Chapter 285: Midnight Clock Tower

Audrey, who had set up an urgent communication method with Xio and Fors,

quickly passed on Mr. Fool's message to the two ladies through the huge

golden retriever, Susie, claiming that the information she had received

came via other sources.

In the corner of an old church, as Xio was thinking about how to confirm

Lanevus's identity, or how she should create chaos and avenge Williams,

she unfolded the ball of paper.

...There's no need to confirm. He's Lanevus? Xio's eyes

widened as she quickly skimmed through the rest of the paper's content.

The piece of paper clearly wrote:

"The only choice is to notify the Church of Evernight.

"Alert them that Lanevus has the godhood of the True Creator on him."

"Godhood? The True Creator's godhood?" Xio blurted out as she looked at

the golden retriever in front of her in shock, only to realize that she

was equally dumbfounded.

"What?" Fors was listening when she suddenly felt something was amiss.

She hurriedly reached out for the piece of paper and scanned it.

After a moment, she curled her lips and said at a loss, "This... this

must be a joke, right?

"How did we get involved in a matter that's tied to an evil god's

godhood?"

*This was meant to involve the capture of a cunning swindler worth only

200 pounds!*

In response to Fors's question, Susie could only express the notion that

she was only a dog and that she didn't know what was happening either

with her innocent eyes.

Not expecting a dog to answer her questions, she turned her head to Xio

and said, "I'm afraid Miss Audrey isn't as naive and innocent as we

thought. She has many secrets.

"This might be a power struggle between a cult, the nobles and the

Church.

"However, it's evident that she didn't know about the matter of godhood

prior to this. She's also being used by someone. Hmm... That person

could be her father, Earl Hall."

"What's fortunate is that this matter ends here. You don't need to take

the risk anymore. After you get someone to make the report, you just

need to wait to collect the bounty in peace."

Xio was startled and said, "That's true...

"Hopefully, those Nighthawks are able to avenge Williams. They're so

strong, so they'll definitely be able to do it. Definitely..."

Before she finished speaking, she suddenly turned her head to the side

and spoke as if she was talking to herself, "I'm still too weak.

"Too weak..."

Xio jerked her hand up, covering her mouth and nose.

*I'm still too weak... If not for that, I would've chosen to take

revenge myself, but right now I can only take a step back... Not to

mention there's 'Giant' and those hidden helpers around Lanevus. With

just his godhood, he isn't someone I can deal with... With the reaction

speed of the Nighthawks, they'll likely take action tonight once they

receive the report. The Backlund diocese is second only to the Church's

headquarters. They have many Sealed Artifacts and many powerful

Beyonders. There's no need to wait for any additional

helpers...* After completing his task of informing Audrey, Klein

returned to the real world. He stuck on a beard, changed his hairstyle,

and stared into the mirror for several minutes.

He felt anticipation and excitement, as well as depression and a sense

of powerlessness.

Before the evening arrived, he left the Quelaag Club and returned to

Minsk Street. On his way, he went to the grocery market and found a

stall that was bustling with its great business. He bought several

masks, including a clown's.

He had decided to watch the hunt for Lanevus tonight!

He wanted to see the other party pay the price for his madness with his

own eyes!

Of course, with his strength, he could only watch from a distance and

not even have the right to approach them.

By eleven o'clock, when many people were in their dreams, Klein changed

into his grayish-blue worker's uniform and disguised himself as he had

the night before. Then, he put on his cap, walked a few streets away,

and took a rental carriage to the Backlund Bridge area.

Once there, he switched to walking and walked all the way to the East

Balam Dock.

His interview yesterday included questions such as "where are you

staying now" and "how's the environment like." Therefore, he knew very

well that Lanevus would be staying in the dormitory provided by the Dock

Union at night.

However, Klein didn't go near it. Instead, he carefully went around it.

His target was the clock tower of the East Balam Dock.

In Backlund, in addition to the large church with its tall, iconic clock

tower, many government buildings were also equipped with one. However,

they weren't necessarily tall, grand, and not ornate. It was mostly

built for pragmatic reasons, such as this one in the East Balam Dock.

