The pulsing organs, the yellow-green liquid, the steadily burning black flame, the leaning human form—all came into克莱恩’s eyes at once, deeply etched into his mind. Among all the tasks he had undertaken, the most dangerous situation had been confronting Riel Bibber, whose digestive process had been severed. Even that terrifying monster had only inflicted serious injuries on the participants, without claiming any lives. The only teammate克莱恩 had lost—the veteran Niel—and the official instances of非凡者 deaths he had witnessed—had both stemmed from loss of control. The "perpetrators" had been either mysterious or pointed toward evil deities, unrelated to the specific mission. Now, for the first time in a mission, he saw a teammate fall, their death arising simply from a single, recent misjudgment. The night-watchers were not only battling madness—they were also confronting danger. A single mistake might mean no chance to recover. Then, with a sudden burst,克莱恩’s thoughts exploded. He seemed profoundly stirred, half-squatting on the ground, raising his right hand and firing rapidly at Lady Shelan, each silver archmage bullet piercing through countless invisible filaments and striking her head, passing through her semi-transparent nightgown. Suddenly, Lady Shelan appeared to be pulled by an unseen force, swiftly moving laterally to evade Caine's frenzied barrage. Only when all five rounds in his revolver had been expended, when the hollow report of empty chambers reached his ears, did Caine regain clarity and reestablish his thought process. His heart tightened; without switching cartridges, he simply dropped the gun and reached out, drawing a stack of tarot cards! Crack! Lady Shelan shifted sharply, watching a card fly past and deeply embed itself into the surface of the dressing table. A delicate curve formed at her lips, and the elegant brown eyes once again deepened into a shade of midnight. At that moment, her cascading chestnut hair suddenly lifted, as though brushed by an invisible current. Ms. Xuelun froze, and though she tried to retreat, she was already half a step behind—held fast by the magician's playing cards that Kline flicked out with a wrist motion, pinning her hair to the wall. Plink! Ms. Xuelun forcibly tore her hair free, rolled forward, and swiftly vanished from Kline's sight. Invisibility again… Kline kept his fingers tucked between the tarot cards, moving slowly, alert to his surroundings. Then it suddenly clicked—he understood why Ms. Xuelun had abandoned her attack and why she had hesitated. —Under normal circumstances, Kline simply couldn’t have held off this formidable sorceress without using the "Azkian Copper Whistle!" Yes! The captain must have arrived nearby! A surge of relief warmed his heart; his eyes darted, instinctively toward the window. At the same time, a judgment formed in his mind: Ms. Xuelun wanted to escape! She had clearly sensed that we still had allies—those who could carry her into the dream—but she didn’t know whether there were others among the night-watchers, the penance-bearers, or the members of the Mechanical Heart. She was impressive, but not someone capable of single-handedly annihilating an exceptional team! A flash of insight passed through her mind, and with a quick wrist motion, Clary tossed the Tarot cards she was holding toward the window. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! She launched five cards in succession—three sealing the windows, two transforming into darts aimed at the doorway. Crack! Snap! Snap! As the glass shattered, the two Tarot cards pierced deeply into the half-open bedroom door, one after the other, and Clary heard the clear sound of evasion as desired. She once again flicked her wrist and tossed the cards, guided by the instinct of the Joker, toward a specific spot beside the door. The cards raced through the air with a sharp, rushing sound, approaching the spot at high speed, only to be forced into the solid wall. Yet, a figure swiftly materialized in the air—Lady Xyren, dressed in a semi-transparent nightgown, with brown hair and brown eyes. As soon as Xyren emerged, her eyes instantly lost their luster, as if she had stepped into a state of deep sleep. Captain... Klein scanned the scene, hesitating before throwing out the cards, knowing that Lady Xyren would soon break free from the dream if he couldn't inflict fatal damage within a few seconds. With such proximity, the dream itself is inherently prone to being shattered! Bending his knees, Klein rolled sharply to the side and half-crouched on the ground, extending his right hand to grasp the edge of the "Seer's Mirror" facing upright. Then, with a swift wrist motion, he flicked the seal—"3–0271"—outward, aiming it directly at Lady Xyren, before the mirror's reflection could catch him. Lady Xyren's body trembled slightly, and the brilliance in her brown eyes swiftly returned to normal, regaining focus. Even more remarkable, a layer of clear, resilient frost began to form on her skin. Yet, she did not see the flying cards, nor the silver archers' bullets; she only saw a mirror approaching, drawing nearer, reflecting in it her own pure and graceful features. Suddenly, that beautiful face twisted, creasing with lines, streaked with blood, and斑laced with signs of decay. "No!" Lady Xuelin cried out with a piercing scream, as though she had witnessed the death of her beloved. Her skin swiftly turned a deep green, and yellow pus seeped from her eyes. In a flash, a quiet, steady black flame surged from within her, burning outward as if expelling something. Immediately, thick layers of frost formed outside the flame, as though crafting a coffin for deep slumber. Invisible filaments wound themselves, gradually accumulating into