Chapter 108: Leveraging Strengths

Chapter 108: Leveraging Strengths

After the abnormality disappeared, Klein breathed out slightly in relief. He examined the environment inside the house, then selected a spot that was illuminated by faint moonlight and where the shadows were not too dense, avoiding the possibility of sudden assault.

The few seconds of experience just now gave him a certain guess regarding the faintly visible figures beyond the curtains and the beast-like growling sounds:

They were the corpses that had previously hung inside the church, murmuring “Hornacis… Flegrea…”!

When Klein had passed through the wall and left the church, all those suspended from above had turned toward that lit candle. Meanwhile, there had been no figures walking back and forth on the street. Once Klein controlled the flame from afar and extinguished the candlelight, everything became the same as last time!

When the red moon becomes clear, spirituality is enhanced, and the “magnet” at the top of the church deepens its influence over the misty town. It can manipulate those corpses and make them walk back and forth, pretending to be normal people? If that is true, then perhaps light draws the “controller’s” attention. In this situation, if the flame is not extinguished in time and its source is locked onto, something extremely terrifying may happen. Mm, I cannot rely on my ability to manipulate fire and repeatedly shift the “gaze” of those figures…

Klein reminded himself of this and then, using his still-open Spirit Body Threads vision, examined the bread, potato beef stew, and deep-red wine on the dining table.

He suspected that the food here belonged to that “magnet” at the top of the church. If it was consumed, one’s Spirit Body Threads would suffer contamination and uncontrollably drift toward the church. This would also explain why those who ate the food here evaporated into thin air: they all ended up hanging and being air-dried inside the church. When the red moon became clear, they could come out to “walk,” matching Mr. A’s description that the vanished people would reappear beneath the bright moonlight.

With one glance, Klein discovered that the food resembled living beings. Spirit Body Threads grew out from inside them, extending toward the direction of the ancient church.

The most special point was that each piece of food had only one Spirit Body Thread, clearly different from the countless dense threads possessed by normal living beings.

As expected. It is roughly as I guessed…

With his idea initially confirmed, Klein withdrew his gaze and began thinking about how to deal with the Demoness of Despair, Panatiya, later.

Beside him, the Wraith Senor, wearing an old tricorn hat and dark red coat, suddenly appeared. The marionette’s bones cracked, and his face squirmed. Very quickly, he became Gehrman Sparrow.

The marionette was using the Faceless ability!

Klein examined this “substitute” for a while and discovered that there were still some flaws. The clothing could not be transformed, and if he used illusion to conceal it, he could not fool a demigod-level Demoness of Despair. Even Mr. A might not fall for it.

After brief consideration, he had the Wraith Senor in Gehrman Sparrow’s appearance remove his clothes, while he himself took off the black clerical robe. The two began swapping attire!

During the process of dressing and putting on the hat, Klein’s expression gradually grew strange, because for the past two months, his marionette had always worn this outfit. It had gone through the sewers, endured explosions, and absorbed all kinds of mixed odors. It was not particularly pleasant.

Sigh. The suffering I endure now is the sin I sowed by being lazy in the past…

Klein silently sighed and completed the disguise, turning into Gehrman Sparrow in the image of a pirate captain.

At this moment, the Wraith Senor had also put on the black clerical robe. His aura had become lively rather than cold, and he was no different from a living person.

After weighing matters briefly, Klein removed Creeping Hunger and had Blood Admiral wear it on his left palm.

In this way, the marionette was now a standard Gehrman Sparrow!

If you are acting, you must perform the entire set… And if Creeping Hunger backfires during this process, it will eat the marionette. Heh-heh. Once the time limit ends, will it feel as if it has been deceived? Like eating a placebo…

As Klein had the Wraith Senor adapt to his state and take away the fish meat and other items, he seriously formulated his plan.

Relying on such a marionette that can use my Beyonder abilities, forget defeating the Demoness of Despair—even stealing that obsidian from her is almost impossible. She is a genuine demigod…

Even if I rely on this extremely deceptive marionette to achieve tactical success, such as having him attract attention while I perform a sudden sneak attack, and constantly swap positions to confuse Panatiya and make it difficult for her to judge accurately, that still cannot compensate for the difference in level and strength, nor achieve the strategic objective…

I can consider having the marionette engage at close range and attempt to manipulate Panatiya’s Spirit Body Threads. He is already a corpse and will no longer be affected by disease or plague; in that aspect, he may catch her off guard… There are two problems. First, once the mystical “viruses” and “bacteria” created by the Demoness of Despair grow stronger and more severe, is it possible for them to affect living corpses? Second, does she have other Beyonder abilities I do not know of? Most likely, yes!

