Inside the hall where the stone pillars were broken, around the remaining ruins of the altar, a group of Nighthawks dressed in black trench coats and silk hats appeared. The leader of them was none other than Saint Anthony Stevenson, Archbishop of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, of the Backlund Diocese.
"It's been vandalized?" he muttered, then walked directly to the stone door leading to the inner side without lingering.
A deep darkness descended, and the stone door opened silently. Saint Anthony led some of the Nighthawks inside, heading deeper into the darkness.
Along the way, they found no guards or anything of value; the place seemed to have been thoroughly cleared.
Finally, they reached the deepest room, but there was nothing there except for walls and stone pillars; the pale Door of Light that Klein had come out of was long gone.
The lanterns held by the Nighthawks suddenly went dark, Evernight enveloped the room.
When everything returned to normal, they discovered that the surrounding walls had somehow melted away, but there were no hidden doors or tunnels behind them; it was either thick mud and stones or the corridor they had come from.
Saint Anthony remained silent for more than ten seconds before speaking:
"Try Divination."
"Search nearby."
Achoo!
Klein trudged through pathless cliffs and forests, sadly discovering that he seemed to be truly ill.
The residual effects of Mr. A's extraordinary abilities, combined with his soaking wet state in the winter, caused him to shamefully catch a cold.
However, he dared not stop to gather dry branches, light a fire, dry his clothes, or air out his banknotes, for he was afraid of being found by the Beyonder of the church.
Even though he had already gained a semi-official status with Stanton Isengard through the " Machinery Hivemind," he would inevitably be subject to rigorous investigation for the two highest-level cases involving the awakening of the " Primordial Demoness " and the descent of the " True Creator." For example, he would have to take turns drinking tea with the " Machinery Hivemind," the Mandated Punishers, Nighthawks, and recount the entire process, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
There are two major hidden dangers. First, he knows someone within the Nighthawks. Although the appearance of the great Detective Sherlock Moriarty is quite different from that of the martyred Klein Moretti, making them almost indistinguishable from a photograph, he still lacks confidence in a face-to-face encounter. Second, due to their similar backgrounds, the Church of the Evernight Goddess is not very friendly towards people or things related to Death. Going back to the Pale Age at the end of the Fourth Age, Death fell under the siege of the Seven Gods. And the helper that Detective Sherlock Moriarty "summoned" at the crucial moment was a powerful descendant of Death —a problem that cannot be washed away.
"That high-ranking expert was probably busy dealing with Ince Zangwill and '0-08' and didn't have time to bother with a minor friendly like me, but I can't let my guard down. I still have to run!"
"Well, I might write to ' The Machinery Hivemind ' when I have the chance, explaining the second reason why I have to leave Backlund temporarily. That way, there might be opportunities for cooperation in the future. Of course, I must first secretly observe whether ' The Machinery Hivemind ' harbors strong hostility towards the descendants of the Death Reaper... I wonder how Mr. Azik is doing now..."
"Heh, perhaps in the official announcement, Sherlock Moriarty's death from a meteorite fall is a fitting description of his identity and name..."
Despite his alternating fever and chills, Klein wanted to find a small town as soon as possible and get into the community.
Only within human society can the Faceless's abilities be fully realized.
The woman who collaborated with Mr. A —well, she should be Witch —went to the East Borough ... Judging from the ritual, there was probably a large-scale death there. I don't know... Klein, with his Seer's Spirituality intuition, suddenly felt a heavy weight in his heart.
Just then, all the colors before his eyes became intense, as if splashed with paint by a god.
The feeling was fleeting; Klein found himself far from where he had been, and saw Azik Eggers, standing beside him.
"Mr. Azik, are you alright?" He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Yes," Azik answered frankly, then chuckled, "But for the ' Undying,' it's not a big problem."
Klein felt relieved and then asked:
"What about Ince Zangwill and '0-08'?"
" Ince Zangwill is still alive and still holds that '0' level Sealed Artifact," Azik said as he walked.
Klein struggled to keep up, and couldn't help but sigh:
"What a pity."
"Don't worry about him, he's seriously injured," Azik said solemnly. "More importantly, we know he's secretly cooperating with the royal family. We don't need to worry about not being able to find him later. This way, you can focus on improving yourself, and I can try to go to the places I've already recalled to awaken more memories. Heh, you're lucky. I've been secretly observing Military Intelligence Section 9 Ince Zangwill. Red Rose Manor is a key location, so I've always been lingering around there; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to get to your rescue so quickly."
When this was brought up, Klein suddenly felt a little embarrassed:
"Mr. Azik, aren't you wondering why I'm not dead?"
"I've often been in a coffin and then woke up again; this is something I recalled before," Azik laughed nonchalantly. "And in my fragmented memory, while similar things are rare in others, they're not unprecedented."
