Witch Hunt

Klein returned to the Blackthorn Security Company after his half-day off.

Having just successfully intervened to help someone in trouble, he seemed to be in a good mood. His only regret was that he had found no clues to his target.

There was also the feeling that he had forgotten something.

After thinking for a while without coming up with anything, Klein pushed open the company's door.

Inside the Blackthorn Security Company.

"Klein, you're back." Acting Captain Frye greeted him, though something was off about his expression.

"Yes." Klein nodded, then noticed his troubled expression and asked, "Did something happen?"

"Do you remember Madam Sharon?"

Madam Sharon, that suspicious widow... Klein nodded.

"Yes, we've confirmed it. She's a Demoness."

"Huh? How did she suddenly get exposed?" Klein was a little puzzled. He had been planning to investigate her himself.

"One of our informants happened to catch her using Beyonder powers to commit a crime," Frye explained.

"Such a coincidence?" Klein was somewhat surprised. From his impression of Madam Sharon, she should have been a very cautious person.

"Exactly that much of a coincidence." Frye paused before continuing.

"In any case, now that we've confirmed she's a Beyonder, we can't ignore her."

"Madam Sharon might be higher than Sequence 7, and the captain isn't here. If we rush in, I'm afraid..." Klein was a little worried. Their Nighthawks team wasn't particularly strong at the moment.

Since Captain Dunn Smith had accompanied Daly to Backlund, both of their "high-end" combatants had left at the same time, creating a tremendous gap in the Tingen Nighthawks team's strength.

Ordinary missions might not pose much of a problem, but they were somewhat ill-equipped to handle unexpected situations.

At present, their highest-ranking members were Frye and Leonard, both Sequence 8.

His teammate's concerns were not unfounded. Frye thought for a while before saying:

"I'll call Old Neil and Leonard over too. Then you, me, Old Neil, Leonard, and Kenley will act together, all five of us."

"This happened suddenly. She probably hasn't realized she's been exposed yet. We need to subdue her before she takes precautions."

"Yes." Klein nodded in agreement.

"Let Kenley know while you're at it. With several of us taking part, we can apply to use a Sealed Artifact."

"All right." Then he asked with a hint of curiosity, "Which Sealed Artifact are you going to use?"

Frye spent over ten seconds recalling and weighing his options before saying, "3-0217."

Since the Tingen City Nighthawks team didn't have many Sealed Artifacts, Klein quickly recalled which one 3-0217 referred to.

It was a Sealed Artifact called the Spirit Medium's Mirror, and it required at least three people to use.

The mirror's distinctive feature was that various dangerous images would appear on its surface. Their danger levels varied, but they all prioritized attacking whoever looked into the mirror.

Royale was guarding the Chanis Gate that night, while Seeka Theon was patrolling Raphael Cemetery and other locations. They were short-handed.

To be on the safe side, Acting Captain Frye chose to call Leonard and Old Neil back from their time off.

After a while, Frye came up from the basement carrying a tightly wrapped mirror.

Honestly, if I hadn't known beforehand, I wouldn't have been able to tell it was a mirror at all. Not a single part of it is exposed... Klein and Kenley went over to meet him.

"Kenley, can I leave it to you to use?" Frye looked at the short-statured Kenley.

"Yes." Kenley nodded and took the mirror.

Although Frye appeared calm, Klein could tell that he was a little nervous. As acting captain, Frye bore a heavier burden than he had imagined.

Hiss, I'm getting a little nervous too... He touched the Slumber Charm and other items in his pocket, making sure he had everything ready.

"I've already sent someone to notify Old Neil and Leonard. They should arrive in a while."

A little over ten minutes later, someone pushed open the Blackthorn Security Company's door.

Hearing the familiar footsteps, Klein knew his teammates had arrived.

In the carriage, Frye noticed everyone's overly grave expressions and said:

"You don't need to be so nervous. There are plenty of us, and we work well together. Nothing will go wrong."

Despite his words, the atmosphere in the carriage remained oppressive.

Along the way, Kenley glanced at Sealed Artifact 3-0217 in his hands and remarked somewhat tensely, "This is my first time taking part in such a dangerous operation."

"Don't worry. Maybe Madam Sharon has already run away." Klein wanted to lighten the mood, but honestly, he was no less nervous than Kenley.

"If everyone's too nervous, I could recite a poem." Seemingly noticing how oppressive the atmosphere had become, Leonard spoke with a smile.

Everyone smiled at that, and their tension eased a little.

"Boss, so we're going after that Demoness?" Clown asked in confusion.

"Yes, that's right."

Hearing this, Clown rubbed the back of his head and said, sounding a little touched:

"You really don't have to go out of your way to avenge me."

Magician was somewhat speechless at his subordinate's words.

"It's not as simple as just avenging you."

"This mission also comes from the higher-ups."

"Why, boss?" another Clown beside them asked.

"Shouldn't this sort of thing be handled by the official Churches?"

"I'm not entirely sure either." Magician lowered his head in thought for a few seconds before continuing, "The Demoness Sect and our organization are enemies to begin with."

"Eliminating one of them isn't unreasonable."

"And I suspect this operation is also meant to be an assessment."

"An assessment?" Clown was a little surprised.

"Yes." Magician nodded and explained to his teammates, "That's right, an assessment to test each team member's potion digestion and how well we work together."

"Every so often, the higher-ups issue a mission to assess us."

Magician pondered for a moment before continuing:

"A lone Demoness really does make a suitable target."

"Then, won't it be a little dangerous...?" Clown sounded somewhat panicked.

Magician glanced at him. Seeing his worried expression, he slowly said, "That Demoness is Sequence 6 at most. She's within our ability to

deal with."

"It shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Get ready, everyone. Bring your charms and bullets."

"We'll take a short rest, then set off."

"The target is on Olsna Street."

Inside the house with the Red Chimney.

Recalling the Nighthawk who had nearly come knocking that day, then looking at the tangled mess of a script before him, a certain inept writer felt rather irritated.

"I need to speed things up."

After a moment's thought, he picked up a quill and swiftly wrote something on the paper.

Olsna Street.

"Have I actually wandered all the way here?"

Looking at the street sign before him, Lorne could barely hide his exhaustion.

After leaving that strange house, he had taken a hired carriage away from the neighborhood.

Just thinking of the hired carriage made him feel a little dizzy.

The roads in this era were poor, and the ride had been rather bumpy.

Although his constitution as a Robot kept him from getting motion sickness, his excessive fatigue and the terrible suspension of this era's carriages still made the experience uncomfortable.

"Compared to the carriages in this world, the motion sickness in my old world was nothing."

"Maybe their only advantage is that they don't smell of gasoline."

Lorne started walking. He intended to find somewhere to stay first, then give some serious thought to reporting what he had found.

With that in mind, he walked step by step deeper into Olsna Street.