Chapter 197: Operation

*There's danger in there. Not very high, but it isn't very low

either...*

*This means that Madam Sharon is still in the building. She hasn't fled

yet...*

Klein froze for a moment, quickly realizing the reason.

He had entered a unique state by summoning himself to inspect the safe.

He hadn't forcefully broken the lock when he was inspecting the secret

compartment, nor did he activate any hidden traps. Thus, Madam Sharon

wouldn't have discovered that her secret had been exposed. She would

only think that there was a break in, or some private investigator was

checking on her to no avail.

In such a situation, it was logical that she would continue to stay

home. It made logical sense.

To lose composure from a tiny matter and overreact wasn't the Madam

Sharon whom Klein had come to understand. She was a calm socialite who

was capable of acting afraid and pitiful, as well as a Beyonder member

of the Demoness Sect who had kept her identity hidden for many years.

*If the telephone had been invented, Madam Sharon definitely would've

called one of her lovers and complained about the security in Tingen

City whilst hinting that it was Madam Maynard...* Klein began

imagining a melodramatic plot. He told Dunn and Kenley the results of

his divination as well as his guess.

"That's the most reasonable deduction." Dunn pressed down on his hat as

he looked at the second floor of Madam Sharon's apartment. "There's no

need for us to rush in."

"Why?" Kenley, who was holding Sealed Artifact 3-0217, instinctively

asked.

He was filled with fear towards the Spirit Medium Mirror in his hands.

He was afraid that some unexpected event would arise from the Sealed

Artifact.

Dunn wore his black gloves and looked at Klein.

"Do you still remember what happened when we tried to capture Instigator

Trissy?"

"I remember," Klein replied after some thought. "She seemed to be able

to detect our presence and make the necessary responses, which resulted

in her successful escape."

*I also remember suggesting the use of bombarding the house when the

Captain asked me how I would deal with the situation. That was the

safest, most surefire method. But not this time... We can't use it here

as there are many innocent maids in Madam Sharon's house. If we notified

them in advance and got them to evacuate, that would definitely catch

Madam Sharon's attention. According to Leonard, Trissy could turn

invisible. We have to assume that Madam Sharon has that ability

too...* Klein connected the dots at once.

Dunn looked at the crimson moon in the sky and said, "Good, your answer

is very good. You're rather intuitive in such situations.

"We cannot approach recklessly and end up alarming Madam Sharon. I'll

try dragging her into a dream from a distance. If I'm successful, you

and Kenley will go and capture her... Well... You can make the decision

of whether to kill her or not. Kill her if you cannot control her. Your

safety is of utmost importance."

*Captain, your line of thought is always so clear at such critical

moments! I was just waiting for you to say that!* Klein praised

in his heart.

Over the months, Klein had grasped most of the unique traits of the

different Beyonder powers of his partners when he was casually chatting

with Dunn, Leonard, Frye, and the rest. Amongst those, Dunn Smith, who

was a Nightmare, could freely enter the dreams of a sleeping person even

though he was at home or at the Blackthorn Security Company.

But how he did it was a secret of his own Sequence, and Klein didn't ask

about it too deeply.

The ability to drag someone into a dream had a limited range and was

normally used during direct confrontations.

But Klein had once heard the Captain say that the ability also had a

certain effect when used within a hundred meter radius. But he needed

time to complete the process. He couldn't do it instantly, for the

process was similar to coaxing a child to sleep.

At this moment, Dunn was going to drag the distant Madam Sharon into a

sleeping state, a little at a time. After completing the first stages of

the restraint, he was going to create the most opportunistic conditions

for Klein and Kenley.

"Alright." Kenley was also rather accepting of the Captain's plan.

Without any more chatter, Dunn leaned on the corner of a wall and shut

his eyes. He put his hands together and lowered his head. His black

trench coat and silk hat blended into the night.

In the opulent bedroom.

Madam Sharon was leaning on her comfortable rocking chair, completely

naked. Her fair and excellent figure was completely exposed.

She sometimes turned her head towards the full-length mirror to admire

her charming self.

As she looked, her face would flush red as tears welled in her eyes. Her

expression emitted a strange tenderness amidst her stupor.

The skeletal statue of the goddess was sitting on the table beside her.

The thick strands of hair seemed gentle under the warm, pink light.

Slowly, the frequency in which Madam Sharon looked into the mirror

decreased. Bit by bit, her eyelids couldn't help but droop.

Seconds turned into minutes when Klein suddenly recalled something. *How

was the Captain going to notify Kenley and himself after he successfully

dragged Madam Sharon into a dream?*

*Madam Sharon would wake up if the Captain left his Nightmare state, and

she would notice that something was off... I wonder if the Captain is

capable of giving hand signs while dreaming at the same time?*

Klein looked at the worried Kenley pacing around and intended to discuss

this with him in order to distract him.

At that moment, his mind turned into a blur. He saw a giant crimson

moon, as well as Captain Dunn Smith in his black trench coat under the

moon. There was also the short Kenley, his expression dazed.

Klein realized that he too was dreaming!

