"Who killed Klein?"
Without hesitation, Angel asked the first question.
Of course, he also killed me, but I am alive now, so does he kill me?
Such a strange question appeared in her mind, and she fell into a circular argument, and was immediately brought back to reality by Arianna's soft and quiet answer.
"His name is Ince Zangwill. You should have seen him on the wanted poster within the church."
Ince Zangwill...
Angel recalled it in her mind. With the hint of this name, she quickly found the wanted poster deep in her memory.
"Ince Zangwill, forty years old, 'Gatekeeper' who failed to be promoted to High Sequence, was seduced by Demon, turned evil, and absconded with Sealed Artifact '0-08' three years ago."
He has short dark blond hair, dark blue pupils, a high bridge of nose, and most importantly, he is blind in one eye.
Comparing it with the expressionless face she saw before her death, she confirmed that the man was the defector wanted by the church.
"But why did he kill us? Is it to let the evil god come and make the conspiracy planned by "Aurora Order" come true?"
She asked eagerly, Arianna smiled slightly and did not answer immediately.
The surrounding lights suddenly dimmed, and the surrounding stone walls and the wooden table in front of him disappeared from Angel's sight, leaving only Arianna in simple clothes.
Immediately, the latter opened his mouth to answer.
"Our communication with it is limited to this point. Once you step out of this room, the more detailed you understand it, the easier it is to be felt by it and written into the story it weaves."
"It?"
Angel asked in confusion, suddenly recalling the description on the wanted poster in his mind.
"You mean the stolen Sealed Artifact, '0-08'?"
In the internal church information that she had access to, this Sealed Artifact only had this number and no other description. The only thing we can know from the number is that this is "Grade 0 Sealed Artifact", which is very dangerous and cannot be inquired about, spread out, described, or spied on. It can only be sealed in "Holy Cathedral", which is the underground of Church of Evernight headquarters where she is located.
"Yes, it is an ordinary quill pen. Once it is written on paper, any story will become a reality. Zangwill used this stolen Sealed Artifact to plan everything that happened in Tingen City, and let the coincidences gradually piece together the story he needs."
"Coincidence..."
Angel was like Lightning Strike. At this moment, she remembered the countless "coincidences" she had encountered, the reminders Mr. Azik had given her, and the "red chimney" divined by Klein.
Could it be that all the efforts I made to join Nighthawks, get to know my colleagues, integrate into this new world, and all the emotions I interact with people are all "stories" controlled by Zangwill and "0-08" behind the scenes?
I am like a ridiculous hamster, struggling to crawl through a transparent pipe. What I think is free choice is actually a set path?
At this moment, she shuddered and felt that her hands and feet had become stiff, like a puppet being held by strings.
"You don't have to worry too much. As far as I know, the target of everything planned by Zangwill and '0-08' is not you, but Dunn Smith."
As if he could see the thoughts surging in Angel's heart, the plain face of the dean of Evernight Cloister showed a hint of comfort, and he reached out to hold her right hand on the table.
Only then did she realize that her hands were trembling.
Under Arianna's cold but soothing touch, Angel stabilized his mood slightly and began to analyze what he had just heard.
"Captain Dunn? But why is it him?"
she asked hesitantly.
This should involve higher-level secrets within the church. She was already prepared for the other party to refuse to answer, but to her surprise, Arianna said without hesitation:
"This involves some secret knowledge. Although you are..." She stopped mid-sentence with a smile, "... but you also need to make an oath not to leak this matter to other uninformed people."
After Goddess's servant swore an oath in the name of Goddess, Angel learned the truth that Dunn Smith was used by Zangwill to arrange everything with "0-08".
"Ince Zangwill's Sequence 4'Undying' who was promoted to Corpse Collector Pathway managed to survive after the failure. However, due to safety concerns, the church did not continue to allow him to be promoted again. This led to his resentment towards the church and eventually defected from the church with Sealed Artifact'0-08'."
"From Mid Sequence to High Sequence, that is, when Sequence 5 is promoted to Sequence 4, some Pathway can choose to exchange with the corresponding Sequence of another Pathway. Unfortunately, Zangwill knows this."
"He used '0-08' to create a series of coincidences in Tingen City, causing Dunn Smith to face a major crisis that could lead to the destruction of Tingen City. The purpose was to make Tingen City He took out Saint Relic and Saint Selena's Ashes from Chanis Gate below Saint Selena Cathedral to deal with the upcoming Evil God's Offspring."
"I believe that after obtaining the Saint ashes containing Sequence 4 Beyonder Characteristic, Zangwill will use it to make Potion as soon as possible and convert it into Sequence 4 of 'Sleepless' Pathway."
