Chapter 206: The Pen Falls

Chapter 206: The Pen Falls

Above the boundless gray fog, inside the majestic ancient palace.

“There is a discovery: a distorted image of the Lord of Storms, suspected to have been left behind by a Rose Redemption member… Mm, Red Angel Medici was one of Rose Redemption’s founders…” Klein sat in the high-back chair belonging to The Fool and quietly gazed at the crimson star that represented The Hanged Man.

Through the other party’s feedback, he could basically confirm that the one possessing Ince Zangwill was indeed that Red Angel evil spirit!

In the eternal silence, Klein sat wordlessly at the head of the mottled long table, as if he had become a statue of a deity.

After an unknown length of time, he nodded almost imperceptibly and slowly let out a breath.

His figure then vanished, returning to the real world, where he continued his deep sleep. He did not think about any plans, nor did he consider anything related to Ince Zangwill.

When he woke at dawn, Klein rolled out of bed and repeated the habitual motions of the past few days. Barefoot, he walked to the window and pulled open the curtains.

On the street outside the hotel, Danitz, dressed like a native of West Balam but with an additional cloak, tucked his iron-black glove into his arms and hurried toward the square on the right. According to his previous report, Klein knew he was to meet certain members of the local ruling power today to understand their attitude toward arms trade.

Anderson did not follow. He ruffled his short blond hair, already parted three-to-seven, until it was even messier. Then he sauntered to the edge of the square, found a place to sit, covered the black glove on his left palm with a ridiculous cloth doll, and began performing a puppet show for the passing people.

One man and one “puppet” used different voices. Their lines were quick, clever, and full of mutual mockery, drawing quite a bit of attention.

The only problem was that they were speaking Intisian rather than Dutan. Few people could understand them. After watching for a short while, the onlookers each drifted away.

Klein gazed down at the strongest hunter of the Misty Sea. His expression did not change, and no look of thought appeared in his eyes.

…

East Balam, the temporary office of Soest’s Red Gloves team.

Cindy, with wine-red long hair, entered holding several telegrams. With visible excitement, she said,

“We’ve found some new clues!”

“What clues?” Soest set down the white porcelain coffee cup in his hand, while Leonard, Daly, and the others also turned their gazes toward the door.

As Cindy handed the telegrams to the captain, she said,

“That line Emperor Roselle said—‘all who pass must leave traces’—really makes sense. Several locations found people who witnessed Ince Zangwill. Together, they form a complete path of movement.

“From it, we can discover that Ince Zangwill’s thoughts seem rather contradictory. He always approaches Intisian colonial islands, only to pull away again after a short stay, then approach again, then move away again. It’s like he’s doing… doing…”

Isn’t this exactly the inconsistency in language and behavior that Klein mentioned? Leonard’s heart leapt with joy, and he took the initiative to help Cindy come up with a good description.

“Wave-like movement.”

“Yes, yes. Like waves!” Cindy breathed out in relief, then continued, “In addition, Ince Zangwill killed several Intisian military spies, and he also purchased multiple Beyonder materials. We don’t know what he intends to do.”

This… Leonard considered his words before asking,

“Which pathways do those Beyonder materials Ince Zangwill bought belong to?”

“There were materials from the Warrior pathway, the Hunter pathway, and the Bard pathway.” Cindy pointed at the telegrams that Captain Soest was reading.

There really are Hunter pathway materials… Leonard, who had never been able to find an excuse or opportunity to make his teammates pay attention to Hunter-related clues, silently exhaled. He no longer had any doubts about Klein’s conjecture and believed it was the truth.

How should I guide everyone into understanding the fact that Ince is possessed by a Hunter pathway evil spirit… Leonard sank into thought until Soest finished reading the telegrams and distributed them among the other team members. Only then did he come up with an idea and decide to take a risk.

Before he spoke, he instinctively glanced at Daly Simone. He saw that the Spirit Medium-dressed lady slightly pressed her palm downward, signaling him not to rush and to stop trying.

Ma’am Daly means it isn’t time yet. I need to wait for a better opportunity? Amid Leonard’s hesitation, he saw Daly shake the telegram in her hand and look around.

“I have a thought.”

“What thought?” Soest asked.

Daly smiled.

“I suspect Ince Zangwill has been possessed by an evil spirit.”

This… She just said it directly… She’ll be suspected! Leonard was startled.

Without waiting for Soest, Cindy, and the others to raise questions, Daly continued on her own:

“Ince Zangwill was once a Gatekeeper and is now a Nightwatcher. He can contain evil spirits inside himself and borrow their power. In addition, he has 0-08 helping him. If I were him, I would definitely use this to seek out an even stronger evil spirit, maximizing my own strength.

