16. Attack at Blackthorn Security Company

"Something is amiss, the spirits nearby are filled with unease..."

Daly frowned as she spoke.

"There's a powerful Beyonder being nearby, harboring hostility towards us!"

She stood up from the sofa, shedding her previous dejected demeanor for a serious one as she looked around. Then, holding the crystal pendant on her wrist, she opened her lips and silently communicated with some unseen presence.

This is a true "Spirit Medium," communicating with invisible spirits!

Leonard also reacted, leaping up from the sofa. He walked to the window, took a glance outside, but the bustling North Zouteland Street showed no signs of abnormality.

"Could it be another official Beyonder team, like the 'Punishers,' or..." Angel suggested a possibility.

"It's unlikely. We all have clear territorial boundaries, and we usually don't wander near other teams' bases. And given Mrs. Daly's reaction, this Beyonder being..."

"Is stronger than me," Daly answered briefly.

Leonard's face changed drastically; he quickly pulled out the revolver from his underarm holster, cocking the hammer.

"Then it's likely a Sequence 6, there's no such official Beyonder being in Tingen City."

Stronger than Mrs. Daly, so likely a Sequence 6... So, Daly Simone is also a Sequence 7 Beyonder being? Angel looked at Daly, who was silently communicating with an unknown entity. She hadn't expected this young woman, unremarkable and with a hint of decadence, to be on the same level as the night watchers' captain, Dunn Smith.

Wait, Sequence 6...

"Mrs. Sharron!"

Angel blurted out, catching a glimpse of fear in Leonard's suddenly wide, green eyes.

"Let's head to 'Chanis Gate'; we stand no chance here." Leonard quickly decided, holding his handgun away from the window, heading towards the reception room's partition.

Though unsure where this "Chanis Gate" is, following seemed like the right choice…

Angel also stood up from the sofa, first reaching out to open the bullet case on the table, taking out all the "Storm Convergence" bullets, tucking the bullets already loaded in the magazine into her dress pocket, and then picking up two revolvers, following behind Leonard.

Daly no longer continued with her séance; she still frowned, looking around.

As Angel walked past Daly, she handed the smaller of the two revolvers, loaded with "Phantom Phosphorus Eruption" bullets, to her: "Mrs. Daly, you know how to use a pistol, right?"

Having just finished the séance, Daly, with eyes as deep as abysses, looked at Angel in surprise, chuckled lightly, and said:

"Though I might not look the part, I'm indeed a genuine 'Night Watcher'."

She reached out to take the pistol.

Angel's hand, holding the gun, tightened, freezing in place as if to tease Daly, stopping the gun right in front of her.

Unfortunately, Daly couldn't blame Angel now; she seemed to be wrapped in invisible threads, her black robe clinging to her body, outlining her exquisite figure, with her extended hand also frozen mid-air, in a handshake-waiting pose.

Angel knew her own clothing must be like Daly's because she too was stiff-limbed, her neck immobilized, unable to move. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Leonard, already at the reception room partition, preparing to bypass it. His trench coat clung to his slender body, his limbs posed forward, like a comical puppet stopped in its tracks.

This was undoubtedly the masterpiece of Mrs. Sharon, a Sequence 6 individual who had brazenly entered the Black Thorn Security Company with her invisibility ability, standing beside the group to exert her Beyonder power, controlling everyone present like marionettes. Although Daly received a hint from her séance abilities, it was all too late.

Angel could feel the threads tightly winding around her entire body, her major joints locked as if they were frozen, unable to move an inch, and this sensation was rapidly spreading to her fingers and above her neck. Perhaps in a few seconds, the only part of her body that could move would be her eyeballs. Mrs. Sharon was waiting for this moment, she just needed to continue staying invisible by their side, waiting for the group to be completely under her control before revealing herself to complete her final massacre.

Daly and Leonard might be trying to break free from this binding, but Angel could wait no longer; she had to use these precious seconds to create a possibility for counterattack, starting with forcing the invisibly lurking Mrs. Sharon to reveal her true form.

She moved her left index finger with effort, gradually tightening the joint, pressing it towards the trigger of the ladies' pistol—directly at Daly Simone, who was ready to take the gun.

"Sorry…" Angel's lips moved, uttering a single word.

The trigger was pulled, the hammer struck, and the "Phantom Phosphorus Eruption," propelled by the gunpowder gases, was ignited in an instant by the power engraved in the inscription, hitting Daly's chest with a phosphorescent trail that expanded, marking everything within a ten-meter radius that reacted to spirituality—including those invisible.

The bullet's lethality, if it hits bare skin, could cause mild burns, but through clothing, it almost does no harm. Moreover, the invisible threads binding Daly seemed to fear high temperatures greatly. Angel saw some transparent threads like spider silk appear at the spot where the bullet hit Daly's chest, quickly dissipating under the effect of "Phantom Phosphorus Eruption."

