The two were locked in a cautious standoff, Palmer lacking the ability to defeat Olivia, but fortunately Olivia herself was heavily restricted.
Since the Dawn War, several Extraordinary Clans and the Night Race established a contract where every surviving Night Race member was not only trapped in the Land of Eternal Night but also restricted by the contract, unable to directly attack them.
The Contract School is both loved and hated, fostering many devil-worshipping groups, yet this powerful Power of Contract binds people with differing stances together, maintaining superficial peace.
The contract is not potent; it cannot completely limit Olivia’s actions, but one thing is certain: if the contract is broken, it would mean a new round of backlash for the Night Race.
Olivia was quite aware of the Night Race’s predicament, struggling to survive, the best state for them now was to remain silent and unnoticed by anyone.
Flesh continued to grow incessantly, beginning to evolve on its own, flesh mingling with layered bones, resembling hands dangling from overhead, clawing fiercely.
Olivia took a deep breath. In the past, she would have never cared for these restrictions, she wouldn’t have hesitated to break the contract and decapitate Palmer.
But things were different now. Olivia was acutely aware of her mission. She had been striving for decades for this mission, and she couldn’t let it end here.
"Have you decided? If this drags on, everyone will be doomed."
Palmer reminded, appearing relaxed, yet beneath the black hood, sweat had drenched the fabric.
What bad luck, so few Night Race members left in this world and he happens to encounter one in such a damned place, utterly unlucky.
The Clarks and Night Race had a deep-seated hatred, only someone as heartless as Serey would be indifferent to it.
Palmer doubted his words could sway the woman in front of him, he aimed more to buy time, maybe if he waited a while longer, he’d get lucky? Like a group of strong men descending from the sky to chop this Night Race into mince.
The figure slowly maneuvered, trying to distance himself from the vicinity of the door, but this subtle movement didn’t escape the woman’s notice as she ended her pondering, the black smoke dissipated and gathered by Palmer’s side.
Olivia took no effort to conceal her action, while Palmer was unable to resist, Olivia was too fast, with a sharp short dagger appearing before him, poised to slit his throat at the slightest move.
Silence overtook the atmosphere, only flesh continued its relentless growth, soon covering much of the area, turning the darkness into a crimson hollow.
Palmer felt doomed, but the woman in front of him spoke.
"What are you doing?"
Olivia tilted her head slightly, directing her sight to the devices scattered across the door, "Are you planning to blow open the Void Realm?"
"You’re an expert! This is a Void Realm explosive device, just one press of the switch and it can blow a hole in the Void Realm, breaking the enclosure," Palmer answered anything he was asked.
"You actually understand the Void Realm?"
Olivia was somewhat surprised, not expecting someone like Palmer to grasp such knowledge, like a monkey able to paint, unimaginable what effort his mentor exerted to teach Palmer this.
"Not fully understand, just been researching how to escape the Void Realm of the Wind Source Highlands since childhood, so I’m quite adept at sabotage."
A flash of resentment crossed Palmer’s eyes, judging by the looks, his childhood escape attempts had all failed.
"So... peaceful coexistence, how about it?"
Suddenly, Palmer clasped a hand behind him, eyes playful, his tone growing assertive.
"You’re right, this is the Order Bureau’s trap, but not targeting you, you can leave quietly, but if you choose to act against me..."
His glance swept past the door as he threatened.
"I may die, but I’d surely blow open the door, wreck the Void Realm before I perish, guess what waits behind the door? Guess correctly and there’s a surprise."
Olivia scrutinized the man in front of her, suddenly approaching Palmer, seductive aura accompanying her words, caressing Palmer’s cheek.
"Great, peaceful coexistence."
Olivia agreed to cooperate with Palmer, yet Palmer didn’t relax, the woman’s current demeanor seemed ready to bite him.
Palmer didn’t mind a stranger’s bite, but dealing with the Night Race, better not, she’d drain his blood dry.
Upon hearing this, Palmer sighed with relief but remained partially cautious.
"What is your Order Bureau up to then?" Olivia probed for information.
"How would I know, I’m just a junior field staff."
Palmer guarded the secret with difficulty, seemingly choosing not to defect.
