ajfa

Chapter 30 - Theater of Confusion

Boom!

A bright light of different hues rose up, swallowing the chest with one hand out.

A loud bang echoed, leaving Leonard's ears bleeding, who was almost next to it. He could only hear a loud buzzing, but ignored the pain.

That inexplicable explosion of fireworks threw 2-049 closer to Leonard and Borgia who quickly rolled to the other side, seven meters away from the artifact again.

Haaa! Haaa! Haaa!

Amidst panting breaths that echoed throughout the warehouse, leaving everyone unsure about the being that could be on the other side, the clown in the tuxedo took the opportunity to grab a piece of paper and set it on fire.

The fire whip extended, almost hitting Lorotta and Dunn at the same time and soon hit the clown's ankle.

The clown in the tuxedo freed himself from the invisible handcuffs, doing a somersault backwards.

— Ah!

Another deep wail echoed in the warehouse as Dunn and Lorotta aimed to shoot the clown, but they only hit the wooden crates.

Crossing the medium-sized warehouse in the blink of an eye, the clown ran while pressing his hand to the wound that was gushing blood.

In an instant, the hole from which a red liquid was flowing from his stomach disappeared.

In the place where his hand touched, a grotesque wound, entirely torn apart by a silver bullet

He completely disappeared from everyone's sight.

No one went to look for him, the panting coming from the depths of that enormous warehouse made them tense to the bones.

Bam!

The warehouse's inner door flew in all directions at the same time.

Pieces of cloth soaked in a red liquid were thrown everywhere at that moment and one of them fell near Klein.

When he looked, he realized that it was a piece of an arm. It was completely open and half chewed. There were jagged bite marks on the bloody flesh, the bones were visible.

Bang!

A piece of a dilated eye rolled at his feet.

Several other items flew, a leg stained with a bloody liquid filled with malformed teeth of broken porcelain, an ear torn in half along with a jet of blood and, soon after, several pieces of a rotten intestine as well as a heart still beating alive.

Klein did not vomit, he had seen others who lost control or decomposing bodies other times.

He exchanged the cartridge with more anti-demon bullets as his tension almost left him with his caution and senses exploding.

Bang! Bang!

Dunn and Leonard fired at the same time, the Captain approached a little closer to the warehouse.

The bullets had no effect, only hitting in vain.

Haa! Haa! Haaa..!

As grayish-white colors covered the hole that used to be a door, the sound of breathing grew louder.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lorotta, Aiur Harson and Borgia pulled the trigger respectively with strong shots that tore through the whiteness.

The color spread across the ground, and on it was revealed a humanoid figure over two meters tall. Much of his flesh was in mounds while his joints were twisted in a terrifying way.

The wrinkles and knobs of flesh seemed deep in his face that even seemed human. The bones were protruding with a broken, bloody appearance and, at the same time, dripping with a sticky grayish-white liquid on his skin as pale as a rotting corpse.

Bang!

Leonard's silver shot went through the monster's head.

From the hole a rotten liquid flowed and fell, transforming into a white worm.

Bang! Bang!

Two bullets came out of nowhere, heading towards Dunn and Lorotta who rolled on the ground before getting up.

When the monster opened its mouth, some rotten and very malformed teeth fell to the floor, breaking like porcelain.

Ray Bieber looks a lot like that crazy guy... He's not human anymore... — Klein didn't shoot blindly, just focusing on an opportunity if there was one.

The monster Ray Bieber slowly walked towards Borgia who shot, but it was as if his target was the sea. He was thrown against the wall with force before Ray Bieber focused entirely on 2-049 who was on the other side, closer to Leonard.

Borgia got up with difficulty, there was an open laceration on his head from the impact. He exchanged the cartridge for more anti-demon bullets.

— He lost control, probably a dead soul. — Dunn shouted in a deep tone. — Lorotta, find his weak point and watch out for the Secret Order's attacks!"

— Okay. — She put the gun inside her suit and touched his eyes.

At the same moment, Gravedigger Lorotta's eyes became brighter, even darker, as if she had entered a world of spirits.

