Lord of the Mysteries

Haa! Haa! Haa!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The loud panting and the intense knocking alternated first before they resounded together. It made Klein and company extremely nervous, as though they were hearing some evil murmur.

Taking advantage of the moment Aiur, Dunn and Lorotta had their attention redirected, the suited clown suddenly pulled out a long piece of paper from his pocket.

Pa! He threw it with his right hand as the slip of paper ignited into a black fiery whip. Then, he lashed it towards the side of his ankle.

A fleeting but tragic scream sounded as the suited clown escaped the invisible shackles and did a backflip.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dunn, Aiur, and Lorotta shot but their bullets only ended up hitting the wooden crates.

The suited clown did not stay any longer as he pressed down on his wound with his right hand while escaping in a direction opposite the warehouse.

He was so fast that in the blink of an eye, all that was left was a hint of his back.

And before he vanished, his right hand which pressed down on his abdomen moved towards his left arm. The wound on his stomach had already vanished, looking completely fine.

The location on his left arm which he touched with his right hand suddenly became badly mangled, and a silver bullet appeared in the torn flesh.

Dunn and the rest didn’t chase after him because the panting from the innermost warehouse was so loud that it was making them nervous and insecure.

Bang!

The door of the innermost warehouse suddenly exploded and flew in all directions.

Then, something wrapped with a torn cloth flew out and landed not far from Klein.

When Klein cast his gaze over, he realized that it was an arm. Its bloody flesh had been chewed on and its white bones were cracked in an irregular fashion as they jutted out

Pa! Pa! Pa!

One item after another flew out. First it was a spray of blood, followed by a dilated eye and an ear which had been ripped out brutally. Finally, half a beating heart and intestines filled with yellowish-brown objects came out.

If Klein had not seen the more gruesome giant cadaver at Ray Bieber’s place, he would have probably vomited there and then.

His nerves were on the brink of a breakdown. After a great deal of effort to hold back his urge to shoot into the pitch-black entrance, he ejected the empty shells from his revolver and reloaded with new demon hunting bullets.

Bang!

Dunn drew close as he stably shot into the warehouse.

However, his bullet was like a shot into the sea. There was no audible response.

Haa! Haa! Haa!

The loud panting sped up as grayish-white colors filled the opened door.

With another two loud shots, Aiur Harson’s and Borgia’s bullets tore through the whiteness, but failed to prevent the “color” from spilling outwards. It did not leave any wounds or cause liquid to seep out.

Klein held his breath and kept himself from shooting blindly. He watched as the whiteness slowly revealed a complete outline.

It was a humanoid creature more than two meters tall. Its limb joints were all unnaturally twisted. It was as though they had been snapped by someone forcefully.

White bones poked out from under its skin as the entire grayish-white surface was filled with gullies, like a human brain that had been stripped from its shell.

The monster had grayish-white, rotting, sticky liquid flowing all over it. Its head looked relatively normal, with deep wrinkles and pale skin.

As it opened and closed its mouth, Klein could see a porcelain false tooth that looked close to falling out, a few strands of bloody saliva, and bone and flesh that had been minced.

Was… Ray Bieber still even f**king human? Klein drew a silent gasp as he felt his heart pound rapidly.

Bang!

Leonard’s demon hunting bullet hit Ray Bieber’s forehead and tore right through it, leaving behind a deep hole.

Grayish-white liquid flowed out and dripped onto the ground. The liquid wriggled and turned into fat cream-colored maggots.

But the monster appeared completely unaffected. It was neither fast nor slow when it pounced at Borgia who was closest to it. Its actual target appeared to be the black chest that contained Sealed Artifact 2-049.

“Loss of control of Beyonder powers…” Dunn shouted in a deep voice. “Lorotta, it looks like a dead soul, so quickly look for its weakness!”

“Alright.” Lorotta did not speak further as she raised her hands to press down on her eyes.

Her pupils turned gray then colorless, as though she had entered the world of spirits and a kingdom of dead souls. She looked down at the enemy from a higher vantage point as she searched for a “node.”

