Chapter 205: Urgent Arrangement
Klein instinctively reached for his pockets. He held the Flaring Sun
Charm in one hand and Azik's copper whistle in the other.
He acutely noticed that the cold, gentle Beyonder feedback of the latter
had vanished as if it was being suppressed by an invisible power.
However, the former was still warm and comforting.
Making use of this comforting feeling, Klein entered a half Cogitation
state. He blocked out his feelings of worry and didn't leave anything to
chance.
He turned and shot a look at Leonard Mitchell, then tipped his chin
toward Megose.
He then controlled his expression with his Clown abilities and smiled at
Megose.
"Do you want coffee, black tea, or nothing at all?"
Megose stroked her stomach as if she was listening to something.
"A cup of warm water. I suddenly thought of chatting with you guys about
Lanevus. I have the feeling that you know a lot."
"Who told you that?" Leonard was no longer the frivolous guy that he
usually was. His smile had turned rather stiff.
Megose suddenly giggled.
"My child told me. He knows a lot. He's very smart!"
Klein fought back the urge to curse. He turned to the partition and
signaled to Leonard to keep Megose calm.
Leonard forced a smile and pointed toward the sofa.
"That's exactly what I'd like to talk about. We want to have a chat with
you about Lanevus."
Behind the receptionist desk, Rozanne looked on in confusion. She
suddenly realized that she didn't need to do anything.
Klein quickly made his way past the partition and directly pushed open
the door to Dunn Smith's office, then closed the door with a bang.
He saw Dunn looking shocked before turning serious and saying in a heavy
voice, "Captain, something serious has happened. I know what Lanevus
meant by bomb!"
Dunn stood up and pointed outside.
"Megose?"
He had obviously heard Leonard's shocked exclamation, but he was unable
to see the looks of fear and cold sweat on his teammates' faces.
Klein nodded and explained quickly, "I tried to activate my Spirit
Vision to observe Megose to ascertain her mental condition, but my
spirituality stopped me from making the attempt. It kept "warning" me
not to look, that I would die if I did so!
"This made me recall a saying, 'Do not look directly at God.' Even if
the fetus in Megose's stomach isn't an evil god attempting to descend
upon this world, or the spawn of an evil god, it's definitely a
legendary creature.
"Captain, connecting this to the black altar in Hood Eugen's memories,
to his Psychiatrist abilities, to the tragic world as described in
Lanevus's letter, I think that my guess is quite close to the truth:
Lanevus obtained a ritualistic magic linked to the True Creator from an
Aurora Order member. With Hood Eugen's help, he turned Megose into a
vessel to gestate a certain power. Then, this power will make use of the
resentment, oppression, and gloominess surrounding the factories to
quickly grow until maturity. In other words, the ritual itself needs
this resentment, oppression, and gloominess in order to succeed!"
Dunn considered Klein's words seriously for nearly twenty seconds before
nodding with a solemn expression.
"I'll ask for assistance from the Holy Cathedral immediately. Let's hope
that the baby in Megose's stomach can still wait!
"Of course, we can't just sit back and do nothing. Tell Leonard to keep
Megose calm and keep her company. Notify Mrs. Orianna, Rozanne, and the
rest. Get all the non-combatants to evacuate!
"I'll head to the back of Chanis Gate after I send the telegram. We have
to prepare for the worst, which is if Megose's baby is born before the
arrival of reinforcements from the Holy Cathedral.
"As Captain of the Tingen Nighthawks, I have the authority to use Saint
Selena's ashes during emergencies!"
*Saint Selena's ashes... The ashes of a High-Sequence Beyonder... The
core seals within Chanis Gate...* Klein's worries eased a
little. He quickly thought of other things.
"Captain, we can also ask for reinforcements from the Mandated Punishers
and the Machinery Hivemind; they should have similar holy items!"
Klein suddenly had a stroke of inspiration as he muttered to himself,
"Lanevus's case was originally under the purview of the Mandated
Punishers. Old Neil and I were there to help when one of their senior
members lost control..."
As he spoke softly, his voice grew to a crescendo.
"Captain, can you ask the Mandated Punishers if the member who lost
control was tracking or keeping Megose under surveillance?"
"Are you suspecting that he lost control because he got corrupted by the
baby in Megose's stomach? They were responsible for Megose when the
investigation was happening..." Dunn answered seriously. "We cannot
delay any further. Go to Mrs. Orianna and the rest. I'll take this time
to send a telegram to first ask for assistance from the Holy Cathedral,
then I'll inform the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind. Yes,
I'll also have to send a telegram to the police department and see if
they can come up with an excuse to evacuate the citizens nearby."
"Alright." Klein had taken a few steps out of the room when he suddenly
recalled something. He thought about the coincidence of Megose's sudden
visit.
The image of the building with the red chimney appeared in his mind. He
turned around quickly and said to Dunn, "Captain, one more thing. Do you
remember the coincidences I told you about? The clue to the Antigonus
family's notebook in the house opposite the kidnapping, Ray Bieber who
didn't make it out of Tingen in time, Hanass Vincent exposing himself
because of a coincidence, and how a member of the Aurora Order lost his
life because he chanced upon me, etc.
"All these coincidences are very subtle and hard to detect, but the fact
that Megose suddenly came looking for us right after we discovered
Lanevus's letter is too obvious and direct. This coincidence was already
laid bare before us, it's no longer hidden! I think that the person
behind this will soon take center stage!
