Chapter 96: Nocturne

Chapter 96: Nocturne

The dream Klein created for himself took No. 160 Böklund Street as its prototype, adding quite a few beautiful women to surround Dawn Dantes. He perfectly shaped the image of a wealthy man who was broad-minded and experienced, but forced by public reputation to bitterly restrain himself in the real world and could only indulge a little in dreams.

Sitting on a sofa, accepting a glass of red wine handed to him by a young lady, Klein had not even had time to taste it when he discovered that his surroundings had abruptly changed. The brightly lit, elegantly decorated villa-like house filled with beauties had turned into a gloomy, dark, damp, and filthy sewer.

Immediately afterward, he saw five familiar sticks of explosive appear in his hands.

Are these not the explosives I placed earlier?

Klein was first stunned, then he pretended to be startled. In a fluster, he threw the explosives away and warily looked around.

Seeing no other abnormality, he retreated step by step, groped his way to the vertical metal ladder, then decisively and quickly climbed upward, moved the manhole cover, and left the sewers.

The moment he returned to Böklund Street, the entire dream shattered, waking him up.

Klein opened his eyes and, in the nearly lightless room, stared at the ceiling decorated with gold. He savored what had happened just now:

“Was that done by the demigod of the Marauder pathway?

“He escaped the Nighthawks’ pursuit and is still hiding nearby. Because he is afraid that the Black Emperor who exposed his traces will appear again, he is guiding dreams one by one to search for his target?

“That is very possible! If not for the fact that I can remain awake and rational in an invaded dream, my subconscious would already have driven me to repeat the process of placing and detonating the explosives as a warning. After all, it was something I had done and remember clearly…

“Thankfully, I summarized the rule that a Marionettist should hide behind the curtain as much as possible. Whether exploring the sewers or meeting Trissy, I relied on a marionette. Even when the distance was insufficient and I had no choice but to go myself, I used my spirit body, transferred once through the gray fog, and carried items that interfered with peeping and divination. This made it impossible for others to trace the true controller. Otherwise, I would long ago have been discovered and targeted. Even if I did not die because of it, I would already have fled Backlund in disgrace.”

Thinking this, Klein felt a surge of relief. At first, he had not known what secret was hidden in the sewers and had not imagined that there would be a demigod there. Yet he had still obeyed the rules of a Marionettist and strictly held himself to them. Because of that, he had successfully avoided the tragic disaster of his “performance” being exposed.

Backlund truly is a dangerous place. One tiny lapse in caution and something will go wrong…

As Klein sighed inwardly, he felt that his Marionettist potion had digested a little more without his noticing.

Only after his mood calmed did he give a “heh” inwardly.

“Looks like that person is still on Böklund Street. Most likely he is hiding inside Hazel’s home, perhaps even beside her.

“Heh. If that demigod had invaded my dream one or two minutes earlier, he would have seen the Snake of Fate, Will Auceptin. Although this Sequence 1 angel is in a weakened period, that is only relative to Ouroboros and other angels. To deal with a sneaky fellow who cannot even directly parasitize Hazel, it should not be too difficult. Setting aside other abilities, merely revealing His complete mythical creature form would be enough to make that equally weakened one suffer serious harm.

“I dare wager Will Auceptin foresaw this in advance, which is why He picked exactly this time and successfully avoided being discovered by another demigod.

“What a pity. I cannot let that demigod of the Marauder pathway understand how dangerous it is to casually invade dreams in Backlund… Leonard should have very deep experience in this regard…”

Klein restrained his thoughts, pretended nothing had happened, and, with the help of meditation, fell asleep again.

When the sun slowly rose at the edge of the sky, he woke naturally, turned over, sat up, changed into the appearance of Gehrman Sparrow, and murmured a prayer:

“…Please inform Madam Hermit that the angel has accepted the condition of ‘a method to temporarily recover a certain degree of strength during a weakened period’ and has agreed to conduct the transaction around late June or early July.

