No good... My Spirit Body Threads... have been controlled by him... Having met Faceless Beyonders, Marionettists, or Bizarro Sorcerers, and even fighting senior Beyonders and demigods, Qonas Kilgor wasn't unfamiliar with the predicament he was in. He was even rather familiar with it and knew quite a bit.
Therefore, he knew very well that he had fallen into a lethal trap. The time he had left to save himself didn't exceed fifteen seconds!
And in these fifteen seconds, his thoughts would turn more and more sluggish, and the speed at which he could come up with solutions would slow down. Towards the end, just the thought of a solution would take him several seconds. Yet, his stiff and dull body would require plenty of time to actualize his thoughts. This also meant that he had about ten seconds to save himself!
Of course, he had considered the corresponding response for the last few seconds. It was to abandon his body's control and reveal his Mythical Creature form. Through this, he could delay the time it took to become a marionette and then use his existence to disrupt the enemy, dealing a blow to them to a certain extent.
However, by doing so, even if he escaped the fate of becoming a marionette and even manage to defeat his enemy, Qonas Kilgor didn't have much confidence in continuing to live.
He wasn't a demigod who could freely switch between his human form and Mythical Creature form. He didn't have the confidence that he could maintain his rationale in a Mythical Creature form.
In order words, the outcome of escaping the fate of becoming a marionette by releasing his Mythical Creature form likely meant that the human, Qonas Kilgor, would die, while a monster of the same name would occupy his body.
Because of that outcome, Qonas Kilgor wouldn't make such an attempt unless it was necessary.
While his thoughts weren't too sluggish, and with how he could hear Rever's Shout of Despair in his ears, this demigod of the military quickly came up with his first plan to save himself.
He moved his right thumb at a speed that couldn't be considered slow.
Earl of The Fallen—Magnify!
Qonas Kilgor didn't wish to "Magnify" a particular state of his or the attack of a particular Sealed Artifact; instead, it was used to "Magnify" Rever's Shout of Despair's side effects!
This special revolver allowed the wielder to hear the roar of despair from time to time, a rather serious blow to creatures without godhood, easily pushing them to the brink of losing control, to madness, to a mental breakdown, or mind blanking. And at Sequence 4, the effects of the roar was greatly mitigated once his body possessed the characteristics of a Mythical Creature.
To Qonas Kilgor, this roar was enough to turn his mind adrift and generate irascible mood swings. It didn't have much of an effect on him, and he had already gotten used to it.
And at that moment, he wanted to "Magnify" the "roar of despair" to a state where even a demigod wouldn't be able to tolerate it. He wanted to use the pain that came from this psychic piercing in his mind to escape the state of having his Spirit Body Threads being controlled!
As "Magnify" didn't need any obvious actions, it was quick to show its effects. Opposite him, Gehrman Sparrow, who held Death Knell and wore a half top hat, was floating in midair with strong gusts of wind swirling around him. He didn't make it in time to stop the Earl of The Fallen from successfully using this Beyonder power.
But in the next second, what Qonas Kilgor met in response wasn't a terrifying roar but silence.
The ordinary roar that was originally present had vanished!
This was a random anomaly brought about by the Concerto of Light and Shadow!
Seriously... How unlucky... Qonas Kilgor's thoughts slowly flashed past his mind. He didn't have the luxury of time to feel disheartened as he immediately made a second attempt.
He raised his right hand in an unsteady manner, aiming Rever's Shout of Despair at Gehrman Sparrow who stood 150 meters from him and was about to pull the trigger.
At the same moment, the strong winds that blew at his right hand suddenly disintegrated in an inward fashion, turning into scattered eddies.
Earl of The Fallen—Disorder!
Qonas had used this to withstand Gehrman Sparrow's interference.
Following that, there was a series of thumping sounds. Like a machine gun, Rever's Shout of Despair spewed out dangerous bullets without stopping.
Gehrman Sparrow's black trenchcoat covered body jerked repeatedly, but he wasn't hit.
The bullets grazed his outline and flew into the distance, shattering the windows and walls, causing one of the buildings to collapse in silence.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The subsequent bullet storm continued their barrage, and finally, Gehrman Sparrow was struck repeatedly!
Amidst splattering blood, Gehrman Sparrow kept struggling and shaking in the strong gust of winds like a paper figurine, looking as though he was about to tear apart at any moment.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The strange revolver finally stopped its "roar." And apart from his head, Gehrman Sparrow was riddled with nasty gaping holes.
Typically speaking, this was definitely a state that only the dead had. However, Gehrman Sparrow continued controlling the Spirit Body Threads as though he was unaffected.
The ridiculous wounds on his body slowly but resolutely healed.
This was the effect of Flower of Blood.
This Gehrman Sparrow was actually Enuni!
The reason why he didn't die in that storm-like attack was because he had released all his accumulated luck. It was also because Qonas Kilgor was sufficiently unlucky!
And the "roar of despair" that the bullets brought forth was nothing to a marionette.
Seeing that the violent attack failed to achieve the desired effect and that the amount of time he had left to save himself dwindled, Qonas Kilgor followed his thought out plan and slowly relaxed his five left fingers without any thought.
The iron-skinned pocket watch left his palm and dropped to the ground.
