Chapter 73: First Battle
Under the illumination of the afternoon sun, Klein in his dust-coated
clothes quickly twisted his revolver's barrel to remove his self-imposed
safety. He went into a shooting stance, allowing the light to reflect
from the brass body of the revolver.
He held the revolver with one hand, and moved his other arm, cautiously
paying attention to anything that could happen around him.
At the same time, he was a little worried for Captain Dunn and Mr. Aiur
Harson. After all, both were Nightmare Beyonders who specialized in
influencing the enemy from the shadows. He did not know if they were
adept at direct combat.
Just as Klein was having these considerations, Aiur Harson slowed down,
his expression becoming serene and peaceful.
He opened his mouth and recited a peaceful poem, one that seemed to
place a person into the night.
"When once the sun sinks in the west,
"And dewdrops pearl the evening's breast;
"Almost as pale as moonbeams are,
"Or its companionable star,
"The evening primrose opens anew
"Its delicate blossoms to the dew;
"And, hermit-like, shunning the light[Adapted from John Clare's Evening Primrose.]"
The recital reverberated around them. Klein nearly lost his tense
feelings and completely relaxed.
He was lucky that he had experienced something similar before and was
not facing Aiur Harson. Thus, he quickly collected himself and entered a
half-cogitative state to combat the influence of the poem.
Phew... He let out a sigh of relief. He no longer had any
doubts about Dunn's and Aiur's direct combat abilities.
As he had only advanced recently and still did not have a deep
understanding of Sequence potions, Klein had forgotten that the Sequence
7 Nightmare was the advancement of Sequence 8 Midnight Poet. They could
keep whatever abilities they had before and, in fact, enjoy a small
increase in their abilities.
The impression Klein had of Midnight Poets all came from Leonard
Mitchell. He knew that this "job" inherited the unique traits of a
Sleepless. They were good at combat, shooting, climbing, and sensing.
They were also adept in influencing the living creatures around them
through the use of various poems. In simpler terms, they were violent
poets.
While Aiur was reciting his poem, the large wooden crates stacked up
around them seemed to suddenly ripple like water. A man wearing a black
tuxedo and halved top hat appeared.
But this man's face was painted in three pastel colors---red, yellow,
and white. The sides of his lips were arched high like a clown, forming
a ridiculous contrast with his formal wear that was suitable for joining
an evening banquet.
Thud! Thud! Thud! The black-haired Lorotta who had been
introduced as a sharpshooter charged forward quickly. She had a gun in
one hand and had clenched the other into a fist. She made it within
inches of the suited clown in a few steps.
The suited clown seemed to be affected by Aiur Harson's poem. His body
was swaying, and he had a peaceful expression in his eyes. He did not
have any desire to retaliate.
Lorotta tilted her body with a boxing maneuver as she pulled back her
fist, then punched toward the suited clown's face.
Bang!
The air crackled as the suited clown shattered suddenly like a mirror,
pieces quickly evaporating and vanishing into thin air.
At this moment, the suited clown quickly appeared once again in the
shadows of the wooden crates a few steps away. The suited clown's figure
outline quickly appeared again.
The person under the influence of the poem was only an illusion! It was
a performance!
The suited clown grinned again. It had a comical look as he pressed down
on his halved top hat with one hand and pointed a finger gun with the
other.
Bang!
The sound of a shot rang from the finger gun. Lorotta fell to the left
and rolled on the floor, dodging the attack.
But nothing had happened, except for the fake gunshot.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dunn and Aiur each lifted their guns and fired steadily. The suited
clown dodged adeptly, sometimes to the right and left, sometimes rolling
on the ground. It was as if he was an acrobat act in a circus.
Suddenly, Lorotta surprisingly charged forward again. Despite being
called a sharpshooter, she was still using her fists.
Bam!
The suited clown could not dodge the attack in time and could only lift
his left arm to block the fist.
Seeing the clown stop, Dunn and Aiur did not hesitate to each take aim
and pulled the trigger.
At this moment, the arm that the suited clown used to block Lorotta's
fist ignited with an orange-yellow flame.
In an instant, the flame enveloped the suited clown and spread towards
Lorotta.
Bang! Bang! Dunn and Aiur fired their revolvers, hitting the
ball of flame.
The flames burned rapidly and soon, all that was left were black ashes
floating in the sky. But the suited clown once again appeared behind the
stack of wooden crates close by.
