Chapter 196: Spirit Medium Mirror
Klein rushed out of the heavy safe in retreat. Only when he realized
that everything seemed fine did he calm down.
*That white bone statue is creepy... Although it isn't dangerous, it
gives me the creeps... Could it be the so-called Primordial Demoness? An
evil god like the Hidden Sage, the Dark Side of the Universe, or the
True Creator?* Klein recalled his hunches about Madam Sharon,
and he suddenly understood what existence the white bone statue might
represent.
Just as he thought, his spirituality stirred as an ominous premonition
gripped him.
Klein quickly flew next to the window with complicated patterns and
looked at the road outside. He saw a carriage driving towards the front
gate under the light of the gas street lamps.
Madam Sharon is back? There was a tug at his heartstrings as
he finally understood the source of his ominous premonition.
Taking into consideration that Trissy only became a woman after Sequence
8 Instigator, so she's most likely a Sequence 7. And since Madam Sharon
has been active in Tingen's social circles for many years, she was most
likely much stronger than Trissy. Hence, Klein didn't dare to take the
risk of relying on his Flaring Sun Charm and Azik's copper whistle.
Instead, he made the wise decision to leave.
He had a limited number of charms. Plus, he didn't know when he would be
able to get the Sealed Artifact, Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem, out again.
Hence, if it wasn't a desperate situation, Klein didn't want to waste
his most powerful charms. He would also have the issue of explaining
himself if he were to use it.
*I can't just tell Dunn that a kind expert had happened to pass by and
helped me, right?*
As for why he didn't want to use Azik's copper whistle, it was because
Klein wasn't sure if the messenger, that was summoned, had the ability
to fight. What if it just looked strong but only knew how to send
letters?
*With what I discovered earlier, it should be sufficient for the
Nighthawks team to take action. Why should I fight against Madam Sharon
alone? We can totally gank her!* Klein emphasized inwardly and
ended his summoning. With a whoosh, he returned to the world above the
gray fog. He then quickly wrapped himself in spirituality and stimulated
a rapid descent to return to his body in reality.
He quickly put out the flame and put away the candle. He removed the
wall of spirituality and left Madam Sharon's bedroom. He took the same
path back, but he didn't have the time to reset the bolt on the balcony
door.
Sliding down the water pipe, Klein climbed over the wall which was
opposite the entrance of the house. He remained hidden until he reached
the neighboring street. Then, he hired the expensive night carriage to
Zouteland Street.
Madam Sharon, who looked beautiful in her black dress, slowly walked to
the second floor. She dismissed her maidservants and opened the door to
her bedroom.
Her pure clear eyes suddenly concentrated and reflected fine threads
that were almost transparent and unnoticeable. They didn't possess the
luster of spirituality; they were like human hair that was
pathologically changed. If one didn't already know of their existence or
have a pair of very special eyes, they wouldn't notice the strands.
All those fine threads had torn and fallen to the ground.
Madam Sharon squinted her eyes and directed her focus onto the thick
gray metal safe.
36 Zouteland Street, the Blackthorn Security Company.
Dunn was reading the newspaper casually with his legs crossed. He looked
at Klein who appeared before his office door with a strange expression.
He sighed and said, "Weren't you supposed to slip into Madam Sharon's
house to do an initial search? ...Did you encounter some sort of
problem?"
Klein nodded seriously and said, "Yes, I suspect that Madam Sharon is a
member of the Demoness Sect."
"A member of the Demoness Sect?" Dunn lowered the newspaper and
ruminated over the words. He then asked seriously, "What did you
discover?"
Klein didn't sit down, he leaned his body forward and supported his
weight with his hands holding the edge of the work desk.
"First, I found a photo. There was a young man in the photo, but he
looked very much like Madam Sharon."
*If he were to change into female clothing, put on makeup, and Photoshop
the picture a little, he would look exactly like Madam
Sharon...* Klein held back his urge to lampoon.
"Similar to Instigator Trissy?" Dunn's eyes sparkled as he was
enlightened.
They had previously predicted that Trissy was most likely a member of
the Demoness Sect.
"Yes." Klein nodded with mixed emotions as he continued, "I used
divination to discover that Madam Sharon has a white bone statue in a
hidden compartment in her safe. It's of an extremely beautiful woman,
but her hair is very long, to her ankles. Every single strand is as
thick as a venomous snake. On the tips, there were eyes. They looked
rather creepy. Captain, is that the image of the Primordial Demoness?"
As his security clearance was insufficient, the information about the
Demoness Sect that he could read was very limited.
Dunn recalled and nodded with a serious expression and said, "That's the
image of the Primordial Demoness.
We have to take action immediately and seize control of Madam Sharon."
Klein immediately agreed and said, "If Madam Sharon is a Mid-Sequence
Beyonder from the Demoness Sect, I have to assume that she'll be able to
tell that someone had sneaked into her bedroom."
