Chapter 153: Countermeasures
"I still don't understand, what do you want with this thing?"
Wearing armor that looked as if it were cast from fresh blood and dark iron, Medici, whose body was significantly more solid than before, stood swaggering to the side, looking at Nimrod with a suspicious expression. "Whether it's the status or the potions recorded on it, they shouldn't be of any use to you, right?"
The greatest use of the "blasphemy cards" created by Roselle for an ordinary Beyonder was that they recorded the complete Sequence of a Pathway from 9 to 0. Coupled with their extremely high status, it could almost be said that as long as one didn't die along the way, they could collect the potions all the way to becoming a deity.
—Of course, considering the "Extraordinary Aggregation Principle," as long as the holder of a "blasphemy card" had no way to hide it or other special circumstances, there was a high probability they would be killed by high-Sequence individuals of the same Pathway drawn by the aggregation.
The original owner of the "blasphemy card" in Medici's hand was such an unlucky fellow; it was just that the original owner of the "Hunter Card" was aggregated to the death site of Sauron-Einhorn-Medici, the former three Sequence 1 Archangels, and died on the spot.
For Nimrod, he naturally knew the complete formula for "Hunter," but he wasn't the original "Lord of the Mysteries" that Medici thought he was. The status of the "blasphemy card" was also useful to him.
However, he couldn't exactly tell Medici—I'm planning to train a Hunter Demoness to take your place, could he?
So, he just smiled: "This set of tarot cards has countermeasures left behind by the Mother Goddess of Depravity. I don't want Her backup plans to take effect when I'm at my lowest—I could tell you more information, but are you sure you want to hear it?"
Hearing Nimrod's words, Medici didn't answer but simply tossed the blasphemy card back to Nimrod with a flick of his hand and clicked his tongue. "You're much more annoying than Amon. No wonder the Primordial One remained weakened for so long to prevent your resurrection. In that regard, I should thank you for helping the Lord."
"A pity. At first, I really thought you were Amon, I thought—"
Medici gave a "heh" and ultimately didn't finish the sentence.
He said nothing more, just shook his head and changed the subject: "The Lord has told me to assist you temporarily."
Medici placed emphasis on "temporarily" and the last word. Nimrod noticed this and pointed out the emphasis in his words.
"I don't need your help, but I am temporarily cooperating with your Lord. It's His Believers who need help. The Aurora Order needs high-Sequence combat power—" Nimrod smiled and casually pointed to the gloomy and dark ruins around them. "Let's go. After staying here for so long, you probably don't want to remain, do you?"
Medici sneered, his body naturally following Nimrod as he walked out. "Heh, does that even need saying? I've had enough of being trapped here with these two idiots."
As the words fell, some noise seemed to emerge from Medici's chest, but a winner's smile appeared on his face. "After all this time of not letting me pray to the Lord, haven't you two trash still fallen into my hands? Don't worry, I won't destroy your spirit bodies, otherwise wouldn't our long-standing friendship be in vain?"
Medici puffed out his chest and said magnanimously, "Sauron, Einhorn, since I already know you're women now, what kind of jewelry do you like? Do you want to be Sealed into a brooch or an earring?"
Watching Medici having his fun, Nimrod ignored him and continued to state the arrangements for Medici: "Saint of Secrets will help you find a Gatekeeper who can temporarily accommodate you as your vessel."
"Furthermore, since the True Creator has Sealed Sauron and Einhorn within your body, you should go to Mr. A next and help him resolve some... matters regarding the Believers. This should be your forte."
Medici laughed. "Me, preaching? Are you sure?"
"The True Creator needs anchors, and His anchors naturally need to possess military force to preserve themselves under the gaze of the seven gods; otherwise, they will be suppressed as heretics." Nimrod shrugged. "It's up to you, of course. They aren't my Believers anyway."
Hearing Nimrod's words, Medici's expression changed slightly.
He twitched his lips and, with a look of displeasure, contracted his spirit body into the lantern Nimrod was carrying, and was taken away from the underground ruins by Nimrod.
Inside the Detective Agency, the four members of the Tingen Squad were gathered in the hall.
September in Loen had already begun to turn cold, so Leonard volunteered to light the fireplace, letting the warm firelight illuminate the entire Detective Agency.
Klein placed the bags of rice, flour, and vegetables he had purchased earlier in the kitchen, stewing in the newly bought iron pot on the stove...
...chopped tomatoes and fragrant beef, which were bubbling away.
After carefully placing the lid on, Klein left a crack in the wooden door so he could smell the aroma from the pot—
He didn't want today's dinner to end up as a burnt mess.
It turned out that Leonard and Dunn, who hadn't cooked for a long time, were completely incapable of it, and Ms. Daly—unfortunately, as an authentic Loen person, her culinary skills weren't very high either. After enthusiastically making one meal, she handed the cooking duties over to Klein.
And Klein was happy to do so: being able to recreate dishes from before his transmigration and enjoy delicious food, and most importantly, his teammates would give him an extra portion of salary.
—Moreover, even the money for purchasing ingredients was reimbursed by the Church. Even before transmigrating, Klein didn't think he had ever fought such a wealthy battle.
"The government's investigation results regarding Backlund have come out." At the table in the hall, Dunn, wearing a white shirt, spoke to Klein in a steady tone, with a paper bearing the Church's Seal by his hand. "He will be repatriated to Intis as the Intis Ambassador to undergo investigation."
"That seems a bit too easy on him," Leonard said with slight dissatisfaction.
"After all, this involves relations between nations, and there is currently no substantial evidence proving a deeper connection between Merso and Backlund—the methods of the Beyonder world ultimately cannot be explained to ordinary people. This matter still depends on Intis's attitude." Dunn shook his head. "However, for us, there is one—no, two pieces of good news regarding Ince Zangwill. The Church specifically performed a divination for this and received certain revelations. Furthermore, we recently obtained intelligence provided by MI9."
