Chapter 286: A Taunting Smile
In the clock tower of East Balam Dock, Klein hid in the darkness while
donning a clown mask as he quietly stared at the dormitory of the Dock
Union. An airship floated above.
He couldn't see the details of the battle, and he had no way of knowing
the developments of the operation in the red-brick building. All he
could do was endure and determine the situation by observing the changes
in the surroundings and the occasional black dot that passed by.
Just then, he saw all the gas lamps in the area extinguish.
All of them had been extinguished!
It was pitch black there!
Right on the heels of that, a feeling that left an extremely deep
impression on him exploded from the small red-brick building. Even from
a long distance away, Klein couldn't help but tremble all over; his legs
went soft, and he bent his waist.
It was the feeling of being looked down upon, a feeling that repressed
one's spirit.
It was a feeling that was impossible to resist or face!
D-do not look directly at God... In his adrift thoughts, Klein
seemed to recall the time when he was in the hall of the Blackthorn
Security Company. It was like when he was about to activate his Spirit
Vision to probe the mental state of Megose and the baby in her womb.
That feeling was exactly the same as it was now!
No, it's even more extreme and terrifying right now!
*How could this be? Wasn't Lanevus just bestowed with a little bit of
the True Creator's godhood? At most, he would be given one or two other
corresponding items! Why does it feel like an evil god is about to
descend?*
Before Klein could shake off the trembling of his body and the numbing
of his thoughts, he suddenly felt a deep, serene, and profound darkness
engulfing the feeling that couldn't be looked at, probed, or resisted.
The two sensations were obliterated at the same time, causing the gas
lamps in the surrounding area to light up once again. The airship which
couldn't stop itself from plummeting floated back up again.
Everything seemed to return to its original state, without the slightest
change.
But Klein didn't believe that everything was over. He stood up with all
his might, knowing that something important had happened in the
red-brick building.
*The feeling that exceeds a Beyonder, at a fundamental level, is no
longer there, nor is there the feeling of the descent of an evil god.
This means that the True Creator or Lanevus's plot has failed...
However, the Nighthawks must've suffered some sort of serious blow as
well. They might not even have much strength left...* At that
moment, Klein's heart stirred. He quickly took out the spirit pendulum
inside his left sleeve, holding it with one hand as he said in a low
voice, "Lanevus is no longer dangerous at the moment."
After quickly repeating it seven times, he opened his eyes and saw that
the topaz pendant was rotating counterclockwise. However, its frequency
wasn't fast, and its amplitude wasn't large.
This showed that Lanevus was still a dangerous man but to a lesser
degree.
What caught Klein's attention was something else.
The divination hadn't failed again!
This meant that Lanevus had been separated from the godhood bestowed
upon him by the True Creator!
A cold wind blew, seeping deep into Klein's bones, causing him to
shiver. He felt as if an electric current had instantly drilled into his
brain from the soles of his feet.
Maybe I can do something! He suddenly had this thought and no
longer hesitated. He took four steps counterclockwise in the dark clock
tower and went above the gray fog.
Without wasting any time, he sat down and conjured a piece of
yellowish-brown goatskin parchment and wrote a divination statement:
"Lanevus's escape route."
Klein leaned back, quickly chanted the statement, and entered a deep
dream.
In that illusory, separated, misty world, he saw the slush-filled sewers
with their dark, dirty tunnels and rusty metal pipes.
It was cramped and sealed.
It's the sewers!
Klein immediately woke up, enveloped his body with spirituality, and
descended into the gray fog.
As soon as he returned to the real world, he took a few steps back and
came to the side of the clock tower that faced away from the airship.
Klein didn't walk down the spiral stairs but instead somersaulted over
the dark yellow fence. With the help of the platform, the bulging spots,
and the decorations on the surface of the building, he jumped down level
by level, his body was so balanced it was if though he was walking on
the ground.
In a very short period of time, his feet stepped on the thick flagstones
on the street.
Inside the small red-brick building, two Nighthawks wearing red gloves
had collapsed by the door unconscious. The ancient silver-plated mirror
had rolled to a corner, but it was no longer special. It no longer
looked anything like a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact.
However, one could clearly feel that it was recovering bit by bit.
Crestet Cesimir was kneeling at an intersection, a stream of tear-like
blood streaked down the corners of his eyes.
His short, golden-brown hair hung limply, and his standing collars on
his trench coat and shirt were in tatters, revealing his relatively
sharp chin and his thin, stiff mouth.
Gasping for air, a distorted, semi-illusory, and translucent face
appeared on each of his teeth.
Cesimir braced himself with his left red-gloved hand on the ground, with
difficulty, he straightened his neck and looked straight ahead.
Directly in front of him was the staircase to the second floor, above
which stood Lanevus who had his linen shirt completely unbuttoned.
Lanevus stood very straight, with the pure white, smooth bone sword
stuck in his chest.
The skinless flesh no longer formed the outline of the hanging man's
figure, leaving behind a void.
Vaguely, one could even see his back through the hole in Lanevus's body.
Lanevus moved with great difficulty before suddenly laughing loudly. He
said with a maniacal laugh, "Haha, haha, thank you!
"I really need to thank you!
"For real. Look at my sincere eyes. I really want to thank you!
