Chapter 89 - Chapter 86: The Trickster's Debut

The Monster seemed to sense the hostility rising abruptly from Nairn. On its bulging stomach, vague human faces emerged, all issuing sharp hisses in unison!In the next second, its figure vanished from the spot!The moment the Monster disappeared, Nairn did not panic.He didn't even lift an eyelid; he just lazily snapped his fingers."Snap!"The crisp sound echoed in the narrow alley.An extremely faint, almost imperceptible spiritual fluctuation, like a stone thrown into water, spread out with Nairn at its center.This was the ability of the sequence 8 [Trickster]—[Prank].It could change the physical properties of a non-living solid surface within a small range, temporarily.For example, making the ground as slippery as if it had been oiled.Almost at the same time the snap fell, a black shadow flashed at extreme speed on the wall beside Nairn!It was that Monster!What it used was the sequence 7 "Magician" ability—[Flame Jump]!However, the medium for its jump was not fire; instead, it used the remaining "Error" Authority of Amon's avatar to forcibly distort the rules of space, achieving an effect similar to a flash.Its goal was clear: Nairn's neck!That thin, pale hand, with fingernails grown long and sharp, carrying thick black energy, clawed over viciously.If this claw had landed, even steel would have been torn open.However, just as its figure solidified on the wall, preparing to borrow force to pounce on Nairn, an accident occurred.The wall brick it stepped on suddenly became slipperier than the smoothest ice!The Monster's violent impact lost all traction at this instant."Screech—"It was like a passerby stepping on a banana peel; its entire body slid a long, pathetic trajectory along the wall, and then with a "thud," it slammed headfirst into a pile of trash cans at the end of the alley."Clatter!"Various trash, bottles, and cans were sent flying everywhere.The Monster, which had been aggressive and threatening just a moment ago, was now in a comical posture, with half its body stuck in the foul-smelling trash heap, only its two legs kicking unconsciously outside."..."Nairn watched this scene, almost laughing out loud.As expected of the [Trickster]; this ability was simply born to create comedic effects.Using the least effort to cause the greatest embarrassment."Roar!"An angry roar came from the trash heap.The Monster struggled out violently, covered in rotten vegetable leaves and waste paper. In its hollow eyes, a glimmer of rage appeared for the first time.Clearly, this pure humiliation made it even angrier than a direct attack.It had no reason, but it had instinct.The instinct of being played made it go completely berserk!"Hoo—"A scorching heatwave rushed toward him.The Monster opened its mouth, and a crimson flame the size of a human head, mixed with black arcs of electricity, condensed rapidly in its mouth.This was the "Magician" ability—[Flame Manipulation], but under the influence of the Outer Deity corruption and the "Error" characteristic, the power and nature of this flame had mutated terrifyingly.Nairn could even feel a hint of "desire" and "corruption" from that flame.Being burned by this flame, it was probably not just a matter of the body being incinerated; even the spirit body would be ignited and corrupted.Facing this high temperature capable of melting steel, Nairn remained unhurried.He raised his hand again, and toward the flame about to be sprayed out, he gently made a "pinching" motion.[Trickster] ability—[Collapse of Order Strings]!By spiritual intuition, perform "key point interference" on precisely structured machinery or simple ongoing rituals.And for those possessing Sefirah, this Beyonder ability had even more marvelous uses.At this moment, the process of the Monster condensing Beyonder abilities within its body was like a precise ritual in operation.And what he had to do was find the most fragile "string" of this "ritual," and then—gently pluck it.Hum!An invisible disturbance acted precisely on the highly unstable flame core in the Monster's throat.The Monster was preparing to spray the flame, but suddenly felt the energy in its throat lose control.That highly condensed flame, like a pricked balloon, instantly—exploded—inside its oral cavity!"Boom!!!"A dull, loud noise.Black-red flames erupted violently from the Monster's seven orifices, burning its own head into a giant torch."Awoo—!"The Monster let out a scream so miserable it didn't sound human. It frantically slapped the flames on its head with both hands, jumping up and down on the spot like a Clown whose hair had been set on fire.Nairn stood not far away, arms crossed over his chest, appreciating