"Divination?"
As a professional "divination expert," Klein's attention was drawn. His "Clown" potion had been completely digested, and Dunn had reported it to the Church along with the "Dream-Eating Rat" as the required materials. He would soon be able to obtain the "Magician" potion and advance to Sequence 7.
"That's right." Dunn nodded and said in a calm tone, "The Archbishop specifically reminded me that Ince Zangwill was indeed involved in this matter, and thus he was exposed to the eyes of the Church's upper echelons, nearly being captured by them. However—now Ince Zangwill has used '0-08' to escape the Church's surveillance and has gone back into hiding."
"Heh, Ince Zangwill didn't escape without paying a price. At the site where he was exposed, we found evidence of his contact with members of the Demoness Sect, giving us a direction for our subsequent investigation."
As "Red Gloves" among the Nighthawks, the Tingen Squad was the backbone of the Church. During this period, the Tingen Squad, disguised as a Detective Agency, finally found clues about the Demoness Sect, providing information to cooperate with other "Red Gloves" squads to wipe out several strongholds composed of "Witches."
"Is it because Ince Zangwill knew about our plans here?" Leonard said fluently, seemingly without thinking. "He really knows how to hide—"
"Yes, you're right, Leonard," Daly said with a smile, her words seeming a bit deliberate. "But Ince Zangwill won't understand the Church's movements; he can't completely escape the Church's surveillance—unless he's willing to leave Backlund right now and eke out an existence elsewhere."
"But even so, for him, it would only be a slow suicide—the Church's upper echelons will always be able to find him."
Daly revealed a meaningful smile and spoke to the three men beside her, "So, we just need to preserve our strength and search for Ince Zangwill's traces as much as possible."
Ms. Daly seems to be hinting at something—listening to Ms. Daly's descriptions, Klein realized this and nodded, agreeing with Ms. Daly's idea. "Right, we just need to do our job well."
Hearing both Daly and Klein say this, Dunn Smith also nodded slightly. "The people from MI9 also submitted some intelligence to the Church. Backlund seems to be seeking something in Backlund, but that has nothing to do with us. What we need to do now is wait for Backlund to be sent back to Intis, so Ince Zangwill won't be able to use this matter to make a move."
Just then, the jingle of the doorbell came from outside. Leonard turned his head toward the door and said with some doubt, "A client? At this hour—"
"Indeed, many clients choose to come late at night; after all, some matters aren't suitable for others to know." Klein took the initiative to stand up and said to the others, "I'll go take a look."
Just then, Dunn called out to Klein, his eyes suddenly turning deep. "Klein, please help me mail a letter—go to the post office, and let Leonard handle the client. Leonard should also practice his skills in this area; we can't always have you do it."
Although Klein was a bit puzzled, he quickly realized the hidden meaning in Dunn's words. "Okay, to whom?"
Dunn took out a tightly sealed letter from his breast pocket and said solemnly to Klein, "The address is written on it."
Taking the letter from Dunn, Klein didn't ask why but directly tucked it into his breast pocket and walked out with Leonard.
Opening the door, Leonard was chatting with a client who looked worried, while Klein, draped in thick clothing, crossed the street and came to a deserted alley. By the dim lamplight, he looked at the writing on it, where the ink had long since ceased to be distinct from the paper:
[Recipient: Mr. L]
"I see—" Klein mumbled, roughly understanding Dunn's plan. He began to set up the ritual to summon a messenger, preparing to summon Nimrod's messenger.
Throughout the process, he cautiously refrained from opening the envelope Dunn had given him, only turning back after the messenger, which looked like an abstract eye, took the letter away.
After a while, when Klein returned to the Detective Agency, the tomato beef had already been brought to the dining table by Daly, with hot rice placed beside it.
Mm, I really hope days like this last longer—Klein hung his clothes to the side, a smile appearing on the corners of his lips.
Compared to bread, Klein still preferred rice. As the one in charge of the kitchen, Klein was naturally more inclined to choose things he liked to eat—this is why adults never seem to be picky eaters.
And since they could enjoy delicious food, the other members of the Tingen Squad naturally had no objections.
"Klein, we might have to act together tomorrow," Leonard said seriously to Klein at the dinner table. "Although it's just an ordinary mission, Captain Dunn said we'd better act together, otherwise it's easy to be picked off one by one by Ince Zangwill—sigh, when will we be able to stop living in such fear?"
The next day, Klein and Leonard went out early, preparing to complete the request the client had given them yesterday—though it wasn't difficult and didn't involve the Beyonder, no request requiring a detective was ever simple.
Collecting clues, organizing evidence, and finally contacting the client. Aside from requests like finding cats or dogs that only required a result, other requests generally took at least half a day to a day.
Meanwhile, Dunn and Daly stayed in the agency, handling daily affairs as usual, trying to find traces of Ince Zangwill from the smallest clues.
As the Sun gradually set and the crimson Moon climbed into the sky, Dunn noticed a slender eye suddenly appear before him, seemingly enveloped in countless incomprehensible lights and shadows.
The next moment, a piece of letter paper fell. It was quite empty, with only a series of inexplicable place names.
Faint, frenzied shrieks seemed to penetrate the Spirit World and reach the real world—but this had no effect on a "Soul Assurer" and a "Spirit Guide."
But at the same time he saw the place names, Dunn's gaze met Daly's in an instant, and he whispered to Daly beside him:
—
"Let's go, support them!"
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#154Chapter 154 Rosago: Backlund Has No Living Legends
Chapter 154 Rosago: There Are No Living Legends in Backlund
The sunset glow was gradually swallowed by the horizon, and it looked as if the crimson moonlight was about to spill onto the streets of Backlund.