Klein saw that a normal gunshot was ineffective, so he did not bother wasting more of his bullets. He lifted his hand to tap at his glabella to activate his Spirit Vision. He planned on helping Gravedigger Lorotta.

From his vision, Monster Bieber only had one kind of spiritual glow left. It was purely grayish-white, a whiteness filled with craziness.

Apart from that, Klein saw nothing else.

At that moment, Aiur Harson and Leonard Mitchell sang simultaneously.

“Oh, the threat of horror, the hope of crimson cries!

“One thing at least is certain—that this Life flies;

“One thing is certain, and the rest is Lies;

“The Flower that once has bloomed forever dies…”

…

The power that allowed one to enter a peaceful slumber emanated. The twisted grayish-white monster gradually slowed down as though it could not fight against the charm of the poem.

Then, it opened its mouth and let out a shrill cry that ordinary people were deaf to.

“Ah!”

…

Bang! Klein felt a sharp pain in his head as he automatically exited his Spirit Vision state.

He felt warm liquid flowing out of his nose, and when he subconsciously wiped it with his hand, he discovered the back of his hand covered in blood.

Aiur and Leonard fell back to the ground at the same time. They had blood stains lining the corners of their lips, noses, and eyes.

Borgia, Dunn, and Lorotta each took a step or two back, the color in their face draining.

That monster only screamed once, but it appeared to exceed what the six Beyonders could withstand. They instantly turned extremely weak.

Bam!

It closed in on Borgia and suddenly swung its twisted joint.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Borgia and Dunn shot twice each, but they didn’t cause any damage to Monster Bieber.

Bang! A blow sent Borgia flying out as his long-barreled revolver fell to the ground.

He tried to stand up a few times, but failed to do so.

The corner of Monster Bieber’s mouth had stringy liquid oozing out as it leaped towards the black chest.

Bang!

At that crucial moment, Aiur Harson shot a bullet at the box to knock it some distance away, preventing Monster Bieber from grabbing it. Its momentum brought it forward by more than ten meters.

The black chest cracked and as the thumping within turned more intense it grew more obvious.

“Found it!” The black-haired Lorotta finally spoke. “I need you to control it for at least three seconds.”

“Alright.” Dunn didn’t delay any further. He extended his hand to tap his glabella and closed his eyes.

He seemed to fall asleep as shapeless waves slowly rippled out one after another.

In that instant, Monster Bieber paused and the craziness in its eyes quickly receded. Its thin transparent eyelids began to close uncontrollably as well.

Dunn’s body started quivering, and something popped up under his clothing and wriggled on the spot. It was as though he hid slippery scaleless snakes within.

Lorotta rushed over and with a roll, arrived under Monster Bieber.

She supported herself with one hand while raising a clenched fist, bombarding Monster Bieber’s crotch like artillery.

Poof!

She ignored the corrosive pain but supported herself against the ground and directed more strength once again. She went higher a little as her fist drilled deeper in.

Rip! Lorotta pulled out her forearm as she dragged out an intestine filled with brownish-yellow blood stains.

In the intestine, there was an ancient notebook.

“Ah!”

Monster Bieber let out a blood-curdling scream, and his body suddenly lit up as though it was melting.

“Get down!”

Just as Aiur Harson’s hurried shout ended, Klein saw Monster Bieber suddenly swell up.

Boom!

Amid a loud explosion, the distant Klein was tossed into the air by the shockwave and landed heavily.

He struggled to stand against a swirling headache, and he saw Monster Bieber turn into a pile of disgusting, rotting flesh. Then he saw Dunn and Lorotta, who were a dozen meters away, looking like they had been knocked out.

Aiur Harson, Borgia, and Leonard Mitchell were on the ground too. Some groaning in pain, some struggling to stand up but failing.

Klein was just about to relax when he suddenly saw a familiar object about two or three meters away from him.

The black chest had stopped rolling, and cracked surface was facing the sky.

A skinny brown arm extended out.

Sealed Artifact… 2-049… F**k! Klein’s heart tensed up as he immediately leaped in the opposite direction in a bid to escape 2-049’s effective range.

The blast from before had thrown the black chest near him!

And at that moment, Klein’s head suddenly buzzed as his thoughts turned sluggish.