Lord of the Mysteries

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Klein rushed out of the heavy safe in retreat. Only when he realized that everything seemed fine did he calm down.

That white bone statue is creepy… Although it isn’t dangerous, it gives me the creeps… Could it be the so-called Primordial Demoness? An evil god like the Hidden Sage, the Dark Side of the Universe, or the True Creator? Klein recalled his hunches about Madam Sharon, and he suddenly understood what existence the white bone statue might represent.

Just as he thought, his spirituality stirred as an ominous premonition gripped him.

Klein quickly flew next to the window with complicated patterns and looked at the road outside. He saw a carriage driving towards the front gate under the light of the gas street lamps.

Madam Sharon is back? There was a tug at his heartstrings as he finally understood the source of his ominous premonition.

Taking into consideration that Trissy only became a woman after Sequence 8 Instigator, Madam Sharon was most likely a Sequence 7. And since Madam Sharon has been active in Tingen’s social circles for many years, she was most likely much stronger than Trissy. Klein didn’t dare to take the risk of relying on his Flaring Sun Charm and Azik’s copper whistle. Instead, he made the wise decision to leave.

He had a limited number of charms. Plus, he didn’t know when he would be able to get the Sealed Artifact, Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem, out again. Hence, if it wasn’t a desperate situation, Klein didn’t want to waste his most powerful charms. He would also have the issue of explaining himself if he were to use it.

I can’t just tell Dunn that a kind expert had happened to pass by and helped me, right?

As for why he didn’t want to use Azik’s copper whistle, it was because Klein wasn’t sure if the messenger, that was summoned, had the ability to fight. What if it just looked strong but only knew how to send letters?

With what I discovered earlier, it should be sufficient for the Nighthawks Squad to take action. Why should I fight against Madam Sharon alone? We can totally gank her! Klein emphasized inwardly and ended his summoning. With a whoosh, he returned to the world above the gray fog. He then quickly wrapped himself in spirituality and stimulated a rapid descent to return to his body in reality.

He quickly put out the flame and put away the candle. He removed the wall of spirituality and left Madam Sharon’s bedroom. He took the same path back, but he didn’t have the time to reset the bolt on the balcony door.

Sliding down the water pipe, Klein climbed over the wall which was opposite the entrance of the house. He remained hidden until he reached the neighboring street. Then, he hired the expensive night carriage to Zouteland Street.

…

Madam Sharon, who looked beautiful in her black dress, slowly walked to the second floor. She dismissed her maidservants and opened the door to her bedroom.

Her pure clear eyes suddenly concentrated and reflected fine threads that were almost transparent and unnoticeable. They didn’t possess the luster of spirituality; they were like human hair that was pathologically changed. If one didn’t already know of their existence or have a pair of very special eyes, they wouldn’t notice the strands.

All those fine threads had torn and fallen to the ground.

Madam Sharon squinted her eyes and directed her focus onto the thick gray metal safe.

…

36 Zouteland Street, the Blackthorn Security Company.

Dunn was reading the newspaper casually with his legs crossed. He looked at Klein who appeared before his office door with a strange expression. He sighed and said, “Weren’t you supposed to slip into Madam Sharon’s house to do an initial search? … Did you encounter some sort of problem?”

Klein nodded seriously and said, “Yes, I suspect that Madam Sharon is a member of the Demoness Sect.”

“A member of the Demoness Sect?” Dunn lowered the newspaper and ruminated over the words. He then asked seriously, “What did you discover?”

Klein didn’t sit down, he leaned his body forward and supported his weight with his hands holding the edge of the work desk.

“First, I found a photo. There was a young man in the photo, but he looked very much like Madam Sharon.”

If he were to change into female clothing, put on makeup, and Photoshop the picture a little, he would look exactly like Madam Sharon… Klein held back his urge to lampoon.

“Similar to Instigator Trissy?” Dunn’s eyes sparkled as he was enlightened.

They had previously predicted that Trissy was most likely a member of the Demoness Sect.

“Yes.” Klein nodded with mixed emotions as he continued, “I used divination to discover that Madam Sharon has a white bone statue in a hidden compartment in her safe. It’s of an extremely beautiful woman, but her hair is very long, to her ankles. Every single strand is as thick as a venomous snake. On the tips, there were eyes. They looked rather creepy. Captain, is that the image of the Primordial Demoness?”

As his security clearance was insufficient, the information about the Demoness Sect that he could read was very limited.

Dunn recalled and nodded with a serious expression and said, “That’s the image of the Primordial Demoness.

We have to take action immediately and seize control of Madam Sharon.”

Klein immediately agreed and said, “If Madam Sharon is a Mid-Sequence Beyonder from the Demoness Sect, I have to assume that she’ll be able to tell that someone had sneaked into her bedroom.”

