Leonard raised his hands in surrender to Rozanne and Bredt.
— Okay, I'll tell you what happened yesterday, but I didn't see everything so the next part would be hard to speculate... It's just that that woman seemed strange. Her name was Olive, I think. It turns out that she came to the Church at night looking terrified. She said that her mother had died in a terrible accident and that, like her brother, she hoped that her soul would go to the arms of the Goddess.
— Soon after, another woman, Diot Chekky, arrived with a somber expression and sat in the prayer room, but by coincidence, she found Olive and for some unknown reason they started arguing. And after that, it seems an elderly man, Ulriah, appeared there and butted into the conversation and ended up fainting in the middle of the discussion... Klein, you're a Seer, right?
Klein turned to Leonard who had bright eyes and next to him Rozanne had the same hopeful look covering her entire face while Bredt Bredtkept a thoughtful look.
Klein practically read the thoughts of the three at the same moment.
— No, that's not how it works. I'm not going to make divination about gossip. — he refused without leaving room for comment.
— It wouldn't exactly be gossip. Ulriah died on the spot before any specialist could even try to help. — Leonard replied with confidence in his voice.
Klein shook his head.
— The case didn't fall to us, so I won't violate anyone's privacy. Besides, how can you be sure he didn't die of a heart attack due to old age?
With a smile on his face, Leonard ignored all her refusals, seeming as if he hadn't even heard them.
— I don't have it. But it could be useful. Can't you also predict other things like the rain just now?
— Exactly, you're a Seer so you might be able to find out about that. — Rozanne insisted. Her face seemed to be full of an enthusiastic smile.
— Yes, yes. I can even pay you a few solis. I just need the outcome of this story. — Bredt seemed ready to take whatever amount was needed out of his pocket.
They think I'm some kind of Google? — Klein scoffed internally.
— That was because the sky was cloudy and so dark that you couldn't even see the sun. — He pointed outside before sighing in his heart.
Suddenly, the front door of the security company opened, distracting their attention.
Standing at the entrance was a thin, gray-haired man in a top hat and a suit that was half-soaked in water. His eyes seemed a little unfocused.
Before anyone could say anything else, the man said:
— You guys are mercenaries... Uh, from this security company? You're the only hope now. I've been to every security company and private detective, but none of them could help right now because of that dangerous criminal everyone is terrified of. The richest ones have hired all the security guards they could.
A common chain reaction... — Klein thought as he looked at Rozanne disparagingly. This showed how poorly managed the security company was.
— Okay. We still have manpower available. You just need to sign this paper here. — Rozanne didn't take long to get some well-written documents and hand them to the man.
After he signed them, Leonard turned to Klein and
— I need your help.
— Ah? — Klein was surprised by the request.
— Even though I'm in good physical condition, I can't track people. — he explained in a simple way so that Klee wouldn't notice anything unusual.
— What do you need?
When Klein told them everything he needed, they ended up hastily making up an excuse so that the butler wouldn't think they were a bunch of charlatans.
They sat down and listened to some important details for them. Klee was a butler to Mr. Vickroy, a tobacco merchant. Apparently his only young son was kidnapped.
After all the conversation, they rode by carriage to Mr. Vickroy's residence, where they did not say a single word until Klee left.
If Leonard asks questions again, I think I'll start considering throwing him out of the carriage. — Klein scoffed internally as he looked at the carriage window gradually becoming more cloudy with the freezing rain falling from the sky.
Leonard felt confident to continue his conversation with Klein and said:
— Did you know that Miss Daly likes the captain? However, he is very shy and ends up getting embarrassed easily, while she has a completely opposite personality. I even offered to write a poem for them.
Klein had already noticed that Daly had a rather humorous personality before, having even been embarrassed by some of the things she had said before, but he never imagined that she liked the captain.
— I hope she invites the captain to go to the theater or dinner someday. — Klein knew that she would probably be the one to take the initiative and ask Dunn out somewhere.
— Actually, Rozanne, Neil, and Bredt made a bet about where Miss Daly would ask him. Old Neil said it might be a theater, Rozanne said it should be a restaurant, and Bredt was torn between three options, but in the end he chose a romantic walk, — Leonard explained. However, Klein doubted that he hadn't made a bet.
They stopped talking as soon as they saw Klee returning with a bag of clothes and another object in her hands.
