Lord of the Mysteries

Klein instinctively reached for his pockets. He held the Flaring Sun Charm in one hand and Azik’s copper whistle in the other.

He acutely noticed that the cold, gentle Beyonder feedback of the latter had vanished as if it was being suppressed by an invisible power. However, the former was still warm and comforting.

Making use of this comforting feeling, Klein entered a half Cogitation state. He blocked out his feelings of worry and didn’t leave anything to chance.

He turned and shot a look at Leonard Mitchell, then tipped his chin toward Megose.

He then controlled his expression with his Clown abilities and smiled at Megose.

“Do you want coffee, black tea, or nothing at all?”

Megose stroked her stomach as if she was listening to something.

“A cup of warm water. I suddenly thought of chatting with you guys about Lanevus. I have the feeling that you know a lot.”

“Who told you that?” Leonard was no longer the frivolous guy that he usually was. His smile had turned rather stiff.

Megose suddenly giggled.

“My child told me. He knows a lot. He’s very smart!”

Klein fought back the urge to curse. He turned to the partition and signaled to Leonard to keep Megose calm.

Leonard forced a smile and pointed toward the sofa.

“That’s exactly what I’d like to talk about. We want to have a chat with you about Lanevus.”

Behind the receptionist desk, Rozanne looked on in confusion. She suddenly realized that she didn’t need to do anything.

Klein quickly made his way past the partition and directly pushed open the door to Dunn Smith’s office, then closed the door with a bang.

He saw Dunn looking shocked before turning serious and saying in a heavy voice, “Captain, something serious has happened. I know what Lanevus meant by bomb!”

Dunn stood up and pointed outside.

“Megose?”

He had obviously heard Leonard’s shocked exclamation, but he was unable to see the looks of fear and cold sweat on his teammates’ faces.

Klein nodded and explained quickly, “I tried to activate my Spirit Vision to observe Megose to ascertain her mental condition, but my spirituality stopped me from making the attempt. It kept “warning” me not to look, that I would die if I did so!

“This made me recall a saying, ‘You may not look directly at God.’ Even if the fetus in Megose’s stomach isn’t an evil god attempting to descend upon this world, or the spawn of an evil god, it’s definitely a legendary creature.

“Captain, connecting this to the black altar in Hood Eugen’s memories, to his Psychiatrist abilities, to the tragic world as described in Lanevus’s letter, I think that my guess is quite close to the truth: Lanevus obtained a ritualistic magic linked to the True Creator from an Aurora Order member. With Hood Eugen’s help, he turned Megose into a vessel to gestate a certain power. Then, this power will make use of the resentment, oppression, and gloominess surrounding the factories to quickly grow until maturity. In other words, the ritual itself needs this resentment, oppression, and gloominess in order to succeed!”

Dunn considered Klein’s words seriously for nearly twenty seconds before nodding with a solemn expression.

“I’ll ask for assistance from the Holy Cathedral immediately. Let’s hope that the baby in Megose’s stomach can still wait!

“Of course, we can’t just sit back and do nothing. Tell Leonard to keep Megose calm and keep her company. Notify Mrs. Orianna, Rozanne, and the rest. Get all the non-combatants to evacuate!

“I’ll head to the back of Chanis Gate after I send the telegram. We have to prepare for the worst, which is if Megose’s baby is born before the arrival of reinforcements from the Holy Cathedral.

“As Captain of the Tingen Nighthawks, I have the authority to use Saint Selena’s ashes during emergencies!”

Saint Selena’s ashes… The ashes of a High-Sequence Beyonder… The core seals within Chanis Gate… Klein’s worries eased a little. He quickly thought of other things.

“Captain, we can also ask for reinforcements from the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind; they should have similar holy items!”

Klein suddenly had a stroke of inspiration as he muttered to himself, “Lanevus’s case was originally under the purview of the Mandated Punishers. Old Neil and I were there to help when one of their senior members lost control…”

As he spoke softly, his voice grew to a crescendo.

“Captain, can you ask the Mandated Punishers if the member who lost control was tracking or keeping Megose under surveillance?”

“Are you suspecting that he lost control because he got corrupted by the baby in Megose’s stomach? They were responsible for Megose when the investigation was happening…” Dunn answered seriously. “We cannot delay any further. Go to Mrs. Orianna and the rest. I’ll take this time to send a telegram to first ask for assistance from the Holy Cathedral, then I’ll inform the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind. Yes, I’ll also have to send a telegram to the police department and see if they can come up with an excuse to evacuate the citizens nearby.”

“Alright.” Klein had taken a few steps out of the room when he suddenly recalled something. He thought about the coincidence of Megose’s sudden visit.

The image of the building with the red chimney appeared in his mind. He turned around quickly and said to Dunn, “Captain, one more thing. Do you remember the coincidences I told you about? The clue to the Antigonus family’s notebook in the house opposite the kidnapping, Ray Bieber who didn’t make it out of Tingen in time, Hanass Vincent exposing himself because of a coincidence, and how a member of the Aurora Order lost his life because he chanced upon me, etc.

“All these coincidences are very subtle and hard to detect, but the fact that Megose suddenly came looking for us right after we discovered Lanevus’s letter is too obvious and direct. This coincidence was already laid bare before us, it’s no longer hidden! I think that the person behind this will soon take center stage!

