Late at night, outside the train window was hazy starlight.
Tonight the crimson moon seemed to be shrouded by dark clouds, with faint starlight scattered down.
Inside the carriage, a coal lamp hung from the ceiling. The dim yellow light was not bright, somewhat like the color of a banana after it has rotted.
"Meow." Ariella curled up, lying on Hastur's lap, letting out a dissatisfied protest.
But it had no effect; it could only watch as its glossy black fur was stroked by a large hand against the direction of its hair.
"You're still thinking about what that girl said just now?" Sharon's figure appeared in the smooth mirror surface, her tone as calm as ever.
Such calmness and indifference always seemed to cool the emotions of others as well.
"Mm, this trip to Southville County is even more dangerous than I expected."
Molaka's visit tonight pointed out one thing: whether or not they had evidence that he was a Follower of the stars, as long as most people believed it, they would find ways to approach him.
After all, on the surface, he was the only follower of the stars, looking far too conspicuous. They were like people seeing a point of light in the darkness, even if it was fire, they would still rush toward it.
"A journey is never smooth," Sharon was very experienced in this matter.
"Do you regret leaving Backlund with me?"
"Danger is the whetstone of growth."
Hastur smiled and nodded. "You're right."
He stood up, took the sword hidden within the cane, went to the window on the right side, and thrust his hand into a patch of shadow.
A muffled groan sounded, blood dripped down the sword tip, and then a figure fell, crushed by the roaring steam train.
Hastur glanced outside, then completely closed the window and drew the curtains.
"No peeking allowed here!"
Hastur set another rule to prevent prying, then sat back in front of the mirror and looked at Sharon inside. "I want to rest for a while first. I'll trouble you to guard me tonight."
"Mm, alright." Sharon's reply was still very brief.
Hastur did not return to the bed but leaned against the seat, closed his eyes, and entered the Hall of Stars.
"Meow?" Ariella walked out from the shadows, glanced at its master who was already breathing evenly, and tiptoed onto the table to lie down in front of the mirror to rest.
....
Hall of Stars.
Hastur sat at the head seat, his gaze sweeping over the stars before settling again on the star where the True Creator resided.
Skillfully finding the light that represented Mr. A, he bestowed divine revelation once more.
Over an endless ocean, a sacred mountain stood tall. The Lord's figure was still impossible to perceive, only the omnipresent pressure belonging to the Lord remained everywhere.
Mr. A knelt on the sea surface, devoutly facing the direction of the sacred mountain.
Even though he had come here once before, his heart was still filled with excitement, his body trembling slightly, both wanting to raise his head to glimpse the Lord and fearing that such behavior would profane Him.
He could only keep his head lowered and silently listen to the Lord's oracle.
After the oracle was conveyed, the world before him shattered, and when Mr. A raised his head, only a statue of the Lord remained before him.
He first respectfully saluted the statue, then his gaze fell on the coffin that bore the divinity.
Last time, Lanevus' sudden death left him unable to find a suitable vessel for the divinity. With no other choice, he temporarily fused the divinity with the body of a subordinate and sealed him in the coffin, performing the corresponding ritual so that the divinity could gradually merge with the new body.
Now, the Lord had sent the latest oracle: to deliver this coffin near Saint Samuel Cathedral.
This was a provocation toward the Goddess of Evernight, an extremely insane act.
When the Lord's offspring was born from Saint Samuel Cathedral, what irony and blasphemy that would be for the Goddess of Evernight.
He could hardly wait to complete this mad undertaking.
Three days, that was the time he gave himself to complete the operation.
....
After finishing the divine revelation, Hastur turned his gaze to the light representing Bernadette, informing her of the current hiding place of the Rose School and telling her to leave the Southern Continent as soon as possible and not participate in this great war.
As Hastur was about to leave, he glanced at the star where the High-Dimensional Overseer was located.
This Outer Deity was still drifting at sea, and the pirate forces gathering around Him were growing larger and larger.
Could He be waiting for a great war to break out in the Southern Continent so that He could lead a pirate legion to join it?
Hastur looked for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and left the Hall of Stars.