In this neighborhood where security was not particularly good, there were very few pedestrians at night, only some workers hurrying from factories or those who worked at night passing by quickly.
As Darkness descended, the temperature on the streets gradually dropped, causing Klein and Leonard, who had just informed the client of the commission results, to wrap their thick trench coats tighter.
"Hmm, why do I feel like there's something wrong with this commission—" Klein said thoughtfully, wrapped in his thick clothing.
Hearing Klein's words, Leonard looked at his friend beside him with curiosity: "What problem?"
"I always feel that this matter isn't that simple. Although this commission wasn't difficult and didn't involve any Beyonder events, it was still somewhat too tedious, as if—it was intentionally meant to keep us here." Klein shook his head: "And—Captain Dunn had me deliver a letter before."
"What letter?" Leonard followed up with a question, looking around alertly.
I can't say that, and I don't know if the'specialty' you possess can help you stay away from that thing's arrangements—heavy concerns surfaced in Klein's heart. Even in his mind, he did not recite the name "0-08": "I can't tell you for the time being."
Leonard curled his lip and spoke in an intentionally exaggerated tone: "Fine, you still don't trust me—"
"How could I not trust you?" Mr. Leonard, please don't act like this, we are just colleagues—Klein saw Leonard's deliberate theatricality and sighed silently, a smile spreading across the corners of his mouth: "We are the two 'protagonists' who met within the rolling tide of fate!"
Leonard's manner reminded Klein of his bad friends before transmigrating, causing him to subconsciously disparage Leonard slightly in the same way. Sure enough, hearing Klein's response, Leonard's expression instantly turned red.
Leonard coughed violently several times and immediately put on a serious face, forcibly changing the subject: "Stop it, stop it—"
Klein also knew the boundaries of joking and maintained the appropriate measure. After seeing Leonard's reaction, he just chuckled inwardly and walked toward the public carriage on the street with Leonard.
The two sat on the public carriage. The carriage cabin shielded them from the cold outside. Although the public carriage's cabin was relatively simple, with their Beyonder constitutions, they would no longer feel uncomfortable due to this level of temperature.
After paying the fare, the carriage driver raised his whip, and the wheels rolled, taking the two toward their destination. Suddenly, Leonard woke up as if he had discovered something and warned Klein loudly: "Wait, Klein! Something's—not—right—the Old Man had just reminded Leonard that the carriage's direction was slightly off—the carriage wasn't heading toward the Detective Agency, but was quietly... heading toward a place with fewer people."
However, Leonard's discovery was already a bit late.
As he heard Leonard's voice being unnaturally stretched in his ears, Klein realized he was in the same situation as when he was controlled by the "Antigonus Family doll" during the mission in Tingen.
He felt as if every joint in his body had been filled with glue or was like rusty machinery, feeling his movements begin to slow down.
Marionettist—Klein knew the Beyonder abilities of the subsequent Sequence and struggled to raise his head, wanting to find the "Marionettist" hidden around him.
In a narrow place like a carriage cabin, there were too many places where a "Marionettist" could hide, while he had nowhere to hide—but as long as they could leave the carriage, his and Leonard's situation would improve instantly.
Once they left the carriage and reached an open space, a "Marionettist" with a short control distance for "Spirit Body Threads" would have nowhere to hide!
However, meeting Klein's gaze, the driver who had been driving the carriage suddenly turned back. Countless granulations were wriggling on his face, and he quickly turned into a handsome gentleman with blue eyes and black hair.
"Faceless"? He's that "Marionettist"—Crap, where is his marionette—
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Thoughts raced in Klein's mind. His eyes moved slowly, turning his gaze toward Leonard.
Leonard's Sequence was now higher than his, already a Sequence 7 "Nightmare"!
A faint smile appeared on the driver's face: "Pity, the Ambassador needs me to buy him some time—I can only ask you to die. Alas, if you hadn't exposed Merso's link to the Ambassador, I wouldn't have to kill you witnesses. This is a very high-risk thing for us."
He doesn't know we are from the Church! Hearing the driver's words, Klein's heart stirred.
The "Marionettist" before him only thought he was an ordinary detective!
The identities of the four of them were matters that required strict confidentiality for the Church. Therefore, the Church of the Night intervened in matters related to Merso and Backlund, so the police officers did not investigate their situation.
At this point, Klein was almost completely certain that this matter was a script stitched together by Ince Zangwill through a series of coincidences, intended to block their investigation progress and ideally kill one or two of them to satisfy Ince Zangwill's desire for revenge.
Otherwise, would a Sequence 5 level "Seer" not carefully divine the details of this matter before choosing to launch an attack on them?
"Pity, you are both Beyonders, which means I have to spend a lot of time to turn you into marionettes." The driver sighed, seemingly lamenting the difficulty and trouble of this matter, and then said to the two with a smile: "By the way, I think you should know my name. I'm called Rosago."
He knows we are Beyonders? Klein's heart sank, and then a strange emotion surged up.
If this "Marionettist" named Rosago knows we are Beyonders, then why would he take the initiative to expose himself, let his marionette replace the driver, and then hide outside the carriage himself? By controlling the timing, we wouldn't be able to immediately discover his location even if we escaped the cabin—
Could it be that the nonsense he's saying now is to deceive me, to make me let my guard down? I see, his "Marionettist" potion hasn't been fully digested yet, and he has only completed preliminary control over me; he has no way to control me directly!
Klein's eyes subconsciously widened as he looked into Rosago's eyes. Sure enough, Rosago's eyes were sometimes focused and sometimes vacant, as if he were struggling against something.
Just then, Klein saw Leonard's gaze suddenly become deep: "Nightmare"!
