The Secret Master

Oh no! I'm being controlled by the puppet! The captain and his team either are in a coma... or haven't regained consciousness yet. They can't even get up... There's simply no time... to wake me up... No... We must... Save ourselves! What Klein saw before his eyes all turned into a slow-motion replay of his previous life. Every joint in his body and the part of his brain used for thinking seemed to be filled with more and more glue. He had no interest at all in becoming a real-life puppet. Seizing the opportunity when he was not yet completely controlled, he desperately sought a way to save himself. Hit oneself... Definitely... Not possible... Must... External force... External force... Give it a try... There was no time to hesitate, no time to think too much. In just two or three seconds, Klein seized an inspiration and drove his "rusty" knee joint, stepping out counterclockwise. Meanwhile, he did not attempt to break free from the invisible rope that was strangling his throat. Instead, he merely muttered to himself: "Fusheng... Xuanhuang... Immortal Lord..." He needs to use the mysterious world above the grey fog to awaken himself and break free from the assimilation of the "2-049" seal! Ga-ga-ga! Klein's knees and ankles made a harsh, grating sound simultaneously. In a slow and twisted motion, he took another step counterclockwise. "Fusen... Xuanhuang... Tianjun..." His thoughts became increasingly sluggish. Klein was like a computer with all the family files and all the security guards loaded into it. He lifted his left foot one by one and moved towards the predetermined position. "Fuson... Xuan... Huang... Shang... Di..." The thoughts in Klein's mind became increasingly rigid and sluggish. He merely relied on his instinctive awareness to take the final step. At this point, he realized that he was almost completely under control. Even if Al Hazen had risen and rushed over to rescue him, it was unlikely that he could manage to wake him up. But the intense desire to survive still made him murmur the last incantation silently: "Fou... Sheng... Xuan... Huang... Tian... Zun..." As he recited silently, the chaotic and frenzied shouts and murmurs that had reached their peak suddenly erupted. This burst of sound immediately shattered Klein's frozen thoughts, fragmenting them and turning them into a multitude of uncontrollable ideas. Klein's mind became like a pot of boiling porridge. He vaguely felt his "body" becoming lighter and his spirit soaring. The boundless grey-white fog and the distant and near red stars once again appeared before his eyes, empty, mysterious, blurry, and hazy. Klein's chaotic thoughts gradually settled down, and he finally regained the ability to think. He saw the magnificent and grand temple. "Whew... Fortunately, it worked." He muttered in a frightened tone. Based on previous observations, he understood that once one was completely under the control of the sealed object "2-049", it would basically amount to death. Normally, there was no medicine that could rescue them. Fortunately, his "transformation ritual" and the mysterious world above the grey fog do not fall within the normal realm! Taking a few steps back and forth, Klein began to reflect on his current situation: "Can't I not stay here forever?" "Once the captain and his team regain consciousness or come closer, it will be impossible to explain what happened..." "The current 'me' should only consist of the physical body. It's more like a dead person than a living one..." "But if we take the risk of going back, there's no guarantee of safety... What if we're captured by '2-049' again?" ... As various ideas were swirling through his mind, Klein suddenly slapped his forehead and chuckled softly: "It seems that I haven't really adapted to being a 'diviner' yet!" Before he could finish speaking, his figure had already appeared at the head of the bronze long table, sitting in the high-backed chair with strange symbols on it. Klein stretched out his hand and picked up the pen that appeared out of nowhere in front of him. "Scratch, scratch, scratch. He wrote a sentence on the illusory white paper." "It's safe to return to the real world." Immediately after that, Klein took out the "psychic pendulum" projection here from his pocket - after several gatherings, he discovered that any item he carried with him could be projected onto the gray fog, but it would appear relatively unreal. With his left hand holding the silver chain, Klein allowed the yellow crystal pendant to come very close to the paper surface, to come into contact with "the event". The swaying stopped. He half-closed his eyes and calmly recited the words on the white paper in his mind. "It's safe to return to the real world." ... "It's safe to return to the real world." ... Over and over again, Klein conducted the divination using the complete "pendulum method" without any reduction of steps. Opening his eyes, he saw the pure yellow crystal pendant slowly swinging, causing the silver chain to rotate clockwise. Clockwise represents affirmation, counterclockwise represents negation... Returning to the real world is safe... Klein let out a sigh of relief, habitually putting away the silver chain, then, he activated his spirituality, wrapped himself up, and simulated a state of rapid descent. The hazy grey fog and the deep red stars rapidly vanished and rose upwards. Soon, Klein saw himself standing still, saw the brown wooden puppet with half of its body hanging outside the iron box, and noticed that the sealing object seemed to have stopped all its movements. The sensations of the body were transmitted to his mind. He was about to move his arm to check his own condition when suddenly a voice, hidden within the sound of the wind, reached his ears: "Do you want to be awakened? As long as you promise me one thing, you will be rescued." "This is to help me pick up that Antigonus family's notebook." "Agree by nodding. I know you can still perform this action now." Who? Well, "2-049" seems not to be trying to control me anymore... Also, it won't continuously affect the same person; there will be intervals... Klein was startled, but on the surface, he remained calm. At this moment, that voice quickly added a few more words: "If you can accomplish this task, you will also receive an additional reward. I know you are a 'diviner', and I also know