By the time Silas finished reading the entire Tingen Upstanding Citizen, Cecilia had fallen fast asleep.
Her head rested against his shoulder, her breathing soft and steady. But she didn't seem to be sleeping peacefully.
Her brow was slightly furrowed, and her youthful face carried a worry that didn't match her age.
Silas carefully repositioned her body, laying her fully on the soft sofa bed, then couldn't help yawning himself.
There was no clock in the lounge, so he didn't know the exact time, but he estimated it must be one or two in the morning by now.
After being worn out for so long, he was getting tired too.
"You can sleep for a bit too. Staying up late isn't good for you."
From behind her newspaper, Royale suddenly spoke. To avoid disturbing the two sleeping people, she kept her voice very low.
"All right, thank you," Silas said quietly as well. "Sorry for disrupting your rest."
After all, she was responsible for protecting him, so she definitely couldn't sleep.
Hearing Silas say this, Royale lowered the newspaper in her hands, revealing her face.
What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?
Silas felt a bit confused.
"It's fine. We don't need to sleep at night," Royale said. A hint of amusement appeared in her usually aloof eyes.
Don't need to sleep? No wonder they're called "Sleepless Ones."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
In that case, Silas didn't stand on ceremony. He climbed onto another sofa bed and lay down fully clothed.
Drowsiness slowly crept over him. He closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, on a certain street in Tingen.
"According to Klein's divination, Hanass Vincent is also a Sequence 9 Secrets Suppliant like Sirius.
His danger level isn't high, so we'll prioritize obtaining information."
Inside the moving carriage, Nighthawk Captain Dunn Smith said to his other team members.
"Once we get to his house, I'll subdue him while you search the rooms."
"Hanass doesn't know Sirius is already dead yet.
He's probably sleeping soundly right about now." Leonard said with a smile. "When he wakes up and sees us, his reaction should be quite interesting."
He placed both hands behind his head, leaned back against the seat, and crossed his legs.
His posture was extremely carefree, forming a stark contrast with Frye sitting beside him, upright and cold in demeanor.
"What if he's cautious and didn't leave any clues in his room?"
The Corpse Collector asked in a hoarse voice.
"Then I'll enter his dream," Dunn said flatly. "In there, he can't lie to me."
Hearing this, both Nighthawks nodded in unison.
Indeed, as a Sequence 7 Nightmare, their captain was already one of the stronger forces in Tingen.
Dealing with a Sequence 9 would be child's play for him. In fact, he was being quite cautious, bringing two team members as backup for this kind of situation.
It seemed that when this Aurora Order member Hanass encountered their group, his only fate would be to surrender obediently and hand over his intelligence.
"By the way, Captain, about that Silas Londor, what do you plan to do with him?" Just then, Leonard suddenly changed the subject, asking an unexpected question.
Dunn looked up at him and said:
"According to past practice, survivors of Beyonder incidents can return to normal life after the case ends. We just require them to keep it secret. But he's..."
"But he's rather special, right?"
Leonard said with a smile.
Accidentally becoming a Beyonder, and a Secrets Suppliant of the extremely dangerous sequence at that. There was always the risk of losing control.
For such a ticking time bomb, it was hard to imagine they'd simply let him go free.
Although Silas Londor had been lucky enough to stay lucid after becoming a Secrets Suppliant, and the Nighthawks wouldn't purify him, he would likely still spend the rest of his life under surveillance, living without much freedom.
Thinking about that handsome young man in the straitjacket and the strong girl protecting him, how they were so young yet would have to spend the rest of their lives like that, everyone in the carriage felt it was somewhat unfortunate.
"Is there no other way?"
Frye suddenly spoke.
"Of course there is," Leonard said with a smile. "For survivors of incidents, besides returning to society, don't they have another option?"
"You mean joining us." Frye sounded hesitant. "But would that be proper?"
"That depends on... how we communicate with the Holy Cathedral."
Leonard looked at Dunn.
Frye also caught on and turned to look at the captain.
Under the hopeful gazes of both men, Dunn Smith pondered for a long while before slowly saying, "A Secrets Suppliant who believes in the Goddess and stands on our side is extremely rare.
And if he joins the Nighthawks, it would also serve as daily supervision.
If we report it with that reasoning, we might be able to persuade the Holy Cathedral to keep him."
That was indeed a good reason.
Hearing Dunn say this, Frye couldn't help nodding internally. Leonard was even more pleased, clapping and praising with a smile, "Truly worthy of our captain! To think you could come up with such a good solution!"
The atmosphere in the carriage relaxed accordingly. For a moment, even the carriage itself seemed to lighten considerably. After turning a corner, they arrived in front of Hanass's home.
"All right, enough small talk."
Dunn shook his head. "These matters can wait until later. Right now, focus your spirits. Successfully capturing Hanass is what's most important!"
"Yes, sir!"
The three Nighthawks immediately assumed the proper demeanor of professionals. They stepped down from the carriage and quickly, silently infiltrated Hanass's residence.
The night was deep and boundless.
Silas woke from a restless, anxious dream and slowly sat up.
Looking around, his sister wasn't beside him, and the two Nighthawks were nowhere to be seen either.
Only he remained in the lounge, along with newspapers scattered across the floor.
Where did they go?
How long did I sleep?
Why hasn't Dunn returned yet?
Anxiety and confusion swept over Silas. He stood up from the sofa bed, holding his head, and walked toward the door.
Sleep didn't seem to have relieved his fatigue at all.
His head still ached terribly, and a sharp, buzzing noise rang in his ears, gradually growing louder.
That sound was... crying.
Shrill crying, as if from women and children, desperate wails born from excruciating torment.
Accompanying the piercing cries, an even more oppressive, nauseating sound echoed in the hallway outside.
Dragging, sticky, as if a heavy body was crawling, squirming, slowly approaching the lounge.
As it moved, its filthy, foul body left long, reeking trails of blood on the floor.
The eerie sounds grew louder and louder, then abruptly stopped.
It had stopped behind the door.
"Nobody's even here."
At Hanass's residence, Dunn looked at the ransacked bedroom, his brow deeply furrowed.
"Nobody in the other bedroom either. His wife and children are all gone." Frye's voice came down from the second floor, his cold, hoarse tone carrying confusion.
"Is his information network really that good? To think he fled with his entire family the same night."
"If only that were the case."
Leonard emerged from the basement, his expression grim.
"Captain, there are traces of a ritual having been performed down there. The scene is... extremely disturbing."
Dunn's gaze swept over Leonard's pale face, then keenly noticed something wrong with his shoes.
They seemed to be stained with some unidentified bright red liquid.
As if understanding something, Dunn's eyes suddenly constricted.