Chapter 260: Faceless Man

Chapter 260: Faceless Man

Everything around them was like an illusion, with vivid colors overlapping and stacking, rapidly retreating.

Klein had only just recovered, observing and experiencing this wondrous mode of travel, when he felt Mr. Azik’s hand, which was gripping his arm, tremble faintly.

Before he had time to react, he felt an intense sense of weightlessness. His body dropped uncontrollably, even beginning to spin.

The red, yellow, white, black, and other colors around him rapidly faded. Klein fell heavily onto solid ground, his head dizzy from the impact, his internal organs churning.

Within his vision, mingled with countless golden stars, everything he saw had returned to normal. On his left was a dark, deep valley whose bottom could not be seen. It resembled the demonic abyss of legends. On his right, a gray stone cliff wall extended constantly upward, as though supporting the entire region.

There was no sun here, no clouds, and no mist. The faint light came from glowing moss growing in different places. Darkness and profundity were the main colors of this “world.”

Klein propped himself up with his left hand and sprang nimbly to his feet. He discovered that beneath him was a neatly paved stone road. It could accommodate two carriages side by side and was definitely not formed naturally.

One end of the road spiraled downward, deep into the dark fissure. The other end led higher up. From time to time, one could see domed corridors and halls located within the cliff face.

Klein lifted his head slightly but could not see the highest point. His vision was completely blocked by the gray stone wall.

All of a sudden, he felt an understanding dawn upon him: he and Mr. Azik had “fallen” underground and were currently inside the remnants of an ancient civilization.

Is this another region, or are we still near Backlund? The thought had just appeared in Klein’s mind when he heard Mr. Azik say in a deep voice, “You leave this place first. Go upward.”

Huh? Before Klein could comprehend the meaning of those words, light flashed at the side and instantly outlined an illusory double door.

That door seemed to have been made of bronze. It was not quite real, yet unusually heavy, and its surface bore innumerable strange patterns and symbolic signs of unknown meaning.

With a creak, a gap opened in the door. From within, pale, bloody arms stretched out one after another, clamoring over each other. Aside from them, there were also dark-green vines with infant faces, and slick tentacles with bulging eyes.

This is very similar to the effect of Miss Sharron’s mystical item… As his thoughts flickered, Klein discovered that those arms, vines, and tentacles were no longer frenzied. They had quieted down, pressing themselves to the ground, completely unlike their earlier performance when they had madly dragged a Sequence 6 Zombie behind the door alive.

Immediately afterward, the gap in the illusory door opened quite a bit wider, and a figure walked out from inside.

That figure wore a pure-black clergy robe. His features were like a classical sculpture, deep and distinct.

His hair was dark golden, his eyes deep blue, and his nose bridge high. He wore a soft hat favored by elderly men, while his temples were grayer than his middle-aged appearance should suggest.

Looking at the other party’s eye, which had completely lost its luster, a name naturally surfaced in Klein’s mind:

Ince Zangwill!

The former archbishop who single-handedly orchestrated the Tingen incident and heavily wounded the Nighthawks team. The wielder of Sealed Artifact 0-08!

Almost simultaneously, Klein turned around and followed Mr. Azik’s words, sprinting madly up the road.

He was very clear that, as a Sequence 6, staying inside a demigod-level confrontation would only drag others down and distract Mr. Azik.

And in a situation where every second counted, false humility and sentimental words were unnecessary. They would only harm himself and his companion!

Thud, thud, thud. Because there was nothing underground he could ignite, Klein could only clench his teeth and run with all his strength. In his ears came Azik’s calm, gentle voice.

“Keep running until you leave this place.

“Do not worry about me. I have remembered many things, and know that I once remained at a certain Sequence for a very long time. That Sequence was called Undying.”

Thud, thud, thud. Klein circled around the cliff wall and entered a dim corridor with a dome. On both sides of the walls were numerous mottled murals.

Just then, from the place where he had been a moment earlier, a dignified, deep voice echoed.

“Teleportation is prohibited here!”

Beside Ince Zangwill, at some unknown point, another figure had arrived. It floated in midair in violation of the laws of physics, wearing a magnificent mask that seemed cast from gold.

Ince Zangwill, however, did not immediately attack. Instead, he looked toward the corner where Klein’s figure had disappeared.

A Sequence 4 Evernight Goddess Church Nightwatcher could, to a certain degree, bestow misfortune upon others. Yet Ince Zangwill, who had just silently “blessed” Klein, discovered that the other party had not slipped, fallen, or tumbled into the deep valley.

Not only that, it even seemed as if a hallucination had appeared before Ince Zangwill’s eyes, making him see a wisp of thin, illusory grayish-white fog.

With no time to think further, he withdrew his gaze and turned it back toward Azik Eggers.

Thud, thud, thud. Screech—

Klein, who was running at high speed, suddenly braked. His spiritual intuition told him that people stood ahead—Beyonders, and very likely the guards of this place!

After brief thought, he stretched out his left hand and wiped it across his face. At the same time, cracking sounds came from within his body, and his entire body forcibly grew seven or eight centimeters taller.

