Chapter 552

Chapter 552.

The passersby screamed in panic and scattered. The academy guard in front of them suddenly jerked his head up and, at the same time, drew the revolver at his waist.

Nina had only managed to say half a sentence when this sudden change cut her off. She grabbed Shirley beside her on reflex, then quickly turned her head to look toward the source of the screams.

The roar and the noise suddenly grew to an unbearable level. Sharp pain shook through her senses. Blinding light filled her ears. Her eyes were stabbed by the noise. Her skin felt as if it boiled and steamed in the wind. An indescribable giant sphere hung high in an equally indescribable sky, swelling and writhing madly.

Malicious things began to stir. Those shapes that swelled and shrank rushed about all around, shaking the whole world with their awful howls.

But… where was their weapon? Where was their armor? Where were their companions? Where… were they?

A horrible, pitch-black “mass” of indescribable shape burst out of the air and slammed to the ground.

The mass looked like some kind of flesh, yet it kept reflecting a cold, metallic shine. Its ever-reshaping surface sometimes threw off colorful phantom light, and in that light something seemed to roar and twitch.

This terrifying thing threw the crowd into panic. Everyone scattered and ran.

Only the two “knowledge guards” on the scene did not hesitate. They drew their pistols and took out their spellcasting tools, then rushed toward that horrifying Mortal Realm Intruder.

Their shouts reached Nina and Shirley’s ears: “Child, run!”

The Guardian’s shout snapped Nina awake. In the chaos that had suddenly erupted, Nina stared wide-eyed at the center of the disturbance.

She did not know if she was just seeing things.

Because in that brief instant, in those first one or two seconds, maybe even less, she felt she had seen something far more unbelievable than that terrifying mass. Yes, in that very first second, that thing had looked… like a person.

She wondered if she had seen wrong, because the moment was far too short. And judging from how everyone around her reacted… no one else seemed to have noticed that scene.

The guards had already rushed forward. Because they still could not tell what strange traits this suddenly appearing Intruder had, they did not fire rashly. Instead, they first smashed several test tubes on the ground nearby. The volatile reagents inside quickly spread into the air, forming a thin mist that gathered into a “wall of air” that did not disperse. sunlight shone on it and refracted into a dizzying glow.

It was as if some rainbow-like crystal barrier had formed in the surrounding cloud of gas.

The two Guardians stepped into the “wall of air” first. One aimed his gun at the swelling, writhing thing rolling on the ground. The other quickly scattered potions and powders over the ground nearby, lit a portable candlestick, then used crystals and metal blocks to build a temporary protective barrier, suppressing the thing’s movements.

A sharp whistle then sounded from the other end of the street. The Guardians patrolling other parts of the market hurried over to help. As they drove off the remaining pedestrians on the road, they stepped into the “wall of air” and skillfully began a series of sealing, suppression, and purification procedures.

Nina and Shirley stood not far away, watching all this in a daze. They did not feel nervous. They just thought it was very new and strange.

Because even though they had already run into quite a few supernatural incidents by now, they had hardly ever seen how professional Guardians “handled an incident by the book.”

Trained ordinary persons followed strict operating rules and worked together smoothly to control the Intruders that suddenly appeared in the Mortal Realm. This scene was very different from how Uncle Duncan (the captain) usually solved problems.

Right then, the “mass” in the center of the “wall of air,” which shone with a metallic luster like some kind of living steel, suddenly thrashed violently. The temporary seal that the Guardians had hastily built with a ritual was hit at once. The transparent shell that covered the Intruder’s surface cracked inch by inch, giving off a harsh, shrill tearing sound. The two knowledge guards who were maintaining the ritual’s suppression staggered back a few steps, and the crystal prism in one man’s hand shattered in an instant.

But that seemed to be the Intruder’s last struggle.

The Guardians recovered from their panic and were already ready to reinforce the seal again, but then they saw that the “living steel” in the center of the site was quickly slowing its writhing, as if its life was draining away. The strange hissing and scraping sounds coming from inside it grew lower and lower. Its heaving surface also seemed to freeze, as if it were solidifying. A dull gray color spread across its metallic “skin,” like stone weathering at high speed.

