Chapter 210: Story

In a Tingen suburb, there was a house with a green lawn.

The house had a garden that had begun to wither at the beginning of

September. Attached to the house was a crimson chimney.

There was a desk next to the window in the bedroom of that house. An

ordinary notebook was spread open on the table.

A slightly pale hand flipped the notebook to the very first page, then

it quickly flipped to the back.

As the paper flipped, the rows of words appeared faintly.

*Regence, a member from the Secret Order, sold the Antigonus family's

notebook as an ordinary ancient book by accident due to the influence

both of weariness and illusions. It was a coincidence that made logical

sense.*

*Affected by the calling of the Antigonus family's bloodline, the

notebook secretly affects its owners, one after the other. After

repeated changes in ownership, it came to Tingen. It fell into the hands

of the members of the Aurora Order---Sirius Arapis and Hanass

Vincent.*

*After they flipped through the content that temporarily appeared in the

notebook and copied the corresponding potion formulas, Sirius and Hanass

were worried that the Secret Order, who were good at divination, would

track them down. After discussing it, they decided to avoid the risk by

selling it to another person.*

*They didn't wait for Mr. Z's reply; perhaps because he stayed at Enmat

Harbor.*

*Through Sirius's introduction, Hanass got to know Welch McGovern from

the Khoy University's Department of History. Then, Hanass sold the

Antigonus family's notebook to McGovern as an ordinary ancient

book.*

*Subsequently, Sirius was attracted by the treasure that was said to

exist on the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range. He started to

visit the Deweyville Library and research the mountain. He didn't think

that there would be any problems, so he left his real address and name.

That aligned with his personality.*

*During this process, he acquainted himself with Lanevus, who was

reading up on information about iron mines to set up a scam.*

*Lanevus's hidden lunacy and swindling ability were well appreciated by

Sirius. He decided to nurture him into a member of the Aurora Order. Of

course, before that, an investigation was inevitable.*

*Sirius covertly informed Lanevus about the evil ritual of praying to

the True Creator to deliver "His" spawn into this world. But he knew

that the possibility of Lanevus succeeding was very low, because the

difficulty level of the ritual was very high, and the requirements were

very harsh. However, the latter expressed his strong interest in the

matter, tempted by the possibility of obtaining a deity's approval. He

planned to complete the ritual simultaneously as he carried out the

plans of establishing his steelworks company.*

*The cunning Lanevus could tell that there was something fishy about

Sirius Arapis. But for his personal goal, he didn't expose him.*

*He visited Hood Eugen in the asylum once again. They had known each

other long ago, and they knew about their respective

situations.*

*After a dark divination, the Antigonus family's notebook was awakened

fully. Welch and his classmate died. The lucky survivor, Klein Moretti,

sent it to Ray Bieber's house under the influence of the notebook. It

was a destined ending.*

Many rows were scribbled off and new content followed.

*For some baffling reason, and a lack of sufficient explanations, Klein

didn't commit suicide after that and somehow managed to stay

alive.*

*In the Nighthawks' investigation of Welch's case that followed, he met

Dunn Smith and joined the Nighthawks.*

*Although it had already exceeded Ince Zangwill's description, it didn't

affect the development of the story.*

*Bacchus and his brothers were down on their luck. They lost their last

chip at the gambling tables and were drowning in debt. In a bid to

obtain money, they decided to kidnap and blackmail the somewhat wealthy

individuals.*

*When they were looking for their final hideout, they chanced upon the

room opposite Ray Bieber's apartment.*

*By then, Ray Bieber was already seduced by the power offered by the

Antigonus family's notebook. He hoped to digest the gift left behind by

his ancestors.*

*However, he was in a semi-insane state, and he couldn't make the best

and safest choice. He abandoned his dead mother, but he continued

remaining in Tingen City. He only found a more elusive spot to carry out

his digestion ritual. It was truly pathetic. If he had been slightly

smarter, the story could've become even more complicated, but his

decision was made based on his instincts and his poor state of

mind.*

*Bacchus and company purchased weapons and took the youngest son,

Elliott, of the tobacco merchant, Vickroy, and held him for

ransom.*

*Finally, they successfully carried out the abduction and took Elliot

back to the apartment opposite Ray Bieber's. Vickroy's butler was

entrusted with looking for help from a security company.*

*Because of Welch's mysterious death, security companies were short on

hands. Klee chanced upon a deliveryman and happened to discover the

existence of the Blackthorn Security Company.*

*Leonard Mitchell and Klein accepted the job. Relying on their Beyonder

powers, they quickly saved the merchant's son. Regrettably, Klein didn't

immediately realize that clues to the Antigonus family's notebook were

in the apartment opposite them.*

*However, his spirituality reminded him in his dream. As such, the

Tingen Nighthawks discovered corresponding clues.*

*Sealed Artifact 2-049 arrived in Tingen. With the aid of the Antigonus

family's puppet, Dunn Smith led the Nighthawks to find Ray Bieber before

interrupting his digestion procedure.*

*Ray Bieber became a monster, and the situation was out of

control.*

*In the end, the Nighthawks skillfully worked together and took care of

Monster Bieber, but they immediately faced the attack of a member from

the Secret Order.*

More rows were scribbled away again, and the original content was

impossible to read.

