Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Royale Reideen pulled the trigger, aiming at the slumbering Hanass . Six silver demon-hunting bullets, carrying the power of the Evernight Goddess's prayers, slammed into Hanass 's corrupted body.
"Ahhh!"
Hanass jolted awake from his sleep, letting out a heart-wrenching scream. The skin hit by the demon-hunting bullets instantly turned black and did not recover, like decayed wood struck by lightning. Then, the blackness rapidly spread and collapsed. He clutched his abdomen, knelt to the ground, curled into a ball, and stopped moving.
He's dead, right...?
Klein thought nervously.
"Clink, clink..."
Royale Reideen skillfully ejected the spent casings and reloaded, then approached Hanass , the muzzle of her gun pointed directly at his head. She wasn't taking any chances; she planned to fire another round of demon-hunting bullets while Hanass was weak!
But just as Royale Reideen's muzzle touched Hanass 's head, he suddenly lifted his head.
"Praise the Lord."
Hanass said with a crazed smile.
Something hidden beneath his black robe stirred, and only when she got close enough did Royale Reideen finally see what it was—they were two human faces! One large, one small, embedded directly into Hanass 's chest and abdomen. Through the black robe, the two faces twisted and twitched, their congealed agony almost tangible!
With Hanass 's prayer, the two human faces opened their mouths simultaneously:
"Praise You, my Lord,
Your will shall be done on earth,
As it echoes within our flesh and blood..."
It was an indescribable, corrupted language. The two mouths constantly opened and closed, forming a duet, as blasphemous and insane prayers poured forth!
Boom!
Klein only felt a buzzing in his head, as if a bomb had exploded inside, his consciousness blank for a moment. When he regained clarity, he was already lying on the ground, blood dripping from his nose to his chin, his mind filled with dizziness and pain.
What the hell...
The sharp, blasphemous language still echoed. Klein struggled to lift his head and saw Royale Reideen lying on the ground, bleeding from her nose and mouth, unconscious. She was closer to Hanass , and thus suffered a greater impact. In the hall, now covered in bullet marks and flesh, only Hanass remained standing. The two faces beneath his black robe were still chanting, and with the corrupted language, the wounds caused by the demon-hunting bullets had already healed.
He wore an expression of fanaticism and piety, spreading his arms wide.
"This is the supreme power of the Lord! I received his revelation in my dreams!"
Holy crap...
Klein cursed silently. He tried to struggle to his feet, but his body was completely uncontrollable. The corrupted voice constantly stimulated his brain, making his limbs weak. If he hadn't already adapted to the whispers above the gray fog, he probably would have completely fainted like Royale Reideen.
The two faces beneath the black robe prayed, and in the pauses between their words, they uttered desperate pleas and cries.
"Darling, please stop..."
"Daddy, I hurt so much..."
Klein noticed that Hanass , who had been ecstatic, suddenly froze upon hearing the woman and child's cries, and then an expression of pain welled up on his face. But very quickly, those few emotions dissipated, and he smiled again.
"Hahahaha... This is... This is the Lord's grace! This way, our family can be together forever!"
Hanass shed tears, his face filled with joyful yet desperate expressions, completely abandoning his last shred of humanity, fully immersed in his belief in the evil god. He gently stroked the two human faces on his abdomen, yet paid no heed to their screams and wails, only continuously offering the purest, most insane prayers to his "Lord," forcing the two faces to constantly utter corrupted words in extreme torment.
This Lunatic, did he sacrifice his wife and child?!
Klein felt his scalp tingle, disgust and anger surging in his heart. He had never seen this side of Hanass before. Indeed, once one becomes a follower of an evil god, no matter how normal their behavior, they have essentially become a Monster in human skin!
Hanass mumbled to himself for a while, then suddenly began to move again. He looked at the fallen Royale Reideen, his eyes gleaming with hunger and greed, and opened his mouth, which split to his ears, his sharp white teeth stained with bloody mucus.
"Daddy, I'm so hungry..."
"Darling, let's eat her..."
The two human faces on his abdomen also spoke in unison, encouraging him to continue his actions.
Oh no!
Klein jolted, this guy was going to eat Ms. Royale Reideen! He had to stop him!
But Hanass 's blasphemous language continued, and he couldn't stand up at all. Seeing the other party squat down and open his mouth towards Royale Reideen, he gritted his teeth and whispered:
"Blessed life..."
"Bang!"
Just then, a crisp sound drowned out Klein's muttering. He saw an exquisite teapot fly across the hall, hitting Hanass squarely on the head and shattering.
"Die!"
A roaring voice came from behind him. A figure quickly covered the distance, rushing in front of Hanass , and swung a sturdy cane held in both hands in a full arc, striking him hard across the face.
"Splish!"
It was like smashing a watermelon or crushing a bug—that satisfying sound. Hanass fell backward, a deep indentation from the cane on his face. Klein looked at the figure in surprise; it was Caesar Cardini, the person they were supposed to protect!
"Scream! Scream at your mother!"
Caesar's eyes were bloodshot, and blood was streaming from his nose and ears. He gritted his teeth, cursing Hanass , and continuously slammed the cane onto Hanass 's head. The splashing blood landed on his face and hands, sizzling and smoking, but it couldn't stop him from striking to kill.
"Ahhh... Praise the Lord..."
Hanass , being beaten, said in a slurred voice. Immediately after, the two human faces on his abdomen opened their mouths simultaneously.
"Look out!"
Klein urgently warned, but it was already too late. Piercing shrieks accompanied by corrupted language once again erupted from those two mouths, rushing towards Caesar. Klein, who was behind, only received the aftershock, but it felt like his brain had been hammered hard again, making him dizzy and in pain.
Through his blurry vision, Klein saw Caesar stop moving, remaining still.
"Heh heh..."
Hanass looked at Caesar, who seemed to be in a daze, and let out a chilling smile, "You have the Lord's oh oh oh—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Caesar lifted his foot and brutally kicked him between his legs!
"Crack!"
A cracking sound seemed to echo, and even the observing Klein felt a chill down below.
"What, screaming so loudly, didn't your Lord protect your dick?"
Caesar sneered, lifting his leg for another kick. Blood was gushing from his nose and ears, but his mind was very clear. Although his face was ferocious, at this moment, his mind was rapidly thinking about how to deal with this Monster.
First, let's explain why Caesar appeared at this moment.
Because Caesar had no intention of completely entrusting his life to others from the beginning. After hiding his sister Cecilia, he slipped out of the lounge and hid behind a partition, observing the scene. The previous battle was fierce, and neither of the two Nighthawks present had noticed him. Hanass seemed to have discovered him but was beaten into immobility.
So, at first, Caesar was relatively safe as an observer.
Until Hanass awakened the two faces beneath his black robe, using them to amplify himself and corrupt others. The initial impact of the defiled, corrupted language was huge for Caesar, but just as his mind was about to collapse, the ethereal ocean he had felt when drinking the potion earlier reappeared. It was as if non-existent tides gently supported his mind, resisting the chanting.
However, this power seemed to be limited. While resisting the erosion, the cool sensation was also gradually disappearing. If Hanass wasn't dealt with, he would eventually succumb to madness.