In the clock tower of East Balam Dock, Klein hid in the darkness while donning a full magician outfit with clown mask and hat that jingled slightly in the brisk air.
Both Klein and Kiyotaka had already decided on what they were going to do. While it was not really a coordinated effort and both of them just had a specific agenda in mind to accomplish, they decided to let each other do whatever they want.
As he stared down at the dormitory of the Dock Union, he waited patiently.
Out in the distance, away from Klein's vision, a small flame suddenly came into existence near the docks. The flames got stronger as a thin stream of it began to race towards the barrels beside the entrance to the dormitories.
At the same time, the barrels exploded loudly somewhere in a far-off distance. The explosion had come from docks that were quite some distance away from the East Balam Docks. Hearing the sound of explosion, a clamor suddenly rose as people began to leave their dorms and started heading outside, looking at the rising smoke.
The explosion wasn't too loud or violent, however, it was enough to gather attention of people specifically from the East Balam Dock. As people left their dorms and began running towards the rising flames, in case someone needed rescuing, a certain number of people stayed behind.
Some of them were employees that kept laying down and didn't bother themselves with the commotion and some were like ghosts, lurking so proficiently in the shadows that it felt almost impossible to perceive them.
Suddenly, the sound of hard heels against wooden flooring filled the now-still ambiance of the dorms. The stride of the source of the sound was relaxed and confident. There was no hurry and he walked with a calm that felt eerie in the otherwise chaotic environment.
He was wearing a mask with a bird's beak that was long and sharp and a half-top hat.
"And who the hell are you?" The voice came from a man who was covered in sweat and was sitting at the edge of an uncomfortable looking single-bed.
He had a plump forehead, black hair, brown eyes. Beside him were a pair of spectacles with almost round lenses.
The sound that came from behind the long-beaked mask was monotonous. "You can call me the The Riddler."
The ordinary looking man's features contorted into a grimace as he touched his chest, scratched his cheeks a few times and looked at the The Riddler with a disgusted look. "I did not call for a freakshow! How about you fuck off and let me sleep!"
The Riddler did not stop talking as he stooped to his eye level. "Riddle me this: what's black, white, and about to make your night very, very complicated?"
The Riddler's expressions were impossible to discern. Even his breathing was so controlled that the ordinary looking man could not tell if the "thing" in front of him was even alive or was it dead.
Just as The Riddler was about to talk, he suddenly felt a strange pull at himself. In the same instant, The Riddler closed the distance between himself and the man and wrapped his fingers around his neck.
With a physique that outclassed even a grizzly, The Riddler threw the ordinary looking man across the room and through the window that looked out at the docks. The ordinary looking man—Lanevus—smashed through the window and then ragdolled down the stairs that had led up to his dorms.
Lanevus knew instantly that the guards stationed by the Aurora Order are going to get active now. However, that thought suddenly seemed to shatter as a column of flames burst out from where his dorm was. At the same time, another explosion resounded in a near distance, cloaking the sound of the flames that had exploded near Lanevus.
Figures wrapped in black cloaks appeared all around Lanevus, pushing him back. "Run." One of them stammered as he bolted towards the flames.
"Someone will be here in a moment. Hide. Now." Another man spoke as he pushed Lanevus away.
Seeing as how the others looked a little panicked, Lanevus' lips curled up into a smile. 'This is perfect! Just perfect! This idiot came here to kill me, but instead he will be killed! And I can run away! Finally! There is no one to stop me!
A high-Sequence Beyonder from the Aurora Order will surely come! I have to leave before that!'
Having multiple thoughts in his head, Lanevus turned around and somersaulted out of the docks and began running towards the sewers. Opening the lid, he was about to leave when suddenly a giant spear made out of pure flames zipped through the air and landed right beside him.
While he was inside by the time it struck, the impact was loud and strong enough to throw him multiple yards away as he landed inside one of the canals that smelt of feces and every other disgusting thing.
Just as he looked up, he saw a man dressed in a strange manner. Meanwhile, outside the commotion increased several-folds as explosions began to rattle the outside. Screams of people were audible, even through the layer of dirt and concrete.
"What the fuck is this freakshow-!"
The man in front of him suddenly snapped his finger as a cacophonous explosion resounded in the sewers. At the same time Lanevus suddenly threw his body back. The Air Bullet that Klein had shot whistled past his face, scraping his forehead.
Meanwhile on the docks outside, "The Riddler" was doing his best to control his thoughts and the flames that raged in tandem with his violent thoughts that kept getting progressively worse.
"The Riddler" was surrounded. Blood flowed from the side of his mask, making his collars a little heavy. Around him were two people from the Aurora Order, one of them was charred to the bone and the other had his arm ripped off and his other arm stuck inside a shadow.