She ran as she searched for some point on the monster.

Aiur Harson and Leonard stopped, starting to sing in unison:

— Oh, the threat of horror, the hope of red screams!

— One thing at least is certain: that this life flies by.

— One thing is certain, and the rest are lies…

Bang!

A Borgia bullet hit the monster's arm, but it had no effect.

Klein pressed one of his fingers, activating his spiritual vision to help Lorotta. Before him was a being in a mound of crazy whiteness, the center of its stomach was filled with a corruption that had an air as serene and cold as the sky.

— Ah!

A chilling scream of a deep wail pierced everyone's ears, echoing deep within their souls.

Klein's vision was momentarily dazed. He took a few steps back as he looked at the others.

Aiur Harson and Leonard fell down helplessly, their faces pale. Blood ran down their noses, ears, and eyes.

Boom!

An inexplicable explosion hit the 2-049's trunk, throwing it a little away.

Dunn, Lorotta, and Borgia had their faces white as a corpse, stained with a red liquid.

The monster Bieber advanced, heading towards Borgia.

Bang! Bang!

None of the shots fired by the Nighthawks had any effect.

The monster Bieber advanced towards Borgia, throwing him into a wall without any difficulty.

Borgia tried to get up a few times, but he didn't have any strength left to fight.

Even his gun was far away.

— There's something in his stomach! — Klein shouted as he dodged a few more bullets from above.

Lorotta nodded quickly, seeming to have immediately understood what Klein meant.

— Okay, I'll need three more seconds. — she replied in a shout as she deftly ran behind the crates that the monster hadn't destroyed.

Dunn stopped shooting. His eyes closed serenely as he seemed to enter some kind of deep sleep.

The monster suddenly stopped. Its movements became soft, as if it was losing any will to continue living.

Its distorted eyelids began to slowly close.

In Dunn's suit, there seemed to be scaleless snakes competing with each other.

Lorotta didn't hesitate to run towards the monster, rolling on the ground to land underneath it.

She punched the humanoid being in the groin with the monstrous power of a cannon and, ignoring the tearing pain, punched it again.

Poof!

She leaned on the ground as she sank her arm deeper into the grotesque wound she had made.

At that moment, amidst a yellowish intestine filled with a dark liquid like pus, she pulled out a notebook!

Heaven...

Hahaha....

Night...

Hahaha!

Secrets!

Twilight...

Hahaha!

Sun...

Klein's mind throbbed with various fragmented deliriums, terrifying memories coupled with nonsensical words threw his mind into a confusing chaos.

He shook his head before feeling all the hairs on his body stand on end.

Boom!

The body of the monster Bieber exploded into several pieces of pale flesh, flying everywhere in the same instant.

The shockwave threw Klein away, and Lorotta ended up colliding with pieces of glass and a half-destroyed wall, leaving a deep hole, before part of the wall collapsed almost on top of her.

In his confused vision, Klein managed to discern a tall figure slowly approaching him with a comical smile on its face.

Bang!

A silver bullet flew from Lorotta's gun at the clown, but he just dodged it as the Gravedigger closed her eyes, fainting.

With all the Nighthawks down, Klein had no chance against the clown!

He turned his gaze, realizing that 2-049 had been thrown towards him!

Klein felt his movements stutter, black threads that passed through a world with seven bright lights and a strange place between heaven and earth, going on to infinity, appeared in his vision, above everyone.

In their threads, there was an influence connecting with them.

Klein saw that they were not heading towards the trembling 2-049, but someone behind him!

There was not just one member of the Secret Order, but two of them!

The person who had chased after Klein, shot Borgia and the other Nighthawks, and distracted Leonard by firing a powerful shot at the boxes was this second person, thus distracting them until the monster Bieber arrived and did the job.

The fireworks that the clown threw were a signal for the other member to act, thus throwing that explosion at 2-049!

From the beginning, everything had been planned!

