Chapter 8

28

"...That was more or less what happened. So now we have two things to deal with: Psychology Alchemists member Hood Eugen going insane, and the cause of Madam Sharon's death. Captain, which should we handle first?"

Dunn asked a few more questions about the details, rubbed his temples, and spoke after careful consideration. "It started this afternoon... It happens to be my turn to monitor the asylum. We can't go there openly. No one knows whether any other Psychology Alchemists members are hiding among the doctors, nurses, orderlies, or patients. We need to be discreet enough... After midnight. We'll slip in after midnight tonight."

"All right." Klein agreed, then asked uncertainly, "Am I investigating Madam Sharon's residence alone?"

"Didn't you want to learn tracking and surveillance techniques? This is an excellent opportunity to practice," Dunn said. "And you just finished your part of the Lanevus case."

"Fine..." Klein didn't decline again. Completing the assignment would count toward his performance anyway, and investigating a murder scene wasn't difficult.

But that afternoon, Klein deeply regretted how simplistic his thinking had been.

The captain said the police had secured and preserved the scene, and that all I had to do was introduce myself and show my credentials to get inside and investigate. He never said Mr. Maynard's widow and sister hated Madam Sharon to the bone!

Did the captain forget?

Using his Clown's control over his body, Klein climbed over the perimeter wall, then swiftly scaled a drainpipe to the second-floor balcony. Since the murder scene was exceptionally gruesome and the churches had already been asked for help, the police had erected temporary partitions. No one saw any of this. They already suspected something about the councilor's death and were looking everywhere for private detectives to investigate the "truth." Now they're extremely grateful to the murderer for killing Madam Sharon so brutally. They even used their connections to exert pressure!

The police had been replaced with people under their influence. Even after Klein showed his credentials, they gave him a hard time for ages and refused to let him investigate.

Entering the bedroom, Klein sucked in a breath. Blood covered all four walls, as though it had been squeezed out and splashed everywhere, even spattering the ceiling. There were drag marks on the floor. In a corner, long bloody streaks marked where fingers had clawed desperately at the wall in an attempt to escape. Combined with the captain's description-severed limbs, gutted organs, a scene too ghastly to behold-this made Klein retch. Even after airing out all morning, the blood in the room remained a vivid red, as though it were still flowing.

No, I really don't want to touch it... A simple divination yielded no useful results. Madam Sharon's body wasn't here either, so Spirit Channeling was impossible. Finally, his gaze settled on the safe in the room. Klein sighed, endured his discomfort, and shut the doors and windows. After confirming that no one was watching, he took out his Ritual Silver Dagger and poured spirituality into it, combining it with natural forces to seal the entire room.

He was going to "summon" himself!

I might not know how to pick a lock, but no one understands spirit bodies better than I do!

"Since I'm already here, I might as well perform a divination and see whether I can find any clues..." Klein took four steps counterclockwise and arrived in the mysterious space above the gray fog. After some consideration, he wrote a divination statement on the parchment. "Beyonder factors were involved in John Maynard's death."

"Beyonder factors were involved in John Maynard's death."

After repeating it seven full times, he opened his eyes and looked at the pendulum. His pupils abruptly contracted-the Citrine Pendant was rotating clockwise! This meant supernatural factors had influenced Councilor Maynard's death!

Klein stared at the slowly settling pendulum as a storm surged through his heart. Someone influenced my divination back then. Someone interfered with it...

"Madam Sharon was a Beyonder, a very powerful Beyonder?"

Once again, he silently repeated it seven times. Once again, he used the pendulum method. Drawing on his current surroundings and some information about Madam Sharon, Klein completed the divination and saw the answer.

The citrine was still rotating clockwise!

Klein drew a soft, sharp breath. The image that had formed in his mind upon seeing the murder scene-a delicate, beautiful woman brutally dismembered and murdered by a thug-gradually faded. If Madam Sharon was a Beyonder, only a stronger Beyonder could have killed her without giving her any chance to resist! Once supernatural factors were involved, the nature of the murder became unclear. Was this a personal vendetta between two Beyonders, or a clash between secret organizations lurking beneath Tingen's surface?

At that thought, Klein suddenly felt a chill run through him. His body was still at the scene! No one could be sure the murderer wasn't watching it right now!

