Lord of the Mysteries

Backlund, North Borough.

The pitch-black night had the crimson moon covered by clouds. There were only street lamps on the two sides of the road that emitted a faint light, illuminating the road ahead and the doors of the nearby houses.

7 Pinster Street’s mailbox was silently hiding in the intersection between light and dark, bathing in a cool breeze that blew from the side as though it was in a slumber.

At this moment, newspapers, bills, and letters from various unknown people suddenly spewed out from its mouth.

These objects seemed to be dragged by an invisible hand as they floated in midair before flying towards the door and entering through a gap.

Inside the house, at the foyer, the newspapers automatically spread open as they rapidly flipped over. Then, they were casually left on the chair, stacking over other newspapers.

The bills and letters continued flying into the living room, with the former quickly stopping. With a few shakes, they floated to the surface of the coffee table and lined up. The latter had their envelopes removed, and the letters without envelopes quickly unfolded themselves, showcasing themselves in midair.

After a while, a portion of these letters flew onto a rack on the first floor’s study. Some rushed for the scissors to help it cut itself apart. Then, they orderly surged into the washroom and were thrown into the toilet.

Whoosh!

The mechanical flush of the toilet was automatically depressed, washing away the paper shreds into the sewers.

7 Pinster Street went back to normal, and its silence was identical to an uninhabited house’s.

Southern Continent. East Balam. Kolain City.

Leonard Mitchell, who had just arrived, was resting in a residence arranged by the local Church of Evernight.

Suddenly, that slightly-aged voice sounded in his mind:

“Punk, you have an important letter.”

“What letter?” While Leonard asked softly, he already had a guess in mind.

To mail an important letter to 7 Pinster Street without caring that it was inhabited, there was only one, no—two people: Klein Moretti and Dwayne Dantès.

As for why the old man named Pallez Zoroast could still clearly read the letters sent to 7th Pinster Street despite the Berserk Sea and half the Northern Continent separating them, Leonard had only a guess or two. This was because he had helped the old man capture a specter before.

With regards to this, his theory was:

Old Man definitely used a Worm of Time to parasitize that specter, making it “His” eyes, ears, and mouth in the Northern Continent.

At that moment, Pallez Zoroast replied to his question.

“It’s from Klein Moretti. He said that while Dwayne Dantès was heading to the Southern Continent, he discovered traces of Ince Zangwill on Waypoint Island in the Berserk Sea.”

Leonard fell silent immediately as his mouth turned agape. However, he didn’t say a word.

After a long while, he muttered with a slightly hoarse voice, “As expected, he didn’t forget the need for revenge…

“What can I do?”

“What can you do? You’re only a Sequence 6. Even if Ince Zangwill doesn’t wield 0-08, you still lack the qualifications to exact vengeance on him. He just needs to reveal his Mythical Creature form to make you lose control and become a lunatic. The chances of you getting your revenge are zero! This is the qualitative change that godhood brings,” Pallez Zoroast said rather sternly.

He paused before chuckling.

“Thankfully, you understand yourself in a way that’s better than before. In the past, you definitely would’ve said that you would inform the Church with news of Ince Zangwill and join the team to pursue him. And now, you know to ask what you can do.”

Leonard had wanted to retort a few times, but he ultimately didn’t say a word.

Pallez Zoroast continued, “What you can do for now is to give Klein Moretti some information. Wait for him to write back to you. Then, based on the arrangements written, provide the necessary assistance.”

“So no finding excuses so as to inform the Church of Ince Zangwill’s location?” Leonard heavily asked, somewhat surprised.

Pallez Zoroast chuckled and said, “No hurry. Do it at the critical moment.

“Although 0-08 enjoys causing its possessor’s death, it doesn’t wish to be sealed even more so. As long as you inform the Church of Ince Zangwill’s location and begin a pursuit, it will immediately learn of it and make the necessary arrangements.

“Regarding this, you need to warn Klein Moretti.”

Leonard was taken aback for a second as he asked, “Old Man, you seem to know 0-08 rather well.”

It wasn’t apparent in the past!

Pallez’s slightly-aged voice chuckled.

“Of course I am. During the Fourth Epoch, 0-08 had once caused the death of an angel.

“I can’t tell you too much because once you know of it, it will also know you. The more you know about it, the more likely you will become a character in its stories.”

Leonard came to an actual realization of 0-08’s terror from Old Man’s vague words. This had already exceeded the mysticism he knew!

