Upon seeing Leonard Mitchell, Klein's back muscles instantly stiffened, his mind tense as if a bowstring stretched to its limit, ready to snap at any moment.
He remembered clearly that an Angel of the " Marauder " pathway, Pallez Zoroast, Parasitism his poet classmate's body. This angel could sense his own special nature and thus see through his disguise!
If the old man told Leonard about the guard's suspicious behavior, things would be in serious trouble. The only hope was that the poet, fearing his own secret would be exposed, would pretend not to know... Back in Tingen, although he always said everyone had their secrets and there was no need to worry, that was only in cases not directly targeting the church. Who knew if his Justice would suddenly erupt, and he'd decide to be loyal to his duty and risk exposing the Ince Zangwill incident... At that moment, Klein almost broke out in a cold sweat.
To be honest, he didn't expect to run into Leonard on his way to Chanis Gate, because Leonard was already a " Red Gloves," not a regular " Nighthawks," and no longer needed to take turns on duty, and this spot shouldn't be underground.
However, Klein immediately realized a crucial point.
That is, it was Pallez Zoroast, not Leonard Mitchell, who realized he was special; the former's attitude was more important!
The old man knew I knew of His existence. If He exposed my disguise and put me in danger, He would have to be prepared to be exposed by me. In that case, we would both hurt each other, and neither of us would benefit. For an Angel who was a " Marauder " and did not believe in Goddess, this was completely unnecessary... If I were Him, I would simply pretend that nothing had happened and not warn Leonard Mitchell at all, not entrusting my safety to the host's whim... Klein quickly regained his composure after sorting out his thoughts and walked towards Leonard Mitchell, who was wearing Red Gloves.
Leonard glanced indifferently at the thinning, white-haired internal guard opposite him, then couldn't help but raise his right hand, half-covering his mouth, and yawn.
So, he's staying up all night with nothing to do, so he's gone to the guard room to play cards with someone? What a typical " Sleepless... Klein roughly understood why his poet classmate, the " Red Gloves," was here.
He recalled how, in Tingen City, the internal guards reacted to the " Nighthawks watchmen," silently nodding slightly to Leonard and tapping his chest four times clockwise with his right index and middle fingers, as if drawing a Full Moon.
Leonard responded with the same action, passing the loose-skinned, large-nosed inner guard without noticing, and walked straight ahead.
Klein let out a silent breath, maintaining his previous pace and stride, and walked all the way to his destination.
The heavy, cold, iron-black double doors, engraved with seven holy symbols, seemed unshakable by anything.
Klein turned sideways, took two steps diagonally, knocked on the door of the guardhouse, and opened the Chanis Gate in the presence of the Nighthawks on duty.
The deep darkness inside suddenly surged, and even the silver candles with carved patterns burning quietly inside could not dispel this feeling; on the contrary, the ghostly blue flames deepened the deathly silence.
At the same time, Klein felt invisible things scraping across his skin in the darkness, penetrating his body, crossing the boundary between reality and illusion, and connecting with the " Wraith " Senor.
Suddenly, even without using his Spirit Vision, he saw the thin black lines filling the entire area behind the Chanis Gate. They swayed gently, sometimes clustered together, sometimes extending, as if a lady were stretching her hair, or some strange creature was waving its tentacles.
Klein stepped forward with an indifferent expression, entered the sealed land, then turned around and pushed the Chanis Gate shut.
At this moment, the sounds of the outside world seemed to be completely cut off, and the interior was so quiet that it resembled a kingdom of the dead, which inevitably made people think of things and felt fear. This reminded Klein of his childhood, when even without listening to ghost stories, he would sometimes lie in his little bed, staring into the darkness with his eyes open, too afraid to sleep.
No wonder the goddess is known as the " Empress of Horror "... Klein turned his gaze to the side, picked up the lantern placed in the corner, and skillfully lit it.
The dim, yellowish light suddenly poured out, tinged with a hint of blue.
Klein, dressed in a black clerical robe, did not rush into the underground to the second level to search for the Antigonus Family's notes. Instead, he stayed behind the door and patiently waited.
This was in case the " Nighthawks " urgently needed something but couldn't retrieve it at night and could only wait until dawn.
Based on his experience, the first five minutes after the internal guards enter Chanis Gate are one of the most easily disturbed periods. As long as they can get through this smoothly and there are no other unexpected events, the normal material retrieval will be completed around 8 o'clock, which is the standard working time for the " Nighthawks " and clerical staff.
In other words, once Klein survives the first five minutes, he will be virtually undisturbed by the " Nighthawks " for the next two hours. Of course, the actual time available for action will not be so generous. The Church of the Church of Evernight Door Opening at 8 p. m., and the servants will get up at least one to one and a half hours earlier to get busy. After 6:30 p. m., other servants may discover that a companion is missing at any time!
Time ticked by, and Klein's heart began to race uncontrollably; those five minutes felt like an eternity.
Finally, having finished counting silently, he turned his gaze to the stone steps in the depths of darkness, the passage leading to the second level.
At this moment, no one here can restrain him!
At this point, Klein felt he had overcome 70% of the difficulties; the remaining 30% mainly concerned how to leave after succeeding.