As soon as they picked up those objects, Leonard gave two notes to the conductor and said simply:
— Charge by the hour.
— But where are you going? — the man asked confusedly, but he quickly remembered the notes in his pocket and didn't ask any further questions.
— Wait a minute. — Leonard looked at Klein.
Spreading Elliot's clothes on the floor, Klein picked up his cane and wrapped the Storm Amulet around it. He would use the "Radiesthesic Searching Rod" divination method.
Entering a lighter state, Klein saw bright lights in his mind as he felt lighter. His sometimes yellowish brown eyes became deep, as if they had no light at all.
Now, he could see the shadow superimposed on Leonard much better. He looked like an old man, but he could still only see his form outlined in shadow.
Incoherent thoughts appeared in his mind and sometimes he even felt eyes watching him from a place beyond. In himself, he felt a lightness and an endless emptiness extending through every part of his body. Perhaps there was something wrong with him.
— Where is Elliot. — his voice sounded ethereal without leaving his throat.
After repeating it a few times, he let go of the silver-encrusted cane.
The cane didn't fall to the ground, but instead stood upright.
On the way, he continued giving instructions on where they should go until they circled a building where Klein was sure Elliot was.
— Here. — he indicated in an ethereal voice, almost seeming to sound like he was in another world.
They got out of the carriage calmly, despite everything Klein's instincts were very useful in case they were being watched.
— One, two, three... And four. — Klein concluded with the shapes he saw walking. — Three kidnappers and a hostage. From Klee's description, this must be the room where Elliot is being held, and the divination indicates this place.
— There are times when I envy Old Neil for his skills, I envy you the same way. — Leonard smiled with a sigh.
He took a step forward and laughed.
— I think I should recite a poem for them.
— Why so much violence anyway?
Leonard's voice echoed throughout the room, seeming full of serenity. His face looked melancholic, but completely calm.
— Oh, the threat of horror, the hope of crimson tears!
— At least one thing is certain, that this Life flies;
— One thing is certain, and the rest are lies;
— The flower that once bloomed, always dies…
The sound of a few thuds came from the house after a few seconds, almost in sync.
Looking at Klein who had a thoughtful expression on his face, Leonard didn't seem surprised that he still seemed fully conscious.
When Leonard seemed ready to say something else, Klein felt a chill cover his body and turned around abruptly with his copper gun in hand.
He was pointing at the man coming up the stairs who was holding a bag in his hands. His blue eyes reflected the glint of the gun that was aimed at his forehead.
— Sir, this must be some kind of misunderstanding, I was just returning to my apartment. — The man spoke with a forced smile on his face.
This... — Klein didn't know if it was true or an excuse, so he began to think quickly.
Leonard leaned against the doorframe and said simply,
— Yeah, there really was someone to bring food to the kidnappers.
The man's expression twisted, and with a quick movement he threw the bag to block their view and tried to run up the stairs.
Bang!
The silver bullet hit his leg, and at the same moment the man could only fall to the ground screaming in pain.
— Good shot.— Leonard said before they turned to enter the room where Elliot was wide awake due to the sound of the shot.
— Y-you... Who are you? — the boy asked, looking relieved with their appearance, but still cautious.
He quickly went back to cowering in the corner.
Leonard grabbed a rope that was above a table and began to tie the kidnappers one by one.
Young Elliot began to look dizzy as his consciousness slowly disappeared, at some point he closed his eyes as if he was falling into a deep sleep.
When Leonard finished tying everyone, he stood up.
— Get a carriage for us while I call Klee. — Leonard said nonchalantly, but received no response.
— Klein? — Leonard turned around when he noticed Klein standing still, and took a few steps to check the chaotic situation he found himself in.
On his face, there was nothing but a blank and indiscernible expression. His eyes were no longer focused on anything.
...
Inside an apartment with an open window, there seemed to be nothing abnormal.
— Hahahaha!
The insane laughter echoed throughout the place.
Somewhere in the room, there was a man huddled in a corner with a contorted expression.
Suddenly, that vision dissolved into gray mist with another chaotic one replacing it almost at the same time.
The sky and the earth seemed distorted in that colossal Gothic cathedral supported by pillars carved from dark stone. Above the ceiling were candles hanging upside down exuding an ancient air.
The shadows seemed serene and ethereal, but at the same time mysterious, as if no one could even think about what was there.
Night predominated in the skies with a giant crimson moon seeming to cover everything that existed in the world.
