After rushing into the building and closing the door, Klein realized that the curtains behind the windows were constantly in a drawn state. Only some faint crimson moonlight seeped in, lighting up the room slightly.
He didn't bother making any additional observations as he found a wooden chair and sat down. He attempted to enter Cogitation to calm his inclinations towards mutating.
Since he had witnessed a saint-leveled Beyonder's incomplete Mythical Creature form, how could he survive it that easily? This wasn't the mysterious space above the gray fog that came with recovery effects!
As Klein was able to withstand mental blows relatively well, he was able to straighten his thoughts out early and prevent himself from losing control; thus, allowing him to successfully escape. However, this didn't mean that the problem had been resolved.
He sat there, relying on Cogitation and his control over his emotions to resist the waves of insane thoughts. During this process, he heard his cheekbones produce crunching sounds. He saw his black hair turn long and thick in an uncontrollable manner as his chest bulged through his clothes while his skin produced granules in the form of meat tendrils.
After nearly thirty seconds, Klein finally exhaled and relaxed significantly.
He had completely recovered from the effects that Panatiya's incomplete Mythical Creature form brought. He even gained some new knowledge—the level she was at had "despair" at its core, making her good at creating and spreading plagues.
The insanity and mutation from witnessing a Mythical Creature not only produce the symptoms of losing control of one's pathway, but it also comes with the traits of the other party's Sequence... Back then, I was nearly baked by the Eternal Blazing Sun, and this time, I nearly became a Demoness... Klein looked down at himself, restoring his skin, chest, and hair to normal.
If he wasn't a Faceless, aside from letting those meat tendrils sink into his body, he would have to rely on external forces to resolve the problem.
Without the time to poignantly sigh or analyze the situation, Klein slowly stood up and cast his gaze towards the tightly-drawn, dark-colored curtains as he attempted to figure out his current situation.
His expression suddenly changed because he heard rowdy murmurs outside the street!
At that instant, he felt that, apart from him and Lady Despair Panatiya, the uninhabited town suddenly had many residents. They were loitering across the streets and alleys, greeting one another as they discussed whether to only buy bread or be extravagant and buy a pound of beef.
The foggy town suddenly seemed to come to life!
However, none of the figures entered the buildings that lined the streets. They seemed to keep coming and going across the street, producing voices that one would find difficult to believe to be conversations, as they sounded more like the deep growling of savage beasts.
Klein couldn't imagine the scene outside. All he knew was that even a demigod-leveled Demoness had to hide from the danger.
He retracted his gaze and thought deeply for a few seconds, silently muttering, I can't head out...
But I can't stay in here either...
Who knows when that crimson moon will be covered by fog again, allowing Panatiya to regain her freedom of movement. When the time comes, with us being so close, there's no way for me to escape!
But, how do I move without heading out?
In his silence, Klein slowly turned his body and faced the pitch-black spired cathedral.
According to Lady Despair Panatiya, that cathedral was the only place she didn't dare explore. It was as though entering the cathedral was the only way to escape her "hunt."
Of course, a Demoness like Panatiya wasn't necessarily speaking the truth, but Klein believed that she wasn't likely to lie regarding such matters. After all, to her, he was her prey, her delicacy.
Besides, Panatiya back then was using her speech and charm to entice him bit by bit, designing a trap for him so as to capture her prey. With a demigod's confidence, it was unlikely she would reveal information as a bluff. In addition, at such times, speaking the truth was the safest and most reassuring option. There was no need to worry about the prey escaping ahead of time due to the detection of a lie.
Unless her half-mad state causes her to habitually lie; otherwise, it shouldn't be a problem... Klein, who was out of options, quickly made up his mind.
He lowered his left hand and made Creeping Hunger turn transparent.
Although he knew that Traveling was useless, he still held out hope because this was the point when the crimson moon was at its clearest. There was no obstruction, and it was round like a silver plate. During such times, Mr. Door could transmit "His" shouts into the ears of "His" descendants from where "He" was lost. Traveling was enhanced, and anomalies happened, so it wasn't something impossible.
Klein's figure rapidly phased away, but seconds later, his body outline appeared again where he stood.
I can't enter the spirit world, to the point of not even sensing it... As a Beyonder power, Traveling only has a third of its uses. It can barely be used as invisibility... Klein muttered silently as he concluded his experiences and lessons. However, he was puzzled about one point. Traveling's phasing away and turning transparent is due to the unique traits of the spirit world, so why would it be effective?
Klein pondered for about ten seconds before he came to a rough idea.
Every person must be connected to the spirit world because one's Astral Projection is located there. It can obtain all kinds of abstract information, which is the reason why revelations can be obtained from divination.
Therefore, when we are converted into a hidden and secret state, our connection with the spirit world becomes part of it?
