Fear

Klein nodded and continued, "Are you still making 'sacrifices' to that Omniscient and Omnipotent God?"

"Yes, we are. But ever since the day we were abandoned, we have never received another response." Derrick's tone carried grief that was difficult to conceal.

Klein remained unmoved and said casually, "Describe the process of your sacrifices in detail."

Alger was extremely excited by this. He felt that he had found the true meaning of life and did not notice Audrey and Alice's pitying looks at all.

Derrick noticed none of this. Following Klein's instructions, he began recounting the entire Sacrifice Ritual, while Alice gradually understood what Klein was trying to do as she listened—he wanted to see whether he could use it himself?

After Klein announced the end, Alice rose with the others and completed the salute, only to realize in confusion that she was still where she was.

Alice looked at Klein with a puzzled expression. "Do you have something to say to me?"

"Why didn't you tell Justice about the substitute materials?" Klein asked curiously.

"..." Alice stared at Klein without speaking.

"...Do you need me to pay you?" After being stared at by Alice, Klein hesitated before offering a guess.

"No." Alice shook her head. "Your confidentiality clearance isn't high enough."

"?" Klein's eyes widened in disbelief. He had never expected such an answer from Alice.

"If Justice keeps pressing the matter and you happen to hear it, that's one thing. But if you're the one asking, then your confidentiality clearance isn't high enough," Alice replied firmly.

Klein simply did not know what to say in response. He opened his mouth several times but could not utter a word. In the end, all Alice saw was Mr. Fool ending the summoning in anger.

Back in reality, that restless unease soon invaded Alice's good mood again.

This time, however, the sign that things were about to get worse finally seemed to have arrived—Megose had vanished!

While the Aurora Order members and Tingen City's officials kept each other in check, both sides exhausted in body and mind by the other, Megose disappeared without a sound.

Mr. A seemed to vent his resentment on the official Beyonders, while the missing Megose was an even more dangerous ticking bomb hidden in the dark.

Alice finally realized what the restlessness that had always been hidden in her heart was trying to warn her about. Unfortunately, it was already too late.

She tried to divine Megose's location, but the person who had secretly taken Megose away was no fool. They had surely considered Anti-Divination measures. Without Anti-Divination interference, Alice might have been able to see something through her exceptionally high spirituality and Fate's favor, as she had with the Witch Trissy. But with Anti-Divination in place, she was helpless.

As that fear gradually spread from the depths of her heart, Alice finally met the endgame.

She was a blonde, blue-eyed woman in her early twenties, wearing a loose dress and a Lotus Leaf Hat. Her temperament was melancholy and quiet.

Her expression was dazed, and her belly was swollen high. She walked in as though sleepwalking.

Alice stared blankly as the woman entered the room, approached her, and smiled. "I don't know why, but I suddenly wanted to come here and take a look."

The instant she saw her, Alice knew who she was—she was Megose! The one carrying the True Creator's offspring!

Alice felt every hair on her body stand on end. Instinctively, she wanted to leap up and flee, but none of her muscles could muster the slightest strength. Then a hand pressed down on Alice's shoulder, and she heard Dunn's voice. "Is there something you need?"

Alice instantly felt much calmer. Her muscles seemed to return to her control. She forced out a standard but stiff smile and asked in a calm, emotionless voice, "Would you like something? Coffee or tea?"

"Warm water will do," Alice heard Megose reply. "I want to talk to you about Lanlus. I heard you know a great deal about him."

Alice maintained her smile as she stood up and left Without Hesitation. She quickly but unhurriedly made her way underground and told the Nighthawks, "Megose is upstairs."

The Nighthawks' expressions changed at once. They discarded their usual manner and became solemn, methodically assigning tasks among themselves—some went to notify the non-combat personnel to evacuate, some urgently contacted Sesima, and some went to soothe Megose.

As for how Megose had appeared at the Nighthawks Headquarters during a citywide lockdown, that was no longer important—or rather, there was no point in worrying about it.

When Alice returned with the warm water, she had already realized the source of her days of restlessness and fear—it was the same source as the shadow of death that had once clung to Dunn, the same as the coincidences Klein had sensed. Their target was neither Dunn nor Klein, but the Nighthawks Headquarters in Tingen City! Today, there was a high probability that no reinforcements would come.

...But what was here?

Alice had no chance to continue thinking. As she set down the warm water and raised her head, Megose was pulling out a large handful of her own hair.

Alice froze, but Megose seemed not to notice anything wrong. Somewhat irritably, she reached for the cup, took a sip, then slammed it heavily onto the table and viciously tore five strips of flesh from her cheek with her hand.

Alice stiffly watched Megose's red-and-white mottled face as she heard Megose ask, "What's wrong? You look unwell."

"No, I'm fine." Alice tugged at the corners of her mouth, forcing herself to keep smiling. She wanted to make a joke as usual, but that was clearly an enormous challenge for someone who could only smile stiffly. "I just suddenly remembered that I have something to do."

"I see." Alice watched Megose scratch her cheek again, adding five more bloody marks to the other half of her face. "Sorry, my face is a little itchy."

Alice tugged at the corner of her mouth. She was not sure whether Megose could detect anything abnormal from her expression, but she felt that, in Megose's current state, it would not matter even if she failed to notice anything strange.

Alice retreated behind the partition. Klein hid behind Leonard to avoid being seen by Alice—ha, he actually remembered that.

Leonard looked at Alice solemnly and said in a deep voice, "We're too late. At most, three minutes remain before the child in Megose's belly is born."

As everyone knew, restlessness became fear, and then despair devoured all thoughts like a wolf... All right, I was just grinding the Secret Order.