Chapter 414: Desire Apostle

While Stuart was raising his gun to aim, Klein, who had long been on

guard, had already detected it. He lunged forward at the same time as

Stuart performed his series of actions.

Bang!

Stuart, who was clearly out of control, pulled the trigger, and the

bullet grazed the side of a private detective's face as it hit the wall.

Instantly, the other detectives pulled out their revolvers as a result

of the stress. It was as if they were looking at the enemy, turning the

scene extremely chaotic.

Among them, Stuart and a private detective had flushed faces and bulging

veins. Their eyes burned with a mixture of fear and anger, as though

they had turned into so-called devils.

At this moment, Kaslana bellowed, "Stop!"

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was filled with awe. It made everyone's

body tremble, and they subconsciously complied.

Although there was a brief moment of silence, everyone's mood didn't

seem to improve. Klein had already rolled over to the other side and

stood up with his revolver in his hand.

His mind raced, and he couldn't afford to hide his thoughts. He planned

to rely on his hallucination ability to calm down the few visitors.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Ding dong, ding dong!

A few of the private detectives suddenly became alert, and their eyes

revealed a hint of lucidity.

The tinkling of the doorbell was like a bucket of cold water that poured

over their heads.

Stuart looked at the revolver in his hand and mumbled in a daze, "What

was I doing just now..."

The official Beyonders have made their move? Klein breathed a

sigh of relief, approaching the door as he held his revolver.

The moment he held the handle, the image of the person outside appeared

in his mind.

It was a man in a black coat and a hunter's hat. He had gray temples,

and a thin face---Isengard Stanton.

The detective's face was somewhat pale, and his left arm was propped up

near the shoulder.

He really is alright! Klein was delighted at first, but then

he became cautious---he remembered the day when Marionettist Rosago had

transformed into a constable to knock at his door.

Klein placed his finger on the trigger, pulled the door open, and took

two steps back.

Isengard Stanton smiled and nodded at him.

"Thank you for your visit this afternoon; otherwise, I might not have

been able to continue playing hide-and-seek with that devil.

"You saved my life."

*This... Could it be that the correct interpretation of "a suitable date

for visiting Isengard Stanton" is that by visiting him this afternoon, I

was able to help him out of trouble? What about the next few days of

"suitable dates for visiting?" By skirting around the murder scene, I

wouldn't be suspected?* Klein didn't know whether to laugh or

cry.

He didn't let his guard down as he made way.

"What exactly happened?"

"We'll talk later." Isengard suddenly lowered his voice and laughed. "Do

you wish to discuss the subject of Beyonders in front of Stuart and the

others?"

*So here you are mentioning Beyonders to me so naturally? That's right,

I was able to remain in a deadlock with the master of the Devil dog for

more than ten minutes. That serves to prove that I'm no ordinary

person... Besides, the suggestion I previously offered pointed straight

at a Devil-turned animal...* Klein quietly stayed behind

Isengard Stanton by two steps.

Upon seeing this great detective, Kaslana and her assistant, Lydia, let

out a sigh of relief. Stuart and the other private detectives also

showed a look of relief.

"Are you alright, Mr. Stanton?" they asked.

Isengard slightly moved his left arm and said, "A little injured, but

not too badly.

"Okay. Everyone, don't be nervous. This will be over soon. The police

are waiting for that bastard in the darkness nearby."

"is it because of the serial murders?"

"Have you locked onto the suspect?"

"Will he hurt the innocent?"

The private detectives asked frantically.

Isengard pressed his right palm down.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you in detail in the time to come, but before

that, I need to find out a few things from Sherlock and Kaslana. We'll

head to the activity room for a few minutes."

His accumulated prestige made the detectives sit down without rebutting.

Although they were still worried, they no longer had the problem of

fretting or suddenly losing control of their emotions.

After entering the activity room and closing the wooden door, Klein took

a look at the enclosed room and suddenly thought of something.

*This kind of environment is very suitable for using items like the

Biological Poison Bottle!*

Ahem... Klein cleared his throat, walked across the room, and

opened the window.

He still didn't relax his wariness against Isengard Stanton, nor did he

believe that Kaslana was absolutely trustworthy.

Isengard looked around, directly taking Klein's reclining chair before

chuckling.

"Being old, I still like to sit like this."

Sitting on a single sofa, Klein asked again, "Mr. Stanton, what exactly

happened?"

Isengard looked at Kaslana, who was standing behind a coffee table, and

said, "We're all Beyonders, so I won't explain stuff pertaining to

general knowledge."

"Beyonders?" Kaslana first looked at Klein, then at Isengard, slightly

surprised but not all that shocked.

*So it turns out that you're also a Beyonder... Why were you stumped by

a weak ghost back then and unable to even discover the problem... Yes,

perhaps she's from a Sequence that isn't good at dealing with shadows or

wraiths...* Klein responded to her gaze.

