Chapter 693: The Chaser

The brilliant white light rapidly faded; Lumian, with his back to Siso Tewanako, gazed at the trembling "Guardian" over ten meters away and let out a quiet laugh:

"Before, I needed my team to defeat you. Now, I can kill you alone."

This was said to Siso.

Siso, lying on the ground, his consciousness dimming, heard these words; his hands instinctively tried to clench, but he had no strength left.

He emitted a hoarse gurgle, his pupils dilating, unable to regain focus.

He regretted choosing demonic transformation over wraith-form when turning to face Lumian Li—had he chosen wraith-form, he could have used "Wraith's Scream" to interrupt his attempt to play the blackened bone flute, but there was no way around it; he could only sense malice and its source, never its specifics. Under these conditions, considering Lumian Li's ability to infuse bullets and fireballs with electrical effects and effectively target weaknesses, demonic transformation was clearly more universally applicable, offering protection against a wider range of surprises.

As for why he didn't gather a large number of sulfur fireballs and launch them in a suicidal barrage, it was because Siso judged the distance between them too great—he'd need seconds to form ten or twenty sulfur fireballs and propel them toward Lumian Li, by which time the other would have already finished playing and used "Teleport" to evade the cluster explosion, while spells like "Unclean Words" had range limitations.

Eliminating all other possibilities, under his current state, Siso Tewanako could only use "Emotional Shock" followed by "Desire Ignition" to target Lumian Li's weakness, hoping that if both suffered severe injuries, their recovery speeds would be similar enough for him to respond anew.

Yet Lumian Li, though still swaying, face streaked with pain and blood, eyes unfocused and faintly confused, endured all negative effects and preemptively completed a highly precise, electrically charged area bombardment—this inflicted fresh damage on himself, briefly paralyzing him.

"Gurgle…"

Siso Tewanako strained desperately to lose control, dragging Lumian Li down with him, but his life had reached its limit; his vision was swallowed by profound darkness, his consciousness sinking into that deep abyss, filled with resentment, hatred, and agony, merging with it.

The massive demonic body twitched a few times, then fell utterly still.

Siso's final hope of resurrection was shattered.

He was dead.

As Lumian spoke, he drew his revolver and aimed at the "Guardian" nearby.

The confused, scattered-minded "Guardian" instinctively formed a radiant great sword, knelt on one knee, and plunged it into the ground before him.

It fused with the earth, appearing as an invisible wall, unbreakable.

As a tombkeeper fused with a dream projection, this "Guardian" had no effective defense against the "Chant of Hatred"; his companions—the "Spirit Shamans" and "Soul Calmers"—had also not anticipated such an attack and failed to pull him into another's dream in time to avoid hearing the melody. He could only endure the detonation of desire and emotion through sheer physical and spiritual strength.

For a supernatural being fused with a dream projection, this was a lethal blow.

Before he could recover, he was struck directly by a blazing white fireball wrapped in silver lightning, exploding violently across his body.

Only because his Blessing was "Guardian" did he survive—otherwise, he would have fallen like his companions, reduced to harvested grain, unable to even instinctively defend himself.

Lumian's green eyes seemed tinged with a faint iron-black hue; he fired while standing.

Bang! Bang!

Two golden-yellow bullets, trailing blazing white fire and silver lightning, struck one point on the invisible wall in rapid succession.

Boom!

The already unstable invisible wall collapsed violently; the "Guardian" watched helplessly as a blazing white spear wrapped in lightning shot toward him, piercing his chest and flying off into the distance.

Another "Harvest." Another digestion.

With his last flicker of consciousness, the "Guardian" dissolved the radiant great sword in his hand into countless tiny fragments.

These shards of light became a hurricane, sweeping outward.

Chased by the storm of light, the blazing white spear flew twenty to thirty meters before finally falling.

As the fire faded, Lumian, dressed in a white shirt, black vest, dark trousers, and a golden straw hat, straightened his back.

Behind him, the brilliant yet terrifying storm of light gradually subsided; the ground was coated in a thick layer of ash, and the corpses of the dead tombkeepers and Siso Tewanako were torn apart, scattering debris.

Devaho, whose injuries had erupted severely under the influence of the "Chant of Hatred," glanced at the corpses littering the ground, then at Lumian, who stood sideways in the distance; his already pale face turned even more ghastly.

What is this?

Is this even human?

The retaliatory impulse that had surged in Devaho's mind from the shock vanished instantly; he forced his sulfur-scented blood to ignite with blue flames and sprinted into the forest.

He was fleeing this place!

He could offer no help to the Duke's ritual-transformed skin, and staying within the Black Mausoleum zone only exposed him to greater danger—there was no point.

