Sup!
۞۞۞۞
Night had fallen over Tingen City Railway Station.
The spacious platform stood empty and desolate, illuminated only by large gas lamps that attracted swarms of flying insects circling in the light.
Silas and Royale followed Dunn onto the platform and looked down.
The lamplight illuminated a section of track along with the railroad ties and gravel beneath, but further along, the rails were bathed in darkness, extending toward unknown destinations.
Why is the station so empty? Are there no passengers?
Silas considered this for a second with his transmigrator's way of thinking, then quickly figured it out by combining it with this world's common sense.
This world hadn't yet invented electric train lights; trains were powered by steam, and steam locomotives almost never ran at night.
So the high-level deacon's train must have been specially arranged, he thought.
After all, high-level deacons were the true upper echelon of the Church. There were only nine of them in total, so having certain privileges wasn't anything unusual.
Dunn told them that the high-level deacon arriving this time was named Crestet Cesimir, with the title "Sword of the Goddess."
He himself was Sequence 5, but because he'd gained recognition from a holy relic, his combat power could match that of a newly advanced Sequence 4.
Sequence 4, that sounds incredibly powerful. I wonder what a Sequence 4 of the Secrets Suppliant pathway would be like... Bah, bah, bah, what's that got to do with me!
The chaotic thoughts had barely surfaced before Silas immediately snuffed out his own curiosity.
I'll just honestly stay a Sequence 9. I don't want to go crazy!
Just then, a train whistle suddenly sounded.
Some massive thing was crushing the rails as it rumbled toward the platform.
Silas was startled because the sound came so abruptly.
One second, everything outside had been quiet; the next second, the moving locomotive was already close at hand, as if it had compressed a great distance and appeared here directly.
"It's here."
Dunn reminded them both.
Sure enough, as he'd said, a steam train gradually entered the station, accompanied by the sound of its movement.
Billowing white steam poured out in large quantities from beneath the cars and the smokestack at the front.
Under the illumination of the platform's gas lamps, the steam resembled an orange-red giant beast slowly stretching its enormous body.
With a hissing sound of brakes, the train came to a stop. Behind the locomotive was attached only a single passenger car.
Through the gushing steam, a man in a black trench coat slowly emerged.
The first thing Silas noticed was the man's hands. Because on this summer night, he was actually wearing a pair of bright red gloves.
One of those red-gloved hands carried a silvery-white metal briefcase, about the size of a violin case.
That briefcase...
Silas felt a quiet, terrifying power emanating from it.
That power drew his gaze, as if black energy surrounded the briefcase, concealing deeper secrets. If he activated his spirit vision, perhaps he could see through the fog...
Swish!
The briefcase moved slightly as the hand holding it adjusted its angle. Silas felt his gaze loosen.
He immediately raised his head, not daring to look at the case anymore.
The owner of the hand glanced lightly at Silas, then walked up to Dunn without breaking stride.
He appeared to be around thirty years old. His tawny hair was almost plastered to his scalp, and his dark green eyes were calm and profound.
The collars of his shirt and trench coat were raised high, covering his chin and hiding even his lips in shadow.
"Welcome to Tingen, Lord Cesima."
Dunn bowed in greeting.
"Good evening, Captain Dunn. There's no crimson moon tonight, but the Goddess's stars still adorn the night sky."
Crestet Cesimir said.
The two men exchanged smiles.
"Lord Cesima, why did you come by train when you clearly have faster methods available?"
"Well, if it were just me, of course I could. But this time I brought along a guest on the way."
Crestet said this, and as his words fell, another figure appeared from the train.
This was a beautiful lady wearing a hooded black robe.
Blue eye makeup adorned the area around her eyes, and silver chains and crystals decorated her chest and wrists. Overall, she looked both bewitching and beautiful.
"Lady Daly."
Silas heard Royale call out from beside him, seeming quite familiar with the other party.
Dunn, however, frowned. "Why are you here?"
"Am I not allowed?"
Daly's lips curved into a playful smile as she looked at Royale.
Hearing Dunn say this, her smile froze. She looked back at Dunn and asked, "Mr. Dunn Smith, Old Neil has also been my teammate for many years. Now that something's happened to him, you didn't even tell me?"
"Something happened to Old Neil? What's wrong with him?"
Royale exclaimed in shock, casting an inquiring look at Dunn.
Dunn looked left at Royale, then right at Daly, showing a hint of helplessness in his expression for the first time.
***
By the time Royale understood what had happened to Old Neil, they were already in a carriage heading to Old Neil's residence.
"Old Neil usually likes to take advantage of bargains and enjoys joking around, but he's essentially a good person, cautious and restrained.
Captain, are you sure you haven't made some kind of mistake?"
She asked, suppressing her emotions.
Dunn was silent for a moment before saying, "I've already secretly examined Old Neil with a sealed artifact.
Unfortunately, there are indeed signs of evil god corruption on him. I can only say that he usually hid it too deeply for anyone to notice."
"But..."
Royale was momentarily at a loss for words. She looked imploringly at Silas, as if begging him to stand up right now and loudly announce in the carriage that he hadn't seen anything before.
Daly pressed her lips tightly together, and there seemed to be some reluctance in the depths of her eyes as well.
"Royale, you know Dunn. He never casually slanders others.
We don't yet know exactly what happened to Old Neil, but it's definitely beyond the normal range.
We can only pray that he hasn't fallen too deeply and can still go to the Goddess's divine kingdom with a clean soul."
Based on their earlier conversation, Silas learned that Daly had also been a Nighthawk in Tingen before.
Because of her exceptional talent, she'd advanced quickly and had already become a Sequence 7 powerhouse like Dunn, so she'd been transferred to Port Enmat.
However, she still often came to Tingen to assist with cases.
Crestet gazed calmly out the carriage window. Since getting in the car, he hadn't spoken at all, as if completely detached from the matter.
"But if that's the case, can we only watch as Old Neil gets purified?"
Royale said quietly, with both unwillingness and resignation.
Upon hearing this, both Dunn and Daly fell silent.
Not just Royale; how could they be willing to personally eliminate their teammate?
"Perhaps Old Neil can still be saved."
Just then, Silas broke the suffocating atmosphere and spoke up.
After hearing this, everyone froze, then simultaneously turned their gazes toward him.
Even Crestet, who had been looking out the window, slowly turned his head to look at Silas.
His eyes were calm, as if seeing through to the deepest parts of Silas's heart.
۞۞۞۞
[Author's note: The pace seems a bit slow, will speed up soon]
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones