Chapter 47: Can't Die? Then Get Sealed.
The pure light of Purification gathered and compressed in Edward's palm, radiating an aura completely at odds with this blood-soaked warehouse.
It wasn't scorching or violent, yet it contained supreme authority of judgment, specifically targeting the essence of evil.
Art the Clown, who'd been goofing around with a balloon, seemed to sense the threat of this power. His comical bouncing stopped, and he tilted his head, his empty gaze shifting for the first time from Edward to the orb of light in his palm.
"Game over," Edward's voice was devoid of warmth.
The moment the words left his mouth, he thrust his palm forward, and the Purification light transformed into a pure white beam. Silent yet unstoppable, it instantly engulfed Art.
"SSSSSSS—"
A grating, teeth-grinding sound, like water hitting a hot skillet, erupted.
Art, enveloped by the beam, twisted violently. His black and white costume was the first to dissolve, turning into wisps of black smoke.
Next was his body, composed of unknown substance. Under the Purification light, he was like ice cream under a blowtorch; his surface rapidly vaporized, exposing darker, more viscous matter beneath.
He didn't scream because he had no vocal cords.
But his exaggerated painted grin violently warped under the light's erosion, stretching and compressing, as if performing a silent, agonized pantomime.
Edward expressionlessly increased the energy output.
He could feel that this "Purification" power was precisely the bane of an existence like Art.
The beam grew even brighter, illuminating the entire dim warehouse like high noon.
At the warehouse entrance, Tara and Dawn, who'd just reached the exit, were blinded by the sudden intense light.
They could only watch in horror through their fingers as the terrifying clown's figure in the center of the beam gradually became transparent, eventually disappearing completely.
The light faded.
On the floor in the warehouse center, only a scorched, blackened mark remained.
Art the Clown, who had brought hellish terror, along with his garbage bag full of weapons, had been completely vaporized, as if he'd never existed.
The overwhelming stench of blood in the air seemed diluted by this sacred power.
"That's it?"
Edward lowered his hand, looking at the empty ground, slightly surprised.
He'd expected a fierce battle, but hadn't anticipated the resistance would be so low.
Aside from his bizarre immortality, this so-called demon was no match for Purification.
What good was rapid recovery if you were erased from existence entirely?
This thought had barely formed.
"Look out!"
"Behind you!"
Two screams, laced with extreme fear, came from the warehouse entrance—Tara and Dawn's voices.
Edward's combat instincts kicked in immediately. He didn't need to think; his body had already reacted at maximum speed.
He spun around abruptly, simultaneously whipping his right leg out like a steel cable, tearing through the air toward his rear.
"CRACK!"
A heavy impact.
His foot connected solidly with something physical.
Tremendous force erupted, and the figure that had just appeared behind him was directly launched backward, slamming into the distant container wall again with a loud crash.
Edward steadied himself and looked at what he'd kicked.
The familiar black and white costume, the familiar painted grin, the familiar black top hat.
It was Art the Clown.
He slid down from the wall completely unharmed, then stood up casually, even brushing imaginary dust from his clothes.
For the first time, confusion crossed Edward's face.
What the hell?
He'd clearly sensed just now that Art's existence had been completely erased by Purification, leaving not a trace.
This wasn't regeneration or resurrection.
It was more like... a respawn.
Like a video game enemy that reappears at a spawn point after being defeated.
Art didn't give him much time to think.
He also seemed intrigued by Edward's reaction speed, abandoning the two easy prey at the doorway, and once again began his bizarre walk, approaching Edward step by step.
"Interesting."
Edward's curiosity was piqued.
He decided to run an experiment to understand this monster's mechanics.
Facing the approaching Art, he raised his twin pistols again.
"BANG, BANG, BANG!"
This time, his shooting was surgical. The rounds from Ebony and Ivory precisely shattered Art's left arm, right leg, and most of his torso, splattering black ichor everywhere. But he deliberately left Art's right arm and the portion of chest connected to his head.
Sure enough, the scattered fragments, after twitching a few times on the ground, lost vitality and became puddles of black liquid. Art's remaining body, however, like living cancer, rapidly proliferated and writhed, reassembling into complete form within mere seconds.
"So that's how it works—regeneration uses the largest remaining piece as the core," Edward realized.
So what would happen if he were completely destroyed?
He extended his right hand again, Purification light gathering in his palm. This time he controlled the beam's range, carefully and thoroughly evaporating ninety-nine point nine percent of Art's body, leaving only a small, twitching pinky finger with its white glove on the ground.
The next second, a horrifying scene unfolded.
That pinky finger began rapidly inflating like a balloon being blown up. Flesh, bone, and clothing materialized from nothing, and in a single breath, a complete Art "grew" from that tiny finger.
He stood up, examined his new body, then looked at Edward, his grin stretching even wider.
Edward's brow furrowed.
He understood now.
As long as even the tiniest bit of "information" remained, this monster could use it as a medium for infinite regeneration.
"Then... complete annihilation."
Edward took a deep breath, holding nothing back.
The incandescent Purification light erupted for the third time, forming a massive sphere that completely engulfed Art.
This time, he used Telekinesis EX to lock onto every molecule of Art's existence, ensuring thorough, complete, total annihilation without blind spots.
After the light subsided, Art vanished again.
Edward's senses instantly spread throughout the warehouse, missing no corner.
One second.
Two seconds.
Just as Edward thought he'd finally succeeded, pure malice erupted without warning from the warehouse's ceiling beam.
Art's figure materialized from thin air; he was hanging upside down, like a spider, silently watching Edward below.
This monster had no concept of "death" whatsoever.
Completely destroying him only triggered his "respawn" mechanism, allowing him to reappear in perfect condition at any nearby location.
Conversely, leaving a part of him would confine his "regeneration" to his original spot.
This was an unkillable existence.
A "phenomenon" existing purely to spread fear and suffering.
"What a... pain in the ass."
Edward lost his patience for continuing this game. Since Art couldn't be killed, he'd handle him a different way.
He stopped paying attention to Art on the beam, turning instead to the two girls at the doorway who were on the verge of complete breakdown, and commanded in an unquestionable tone: "Find me a bottle. Any bottle will work."
Tara and Dawn froze for a moment. Although they didn't understand why, survival instinct made them act immediately. They frantically searched through the pile of trash near the exit.
Soon, Dawn came running over, stumbling, holding a dusty glass Coke bottle, and handed it to Edward with trembling hands.
Edward took the bottle and examined it briefly.
At this moment, Art also jumped down from the beam. He seemed fascinated by the bottle in Edward's hand, tilting his head and approaching step by step.
Edward placed the bottle on the ground at his feet, then looked up at the approaching clown.
"Let me show you a magic trick."
He quickly formed several complex hand seals in front of his chest, and a deep, ancient aura—completely different from Purification's holy light—emanated from him.
"Evil Containment Wave!"
With a focused shout, Edward thrust his hands forward.
A green, spiral-shaped energy beam burst from his palms, instantly transforming into a massive energy vortex that completely enveloped Art, who was still approaching.
Art seemed to freeze. He felt an irresistible, powerful suction pulling at his body.
For the first time, he stopped his bizarre walk and tried to struggle, but against this energy specifically designed for sealing, his strange powers were completely ineffective.
His body stretched and twisted, and his painted grin warped into a comical spiral.
The green energy vortex, carrying the captured Art, began rapidly contracting, its ultimate destination being the small glass Coke bottle on the ground.