West Borough, the Nighthawks base.
Klein, who had just finished a Beyonder mission, received another new assignment.
Cooperate with the police department to capture a black cat that might have a problem.
When Klein first heard the mission briefing, he thought he had misheard. No matter what, he was a Sequence 8 Clown.
He was only one step away from Sequence 7 Magician, so long as he accumulated enough merits, he could exchange them for the corresponding potion and successfully advance.
No matter how extravagant the Nighthawks were, they hadn't reached the point of dispatching a Beyonder to deal with a single black cat, right?
But after reading through the case file, he frowned slightly, gaining a new understanding of the case.
The outrageous slogan about "returning peace to the West Borough at midnight" hadn't been realized, but as the number of people attacked by the little black cat increased, the police department did indeed dispatch a three-man squad, specifically appearing late at night near the alleys where incidents frequently occurred.
Unexpectedly, after squatting there for two or three days, they really did encounter a rather special black cat.
That black cat moved across the rooftops of every nearby alley like a midnight ghost.
At first, they didn't think much of it.
It was only when the little black cat disciplined a drunk who was bullying stray cats right in front of them that they reacted, realizing this cat was anything but ordinary.
However, they were unable to catch up with the little black cat that could freely traverse the rooftops, and could only watch helplessly as it left.
The drunk who was attacked nearly had his face clawed apart by the cat.
When Klein read this, he felt no sympathy at all for those drunks attacked by the cat. Instead, he felt heartache for the innocent stray cats that had been harmed.
He didn't keep cats, but for some reason he liked them. These little creatures seemed to have a strange affinity with him.
Life was already difficult enough for stray cats. Not feeding them was one thing, but cruelly abusing them while drunk, people like that being attacked by a cat didn't deserve any sympathy at all.
Those above believed that this series of attacks might be related to the Witch Sect.
A cat attacking a person once or twice might still be possible, but when it happened repeatedly, there might be other factors at play.
Recently, those people secretly searching for followers of the Stars had quieted down. Their captain then handed this small task over to him, granting him a fair amount of freedom.
Klein chose to accept this mission. While searching for that black cat, he could also look for traces of Lanevus.
For him, this was a very cost-effective assignment.
Through divination above the gray fog, he successfully obtained a revelation that Lanevus might be active near the East Borough.
....
Late at night, a little black cat lay atop the roof of a building, its gaze seemingly lazy as it swept over everything below.
When its eyes passed over the sewer beneath, a very obvious look of disgust appeared on its face.
From the filthy, foul-smelling sewer came faint rustling sounds, and suddenly waves of rats fled madly out of it.
Such a large number of rats quickly attracted the attention of nearby stray cats. They gathered around, some waiting outside the sewer, letting the fleeing rats deliver themselves right to their mouths.
Other stray cats, driven by hunger, chose to enter the filthy, stinking sewer to hunt.
But strangely enough, many stray cats went into the sewer, yet very few were able to come back out alive.
"Meow."
In response, the little black cat let out a puzzled meow. It had been paying attention to this sewer for some time now, watching as its pitch-black opening swallowed who knew how many stray cats and stray dogs.
It had wanted to enter the sewer to investigate, but the stench was simply unbearable, and every time it gave up.
It could not tolerate its beautiful, smooth, and pleasantly scented fur being tainted by the foul odor of the sewer.
So it only stayed outside, waiting for something new to happen.
Tonight, as usual, it patiently kept watch.
Suddenly, it discovered that besides stray cats and stray dogs being drawn to that sewer, there was also a round, chubby-looking person who went inside.
But not long after, that person screamed and retreated from the sewer, clutching a pile of things that looked like weeds.
There seemed to be something terrifying inside the sewer that was chasing him.
When that thing poked its head out of the sewer, the little black cat let out a shocked meow.
That thing was actually a rat, a very, very large rat, larger than an ordinary stray cat, about the size of a stray dog.
Its eyes flickered with madness and bloodlust. Fresh blood that hadn't yet congealed dripped from the corner of its mouth, and its body was covered with cat fur.
It had clearly just preyed on more than one stray cat.
"Meow!" The little black cat stood up, its lazy gaze gone, and charged angrily toward the sewer entrance below.
The big black rat, which had originally intended to return to the sewer, saw a little cat clearly several sizes smaller than itself coming over to throw its life away.
