The thin golden charm in Klein's palm, covered with mysterious patterns, suddenly turned scorching hot and radiated a blinding light, like a miniature golden sun.
Without hesitation, Klein poured most of his spirituality into it and hurled the Sun Flare Charm in the direction behind him, toward Megose!
In an instant, the surroundings were illuminated. The deep darkness vanished. The black strings that had almost reached his body shrank back in fear, recoiling and twisting tightly around Megose.
At the same time, Leonard also moved. He raised his voice and recited a poem, attempting to calm the already insane Megose and put her into a deep sleep.
Under the combined effects of both forces, the terrifying pressure from behind sharply decreased.
"Go!"
Neither Leonard nor Klein dared to linger. Taking advantage of this fleeting moment, they bolted across the lawn.
But they had only run a dozen meters before the previously bright light dimmed. Darkness and eerie stillness returned to engulf the area, and accompanied them was Megose's crazed screaming.
Countless black threads, like venomous snakes, like tentacles, surged toward them from every direction, from every corner.
The ground beneath their feet suddenly turned to mud, and pale skeletal hands reached out from below, grabbing at their ankles.
A cold, bone-chilling sensation spread from where they were grabbed, rapidly seeping across their entire bodies.
Weakness… freezing cold… wrapped them completely.
Already physically weak, Klein instantly lost the strength to run. His knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed.
Leonard reacted quickly and grabbed Klein's right arm, keeping him from falling.
But he himself was caught by a bony hand from below, its hard finger bones dug into his flesh, leaving five bloody holes. A wave of weakness and cold spread rapidly up his body.
"Light!"
Seeing the situation deteriorate, Klein poured all his remaining spirituality into another Sun Flare Charm and slammed it onto the ground.
A miniature sun rose. Light once again flooded the space. The skeletal hands were like snow under scorching sun, melting away in an instant.
At the same time, a warm force covered the places where the bones had grabbed them, restoring strength to their bodies.
"Go!" Leonard continued supporting the frail Klein and hastily pulled him away.
"Mr. Azik… we can only wait for your rescue now."
Klein tightly gripped the Azik's bronze whistle in his left hand, hoping it would guide Mr. Azik here.
Otherwise, they wouldn't last until the Red Gloves arrived.
Right now, the offspring of the evil god had not even been fully born, and they were already this desperate.
If the child inside Megose were to actually come into the world, neither he nor Leonard would stand a chance of survival.
"Waaa!" That was the cry of a baby!
Megose's swollen abdomen split open with a thin tear. With each cry from the baby, the tear widened, and bright red blood flowed down continuously.
Yet Megose felt no pain at all.
"My child… my child… hehe… hehehe…"
She did not die despite losing so much blood. The blood that had flowed onto the ground, even that which soaked into the soil, was pulled back by an unseen force, forming strands of blood that gathered at her abdomen and entered the baby's body through its mouth and nose.
A chilling, unprecedented aura swept through everything. Cold wind howled, lifting dust everywhere.
Klein and Leonard, not far away, both felt dizzy. Their throats tightened on their own, tracheas compressing, making it harder and harder to breathe.
From their nostrils, eyes, and ears, blood began to drip. Then this symptom spread to every part of their bodies.
It felt like all the capillaries under their skin burst at once, blood seeped from their pores and turned into strands of blood sucked toward Megose.
At this moment, Klein and Leonard no longer had the strength to struggle. The more they moved, the faster the blood flowed out.
Remaining still, and waiting for rescue, was the best and only choice.
"Waaa! Waaa! Waaa!"
The baby's crying grew louder, sharper, more urgent.
Klein and Leonard's sight dimmed. Light drained from their vision little by little until they were swallowed by complete darkness.
Just before losing consciousness completely, they vaguely heard a violent explosion and a roaring sound, as though something was tearing through the Spirit World.
....
Darkness. Not a trace of light.
Klein felt like he was sinking helplessly in that endless dark world until a sliver of brightness cut through the void. His consciousness slowly returned, and he managed to open his eyes with difficulty.
The first sensation was pain, pain all over. Even sitting up was difficult. His breathing was weaker than usual.
He was covered with a white blanket. The place appeared to be a hospital room. He lay on the bed, and next to him, someone had fallen asleep on the table beside the bed, it was Melissa.
Klein took some time to understand his situation.
He wasn't dead. He was simply badly wounded. Melissa was taking care of him.
Still alive. Good. A feeling of relief, surviving a catastrophe, washed over Klein. In that situation, he truly never thought he could make it out alive.
Being injured and lying in a hospital bed was far better than being dead.
He wondered how Leonard was doing. Did he survive as well?
And what about Megose and the child in her womb, who handled that in the end?
What about Lanevus and Ince Zangwill?
He must have thought too much; suddenly a stabbing pain shot through his head and he groaned softly.
The sound woke Melissa, who had been sleeping lightly. She rubbed her eyes, and when her gaze finally landed on Klein, seeing him awake and struggling to smile, she covered her mouth, and tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.
"Melissa…" Klein tried to speak, but his throat was dry and sore. He couldn't form a complete sentence.
"Klein, you finally woke up!"
Melissa collapsed onto the blanket and sobbed uncontrollably. After a long while, she finally lifted her head, eyes red, voice hoarse.
"Benson and I were terrified you wouldn't wake up."
Unable to speak, Klein could only use his eyes to gesture for her not to cry.
After crying, Melissa flushed with embarrassment. She quickly turned away, wiped her tears with her sleeve, steadied her emotions, then faced him again.
"You want to know what happened, right?"
She had read his expression correctly. Klein blinked, confirming her guess.
"Two days ago, at around eight o'clock at night, Benson and I received a notice from your company. They said that while working outside, a gas pipeline suddenly ruptured and exploded, causing your injuries."
"Benson and I rushed here. By the time we arrived, you had already received treatment. You were unconscious, breathing very weakly. The doctor said you needed rest and would wake up in a few days."
Melissa spoke intermittently, most of the information was not what Klein wanted to know.
Fortunately, about half an hour later, Leonard arrived, limping, using crutches, accompanied by medical staff.
Seeing Klein unable to move but still alive, Leonard's gloom from the past few days vanished. With tears in his eyes, he laughed: "Haha! Guess my body's tougher. That's what you get for never exercising. Now you know why a strong body is a man's greatest asset."
Then, realizing Melissa was still in the room, he coughed awkwardly and hopped over to sit at the edge of the bed, leaning on his crutches.
"I know you have a lot of questions, but right now you need rest. Just know that everything's over. The captain and the others are fine."
Not wanting to disturb Klein, Leonard stayed only briefly before returning to his own ward.
Two days later, the pain in Klein's body faded. Other than lingering weakness, he had basically recovered.
According to Leonard, Klein had simply lost too much blood.
When Klein recovered enough, Leonard told him what happened afterward.
When the two of them passed out and were about to die, a powerful being from the Spirit World happened to pass through. He intervened just in time, helped the Red Gloves, and together they dealt with Megose and the child in her womb.
After everything ended, that Spirit World powerhouse disappeared, and the two of them were found by the Red Gloves and brought to the hospital.
On that same day, other members of the Night Watchers were also attacked. Captain Dunn Smith was severely injured and fell unconscious.
Ince Zangwill, the man they feared the most, broke into the sealed Chanis Gate underground, and after paying a certain price, extracted something from within.
Saint Selina's ashes.
Lanevus reportedly boarded a train and left Tingen that very day.
Destination unknown.
The entire saga had finally came to an end.