"We are guardians, but also a bunch of pitiful wretches that are constantly fighting against danger and madness."
Dunn's words reverberated in Old Neil's house. They reverberated between the corroded floors, walls, and ceiling, as well as in Klein's mind and soul.
There had never been a moment that left a deeper impression on him than now.
He felt that he might never forget this feeling for the rest of his life, even if he returned to Earth in the future.
In the almost frozen atmosphere, Dunn walked towards Old Neil's "corpse" and half-squatted down. He took out a white handkerchief from the upper side pocket of his black trench coat and covered the pair of dark red, crystalline, and pained eyes.
At that moment, Klein saw from the corner of his eye that the piano keys had stopped moving on their own. A nearly transparent figure appeared.
This … Klein, who had already activated his Spirit Vision from outside the door, was stunned.
He actually hadn't noticed this strange "spirit" at all!
Was it because of Old Neil's mental interference, or was it because of the power he gained after losing control? Klein watched as the nearly invisible figure quickly evaporated and completely disappeared from his sight. He vaguely understood something.
Amidst his heavy and repressed feelings, he heard the Captain instruct, "Search Old Neil's house carefully.
"Search Old Neil's house carefully and look for any possible clues."
"Alright." The moment Klein spoke, he was stunned by his own voice for a few seconds. It was so hoarse and deep, as though he had a bad cold.
"Alright," Royale replied.
Her voice is in a similar state to mine … Both her nostrils are blocked … Klein looked at the female teammate who never had any expression, as though he was meeting her for the first time.
He placed his cane on the umbrella rack in the hall, walked around Sealed Artifact 3-0611, and walked into the living room with heavy footsteps. He went up to the second floor and searched each bedroom for clues.
Old Neil would hire short-term employees to clean the room regularly, so it wasn't as messy as most bachelors. Everything was neat and orderly, as though there was a real mistress of the house.
Half an hour later, Klein found some manuscripts on the bookshelf in Old Neil's bedroom. The manuscripts were messily recording some strange and bizarre rituals.
"Life Refinement!"
"The required materials include: 100 milliliters of spring water from the Elven Spring (Sonia Island's Golden Spring), 50 grams of star crystals, half a pound of gold, 5 grams of phlogiston, 30 grams of hematite … and a large amount of fresh blood from living people."
Under the blood of the living, Old Neil commented:
"I can consider extracting my own, accumulating them one by one and using ritualistic magic to preserve them."
I can consider drawing my own … Klein closed his eyes, and his fingers crumpled the draft.
…
Thursday morning, nine o'clock, moonrise, Raphael Cemetery.
Klein wore a pure black suit and shirt. He held a silver-inlaid cane and stood quietly in a corner of the graveyard.
A neatly folded white handkerchief was stuffed in his chest pocket, and he held a solemn and serene Slumber Flower in his hand.
At that moment, Dunn, Frye, Leonard, and Kenley carried the black coffin with Old Neil's "corpse" in it. They walked to the front of the tombstone and silently placed it in the pit that they had dug.
Looking at the yellowish-brown soil covering the grave, Roshan, who was wearing a black dress and a white flower in her hair, sobbed softly.
"Can someone tell me, is this all true?"
"Why did you lose control? Why did you consume the potion? Why did you become an Extraordinary? Why did you have to have vengeful spirits? Why did you have to have monsters? Why couldn't there be a safer method? Why, why, why …"
Klein listened in silence until Old Neil's coffin was covered by the soil, until all traces of his existence were buried deep in the grave.
"May the Goddess bless you." He drew a crimson moon on his chest, then took a few steps forward. He bent down and placed the Slumber Flower in front of the tombstone.
"May the Goddess bless you." Dunn, Frye, and the others tapped their chests four times in a clockwise fashion.
Klein raised his head and straightened his back. He saw the black and white photograph on the tombstone.
Old Neil was wearing his classic black bonnet. His exposed hair was mottled with white, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and mouth were deep. His dark red eyes were slightly turbid.
He was so calm. There was no more sorrow, pain, or fear.
Below the photograph was an epitaph. It came from what Old Neil had recently written in his diary.
"If I can't save her, then I will accompany her."
The cool morning breeze blew gently. The coldness, silence, and silence of Raphael Cemetery infected everyone present.
…
At noon, Klein walked to the armory with the Captain's signed list.
He pushed open the half-closed door and saw Bright, who had a thick black beard, sitting behind the table.
Klein was obviously taken aback. He then handed over the list.
"Fifty rounds of ordinary bullets."
As he spoke, his gaze swept across the silver-inlaid tin can on the table. He seemed to smell the fragrant aroma of hand-ground coffee, and he seemed to hear the laughter in his ears.
"But why wait until we have extra money? You can write an application to Dunn and get him to approve the expenses! "
…
Bright looked at Klein's expression and sighed.
"I can guess how you feel. I can't believe that Old Neil left us just like that. Sometimes, I even think that this might be a dream created by the Captain."
"This might be the fate of many Nighthawks," Klein replied with a bitter smile.
After this incident, he was disappointed and resentful towards the higher-ups of the Church who had concealed the "acting method."
"I hope such tragedies will become less frequent. May the Goddess bless all of you." Bright drew a crimson moon on his chest, took the list, and walked to the armory at the back.
…
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The smell of gunpowder permeated the surroundings. Klein vented his anger by shooting at the target in front of him. He only cleaned himself up when he ran out of brass bullets. He then took a trackless public carriage to Gawain's house.
He practiced set after set of exercises as though he was torturing himself until he was stopped by Gawain.
"Combat practice isn't meant to hurt yourself," Gawain said in a deep voice as he stared at Klein with his slightly turbid, dark green eyes.
"Sorry, Teacher, I'm not in a good mood today," Klein exhaled and explained.
"What happened?" Gawain asked emotionlessly.
Klein thought for a moment and answered simply.
"A friend of mine passed away suddenly."
Gawain was silent for a few seconds. He raised his hand to touch his mottled blonde sideburns and said in a light tone, "I once lost 325 friends in five minutes.
"I once lost 325 friends in five minutes, and among them, at least 10 of them were the kind of people who could trust their backs to the other party."
Klein sighed in enlightenment and said, "That's the cruelty of war."
Gawain glanced at him and suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"The cruelest thing is that I'll never be able to avenge them. I won't be able to fulfill their wishes. I'll never be able to."
"And you, you still have such a chance. Although I don't understand what happened, I know that you're still young. You still have many chances."
Klein was silent for a moment. He suddenly took a deep breath and gathered his spirits.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Gawain nodded slightly and said without any expression, "Rest for ten minutes.
"Rest for ten minutes, then repeat ten sets of the previous exercise."
"…" Klein was momentarily at a loss as to what expression to use in response.
…
Friday morning, in the recreation room of the Nighthawks.
Klein, Seeka Tron, and Frye sat around a round table, but they weren't playing cards. One was reading a newspaper and flipping through a magazine, one was staring out the oriel window in a daze, and one was holding a fountain pen as though he wanted to write something but couldn't put his pen to paper.
The room was quiet. No one spoke or joked. The atmosphere was heavy.
Phew … Klein exhaled and put down the newspaper. He planned to focus his attention on reading all sorts of information.
At this moment, Dunn Smith knocked on the door and entered. He looked around and said,
He looked around and said, "Klein, come out for a moment."
What's the matter? Klein had a premonition as he stood up and followed him out of the recreation room.
Dunn stood at the staircase that led underground. He turned around and looked at him.
"The people from the Holy Cathedral are here."
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