Glancing at Danitz's expression, Anderson continued as if he hadn't noticed anything:
"However, their brains seemed to have been eaten by Living Corpse; their fanaticism bordered on stupidity, which didn't quite suit my taste. I tricked them out of some stuff and then quit."
"Hey, why do you look so pale? You're sweating a lot. Do you have sunburn? As a Hunter, shouldn't adapting to the environment be instinctive?"
Danitz raised his right hand, wiped away the sweat, cursed inwardly, and forced a smile, saying:
"I once heard someone say that once you believe in an evil god, it's almost impossible to break free."
As he spoke, he raised his chin, giving off a "I'll see how you die" look, completely disregarding the fact that Gehrman Sparrow had just offended the Aurora Order and was wanted by followers of the " True Creator," nor did he connect it to the fact that he was worshipping a " The Fool " who resembled an evil god.
"That's very true." Anderson replied with a smile that showed no trace of gloom. "I don't have any real faith. What I was reciting were phrases I modified from the name of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. Anyway, they don't like to use their brains. No, they don't have any. As long as they pretend to be devout, they can easily fool everyone with any excuse."
Before Danitz could begin the discussion, he turned and asked:
Why did you suddenly bring up the Aurora Order?
Danitz took a big bite of the roasted meat, chewed slowly and swallowed, deliberately pausing for twenty or thirty seconds before saying:
"Because I remembered something Gehrman Sparrow did something that made him a top priority target for elimination by the Aurora Order. Oh, and the Spirituality Religion too. And you and I are both known to have connections with him."
"You're telling me to be careful of the Aurora Order and the Spirituality Religion?" Anderson nodded in realization, chuckling. "You seem to have said something similar recently— the Rose School of Thought, the Church of Storms, the Loen military... Hmm, sometimes I think Gehrman Sparrow is more suited to be Hunter than I am."
Danitz, unusually, didn't refute, but nodded emphatically in deep agreement.
Anderson thought for a moment, then suddenly and without warning changed the subject:
"What exactly do you want to do in West Balam? Help Gehrman Sparrow?"
Upon hearing this question, Danitz paused for a second, put down what he was holding, and slowly straightened his clothes before saying:
"A survey on the religious beliefs of people from all walks of life in West Balam."
This was the purpose of his trip, confirmed after discussions with " Vice Admiral Iceberg " Edwina. In simpler terms, it was to investigate the development and sphere of influence of the various Concealment organizations in West Balam.
Of course, this would also involve initial contact with the local ruling forces to find out if they had a need to purchase firearms and ammunition.
"A survey on the religious beliefs of people from all walks of life in West Balam..." Anderson repeated Danitz's words, reflexively raising his right hand to rub his temples, seemingly with a headache.
After concluding the Tarot Club and reminding " Admiral of Stars " to be wary of the Aurora Order and the Spirituality Religion's "investigation," suggesting it would be best to seek help from the Moss Ascetic Order, Klein busied himself completing the three-way transaction between "The World," " The Moon," and " The Sun," earning 5,000 pounds in cash.
After dinner, he was reading the newspaper with an unlit decorative pipe in his mouth when he saw his messenger emerge from the void, delivering a letter.
" Leonard's..." Klein reached out to take it Reinette Tinekerr to see if she lingered, and noticed that the messenger quickly returned to the Spirit World.
This confirmed to him that Leonard Mitchell had paid the postage, so he took his other hand out of his pocket and unfolded the letter:
" Ince Zangwill appeared in East Balam, seemingly meeting with Palenc Eggers of the Spirituality Religion 'Artificial Death Faction..."
Ince Zangwill... Klein chewed on the name, slowly leaning back in his armchair.
In the letter, Leonard hoped that he could also conduct some investigations behind the scenes to find out Ince Zangwill's motives.
"The problem is, as mentioned last time, '0-08' has a characteristic similar to 'everything that is spoken is known.' If you know it, it will also know you. Moreover, it is good at arranging coincidences, making people unknowingly follow its lead... Under these circumstances, it is difficult to investigate Ince Zangwill without being detected by '0-08.' Not only is there little chance of success, but it is also easy to expose oneself..." Klein thought to himself as he had " the Winner " Enzo come behind him and massage his shoulders.
He read Leonard Mitchell's letter again, hoping to find more clues and investigative angles in those few words:
" East Balam... the Spirituality Religion... the Artificial Death Faction... Palenc Eggers... what does Ince Zangwill want with them? Is he seeking allies for the royal faction behind the Great Smog of Backlund Incident, for the real culprit?"
" The Artificial Death Faction... the Artificial Death Faction..."
As Klein pondered this, he suddenly remembered something that almost no one knew except himself and Mr. Azik:
The " Evernight Goddess " has initially gained control over the " Uniqueness " of the " Death " pathway, which is the " Artificial Death," and is currently usurping, digesting, and mastering the corresponding authority!
