There was nothing wrong with that idea. After the Thunder Spear exploded, it was as though nothing had happened; everything inside the room behind the window and out on the square remained normal. But when Shade instinctively sensed something wrong behind him and turned around, the pale-faced man was practically pressed against his back.
Only at such close range could he see that the face, as though covered in frost or flour, belonged to someone he knew.
Only then was Shade truly astonished:
"Mr. Bernhardt?"
This strange ghost was Armand Bernhardt. In the autumn of 1853, he had been assigned by his clan to carry the divine descent container prepared for him by the God of Vampires to Middlesburg, helping the God of Vampires' divine descent gather crucial relics. Yet he himself knew little about the overall plan. He had experienced the card game at Sin Mansion alongside Shade. On the night of the Battle of Miburg, when Shade had been preparing to enter the mountains in search of Grace and Helen, he had even urged Shade not to go in.
Shade had already considered him a friend back in Middhir Fort City. Later, they met again in Huntington and helped each other greatly. He even knew that John Watson was Shade Hamilton. Unfortunately, after the Pantanal War, Mr. Bernhardt had decided in early winter last year to "lie low" in Weilun Dai'er City and spend the winter there.
Since parting in Huntington, Shade had received several letters from him, along with a Year-End Festival card, but had never seen the man again. He had never expected their next meeting to be like this.
By the time the Bloodkin ghost was discovered by Shade, it was already very close. The ghost drifted forward as though it intended to enter Shade's