Leyton created several brilliant starlights, slowly floating around the doll in his hand, outlining one strange symbol after another, all interconnected.
The moment these symbols formed, the starlight instantly condensed, creating a translucent grayish-white amber that completely sealed the doll.
Handing the sealed doll to the invisible servant beside him, Leyton leaned back, sitting directly on a chair formed of starlight, and rubbed his somewhat hungry stomach, muttering to himself:
"I need Klein to get me some food through sacrifice. In this place full of Darkness, my sense of time has become blurred."
Estimating the time, and figuring that "Magician" Fors and "Justice" Audrey had almost finished discussing their afternoon plans, Leyton began to pray to Klein, stating his needs.
Above the Gray Fog, Klein sat on The Fool's high-backed chair, directly opposite the mottled long table, where a figure in a black robe, appearing extremely introverted and gloomy, sat.
Klein leaned back, resting lightly against the chair back, his right index and middle fingers, placed below the bronze long table, gently tapped twice, as if pulling invisible threads.
The World, seated directly below the mottled long table, looked up to face The Fool at the very top. His expression was still gloomy and introverted, but with a touch more vitality.
After an exchange of glances, The World, seated at the very bottom, stood up and bowed:
"Good morning, esteemed Mr. Fool."
Klein, at the very top, nodded in a dignified manner, then intercepted a portion of Leyton's prayer and displayed it to The World. After a moment's pause, he then replayed a piece of information Will Auceptin had revealed in a dream.
The World nodded slightly, fully immersing himself in Gehrman Sparrow's identity, saying:
"I understand. I will prepare the necessary supplies for Mr. Tower in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, and help Mr. Chariot solve the problem of the bad luck on him."
"Very good." Klein nodded gently, responding with a leisurely tone.
Then he slightly raised his hand, and The World's figure instantly vanished from the space above the Gray Fog.
In the afternoon, within a deserted Hospital building near the outskirts of North Borough, Backlund.
Fors wore a grayish-white cloak with a hood, a scarf wrapped around her face, and thick black-rimmed glasses on her nose, disguising herself to be completely different from her usual self.
Her left wrist pressed lightly against her lower abdomen, while her right hand was very relaxed, swinging back and forth with her steps.
It wasn't easy to find an excuse to trick Xio. For that, I specifically asked Mr. Moon to time it and post a task at the bar she usually takes missions from, one she would definitely accept. That way, I had the chance to attend this Beyonder gathering convened by Mr. X today in her stead.
I wonder how Miss Justice and Mr. Moon are preparing. The people attending the gathering are wrapped up too tightly; I can't tell who is Miss Justice or who is Mr. Moon at all.
Calm down, calm down, rein in your thoughts. I can't show too obvious malice, not even in my mind. Having gone through the Seer stage, Mr. X's spiritual intuition is very keen; any abnormal behavior from me could easily be noticed by him.
After a series of intense mental activities, Fors had passed the pre-gathering inspection and chose a seat on the right side, near the wall, in the gathering hall.
As the wild Beyonders hidden within the metropolis of Backlund gradually entered, the gathering finally began.
Fors's peripheral vision kept scanning her surroundings, trying to find someone who might be her companion. Perhaps her observation wasn't meticulous enough, or perhaps her Tarot Club companions were too well disguised, as she didn't find anyone who could be Justice and Moon until the gathering was almost over.
Just as Mr. X, who was presiding over the gathering, was about to announce its conclusion, brilliant starlight suddenly surged from the void, rapidly converging on the far left side of the gathering hall.
Before the attendees could react to the anomaly, an invisible, mind-affecting force erupted. Everyone in the room, at that moment, felt as if they were facing a terrifying giant dragon, instantly panicking and falling into chaos.
This was Awe from Audrey. Although the effect of this area-of-effect Awe was not as strong as when directed at a single person, her goal had already been achieved.
Crack!
The moment Awe appeared, the sound of breaking glass rang out, as if someone, unable to resist the effect of "Awe," had dropped something they were holding.
A pale yellow gas with a strong paralyzing effect quickly spread.
In an inconspicuous corner, a pair of pale golden vertical pupils coldly scrutinized Mr. X at the front of the hall.
Mr. X, who was being watched, instantly sensed the source of the gaze. The next moment, his figure vanished, only to reappear instantly before a newly formed Travelers Door.
Immediately after, a figure enveloped in dense black mist appeared beside Mr. X. His speed was incredibly fast, leaving a gray-black afterimage behind him.
