This was the letter Klein had found that morning while helping Leonard investigate the Lanevus case — a message Lanevus had left behind, claiming he'd planted a bomb in Tingen, one that would grow more terrifying with the passage of time. If they failed to find it, Tingen would be reduced to ashes when it finally went off.
Leonard believed this was simply Lanevus the Swindler playing mind games. Klein, however, read between the lines and sensed a danger that made his skin crawl. So they'd handed the letter over to the Captain, leaving the judgment call to him.
Dunn continued: "I've already sent a telegram to Backlund, but they're tied up with something else at the moment. The earliest they can spare anyone to come deal with this is tomorrow morning."
"In the meantime, I want Klein and Melissa to each lead a team and use divination to conduct a sweep. Perhaps the 'bomb' in the letter is nothing more than another one of Lanevus's lies — or perhaps it really does point to something dangerous."
"As the guardians of Tingen, we absolutely cannot afford to let our guard down."
Klein and Melissa exchanged a glance. "Understood!"
"Move out — now!"
The Nighthawks quickly split into two teams and set off.
As they stepped through the doors of Blackthorn Security Company, Klein didn't forget to remind his sister: "Melissa, you have to be careful. Our main job is to search, not to fight. When the time comes, listen to Leonard."
"I know, Klein."
Melissa sighed. "Even if I wanted to fight, I don't have the ability. I still can't hit three out of ten shots."
Leonard gave Klein a reassuring pat on the shoulder and smiled. "Relax, Klein. I'll look after Melissa."
"Mm!"
Klein nodded and led his teammates away. Melissa clenched her fists with determination. "Let's move out too."
They'd barely reached the roadside when a girl wearing a lily-pad hat and sporting a prominently swollen belly drifted over, her eyes vacant, and fell in step behind Melissa.
"Miss Megose."
Melissa stopped with a hint of exasperation. "Why are you here again? I really do have important things to take care of today."
Even as she spoke, her gaze fell on the girl's stomach, and a flicker of doubt crossed her mind: Hm? When I saw her yesterday, was her belly this big?
Megose said nothing, standing there with an expression that made it clear she had no intention of leaving.
"…"
Melissa looked to Leonard for help. "Leonard."
Leonard found it rather a headache too. He knew this was the poor girl who'd been cheated out of both her heart and her money by Lanevus — and gotten pregnant in the process. He couldn't exactly be harsh with her.
So he spoke to her gently, coaxing her off to the side, but the moment they set off again, Megose silently followed.
The two exchanged a look, picked up the pace, and ducked through several alleyways before finally shaking her off. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief. "Ugh, who even knows what Lanevus meant by this 'bomb' of his, or where we're supposed to start looking."
"Let's just go street by street and divine as we go."
......
Backlund. The Docks.
When Bernadette arrived at the No. 4 pier that the Hanged Man had specified, dockhands were bustling about on every side. She casually pulled out a deck of tarot cards and began shuffling them in her hands.
Before long, a man dressed in dock worker's clothing and wearing a wide-brimmed hat that hid nearly half his face approached. "The Lovers?"
"The Hanged Man?"
The man didn't respond. He walked straight ahead. "Follow me."
The two moved one after the other until they reached a deserted corner nearby. The man removed his wide-brimmed hat, revealing a head of blue hair and a face with deep-set features and rugged contours. He looked at the man before him, hesitated for a few seconds, then gave a slight bow. "Pleased to meet you, the Lovers… sir?"
Bernadette ran a hand across her face, shifting into Natasha's usual appearance. "Either works."
Alger's heart nearly seized — he almost turned and bolted on the spot. His first instinct was that Qilangos had used his shapeshifting ability to set a trap and was lying in wait. But then it occurred to him that Qilangos couldn't possibly know about the Tarot Club.
Bernadette asked: "Tell me your plan."
He took a deep breath. "It's not really much of a plan, honestly. Qilangos and I are more or less locked in a fight to the death. If he finds out I've come to Backlund, he'll stop at nothing to kill me. So I intend to use a special mark he and I once agreed upon to lure him to me."
"However, I can't guarantee it'll work. After all, the reason he snuck into Backlund this time is to pull off something big — something that could help him advance to demigod. Compared to that, our personal grudge probably means nothing to him."
"So what you're telling me is, your entire 'plan' amounts to pure luck?"
Alger instantly felt a pressure radiating from "the Lovers" that made his heart race — as though he were standing before an Archbishop of the Church of Storms. He instinctively averted his gaze. "More… or less."
Bernadette frowned slightly. "What was your relationship with Qilangos, exactly?"
"…We grew up together in a small chapel. Later… because of certain things… we became mortal enemies."
"Do you have any personal belongings of Qilangos?"
"…No."
Bernadette considered it for a moment, and realised there didn't seem to be any better options. "Fine. Let's begin."
"…Alright."
......
Night fell as the last sliver of sunset was swallowed by darkness, and the crimson moonlight took dominion over the land.
A pitch-black figure moved through the most chaotic, most impoverished district of the East Borough. On his right hand he wore a single black glove. He walked at a measured pace into a dim alleyway, at the far end of which a homeless vagrant lay curled up.
Qilangos reached the vagrant. Before the man could react, he snapped his neck, then extended his right hand. The palm of the glove split open without a sound, and from the gap grew two rows of spectral, bone-white teeth that devoured flesh, bone, and spirituality with ravenous frenzy.
Once the man-eating artifact was sated, Qilangos wasted no time and immediately hurried back — he had a ball to attend. Duke Negan's ball, where he intended to create chaos and kill the man.
The only reason he'd come out here to feed beforehand was that Backlund had been crawling with Church personnel these past few days. Most of the time he couldn't find an opportunity to hunt for prey to feed Creeping Hunger.
And if he didn't provide it with food soon, the thing would start eating him.
"After tonight…"
Qilangos's eyes glittered with excitement. "My life will be completely different!"
Just as the thought formed, his footsteps faltered. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a peculiar mark on the wall — a mark that, in this entire world, only he and one other person knew.
"…"
After a moment of silence, the corner of Qilangos's mouth curved upward. "Alger?"
Qilangos and Alger had essentially grown up together — childhood friends — but they'd ended up on completely different paths. One chose piracy; the other became a member of the Church (a Church-backed pirate, technically).
Under normal circumstances, their lives would probably have run on parallel tracks indefinitely, until Qilangos later sought Alger out and used certain things from his past as leverage, forcing Alger into acts of betrayal against the Church — this secret, I can hold over your head forever!
Later still, the two of them discovered that mysterious island together. It was that discovery that dramatically altered Qilangos's fate, eventually leading to his accepting a covert mission: infiltrate Backlund and assassinate Duke Negan.
Qilangos was well aware that Alger suddenly appearing in Backlund and leaving that mark was absolutely not out of goodwill. But just as Alger wanted him dead, Qilangos equally wanted Alger dead — lest the man one day had a change of heart and reported the mysterious island to the Church.
The only problem was, he had far more important things to do right now.
After a moment's hesitation, Qilangos pulled out his pocket watch and murmured: "There's still time. Alright then — let's go play."
To be continued…
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