Leonard was doing his best to drag Rosago into a dream. It was exactly because of this that Rosago needed to use such words to paralyze him and stall for time, rather than directly converting him into a marionette!
Klein instantly determined what he needed to do. Relying on the time Leonard bought for him, his lips moved slightly while his fingers reached toward the inner side of his clothes.
At that moment, Klein's vision suddenly cleared, and those sluggish sensations vanished from his body in an instant. Beside him, Leonard's wrist twisted, and a look of slight pain and struggle appeared on his face.
It was that "specialty" Leonard possessed. Leonard had just directly used a Beyonder ability that did not belong to his own Pathway, stealing the "marionettization" from Klein's body!
But correspondingly, the progress of "marionettization" on Leonard's body suddenly intensified.
Klein quickly reached his hand into the lining of his clothes and recited rapidly: "Traveler of the upper realms, animated creature of the void, messenger belonging solely to Ning Lu Emonsal."
"I need your help—Leonard, close your eyes!"
He knew the situation with Nimrod's messenger. Every time he saw that messenger, Klein would have a strong spiritual intuition that as long as he dared to open his Spirit Vision, what awaited him would be the immediate consequence of losing control.
That messenger seemed to possess an incomplete "Mythical Creature form"!
Therefore, he also needed to remind Leonard to be careful not to look directly at that "messenger."
After doing all this, Klein took four steps counterclockwise without hesitation and entered above the Gray Fog.
If it were acting as a messenger, it might not necessarily reveal its full appearance, but what Klein needed now was for that terrifying existence—at least a demigod—to not hide its state!
Klein was certain he had been remembered by that impolite messenger, because every time it delivered a letter, it would confirm his state. And when he entered the Gray Fog, his spirit was not inside his body.
Furthermore, he had specifically requested its help when summoning the messenger just now. It would highly likely find that his current situation was not right. Coupled with the fact that Klein had already arrived above the Gray Fog, even if the messenger did not reveal that extremely dangerous state belonging to a demigod, he could still use the Gray Fog to call over his fellow countryman Nimrod.
From when Nimrod rushed to save the day in Tingen before, Klein already knew that his fellow countryman had an ability similar to "teleportation," which could be called—possessing great magical powers.
First, there was a light.
After hearing the voice of the prey who had suddenly escaped his control for some reason, Rosago's instincts from his time as a "Clown" made him feel that something was wrong. But as luck would have it, the other prey suddenly erupted, causing him to be dazed for a moment—even if the price was his spirituality being exhausted and him falling unconscious.
For some reason, Rosago seemed to hear an old and pleasant chuckle.
Then, the light split.
The light split into two curved arcs. A blackness—a void-like blackness—seeped out into the real world, and a circular ring suddenly appeared within the intersecting arcs, gazing at him with a nearly cold light, and also gazing at the surroundings.
It seemed to carry some spine-chilling will, some kind of "Truth" sufficient to kill those who did not possess divinity.
Rosago's eyes widened somewhat uncontrollably, and only then did he close his eyes as if realizing too late.
But even so, large patches of twisted and transparent granulations uncontrollably surfaced on his face and body, and within these granulations, even specks of starlight flickered. He suddenly collapsed to the ground, his body deforming unnaturally.
In just an instant, he nearly lost control from looking directly at an incomplete "Mythical Creature form"!
After a few seconds, the eye-shaped messenger glanced toward Klein's location before disappearing again under the gaze of the crimson moonlight. Klein, after noticing this, simulated the sensation of falling and returned to the real world, pulling out the hand he had just thrust into his chest—
And gripped a revolver loaded with Beyonder bullets.
But just then, Rosago's body suddenly vanished, and several flashes of fire crackled around, making it impossible to determine his specific location for a moment.
Klein made a decisive roll and jumped off the carriage with Leonard, grabbing Leonard's arm to carry him on his back, and then immediately turned to run toward an open space.
A terrifying roar came from behind. Rosago had now lost his previous decent and composed appearance. Instead, one fire after another ignited behind Klein, and his figure flashed within the flames.
"Flame Jump"! The Sequence 5 level "Flame Jump" ability!
Even Rosago was cautious enough when he knew he was facing Beyonders, casually scattering some matches around. But the places where he arranged the matches were slightly rushed; otherwise, he would have been able to catch up to Klein, who was carrying Leonard, the moment he recovered.
Klein's heart pounded. He gripped the firearm in his hand, ready to turn back and counterattack the moment Rosago's "Flame Jump" ended!
But just then, two figures appeared as if from thin air. A faint light emanated from Daly's fingers, and there were spirit projections gradually disappearing around her.
Dunn, wearing a trench coat, landed on his feet. His gaze condensed, and an inexplicable aura spread outward in a ring, causing the tense emotions in Klein's heart to smooth out.
"Requiem"!
Dunn was now a Sequence 6 "Soul Assurer."
And "Requiem" acted on both friend and foe simultaneously. What was peace and tranquility for Klein became extreme drowsiness for Rosago. He stumbled forward two steps, his pace becoming slower and slower.
No—Rosago realized something, waves of drowsiness surged into his heart. He wanted to raise his head but found it difficult to control his body.
Klein gripped the revolver with both hands and aimed at Rosago's head without hesitation.
"Bang!"
Chapter 155: A Letter from Triss
Under Rosago's gaze of disbelief, several bullets mercilessly pierced his skull, causing it to explode instantly, leaving only a headless corpse that pitched forward stiffly.
With a thud, the sound of the body hitting the ground rang out. Klein took a step back, avoiding the corpse that had almost fallen on him.
He wiped the blood splashed on his face, his previously racing heart gradually settling down as he began to carefully examine the corpse before him.
I really killed a "Marionettist"? A Sequence 5 "Marionettist"? Klein thought in disbelief, while Dunn and Daly quickly ran toward his position to check the body on the ground.
