Hidden in the shadows of a house dozens of meters away, Klein kept staring at the target building in the darkness. He vaguely heard a strong gust of wind and clearly distinguished the clattering of gunshots.
"If the enemy flees towards this spot, should I draw my gun and make a show of it, or pretend I didn't see it?" He thought, his body trembling slightly and his palms sweating.
Beyonder capable of shortening the life of a dying person through various means is definitely not just Sequence 9 or Sequence 8. This is not Seer like him can confront head-on. Even if he sacrifices himself, he may not be able to delay the opponent and create an opportunity for Dunn and Leonard to catch up.
Fortunately, the Evernight Goddess, who wields Calamity, seemed to have heard the prayers of her "faithful" guardians, and no one ever fled toward the place where Klein was hiding.
Several minutes later, he heard singing coming from the target building.
Tilting his ear to listen carefully, Klein confirmed that it was a folk tune Leonard Mitchell often hummed, filled with vulgar phrases.
He breathed a sigh of relief, holding a gun in one hand and a cane in the other, and stepped out of the shadows, approaching the target building.
This folk tune was the signal he had arranged to meet up with Dunn and the others!
After taking just two steps, Klein suddenly stopped, leaned his cane against the iron fence beside him, and switched the revolver to his other hand.
Then, he unfastened the silver chain from his cuff, letting the citrine pendant fall naturally.
After switching the positions of the revolver and pendulum, Klein waited until the citrine's swaying stabilized, then immediately half-closed his eyes, entered Cogitation state, and silently recited the Divination mantra:
"The singing just now was an illusion."
"The singing just now was an illusion."
After seven repetitions, he opened his eyes and saw the pendant rotating counterclockwise.
"It's not an illusion..." Klein's heart settled back into place. He put away his pendulum, picked up his cane, and quickly approached the arched iron gate of the target building. Then he handed the silver-inlaid black cane to his right hand, which he held together with the revolver.
He had just reached out and touched the railing, trying to push it open, when he suddenly felt a chilling cold rushing towards him, as if someone had stuffed a chunk of ice down his neck without warning.
Hiss! Klein abruptly withdrew his hand, baring his teeth.
"It's just like winter here..." He looked out at the garden behind the iron gate by the faint starlight and the distant streetlights, and saw that the vines were withered, the flowers were gone, and many leaves covered with white frost lay on the dark brown soil.
"Impressive!" Klein thought to himself, tapping his brow twice with his fingers to activate his Spirit Vision.
He retrieved the black wooden cane inlaid with silver with his left hand, used it to brace against the fence, and pushed open the slightly ajar gate.
With a creaking sound, he stepped aside and onto the stone path that led directly to the gray-blue building, flanked by plants that seemed like ghosts in the Evernight.
This scene immediately reminded Klein of all sorts of ghost stories and supernatural movies.
He subconsciously slowed his breathing and quickened his pace, but after only a few meters, someone suddenly patted his left shoulder.
Thump! Thump! Klein's heart skipped a beat, then began to pound violently.
He raised his right hand, aimed his revolver in that direction, then slowly turned and looked over.
In the dim light, he saw a tree branch swaying precariously, almost falling.
"Is this what you call scaring yourself?" Klein's lips twitched, and he swung his cane, knocking the branch down.
He continued onward, and faint sobs and wails began to appear in his ears, while his eyes reflected transparent, blurry, and almost invisible " Specter."
These Specter sensed the presence of the living and the warmth of flesh and blood, and surged towards them.
Klein was startled and immediately ran, rushing through the front door of the gray-blue house.
Is this the atmosphere the captain was talking about? It's definitely much scarier than when he helped Sir Deville... The resentment is clearly more rigid than " Specter," lacking any proactive aggression... As he thought this, he walked towards the altar in the center of the living room. It was a round table filled with crudely made Puppet, and three extinguished candles.
Dunn Smith was standing in front of the altar, his back to Klein, picking up and looking at the Puppet Puppet by one.
" Corpse Collector " Frye silently watched the drifting " Specter," trying to reach out Placate them, but could only pass through them helplessly. The " Specter " did not attack him, seemingly regarding him as one of their own.
Upon seeing Klein's arrival, Leonard Mitchell's tone changed, his voice becoming deep and magnetic:
"It was a peaceful morning."
"Perfect for that quieter sorrow."
"Only the sound of falling autumn leaves could be heard."
"The soft sound of chestnuts falling to the ground." (Note 1)
In the gentle, soothing sound of the poetry being sung, Klein seemed to see a lake reflecting the shimmering Moonlight, and a red moon hanging quietly high in the sky.
The " Specter " calmed down and stopped chasing after the breath of the living and the warmth of flesh and blood.
Dunn put down the Puppet in his hand, turned around, and said to Klein:
"This was a terrible cursed ritual, but fortunately, we have broken it."
"First, set up a ritual to Placate the remaining Spirituality, then try to Spirit Channeling with them to see if you can get any clues from them."
Upon realizing he was no longer a burden, Klein immediately straightened his back and said:
"Yes, Captain."
He reached the altar in a few steps and swept the Puppet off the round table.
