When Wilt had taken the Potion at the Corpse Cathedral and become a Monster, an image had appeared in his mind: an old man in a dimly lit room, using blood to draw a bizarre ritual.
He had been too far away to notice earlier, but now that the man had come closer, Wilt realized that the old man in the image was the person standing before him.
At the same time, he formed a guess. A Nighthawk... an old man... conducting forbidden experiments with blood...
It can only be you-Old Neil!
But why did I see Old Neil when I advanced? Can he help me somehow?
Seeing Wilt stare at him instead of taking the medicine, Old Neil was puzzled. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing." Wilt shook his head and hurriedly pulled himself out of his thoughts.
He then took the medicine, handed one bottle to Melissa, and drank another himself. As he administered the medicine to the unconscious Selena and Elizabeth, Wilt said to Old Neil, "Thank you for saving Melissa and me just now!"
"Are you official Beyonders?"
"Hm?" A woman behind Old Neil let out a surprised sound.
"You actually know about official Beyonders."
"My name is Wilt Mirage. I'm from the Rorsted Archipelago," Wilt answered truthfully.
"Beyonders aren't much of a secret there. You can easily find out about them on the black market."
"I see." Old Neil nodded.
"You're right. We're Nighthawks from the Church of Evernight, the official Beyonders you mentioned."
"You can call me Old Neil. The two behind me are Royale Reideen and Seeka Tron."
"We were on patrol when we noticed something unusual here, so we came over. Now, Mr. Wilt, can you tell us exactly what happened?"
"Of course. It's my honor."
"It all started when I heard about the Khoy River monster..."
Wilt then recounted how he had come to the bank of the Khoy River out of curiosity, met Melissa and the others, and what happened afterward, while keeping his own situation hidden.
"That's about it."
After listening to Wilt, Old Neil frowned. "You mean the evil spirit only changed after the unconscious Miss Selena threw an amulet?"
"That's right."
"Do you know where she got her amulet?"
Wilt shook his head. "No, but..."
He looked at Melissa beside him. "I think Miss Melissa might know."
Seeing everyone turn to her, Melissa grew a little nervous, but she answered, "I heard Selena say that an occult teacher named Vincent gave her the amulet."
"I don't know anything more specific."
"Vincent?" Old Neil exchanged a look with his teammates. Their instincts told them something was wrong with the man.
They said nothing, however, and quietly made a note to investigate him after they returned.
Then Old Neil asked another question:
"By the way, a barrier seemed to appear when the evil spirit attacked you. If I'm not mistaken, that was from an amulet too."
"Whose amulet was it?"
Wilt looked at Melissa, while Melissa tightened her grip on the amulet in her hand, not wanting them to see it.
Old Neil immediately understood the situation and said to Melissa:
"Miss Melissa, don't worry. I mean no harm. I only want to know whether your amulet came from a safe source."
"You may not know this, but many cultists deliberately sell evil charms to unsuspecting people, ultimately causing tragedies."
"Could you let me take a look at your amulet? If there's nothing wrong with it, we won't ask any further questions."
Melissa still didn't want to show Old Neil the amulet in her hand. Although he was an official Beyonder, Klein had given it to her, and she didn't want to involve her brother.
At the side, Wilt understood Melissa's concerns through his exceptional observation, so he spoke softly. "Miss Melissa."
When she looked at him, Wilt continued:
"Miss Melissa, was your amulet given to you by someone very important to you?"
Melissa held the amulet in silence for a moment before finally nodding. "My brother gave it to me."
A gentle smile appeared on Wilt's face. "Miss Melissa, I'm sure your brother would never hurt you, but he might have been deceived by other cultists."
"So why not let the official Beyonders take a look at the amulet? That way, even if something is wrong with it, Mr. Old Neil and the others can detect it right away, before it harms your family and friends."
Wilt's words had the desired effect. Melissa opened her hand, revealing an amulet lying quietly in her palm.
"Hm?" A puzzled expression appeared on Old Neil's face.
Seeing this, Melissa hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the amulet?"
"No, there's nothing wrong with it, but I can't help feeling I've seen it somewhere before." Old Neil began to ponder.
Amulets came in all sorts of shapes and styles, but one this ugly... no, this distinctive was truly uncommon.
"Wait!" An idea flashed through Old Neil's mind, and he suddenly thought of Klein.
He remembered that a few days ago, when he was teaching Klein about Beyonder knowledge, Klein had used what he had just learned to make an amulet, saying he wanted to give it to his younger sister. Its distinctive appearance had left a deep impression on Old Neil.
Could it be...
At that thought, Old Neil looked at Melissa and asked hesitantly, "Miss Melissa, may I know your full name?"
"My name is Melissa Moretti."
"Moretti!" Seeka, with her white hair and black eyes, exclaimed.
She looked at her two colleagues, who were equally surprised and taken aback, and asked directly:
"What is your brother's name?"
"My brother's name is Klein Moretti!"
Dunn's office at the Blackthorn Security Company, on the second floor of 36 Zouteland Street, Tingen City.
"That's what happened..."
"Selena and Elizabeth are being treated at the church now. Wilt and Melissa have been settled in the lounge, and Rozanne is attending to them."
Hearing Old Neil's report, Dunn was also surprised. "Klein's sister?"
"Where is Klein now?"
Knowing how forgetful his captain was, Old Neil said helplessly, "Captain, have you forgotten? Klein went on patrol with Leonard. They haven't come back yet."
"Right, I remember now." Dunn nodded.
"Then bring Wilt and Melissa to my office first. I'll meet them."
"Yes, sir." Old Neil had only taken two steps when Dunn's voice came from behind him again.
"Wait!"
"Just as I thought!" Old Neil turned back to look at Dunn.
"Captain, is there anything else?"
"Did you tell Melissa that Klein has become a Beyonder?"
Old Neil shook his head. "No."
"We only told her that Klein is a Nighthawk. We thought we'd wait for him to return and let him explain the rest to his sister himself."
"Good, you did the right thing. Klein probably doesn't want his family worrying too much about him either. Let's leave it at that for now. Go bring them over."
In the lounge next door.
"Klein really became an official member of the Church of Evernight?"
Faced with Melissa's question for the third time, Rozanne nodded:
"Yes."
"Your brother should be back soon. Wait here for a bit while I get you some tea."
As soon as Rozanne stepped out of the lounge, he saw Leonard and Klein returning from patrol. "Klein, you're back! Did the mission go smoothly?"
Klein gave a rueful laugh. "Not really. We ran into an evil spirit."
"You can say that again," Leonard replied from the side.
"Klein was ambushed by the evil spirit and nearly became a corpse."
"Oh no!" Rozanne hurriedly signaled to the two men across from her, waving her hand to tell them to stop.
But Leonard continued as though he hadn't noticed Rozanne's warning. "Luckily, Klein and I went together today. If Klein had gone alone, we could be attending his funeral now."
"We're doomed!" Speechless, Rozanne covered her face with her hand.
Leonard finally noticed that something was wrong. "Miss Rozanne, what's the matter?"
Rozanne didn't answer Leonard. Instead, she looked at Klein beside him. "Klein, I hope you can prepare yourself."
Klein looked utterly confused by Rozanne's words.
What does this have to do with me? Are they going to dock my pay because the mission didn't go smoothly?
Just then, Klein saw a familiar figure emerge from behind Rozanne. His eyes widened, and his face filled with disbelief:
"Melissa!"
"What are you doing here?"