“You may ask Bernadette when I can meet her.”

After finishing the prayer, Klein changed back into Dawn Dantes, got out of bed, entered the washroom, and handled personal matters.

Only after brushing his teeth, washing his face, and feeling exceptionally refreshed did he take four steps counterclockwise and arrive above the gray fog. He turned the contents of the prayer just now into an image and cast it into the crimson star symbolizing the Hermit.

…

On the Future, docked at a harbor, Admiral of Stars Cattleya watched Frank Lee step onto the pier in high spirits, preparing to find a place to sell some items and gather eight thousand pounds in cash to purchase the Druid Beyonder characteristic. She could not help lifting a hand to support her forehead, inexplicably feeling a little lacking in confidence.

Although she believed that with her own level, her mysticism knowledge, and her mystical items, she could steadily suppress Frank Lee after he became a Druid, when she remembered his bizarre ideas and terrifying ability to put them into practice, she felt the problem would not be so simple. She did not want to attend the Tarot Gathering above the gray fog with a watermelon growing on her head and wheat ears sprouting all over her body.

Good thing he still does not have the Druid potion formula. For now, I do not need to worry about him advancing to Sequence 5…

Cattleya pushed up her glasses and comforted herself with that thought.

Just then, illusory gray fog spread before her eyes, and Gehrman Sparrow’s words sounded by her ear.

That angel agreed?

Admiral of Stars Cattleya’s expression instantly softened. A faint smile uncontrollably appeared on her face.

Once she obtained that drop of mythical creature blood, it would mean she was very close to the demigod level!

She already had the Mysticologist potion formula. Previously, she had also accumulated enough contributions and exchanged one of the main ingredients from the Moses Ascetic Order. As for the remaining one, she likewise knew which channel had it and what method to use to obtain it.

When July comes… July…

Cattleya pressed her lips together. Light shone from behind her thick glasses as she slowly swept her gaze around the captain’s cabin.

…

Thursday morning. Klein had just finished a lesson in classical literature when he heard an illusory, layered prayer.

Entering above the gray fog, he discovered that the petitioner was the Hermit, Cattleya.

This Admiral of Stars asked Mr. Fool to inform the World that the Queen of Mysteries had agreed to his request. If he was in Backlund, they would meet at eleven tonight on the south bank of the Tussock River, near the entrance of the bridge.

Bernadette is still staying in Backlund…

Klein manifested Gehrman Sparrow and gave an affirmative reply.

At 10:58 p.m., he entered the washroom and drew a paper figurine from his pocket.

Snap!

Klein shook it, causing the paper figurine to turn into Dawn Dantes, sitting on the toilet with a book in hand, seemingly lost in thought.

Then he shortened by three or four centimeters out of thin air. His face grew thinner and sharper, its lines more distinct. He had already changed into Gehrman Sparrow.

Immediately afterward, the glove on his left palm turned transparent, and countless illusory shadows appeared within it.

Klein saw the surrounding colors first grow dense, then become distinct, layer upon layer overlapping one another, while his own body faded and vanished from the real world.

He swiftly shuttled through the spirit world, continuously adjusting his direction according to positioning. In only a few seconds, he appeared at the bridge entrance on the southern bank of the Tussock River.

At that moment, the night was deep. No one walked on the bridge, and the surroundings were extremely quiet. Only a squad of bridge guards could be vaguely seen standing not far away.

Klein was just about to search for traces of the Queen of Mysteries, Bernadette, when he suddenly saw green pea vines descend from high above, weaving together into a lush, dense forest.

Looking upward, one could not see the top of this “forest.” Vine after vine connected into different paths, some crisscrossing, some spiraling, extending all the way into the sky.

Klein was only stunned for a second. Then he casually found a path woven from pea vines, hanging in midair, and walked forward step by step.

After an unknown length of time, he saw the green plants connect into a hammock-like seat, swaying gently in the air.