His extended right-hand fingernails had grown an extra section with mysterious symbols and patterns, gleaming with a dark green metallic luster, appearing exceptionally sharp and cold, and directly clawed towards Mr. X's right chest.
Mr. X's figure instantly vanished, reappearing beside Audrey.
Psychiatrist's "Frenzy!"
Mr. X, who had just materialized, suddenly froze. At this moment, he suffered severe mental damage, his lower back slightly arched backward, and his eyes became unfocused.
The shadows in the room suddenly surged, condensing into illusory but solid pitch-black shackles, binding and dragging Mr. X backward.
After solidifying into pitch-black shackles, the surrounding shadows did not stop; they continued to surge rapidly, rising like a flood, attempting to engulf the few individuals causing disruption at the gathering.
Audrey, surrounded by shadows, felt a surge of unease. Although the current situation had not exceeded her previous expectations, she, participating in such a Beyonder battle for the first time, still felt some apprehension.
The starlight-condensed door, covered in mysterious patterns, flashed with a faint blue light. Lawrence, wearing a black woolen overcoat and a semi-high black top hat, appeared in the hall.
At the same time, the light in the hall suddenly dimmed. A peaceful, tranquil night enveloped the surroundings.
All the Beyonders participating in the gathering and the organizers of the gathering disappeared. Only Audrey, who had not fully recovered, Fors, who was flipping through Leymano's Travels, Emlyn, who was entangled with Mr. X, and Lawrence, whose expression was unreadable and whose azure eyes showed a book continuously turning pages, remained in the hall.
"I came, I witnessed, I recorded."
As he chanted, ripples of brilliant starlight suddenly spread out in front of Lawrence, reflecting the surroundings into a Fog Sea of stars.
Mr. X, who was constantly displacing and entangling with Emlyn, suddenly paused. The surrounding space suddenly became viscous and slippery. His Blink ability was greatly suppressed; each Blink required a one or two-second pause.
Lawrence... He's already a Sequence 6 Scribe? How is this possible?
What kind of ability is this? Does the Abraham Family also possess such a Mystical Item specifically countering "Blink" and "Teleportation"?
One thought after another flashed through his mind. Mr. X's expression was extremely gloomy. With his Blink ability hindered, it was very difficult for him to continue pulling away from the suspected Sanguine attacker; his speed was simply too fast.
Flashing again, creating some distance from Emlyn, Mr. X's eyes reflected an illusory, slowly turning book:
"I came, I saw, I rec—"
"Frenzy!"
The next moment, Mr. X's movements suddenly stopped. His lower back arched slightly backward, his eyes glazed over and unfocused, and the illusory book reflected in his eyes vanished.
The intense mental damage directly interrupted his casting action.
Audrey, who had quietly arrived at the edge of the room, exchanged glances with "Magician" Fors beside her. Her pale golden vertical pupils gradually returned to their gem-like emerald green.
Puff!
The sound of claws tearing through flesh was exceptionally clear in the quiet room. Emlyn, with a pair of illusory bat wings growing from his back, appeared behind Mr. X, his right hand plunged directly into his chest.
The intense pain brought the mentally scattered Mr. X back to his senses. He swept a resentful gaze across everyone in the room, then his body rapidly thinned and became brittle, transforming into a crimson paper figure.
"Moon Paper Figure?" Emlyn exclaimed in surprise. As a Sanguine, he didn't even have such a life-saving item. He hadn't expected this Mr. X of the Aurora Order to possess one.
The next moment, Mr. X's figure emerged from the other side of the room.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his expression seemed somewhat frenzied. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bloody finger. Under the somewhat horrified gazes of Fors and Audrey, he stuffed the finger into his mouth and chewed, making crunching sounds.
The flesh on his body rapidly squirmed, his muscles swelled and bulged, growing pale red flesh buds that intertwined to form a tough and sturdy flesh armor.
Fors stopped flipping Leymano's Travels and directly activated a Beyonder ability from it.
Crimson flames surged in front of her, transforming into one fiery crimson crow after another, circling and flying towards the drastically changed Mr. X.
The fiery crows crashed into him, creating bursts of roaring sounds and stirring up crimson firelight.
Emlyn then threw out a bottle of golden-yellow potion he had already prepared.
Whoosh!
The glass bottle shattered amidst the layers of exploding firelight. The golden-yellow liquid inside instantly evaporated, dyeing the constantly rising crimson flames golden, imbued with a strong Sun aura.
"Awe!"
As Audrey continuously retreated, her eyes were tinged with a faint gold, and her pupils became vertical, a powerful mental pressure pressing down like a small mountain.