Olivia slightly smiled, revealing sharp teeth, her eyes radiant like ruby reflecting Palmer’s face, causing it to distort under her gaze, akin to ripples on water.
Few can resist Olivia’s allure, with a little manipulation, she could control Palmer.
This is considered one of the Night Race’s innate talents. These undead creatures possess a strong allure, and those who are enchanted will immerse themselves in a hazy beauty, to the extent that they lose perception of their bodies.
This is a common occurrence. Before the Night Race feeds, they play with their prey in this way, like a strong sedative, making them forget the intense pain of being drained of blood.
"Wait a minute, control yourself."
Clearly, such allure had no effect on Palmer. He quickly raised his hands, attempting to push Olivia away, maintaining a safe distance from her.
The life-and-death struggle just moments before turned somewhat comical.
Olivia looked suspiciously at Palmer, noticing that his gaze upon her was ordinary but peculiar, as if she were a female gorilla in a zoo, and he was a visitor there to observe.
This was the second time today. Olivia truly began to doubt her own charm.
Could it be that she’s already old, unable to keep up with the times?
Palmer straightened his collar confidently.
"Although her figure isn’t as good as yours and her personality isn’t as nice as yours, she’s still my fiancée."
Having resisted Olivia’s temptation, he carried an air of pride, but Olivia’s gaze was focused on Palmer’s hand.
Her scarlet eyes brimmed with killing intent, almost dripping with blood.
Palmer wasn’t holding a detonator but a bundle of black fabric. Noticing Olivia’s gaze, Palmer quickly explained.
"No, I’m not a pervert. This is my emergency hood!"
Palmer quickly put away the black stockings. He often carried such strange things with him, and when his black hood got damaged, he’d switch to using black stockings as a mask. In emergencies, he’d even grab some trash bags to put over his head.
"You’re screwing with me!"
Olivia roared. What she cared about wasn’t the black stockings, but that Palmer didn’t have a detonator at all.
Palmer appeared harmless, and before Olivia could swing out her short dagger, another strong ethereal fluctuation was released, coming from the door.
The blinding light ignited the door, and in an instant, the roar of an explosion swallowed both of them present.
There was never any detonator from the start. Facing an opponent far stronger than himself, it was highly likely they could chop off his arm, seize the detonator, and these devices required some time to start up.
For safety, Palmer set the Void Realm explosive device to detonate on a timer, and all the nonsense he spoke earlier was just to buy time.
Palmer thought of himself as a genius, though, if possible, he hoped there’d be fewer occasions to showcase these elements of his genius.
Aside from the physical shockwave of the explosion, the roaring ether surged in all directions, the growing flesh withered and shattered, the entire building filled with cracks and collapsed.
In the chaos, a fierce wind suddenly rose. Palmer gritted his teeth and persevered, soaring into the air on the gusts kicked up by the explosion, as the black smoke around him continuously solidified and dissipated, while Olivia’s pair of scarlet eyes flickered unceasingly.
She was like a blood-seeking specter, and just as she was about to reach Palmer, a large stone fell from above, covered in crimson flesh.
The flesh had no idea of danger, only following its instincts to consume, reaching out scarlet tendrils towards Olivia. Her attack was thus interrupted, and within moments, all the flesh crumbled apart, causing cracks to appear in the large stone as well.
Moving forward again, it was as if fate was shielding Palmer. Rock after rock fell, blocking Olivia’s path. She felt an unfamiliar sense of frustration, and the angrier she became, the louder Palmer’s damned laughter grew from the other side of the dust.
The collapse quickly ended. Palmer stood at the doorway of the passage they came through, and Olivia stood amidst the ruins. Behind her, a door was blown open, from which came a poisonous mist, faintly glowing, overflowing like a tidal wave onto the steps.
"You need to leave, friend."
Palmer supported himself against the wall, shouting loudly.
Olivia stared intently at Palmer. He was right; she indeed needed to leave. Beyond the Sea of Mist, clusters of ethereal reactions were appearing, and the Order Bureau’s monsters were rushing here non-stop.
If it were someone else, Olivia could handle it, but the Order Bureau was different; they were the Sovereigns here.
Olivia asked again. She had already marked Palmer’s blood, just as she had marked Bologue’s blood before.
Palmer answered loudly without the slightest hesitation.