Chapter 99: Close at Hand

Chapter 99: Close at Hand

The moment Klein saw Leonard Mitchell, the muscles of his waist and back instantly stiffened. His mind drew taut like a bowstring pulled to its very limit, liable to snap at any second.

He remembered very clearly that his poet classmate had an angel of the Marauder pathway parasitizing his body—Pallez Zoroast. That angel could perceive Klein’s special nature and thereby see through his disguise!

If that old grandfather told Leonard that there was something wrong with the internal caretaker before him, then Klein would be in terrible trouble. He could only place his hopes on the poet classmate fearing the exposure of his own secret and, while pinching his nose, pretending he knew nothing… Back in Tingen, although Leonard had always said that everyone had their own secrets and there was no need to mind them too much, those had been situations that did not directly target the Church. Who knew whether his sense of justice might suddenly erupt, making him decide to be loyal to his duty and take the risk of exposing Klein? After all, this was very similar to the matter involving Ince Zangwill…

In that instant, cold sweat nearly seeped from Klein’s forehead.

Honestly, he had not expected to run into Leonard on his way to Chanis Gate, because Leonard was already a Red Glove, not an ordinary Nighthawk, and no longer needed to stand duty shifts. Nor should he have been underground at this hour.

However, Klein immediately thought of a key point.

The one capable of sensing his special nature was Pallez Zoroast, not Leonard Mitchell. The former’s attitude was far more important!

That old grandfather knows that I know of His existence. If He exposes my disguise and throws me into danger, He must be ready for me to expose Him as well. Then we would inevitably harm each other, and neither side would gain anything from it. For an angel of the Marauder pathway who does not believe in the Goddess, this is completely unnecessary… If I were Him, I would simply pretend nothing had happened, not remind Leonard Mitchell at all, and certainly not entrust my own safety to a single thought from my host…

Having rapidly sorted through his thoughts, Klein regained his calm and walked toward Leonard Mitchell, who wore red gloves.

Leonard casually glanced at the internal caretaker opposite him, a man with sparse, frosty-white hair. He could not help raising his right hand, half-covering his mouth as he yawned.

He did not sleep at night, had nothing to do, and went to the duty room to find people to play cards with? He truly is a standard Sleepless…

Klein roughly understood why his poet classmate, despite being a Red Glove, had appeared here.

Recalling the reactions of the internal caretakers when they met Nighthawks back in Tingen City, he silently gave Leonard a small nod, touching four points clockwise over his chest with the index and middle fingers of his right hand, as though drawing a full moon.

Leonard returned the gesture the same way. Having noticed nothing at all, he passed by the internal caretaker with loose skin and a large nose, and continued straight ahead.

Klein silently breathed out. Maintaining his earlier pace and stride, he walked all the way to his destination.

The pair of iron-black doors was heavy and cold. Seven sacred emblems had been engraved upon them, and it seemed that nothing in the world could shake them.

Klein turned his body sideways, walked two diagonal steps, and knocked on the door of the guard room. Under the witness of the Nighthawk on shift, he opened Chanis Gate.

Deep darkness immediately surged within. Although silver candles carved with patterns burned quietly inside, they could not disperse that sensation. Instead, the ghostly blue flames deepened the feeling of deathly stillness and silence.

At the same time, Klein felt invisible things within the darkness scraping over his skin, burrowing into his body, crossing the boundary between reality and illusion, and connecting…