After using the "Soul Assurer" ability to confirm that the "Marionettist" was completely dead, Dunn nodded slightly and asked Klein with concern, "Klein, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Klein's emotions had stabilized. He lowered his head to rummage through Rosago's pockets, trying to find something to prove his identity. "He was a subordinate of that Intis Ambassador—uh, maybe a protector. It's too much of a coincidence that he found us. This whole thing gives me a feeling of coincidence."
"Yes, this matter is indeed a 'coincidence'." Dunn nodded, agreeing with Klein's thought. "Before coming here, I had already notified the Backlund Nighthawks. They will handle the cleanup next."
"Captain, how did you get here?" Klein asked curiously. "Could it be that matter you asked me to do before?"
Dunn smiled mysteriously and placed his index finger to his lips. "We can't let Ince Zangwill know about this. Heh, maybe he's watching this place right now—"
It seems it really was that letter—did Nimrod's messenger notify the Captain after discovering my situation? Klein's mind wandered for a moment as various guesses surfaced.
However, Klein felt that the Captain had a talent for being a "Provoker". Now, seeing that all four members of his team were unharmed, Ince Zangwill would probably be fuming since he couldn't find the reason—
If only Ince Zangwill could lose control directly out of anger! Klein harbored a bit of malice toward Ince Zangwill and silently cursed him.
"Heh, this is the easiest Sequence 5 Death I've ever seen—it's hard to imagine he's the same Sequence as the 'sword of the goddess' His Excellency." The sound of a carriage and rapid footsteps came from the distance. Daly clapped her hands. "But gentlemen, let me handle the situation here first—I'll have to report this to the Church later."
At this point, Daly's tone shifted slightly. "After all, tonight isn't so quiet—I'll perform spirit channeling on this 'Marionettist' first. I need a quiet, undisturbed place. Take him to the carriage nearby first."
Quiet? Klein frowned.
Speaking of which, after finishing the commission, he seemed to have heard faint sounds coming from other districts. Those sounds were quite chaotic, and there seemed to be some gunshots mixed in.
Could this also be the chaos caused by Ince Zangwill?
Only by making the situation in Backlund chaotic could the official Beyonders be kept busy, thus gaining an opportunity to fish in troubled waters?
But I'm still not clear about the cooperation between Ince Zangwill and the Demoness Sect—
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Just then, Klein's gaze suddenly froze:
No, he knew!
The Tarot Club member "Lovers", Nimrod, had mentioned the cooperation between the Demoness Sect and the royal family at the Tarot Club, and Leonard had given a similar speculation!
So Ince Zangwill wants to gain certain benefits from it? For example, an opportunity for acting, or clues for the next potion—but most of the high-sequence Pathways of "Darkness" or "Death" are held by the Church—
Is Ince Zangwill trying to murder a Saint of the Church?
In this matter, the interests of Ince Zangwill and the Demoness Sect are the same!
While Klein was speculating and hesitating whether to inform Captain Dunn, Daly, who had finished spirit channeling, spoke slowly to Klein, "By the way, Klein, Dunn and I arrived in quite a hurry. You fought this Beyonder named 'Rosago' head-on and killed him. Do you know which Sequence Beyonder he was?"
Ms. Daly, didn't you just finish spirit channeling Rosago? Klein looked at Daly with some confusion, but immediately realized after noticing the smile on her face:
Ms. Daly is hinting for me to submit this to the Church to accumulate merit. "He should be a 'Marionettist'." Just then, Leonard woke up slowly and spoke after hearing Daly's voice, "Klein, your future potions are guaranteed."
Hearing Leonard's words, Daly moved the corpse, which had been reawakened by her "Spirit Guide" ability, onto the carriage that had overturned to the side. She turned her head and whispered to Klein, "I just performed spirit channeling on him and obtained several potion formulas—all subsequent ones of the 'Seer' Pathway. You can submit them along with this matter later. The merit and materials for you to skip directly to Sequence 5 will basically be gathered."
"Heh, don't think about refusing. Think about the 'Acting Method' you revealed to Dunn before. Without your help, I don't think Dunn could have formed this team with us—"
"After experiencing those things before, I've also opened up. If I had to wait for Dunn to speak up, I don't know how long I'd have to wait—this is all thanks to you and your friend."
"You are more talented on the Beyonder path than I am. You might be the first among us to become a Saint."
Klein listened to Daly's firm tone and nodded slowly. Daly withdrew her gaze with satisfaction and focused on accelerating the precipitation of the Beyonder characteristic.
But just then, Dunn said seriously, "The Beyonder characteristic precipitated from Rosago must be submitted to the Church—"
Klein's heart suddenly tightened.
"—However, it was you and Leonard who killed this 'Marionettist', and there are currently no other mid-sequence 'Seers' in the Church. This characteristic ultimately belongs to you."
"And the Church's approval for the previous materials has been completed. At the latest, the day after tomorrow, your potion digestion will be assessed. Once you pass, you can become a 'Magician'."
Captain, can you please not pause like that? Seeing the slight smile on Dunn's lips, an uncontrollable smile also appeared on Klein's face.
Soon, the local Nighthawks stationed in Backlund sealed off the street and began handling the aftermath.
Just as the four were about to return to the Detective Agency, Klein saw a tall, thin figure standing at the street corner, taking off his top hat and bowing slightly to him.
"Mm, good work." Nimrod took off his top hat and clothes. The appearance of "James Holmes," which was a one-to-one replica of Professor Moriarty's face, changed back to "Dionysus Fried." He spoke casually to the messenger beside him.
The messenger, trembling slightly, emitted some information—Nimrod could hear the confusion and bewilderment in the words.
