When Silas emerged from the room, the scene had already been cleaned up. The altar covered in blood and flesh had vanished without a trace, and police officers were mopping the floor.
Sirius's body had been wrapped in white cloth and was being carried out the front door by several officers.
"Captain."
Seeing Dunn, the green-eyed Nighthawk stepped forward. "What's the verdict?"
He tilted his chin slightly toward Silas, asking for Dunn's decision.
"Safe for now."
Dunn replied, "They're just innocent people who got caught up in this."
"Since everything's fine now, can my brother and I leave?"
Cecilia ran to Silas's side, linking her arm through his as she asked.
"I'm afraid not."
Dunn said gently but firmly, "You two must come with me."
Cecilia's pretty brow furrowed.
"Why?"
Her tone was stiff, almost rude, and her hand unconsciously tightened around Silas's arm. "Do we need to post bail? Officer, we don't have a penny to our names. You won't get anything out of us."
Cecilia's small frame trembled as she stood in front of Silas, glaring at Dunn like a mama bear protecting her cub.
In fact, when Dunn had wanted to question Silas alone earlier, she'd strongly protested, only calming down after Silas soothed her.
Now that their hope of leaving had been dashed, all her pent-up frustration came pouring out.
Dunn looked calmly at the little girl challenging him, showing no anger on his face. On the contrary, his expression was quite gentle.
"Calm down, Cecilia. It's not like that."
Silas quickly interrupted his sister. "It's because there are still bad people out there. Mr. Dunn is protecting us."
After a careful explanation, Cecilia finally understood the situation and agreed to accept protection, going to the Nighthawks' base.
After greeting the busy police at the scene, the three Nighthawks left Sirius's house together with the Londor siblings.
Two carriages were already waiting for them outside.
Both were four-wheeled, single-horse carriages with drivers, and the police department's emblem was painted on the side of each carriage: two crossed longswords flanking and guarding a crown.
Silas got into one carriage with Dunn and the green-eyed Nighthawk, while Cecilia boarded the other with the brown-eyed Nighthawk.
To avoid impropriety, a policewoman had also been arranged to ride in that carriage.
Opening the carriage door, Silas saw thick carpeting inside, and there seemed to be aromatics sprinkled about, releasing a gentle fragrance that naturally put one at ease.
The interior decorations are actually quite nice, much fancier than it looks from the outside, Silas thought to himself. He looked up and suddenly froze.
Deep inside the carriage hung a peculiar emblem, about the size of his sister's fist. The emblem had a deep black background dotted with stars, and these stars surrounded a crimson moon that was exactly half-full.
Overall, the emblem appeared lofty and sacred. It was the "Holy Emblem Evernight," symbolizing the Goddess Evernight.
The instant Silas's gaze met the emblem, it suddenly released an invisible wave that plunged directly into his body. That was why his body had suddenly jolted.
The invisible wave circulated through his body once, then disappeared. Nothing happened.
What the hell?
Silas grumbled inwardly, turning around to see the two Nighthawks staring at him intently, their hands resting on their weapons.
"What's wrong?"
He couldn't help but ask.
"Even the [Goddess's Gaze] detected no abnormality in you.
It seems you really are fine." Dunn looked at him quietly for a few seconds, then relaxed his body and said casually, "Get in. Sit wherever you like."
He said it lightly, but Silas's eyes widened.
So they still hadn't fully trusted him.
Instead, they'd prepared a detection method, launching a surprise attack when he'd let his guard down.
What an experienced operator.
Silas took a long look at Dunn. If he guessed correctly, his sister would be subjected to the same test on the other side.
Sure enough, anyone who could become the captain of a Beyonder organization was no ordinary person.
Getting in and settling down, the carriage swayed and began moving forward.
Since the suspicion's been cleared, should I try to gather some information?
Silas thought to himself.
Stepping on the soft carpet, he carefully chose his words and spoke.
"Mr. Dunn, may I ask what exactly Beyonders and the mystical world are? After what I've experienced today, I'd like to understand more. If possible, could you explain it to me?"
"Of course."
Dunn removed his police cap, revealing his receding hairline. "Then let me explain some common knowledge."
So, over the following time, Silas learned some basic knowledge about Beyonders, including topics like Beyonders, potions, Sequence pathways, mystical abilities, rituals, and so on.
So this world really does have Beyonders who can wield mysterious powers.
Half hopeful, half worried, Silas asked, "Then what's my situation? Why would you think I've already become a Beyonder? Uh, I think I heard you say that in my dream."
"As for that, it involves classified information. I can't go into too much detail, only give you a brief explanation.
And even so, after you hear my explanation, you can't casually spread this information around. Can you accept that?"
Dunn asked, stroking his police cap.
"No problem. I won't spread it around."
Silas's life was now in their hands. Even if he didn't want to agree, he could only say yes. Besides, he really was curious.
"Mm. Before that, I need to ask you, after Sirius died, did you come into contact with any peculiar substance that separated from his body?"
At Dunn's question, Silas immediately thought of the black sphere.
"Uh, I did swallow a small sphere that came out of his palm. I felt awful for a while after, but I didn't deliberately try to come into contact with it.
It's because Sirius suddenly came back to life and lunged at me. I was startled and accidentally swallowed it."
Silas answered, downplaying the details. "Could it be that's why I became a Beyonder?"
"Mm, about what I expected."
Dunn nodded. "Regarding this, I can only tell you that the bodies of deceased Beyonders undergo changes and may separate out Beyonder characteristics.
Under certain circumstances, it's possible for others to inherit characteristics from the dead. And you, whether fortunately or unfortunately, became a Beyonder just like that."
Oh, no wonder! That sphere was the reason I became a Beyonder!
Silas understood immediately. "So when you arrived at the scene and saw there were no Beyonder characteristics, you suspected I'd swallowed them?"
"You could say that."
Dunn nodded. "But the specific situation was learned through divination by Klein, the Nighthawk in the other carriage. He's a Sequence 9 'Seer.'"
A Seer? Sounds like an impressive profession. Wonder what extent he can divine to. Probably not enough to discover my secret, or they would've already locked me up for dissection and study.
Silas thought to himself, half fearful, half relieved.
"So, what pathway does the Beyonder characteristic I swallowed belong to, and what's the Sequence 9 potion called?"
The moment his question fell, he saw the expressions of the two men across from him darken for an instant.
What's going on? Is my pathway kind of dangerous?
That seems possible. After all, it was the sequence belonging to a heretic!
Silas thought.
He watched the two exchange glances, and finally Dunn slowly spoke:
"According to the Nighthawks' internal records, the name of the Sequence 9 potion of the pathway Sirius belonged to should be called..."
"Secret Supplicant."