Chapter 852: Straight to the Point

The sun hung brightly in midair. In a dark, silent corner of the

cemetery, Leonard Mitchell suddenly raised the shovel beside him.

The two mounds of soil at the side gradually raised in height as the

coffin pit became obvious. From time to time, there would be passersby,

but they didn't notice anything, as though a dream was happening over

there.

Finally, Leonard threw the shovel and bent down. He reached out and

grabbed the ends of the coffin lid with both hands.

Using immense strength, he pulled open the heavy wooden lid and

discovered that the thick, long nails had fallen off at some point in

time. There was nothing inside the pitch-black coffin.

Nothing!

Leonard continued keeping his body hunched as he silently watched this

scene without any further movement. He stood there like a petrified

statue for a very long time.

In his hazy dream, Klein saw a tombstone with an epitaph. It stood

silently among many other tombstones as it was dyed in crimson

moonlight.

This scene shattered immediately as Klein snapped awake. He confirmed

that he was still Dwayne Dantès and that he was still inside 160 Böklund

Street's master bedroom.

The dream seems to be telling me something... As a Seer, Klein

treated every dream seriously. This was no exception. He focused and

shook himself out of his state of drowsiness before attempting to make

an interpretation.

That's likely a tomb...

*This represents a particular deceased or something related to

resurrection...*

*The crimson moonlight represents the Goddess, corresponding to the

Church of Evernight and the Nighthawks... If I were to directly see the

moon, it might involve the Primordial Moon, Vampire Ancestor Lilith, and

the Mother Tree of Desire...*

*The tomb was dyed with a color almost resembling blood. This symbolizes

something bad...*

As Klein did an interpretation of the dream, he gathered all the content

and attempted to make an effective, meaningful conclusion.

After some serious thought, he began to believe that the dream's

revelation was referring to the past him and the Church of Evernight.

After making the connections with what had happened the past few days,

Klein slowly came to an answer.

*As Dwayne Dantès has repeated headed for Saint Samuel Cathedral, he

must've been added to a list of suspects. If Leonard hasn't left

Backlund, this must've garnered his attention. After all, he knows that

Dwayne Dantès isn't a simple person and has mysterious

origins...*

*As an angel from the Marauder pathway, Leonard's grandpa probably

discovered that the gray fog and the Seer pathway has intricate ties,

and knows that the corresponding Sequence 0 is called The

Fool...*

*This way, they will naturally be able to make connections with the

honorific name of The Fool that was previously spread, and they would

believe that I'm a member of a secret organization that worships The

Fool. And developing on this clue, it can also involve the person who

killed Lanevus and Hero Bandit Black Emperor who used tarot

cards...*

*Along with the Gehrman Sparrow clues I deliberately left behind, as

well as Leonard's previous investigations into Sherlock Moriarty, it's

not impossible for him to put things together and find what's highly

dubious.*

*And in the beginning, Sherlock Moriarty's disguise wasn't too good. As

long as Leonard investigates seriously, it wouldn't be difficult to

discover that the great detective resembled his former colleague... So,

he went to Tingen to dig up the grave for confirmation?*

As he thought about the matter, Klein pulled a back cushion over and sat

up. He felt that he had already found the answer to his dream.

He began seriously analyzing what could happen afterwards, considering

if he should abandon the identity of Dwayne Dantès.

*Leonard has no way of conveying his theories and conclusion to the

other Nighthawks because he won't be able to explain the key points for

his inference. This will expose his own secret...*

*Based on my experience and my understanding of him, he will steer the

matter via different means. This will be more complicated and

troublesome, wasting even more time. Before that happens, I should find

him and give him another warning. It should snuff out whatever is on his

mind. After all, the Church didn't suffer any material loss, nor did

anyone die.*

*Yes, for Dwayne Dantès, I have taken note of the time. I specially

created tracks of my activity in the Southern Continent over the past

few months, staggering it with the decline of Gehrman Sparrow's

sightings. And this involves the Intis colony, so it will be rather

difficult to verify the matter...*

*That also means that Leonard has, at best, figured out that Gehrman

Sparrow equals Sherlock Moriarty equals Klein Moretti. He will just

believe that I'm in cahoots with "them," part of a secret organization

that believes in The Fool...*

*Heh heh, to him, Dwayne Dantès is a powerful, mysterious Beyonder who

can sense the grandpa in him, a demigod. This is an obvious discrepancy

with the other identities.*

*Klein soon came up with countermeasures as he turned his attention to

the matter he encountered at East Balam Military Veterans Mess in the

afternoon.*

*Why would they directly seek me out for such a private arms

deal?*

*I just established a friendship with Macht and hadn't experienced any

tests. I don't deserve such trust...*

Perhaps it's a test?

*In the beginning, it will just be rifles and cannons. The quantity

would probably be limited. Nor will it involve high-quality items.

