On the outskirts of Tingen, in a room with a red chimney.
The feather pen on the desk seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand as it began to write on its own.
{Ince Zangwill wanted to use Truman’s hand to kill Klein, who had miraculously escaped death, but he clearly underestimated the ruthlessness and decisiveness of this Astrologer trained by the Demoness Sect.}
{After Ince Zangwill stirred the hidden killing desire within Truman, Truman planned to go all the way and kill all six Nighthawks present, then take all the Sealed Artifacts and Beyonder characteristics and flee along the Tussock River out of the Loen Kingdom.} — crossed out
{After the incident of six Nighthawks dying at once in Tingen City, St.
Samuel’s Cathedral in Backlund would definitely focus its investigation here, and then follow the trail to discover Ince Zangwill’s whereabouts.} — crossed out
Ince Zangwill pressed his lips together tightly and seized Sealed Artifact 0-08, which had begun running wild.
His hair was dark gold, his pupils so blue they appeared deep black, and his classical sculpture-like face was now filled with rage.
Combined with his signature single eye, it gave him a particularly ferocious appearance.
Ince Zangwill quickly used the feather pen to cross out everything Sealed Artifact 0-08 had written.
He absolutely could not allow that brat to ruin the script he had so carefully crafted!
Wasn’t randomly killing a Nighthawk replacement enough?
You even want to take out the Tingen City Nighthawks captain and the reinforcements from the Backlund diocese?
Even I wouldn’t dare be that reckless—you’re just a Sequence 7, do you think you can fly?
Ince Zangwill angrily revised the upcoming script.
He decided to scrap the second version he had improvised and revert to the original plan.
“Kid, your appetite is so big—aren’t you afraid of choking?”
“Since you want everything, I’ll make sure you get nothing!”
{Leonard was an experienced Nighthawk.
Even though he was tightly bound, he still managed to free one arm using some tricks he’d learned from who-knows-where, and grabbed the revolver that had fallen nearby.}
{Leonard wisely didn’t waste bullets on the mysterious man with exceptional inspiration.
Instead, he aimed his gun at the large iron box containing Sealed Artifact 2-049.}
{Leonard pushed the iron box between him and the mysterious man closer to the mysterious man.
His bullets coincidentally struck the gap in the iron box’s damaged area, and a clown puppet wrapped in brownish-oil-stained cloth fell out.}
{The Antigonus family puppet sensed the nearby Antigonus family notebook and became agitated.
It began to control Truman, who was closest to it.}
{Truman, from the Demoness Sect, seemed to have placed some curse on himself that allowed him to use ‘illness’ to break free from the controlled state when his body became rigid.}
{But he clearly underestimated the power of Sealed Artifact 2-049.
Although he hadn’t opened the Antigonus family notebook and theoretically wouldn’t be contaminated by it, he was still carrying a Secret Order member’s Beyonder characteristic on him.}
{The two Seer pathway Sealed Artifacts and the Seer pathway Beyonder characteristic seemed to produce some unexpected resonance. New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
The contamination within the notebook leaked out through the opportunity created by Sealed Artifact 2-049 and the guidance of the Magician’s Beyonder characteristic.}
{Fate seemed to play a small joke.
The method Truman had used against the Tuxedo Clown was now reenacted on himself.
His spirituality instantly went out of control.}
{After losing spiritual support, those originally deadly paper blades were all reverted to limp napkins.
The five Nighthawks present were unharmed, except for Klein Moretti, who died unexpectedly…} — crossed out
{Truman seemed to have a certain bias toward his schoolmate, and his attacks against him were relatively delayed.
Klein Moretti once again miraculously escaped death in an inconceivable manner.}
{And Truman, this fledgling Astrologer, regrettably degenerated into a puppet clown under the control of a Sealed Artifact.}
….
Dock District.
After emptying the revolver’s bullets, Leonard looked at the mysterious man frozen in a rigid state, a trace of satisfaction and joy on his face.
Leonard had never suffered such a loss in his life.
Just give him a little more time—these damned ropes and weak curses could never hold him.
However, he still underestimated Truman’s techniques.
Even with someone secretly guiding him, trying to untie Truman’s hogtie inevitably caused some friction with the ropes.
“Damn it!”
“When once the sun sinks in the west
“And dewdrops pearl the evening’s breast
“Almost as pale as moonbeams are
“Or its companionable star—”
Leonard suppressed his inner frustration and shame, and began to recite a poem that brought peace and made one feel as if they were in the night.
Meanwhile, Klein’s expression became somewhat subtle and complicated when he saw Truman instantly subdued.
Has my newly formed Tarot Club already lost a member so soon?
And was it me who personally arrested him?
His posture was very elegant, and the scene was exceptionally beautiful.
Leonard naturally noticed Klein’s strange gaze.
He glared fiercely at Klein, and the soporific poem he was chanting became even more melodious, now bringing Klein within its range of control.
If you dare to laugh or speak of this later, you’re dead.
“Is it really necessary?”
As the chanting echoed, Klein’s mouth twitched.
He began to resist the influence of Leonard’s ‘poem’ through meditation.
Truman’s spirit body was affected by Sealed Artifact 2-049, and his mind was becoming sluggish.
The chanting echoing in his ears accelerated this process, making his spirit dazed, and his will to resist growing weaker.
In his gradually blurring perception, the contamination from the Antigonus family notebook quietly seeped in.
Truman felt an invisible, eerie, indifferent gaze from behind.
He seemed to see tranquil moonlight, peaceful rippling lake water, and that deep, dark night…
“Finally got him!”
Leonard’s lips curved into a smile as he watched the mysterious man gradually give up resistance.
But the next moment, his ears twitched, and his smug smile froze on his face.
The troublesome curses the mysterious man had placed on him disappeared.
If a high-sequence Beyonder opened their spiritual vision, they would see that the black curses on all six Nighthawks present and even the dead Tuxedo Clown were flowing back to Truman at the center.
Those black curses did not return to Truman’s spirit body.
Instead, they all surged toward Truman’s chest.
Beneath the gray robe, the countless eyes on the Primordial Demoness statue’s long hair suddenly lit up after absorbing these curses.
Crackle!
Crackle!
Crackle!
Black, illusory flames burned on Truman’s body, burning through the spirit body threads that bound both flesh and spirit one by one.
Truman stretched his somewhat sore neck.
His gray eyes looked at Leonard lying on the ground with a look of utter disbelief, and he commented:
“Interesting little trick, but if that’s all you’ve got, it’s not enough!”
+++
T/N: I’m getting Seiya (protagonist of cautious hero) vibes from Truman, with all these countermeasures.