When Hastur opened his eyes in the real world, Ariella pounced from the table and curled into his arms.
In the mirror, Sharon's figure appeared.
"Your rest was very short."
"That was enough."
Sharon did not understand the true meaning behind Hastur's words, but she did not probe further.
After thinking for a moment, Hastur said, "Miss Sharon, when you're at home, do you also rest inside mirrors?"
Sharon glanced at him lightly. "I am not a mirror spirit."
"..." Hastur coughed lightly, realizing he had asked a foolish question.
"The long night is long, would Miss Sharon be interested in hearing me tell a story?"
"Go ahead."
....
Through the long night, there were many who could not sleep.
Ince Zangwill, who had never truly fallen asleep, suddenly felt someone pulling him into a dream again.
Although he sneered at such behavior, he still cooperated obediently.
"Who are you?"
"What are you going to Southville County for?"
"Do you know someone named Ince Zangwill?"
Facing three consecutive questions, Ince Zangwill answered very carefully, constantly reminding himself of his current identity: a merchant traveling from Backlund to Southville County for business.
After asking several more questions, the other party left his dream.
A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Ince Zangwill's mouth. The Beyonders of the Church of the Evernight Goddess were always so easy to trust the ability of nightmares, such a trick that should have been thrown into the trash long ago only worked on ordinary people.
After a while, footsteps passed by. Ince Zangwill naturally relaxed his body, putting on the appearance of deep sleep.
....
Eastern County was also located along the eastern coast of the Kingdom of Loen.
When the steam train from Backlund arrived here, Ince Zangwill could not wait to leave the train and blend into the crowd to disappear.
He wanted to lie low for a while, then after a few days take another steam train to Southville County.
But just as he left the station, a violent explosion suddenly erupted behind him.
The ground seemed about to be overturned, and many passengers who had not yet managed to get away were buried alive in the sea of fire from the steam train explosion.
"Truly dangerous." Ince Zangwill was very glad that the seat he had chosen earlier was close to the door; otherwise, he too would have been caught in this premeditated attack.
"I wonder whose grand handiwork it is, to directly destroy an entire steam train."
After thinking briefly, Ince Zangwill quickly hailed a carriage and left the area.
The burning steam train not only engulfed passengers who had not managed to leave, but also destroyed the tracks leading to Southville County.
The station soon sounded alarms, and a large number of police officers rushed over for rescue and evacuation.
"Damn it! Who dares to act so brazenly, completely disregarding the kingdom's laws!"
"If I catch you, I'll hang every one of you on the gallows!"
A middle-aged man with a small mustache stared at the steam train that had become a heap of scrap metal, his face dark and livid.
"Sir, we've lost contact with Count Hastur Campbell. He seems not to have escaped in time, and the members of the guard team accompanying him have all perished in the explosion."
"Dead?" The middle-aged man looked over the ruined blast site several times, then said coldly, "If he's really dead, find his body as proof. Otherwise, he's missing without explanation. Understood?"
"Understood. We'll contact the local police immediately to handle this together."
Elsewhere, the likewise surviving Crestet Cesimir frowned as he looked at the site of the massive explosion.
This explosion had come far too suddenly and too violently, sweeping through all the carriages in a short time, plunging the entire steam train into flames and turning it to ashes.
This was definitely not a natural accident, but a long-planned scheme! The train had been tampered with when it left Backlund!
But why wait until the train reached the station before detonating it? If the goal was simply to kill someone on board, detonating it while the train was speeding along would have caused even greater damage, wouldn't it?
The more Crestet Cesimir thought, the stranger it seemed. Although the explosion was terrifying, quite a number of passengers survived, roughly two-thirds had died in the blast.
For a carefully planned operation, such a flaw should not exist, unless this was their intention from the beginning!
But what was the purpose? For what reason?
As Crestet Cesimir pondered, the Mandate Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind from nearby arrived after hearing the news.
"This might also be an opportunity to find Ince Zangwill."
A glint flashed in Crestet Cesimir's eyes.
If they were ordinary passengers, after such a major incident they would usually be at a loss and remain nearby waiting for the authorities to handle things.
Only those with problems would take the opportunity to slip away quietly.