Chapter 177: Serving Good Luck

Chapter 177: Serving Good Luck

On the steep and lengthy stone stairway, the crimson moonlight illuminated the middle section, leaving comparatively thick shadows on either side.

Enzo descended step by step like an ordinary passerby at night—somewhat fast, somewhat hurried, yet not showing panic. He fully trusted that his luck was extremely good, that he was a winner in life, and that the Nighthawks would not catch up to him.

Just as the stairway connecting several upper and lower roads was nearly at its end, Enzo, who had once been a Monster, suddenly sensed something. He turned his head toward the shadowy corner at the very lowest level.

He then saw a figure sitting there in a daze. Because of the lighting, the figure’s appearance and build were rather blurry, but his clothing was typical of an East Balam local.

That figure took out a box of matches, struck one with a scrape, and let light illuminate the edge.

Before Enzo could use that light to examine the person’s appearance, an image abruptly flashed before his eyes:

The figure tossed the match toward him as though presenting a gift. When the match drew close, an exaggerated stream of fire suddenly rose from it, and from within walked a man in formalwear and a top hat!

Seeing sights one should not see and hearing sounds one should not hear were everyday experiences for Monsters. Enzo, who had already become a Winner, had long since grown used to all this. Without thinking, he fully trusted his premonition, threw himself forward violently, leapt out of the stairway, and rolled twice upon the road below.

At the same time, the brown-skinned marionette Ov abruptly stood, twisted his waist, swung his arm, and threw the match in his hand toward the position where Enzo had been standing.

Before that match even landed, crimson fire stretched and lengthened, shooting straight into midair in a magnificent, gorgeous surge.

From within the fire, Klein’s figure leapt out, dressed in a black formal suit and wearing a half top hat, his features handsome and androgynous. Yet he had already lost sight of his target.

More than ten seconds ago, he had discovered someone rapidly descending the stairway, seemingly avoiding something, and had therefore suspected that this was his new marionette. Seizing the time, he had quickly performed a dream divination and obtained the revelation that the other party was connected to the Rose School of Thought and was no good person.

With that answer, Klein had not hesitated to prepare for action. Unfortunately, because time was rather limited, he had not managed to use the Paper Angel recorded in Creeping Hunger to interfere with the target’s spiritual intuition. In the end, he struck empty air.

By then, his marionette Ov had already left the final stair, running in long strides toward Enzo, who had just stood up.

Enzo’s heart stirred. He did not dodge. Instead, he simply turned sideways with light movement, avoiding the utterly ordinary attack.

Then he took advantage of the motion, drew his revolver, quickly aimed, and with a bang, struck Ov in the chest.

Blood gushed out. Marionette Ov swayed and fell, his breathing rapidly growing faint.

Klein seized this brief opportunity. His figure vanished all at once, flashing to the target’s front and blocking his escape route.

Enzo abruptly felt a strange, indescribable, and inexpressible premonition. He immediately shut his eyes, tightly closing them.

He did not know why he had to do this, but as a mid-Sequence Beyonder of the Fate pathway, trusting intuition was instinct!

Immediately afterward, Enzo hurriedly turned away, trying to rely on spiritual intuition to rush into another street. Yet the man in formalwear and a top hat, whose appearance had nothing especially memorable about it, again appeared opposite him.

In front, behind, left, and right—Klein’s figure kept vanishing and reappearing, as if he were running around Enzo at extreme speed. He could always block Enzo’s route ahead of time, yet he made no direct attack. No matter where Enzo turned, whether he used Beyonder abilities or not, opposite him was always the figure dressed in black formalwear and a half top hat.

For a moment, Enzo, whose eyes were shut, almost believed that his enemy was not one person, but a group.

A Traveler could always create the effect of a siege by himself!

After only about ten seconds, Enzo—still unable to find a route of escape—suddenly felt his thoughts turn sluggish and his movements slow. It was as though someone had poured glue into his mind and joints.

Travel and Marionettist are equally compatible. During those flashes just now, Klein had kept within ten meters of Enzo the entire time. He had been secretly manipulating the target’s Spirit Body Threads all along!

Not good… he is not attacking… only blocking… not… to wait… for the Nighthawks… but… for another purpose…

Enzo, eyes still closed, felt his heart tighten. Suddenly, his foot stepped onto a small stone. His body instantly lost balance and crashed heavily to the ground, sending his revolver flying several meters away.

Thud!

The pain and shock allowed Enzo to break free from that sluggish state and regain his previous smoothness.

Such accidents were not unfamiliar to Enzo. As a Winner, he could always obtain advantages and seize victory through all kinds of low-probability events.

He was about to rush without hesitation toward the end of a side street, vault over the railing, and jump into the sea, relying on fate’s arrangement to escape, when another scene flashed through his mind:

He coughed violently, coughing so hard he could neither straighten his waist nor move his legs!

Disease! The enemy can infect me with disease! He has never attacked, only blocked my escape routes, precisely to keep me in this area and make me unknowingly contract an illness!

