Chapter 103: Figures Coming and Going

Chapter 103: Figures Coming and Going

After rushing into the house and closing the door, Klein discovered that the curtains behind the windows had been tightly shut all along. Only crimson moonlight faintly seeped through, bringing a little illumination.

He had no time for further observation. He found a wooden chair, sat down, and tried to enter meditation in order to calm the physical mutation tendency he had been suppressing earlier.

After witnessing the incomplete mythical creature form of a Beyonder at the saint level, how could he possibly endure it so easily? This was not the mysterious space above the gray fog, which came with its own restorative effect!

Because Klein’s mental resistance in this area was rather high, he had been able to break free early from the chaos of his thoughts, barely control the tendency to lose control, and complete his escape. But that did not mean the problem had already been resolved.

Sitting there, he relied on meditation and his own control over his emotions to resist wave after wave of mad thoughts. During the process, he heard the bones in his face crack, saw his black hair grow uncontrollably thicker and longer, felt his chest gradually prop up his clothing, and noticed granule-like buds of flesh protruding on the surface of his skin.

Nearly thirty seconds later, Klein finally breathed out and relaxed slightly.

He had completely shaken off the influence brought by Panatiya’s incomplete mythical creature form. He had even gained a little knowledge: the level at which she stood had “despair” as its core and specialized in creating and spreading plagues.

The mad tendencies and physical mutations caused by witnessing a mythical creature do not only display loss-of-control symptoms from one’s own pathway. They also carry traits from the other party’s Sequence… Back then, I was nearly cooked through by the Eternal Blazing Sun. This time, I nearly turned into a Demoness…

Klein lowered his head and examined his current state, then restored his skin, chest, and hair to their original forms.

If he had not been a Faceless, aside from those flesh buds, which would slowly retract into his body, the rest would have required external force to resolve.

There was no time for feelings, sighs, or analysis. Klein slowly stood and cast his gaze toward the tightly shut dark curtains, attempting to figure out his current situation.

His expression suddenly changed slightly, because he heard noisy whispers coming from the street outside!

In that instant, he felt that the town which, just now, had been empty except for himself and Miss Despair Panatiya, had suddenly gained quite a number of residents. They walked through the streets and alleys, greeting one another and discussing whether they should only buy bread today, or be a little extravagant and have a pound of beef.

The misty town had suddenly come alive!

Yet the indistinct figures showed no attempt to enter the houses on either side. They seemed to merely walk back and forth along the streets. And the sounds they produced were hard to believe were human speech; they were closer to the low growls of beasts.

Klein could not imagine what kind of scene lay outside. He only knew that this was a danger even a demigod-level Demoness had to avoid.

He withdrew his gaze, pondered for a few seconds, and muttered silently to himself:

“I cannot go out…

“But I cannot stay here either…

“Who knows when the red moon in the sky will be hidden by the mist again, restoring Panatiya’s freedom of movement? At that point, with the distance between us so short, I will have no way to escape!

“But if I do not go out, how am I supposed to transfer elsewhere?”

In the silence, Klein slowly turned, facing the ancient black church with the pointed roof.

According to Miss Despair Panatiya, that church was the only area she had not explored and dared not explore. It seemed that only by entering it could he escape her “hunt.”

Of course, the Demoness Panatiya might not necessarily have been telling the truth, but Klein judged that she probably would not lie about these things. In her eyes, his position was prey—food.

Moreover, Panatiya had already been using words and her own charm to guide him step by step, laying a trap and preparing to hunt him. With the confidence of a demigod, she was unlikely to deceive him again through the information she revealed. Also, in that situation, telling the truth was the easiest and safest choice. It reduced the chance that the prey might notice a lie and escape early.

Unless her half-mad state makes lying a habit, there should be no problem…

Lacking other options, Klein swiftly made his decision.

He immediately lowered his left hand, making Creeping Hunger become transparent.

Although he knew that Travel could not be used, he still held on to a sliver of hope. After all, the red moon was currently in its clearest state, unobscured, round like a silver plate. Whenever this happened, Mr. Door could transmit cries for help from wherever he was lost into the ears of his descendants. If Travel were strengthened and underwent some mutation as well, that would not be impossible.

Klein’s figure rapidly faded and vanished. A few seconds later, he reappeared in his original position.

“I can’t enter the spirit world. I can’t even sense it… The Beyonder ability of Travel now only has the first third of its effect. At most, it can barely be used as Invisibility…”

Klein muttered inwardly, summarizing the experience and lesson from just now. From it, he found one point of doubt.

“But the body’s fading and transparency brought by Travel is based on the special nature of the spirit world. Why is it still effective?”

Klein pondered for more than ten seconds and vaguely formed a guess:

“Every person necessarily has a connection with the spirit world, because the astral projection is always located within it and can obtain all kinds of abstract information. This is the principle behind receiving revelations through divination.

“So when we are transformed into a state of concealment, our connection with the spirit world is included in that state too?