Furthermore, I'll need to come up with the cash before receiving the

goods. If I have any real problems, they wouldn't suffer any losses.

They will only suffer the repercussions of a small batch of weapons

falling into hands within their own domain of control.*

*Yes... to them, a tycoon like me, with a complicated background and a

deep understanding of West Balam, really is an excellent candidate.

First, I have the money. Second, I have the guts. Third, I have the

resources and social connections, allowing the arms to be sold to

suitable factions. Fourth, I have no background in the upper echelons of

the kingdom. I can always be made the scapegoat and be

abandoned.*

*They must've sent people to monitor me in secret... As long as this

"business" is smoothly completed, I'll be a close partner with the

military... This will aid in my investigations of the truth behind the

Great Smog of Backlund...*

*The problem I have now is that I have zero actual knowledge of West

Balam's Resistance and various tribes... I've no idea where that fellow,

Anderson, is. I don't have his method of contact either...*

*Hmm, Danitz might be aware of the situation in West Balam... Same for

Ma'am Hermit. Likewise for Queen Mystic who's backing her... I'll first

gather intelligence from these channels...*

Having made up his mind, Klein's working brain slowed down as a sense of

drowsiness washed over him again. He let his body slide down bit by bit

as he got under the blankets.

In the basement of Saint Samuel Cathedral, Leonard, who had returned

from Tingen, managed to be in time for the team's internal meeting.

Soest first briefed them on the conclusion of the archbishop and what

the other local Nighthawk teams had obtained.

"With the help from the Holy Cathedral, Saint Anthony has confirmed that

the infiltrator is Gehrman Sparrow. The conclusion is that this crazy

criminal is still alive but doesn't exist in this world.

"This is truly a contradictory statement. I don't understand it as well.

His Grace didn't explain anything either.

"In short, our focus will be on the investigation of Gehrman Sparrow.

"According to the information provided by MI9, Gehrman Sparrow is a fake

identity. He originally came from Backlund..."

After Soest finished the briefing, he asked, "Do you have anything to

add?"

Leonard opened his mouth and was just about to say something, but his

eyes shimmered twice before he fell silent again.

Soest turned his head and glanced at him, calling him out by name.

"Leonard, did you discover any clues?"

Leonard remained silent for a second before shrugging.

"That clue has been eliminated."

Soest didn't ask further as he looked at the other teammates.

After a series of supplementary information and analysis, he began

assigning missions to his Red Gloves team.

After everything was assigned, Leonard Mitchell held a name list that

required him to enter their dreams for a cross-check. He returned to the

break room above and threw his body into bed.

He sat there silently as he raised his hand to comb his hair, preparing

to begin taking action.

However, the first dream he entered wasn't anyone in the name list.

His target was Dwayne Dantès!

After repeated considerations, he decided to speak to this secret

organization member, an undying monster from the Fourth Epoch, face to

face. He wanted to see what information he could sound out.

This looked somewhat rash, but with both parties knowing each other's

secrets, it was still a good choice.

160 Böklund Street. Klein's drowsy mind suddenly became clear as he knew

that someone had entered his dream.

He pondered silently, sitting in a reclining chair and turning his head

to look at the balcony. He saw a black-haired, green-eyed man wearing a

white shirt and black vest nimbly leap inside. He was none other than

Leonard Mitchell.

*I haven't gone looking for you, and here you are coming to my

doorstep... The other Nighthawks would politely knock on the door before

entering. Only you would jump into balconies...* Klein lampooned

as he looked at the poet approach him.

At this moment, in Leonard's eyes, Dwayne Dantès was still wearing a

formal suit in the dream. His sideburns were gray, and he had an angular

face with an immense amount of charm.

At this moment, the tycoon wore a smile, as though he wasn't hiding the

fact that he remained lucid and that he wasn't affected by a Nightmare.

"Didn't Pallez Zoroast teach you some manners?" Klein said with a tone

he believed matched Leonard's impression of him.

Pallez Zoroast... He's warning me again... Leonard was taken

aback as he remembered the name.

He quickly reined in his thoughts and bowed in a manner that lacked

standards.

"Please pardon me for the intrusion. You are on our investigation list.

"Was the infiltration done by you guys? Is that your goal for coming to

Backlund?"

"No." Klein in his Dwayne Dantès guise raised the cup of red wine and

sipped it. "It's not us, but just him alone."

He put on an act that he wasn't afraid of Leonard knowing.

"Gehrman Sparrow?" Leonard asked in a deep tone.

Klein glanced at him with his deep blue eyes that seemed to have seen

the vicissitudes of life.

"Isn't that obvious?"

"What does he actually want to do? He didn't take anything away,"

Leonard took the opportunity to ask.

Klein raised his hand to stroke his white sideburns and chuckled.

"What do you think is the answer?"