He lifted his right hand and pointed a finger gun once again.
Bang!
Amid the illusory gunshot, Lorotta suddenly stopped in her tracks. She
did not charge forward. Mud was splattering in front of her as a bullet
appeared.
The suited clown was no longer delivering an illusion with this strike!
It was hard to discern real from fake, reality from illusion.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The suited clown shot at Dunn and Aiur repeatedly while hiding away and
appearing at random times.
Upon seeing this, Lorotta squinted and lifted the dull gold revolver in
her left hand.
Bang!
The suited clown suddenly squatted down, avoiding the fatal shot. His
halved top hat was sent flying backward, falling to the ground. The
bullet had left a visible scorch mark on the hat.
After rolling a few times on the floor, the suited clown scaled the
stacks of wooden crates with the agility of a monkey. He shot air
bullets out of his finger gun from the high ground.
Aiur Hanson took a few steps back and lowered his gun. He began his
recital once again.
"Wastes its fair bloom upon the night,
"Who, blindfold to its fond caresses,
"Knows not the beauty it possesses."
The suited clown jumped repeatedly between the crates. He suddenly
raised his hand to scratch his ears and looked at Aiur with a comical
smile.
*Could he have stuffed his ears? The Sequence potion that the Secret
Order possesses sure is weird... *Klein observed the fight from
far away as he made silent guesses.
Just as his thoughts flashed through him, he suddenly saw a figure
appear at the top of a warehouse beside him. Furthermore, it was running
straight inside where Ray Bieber was hiding.
That figure was dressed in a grayish-white uniform, one which workers at
the docks wore. His face also appeared to be painted red, yellow, and
white.
*The suited clown is responsible for distracting Captain and the rest
while the other person retrieved the diary? *Klein instinctively
raised his right hand and shot at the figure on the roof.
He had just taken aim when the figure suddenly squatted, switching from
running to rolling on the ground.
Bang!
Klein did not stop pulling the trigger. He saw the figure suddenly
pause, blood blooming in a spurt.
The figure looked at him in shock. While bearing the pain, he continued
charging into the warehouse.
That felt like a lucky shot... Klein twitched his lips and
pulled the trigger once again. This time, the bullet hit the wooden roof
beside the figure.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Leonard and Borgia also shot but did not hit the figure.
Klein wanted to criticize how terrible their shooting skills were as
compared to his when he suddenly stopped pulling the trigger.
That's right! Why must we stop him?
*Didn't I divine that there is grave danger in the warehouse just now?
Wouldn't it be great if we let that guy be the vanguard and step on the
land mine for us?*
Leonard and that Mr. Borgia must have had the same idea...
With this thought, Klein lifted the barrel of his revolver and shot at
the sky.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As the gunshots rang, the figure managed to reach the innermost region
of the warehouse unobstructed.
He lunged downwards, slamming into the roof as he fell down with the
collapsing roof.
Immediately following the commotion, the black-haired Lorotta's eyes
suddenly turned black. Her left hand began making a strange pulling
action.
The suited clown's jumping actions suddenly came to a pause as his ankle
seemed to be grasped tightly by an invisible hand.
Dunn did not shoot immediately and instead pointed his revolver
downward.
He opened his mouth and by simply using his spirituality to resonate the
air around him, he produced a strange, faint and ethereal voice without
the use of his throat.
"Thus it blooms on while night is by;
"When day looks out with open eye,
"Bashed at the gaze it cannot shun,
"It faints and withers and is gone."
The suited clown suddenly became limp, as if he had lost the desire to
live.
Aiur Harson lifted his handgun and took aim, his finger pulling the
trigger immediately.
In that split second, there was an abnormal and tragic wail that came
from the warehouse.
"Ah!"
The cry contained immense fear as though he had encountered an
unimaginably terrifying matter.
The hair on Klein's body stood on end. The tragic cries came to a sudden
stop as silence was restored in the deepest parts of the warehouse. It
was a skin-crawling silence.
Bang!
Affected by the cry, Aiur only managed to shoot the suited clown in the
belly.
Haaa... Haaa... Haaa! The silence was once again broken from
the deepest depths of the warehouse. What should have been soft panting
sounded. It reached a crescendo that tightened everyone's nerves.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Inside the black chest, 2-049 had reached a frenzied state.