Lord of the Mysteries - Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Oh no! I've been controlled by the puppet!

Captain and company are either unconscious . . . or have yet to recover . They can't even get up . . . They will not be able to . . . wake me up in time . . .

No . . . I have to . . . save myself!

Everything before Klein's eyes was happening in slow motion . All his joints and his brain seemed to have been coated with an ever-thickening layer of glue .

He had no interest in becoming a human-version puppet, so he seized the opportunity of not being fully controlled by trying his best to seek a way to save himself .

I definitely can't . . . hit myself . . . There must be an . . . external force . . .

External force . . . I'll give it a try . . . There's no time for hesitation . . . Without the luxury of time to think through things, Klein came to an idea in less than three seconds . He moved his "rusty" knee joint and took a counterclockwise step .

At the same time, he did not try to escape the invisible rope that "hung" around his throat . All he did was recite inwardly .

Blessings Stem . . . From The . . . Immortal Lord of . . . Heaven and Earth . . .

He wanted to use the mysterious world above the gray fog to awaken him and escape Sealed Artifact 2-049's assimilation!

Creak! Creak! Creak! Klein's knees and ankles let out an involved ear-piercing sound . With a slow contorted step, he took another step counterclockwise .

Blessings Stem . . . From The Sky Lord . . . of Heaven and Earth .

Klein's thoughts turned increasingly sluggish as he felt as though he was a computer that had all sorts of bloatware and every antivirus software installed . He lifted his left foot in a jerky manner as he took another step in the required spot .

Blessings Stem . . . From The . . . Exalted Thearch . . .

Klein's thought processes turned more and more rigid and sluggish . He took the final step purely out of instinct .

At that point, he knew he was almost fully under the puppet's control . Even if Aiur Harson could get up in time to save him, he would probably be unable to be awakened .

But his strong desire to live made him chant the final line of the incantation .

Blessings . . . Stem . . . From The . . . Celestial . . . Worthy . . .

Just as he finished his incantation, the extremely chaotic and hysterical shouts and murmurs sounded . They quickly took over every corner of Klein's sluggish thoughts, shattering them in the process and reducing them to thoughts he had no control over .

Klein's brain became a boiling pot of potpourri as his stiff body turned light while his spirituality lifted .

Endless grayish-white fog and the dark red stars of varying distances appeared once again before his eyes . It was vast, mysterious, vague, and blurry .

Klein's confused mind quickly settled down as he finally regained his ability to think, only to see the magnificent palace .

"Phew . . . Thankfully, it worked . " he whispered with a lingering fear .

According to his previous observations, he knew that once someone fell under the control of Sealed Artifact 2-049, it was equivalent to death . Normally, there was no medicine that could save the victim .

Luckily, his luck enhancement ritual and the mysterious world above the gray fog was not considered normal at all!

After pacing a few times, Klein began considering the situation he was in .

I can't just stay here the entire time, right?

By the time Captain and company wakes up and gather over, I won't be able to explain the situation . . .

As things are right now, I only have the shell of my body, nothing more zombielike than a zombie . . .

But if I were to take the risk and return, there's no way to guarantee my safety . . . What if I get controlled by 2-049 again?

. . .

While suffering from his dilemma, Klein suddenly smacked himself in the forehead and could not help but chuckle softly .

"It looks like I haven't gotten used to my status as a Seer!"

Before he finished his sentence, he appeared at the seat of honor in front of the long bronze table, sitting on the high-back chair with the strange symbol .

Klein extended his hand as a fountain pen appeared out of thin air .

He scribbled a sentence on an illusory piece of paper .

"Returning to the real world is very safe . "

Immediately following that, Klein pulled out a projection of a spirit pendulum from his packet . After a few Gatherings, he discovered that the items he brought on him were projected above the gray fog, but they were relatively illusory .

Klein held the silver chain with his left hand as he allowed the topaz to nearly touch the paper .

He calmed his breathing and half closed his eyes . He calmly repeated the words on the piece of paper .

"Returning to the real world is very safe . "

. . .

"Returning to the real world is very safe . "

. . .

After repeating it seven times, Klein completed the divination with spirit dowsing .

He opened his eyes and saw the topaz slowly oscillating, guiding the silver chain in a clockwise spin .

Clockwise is an affirmation while counterclockwise is negative . . . Returning to the real world is very safe . . . Klein heaved a sigh of relief as he habitually stored the chain away . Then, he released his spirituality and wrapped his body as he simulated a plummeting state .

The hazy fog and deep red stars turned ethereal and charged upward . Klein soon saw himself still in a daze in his original position . He saw the brown puppet, halfway out of the chest . He also noticed that the Sealed Artifact had apparently stopped all motion .

His physical senses reached to his brain and just as he was about to try to move his arm to determine his condition, he suddenly heard a voice concealed within the wind .

"Do you wish to be awakened? You can be saved as long as you promise me one thing .

"This one thing is to help me take that Antigonus family notebook .

"Nod if you agree . I know you are still capable of completing that action . "

Who is it? Yes . . . 2-049 doesn't seem like it's attempting to control me . . . That's right . It will not repeatedly influence the same person . There will be a break . . . Klein was shocked, but he did not show it on his face .

