章節 123: Opening

"McConnell, go to the exit and wait there… You should know where it is. No matter what, you have to guard the only exit. You can't let the Primordial Moon's aura leak out.

"Matthew, Robert, lies an ambush near Miss Hazel later. Once there's an anomaly, activate the Lightning Charm in your hands immediately. Don't be stingy."

…

On the second floor of the venue, Captain Kuhn of the Mandated Punishers finished giving out tasks to his team members in an orderly manner. He took a deep breath and took out a small metal box with many inscriptions engraved on it.

Ebner glanced at it from a distance and saw that the box had at least the inscriptions of the Sun and Tyrant domain on it.

Using the power of the domain related to The Sun to seal it… This Sealed Artifact is probably one of the more sinister ones…

Ebner had just thought of this when he saw Kuhn take a black eyeball the size of a goose egg from the box, its surface gleaming with a mysterious light.

This eyeball had no pupils. It was pitch-black like a moonless night, carrying an indescribable heaviness and pressure.

If not for the fact that there were a few illusory "eyelashes" flapping in the air above the eyeball, Ebner would have regarded it as a special black gem.

Wait? Flapping eyelashes? Is this eyeball alive?

Ebner stirred. He was about to observe more to confirm his theory when he realized Captain Kuhn had closed his eyes. Then he placed the black eyeball between his eyebrows.

As this action was completed, the first two levels of the ball venue were suddenly isolated from the outside world, forming an independent and strange space. Although the people and items on these two levels had been completely preserved, Ebner could clearly feel that they were just illusions and counterfeit items. Those who truly entered this space were people or objects with extraordinary spirituality.

The isolated space here seems to have the ability to absorb all kinds of extreme emotions… My current state is comparable to using the Mechanical Mind…

Standing in the corridor on the second floor and looking down from above, Ebner saw several Beyonders among the guests. They first looked around in surprise before quickly pretending not to notice anything. As they continued to cooperate with the phantom, they slowly moved towards the entrance of the venue.

Amongst them, only Miss Hazel's actions were like the light in the night, extremely eye-catching. Her flustered appearance made her look like a standard rookie, causing a nearby Beyonder who was pretending to be an illusion to conceal herself so as to avoid being implicated by her.

This was clearly a problem. Even if she was extremely afraid, in this space, her "fear" emotions would probably be immediately sucked away. She should've long recovered her calm… Could the Primordial Moon's aura help her resist the effects of the Sealed Artifact?

Ebner could imagine that the Mandated Punishers who had used this Sealed Artifact countless times naturally knew better. At this point, Kuhn had completely believed in Ebner's previous report… This Miss Hazel was indeed very suspicious.

Just as the two members of the Mandated Punishers stealthily moved towards Hazel, preparing to restrain her, the lady suddenly took out an emerald-green seed from her pocket.

The moment the seed appeared, Ebner, Kuhn, and the other Mandated Punishers felt their spirituality frantically warning them, as though the seed itself was extremely dangerous.

And Hazel, who was holding the seed, was the same. The moment she sensed the spirituality warning, she was completely dumbfounded, as though she couldn't believe that she had brought such a dangerous item with her.

At that moment, a "wind blade" appeared out of thin air, directly severing Hazel's arm that was holding the "seed." Almost at the same time, a monster made of mud suddenly appeared from beneath Hazel's feet. It hugged her body and quickly retreated to the right corner of the dance hall.

The person who used the Wind Blade was naturally Ebner. With the support of the White Eye's level, he was the first to recover from the horror of the spirituality warning. He immediately severed the direct connection between the "seed" and Hazel.

Although he didn't know if Hazel could still be saved, if she were to keep holding onto the seed, there was probably no chance of saving her.

The mud monster that followed was the Earth Fiend Statue summoned by Judy. It was the work of an Ancient Alchemist, and it was probably something her father had given her to defend herself.

Come to think of it, Ebner hadn't been able to locate Miss Judy until now. Apparently, she'd used some kind of record high-level ability to hide herself completely.

"Earth Fiend Statue? It looks like Detective Bryan's status in the Church of Earth Mother isn't low. You actually obtained a defensive item bestowed by a demigod," a young Mandated Punisher standing beside Ebner said sourly when he saw this scene.

This Mandated Punisher's name was Evan. He was one of the people Captain Kuhn had arranged to "protect" Ebner… Although Ebner didn't feel that he needed the protection of a Sequence 7 Seafarer.

Is this a misunderstanding? Heh, looks like in the eyes of others in the future, I also have a backer? Although Ebner was complaining in his heart, he had no intention of explaining. Judy was not suitable to be exposed now, so he could only take the blame.

And at this moment, an anomaly happened again. After the arm holding the "seed" landed on the ground, it quickly turned into a ball of blood and was absorbed by the seed.

Then, the emerald green seed actually completed the whole process of sprouting, growing, blooming, and bearing fruit within a second!

As a crimson fruit that looked like a crimson moon fell to the ground, a cry was heard by everyone present. The two Mandated Punishers, who were about to throw out their charms, suddenly fell to the ground, hugging their heads and rolling around.

As for Hazel, who had lost a lot of blood due to her arm being severed, she grunted and fainted.

Ebner could still tolerate it because of the White Eye, so he saw something that made his scalp tingle.

A human head grew out of the fruit! It was only a skull at first, then it filled with flesh and blood. Then, it grew hair and gradually formed facial features…

Although the entire process seemed to be the evolution of life, the evilness in it made people shudder. This was because Ebner could clearly see that the so-called bones, flesh, hair, and face were all formed by the red blood spurting out from the fruit!

When the head that grew out of the fruit finally took shape, everyone looked at his face. Evan, who was beside Ebner, had just gotten rid of the influence of the cry when he exclaimed, "Lieutenant Berner?! How could that be?"

Lieutenant Berner? This seems to be the MI9 official who advocated investigating Xio… Why is he here? And in this form? Could it be Ray's work again?

Ebner narrowed his eyes and looked at Captain Kuhn, who had his eyes closed the whole time, thinking, "The Mandated Punishers are outstanding in frontal combat, but it seems that they don't have enough means to deal with such matters…"

Just as he was thinking this, he saw the two members of the Mandated Punishers downstairs finally activate their charms. Tiny electric snakes instantly formed and leaped towards the fruit that had just grown a head. In the blink of an eye, they climbed up the mouth and nose of the head.

Crack! Crack!

With a series of clicks, Lieutenant Berner's hair stood on end, and the facial features on his head seemed to be distorted in pain.

"All of you are going to die!" Lieutenant Berner seemed to have regained some consciousness from being electrocuted. He actually spoke strangely.

When the two experienced Mandated Punishers heard this, they knew that it wasn't good. They immediately used Wind-Blessed's "flying" ability and flew backward at high speed.

Almost at the same time, the flower that grew out of the seed revealed a hideous mouthpart that was full of teeth and bit the spot where the two Mandated Punishers were standing.

It was as if a thousand-kilogram hammer had smashed into the ground, shaking the entire space.

…