Aftermath and Invitation

Zouteland Street, Blackthorn Security Company.

After the Nighthawks who had gone out returned, the commotion downstairs quickly subsided. Dunn Smith showed his identification, and the police officers at the scene immediately began dispersing the surrounding crowd. Upon learning that the security company's employees had merely forgotten soundproofing measures during training, the North Borough residents who had enthusiastically reported the incident gradually left, and the street regained its nighttime tranquility.

"So, the three of you killed Mrs. Sharon?" Dunn Smith slowly asked as he looked over the wrecked reception hall.

Frye and the others, who had returned to Blackthorn Security Company with him, could hardly believe that this was the place they had left an hour ago.

The room was thick with the smell of gunpowder. Spent casings and shattered glass littered the carpet, leaving nowhere to step. The decorative mirror on the wall had been reduced to a copper frame and scraps of mirror along its edges that looked as though they had been chewed by a dog. The once-smooth walls were riddled with bullet holes. Frost Spears embedded in the sofa and overturned tea table had yet to melt, and waves of chill swept in with the breeze through the window, making everyone feel as though they were in the depths of winter.

The once warm and familiar reception hall now lay before them like ruins after a war.

At the center of the ruins lay a corpse on its back atop the carpet, its upper body covered by a tablecloth. The perfect curves of its chest made it clear that it was a woman, making one unable to help imagining the lovely sight beneath the cloth.

Unfortunately, the dried blood that had seeped through the tablecloth quickly dispelled that thought from Seeka and the others' minds. Only Dunn approached the corpse with a grim expression, crouched down, and lifted the cloth for a look.

"Yes. Thanks to Ms. Daly being here, her spirit vision successfully restrained Mrs. Sharon. Otherwise, we would never have had a chance." Leonard stood by the window as he spoke. The only intact sofa in the reception hall had been given to Daly. He was too embarrassed to compete with the exhausted Angel for the remaining armchair, so he could only maintain his gentlemanly manners and rest against the wall.

"Ms. Daly is merely spiritually exhausted and is resting. Other than that, the rest of us can be said to be completely unscathed." Seeing Dunn's gaze occasionally drift toward Daly on the sofa, Leonard thoughtfully explained.

"Ah? Mm... I was only relieved that Daly hadn't come along. Otherwise, with only the two of you here, you probably would have had difficulty fighting Mrs. Sharon... Right, where's Kenley? He didn't run out from Chanis Gate to provide support, did he?"

Hearing the captain awkwardly change the subject, Leonard winked at Angel, the meaning obvious: See? I told you so.

Under Dunn's oppressive gaze, he immediately dropped his frivolous expression and answered solemnly, "Of course not. I imagine the gunshots carried down there, but everyone knows Chanis Gate is more important than anyone. He wouldn't come out to provide support."

"Mm, good. Now report what exactly happened here. Seeka, go to the Police Station across the street and ask Inspector Victor to come over. Tell him there was a home invasion murder case here, and the intruder was shot dead after an attempted murder. You may hint that this involves many prominent figures in Tingen. Royale, go to the armory and relieve Bredt. Have him come out and clean up the reception hall. Frye, take the 'Blood Vessel Thief' back to Chanis Gate."

Having received their orders, the group left the reception hall one after another.

Dunn stood beside the sofa where Daly was resting and listened as Leonard described the battle in detail. His gaze occasionally swept over Mrs. Sharon's corpse, the sleeping Daly, and Angel resting nearby. His brows alternately furrowed and relaxed.

During this time, Bredt, who had been sent up as a replacement, returned to the reception hall with Frye. After exclaiming, "My God, what happened here? Even robbers couldn't have destroyed the place this thoroughly!" Bredt began sweeping up the shattered glass. Seeka also returned to the reception hall with a middle-aged police officer.

The newcomer wore a standard police uniform with two stars on his shoulders. He was tall but thin and sported a short black beard.

When Dunn saw him enter, he took the initiative to greet him. "Sorry, Victor. I have to trouble you again today."

"You say that as if there's ever been a time you haven't troubled me... My God, what happened here?" Inspector Victor, as he was called, took one step through the reception hall doors and immediately made the same exclamation as Bredt.

"It's like this. Late last night, we received a case transferred from the Police Station. Cole Granger, who lives on Daffodil Street, was suspected of being connected to more than ten murders and cases of Instigation to murder..."

