The intangible prison surrounding Parker crumbled instantly, leaving not a single trace behind. Yet he failed to regain his strength; instead, he collapsed to the ground, shivering violently, as if still frozen. This was not merely a lingering effect of the spectral touch, but also the consequence of Kline directly piercing through his body and damaging his soul. With Parker at Sequence 8, he could not recover quickly—his breathing was uncontrolled, and he again inhaled large amounts of the biological toxin that matched the one within him. As his weakness intensified, his eyes grew fixed, and his instinct guided him to turn toward the source. He saw Kapin rolling on the ground, constantly scratching at his face and body, saw the filament-like strips of flesh hanging beside streaks of blood, and saw the pale, bone-white hues of his bones. Parker gasped for breath, and with great effort, crawled toward him. Kapin, suddenly feeling intense itching that made him want to tear off the outer layer of skin, suddenly noticed Parker approaching on hands and knees, his eyes blazing red. A bad feeling flashed through him, yet with his relentless scratching, he simply couldn't muster the strength to dodge—unable even to utter a "no," he could only scream in agony. At that moment, Kline, having escaped the "imprisonment," softly uttered in ancient Hermes, "Sacred," and with a quick flick of his fingers, launched an air bullet at the shimmering glow of the dark golden sun bird brooch. As soon as the air bullet took form, it radiated a holy radiance and sped directly toward Heralas's face. This was the "Sacred Oath" granted by the "Sun Brooch," enhanced by Kline with sacred damage. Heralas had already shifted his position and moved with exceptional agility—more like a combat specialist than a mage. While dodging Kline's air bullet, he signaled Kaiti to swing her whip, wrapping it around the opponent. When克莱恩's attack was interrupted and no longer continuous, he reached into his inner pocket and produced a metallic gauntlet of iron-black color, attempting to put it on his left hand. Even though in a spectral state,克莱恩 could see this scene clearly without having to glance sideways, even while facing away from Hiras. Immediately, he rose into the air, evading Kati's strike, and soared past the chandelier, heading directly toward Hiras. Hiras, observing this, held up the iron-black metallic gauntlet and pointed toward the upper diagonal, exclaiming, "Exiled!" At that moment,克莱恩 was struck by a powerful, yet intangible force, propelling his spectral form violently outward until it collided with the wall and against the invisible barrier established by the "imprisonment," yet without penetrating through. Seizing this opportunity, Hiras donned the iron-black metallic gauntlet. In an instant, he seemed to grow slightly taller, and his presence became more imposing—like a figure capable of dictating the course of others' lives. Klein, only just freed from exile, was suddenly overwhelmed by an inexplicable fear, and found himself instinctively lowering his head, bowing, eager to listen to every word and follow every command from the other. His movements became notably slow, his pupils filled with the swiftly approaching Lady Catty. Crack! Catty swung her black lash, striking Klein precisely. Though the lash passed through his ethereal form, it inflicted considerable mental agony—like being pressed firmly with a red-hot iron upon his most vulnerable points. Klein jerked his head up, emitting a sharp cry. At the same time, Catty's left hand triggered her revolver. Click! Click! Two bullets, glowing with a soft golden hue, fired and struck Klein. A clear radiance surged forth, and the figure clad in black armor rapidly thinned out, transforming into a paper figure, before swiftly turning to ash. Klein materialized in the dim corner, the "Sun Brooch" within his spirit shimmering with a subtle golden hue. Warmth surged through his body instantly, and the profound fear brought by Heralis vanished swiftly. One of the effects of the "Sun Brooch" spell—immunity to fear! Within just a few tens of seconds of combat, Klein had been forced to summon his paper-man duplicates twice. Though this was partly due to his deliberate strategy, it clearly demonstrated the combined strength of Heralis and Kait, perfectly confirming Klein's earlier divination: this mission was exceptionally perilous. Should Parker not have been momentarily disabled by the biological toxin and the initial assault, the situation would have been even more dire. His contingency plan was this: if all four paper-man duplicates were exhausted but no decisive opportunity arose, he would rationally withdraw—this was not due to a lack of preparedness on his part, but rather the limit of