A young man in a black trench coat, holding an iron-black revolver, descended from the crimson moon. Qonas Kolg, who was no stranger to virtually all important figures in the world, reacted immediately.
His left hand was clutching the 'Tinplate' pocket watch, his thumb moving swiftly toward one of the several metal buttons haphazardly embedded on its top. His right arm jerked up, the ring of six grey barrels aiming straight at Gehrman Sparrow.
The whole process was as quick as a spark from striking flint. Yet, Qonas Kolg's thumb did not press down in the end.
He had overcome his reflex, choosing not to immediately invoke the 'Prohibition' of the '
This was because he knew nothing about Gehrman Sparrow. He didn't know what the other party was best at. Furthermore, the person wearing Gehrman Sparrow's face might not be the real Gehrman Sparrow. A blind 'Prohibition' would only waste the opportunity.
He planned to observe a little longer, to wait, so he could formulate a more targeted decree and distort the rules.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
That strange pistol let out a desperate shriek, unleashing a black, freezing storm of bullets that instantly engulfed the enemy beneath the crimson moon.
At that moment, Gehrman Sparrow's figure suddenly became transparent, flickering into unreality.
The bullets that arrived simultaneously pierced the target in the black trench coat, tearing apart the afterimage he had left behind.
Behind Qonas Kolg, Gehrman Sparrow's cold-faced figure suddenly manifested. He was half-crouched, leaning forward, his black top hat dyed a shade of blood-red by the crimson moonlight.
He jerked the long-barreled iron-black revolver up, and as he took aim, he slightly parted his lips and lightly squeezed the trigger. Bang!
The floor to Qonas Kolg's right instantly exploded, sending countless splinters flying. This shot from Gehrman Sparrow was incredibly off-target, and its destructive power was clearly insufficient. This was the 'Distortion' of the 'Fallen Count', bending the trajectory and reducing the force.
Seizing this chance, Qonas Kolg 'Confused' the measure of distance and stepped directly onto the bedroom's balcony with a single stride. Then, he half-turned, pressed one of the metal buttons on the 'Tinplate' pocket watch with a click, and declared solemnly and seriously: "Teleportation is prohibited here!"
Silently and imperceptibly, some unknown change occurred within Maygur Manor, bathed in the light of the massive crimson moon. Gehrman Sparrow, whose body had been rapidly fading after firing, solidified out of the void once more.
He had failed to change his position.
'Concerto of Light and Shadow', 'Prohibition'! — For Qonas Kolg, no matter what Gehrman Sparrow was actually good at, since he could 'teleport', it had to be 'Prohibited' immediately. A foe who could teleport short distances seamlessly, at high frequency, was not just annoying, but dangerous!
Finding that his 'teleportation' had failed, Gehrman Sparrow's expression didn't change. His figure quickly twisted, leaching away all its colors, leaving only a deep black. This 'deep black' suddenly collapsed, spreading across the ground, merging inseparably with the shadows in areas the moonlight couldn't reach.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bullet holes suddenly appeared at the spot Gehrman Sparrow had just been standing, tearing through the floor. Boom! The area directly collapsed, revealing the room below, but no dust rose.
Despite such a commotion, Maygur Manor remained shrouded in deep shadow. No one woke up, and there was no echo.
Qonas Kolg suppressed the urge to immediately 'Prohibit' the act of hiding in shadows. Holding 'Rivier's Despairing Scream' and gripping 'Concerto of Light and Shadow', he calmly observed his surroundings, waiting for Gehrman Sparrow to reappear and launch an attack.
However, the shadows in the dilapidated room were silent, without the slightest movement. Outside the window, the spires and chimneys were still draped in cold black, and the huge crimson moon seemed to hang just above the roof. The plants in the garden, the distant grapevines, the various classic windows—in this night, they all seemed to have degraded into a backdrop. They were clearly visible to the naked eye, yet they didn't even tremble. The entire Maygur Manor was so cold, dark, and silent, as if it had been forgotten in a corner no one cared about or could find, devoid of any vitality.
As a demigod and a prominent figure in the intelligence world, Qonas Kolg quickly formed a guess, suspecting it was related to the authority of the 'Concealment' domain. This sparked many associations in his mind, yet Gehrman Sparrow still did not appear.
"He didn't even attempt a sneak attack, and he gave up the chance for a continuous assault, leaving me so many gaps... Doesn't he know how troublesome a High-Sequence 'Lawyer' or 'Arbiter' can be once they've had enough time to prepare in the early stages of a battle?" A trace of doubt flashed in Qonas Kolg's mind.
His observation of the surroundings, combined with the relatively non-urgent situation, quickly made him recognize his own predicament. He understood that defeating Gehrman Sparrow was not the key; escaping this strange and secret world was the main priority.
"If he couldn't leave this place, there would likely be other dangers! As long as he could escape this gloomy Maygur Manor, even if an Angel descended, he wouldn't be so afraid while in
He suddenly turned around, leaped forcefully from the balcony, accelerating like a spring. The military demigod jumped high into the air at once, yet his speed did not decrease, showing no sign of descending.