"What choice do I have?"
Elias grumbled to himself.
"This was a last resort!"
He gripped a cold, pure silver dagger tightly in his hand.
Glow-amber solution flowed along the blade of the dagger.
Elias held his breath, his movements precise and swift.
He crouched down in the four corners of the room.
The silver blade touched the wooden floor covered by the thick wool carpet.
A simple Sanctuary was formed.
After finishing this, he straightened his back and brushed the dust off his hands.
He looked again at the brooch he had given Charlotte.
He confirmed that no supernatural entities here could threaten her safety.
Only then did Elias let out a long sigh of relief.
He turned, opened the door with confidence, and left the room.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The once bustling street of St. John's Cross was now in utter chaos.
Because the doors and windows of the two-story building were constantly spewing mysterious grey-white mist.
Panic-stricken screams erupted from the crowd.
The passersby were terrified by the eerie sight and began to flee in all directions like headless flies.
In the center of this swirling vortex of chaos.
Ms. Cecil stood quietly like a cold reef in the sea.
She took a leather case from another investigator.
From it, she slowly removed a strange object.
It was a classical, brass-colored mechanical metronome.
Finn stood behind her, his pupils suddenly contracting.
The base of the metronome was faded mahogany, looking as if it had been soaked in dark red blood.
Its surface was covered with fine, dark patterns that looked like blood vessels.
What made one's skin crawl the most was its pendulum.
It was not an ordinary metal rod.
Instead, it was a pale human index finger!
The fingertip pointed straight up.
"Click."
Cecil wound the spring with an expressionless face.
As the rhythmic ticking sounded, the pale severed finger began to swing left and right.
"Tick... Tock..."
"Tick... Tock..."
The sound was not loud, but it felt like it was tapping directly on the brain, causing a slight ringing in the ears.
Accompanied by the steady andante rhythm.
The passersby who were originally bold enough to hide in the street corners to watch the excitement suddenly had vacant looks in their eyes.
One after another, they turned around and walked away from the street with mechanical steps.
Watching all this, Finn couldn't help but feel a sincere sense of awe in his heart.
As expected of someone sent from the Landon headquarters!
With one move, she brought out a medium-risk containment object!
He had heard of this thing before.
M-493, 'The Destitute Musician's Metronome'.
He didn't know its specific function.
But judging from the current situation, it at least had the mental influence to disperse ordinary people.
Furthermore, Finn keenly noticed.
Cecil was in no hurry to put the metronome away.
That pale index finger was still swaying in the air.
This meant that this medium-risk containment object definitely had other uses!
Thinking this, Finn didn't dare to be negligent.
He took a deep breath of the murky air and pulled a weapon from the black standard-issue case he carried.
It was the silver sword he had used during his mission in the sewers.
The blade reflected a cold and sharp metallic glint under the dim streetlights.
Although this silver sword was only a low-risk containment object in the agency, it was enough for him.
Finn gripped the pure silver knight's sword tightly with both hands.
The rough leather of the hilt rubbed against his palm.
His spirituality surged as he quickly cast 【Binding Weapon】.
A faint silver glow rippled across the blade.
"Crash!"
At that moment.
The sound of shattering glass pierced the deathly silence of the street.
Through the thick grey-white mist.
Finn could vaguely see several figures wearing white lab coats running out like ghosts!
"Stop!"
Finn let out a low growl, gripped his silver sword, and hurried after one, intending to give chase.
"Don't chase them."
Ms. Cecil's cold voice rang out abruptly among the team of investigators.
"They are phantoms."
Her gaze was fixed on the figures fleeing in different directions.
"Only one of them should be real."
As she spoke, she gave the strange metronome a light flick.
The rhythm changed once again!
If the rhythm used to disperse the pedestrians was a steady andante, then now, it became an extremely oppressive adagio!
"Tick............"
"Tock............"
As the swinging rhythm of the pale index finger slowed down.