'They don't have the same Flesh and Blood Magic as that Rose Bishop. The abilities they are showing are like Shadow Ascetic. He was the hardest to kill, the others are not that problematic. They are probably Secret Supplicants and Listeners.
Really makes one wonder how I managed to defeat that Rose Bishop...
...wait, why am I getting distracted! I need to run away. What happens between Lanevus and Sherlock is none of my concern. I merely need to make the Aurora Order goons follow me away from here and then go into hiding.
Albeit I am not sure if I can do that properly. I really need to change disguise or find a Mystical Item that can help me with it. If I don't, then I will be hunted by Aurora Order for the rest of my life—a life that already feels like it won't last long.
Hmm, I am getting better at...uhh, dark humor, yes.'
"Lanevus...?" The words left his lips as everyone's head suddenly shifted behind them. Using that moment, Kiyotaka conjured flames and threw them at the Aurora Order members. Using the remnants of the spell, he threw the flaming balls at the ground, propelling himself in the air.
"Don't let him go—ugh!"
"Follow him—grah!"
The flaming balls that Kiyotaka had thrown at them were a spell from a Pyromaniac called Delay Explosion. By employing additional spirituality and manipulating the structure, he was able to fashion a Flame Bomb that would detonate at a predetermined time, rather than immediately upon impact.
Once he was in the air, Kiyotaka used his enhanced physique to grab a flag-post and bolted from one ceiling to another. One after another, he changed streets, removing more and more of his clothing until he was finally near Klein's house.
Using the key, he went inside and quickly placed his mask and other clothes on the table. Quickly setting up the sacrificial ritual, he sacrificed everything used in today's operation to Klein.
Once that was done, he quickly changed clothes and went outside. Not waiting for anything or looking at anyone, he made a beeline for his destination.
It was the Church of Evernight Goddess!
Just as he went inside, he saw a priest dusting off the emblem of the goddess. His eyes widened as he saw the gentleman in the church at this hour.
Kiyotaka respectfully took off his hat and placed his cane in the entrance.
Sitting in one of the pews, he clasped his hands and placed his chin on it.
'I am not sure what to do... I have prayed to Sherlock before so I suppose, in a sense, it should not be that hard. Uhh, Goddess, I hope my identity is not revealed to the authorities and I hope the Aurora Order doesn't kill me. Uhh, Amen.'
He clasped his hands for a long time. After about five minutes of artificial piety, he finally looked up. One of the priests was sitting beside him, looking at him with a warm expression. He had blonde hair.
Kiyotaka did not look at him at all and tapped his chest three times in a subdued manner.
'It should be sorted by now. The Aurora Order won't follow me in the area that is in the immediate vicinity of the Church. I can use the sewers here to backtrack my steps and see if Sherlock needs any help.
While I believe he can do it himself, I can't have someone as valuable as him die. But it is concerning. Lanevus has the godhood of True Creator. It might be hard to defeat Lanevus without getting some kind of damage in return.
...sigh, I hope it is not permanent.'
Kiyotaka stood up and walked towards the donation box. After getting his payment from Count Hall, his wealth was boosted by quite a lot. He took out a £10 banknote and dropped it in. Without looking back at the priest who had been silent this whole time, Kiyotaka made his way outside.
Taking the back alley of the Church, he found a lid that led down to the sewers. Without covering his nose, Kiyotaka closed his eyes and imagined a map of Backlund. From the tiny streets to bigger and wider roads and houses on them, he overlayed the map of Backlund over the sewers.
Quickly triangulating Klein's position, he began to walk briskly in his direction. There were a few motives of his own in his head, however, he decided to put them on hold. The main reason to do this was because Klein was really hell-bent on killing Lanevus, and despite Kiyotaka's assumption of Klein being extremely cautious and pragmatic, it was a hasty decision on his part.
That meant that killing Lanevus meant a lot to Klein. And participating and taking the credit away in such a thing, according to Kiyotaka, was the least ideal thing he could do. Well, dealing the finishing blow at least would be quite un-ideal.
'I really hope he doesn't bring up the Riddler part. I thought it would fit the persona well in the spur of the moment, but apparently not. Hmm... But well, I suppose its a good practice. There is also the matter of Jason Patrick. I might need to change identities sooner or later, so some practice is better than nothing...
Yeah.'
*****
Rolling on the ground and summersaulting away, Klein barely managed to escape the terrifying feeling that was taking its seed inside his being.
Lanevus was standing in front of Klein with a battered body. Klein had beaten him up in a way that his arms, legs and half of his face were mangled badly. While Klein couldn't see it in the dark of the sewers, he was sure that he had dealt a lot of damage.