Seeing this, all he did was recite inwardly:

Blessings Coming… From… The Immortal Lord of… Heaven and Earth…

He wanted to use the space above the fog to escape the influence of the puppeteer of the Secret Order!

In a pure spark of the feeling of wanting to continue living, Klein wished with all his might to rise above the endless gray fog.

His mind boiled with murmurs, shattering his mind into several different fragments at the same time.

He tore through the gray mist, rising with his chaotic thoughts.

Delirious laughter and murmurs exploded in his mind. Manic laughter that contained an exaggeratedly insane joy.

Whispers stirred in his brain, sometimes saying irrational things that were impossible to discern, sometimes speaking things so madly that he could not comprehend them.

Those loud laughs echoed through the gray mist, sounding as ancient as they were terrifying. They seemed to bring an air belonging to an older era to the castle.

The illusory voices that sounded this time seemed calm, even comforting.

— The Fool...

— You are...

— The Fool...

He could finally sigh.

Zhou Mingrui...

Someone who couldn't even remember the faces of his own relatives. How long would it take to forget their voices?

Indeed, he had even forgotten their names. His brother was completely obliterated from his memories. He didn't remember his face or his voice, Klein didn't even remember his name.

But Zhou Mingrui was dead?

Was Zhou Mingrui really Zhou Mingrui?

He was from Earth, until for some baffling reason he ended up in that unknown world.

He woke up amidst chaos, various mysteries flooding his life one after another at the same time.

His mind throbbed with pain, his feelings were almost reduced to dust. His dreams were never the same, forced to change.

Klein...

Klein, someone who is unaware of his own existence. He is a brother, a Beyonder who had no idea what was happening around him, nor did he even know who he was.

The delusions had plagued him since the beginning. He became a Nighthawk out of necessity, yet he still could not find his answer.

Even in that short time, he had managed to make friends within the Church. What's more, he was a guardian, but also a miserable wretch who struggled with madness.

— I am Zhou Mingrui, and Klein... — he finally understood, his voice heavy with confusion.

Finally, he found himself in the palace of gray mist.

Slumping against the seat of honor, Klein leaned against the table with his thoughts scattered throughout his calm mind, he felt both confused and light.

It was as if something had dissolved.

What was this...?

I almost went crazy!

I'll never try that again…

— Haha, I can consider myself a professional at courting death… — In his self-deprecation, Klein finally regained his consciousness.

He tapped his finger on the long, tarnished bronze table.

What was that I saw... A distortion in destiny...

This... I can't think about that right now...

I'm not a complete lunatic to try that again, so how can I get around those two at the same time?

I don't have the strength to face either of them…

He sighed.

He should go back, or else they'd realize something was wrong.

He summoned a topaz pendulum before he began to repeat a few words of divination:

— It's safe to go back.

— It's safe to go back…

After saying it seven times, the pendulum calmly rotated clockwise.

After thinking for a while, he let his consciousness descend back into his body.

…

Blinking in confusion, he saw the figure of the clown from the Secret Order in front of him.

He still had a ridiculous smile on his face as he nudged Klein with a silver-encrusted cane.

He laughed.

— Young Seer. I know you have a connection to Antigonus, so don't try to play dead. I know you're the one who "killed" Amir, right? The strange influence inside you is useful, why not join the Secret Order? — He seemed very sure in his serious tone.

— We have the other Sequences of your pathway. Think about it, it's almost impossible to find someone from the Order of Mysteries, they're deceitful, the worst kind.

— The Church of Midnight doesn't have Sequence 8 of the Seer pathway, nor does it have its name, which is the Clown.

Are you trying to bribe me by speaking ill of the enemy? Uh… But they have the name of the potion… Is this man crazy? — Klein thought as he remained still.

— I can get you into the Secret Order, but you'll have to help me first. You're not affected by 2-049, so cross paths with him and get the Antigonus family notebook. — The clown spoke calmly, his eyes reflecting Klein's figure.

Klein's next action was to move one of his fingers, confirming that he could move.

How does he know that the Priest of Light died in his dreams and not to Crestet Cesmirir? Did someone inform him of this?

Besides, do the two of them believe there is a trap? They are not sure if Dunn, Lorotta, Borgia and Aiur Harson are really unconscious and they don't even know if there is anyone else strong, so they want to use me to probe the trap...

They know the Seer pathway too well to think that I escaped their control, so he must be controlling the captain and Miss Lorotta! Maybe even the others...

By the way, how did the Puppeteer not realize that I escaped his control? He should have realized... Is it a trap? I doubt it. They look down on me and think I am useless for being just a Seer...

Klein thought, still standing on the ground. He looked at the clown in the tuxedo, looking very confused.

He didn't believe anything the clown said!

When the clown poked him once more with his cane, he forcefully pulled him three meters closer.

The clown was surprised, he jumped to the side while still looking intently at the Seer less than two meters away.

The prepared Klein pulled the trigger.

Bang! Bang!

Instead of shooting the clown, Klein shot behind the clown, forcing him to dodge further to the side.

He rolled back skillfully like an acrobat, before his limbs inexplicably went numb as if he were a completely rusty and unrepairable machine.

The clown froze in place, his comical smile looked serious, yet it became even more ridiculous.

No...!

2-049... This Seer forced me to retreat to the Sealed Artifact...

How... He wasn't affected by the Master of...

Klein had already turned around, he aimed at the clown who was crawling to get out with his seemingly rusty joints.

Since he had already seen that the clown was very active, he didn't shoot blindly from the front and decided to wait. Besides, there was still another member of the Secret Order who was doing something else. He decided to force the clown to get close to 2-049!

If 2-049 failed, the clown would probably think this was a trap, warn the puppeteer and the two would run away.

Reflected in the comical clown's desperate eyes, Klein was very calm as he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The silver bullet pierced the clown's neck.

He wanted to scream, perhaps in pain or despair, however he could only gurgle in his horror. His limbs moved frantically to try to find a way out, but they seemed to be stuck together.

Bang!

The bullet went through the clown's forehead, which began to shake uncontrollably, collapsing several times.

Suddenly, Klein turned around.

A figure in a black suit was standing a little close to him, he even seemed a little dazed as he stared at him.

Creak!

Something snapped behind Klein, who froze in horror.

The clown had gotten up!

He laughed, looking at the puppeteer calmly.

His blood-soaked face seemed inexplicably calm, which made him terrifying with his blood-soaked appearance.

— Good evening, puppeteer and Nighthawks. — A familiar female voice sounded, seeming unfazed, she even took off her top hat as if she was greeting them.

Creak!

His neck twisted, seeming to snap in half with dark blood gushing out.

He fell with a comical smile.

A door with several mysterious symbols embedded in the light frame began to form quickly,

Someone opened the door, coming out with an old clothing, seeming to come from a bygone era. the clothes in shades of blue and black with some silver details as well as other layers of clothing that had various details.

His pants seemed a little loose and his boots were black leather, there were some star symbols, as at the end of the edges of his overcoat, two silver stars were decorating.

A figure bathed in the bright crimson moonlight was standing on the roof, in his hands was a silver book reflecting a bloody tone.

The puppeteer froze, his limbs starting to distort, perhaps even his face was a little woody with buttons of flesh twitching.

— Member of the Secret Order, have you forgotten your rule? — she asked in a tone as serene as it was impassive, perhaps it was even a bit of mockery or coldness.

— Order... Of... Mysteries... Concealment... You are the one who blew up 2-049... with fireworks... Placed a seal on it... And took it away... — In his horror, the puppeteer made a gunshot sound.

The gunshot, however, just disappeared, as if it had never existed.

She gave a calm look, her face slowly appearing under the darkness.

Adhara smiled inexplicably.Chapter 31 - Door of Light

Klein froze in confusion as he stared at the woman.

She was Adhara!

Daly Simone's friend! She was the one who led him to the Cathedral of Saint Selena!

She was a member of the Order of Mysteries...! So why is Miss Daly befriending her? Is she an informant for the Church? Could she be gaining something from this? Miss Daly may not know... Was she spying on the Church? — Several different thoughts flooded Klein's mind.

Suddenly, the puppeteer's head shook uncontrollably, as if it were about to explode into dozens of fireworks.

The puppeteer grabbed his neck, falling to his knees as his eyes began to turn a crimson color entirely.

She glared at him from the rooftop.

— Puppeteer, remember that not everything is fact.

Creak!

His neck twisted backwards, twisting from side to side like a maniac.

His eyes, which were once blue, began to turn completely black, and a dark and grotesque liquid that did not seem to be blood was pouring from his eyes.

Amidst his screams, there were clear, desperate lamentations and even honest, but distorted, regret.

His voice almost stopped.

— Lord...

— Forgive me... Lord...

Several pieces of his lung, which had already seemed to have been decomposing for a long time, came out of his mouth.

His organs that were coming out seemed to be turning into solid wood with a viscous liquid like oil coming out.

In his prayers, he began to convulse violently with a waterfall of blood coming out of his eyes.

A huge door of light tore through the space, opening at the feet of the mysterious man in the black suit, who fell inside it.

— Secret Order. — Adhara, with an indiscernible face, spoke in a calm tone, seeming completely unperturbed.

At his feet, lay the corpse of the puppeteer and the monster Bieber.

— Did you come to get the notebook? — Leonard asked carefully. Even though he was lying down, he was still awake!

Seeing the poet's expression, the woman just looked at him with a smile.

Leonard didn't recognize her...? — Klein thought almost in confusion as he looked at the scene.

—It's not my object, everything will naturally return. — she said. Even though her tone was calm, it was still impassive and reflected her enigmatic face.

A door of light opened at Leonard's feet, and he couldn't even say a single word before realizing that he was near the other Nighthawks.

There seemed to be an invisible force holding him in place with unimaginable resilience, perhaps it was the crushing pressure that was making him stay on the ground, looking at his own feet.

Adhara grabbed 2-049 by the head and forced him to look at all the Nighthawks.

The doll began to struggle as it once again hit its own head with its very thin hands.

Seeing this, she unperturbedly stuffed it into the box with the crimson moon symbol, and the box simply disappeared into her hands with the seal she had made in the previous fireworks explosion strengthening.

The woman tightly grabbed the puppeteer's corpse's long hair and dragged him to one of her doors of light.

She whispered a few words, perhaps a name or something like that, and then the corners of her mouth curved into a calm smile.

At this time, none of the Nighthawks dared to stand up to stop her from doing what she had come to do; in fact, they didn't even have the strength to do so.

Since that woman had killed a Beyonder of the Secret Order without difficulty, it would be tantamount to suicide to try to engage in direct combat with her.

Even if they were fully healed, they would still be useless.

— Aren't you going to take the other one? — Leonard decided to take a chance. She didn't seem hostile towards the Nighthawks, just going after her goal without caring about the others.

Adhara didn't answer, walking away through the huge door of light filled with mysterious symbols, that door tore through the space around it.

At that moment, the already weak Leonard almost collapsed to the ground in his state of half confusion.

Klein, however, walked over to Aiur Harson quickly. Their situation was probably critical after so many attacks!

The knight had a weak, almost dropless blue liquid in his hands. He tried to sit up, but he couldn't even support himself with his own hands.

— I was trying to... take some... But it slipped... — he said in loud deprecation as he looked at Klein.

— Look in Borgia's... suit pockets... — Aiur Harson muttered in a hurry, almost choking as he forced himself to speak.

Klein didn't hesitate to run to check where the weak ones were and when he found them, he poured some of the silvery blue liquid into Borgia's open mouth, who regained the little sparkle in his eyes.

— Thank you... — he said weakly, waving to Klein that he was already fine.

After giving that liquid to everyone, except Leonard who always had the strength to get up and drink it himself, they stood up with difficulty, confused as they looked around.

2-049 was gone!

Not only that, but the body of the monster Bieber couldn't be seen!

— Where is the Sealed Artifact and the corpse? — Dunn asked immediately, hiding his pain.

