Chapter 650: Teamwork (Second Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

In a room on the top floor of the patrol team's off-white building.

A middle-aged man in a black thin suit heard Jianna's voice.

He leapt to his feet, ignoring the source of the shout, and pulled from a hidden pocket in his clothing a white human skull carved as if from crystal.

The middle-aged man, seemingly of Intis and West Baylan descent, gripped the crystal skull and chanted a mysterious language thick with the scent of death.

The next instant, a hand emerged from the empty air before him—large-jointed, oozing blood, visibly decayed.

This hand belonged to a corpse that, at a glance, looked human, but upon closer inspection, resembled a monster.

It stood over one point eight meters tall, its face covered by a rusted bronze mask, its torso assembled from stacked body parts of different races: lion and tiger, black wolf and baboon, giant serpent and vulture, and human fragments—all sharing one trait: extreme decay.

On the bronze mask, two dim red glows flickered where the eyes should be; with a single step, it entered Giam's office.

Facing Giam, whose forehead was slick with sweat, his right hand raising a revolver as he staggered slowly toward his temple, the monstrous corpse lifted its bronze mask.

Beneath the mask, there was no nose, no flesh, no bone—only two dim red glows and a mouth occupying four-fifths of the skull.

At this moment, the mouth opened wide, revealing utter blackness, deep and profound.

A terrifying suction emerged from the mouth, yet it affected neither the documents nor newspapers on the desk—only Giam's spirit surfaced from his body, as if pulled by invisible force, about to be dragged into hell.

As Giam's spirit emerged, the gray-white clown also seeped out from his flesh, revealing its full form.

It was an enlarged, illusory playing card.

This card had no body of its own and was swiftly sucked into the black monstrous mouth beneath the bronze mask, while Giam's spirit still struggled desperately.

Snap!

The playing card instantly solidified, fell to the ground, and clattered like a heavy object striking hard stone tiles—without a metallic ring.

…………

Inside Matani Import-Export Store.

The men's restroom had been utterly destroyed; its door facing the corridor and the surrounding walls either collapsed into shards or split into pieces, flung several meters outward.

The "Virtuous Bottle" had lost its effect.

Amid residual shards of light and the pervasive stench of sulfur, Tewanako rolled out in the form of a demon.

His skin, black and dark, was crisscrossed with grotesque wounds, the corresponding flesh appearing vaporized; both of his curved goat horns had lost nearly half their length, oozing thick black fluid from the broken ends.

His bat-like giant wings behind him were tattered and hung limply.

Given Tewanako's physical strength, the "Storm of Light" from "Pride Armor" should not have inflicted such brutal, severe damage—but what can you do? He was a demon.

The "Storm of Light" could destroy heretical beings and undead!

It was as if, while enduring the slicing of shrapnel blades, Tewanako was also undergoing purification—and these two effects were not separate, but synergistic: purification weakened defense, inflicting joint damage to the heretical being's spirit and flesh, while the shrapnel blades exploited this weakened defense to cut through flesh; the more wounds and deeper the cuts, the better the purification effect.

If Tewanako had not resisted in demon form but instead transformed into a "Soul of Grievance" to respond, he might now be mortally wounded—or even erased outright.

The "Storm of Light" has the power to annihilate souls of grievance and wound evil spirits!

Severely wounded but still possessing some combat capability, Tewanako suppressed his violent, bloodthirsty urges, and, having escaped the seal, immediately sought to "Soul of Grievance" form, using nearby mirrors to flee.

The moment he made this decision, he sensed sudden danger.

The malice came from his side and rear.

From the shadows outside the restroom, Francar, dressed in an assassin's suit, materialized and raised her left hand.

On her left thumb she wore a thick iron ring, its surface studded with tiny spikes.

"Ring of Punishment"!

In Francar's lake-blue eyes, two streaks of lightning flared.

Faster than the swiftest bullet by many times, they shot out silently.

"Spirit Piercing"!

"Sleeve Dagger"… why did I only now sense her malice? Too wounded to dodge, Tewanako suddenly heard a phantom shattering sound.

The shattering came from his spirit.

Intense pain flooded his mind, forcing him to raise both hands and clutch his head.

Francar seized the opportunity, pulled out a mirror, and reflected Tewanako in his demon form.

Black flames ignited in her left palm, swiftly brushed across the mirror's surface.

"Witch's Curse"!

A torrent of black flames erupted from within Tewanako, but two-thirds were suppressed by his flesh, leaving only a few to burn his giant demon spirit.

Demons can resist curses to some degree!

Had he not already been ravaged by the "Storm of Light" and been in better condition, Tewanako would have suffered even less damage from the "Witch's Curse."