In Arianna's description, Angel gradually opened her eyes. Only then did she realize that in a series of seemingly coincidental events, there was actually a rule of "Pathway exchange" hidden. A Beyonder was chasing the power of High Sequence, and what allowed him to accomplish all this was a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact that could turn the story into reality.
After a long time, she digested the information, took a deep breath, looked at the room that became bright again, and asked:
"Ince Zangwill should have killed me at that time, but why am I still here now?"
Apart from the identity of the mastermind hidden behind the scenes, this is what she is most concerned about.
"Sorry, I don't know about this matter either." Arianna's smile was apologetic.
"Huh?"
Angel screamed in surprise. She originally thought that her life was saved by this High Sequence - which can be seen from Crestet's attitude towards her - Beyonder, but she did not expect that the other party gave such an answer.
"After Holy Cathedral received the telegram from Tingen City, I rushed there immediately, but it was still a step late. The attempt of 'True Creator' to arrive failed, and there were heavy casualties on the scene."
Arianna said slowly, the smile on his face faded, and there was a strange color in his eyes.
"But the strange thing is that your already fatal injuries recovered quickly, and even the dagger inserted into the heart was expelled from the body." She pointed to the bloody dagger on the table. "In order to protect you, I brought you back here and used some means to hide it from your teammates and the people at the funeral."
Funeral?
Angel was stunned.
"So, I, I've been buried?"
"Yes, you will be buried next to Mr. Klein Moretti. This was the suggestion of your teammates. Since the family members could not arrive, the church respected their opinions."
"By the way, your pension, about 8,000 pounds, will be given to your only registered dependent, Ms. Lily Granger."
Angel doesn't have much affection for this "cousin" whom she has never really met, but the memories of living together with her inherited from Cole make her still care about Lily Granger who is studying in Backlund.
8,000 pounds... This should allow her to live comfortably.
And even Arianna didn't know the reason why he came back from the dead. Could it be because of some changes brought about by time travel?
Angel did not dare to express this idea. She sighed secretly, decided not to think about this unanswerable question for the time being, and asked instead:
"Where is Ince Zangwill now?"
No matter why he resurrected from the dead, his ultimate goal remains the same...
Just revenge.
"This is the task I want to give you." After leaving the heavy topic, Arianna also returned to his kind smile, "Ince Zangwill has gone to Backlund, but the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact he owns can make any apparent pursuit in vain, so..."
Woo——
The whistle sounded, and more than twenty steam train carriages, dragged by the front of the car like a steel giant, slowly drove into Tingen Station.
Klein carried a huge suitcase that did not match his thin body, pressed his half-high silk hat in the crowd, and squeezed into the second-class carriage.
It is not as crowded as the third-class carriage, but the conditions are far inferior to the luxurious first-class carriage. Looking around, the carriages are full of well-dressed ladies and gentlemen. They either lower their heads to read newspapers or close their eyes to meditate, paying no attention to the passengers going up and down.
After finding his own seat, Klein was surprised to find a middle-aged woman sitting on it.
"Hello, this should be my seat."
Considering that the other party might have accidentally made a mistake, Klein decided to have a friendly exchange first.
A few seconds later, with an embarrassed look on his face, he lowered his hat to hide his expression, and left under the laughter and curious gazes of everyone, heading to another adjacent carriage.
When he got on the bus, he kept thinking about the Melissa and Benson he saw in the morning. He was thinking about the empty 6 Daffodil Street which was not far from home. He actually got the wrong car and made a joke.
Alas, I look like a clown now...
He even wanted to paint his face like he did in the morning, make an exaggerated grimace for the passengers looking at him, and then leave, but the last trace of shame in his heart stopped him.
Ignoring the brief noise and laughter around him, Angel hid in the corner of the carriage, wearing a hood, looking out the window at Tingen City.
If the steam train line hadn't passed through Tingen, she wouldn't have wanted to return to this sad place.
When Ince Zangwill is solved, I might come back here and apologize to Melissa, Benson, Klein...
Squinting her somewhat sour eyes, she withdrew her gaze and looked at the citrine pendant wrapped around her right wrist, as well as the additional emblem of Evernight Goddess tied to the pendant.
This was given to her by Arianna before leaving.
Also given to her were the "Magician Pocket Watch", her own wand, the amulet given to her by Klein, as well as the new dagger and revolver.
In addition to "Bloodthirst" that was damaged to activate the full power of "Shattered Light Ray", I was fully armed...
Putting down her sleeves to cover her wrists, she took out her ticket and handed it to the ticket inspector who came forward.
Her destination was printed on the ticket, City of Cities, Land of Hope—Backlund.
Thank you all for your support over the past two months, so this book ends here...
Please watch the second volume on time at 7pm.