Chương 333: Intense Battle and Revenge
Upon seeing the armored man drop from the sky to block the Aurora Order emissary's attack, Cesimir, the "Sword of the Goddess," breathed a sigh of relief. Was this the "Iron Man" mentioned in the reports, the one who had killed the "Giant"? Had he been observing from the shadows all along? Could that armor actually have stealth capabilities?
Regardless of who he was, the Nighthawks certainly owed him a debt of gratitude this time…
While these thoughts crossed his mind, Cesimir wasted no time capitalizing on the opportunity provided by "Iron Man." He immediately activated a spirit sealed in one of his teeth, unleashing a vengeful wraith.
As the wraith materialized, it let out a piercing scream aimed directly at Mr. A, who had just finished his thunderous attack.
Momentarily contorted in pain, Mr. A's beautiful face bore a flicker of agony. But, a seasoned combatant, he was well aware of the Nighthawks' imminent counterattack. In response, he quickly shifted to another spirit he had shepherded: his body swelled to nearly three meters, his skin darkened, curved, horn-like goat horns sprouted from his head, and sulfur-scented wings emerged from his back.
This was the power of "Demonization."
The moment he completed his demonic transformation, the recovering Nighthawks raised their guns in unison, unleashing a barrage of bullets in his direction.
With a single sweep of his sulfurous wings, Mr. A deflected most of the bullets. The few "demon-hunter rounds" that managed to strike him merely ricocheted off his thick, armored flesh.
Glancing briefly at the still-firing Nighthawks, as well as the "Iron Armor" whose hand seemed to be charging up some sort of powerful attack, Mr. A allowed a cold smile to spread across his demonic face and spat out a single foul-smelling word in demon tongue:
"Die!"
The Nighthawks, well-informed about "demonic" lore from the detective Bryan, widened their eyes in shock. Without hesitation, a man in his thirties with thick eyebrows pulled out "2-096," a temporary sealing artifact.
This was a smooth, bone-white "finger bone" from a Sequence 6 "Fire-Stealer," capable of stealing another's extraordinary ability.
As the finger bone bent and straightened, the thick-browed Nighthawk's face turned pale.
His attempt to steal the power of the "Foul Speech" had failed, and as a side effect, the finger bone instead took away his own "Dark Vision" ability.
When "2-096" failed, Lorretta, wielding the sealing artifact "1-088," bit her lip, raised her silver cross high again.
The three-meter-tall "Luminous Cross" reappeared, casting its pure light across every corner. The "Foul Speech" of "Fallen" power revealed visible ripples in the air as the cleansing light corroded and dissolved it.
Though it seemed the Foul Speech would be neutralized in a mere second or two, an exhausted Lorretta couldn't hold out that long. After only half a second, the black-haired woman, who still held her gun, collapsed in pain as the "Luminous Cross" flickered out.
With the holy light gone, the residual corrupt power surged forth. The Nighthawks coughed violently, expelling clotted, rust-colored blood!
Thanks to the light's prior weakening of the Foul Speech, they suffered severe injuries but managed to survive.
Finally, as though unaffected by the "Foul Speech," "Iron Man" completed his preparations. An orange-red vortex of radiant energy condensed in his palm, engulfing the snarling demon in a storm of light.
Meanwhile, Cesimir, though he hadn't coordinated with "Iron Man," commanded the wraith to bind the demon's limbs and wings, rendering him immobile.
Just as the storm of light was about to hit, Mr. A canceled his demonic form and entered a state of peace and tranquility.
As he changed, the spirits binding him also became calm and emotionless, their binds dissolving as they too were enveloped in tranquility.
This was a power belonging to the Sequence 6 "Soul Assurer" of the Sleepless path.
Just before the orange-red storm of light reached him, a hazy, transparent tome appeared in front of Mr. A again as he murmured:
"I come, I see, I record."
Boom!
The blinding storm of light was blocked by an invisible barrier, but translucent ripples swiftly radiated from it, causing it to decay rapidly.
"A 'Lightstorm' with semi-divine attributes? The power of 'Twilight'…" Seeing this, Mr. A quickly flipped through the transparent book again, his body shrouded in darkness as he transformed into a towering black knight armored in cold, black metal. Only his eyes, gleaming blood-red, remained visible through the armor.