Of course, there's always a chance of something unexpected happening. Klein didn't let his guard down. Carrying the lantern, he walked step by step toward the stone steps.
For other Beyonder, the first level behind the Chanis Gate is actually more attractive than the Sealed Artifact. It contains all sorts of Beyond materials, Potion recipes, and Concealment knowledge, and even imprisons arrested cultists and wild Beyonder. Whether infiltrators want to make money and advance their careers or rescue their companions, all they need to do is operate here.
But Klein must venture deeper, into the place where those dangerous items are sealed.
As he passed several locked stone chambers, he could clearly sense that there were people inside, but they made no noise, roared, begged for mercy, or cried for help. They were all lying or sitting quietly, and their aura had become chilling.
The flickering light of the lantern illuminated the descending steps. Klein withdrew his attention and steadily walked deeper into the earth.
He didn't run, fearing it would trigger an excessive reaction from the sealed core.
The darkness grew thicker, and the pale blue light from the elegant candlesticks on either side dimmed, giving the illusion that it was about to go out. At that point, the pure darkness might bring unimaginable horrors. Klein suppressed this instinctive fear and finally climbed the steps to the second underground level.
Using the " Wraith's" night vision, Klein discovered that strange walls made of steel, bricks, mud, and silver separated the area into sections, some open and some closed, each containing a Sealed Artifact.
Carrying the lantern, he turned left, and Klein's eyes were suddenly lit up as he saw a blazing fire and bright red coal and charcoal.
The area was semi-open, containing a steel bathtub-shaped structure hollowed out and filled with anthracite, charcoal, and various combustibles.
They burned continuously, making a gurgling sound inside the steel bathtub, causing steam to rise, gather on the ceiling, condense into droplets, and fall like rain.
An item that needs to be submerged in hot water to be sealed... and the internal guardians must regularly add charcoal and coal to prevent the flames from going out... Hmm, if there were a Sealed Artifact could continuously emit high temperatures, they could be combined to make sealing simpler... Klein glanced at the steel bathtub, and wanting to avoid any accidents that might disrupt his plans, he moved closer and used tools to add some of the coal piled outside to the fire.
As he looked up, a glimpse out of the corner of his eye caught sight of several silver metal objects beneath the hot water in the steel bathtub.
Together, they resemble a heavy suit of armor, with indelible dark red bloodstains and splattered red spots in some areas.
"1-42"... Ancient God's Blood... It's now stored in the Backlund Parish for a long time... Klein had seen this Sealed Artifact before, and the corresponding information immediately came to mind.
Just as he was about to look away, he saw the antique-style silver helmet.
The helmet's visor had been pulled down, revealing a dark interior. At that moment, Klein felt a gaze piercing through the darkness and falling upon him.
He suddenly shivered, took two steps back, and his heart was pounding wildly.
Not daring to look any further, Klein calmed himself, turned his gaze forward, and steadily strode away from the area.
After passing through several enclosed areas, he was suddenly struck by Spirit Intuition. He felt something calling to him from somewhere on his right, and it made a thumping sound like a heart expanding and contracting!
Sure enough, the Antigonus Family Notebook had been waiting for me all along... Klein calmly confirmed his previous judgment, followed the ethereal call, changed direction, and moved closer.
In about two or three minutes, he saw a room with a half-open stone door, which was dark and gloomy, without any light.
As the lantern shone, an empty bookshelf made of white bones came into Klein's view, upon which sat an ancient notebook with a hard, black cover.
That Antigonus Family Notebook!
" Hornacis... Flegrea... Hornacis... Flegrea..." The ethereal voice entered Klein's ears, confirming that he had found his target!
Things went smoothly, but Klein dared not be careless or reckless. He cautiously entered the room and slowly approached, fearing that the measures to seal the Antigonus Family Notebook might harm him.
Then, as the distance closed, a hand suddenly emerged from his chest and abdomen, the sleeve of which was dark red!
This is the hand of " The Wraith " Senor.
One of the " Marionettist " rules is to use " Marionette " whenever possible, Marionette if any problems arise, the " Marionette " will bear the responsibility!
Just then, a "snap" sound came from the doorway, as if someone had walked in!
Klein's pupils dilated instantly. Without thinking, he lunged at the bone bookshelf, trying to get the " Marionette " hand in his chest and abdomen to grab the Antigonus Family Notebook as quickly as possible. At the same time, he reached into his pocket with his right hand, about to open the iron cigarette case, put on " Creeping Hunger," and Teleportation away before the sealing core could react!
During this process, the image of the doorway naturally came to mind:
A figure wearing a hood and a classical robe stood there, with a beautiful face but no expression, and deep black eyes but no Spirituality!
The high-ranking church official who directly eliminated Mr. A and halted the Great Smog of Backlund Incident? How could she be hiding underground? This doesn't make sense! As soon as fear welled up in Klein's heart, he instinctively looked down at his own body.
His body was like a pencil drawing being erased by an eraser, being quickly wiped away, and before he could even touch the Antigonus Family Notebook, he had already completely disappeared.
P. S.: Requesting monthly votes and recommendation votes on Monday. Also, thank you Mr. Y for giving the True Creator a birthday...