaker resistance to toxins than Beyonders. They showed symptoms ahead of time, allowing Heras and the others to notice that something was wrong before the poisoning became too deep.

Parker, who has the lowest Sequence among us, should be the one with the most severe symptoms… Such a thought suddenly flashed through Heras’s mind.

Clang!

As Parker opened the door and made the dining room no longer so sealed, Heras also used spirit vision to discover an illusory figure quietly wandering.

The figure wore thick, majestic black armor, a pitch-black crown atop its head, and a mask of the same color covering its face. It looked like a king from the spirit world.

It was Klein.

Heras lifted his right hand, pointed at the black figure invisible to ordinary people, and spoke a word in ancient Hermes:

“Imprison!”

In an instant, the air around the black figure turned viscous, as though forming a giant block of amber, or as though sealed transparent walls had been erected around it.

The figure froze there, unable to move in the slightest. Katie had already taken aim and pulled the trigger, her coordination exceedingly well-practiced.

Bang! Bang! Two pale-gold bullets covered in strange patterns pierced through the viscous air and struck the black figure.

The bullets passed through and hit the opposite wall. The black figure burst into flame without wind, revealing itself as a crudely cut paper figurine.

Within the pale-gold flames, the paper figurine quickly turned to ash.

Snap!

A strange, crisp sound rang out. The flames inside the sixteen elegant gas wall lamps and the fireplace abruptly brightened, filling Heras, Katie, and Parker’s vision for a brief moment with nothing but fiery red.

Then all the flames went out. Only the streetlamps outside, tall as people, and the crimson moonlight piercing through the clouds quietly illuminated the dining room, making it appear dim and gloomy.

Heras and the others once again relied on spirit vision and spiritual intuition, searching for that ghost-like intruder.

Meanwhile, he realized that the poison did not take effect very quickly. Before they dealt with the enemy, it seemed it would not truly flare up.

Thus, while paying attention to the entrance to the underground area, he pointed toward the door once more and spoke in a low voice in ancient Hermes:

“Confinement!”

The entire dining room suddenly froze, as though an invisible wall had appeared—one even Spirit Bodies would find difficult to penetrate.

Heras intended to keep that intruder from escaping!

Found you! Holding the revolver in one hand and the whip in the other, Katie discovered the black figure floating in midair.

A strange light had only just flashed within her eyes, and before she could launch an attack, her mind buzzed as though someone had struck her hard on the head with a wooden club.

She felt as if she had suffered an indescribable shriek. Several drops of thick blood slowly slid from her nose.

Heras only felt a little dizzy, his breathing growing slightly more difficult. Parker, the weakest among them, saw stars and became unsteady on his feet.

Suddenly, Parker felt someone pat his shoulder.

A cold, sinister sensation surged in. He instantly stiffened in place, as though completely covered in frost, with the chill seeping into his bones. Beside his ear, he heard a familiar low voice:

“Imprison!”

In an instant, Parker was trapped by a cage made of transparent walls, locked beside the door. But Klein had not possessed him. Instead, he had directly passed through him, evading the effect of Heras’s spell in time.

Heras narrowed his eyes slightly. With a light flick of his right hand, he said:

“Release!”