Chapter 186: The Handsome Captain

Countless rays of brilliance drowned Klein as ravings of a million

people filled his ears. However, Klein thought nothing of it. His

abilities as a Clown told him that his spirit was being engulfed by a

black shadow that was rapidly expanding.

The black shadow was a huge cross, and there seemed to be a person

hanging upside down on it!

Kacha!

The chaotic tornado of thoughts unleashed its load outwards and turned

uniform. Hood Eugen's spiritual world disintegrated bit by bit.

Klein noticed that he had exceeded his fastest flying speed from his

previous trial; his soul had become significantly stronger after he

briefly mixed with some of the strength from the mysterious space above

the gray fog.

Just as the cross's shadow was about to engulf him entirely, he dashed

out of the blurry "world" and felt his body.

He familiarly stimulated a descent, and Hood Eugen's long skinny face

and messy blond hair instantly appeared in his vision, along with the

three candles that were burning at the window ledge.

He had managed to get out of the mediumship state in time!

In that instant, he saw black scales growing one after another on Hood

Eugen's face. His vacant pupils turned into slits, becoming extremely

cool and ruthless.

Oh shit! He's going to lose control! Klein's pupils

constricted, and before he could react, he saw a figure in a knee-length

black trench coat and silk top hat take two huge strides before Hood

Eugen. He then raised the revolver and pushed it against the man's head.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dunn Smith fired five bullets consecutively. Hood Eugen's head suddenly

blew up like a watermelon falling down from a high height. The red and

white rainstorm splattered across each and every corner of the room.

He had taken care of Hood Eugen before he lost control completely!

Klein, who was fifty centimeters away, was covered in blood and dirt. He

looked at Dunn Smith in a daze, only having the feeling that the Captain

was very handsome at that moment.

*As long as you ignore his memory problems, the Captain is very

trustworthy...* He complimented sincerely from the bottom of his

heart.

"Did an accident happen?" Dunn put away his revolver and watched Hood

Eugen's mostly headless body slowly fall to the floor.

Just as Klein was about to organize his words, he saw that the body had

become a pile of bloody flesh within a few seconds and the asylum

uniform that covered it appeared to have its most basic structure

damaged.

Hood Eugen's corpse was left with very few complete items. There were

dozens of scales twinkling with a black shimmer, and his heart that had

turned crystalline and faint blue.

The heart had a magical luster, like a diamond refracting incoming

light.

It could calm someone down or make them restless. It could create

tension or develop chaos. But other than that, there was nothing

notable.

"This item should be controllable." After Dunn holstered his revolver,

he took out a black glove and wore it on his right hand. He then

squatted down to pick up the crystalline heart.

*A controllable item... According to what the Captain previously

mentioned, it could be used as the main ingredient for the formula of a

Sequence 7 Psychiatrist... But, would it lead to the advanced Beyonder

losing control even more easily?* Klein took out his

handkerchief to wipe the blood from his face and body. He then picked up

his specially made tarot cards and cleaned their surfaces.

He looked at the ground and asked curiously, "What kind of items would

these black scales be considered as?"

"These are ingredients that are contaminated with Beyonder power. They

could be made into items that have long-lasting effects. For example,

our demon hunting bullets' ability to injure dead spirits or monsters

would decrease drastically as soon as they pass the three months mark,

leaving only a tiny portion of demon-hunting characteristics in the

remnant materials. If the materials used were something like the black

scales, the effective period would be as long as a year or two, and the

effects would be even better. Of course, due to their characteristics,

the black scales are obviously not suitable to be made into demon

hunting bullets," Dunn explained as he took a piece of paper from Klein

to wrap the blue heart and black scales.

"It's just like the materials we use as supplementary ingredients for

the potions?" Klein asked.

Dunn stood back up and nodded slightly.

"Yes."

Someone who loses control will really become a monster...

Klein sighed. He seized the opportunity while the room was still sealed

with a wall of spirituality and quickly described his encounter in

Eugen's mind.

"When I was communicating with Hood Eugen's spirit, I saw a figure like

the True Creator in his mind. But it was different from the mainstream

ones. It wasn't the chain-bound Hanged Giant, nor was it the Eye behind

the Shadow Curtains. Instead, it was similar to the one you saw in

Hanass Vincent's dream."

Hanass Vincent was a member of the Aurora Order. As Melissa's friend,

Selena, had peeked at his incantations and completed the magic mirror

divination, it led to the Nighthawks' investigation of him.

Dunn Smith saw something close to the True Creator in his dream, but it

was a different image than the mainstream image that was widely

circulated. In the end, the result was an injury and a strange death.

When Hood Eugen flipped over the tarot card of The Hanged Man, Klein had

actually already expected it. But he never thought it would be presented

in such a way. Of course, it was only indirect contact. It wouldn't be

comparable to the time he had spied on the Eternal Blazing Sun directly.