Then, he suddenly felt puzzled as he blurted, “Captain, why do the seven orthodox gods only have symbols without any actual image, while the evil gods that I’m currently aware of have anthropomorphic appearances? The True Creator and the Primordial Demoness are examples. Is this one of the differences between orthodox gods and evil gods?”

Why would there be such a difference? Klein added inwardly, but he wisely didn’t say it out.

“That’s one of the differences between orthodox gods and evil gods.” Dunn gave a reassuring answer. Then, he got up and walked towards the clothes rack. He said, “Let’s not delay any further, I’m worried that Madam Sharon will run away.”

Then, Dunn paused.

“Go upstairs to get Kenley. With the three of us taking action together, we can apply for one Sealed Artifact. Madam Sharon is very likely higher than a Sequence 7 Beyonder.”

Captain, you’re so wise! Klein answered without hesitation, “Alright.”

Then, he asked curiously, “Captain, which Sealed Artifact are you going to use?”

Dunn weighed his words before he answered, “3-0217.”

As there weren’t many Sealed Artifacts behind Tingen City’s Chanis Gate, Klein quickly remembered what Captain wanted to use.

“Number: 0217.

“Name: Spirit Medium’s Mirror.

“Danger Grade: 3. Considerably dangerous. It has to be used carefully. It can only be requested for operations that require three or more people.

“Security classification: Official Nighthawk member or above.

“Sealed Method: Store in absolute darkness.

“Description: The back of the mirror is plated in mercury, the front of the mirror has three minor cracks.

“The very first investigator that looked into the mirror saw a sobbing girl with long hair. Then, he discovered the girl climbing out of the mirror.

“From many experiments with the artifact, the image that’s reflected in the mirror is different most of the time. Even if the same person uses it repeatedly, they would encounter different things of varying danger levels. But they would prioritize dealing with the person who looked at the mirror first.

“The most dangerous situation is to see oneself in the mirror.

“If no one looks at the mirror, under the prerequisite of there being light, an image would surface automatically every three hours.

“It doesn’t possess any living traits.

“Remark: The mirror originally belonged to a Spirit Medium and was a very ordinary mirror until one day the Spirit Medium committed suicide when looking into it.”

Indeed, that there aren’t many Sealed Artifacts behind Chanis Gate that can be used in a Beyonder battle. 3-0217 is a good choice… Klein didn’t speak further as he immediately ran to the Nighthawks’ recreation room to get Sleepless Kenley.

That night was Royale’s turn to be on duty at Chanis Gate. Leonard was off duty, Seeka Tron was patrolling areas like Raphael Cemetery, and the new member would only arrive on Sunday. Hence, Dunn could only pick from Frye and Kenley. Taking into consideration that Madam Sharon was from the Demoness Sect and had little to do with dead spirits, he had opted for the latter.

After a few minutes, Dunn returned from the basement. He held the mirror that was tightly wrapped in a thick black cloth.

Frankly speaking, if I didn’t know beforehand, I wouldn’t be able to tell that it’s a mirror. None of it is exposed… Klein went forward with the petite-sized Kenley.

“You’re in charge of using Sealed Artifact 3-0217.” Dunn passed the mirror to Kenley.

Upon seeing that, Klein suddenly realized that he was a Sequence 8 Beyonder and that he possessed the ability to fight head on. He couldn’t just hide by the side as support.

Man, I’m a little nervous… He touched the Slumber Charms in his pockets and made sure that he was well prepared.

The only problem is that in order to make it easier to climb, I’m not bringing my cane. Hmm, I can borrow Kenley’s. He has the mirror in one hand and a gun in the other; that should be sufficient. Amidst Klein’s thoughts, the trio arrived downstairs and took a carriage to Osna Street.

On their way there, Kenley looked at the Sealed Artifact 3-0217 in his hands. He sighed from the tension.

“This is the first time I’ve been involved in such a dangerous operation.”

Normally, the Nighthawks wouldn’t use any Sealed Artifacts to deal with Beyonder incidents.

When they went to Morse Town, they had applied for the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem for preventive purposes. Given how far away Morse Town was, it would’ve taken backup some time to arrive if they needed it. This time, they were almost certain that their target was a Mid-Sequence Beyonder!

“Don’t worry, perhaps Madam Sharon has already fled,” Klein replied with a smile.

Honestly, he was just as tense as Kenley.

Dunn’s eyes turned and looked at him helplessly.

“Let’s try not to let Madam Sharon escape.”

…

About twenty minutes later, the three Nighthawks arrived at Osna Street. They saw the garden and Madam Sharon’s house in the darkness. The house lay in silence as though nothing had happened.

Klein took out the pendulum in his left sleeve and made a quick divination.

“There’s danger inside.

“There’s danger inside.”

…

After he recited the statement seven times, he opened his eyes and saw the topaz pendant spinning clockwise. The amplitude and speed were considered medium-level.

It meant that there was danger in there. Not very high, but it wasn’t very low either!