Compared to the surrounding buildings that reached a maximum of three

stories, it was like a giant that stood high in the night sky as it

overlooked the entire area.

Klein easily entered the interior of the clock tower and went up the

endless flight of spiral stairs as he moved quickly in the darkness.

Finally, he arrived at his destination. He arrived at the top of the

gigantic wall clock. It was surrounded by a dark yellow fence, and at

the top of his head was a steeple that could be reached by stretching

his hand.

Taking a few steps forward, Klein hid in the shadows, got a sense of his

bearings, and looked towards the Dock Union's dormitory.

It was a two-story, brick-red building, and the occasional pedestrian

resembled a black dot in Klein's eyes.

He stared for a few seconds, then took a step back, and sank into the

darkness.

At the same time, he took out his newly bought mask and wore it.

It was a clown with the corner of its mouth sharply raised and a painted

red nose.

A happy clown.

Wearing a clown mask, Klein stood in the rich darkness, patiently

waiting for the predetermined show.

He waited for two hours.

When the hands of the large wall clock passed one o'clock, he suddenly

saw something flying from the distance.

It was a huge airship covered in dark black paint!

If it weren't for the faint moonlight, it would've been

indistinguishable from the night sky. Unlike what was described in the

newspapers and magazines, depicting them as machines that emitted

exaggerated mechanical noises, its oars rotated quietly, as silent as a

vulture who had found its prey but hadn't found a chance.

The solid, light alloy supported the cotton frame, and below it hung the

compartment for guns, projectile launchers, and cannons. At a glance, it

appeared to be a powerful deterrent.

*It's silent... Is this a temporary result caused by Beyonder

means?* Klein, wearing his clown mask, looked at the slowly

descending airship and made a guess.

At this moment, he was most puzzled over the dispatch of an airship for

a small-scale Beyonder battle in a densely populated area of the city!

*Aren't they afraid of dealing collateral damage to the surrounding

citizens? Aren't they afraid of causing panic?*

Very soon, the airship hovered about 10 meters in the air. This way,

Klein was even less worried about being discovered. His position was

much higher than them!

Observing the situation below, he suddenly had a hunch. It was likely

that the airship wouldn't engage in combat, but rather provide air

surveillance of the area to give the personnel involved in the operation

a better view and prevent the target from escaping if any accidents

occurred.

Right at this moment, three figures dressed in black robes suddenly

appeared in front of the two story brick-red building.

The man in the lead didn't wear a hat, revealing his short golden brown

hair and blackish-green eyes which appeared to be as deep as a windless

lake.

The collars of his shirt and trench coat were propped up high, and his

palms were covered with a layer of gloves that were as red as blood!

A silver-white metal suitcase was wound around his left hand via a chain

of the same color.

This was one of the of the nine high-ranking deacons of the Church of

Evernight, Crestet Cesimir. He was also one of the three powerhouses of

the Red Gloves and he happened to be in Backlund.

After looking straight ahead, Cesimir turned his head to the left and

said to his subordinate, "Use Sealed Artifact 1-63."

"Yes, Reverend Cesimir." The Nighthawk crouched down and helped Cesimir

untie the chain around the silver suitcase.

Throughout the entire process, Crestet Cesimir's muscles were very

tense, as though he was fighting something.

The Nighthawk on the left took a deep breath and pressed down suddenly,

causing the illusionary ripples on the surface of the silver box to

crack.

The surrounding halo suddenly disappeared as if it was completely sucked

into the case. A bone sword, that was less than a meter-long, emitted

glossy, pure white light as it slowly floated up.

Its blade had an ancient silver-coated mirror attached to it.

The scenes reflected in the mirror were layered and superimposed without

end.

The Nighthawk on the left took the mirror and pointed it at the

brick-red building.

The building was clearly reflected in it, and nothing seemed to change.

However, Cesimir slowly exhaled, stretched out his left hand to grasp

the short bone sword.

The surrounding halo was somewhat restored.

"Let's go in." He started walking towards the entrance of the brick

building.

