Silver City, the Berg residence.
Staring at the bloodstained scalp with short black hair, Derrick suddenly recalled what it had looked like a moment ago—a beautiful and alluring "mushroom", and he had nearly lost control and swallowed it.
And the Doom fruit that Dark had wanted to treat him to, the Doom fruit that made a crisp sound when bitten, turned out to be bloody human fingers with pale skin!
At that instant, Derrick's stomach spasmed violently, and sour liquid surged into his throat.
Suppressing the urge to vomit, he quickly sang out a line in his croaky voice:
"God, may Your kingdom come here, the enemies will scatter, and the believers will rejoice!"
The song carried some warmth and sanctity, and Derrick felt all his discomfort subside, his spirituality becoming abundant and lively.
His courage, his strength, his agility all improved significantly from this singing.
This was the extraordinary ability of Sequence 9, "Singer".
Dark stared at the singing classmate and former teammate, his expression growing darker, and his speech becoming less human:
"What is that thing on you...
"What is that thing on you?
"What is that thing on you!"
Suddenly, Dark's clothing bulged with strip-like protrusions, as if a nest of vipers was underneath, slithering and wriggling.
Whoosh! Bloody strips of flesh pierced through the black tight-fitting clothes, their surface covered with rough skin and body hair.
Those strips of flesh flailed outward, making Dark look like a bloody soft-quilled hedgehog!
With a swoosh, the flesh strips surged toward Derrick standing still.
Derrick, a patrol team member who had seen many monsters, wasn't too panicked.
He twisted his waist, raised his arm, and swung the "Hurricane Axe" that was already in his hand.
Thud!
The Hurricane Axe chopped into several bloody flesh strips, cutting them off and making them fall to the ground.
But because it was "night" in Silver City, this strike didn't bring lightning, and more crimson flesh strips surged madly, wrapping around the axe again and again, refusing to let go.
Seeing that he couldn't retrieve his weapon, pure light suddenly shone in Derrick's eyes, as if two small suns had descended into the room, while his other hand made a void grip near his mouth and nose, as if praying.
Silently, a pillar of clear fire-tinged light fell from above, hitting the tangled mass of bloody flesh strips.
Dark couldn't help but let out a scream, and many flesh strips turned charred and fell off.
They struggled and jumped, as if alive.
And the spirituality contained within these flesh strips, no longer controlled by their original owner, gradually merged with the natural forces invoked by the sacrificial ritual incantation, forming a rising pale-red "wave".
This "wave" poured into the dim candlelight, causing it to suddenly expand and form a illusory and mysterious door.
On that candle, Derrick had already drawn the secret symbol representing "The Fool"!
This was preparation made in advance.
All this constituted a sacrificial ritual with simple steps but complete elements!
Crack!
As the chair shattered, Dark lunged at Derrick with his flailing bloody flesh strips, his eyes showing no fear or tension, only the purest and most burning desire.
At that moment, Klein above the gray mist responded.
With an unreal creak, the illusory door with many strange patterns cracked open.
Behind the crack was deep darkness, with countless transparent shadows of indescribable forms.
Above these shadows, seven pure lights of different colors shone, containing infinite knowledge.
Above those lights, there was endless gray-white mist and an ancient palace overlooking the mist.
Suddenly, a shadow darted out from a dark corner and instantly covered Dark, who was closest to it.
The bloody flesh strips around Dark were all enveloped by a black viscous "liquid", making him like a cat that had crawled into an opaque bag.
The shadow didn't stop, rapidly extending along the ground, surging toward Derrick who had evaded to another spot, and shouted sharply:
"Stop! What are you doing!"