After some thought, Leonard asked habitually, “Then how should I hint to Klein Moretti without letting 0-08 know? Or that even if he were to know, it will be very superficial knowledge, making me a bystander in the story…”

Just as he said that, Leonard clasped his hands and gritted his teeth. Without waiting for Old Man’s reply, he continued, “An indirect hint? I’ll tell him I’ll temporarily not inform the Church of Ince Zangwill’s location… I believe he should be able to understand that there’s a problem based on the situation. He will understand that we need to be extremely cautious. And even if he fails to interpret that, his secret organization has members who understand the Fourth Epoch well enough to provide him with help.

“Also, just writing the sentence, ‘Once you know it, it will also know you,’ without mentioning 0-08 should be enough for Klein to guess what this is pointing at…”

After Pallez Zoroast finished listening, “He” chuckled and said, “Humans will only grow under pressure.”

Leonard exhaled and sat up. He found a pen and paper and penned his thoughts.

Following that, he set up a ritual right on the heels of that and summoned Gehrman Sparrow’s messenger.

…

Berserk Sea, Waypoint Island. On a liner docked at the harbor.

Many tourists weren’t alighting. They were huddled in the lower deck cabins, waiting to arrive at the Southern Continent to begin a life filled with hope.

They had gone through a great deal of effort to save up the fare for a ship ride that spanned a few short days. They were from Loen and were those who had been forced to take such risks.

Klein, who was acting as the tycoon, Dwayne Dantès, wasn’t like them. He lived in a spacious, clean first-class cabin that could even be described as luxurious. Under some candlelight, he opened the letter that had just been delivered by Reinette Tinekerr.

Will not be informing the Church of Ince Zangwill’s location for the time being… To Leonard, although the source of the tip might put him in certain danger, it’s not impossible for him to do it… Didn’t he join the Red Gloves to seek revenge? This means that he has a reason why he can’t sound the alarm on Ince Zangwill… As Klein thought, he continued reading the rest of the letter: “Once you know it, it will also know you.”

Suddenly, Klein exclaimed, finding the description somewhat familiar!

This is very similar to the Twilight Hermit Order. Any mention of it will be known… So, 0-08 is a Sealed Artifact of the Spectator pathway? Leonard isn’t informing the Church of this matter because he’s held back by this. He wishes to wait for a better opportunity? This is likely something the grandpa in his body told him… Klein nodded in thought, feeling thankful that he hadn’t asked Reinette Tinekerr for help moments ago.

That would’ve been equally dangerous for Miss Messenger.

Besides, most important of all, I haven’t made any preparations. If I were to only rely on a helper I hire, my plan might very well be detected by 0-08 ahead of time. A series of coincidences would then be created, producing a targeted arrangement… Klein silently sighed and felt that he needed to do something, but he was at a loss as to how to begin.

From the angle of improving his strength, the acquirement of the corresponding ingredients of Bizarro Bane and Spirit World Plunderer depended on the subsequent request of the City of Silver’s Chief and how long Miss Magician could receive the exact coordinates from her teacher. These were all dependent on external factors that Klein had no means of expediting.

The only thing he could do was to try his best to digest the Marionettist potion as quickly as possible.

And after concluding most of the acting principles, the actual implementation was more important.

Therefore, Klein believed that he needed to obtain two marionettes within a short span of time.

He had previously been delaying it because he didn’t have any good targets. It stemmed from him being in Backlund with servants around him. Unless they were special marionettes, it was very difficult to hide their existences. And now, he was almost at the Southern Continent. He decided that as long as he identified an evil target who deserved the gallows, he would first transform them into his marionette until he had a better replacement!

Perhaps using an ordinary marionette to complete a rather difficult task will accelerate the digestion… Heh, my standards for a marionette has dropped to its lowest. All it needs to know is Dutanese. That way, I don’t have to hire an interpreter; after all, I can share their senses… Klein quickly made up his mind and planned on writing to Leonard Mitchell after he had a more advanced plan.

…

East Balam, Kolain City.

Klein carried his luggage and stepped onto the dock, touching ground on the Southern Continent.

He looked into the distance at the city that was built on terraces. He silently said to himself, I have to have two marionettes when I leave this place.

And before that, he had one thing to do. It was to lose the tail of the “followers” that the military had arranged.

The two gentlemen were rather good at being spies, but to Klein, they were as bright as fireflies in the night. This was because, no matter how well disguised they were, Klein could use his Faceless’s ability of observation and his memory of a human’s physical features and looks to recognize them at a glance.