*Leonard Mitchell, who possesses a secret, was going to end the

situation. Before he could, Klein, who was supposed to be doomed, killed

the Sequence 7 member from the Secret Order in an inexplicable

manner.*

*That didn't affect the development of the story. Dunn Smith got in

touch with the Antigonus family's notebook and flipped through its

content. From that point onwards, he was secretly tainted!*

*Having finished with all his preparations, Lanevus beguiled Hood Eugen

and used him to assist in his ritual. They tricked Lanevus's fiancée,

Megose, to become the vessel that would carry the True Creator's

spawn.*

*Lanevus had almost no possibility of success. The most serious problem

was that even though Megose would be protected by the ritual's power,

she wouldn't be able to withstand the sexual intercourse with the

illusory projection of a deity. It would cost her her life on the

altar.*

*At that moment, the kind Ince Zangwill helped Lanevus in secret. He

split off half a piece of a descendant of Death's characteristic that he

obtained and planted it into Megose's body ahead of time.*

*Hood Eugen made Megose enter a semi-unconscious state and convinced her

that the True Creator's illusory projection was Lanevus. Nourished by

the accumulated resentment, gloominess, and oppression of the factory

district, the ritual succeeded. Megose was pregnant with the True

Creator's spawn. The deity saw through the coincidences, but since "He"

wished to break through the shackles placed on him by the seven deities,

"He" didn't refuse.*

Hood Eugen was contaminated.

*After the ritual succeeded, the mad Lanevus regained his rationality.

He clearly knew that if the deity's spawn was to descend into the world,

Lanevus, himself, would become one of the sacrificial offerings. How

could a mortal be the father of a deity's son? This was blasphemy of the

highest order!*

*Lanevus decided to leave Tingen ahead of time and left clues to the

Nighthawks, the Mandated Punishers, and the Machinery Hivemind so that

they could resolve the repercussions of his actions. There was

ultimately a price needed for lunacy.*

*However, Lanevus didn't write the letter directly to the Beyonder

squads. He thought it would make him look stupid.*

*He decided to leave the letter in one of the houses that he rented. He

pretended to be playing a game with the Beyonders from official bodies.

As such, he didn't bring up Hood Eugen's contamination and brought with

him everything that he had obtained.*

*Just in case, he informed Sirius Arapis in the safest way he could. The

latter didn't quite believe him, but he could faintly feel the

possibility of success.*

*Selena Wood accidentally chanced upon the real magic mirror divination

incantation from her mysticism teacher, Hanass Vincent.*

*Her bold attempt was interrupted by Klein Moretti by coincidence. The

latter successfully resolved this supernatural incident that might've

caused serious casualties.*

*The Nighthawks then investigated Hanass Vincent who had recently been

awarded. Therefore, Dunn Smith coincidently saw a clear image of the

True Creator in his dream and suffered severe injuries.*

*However, he wasn't contaminated because of what happened. That would've

been noticed by the upper echelons of the Nighthawks.*

*The injury made Dunn Smith's contamination by the Antigonus family

notebook worsen. His absent-mindedness and forgetfulness worsened, and

he was getting closer and closer to satisfying Ince Zangwill's

requirements.*

Many rows were scribbled away again.

*Seriously unbelievable! Klein Moretti noticed Ince Zangwill's secret

influence and saw the crimson chimney.*

*Th-this is because he was reminded by the teacher from the Khoy

University's Department of History, Azik. He possesses many

secrets.*

*But even so, it's astounding enough for Klein to discover actual clues.

It's unexplainable.*

*Regardless of the reason, Ince Zangwill continued to act, and the story

continues.*

*Klein coincidently ran into Sirius at the library and had no choice but

to kill him. Hence, the clues leading to Lanevus were abruptly severed,

and the discovery of the problem was delayed.*

*Klein met Megose, but his spirituality stopped him from observing her

closely. However, he didn't notice the subtle abnormality. That is

logical. Our stories aren't made up randomly.*

*He searched for the red chimney, but he always opted for a route that

didn't include his target. Maybe in another two or three months, when he

was on the last batch, he would find the real red chimney

house.*

Rows and rows of writings were scribbled away, more than all of the

previous rows added together.