The surrounding air seemed to instantly become viscous.
Within the mist, the figures of the doctors fleeing in all directions were suddenly seized by an invisible giant hand.
They were immediately forced to synchronize with the suffocatingly slow rhythm of the metronome!
Their movements became regular.
All of their speeds slowed down!
Elias had just come down the stairs from the hotel room.
As he reached the lobby, he saw such a bizarre scene through the window.
Hiding in the shadows, he couldn't help but gasp.
If he were targeted by Cecil, he probably wouldn't be able to escape at all.
However, at this moment.
He was wearing the Moonlight Veil.
This hidden veil of spirituality perfectly masked his presence and form.
He was still very safe.
Elias specifically chose a sofa in the hotel lobby to sit on.
The angle here was perfect, allowing him to see the situation on the street opposite clearly through the window.
He just stayed there quietly.
On the street outside, the battle had lost its suspense.
Finn carried the silver knight's sword, moving as if he were taking a leisurely stroll.
He raised his sword and struck.
One by one, he broke the slow-motion phantoms.
The phantoms were like popped soap bubbles, twisting and dissipating in the air.
However, while Finn was clearing the phantoms.
One of the phantoms suddenly raised its hands at an extremely slow and rhythmic pace.
It reached toward its own ears with unwavering determination!
Elias's eyes widened behind the window.
"Splat!"
"Splat!"
Almost at the same time.
This person actually used his own fingers to gouge out his own ears, deafening himself!
Blood!
Thick blood flowed down from both of his ears!
The moment he lost his hearing.
His body was no longer bound by the adagio rhythm of the metronome!
With a whoosh, the man lunged forward at an incredible speed, disappearing at the end of the street in an instant.
"After him!"
Ms. Cecil shouted.
Without any hesitation, she immediately led the investigators outside to chase after the fleeing doctor.
Before leaving.
She didn't forget to look back and arrange for two investigators to guard the door of the treatment room.
At this time, Elias, hiding in the hotel lobby, silently watched the empty street.
Under these circumstances, Elias completely abandoned the idea of going out to join the fun.
There was no need to go and throw his life away.
He only needed to stay here and ensure Charlotte's safety.
It had to be said.
The entire street was now filled with an extremely uncomfortable negative spirituality.
A significant portion of it was the mental pollution caused by the metronome's adagio.
Rather than taking Charlotte out of the hotel now without protection, it was better to wait until the matter was completely over and the spirituality had dissipated.
After all, he couldn't just carry the simple Sanctuary from upstairs and run with it.
Elias leaned against the wall, preparing to continue hiding.
But not long after Cecil led the team away in pursuit.
Another abnormality occurred!
The first floor of the mist-shrouded treatment room.
Elias saw the two remaining investigators seem to notice something and run into the treatment room.
However, only a moment later.
Bang! Bang!
Two loud thuds.
Soon, the two were thrown out of the second floor like broken sacks!
They crashed heavily onto the street, their fates unknown.
The next second!
Boom!
A blast of scorching fire suddenly erupted from the treatment room!
The surrounding grey-white mist was quickly dispersed by the intense heat.
Elias's eyes widened as he stared fixedly at the opposite side.
At the shattered second-floor window.
There stood a massive humanoid creature!
The thing was entirely red, strong yet slightly portly.
To put it bluntly, its body fat percentage was too high.
Its appearance was extremely similar to the demons in Elias's memory.
The red demon stood by the window.
Its gaze slowly scanned the area, then suddenly turned toward the hotel window!
It turned toward the corner where Elias was located!
Elias's heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat instantly broke out.
What the hell?
He clearly felt that the creature's gaze seemed to pierce through the Moonlight Veil and see him directly!
Before he could slip away.
The massive red creature raised its thick arm and pointed toward the window here.
"You, the Moon Lord believer, come over here!"
Hearing this sentence.
Elias froze on the spot.
"Why am I being dragged into this?!"
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