The dark knight raised his massive, obsidian greatsword, stepping forward to unleash a vicious cleave.
The black blade clashed with the orange-red lightstorm, extinguishing both in an eruption of raw energy. The intense blast shook the ground, finally causing the red-brick Dock Union building nearby to crumble in a cloud of dust.
The severely injured Nighthawks, safely positioned further back and shielded by a timely barrier from "Iron Man," escaped harm.
Cesimir, "Sword of the Goddess," then noticed that Lanevus had somehow vanished…
Retrieving his discarded bone-white sword, he glanced at a nearby sewer entrance, then at the Aurora Order emissary, now a dark knight. After a brief moment of hesitation, he lunged at Mr. A from behind.
Fresh from his clash with the "Twilight"-infused Lightstorm, Mr. A sensed a threatening presence behind him. Unable to evade in time, he braced his black knight armor against Cesimir's strike.
Splurt!
The white bone sword pierced Mr. A's abdomen, but Cesimir was immediately knocked back a dozen meters by a brutal punch from the dark knight, only stopping when he collided with the building's crumbling remains.
Mr. A wrenched the bone sword from his torso and discarded it, his form flickering like a dark, layered shadow.
He tried to use "Blood Magic" to heal, but the wound only continued to wither and spread.
Only my Lord's power can fully cleanse this…
Mr. A made a quick assessment. Now out of his rage-fueled frenzy, he had no reason to continue battling the Nighthawks…
With this thought, Mr. A memorized the faces of every Nighthawk present—except "Iron Man"—before conjuring a whirlwind beneath his feet and vanishing from East Balam Dock.
"Iron Man" considered giving chase but was halted as the Nighthawks behind him began to cough violently, as though afflicted with a severe illness.
No… not as if. They truly were sick. The "Affliction Witch's" power?
Remembering what Daly had told him about the "Affliction Witch" Rey, Dunn had an inkling of the situation. He activated the healing features of his "Iron Armor" to offer some basic treatment to Lorretta, Borgia, and the others.
"Thank you…" Lorretta managed a weak nod, releasing her grip on her gun.
Without responding, "Iron Man" turned to inspect the ruins of the union building, noting that Cesimir had merely passed out, with the worst of his injuries absorbed by the spirits within his teeth. Satisfied, Dunn entered the sewers.
…
Deep within the sewers, Lanevus was doubled over, vomiting charred black organs, his remaining vital spots pierced with multiple cards!
In front of him stood a figure in workman's clothes—a "Clown" whose grin exuded twisted glee.
The Clown was holding a black revolver aimed directly at Lanevus's head.
Between fits of vomiting, Lanevus weakly raised his head, his voice barely a whisper:
"Why… why… kill… me…"
Without a trace of sympathy, the Clown that was Klein answered:
"No reason…
"Now, please die.
"Consider this my sincerest 'confession'!"
With that, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang! Lanevus's head shattered in a burst of ice shards.
Watching the scene, Klein's shoulders shook with silent laughter.
"Hahaha… hahahahaha…"
His laugh grew unhinged, almost mournful.
After a few moments, he calmed, straightened, and glanced toward the sewer's darkest corner, whispering to himself:
"Captain…
"Look, we saved Loen once again…"
Droplets of water silently traced down, darkening his collar.
At that moment, he felt his "Clown" potion had finally been fully digested.
…
Meanwhile, as Dunn entered the sewers, he heard the faint echo of hysterical laughter, tinged with equal parts joy and sorrow…
For reasons unknown, the laughter filled him with a peculiar sadness…
Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his strange emotions and hurried toward the source.
There, he found Lanevus's headless corpse, the severed neck surrounded by playing cards, in a scene that reeked of dark ritualistic finality.
…
In the Dream Labyrinth Tower, Ebner led Roselle's group through the perilous tunnel, finally entering a great hall that mirrored a scene described in Roselle's diary:
Two armored knights stood face-to-face, their greatswords piercing each other's chests.
The diary's description hadn't conveyed the full impact, but here… it seemed this was no mere duel to the death.
Perhaps… some sort of ritual?
The first Baron Korg and the knight of the Augustus family voluntarily sacrificed their lives to complete a ritual?
This is really... Baron Ramde never betrayed Augustus from beginning to end, and Korg seems to be the same...
The knight's "loyalty"?
What a pity... Augustus is really not a human being...
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