Klein was quick to start explaining:

— They were stolen by a member of the Secret Order... Well, I should explain from the beginning...

— I survived by luck. When the explosion happened, the chest was thrown close to me so that it seemed like it was five meters away. A misjudgment, but the clown believed it and came to try to seduce me with an opportunity to join the Secret Order and the formula for Sequence 8.

— He guessed there was a risk, but for him what was dangerous was 2-049. The clown tried to make me get the Antigonus family notebook...

He gave details from beginning to end, except for the part about the gray mist or the identity of the member of the Order of Mysteries. He was sure that nothing good would come of revealing anything.

Besides, he had only added so many truths at the end to distract them from the main lie, the fact that he was not affected by the Antigonus family puppet!

— Besides, the Clown mentioned that he knew about how that member of the Secret Order died in the dreams. He described exactly what happened, said that his name was Amir.

— He predicted that the danger was 2-049, but it wasn't really you. What an intriguing conclusion. — Lorotta laughed.

Dunn seemed to have a flash of thought while still looking at him calmly.

— To know that it really wasn't his Grace, Crestet Cesmirir who killed him, he probably got that information at the time or from one of the inmates. Most likely they really did observe us for so long, but they couldn't enter the Church…

— Well, the preparations were flawed. There were two members of the Secret Order, not just one, and we lost a Sealed Artifact. Fortunately, she wasn't here to kill us, nor did she have any motive. Let's send this information to the Holy Cathedral.

Borgia sighed deeply, leaning against the wall as a sort of support for his grave situation.

— Who would have thought that she would appear at the last second to steal the Sealed Artifact 2-049 and the two corpses, but she didn't even want to take the notebook.

Lorotta's eyes narrowed with suspicion, she seemed very thoughtful.

Dunn's face reflected his calm even in that situation, he picked up the Antigonus family notebook from the floor.

— Let's go back with the notebook and have Frye, Royalle and Sekka come with the police in case anyone else from one of the Orders shows up. Leonard, you are in better condition than the others, so drive the carriage.

The poet passed by with his frivolous manner, but not without turning to Klein who was a little far away.

He didn't even seem to want to ask about him being immune to 2-049's control, he just kept smiling.

— Klein, I have a question for you... How did you know the name of Sequence 8 of the Seer pathway? — Leonard seemed skeptical, which was unusual.

Klein almost frowned in confusion.

— How do you not know? It's written in the Church archives. Old Neil gave me some to read and the name was there.

The black-haired poet stopped, he looked at him seriously.

— There was never a name for the other Sequences of the Seer pathway, besides 9 in the documents of the underground library. — He spoke, his face a mirror of his confusion.

What…? Impossible! I remember reading exactly that in the documents… — a wave of horror almost took over Klein's mind.

How…?

Was I delirious?

It seemed so real… Am I going crazy?

Was it an effect of the Antigonus family notebook?

A few images appeared in Klein's mind like a flash of light, there really was nothing that said about the name of Sequence 8, Clown!

— Sequence 8, Clown… How strange… — Dunn Smith muttered as he headed towards the carriage.

Inside the carriage, the captain explained how Ray Bieber had entered a state of sleep to digest the notebook's power without complications, but they ended up interrupting him and, consequently, receiving his wrath.

Klein's doubts left him confused, horrified, and apprehensive.

As soon as they arrived in the Cathedral's underground, Lorotta sent a telegram to headquarters with the report, while Dunn would put everything in order.

— Are you okay? — Corpse Collector Frye asked in a gentle tone.

— Yes, thank you. — Klein replied politely.

Frye seemed to understand that this was a difficult battle, so he preferred not to ask anything else so as not to bother him.

— It seems that they will send someone special to escort the notebook, since Your Grace is busy with some matters. — Lorotta warned as she leaned one of her bandaged arms on the sofa.

Leonard seemed to show some interest.

— Really? Could it be from another organization?

— Maybe. — Lorotta answered without much certainty.