He dared not waste any more time. Immediately leaving the mysterious space, he entered the mysterious safe as quickly as possible. Inside, he found a photograph of a young man. With the premise that Madam Sharon was a powerful Beyonder already in mind, Klein didn't indulge in wild speculation. He soon realized that she was very likely a Demoness!

As he searched, Klein froze. He had discovered a hidden compartment. After confirming that it wasn't dangerous, he slipped inside. Ritual ointments, incense, and other items came into view, along with a cracked but not completely shattered bone statue. It vaguely resembled a beautiful woman with eyes at the tips of her hair.

29

"Having completed all his preparations, Lanevus beguiled Hood Eugen into helping him perform a ritual, using Megose, the fiancée he had deceived, as a vessel to carry the True Creator's offspring."

"The kindly Ince Zangwill secretly helped Lanevus. He separated out half of the characteristics he had collected from a descendant of Death and implanted them in Megose's body some time in advance."

"Hood Eugen put Megose into a semiconscious state. Nourished by the resentment that accumulated day and night in the Factory District, and catalyzed by its almost tangible gloom and oppression, the ritual succeeded. Megose conceived the True Creator's offspring. This god recognized the coincidences involved, but, hoping to break through the seven gods' blockade, did not refuse."

"After the ritual succeeded, the frenzied Lanevus regained his reason. If the god's offspring was successfully born, he would become one of the sacrifices. How could a mortal possibly become the father of a god's offspring? This was an enormous blasphemy!"

"He attempted to flee and received a death warning in his dreams that night."

"Lanevus had no choice but to remain in Tingen. However, he intended to tell the Nighthawks, Mandated Punishers, and Machinery Hivemind about the 'bomb,' making them deal with the danger for him. Madness always came at a price."

"...The Aurora Order members Hanass Vincent and Sirius Arapis both died. They did not manage to pass the news on. Mr. Z, far away in another city, would probably need about a week to discover that his subordinates had been killed. Once he realized the mission had nearly failed, he would have to take time away from his own affairs, return to Tingen as quickly as possible to investigate, and then write to report to the Aurora Order."

"Most unfortunately, the experienced postman responsible for the area where he was temporarily staying happened to take sick leave. His replacement was a newcomer unfamiliar with the local streets. The letter he placed in the mailbox would be forgotten by everyone."

"A month later, the Aurora Order finally realized something was wrong."

"On the night of September 3, the True Creator's envoy descended."

"The arrival was none other than the Abyss Angel! It seemed that the god attached great importance to this descent. Their arrival would undoubtedly intensify the chaotic undercurrents beneath Tingen's tranquil surface. By a remarkable coincidence, they planned to teleport through the Spirit World to the vicinity of a house with a red chimney, which happened to be"

"Happened not to be the house where Ince Zangwill was hiding. They had no target to search for, so they prepared to patrol the city"

(The second sentence was completely blacked out.)

"At that moment, the Demoness Madam Sharon emerged from her lover's home. Having successfully disposed of John Maynard, she had remained cheerful and excited over the past few days. Thus, she extended an invitation to His Highness the Abyss Angel, unaware that what she sought was a devil's favor."

"She let down her guard after successfully completing her mission. This was reasonable; everyone experienced such periods. The Abyss Angel received a blood sacrifice. They were pleased, and decided"

(The following text was completely covered by a pool of ink mingled with mottled bloodstains. Several scraps of flesh stuck to the page, making the original text unreadable.)

"...They were rather satisfied with this sacrifice, and therefore did not take issue with the outrageously bold Ince Zangwill's offensive conduct. Praise them."

"Ince Zangwill's plan continued."

30

Dunn received Klein's report that evening and learned that Madam Sharon had been a member of the Demoness Sect, as well as about the broken statue of an evil god inside her safe. Not daring to delay, he promptly wrote a report and passed it up the chain. After midnight, Dunn and Klein "visited" Hood Eugen at the asylum and dealt with the Psychiatrist, who had all but lost control.

Late at night, he wandered through the vast dreamscape of all the sleeping people in the city, acting as a Nightmare and helping himself to food and drink. Klein had suffered a considerable mental shock that afternoon, so Dunn considerately left his dreams undisturbed, offering a blessing for a good night's sleep.