Beside an altar was a distorted statue of an eight-legged black wolf with a human face!
Eight? — Klein frowned slightly as he cast his gaze around, ignoring Leonard's voice in his second vision.
Gracefully engraved on the wall in front of him was a huge symbol of a pupilless eye with partially distorted intertwined lines. There was also another symbol hidden by darkness and in front of it was the sacred altar made to perfection.
It was the symbol behind The Fool's chair!
In that part were drawn murals of mountains covered in pure white snow. On the main peak of that mountain range, there was a huge palace where several beings walked.
In one of them, there were four beings next to a mountain. One of them exuded a serene air in his dark cloak.
The other seemed to look above the cosmos with his eyes in different tones from each other, it seemed somewhat bizarre and inexplicable.
Beside him was a shining figure with blond hair. His face looked like it was dissolving or something like that.
And the fourth, it had eight legs. In part of the human legs covered by his cloak were four of them and the rest remained on his back.
On another of the blurred murals, a man in dark armor could be seen. All around him was war and silver thunder covering a desolate plain.
There were others, but they were indiscernible.
Above the altar was a tarot card.
It depicted the image of a deity covered in a sacred and dazzling robe. His indiscernible gaze shone with a deep and garish tone. Beside him was a dog smiling imperceptibly.
Below it was a line written in Ancient Jottun:
"The Fool."
The Fool... — Klein felt a horror spreading through his body.
When he looked again, he felt his body freeze.
The Fool blinked with the corners of his mouth curled up, disappearing from the card.
Everything was enveloped by a gray mist.
...
— Klein! Get out of it!
Klein suddenly came back to reality when he felt Leonard shaking him once again like a rag doll, he stared at him with empty eyes.
— What was that? Are you okay, Klein? — Leonard shook him once more before realizing that Klein was finally focusing his gaze on him with confusion.
Klein looked at him still without much attention, making Leonard take three steps back cautiously, and then explained containing his horror:
— The Antigonus family notebook. I felt it... It's close.
— It's not just him that I saw... Uh... There seems to be a young man alive with the notebook, not exactly very stable. I don't even know if he's human now.
Leonard raised his eyebrows, giving him an almost shocked look.
— Is the notebook here? —the poet finally recovered.
The Antigonus notebook is in the apartment across from the kidnappers!
Although it was a coincidence, Klein believed that his intuition was correct.
— He's in the apartment across from this one… Right now, the man is looking at us… He's showing signs of losing control.
Leonard nodded slightly. Deep in thought, he said:
— We don't know what Sequence he's in or what period level he represents… Probably the Pathway of the Seer? We should go straight to the captain and let him know. We have to finish here first.
They told Klee to call the police and didn't stay at the scene, instead taking the nearest carriage.
The crimson moon was already above the sky.
They took one last look at the building, and in the window was a figure.
She was a woman with grayish blue eyes with a serene glow. Her bloodstained hair was long and a shade of black.
Her face, full of grotesque knobs of flesh, contorted, revealed a calm expression, almost an unattainable serenity.
Leonard froze in his seat, instinctively pulling out his gun.
That... — Klein remembered the woman who had followed him on the day of his transmigration, that was right before he met the strange boy with the tarot cards who had drawn the Fool card.
It was her!
In his confusion, Leonard didn't hesitate to throw a few solis to the driver.
His voice still had a forced calm:
— Go as fast as you can to the Cathedral of Saint Selene.
The woman's head began to melt as swollen veins appeared on her glabella. In a few seconds, a second face appeared inside her own.
Her head cracked, revealing her skull that was contorting slightly with blood flowing like a waterfall everywhere.
The head detached from the seemingly severed neck, falling to the ground with a thud.
Bang!
The red liquid covered the entire window.Under the rain that blurred any view of the outside with several blurred buildings passing by, Klein and Leonard looked at each other for a few seconds without saying a single word.
Leonard broke the silence in a deep tone:
— That woman was Olive...
Olive... The same Olive he mentioned in the morning? The same one who was following me that day? Isn't that too much of a coincidence? Coincidence... — several thoughts arose amidst the horror that Klein felt.
— A few days ago, she was following me when the circus was in town. It was the same day that you and the Captain knocked on my door to interrogate me. I managed to lose her back then... — he said, trying to reorganize his mind.
Leonard leaned back in his seat without taking his green eyes off the fogged window.
