LOM: Lord of Mysticism

Under the illumination of the afternoon sun, Klein drew his revolver into a shooting stance, allowing light to reflect from its bronze body.

At the same time, Aiur Harson opened his mouth and recited a peaceful poem.

"When once the sun sinks in the west,

And drops pearls on the evening's breast;

Almost as pale as moonbeams are,

Or its companionable star,

The evening primrose opens anew,

Its delicate blossoms to the dew;

And, hermit-like, shunning the light."

The recital reverberated around them. Klein quickly collected himself and entered a half-cogitative state to combat the influence of the poem.

While Aiur was reciting his poem, the large wooden crates stacked around them seemed to ripple like water. A man wearing a black tuxedo and halved top hat appeared.

His face was painted in three pastel colors—red, yellow, and white. The sides of his lips were arched high like a clown, forming a contrast with his formal wear.

Lorotta, who had been introduced as a sharpshooter, charged forward quickly. She had a gun in one hand and clenched her other hand into a fist. In a few steps, she made it within inches of the suited clown.

The suited clown seemed to be affected by Aiur Harson's poem. His body was swaying, and he had a peaceful expression in his eyes.

Lorotta tilted her body in a boxing maneuver as she pulled back her fist, then punched toward the suited clown's face.

Bang!

The air crackled as the suited clown shattered like a mirror, pieces quickly evaporating and vanishing into thin air.

At this moment, the suited clown's figure outline quickly appeared once again in the shadows of the wooden crates a few steps away.

The person under the influence of the poem was only an illusion—it was a performance!

The suited clown grinned again. It had a comical look as he pressed down on his halved top and pointed a fingergun.

Bang!

The sound of a shot rang. Lorotta fell to the left and rolled on the floor, dodging the attack.

But nothing had happened, except for the fake gunshot.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Dunn and Aiur each lifted their guns and fired steadily. The suited clown dodged adeptly, sometimes to the right and left, sometimes rolling on the ground. It was as if he was an acrobat in a circus.

Lorotta surprisingly charged forward again. Despite being called a sharpshooter, she used her fists.

Bam! The suited clown could not dodge the attack in time and lifted his left arm to block the fist.

Seeing the clown stop, Dunn and Aiur did not hesitate to each take aim and pull the trigger.

At this moment, the arm that the suited clown used to block Lorotta's punch ignited with an orange-yellow flame.

In an instant, the flame enveloped the suited clown and spread towards Lorotta, who had taken a step back.

Bang! Bang! Dunn and Aiur fired their revolvers, hitting the ball of flame.

The flames burned rapidly, and soon all that was left were floating black ashes.

The suited clown appeared behind the stack of wooden crates close by. He lifted his right hand and pointed a finger gun once again.

Bang! Amid the illusory gunshot, Lorotta suddenly stopped in her tracks. She did not charge forward as a bullet appeared.

The suited clown was no longer delivering an illusion with this strike.

It was hard to discern real from fake.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The suited clown shot at Dunn and Aiur repeatedly while hiding away and appearing at random times.

Upon seeing this, Lorotta squinted and lifted the dull gold revolver in her left hand.

The suited clown suddenly squatted down, avoiding the fatal shot. His halved top hat was sent flying backward, falling to the ground with a visible scorch mark on it.

After rolling a few times on the floor, the suited clown scaled the stacks of wooden crates with the agility of a monkey and began shooting air bullets out of his finger gun from a high ground.

Aiur Hanson took a few steps back, lowered his gun, and began his recital once again.

"Wastes its fair bloom upon the night,

Who, blindfolded to its fond caresses,

Knows not the beauty it possesses."

The suited clown jumped repeatedly between the crates. He suddenly raised his hand to his ear and looked at Aiur with a comical smile.

Could he have stuffed his ears? The Sequence potion that the Secret Order possesses sure is weird... Klein observed the fight from far away as he made silent guesses.

Just then he saw a figure appear at the top of a warehouse beside him. It was running straight inside where Ray Bieber was hiding.

That figure was dressed in a grayish-white uniform, one which workers at the docks wore. His face also appeared to be painted red, yellow, and white.

The suited clown is responsible for distracting Captain and the rest while the other person retrieves the diary. Klein instinctively raised his right hand and shot at the figure on the roof.

He had just taken aim when the figure suddenly squatted, switching from running to rolling on the ground.

Bang! Klein did not stop and pulled the trigger. He saw the figure suddenly pause, blood blooming out.

The figure looked shocked. While bearing the pain, he continued charging into the warehouse.

That felt like a lucky shot. Klein twitched and pulled the trigger once again. This time, the bullet hit the wooden roof beside the figure.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Leonard and Borgia also shot but did not hit the figure.

As the gunshots rang, the figure managed to reach the innermost region of the warehouse unobstructed. He lunged downward, slamming into the roof as he fell down with the collapsing roof.

Immediately following the commotion, Lorotta's eyes suddenly turned black, and her left hand began making a strange pulling action.

The suited clown's jumping actions suddenly came to a pause as his ankle seemed to be grasped tightly by an invisible hand.

Dunn pointed his revolver downward, and opening his mouth, he used his spirituality to resonate the air around him and produce a strange, faint, and ethereal voice.

"Thus it blooms on while night is by;

When day looks out with an open eye,

Bashed at the gaze it cannot shun,

It faints and withers and is gone."

The suited clown suddenly became limp.

Aiur Harson lifted his handgun and took aim, his finger pulling the trigger immediately.

At that time, there was an abnormal and tragic wail that came from inside the warehouse.

"Ah!" The cry contained immense fear, as though he had encountered an unimaginably terrifying matter.

The tragic cries came to a sudden stop as silence was restored in the deepest parts of the warehouse.

Affected by the cry, Aiur only managed to shoot the suited clown in the stomach.

Haaa... Haaa... Haaa! The silence was once again broken from the deepest depths of the warehouse.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Inside the black chest, 2-049 had reached a frenzied state.