Among the six people ier cafe right now, aside from Gloria, all 5 others were slovenly dressed men. The owner was sweating through his already dirty shirt. The two “guests” that drew their k Gloria were also shaking. As for the other two guests, one was a young man who did not seem to have a very clear idea on how terrifying the situation was; the other was a slightly sickly looking middle aged man, who kept rubbing his nose and scratg his ears.

  “Wait - did you hear something?” One of the real guests, a man wearing a pair of ically thid rge gsses, shivered and looked around: “And - do you feel cold?”

  Gloria looked around and shook her head: “No - not really - ”

  “No - nonono - ” The chubby man with a bald spot on his head in a flowery buttoned up shirt, who drew his k Gloria earlier, started looking around as well: “I - I hear people g and ughing - and is that - are those dogs?”

  “Yes! Dogs!” The first man with gsses snapped his finger and poi the chubby man: “I think - I think it’s a small one, like a pomeranian or a chihuahua.”

  “What are you saying? What are you talking about?!” The other man who drew his knife earlier, a slightly thinner man in a bck cotto and a pair of short khaki pants tried to wake his friend by shaking his arm and shoulders: “Hey man, snap out of it!”

  “I - I think it’s drowning - what is this?” The chubby man with a bald spot appeared fused.

  “Wait - I think I am hearing something as well.” This moment, the owner of the i cafe shivered and sat straight: “Wait - what is that? I hear - I hear some kind of rumbling, and what is that - chairs and tables falling?”

  “What the hell?” Anuest, the young man with a crooked haircut and a strip of blue and green bangs, frowned and looked at the owner: “Boss Man, what are you doing? What are you hearing?” He then looked at Gloria for help, who seemed to be the oh the clearest head right now.

  “Hold them down. Don’t let them move.” Gloria took a look at these people’s eyes then said to the guest: “I don’t know, but I think it’s the Blood Rainbow causing something in their heads.”

  “We must do something! We must do something!” The young man with a blue strip in his hair helped hold the owner down to prevent him from moving: “I - I think I am beginning to hear something as well - please! Do something!”

  “Hang on, don’t resist.” Gloria jumped up, rushed to this young man’s back, and tapped him and the man in a bck cotto on the backs of their heads and shoulders, infusing him with a little bit of her Qi. Another simple trick to help temporarily boost their vigor and vitality. But it won’t hold for too long. “Do you know if there’s paper here? And ink? Do you know if this i cafe has any blessed artifacts, or talismans, or even some beads?”

  “Yes! Yes I think I might knoot! There is a - a - a small drawer in the ba, the boss kept his expeuff locked up in there. Just go there and see if you find anything!” The man in a bck vest nodded profusely: “Please! Go! I - I don’t know if I’m gonna lose it!”

  “Stay calm! Stay calm, okay? Clear your mind, focus on yourself. The more stressed and afraid you are, the easier it is to get ied or possessed.” Gloria raised her voice at the two remaining men: “Hold it!”

  The drawer was made of hardened wood and had a thick metal lock. The key was nowhere in sight, so Gloria just raised her arm and smashed a hole oop of the drawer with her fist.

  There was a small cloth pouside the drawer. She picked it up - it was heavier than one holding talismans would be. It was s, there were three heavily weathered old s, tied together using equally weathered red threads and had square holes in the middle. But despite the looks, Gloria could tell that there was something special about the s and the threads. A kind of grand, blessed grandeur.

  Without a hint of hesitation, Glrabbed the s in her hand while looking through the rest of things in this drawer - there were two pieces of very meticulously made red paper talismans tucked to the side of the drawer. But when she ope, she could nhe patterns - they were not the on evil-repelnt talismans, nor were they any other kind with which Gloria was familiar. After a short moment of thought she just put it back - she did not need another wildcard that could potentially make things worse.

  “Quick! Please!” The man in a bck vest yelled: “I ’t hold them anymore!”

  “I ’t hold them! They’re s! Help!” The young man with a blue strip in his hair yelled as well: “Please hurry!”

  Holding the s in her hand, Gloria rushed out of the ba. Even though she did not know what the s were, she was vihat if there was anything that could help with the situation, it would be these old s.

  Right now, the only two men who still had clear minds: the man in a bck vest and the young marying to hold down three men who had fallen into some kind of collective illusion.

  “Oh my god! So much water! Water everywhere!” The owner of this i cafe fpped his hands in the air like he was trying to swim. It was not an aggressive move, but he was someanig and screaming like the other two, which made them extra difficult to pin down.

  “Please! Get out! Get out of the way!” The chubby man coughed and heaved as if he was really choking on water. His body was just flopping around on the ground, a few times his arms almost knocked over the inse burner in the middle.

  “Please! Help us!” The young man yelled once again.

  Gloria’s eyes glowed in a dim blue light, and in her vision, she saw clouds of gray fog looming over the three men’s heads and shoulders. Evewo others who were not halluating also had them, just seemed to be lesser in terms of density or size.

  She thought for a quient, then fixed her eyes on the inse burhree inse sticks, the middle one seemed to be burning slower thaher two. She then rushed to the burner, stretg the threads that tied the s together out a little and then sliding the s dowicks by letting them gh the square holes. When the s reached the bottom aed on the ashes in the burner, Gloria almost felt a breath of warm air blowing in her face.

  The same warm wind also blew by the other men in the room. And almost at the same time, the three of them in illusion all stopped moving.

  “Wait - what’d you do?” The man in a bck vest chuckled, almost asking out loud: “It worked? It worked!”

  “What is happening?” The owner of the i cafe groaned and rubbed his eyes.