this scene with interest.Must say, the [Trickster] Sequence was just too much to his taste.It didn't pursue powerful destructive force but rather a kind of "four ounces to move a thousand pounds" cleverness, an art of leveraging the greatest chaos with the least cost.Every use of the ability was like suddenly arranging a funny Clown to appear on a serious stage; the strong contrast and absurdity were in themselves a top-tier "amusement."However, Nairn did not let his guard down.He knew very well that this level of attack was only a superficial injury for this stitched-up Monster.Sure enough, a few seconds later, the flames on the Monster's head gradually extinguished.Its entire head had become scorched black; even that signature Monocle had melted halfway and stuck to the eye socket—it looked as miserable as could be.But the aura on its body, instead of weakening, became even more violent and dangerous.Its one remaining good eye locked onto Nairn.An invisible, cold malice enveloped the entire alley.Nairn felt that something on his body was being—extracted—by an invisible force![Prometheus] ability—[Steal]!This Monster, after suffering two consecutive setbacks, finally started to use the core ability it inherited from Amon!It wanted to steal Nairn's Beyonder ability!The corners of Nairn's mouth turned up slightly.Finally, it came.This was exactly what he was waiting for.He really wanted to know, when a [Prometheus] tried to steal a Beyonder ability that was "officially authorized" and "temporarily borrowed" by this Sefirah, the [Chaos Theater], what would happen?In the next second, the Monster's movements froze.In its scorched, single eye, a glimmer of unprecedented—confusion—appeared.In its perception, Nairn's body did indeed radiate the light of Beyonder abilities.But that light was like a vast nebula composed of countless colors, constantly changing.It could sense various abilities inside, but no matter how hard it focused, it couldn't lock onto any of them.It wanted to steal the ability that made the ground slippery just now, but that light flashed and vanished, instantly turning into another ability it didn't recognize at all.It wanted to steal the ability that made the flame explode, but as soon as it locked on, the light turned blank again.It was as if—as if it wasn't facing a Beyonder, but a treasure trove of abilities with infinite possibilities! And this treasure trove was frantically refreshing its inventory hundreds of times per second!Steal?How to steal?It was like asking you to fish out a specific drop of water from a rushing river composed of billions of colors.This was simply an impossible task!The Monster's already low intelligence crashed completely at this moment.It stood blankly on the spot, maintaining that "stealing" posture, like a broken statue.The power provided by the Chaos Theater was essentially a temporary definition at a "narrative" level."I say you are a Trickster now, so you are a Trickster."But this "definition" was fluid, unstable, and based on "possibility."Amon's [Steal] was tyrannical, but it stole "existing" abilities. And Nairn's ability, at the moment of being stolen, had already become "other" possibilities.To use an inappropriate metaphor, Amon wanted to steal a novel that had already been written, but Nairn directly smashed the entire library at it, and every book inside was still automatically rewriting itself.How could it steal this?"Looks like your 'craftsmanship' isn't very good."Nairn took a step, actively walking toward the sluggish Monster.The identities of Hunter and prey, at this moment, seemed to have reversed.Seeing Nairn actively approaching, the Monster seemed to be jolted awake from its crash state.Instinctive sense of crisis made it give up on the useless [Steal].It let out an angry hiss, and its scorched hands slammed onto the ground!Whoosh— A strong wind blew out of thin air in the alley, blowing the trash and dust on the ground into the sky, instantly obscuring vision.Immediately after, in the flying dust, figures emerged.There was Amon wearing a classical robe and a Monocle; there was the Demoness Triss with a beautiful face and resentful eyes; there was Klein Moretti wearing the Nighthawks uniform; and there was even Nairn himself!Every figure was lifelike, with even the subtle expressions vivid and realistic."Magician" ability—[Create Illusion]!No, it wasn't just the effect of a "Magician."Under the support of the "Error" characteristic and various power corruptions from the Outer Deity level, these illusions were no longer just light and shadow effects; they even carried a hint of the aura of the imitated person, almost indistinguishable from the real thing.A dozen "people" surrounded Nairn, launching attacks from all directions simultaneously."Amon's" hands appeared with invisible silk threads, "Triss's" fingertips ignited with pale flames, "Klein" pulled out a revolver—For a time, the entire alley was filled with killing intent.Facing this siege that would cause any Beyonder below sequence 7 to collapse instantly, Nairn's face had no tension at all.He just felt a bit funny."Nice imitation, pity, they are all fakes."Nairn said softly, then snapped his fingers again.