After seeing Miss Sharron briefly show herself, Raphael breathed a small sigh of relief.
Miss Sharron seemed to be at least a Sequence 5. Raphael remembered that the Sequence 5 potion of the Prisoner pathway was called Wraith, and the abilities she had displayed were at least on that level.
Raphael lit a cigarette and took a drag. The Temperance Faction's member is in position. Hopefully, the Indulgence Faction won't keep me waiting too long.
Then he considered another question: where could he find the main ingredients or a Beyonder characteristic for Sequence 8 of the Criminal pathway?
Of the two potion formulas the white jade-colored bead had given Raphael, one was for Sequence 6 Zombie, while the other was for Sequence 8 Unwinged Angel of an adjacent pathway.
It was an exceedingly thoughtful gesture. All Raphael needed to do was find the main ingredients or the corresponding Beyonder characteristic.
The four supplementary ingredients needed to advance to Unwinged Angel were all easy to obtain. A trip to an herbalist would get him practically everything, but the two main ingredients would be difficult to buy on short notice.
Relatively speaking, money was a minor concern. Each of the two main ingredients cost around three hundred pounds. Although Raphael did not have that much cash, he could steal or rob and soon scrape together the money.
Raphael had already thought this through. As long as he kept the amount involved in each crime below a hundred pounds and only committed crimes when necessary, he generally would not attract the attention of official Beyonders.
Raphael stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. Even with the money, it would take two or three months to gather both main ingredients through the Beyonder gatherings he currently had access to.
Although he had now reestablished Audrey as a channel, being a dual pathway Beyonder was his greatest advantage and secret. He had no intention of letting Miss Hall or the organization behind her know that he was purchasing main ingredients or Beyonder characteristics for the Criminal pathway.
At that thought, a sinister smile suddenly appeared on Raphael's face. He intended to attack the Beyonder who had sold him the Criminal potion formula.
Raphael had obtained the Criminal potion formula at a Beyonder gathering. He had carefully observed the seller at the time and had seen that person several more times at subsequent gatherings.
He had examined the man using the ability that came with the white jade-colored bead. The man was a low sequence Beyonder, most likely a Sequence 8 of the Criminal pathway.
Even if the man was not a Beyonder of the Criminal pathway, obtaining a Sequence 8 Beyonder characteristic would still be a decent source of income.
That matter, however, would have to wait until after this battle was over.
Raphael put those thoughts aside and sent a subordinate to buy him two Desi pies for dinner.
Desi pies were among the few foods Raphael had come to approve of since transmigrating. They tasted much like the meat pies he remembered.
He had originally wanted four, with two for Miss Sharron as well, but then realized: How am I supposed to give them to her?
Hang them from the clock's glass cover with string? Or set up an offering table in front of it and light three sticks of incense? But then the offerings would only be two pies. That would be awfully shabby.
Ultimately, Raphael figured that a Wraith might not need to eat. Even if Miss Sharron wanted dinner, she could simply "float" into the hotel kitchen and eat whatever she wanted there.
Raphael waited until very late, but no one from the Indulgence Faction appeared. Presumably, they had only just begun investigating and might not find this place until tomorrow.
He returned to his apartment as usual.
He had already sent people to tidy up the living room, buy new furniture, and cover the claw marks on the walls with wallpaper.
Raphael did not turn on the lights immediately. Looking into the dim apartment, he hesitated for a moment, unsure whether Miss Sharron had followed him.
Sharron seemed to notice his hesitation, and her figure flashed briefly in the full-length mirror by the door.
The corner of Raphael's eye twitched. A dark room and a ghostly figure flashing through a mirror-it's like I've suddenly stepped into a horror novel!
Taking a deep breath, Raphael calmed himself. With Miss Sharron there, he could rest without worry.
Nevertheless, he slept poorly that night, repeatedly dreaming of a beautiful female ghost standing at the head of his bed, watching him silently.
The next day, Raphael arrived at the Mafia's headquarters yawning. As usual, he received visitors and sent his subordinates to handle the matters that arose.
That night, Raphael headed back to his apartment with a long backpack on his back, smoking a cigarette. Few pedestrians remained on the streets, and Backlund's famous fog had once again enveloped them, making everything around him seem somewhat unreal.
Under the dim streetlights, he noticed that two homeless men approaching him walked strangely, so he gave them another look.
Since the new law prohibited homeless people from sleeping in parks and on major streets, they had to keep moving after night fell.
They walked very slowly, however, conserving as much energy as possible.
But these two homeless men swayed with every step, a way of walking that would consume considerable energy.
Then Raphael saw an eyeball suddenly fall out of one of the two approaching homeless men.
The "homeless man" reacted quickly, however, catching his eyeball and pressing it back into its socket.
Raphael froze, cigarette in hand. "What the hell!"
He immediately realized that the Indulgence Faction had most likely found him. These two "homeless men" were probably two zombies.
"Heh, I heard you were quite mad. Yet you're afraid of ghosts?" The voice came from behind him, its tone icy.
Raphael whipped around. In the thin fog behind him stood a pale-faced man without the slightest sign of life, staring at him with the eyes of a corpse.
Raphael threw away his cigarette butt. "Are you Bevin's companion?"
"That's right." The man coldly surveyed Raphael's surroundings. "Clearly, you already know that Bevin is dead."
To guard against official Beyonders' spirit channeling, lower-ranking members of secret organizations generally used single-line contact to form the outermost branches of their organizations.
As such, the Indulgence Faction did not know that Bevin had died while going to meet Raphael. They only knew that he was dead and that, judging by the scene, he appeared to have been shot.
"Yes, I know," Raphael said calmly. "We'd arranged to meet, but by the time I arrived at the meeting place, he was already dead."
As he spoke, he took off his backpack. "I found this at the scene..."
The Indulgence Faction's Zombie had already noticed that Raphael's spirituality was somewhat unstable. He asked warily, "What is it?"
Raphael unzipped the backpack and took out the slightly cumbersome Submachine Gun. "A gun. A new type of Submachine Gun, in fact."
The Zombie stepped forward. He realized that this was most likely the weapon that had killed Bevin. "Bring it here. Let me see."
"Of course, of course." Raphael took out a magazine as well. "Let me demonstrate how to use it. Look, you insert the magazine like this, then release the safety, and it's ready."
Then the Zombie saw Raphael pull the trigger.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Before you continue