"You're saying Klein also has the aura of 'Sefirah Castle'? You're wondering if he's another avatar of mine, and if you've disturbed my game?"
Nimrod chuckled and shook his head to show understanding to the messenger. "No, it's fine. He isn't another clone of mine—he has received the favor of 'Sefirah Castle'. You can understand it this way—he counts as my 'favored'."
"When he seeks your help later, you can provide some assistance, but be careful not to get caught and stewed into a 'Planeswalker' potion."
It seems this "animated void" still retains some impression of the "Lord of the Mysteries"—then it's not surprising.
Considering the Celestial Worthy wouldn't share the "Attendant of Mysteries" characteristic with others, He probably also did things like serving Himself—in that case, it's not incomprehensible that the "animated void" is worried it might have ruined "its own" game.
After listening to Nimrod's words and eagerly indicating that he could be called at any time, the messenger disappeared from the spot cleanly.
After a while, however, Nimrod's door was knocked on by his butler, who handed a letter to Nimrod and left the room.
Nimrod took the letter and glanced at the hurriedly written words—it was a letter from Triss, obviously written in a spare moment amidst various events and close surveillance.
After glancing at the contents, Nimrod roughly understood Triss's current situation.
Unlike before when she still had some mobility, Triss was now completely confined in Prince Edsac's manor and had no choice but to ask him for help.
Although Prince Edsac still somewhat respected Triss's thoughts, coincidences were increasing. Triss only felt that she didn't know when she would completely lose her dignity as a male due to a coincidence, and she became increasingly panicked as time passed.
—As expected, she was still taken to Prince Edsac? On one hand, it's George III's plan to let his son bear the responsibility once the smog is discovered; on the other hand, the Demoness Sect hopes to nurture a vessel for the "Primordial Demoness" to descend.
With Ince Zangwill preventing Triss from leaving, and the close surveillance from the Demoness Sect and the royal family's Beyonders—it's a testament to her ability that she could even run out before.
Nimrod frowned, still somewhat unable to understand how Triss resembled Cheek. Before he knew the history of the Fourth Epoch, he would only think that perhaps Cheek also had a twisted personality nurtured in such an environment, but after knowing the history of the Fourth Epoch—
How could Triss even be compared to Cheek? Cheek was much crazier than Triss, proficient in various matters like backstabbing allies and killing her husband—and Triss didn't choose to backstab Edsac in the end, but instead gave her life to avenge him.
However, maybe that's exactly why the Primordial Demoness gave up on this vessel for Divine Descent, because Triss's mental state was clearly not "beautiful" enough; just this point alone was far from the Primordial Demoness.
Nimrod simply wrote a letter, expressing some greetings within it, except this time he attached a brand-new honorable name at the end of the letter, along with the incantation to summon his messenger.
Of course, facing a thief and rogue like Triss who clawed her way up from the bottom of society, Nimrod also specially arranged a mystical ritual. After placing the letter on it and reciting a few incantations, he refolded the letter.
After doing all this, he snapped his fingers, summoning his messenger.
"Help me deliver a letter."
Nimrod calmly handed the other letter to the "animated void". "Find this person and give this letter to her—remember her appearance, find out her location, and notify me immediately if anything abnormal occurs."
Watching the messenger disappear before him, Nimrod went back to his business. After a while, he looked up at the distant scenery with some doubt.
The spiritual imprint in the bit of "Prometheus" characteristic he had left was completely wiped out.
"This honorable name doesn't belong to the 'True Creator'—" Triss's eyes were slightly bloodshot. "This Divine Envoy, he's not a devout Believer of the 'True Creator'? Although it's quite suspicious, I might be able to use this opportunity to do some things—"
"I've never seen this honorable name before—did the deity he truly serves give him the ability to deceive the 'True Creator'?"
"But the honorable names of deities are all three-part, or described in five parts. Is it some hidden existence with a level close to a deity? But isn't this description too exaggerated, way too exaggerated?"
"Could it be that this Divine Envoy is deceiving me—"
Triss tried hard to identify the honorable name at the end of the letter, not speaking it aloud: "Lord of the Mysteries, king of time and space—Fate, damn, what is this word?"
She scratched her Cheek irritably, somewhat troubled by how to pronounce these words she had never seen before.
"—Dominator of the Spirit World."
"Choose any three parts to recite—"
Triss flipped the paper and saw the text on the back.
"—Or simply recite it silently."
Silently, silently—this is absolutely, definitely intentional!
Seeing the last sentence, Triss only felt a world-shaking dizziness, as if this sentence represented that she had already been targeted by some unknown evil god or great existence.
However, this letter is evidence that this Divine Envoy's faith isn't devout enough. If I really were to die mysteriously one day, I'll give this letter to the Aurora Order and beg for the True Creator's protection—damn, that's already the worst option!
Triss cursed crudely in her mind, but her peripheral vision caught a flicker of flame.
"—FUCK."
She watched helplessly as the words on the letter seemed to be ignited, turning into a blank sheet of paper in the blink of an eye.
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#156Chapter 156 All Materials are Complete
Chapter 156: Materials Complete
Nimrod thought it over carefully and felt Triss's current behavior was actually quite normal.
After all, with the small bit of help he had provided, Triss's current situation was much better than it would have been in the original timeline—and this was a result Nimrod had deliberately engineered.
It was precisely because of this that Triss had not yet completely abandoned her original gender identity, had not yet given up all hope for herself, and was not like the original version who had sold her soul to an evil god——
Oh, no, Triss still sold her soul to an evil god. It's just that this time it wasn't the Primordial Demoness, but the 'Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings'.
With such an awe-inspiring name, He must be a benevolent and kind deity, right?
Setting Triss's matter aside, Nimrod closed his eyes and focused on the information that had surfaced in his mind after fully digesting the 'Prometheus' potion.