He slowly made his rounds and arrived outside the window of a hotel in the city center, checking whether any of its visiting travelers were suspicious. On reaching the third floor, Dunn discovered a brown-haired gentleman in tortoiseshell glasses sitting alone, quietly reading a book. His eyes were hazy, and exquisite pastries, steaming black tea, and milk stood on the table.

So he knocked, entered, and devoured every morsel on the three-tiered pastry stand, enjoying an impeccable, perfect afternoon tea in the middle of the night. Having enjoyed this "hospitality," Dunn removed his hat and gave his dream host a simple bow before leaving.

But as he went to the entrance and pushed the door open to leave, the hem of his trench coat swung with his turn and knocked a gray felt-covered notebook off a shelf near the door. The notebook fell to the floor with a smack, scattering handwritten notes and clipped pages of excerpts.

Dunn hesitated. Although he knew this was only a dream world, he still turned back, apologized to the brown-haired gentleman, and crouched on the carpet to pick up the notebook and its scattered pages.

He did not notice the dream host's smile slowly disappearing.

Then he discovered that the notebook was densely covered in twisted characters. A single glance was enough to tell him that this was undoubtedly Roselle's script. To think this gentleman's dream world contained Roselle's Notes. Could he also be an occult enthusiast? Remembering Klein, who shared a keen interest in Roselle's Notes, Dunn couldn't help smiling slightly. Then-his smile froze.

The notebook contained annotations and translations.

Several of the scattered sheets had translations attached. Directly beneath each passage of Roselle's script, a slip of paper was secured with a paper clip, translating those sentences into Loenese as neat as printed type.

"...The key to potions isn't control, but digestion! Not exploration, but acting! And a potion's name isn't merely its core symbolism. It's also a concrete image, and the 'key' to digestion!"

"So potions and pathways conceal secrets like these... Those that allow switching at Sequence 4 include the Sleepless pathway and the Corpse Collector pathway. Hmm, the Church's Savant pathway and the Mystery Pryer pathway also allow switching at high sequences."

The Acting Method and switching pathways. Could this... Dunn's pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints. Suddenly, he remembered something. He thought of the "method for safely controlling potions gleaned from the Mystery Pryers' maxim" that Klein had told everyone about. He thought of the fugitive Archbishop Ince Zangwill, who had failed to advance to Sequence 4. He thought of the sacred relic behind Chanis Gate, Saint Selena's Ashes. He felt as though a flash of insight had crossed his mind, splitting the confusion that had long baffled him like lightning. But before he could grasp it, the pages in his hands vanished in an instant.

"...I was already prepared to let you go, Mr. Nightmare."

At some point, the middle-aged gentleman sitting in the armchair had put down his book. He looked at Dunn with gentle, pitying eyes.

A thunderous roar erupted in Dunn's mind.

Don't activate Spirit Vision! Don't activate Spirit Vision!!

Run! No, no! I'll die if I run, and I'll die if I stay! I can't make a sound. There's nowhere left to escape!!

What is this thing?! Why is something like this in Tingen?! I'm certain to die, but I have to find a way to send a message-

Under that gaze, Dunn felt an endless terror of death. Unable to resist his body's instincts, he trembled violently. Without thinking, he immediately left the dream in search of a chance to survive. But beyond the dream world shattering like glass lay not his bedroom, but a pitch-black hidden realm. Beneath his feet seemed to be a mountain piled from the enormous corpses of monsters. At its base, a black ocean dashed blood-red waves against sheer cliffs. At the edge of his vision, boundless, liquid-like black fog seemed to engulf the world.

Spreading from the armchair, the deep darkness swallowed everything.

The gentleman smiled and asked him, "But why did you insist on courting death?"

TBC

*Investigator Dunn casually rolled the dice, scored a critical success on his Spot Hidden check, and attracted an evil god's rather displeased attention.

*By now, everyone should have a pretty good idea what sort of god Edward (the Monarch of Decay) is, so he won't be joining the Tarot Club. If a chaotic evil being like him joined, the first thing he'd do would be to memorize everyone's aura, then determine whether the Fool was the Celestial Worthy. Once he realized the Fool wasn't, he'd track them down and kill everyone based on what he remembered, ensuring that no one on Earth could become the Lord of the Mysteries before the apocalypse.

*Why can't I change my avatar and ID yet aaaaaah! If I still can't change them, I'll have to sign the contract with this garbled ID, and I don't want thaaaaaat?!?!?!