“Also, why would Madam Sharon take the risk in killing Member of Parliament Maynard? Is this also a coincidence?”

Dunn thought about it and gave a solemn reply, “I’ll include this point in the telegram.”

Klein didn’t waste any more time. He exited the office and went straight for the accountant’s room on the opposite side.

Mrs. Orianna was preparing the budget for the last three months of the year. She wanted to complete it in advance just in case the Captain forgot about it again. When she saw Klein enter, she greeted him with a smile.

“Lad, what claims do you have to submit today?”

Klein exhaled.

“Mrs. Orianna, we will be on vacation today. Go back home immediately.”

Orianna froze for a while, looking at the serious face before her in a daze.

A few seconds later, she stood up in a fluster.

“Alright.”

Klein added in a hurry, “Help me inform the rest of the clerks in the office and the armory. I’ll inform Rozanne.”

“Yes!” Orianna didn’t even pack. She grabbed her handbag and hurried out of the accounting office.

She turned and stared at Klein after entering the corridor. She drew a crimson moon near her chest and said, “All of you will be blessed by the Goddess!”

Thank you… Klein replied in silence. He made his way past the partition into the receptionist area only to see Leonard chatting with Megose about Lanevus, his expression rigid.

Klein leaned toward Rozanne as he filled up a cup of warm water. He then whispered, “Go home, it’s dangerous here. Come back tomorrow.”

Rozanne opened her mouth in shock but closed it again after seeing Klein’s stern expression.

She lowered her head and packed for about ten seconds before picking up her bag and leaving the receptionist area.

Just as she was walking past Klein, she bit on her lip and whispered, “To be honest, I respect the Nighthawks as much as I hate other people who become Beyonders…”

…

After seeing the clerks evacuate the Blackthorn Security Company, Klein brought warm water to Megose, bent his back, and placed it on the table in front of her.

“I have something to settle, I’ll be back soon.”

As he stood up, he took the opportunity to lean in towards Leonard’s ear and whispered, “Keep her here.”

Leonard clenched his teeth and widened his mouth into a grin. He continued his conversation with Megose and noticed that Megose was getting a little restless, as though she was losing her focus.

Klein returned to the Captain’s office, only to realize that Dunn had already gone underground. There was a telegram on the table. It was the reply from the Mandated Punishers.

“Yes. We will be there immediately.”

Yes… The Mandated Punisher did lose control because of Megose… Klein couldn’t calm himself down as he made his way to the corridor. He didn’t know if he was waiting for the Captain to retrieve the holy ashes or for reinforcements to arrive.

I wonder if High-Sequence Beyonders can teleport… I don’t think so… He paced around a few times, suddenly feeling peaceful. He saw that the gas lamps on both sides of the corridor were now dyed a faint blue.

Amid the darkness, Dunn followed the stairs into the corridor. In his palm was a square, palm-sized box of ashes.

This box looked as though it was made out of pure silver, but it also felt like it was human bones. It was carved with many mysterious patterns. Klein felt colder the closer he was to the box, it was as if the cold was rapidly seeping into his blood.

Dunn’s face was bathed in an icy blue light. He told Klein, “Go to Chanis Gate and pick out a Sealed Artifact with the highest offensive ability. Decide exactly which one with your own judgment. I’ve already told Seeka and the Keepers inside. Take note of the hidden threats. Of those, there are three Grade 2 Sealed Artifacts, which are…”

“Oh, now that I’ve taken out the ashes of Saint Selena, Seeka and the Keepers cannot leave their positions now.”

At this point, Frye and Royale were both at Kenley’s house for the funeral preparations. The Archbishop at Saint Selena Cathedral had gone to the countryside to preach.

“Alright.” Klein didn’t hesitate, immediately turning towards the basement.

When he was nearing the intersection, Klein suddenly stopped. He knew that most of the Sealed Artifacts behind Chanis Gate at Tingen City were Grade 3 and wouldn’t have much of an effect on the baby in Megose’s stomach. It was, at the very least, a legendary creature.

The Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem might work, but it takes too long to have an effect. It’s unsuitable for this… There are only three Grade 2 Sealed Artifacts in Tingen City, and they’re all very dangerous artifacts that can easily result in my death… I estimate their powers to be about the same as my Flaring Sun Charm, so I cannot have too many reservations later. I’ll use the Flaring Sun Charm without any hesitation! It would definitely be as powerful as a Grade 2 Sealed Artifact; after all, it has the power of divine blood in it… Klein’s mind whirled as he nodded indiscernibly.

He felt for the Flaring Sun Charm and Azik’s copper whistle in his pocket, but he was surprised to find that the sensation of the latter was back.

Regardless of whether it was useful or not, Klein took out a pen and paper set that was used for divination and wrote a short message.

“The person who made my fate disharmonious and stole the skull of your child has appeared. He has arranged for Megose to enter the Blackthorn Security Company at 36 Zouteland Street. It’s highly likely that Megose is harboring the son of an evil god.

“The situation is very urgent.”

He put away his pen and folded the piece of paper. Klein took out the copper whistle at the intersection and blew, then watched the giant skeleton messenger appear before him.