He feared that perhaps someone could be following them.
— Did she have the notebook? I mean, if she followed you, she may have managed to get a gap to take the notebook without raising suspicion, for example, at some point when you and your brothers were not at home. — he gave his guess with a thoughtful expression on his face.
But if she took the notebook, who was the man who was losing control? And more importantly, did she lose control and shoot herself or did someone shoot her? — Klein wondered internally.
— That could be it... Olive was already in a somewhat crazy state when I saw her. — he didn't feel like sharing any more information until they reached the cathedral, his thoughts remained in the strange place of Hornacis peak until they finally arrived at the Church.
They didn't delay a second longer and entered the Church, going straight to the underground where they found Old Neil calmly drinking tea.
— What happened? You guys seem in a hurry... Did you find any Beyonders among the kidnappers? — he asked in a worried tone.
— Where's the captain? — Klein asked urgently.
— In his office, signing some paperwork. — Old Neil answered simply.
He just nodded before they hurriedly went to the room two corridors away.
Leonard didn't even knock on the door, he opened it with force.
Dunn Smith, who was reading some documents, stopped to look at them with his cloudy gaze, he seemed somewhat surprised and serious.
— Did something happen in Elliot's case?
Klein sighed silently and said:
— The Antigonus family's notebook. It's in the apartment next to the kidnappers'.
With a serious expression on his face, Leonard narrowed his eyes, seeming to remember the things that had happened not long ago.
— Also, Olive from the case where the merchant Ulriah died, she died in front of us in the same apartment where the notebook is.
With a questioning look, Dunn Smith seemed thoughtful.
— Explain. — he said calmly.
— When we were about to leave, I sensed the notebook in the apartment next door along with a Beyonder on the verge of losing control, so we were almost leaving that street when we looked back at the window and saw Olive's head crack… She had a second face growing… In the end, there was a gunshot and the window was stained with blood. — Klein recounted in detail, leaving out only the part about the view of the Gothic cathedral of Hornacis.
There was no need for anyone to know about this anyway, it would only raise more suspicions about whether Klein was really sane.
— From what Klein said, Olive was following him the day we first questioned him. She was already on the verge of losing control. — Leonard added confidently. — If she was a Beyonder before, then she must have been the one who stole the notebook or was involved in it.
Dunn didn't ask for any more details, just told them to get Royalle to replace Old Neil on his shift and to bring Corpse Collector Frye with them.
...
As soon as they reached the street, Klein pointed to the apartment across from the kidnappers'.
— It's that one over there. — he said thoughtfully.
For some reason, there wasn't even a trace of blood. The window was perfectly fogged up by the rain as if nothing had happened.
When they got closer, Klein saw the door and activated his spiritual vision.
There was some kind of seal there.
— What a coincidence, it almost feels like we're going around in circles. — Leonard joked, however his face no longer had that frivolous demeanor it had before.
If it weren't for what Leonard said about the kidnappers not being occultists or anything like that, I would think there might be someone setting this up... But I still feel like something's wrong... — Klein thought internally. The doubt still remained in his heart as well as a chill.
Leonard stepped forward and punched the doorknob, breaking it in his hands as he had done before.
Klein felt the seal disappear.
At the same moment, a rotten smell invaded everyone's nostrils, it was enough to turn their stomachs.
Dunn didn't seem affected, he stepped forward and cautiously opened the door, with a gun in his hands.
They saw a half-extinguished fireplace and right in front of it, in a wooden rocking chair, was an old woman with green skin and so swollen that she could probably explode.
Her face was covered in protruding maggots and larvae that writhed back into her grotesquely torn face with dried blood.
Suddenly, his index finger fell to the already rotten floor as well as his eyes that rolled across the floor.
Seeing this, Klein felt strange for not having vomited yet or at least expressed anything other than something as mild as just feeling discomfort.
He remembered the corpse of that Sequence 5 who lost control and all the meaningless dreams, they were worse than this vision.
Maybe it's because of everything that happened before... — he thought simply, not paying much attention to it. There were more important things after all.
Old Neil gave a surprised look.
— You really have a very strong mind not to have vomited, the first time I didn't even manage to complete the mission. — he spoke sympathetically.
With his cold gaze, Frye assessed the woman carefully without touching the corpse.
