Lynn couldn't help but chuckle when the delivery arrived, while beside him, Klein had already reacted. He swiftly grabbed Danitz, pulling him away from the incoming attack from behind, and threw Danitz towards Lynn. Meanwhile, Klein faced the attackers head-on.
Lynn casually tossed a few healing spells at Danitz while sensing something. He glanced towards a certain direction in the air.
"Seriously? Your opponent should be Gehrman. Why are you bothering a fragile support like me?" While speaking, Lynn sighed. The next moment, countless scrolls exploded, unleashing the brilliance of the Sun pathway.
Just a few steps away, Klein while engaging Steel Maveti, seemed to have anticipated this. He suddenly retreated a few steps, controlling the wraith and the blood threads attached to Senor's spirit.
As a result, the radiance of the Sun engulfed the pitiful Admiral of Blood, Senor.
The reason things had escalated to this point was quite simple. Three days ago, after receiving the mission from Lynn, Danitz reported to the Iceberg Lieutenant and began inquiring about the whereabouts of the Admiral of Blood and his subordinates.
Unfortunately, Danitz was unaware that his informant had already betrayed him and was now working for Senor. Naturally, his actions were reported to the Admiral of Blood.
Due to his familiarity with Danitz's character, Senor correctly deduced that Danitz's actions weren't of his own will. However, since he wasn't aware of Gehrman's presence, he wrongly assumed that Iceberg Lieutenant was behind the move. He had also heard rumors that Danitz had recently been in contact with Star Admiral Cattleya, raising suspicion that the two pirate generals were planning to team up against him.
But as someone backed by the Rose School of Thought, Senor, was both powerful and confident. Rather than retreating, he sought to strike back.
Thus, Senor allowed Danitz's actions to continue, even deliberately leaking some of his own information, using Danitz as bait to lure the Iceberg Lieutenant and Star Admiral into a trap.
The plan went smoothly—until Danitz the hunter with a sharp cowardly intuition, sensed something amiss and chose to flee in a panic.
Still viewing Danitz as useful bait, Senor didn't immediately capture him. Instead, he allowed Danitz to flee while hoping to see where he would run and if he could catch a bigger fish.
And as we all saw, Senor's attempt to fish for prey ended with him encountering not just one, but two big fish—Gehrman and Gabriel—who proceeded to bombard him with the brilliance of the Sun pathway.
Of course, it couldn't be denied that a certain someone had orchestrated most of this in advance—yes, before Lynn left, he used 0-08 to write a script regarding the Admiral of Blood. Hence, most of what transpired was within Lynn's expectations.
—Except for the part where due to his cowardly instincts, Danitz sensed danger ahead of time.
According to Lynn's original script, Danitz was supposed to obediently act as bait until they returned, not prematurely sense danger and get himself involved in the mess. It seems having instincts that are too sharp isn't always a good thing.
However, this deviation wasn't completely beyond Lynn's expectations. He had already left a contingency plan on Danitz, ensuring that even if Danitz got himself nearly killed, he would be teleported away at the last second. There was also an automatic healing charm on him.
Had they arrived a moment later, Danitz would have been teleported out.
'Well, this outcome isn't too bad,' Lynn muttered as he observed the alley. Thanks to the radiant explosion of the Sun pathway, most of the Beyonders from the Chained pathways were severely injured. Lynn smiled brightly, fiddling with the charm hanging from his waist—a charm made from blood he had extracted from Ouroboros. Its only purpose was to bring him good luck and curse his enemies with misfortune.
At that moment, Lynn cursed all of his enemies with the kind of misfortune that would make them trip over their own feet.
…
The battle ended quickly. While, in theory Klein as a Sequence 5 Beyonder should've been at a disadvantage against Admiral of Blood and his subordinates, Lynn's influence tipped the scales.
With Lynn's vast resources and the opening move of unleashing countless Sun pathway scrolls, Klein managed to restrain Senor. In the meantime, Lynn being a powerful support, handled the other enemies. Klein then successfully transformed Senor into his newest Marionette.
With his new Marionette, Klein—alongside Lynn, who mostly stayed out of direct combat but constantly buffed and debuffed as if for fun—and Danitz, a Sequence 7 Beyonder, completely overwhelmed the weakened heretical Beyonders.
"Congratulations! Now, you've got a Wraith Marionette," Lynn said, clapping like a seal.
"Thank you!" Klein, having just finished feeding his "Creeping Hunger," glanced at Lynn, clearly in high spirits.
Senor was incredibly useful. As a wraith, his abilities perfectly complemented a Marionettist, making him one of Klein's most desired Marionettes.
"So, we've actually defeated Admiral of Blood?" Still in disbelief, Danitz asked as he recalled how Senor had been hunting him earlier. It seemed surreal that Senor was now someone else's Marionette.
"Of course. What did you expect from a mere Sequence 5? It's not like he was going to be that much of a hassle," Lynn replied, casting a sideways glance at Danitz. With a sudden mischievous grin, he placed a hand on Danitz's shoulder. "Now, you've seen the strength of the Church of the Fool. Feeling lucky to be alive?"
"Uh…" Danitz hesitated, recalling the earlier chase.
"Oh, by the way, you played a significant role in our success today, so here's your reward—the Conspirer potion formula," Lynn said, pulling a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handing it to Danitz.
Danitz's eyes lit up as he took the paper eagerly. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to serve the Church of the Fool faithfully…"
In that moment, all the danger Danitz had faced earlier was forgotten. Although he hadn't been that eager for a promotion before, Lynn had long since tempted him with the prospect of "becoming a man worthy of his captain." Lynn's words had swayed the simple-minded, possibly love-struck hunter.
Now, with the chance for promotion right before his eyes, Danitz's excitement was palpable.
(End of Chapter)