Crash!
Bolts of lightning fell from mid-air; every region lit by the great red moon was covered by a silver-white „forest“.
The flashes leapt and ravaged, the breath of destruction sweeping through, sparing not one corner.
The grey-white great dragon, whose head still held human shape, was revealed once more; on the stone-like scales over its body small electric serpents skittered, and faint, not quite obvious cracks had appeared.
Hewen Lanbis's „Psychological Invisibility“, under so encompassing an attack, could not be maintained; for he still interacted with his surroundings — he had only erased his sense of presence, lay in the blind spot of attention; once such interaction grew strong, exposure was unavoidable.
The instant he was revealed, the „Lightning Storm“ subsided a great deal, and the Gehrman Sparrow on the rooftop blurred in body and flickered to a point slantwise below this incomplete great dragon.
Then the glove on the mad adventurer's left hand brought out a dense scattering of black grains, profound and dim.
His mouth opened and let out a word in Demonic tongue, full of filth and fall:
„Slow!“
Hewen Lanbis knew his opponent had used „Wriggling Hunger“ and understood the true grade of this item; the attack of Gehrman Sparrow seemed merely laughable. He was about to lift the ice-blue metal cylinder held in his left forepaw and aim it at the enemy below.
This was a sealed artefact of obscure origin, called the „
The ice-blue metal cylinder could fire forth peculiar dark-green pellets; anyone struck by them would, in an instant, be poisoned and begin to rot — not even the spiritual body could escape, and it worked equally well against demigods.
Its negative effect was that the bearer had a chance of being looked upon by a gaze cast down from the starry sky and, all unaware, suffer contamination; had a certain Being not laid some seal upon it, Hewen Lanbis would not have dared carry it on his person — yet even so, he kept the number of uses under tight control, lest he die outlandishly or undergo mutation: such had been the common fate of several previous bearers of the „Rotting Meteor“.
At this moment Hewen Lanbis did not believe the „Foul Tongue“, at most Sequence 5, could have any effect on him in his incomplete mythological-creature form, and intended to use the „Rotting Meteor“ to outright end an enemy who carried a threatening sealed artefact.
Yet at this moment his movements truly slowed; his whole body bore a stiff and clumsy quality.
On the pitch-black rooftop under the great red moon, at some unknown moment, another Gehrman Sparrow had appeared, dressed in black overcoat and silk top hat; his right hand held a peculiar revolver with six barrels, and his left palm was levelled at the Gehrman Sparrow beneath Hewen Lanbis, half-closed in a fist, with a slight turn of the wrist.
„Corrupt Baron“, „Amplify“!
This was another of Klein's mystery puppets — the demigod of the „Lawyer“ pathway, Chunas Kolger!
And with his „Amplify“ as support, all the Beyonder abilities that „Wriggling Hunger“ had gained by shepherding souls could have their effects maximised, raised to nearly Sequence 4 — that is, to demigod level!
Of course, this could not amplify several at once; only one at a time.
Since Hewen Lanbis was at this moment in his mythological-creature form, no matter how the „Slow“ might be „Amplified“, it could not affect him for long; so the Gehrman Sparrow who was in fact „Winner“ Enuni seized this short chance and began to manipulate Hewen Lanbis's „Spirit Body Threads“.
Normally he would need three seconds to complete a preliminary hold, and with his opponent already displaying a powerful mythological-creature form, the time would surely be drawn out — perhaps six or seven seconds, even a little over ten, would be needed to succeed. By that time Hewen Lanbis would long since have shaken off the „Slow“ effect, recovered, and made his response.
In this critical instant, Chunas Kolger once more aimed his left palm at „Winner“ Enuni; his five fingers clenched at once.
„Amplify“ again!
An „Amplify“ on the ability to manipulate „Spirit Body Threads“!
All at once, „Winner“ Enuni's manipulation of Hewen Lanbis's „Spirit Body Threads“ became easy, as though the other had not revealed his mythological-creature form at all.
That is, in just three seconds he could complete his preliminary control.
This was already impressive; the problem was that the dragon-form Hewen Lanbis needed less than a second to shake off the „Slow“ effect.
No — he had already broken free!
Just then, with the bang of a gunshot, a bullet — dull of surface, deep yet not dim, etched with a host of strange runes — came flying swiftly and struck Hewen Lanbis, who had just thrown off the „Slow“ state.
From another corner of the garden, yet another Gehrman Sparrow appeared, in black overcoat and silk top hat.
Hewen Lanbis's great dragon body went rigid once again; not only did thought seem to halt, even the wings on his back froze, lost their use, and the whole dragon dropped to the ground.
„Spirit-Control Bullet“!
These were the „Spirit-Control Bullets“ Klein had made by using his own „Spirit Worm“ as material and channelling into it the mysterious-space power of Above the Grey Fog. They could paralyse even a Sequence 3 Saint for a second or two!
Here and now, Hewen Lanbis, displaying his incomplete mythological-creature form, was hardly far stronger than a Sequence 3 Saint; back then, when
Besides this, Klein could also have Chunas Kolger „Amplify“ the bullet's power; only, this time, to seize the chance, there had been no time to do so.
— The chain of cooperation just shown left Klein unable not to sigh that demigods of the „Lawyer“ pathway, as supports, are utterly terrifying; very, very, very useful. Of course, under normal circumstances, the „Corrupt Baron“'s „Amplify“ could only strengthen the effects and influence of his own actions, and could not help others; but the thing is that, as a mystery puppet, as a mystery puppet with a „Spirit Worm“ inside, he is undoubtedly one with Klein and with other such puppets. A moment ago he had not been strengthening another, he had been strengthening himself!
Seizing the chance while Hewen Lanbis was in his paralysed state, „Winner“ Enuni completed his preliminary hold on the „Spirit Body Threads“.
That incomplete great dragon had just emerged from his rigid state, and already thought was beginning to lag, movements showing a certain stuttering.
It must be said: once a „Marauder“ obtains a powerful mystery puppet, through the cooperation of the two of them he can wield a fearfully great strength; and Klein also has items that are nearly cheating, such as the „Spirit-Control Bullets“ — these are things only he can make, because only he can call upon the power of the mysterious space Above the Grey Fog. Of course, strong figures such as Amon can also make similar talismans and bullets, only that the specific effects will differ somewhat.