Chapter 48: Archival Materials

Chapter 48: Archival Materials

Beside the long bronze table, the Nightmare appeared.

He was a man who looked to be in his thirties, with black hair, blue eyes, a long, thin face, pronounced lines beside his nose, and a not particularly dense beard covering the area around his mouth and chin.

As the pain and distortion that could be directly sensed from him eased, he pressed a hand to his chest and solemnly bowed.

Compared to the Faceless from before, this Nightmare was clearly less muddled and fragile after being released. Klein did not know whether that was because the Evernight pathway’s enhancement of the spirit was stronger than the Seer pathway’s, or because the Nightmare had been grazed for a shorter period.

Klein sighed inwardly and directly asked through spirit channeling, “Why did you die at Qilangos’s hands?”

The Nightmare’s lips curled slightly, revealing a bitter smile.

“I was one of the Nighthawks’ Red Gloves. We were tracking a batch of ancient documents that came from the royal mausoleum of Balam. They were suspected to be related to the fallen Death.

“I discovered that some of them may have fallen into the hands of a certain wealthy man, so I led two companions aboard the ship he was taking. Unfortunately, just as we were about to begin our investigation, we encountered an attack from Qilangos’s fleet.”

“What happened to your companions?” Klein subconsciously asked.

The Nightmare spoke with visible pain.

“We originally had a chance to leave, and even, with our practiced coordination, to kill Qilangos. But—but our ship sank. We could only transfer to a lifeboat. Everyone—everyone died. No, they were martyred!”

May the Goddess bless you… Klein silently drew a crimson moon in his heart.

This gave him an even deeper understanding that combat at sea differed greatly from combat on land. Environmental factors were absolutely crucial.

Beyonders who were not of the Sailor pathway would be at a very great disadvantage!

If not for the flying carpet’s large area, inconvenient portability, and slow speed that made it easy to turn into a target, Klein would certainly have chosen to keep it and give Danitz the cash.

Fortunately, I have the murloc’s swim bladder. I can find an Artisan to make a mystical item related to underwater movement… Unfortunately, Artisans are very difficult to find. The overwhelming majority are with the Church of Steam, and wild ones are few. Otherwise, the circulation of mystical items would not be so scarce even now. If there is truly no other way, I will still have to ask Mr. Hanged Man for help… Klein looked at the Nightmare before him, who had died in the line of duty, and lightly leaned back.

“What is your name? Do you have any unfinished wishes?”

The Nightmare’s figure was already slowly dispersing. Hearing the question, he smiled.

“My name is David Raymond. I lost my parents, wife, brothers, and sisters in a black magic incident. I had only one daughter left. Her name is Nilu. She was born in 1330, and she is a very lovely girl. I regret it. To investigate the truth behind that black magic incident, I joined the Nighthawks and later became a Red Glove. I never properly or for long enough accompanied her, leaving her almost without a father at the same time that she had lost her mother.

“Heh. I trust the Church. They certainly would have given her the full pension without withholding any of it, and would have provided some help in secret. I am not worried about her life. I only hope to see her enter the hall of marriage under the Goddess’s witness, and possess a family of her own, so that she will no longer be lonely.”

“This year is 1350. Perhaps she already has someone she intends to marry.” Klein spoke half with emotion and half with a sigh.

“Time passes so quickly…” David Raymond responded like a man speaking in his sleep. “Tell her that all the murderers have already been punished, that I died because of an accident, and that she no longer needs to hate anyone. Tell her Dad loves her. Tell her Dad is very sorry…”

His figure became more and more transparent, about to disappear.

Klein closed his eyes briefly and asked, “Where does she live?

“And what was the name of the wealthy man who collected the Death documents?”

“We lived in Connacht City, Desi County. It is a beautiful seaside city, with rubber abundant nearby. If she has not moved, then she still lives at 67 Red Sycamore Street… That wealthy man was named Jimmy Necker. He should have also fallen into Qilangos’s hands…” Before David Raymond could finish, his figure had completely dispersed, leaving only a deep, dark gemstone-like gel on the surface of the glove.

Klein quietly watched this scene. Only after several seconds did he raise his right hand and tap his chest four times clockwise. In a low voice, he said, “If I have the chance, I will go see your daughter and see how she is doing now.”

Beneath the palace that resembled a giant’s residence, the gray fog was boundless, without rise or fall, unchanged since ancient times.

Klein put away David Raymond’s Beyonder characteristic, rubbed his temples, and turned his attention back to the matter of the Death documents.

“The Death pathway and the Evernight pathway can be exchanged at high Sequences. There is nothing strange about the Church sending people to track down corresponding documents… I need to find out whether Jimmy Necker is dead. If he already died in that massacre, and the items fell into Qilangos’s hands, then I will have to investigate from the pirate side… Qilangos’s fleet now belongs to Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy…”

Because the matter involved Death and might be helpful to Mr. Azik, Klein decided to investigate it in passing. If there was any difficulty, he would directly write to the big shot.

