In Blackthorn Security Company, Leonard chuckled as he watched Klein entering his office, "You came back because you have yet another matter to report?" He asked with his twinkling green eyes filled with humor.
Why are you so pleased and happy that there's a disaster I need to report? Klein cursed in his mind, "I actually have two."
Leonard whistled, honestly, where was his professionalism?! "That's more than what we usually have in an entire month, go on." He demanded casually as he rested his legs on the table and leaned back on his chair.
"..." Klein gave Leonard a judgemental look, "I met with Monster Ademisaul at the underground market where he told me that he had dreamed about ruin and destruction, I think this means that there is something big and catastrophic going to happen, according to my interpretations as a Seer."
Leonard paused at that, normally he would have just easily reported this to the cathedral and forgotten about it, but he couldnt help but think this through...
Currently there was an angelic level being- 2 if you included old man in Tingen and although they are currently in an agreement and have gotten over most of their conflicts, there can still be a chance... no, Amon hasnt been showing any more interest over fighting and wrecking havoc recently and even according to the old man, he really has changed a lot.
Did this have something to do with what Amon had said when he had advised Leonard to stay back for a few months before going to backlund and joining the red gloves? Something was going to happen that he wanted Leonard to be here for? Or something that needed him to be here for...
Klein eyed Leonard's thinking face with pleasant surprise, so this man could think...
"I'll inform the catgersal, unfortunately it's not something I know how to handle." Leonard finally sighed as he leaned back on his chair. "And the second incident?"
Klein recounted the things he had heard from Elizabeth, Melissa's friend who had came across the supernatural incident which was probably a wraith harrassment and was suffering from it and had came to the divination club for it.
"She's a believer of the goddess right?" On seeing Klein nod, Leonard got up and stretched his limbs, "then there should be no problem, we came head out now and your lovely fiance can pack you dinner. Its going to be our second mission as a duo, but unfortunately this time too we'll have to invite Frye along to be able to use the sealed artifact, 3 something something, that mutated sun insignia? Emblem? Whatever thingie."
"..." for a second I had actually thought he was being a competent captain... Klein felt betrayed.
"Go inform your overbearing fiance that you wont be returning for the night, I'll mean while call Frye and fukk out the form to take out the sealed artifact." Leonard said and started mumbling to himself, "Filling in the application form myself, approving it myself, and collecting it myself… what's this management system even supposed to be?" He tsked.
I feel the same thing, Klein chucked as he exited the room and took a quick carriage to Amon's mansion.
When the rays of the setting sun dyed the pinnacle of the town's cathedral, the Nighthawks' carriage finally arrived at Lamud Town.
The town was located at the northwest edge of Tingen. Many buildings still had the unique characteristics of the era before the Age of Steam. There were nearly zero factories and the nearby villages engaged in commercial trading.
After a 15 minute walk from where they had stepped out of the carriage driven by Frye, they rea had the abandoned castle that Elizabeth had spoken about. The Mutated Sun Scared Emblem really was very useful against wraiths and evil spirits and the trio weren't disturbed until they finally met an armoured black figure, the same one Klein had seen in the dream from Elizabeth.
"You have disturbed my slumber! You will have to pay with your flesh and blood!"
...what's with this tragically cringe and overused side boss line?! Klein lampooned in his heart. The clones cackled around him.
Klein watched from the sidelines, since he was still technically a sequence 9 seer with no combat abilities. He saw as Leonard shot a few silver wraith bullets at the wraith, bit they were easily repelled by his chu coy armour and soon Leonard was swaated away like a fly, the mutated sun scared emblem fell to the ground and Klein watched in panick as the evil spirit kicked it to another part of the house- outside the 15 meter range!
Klein, who able to calm himself down, pointed his gun and shot at the spirit's gaubtekets where Frye had told him to shoot. It raised its broadsword and blocked two bullets easily and then jumped at Klein.
Klein, running purely on his instinct to survive, forgot that he needed to hide sequence 8 abilities, and used his superhuman strength and agility to jump in the air to dodge the attack, shooting another bullet at the gauntlet mid-air through his excellent balance and center of mass granted by the Clown potion.
Clang!
The bullet hit right beside the gauntlet, missing it by an inch.
Klein cursed under his breath at his lackluster shooting and fighting skills as he looked around for where the mutated sum emblem could have gone. This wasn't an enemy he could take on by himself at the moment!
That was when the wraith turned to him and threw his broadsword directly at him! Klein, with nowhere to run and doge in such a short time frame, closed his eyes instinctively and braced himself for impact-
Only for it to never come.
"Huh?" Klein blinked as he opened his eyes to see that the wraith wasn't in front of him, but was in front of a smirking Leoanrd who was hurling the glowing sacred emblem of the sun in his hand!
