At night, the inn was much quieter than the streets. A chilling wind blew without warning, and the gaslights illuminating the hallway suddenly turned a sinister green.
On the walls, almost transparent ripples spread through the hallway, and faces abruptly appeared—translucent faces with no mouths or noses, only eyes!
Those translucent, mouthless, noseless faces surged purposefully towards every room on both sides of the hallway. The sinister green light spread deeper along the hallway, finally converging before a certain room at the end of the hall.
At the alley corner opposite the Snake of Fate Inn, Daly Simone slightly narrowed her eyes. Through her Spirit Guide's control over the spiritual bodies within her, she could clearly sense a certain aura remaining in the room that greatly excited those little fellows.
Without hesitation, she manipulated the spiritual bodies to surge into the room. From the shared perspective, there was nothing else of value in the room except for the slightly wrinkled bedsheets, which proved that someone had indeed stayed there.
Frowning slightly, Daly Simone was about to conduct a more detailed inspection when a cacophony of sounds suddenly reached her ears, making her instinctively look towards the harbor.
Under the dim crimson moonlight, a massive black and red ship emerged. The entire hull was enveloped in sinister green ghost flames, which flickered and refracted various colors, each seemingly corresponding to the different desires of the beholder.
A bizarre altar was set up on the ship's enormous deck. Gruesome, bloody human heads, organs, limbs, and blood moved on their own without wind, piling up layer upon layer and appearing as if they were melting candles.
They formed a short tree of flesh and blood, its surface uneven, like the shell of a walnut.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Inside that tree of flesh and blood, a heart seemed to be beating, strong and powerful.
Even from a great distance, that thumping sound seemed to echo in her mind. Daly Simone grunted, her eyes subtly tinged with a bloody hue, and evil thoughts continuously sprouted within her.
As a veteran Red Glove who had experienced numerous missions in the Southern Continent, Daly Simone immediately sat down to calm her mind, meditating cross-legged. Within a few breaths, her eyes had recovered their tranquility.
The astonished crowd watching in the harbor district, however, did not react as intensely as Daly, as if that thumping sound, which permeated spiritual bodies, only affected Beyonders closely related to the Spirit World and spiritual bodies, such as Spirit Guides.
Looking at the bizarre ship, which seemed to have merely passed by the Dillinews Island and was gradually moving away, Daly Simone recalled certain records from the telegram and murmured in a low voice:
"The Tree of Flesh and Blood..."
This was once the flagship of "Admiral of Blood" Senor. After this great pirate was killed by Duke Aaron in Bayam, it had been taken over by the new Pirate King, "King of Blood Moon," and became his new flagship.
Daly Simone withdrew her gaze from the direction the Tree of Flesh and Blood was departing, and upon re-sharing her vision, she found that the residual aura in the room had completely dissipated.
She did not continue her investigation. Daly left only one Spirit Body to observe whether anyone would return to the room, then departed back to the airship. She had to quickly report the news of the King of Blood Moon's appearance nearby to Lord Crestet Cesimir.
In the dark corner of the Snake of Fate Inn's back alley, a black briefcase lay on the ground. Dunn Smith supported himself with his hand and slowly rose from the ground.
He hadn't expected Daly's spiritual perception to be so keen now. Even though he had withdrawn his gaze in time, he was still discovered.
Inside the room, the residual aura from consuming the Sequence 6 Soul Assurer potion also attracted those spiritual bodies. Fortunately, at the crucial moment, the appearance of the Tree of Flesh and Blood disrupted Daly's investigation, otherwise he, hiding in the Snake of Fate Inn's back alley, would certainly have been discovered.
As the prerequisite for Spirit Warlock, Soul Assurer also possessed a considerable degree of control over spirits, and naturally heard the terrifying thumping sound from the Tree of Flesh and Blood.
Although both were Sequence 6, Dunn Smith, who had just advanced and hadn't yet managed to restrain his spirituality, was more greatly affected.
Taking a deep breath, Dunn Smith emanated a faint glow, like a night sky adorned with stars, soothing the agitated natural spirits around him, restoring them to a calmer state, and simultaneously erasing his own traces.