Lanevus had fleshy, small needle-like protrusions all over his body that acted as defense against physical blows. His shirt was undone and inscribed inside his chest's flesh was an inverted cross with something that looked like a closed, vertical eye in the middle.
Black, blue and green veins surrounded the inverted cross in a complex pattern.
Klein's entire body was wracked by terrifying tremors as his body instinctively took steps back.
"To hell with you and that darned Riddler. Who are you two? Who sent you? Which organization? Tell me!" He screeched. His composure was lost gone.
After all, Klein was toying with him, beating him senseless and breaking his bones methodically. Despite the regeneration that somewhat healed him, the amount of damage dealt was too much. Lanevus was boiling in pain and fury.
Klein did not reply and instead took a moment to assess his situation. Whatever was happening, it was interfering with his abilities, or more accurately, his sanity. He felt like his psyche was degenerating into something strange, making him unable to focus or stay sane.
'This must be the effect of Godhood granted by the Fallen Creator to Lanevus!'
That was the only conclusion he could come to.
Taking the opportunity in which Klein was distracted, Lanevus quickly turned and began running. The wounds on his face began to squirm, readying themselves to heal.
A quick bang echoed in the sewers as Lanevus kept running forward but his head jerked back completely. His body shifted to the side as air banged into the wall of the sewers and caused debris to fly in his eyes.
At the same time, something burned a yard ahead of Lanevus and Klein suddenly appeared in front of him!
This was the Flaming Jump ability!
Klein closed the distance instantly and delivered a powerful kick to Lanevus' face, however, he reacted in time and blocked it. The impact sent a tremor down Lanevus' arm.
It was a force that felt like it was delivered from a grizzly bear!
At that moment, in the dark of the sewers, Klein's spirituality began to go out of control. The flesh over his face began to squirm as his head felt like it was split in half. The shut eye in the middle moved around erratically behind the closed eyelids!
"Haha! HAHA! You idiot! Did you really think I will let you drag the fight with me for so long for no reason? You are such a clown! HAHAH!" Lanevus' manic laughter filled the entire sewer as he looked down at the inverted cross with the eye calm down.
It was damaged all over. Klein had shot quite a lot of Air Bullets at it, and while it didn't do damage individually, over time it managed to effect it somewhat. Still, since it was the seed of the Fallen Creator, it was only a matter of time before it healed itself.
"But I must thank you, really, I wanted to report the Aurora Order to the police, but their patrolling was too hard to get through. I must thank you and the other idiot Giant went after for killing him. With the patrolling weak and your sudden heroic act of trying to kill me, I was finally able to escape.
You are such a stupid person. What an absolute idi—"
The words got caught in Lanevus' throat as he looked down. A massive amount of pain invaded his mind and overwhelmed him. He was even unable to talk or even cry out in pain. As he looked down, a giant spear made out of white flames had pierced through his chest, and the flames were licking at his skin.
Lanevus' face that was over his back, snapped back to it's natural position, however, there was no one else in the direction from where the spear had impaled him.
With it still inside his chest, Klein suddenly appeared beside Lanevus. In the blink of an eye with the agility of a cat, Klein quickly jabbed at different body parts of Lanevus, breaking his legs and arms.
At the same time the flames that had solidified into a spear disappeared as Klein snaked around Lanevus and held him in a tight headlock. He placed one leg over Lanevus' shoulder and began pulling upwards.
Lanevus' neck stretched like a rubber to an abnormal extent and his eyes began to roll upwards.
"Gruh—why... just why... do you want to kill... gruh—me?"
"No reason." Klein whispered and got atop of Lanevus' shoulders while still holding him in a headlock. At the same time, he pulled his hands up so hard that it ripped the muscles and flesh alike, decapitating Lanevus in an instant.
Lanevus' body slumped as Klein who was perched on his shoulders fell as well. He looked down and saw that Lanevus' horrified expression was still etched on his dead face. He looked at it and instantly felt repulsed by it.
Standing up, he smashed his head down with all his might and then stepped on it, kicking his once-smug features in.
Suddenly Klein's emotions stabilized. He looked down at his blood stained gloves and sighed.
At the same time, he heard thumps and clamoring noises from outside. Bowing down lightly to the entrance through which Lanevus had entered, Klein ran towards the opposite side.
As he was running, a single streak of tears ran down his eye, removing his pastel, clown makeup slightly.
'Captain, we did it again!'
He hiccupped as tears continued to rain down on his face, completing smearing away his Clown makeup. At the same time, his head was filled with sounds of prayers.
It was a male voice, however, he pushed it away.
He was feeling overwhelmed right now.