Chapter 267: The Reward for Honesty

Chapter 267: The Reward for Honesty

Inside the hall where stone pillars had snapped, a group of Nighthawks wearing black trench coats and silk top hats appeared around the remnants of the altar. The one leading them was Saint Anthony Stevenson, archbishop of the Evernight Goddess Church’s Backlund diocese.

“Destroyed by someone?” he muttered softly. Without lingering, he went directly to the stone door leading deeper inside.

Dense darkness emerged, and the stone door silently opened. Saint Anthony led a portion of the Nighthawks through it, heading deeper.

Along the way, they found no guards and no objects of value. It was as though this place had been swept clean by some powerful force.

At last, they reached the innermost room. But there, apart from walls and stone pillars, there was still nothing. The deep-blue door of light through which Klein had emerged had long since vanished.

The lanterns in the hands of several Nighthawks suddenly lost their light. Night shrouded the room.

When everything returned to normal, they discovered that the surrounding walls had somehow melted away. Yet behind them there were no hidden doors, no tunnels, nothing of the sort—only thick soil and stone, or the corridor by which they had come.

Saint Anthony remained silent for more than ten seconds before speaking.

“Attempt divination.

“Search nearby.”

…

Achoo!

Klein made his way through pathless cliffs and woods, sadly discovering that he seemed truly to have fallen ill.

The residual effect of Mr. A’s Beyonder abilities, together with his state of being soaked to the skin in winter, had left him shamefully down with a cold.

Even so, he did not dare stop to gather dead branches, light a fire, bake his clothes dry, or dry his banknotes, because he feared being found by Beyonders from the Churches.

Although he had obtained a semi-official identity with the Machinery Hivemind through Detective Stanton Isengard’s endorsement, this matter involved two cases of the highest level—the Primordial Demoness’s awakening and the True Creator’s descent. He would inevitably undergo strict investigation, such as taking turns drinking black tea with the Machinery Hivemind, the Mandated Punishers, and the Nighthawks, actively or passively recounting the entire process.

Within that lay two great hidden dangers. First, he had acquaintances among the Nighthawks. Although the great detective Sherlock Moriarty’s appearance was already quite different from the deceased Klein Moretti’s, and photographs alone would make them almost impossible to distinguish, Klein had little confidence if they truly met face-to-face. Second, because of neighboring pathways, the Evernight Goddess Church was not especially friendly toward people and objects connected to Death. Going all the way back to the Pale Era at the end of the Fourth Epoch, Death had fallen precisely under the siege of the seven gods. And the helper that Detective Sherlock Moriarty had “summoned” at the critical moment was a powerful descendant of Death. This was a problem he could not wash clean no matter how he tried.

“That extremely high-ranking powerhouse just now might have been in a hurry to handle Ince Zangwill and 0-08, leaving no time to bother with a friendly supporting character like me. But I can’t let my guard down because of that. If I need to run, then I have to run!

“Mm. When there’s a chance, I can write to the Machinery Hivemind and explain the second reason I had no choice but to temporarily leave Backlund. That way, perhaps there will be opportunities to cooperate again in the future. Of course, I must first secretly observe whether the Machinery Hivemind harbors intense hostility toward descendants of Death… I wonder how Mr. Azik is doing…”

“Heh. Perhaps in the official announcement, Sherlock Moriarty died under the meteor fall. That wouldn’t be letting down this identity or this name…”

Enduring the alternating states of fever and cold, Klein wanted to find a town as quickly as possible and enter a crowd.

Only within human society could a Faceless’s abilities be brought to their fullest.

The woman cooperating with Mr. A—uh, she should be a Demoness—went to the East Borough… Judging from the ritual, there might be large-scale deaths over there. I wonder… As a Seer, Klein’s spiritual intuition suddenly made his heart sink.

Just then, all the colors before his eyes grew dense, as though an oil painting had been splashed across them by a god.

The feeling vanished in a flash. Klein discovered that he had already been moved far from where he had been and saw Azik Eggers, bronze-skinned with gentle features, appear beside him.

“Mr. Azik, are you hurt?” He could not restrain his sigh of relief.

“Yes.” Azik answered honestly. Then he smiled. “But to an Undying, it is not a serious problem.”

Klein relaxed and asked instead, “What about Ince Zangwill and 0-08?”

“Ince Zangwill is still alive and continues to hold that Grade 0 Sealed Artifact,” Azik said as they walked.

Klein did his best to keep up and could not help sighing.

“What a pity.”

“Do not mind it. He was not lightly injured,” Azik said solemnly. “More importantly, we know he is secretly cooperating with the royal family. There is no need to worry about being unable to find him afterward. With that, you can focus on improving yourself, while I can first try going to several places I have already recalled, to awaken more memories. Heh. Your luck was good. I have been secretly observing MI9 and people from the royal family, hoping to use them to determine Ince Zangwill’s whereabouts. Among them, Red Rose Manor was an important point, so I was often wandering nearby. Otherwise, I would not have been able to arrive so quickly to save you.”

At that topic, Klein immediately felt a little awkward.

“Mr. Azik, are you not confused about why I didn’t die?”

