Coincidence?

At an obscure little inn, Lorne spent one soli to rent a room, giving himself a temporary place to stay.

"Everything that happened tonight was an accident."

Lorne began divining with his pendulum. Everything that had happened tonight was so bizarre that he had no choice but to be cautious.

Everything that happened tonight was an accident.

After silently repeating the statement several times, Lorne slowly opened his eyes.

The pendulum turned slightly clockwise, indicating affirmation.

"Just a coincidence?" Lorne studied the result thoughtfully.

His earlier divinations, even those performed after becoming a Beyonder, had amounted to little more than a skill.

A Robot's divination, however, was essentially part of his abilities.

He might not be as proficient as a Seer, but the results were certainly a major leap forward compared with before.

That was why Lorne still trusted this result.

I suppose stranger things have happened. Absurd as it was, it wasn't impossible... Lorne nodded, accepting his experience tonight.

Now it was time to tackle the second matter.

By the dim light of the Gas Lamp, Lorne carefully examined the revolver before him.

The formerly black gun was now coated in a layer of illusory, silver-gray patterns that flickered in and out of sight under the faint light.

His fingertips unconsciously brushed over the gun's cylinder. The metal, which should have been cold, instead felt as warm as a body.

As though compelled by some unseen force, he brought his nose close to the muzzle. A sweet, cloying fragrance mingled with the smell of gun oil, forming an inexplicably intoxicating scent.

"No, this thing is far too sinister."

Realizing something was wrong, Lorne hurriedly shook his head and stepped back.

He had never imagined that a moment's inattention would leave him seduced by a handgun.

"Did I let my guard down because it was a gun?"

After a moment's thought, Lorne decided to use divination to confirm the gun's effects. He did not use the Monocle, partly because a full day of activity had left him short on spirituality.

The other reason, and the main one, was that a great deal of knowledge about divination had surfaced in his mind after he became a Robot. He suspected it was connected to a Robot's abilities.

He intended to take this opportunity to try it out.

Drawing on the knowledge in his mind, he began the Dream Divination he had most wanted to try.

A short while later, Lorne slowly opened his eyes. Through divination, he had gained a rough understanding of the gun's effects.

The gun could fire without ammunition.

It only needed an infusion of spirituality to fire. Its bullets would randomly produce one of three effects: black flame, frost, or Silken Binding. All three types of bullets also carried a curse.

But it had negative effects as well. It would constantly tempt its user, causing them to develop strange feelings toward it.

Prolonged use would enthrall the user until they no longer cared about anything else. This temptation also had a chance of affecting people around its holder.

Moreover, seemingly due to some lingering resentment, every shot had a chance of misfiring.

A chance of misfiring? So this depends on luck too... Unsure of his own luck, Lorne paid particular attention to this negative effect.

"If my luck is bad, could I end up unable to fire a single shot?"

"Surely I can't be that unlucky..."

"Forget it. At least there aren't any particularly serious side effects."

"Time to get down to business."

Setting down the gun, Lorne took out paper and a pen and began his real work.

He considered how to write a proper report letter.

Inside the Blackthorn Security Company.

Several members involved in the operation had been injured, leaving a subdued atmosphere in the office.

"How's Kenley?" Royale asked after returning from patrol and noticing his absence.

"Not good. Although none of his vital organs were injured, that last charge was far too reckless. His waist was badly hurt. He'll probably be bedridden for quite a while," acting captain Frye replied.

Rozanne exclaimed at this, "How could this happen? He still has a wedding ahead of him!"

Everyone present fell silent.

Amid the gloomy atmosphere, Leonard spoke up.

"Actually, the outcome wasn't all that bad."

"We found Madam Sharon's body during the subsequent search, so we did accomplish the objective of this operation."

"And although we were all injured, none of us died. That's already very fortunate."

His tone was light as he tried to lift their spirits.

"Yes, we were very fortunate indeed," Old Neil added. He was the oldest person present and the most experienced of all the current Nighthawks.

His words carried considerable weight.

"This was my fault. I failed to anticipate an incident like this," acting captain Frye suddenly said.

"No, this was just an accident. No one could have foreseen something like this."

"Leonard is right. None of us expected to run into that group."

"Actually... I felt that the group we encountered today looked somewhat familiar," Klein, who had remained silent until now, said.

"Hmm? Really?" Frye turned his gaze toward Klein.

Back to some time earlier.

It was the night the Nighthawks team had taken Sealed Artifact 2-049 to capture Ray Bieber.

Ray Bieber had lost control and turned into a monster that day, and the Nighthawks team had fought a fierce battle against him.

Due to an accident, Klein had inadvertently entered the effective range of 2-049, the Antigonus Family Marionette.

After successfully saving himself through the gray fog, Klein had witnessed the scene before him.

The Secret Order's Tuxedo Clown was negotiating with him, asking for his help in seizing the Antigonus Family's notebook.

But before he could do anything else, a bang rang out.

The Tuxedo Clown collapsed in a pool of blood.

Klein heard two sets of uneven footsteps approaching him.

"Boss, this guy seems to be under the control of their own Sealed Artifact." The Circus Clown glanced at Klein.

"We're lucky. I didn't expect the Nighthawks and the Secret Order to leave each other so badly hurt." The Magician nodded, in a good mood.

The Circus Clown kicked the corpse of the Secret Order's Tuxedo Clown, then turned his attention to Klein, who lay on the ground.

"Boss, should we kill him?"

What?! Kill me?

Hearing this, Klein, who was lying on the ground playing dead, immediately lost his composure. Beads of cold sweat formed across his forehead.

"Don't." The Magician stopped his subordinate.

"He's a Nighthawk, and he's already under the control of their own Sealed Artifact. Let's not create unnecessary complications."

Killing a member of the Secret Order was, at most, one criminal turning on another. But killing someone from an official organization was an entirely different matter. With their status as Beyonders factored in, it could qualify as a terrorist attack.

For unaffiliated Beyonders, attacking official Beyonders was something to avoid unless there was absolutely no other choice.

The official churches' retaliation was often terrifying.

"Lucky him." His subordinate glanced at Klein, then asked his boss another question.

"Boss, what should we do next?"

"Hurry over and support the other two. Our target is the Secret Order's notebook."

"We're not even taking this guy's characteristic?" The Circus Clown pointed at the Secret Order member's corpse.

The Magician shook his head slightly.

"The mission comes first."

Back in the present.

"You mean the group we encountered this time was the same one that stole the Antigonus Notebook before?"

"Yes, that's very likely."

Klein nodded and continued.

"I managed to remember their builds back then. They were very similar to two of the people we encountered today. Combined with their abilities, that more or less confirms it was them."

After hearing Klein's account, acting captain Frye nodded.

"To think such a dangerous group of Beyonders has appeared in Tingen."

"This matter is beyond our capabilities now. We need to discuss it with the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind."

"I'll write a report first and inform our superiors of what happened tonight."

"Everyone, go get some rest."

After leaving the company, Klein walked home.

As he walked, a question suddenly occurred to him. Why had Captain Dunn Smith suddenly gone to Backlund when the situation was so serious?

And weren't things progressing a little too quickly between him and Miss Daly?

Was it really just a coincidence?