In other words, the object of worship for the " Artificial Death " Spirituality Religion is, to some extent, the " Evernight Goddess." Once the transfer and control of power ends, they will inevitably face a certain purge, gradually integrate into the Church of Evernight, or continue to operate under their current identities, contacting other factions within the Spirituality Religion and various Concealment forces, and cooperating with the " Nighthawks " without leaving a trace.
For Klein, that wasn't the point; the point was that he remembered the ancient documents he had collected mentioning:
In order to artificially create the Death, some members of the Spirituality Religion would pray to " Uniqueness " every day, as if it were a real deity, trying to awaken its intelligence little by little and bring it to life step by step.
Of course, this is only one part of the plan, and not the key one.
"Is it possible that Palenc Eggers, when praying to the ' Artificial Death,' mentioned Ince Zangwill's purpose in order to obtain his protection?"
"But what he didn't expect was that the ' Artificial Death ' on the other side had already been controlled by the ' Evernight Goddess '. Although it had not yet become the other's avatar, it had already lost its 'freedom'."
"From this perspective and this logic, directly setting up a ritual and praying to the goddess might just achieve Ince Zangwill's goal... This might not be impossible!" The more Klein thought about it, the more he felt that his seemingly absurd plan might actually succeed.
And the basis for this possibility to become a reality is:
The enemy's "leader" is our "spy"!
Klein stopped the Marionette from Enzo, the puppet, and slowly got up, pacing back and forth, considering whether to try it and how to try it.
" Ince Zangwill is a traitor to the Church, a disgrace to all the Nighthawks. Given the opportunity to eliminate him, the Goddess should be happy to offer a helping hand..."
"But this is a crucial period for the Goddess to digest and master the authority of the ' Artificial Death,' and she may not be able to respond for a long time, only maintaining the feedback of normal Ritualistic Magic. Moreover, I lack the necessary materials..."
"Also, I keep reminding myself to be vigilant and not to completely trust and rely on the goddess... It doesn't feel right to directly pray to her and get 'divine pronouncements'. I hope to keep a safe distance..." With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Klein hesitated for a moment.
He let his thoughts wander, trying to find a more acceptable solution.
Suddenly, an even more absurd idea came to him:
Pray directly to the " Artificial Death "!
On the one hand, there is actually no danger, because the " Artificial Death " itself will not respond to prayers and rituals. If there is a response, it means that the " Evernight Goddess " is "operating" in essence. On the other hand, Klein has the feather left over from the byproducts of the " Artificial Death Project " and the Azik Copper Whistle. He does not need to spend a long time collecting materials to set up the ritual to pray for the "oracle"!
"Besides, there's an extra layer; it's not a direct 'connection' with the goddess. Perhaps this can even help Her further grasp the power of the ' Artificial Death,'" Klein reassured himself and began bustling around the room.
He first used the " Sacrifice and Bestowal Ritual " to bring one of the remaining two feathers, along with long-unused " Full Moon " essential oil, night herb powder, and other items back to the real world. Then, he modified the altar and completed the preliminary preparations for the ritual. Since the essence of the ritual was to pray to the " Evernight Goddess," he was too lazy to buy additional ritual materials from the " Death " domain.
This was no different from normal Ritualistic Magic. Klein skillfully lit the candle, dripped essential oil, and drew symbols such as "person" and " Concealment " from the mystic tradition on the parchment. Then, in the rising mist, he placed the Azik Copper Whistle on top of it.
He then placed the white feather, stained with a pale yellow grease, into the silver bowl where herbal powder was burning. He saw that it did not curl at all and showed no signs of charring.
Klein let out a silent breath, took a step back, and recited in Hermes:
You are the essence of death;
You are the monarch of the dead;
You are the final destination for all living beings.
"I beg for your help, and I pray that you may find out the purpose of Ince Zangwill's contact with the Spirituality Religion."
As soon as he finished speaking, the three candle flames suddenly expanded, appearing much brighter, but they were tinged with a sinister green, and the surroundings instantly became eerie.
Klein closed his eyes and Cogitation for thirty seconds with a little trepidation, then walked to the front of the altar, picked up the " Full Moon " essential oil, and dripped a drop onto each of the three candles.
After doing this, he retrieved the Azik Copper Whistle, grabbed the parchment-like paper, brought it to the candle flame symbolizing "me," lit it, and threw it into the silver bowl.
With a whoosh, the previously undamaged white feather burst into pale flames, completely engulfing the silver bowl and obscuring Klein's vision.
Two or three seconds later, the flames completely subsided, leaving only a pile of powder inside the silver bowl.
The powder moved without wind, forming word after word:
"Possessed by Evil Spirit, it needs to be exorcised."