At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that each Puppet had a different name and corresponding information.
"Captain, have you spotted anyone you recognize?" Klein asked casually.
After asking the question, he looked at Dunn, Dunn then looked at him, and both fell silent.
"I was so stupid... How could I ask a question that tested the captain's memory!" Klein almost covered his face and sighed deeply.
If it were any other leader, they would definitely have found a way to make things difficult for me later. Luckily, luckily, the team leader will forget about it... I really don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing... He thought to himself, half relieved and half joking.
After a silence of more than ten seconds, Dunn seemed to finally distinguish between reality and dream, and spoke:
"There's someone you know."
"Who?" Klein stopped rearranging the candles.
" Joyce Meyer, a survivor of the ' Clover disaster'," Dunn replied succinctly.
Joyce Meyer Anna's fiancé... Klein immediately thought of the poorhouse where Sols seemed to have been instigated and manipulated, which led to his premature outburst and attempt at arson.
He withdrew his right hand and said in a deep voice:
"' Instigator ' Tris?"
"He used the shortened lives of the dying as sacrifices, attempting to curse all the survivors of the ' Clover Massacre'? Because he didn't know who discovered the problem and reported it to the police..."
If Tris were to retaliate directly, it would be unlikely that he could eliminate all the targets scattered in different places in one go. At most, after two or three cases, he would be noticed by the Nighthawks, the Mandated Punishers, and the Machinery Hivemind, losing the opportunity to continue committing crimes... Klein could almost imagine the thought process behind Triss's choice.
Dunn nodded first, then shook his head and said:
"Not all survivors, but all survivors of Tingen City; his curse ritual can only affect people within this area."
"Furthermore, the ceremony was conducted by a woman, not Tris."
Klein frowned slightly and said:
"Perhaps a powerful figure sent by the Gnosis to help Tris?"
"Yes, the origins of the Gnosis may be linked to the Demoness Sect, so it's normal for the powerful members to be women."
Dunn smiled and said in a deep voice, "I agree with your judgment. Although there's only that woman here and no Tris, we can make necessary guesses. For example, they might not be living together, or Tris might be out searching for someone who is about to die."
Klein didn't say anything more. He placed three candles, took out Full Moon essential oil and deep red sandalwood, and quickly set up the altar.
Using a silver dagger to create a sealed wall, he began to pray to the " Evernight Goddess, Mistress of Repose and Silence," completely Placate the "ghosts" inside and outside the house.
Unfortunately, during the subsequent Spirit Channeling sessions, Klein only saw a few scenes of the remaining Spirituality from their previous lives and did not obtain any useful clues.
After allowing these "ghosts" to truly rest in the Evernight, he ended the ritual, dispelled the Wall of Spirituality, and shook his head at Dunn, Leonard, and Frye, saying:
"This place was severely damaged by the backlash from the interrupted ritual, and any remaining traces of its master have been lost."
Dunn pointed to the stairwell, unsurprised:
"Then let's go to the second floor and look again, give it a try."
"Hmm." Klein, Leonard, and the others immediately expressed their agreement.
The three Nighthawks went up the stairs to the second floor and split up to search each room.
Finally, they met in a bedroom Levitation with a subtle fragrance, where they saw clothes piled up in disarray and boxes that were open but not yet closed.
"Is this cosmetics?" Dunn picked up a box from the dressing table, smelled it, and asked casually.
"To be precise, they're called skincare products. Since Emperor Roselle, they haven't been used interchangeably," Leonard corrected with a smile. "Captain, as a gentleman, it's essential to know some basic common sense."
Klein didn't join their discussion, instead turning his gaze to the mirror on the dressing table.
The mirror was visibly cracked, and fragments had fallen onto the carpet.
"That Beyonder was a bit hasty; the destruction wasn't thorough enough..." he suddenly said in a deep voice, "Perhaps we can give it a try."
"It's up to you," Dunn replied trustingly.
Klein quickly brought the candles up from the first floor and lit them in front of the broken mirror.
In the dim, flickering candlelight, he took out items such as Full Moon Essential Oil and created Wall of Spirituality.
Having done all this, Klein stood before the mirror reflecting the glow of the three candles and recited in Hermes:
I pray for the power of the Evernight;
I pray to the Concealment forces;
I pray for the goddess's favor;
"I pray that this mirror can offer a brief respite, that it will reflect everyone who has been reflected in it over the past month."
As the incantation was recited one by one, a strong whirlwind suddenly swept through the Wall of Spirituality.
The fragments of the mirror were rolled up and placed back in their original positions.
The cracked mirror shimmered with a dim light, and as Klein ran his hand over it, a figure appeared, but it wasn't Klein, who was directly in front of it.
This was a young woman with a round face and a gentle, sweet appearance. Perhaps because the mirror had been damaged, or perhaps because the backlash from the interrupted ceremony also affected the second floor, her features were somewhat blurry, and her specific appearance was unclear.
Even so, Klein still felt a strange sense of familiarity with the other person.
Note 1: Quoted from Tennyson, "In Memoriam," No. 11, "It Was a Quiet Morning," translated by Fei Bai.