that the Church of the Night Goddess does not have sequence 8. But our Priory can offer it to you." "Oh, to be honest, I used to be a 'diviner' too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to come back. To show you my sincerity, I'm telling you right now that the sequence corresponding to 'diviner' is number 8, which is 'clown'." "Jester"? The Mysterium Order... Klein nearly failed to maintain his "puppet-like" state. He never expected that "diviner" would be associated with "clown". Are we going to form a duopoly in the circus industry? "All right, make your decision. Believe me, you don't have much time to waste anymore." That voice came again with the wind. Dunne and Lorcata in the distance were still unconscious. Borgia seemed to be seriously injured and was groaning but not moving. Al Hasen and Leonard Mitchell were in a better condition and were trying to turn over and sit up. Why are you looking for me? The Priory... Is that the man in the tailcoat and the clown? After he fled, he quietly returned, attempting to take advantage... But why are you asking me for help? He can handle all of us right now... Hearing what the other person said, a wave of confusion instantly flashed through Klein's mind. Since the other person claimed to be a "diviner", Klein began to attempt to analyze things from the perspective of a "diviner": "His decision to return was surely based on divination, which indicated 'hope'. He believed that the monster would be defeated and that we would suffer a heavy blow." "He didn't take the notebook himself and didn't confront us directly. It seems that he had divined that this matter carried great risks, so he suspected that Captain and Lady Lorcata were feigning unconsciousness, and suspected that this was a trap set for him." "He didn't do more divination and didn't confirm my current condition. This might be because there wasn't enough time. If we waited any longer, Mr. Al Hasan and his team would regain some combat strength. Secondly, it was also a sign of underestimating me, as they thought it was unnecessary." "He is well-versed in 'diviners', and must believe that I cannot escape the puppet's control... He is using me as a dummy target for his tests..." "This, in turn, indicates that the external manifestations of the 'transference ritual' were virtually without any abnormalities..." The agile Klein's mind moved smoothly without any delay. He roughly grasped the thoughts and intentions of the tuxedo clown. As for the other party's promises, he didn't believe them at all. "Cannon fodder" has no human rights! A thought flashed through his mind. Klein tightened his grip on his neck and gave a weak, awkward nod. While performing this action, he truly confirmed that he had broken free from the control of the seal "2-049". As he nodded, a few meters to his side, a transparent "curtain" suddenly rose, revealing a figure dressed in a tailcoat and with clown makeup on their face - it was the member of the Priory who had just fled. At this moment, Klein, having turned around in the opposite direction earlier, attempting to block the influence range of "2-049", was facing away from the black iron box and the puppet. The tailcoat clown was positioned on his side in front, keeping a safe distance from the seal and avoiding his gun barrel, looking quite cautious. The tailcoat clown pulled out a long piece of paper from his pocket. He shook it vigorously, making it straight and resembling a wooden stick. He held this "stick" and, at a distance of two or three meters, jabbed it towards Klein's shoulder, attempting to wake him up. This guy knows a lot about "2-049", doesn't he? He knows the places where remnants of the Antigonus family's influence still exist. The puppets become violent and can control two people simultaneously... He also knows that hitting them with stones seems ineffective? At least I haven't seen the team leader and his team make any similar attempts before... Although Klein doesn't understand why "2-049" no longer tried to assimilate him later on, he also doesn't dare to stay within five meters for too long. Therefore, he sets his mind on it and waits for the opportunity. As the piece of paper transformed into a wooden stick was about to touch his shoulder, Klein's left hand suddenly lifted and grabbed the top of the "wooden stick", then pulled it back forcefully. The tuxedo clown was caught completely off guard. His body was suddenly pulled forward, causing him to stumble forward. The distance between him and Klein once again shortened, to less than two meters. Meanwhile, Klein, who had been well-prepared, forcefully used his right hand to press the trigger of the revolver. Bang! Bang! He fired two shots in quick succession, but he didn't aim at the tuxedo-clad clown. Instead, he aimed at his back, at the side where he was far from the seal "2-049"! Before the gunshot was fired, the tuxedo clown had already changed from staggering to rolling, instinctively taking evasive action in advance. Klein loosened his grip on the "paper stick", took several steps forward, and rushed several meters away, escaping beyond the "danger zone". The tailcoat clown had just made two rounds and was about to turn around and rush out when suddenly his head buzzed and his thoughts immediately became sluggish. Not good! He deliberately made me turn towards... "Antigonus the Puppet"! I'm within five meters... range... How... could he... not have been... "Antigonus"... "The Puppet"... controlled... ... The clown in the tuxedo's rolling motion came to a halt. His joints felt as if they were rusted and he was struggling to crawl outwards. At this moment, Klein had turned his body and was holding the revolver with both hands, aiming at the slowly moving target. In his eyes, this was equivalent to shooting at a fixed target. -- Having witnessed the battle between the tuxedo clown and Dunn, El, and Lorcata before, Klein knew that the opponent was agile and skilled at rolling. So even though the distance between them was only one or two meters, he carefully gave up direct shooting and instead forced the opponent to retreat to the "home ground" he had anticipated, near the sealant "2-049"! However, if the puppet doesn't work, the tuxedo clown will also realize that he has fallen into a "trap". His counterattack is merely an attempt to escape and does not pose any real threat.