Isengard smiled and said, "I once went to the Lenburg for four years of

studies, where I came into contact with the Beyonder world and became a

believer of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.

"After returning to Backlund, I gradually established a good

relationship with the military, the Church of Evernight, and the Church

of the God of Steam and Machinery, but I didn't dare to reveal my true

identity, because the Mandated Punishers would definitely eliminate me

as a cult's heretic. On this matter, the other official organizations

wouldn't help me directly, because that would be equivalent to starting

a war with the Church of Storms.

"As expected of the Tyrant's Church."

"Tyrant?" Klein asked in passing.

Isengard took out his pipe, but only sniffed the tobacco.

"This is what our Church internally calls the Lord of the Storms.

"Alright. Let me first return to what happened today. The person who

attacked me and delivered threatening letters to you is the master of

the serial murderer from before. Heh heh, you should know that the

murderer is a black dog of the Devil Sequence, especially Sherlock. You

were the first to point out that the Devil might be an animal."

Klein smiled, neither denying nor admitting it. Kaslana also just

clasped her hands together, not saying a word.

Isengard shook his head and laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm not an enforcer, but as a believer of the God of

Knowledge and Wisdom, I can't preach in Backlund or officially establish

an organization. I can only rely on you and others like you for help."

In other words, you can help us take the blame? Klein mocked

inwardly.

Isengard continued, seeing that they were still not making any

admission.

"The Devil dog's master is a Sequence 5 expert. Yes, according to what I

know, the Devil pathway's Sequence 5 is Desire Apostle. They can use and

control everyone's emotions and desires, enticing them to be corrupted.

"When facing a Desire Apostle, one mustn't have feelings that are too

intense. One mustn't make or exhibit overt desires; otherwise, they'll

immediately be remotely controlled by him. Otherwise, a seed might be

planted in them or have it catalyze immediately.

"This will make people exhibit many problems as they gradually become

corrupted. They might also lose control of their emotions at a critical

moment and be unable to put up any resistance... This is a portion of

the Beyonder powers a Desire Apostle has. I have confirmed these aspects

from my battle with him."

Upon hearing this, Klein suddenly understood one of the reasons why the

culprit had sent out threatening letters and made such provocative

actions.

*He wanted to anger us, making our emotions experience violent changes

so that he could bury a corruption seed or catalyze our emotions, making

it erupt out of control!*

This would make his follow-up attacks simpler and easier!

*Fortunately, I'm a Beyonder who has experienced many things. At that

time, all I had was vigilance and caution... When Stuart and the others

saw the threatening letter, their emotions clearly changed, so the

Desire Apostle had planted a seed in them...*

*If we hadn't been able to stabilize them in time, the situation

would've become chaotic with the internal strife, giving the surrounding

official Beyonders little time to react, and thus, giving the Desire

Apostle ample opportunity...*

*Back when I was in Isengard Stanton's house, I felt that time moved

slowly. Was it a result of the magnification of my sudden increase in

vigilance, tension, wariness, and other emotions?*

Klein thought back and felt lucky.

"So that's how it is..." Kaslana seemed to gain an understanding of many

things.

Isengard rubbed his temples and said, "I was almost manipulated by him,

which resulted in my injuries. Afterward, I used a mystical item to play

hide and seek in the house. It was only when Sherlock visited and the

three sides came to a stalemate did I get a chance to have a breather.

"My poor assistant was looking forward to returning to Lenburg for Mass

on New Year's Day."

At this point, he sighed.

"When the police arrived, I took the opportunity to escape and then used

the river to escape the pursuit," Isengard added. He then asked,

"Sherlock, Kaslana, how do you plan on handling this issue?"

After a moment of silence, Kaslana said, "Mr. Stanton, do you have any

suggestions?"

Isengard said, "First, take the protection of the official Beyonders,

preventing the Desire Apostle from daring to take action. While this is

happening, we should hope that he's quickly caught or killed.

"If our hopes aren't met, it's impossible that the official Beyonders

would allocate people to constantly protect us. Then, we only have two

choices. First, it's to change our identity, including our families' and

move to a different place with their help. However, no one can guarantee

that the Desire Apostle won't discover this. Second, we can directly

join a corresponding official organization and become an external

member. That way, our identity and place of residence will change as

well, but it's much safer."

*Join a corresponding official organization? The Machinery Hivemind? Or

go to places like Lenburg or Masin to join the Church of the God of

Knowledge and Wisdom? Wouldn't I then come to have three last

names---no, a believer of three Churches?* Klein felt an

inexplicable sense of absurdity.

He thoughtfully asked for advice, "Are there no other solutions?"

At the same time, there was no change in Kaslana's expression. It was

unknown what she was thinking.

Isengard Stanton rubbed his pipe and said, "Yes, that is that we join

forces to create an opportunity so that we can quickly find and detain

the Desire Apostle.

"Of course, the perfect outcome would be us killing him directly."