“I, too, often entered coffins and woke again. That is something I recalled earlier.” Azik laughed without the slightest concern. “And in my incomplete memories, although similar incidents involving others are rare, they are not without precedent.”

Often entered coffins and woke again… Often? Klein suddenly realized that the issue he had been worried about was nothing at all in the eyes of a true bigshot.

As expected of an Undying from the Death pathway… Uh, Mr. Azik previously said he once stayed at this Sequence for a very long time. In other words, he has long since advanced beyond it… After some thought, Klein asked with some anxiety, “Mr. Azik, will Ince Zangwill discover that I am Klein Moretti?”

He feared the other party would retaliate against Benson and Melissa.

“He should not. At most, he will believe that we knew each other long ago, or that you are simply my—my, as the police would put it, informant.” Azik recalled for a moment. “But that Grade 0 Sealed Artifact may notice. However, you do not need to worry.”

“Why?” Klein asked.

Azik seemed to have remembered something. His expression suddenly became rather strange, as though he wanted to laugh yet also felt horrified.

“That Grade 0 Sealed Artifact will constantly attempt to write its owner to death. This should be its nature, and it will not change. Therefore, I do not believe it will voluntarily reveal information that, at such a critical moment, could make Ince Zangwill suffer a serious loss—unless the matter cannot be avoided or explained away.”

Seeing Mr. Azik speak with such certainty and well-founded reasoning, Klein breathed out, feeling as though even his cold had improved slightly.

Azik saw this and added, “You had best stay away from Backlund in the near future. Ince Zangwill may use that Grade 0 Sealed Artifact to retaliate against you through your false name.

“As long as you are not in Backlund, there should be no problem. That Grade 0 Sealed Artifact’s range of influence will not exceed one metropolis.”

Just as I guessed, it has a range limit… Otherwise, Ince Zangwill could completely hide in some small town on the Southern Continent and leisurely arrange the fates of all his targets, never needing to worry about being found… Klein considered his words and asked, “Would it be a problem if I returned to Backlund briefly for one day, or half a day, under the premise that I change my identity and appearance?”

After speaking, he rubbed his face and instantly returned to the way he had looked in Tingen.

Azik’s brows moved slightly, and he nodded.

“That should not be a major problem.”

He looked back toward the distant place that could no longer be seen.

“I seem to have drawn the attention of a powerful existence from the Evernight Church. You had better not remain by my side, lest you be dragged into it. Heh. They are very interested in Beyonder characteristics related to Death.”

“Mm. I plan to go out to sea, digesting the potion while searching for mermaids. That is the condition I need for advancement.” Klein described his plan.

Azik tilted his head.

“Mermaids? Would mermaids that have become undead work? I can find at least four.”

“They probably… would not work…” Klein reached up and wiped his forehead.

His intuition told him that it definitely would not work, but he still intended to divine it above the gray fog afterward to confirm.

Azik no longer mentioned undead mermaids and instead said, “If anything happens, contact me through the messenger.”

The messenger… Klein suddenly felt guilty and ashamed.

“It—It died in battle while I was fighting Mr. A. It saved my life.”

Azik glanced at him, shook his head, and laughed.

“Do not mind it. As long as it was not killed by an angel-level powerhouse, or through special means, then as long as the underworld still exists, it can slowly be reborn there.

“And before that, similar messengers are—are, uh, too many for me to count.”

There’s an entire legion of messengers that look that powerful and enormous? Klein opened his mouth and found himself unable to speak.

His shame faded considerably, and he asked curiously, “Mr. Azik, where exactly is the underworld—the so-called hell?”

“The spirit world. To be more precise, it is a special place opened up within the spirit world by the ancient Death.” Azik did not hide anything.

Ancient Death? That should be the ancient god Gregrace, Ancestor of the Phoenix… So the underworld belongs to the spirit world. No wonder the basic structure in mysticism is “real world—spirit world—astral world” and does not include the underworld or the Abyss… Klein was just about to ask related questions when he suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, “Mr. Azik, I obtained a Card of Blasphemy created by Emperor Roselle. It contains secrets regarding High Sequences. I think it can help you awaken more things, but you will have to wait for a while. It is hidden in Backlund.”

Klein did not mention the bounty, fearing that would reveal secrets concerning the Tarot Club, the mysterious space above the gray fog, and Miss Justice. Therefore, he could only use this tactful method to thank Mr. Azik for his help and effort.

Azik looked at him with slight surprise, but in the end said nothing. He simply nodded lightly.

“When you retrieve it, have the messenger bring it to me. After studying it, I will immediately return it to you. Or you may simply copy down the corresponding contents for me.”

He paused, as though also remembering something. Then he took a glove from his pocket, one so thin it seemed made of human skin, and handed it to Klein.

“I have already awakened the related memories and no longer need it. Heh. It is the relic of that pirate admiral. I placed a certain seal on it so that it normally will not hunger. But every time it is used, it must be fed with a human’s flesh and soul. Otherwise, it will devour you.”

…Creeping Hunger? A relic originating from a Shepherd’s death? Klein immediately recalled what that glove represented.