Dunn raised his head, suddenly speaking:

— Klein, stay with Neil in the armory and Frye, Royalle, and Sekka, go to the police station and examine the remains of the body that were left in the warehouse.

The eyes of Sekka Tron, who was leaving the room, gradually narrowed as she left with Frye and Royalle.

Klein, however, headed to the armory where Old Neil was organizing some old documents on the shelves.

— Ray Bieber lost control... Did you even kill a Beyonder? — Old Neil placed a box on the armory table. — It's like I'm listening to the plot of a great play.

The plot of a book... I feel that too. — Klein narrowed his eyes indiscernibly.

...

Audrey smiled gracefully as she looked around her, several nobles dancing in the crimson moonlight in that grand hall.

Duke Negan was talking to some other high-ranking military men and nobles, mainly those with ties to the Church of Storms. The Duke almost always spoke calmly, almost with kindness and respect, but he also showed his influence.

You want to create more ties with the Church... — Audrey concluded, taking a sip from the glass that was almost full in her hands.

The Duchess Della raised her hand sometimes, to laugh.

She's showing off her pure ocean sapphire ring... — Spectator Audrey remained in the corner, just watching the puppet show the nobles were putting on.

No one showed their true intentions, just waiting for a good conversation for a gold deal that could happen.

To the right, a young man constantly raised his hands, emphasizing what he said as the conversation progressed.

To the left, a noblewoman had a gentle smile as she spoke to the Madame Parnes who often sent a guilty look to her husband.

I'm sure that noblewoman got some good deal from the Madame Parnes, who must be cheating on her husband... Uh... She husband also cheating on her... — Audrey observed everyone with an eagle's gaze disguised by her graceful manner, analyzing anyone.

She also looked to the side, almost there was a red curtain with gold embroidery.

In the darkness, Susie stared at her, wagging her tail.

...

Young Ian Wright sighed in his heart as he organized some things in the large room a little underground from the Brave Bar.

His gaze seemed somewhat thoughtful and mature, even for his age.

— Mr. Medici continues to ask for reports of Beyonder crimes... It seems there are even more things... Uh... Sanguines also seem interested in my sale of information... Well, at least I'm not at risk of death again... Now I just need to wait to go to Sequence 8, — Ian muttered to himself

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door in a similar rhythm — Three quick knocks and after that, a five-second silence to knock twice slowly and once loudly.

— Good evening, what do you want? — Ian asked as he quickly placed another book on a shelf.

He didn't delay another second before crossing the room, sitting in a chair in front of a table.

At that moment, a voice sounded ghostly, almost spectral:

— Just some information about the Rose School of Thought.

Rose School of Thought? From what I remember, it's a terrifying Beyonder organization that has ties to the Path of the Prisoner... Thank goodness they didn't send it to Kaspars Kalinin. — Ian calmly organized his thoughts, recalling all the information.

Fortunately, after taking the Scholar's potion, his memory was supernatural for all kinds of things he had to memorize for his work.

— Come in. — he answered in a somewhat deep but polite manner.

The person who opened the door was a brown-haired man with a strange look in his oak-brown eyes, he might even be hiding something, a milder malice on his pale face like a corpse.

He was wearing a simple white shirt with a vest.

— A child? — The man asked, almost hesitantly.

Still standing at the door for a long time, with a piercing gaze, was a woman with a pale face like a ghost. Her blond hair was tied up in a bun with a black maxi hat.

She was wearing a long, ancient-looking gothic dress. Her blue eyes were like hard ice, completely expressionless.

...

Berserk Sea, Golden Dream.

Analyzing the artifact she had obtained, Edwina Edwards seemed very thoughtful about several guesses.

That mystical artifact was a black and gold hourglass filled entirely with a liquid the color of cowmos stars along with a sandy gray mist instead of normal sand.

— For now, I will avoid touching on that... — she said, her blue eyes reflecting her doubt.

A bolt of lightning tore through the cloudy sky and struck the sea.

...

With several thoughts, Medici looked around, at the grandiose walls of the headquarters.