"Also, why would Madam Sharon take the risk in killing Member of
Parliament Maynard? Is this also a coincidence?"
Dunn thought about it and gave a solemn reply, "I'll include this point
in the telegram."
Klein didn't waste any more time. He exited the office and went straight
for the accountant's room on the opposite side.
Mrs. Orianna was preparing the budget for the last three months of the
year. She wanted to complete it in advance just in case the Captain
forgot about it again. When she saw Klein enter, she greeted him with a
smile.
"Lad, what claims do you have to submit today?"
Klein exhaled.
"Mrs. Orianna, we will be on vacation today. Go back home immediately."
Orianna froze for a while, looking at the serious face before her in a
daze.
A few seconds later, she stood up in a fluster.
"Alright."
Klein added in a hurry, "Help me inform the rest of the clerks in the
office and the armory. I'll inform Rozanne."
"Yes!" Orianna didn't even pack. She grabbed her handbag and hurried out
of the accounting office.
She turned and stared at Klein after entering the corridor. She drew a
crimson moon near her chest and said, "All of you will be blessed by the
Goddess!"
Thank you... Klein replied in silence. He made his way past
the partition into the receptionist area only to see Leonard chatting
with Megose about Lanevus, his expression rigid.
Klein leaned toward Rozanne as he filled up a cup of warm water. He then
whispered, "Go home, it's dangerous here. Come back tomorrow."
Rozanne opened her mouth in shock but closed it again after seeing
Klein's stern expression.
She lowered her head and packed for about ten seconds before picking up
her bag and leaving the receptionist area.
Just as she was walking past Klein, she bit on her lip and whispered,
"To be honest, I respect the Nighthawks as much as I hate other people
who become Beyonders..."
After seeing the clerks evacuate the Blackthorn Security Company, Klein
brought warm water to Megose, bent his back, and placed it on the table
in front of her.
"I have something to settle, I'll be back soon."
As he stood up, he took the opportunity to lean in towards Leonard's ear
and whispered, "Keep her here."
Leonard clenched his teeth and widened his mouth into a grin. He
continued his conversation with Megose and noticed that Megose was
getting a little restless, as though she was losing her focus.
Klein returned to the Captain's office, only to realize that Dunn had
already gone underground. There was a telegram on the table. It was the
reply from the Mandated Punishers.
"Yes. We will be there immediately."
*Yes... The Mandated Punisher did lose control because of
Megose...* Klein couldn't calm himself down as he made his way
to the corridor. He didn't know if he was waiting for the Captain to
retrieve the holy ashes or for reinforcements to arrive.
*I wonder if High-Sequence Beyonders can teleport... I don't think
so...* He paced around a few times, suddenly feeling peaceful.
He saw that the gas lamps on both sides of the corridor were now dyed a
faint blue.
Amid the darkness, Dunn followed the stairs into the corridor. In his
palm was a square, palm-sized box of ashes.
This box looked as though it was made out of pure silver, but it also
felt like it was human bones. It was carved with many mysterious
patterns. Klein felt colder the closer he was to the box, it was as if
the cold was rapidly seeping into his blood.
Dunn's face was bathed in an icy blue light. He told Klein, "Go to
Chanis Gate and pick out a Sealed Artifact with the highest offensive
ability. Decide exactly which one with your own judgment. I've already
told Seeka and the Keepers inside. Take note of the hidden threats. Of
those, there are three Grade 2 Sealed Artifacts, which are..."
"Oh, now that I've taken out the ashes of Saint Selena, Seeka and the
Keepers cannot leave their positions now."
At this point, Frye and Royale were both at Kenley's house for the
funeral preparations. The Archbishop at Saint Selena Cathedral had gone
to the countryside to preach.
"Alright." Klein didn't hesitate, immediately turning towards the
basement.
When he was nearing the intersection, Klein suddenly stopped. He knew
that most of the Sealed Artifacts behind Chanis Gate at Tingen City were
Grade 3 and wouldn't have much of an effect on the baby in Megose's
stomach. It was, at the very least, a legendary creature.
*The Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem might work, but it takes too long to have
an effect. It's unsuitable for this... There are only three Grade 2
Sealed Artifacts in Tingen City, and they're all very dangerous
artifacts that can easily result in my death... I estimate their powers
to be about the same as my Flaring Sun Charm, so I cannot have too many
reservations later. I'll use the Flaring Sun Charm without any
hesitation! It would definitely be as powerful as a Grade 2 Sealed
Artifact; after all, it has the power of divine blood in it...*
Klein's mind whirled as he nodded indiscernibly.
He felt for the Flaring Sun Charm and Azik's copper whistle in his
pocket, but he was surprised to find that the sensation of the latter
was back.
Regardless of whether it was useful or not, Klein took out a pen and
paper set that was used for divination and wrote a short message.
"The person who made my fate disharmonious and stole the skull of your
child has appeared. He has arranged for Megose to enter the Blackthorn
Security Company at 36 Zouteland Street. It's highly likely that Megose
is harboring the son of an evil god.
"The situation is very urgent."
He put away his pen and folded the piece of paper. Klein took out the
copper whistle at the intersection and blew, then watched the giant
skeleton messenger appear before him.