After completing all this, he paused for a moment, pressed down on the brim of his black top hat, and walked without hesitation towards the deeper Darkness.
He was a vengeful person who had lost everything, having no right and unable to stand before Daly again; that would only bring disaster....
-----------------
Townsend Street, at the border of Empress Borough and West Borough in Backlund.
Klein stood in a dark, quiet alley. Even without looking up, he could see the layers of magnificent palaces and tall Gothic bell towers in the distance.
That was the highest elevation area in all of Backlund, and where the Loen royal family resided.
Its status in the Southern and Northern Continents, and in the entire world, was equivalent to or even slightly higher than the White Maple Palace in Intis and Aurmir Palace in the Feysac Empire, yet its name was neither romantic nor ancient.
It was called Sodela Palace, and in ancient Feysac, that word meant "balance."
Klein curled his lips, withdrew his gaze from the famous "Bell of Order," and looked towards the other side of the alley.
From the shadows where the gas streetlights could not reach, a figure slowly emerged, wearing a golden shell mask that revealed the lower half of his face.
After observing in secret for a long time, and after divination confirmed there was no danger, Klein stepped out of his hiding place and walked towards the man with the golden mask.
The golden-masked man from MI9 was still wearing a black tailcoat. His light brown eyes swept over Klein as he approached and said:
"What happened again?"
Listening to the somewhat resentful tone, Klein was first taken aback. Logically speaking, the information he provided last time, if not a great achievement, at least demonstrated his role as an excellent detective. Could it be that there were further developments regarding the Aurora Order that he didn't know about?
With that thought flashing through his mind, Klein solemnly repeated what he had told Kaspars at the Brave's Bar, the only difference being that this time he emphasized the intervention of the Punishers and his own worries.
"You've gotten into trouble, so you hope to use the background of MI9 to avoid being arbitrarily handled by those hot-tempered brutes..." The golden-masked man instantly understood what Klein's words implied.
"From the moment you joined MI9, even if you are only an peripheral member now, we will guarantee your basic rights." His words were decisive, but he immediately added:
"The premise is that you are truly unrelated to this matter."
After contacting his superior from MI9, Klein glanced at the already dim sky, stepped onto the street outside, and took the last public carriage back to 15 Minsk Street.
Klein's expression paused slightly as he paid the fare and stepped off the carriage, noticing a figure pacing anxiously at his doorstep. Using his enhanced vision, he recognized the tall, thin doctor, Aaron, wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
His heart suddenly skipped a beat, and a phrase unconsciously surfaced in Klein's mind: "Something abnormal must be demonic!"
Gritting his teeth, Klein walked up, deliberately making his footsteps more audible to avoid startling Doctor Aaron, who had just experienced the Talim incident that morning. He asked with some confusion:
"Doctor Aaron, what brings you here so late?"
Hearing Klein's voice, Doctor Aaron, who had been pacing and muttering softly, finally looked up and said eagerly:
"Sherlock, you're finally back!"
Then he looked around furtively and lowered his voice:
"You're a famous great detective now, you must know a lot of people, right?"
"Uh, I guess so..." Klein didn't understand what the other party meant, so he just gave a perfunctory reply.
"Then do you know anyone like a country witch doctor?"
"No, I mean, a capable diviner or occult enthusiast. I always feel like I've encountered an ominous omen...."
Aaron hurriedly pressed, his expression darkening again:
"Especially after Talim's abnormal death, this ominous feeling has become even more apparent."
A capable diviner or occult enthusiast... You seem to be talking about me, but what is this ominous omen?
His mind raced. Klein opened the door, invited Doctor Aaron into the room, brewed two cups of Earl Grey tea, and asked gently:
"Aaron, tell me in detail, what have you encountered that makes you feel it's an ominous omen?"
Taking a small sip of Earl Grey tea, the slightly bitter tea moisturized his dry throat. Doctor Aaron was silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking:
"I used to scoff at occult things, but, but Talim's death absolutely couldn't have been a sudden heart attack, he was a riding instructor!"
Realizing his tone might be a bit agitated, Doctor Aaron apologized and changed the subject:
"After leaving the police station yesterday noon, I kept trying to convince myself to explain Talim's death from a medical perspective, and inadvertently ended up in an alley."
