"I thought the newspapers were all lies, but the new park really is this beautiful—and it doesn't even require an entrance fee?"
Stepping down from the carriage, Melissa's eyes widened immediately as she gazed at the park before them, exclaiming in admiration.
Calling it a "pocket park" was no longer quite accurate. The new park had expanded by half, occupying the corner where Red Moon Street and Zoutland Street intersected. It incorporated large swaths of previously undeveloped land into its boundaries. Combined with expensive artificial landscaping, it had surpassed the park beside the municipal square in Iron Cross District, becoming Tingen's largest green space.
Yet even so, the entire park was already packed with visiting citizens—at a rough glance, there were at least several hundred people.
They strolled along the tree-lined paths, let their children play on the lawns, and more gathered around the speaking platform at the park's center. It had been surrounded by colorful flags—Councilor Maynard's speech would begin soon.
Reportedly, there would be a lottery after the speech with prizes for all participants. Many idle tourists had already crowded around. They might not care about speeches or elections, but the lottery was something that could capture anyone's attention.
"I heard the lottery prizes even include tickets to The Earl's Return, which premieres in Tingen next Sunday. If we can win tickets, Klein will be thrilled."
Melissa had done her homework for this celebration. She now pulled Angel's hand, squeezing through the noisy crowd toward the park center, with Benson following behind wearing an indulgent smile.
"The Earl's Return? What's that?"
Angel asked curiously.
"It's the most popular play in Backlund this year—every showing sells out. Newspapers constantly publish reviews about it. Klein's been looking forward to it for ages."
Melissa lowered her voice as if worried that others might hear how popular the play was and compete with her for this opportunity.
Newspapers mention it frequently? Why don't I remember seeing anything about it...
Angel blinked, feeling somewhat embarrassed by her limited information channels.
The three of them passed through the tree-lined walkway and approached the speaking platform. On the other side of the stone dais, the crowd was even noisier—apparently some important figure was arriving amid the throng.
Before long, Councilor Maynard, dressed as if attending a royal ball, mounted the speaking platform. His golden hair was impeccably groomed, his face wearing a perfect smile.
Under his commanding gaze, the noisy crowd gradually quieted down.
"Citizens of Tingen, good morning to you all..."
Without wasting time, this councilor vying for mayor began his speech. In this era without amplification, to produce a voice loud enough for hundreds of people to hear clearly demonstrated that Maynard had mastered the fundamentals extremely well.
"The speech is too formulaic—I can even predict what he'll say next. For example, 'improve public education standards, increase healthcare coverage'..."
Benson leaned sideways and whispered to Angel.
"...improve public education standards, increase healthcare coverage..."
His voice was soft, easily covered by Maynard's speech from the platform.
"This makes me more confident about next year's public examinations."
Having guessed the speech content correctly, Benson continued with a slight smile on his face—but it instantly transformed into an expression of pained distortion as Melissa poked him hard in the ribs with her finger.
"If you think it's formulaic, stop listening. Help me look for Klein instead—he said he'd be here by nine-thirty, and it's almost ten now."
Following his sister's orders, Benson immediately straightened up, stood on tiptoe, and scanned the crowd for Klein's figure.
Beside him, Angel also looked around, though not to search for Klein. Her instincts told her something wasn't quite right. The crowd was growing denser, their emotions stirred by the councilor's speech. Any incident could trigger a stampede or worse.
She activated her spirit vision and swept her gaze across the surrounding crowd but detected no abnormalities that differed from the environment.
Reaching down to touch her thigh through her skirt, the holstered gun gave her a sense of security. When Melissa seemed about to leave her and Benson's side to search for Klein in a more open area, Angel quickly grabbed her arm.
"Stay close to me. Don't get separated..."
Before she could finish, her vision blurred as thick gray-white mist surged up, instantly enveloping her.
"...An evil ritual absorbing all of Tingen's grievances—this is the 'bomb' Lanevus mentioned?"
Dunn sat behind his desk, hands pressed against his temples, brow furrowed as he questioned Klein.
The Captain's complexion looks much better than a few days ago. He must have moved past the guilt over Old Neil's loss of control...
Klein looked at his captain, feeling somewhat relieved before answering, "Yes, this is the conclusion Leonard and I reached together. I think we should telegraph the Holy Cathedral for assistance, requesting they send a mysticism expert to help us locate this 'bomb' as quickly as possible."
"Didn't you try using divination to confirm it first? That's not your usual style."
Dunn's calm tone exploded like thunder in Klein's mind.
