Upon seeing the young man descending from the red moon, dressed in a black coat and holding a black iron revolver, Quon纳斯. Korg immediately reacted. With his left hand gripping the "Iron Skin" watch, his thumb swiftly moved toward one of the several metallic buttons scattered haphazardly at the watch's top, while his right arm rose sharply, the six gray barrels encircling the watch forming a precise aim at Gelmán. Sparo. This sequence unfolded like a spark ignited by metal-on-metal contact, concluding swiftly. Yet Quon纳斯. Korg's left thumb ultimately did not press the button. He overcame his conditioned reflex and refrained from activating the "Concert of Light and Shadow"—the "prohibition"—because he knew little about Gelmán. Sparo, uncertain of his strengths, and because the person who bore Gelmán's appearance might not actually be Gelmán. A hasty "prohibition" would have been a wasted opportunity.
He intended to observe further, wait a while, so as to craft more targeted laws, to bend the rules.
Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink!
The unusual pistol emitted a desperate cry, unleashing a storm of dark, cold bullets that instantly engulfed the enemies beneath the crimson moon.
At that moment, Germán Sparo's form suddenly became translucent, less solid.
The bullets arriving simultaneously pierced the target clad in black coat, tearing through the lingering afterimage.
Behind Cunus Colg, Germán Sparo, with a stern countenance, suddenly emerged, his body half-bent forward, his black hat stained crimson by the glow of the crimson moonlight.
He raised his iron-black cylinder revolver, slightly opening his mouth as he aimed, gently touching the trigger.
Plink!
At Cunus Colg's right side, the floor exploded, showering the area with countless fragments.
The shot from Germán Sparo was astonishingly off-target, and its power seemed notably weak.
This is the "Distortion" of the Duke of Decay—altering the trajectory and diminishing its power. Seizing the opportunity, Quonas Colg "disrupted" the scale of distance, stepping directly onto the balcony of the bedroom. Then, he half-turned and with a crisp snap pressed one of the metallic buttons on his "tin" pocket watch, speaking solemnly and formally:
"Transmission is hereby prohibited!"
Without a sound, an unknown transformation unfolded across the rose-garden manor, bathed in the great red moonlight. After having been struck by the shot, Germán Sparo, who had rapidly faded into the air, now re-emerged vividly from the void. He had failed to reposition himself.
"The Concert of Light and Shadow"—"Prohibited!"
To Quonas Colg, regardless of Germán Sparo's particular strengths, if he could "transmit," he must immediately "prohibit" it. An enemy capable of frequent, short-range, uninterrupted transmission was not merely annoying—he was dangerous.
Despite his failed "teleportation," Germaine Sparo's expression remained unchanged. His figure swiftly distorted, losing all color until only deep black remained. This deep black then collapsed, spreading out onto the ground and merging seamlessly with the shadows in the areas untouched by moonlight—difficult to distinguish from one another. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump—fresh bullet holes appeared at the spot where Germaine Sparo had stood, tearing through the floor. Then, with a roar, the ground gave way, revealing the room beneath, yet without any dust being stirred. Amidst these disturbances, the Rosemère estate remained enveloped in profound shadows, undisturbed, no one awakened, no echoes heard. Quon纳斯. Colgur restrained his instinct to immediately "prohibit" the shadows from retreating, holding firm to the "Desperate Scream of Rivière" and the "Concert of Light and Shadow," observing calmly around him, waiting for Germaine Sparo to reappear and launch another attack.
Yet within the dilapidated room, shadows everywhere remained silent and still, motionless. Outside, the spires and chimneys still clung to their cold blackness, and the great red moon hung suspended above the roof. The plants in the garden, the distant grapevines, the various classical windows—all seemed to have faded into the background that night. Though clearly visible, they remained utterly still, as if not even trembling. The entire Moresgarden estate felt cold, dark, and profoundly still, as though forgotten in a corner unnoticed and unobserved, lifeless and dormant. As a half-god and a prominent figure in the intelligence world, Qunus Colg quickly formed initial hypotheses, suspecting that this phenomenon was linked to the authority of the "Secret" domain. This sparked several associations in his mind, yet Germán Sparo still had not appeared.
He didn't launch a surprise attack at all, and he even gave up the opportunity to maintain continuous pressure, leaving me so many openings... Didn't he realize that a high-tier "lawyer" or "arbiter," once well-prepared in the early stages of battle, becomes exceptionally difficult to defeat? Quonas Colg felt a moment of doubt.
The relaxed observation of his surroundings and the less urgent pace allowed him to quickly assess his own situation and realize that defeating Germain Sparo was not the priority—escaping this strange and concealed world was the real objective.