At the same time, with the hit location as the center, the entire reception room was instantly filled with sparkling phantom phosphor powder, ignoring gravity and the breeze from outside, quietly floating in every space.

In Angel's eyes, both Daly in front of her and Leonard at a distance emitted a faint phosphorescence, as if covered in a white halo like a human body under spiritual vision. Less than two meters from Leonard, a similar humanoid halo emerged in an empty spot.

Leonard, without needing Angel's reminder, locked his gaze on the nearby halo. Now, the only parts of his body he could move were on his face, without any hesitation, he opened his mouth, and his deep, magnetic voice came through:

"Goodbye, free and unrestrained sea.

This is the last time you roll your azure waves before my eyes, shining with a beautiful glow..."

The ethereal and serene chant, like a lullaby, echoed under the high ceiling of the reception room, and the breeze that blew in from the window seemed to vanish, with the room's phantom phosphor powder drifting away from Angel.

She felt as if she had come to a lake in the forest, or as if she were lying on a bed made of velvet, the calm and serene atmosphere making her mind wander, ready to fall asleep at any moment.

"Don't sleep!"

Suddenly remembering she was still in battle, Angel forcefully recalled her nearly exteriorized consciousness, even biting her tongue to keep awake.

The sharp pain dispelled the strong drowsiness, the lake in front of her and the velvet beneath vanished, returning to the reception room of the Blackthorn Security Company, where phantom phosphor powder was falling.

This seemed to be a "nightmare" ability that pulls people into dreams, only weaker than Dunn's direct dream entry...

Angel refocused her gaze on Leonard, who was still chanting in a deep voice, the halo he was facing—Mrs. Sharon must have also fallen into the same state, and due to being closer to the "Poet" Leonard, the effect was more pronounced.

So, she should... She tried to move her limbs, unfortunately, the invisible threads were still pulling at her body, but compared to the previous immobilized state, the threads, no longer controlled by Mrs. Sharon, had loosened a bit, and Angel felt she could move her limbs slightly.

She looked at Mrs. Daly in front of her, who also felt an increased range of motion in her limbs and immediately entered a mediumistic state with the help of the crystal pendant on her wrist, her emerald-like eyes becoming profound again.

"Use fire."

Angel suggested.

As an "assassin," she was powerless against the invisible threads that wrapped around her body, her only hope lay in "Spirit Medium" Daly, hoping for the unseen "spirits" around her.

Daly nodded almost imperceptibly, and then faint blue wisps of light began to float around them, dispersing the nearby phantasmal phosphor powder. This was the light emitted when the threads that bound them were ignited.

These invisible threads would quickly shrink and disappear like a spider's web meeting fire only when they came into contact with high temperatures. The blue wisps of light rapidly spread along the threads in the surrounding space, creating a dreamlike scene.

However, Angel had no heart to appreciate it. The moment the threads were ignited, she felt the force binding her quickly dissipate. Without time to applaud Daly's performance, she raised her right hand, holding a large-caliber revolver, and without aiming, fired a "Storm Convergence" at the halo representing Mrs. Sharon.

The hastily fired bullet did not hit Mrs. Sharon's vital parts but struck her waist. However, instead of the dull thud of a bullet piercing flesh, a crisp "crack" was heard. The halo marked by the phantasmal phosphor powder shattered like a mirage in a mirror, disappearing from Angel's sight, along with the full-length mirror hung behind the door for guests to adjust their attire.

Mirror substitute!

The phosphorescent-marked mirror shattered into pieces, and Mrs. Sharon, who was supposed to be there, had vanished without a trace. Angel, with her gun, looked around and did not find any new targets in the gradually dissipating phantasmal phosphor powder.

Had she fled?

Right, a failed attempt means choosing another day to strike, a lifesaving trick for assassins. But would Mrs. Sharon, who boldly attacked the "Night Watcher's" stronghold, really give up so easily?

Daly stood still, continuing to direct the blue flames towards Leonard, helping him escape the threads' bondage. Angel's gaze swept over every corner of the room, trying to find Mrs. Sharon's hiding spot. The mark of the phantasmal phosphor powder, even if moved instantaneously, cannot be escaped, a common sense she learned in another world. But here, the mark, ill-suited to the local conditions, was easily destroyed by the mirror substitute, becoming a one-time effect.

Feeling an increasing sense of crisis, Angel's assassin's instinct made her hesitate no longer. She pointed the muzzle of the gun in her left hand towards the ground and pulled the trigger, firing another "Phantom Phosphorus Eruption." The fragile bullet shattered on the floor, and the dreamlike phantasmal phosphor powder once again covered the entire room.

In the spreading powder, a figure rapidly approached. Angel slightly bent her knees, ready to dodge, but was shocked to find that the target of the figure was not herself, but "Spirit Medium" Daly, who had her back to the figure!