"If you hadn't discovered me and arrived in time, I would truly become
the vessel of the True Creator when 'He' descends in a few months. When
that happens, how different would it be from dying?"
Cesimir was stunned when he heard that. He refused to believe that the
person who had his crutch destroyed thanks to his hard work would be so
happy.
At that moment, he wished to stand, but he couldn't. He was also
powerless to resist.
When Lanevus saw his confusion, he coughed and said with a smile, "Do
you know? To people like me, it's the most miserable thing when there's
no one to share a great accomplishment that I'm proud of.
"Cough, when I was in Tingen City, I was deceived by the True Creator
who not only initiated the descent of his spawn, but he also secretly
planted a 'sapling' in my body.
"No, I even believe that Megose's child was just 'His' ruse. 'He' didn't
even get the members of the Aurora Order to protect her to divert
attention. It was as though 'He' knew from the beginning that the ploy
would end in failure.
"'His' true descent was set up inside me. The godhood 'He' bestowed upon
me suddenly combined with the 'sapling' in my body after I reached
Backlund. Haha, can you imagine that? I was being replaced bit by bit by
'Him!' In the end, I would become the True Creator.
"Before I came up with a solution, I was found by the members of the
Aurora Order through the godhood. Thankfully, they're all lunatics with
simple brains. Haha, there are always so many fools."
Cough! Cough! Cough! Lanevus spat out a mouthful of foul
blood, seemingly recovering some of his mobility.
He took a difficult step forward, and his chiseled face suddenly turned
soft for some unknown reason as he began resembling his original self.
Lanevus reached out to the staircase's handrail and laughed tauntingly.
"Thankfully, if the True Creator wishes to fully descend and completely
replace me, He'll need large amounts of pessimism, despair, numbness,
resentment and primitive evil. Only Backlund---only East Borough, the
factory and dock area, could satisfy His requirements. This gave me a
chance to interact with others.
"I knew that it was unrealistic to report this to the police simply
through the people I interacted with because the people I come in
contact could very well be members of the Aurora Order.
"I initially wanted to instigate a strike to get the police to notice
me, but I was warned by someone from the Aurora Order. After being
tortured, I could only hastily end it.
"I acted as though I was on the brink of losing control and had gained
the opportunity to head into the sewers to vent. During this process, I
secretly used my blood to corrupt the creatures living in there, turning
them into terrifying mutated monsters. Unfortunately, before you could
fully investigate the reason behind it, it was discovered by the Aurora
Order. Apparently, a member of theirs died under a mutated monster.
Sigh, now that I no longer have the godhood or the sapling, my blood no
longer has such effects.
"After that, I was controlled even more strictly, but I still found an
opportunity. I killed a prostitute and used the cruelest method to
attract the attention of the police, but who would've thought that the
people of the Aurora Order would disguise the case as part of series of
serial murders? I still failed to receive the rescue I needed.
"Out of similar opportunities, I could only use a more ingenious method.
I took the initiative to request for the fiercest, craziest, most
radical member of the Aurora Order to watch me, and this suited their
thoughts. Hehe, can't they use their brains? Such a lunatic would get
into trouble at any moment. As expected, you guys came!"
Phew... At that moment, Lanevus exhaled and began to move his
body, as if he had finally gotten rid of the remnant effects.
He pulled out the holy bone sword from his chest and said regretfully,
"What a pity. I can't take it with me; otherwise, I would be quickly
tracked and found by you."
After the pure white bone sword completely separated from his body, not
a single drop of blood remained from the exaggerated wound. The part
that had disappeared didn't seem to belong to Lanevus.
Lanevus pressed his right hand against his chest, bowing as he faced
Crestet Cesimir and company.
"The people on the airship outside should be recovering soon. I can't
stay any longer.
"Thank you, thank you very much.
"Although you're all very stupid, you still ultimately helped me.
"It's an honor for foolish bastards like yourselves."
Having said this, he straightened his body and smiled tauntingly,
"Goodbye, foolish Nighthawks.
"Use your lives to send me off."
Grasping the bone sword in his hand, he abruptly took a few steps
forward, attempting to stab at Crestet Cesimir.
But at that moment, his eyelids began to grow heavy, as he felt like
collapsing into a slumber.
"So you still have some strength. This is troublesome..." Lanevus bit
his tongue gently and suddenly threw the holy bone sword at the
unconscious Nighthawk by the door.
"No!"
Cesimir waved his hand with the strength he accumulated through
painstaking means, causing an invisible entity to divert the holy bone
sword.
Lanevus seized that opportunity and dashed to the side. He somersaulted
out the red-brick building through the window at the washroom at the end
of the corridor.
Soon after, he opened a manhole cover along the streets and quickly
climbed into the sewers.
Lanevus seemed to be very familiar with this place. Even though it was
dark, he could still run, jump, and turn, quickly fleeing deep into the
maze of sewers.
Suddenly, he instinctively stopped and leaned back.
Oof!
A card had stabbed deep into his right chest and blood began dripping
profusely from its edge.
Lanevus looked up, and with his ability to see in the dark, he saw his
attacker.
It was a medium-sized man in a worker's uniform, wearing a mask with a
raised mouth and red nose.
It was a happy clown.