This can explain why I can still use the unique traits of the spirit world, but am unable to enter it. This is because the former had a portion of it hidden away! Hmm, I didn't have the time to consider it before and had attempted Flaming Jump. I was met with success, and this also requires the unique traits of the spirit world.
After confirming this point, Klein raised his right hand and snapped his fingers, attempting to ignite a half-melted candle in the neighboring building.
He wanted to use Flaming Jump to pass through the neighboring buildings and slowly approach the spired cathedral. Once the crimson moon was hidden by the fog, he would reassess the situation to decide if he would take the risk and hide inside.
A scarlet flame was set ablaze in the neighboring building as it slowly expanded and illuminated the surroundings.
At that moment, the streets outside suddenly turned abnormally silent.
All of the beast-like growls disappeared!
The figures that loitered on the streets seemed to turn to face the building, using their gazes in an attempt to penetrate the windows!
Klein instantly broke out into a cold sweat. He didn't dare to "leap" over as he instinctively snapped his fingers and extinguished the flame.
After a brief silence, the rowdy murmurings sounded again. The indistinct figures continued walking here and there.
Only then did Klein heave a sigh of relief. He raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
He discovered that he had unknowingly made several mistakes after entering the foggy town. In such a dangerous and bizarre environment, he hadn't divined if he should light the candle in the neighboring building!
My spiritual intuition should have warned me, but it didn't... From the looks of it, after the gray fog was screened away, my spiritual intuition and sense for danger are no longer enhanced. Now, I'm just a little stronger than a Marionettist of the same level. I'm far from being crazy powerful... It's because of this that I was incited by Panatiya's Instigator powers to look at her wound. I didn't receive any premonition for danger and subconsciously believed that it wouldn't be a problem with a marionette in between us... Klein temporarily didn't have time to have an after-action review of his previous battle. He placed his attention back onto approaching the cathedral without heading out.
He began scrutinizing himself and his mystical items' Beyonder powers. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he found a solution.
This solution stemmed from a Traveler's Door Opening which he thought was useless!
This Beyonder power was completely overshadowed by Teleportation under normal circumstances, but in this mysterious and bizarre foggy town, just its usage of the unique traits of the spirit world became more useful!
Klein wasn't in a rush to take action as he took out the gold coin which Senor used to reside in. Using divination to question his spirituality, he obtained the answer that he should "penetrate" the wall.
And without any way to obtain a revelation from the spirit world, he could only choose to trust himself. He then walked to the wall that was shared with the neighboring building and pressed his hands on it.
Silently, Klein passed through the stone wall and entered the next building.
He followed the terrace houses until he arrived at the final one. According to his initial impressions of the town, he was already very close to the spired cathedral. He didn't need more than two Flaming Jumps to reach it.
At that moment, the crimson moonlight that penetrated the dark-colored curtains didn't weaken. He could vaguely see figures coming and going like they were leading a normal life.
Without being capable of moving further away, all Klein could do was sit down on a wooden chair that was a distance away from the windows. It was almost completely dark here with deep, dark shadows.
Only at this point did he had the time to recall the details of his encounter with Demoness Panatiya.
She's actually the murderer that caused the Great Smog of Backlund. Tens of thousands of people died because of her. Even more people suffered the pain of losing their loved ones.
Old Kohler who worked hard to live, Ma'am Liz who worked hard to raise her two daughters... Klein closed his eyes as he lifted his head and took deep breaths.
He forced himself to extricate himself from the anger and hatred that suddenly surged in him as he calmly observed the turn of events.
Unfortunately, I didn't let Senor wear that Flower of Blood; otherwise, he should still be able to put up a struggle. However, there wasn't a choice. While possessing me, wearing a ring corresponding to a Rose Bishop while entering Chanis Gate would be equivalent to blasting myself apart...
Now, the only mystical item I can use is Creeping Hunger. There's Zombie, Baron of Corruption, Desire Apostle, and Traveler inside...
Yes, I should try to see if I can contact the gray fog by praying while the crimson moon is clear...
It doesn't work...
I can now confirm that even with a marionette between us, I'll still be affected by a Demoness's charm and incitement...
Since Panatiya can release a plague on a large scale, why didn't she attack me in secret in such a concealed manner? Instead, she waited until I nearly lost control from witnessing her incomplete Mythical Creature form and exposed my location before spreading the ailments?
Hmm, she can definitely do it. The Great Smog of Backlund is the best proof... There are two explanations. First, it's because I was personally "sent" here by the angel. This made her place a great deal of attention on me, worried that spreading the plague in advance would be detected by my spirituality. Second, she's afraid of something, so she doesn't dare to blanket the area with her plague... If it's the latter, there are other dangers here...
As Klein thought over the matter, he felt his spiritual perception trigger as a chill ran down his back.
Almost at the same time, he saw that a deep shadow that blanketed him and the surroundings suddenly shrank, drilling towards his nostrils, mouth, and ears!