Right, I'm a 'Diviner'... or used to be. When faced with something like this, why didn't I immediately use divination to confirm it?
Klein stood frozen for a moment, then realized time was of the essence. He dropped into a nearby chair, preparing to enter a dream state and divine the 'bomb's' exact location.
Wait, I should use the pendulum method—at least confirm the divination's safety. Last time I directly gazed at the "Eternal Blazing Sun" taught me that lesson... I'm being too hasty. Is it fear of the unknown, or...
Dunn watched curiously as Klein sat down then stood up again. Seeing him roll up his left sleeve, unfasten the gold chain, and lower the amethyst pendulum, he suddenly asked, "Did she give you that?"
"Hmm?" Klein was caught off guard by the captain's question. "Yes... Captain, I'm about to begin the divination."
After signaling for silence with his eyes, he murmured the divination statement and half-closed his eyes, entering meditation.
" Lanevus's bomb will cause me harm."
He didn't divine whether the bomb would explode or use the bomb as the divination target. Instead, he used himself as the subject—this method yielded the most accurate results.
If this 'bomb' could harm him while he was at Nighthawk headquarters, then "capable of destroying the city" was no empty threat.
After reciting the statement seven times, Klein opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Dunn's serious expression and wide eyes. Only then did he look down at the pendulum.
The amethyst was spinning clockwise at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye, the gold chain causing even his left hand to tremble slightly.
"The danger is severe!"
Without Klein needing to explain, Dunn already understood the divination result.
He immediately opened a drawer, pulled out a telegraph codebook, and removed the cover from the telegraph machine on his desk.
"I'll telegraph the Holy Cathedral right away to request expert assistance," Dunn said, turning on the telegraph with one hand while flipping through the codebook with the other. "Have Leonard bring Lorotta back and ask if she found anything at the police station. You go find Angel and tell her the leave is canceled."
"...Understood."
Klein took a deep breath, nodded, and turned to leave the office.
Hearing the "tap-tap-tap" of the telegraph behind him, he walked slowly down the corridor to the reception hall partition and stopped, pulling out his pocket watch to check the time.
9:35. Already past the agreed time...
Angel should be at the park with Melissa and Benson right now. I'll have to go there myself and call her back.
Klein could already imagine his sister's disappointed expression when she heard the news.
Sighing inwardly, he was about to pass through the partition and call Leonard to gather the other team members when he heard the latter's shocked exclamation: "Miss Megose?"
Megose... Megose!
Klein recalled the name— Lanevus's abandoned fiancée, already pregnant with his child.
How did she show up just as we were preparing to investigate the 'bomb' Lanevus left behind?
Sensing something amiss, he rushed past the partition in two quick strides and saw the front door opening as a young woman in her early twenties with golden hair and blue eyes entered the reception hall.
"I happened to be passing by and remembered that the diviner who helped me search for Lanevus worked here, so I thought I'd visit."
Megose answered with a smile. She wore a loose dress, her demeanor melancholic yet serene. Even with Angel as a comparison, Klein found her to be a rare beauty.
But most eye-catching was her prominently swollen belly—that was Lanevus's child, what he'd left behind...
What Lanevus left behind?
As if doused with ice water, Klein shuddered. His teeth lifted, about to open his spirit vision for observation.
But his loosened jaw refused to close. His own spirituality issued a strong warning, forcing his jaw open, preventing him from clenching his teeth to activate spirit vision. His entire body went rigid, afraid to move.
"I can't look... if I see it, I'll die!"
The intense thought rang in his ears like an explosion. Frozen like a statue, Klein forced his stiff neck to turn, looking toward Leonard in the reception hall. The latter was also looking back, his face covered in cold sweat, lips pale, eyes full of terror.
The only person in the room unaware of the danger was Miss Rozanne. Seeing a pregnant woman arrive, she quickly came out from behind the reception desk, helped Megose sit on the sofa, and handed her a glass of hot water.
"No, don't get close to her..."
Klein almost blurted it out but didn't dare make a sound.
Yes, didn't dare.
He recalled what Lanevus's letter had said about an "ever-strengthening bomb."
He recalled what he'd read in Roselle's diary about "a womb for an evil god's birth."
He recalled how his spirituality had unconsciously prevented him each time he tried to activate spirit vision to observe this pregnant woman.
"One should not gaze directly upon a god"...
Inside Megose's belly, that 'bomb' Lanevus had left behind...
Was none other than a nascent evil god.
Chose to add length rather than add another chapter