The worst outcome was just mild injury or mild corruption.

As he listened to Klein's description, Dunn's expression became solemn.

He knitted his eyebrows and said with a deep voice, "A huge cross, black

nails, a naked man covered in blood hanging upside down?"

"I didn't see it clearly. That's also the reason why I'm not injured. I

only noticed a huge cross and figure similar to a man being hung upside

down," Klein replied tactfully.

At that moment, all he cared about was "fleeing"...

Seemingly in thought, Dunn nodded and said, "Lanevus's visit to Hood

Eugen was related to the True Creator? So the Aurora Order is involved?"

Klein quickly repeated the conversation he'd had during the

communication.

"Lanevus tempted Hood Eugen with the 'acting method,' and a so-called

immortal godhood. But I don't understand why he said that it was the

worst of times, and also the best of times. Perhaps it was just the way

he speaks as a Swindler?

"...The help Hood Eugen provided involved a sinister and dark altar... I

suspect that Lanevus is plotting something terrifying..."

Then, his heart stirred as he spoke.

"Captain, do you remember the letter written to Mr. Z? The letter that

the member from the Aurora Order whom I killed carried!

"He mentioned in the letter that he was waiting for an appropriate

opportunity, something about the arrival of the end of days, he will

offer all the lambs in Tingen to his so-called God. Would this be

related to Lanevus's plot?

"Could Lanevus be the Mr. Z from the Aurora Order?"

Dunn Smith thought carefully and said, "I don't think so. Lanevus

couldn't be Mr. Z. Otherwise, he wouldn't be setting up a fake

steelworks company to scam people while the Aurora Order was up to

something. It would introduce too many variables in his main mission. If

anything went wrong with the scam, he would draw the attention of the

police and us. He would have to run away from Tingen and abandon his

plan.

"Of course, if he was just insane, it would be perfectly normal for him

to act illogically.

"But judging from the scam he set up, the calmness and cunningness with

which he swept away the money doesn't make him look like a real lunatic.

"So, I don't think he's Mr. Z from the Aurora Order. Of course, he might

really be involved in the matter as mentioned in the letter. The one

offering all the lambs in Tingen to the so-called God."

Upon saying that, Dunn paused, then paced back and forth as he said,

"This incident might have quite severe repercussions. We have to

reinvestigate Lanevus and get some clues. Hmm, let's clean up the scene

and cover up any evidence here. Let everyone know that Hood Eugen died

but leave no clue as to who killed him. This should lead to action by

the Psychology Alchemists or other Beyonders that are paying attention

to the asylum. They might know something.

"The Lanevus scam is either still in the hands of the police department

or transferred to the Mandated Punishers. We'll join the investigations

by saying that we obtained clues while investigating the Aurora Order.

Then, we'll work together with the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery

Hivemind. We'll concentrate the forces in Tingen and investigate

everything and anyone associated with Lanevus. We can request assistance

from Backlund diocese and the Holy Cathedral if it's necessary!"

After that, Dunn turned his head sideways to look at Klein. He ruminated

and said, "Do you have anything that you'd like to add?"

Captain, you basically said it all... Klein shook his head

solemnly. "No!"

He hurriedly used ritualistic magic to remove some of the necessary

traces with the aid of the simple altar that he had yet to clear in

order to ensure that no one would be able to tell that they were the

ones who killed Hood Eugen.

Then, he put away his ingredients, blew out the candles, removed the

wall of spirituality, and left the ward in silence with Dunn Smith. They

left the asylum by climbing over its walls.

"Go back and rest." Dunn stood at a corner without a street lamp. He

pressed his black silk hat and said, "there are many things that can

only be done tomorrow."

"Alright." Klein wasn't a Sleepless who only slept two to three hours a

day. He immediately bade farewell to the Captain and took the

Nighthawks' dedicated carriage that was waiting nearby and returned to

Daffodil Street.

Before he entered the carriage, he turned back to take a glance. He saw

the Captain still standing in the dark which even the moonlight couldn't

touch. He appeared to be thinking in silence.

The streets were quiet and void of people before dawn. The carriage tore

through the streets, sometimes going straight, sometimes taking turns.

Klein was pondering about Lanevus when suddenly, he felt as if he was in

a trance.

He saw that the color before his eyes become saturated. The reds became

redder and the blacks became blacker, just like an impressionist's oil

painting.

The surroundings slowed down, and the carriage seemed to enter a strange

world.

Klein grabbed his Flaring Sun Charm and drew his revolver.

Just then, a huge, white, bony palm extended through the carriage window

and threw in a neatly folded letter.

Then, the palm pulled back and vanished. The oil painting-like scene

suddenly returned to normal while the carriage was still driving along

the street steadily.

...It's a really well-hidden method... Klein looked at the

letter, by the side of his foot, as the corner of his lips twitched.