[Trickster] ability—[Sound Trick]."Bang!"A huge gunshot exploded abruptly at the other end of the alley.That sound was a hundred times louder and more real than the sound of the revolver in the Klein phantom's hand!All the illusions' movements froze for a moment because of this sudden gunshot.This was not because of biological instinct.Behind this, Nairn used the [Character Card—Lovers]'s [Deception] to briefly obtain the "Magician's" "Lie"!That's it!Nairn's mouth curved into an arc.His figure instantly became blurred, like smoke blown away by the wind.[Trickster] ability—[Flash Prank]!Rapid short-distance displacement behind visual obstacles.And at this moment, the flying trash and dust were the best "visual obstacles"!The moment the Monster was distracted by the gunshot, Nairn's figure had appeared behind it like a ghost!The distance between them was less than half a meter!The Monster suddenly came to its senses, feeling the fatal threat from behind.It wanted to turn around, wanted to pull away, but it was too late.Nairn extended his index finger, with a barely perceptible spiritual light condensed on the tip, and gently, as if caressing a lover, tapped on the Monster's bulging, constantly writhing stomach."Time to go on a diet, fatty."[Collapse of Order Strings]!This time, Nairn was not interfering with external Beyonder abilities, but the inside of the Monster's body—that extremely unstable energy core entangled by countless corruptions and Beyonder characteristics!If dealing with the flame before was "plucking a string," then this time, Nairn was directly thrusting a red-hot iron rod into a tangled ball of yarn!Hum—!!!The Monster's entire body trembled violently.The human faces emerging on its stomach instantly twisted, deformed, and issued silent screams.Strands of black, red, and gray energy, like an out-of-control volcano, rampaged within its body, but could find no outlet to vent."Urgh—ah—gurgle—"The Monster let out a painful sound as if its throat were blocked.Its massive body began to swell and contract violently, like a meatball that could explode at any moment.The illusions it created around it also began to become unstable due to the loss of control of the main body's energy, flickering and distorting like a TV screen with a bad signal.However, just when Nairn thought victory was in hand, a sudden change occurred!In the Monster's half-melted single eye, a flash of cunning suddenly appeared!That was not instinct, but—cunning belonging to Amon!The remaining consciousness of this avatar actually maintained Amon's wisdom at the most critical moment!Whoosh— A thin paper figurine suddenly flew out from the Monster's arms, instantly turning into the Monster's appearance in mid-air.And the Monster's real body, wrapped in a ball of flame, instantly appeared ten meters away—[Paper Figurine Substitute] + [Flame Jump]!The most classic life-saving combo of a "Magician"!What Nairn tapped was only a substitute!"Boom!"The paper figurine substitute that was tapped could no longer withstand the violent energy inside and exploded!The terrifying energy shockwave, mixed with various filthy auras, swept through the entire alley.Nairn had anticipated this; the moment the explosion occurred, he had already retreated to a safe distance using [Flash Prank].The Monster escaped death, but it seemed to have consumed huge energy. It stood there, panting heavily, its scorched chest heaving violently.Its bulging stomach was a circle smaller than before; clearly, the explosion just now had consumed quite a bit of its "stock."But the way it looked at Nairn became even more resentful and crazy.It slowly raised its hands, and the trash, waste paper, and even the lime peeling off the walls in the alley began to tremble violently.Then, these miscellaneous items gathered and deformed rapidly in the air.Paper turned into sharp flying knives, stones turned into heavy bricks, rotten wooden boards turned into rough clubs—[Paper to Weapons]!The "Magician" ability to turn decay into magic!In the next second, the overwhelming "weapons," like a rainstorm, poured toward Nairn!The entire alley had turned into a death vortex made of trash!