There were as many murals as always, each telling a different story from ancient times or even mythical tales that had dragged on through history, continuing until the Fifth Epoch.

Some were unknown, could have been great stories that had been lost in the current of time.

He burned the cigarette pack that was between his fingers, its ashes extinguished in the air.

What could it have been now? It seems like it has something to do with the Church of Midnight... At least I won't have to deal with those sailors, Crestet and Soest they usually don't care about small details about the past...

Well, at least Edwina Edwards was willing to negotiate information about that case of the disappearances in the Port of Enmat... But that took me back to Backlund...

He stopped with a sigh.

Tsk, why is it always me who has to stay with those self-centered sailors? In fact, I don't even know why I should expect that to change. They're not exactly the most trusting and chivalrous people as they say, after all, their own god, The Tyrant, is a sham.

It wouldn't be surprising if Bayam went up in flames because of them, well, it would be quite a sight if it weren't such a calamity. — Medici scoffed in his mind as he walked into the main room of the headquarters.

When he opened the door he saw Yvaine Callas calmly reading some old documents.

— It's good to see you're back from Enmat in one piece. — she said as she raised her head.

— Not even a good night? Education is rare in these times. — Medici gave a sigh of false tiredness and gave a calm look before continuing:

— Weren't you in Winter County? Was there some strange attack in Backlund?

— As if you said good morning to anyone in those years. Anyway, There wasn't much besides the usual strange calm, probably the war nearby about to break out? Well, I only had a conversation with young Crestet about that robbery before I came back here. — She answered with a somewhat cloudy face, but she seemed a little thoughtful.

She put the documents aside and picked up another, holding out her hand for Medici to take.

Yvaine Callas smiled.

— The Church requests your help. It's quite simple, go to a city in Awwa County, Tingen. Crestet visited there some time ago on behalf of a Seer, the Antigonus family and a Grade 1 Artifact, but don't tell anyone else about the Seer. It's just to bring the Antigonus family notebook back to safety, I'm sure it will be interesting to you.

— Ah, but remember that a certain person attacked the Nighthawks of Saint Selena Cathedral. A member of the Order of Mysteries who tore apart a Puppet Master and took an artifact and two Beyonder traits along with the body of a lunatic.

Medici narrowed his eyes, thinking of something The World had said at the Tarot Club.

That was exactly what it was about! The Antigonus family notebook!

He's a member of the Order of Mysteries? As I thought, that lunatic really could be part of a bizarre and ancient cult! There was no way he could be a normal person, not seeming so strange and crazy all the time! — Medici thought in shock.

For someone who spoke like The World, he couldn't be anything less than a Sequence 5!

— To relax, you said. The last time this happened, I ended up having a very friendly encounter with a Demigod of the Rose School of Thought in East Balam. — Medici complained in response with a smile on his face.

— Of course, but what happens is up to fate. — Yvaine felt no remorse for blaming anyone else.

— Will the so-called destiny also throw a bomb at me? Or will it be a madman who worships the True Creator trying to convert me? This strange destiny thing is obvious coming from you, after all, people on your pathway have a serious problem with obsessive compulsive of disorder and chaos. — he retorted with a laugh.

— Yes, maybe my obsessive compulsive is worse than this mocking way of the Hunters, did you know that in Sequence 4 of your pathway there is a singularity?... — Yvaine's smile seemed to grow as she continued, almost laughing, but Medici quickly changed the subject in a discreet manner.

— Besides, what's wrong with the Seer? He's not some weird freak from the Church or some kind of amnesiac demigod, is he? — he asked as he scanned the document.

There was some privileged information, but otherwise nothing about the boy or anything like that.

— Yes, it seems that someone high up in the church ordered any information about him or the case itself to be hidden. He's... important to the church. — she answered simply.

Medici didn't doubt that Yvaine knew something and would even tell him about it, but he also had no curiosity whatsoever in getting involved in this problem, so he didn't ask anything else.

— Antigonus... Seer... — he murmured, his mind spinning with nostalgia.

Even so, it almost seemed bizarre just thinking