Unless he can seize the moment during that split-second of time suspension to instantly kill Urushibara Osamu, he would never be able to touch Urushibara Osamu’s body.
So, he turned his target towards the three members of the auction house.
At this moment, after hearing Urushibara Osamu’s analysis, the members silently distanced themselves from Ghost Bell.
They all knew that the next time suspension was approaching. They dreaded that during that split second of time suspension, their lives would be claimed by this utterly unreasonable monster.
A few seconds later, the clock struck again, a mercury hue enveloping the entire world.
The other members were too far apart, even if the shadows pursued them, they would be scattered in their positions—Ghost Bell had to protect both the "Clock Tower" and Blue Arc simultaneously; pursuing actively in this premise was definitely not a wise choice.
Thus, Ghost Bell chose to take a gamble and continued to attack the closer Urushibara Osamu. He controlled the shadows to leap and soar towards the crystal chandelier on the dome, swiping the wrist blade towards Urushibara Osamu’s leg.
The next moment, time resumed its normal flow.
As expected, Urushibara Osamu transformed into a scatter of crow feathers and appeared five meters directly in front of Ghost Bell.
"Only know how to hide like a cockroach?" Ghost Bell mocked word by word, slowly lowering his gaze towards Urushibara Osamu ahead.
Urushibara Osamu also slowly lifted his head, his deep-set eyes meeting Ghost Bell’s gaze.
"Why not, take a look behind you?" he suddenly suggested.
Ghost Bell frowned. It was then that he suddenly realized there was an extra kind of cold, emotionless killing intent in the auction house, like that of a seasoned ninja, only releasing the killing intent at the moment of action.
Thus, Ghost Bell looked back abruptly, and immediately stiffened all over.
At this moment, a man in a jet-black ninja outfit was kneeling on the ground, his katana resting against Blue Arc’s neck.
"You bastards..." Ghost Bell’s face twitched.
His attention had been entirely on the three members and the brigade leader, so he completely overlooked that Oda Takashige had been hiding in the auction house.
Concealing aura, waiting for the chance to act, striking the opponent’s head the moment he steps out of the shadows, deciding victory in a single move—this is the style a battle-hardened ninja should have. At this moment, Oda Takashige ended the battle.
"If in a one-on-one fight, your only weakness might be that Clock Tower," Urushibara Osamu lowered his eyes and toyed with a deck of cards, "But unfortunately, your recent performance exposed another weakness. And that is..."
He paused: "Blue Arc."
Ghost Bell twisted his neck, his expression dark as he fixed his gaze on Oda Takashige, then looked at the long blade resting on Blue Arc’s neck, clenching his fists for a moment, the anger in his heart surging like high tide, yet had to be held back by the dam of reason.
Meanwhile, counting from the start of the battle, thirty seconds had silently elapsed.
The hour hand of the giant Clock Tower moved swiftly once more, this time landing at the "6 o’clock" position.
Ghost Bell did nothing, standing silently in place like a statue.
Urushibara Osamu looked up at the Clock Tower, speaking leisurely:
"Before this, I had researched your ability to some extent. The hour hand of the Clock Tower lands on a time mark every 30 seconds, and at each hour mark, you exhibit different abilities—which also means... at least in the next 30 seconds, you won’t be able to release the time suspension ability."
Speaking, he cast his eyes back to Ghost Bell, continuing calmly:
"Without the ability to suspend time, you cannot be our opponent; secondly, you cannot rescue Blue Arc from Oda Takashige’s hands..."
Before he finished speaking, a voice suddenly echoed in the auction house, cutting off his words eerily from behind him: "While reminding others to pay attention to their backs, why not also take a look at your own back, Mr. Brigade Leader?"
He paused: "I am sure... the result will not disappoint you."
Urushibara Osamu slightly faltered.
Following this eerie voice, a deathly silence briefly engulfed the auction house.
After a long pause, Urushibara Osamu emotionlessly turned his head, looking towards the source of the voice.
At this moment, a figure wrapped entirely in black strips was hanging upside down beneath the ceiling of the auction platform;
Furthermore, this black figure had bound a man with a mechanical box on his head with his arms and was using a restraint belt to suspend the man’s body in mid-air.
In his line of sight appeared Black Cocoon, and member number 7 of the brigade—"Robert".
Under Urushibara Osamu’s gaze, Black Cocoon slowly released his arms, instead using strands of black restraint belt to bind around Robert’s neck, wrapping several circles like a black snake throttling its prey.
Robert struggled, letting out a muffled groan.
In the suffocating silence of the auction house, every member, including Ghost Bell, stared at the uninvited guest hanging upside down in mid-air.
Black Cocoon grinned, slowly speaking to Urushibara Osamu:
"Oh, cunning Mr. Brigade Leader, I have seen your little movements. It would be best if you don’t let your crows approach me, nor should any of your members get close. Otherwise, I will immediately snap member number 7’s neck."
He paused briefly, then lowered his voice mockingly:
"Seemingly the most insignificant, the weakest member, but in fact, this member number 7 is an indispensable cog in your operations, isn’t it?"
"Which means, if I kill him, it would be an irreparable loss to the White Crow Travel Brigade."
"Think about it carefully, Mr. Brigade Leader."