Chapter 61: Wrenching Off the Head

"Ruse, care for a drink later?"

"No thanks, I'm a bit tired today. I think I'll head home early to get some rest." William Ruse smiled and politely declined the gatekeeper's invitation.

"Alright then. Be careful on your way back—make sure you don't end up as a snack for the Beast of Gevaudan."

"Oh, go to hell!" Ruse chuckled as he cursed back at the gatekeeper.

Clang—

As the iron gate closed, the smile instantly vanished from William Ruse's face, replaced by a deadpan expression. He glanced up at the red moon hanging in the sky, then strode off in the direction of his residence.

The crimson moonlight silently bathed the night sky. Near a lamppost on the roadside, a swarm of mosquitoes buzzed around the light. William Ruse stepped into a dilapidated alley, piles of green garbage bins lining one side of the narrow passage.

Snap—

William Ruse spun around instantly.

"Meow—"

A stray cat hopped out from one of the garbage bins, giving the jittery William Ruse a strange look before trotting away into the distance, a fish bone clamped firmly in its jaws.

Damn it, it's all because of those lunatics from [The Factory] and their recent operations that I'm so on edge lately, Ruse muttered curses to himself inwardly.

Confirming that nothing was amiss, Ruse turned back around to resume his journey.

The very next moment, however, the unexpected truly occurred.

Bang————

A blurred afterimage materialized abruptly right before William Ruse's eyes. Then, a whip kick resembling a venomous snake striking from its nest lashed out fiercely toward his face. He could only manage to raise his right arm in a desperate attempt to protect his head.

BOOM!!!!

William Ruse tumbled backward like a kicked football, crashing directly into the garbage bins and smashing them to pieces.

Meanwhile, right where William Ruse had been standing a second ago, a youth with golden hair and golden eyes was slowly retracting his right leg.

That youth possessed golden hair and golden eyes, clad in a black trench coat. Both of his hands and feet were covered in glowing blue mystic circuits.

Xiuxiu narrowed his eyes as he stared at the garbage bin area not far away, the color of the mystic circuits on his body beginning to shift from blue to red.

[Photon-Attendant - Mystic Circuit (Type II - Limbs - Speed Form)] → [Photon-Attendant - Mystic Circuit (Type III - Limbs - Strength Form)]

Simultaneously, Xiuxiu placed his hand flat against the ground, and a cascade of indigo silicon-based crystalline spikes erupted from the direction of the garbage bins.

Hum-hum-hum—

A heavy, muffled sound reverberated as the silicon-based crystals were instantly shredded into powder. William Ruse emerged from the rubble of the garbage bins, his left hand gripping a glowing red lightsweeper sword.

What drew immediate attention, however, were his drooping right arm and the right side of his face. Neither exposed to the air was flesh and blood at all, but rather prosthetic structures crackling with erratic sparks.

Prosthetic augmentation, lightsaber, psychokinesis... The Black Knight class of the [Gears Orthodox Church].

"Photon-Attendant circuits... You're from the Sanctuary!"

William Ruse said in an icy tone toward Xiuxiu. To prevent himself from being ambushed at close quarters again, a psychokinetic barrier instantly unfurled around him.

"Well, well, look at McCann's little whelp!" The blonde youth mocked with a grin.

Sure enough, upon hearing those words, William Ruse flew into a rage.

"Damn heretical scum of Heaven! How dare a lowly insect like you utter the name of my Lord directly!"

Hum—

Ruse leveraged a burst of psychokinesis to close the distance to Xiuxiu in an instant, the lightsaber in his hand stabbing viciously toward Xiuxiu's vital spots. In response, Xiuxiu sidestepped and delivered a side kick straight into the wrist of Ruse's sword-wielding left hand.

Bang—

The terrifying force accompanying the Type III Photon-Attendant circuit shattered William Ruse's psychokinesis barrier with a sonic boom. The intended thrust was forcibly deflected by the sheer power, sending the red lightsaber sweeping upward, grazing the blonde youth's cheek.

By this time, Xiuxiu had already materialized a crimson [Slasher Disc] in his right hand. Gripping the glowing disc, he brought it down relentlessly toward the enemy's head.

Clang—

Screeeech!!!

William Ruse managed to block the attack for a fraction of a second with his psychokinetic barrier, using that split second to rapidly recover his guard. His lightsaber collided with the opponent's [Slasher Disc], producing a shrieking screech of friction while intense sparks erupted from the point of contact.

Damn it... These accursed savages!

William Ruse's knees slowly buckled downward as the crimson [Slasher Disc] pressed harder and harder against his face.

If that damned bastard of Heaven hadn't ambushed me earlier and rendered my right arm practically useless, I wouldn't be—

Just as William Ruse was struggling to hold his ground, he noticed the corners of the youth's lips curl upward. The blonde youth's golden eyes gradually shifted under the red moonlight into brilliant, golden vertical slits like those of a fierce beast.

[Heaven's Lock Eyes - Enhanced Paralysis (800 Spirit)]

An inexplicable sense of terror began to devour William Ruse's will. His spiritual intuition screamed at him that he must under no circumstances look away or feel fear under the gaze of those eyes—something catastrophic would happen if he did!

Yet, the overwhelming surge of fear forced him to avert his gaze anyway; he did not dare to look directly into those blindingly brilliant golden pupils.

Check failed - Enhanced Paralysis triggered!

Ugh... William Ruse found that every single prosthetic component in his body had suddenly frozen in place, halting all motion instantly.

Crack—

The crimson [Slasher Disc] sliced instantly through his psychokinetic barrier and carved straight down through his chest without hesitation.

Sizzz—

William Ruse's chest was sliced wide open, exposing dense layers of prosthetic machinery within. Without missing a beat, Xiuxiu dismissed the [Slasher Disc] in his hand, thrust his right arm deep into the opponent's abdomen, and after rummaging around for a moment, pulled out a glowing red data chip.

William Ruse sank weakly to his knees, staring in absolute horror at the blonde youth with the radiant pupils.

"Don't look so surprised. Once you chop down enough Black Knights, you naturally figure out how to harvest their [Core Chips]."

The brilliant, radiant smile on the youth's face chilled William Ruse to the bone. At that moment, the opponent reached out with his right hand—still covered in glowing red mystic circuits—and grabbed a fistful of his hair.

"I'll be borrowing your core chip for a bit. Don't worry, I'll make sure to treat [Gorgon] very well."

"You...!" William Ruse stared at Xiuxiu in utter shock.

Snap-sizzle—

Like wringing out a wet towel, the blonde youth twisted William Ruse's head clean off his shoulders, dragging out countless tightly packed, electric-arc-spitting cables along with the skull.

"Here goes!"

Xiuxiu hurled the severed head upward with all his might. The terrifying physical strength amplified by the Type III Photon-Attendant mystic circuit sent William Ruse's head soaring high into the night sky.

In the next motion, Xiuxiu raised his right hand, formed his fingers into the shape of a handgun, squinted his right eye, and aimed directly at the airborne head.

[Fireball (100 Spirit)]

BOOM！！！

Bathed in the crimson moonlight, sparks scattered in all directions.

William Ruse's head exploded like a firework. Any passing pedestrian who happened to catch a glimpse of the spectacle would likely have mistaken it for someone setting off festive displays.

"Phew—"

Xiuxiu blew away the tiny flame flickering on the tip of his right index finger, then gave William Ruse's headless torso a casual kick, sending it tumbling into the garbage bin.

With that task completed, Xiuxiu whistled cheerfully, tossing the red data chip from hand to hand as he strolled away.

In a matter of moments, his figure vanished into the dim, quiet alleyway.