If he couldn't leave here, further dangers might well unfold!
As long as he could break free from the shadowy atmosphere of the Mogue manor, even if the angels descended, I would no longer feel so afraid while in Beckettland. This artificially constructed, concealed world must have an exit—such a rule is fundamental in mysticism and cannot be bypassed. Mastering the use and manipulation of such rules is precisely what high-tier "lawyers" excel at!
Amidst his myriad thoughts, Quinas. Colg made a swift decision. He suddenly turned and leapt from the balcony with force, rising like a spring, accelerating rapidly. As a military half-god, he reached a high elevation, yet his speed did not wane—it only intensified, showing no sign of slowing. Maintaining this momentum, he ascended higher and higher, until he soared into the air. "The Count of Fall," "by leveraging!" This was a strategic use of the rules—extending the leap process, allowing his speed to sustain over time. Should Quinas. Colg become an Angel of Sequence 2, he could even use this extraordinary ability to leap directly from the ground to the Red Moon. As he rose into the air, Quinas. Colg swung his right arm, activating his extraordinary ability, "Chaos." He aimed this power at the entire estate of Mogo and the entire peculiar world, generating a certain degree of "Chaos" to create ripples, thereby briefly revealing the true exit.
In an instant, the fresh and grape vines in the background of the Mogue Estate began to sway, and the dark spires, chimneys, and classical windows also lost their sense of being shadowed. Throughout the world, the single massive, nearby red moon remained unchanged, quietly suspended in place. It was the exit! From the chaos, Qunus Colg grasped the pattern, using concrete feedback to determine precisely where to go. Without hesitation, he strained his waist, leveraging his extraordinary ability to "amplify," and forcefully altered his direction, moving toward the bright, clear red moon. At that very moment, a figure emerged from the shadow ahead of the main house of the Mogue Estate—Germain Sparo, dressed in a black coat, wearing a half-high hat, with a stern expression. Whooosh! A sudden gale appeared, lifting Germain Sparo and sending him soaring upward, chasing after Qunus Colg.
With the wind, Germán Spáro raised his iron-black revolver in his left hand and pulled the trigger.
Boom! A bullet shot out, shattering into countless fragments. Instantly, these fragments transformed into a storm, completely engulfing the area where Qunás Colg was located.
"Death bell" revolver, "slaughter" with shot spread!
Almost simultaneously, Qunás Colg changed his course without warning—his trajectory shifted from rushing toward the moon to a straight descent. Thus, he evaded the bullet storm, as if prepared in advance.
Not merely as if—indeed, he was fully prepared! Though his primary objective was to escape the transformed Móge estate, he remained concerned that Germán Spáro might launch an attack on him. So, he devised a simple trap, using his own escape as bait to lure out and strike Germán Spáro, who was concealed, aiming to injure or severely wound him.
Halfway through his descent, Qunás Colg's figure suddenly rebounded, once again "twisting" the direction of his forward motion.
This time, his destination was the next stop on Germán Sparo's flight path! Immediately, with his left hand firmly pulling back on his watch, he reached out through the air and caught Germán Sparo, pulling him from dozens of meters away right to his side.
"Count of Fall," he declared, "enlarge!"
Hoo! Amid the gusting wind, Quinás Colg grasped Germán Sparo's clothing at his chest and, in doing so, pressed his peculiar pistol against the man's torso.
Pock, pock, pock, pock, pock! The desperate cries of Rivière erupted like a machine gun, unleashing an endless barrage of bullets that instantly tore through Germán Sparo's body, scattering him into fluttering fragments.
Quinás Colg's gaze momentarily froze. At once, he moved his left thumb and pressed down again on one of the watch's metal buttons.
With a crisp click, the Count of Fall spoke with unwavering dignity:
"This location is now a no-substitute zone!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the whispering wind in the air ceased, and the Rose Song Estate once again fell into quiet, enveloped once more in deep shadow. Count Qunnas Colg changed his course, beginning to circle in the air, searching for the trace of Germán Sparo. Yet the night remained still, with no signs of disturbance.
The "Count of Fall" paused, deciding to continue toward the great red moon.
At that very moment, within the garden, the vineyards, and the manor house, figures emerged or rose higher, swiftly taking shape.
All of them had dark hair and brown eyes, with strong, defined features, wearing silk hats and black coats—each one was Germán Sparo!
The only difference was that some stood upright, others had sunken backs, some showed signs of distension, and a few appeared only as thin, barely formed silhouettes.
Upon seeing this, Count Qunnas Colg immediately recalled a dangerous enemy he had once faced:
One of the leading figures in the Intis intelligence department;
A "Master of Deception"!