Karpin lay on the ground, itchy and pained, wishing he could tear himself apart to escape this hellish torment.
Then, he saw the crimson waves of fire spreading instantly, and heard the deafening explosion.
He thought this final moment would stretch on, allowing him to recall all the beautiful moments with his wife and children. He thought he would feel relieved, no longer having to endure this inhuman agony. But at that instant, immense fear still surged in his heart, along with a strong will to survive. Before any memories could flash across his mind, his thoughts were consumed by excruciating pain, and he plunged into deep darkness.
BOOM!
The windows of the restaurant shattered and flew outward, along with countless bricks, rubble, and clearly billowing tongues of fire.
The guards patrolling just outside were knocked over by the blast. Those lucky enough not to be hit found their ears ringing, their bodies swaying, some tilting, some falling.
They saw that most of the restaurant's outer wall had collapsed, and saw the flames seemed to float in the air.
The residents of the entire street and the police responsible for the surrounding area heard the loud noise simultaneously, feeling both puzzled and fearful.
Inside the restaurant, Klein, clad in black armor and wearing a pitch-black crown, stood there, bathed in the crimson flames, enjoying the blast wave, unmoved.
The black mist surrounding him had been greatly melted away, and his spiritual body itself had taken some damage, but it wasn't severe.
By the overturned table,
Flames burned quietly on their surfaces. The other servants were not much different.
In the area opposite the fireplace, Katie, who hadn't been able to dodge in time, was violently thrown against the wall, then slid down to the ground. Her body was a bloody mess mixed with numerous burn marks, not a single patch of intact skin.
She wasn't dead yet, but she was heavily injured and unconscious. Even so, she was still coughing convulsively, inhaling the suspended flames.
The black whip had also been damaged, covered in cracks and slightly ignited. None of her extraordinary bullets survived the explosion.
Katie had no combat power left.
Heras, on the other hand, had made a timely roll, protecting his vitals. However, he was still covered in blood and burn marks.
He staggered to his feet, with crimson flames burning on his back, wig, and legs.
His breathing became even more difficult, and his body had suffered severe trauma.
But this was enough to prove the toughness of his flesh and the robustness of his physique, or rather, after putting on that iron-black glove, his flesh was tough enough, his physique strong enough!
However, this was within Klein's expectations.
When unable to assess how much damage an opponent could withstand, he would fully overestimate the target's constitution in his plans.
Catching a glimpse of Klein's almost perfect condition from the corner of his eye, Heras's pupils contracted. He hastily extended his left palm, pointed in that direction, and spoke in a low voice:
"Banishment!"
Klein was forcibly pushed away again, unable to resist, like a piece of paper in a hurricane, floating and tossed out of the restaurant. In the outer hall, after the instant burning just now, the fire had subsided quite a bit, but was brewing another wave of disaster through the wooden stairs, etc. However, since the main body of the explosion was "confined" in the restaurant, the damage here was not severe.
Seizing this opportunity, Heras abruptly turned around and fled without looking back.
Even though the flames on his body were still burning, he didn't waste any time dealing with them.
He knew his condition was extremely poor, with the risk of losing control, and the effect of the poison was about to peak. Adding the two together, he didn't believe he still had a chance to defeat the invader, even if Baylis, a Sequence 7, was waiting at the entrance to the underground area!
If he continued fighting like this, Heras believed he would only face two outcomes: poison taking effect or losing control from severe injuries!
Once he decided to flee, he no longer cared about Katie, who was still alive.
Klein, who had just stabilized himself after the "Banishment", saw this. He immediately raised his head, opened his mouth, and let out a sharp screech inaudible to human ears!
Zing!
Heras's head spun, his steps faltered for a moment, and dense translucent blisters appeared on the relatively intact skin of his body, an early sign of losing control.
But he quickly recovered and continued his desperate sprint, escaping the villa's lawn.
So hard to kill... To avoid any accidents, Klein did not pursue him.
He remembered his goal was to save people, not to clean up these fallen Beyonders.
More importantly, his own consumption was considerable, and he had taken not light damage. If he gave chase, he might not be able to withstand Heras's crazy counterattack.
Snap!
Klein snapped his fingers, firing an air bullet.
The bullet entered Katie's head, ending her various sufferings.
Following this, Klein turned and flew towards the entrance of the underground area.
Baylis, with his thick beard, had been paying attention to the commotion outside, but dared not leave his post, afraid that the invader's accomplices would take the chance to break into the dungeon.
At this moment, holding a high-pressure steam rifle and having activated his spiritual vision, he was frightened by the loud noise and became extremely tense.
Immediately, he saw the majestic spirit flying towards him, and without hesitation, he raised his rifle and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
White mist sprayed from the barrel, and a sharp pale golden bullet shot forward at an astonishing speed.
Klein was prepared, having a sense of intuition beforehand. Before Baylis fired, he had already dodged in a small arc.
The bullet passed through the hall, pierced the main door, and flew outside.
At the same time, Baylis rushed out of the guard room, raising his high-pressure steam rifle in a threatening gesture, while moving quickly towards the main entrance.
He believed that the invader who could handle the combined forces of Heras, Katie, and Parker could definitely kill him easily. Moreover, the commotion from earlier would surely attract attention, and some Mandated Punishers might come to investigate. Therefore, the only choice was: