Having received the Hidden Sage's blessing, Silas immediately felt more confident.
The intense, tearing pain in his head was gradually fading. Sitting in the duty room chair, he silently pondered.
Ms. M doesn't have a cheat ability like mine.
If the Hidden Sage hit her with that barrage, she definitely couldn't withstand it.
However, she had previously gone through the "Listener" stage, so she'd certainly be stronger than ordinary Beyonders when it came to withstanding evil god impacts.
But even so, that charm could still significantly affect her and drastically reduce her strength.
He looked down at the ring again.
Ms. M seemingly couldn't detect this item, just as she hadn't noticed him escaping surveillance earlier.
Silas recalled that the Night Church's sacred text, The Revelations of Evernight, recorded that the Goddess held authority over concealment. This was probably why Ms. M couldn't detect these things.
Too bad the Goddess wasn't willing to help me more, so I still had to turn to the Hidden Sage.
Thinking of this, Silas recalled the second useful piece of knowledge the Hidden Sage had granted him: knowledge that could spare Cecilia from the blood curse.
It was a method for crafting an item that could bear the curse in her place.
Since he couldn't write it on paper, Silas could only memorize it:
Life Form in a Bottle.
Effect: Becomes a substitute for the user, able to bear curses, interfere with divination, accept sacrifices in their place, etc.
Materials: Various herbs, the user's fresh blood, and a witch's heart.
A witch?
Recalling this point, Silas couldn't help but furrow his brow.
The earlier materials were relatively simple. Herbs could be purchased mixed in with ritual supplies.
Making Cecilia bleed was somewhat pitiful, but bearable for the sake of survival. But what was this witch thing?
Wait, I think I've seen that in some materials.
Silas recalled something.
Right, there's an organization called the "Demoness Sect." It seemed to have been mentioned in materials related to the Numinous Episcopate.
When investigating the human trafficking case, Silas had been stabbed by someone suspected to be a Beyonder from the Assassin pathway, so he'd looked up relevant materials from the Nighthawks' internal files.
Among them, it mentioned that some Beyonders from the Assassin pathway came from the Numinous Episcopate, a bloody and extreme organization.
And this organization was suspected to be connected to the "Demoness Sect."
But at the time, he hadn't found specific information about the Demoness Sect.
I need to find information about this sect quickly.
Tomorrow at work, I'll go through the archives and can also ask the Captain.
Also, following the human trafficking case might lead to witches, though unfortunately, they've gone to ground for now.
Silas thought to himself.
But how could he find a witch and obtain materials from them without arousing Ms. M's suspicion?
He could find a way to create a connection between the Demoness Sect and the Nighthawks, making it official business.
Then, claim the witch's heart was ritual material and keep it?
In the quiet, empty underground space, under the gaslight's illumination, Silas kept thinking, constructing various plans in his mind. He felt no drowsiness at all and remained there until dawn.
Just after six o'clock, a Nighthawk who had been resting in the upstairs lounge came down to relieve him.
"Good morning, Silas. The sun has just risen."
Kenley, the "Sleepless," emerged from the corridor and approached with a kind smile. "This is your first time on duty, right? How was it? Did anything happen last night?"
"Unfortunately, nothing strange happened at all."
Silas shrugged and smiled. "To be honest, it was so boring I almost fell asleep.
Good thing there was coffee from the Captain. At times like this, I really envy you, Sleepless ones who only need to sleep for a short time each day."
"Nothing happening is a good thing."
Kenley laughed.
"The first time Klein stood guard at the Chanis Gate, the door opened from the inside and gave him quite a scare.
Later, they analyzed that it might have been because a notebook was temporarily stored behind the door.
I'm not clear on the specific reason myself."
Something stored behind the door caused it to temporarily open?
Silas's heart stirred, then he asked in a casual tone, "Speaking of which, has anything new been stored behind the door recently?"
"Not that I know of.
If we're really talking about it, the only thing would be during that special inspection day when the senior deacon brought the Goddess's sacred relic inside once."
Kenley answered.
So that's how it was.
Silas thought to himself. After signing his name in the logbook, he stood up and vacated the chair for Kenley.
A monotonous sound of footsteps came from the other corridor.
Both couldn't help but turn their heads simultaneously to see a cold, black-robed old man carrying a gas lamp approaching from the direction of Saint Selena Cathedral.
The old man didn't even glance at them, walking straight to the Chanis Gate, pushing open the iron door, and stepping into the embrace of black threads.
One of the internal guardians.
Kenley watched with an expression of admiration for these retired Nighthawks who had voluntarily dedicated themselves.
At that moment, Silas suddenly had a question.
"Speaking of which, I'm curious, what exactly is the power that suppresses and seals the items behind the Chanis Gate?"
He asked Kenley.
"That? Supposedly, it's different at each location. I don't know about other places, but here in Tingen, it should be Saint Selena's ashes."
Kenley explained. That saint had been a high-sequence powerhouse in life, and her ashes still possessed tremendous power after death.
Silas couldn't help but glance at the black ring on his finger.
So last night, it was these things that provided me with shielding?
After saying goodbye to Kenley, Silas climbed to the surface.
The sky had indeed brightened, and pedestrians were already moving about on the streets, rushing about for their daily livelihoods.
Silas let out a long yawn. Only now did he realize just how exhausted he was.
After all, he'd spent the entire night thinking, his brain getting no rest at all.
Now that day had broken and sunlight was shining, drowsiness was flooding over him instead.
I wonder how their investigation went. I'll stop by the company this afternoon to ask. Also, I need to find information on witches.
With these thoughts, Silas stepped out of Blackthorn Security Company and, in the somewhat glaring sunlight, took a trackless carriage back to 6 Narcissus Street.
As soon as he entered the house, Silas saw Ms. M's beautiful yet detestable figure.
Today she wore a woman's riding outfit, her two long legs extended smoothly, round and full. Cecilia sat on the other side.
"Cecilia, didn't you go to class today?"
"Today is Saturday."
"Ah, right."
Nighthawks got one day off per week. Having worked so long, Silas had almost forgotten which day the weekend was.
He was about to say a few words to his sister when he saw Ms. M look toward him with a smile and ask, "What were you doing last night?"
In that instant, Silas's heart skipped a beat.
"I was thinking about how to get rid of you."
Immediately after, he decisively responded to Ms. M in a provocative tone.
"Is that so? I saw you sitting there all night and was a bit curious what you were thinking about."
Ms. M smiled.
Hearing this, Silas's expression didn't change, but he breathed a slight sigh of relief internally.
The Goddess's power truly was formidable. Ms. M hadn't noticed.
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