Dunn introduced the entire matter to Inspector Victor and even led him over to Mrs. Sharon's corpse to "broaden his horizons."

When Victor saw that only half of Mrs. Sharon's head remained beneath the tablecloth, the composure on his face finally gave way, revealing an expression as though he had seen a ghost.

"It really is Mrs. Sharon, that Sharon Khoy... I saw her at the mayor's charity banquet. Back then, she was the center of the entire event. I never expected her to be connected to an evil cult. Those old fellows will have nightmares when they find out."

"Then I hope Mrs. Sharon, with only half a head left, doesn't disturb their dreams."

Dunn made the horrifying joke with a calm expression.

"Victor, you're the first person to know besides those involved. I think you understand what that means. Later, I'll have two team members accompany you to Mrs. Sharon's home to search for evidence of her crimes. Let them handle anything involving Beyonder powers. You can put everything else into the report."

As Inspector Victor listened to Dunn Smith, the pallor on his face rapidly returned to a healthy flush. Perhaps only the merits and power soon to be in hand could allow someone to overcome fear so quickly.

Angel watched coldly from the side. Inspector Victor clearly worked with the Nighthawks often and knew quite a few things ordinary people should not know. Yet a socialite like Mrs. Sharon being a high-Sequence Beyonder still far exceeded his imagination. Dunn had swiftly taken control of the situation through this and obtained the result he wanted.

You really are better suited to being an Instigator...

After quickly discussing everything, Inspector Victor eagerly prepared to leave. He needed to hurry back to the Police Station and organize a force to seize any possible "evidence of crimes" in Mrs. Sharon's home before news of her death spread.

Seeka and Frye followed Victor. They would return to Mrs. Sharon's residence with the police, collecting all items connected to Beyonder powers to prevent the officers rummaging through the place from touching such things and causing further casualties.

"This corpse... Mrs. Sharon's remains, how should they be handled?"

After returning to the reception hall entrance, Inspector Victor seemed to remember this matter at last. He stopped and turned back to ask.

"As usual, we'll examine her to ensure that mysterious powers pose no threat to ordinary people, then hand her over to the police." Dunn answered without looking back. He was half-crouched beside Mrs. Sharon, carefully examining the corpse.

"Good, good. Then I'll be going first. I'm afraid tonight will be quite busy..."

At the mention of "mysterious powers," Victor's body stiffened. After saying goodbye, he swiftly left the security company, his retreating figure looking as though someone was chasing him.

Dunn ignored Inspector Victor's hurried departure and continued staring at Mrs. Sharon on the floor. His focused expression made Angel almost think that Ms. Daly was the one lying there.

"Bredt, stop cleaning for now. Help the captain and us make some tea. We've been busy all night, and everyone's thirsty."

Seeing this, Leonard spoke to Bredt, who was still cleaning the reception hall.

Your excuse is far too clumsy...

Angel knew that something would happen next that ordinary people could not witness, which was why Leonard had found an excuse to send Bredt away. Still, that did not stop her from giving the poor performance a bad review.

After Bredt left, Leonard also moved to Mrs. Sharon's corpse. He crossed his arms and lowered his head to observe it.

Although Angel did not go over, her gaze remained fixed on Mrs. Sharon as her curiosity gradually rose.

Under the three of their gazes, specks of black light slowly emerged beside Mrs. Sharon's corpse. They floated in the air like dust, moving without wind.

The black "dust" gradually thickened, slowly obscuring the corpse. Then, as if gathered by an invisible hand, it formed a round object the size of an eyeball.

No, it was an eyeball. Its milky-white sclera was covered in blood vessels. Its pupil, unshielded by eyelids, stared wide open. As it slowly turned, its gaze swept over Angel, sending a chill through her entire body.

Fortunately, it was not some living evil entity. After turning in the air a few times, the "eyeball" lost its buoyancy and dropped straight onto Mrs. Sharon's graceful body, then slid to the floor. It rolled some distance across the carpet before Dunn, who had been waiting beside it, grabbed it through his gloves.

He took an exquisite wooden box from the inner pocket of his windbreaker and carefully placed the "eyeball" inside. The instant he closed the box, the chill running through Angel's body disappeared.

It reminded her of the night she had awakened in this world, of the gelatinous mysterious object left in Cole's basement. Without a doubt, this was the Beyonder Characteristic left behind after the Sequence 6 Mrs. Sharon's death.