his spiritual resilience, which could only sustain four such transformations during combat. As for Heral's "imprisonment" effect, Crane was entirely unconcerned. Now a spirit summoned forth, he could simply conclude the summoning and instantly return to the misty realm above—no divine power interference, nor any special "0" or "1" level sealing objects could disrupt this process. When Crane had previously stolen the "Black Emperor" tablet from the royal museum, that woman, seemingly a high-sequence entity, had failed to prevent his departure. This very fact was the primary reason and greatest reliance that enabled Crane, despite knowing the risks were substantial, to dare attempt assistance and challenge the impossible. Seeing the enemy no longer fearful, Heral, now wearing iron-black metallic gloves, again signaled for Kaiti to block Crane, while himself pointing forward and solemnly declared: "This place is forbidden to spirits and ghosts!" Immediately, Crane's body clad in black armor trembled, strongly repelled outward by an invisible force. Yet the dignity of the "Black Emperor" was exceptionally high, raising the spiritual tier of the entities as well, and this direct impact on existence was swiftly suppressed. Heralas narrowed his eyes, finding the spirits approaching rather unusual. He watched as Caine effortlessly escaped Ketty's grasp through flight, and then pushed forward again with a palm, declaring in ancient Hemi-Myth: "Flight and floating are hereby forbidden." Instantly, Caine felt his body grow heavy and plummeted from the air to the ground. Ketty hurried over, then shook her wrist with a crisp snap, drawing forth the whip that probed and pierced spirits and souls. Though she still carried several exceptional shots, she had fewer than three remaining specifically effective against spirits and ghosts, so she temporarily abandoned her revolver and relied solely on her secondary weapon. Caine rolled smoothly, twisting and turning with agility, evading Ketty's strikes and hearing the sharp crack of the whip against the ground. Katie was about to sweep her lasso across, but suddenly felt a tickle in her throat, coughed twice, and missed her opportunity for a series of consecutive attacks. This was the very sign of the toxin affecting her! Heralas exhaled, then steadied his breath again, folded his wrist, and pointed directly at himself: "Targets: the spirits of resentment and the ghosts!" A dawn-like radiance instantly shimmered over his skin, even glowing clearly on the surface of his fists. Crack! The marble beneath Heralas' feet split silently as he launched himself forward with swift, determined motion, closing the distance to Cline in a single fluid movement. At this moment, he was more like a knight than Katie. Thud! Heralas drove a powerful punch forward, causing the air to burst outward—but Cline stepped back in advance, using the momentum to deflect it smoothly. Crack! Katie stepped in to assist, swinging her lasso to strike at the spots where the enemy was attempting to evade. This forced Cline to once again roll continuously, adopting a defensive, mobile stance, and remained ever vigilant to avoid Heralas' "imprisonment"-type spells. Thwack, thwack, thwack! Heralis launched relentless attacks, while Kaiti provided crucial support. In less than two minutes, she forced Cline into a position where he had nowhere to hide or evade—even a roll was ineffective. Thwack! Kaiti's black whip struck Cline full in the arm as he managed only a diagonal step. The piercing spiritual agony once again surged through his soul, leaving him rigid and his ethereal form thin and fragile. Seizing the moment, Heralis raised his left fist with regal authority and declared, "Death!" His body instantly merged with a peculiar force, leaving a distinct afterimage as he collided with Cline. Crack! The figure clad in black armor instantly shattered into four and five fragments, scattering like butterflies of paper. Cline had now expended his third paper figure! Heralis scanned the scene swiftly and locked onto the enemy emerging from the corner, then smirked, "I think you still have a few more stand-ins!" During the pursuit of the enemy, he had already observed Parker moving sluggishly across Karin's body, the scene both bloody and repulsive—unpleasant, cruel, and deeply unsettling. Yet, Heralas couldn't spare time to rescue his subordinate. He was fully aware that his own poisoning was worsening with every passing moment, and he needed to eliminate the enemy swiftly before he could focus on anything else. If he didn't act now, he might have to retreat from the restaurant to ease the toxicity, allowing the enemy to escape without gaining any valuable intelligence. He signaled to Katie again, tying up the now grounded and