“This can explain why I can still borrow the spirit world’s special nature, yet cannot enter the spirit world, because the former has already become part of the concealment! Mm. When I did not have time to think earlier and tried Flame Jumping, it succeeded. That also required borrowing the spirit world’s special nature.”

After confirming this, Klein raised his right hand and snapped his fingers, attempting to ignite the remaining half of a candle in the neighboring house.

He intended to use Flame Jumping to shuttle through adjacent houses and move closer, step by step, to the pointed-roof church. Then, when the red moon was hidden by the mist again, he would decide whether to risk hiding inside depending on the situation.

With a flare, the candlewick in the neighboring house produced a crimson flame. It slowly expanded, illuminating its surroundings.

At that very moment, the street outside suddenly became strangely quiet.

All those beast-like low growls had disappeared!

The figures walking back and forth outside, wandering and whispering along the street, seemed to have all turned toward this side, casting their gazes toward the window where candlelight was showing through!

Cold sweat instantly seeped from Klein’s forehead. He did not dare Jump over. Instinctively, he snapped his fingers again and extinguished the candle flame.

After a brief silence, the noisy whispers reappeared. The indistinct figures continued walking to and fro.

Only then did Klein breathe out in relief, raise his right hand, and wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

He discovered that after entering this misty town, he had unknowingly made several mistakes. In such a dangerous and eerie environment, he had actually failed to divine whether he should light the neighboring house’s candle just now!

Normally, my spiritual intuition would have warned me, but it gave no response… It seems that after the gray fog was blocked, my spiritual intuition and premonitions of danger no longer receive corresponding enhancement. Right now, they are only somewhat stronger than those of other Marionettists at the same level, far from being abnormal… It was precisely because of this that when Panatiya guided me step by step with her Instigator ability and made me look at her wound, I did not receive any premonition of danger. Instead, I subconsciously felt that with a marionette between us, the problem would not be large…

Klein temporarily had no time to review the previous battle. He returned his focus to how he could approach the pointed-roof church without going outside.

He examined each of his and his mystical items’ Beyonder abilities one by one. Suddenly, his eyes brightened. He had found a method.

This method came from the Traveler’s Door Opening, which he had once thought was the most useless!

Under normal circumstances, that Beyonder ability was completely covered by Teleportation. But inside this mysterious and eerie misty town, since it only borrowed the special nature of the spirit world, it had become more useful instead!

Klein did not rush to act. He took out the gold coin in which the Wraith Senor had originally resided and used divination to question his own spirituality, receiving the answer that he should “pass through the wall.”

Without being able to obtain symbolic revelations directly from the spirit world, he could only choose to trust himself. He immediately walked to the wall shared with the neighboring house and pressed both hands against it.

Silently, Klein passed through the stone wall and entered the next room.

He followed that row of houses until he arrived at the last one. Based on his initial impression of the town, this place was already not far from the pointed-roof church. At most, two Flame Jumps would let him arrive.

At this moment, the faint crimson moonlight penetrating the dark curtains had not weakened. Outside, the indistinct figures still went to and fro like people living ordinary lives.

Klein could no longer transfer elsewhere. He could only sit down on a wooden chair far from the window. This spot was nearly pitch-black, and the shadows were deep.

Only then did he have a little leisure to recall the details of his encounter with the Demoness Panatiya.

“She really was one of the culprits who created the Great Smog of Backlund. Tens of thousands died because of her, and even more people endured the pain of losing family.

“Old Kohler, who tried hard to keep living. Madam Liv, who did everything she could to raise her two daughters…”

Klein closed his eyes, raised his head, and took a deep breath.

He forced himself to break free from the sudden surge of anger and hatred, calmly examining the earlier situation.

“What a pity. I did not have Senor carry the Blood Flower ring. Otherwise, he might have been able to struggle a bit longer. But there was no helping it. In the situation where he was possessing me, wearing a ring corresponding to a Rose Bishop while entering Chanis Gate would have been the same as self-destruction…

“The only mystical item I can use now is Creeping Hunger. Inside it are Living Corpse, Baron of Corruption, Desire Apostle, and Traveler…

“Right, I should try whether I can contact the gray fog by prayer while the red moon is clear…

“No, still impossible…

“I can confirm that even through a marionette, I can still be affected by the Demoness’s Charm and Instigation abilities…

“Since Panatiya can spread a large-scale plague, why did she not use an area-wide hidden attack? Why did she wait until I lost control after witnessing her incomplete mythical creature form and exposed my location before infecting me with disease?

“Mm. She can definitely do it. The Great Smog of Backlund is proof… There are two explanations. First, because I was personally sent in by that angel, she valued me highly and was worried that spreading plague in advance would trigger my spiritual premonition. Second, she was afraid of something and did not dare use a large-scale coverage attack… If it is the latter, then there is another danger here…”

As Klein thought, his inspiration was suddenly triggered. A chill ran down his spine.

Almost at the same time, he saw the heavy shadows covering his body and surroundings suddenly contract inward, drilling toward his nostrils, mouth, and ears!