Chapter 199: Successful Toss of the Die

The beating heart, the yellowish-green liquid, the silently burning

black flames, and the falling figure entered Klein's field of vision and

etched themselves deeply into Klein's mind.

The most dangerous mission he had encountered up to this date had been

when he was dealing with Ray Bieber who was in the midst of digesting.

Even such a terrifying and dangerous monster had only resulted in severe

injuries to the Beyonders on the mission. No one had to sacrifice their

lives.

The deaths of the Beyonders Klein had witnessed, including Old Neil's,

were all due to them losing control. The "murderer" might be strange and

indescribable or related to evil gods, but they had nothing to do with

the missions they undertook.

Now, he was looking at one of his partners being killed in action. The

death was purely due to one mistake.

Nighthawks were fighting against madness, but so were they also fighting

against danger.

There might never be an opportunity to make up for that one mistake.

Klein's thoughts erupted with a boom.

Apparently having taken a huge blow, he knelt down and lifted his right

hand, firing successive shots at Madam Sharon. The silver demon hunting

bullets pierced through the invisible threads and shot towards her head

and transparent sleeping gown.

Suddenly, Madam Sharon appeared to be yanked in another direction by

something, allowing her to successfully avoid Klein's manic shooting.

Klein only managed to collect himself and regain the ability of rational

thought when he finished firing the five bullets in his revolver, and

the sound of the hammer striking an empty chamber entered his ears.

His heart tightened. Without any time to reload, he tossed the revolver

to the side and took out a stack of tarot cards!

Pa!

Madam Sharon's body moved to the side and saw a card fly past her,

piercing deeply into the surface of the makeup table.

She smiled, her beautiful brown eyes once again taking on a black

luster.

At that moment, her waterfall like brown hair suddenly flailed into the

air like it was lifted by an invisible force.

Madam Sharon froze. She wanted to dodge, but she was too slow. Klein had

tossed out a "Magician" card, successfully pinning her hair to the wall.

Pa! Madam Sharon forcefully tore away her hair and rolled

forward, her body quickly vanishing from Klein's line of sight.

She's turned invisible again... Klein had a tarot card between

his fingers as he slowly turned around while being alert of his

surroundings.

Suddenly, he realized why Madam Sharon had to give up her attack, and

why she had slowed down.

If the situation had developed normally, Klein would have had no choice

but to use Azik's copper whistle to deal with this terrifying demoness!

Yes! The Captain must be around here somewhere! He felt a

little excited. He looked around, his gaze instinctively falling on the

window.

At the same time, he made a judgment in his heart.

Madam Sharon wants to flee!

*She knows that we still have a partner with the ability to drag her

into a dream, but she is unsure if there would be other reinforcements

from the Nighthawks, Mandated Punishers, or Machinery Hivemind!*

*Even though she's powerful, there's no way that she can wipe out a team

of Beyonders on her own!*

With that thought, Klein flicked his wrist, tossing the tarot card

towards the window.

Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh! He threw out five cards in succession,

three sealing the window and the other two towards the door.

Crack! Thud! Thud!

Amidst the sound of shattering glass, two tarot cards dug into the ajar

bedroom door, one after the other. As he expected, Klein heard the sound

of dodging.

He once again tossed cards out, making use of his Clown's intuition to

pinpoint where he should be aiming.

The cards pierced through the air and rapidly advanced before drilling

themselves into the sturdy wall. However, a figure was quickly outlined

in the air. It was none other than the brown-haired Madam Sharon who was

in a translucent sleeping gown.

The moment Madam Sharon was exposed, her eyes lost their focus, as

though she was falling asleep standing.

Captain... Klein scanned his surroundings but was in no hurry

to throw his cards. This was because he knew that Madam Sharon would

quickly break out of the dream. He had to deal fatal damage in these two

or three seconds, or their opponent would escape.

It was easy to escape from a Nightmare when there was a huge distance

between them!

Bending his knees, Klein rolled forward diagonally. He went prone and

extended his right hand, grabbing the edge of the Spirit Medium Mirror

that was facing upward.

He then flicked his wrist before his reflection could appear in the

mirror. He tossed Sealed Artifact 3-0271 towards Madam Sharon, mirror

side facing her.

Madam Sharon's body trembled. The color of her brown eyes was quickly

restored as they once again found their focus.

And awakening before her was a crystalline layer of sturdy frost that

appeared on the surface of her body.

However, she didn't see the card, nor the demon hunting bullet

approaching her. All she saw was a mirror, and that the mirror was

reflecting her innocent, yet alluring beauty.

That beautiful face in the mirror suddenly became contorted. Wrinkles,

gashes of blood, and rotting spots appeared on her face.

"No!" Madam Sharon let out a shrill cry as if she had just witnessed

someone she loved die.

Her skin quickly took on a green color as yellow pus flowed out the

corner of her eyes.

After a moment of suffering, a silent black flame burned outward from

within Madam Sharon, as if she was trying to expel something.

The black flames then condensed into a thick frost, as if it was

creating a coffin for an eternal rest.

The invisible threads finally took on a color that was visible to the

human eye. They enveloped the frost, forming a gigantic cocoon.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Sealed Artifact 3-0271 fell onto the ground

and tumbled before stopping beside Madam Sharon's giant cocoon.