Mm. First, I should make a list in my mind. I’ll write down the areas where I have an advantage over the Demoness of Despair, or where I stand on the same level, and see if that inspires anything…

A marionette that can disguise itself as me and use my Beyonder powers counts as demigod-level. So does instantly switching positions. Other than those, there is nothing else… Uh, considering the Demoness of Despair’s current state, I seem to have another area where I surpass her…

She is in a half-mad state. Her reason comes and goes. She acts rather extremely and is easily driven by instinct. Mm, although she remains skilled at instigation and guidance, that belongs to hunting instinct. Meanwhile, my state is normal. My intelligence has not yet developed problems. My thinking and analytical abilities are still online…

Could it be that this time, I must win through intelligence?

A flash of inspiration came to Klein, and he gradually developed a new idea and plan.

Why do I have to fight the Demoness of Despair, Panatiya, to the death right now?

She definitely also longs to escape the misty town. Deep in her heart, that instinct should surpass the instinct to eat! Besides, she is still full right now!

I can completely try to cooperate with her. She provides the obsidian, while I depict that special and concealed symbol, assembling the conditions to “open the door”…

Furthermore, I am not at ease regarding Zaratul. Who knows whether he harbors ill intent or hides some conspiracy? Drawing in the Demoness of Despair can effectively muddy the situation and restrain Him to a certain extent!

Cooperation is a battle of words, not strength. A demigod-level perfect substitute can play a far greater role there than it would in direct combat. This is equivalent to combining my two advantages!

Klein swiftly made his decision. While considering the details of the “cooperation negotiation,” he patiently waited for the red moon to return to the mist.

After some time, the crimson moonlight penetrating the dark curtains finally dimmed. Klein immediately had his marionette pass through the wall, open the door, and move away from the house where he himself was hiding.

Then the Gehrman Sparrow-like Wraith Senor walked onto the street, heading toward the pitch-black church.

In merely a dozen seconds, Klein, who was controlling the marionette, discovered that Senor had been infected by disease.

For the dead, this had no effect. But Klein vaguely foresaw that, as time passed, the disease would grow increasingly severe and increasingly bizarre, perhaps even directly affecting the body’s nerves and spirituality. This would cause a living corpse’s movements to become stiff and clumsy. In the end, perhaps even its knees would no longer bend, forcing it to hop in order to move.

Thankfully, I did not choose the plan of having the marionette manipulate Spirit Body Threads.

Klein immediately had the Wraith Senor say loudly, “I stayed inside the church for a while. I did not die.

“I found a way to leave this place!”

After saying this, “Gehrman Sparrow” sniffed, as if his resistance to the disease had grown weaker due to declining physical condition.

At that moment, the Demoness of Despair, Panatiya, wearing a pure white robe, suddenly appeared at the church entrance. Her hair was once again pinned up, looking clean and neat.

Her slightly mad, beautiful eyes gazed at Gehrman Sparrow as she took out a deep, strange piece of obsidian from the inner side of her clothing.

The outline of this obsidian was exactly the same as the depression on the wall behind the statue inside the church!

“You need this?” Panatiya asked calmly.

Klein discovered that the Demoness of Despair had already withdrawn her plague and disease. He hurriedly made the Wraith Senor nod slightly.

“Yes. As long as it is placed in the correct position inside the church, and paired with a special symbol, it can open a ‘door’ that leads out of this place.

“I know that, to you, the interior of the church is very dangerous. But the danger is mainly concentrated on the Spirit Body Threads. And I am a Marionettist. I can manipulate Spirit Body Threads and prevent you from suffering the fate of being hung up.”

The Demoness of Despair, Panatiya, was silent for several seconds. The corners of her lips lifted, her smile bright and beautiful as she asked in return, “And then I become your marionette?

“Or will you abandon helping me at the critical moment and let me become one of the figures wandering beneath the moon?”

Klein had long since prepared for this. He immediately made his marionette say sincerely, “What must I do to reassure you?”

Panatiya did not immediately answer. After carefully thinking for a while, she said, “Give me your hair and flesh.”

A curse that Demonesses are skilled at? Using Senor’s hair and flesh to curse Gehrman Sparrow? If that works, I lose!

While Klein’s heart steadied, he had his marionette appear very troubled.

“Wouldn’t that allow you to kill me at any time?”

The Demoness of Despair, Panatiya, smiled in response.

“You can give me your hair and flesh only after entering the church.

“Once inside, if I show any sign of cursing you, you can give up manipulating my Spirit Body Threads. Conversely, if you show the slightest abnormality, I will immediately curse you.

“After the door of escape opens, I will leave first. At the same time, I will return the flesh and hair to you.”

“Gehrman Sparrow” deliberated for a long time, discussed some details with the Demoness of Despair, and finally nodded.

“Alright. We will do that.”

Panatiya was just about to speak when her eyes suddenly narrowed. She slowly said, “For some reason, I still feel a little uneasy.”