The three Nighthawks opened the door and entered the dark building and

targeted the stairs that led to the second floor.

At that moment, a tall, thin figure emerged from the shadows in the

corner. He wore a black priest's uniform, and he had curly, pale yellow

hair and beastly dark brown eyes.

"You're the Goddess's Sword?" The nearly-two-meter-tall "Giant" spoke in

a deep voice.

At the same time, he clenched his right palm.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Union members in this small brick-red building exploded one after

another in their dreams, without even having the chance to scream.

Their bodies split into pieces, turning into thick, sticky flesh. Half

of their bodies rushed towards the "Giant" to weave into cloaks that

could reduce magical damage. The other half condensed into furry giant

rugs that blanketed the three Nighthawks.

Crestet Cesimir only watched silently without doing anything.

Silently, the flesh and blood dissipated and collapsed before falling

down like rain, but the raindrops didn't stain the floor red.

In each of the rooms, figures emerged once more, still sleeping soundly.

"This is the world within a mirror, a mirror world that only targets

Beyonders. The flesh bombs you planted in the bodies of the ordinary

people are only illusions in here." Cesimir raised the Holy Artifact

bone sword in his right hand, causing the light around him to disappear.

"Hmph!" the "Giant" suddenly grabbed his left shoulder with his right

hand and tore off his arm. He then threw the blood arm forward!

Boom!

His arm exploded like a bomb, turning into a rain of blood that rained

down on the three Nighthawks.

At the same time, the flesh on his left shoulder began to squirm madly

as he slowly grew a new arm which was still bloody without any skin.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Sizzle!

The blood-colored raindrops accurately avoided Cesimir and the others

before falling to the ground and quickly corroding into deep, dark

traces.

But no matter how hard they tried, they always missed the three

Nighthawks by a hair's breadth, as if they were fated to do so.

"My enemies aren't always lucky enough." The corners of Cesimir's mouth

curled up, and with a slip of his foot, he instantly appeared in front

of "Giant."

Giant's eyes narrowed as his body suddenly melted like a candle, turning

into sticky flesh and blood that quickly seeped into the floor.

Cesimir immediately kneeled and plunged the Holy Artifact bone sword

into the ground.

"No!"

In the rich darkness, a roar filled with pain and horror instantly

sounded, and it was immediately swallowed up by tranquility and

serenity.

Cesimir stood up and drew out the bone sword. A drop of dark red blood

was slowly dripping down its tip, and on the floor, flesh and blood were

seeping out, congealing into a face of despair. It was precisely the

"Giant" who had a slightly drooping mouth.

Pat! Pat! Pat!

Three shadows appeared around Cesimir in succession. However, they all

mysteriously collapsed to the ground, having been forcefully taken down

by many invisible entities!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Another Nighthawk fired, and the silver

surface of the bullet seemed to bear the Evernight Sacred Emblem.

The three attackers hiding in the shadows suddenly revealed themselves,

twitching as they lost their breath.

"Rose Bishop, Shadow Ascetic... People from the Aurora Order." Cesimir

frowned and said in a low voice without turning to his companions,

"There's something wrong about this. It's very strange. All of you be

careful."

Before he could finish his words, he heard the shuffling of footsteps

which echoed in the silence and serenity.

Immediately, he saw Lanevus with his chiseled face dressed in a linen

shirt walking down the dark staircase. He appeared calm and placid

without any signs of fear.

"I'm very curious. To the Aurora Order, you should be a blasphemer. Why

would they send people to protect you?" Cesimir didn't seem to notice

the abnormality as he asked casually.

Lanevus showed his trademark taunting smile and said, "That's simple.

"Because I'm no longer just Lanevus."

He paused for a moment, and his gaze suddenly turned cold.

"Now, I'm even more of the True Creator!"

He yanked open his linen shirt, revealing the dark red flesh of his

skinless chest and abdomen.

The flesh and blood were conjoined together, forming the figure of a

hanged man!

All of a sudden, the void around them shattered like glass, and all the

scenes around them crumbled.

This was the aura of a deity.