unable-to-float Klein, while he himself took a deep breath to steady himself. "The air smells odd... this should be a sign that the toxin is intensifying," Heralas thought, without further reflection. Raising his left hand, he solemnly declared: "Any unauthorized intrusion upon another's dwelling shall be deemed guilty!" "Illegal intrusion..." As he repeated it the second time, Helas's breathing grew more labored, and for a brief moment he struggled to draw air, ultimately pausing. He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and then resumed: "Illegal intrusion into another's dwelling constitutes a crime!" He repeated this three times in succession, and despite the persistent entanglement with Kaine, Kaine found himself growing unexpectedly cold. "Ah, ah, ah!" Kaine coughed again, her movements with the whip slowing down. Seizing the opportunity, Kaine broke free from her hold, though she could not yet launch an attack—instead, she lifted her head and opened her mouth, emitting a high-pitched cry inaudible to human ears! A hum! Kaine's head lifted, her body swayed, and she felt the ground tremble. Helas experienced only a brief dizziness before returning to normal. He watched Kaine with quiet composure and spoke with dignified authority: "The guilty shall be restrained!" Klein, who had been preparing to charge toward him, suddenly found his feet seemingly bound by an invisible chain, his movements stiffening instantly. Katy slowly rotated her pistol's magazine, swiftly ejecting the spent casings and the unused cartridges. Then, she produced a rapid-loading device and loaded six cartridges—including the remaining purification rounds—into the magazine. Heras then clenched his left fist, beginning to build up for an attack. He aimed to create a sequence of assaults with Katy's gunfire, ensuring either the complete elimination of the enemy or the full depletion of his duplicates. At that moment, Klein, clad in his black armor, smiled—his anticipated moment had finally arrived! He was clear that the "biological toxin vial" needed time to achieve its full effect. The extraordinary beings could sense any subtle changes and respond promptly—either by detecting hidden enemies or by relocating from the toxic environment. It would be difficult to seriously damage or even eliminate them through this means. Therefore, his primary objectives in using the "biological toxin vial" were twofold: first, to weaken the enemy; and second, to mask certain odors, so that Heralas and the others would attribute all unusual smells solely to the pervasive airborne toxins, thereby fully concentrating their attention on that aspect. This was the most crucial element of the current "magic performance"—the decisive factor in its success. The unusual odors? They were gas—specifically, natural gas! Klein first made the gas lamp and the fire in the fireplace flash brightly, then instantly extinguish—not only to distract Héras and his team's vision, but primarily to draw their attention and enable him to sabotage several concealed gas pipelines! He deliberately placed himself in peril at the outset, specifically to trick Kitty into firing bullets at the specters, thereby preventing her from shooting blindly and triggering further changes afterward! He consistently engaged with Héras, making no other attempts, all in anticipation that the gas would gradually fill the air. That's why he held back from using "Flame Leaping" or "Manipulating Flame" throughout! As for Héras sealing off the room, Klein had anticipated it, though he hadn't expected it to unfold so smoothly. Therefore, before entering the dining hall, he kindly checked that all doors and windows were securely closed and deliberately sabotaged the gas pipelines in the hidden areas of the hall, creating a large-scale "bomb" effect—ensuring that even without the room being sealed, the outcome would remain unchanged! And as a "ghost," Caine himself undoubtedly wasn't afraid of explosions! Lower-level spirits would be consumed by flames, while ghosts would merely suffer injuries—this is precisely why Caine, though capable of manipulating fire, still needed to purchase additional purification rounds and solar brooches. As he watched Kitty raise her revolver, aiming to fire, and as he saw Hiras about to declare his death, Caine gave a subtle, quiet smile and snapped his fingers. Hiras suddenly became aware of a looming danger. Yet at that very moment, he saw a flame ignite within the fireplace on the side and swiftly spread to illuminate the surrounding air. Roar! The force of the explosion filled the room with blinding fire, completely engulfing Hiras's vision—like witnessing a magnificent fireworks display. ps: Nearly four thousand words delivered, with an additional update at dawn.