Often he'd be in a coffin and then wake up again... Often? Klein suddenly realized that the problems he was worried about were nothing in the eyes of the real big shots.
As expected of an " Undying " from the " Death " pathway... Um, Mr. Azik said before that he had stayed in this Sequence for a long time, implying that he had already advanced... Klein thought for a moment, then asked with some worry:
"Mr. Azik, will Ince Zangwill discover that I am Klein Moretti?"
He feared retaliation against Benson and Melissa.
"He probably doesn't. At most, he'll think we've known each other for a long time, or that you're simply mine—my, or, in police terms, my informant," Azik recalled. "But that '0' level Sealed Artifact might detect it, but don't worry."
"Why?" Klein pressed.
Azik seemed to remember something, and his expression suddenly became strange, as if he wanted to laugh but was also horrified.
"That '0' level Sealed Artifact will always try to kill off its own master; this is its nature and will not change. Therefore, I don't think it will proactively reveal information that could cause Ince Zangwill significant losses at crucial moments, unless it involves something that cannot be avoided or explained."
Seeing that Mr. Azik spoke with such certainty and reason, Klein breathed a sigh of relief, and his cold seemed to get a little better.
Seeing this, Azik added:
"You'd better stay away from Backlund for now Ince Zangwill might retaliate against you with that '0' level Sealed Artifact, relying on your alias."
"As long as it's not in Backlund, there's no problem. The influence of that '0' level Sealed Artifact won't extend beyond a major city."
Just as I suspected, there are limitations... Otherwise Ince Zangwill could easily hide in some small town in the Southern Continent, leisurely arranging the Fate of all his targets without worrying about being found... Klein asked cautiously:
"A short trip back to Backlund for a day or half a day, is that alright? Provided I change my identity and appearance."
After saying that, he rubbed his face and instantly reverted to his appearance when Tingen.
Azik's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he nodded.
"No problem."
He glanced back at the distant, now unseen world:
"It seems I've been targeted by a powerful being within the Church of Evernight. You'd better not stay near me to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Heh, they're very interested in Beyonder Characteristic related to Death."
"Yes, I plan to set sail, digest the Potion while searching for mermaids. This is a condition I need for advancement," Klein explained his plan.
Azik turned his head to the side:
"Mermaids? Can mermaids that have become Death be okay? I can find at least four."
"I guess... that shouldn't be possible..." Klein reached up and wiped his forehead.
His intuition told him that this was definitely not going to work, but he planned to go above the Gray Fog later to do some Divination to confirm.
Azik didn't mention the Death mermaid again, but instead said:
"If you need anything, contact me via messenger."
The messenger... Klein suddenly felt guilty and ashamed:
"It... it died in my battle with Mr. A, but it saved my life."
Azik glanced at him, shook his head, and laughed:
"Don't worry about it. As long as it's not killed by Angel- level powerhouse or by special means, it can slowly regenerate there as long as the Underworld still exists."
"And before this, there were, well, I can't even count how many similar messengers there were."
The messenger, who looked so powerful and enormous, had a legion? Klein opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.
His shame lessened considerably, and he asked curiously:
"Mr. Azik, where exactly is the Underworld, or Hell?"
" The Spirit World, to be precise, is a special place that the Ancient Death created within the Spirit World," Azik without hiding anything.
An ancient god of death? That must be the ancient goddess Greta, the progenitor of the phoenix... So the underworld belongs to the spirit world. No wonder the basic structure of mysticism is "real world - spirit world - astral world," excluding the underworld and the abyss... Klein was about to ask about this when he suddenly remembered something and quickly said:
"Mr. Azik, I've acquired a ' Card of Blasphemy ' crafted by Emperor Roselle, containing secrets of the High-Sequence. I believe it can help you awaken more things, but you'll have to wait a while; it's hidden in Backlund."
Klein didn't mention the bounty, fearing it would reveal the secrets of the Tarot Club, the mysterious space above the Gray Fog, and Miss " Justice." So he could only thank Mr. Azik for his help and contributions in this subtle way.
Azik glanced at him with slight surprise, but ultimately said nothing, simply nodding slightly.
"Once you retrieve it, have a messenger bring it to me. I'll study it and return it to you immediately, or you can simply copy the relevant content for me."
He paused, as if remembering something, then took a thin glove from his pocket that looked as if it were made of human skin and handed it to Klein, saying:
"I've awakened the relevant memories; I no longer need it. Heh, it's a relic of that pirate admiral. I've sealed it to prevent it from going hungry normally, but each time it's used, it must be fed with the flesh and soul of a human; otherwise, it will devour you."
..." Creeping Hunger "? Originating from the remains of a dead " Shepherd "? Klein immediately recalled what that glove represented.