Then, he suddenly felt puzzled as he blurted, "Captain, why do the seven
orthodox gods only have symbols without any actual image, while the evil
gods that I'm currently aware of have anthropomorphic appearances? The
True Creator and the Primordial Demoness are examples. Is this one of
the differences between orthodox gods and evil gods?"
Why would there be such a difference? Klein added inwardly,
but he wisely didn't say it out.
"That's one of the differences between orthodox gods and evil gods."
Dunn gave a reassuring answer. Then, he got up and walked towards the
clothes rack. He said, "Let's not delay any further, I'm worried that
Madam Sharon will run away."
Then, Dunn paused.
"Go upstairs to get Kenley. With the three of us taking action together,
we can apply for one Sealed Artifact. Madam Sharon is very likely higher
than a Sequence 7 Beyonder."
Captain, you're so wise! Klein answered without hesitation,
"Alright."
Then, he asked curiously, "Captain, which Sealed Artifact are you going
to use?"
Dunn weighed his words before he answered, "3-0217."
As there weren't many Sealed Artifacts behind Tingen City's Chanis Gate,
Klein quickly remembered what Captain wanted to use.
"Number: 0217.
"Name: Spirit Medium's Mirror.
"Danger Grade: 3. Considerably dangerous. It has to be used carefully.
It can only be requested for operations that require three or more
people.
"Security classification: Official Nighthawks member or above.
"Sealing Method: Store in absolute darkness.
"Description: The back of the mirror is plated in mercury, the front of
the mirror has three minor cracks.
"The very first investigator that looked into the mirror saw a sobbing
girl with long hair. Then, he discovered the girl climbing out of the
mirror.
"From many experiments with the artifact, the image that's reflected in
the mirror is different most of the time. Even if the same person uses
it repeatedly, they would encounter different things of varying danger
levels. But they would prioritize dealing with the person who looked at
the mirror first.
"The most dangerous situation is to see oneself in the mirror.
"If no one looks at the mirror, under the prerequisite of there being
light, an image would surface automatically every three hours.
"It doesn't possess any living traits.
"Remark: The mirror originally belonged to a Spirit Medium and was a
very ordinary mirror until one day the Spirit Medium committed suicide
when looking into it."
*Indeed, that there aren't many Sealed Artifacts behind Chanis Gate that
can be used in a Beyonder battle. 3-0217 is a good choice...*
Klein didn't speak further as he immediately ran to the Nighthawks'
recreation room to get Sleepless Kenley.
That night was Royale's turn to be on duty at Chanis Gate. Leonard was
off duty, Seeka Tron was patrolling areas like Raphael Cemetery, and the
new member would only arrive on Sunday. Hence, Dunn could only pick from
Frye and Kenley. Taking into consideration that Madam Sharon was from
the Demoness Sect and had little to do with dead spirits, he had opted
for the latter.
After a few minutes, Dunn returned from the basement. He held the mirror
that was tightly wrapped in a thick black cloth.
*Frankly speaking, if I didn't know beforehand, I wouldn't be able to
tell that it's a mirror. None of it is exposed...* Klein went
forward with the petite-sized Kenley.
"You're in charge of using Sealed Artifact 3-0217." Dunn passed the
mirror to Kenley.
Upon seeing that, Klein suddenly realized that he was a Sequence 8
Beyonder and that he possessed the ability to fight head on. He couldn't
just hide by the side as support.
Man, I'm a little nervous... He touched the Slumber Charms in
his pockets and made sure that he was well prepared.
*The only problem is that in order to make it easier to climb, I'm not
bringing my cane. Hmm, I can borrow Kenley's. He has the mirror in one
hand and a gun in the other; that should be sufficient.* Amidst
Klein's thoughts, the trio arrived downstairs and took a carriage to
Osna Street.
On their way there, Kenley looked at the Sealed Artifact 3-0217 in his
hands. He sighed from the tension.
"This is the first time I've been involved in such a dangerous
operation."
Normally, the Nighthawks wouldn't use any Sealed Artifacts to deal with
Beyonder incidents.
When they went to Morse Town, they had applied for the Mutated Sun
Sacred Emblem for preventive purposes. Given how far away Morse Town
was, it would've taken backup some time to arrive if they needed it.
This time, they were almost certain that their target was a Mid-Sequence
Beyonder!
"Don't worry, perhaps Madam Sharon has already fled," Klein replied with
a smile.
Honestly, he was just as tense as Kenley.
Dunn's eyes turned and looked at him helplessly.
"Let's try not to let Madam Sharon escape."
About twenty minutes later, the three Nighthawks arrived at Osna Street.
They saw the garden and Madam Sharon's house in the darkness. The house
lay in silence as though nothing had happened.
Klein took out the pendulum in his left sleeve and made a quick
divination.
"There's danger inside.
"There's danger inside."
After he recited the statement seven times, he opened his eyes and saw
the topaz pendant spinning clockwise. The amplitude and speed were
considered medium-level.
It meant that there was danger in there. Not very high, but it wasn't
very low either!