At that moment, the voice added quickly, "You can obtain additional rewards if you complete this matter . I know you are a Seer . I also know that the Church of the Evernight Goddess does not have Sequence 8 that succeeds Sequence 9 . But our Secret Order can give it to you .

"Heh, to be honest, I was a Seer before . If not, I wouldn't have dared return . To show you my sincerity, I can now tell you that the corresponding Sequence 8 of Seer is Clown . "

Clown? Secret Order . . . Klein nearly did not maintain his "puppet" state .

He never made the connection between Seer and Clown .

Were they about to become the head honchos of a circus?

"Alright, make your choice . Believe me, you no longer have much time left to waste . " The voice sounded with the wind again . The distant Dunn and Lorotta were still unconscious . Borgia seemed heavily injured as he moaned without moving . Aiur Harson and Leonard Mitchell were in relatively good shape as they attempted to sit up .

Why me? The Secret Order . . . Is it that suited clown from before? After he escaped, he secretly returned in a bid to fish in troubled waters . . . Upon hearing the voice, all sorts of doubts instantly flashed through Klein's mind .

Since the person said that he was a Seer, Klein attempted using the thought processes of a Seer to analyze the situation .

He dared return because he divined 'hope . ' He believed that Monster Bieber would be destroyed and that we would suffer a heavy setback .

He did not take the notebook by himself or deal with us directly because he likely divined that it would contain immense risk . Therefore, he is suspecting Captain and Madam Lorotta are feigning their unconsciousness, or that this is a trap laid out for him .

He did not make further divinations to determine my present state partially because firstly, he might not have the time . If he waited any longer, Mr . Aiur Harson and company would have regained some of their combat strength . Secondly, he belittles me and thinks it unnecessary .

He understands a Seer very well and is confident that I'm unable to escape the puppet's control . . . He is using me as cannon fodder to probe for any traps . . .

From another angle, this also means that the luck enhancement ritual does not cause any abnormal appearances . . .

With his brain no longer sluggish, Klein felt that his line of reasoning was clear . He was quite confident of the thoughts and goals of the suited clown .

As for the clown's promise, he believed not one bit of it . Cannon fodder did not have any human rights!

As the thoughts flashed through his head, Klein controlled his neck and difficulty nodded .

As he did this action, he confirmed that he had escaped the control of Sealed Artifact 2-049 .

Just after he nodded, a transparent "curtain" stirred two to three meters to his side . It revealed the suited clown who had his face painted with a clown's pastel colors . It was none other than the Secret Order member who had fled previously .

At that moment, as Klein had previously turned around in an attempt to leap out of 2-049's effective range, his back was facing the black chest and the puppet . The suited clown was in front of him to his side . First, it was to stay away from the Sealed Artifact and second, to avoid his revolver's barrel . It was clear that he was very careful .

The suited clown pulled out a long paper slip from his pocket and shook it vigorously until it turned straight like a wooden pole .

He held the wooden pole and at a distance of two to three meters, he gave Klein's shoulder a prod in an attempt to wake him .

This fellow knows 2-049 very well . He knows that if the scent of an Antigonus family descendant is present, the puppet would go ballistic and control two at a time . . . He also knows that throwing a rock doesn't seem effective . At the very least, I've seen Captain and company attempt similar means . . . Although Klein did not know why 2-049 had stopped assimilating him again, he did not dare stay within five meters of it any longer . Therefore, he waited as he held his breath .

Just as the wooden pole was about to touch his shoulder, Klein suddenly raised his left hand and grabbed the edge of the pole and yanked it backwards .

The suited clown was caught by surprise as his body was pulled forward . He staggered a few steps forward as the gap between him and Klein contracted once again . He was now less than two meters away .

At the same time, the prepared Klein squeezed his right finger on the revolver's trigger .

Bang! Bang!

He shot twice but did not aim at the suited clown . Instead, he had aimed behind him, shooting to the side of Sealed Artifact 2-049!

Before the gunshot rang, the suited clown had taken the initiative to roll from his staggering state . He had instinctively backed off .

Klein released his hand which had grabbed the wooden pole as he took several steps away rapidly and rushed out the danger zone .

Just as the suited clown rolled twice and was about to jump backwards, his head went abuzz as his thoughts rapidly turned sluggish .

No good!

He forced me to . . . dodge in the direction of the Antigonus puppet!

I'm within . . . five meters . . .

How could he . . . not be . . . controlled by . . . the Antigonus . . . puppet . . .

. . .

The suited clown stopped from his rolling as he attempted to crawl out with his seemingly rusty joints .

At that moment, Klein had already turned around . He held his revolver with both hands as he aimed at the slowly-moving target .

To him, that was equivalent to shooting a fixed target .

Having seen the suited clown's battle with Dunn, Aiur, and Lorotta, Klein knew that he was agile and good at rolling . Therefore, even when they were just a meter or two apart, he had carefully given up on shooting directly . Instead, he forced the clown to dodge to the "kill zone" he imagined—where Sealed Artifact 2-049 was!

If the puppet had been ineffective, the suited clown would have determined that he had fallen into a trap . He would then escape by leaping backwards and not pose any significant threat .

Bang!

Reflected into the indescribable eyes of the suited clown, the black-suited Klein pulled the trigger calmly .