Enzo was first shocked. Immediately afterward, intense delight surged within him.

The ring named Green Flower that he carried had come from a believer of the Primordial Moon. Once activated, it could easily treat all kinds of illnesses and injuries that were not too severe!

This is luck!

Enzo pretended not to have discovered the infectious disease in the surrounding air. He pushed himself up with both hands and sprang out, following the route he had envisioned earlier, charging straight toward the railing at the end of the street.

After only two steps, he suddenly coughed. He involuntarily slowed.

His coughing did not subside as normal. Instead, it grew more and more violent, as though he were about to cough his lungs out through his throat.

Klein’s figure, dressed in formalwear and wearing a top hat, flashed again, appearing behind the target while keeping a distance of nearly ten meters.

Just then, Enzo opened his arms, letting invisible ripples spread outward from his body.

It was as if a pure mental storm swept violently toward every spirit body in the vicinity. While bringing intense dizziness, it also spread calamity.

Klein likewise had a premonition of danger. The instant Enzo spread his arms, his body vanished from where he stood and appeared halfway up the steep stairway.

Seeing that he had failed to achieve the expected result, Enzo—eyes still shut—immediately abandoned the thought of dealing with the target before fleeing. He continued rushing toward the railing at the end of the street.

He had a premonition that if this dragged on any longer, some of the Nighthawks would catch up, making the situation even more chaotic.

And as a Lucky One, as a Winner, the more chaotic things became, the greater his hope of escape!

At this moment, because he had previously fled blindly while changing direction again and again, he once more passed by the marionette Ov, whose chest he had struck with a bullet.

On the index finger of Ov’s left hand was a gold ring set with a ruby.

Blood-colored light flashed from the ring. The wound on Ov’s chest wriggled and healed, and his entire body sprang up. His mouth opened wide as he pounced at Enzo, who just happened to be passing by.

Inside his mouth, his tongue seemed to lose its sense of reality, turning into a mass of flowing flesh and blood.

Blood Flower!

The ring Ov wore was precisely the Blood Flower ring Klein had obtained from Mr. X. On one hand, it could randomly cause the wearer to abandon thought and become a beast. On the other, it allowed the wearer to grasp his own flesh and blood on a deeper level. As long as he did not die instantly and did not encounter thorough purification, even the most serious injuries could wriggle and heal.

At the same time, it came with a few spells of flesh-and-blood magic, making it a mystical item extremely suitable for marionettes.

Before Klein had gone out to search for a new marionette, he had not known which pathway his target would belong to or what Sequence they would be. Therefore, he had made rather comprehensive preparations and had Ov wear the Blood Flower ring. This way, he could direct a play that appeared to place himself in the lead and his marionette in support—when in truth, it was the exact opposite.

Just as Enzo ran past the place where Ov lay, a sudden stab of pain shot through his knee, as though he had suffered a minor injury from his earlier fall.

His thoughts flashed. Following the momentum, he crouched down and felt a figure fly over his head, pouncing at empty air!

Ov’s sudden attack still failed to produce any effect on the Winner!

Enzo was about to smile and charge forward again when a bad premonition abruptly rose in his heart. Instinctively, he curled up, protecting his vital points.

At the same time, marionette Ov swelled violently and exploded soundlessly.

Clump after clump of flesh turned into a storm, sweeping across a wide area and striking Enzo’s body with whistling force.

One of Klein’s preparations had been using Creeping Hunger’s mutated ability to plant a Flesh Bomb inside his marionette!

With a clang, the ruby-set gold ring fell onto the stone-paved street. Klein’s figure then flashed to Enzo’s side.

He lifted his left palm, making the glove turn pitch-black, as though composed of particle after particle. From his mouth, he spat out a word filled with evil and depraved meaning:

“Slow!”

Enzo, who had luckily avoided most of the damage and suffered only minor injuries, abruptly froze. His struggling movements clearly slowed, and his curled-up posture changed little by little.

Immediately afterward, his eyes, which had opened because of the pain, reflected a figure.

A figure dressed in black formalwear and wearing a half top hat.

“Ah!”

Enzo suddenly let out a miserable scream. Both hands rose and covered his eyes.

Strands of fresh blood immediately seeped out from between his fingers.

Monster?

Looking at the target twisting in pain on the ground, Klein raised an eyebrow. He continued manipulating the Spirit Body Threads and swiftly completed initial control.

This time, no accident interrupted what followed. Enzo, who was half-mad and had grown a few scales over his body, had no strength to resist. Klein deepened his control quite smoothly.

Time passed minute by minute. Enzo suddenly rolled over and stood, restraining the slight serpentine scales that had protruded from his skin.

He pressed one hand to his chest, bowed toward Klein, then walked aside, bent down, and picked up the gold ring set with a ruby. He placed it on the index finger of his left hand, pairing neatly with the emerald ring on the other side.

Klein suppressed the urge to use his new marionette to look at himself, and had Enzo deal with the remnants of flesh, blood, and traces at the scene.

When everything was done, he brought his marionette into the shadows at the side of the street and soon vanished.