First was the ability maliciously removed from this Sequence by Amon. Nimrod had now acquired a brand new method of 'theft'—he could steal items from others remotely or, conversely, directly slip dangerous items into a target's hands.
For example, during a fight, as long as he took the enemy by surprise and remotely slipped something like the 'Puppet of the Antigonus Family' or 'creeping hunger'
—active Beyonder items—into their hands, as long as the enemy's Sequence was not higher than the Sequences corresponding to these two Beyonder items, it would basically secure victory.
The range of this ability was the same as that for stealing Beyonder powers—also fifty meters. This exceeded the effective range limits of most powerful Sequence 6 or Sequence 5 abilities, as well as the range limits affected by most Beyonder items.
Similarly, within this range, 'Superior Observation' could also sense the approximate value and type of valuable items, which naturally included Beyonder characteristics and Beyonder items.
Unless those items were enhanced with Beyonder abilities like 'Mysticism Invisibility' designed to counter observation abilities, nothing could escape Nimrod's eyes.
Additionally, his resistance to mental corruption had also received a certain boost—likely originally intended in the potion Sequence to deal with stealing items carrying mental corruption or to be used in conjunction with slipping items into others' hands.
If this Pathway had not been weakened by Amon, Nimrod speculated that at the Sequence 6 stage, 'Prometheus' should have been the one with the strongest physique and the most bizarre combat methods among the three Pathways of mystery.
The 'Fool' Pathway was elusive and hard to kill; the 'Door' Pathway was mysterious and unfathomable. In Nimrod's view, the 'Error' Pathway could be perfectly described with the word 'annoying'.
Although the 'Error' Pathway itself lacked direct combat power, whether it was preventing an opponent from using their abilities for an entire day after stealing them, or surreptitiously stealing someone's Beyonder item or planting a dangerous item on them, it could make the opponent feel supremely uncomfortable.
Sometimes being killed head-on doesn't make one seethe with rage, but being cuckolded is the ultimate spiritual insult.
A day later, late at night, Nimrod received a letter sent to him by Dunn Smith.
After layers of approval, the deacon of the Church of the Night had finally delivered the Beyonder materials applied for by the Tingen Squad. On one hand, it was to complete a secret transaction with him; on the other, it was to conduct Klein's promotion assessment, allowing him to advance to Sequence 7, 'Magician'.
Nimrod changed his clothes, transformed his appearance into that of 'James Holmes', handed over the matters needing handling——
—to a grimacing Mr. A, and then headed for the Tingen Squad's Detective Agency.
Taking a slightly roundabout route, after boarding a public carriage, he leaned back in his seat and pulled out the identification document that had been sent with the letter. The photo attached to the ID was the one he had previously sent to Dunn—a tall, thin, elderly middle-aged man.
For Nimrod, the imminent acquisition of the 'Dream-Eating Rat', the final piece of the puzzle belonging to 'Dream Stealer', was a pleasant surprise. However, he also deemed it necessary to check if that 'Dream-Eating Rat' carried any hidden measures left by the Evernight Goddess.
The lives of deities were far too long, affording them far too many opportunities to plant their own schemes in various places. Knowing that Amon would continuously hunt and collect Beyonder characteristics of his own Pathway, the Evernight Goddess, who wielded a certain authority over 'Dreams', would not find it very difficult to specifically preserve some materials of the 'Error' Pathway.
Beyonder characteristics lacking divinity were not essential for Amon. He had no compelling reason to risk an attack from the Evernight Goddess just to steal half a set of Sequence 5 materials.
However, with both 'Sefirah Castle' and the 'Will of the Celestial Worthy', Nimrod was confident he could eliminate any potential hidden measures left by the Evernight Goddess within the 'circlet timeline'.
Nimrod put away the identification document and began recalling the potion formula for 'Witch'.
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The auxiliary materials were all easy to find, nothing particularly rare: I had previously inventoried the Aurora Order's treasury, and all the auxiliary materials could be found there. The tricky part was the main ingredients.
Either go find a Black Abyss Devilfish and a Carnelian Peacock, or kill a 'Witch' to directly extract the Beyonder characteristic——
I can approach it from both angles. After all, even if I obtain one of the main ingredients before getting the 'Witch' Beyonder characteristic, these Beyonder materials would still hold value. They could be directly sold to the Demoness Sect; they wouldn't mind purchasing Beyonder materials of their own Pathway.
Also, while in the underground ruins, I had already sought Medici's opinion. He believed Sequence 7 was the most critical turning point in the 'Demoness' Pathway. At this Sequence, even if a 'Pyromaniac' had fully digested their potion before consuming the 'Witch' potion, the risk of losing control was extremely high.
Because the 'Witch' potion inevitably brings about a gender transformation. When the body undergoes changes, the two potions are prone to conflict, causing a blurring of dominance, leading to a situation where one potion cannot suppress the other.
Therefore, the best choice is to'switch' Pathways.
However, spending quite a bit of money on purchasing a title and providing Lumian with startup funds—including my personal funds and my company's funds—has left me with 'only' a little over ten thousand pounds in cash, plus the fifteen thousand pounds yet to be paid by Alger and Audrey——
Hmm, indeed, with the backing of a bank shareholder like the Hall Family, starting a company is profitable——
But fortunately, Lumian has also started turning a profit, and Alger likely has channels to obtain one or two main ingredients. They should be collectable before Lumian finishes digesting 'Instigator'.
Rocking with the carriage's motion, Nimrod gradually sorted out his next steps:
First, inform Lumian that he cannot advance to 'Pyromaniac' for now. He needs to temporarily switch to the 'Demoness' Pathway to complete his advancement, then switch back to 'Iron-Blooded Knight' at Sequence 4.
