Wrapped in a tattered coat, with a mess of black hair blown wild by the explosion, and lying in the strange pose of "kneeling with his ass in the air"... Leonard simply could not connect this corpse with the elusive Secret Order Beyonder from before.
"Dead? How?"
Astonished that the Tuxedo Clown, who had just been weaving through their gunfire and holding his own against so many Nighthawks, had become a corpse, Leonard wiped the blood from the corner of his eye and prepared to step closer for a careful inspection.
"Careful. 2-049 is right beside him. Don't get too close."
Angel warned him.
"2-049... Hmm, was he unable to escape because he was affected by the Sealed Artifact's negative effect?"
Leonard frowned and muttered as he analyzed the situation. Tilting his head, he thought for a moment before continuing, "But he's a member of the Secret Order. He should know the Antigonus Puppet very well. How could he have accidentally entered the Sealed Artifact's area of effect? Even we wouldn't make such a basic mistake."
"He did know this Sealed Artifact very well and had been avoiding its area of effect. But like us, he had a mission: to take that notebook. That was why he lingered at the scene. Klein and I worked together and used that to force him into 2-049's negative-effect range."
Angel did not conceal the crucial help Klein had provided in killing the Tuxedo Clown, but she did not mention that he could break free of 2-049's influence on his own.
After all, that was merely a conclusion she had drawn from observation. There was no solid proof, so she could only set it aside for now.
Besides, who didn't have a few secrets?
Leonard seemed to have a bellyful of questions. His gaze