"1 minute is up~" Leonard's voice rang amusedly like a death knell as the spirit's eyes widened as it burst into starlight.
Klein, who was still a bit baffled at what had just happened, blinked confusedly at his surroundings.
That's when he realized that they had been pulled into a dream by leoanrd before confrontation! And probably because there was nothing wrong and Klein was already tense as is from having to face a strong wraith and evil spirit, he couldnt realize that he was in a dream. If the spirit had actually managed to hit him he surely would have been able to tell that it was a dream...
Leonard had actually planned to not defeat the wraith directly but stalled time with pulling everyone into a realistic dream not unlike the real world!
Klein's head turned to the smiling Leoanrd and he couldnt help but feel that Leonard was really cool and adept at fighting!
As everything had been a dream, none of them were hurt and Leonard casually walked up to Fry and helped him stand back on his feet.
That was when Klein felt his spirituality triggered, something was there down the stairs!
Klein quickly notified Leonard and took out a coin to divine whether the anomaly would be successfully handled by them, after getting a positive response he have a nod to Leonard and Frye as they made their way down the basement.
Leonard tossed the sacred sun emblem into the basement casually, Klein was confused at first, but he soon realised that it was to check whether there were more evil spirits nearby, if there were they would toss the emblem directly out.
"Klein, go down with me. Frye will stay here and prevent other enemies from destroying the mechanism." Leonard made an experienced decision.
"Alright." Klein didn't shrink back from the task. He took two steps forward and arrived next to Leonard. Frye nodded, not letting his guard down.
They carefully walked down the stairs, Leonard's night vision from his sleepless abilities and Klein's own spirit vision helping them see in the dark around them.
The flight of steps wasn't long. It only took about fifteen steps to reach the ground.
Sealed Artifact 3-0782 was lying there, releasing its purity and warmth. It also radiated a faint glow.
Klein could see much more clearly with the help of the illumination. He surveyed the surroundings and noticed that it wasn't a huge basement. It was no longer cold and sinister, but the dampness remained.
In the middle of the basement was a black coffin, with dark red nails driven into the lid.
The lid of the coffin had been pushed open slightly, allowing one to see a headless corpse that was all bone.
Leonard looked around, then bent over to pick up the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem.
"Leonard, this coffin… It was intended to prevent the dead within from becoming a zombie or a wraith." Klein observed out loud as he sneaked a glance at the coffin which was forcefully opened and desecrated.
The fact that this coffin was locked underground and not buried... did that mean the person who did this wanted to hide the body... were they afraid of someone finding the body? But why headless... there were no rituals that demanded to behead the corpse when sealing them...
"The fact that the anomaly happened here only a while ago despite this house and this corpse being here for at least a thousand years means that someone stole the corpse's head a while ago..." Leonard stared at the skeleton in the coffin. "For resentment to be preserved for such a long time, there should be some reason other than the ritual. He could've been a Beyonder when he was alive, perhaps a descendant one or two generations removed of a Mid-Sequence Beyonder. I am talking about the Mid-Sequencers as defined in the past, Sequence 5 or 6. And such corpses are always special. His head might be usable in some kind of ritual or in some other occasion."
Klein nodded as he switched places with Frye to let the Corpse Collector study the body in depth. Fifteen minutes later, as the sun was vanishing below the horizon, Leonard and Frye followed the steps and returned to the hall of the ancient palace.
"The deceased was indeed poisoned to death. The traces near the neck appeared recently, at the very most three months back."
This means that it's highly probable that someone came here before… but who would it be? Needing the skull of a mid sequence beyonder or descendant of one would probably be a high level beyonder...
As Klein was asking around about the castle with his police badge when the forty-year-old man called after him, "Officer, are you interested in the ancient castle? I have an oil painting of the first Baron that resided in there. He was the grandfather of my grandfather of my grandfather… Well, anyway, it was a long time ago. He took away a oil painting from the castle and told me that it was the oil painting of the first Baron Lamud. Do you want it? It's a true antique!"
If it was a true antique, your family would have sold it a long time ago… This guy sure is gutsy, daring to fool even the police. Should I scare him with my gun? Klein lampooned and adopted the attitude of a window shopper and said,
"Who knows if it's a real antique or not? I'll trust my own judgment. Take it out and let me see it."
The blond man smiled and returned to the room and rummaged for it.
Some time later, he walked out with a oil painting in hand.
Klein casually looked at the oil painting. He saw that the baron had gentle features and bronze skin, his eyes hiding an indescribable range of human experience. He was also wearing a white curly wig.
Huh, he looks a lot like Mr. Azik! Klein's eyes suddenly opened wide, his gaze subconsciously falling below the right ear of the baron.
He then looked at the unremarkable mole near the ear.
The position of the mole was exactly the same as Mr. Azik's mole!