Kaspars turned around and whispered a few words to the bartender behind him, then stood up and led Klein to a private room behind the bar.
Taking advantage of the moment he stood up, Klein quickly activated his Spirit Vision and scanned his surroundings. The subtle sense of being watched, which had been present since he left home, disappeared as soon as he entered the Bravehearts Bar.
"This place is indeed not as simple as an underground Beyonder gathering. Although I'm not sure if the ones watching me now are the Punishers or the Nighthawks, it at least indicates that this place is very special…"
This thought flashed through Klein's mind, but he didn't stop, following Kaspars. He had already had this idea more than a month ago when the Intis Ambassador, Bakerland, died.
After all, that wasn't some nobody. The dignified Ambassador of Intis was killed just like that. Either Maric, who took the mission, was a Lunatic who wasn't afraid of death, or he was confident for some reason.
Klein casually closed the door to the card room, and the loud clamor instantly softened. Kaspars leaned back comfortably on the sofa, fiddling with the chips in his hand, and said with a smile:
"Outside, there's a boxing match. Do you want to bet on who will win? It only costs 5 pounds."
That's almost Benson's previous weekly salary… With a somewhat wistful expression, Klein decisively waved his hand:
"I'm not interested in boxing."
Watching Kaspars skillfully toss the chips into a partitioned passage in the card room, Klein raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile:
"I didn't realize you could bet on boxing here before. Those two boxers outside don't seem to be ordinary people."
Kaspars idly flipped through the cards in his hand, glancing at Klein with a strange expression:
"They are all children Maric adopted from orphanages around Backlund. Well, in your terms, they should be called 'Apprentices'."
Maric's Apprentices? You call them children?
Klein recalled the two "children" on the stage, whose physiques were much more exaggerated than his own, and couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth, guessing it might be a change brought about by consuming the potion.
Reason told him that he shouldn't continue this topic. Klein cleared his throat and stated the purpose of his visit:
"There's a case involving a Beyonder."
"I encountered a death at the Quelaag Club in the Hillston Borough. It was my friend, a noble descendant, a riding instructor."
"He was usually very healthy, but he suddenly died in front of me. It looked like a sudden heart attack, but my Spirit Vision told me he might have been cursed."
Although Kaspars had not chosen to consume a potion and become a Beyonder due to age and physical reasons, he frequently interacted with various bounty Hunters and other Beyonders. He immediately jotted down the information on paper and asked in return:
"What did you see with your Spirit Vision?"
Klein was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice:
"There was some rapidly fading illusory Black Qi on the deceased's chest, which is likely some kind of curse."
Nodding, Kaspars pondered for a moment, then finally asked:
"Which deity did your friend believe in?"
Having anticipated this question, Klein answered without hesitation: "The Lord of Storms."
"A follower of the 'Lord of Storms'… And he's the only deceased?" Kaspars frowned and asked in return.
Knowing what he was worried about, Klein added:
"Yesterday, I was already questioned by the 'Punishers', simply because I am also one of the suspects, so it's inconvenient for me to investigate this matter personally…"
As soon as Klein walked out of the Bravehearts Bar, his spiritual intuition immediately reported that familiar feeling of being watched. He pretended not to notice anything and walked straight home.
Although the Sealed Artifact "0-08" was very likely to detect his abnormality, Ince Zangwill clearly didn't know, otherwise, a "Sherlock Moriarty" might have been added to the list of people who died suddenly yesterday.
Klein was well aware of this. Everything he did today was to mislead Ince Zangwill and allow the story he fabricated to continue "seamlessly."
Therefore, as a detective with a semi-official background, he needed to make a reasonable response, such as reporting to MI9 and attempting to investigate the cause of death.
After Klein disappeared at the end of the street, two figures emerged from the alley opposite the Bravehearts Bar. Leonard rubbed his messy black short hair, his dark green pupils retracted from the street, and he asked in a low voice:
"Captain, why did you stop me from entering that bar just now?"
Not wearing his characteristic red gloves, Soest glared at Leonard exasperatedly:
"You can't go in, so you can't go in. Why so many questions?"