By the time his left palm left his face, he had already turned into a middle-aged man with dark-golden hair, a high nose bridge, and only one eye: Ince Zangwill!

After recalling the other party’s demeanor and using illusion to modify his clothing, Klein strode forward, rounded the corner, and entered a hall.

There, four guards wearing deep-black full-body armor stood, all with sharp gazes.

With a dark face, Klein walked over. Deliberately deepening his voice, he said sternly, “Someone has infiltrated this place. I am currently searching for him.

“Have you discovered any clues?”

The leading guard first examined him, then lowered his head and said, “Mr. Zangwill, there has been no movement here.”

“Mm.” Klein nodded lightly, passed them, and left the hall.

Throughout the entire process, although he was extremely tense and sweat had seeped from his back, he behaved steadily and restrainedly. From appearance to aura, there was not the slightest difference between him and Ince Zangwill.

Relying on the abilities of a Faceless, combined with his own running, he swiftly passed through three checkpoints and arrived at the end of this area of architecture.

There stood an illusory door purely formed from deep-blue light. Apart from that, the way was completely sealed.

Although he was worried about the battle between Mr. Azik and the demigods Ince Zangwill and the others, Klein still hid within the shadows outside the room and patiently observed for a while. He discovered that some people arrived through that deep-blue light, and some left through it.

He noticed one point: people leaving had to first display an emblem-like object. Only then would they receive the four guards’ permission and enter the door of light.

There is no time to wait for the next person with an “emblem.” I can only take the risk… The battle over there could end at any time… Even if it does not, the order to search for me may soon be passed here… Klein swiftly made up his mind and, once more wearing Ince Zangwill’s image, entered that room.

“Something has happened outside.” He was not confident imitating the former archbishop’s voice, so he deliberately made it hoarse, indicating that he had just been through an intense battle.

The guards, distracted by the news, did not react until Klein drew near. Then they stretched out their hands to stop him.

“Mr. Zangwill, where is your pass?”

“Do not waste time!” Klein said while taking an emblem from his pocket and stuffing it into the other party’s hand.

Such calm behavior instantly made the other guards relax.

The instant the guard who received the “pass” lowered his head to check, Klein abruptly threw himself forward!

The moment he hit the ground, he followed with a roll and directly burrowed into the deep-blue door of light!

Only then did the guard discover that the emblem in his hand was rapidly fading and turning into a slip of notepaper.

In the upper-left corner of the note was a recently common blessing:

“Happy New Year!”

…

The abyss-like dark fissure was filled with illusory black liquid, and the water level was continuously rising. Pale-skinned arms stretched wildly outward one after another.

Ince Zangwill had a rough understanding of Azik’s level and was not surprised or frightened by this, because at this moment he had a half-god, half-human helper.

What he worried about most was another issue: after forcibly pushing the story’s development, 0-08 might counterattack him at any time.

At that moment, from the corner of his eye, he was astonished to discover that the quill, 0-08, had at some unknown point left his pocket and was floating before the gray stone wall, madly writing line after line of words:

“…In an intense battle, all sorts of accidents always occur. For example, Ince Zangwill’s belt snaps, causing his trousers to fall…”

…

Deep-blue light filled Klein’s eyes, constructing a passage of stacked layers of light amid deep darkness and invisible creatures drifting about.

Klein did not observe his surroundings. Rolling and scrambling, he reached the end of the passage.

He stood, straightened his clothing, restored Ince Zangwill’s stern expression, and stepped into the light curtain that rippled like water.

After a brief daze, he discovered that he was inside another room, where there were likewise many guards.

“There has been a problem underground. Watch this place carefully. Do not let anyone enter.” Klein gave steady instructions and walked toward the door neither quickly nor slowly.

“Yes, Mr. Zangwill!” the guards answered respectfully.

Just then, the earlier guard came through the deep-blue light and shouted loudly, “That Zangwill just now was a problem!”

One gaze after another immediately turned toward the door. But Klein’s figure was already gone.

Thud, thud, thud. The guards immediately split off several people, scattering to search for the target and notify the remaining companions. The scene became rather chaotic for a time.

One of them had just rounded a corner when he saw Ince Zangwill’s back.

Subconsciously, he drew the longsword flashing with electric light and slashed down.

Poof!

That figure drifted away weightlessly, becoming a split paper figurine.

Almost simultaneously, two consecutive bangs rang out. Pale-gold bullets passed through the visor that had not been lowered and accurately entered the guard’s head.

Before he could even scream, the guard fell to the ground with a clang and twitched twice.

Klein walked out from the corner’s shadows without expression and tucked his revolver back into the shoulder holster beneath his arm.

He burned the paper figurine, swiftly dragged the guard into an empty room, changed into the black armor, and turned into the other party’s appearance.

Then he picked up the longsword carrying flickering electricity, left the room, closed the wooden door, and fled forward in a “panic.”

He was going to inform every guard along the way that there was a problem with Ince Zangwill!