At that moment, Dunn broke through the window frame and somersaulted

into the room.

He caught sight of Kenley, who had stopped breathing, and his expression

sank.

It was at this moment, the cocoon cracked open. The coffin of ice

crumbled an inch at a time as black flames turned into specks of light,

dissipating into the surroundings.

Madam Sharon's skin had regained its normal color. Her eyes showed

fatigue, but she seemed normal.

Her eyes reflected Klein who was still sprawled on the ground. She also

saw Dunn Smith, his finger pressed on his glabella with his eyes closed.

A formless ripple spread outward from Dunn as Madam Sharon's eyelids

drooped uncontrollably. Under Dunn's trench coat were writhing,

snake-like objects.

Klein knew that the Captain couldn't restrain Madam Sharon for long,

just like when they were previously fighting Monster Bieber. Klein

rolled forward again, grabbed his revolver, the one he had previously

tossed onto the carpet.

He grabbed three demon hunting bullets with his left hand and

familiarity stuffed them into the round chambers.

Pa!

Klein closed the cylinder and stood up, taking aim at Madam Sharon with

both hands on the gun. He aimed at the center of her forehead.

Bang!

He controlled his body with the abilities of the Clown and pulled the

trigger.

The silver demon hunting bullet pierced through the air, accurately

hitting the fixed target.

A bloody gash appeared between Madam Sharon's eyes, but the bullet

seemed to tear through multiple layers of obstruction, causing it to

lose the bulk of its power, rendering it unable to pierce through the

target's skull.

Klein fired another two shots without hesitation when he saw Madam

Sharon suddenly open her eyes.

Bang! Bang!

A rain of blood splattered amidst white dots. The stunning beauty that

was Madam Sharon had become a mutilated corpse that would incite

nightmares in every man.

She had long run out of "substitutes" to use.

Phew. Phew. Klein lowered his arms and panted heavily. Madam

Sharon, with only half her head left, slumped onto the ground. She still

had an exceptional figure, her skin still white and tender.

Dunn straightened himself up and opened his eyes. He, too, lowered his

hand from his glabella, his face a little pale. He wasn't injured, but

he looked as though he had lost a lot of blood.

"If it wasn't for the fact that she wanted to kill a few people before

she tried to escape; if it wasn't for Sealed Artifact 3-0271 reflecting

herself by chance, we probably would've only been able to injure her..."

Dunn slowly walked forward to Klein's side, his voice unusually low.

*If it wasn't for how unique I was, I would've died along with Kenley in

the first ten seconds of the battle...* Klein turned to look at

Kenley who was silently lying on the black ash. He exhaled.

"Captain, Kenley..."

"I know..." Dunn replied with a raspy voice. "I made a mistake. I was

fooled by Madam Sharon. I didn't expect her to secretly escape from the

dream."

He paused, then he said in a serious tone, "But you have to get used to

this. It's normal for Nighthawks to die during missions. Perhaps the

next one to die would be me."

Klein fell silent, not knowing how to reply. Kenley still had his eyes

open, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"May the Goddess bless you. May you find true peace." Dunn walked over

to Kenley's side and drew a crimson moon on his chest.

He then squatted and closed his partner's eyes.

*May the Goddess bless you. May the serene night no longer harbor any

danger or madness...* Klein also drew the crimson moon as he

prayed silently in his heart.

A few seconds later, he forcefully retracted his gaze and asked in a

heavy voice, "Captain, should I channel her spirit now?"

Dunn nodded indiscernibly.

"Don't attempt to ask about the Primordial Demoness. That's very

dangerous. I'll guard you and prevent any accidents from disturbing

you."

Klein didn't tarry. He took out the various ingredients and quickly set

up an altar, starting the mediumship ritual.

After reciting the incantations, he took a step back and used a Dream

Divination.

"Madam Sharon's partners-in-crime.

"Madam Sharon's partners-in-crime."

After reciting the statement seven times, Klein entered a dream. He saw

Madam Sharon's soul within the hazy world.

He reached out to the transparent, ethereal soul, and the scene before

his eyes changed.

It was a night scene. Madam Sharon, who was wearing a long black robe,

handed an ancient bronze book over to Instigator Trissy. She laughed a

little manically after hearing the latter's doubt over the term "Witch."

"Weren't you always curious? Curious about why our upper echelons are

all female..."

*So it really was the Demoness Sect... Leonard's guess accurately

matches the truth; he really does have a huge secret... The

corresponding Sequence 7 for Assassin and Instigator is Witch? What a

trap...* Klein thought to himself.

The scene immediately changed. Klein saw a vast hall with narrow windows

all around the place, and a lady clad in a pure white robe.

Her back was facing Madam Sharon as she said with a smile, "We can reach

sainthood as long as we advance towards the Primordial. We can attain

power, attain salvation, and avoid the end of days."

Madam Sharon lowered her head and asked curiously, "Why must we become

women? Is it because the Primordial is a woman? Do women symbolize

destruction and calamity?"

The lady whose back was facing Madam Sharon answered calmly, "No, men

are the same, they are the synonym of war. These are two similar

pathways."