By the time Luther finished reading an entire copy of the Tingen City Respectable People's Newspaper, Cecilia was fast asleep. Her head rested against Luther's shoulder, her breathing soft and even. Yet she seemed to be sleeping uneasily, her brows faintly furrowed, her youthful little face carrying worries that did not suit her age.
Luther carefully shifted her body, laying her fully onto the soft sofa bed, then could not help but yawn himself. There was no clock in the lounge, so he did not know the exact time, but he estimated it was probably one or two in the morning. After all that turmoil, he was getting sleepy too.
"You can sleep for a while too. Staying up late is bad for you."
Royale suddenly spoke from behind the newspaper. To avoid disturbing the two sleepers, she kept her voice low.
"Alright, thank you."
Luther lowered his voice as well. "Sorry for disturbing your rest."
After all, she was responsible for protecting him, so she surely had no way to sleep.
At Luther's words, Royale lowered her newspaper, revealing her face.
What was wrong? Had he said something wrong?
Luther was a little baffled.
"It's fine. We don't need to sleep at night," Royale said, a trace of amusement appearing in her indifferent eyes.
No need to sleep? No wonder they were called Sleepless.
"Then I'll have to trouble you."
Since that was the case, Luther stopped being polite. He climbed onto the other sofa bed and lay down fully clothed.
Drowsiness slowly washed over him, and he closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, on a street somewhere in Tingen City.
"According to Klein's divination, Hanass Vincent, like Sirius, is a Sequence 9 Secrets Suppliant. His danger level isn't high, so obtaining clues is our priority."
Inside the moving carriage, Nighthawks captain Dunn Smith said to the other team members, "Once we arrive at his home, I'll restrain him while you search the rooms."
"Hanass doesn't know Sirius is dead yet. He's probably sleeping soundly right now," Leonard said with a smile. "When he wakes up and sees us, his reaction is sure to be interesting."
With both hands behind his head, he leaned against the seatback with one leg crossed over the other, looking utterly unrestrained. He formed a stark contrast with Frye beside him, who sat upright with a cold demeanor.
"What if he was cautious and left no clues in the rooms?"
The Corpse Collector asked in a hoarse voice.
"Then I'll enter his dreams," Dunn said calmly. "There, he won't be able to lie to me."
The two Nighthawks nodded in unison. Indeed, as a Sequence 7 Nightmare, their captain was already one of the strongest in Tingen City. Dealing with a Sequence 9 was no challenge at all. He was even extremely cautious, bringing two team members as support for such an operation.
It seemed that when that Aurora Order member Hanass encountered their group, his only outcome would be to surrender without resistance and honestly hand over his intelligence.
"By the way, Captain, how do you intend to handle Luther Rondal?" Leonard abruptly changed the subject and asked an unexpected question.
Dunn looked up at him and said,
"By usual practice, survivors of supernatural incidents can return to normal life once the case is closed. We only require them to keep it secret. But he..."
"But he's rather special, isn't he?"
Leonard smiled.
He had accidentally become a Beyonder, and worse, one from the extremely dangerous Secrets Suppliant pathway. If things went wrong, he might lose control. For a ticking bomb like that, there was no way they could simply let him go. Although Luther Rondal had been fortunate enough to remain lucid after becoming a Secrets Suppliant, and the Nighthawks would not purify him, he would likely still spend the rest of his life under surveillance, living with very little freedom.
Thinking of that handsome young man in a straitjacket and the strong girl protecting him, both so young yet destined to spend the rest of their lives that way, everyone in the carriage felt a little regretful.
"Is there no other way?"
Frye suddenly spoke.
"Of course there is," Leonard said with a smile. "Other than returning to society, don't survivors of incidents have another choice?"
"You mean... joining us." Frye hesitated. "But would that be within the rules?"
"That depends on... how we communicate with the Church."
Leonard looked at Dunn.
Frye seemed to realize something and turned to look at his captain as well.
Under their expectant gazes, Dunn Smith pondered for a long while before slowly saying, "Secrets Suppliants who believe in the Goddess and stand on our side are extremely rare. And if he joins the Nighthawks, we can supervise him in daily life as well. If we report it with that reasoning, perhaps we can persuade the Church to keep him."
That really was a good reason.
Hearing Dunn say that, Frye could not help nodding inwardly, while Leonard clapped with a beaming smile. "As expected of the captain! You actually came up with such a good solution!"
The mood inside the carriage lightened. For a moment, even the carriage seemed to move more briskly, and after turning a corner, it arrived before Hanass's home.
"Alright, enough chatter."
Dunn shook his head. "We can discuss these matters later. For now, stay sharp. Successfully capturing Hanass is what matters most!"
"Yes!"
The three Nighthawks immediately assumed the bearing expected of professionals. They stepped down from the carriage and swiftly, silently infiltrated Hanass's residence.
The night was deep and boundless.
Luther awoke from a restless, uneasy dream and slowly sat up.
Looking around, his sister was nowhere to be seen, and the two Nighthawks had vanished as well. Only he remained in the lounge, along with newspapers scattered across the floor.
Where had they gone?
How long had he slept?
Why hadn't Dunn returned yet?
Anxiety and confusion swept over Luther. He rose from the sofa bed, clutching his head as he walked toward the door. Sleep did not seem to have eased his exhaustion. His head still hurt badly, and a sharp buzzing noise rang in his ears, steadily growing louder.
That sound was... crying.
Piercing cries, like the desperate wails of women and children tortured by suffering.
Amid the shrill crying, a heavier, more distressing sound came from outside the corridor—dragging and sticky, as though a heavy body of flesh were crawling, squirming, slowly drawing closer to the lounge. As it moved, its filthy, foul body left a long, reeking trail of blood across the floor...
The eerie noise grew louder and louder, then abruptly stopped.
It had stopped behind the door.
"There's no one here."
At Hanass's residence, Dunn stared at the ransacked bedroom, his brows tightly furrowed.
"There's no one in the other bedroom either. His wife and child are gone too." Frye's voice came down from the second floor, confusion mixed into his cold, hoarse tone. "Was his intelligence network really that effective? He actually fled with his whole family that very night."
"If only that were true."
Leonard emerged from the basement, looking terrible. "Captain, there are traces of a ritual down there... The scene is very bad..."
Dunn swept his gaze over Leonard's pale face, then keenly noticed something wrong with his shoes. They seemed to be stained with some unknown bright red liquid.
As if he understood something, Dunn's pupils abruptly contracted.
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