“In that case, when the evil spirit has not been fully controlled and backlash occurs, Ince Zangwill’s behavior would show contradictions. This can explain the problem reflected in the telegrams.

“Besides, haven’t we always been puzzled over why Ince Zangwill would contact important members of the Numinous Episcopate, leading us to make all kinds of guesses? Asking them to help exorcise, purify, or thoroughly control an evil spirit may very well be his purpose!”

Soest thought for a while and chose his words carefully.

“We cannot rule out that possibility, but all of this basically comes from subjective conjecture… How did you think of it? Which details inspired you?”

Leonard grew inexplicably nervous, while Daly gave a soft laugh.

“It’s a woman’s sixth sense—just like how I know what you, and all of you, are thinking at certain times.

“Besides, since this is discussion and analysis, we should list every possibility and then eliminate them according to the results of our actual investigation. Only that helps us find the correct answer. So we need broad thinking. No matter how absurd a thought is, we should dare to voice it!

“From all the details currently being reported back, I believe this conjecture of mine might be correct.”

Ma’am Daly really knows how to speak. At least I’m convinced… She took the initiative to raise the possession hypothesis to protect me, since I have secrets, and to draw the risk onto herself? In the matter of Ince Zangwill, she seems willing to bear anything… Leonard came to a realization, feeling a wave of emotion.

After hearing Daly’s explanation, Soest nodded slightly.

“Indeed. Since this is a discussion, we cannot restrict our own thinking.

“The possibility of evil spirit possession really isn’t small. I will report this to Her Excellency Eye of the Goddess and let the archbishops and high-ranking deacons arrange the follow-up investigation. After all, we know far too little about 0-08.”

…

“Soest’s Red Gloves team discovered abnormalities in Ince Zangwill through the telegrams returned from various places. Daly Simone used this to raise the hypothesis of evil spirit possession, receiving relatively unanimous approval.

“She claimed it was reasonable conjecture, but in reality, she already had some understanding of the matter—from Leonard Mitchell, who possesses a Parasite. And Leonard Mitchell’s intelligence came from a letter delivered by Reinette Tinekerr. Who could the sender be?

“At the same time, Leonard Mitchell and Daly Simone have already begun to suspect that the evil spirit possessing Ince Zangwill belongs to the Hunter pathway…”

A classical quill pen without ink seemed to be held by an invisible hand, rapidly writing on an utterly ordinary notebook.

Suddenly, a slightly pale hand reached over and gripped the quill.

The owner of the hand had dark-blond hair, features as deep and sharply carved as a classical statue, one eye deep blue, almost black, and the other covered in fine, obvious blood vessels.

His wrist sank, and he continued writing:

“But is this truly the truth of the matter? Will everything develop as Daly Simone, Leonard Mitchell, and Soest’s Red Gloves team imagine?”

…

The Forsaken Land of the Gods, Nois City, where lightning could not illuminate.

When those figures all silently turned to look over, Derrick was startled and almost ended the illumination, retreating to a place that was not directly facing them.

However, the training he had undergone since childhood and the experiences of the past year kept him from panicking. He did not end it in a rush, but forcibly suppressed his fear and waited for the Chief to give the next order.

In Colin Iliad’s eyes, two complex dark-green symbols emerged, taking the faintly misty street and the figures that appeared normal yet made no sound at all into his pupils.

Suddenly, he let out a muffled groan and dropped to one knee, both hands gripping the two straight swords planted in the ground.

Behind his neck, the bluish-black skin swelled slightly. Indescribably complex and mysterious symbols surfaced there, half illusory and half real, extending into higher and lower levels.

At the same time, the Shepherd Lovia let out a cry of pain, raised both hands, clutched her head, and spat out several clumps of writhing flesh.

On her palms and across the surface of her body, illusory silver armor strangely surfaced, almost overlapping with her.

“Stop.” Only after a second did Demon Hunter Colin speak in a low, hoarse voice.

Derrick hurriedly ended the illumination, allowing the faint mist to hide those figures, allowing the deathly silence to once again envelop ancient Nois City.

Everything quickly returned to its previous state. Colin Iliad slowly stood, his gaze heavy as he looked toward the faint outlines of towers, churches, and other buildings within the thin fog.

“This place is already somewhat different from when I explored it before. I do not know why such a change has occurred either.” Demon Hunter Colin withdrew his gaze, looked around at the team members, and asked, “Do you have any opinions or ideas?”

The Shepherd Lovia had crouched down to pick up the clumps of flesh she had dropped earlier, but she was not in a hurry to stuff them into her mouth, chew them, and swallow. Instead, she spoke first:

“We can change directions and explore other entrances to Nois City. Perhaps we will discover something.”

She had maintained a calm, detached attitude throughout the journey. This was the first time she had expressed her own thoughts and offered an opinion.