*I've been dragged into a dream by the Captain... So that's how he was

going to notify us.* He wanted to facepalm himself, but could

only maintain his trance-like state while saying muddle-headedly,

"Captain?"

Dunn nodded slightly and said, "Madam Sharon has entered a dream. You

can take action now."

He then emphasized, "Remember to be careful, and don't be too

reckless... We would rather miss the opportunity than take unwarranted

risks."

Just as he finished his sentence, the world before Klein shattered. His

eyes reflected Dunn Smith again. He was still at the corner of the wall,

looking down with his hands clenched tightly into fists.

On the other side, Kenley, who had stopped pacing about, also opened his

eyes.

The duo exchanged looks and nodded. Both of them entered a state to

execute their operation.

Even though this was the first time Kenley was participating in a

relatively dangerous mission, he was still more experienced than Klein.

He had attended many official missions, so he quickly adjusted his

mental state, becoming calm and sharp.

Of course, this could also be attributed to the augmentation the night

had on a Sleepless. This was also one of the reasons Dunn had chosen

Kenley over Frye for this operation.

"Let's go." As a Sequence 8, Klein took on the role of the leader,

signaling for his partner to follow.

Kenley didn't object. He gripped the tightly-wrapped mirror and softened

his footsteps as he followed.

Klein led him to the place where he scaled the wall previously. He

grabbed onto the crevices of the wall and made it to the top of the wall

with little effort.

He maintained his ridiculous sense of balance and turned around, bending

down and grabbing the Spirit Medium Mirror Kenley had tossed over.

The moment he touched the mirror, Klein felt his spiritual perception

tighten suddenly. It was as if what was covered by the black cloth

wasn't a mirror, but a door to some unknown, dangerous alternate world.

*Indeed, any item that requires sealing has some malefic side to

it...* Klein internally muttered to himself wistfully as he

watched Kenley scale the wall.

In order to facilitate movement, Kenley had placed his cane beside Dunn.

Klein didn't dwell on that matter.

After making their way through the garden to the side of the building,

he climbed the pipe up to the balcony of the second floor, just as he

did before.

He then hung naturally from his feet, allowing his body to fall, once

again taking Sealed Artifact 3-0271.

Kenley looked at him, puzzled. But immediately, he nodded his head in

enlightenment.

At that moment, Klein was shocked by his own actions. He exerted a force

using his waist, and, with the support of his left hand, he easily

flipped over.

*What happened just now? Why did I move like that? It felt so natural...

Is that an ability of the Clown?* He thought back and felt that

he was able to better display the unique characteristics of a Clown in

actual practice.

After waiting for Kenley to easily make his way up, Klein handed the

Spirit Medium Mirror back to him before pulling open the unlocked door

of the balcony.

Kenley carefully pulled away the black cloth wrapped around Sealed

Artifact 3-0271. He pointed the object mirror side down, reflecting the

tiles on the ground.

One of the rules of the Spirit Medium Mirror was not to use it on

yourself or your partners!

After putting away the black cloth, Kenley took out his revolver and

followed behind Klein. They made their way past the corridor towards

Madam Sharon's bedroom, their footsteps light.

Klein wielded his readied revolver, and, while activating his Spirit

Vision, he reached out for the door handle with his left hand.

He didn't dare to be careless since his divination told him that there

would be danger present.

The reason why he didn't make another quick divination was that he knew

the presence of the Primordial Demoness's statue in the room. At this

distance, his divination would definitely be interrupted. He knew that

there was no way for him to get a clear answer without relying on the

gray fog's obstruction. Furthermore, with Kenley beside him, there was

no way for him to enter that mysterious space.

After pushing open the door, what entered Klein and Kenley's field of

vision was the warm light from the gas lamp.

Then, they saw Madam Sharon slumped over her chair, as well as her

alluring body.

However, Madam Sharon wasn't asleep. She was reclined in her chair with

a faint smile across her mouth, looking straight at her two visitors.

Instinctively, Kenley flipped his palm and pointed the Spirit Medium

Mirror at Madam Sharon.

Klein first froze, then exclaimed, "No!"

He clearly remembered that there was a full-length mirror on the other

side of the chair. But it wasn't there now!

The Spirit Medium Mirror had locked onto Madam Sharon in just a second.

But that image of Madam Sharon became blurry before turning into a

full-length mirror.

Kenley looked at himself in the mirror and also Sealed Artifact 3-0271

reflecting his own image.

A figure instantly appeared within the Spirit Medium Mirror. It was an

expressionless, sinister image of Kenley himself!

Klein felt his limbs turn rigid as if he had been entangled by invisible

threads.

An elegant figure appeared beside the full-length mirror. It was Madam

Sharon, wearing a nightgown.

She glanced at the two intruders and chuckled.

"If it wasn't for the fact that the statue happened to be beside me, I

should be deep asleep now, waiting for you to wake me up with a kiss."

At that moment, Klein suddenly shouted a simple term in ancient Hermes,

"Crimson!"

He had no idea when he dug his left palm into his pocket. He deftly

flicked his fingers and tossed out a Slumber Charm.