At such a critical moment, Qonas Kilgor decisively gave up the Concerto of Light and Shadow and made it stay far away from the battlefield so as to avoid the effects of its random anomalies.
Next, he might only have one or two chances to save himself. If another anomaly were to happen, the outcome was irreversible!
The Sealed Artifact which was a mixture of half order and disorder quickly plummeted to the ground. Qonas Kilgor moved his fingers with great difficulty as he faced Gehrman Sparrow, whose wounds were quickly healing.
He originally had two choices. One was to use the third method he had originally thought of to save himself, an action that only required a mere thought. The other was to "Magnify" his enemy's injuries and make him die on the spot.
However, when Qonas Kilgor was still able to think relatively quickly, he didn't expect "Gehrman Sparrow" to not die after suffering so many gunshots, even his control over the Spirit Body Threads wasn't affected. There was no subsequent followup to this plan.
And at this moment, his brain was already like a sluggish mush. He had no way of thinking too much. He didn't wish to waste any more time as he followed his plans.
Whoosh!
Around Gehrman Sparrow, who wore a transparent glove and iron-black revolver, the strong gusts of winds that held him up suddenly intensified and sent him flying up high.
Whoosh!
With the help of the strong winds, Gehrman Sparrow raced to the pitch-black sky under the watch of the gigantic crimson moon.
Earl of The Fallen—Magnify!
The strong winds that helped Gehrman Sparrow fly had been "Magnified" into a hurricane!
This way, the distance between him and Qonas Kilgor would stretch beyond 150 meters. That would terminate the process of turning the latter into a marionette!
Seeing his goal achieved, Qonas Kilgor, who had yet to regain his freedom, had his expression turn complicated bit by bit.
The hurricane rapidly expanded and swept over to him, engulfing him and throwing him high into the sky. It made it impossible for the distance between him and Gehrman Sparrow to open up.
He was truly unlucky.
Under the night sky, amidst the moonlight, the two figures became smaller.
Soon, the hurricane returned to normal as their momentum slowly diminished.
Seizing this opportunity, Qonas Kilgor.s nearly frozen mind had another idea.
"Stop..."
He stopped maintaining his power of flight and used gravity to plummet down like a meteor, doing so in order to rapidly open up a distance from Gehrman Sparrow.
Then, he ignored Gehrman Sparrow's ability to control the wind and pursue him. He slowly pulled his left arm in front of his body like it was filled with rust.
It was the action of "closing a door."
He wanted to use an Earl of The Fallen's "Distortion" to create a wall-like seal in the air, putting an obstacle between Gehrman Sparrow and him, so that he couldn't carry out his pursuit.
At that moment, the marionettes, the Gehrman Sparrows who were still alive underneath him, raised their left arms and made the gesture of firing a gun.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets shot out, enveloping Qonas Kilgor in midair.
After the shockwaves dispersed, Qonas Kilgor was covered with several bloody holes.
Due to the pain and the jolting of his body from the first few bullets striking him, he had finally snapped out of the state of having his Spirit Body Threads being controlled. The speed of his thoughts rapidly recovered.
Following that, he "Disordered" the subsequent volley at the critical moment and "Distorted" his injuries, preventing himself from dying. All he suffered were serious injuries.
And Gehrman Sparrow, who had many mystical items and was swooping down from above, he was obstructed by the invisible wall. He failed to catch up.
With another "Distortion," Qonas Kilgor's descent speed slowed down as he gently landed on the ground.
Before he could do anything else, his body froze again as he stood stiffly on the spot.
He felt that his hands and feet were resisting him and not listening to his commands. He felt that there was an unfamiliar object hiding in his body!
Then, he saw a figure walk out of Maygur Manor's master bedroom under the gigantic crimson moon's illumination and stand on the balcony.
He had black hair and brown eyes, wearing a silk top hat and a black trench coat. His facial features were pronounced, and he was another Gehrman Sparrow.
This Gehrman Sparrow's right hand had the gesture of firing a gun. He then pulled back his hand and blew at it.
That was Klein himself.
What he shot out wasn't an Air Bullet but a Parasite Bullet delivered with an Air Bullet's might!
It was a Parasite Bullet created from a Worm of Time that Amon's avatar had left behind!
It could create a Worm of Time that couldn't live too long, allowing it to "Parasitize" the target and be controlled by the user.
Klein had deliberately taken out the bullet and held it in his hand, specifically to wait for this opportunity. He was waiting for Qonas Kilgor to throw away Concerto of Light and Shadow and not have the ability to dodge or use Distortion.
The former was predictable when the Earl of The Fallen's Spirit Body Threads reached the state of initially being control. This was because he couldn't allow the random anomalies to influence his attempts to save himself, and the latter was all about patience.
Just moments ago, his patience had paid off. A chance appeared. Klein was the first to raise his hand and shoot.
Without the random anomalies affecting the outcome, he had accurately shot a Parasite Bullet into Qonas Kilgor's body!
If the thing that had previously taken effect wasn't a Deceit Bullet but a Deprivation Bullet, then the strategy would be different.
Briefly unable to control his body, Qonas Kilgor looked at the Gehrman Sparrow on the balcony remove his top hat, press his hand to his chest, and bow slightly at him under the gigantic crimson moon.
As Gehrman Sparrow's trench coat fluttered, his thoughts had turned sluggish.