After straightening out his thoughts, he swiftly returned to the real world and used a ritual to bring Creeping Hunger back out.

Once all of this was done, seeing that the time was already no longer early, he abandoned the idea of making up sleep and decided to summarize the experiences and lessons of the previous night’s operation.

To Klein, the greatest lesson was that he had overestimated the Mandated Punishers’ patience.

What he had originally hoped was that, even if certain accidents occurred at the front end, the Mandated Punishers would restrain themselves and wait for the true protagonist, the true target—Steel Maviti—to appear.

At that time, they would certainly use the Sealed Artifact that dragged multiple people into a dream, controlling every wild Beyonder mixed into the affair. As someone with a special essence who could detect when he entered a dream and forcibly break free, I could calmly handle Steel Maviti and his helpers, complete the achievement of “instant kill,” and carry away one or two bodies… In the end, the moment an accident occurred, those irritable brothers all rushed out, not even leaving a reserve team to guard against accidents. At most, they only had the Sealed Artifact holder remain on the perimeter, with one or two protectors… The more Klein thought about it, the more he found it both exasperating and funny.

If Steel Maviti’s group had not been relatively cautious, splitting off at least two Beyonders and all the marionettes and living corpses to block the Mandated Punishers who might chase later, Klein would most likely have faced a two-versus-five situation. If that had happened, he would have chosen to give up and make a strategic retreat directly.

What satisfied Klein most was that his targeted preparations had been quite good.

This was the professional habit of a Magician!

Because he had learned from Miss Sharron and Maric long ago about the traits of the first five Sequences of the Mutant pathway, Klein clearly knew that Steel Maviti, who had passed through the Madman stage, could use irrational factors to resist Beyonder abilities that interfered with thought and affected the mind. In this area, he possessed very strong resistance. Therefore, Klein had given up the Psychiatrist’s Awe and Frenzy, given up the Nightmare ability that was clearly not as powerful as the Mandated Punishers’ Sealed Artifact, and instead targeted him with the Interrogator’s Mental Pierce and the Priest of Light’s purification powers.

Mental Pierce was not a Beyonder ability that interfered with thought or affected the mind. It was a method that directly attacked the spirit body. In essence, the others acted upon the “mind body,” while its target was the “spirit body.” There was a clear distinction between the two.

“If any link in that combo had failed to produce the expected effect, Steel Maviti would have been able to recover, preventing me from completing the rapid kill. Given the environment at the time, that would have meant failure… Mm… I also deliberately exploited the trait of that pathway’s indulgence faction, which is easily dominated by emotions. I believed that once their spirits were injured, they would most likely counterattack madly without considering anything else…

“Actually, the safest way to deal with a Living Corpse would be to set up matches or Danitz, then use Flaming Jump and Holy Light to kite Maviti, making him want to fight but unable to catch the opponent, and want to run but unable to escape. With a single fireball, I could catch up. Unfortunately, that would waste too much time. The environment did not permit it…”

Klein sighed, took out his pocket watch, clicked it open, and checked the time.

Seeing that it was close to nine in the morning, he turned the doorknob and left the bedroom.

At that moment, Danitz was lying in an armchair, sleeping so heavily that his snores made the whole room sound as though a steam engine were running.

He was still fairly alert. The moment Klein came out, he opened his eyes and sat up.

“…You are going out?” Danitz saw Gehrman Sparrow take the hat from the rack.

“Mm.” Klein maintained his persona and did not explain that he was going to attempt acting by helping someone confess.

What about me? Steel Maviti and his subordinates are basically all finished. I no longer need to worry that much… Even if the newspapers do not print this news, I can spread it myself. There are plenty of bored pirates and adventurers who will use it as bragging material, making the matter spread across the sea and warning the captain. Those pieces of shit, apart from drinking and boasting, are useless, but even that can have some use… After thinking it over, Danitz asked with fear hidden in his voice, “Mr. Sparrow, may I leave?”

Klein slowly revealed a smile.

“You have always been free.”

Right… I was not captured by him this time. I merely sought his help… I have always been free! Danitz was first stunned, then delighted.

At that moment, however, he heard Gehrman Sparrow lightly add, “But it ends now.”

Ah? What? Danitz’s face was full of confusion.

It took him three full seconds to understand what Gehrman Sparrow truly meant:

He had been captured by the other man again!

“Why?” Danitz asked, both furious and aggrieved.

Klein put on his hat and said in a deep voice, “I want to meet your captain.”

Danitz’s eyes widened at once. He suddenly stood and shouted instinctively, “What do you want to do?”

This fellow is a little agitated… Klein calmly answered, “I have some matters to ask her.”