With the 'Demoness' Pathway dominant, he could continue consuming potions of the Hunter Pathway, but he must still, as before, control the digestion progress of the 'Demoness' Pathway potion to be greater than that of 'Hunter' to prevent loss of control.
Lumian had been diligently managing the gang organization for him during this period, helping him conceal his identity within the super trash can that was Trier, and providing him with a stable source of boons. Nimrod considered a Sequence 7 potion to be quite reasonable compensation.
Then, go to the 'circlet timeline' to check if the 'Dream-Eating Rat' carries any hidden measures from the Evernight Goddess, and then complete the advancement—I need a dream-type ability to ensure enough participants for the 'Dream Stealer' ritual. This could be traded for with Leonard, who is a 'Nightmare'.
The carriage gradually came to a stop. Nimrod also organized his thoughts, withdrew his gaze, and walked into the lit Detective Agency.
Across from the Detective Agency, Leonard, dressed in clothes identical to passersby, was patrolling the surroundings, preventing any sudden 'coincidences' from causing tragedies that hadn't occurred before.
Dunn was sitting in the main hall of the Detective Agency. Opposite him was a gentleman dressed in a very individualistic style, the 'sword of the goddess' Creste Celcima. At that moment, Creste was instructing Dunn about something, a large suitcase placed in front of them.
Seeing 'James Holmes', dressed in a trench coat and top hat, enter the agency, the two immediately stopped their conversation.
To fit his current face, Nimrod controlled his facial muscles to produce a cold, seemingly forced smile: 'It seems I've come at a bad time?'
'————No, you've come at just the right time.' Dunn and Creste exchanged a glance, then Dunn said in a low voice to Nimrod. However, seeing Nimrod's expression suddenly turn a bit strange, he asked with some puzzlement: 'What's wrong?'
'Nothing.' I didn't expect you to perfectly match a familiar meme———— Nimrod changed the subject, addressing Dunn: 'What you just said refers to————'
'His Lordship the 'sword of the goddess' has brought the Beyonder materials.' A smile appeared on Dunn's face: 'Coincidentally, Klein also needs to advance. His Lordship is here to assess his potion digestion progress.'
A faint smile also appeared on Creste's face as he said to Nimrod: 'After all, Klein is also considered one of my team members, haha, though I don't appear in this team much————'
Creste self-deprecatingly added a touch of humor. Putting aside his personal attire, he actually possessed quite a Loen-style sense of humor in conversation.
'Additionally, thank you for the intelligence you provided earlier, Detective Holmes. The Church is currently conducting operations against the Demoness Sect. Your intelligence has provided considerable convenience to the Church————'
Creste deliberately addressed Nimrod by his current identity, briefly mentioning recent events within the Church.
After speaking, Creste withdrew his gaze and slowly pushed the suitcase in front of him forward, saying solemnly: 'These are the Beyonder materials you require.'
The suitcase was opened before him. The entire interior was filled with various spirit-infused materials, dividing the case into two halves.
The left side of the case contained a tightly sealed box bearing a mysticism Seal. The right side held a glass vial. The vial seemed to contain a hallucinatory dreamscape, within which a creature, seemingly somewhere between spirit and flesh, struggled.
Although its exact shape was unclear, the creature's silhouette distinctly resembled a rat.
Nimrod gave a light laugh, raised his hand, and placed it on the table in front of him. Without concealment, he softly uttered an incantation devoid of any meaning—then, from thin air on the table, he produced a gray-shrouded Puppet.
He noticed Creste's expression visibly grow several degrees more serious.
'I have already applied a slight Seal to it. Neither the special properties related to the Antigonus Family nor the Beyonder characteristic of Sequence 5 itself have been damaged. Consider this a token of my sincerity to the Church, as well as additional payment for collecting a rare material like the 'Dream-Eating Rat'.'
Nimrod said lightly: 'If the Church of the Night has any discoveries regarding the Demoness Sect in the future, you can also contact me. I will assist the Church in my personal capacity—after all, 'we' also very much wish to become a true church.'
What the Church knows and what deities know are not necessarily the same. At most, Creste probably only knows he is a favored of the Goddess or the True Creator—or one of the favored.
Therefore, Nimrod gave a slight hint to Creste, one of the three giants of the Nighthawks.
'I see.' Creste said thoughtfully, extending his right hand to shake Nimrod's: 'Then, I wish you a smooth advancement, Detective Holmes.'
Nimrod gave a slight nod and turned to walk towards the door.
He turned a few corners and soon, as calculated, ran into Leonard head-on. Taking advantage of Leonard's momentary daze, Nimrod said to him with a smile: 'Leonard, want to—make a deal with me?'
Several days later, after seeking the formula for 'Robot' and the Beyonder characteristic and main ingredients needed for 'Witch' at the 'Tarot Club', the countdown on the back of Nimrod's hand for this round was also nearing its end.
'Archbishop Anthony.'
In St. Samuel's Cathedral, Creste Celcima, dressed in black trench coat attire, said with a serious expression to Anthony Stevenson: 'I have recovered the 'Puppet of the Antigonus Family'. However, its condition seems to have undergone some changes————'
'Don't worry about it.' Anthony nodded slightly: 'This is the Goddess's divine decree. 'He' is our ally. We only need to treat him with a normal attitude.'
Creste's eyes widened slightly: 'Could he truly be the Goddess's————'
Anthony shook his head, drawing a 'Scarlet Moon' over his chest: 'This is not for us to speculate about.'
'As long as his actions do not exceed the scope of the divine decree, we simply treat him as an ordinary collaborator.'
A serious look appeared in Anthony's eyes: 'We should not try to fathom the intentions of deities. We only need to remember that everything the Goddess does is for the sake of Her kingdom's stable continuation.'
'Praise the Goddess.'