Klein's eyes narrowed. The reason Doctor Aaron had become like this within a day might lie in that alley. As a trusted and renowned detective, he professionally picked up his notebook and began to record the commission.
Doctor Aaron's state became somewhat peculiar as he continued to recount in a daze:
"I, I saw a little boy sitting among a pile of Tarot cards. He said his name was Will Auceptin."
"After he finished speaking, he looked at me and smiled, very pure and innocent, saying:"
"Doctor, congratulations, you have a child...."
Tarot cards! Will Auceptin!
The pen in Klein's hand almost slipped. Fortunately, Doctor Aaron's dazed state prevented him from noticing the detective's abnormality.
He unconsciously touched the Wheel of Fortune card tucked close to his chest. Klein's expression shifted for a moment as he continued to listen to Doctor Aaron's narration:
"After I went home, I took my wife to the hospital for a check-up. We indeed had a child, but I didn't believe it at the time."
"The little boy who called himself Will Auceptin saw that I didn't believe him and took me to play Tarot divination...."
Hearing this familiar operation, Klein truly couldn't hold back this time and unconsciously asked:
"Which Tarot card did he give you?"
Now it was Doctor Aaron's turn to be stunned for a moment. He shook his head and took out a flattened paper crane from his wallet, which looked ordinary, like a child's casual creation:
"He didn't give me a Tarot card. He only divined many secrets that only I knew, but after I believed him, he refused to take money and instead gave me a paper crane."
Hearing this treatment, which was quite different from his own, Klein quietly activated his Spirit Vision, carefully scrutinizing this doctor he had known for a long time, wanting to discern some difference.
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under Klein's gaze, Aaron still continued:
"From yesterday night until tonight, I've been having the same nightmare. I dreamed of that child, Will Auceptin!"
Klein's face twitched slightly. Dream interpretation was his specialty, even more so than deduction, but when it involved that old Monster who had lived for who knows how long, he wasn't so confident.
Before Klein could speak, Aaron reminisced to himself:
"I can't remember the specific details and process of the nightmare anymore. What I remember most vividly is a tall, Dark, pointed Tower, with a silver-white giant snake coiled around it. It was slowly wriggling, looking at me with cold, emotionless red eyes."
"Sherlock, what's your advice?"
"Or, do you know any experts in the field of the occult?"
A silver-white giant snake... A dark, tall Tower... Klein took a sip of red tea, and under Aaron's expectant gaze, he pondered before speaking:
"My advice is to go to the church of the deity you believe in, describe what you've recently encountered to the bishop, and then ask him if there's a solution."
"Aaron, I remember you are, uh, a follower of the Evernight Goddess, right?"
Scratching his hair, Aaron didn't agree with Detective Moriarty's suggestion and mumbled softly:
"But I went to the church this morning to pray to the Goddess, attend mass, and donate money and items, but it didn't work."
"I still had that nightmare tonight, otherwise I wouldn't have come to find you in the middle of the night."
Klein subtly averted his gaze from the paper crane, put away his notebook, and suggested:
"You should be able to try to meet a higher-ranking bishop through the charity clinic. They might have more effective solutions there."
Looking at Doctor Aaron, who was lost in his own confusion, Klein finally added in his mind:
"More accurately, those higher-ranking bishops will convey your matter to the Nighthawks, and they will then notice the abnormality about you."
-----------------
Outside the Sonia Sea Safe Passage, the Battlefield of Gods.
Aaron quietly gazed at the boundless ocean burning with golden flames. This was the outermost periphery of the Battlefield of Gods, where the residual divine power was relatively sparse. He had just cleared the surrounding islands.
His Judgement Domain was somewhat suppressed here, but perhaps due to the integration of Night Emperor's divine kingdom fragment, which elevated its essence, it could still envelop part of the outer areas under full support. With the unique nature of the Battlefield of Gods itself, it was enough to minimize the impact on the real world.
Looking at the sky, which remained in a perpetual noon state, Aaron was not in a hurry to act. The expansion of the Judgement Domain would be repelled by the residual divine power, so it would naturally be more advantageous for him to wait until Darkness descended and hidden divine power permeated.