"There are plenty of similar places in Backlund. Leaving the Cathedral doesn't mean you're a qualified Red Glove. You still have many things to learn."
"Also, this MI9 informant should also be targeted by the Punishers now. You should withdraw for a while."
"Daly has already returned from the Southern Continent by airship to report for duty. She will arrive in Backlund at the earliest next month or even sooner. You are both from Tingen, so at that time, you will be under her charge."
The familiar name brought back memories, and Leonard nodded, then looked towards the end of the street. He always felt that Sherlock gave him an indescribable sense of familiarity.
-----------------
The sky was dim, clouds rolled like scrolls, and deep blue waves rose and fell.
Dunn Smith raised his hand to hold down his black top hat, preventing it from being swept away by the howling sea wind. His gray eyes, like deep, secluded pools, quietly watched the port of Dilynius, which was about to dock.
Dilynius is the largest island south of the Rorsted Archipelago and the closest transit point to the safe passage across the Berserk Sea. Many passenger ships directly to the Southern Continent can be found here, though the ticket prices are quite high.
Carrying a black suitcase, Dunn Smith was shrouded in a black trench coat with a high collar, a habit he had developed during his more than ten years of living in the Church.
Stepping off the passenger ship, he scanned his surroundings and quickly located a hotel. After the incident in Tingen, the extra Beyonder characteristic he had consumed had been replaced, and negative states such as being immersed in dreams and poor memory had also disappeared.
Although he had to re-digest the Nightmare Beyonder characteristic, knowing the acting method, and with his previous experience, he had completely digested it in less than two months.
As early as when he left Tingen, Aaron had given the Sequence 6 Soul Assurer Beyonder characteristic and supplementary ingredients to Dunn Smith, which had been sealed in that black leather case.
Just as Dunn Smith was about to stay at a hotel for a night and advance to Soul Assurer before entering the safe passage to the Southern Continent, he suddenly felt the surrounding sky abruptly grow darker, as if night had fallen.
He subconsciously looked up. A large dark shadow appeared in the already extremely dim sky due to the storm, and it was continuously growing larger.
His spirituality unconsciously spread, and his gray eyes saw even more clearly in the Darkness. Dunn Smith saw that the dark shadow was actually an airship, and on the flag hanging below the airship, the Dark Sacred Emblem was strikingly prominent.
He subconsciously took a step forward, then instantly froze in place, silently watching the airship pass over the port and fly towards the flatter northern part of Dilynius Island.
Loud, noisy discussions came from all around. Even strangers were talking about the suddenly appearing airship, but only Dunn Smith stood silently in place, like a lone wanderer abandoned by the world.
The hum of the high-octane steam engine drowned out the howling wind. Audrey, neatly dressed, looked at Susie, who was curled up at her feet, not daring to approach the French window, and soothed her with a smile:
"Susie, don't be afraid. We've already passed through the safe passage. This is just an ordinary storm, and we'll be home soon."
Given that there were outsiders present, Susie only whimpered, which was her response to Audrey's comfort.
Holding up her skirt, Audrey approached the French window, looking at Dilynius Island, which was still dim despite being noon. She smiled and asked Daly, who was staring blankly out the window:
"Madam Daly, what's wrong?"
A pleasant voice echoed in her ears. Daly suddenly snapped back to attention and bowed slightly with a hint of apology:
"Nothing, I just suddenly had a whim. Perhaps I've been on the airship for too long, and those little fellows inside me might be a bit restless."
Seeing Audrey's somewhat stiff expression, Daly suddenly realized her tone was a bit off and explained with slight embarrassment:
"I am a Spirit Guide, and I have many spiritual bodies residing within me. I'm used to calling them 'little fellows'."
After speaking, she noticed that Miss Audrey's expression had returned to normal, but the golden retriever was staring at her with a very strange look.
Suppressing the somewhat strange thoughts in her heart, Daly pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice:
"All the originally transported supplies have been left in the Southern Continent. Our return journey will be much faster than when we came, and the frequency of supply replenishment can also be greatly reduced, so we might arrive in Backlund by the beginning of next month."