The Queen of Mysteries sat there, wearing a white Intis-style blouse and a deep-black jacket. A thin rapier hung at her waist. Aside from not wearing a triangular hat, she looked like a standard sea captain.

Unlike when she had previously contacted Sherlock Moriarty in Backlund, revealing only a pair of black leather boots, she now had her chestnut hair falling naturally loose. Her blue, profound eyes looked over, gentle yet without emotion, as she spoke:

“Thank the existence behind you on my behalf.”

She is still quite respectful toward the Fool… Mm. The few questions I answered earlier should have resolved quite a few of her doubts…

Behind the “mask” of Gehrman Sparrow, Klein politely replied, “Very well.”

Bernadette did not move her gaze, still looking at him as she asked, “What is your matter this time?”

Klein paused for a second and spoke the words he had prepared long ago:

“I would like to ask for your help. I want him to appear as if he has long been corroded by the power of the sealing core behind the Evernight Church’s Chanis Gate.”

As he spoke, Klein had the Wraith Senor appear beside him.

Bernadette looked deeply at Admiral of Blood, who stood upright in attendance. She did not ask why Gehrman Sparrow knew she had a method, instead calmly saying, “The sealing cores of different Evernight Church cathedrals differ. The state after corrosion is also different.

“Is it of the Evernight pathway, the Death pathway, or another?

“Is it for a diocesan cathedral, or an ordinary central city church?”

She directly eliminated the option of the Evernight Church headquarters, the Cathedral of Serenity, because not even a King of Angels would dare have designs on that place.

Klein recalled the matter and answered, “A diocesan cathedral. The Evernight pathway.”

The Queen of Mysteries, Bernadette, nodded lightly.

“Then I can have him suffer the corresponding corrosion. But in that case, this marionette of yours will basically be destroyed. At first, he can still be used normally. As time passes and the corrosion deepens, he will gradually fall asleep and never wake again.”

“Can the time before complete corrosion be extended as much as possible?” Klein asked, suppressing his heartache.

The Wraith Senor was one of the most valuable assets among all his property!

Bernadette said with a calm expression, “Two months at most.”

Klein struggled inwardly for two seconds, then answered without much expression, “Alright.”

He immediately pressed a hand to his chest and bowed.

“Thank you for your help.”

The Queen of Mysteries, Bernadette, said no more. She withdrew her gaze, stretched out her right hand, and traced word after word in midair. Those words were different from Giant, Dragonese, Elvish, and ancient Hermes.

Those words carried starlight-like brilliance and intertwined into a strange symbol, seeming to open a secret door leading into the depths of the spirit world.

The “secret door” opened, and a wind blew out, its upper half transforming into a man wrapped in white cloth.

“Horn of Slumber,” Bernadette said in a gentle voice with hidden majesty.

The man with a human upper body and a lower body made of wind answered respectfully. From within a strip of white cloth, he took out a human skull.

The eye sockets of this skull were deep, dark, and difficult to see through. The rest of it contained holes of various shapes. Nearby were many cracks, and its whiteness resembled jade.

Bernadette took the Horn of Slumber and glanced at Gehrman Sparrow.

“Retreat at least fifty meters.”

Klein did not ask why. Leaving the Wraith Senor where he was, he quickly followed the road formed by pea vines and moved far away.

After passing fifty meters, he suddenly heard a melody that was distant, peaceful, and shadowed by hidden grief.

Subconsciously, Klein lifted his head and looked over. In the place half-concealed by strands of pea vines, Bernadette sat with her back slightly bent. Her chestnut hair stirred softly, and her head lowered as she brought the “human skull” to her lips, letting streams of air blow through the holes and weave into a nocturne.

The music carried a soothing force and faint sorrow, spreading outward little by little, yet it did not disturb the bridge guards beyond the pea vine forest.

Klein stood there, listening intently. Longing for home suddenly welled up in his heart.

It was the return destination most longed for—and most unreachable—by a traveler who had drifted for far too long.