"Fate!"
In the awkward-sounding voice, the spots where Admiral Hell Ludwell and Nightwatcher Ince Zangwill stood turned dark as if they were covered by two black clouds.
Fate Siphon charm!
This was one of the Fate Siphon charms that Klein had made using the Worms of Time from Pallez Zoroast!
To make plans without 0-08's knowledge, he had kept himself hidden behind the scenes the entire time. Not only had he lent Creeping Hunger to Leonard Mitchell, he had also given the Fate Siphon charm to his marionette!
Hence, the one who was possessed by the evil spirit had gone from Ince Zangwill to Ludwell.
Admiral Hell instantly had Sauron Einhorn Medici's blood-stained, black-armored body plunge into him as his eyes became filled with minute blood vessels.
Inside the hotel, Klein calmly controlled the marionette without showing any wavering or hesitation due to the impact the evil spirit had. Ludwell reached out to tear his clothes and raised the soul-soothing mask to cover his face.
At the same time, having heard the Red Angel's words, and witnessing "His" actual condition, Daly Simone, who had suffered immense pressure, seemed to realize something. Not only did she not close the Door to the Underworld, she even gritted her teeth and used all her might to widen the gap.
Bloody, skinless arms, slimy tentacles with teeth, and bluish-black vines with baby faces began emerging from the Door to the Underworld as they grabbed at Ludwell.
This freed up Admiral Hell who had planned on completing this step alone. Taking advantage of the opportunity that the Underworld within his body hadn't yet been destroyed by Sauron Einhorn Medici, with the only negative effects on his body being decaying, he hurriedly turned around and dashed towards the mysterious, illusory bronze door!
He was then grabbed on his body and legs by the arms, tentacles, vines, and spirits behind the door. With his running working hand in hand with the scalp-tingling tugs, he instantly leaped through the widened door gap and entered the Underworld.
Upon seeing this, Daly immediately pulled back her palm and stopped maintaining the mysterious-patterned bronze door.
Thud!
The indescribable illusory door closed heavily. Admiral Hell Ludwell, along with Sauron Einhorn Medici, were kept out of the real world with the Underworld creatures.
This was a key step to Klein's plan. It was to forcibly separate the Red Angel evil spirit from Ince Zangwill!
Although he believed that the Red Angel evil spirit was the reason for Ince Zangwill's instability, he wasn't willing to face an additional evil spirit formed after the deaths of one King of Angels and two Sequence 1 angels when taking revenge on a demigod. No one could predict what actions a Conspirer would take under such circumstances.
Therefore, Klein used the basis of the magical powers of the Fate Siphon charm and Ludwell's pathway characteristic to formulate a plan. The addition of Daly had allowed the entire process to happen more smoothly. There wasn't any room for being interrupted as they successfully pulled the Red Angel evil spirit into the Underworld!
This way, even if the evil spirit was able to possess Admiral Hell's body and travel back to the real world via Spirit World Traversal, it would be far into the future. After all, to leave the Underworld required them to find an exit, and with the Evernight Goddess wielding control over Artificial Death, she had a certain level of authority in the Underworld. "She" was definitely not letting the Red Angel evil spirit leave so easily.
Sacrificing a marionette, a high-level charm, and two mystical items in exchange for removing the Red Angel evil spirit from the battlefield was heart-wrenching for Klein, but it was definitely worth it!
As for the misfortune on Ince Zangwill, on the one hand, it was a continuous state and not a short-term affliction; and on the other hand, he had suffered from Deity's Curse. The Fate Siphon charm could only replace a tiny portion of that and not empty it out. He could soon recover. As for Ludwell, he had Winner Enzo imbuing him with good luck. Nothing would stop his series of actions for a short period of time.
Such a change was completely unexpected for Leonard. However, he had become a Red Glove for almost a year. He had plenty of experience dealing with supernatural cases, so he didn't show any hesitation or confusion. He immediately cast his gaze at the still-dazed Ince Zangwill.
When the figure in a black clergyman's robe with one dim eye was reflected in his eyes, his expression immediately warped as though he was facing a trauma of his.
It was a trauma where he did his best but had failed to put it to use. It was the trauma of seeing Captain and Klein already dead after regaining consciousness.
As Leonard raised his left palm, he pressed the human-skinned glove to his temple and grasped the Fate Siphon charm in his right hand tightly. With a deep voice, he said, "Fate!"
The ancient, supernatural language echoed as a transparent book condensed in front of his left glove. Following that, there was the ethereal chant of "I came, I saw, I record."
Bolts of bright, blinding silver lightning blasted down one after another as they instantly devoured Leonard.
Lightning Storm!
This was akin to Leonard holding a revolver to his temple before pulling the trigger.
He was committing suicide, but at the same time, he was using the Fate Siphon charm. This would transfer such a fate to Ince Zangwill!
This was the best solution he could think of when using the Fate Siphon charm and Creeping Hunger! It required immense courage!
Countless silver lightning swept over, shattering the surrounding darkness. Leonard Mitchell immediately snapped awake and found himself still standing at his spot. His left hand had yet to rise, and his right hand had just grabbed the Fate Siphon charm.