visible hues, wrapping the frost layer upon layer, as though forming a vast cocoon. Thud. Thud. Thud. The seal, "3—0271," landed and rolled several times before coming to rest beside Lady Xuelin's massive "chrysalis." At that moment, a sharp clanging sound echoed as Duan broke through the window frame and entered the room. He glanced at Coenli, who had lost his breath, and his expression darkened instantly. Then, the "chrysalis" shattered, the ice sarcophagus crumbling piece by piece, and the black flames transformed into glowing sparks, drifting outward. Lady Xuelin's skin regained its normal hue, her eyes slightly weary but otherwise unharmed. In her gaze, he saw Klein still half-crouched, and Duan-Smith reaching to press his palm against his brow, closing his eyes. Waves of invisible ripples spread outward, causing Lady Xuelin's eyelids to droop continuously, while beneath Duan's dark lightweight coat, a series of serpentine forms began to pulse and move. Realizing the captain couldn't hold onto Lady Xyren for long, much like he had done against the monster Bibbe, Caine rolled again, picking up his own revolver that had been dropped on the carpet. With his left hand, he drew three silver hunt-mage bullets and skillfully inserted them into the chambers. *Click!* Caine closed the cylinder, stood up, and aimed the gun firmly at Lady Xyren's brow. *Bang!* Using the "clown's" ability to control his body, he pulled the trigger. The silver hunt-mage bullets flashed, striking the fixed target with precision. A blood trail appeared at Lady Xyren's brow, yet the bullets seemed to have passed through numerous invisible barriers, losing most of their force and failing to lift her skull. Without hesitation, Caine fired two more shots, and suddenly, Lady Xyren's eyes opened. *Bang!* *Bang!* A rain of blood splashed out, scattering white spots, transforming the exquisite Lady Xuelun into a gruesome, skull-crushed corpse that would send every man into nightmares. Her "stand-in" had already been consumed earlier. Huffing, huffing, Cline lowered his hands, his revolver angled diagonally, breathing heavily, while the half-head Lady Xuelun gently collapsed to the ground—still remarkably graceful, with fair, dewy skin. Dun straightened up, opened his eyes, and lowered his hand from his brow, his expression pale despite having sustained no visible injury; as though he had bled profusely. "Had she not intended to kill a few people before fleeing, had the seal '3–0271' not just then revealed her true form, we might have only managed to wound her," Dun said, stepping slowly forward and joining Cline by his side, his voice unusually low. If it weren't for my own special circumstances, we would have both communicated our distress at the very beginning of the battle—just a few seconds in. Kline turned his head to gaze at Coen Li, lying still in the black ash, and exhaled, saying, "Captain, Coen Li..." "I know," Duan replied in a low, hoarse voice. "I made a mistake—I was misled by Lady Xuelun. I didn't realize she had already quietly withdrawn from the dream." He paused, then said seriously, "But you must get used to it: night-watchers dying during missions is entirely normal. Perhaps the next one will be me." Kline remained silent, unsure of what to say. Coen Li, nearby, opened his eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling. "May the goddess protect you and grant you true rest," Duan said, drawing a crimson moon on Coen Li's chest. Then he knelt down and closed the队员's eyes. May the goddess protect you, so that no danger or madness befall you in the tranquil night... Caine drew the Crimson Moon and silently prayed. After a few seconds, he forced his gaze away and asked in a low tone, "Captain, shall we proceed with the spirit summoning now?" Dun nodded slightly, barely perceptible, saying, "Do not attempt to inquire about the 'Primordial Witch'—this is extremely dangerous." "I will stay by your side, ensuring no unforeseen interruptions occur." Without further delay, Caine produced various materials, swiftly arranged the altar, and began the spirit summoning. Having recited the incantation, he stepped back and employed the technique of 'Dream Divination,' saying, "The associates of Lady Xyren." "The associates of Lady Xyren." ... Repeating this seven times, Caine entered the dream and saw the spectral form of Lady Xyren amidst a hazy, gray landscape. He reached out to touch this translucent, ethereal spirit, and at that moment, his vision shifted dramatically. Somewhere in the night, Lady Serene, dressed in a black cloak with a hood, handed a bronze ancient book to the round-faced, kind-hearted "mover" Tris. Upon hearing Tris's question about the title "witch," she slightly nervously chuckled, saying, "You haven't always been curious? Curious why our senior leadership is all women?" Indeed, it was a witch's order—Leonard's intuition had been spot on. He truly held great secrets... Wasn't the sequence 7, corresponding to both "assassin" and "mover," designated as "witch"? Truly frustrating. Klein thought so. Then, the scene shifted. Klein saw a deep hall, noticed narrow windows high above, and saw a woman dressed in a white, holy robe. Facing away from Lady Serene, she smiled and said, "As long as we draw near the 'Primordial,' we shall be sanctified, grow stronger, find redemption, and survive the final end." "Lady Xuelun lowered her head, puzzled, asking, 'But why must one become a woman, since the "Primordial" is a woman? Does a woman symbolize destruction and disaster?' A woman facing away from Lady Xuelun, so that Cai Ren could not see her face, calmly replied, 'No, men are equally so—they are the embodiment of war. These are two closely related sequences.'"