In the end, the whole thing almost stopped moving. Only a few faint twitches, like the muscle spasms of a dead animal, still ran across its surface from time to time.

“Target activity has dropped. It has stopped reacting to Catalyst No. 17.”

One Guardian, holding a revolver in one hand and several test tubes in the other, spoke quickly.

Another Guardian held a very thick book with both hands. While he stared hard at the “living steel” in the center of the site, he sensed something. A moment later he said: “The target has no mental activity.”

“There are still signs of movement in the central area, but they are fading… No tendency to communicate outward has been detected.”

“Insensitive to the Class III catalyst group. It does not belong to any known type of Intruder… When will the team from the academy get here?”

“The message has been sent. The fastest is fifteen minutes.”

“Got it. Everyone stay alert. Watch your own mental state. Do not leave the barrier zone. Report at once if you see or hear anything unusual.”

The Guardians handled the emergency here professionally and quickly. Even though the thing that had entered the Mortal Realm this time was a completely new entity not found in any records, they still did not look at a loss—until a sudden voice came from the side.

“Um… mister Guardian, what is this thing?”

Nina pulled Shirley over to the “living steel” mass that had almost stopped moving. The two unusually bold young ladies carefully examined the “substance” on the ground, which was nearly two meters across. Nina could not help asking curiously.

The knowledge guard closest to them almost jumped on the spot.

This middle-aged man in a robe, whose air made him look more like a middle school teacher than a warrior, turned his head in horror. He saw that the ones standing behind him were the same two young ladies who had first walked toward him, as if they had wanted to report something. He had thought these two young ladies would be evacuated at once. How were they still here?!

And in the next second, this Guardian realized an even more unbelievable fact.

“How did you get in?!”

He stared, dumbfounded, at Nina and Shirley. From the corner of his eye he quickly glanced behind them. The “wall of air” that blocked off the scene still floated a few meters away, perfectly intact. The barrier with its rainbow, crystal-like mist showed no sign of being broken by anyone, and he himself had not sensed any physical body touch that barrier at all…

So how had these two girls, who looked like middle-school students, just strolled right in?!

“I just walked in,” Nina said. When Nina saw the mister Guardian’s stunned reaction and saw the other Guardians around them instantly go on high alert, she finally felt a bit nervous. “I just… walked in, like that.”

Shirley hurriedly nodded. She tried her best to use the acting skills she had practiced since she was little, skills she had not used much lately, and put on a meek, innocent look: “We were just curious, so we came over to take a look, mister…”

“Walked in?!” The Guardian stared, and his years of training made him silently recite a prayer to Rahm at once. One hand pressed on the grip of his gun, and his eyes locked on the two young ladies in front of him.

A faint layer of silver light appeared in his eyes.

However, Nina and Shirley just stood there, harmless, like two completely ordinary children out shopping.

And Nina really did not know what was going on.

She had seen the ring of mist, but she had only thought of it as some symbolic “boundary,” like a frame drawn on the ground with white paint. She naturally walked in and did not feel any resistance at all—just like how sunlight could naturally pass through glass.

As for Shirley… Shirley also did not feel that barrier.

Because Shirley walked together with sunlight.

The tense and strange standoff lasted for several seconds. The Guardians on the scene were all on edge. A faint silvery glow rose in the eyes of half of them. Rahm’s divine blessing temporarily strengthened their ability to see the truth, so they could observe these two girls who looked ordinary but whose words and actions faintly felt suspicious.

However, they did not find any anomaly.

Only the older middle-aged knowledge guard still felt a faint sense of wrongness in his heart. He kept feeling that something was hidden right before his eyes, hidden deep in the smile of one of the girls. So he could not help looking at Nina a few more times, the light in his eyes flickering.

But all of a sudden, he felt it was not necessary to keep looking. This baseless thought made him unconsciously withdraw the light from his eyes.

The Guardian rubbed his eyes and, in a daze, forgot the feeling of wrongness that had just risen in his heart.

“We’re not disturbing your work, are we?” Nina asked with a hint of apology.

The Guardians looked at one another. Several of them quickly exchanged glances and spoke in low voices for a moment.

The middle-aged Guardian who looked the most senior took a step forward. His expression was serious, and he still kept a slight wariness.

“Sorry, ladies, but could you… come with us for a bit?”