As she spoke, the entire airship began to tremble gently, which meant it was docking at Dilynius Island. Audrey silently calculated the time and nodded slightly.
She had received Earl Hall's telegram half a month ago. Once she returned to Backlund, she would officially start working at the East Tucker Charity Fund, which was what she had hoped for.
After the airship had completely calmed down, Audrey, who was quite familiar with Daly, pondered for a moment before continuing to ask:
"What do you plan to do after returning to Backlund?"
Without the slightest hesitation, as if she had repeated it hundreds of times in her mind, Daly suddenly clenched her hands, almost blurting out:
"Revenge!"
She took a deep breath, looked at Miss Audrey, who had a worried expression, and Daly's expression softened as she explained with a bitter smile:
"Don't worry, I won't do anything foolish."
"When the Church cooperated with the Church of the Lord of Storms and MI9 to investigate the death of the former Duke Negan, Ince Zangwill's tracks were discovered in the suburbs of Backlund."
"The Cathedral will later assign a special Archbishop to lead a Red Gloves squad to pursue him. I will apply to join after I return to Backlund to report for duty."
Angry and sad, but not having lost her rationality… Audrey, who had just advanced to Psychiatrist a few days ago, scrutinized Daly and came to a conclusion in her heart. She no longer tried to dissuade her and said with a faint smile:
"We will rest for a day on Dilynius Island. Because airships and ships are prohibited from passing around Bansy Harbor, we will not stop again after this and will fly directly to Pritz Harbor."
"Madam Daly, you can take this opportunity to leave the airship and walk around the island, letting those 'little fellows' relax."
Daly did not refuse Audrey's kind offer. After bowing, she left the room.
-----------------
In the Spirit World, where color blocks were richly overlapped, Aaron moved through figures of indescribable forms, closely following Astolfo, who was leading the way, and arrived at a chaotic and mixed area of the Spirit World.
Except for the seven different colored pure lights occupying the highest part of the Spirit World, which remained unchanged, the originally colorful blocks were now distorted into a chaotic mess.
Aaron was not unfamiliar with this place; it was the area of the Spirit World corresponding to the Sea of Ruins, though this was only the relatively safe outer area.
The reason for choosing this location was partly due to the special nature of the Sea of Ruins, which allowed for better sealing of this already chaotic Spirit World.
Moreover, even if the battle became so intense that it caused significant damage to the Spirit World, it wouldn't matter, as this place had already become this ghostly state.
More importantly, if the three-in-one seal of the Astral World, Spirit World, and Material World was well in place, the sudden madness of the Mother Tree of Desire here could logically lead those in the Spirit World to associate it with a portion of an Abomination Beyonder characteristic still hidden deep within the Sea of Ruins.
At that time, They would exert themselves even more to stop the Mother Tree of Desire, and it could also, to some extent, create a smokescreen, gaining more time.
Just as Aaron and Astolfo appeared, they discovered that deep within this chaotic Spirit World area, two blurred figures emerged.
They sometimes overlapped with the gray mist emanating from the high reaches of the Spirit World, and sometimes separated. Both were Blessed Dogs with dark red flames burning in their eyes and covered in short Black fur.
However, in the eye sockets of these two Monsters, there was only a single dark red flame, and they were currently devouring some translucent, illusory Spirit Body.
Looking at the two one-eyed Blessed Dogs, Aaron was stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to greet them, he found that they instantly disappeared like startled birds.
This… Do I look like a bandit?
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a light suddenly rose before Aaron's eyes, and an old man in an orange robe appeared.
This old man was plump, with a short white beard, and looked quite amiable. He was "Orange Light" Hillarion.
Before he could speak, one after another, different colored lights rose around Hillarion, transforming into different old man images.
Looking at the "Seven Lights" standing neatly before him, each in a different colored robe, Aaron's mouth twitched slightly. After Hillarion finished introducing the remaining pure lights he hadn't met, he said with a smile:
"Seeing is believing. Frankly, I have always wanted to visit the seven of you, but I never found the opportunity. Now, this wish has finally come true."
"I already have a solution for the problem of the Astral World. Next, I may have to trouble you all a lot."