"Are those... people?" Morel barely had time to react before releasing a puff of white smoke, preparing to summon a team of purple smoke for battle.
About five human-shaped figures were running toward them in an unsettling way, not a normal run, but a twisted, unnatural gait. Their faces were distorted, resembling the famous painting "The Scream." Anyone would be terrified to see such figures suddenly appear in a place like this.
Larry raised his eyebrows, sensing something was off. Aside from their strange movements, the aura they gave off was eerie. They had no breath of life but radiated a powerful, dark aura, the thought of death itself.
It was clear these were puppets controlled by the dark sonata. One after another, the white figures surged forward, ready to confront them head-on.
The Purple Smoke Squadron was no weak force, especially under Morel's skilled control, which made them even more formidable. But this time, the enemy they faced was far from ordinary.
One of these scream figure suddenly raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and flames burst forth. With a fierce punch, a Humanoid Purple Smoke was instantly destroyed.
Morel quickly took control of another to hold the line. Nearby, another scream figure used a dark, deathly aura to form sharp needle-like thorns, stabbing at the purple smoke figure.
Just a handful of these needles could completely dismantle a Humanoid Purple Smoke, leaving it drifting like rootless debris in the air. Each of the five scream figure had their own unique abilities, tearing through Morel's squad one by one with little trouble.
"How is this possible?" Cluck's eyes widened in shock as she watched the various powers in action. "Can they still use their abilities after death?"
It became clear to Morel and the others where the missing individuals had gone, they had all gathered here. Using their powers even after death was rare and unsettling, creating a strange sense of disbelief.
There was a huge difference between having Nen and not having it, and these scream figure were far stronger than they should be. Influenced by the Dark Sonata, they had sacrificed their souls in exchange for greater power.
Now, they were powerful puppets controlled by the Dark Sonata. Though their movements were stiff and many actions awkward, their immense strength meant every strike caused serious damage.
Despite the shock, Cluck didn't hesitate to help Morel. She quickly unleashed her aura, transforming into eagles that swooped toward the battle.
Knuckle and two others also got ready to assist their master. But just as they took a couple of steps forward, they suddenly stopped and glanced left and right. From the sides came powerful fluctuations of aura. A gray mist swirled, and several figures emerged from within it.
Just like the people Morel and the others had been fighting, they were all controlled by the Dark Sonata! Except for the entrance they had just come through, the other three sides were completely surrounded.
"Damn it!" Knuckle glanced around nervously as cold sweat dripped down his forehead, they'd been trapped without even realizing it.
The gray fog around them was messing with their senses, blocking their perception to some extent. After a few tense moments, Knuckle and Shoot exchanged looks and saw the same determination reflected in each other's eyes.
"Hah!" Knuckle lowered his center of gravity and focused his aura into his fist. His fist flashed with a brilliant light before crashing into one of the scream figure nearby.
"Bang!"
The sound of breaking echoed as the enemy's right arm shattered. Knuckle had deliberately targeted the one with the weakest aura.
Originally, their plan had been to rescue the missing people, but that was no longer possible. The enemy was dead.
Unlike the pigeons ahead, these people had been corrupted by the Dark Sonata for too long, their souls completely dissipated, making any hope of saving them useless. All Morel and the others could do now was to get rid of them.
Suddenly, a series of crashing sounds came from above, it was clear an enemy was attacking from the sky. Larry didn't even bother to look up. In an instant, terrifying and majestic aura condensed in his right hand.
The pure force seemed capable of obliterating anything in its path. With a casual flick, he swatted the airborne scream figure away. "Bang!"
The scream figure were thrown off balance and rolled to the side, knocking down several others who were about to approach. Taking advantage of the moment, he directly sucked the death aura from their bodies.
Like silk threads unraveling from cocoons, the wisps of death aura drifted away, and the bodies gradually stopped moving, becoming nothing more than lifeless corpses. Without the death aura controlling them, they were just ordinary dead bodies.
Just as Larry thought these were the only scream figure inside, a sharp buzzing noise filled the air. "Huh?" Larry focused intently on the gray fog, where the buzzing grew louder and more piercing.
Unlike the eerie violin melody from the dark sonata, this sound resembled insects chirping, almost like cicadas. Larry held his breath, concentrating as he expanded the aura spread across his body outward, like a growing bubble enveloping the surroundings.
This was an advanced technique called "En," one of the applications of aura mainly used for detection. Within the "En," the user can clearly sense everything inside its range.
However, it's not something you use all the time. Expanding the "En" means pushing your aura outward to make contact with the environment and gather information, but that also risks revealing your presence to whatever is inside.
In other words, anyone within the "En" can tell someone is scanning them.
Still, Larry wasn't worried about being detected, in fact, he wanted it. He hoped the buzz would draw more scream figure to him. "Is that really a cicada?" he murmured.
Although the gray fog blocked most perception, it depended on the individual. Knuckle wasn't strong enough to sense what was happening inside the fog, but Larry was different. Despite the distance making detection harder, he could still clearly grasp the situation.
At that moment, within his "En," a swarm of aggressive cicadas was flying straight toward him. Just like those "people," they were all under the control of the Dark Sonata.
But these weren't ordinary cicadas. Empowered by the influence of death aura, this swarm posed a threat just as dangerous as those controlled humans
Bang!
A surge of aura burst from Morel's body as he swung the heavy pipe with all his might, knocking one of the scream figure to the ground. Seizing the moment, he kicked another one near the super hook eye.
Even though these scream figure were missing arms and legs, they kept attacking relentlessly, mere ruthless machines of destruction. The best strategy was to strike when they fell, breaking their will to fight; otherwise, the battle would drag on endlessly.
"Huh~," Morel muttered, wiping sweat from his brow as he glanced around. "It's been tough, but things are getting better."
At first, they had been intimidated by the sheer power of these "people," but as they calmed down, they noticed glaring weaknesses. Most importantly, these beings lacked souls.
Their movements were controlled by Dark Sonata, limited to simple actions like straight punches and jumps. Even running was a complex task, which explained their awkward movement.
Once you understood their limited range of movement, counterattacks became easier. The downside, however, was the heavy consumption of aura. More than half the enemies on the field had already been taken down, and things were looking promising.