— She's in an advanced state of decomposition, dead for at least a week. To have reached this state, it's possible that she died supernaturally since there are no cuts or gunshot marks.
Looking around, Leonard picked up a bloodstained pocket watch that was on a table in the corner.
— Olive's body isn't here. There's only blood. — he spoke thoughtfully.
— Leonard, call the police. — Dunn gave a gentle look — Klein, could you divine on this?
Klein nodded, taking out a paper he carried with him as well as a quill. He wrote the divination he wanted:
"Olive's Death."
His consciousness sank into a sea of dreams.
In front of the table was a man paralyzed like a statue, tears rolling madly down his face covered by a hood with only his mouth illuminated by the crimson moon above the heavens.
In front of him, brutally thrown on the ground, was a woman with short, disheveled black hair that covered her expression of abnormal happiness, an exaggerated smile remained frozen on her bloody face.
There were no nails on any of her nine blood-covered fingers, one grotesquely torn off and placed next to her body.
Her blue-gray eyes seemed to have a hint of joy, with blood still flowing like a waterfall as well as in her mouth and ears.
Her blue dress that reached her ankles was completely stained with a red and viscous liquid.
— Haaahahahahahahahha!
— Hahahhaha!
— HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHA!
The man suddenly laughed.
The corners of his mouth slightly curved, showing a hint of madness.
— Don't forgive me or blame me, sister, after all, this was my choice and yours.
— I-I… I'm sorry…
— No…
On top of the woman's body was a yellowed piece of paper with grotesque black letters and a phrase in Ancient Hermes:
"Peek into the past, only to find that you cannot escape it."
The dream shattered into several different pieces.
What was that? — Klein wondered in a daze. His thoughts were inexplicably a little confused for a moment.
— Did you see something? — Dunn asked seriously.
— Olive is really dead, she lost control… — Klein continued explaining the details of his vision.
— It seems there was nothing much besides that and the corpse. There was only a seal on the door that was forcibly removed. — Old Neil said somewhat skeptically.
When Leonard returned, he was accompanied by another brown-haired police officer.
The police officer sighed as he saw the scene inside the apartment. His voice sounded somewhat serious and confused:
— Katy Stefania Bieber has lived here for ten years. Two children, Ray Bieber who ran a good business and Olive Bieber. She worked in a library at Khoy University and in a fortune-telling club and earned a few pounds a week.
She worked at Khoy University... — Klein repeated these words in his mind. A cold shiver ran up his spine.
That was too much of a coincidence!
After some time, Old Neil drew the suspect's face using a ritual. They returned to Saint Selena Cathedral with the crimson moonlight under the sky.
...
Old Neil smiled.
— After this, The Secret Order will no longer try to look for you. Their focus will be on the whereabouts of Ray Bieber and Olive Bieber's corpse. Well, there's no need to worry about the notebook's disappearance either, since you weren't the one who sent it to Ray Bieber's house.
— Who could have done this? — Klein asked, taking two tarot cards from the pile in front of him.
— Who would have known? Maybe Ray and Olive Bieber are descendants of the Antigonus family or it could be because of his Life Path Number. — Old Neil laughed.
— The Secret Order may still have doubts about the death of that member of the Secret Order, but he was probably low Sequence, so there's no need to worry. Even if he was in Sequence 7, His Excellency Crestet Cesimir was present that day, so they'll attribute that member's death to him.
— The Order of Mysteries doesn't seem to want to show up either, maybe they're just silent spectators for now. They haven't shown any interest in participating in this fight, or maybe they're waiting for the best opportunity.
— Congratulations, now you can move on with your life outside the shadows of the past, you can move on with your life in the light.
That's good, but I feel like there's something wrong… Something wrong with everything… — Klein thought silently in his heart.
— I hope that's true. — he said. Even so, he didn't have any confidence in his words.
Turning his gaze, he saw the cards he had drawn.
On it was an image of a goddess pouring holy water, with stars scattered across the background. However, the card was turned upside down.
"The Star."
In the second one, there was a man hanging by his left leg, from a gallows. His arms were crossed behind him.
"The Hanged Man."
Hearing his answer, the first thing Old Neil did was scoff.
— A devout believer would make the symbol of crimson light on his chest and say 'Praise be to the Lady.'
Klein put the cards back in the deck and retorted:
— And no devout believer of the Goddess would ever say to follow my path in the light.
They both laughed, making a symbol of the crimson moon on their chests.