*Dunn Smith's problem was alleviated! His condition obviously became

better! He actually mastered the "acting method!"*

*And this was taught to him by Klein Moretti, who found inspiration from

Daly Simone and Old Neil's example. No---Ince Zangwill didn't believe

that, but he could only change his original plans slightly.*

New elements in the story came to play.

Azik decided to go to Backlund in search of his lost memories.

*It wasn't long until Klein and Dunn found clues from Hood

Eugen.*

*In order to ensure that Tingen City's Conservative Party and New Party

would be in complete opposition, Madam Sharon, who wanted to vent the

accumulated madness after her transformation, decided to take the risk

and murder Member of Parliament John Maynard.*

*"Her motive wasn't strong enough, but she took action anyway. There are

always times when people are not clear-minded enough, and she happened

to be in that stage. Besides, she was confident that she wouldn't be

discovered.*

*Maynard's wife found the Blackthorn Security Company through the

tobacco merchant, Vickroy. They didn't disappoint her, and they quickly

found Madam Sharon's abnormality.*

*Dunn Smith, who possessed power that was close to Sequence 6, decided

to take action first. He passed the Sealed Artifact 3-0271 to

Kenley.*

*When the two of them and Klein returned to Madam Sharon's residence,

Dunn attempted to pull her into a dream to control her from a

distance."*

*It was a good plan, but, unfortunately, Madam Sharon happened to have

the statue of the Primordial Demoness by her side.*

*Hence, the Nighthawks' plan failed. Kenley reflected himself in the

mirror due to his nervousness and saw himself.*

*Madam Sharon was taken care of while Kenley died. Dunn blamed himself

and consumed Kenley's Beyonder characteristic as he usually did. His

digestion procedure was interrupted as a result and was delayed. As

such, his mental state became unstable.*

*Under the circumstances, Leonard and Klein noticed the letter left

behind by Lanevus.*

*Megose received a baffling summoning and arrived at Zouteland Street.

She entered the Blackthorn Security Company, and the baby in her stomach

was at a critical point in its development. It couldn't stop her

urges.*

*Dunn made a detailed plan, a plan that was right, but he made one

mistake. If he steeled his resolve to lure Megose behind Chanis Gate, he

would've stood a chance with the aid of the environment and the items

present. If he wanted to wait for backup, he definitely shouldn't have

just taken Saint Selena's urn out.*

*Unfortunately, Dunn's mind wasn't in the right place due to recent

events, and he didn't think of the most critical point. A diety's son

would be able to feel the threat of the Saint's urn. Hence, it was

triggered and started to absorb its mother's strength in a bid to be

born ahead of time, even though it wasn't exactly ready.*

*Azik was in Backlund, but he wasn't a Planeswalker, so he couldn't rush

back in such short notice.*

A few rows were scribbled away.

*Megose became a monster, and the fight began. With the aid of the

Saint's urn, Blood Vessel Thief, and two high-level charms that

strangely appeared, Megose died and the deity's son was exorcized. Dunn

Smith died as a result, and the power of Saint Selena's ashes was

severely damaged as well. That went perfectly with Ince Zangwill's

intentions.*

*Ince Zangwill didn't get a chance to showcase himself, but it didn't

hinder him from achieving his goal.*

*He killed Klein Moretti, the fellow who kept disrupting his plans, and

he took away Saint Selena's ashes.*

*Ince Zangwill set up a ritual with the remaining half of the

characteristic of Death's descendant. He consumed Saint Selena's ashes

and successfully advanced from Sequence 5 of the Death Sequence pathway,

Gatekeeper, to Sequence 4 of the Evernight Sequence pathway,

Nightwatcher. As such, he received godhood characteristics and became a

Demigod.*

*The sun continues to shine brilliantly on the land. Nearly no one in

Tingen City realized how they narrowly escaped a huge disaster. Monster

Ademisaul would be left very confused about it.*

The notebook was flipped to the last page. A middle-aged man that was

holding onto the book had dark blond hair, a dark blue eye that was

nearly black, a tall nose, and tightly pursed lips. His facial features

were like that of a statue and didn't have a single wrinkle. He held a

classic quill with his slightly pale hand and wrote a line clearly

without dipping into any ink.

He ended with a simple sentence.

Tingen's story ends here.

The papers rustled as he closed the book, leaving only a brown cover.