Lumian ignored Devaho's escape; though his physical condition was terrible, his spiritual energy remained sufficient. He transformed again into a blazing white spear of fire and shot over dozens, nearly a hundred meters, landing beside Lu Jianuo, Amandina, and the others.

Though these four supernatural beings had been unconscious and hadn't directly heard the melody of the "Chant of Hatred," their exposure had been minimal—merely a nightmare—but even that nightmare had left them in pain, their expressions twisted as they slowly awoke.

Seeing their eyes open and their thoughts returning, Lumian gave direct orders:

"Leave immediately. Return to Tizamo Town and find somewhere to hide."

The struggle before the Black Mausoleum was beyond Lu Jianuo and the others' capacity to join; even Lumian dared not approach, so he intended to send his temporary teammates far away.

He had originally agreed to let Jiamu and Ruya come because Jiamu's "Spirit Piercing" and Ruya's lightning arrows could effectively assist him against Siso's dream projection, and against Reyasa's group, Amandina's forced dream intrusion would also be highly useful—and he needed to follow her to approach the Black Mausoleum without being attacked by the invisible figures. But he hadn't anticipated Siso's combat prowess far exceeding Father Cali's, nor that this location was open and lacked pre-set traps—so Jiamu, Amandina, and the others hadn't helped at all; instead, they had mutually harmed each other and become a burden.

Recalling the two battles—capturing the real Siso and confronting Father Cali—Lumian vaguely understood a truth:

Sometimes a team is stronger; sometimes acting alone is more suitable. Different situations and enemies demand different approaches—otherwise, you will easily suffer losses.

At this moment, Lumian remembered a phrase once spoken by Emperor Luo Saier, explained to him by his sister Aurora:

"An army has no fixed formation, just as flowing water has no fixed shape."

"We can return to Tizamo Town? Even me?" Lu Jianuo exclaimed in delight, instinctively extending his remaining hand and pressing its flickering light onto Lumian's wounded skin.

—As a "Physician," Lu Jianuo could not directly heal internal injuries; he had to open the body cavity and touch the damaged area—effectively performing surgery.

Lumian nodded and said:

"Yes, but you must do it under Jiamu and Ruya's dual observation."

He himself planned to stay a little longer, to see if he could assist Ivelista Aiges of the "Temperance" faction of the "Fool's Church."

This was what the Minor Arcana of the "Tarot Council" should do.

Of course, Lumian would never enter the area before the Black Mausoleum—that would mean dying without knowing how. He wondered whether he could influence Reyasa's group to affect their corresponding divine relics, or perhaps do something with the golden mask on Siso's corpse.

At this moment, Devaho, who had only arrived in Tizamo Town tonight, had vanished into the forest and circled back onto the path he'd come.

Summoning his last strength, he ran.

As he ran, Devaho suddenly stopped, his gaze shifting toward a bend in the path hidden by trees.

Under the dim crimson moonlight, a small figure approached.

The figure was a boy of seven or eight, wearing a blue pajama with yellow stars and a matching cap; his chubby face and exposed yellow hair were smeared with cream, blood, cookie crumbs, and cake residue; his brown eyes glowed with intense hunger and longing.

At his mouth, a colorful, cold, slimy snake's tail twitched and writhed, being swallowed piece by piece into his mouth.

The boy's cheeks bulged as he chewed forcefully.

The next instant, he saw Devaho.

Devaho's mind was instantly filled with overwhelming, terrifying malice.

…………

Lu Jianuo, having received permission, was about to call Jiamu, Ruya, and Amandina to return toward Tizamo Town when he suddenly heard a scream of terror from within the forest.

They all froze.

Seconds later, a black monster nearly three meters tall, with curved goat horns, burst from the forest in the direction of Tizamo Town, fleeing in panic toward the Black Mausoleum.

That man just now? He's also a "Demon"… Is he a minion of the Nos family's devil? Is that green-eyed man formed from skin the devil's projection into the "Dream Festival"? Lumian stared into the dark forest behind the demon and suddenly felt a bad premonition.

He acted instantly, telling Lu Jianuo, Amandina, and the others:

"Grab me!"

Lu Jianuo moved with practiced ease, rushing back to Lumian's side and grabbing his arm.

Jiamu, Ruya, and Amandina hesitated for a moment, then imitated Lu Jianuo, performing similar actions.

The five vanished from their spot, reappearing near Siso's corpse.

As Amandina's body finished forming, her eyes widened abruptly.

Her gaze froze; she spoke in a low voice to Lumian:

"That… that figure… it's appeared again…"

(End of Chapter)