Tewanako, whose spirit burned with black flames, finally broke free from the "Spirit Piercing."

He braved the "Witch's Curse," his body suddenly melting into a thick, viscous black liquid.

This liquid seemed drawn from the deepest depths of the human heart—the most sinister, most hidden desires and emotions.

Tewanako abandoned "Soul of Grievance" form and chose "Apostle of Desire's" "Desire Embodiment" because the "Witch's" black flames targeted the spirit.

Before his black viscous form fully stretched into a human silhouette and slipped into nearby darkness, another strong sense of danger surged in his mind.

In the blind spot of the corridor's entrance, beneath the green military attire, Anthony Reed materialized.

His eyes had turned pale gold, now slit-pupiled.

"Psychological Invisibility"!

"Rage"!

Tewanako's mind roared with a sudden boom; instantly, he was ripped from "Desire Embodiment," his eyes bloodshot, his skin speckled with livid spots, and sulfur-scented blood oozing from his pores.

He entered a state of rage; already severely wounded, having endured "Spirit Piercing" and the "Witch's Curse," he was on the verge of losing control.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Under the frantic instinct of his rage, clusters of pale blue sulfur fireballs erupted, carpet-bombing the surroundings.

Francar's figure shattered instantly into mirror shards; Anthony's body surfaced with patches of gray-white dragon scales, then lunged toward a wall for cover.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lumian, having used Francar's "Mirror Substitute," "teleported" from nowhere behind the raging Tewanako.

He had unleashed all the spiritual energy and power he had stored—his spirit surged, no longer depleted.

Lumian endured the searing heat and explosive damage of the sulfur flames, stared at the oblivious, raging Tewanako, and let out a "Hng."

Two beams of white light shot from his nostrils, striking the target he believed to be "Siso."

Tewanako collapsed into unconsciousness; the signs of rage began to recede.

Lumian gave him no chance to fall to the ground; he reached out with his right hand, gripped Tewanako's shoulder, and "teleported" them into the Spirit Realm!

In mere seconds, Lumian's figure appeared at the edge of the primordial forest near Pailos Port.

During this process, he uttered a "Ha," releasing a pale yellow light from his mouth to plunge Tewanako into fresh unconsciousness, preventing any chance of awakening.

At the edge of the primordial forest stood a woman—Hela, dressed as a black widow but no longer as cold as before.

Seeing Tewanako no longer in giant demon form, merely emitting sulfur odor and faint black patterns on his skin, Hela nodded to Lumian and said:

"It must be 'Siso.'"

Each time "Siso" attended the "Curly Baboon Research Society," he only performed surface disguises; when his real identity was locked, Hela, responsible for providing meeting venues and access methods, could still recognize him.

"Ha!" Lumian laughed, and applied a new "Hng-Ha Technique" to "Siso."

Hela gripped his arm and chanted a spell.

The two of them, along with "Siso," vanished like a pencil sketch erased by an eraser.

Inside the ancient, dilapidated palace of the "Night Kingdom."

The moment Lumian exited his hidden state, he let out a "Hng."

Two beams of white light descended; "Siso" remained unconscious.

Hela spoke in a cold, clear voice:

"I will place you both into the same dream."

"Thank you." Lumian dropped "Siso" and sat down against a broken stone pillar.

The next instant, his thoughts grew foggy—until he heard Hela's voice:

"Done."

Lumian snapped awake, seeing a room like an interrogation chamber, and "Siso" seated across from him on a chair.

This member of the "Curly Baboon Research Society," named Tewanako Tupian, had light-brown skin, like a hybrid of North and South Continent ancestry; his eyes were flaxen, his hair jet black, his features decent—but his expression carried an air of utter disregard for life.

Seeing this, Lumian's lips curled into a faint smile.

He had asked Hela for help primarily to create a safe environment where he could reveal his plot after capturing "Siso" alive.

Otherwise, he could not restrain "Siso's" resistance—keeping him unconscious until death would prevent communication; damaging his frontal lobe would strip him of remorse, pain, and hatred—emotions essential for the "Harvester" ritual.

Seeing Lumian, "Siso" suddenly struggled—but was held down by invisible force, unable to transform into a "Soul of Grievance."

This was a dream controlled by Hela.

"Siso" calmed down, looked at Lumian, and asked his greatest question:

"How did you evade my sense of danger?"

Lumian's smile widened; he looked down at "Siso" and said calmly:

"No 'Demon Hunter' is needed—just sufficient distance and a 'Hypnotist' are enough."

ps: Second update—requesting monthly tickets~

(End of Chapter)