Unlike when Cole had "died," Mrs. Sharon had not expelled a shapeless gelatinous Beyonder Characteristic. Instead, it had formed an "eyeball" that seemed almost alive. Angel did not know which situation was normal and could only bury the question in her heart for now.

She was also playing the role of a newly advanced Beyonder, so she asked at the appropriate moment, "What is that? Some kind of creature?"

"It's a Beyonder Item left behind after a Beyonder dies... Mm, if an ordinary person accidentally comes into contact with it, they could very likely go mad or even die on the spot. That's why I didn't have the police take away her corpse immediately."

After putting away the wooden box, Dunn seemed to let out a breath of relief. His body relaxed as he stood up from beside Mrs. Sharon and turned to speak.

"I had Frye and the others accompany Victor to search Mrs. Sharon's home because I was also afraid that the police might come into contact with Beyonder Items while looking for evidence or other things that interested them, triggering further incidents."

"Over the course of a year, most of the mysterious incidents we resolve are triggered accidentally by ordinary people. Beyonders actively attacking like tonight is actually very rare. At least, we haven't encountered one this year."

Leonard added from the side.

Dunn rose from beside Mrs. Sharon's corpse and returned to the sofa in the center of the reception hall. Seeing nowhere to sit, he simply remained standing and spoke to Angel with a serious expression.

"Mrs. Sharon is dead, but Cole Granger's whereabouts are currently unknown. Tomorrow, I'll contact the Holy Cathedral, the Mandated Punishers, and Machinery Hivemind in Tingen City to jointly issue a wanted notice. Now, let's discuss your choice going forward."

A choice?

Angel felt somewhat confused. She raised an eyebrow and waited for Dunn to continue.

"For survivors of Beyonder incidents like you, especially when the matter is likely connected to the Demoness Sect, we generally advise you to conceal your identity, cut off contact with friends and relatives, and leave Tingen City under the Church's arrangements to live in another city, where you can have a completely new and safe life.

"The Church's arrangements will include some Anti-Divination and anti-tracking measures, but before Beyonders with all kinds of methods, such protection is not absolutely safe. There have been cases in the past where those under protection were found and killed by vengeful members of evil cults."

Angel licked her dry lips. This was exactly what worried her most.

Dunn seemed very satisfied with her reaction. Smiling, he slowed his pace and continued, "The other choice is to join us and become a Nighthawk."

Hm?

Angel froze.

She had been in this world for less than a week. The succession of events had left her no time to consider long-term plans. Mrs. Sharon's "invitation," in particular, had once made her consider abandoning her identity and residence to flee elsewhere.

Although she had ultimately resolved to confront it head-on and had achieved a good outcome, Angel still felt somewhat lost about the life ahead.

Her identity had been forged for forty pounds. Hagg of Wild Heart had sworn there would be no problems, but it might not withstand the Nighthawks' scrutiny. Once she joined the Nighthawks, she would inevitably face even stricter investigations. If her identity were exposed through the slightest mistake, she might be imprisoned at best or end up like Mrs. Sharon at worst.

On the other hand, if she could become an official Beyonder, she would not only receive the protection of an official organization and make the Demoness Sect behind Mrs. Sharon wary, but she could also use the opportunity to learn much secret knowledge of the mysterious world that might help her return to her original world.

Besides, even if she refused to join the Nighthawks, would she really avoid official scrutiny? After the Mrs. Sharon incident, she had inevitably made it onto the Church of the Evernight Goddess's list. Even if she moved to another city, endless surveillance and restrictions would await her. Perhaps they even hoped the Demoness Sect would come looking for her, so they could follow the trail and continue investigating.

As her thoughts spun, Angel's gaze drifted to Leonard, who was watching the spectacle from the side. She recalled how he had intentionally and unintentionally spoken with her that afternoon about "joining the Nighthawks." It seemed this guy had received the news long ago.

Indeed, from anyone else's perspective, joining the Nighthawks was undoubtedly the best choice. She would have an official identity, legal income, and the protection of Beyonders. It was certainly better than living the rest of her life under a false name. Unfortunately, for her, running away might be the only answer.

Just as she was about to politely decline, she remembered the words of the mysterious visitor in the Confessional of Saint Selena Cathedral after nightfall that day.

"Those who face fear and bravely move forward shall be rewarded."

Had he or she foreseen the choice she faced now?

After hesitating for a moment, Angel spoke beneath Dunn and Leonard's expectant gazes.

"Well...

"How are the salary and benefits?"