Whatever he did was just a dream!
At this moment, in Ince Zangwill's dark blue eyes, darkness was slowly swirling. It was as though it was saying: When did you get the misconception that you aren't dreaming?
In fact, long before Sauron Einhorn Medici had been extracted from his body, he had already created a large-scale dream in an attempt to pull all his enemies in. Unfortunately, the man with a rapier was in no way affected. He easily escaped and ended up destroying the dream, reducing its effects to nothing.
As the ability to detect danger which was gained from one's spiritual perception feedback was that obvious, and with the possibility of the conflict between the two Kings of Angels behind him spilling over at any moment, Ince Zangwill didn't hesitate to create a large-scale slumber effect while pulling Daly Simone and Leonard Mitchell into a dream.
Right on the heels of that, he picked up Quill of Alzuhod and rapidly wrote on his sleeve:
"Ince Zangwill was in optimal condition today. He could effectively control his Mythical Creature form; therefore, he didn't hold back and used all his strength to escape the area!"
As he finished writing the sentence with the quill, Ince Zangwill's body began transforming.
His eyes instantly turned black as though it was tainted with ink. The fine patterns around him began to extend, forming strange and distorted mysterious symbols.
At his waist and ribs, his clothes swelled as four skinless arms grew out from squirming flesh; they were covered with blood vessels.
The arm was rapidly covered with white feathers as a cadaveric aura rippled out.
At the same time, Ince Zangwill's teeth grew long, turning sharp. His body seemed to be embedded with numerous blurry, tiny faces.
In a blink of an eye, this Nightwatcher was already slumped on the ground, turning into a strange monster with eight "legs" and white feathers!
Night suddenly fell upon the square as worms in the soil and the bacteria on the floor tiles died one after another, entering an eternal slumber.
This was the combination of the powers of Evernight and Death!
Just as Daly Simone and Leonard Mitchell were about to lose their lives amidst their slumber, a thunderclap boomed.
Bolts of silver lightning struck down, turning into a forest of lightning that blanketed Ince Zangwill's incomplete Mythical Creature form.
After sending away the Red Angel evil spirit, Klein didn't stay any longer. Like a marionette with preset orders, he mechanically took four steps counterclockwise and entered above the gray fog. Wearing the papal tiara and papal robe again, he picked up the Sea God Scepter!
This was the third act of the play. With 0-08 exhausted by Adam, and with the Red Angel evil spirit separated from Ince Zangwill thanks to the Fate Siphon charm, he had to face the Sea God's wrath as a Sequence 4!
Klein knew that he didn't have the strength to directly fight a demigod. Therefore, his plan had been to wear off Ince Zangwill's helpers while smiting him from above the gray fog. It was akin to the sea battle with the demigod, Qonas Kilgor, who was from the Black Emperor pathway back then.
Even if he couldn't complete the kill due to a demigod's potency, he could stall for time until the Church of Evernight's archbishop or high-ranking deacons with Sealed Artifacts arrived!
In this plan, there were two uncontrollable parameters.
First, it was unpredictable how much influence 0-08 had towards the end. A card up his sleeve was to let Enzo set up a bestowment ritual and be prepared to send Groselle's Travels to the real world at any time. By sending it to the edge of the battle, Klein wanted to know if this would lure the quill away from Ince Zangwill. After all, he guessed that the quill was a Grade o Sealed Artifact of the Spectator pathway. It was likely that it was interested in the special book left behind by the Dragon of Imagination.
Second, he wasn't sure how strong the Son of the Creator, Adam, was. Klein had no reference point, and he believed that it wasn't impossible for a King of Angels like him to subdue 0-08, imprison the Red Angel evil spirit, and kill Ince Zangwill alone!
Towards such a development, Klein had no means to foil it. All he could do was pray for the Goddess's blessings and Fate's tenderness as he waited for the outcome.
Rumble!
The lightning forest smote down, bringing with it intense destructive auras.
At this moment, pure darkness surged out of the gaps in the lightning, devouring all of the silver-white swath.
Right on the heels of that, Ince Zangwill's eight "legs" moved rapidly as he ran out of the area.
He couldn't find a target of attack, nor could he lock onto the enemy that had cast Lightning Storm. Holding back his furious emotions, he ran towards buildings along the perimeter of the square, leaving shadowy afterimages behind.
However, amidst booming thunder, terrifying lightning bolts smote down one after another, trapping Ince Zangwill inside the square.
Daly and Leonard had already woken up from their dreams, but the light from the lightning affected their vision, allowing them to discover that Ince Zangwill had apparently turned into a monster, but the details were unclear.
Mythical Creature form... As the two had a solid foundation in mysticism, they immediately realized what was happening and quickly closed their eyes. They then retreated to a spot that provided them shelter.
Realizing that he was unable to dodge the lightning strike given the amount of time he had, Ince Zangwill retracted one of his "legs," picked up 0-08, and as he ran, he wrote on his body:
"An unknown existence is attracted by the combat and feels great pity for Ince Zangwill's experiences before deciding to help him by taking him away via the spirit world!"