It lowered its head slightly, assuming a pouncing posture, its eyes fixed straight on the approaching little black cat.
"Meow!" The little black cat launched the first attack.
Its body was incredibly agile. When the big black rat pounced, it deftly dodged the attack, instead swinging its claws and leaving a small bloody gash on the rat's body.
Pain stirred the big black rat's savage nature. It began to attack like a mad beast, relying on its thick hide and enormous body.
The little black cat fought while evading, always keeping a safe distance, seizing opportunities to carve bloody marks with its claws.
After suffering repeated setbacks and injuries, the big black rat found an opening and fled back into the sewer. No matter how the little black cat taunted it, it paid no attention, its figure quickly disappearing.
The little black cat tried to approach, but as soon as it caught a whiff of the pungent stench of the sewer, it hurriedly backed away, even waving its little paw as if trying to disperse the smell.
After moving farther away, the little black cat found a place with water and washed the blood from its paws. Only after confirming it was clean did it leave, returning along the same path to the home it missed dearly.
By the time it returned all the way home, its owner was already standing inside, waiting for its return.
It landed on the windowsill, pushed open the glass that had been blown shut by the wind, let out a happy meow, and was about to pounce into its owner's arms.
But just as its body reached midair, it was lifted by the scruff of its neck.
"Ariella, where did you run off to tonight? Why is there such a nauseating smell on you?"
"Meow!" Ariella's fur stood on end. It had sniffed itself several times, there shouldn't be any trace of that sewer smell on it at all.
"This won't do. You need to be thoroughly washed first."
"Meow." Ariella lowered its little head, letting out an unwilling sound.
After being washed several times, it was also sprayed with a little rose essence that was harmless to cats.
Once it became fragrant again, Ariella lay in its little bed, staring unhappily at its owner in front of it.
It had clearly been cleaned, yet he still seemed to dislike it, not letting it stay in his arms.
"Meow." Feeling somewhat aggrieved, Ariella turned its gaze away and buried its head between its two front legs.
Suddenly, its little head sank slightly. The familiar scratching sensation made it very comfortable, and it lifted its head again, closing its eyes and letting out happy meows.
"Ariella, the West Borough seems to be under lockdown recently. During this period, you should try your best to avoid that area."
"No matter what you encounter in the future, you must have patience and not be impulsive. You are an assassin. Assassins don't fight people face to face, you must learn to find the enemy's weak points."
"And then wait for the right opportunity, striving to achieve a one-hit kill."
Hastur explained quite a bit to Ariella about the essentials of acting as an assassin.
Tonight, he had likewise followed Ariella in spirit form, witnessing Ariella's battle with that big black rat.
Ariella had the upper hand in agility. If the timing was right, it had a chance to tear open the big black rat's vulnerable throat with a single swipe.
It could also choose to strike the eyes or the lower abdomen.
After educating Ariella, Hastur returned to his room to rest.
The sudden appearance of that big black rat in the sewer tonight might be related to Lanevus.
He remembered that after Lanevus fled from Tingen to Backlund, due to his special connection with the True Creator, he had long been imprisoned by the Aurora Order.
In order to escape their control, he had employed many methods of self-rescue.
One of those methods was to pretend to lose control, then head into the sewers, secretly infecting some of the creatures there with his blood, turning them into vicious mutated monsters.
Combined with tonight's situation, that sewer was very likely the place where Lanevus had secretly used his blood to infect creatures.
"Lanevus should be left for Klein to deal with himself."
Hastur had no particular intention of targeting Lanevus. Of course, if Lanevus truly appeared before him, he wouldn't mind taking action to resolve him.
The power related to the True Creator that Lanevus carried indeed contained considerable danger. If he accidentally harmed Ariella, that would be bad.
....
Above the gray fog, Klein once again divined Lanevus' whereabouts. This time, he saw a sewer and also clearly made out the surrounding buildings.
He planned to go investigate tomorrow, find that sewer, and then use searching for the little black cat as a pretext to stake out that location at night.
Thinking about how he would soon encounter Lanevus and avenge what happened in Tingen, Klein felt very excited.
What made him even happier was that if he truly managed to deal with Lanevus, his merits should be enough to advance to Sequence 7 Magician.
"Lanevus, Ince Zangwill, wait for my revenge for what happened in Tingen!"