"Careful!"
Seeing that arm thrown as a flesh bomb, Caesar couldn't help but shout.
Then he saw Edward once again grasp the Chaos Scepter and strike it hard against the ground.
"Thump!"
The sound of the scepter was muffled yet loud. A large area with Ms. M at its center seemed to blur, and the severed arm that had been thrown made a strange arc in mid-air before falling back in front of Ms. M. Then, the flesh swelled and exploded with a boom!
"Chaos" had altered the spatial order and rules of the area where Ms. M was located.
"Boom—"
A violent explosion engulfed Ms. M. Bricks and flesh instantly flew out, and a surging wave of air billowed up, yet under the effect of some strange rule, it only reverberated within a small area until it subsided.
As the aftermath of the explosion dissipated, Caesar was surprised to find that Ms. M, who had been at the center, was gone.
Where did she go?
Was she trying to escape, or to attack them, or to enter the back of the Door and activate that ritual?
Caesar's thoughts raced, and as he was considering countermeasures, Ms. Daly by his side began to act. She extended her hands, crossed them flat against her chest, lowered her head, and softly called out, communicating with spirits existing in another world.
The surrounding air grew cold. Invisible forces surged, and a muffled grunt came from mid-air. Ms. M's figure materialized from the shadows—as if forcibly squeezed out—and fell to the ground.
"Ugh—"
Daly looked at her coldly and continued to chant softly. Immediately, a pair of translucent hands appeared around Ms. M's neck. They squeezed her throat, causing her exquisitely beautiful face to contort in agony, unable to move.
"Thump-thump!"
At this critical moment, Edward strode forward, raising the dark and translucent scepter high. The muscles in his arms and back bulged, power gathered, and then he swung it with full force at Ms. M's head!
Boom!
Like a cannonball hitting at close range, Ms. M's head was completely shattered. Her body fell limply to the ground, seemingly killed instantly!
What a powerful Sealed Artifact!
Caesar couldn't help but exclaim. As expected of a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, it completely pinned the opponent down, controlling them until death. He had thought he might still have a chance to act, but who knew it would be over before it was even his turn?
Edward looked down at Ms. M's headless corpse. He took a step back and gestured for Leon to bring the giant revolver. He wanted him to continue shooting the corpse to prevent any possibility of reanimation. This level of professionalism was truly commendable.
Leon nodded, quickly approaching with the revolver, aiming at Ms. M's corpse.
"Cough, cough!"
Just then, he suddenly coughed loudly several times, unable to hold the gun steady.
Is Leon sick?
As this thought surfaced in Caesar's mind, he saw Ms. Daly beside him also show a pained expression, her cheeks flushed as if she had a high fever.
What's going on?
"Cough, cough!"
Just as Caesar was about to speak, he himself couldn't help but cough out loud. His vision became blurry, and his forehead felt hot.
He was sick too!
Edward's eyes narrowed. He was about to raise his scepter to strike Ms. M's corpse again, but he suddenly noticed that Ms. M's headless body was becoming flat and shrinking, eventually transforming into a damaged paper figure.
Ms. M herself was nowhere to be found!
She wasn't dead. Where did she go?
In his panic, a warm and gentle fragrance wafted into Caesar's nostrils. He suddenly felt a delicate, soft hand stroking his chin. Turning his head, he met Ms. M's gentle yet icy smiling face.
She seemed to be scrutinizing him.
"Bang! Bang!"
Caesar's scalp tingled. He raised his hand and fired without hesitation. Bullets whistled out but hit only air. Ms. M had once again vanished into shadow, then reappeared in front of the human-skin chair.
She slowly sat down.
"Very interesting Sealed Artifact, excellent coordinated combat. The Nighthawks of Enmat Harbor are quite good."
Ms. M actually praised them with a smile, watching the group of people in front of her gradually succumb to severe illness.
Her appearance was just as the few of them had first seen her—exquisitely beautiful, eerie, and gentle. She seemed to have suffered no harm at all in the previous fight.
So, what was her weak resistance just now? Was it just an act, playing with them?
Edward pulled Leon back, retreating to Daly and Caesar's side. He raised his scepter and struck the ground again.
"Thump!"
With the sound of the scepter, the rules of the space near them were forcibly twisted. The few people who had been struggling to breathe immediately felt much better, but their hearts also began to grow uneasy, because Edward had already used the scepter three times!
"Sickness? Magic! You're not a Rose Bishop at all—you're a Shepherd!"
Edward practically roared.
"I never said I was a Rose Bishop," Ms. M said with a smile, her expression quite pleased.
Hearing her say that, the muscles beside Edward's face tensed, and his grip on "1-114" tightened again and again.
The messenger of the gods in Enmat Harbor had broken common sense—she wasn't a Sequence 6 Rose Bishop, but a higher Sequence Shepherd!
Sequence 5, Shepherd?
Caesar was somewhat bewildered when he heard this title.
Crestet, the High-Ranking Deacon of the Church they had met before, was a Sequence 5 powerhouse. The highest-ranking person in their team today was only a Sequence 6 Soul Assurer!
He remembered what Dunn had once told him: the Secrets Suppliant Pathway was known for its endless abilities and bizarre flesh-based powers in its high Sequences. They seemed to be able to use abilities from other Pathways, making them eerily unpredictable.
In other words, they were actually going to face a Shepherd this time?
Caesar's heart sank.
Edward's face also looked grim. He remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke to the few of them, "I didn't expect the opponent to have reached Sequence 5. Our chances of winning are extremely low."
"Captain Edward, what should we do?" Daly asked softly.
"We can only try to stall and wait for rescue," Edward said in a deep voice. "Hopefully, we won't all die before help arrives."
Die?
Looking at Edward's face, and at Ms. M with her calm demeanor opposite them, an extreme sense of unreality suddenly surged in Caesar's heart. Could it be that this was the end for him?
No, I still have a younger sister to support. What will happen to her if I die?
Caesar took a deep breath.
I have to fight!
Not just him—the eyes of the other few members of the team also changed.
Ms. M looked at their expressions, and the smile on her face grew even brighter.
"Excellent, I just love your twisted expressions after falling into despair. It wasn't in vain that I deliberately showed weakness at the beginning and played along with your performance."
A hint of unhealthy flush appeared on her delicate face, marring its original beauty and making her face look somewhat sickly.
"However, I've had enough fun with you," she said with a smile. "The entertainment is over. I have serious matters to attend to, my apologies."
"Don't joke around!"
Edward roared.
Whoosh!
He gripped his scepter and bowed his head towards Ms. M. Darkness descended. A tranquil atmosphere diffused, making people feel a deep sense of peace and calm, unable to harbor any other thoughts.
The signature ability of a Soul Assurer—Soul Assurance!
This was an ability that directly affected the target's soul, making them calm and depriving them of the will to resist.
Caesar saw that Ms. M seemed to be controlled by this power. She stopped speaking and simply watched them calmly.
Seize the opportunity!
He immediately reached for the bone flute in his pocket. Ms. Daly began to summon spirits, while Leon by his side also raised his gun and aimed.
Just then, Ms. M suddenly smiled faintly. Her golden eyes glowed, and vertical pupils like a lizard's appeared.
Leon's eyes then turned light gold. He blankly turned his gun, aimed it at Ms. Daly's back, and pulled the trigger.