Upon seeing Leonard Mitchell, Klein's back muscles instantly stiffened. He tensed up like a bowstring that had been pulled to its limits, ready to snap at any moment.
He remembered very clearly that his poet had a Marauder pathway angel, Pallez Zoroast, parasitizing him. "He" was able to sense his uniqueness and see through his disguise!
If that grandpa were to inform Leonard of the problem with the Keeper in front of him, it would be troublesome. I can only hope that my poet is afraid of exposing his secret and will feign ignorance … Back in Tingen, although he always said that everyone had their own secrets and that there was no need to mind it, that was only when it wasn't directed at the Church. Who knows if he would suddenly have a sense of justice and decide to be loyal to his duty, taking the risk to expose me. After all, this is very similar to the matter with Ince Zangwill … At that instant, Klein's forehead nearly broke out into a cold sweat.
To be frank, he didn't expect to encounter Leonard while heading to Chanis Gate. This was because he was already a Red Glove and not an ordinary Nighthawk. He didn't need to be on duty, and he shouldn't be underground at this time.
However, Klein immediately thought of a key point.
The one who could sense his uniqueness was Pallez Zoroast, not Leonard Mitchell. The former's attitude was more important!
This grandpa knows that I know of "His" existence. Once "He" sees through my disguise and puts me in danger, "He" has to be prepared to be exposed by me. When that happens, there will definitely be mutual harm, with no benefits for anyone. And for an angel of the Marauder pathway who doesn't believe in the Goddess, there's no need for that at all … If I were "Him," I would pretend that nothing had happened and not warn Leonard Mitchell. I wouldn't place my safety in the hands of my host … After quickly sorting out his thoughts, Klein regained his composure and walked towards the red-gloved Leonard Mitchell.
Leonard looked indifferently at the Keeper with sparse, white hair. He couldn't help but raise his right hand and cover his mouth as he yawned.
He's not sleeping at night and has nothing to do, so he went to the duty room to play cards? What a standard Sleepless … Klein roughly understood why this Red Glove poet would appear here.
He recalled the reactions of the Keepers when they encountered the Nighthawks back in Tingen City. He silently nodded at Leonard and tapped his chest four times in a clockwise fashion with his right index and middle finger, as though he was drawing a full moon.
Leonard responded with the same action. Without noticing anything, he passed by the Keeper with loose skin and large nose and proceeded straight ahead.
Klein exhaled silently. He maintained his previous pace and stride until he reached his destination.
The iron-black double doors were heavy and cold, engraved with seven sacred emblems, as if nothing could shake them.
Klein turned his body sideways, took two steps diagonally, and knocked on the door of the guard room. Under the witness of the Nighthawks on duty, he opened Chanis Gate.
The deep darkness inside immediately surged. Even though there were silver candles with engraved patterns burning silently inside, they couldn't dispel the feeling. Instead, the ghostly-blue flames deepened the deathly stillness.
At the same time, Klein felt an invisible object scrape past his skin in the darkness. It penetrated deep into his body, passing through the boundary between reality and illusion, and connected to Wraith Señor.
Suddenly, he saw the black threads that filled the entire area behind Chanis Gate without activating his Spirit Vision. They swayed gently, clumped together, or extended, as though a lady was stretching her hair, or some strange creature was waving its tentacles.
Klein walked forward with an indifferent expression and entered the sealed land. Then, he turned around and closed Chanis Gate.
At that moment, the sounds of the outside world seemed to be completely isolated. The silence inside was like a kingdom of the dead. It made one involuntarily connect the dots and feel fear. This reminded Klein of his childhood. Even if he didn't listen to ghost stories, he would occasionally lie on his tiny bed and stare into the darkness, not daring to sleep.
It's no wonder the Goddess has the title of Empress of Terror … Klein cast his gaze to the side, picked up the lantern in the corner, and lit it up with great familiarity.
Faint yellow light immediately poured out, tainted by a ghostly-blue tint.
Draped in a black clergyman's robe, Klein wasn't in a hurry to head underground to the second level to search for the Antigonus family's notebook. Instead, he stayed behind the door and waited patiently.
This was to prevent the Nighthawks from urgently needing something but being unable to retrieve it at night. All they could do was wait until daybreak.
According to his experience, the first five minutes after a Keeper entered Chanis Gate was the period of time where they were most easily disturbed. As long as they could survive it, and as long as no accidents happened in between, the normal retrieval of materials could only wait until eight o 'clock. It was also the standard working hours for the Nighthawks and civilian staff.
In other words, once Klein lasted the first five minutes, he wouldn't be disturbed by the Nighthawks for the next two hours. Of course, there wasn't that much time for him to take action. The Church of Evernight's cathedral opened at eight, and the servants would wake up at least an hour and a half ahead of time. After half-past six, the other servants might discover that their companions were missing!
Time ticked by as Klein's heartbeat sped up uncontrollably. He felt that the five minutes were torturous.
Finally, he cast his gaze at the stone staircase deep in the darkness. It was the passageway that led to the second level.
At that moment, there was no one who could restrain him!
At this point, Klein felt that he had already overcome 70% of the difficulty. The remaining 30% was mainly how to leave after he succeeded.
Of course, there was always a chance for all sorts of accidents to happen. Klein didn't let his guard down. With the lantern in hand, he walked towards the stone staircase.
To other Beyonders, the first level behind Chanis Gate was actually more attractive than Sealed Artifacts. There were all sorts of Beyonder ingredients, potion formulas, and secret knowledge stored here. There were even captured cultists and unaffiliated Beyonders locked up. Be it to get rich or to rescue their companions, all they needed to do was to move around here.
However, Klein had to venture deeper and head for the place where the dangerous items were sealed.
When he passed by a few tightly locked stone chambers, he clearly sensed that there were people inside. However, they didn't make a ruckus, roar, beg for mercy, or cry for help. All of them were quietly lying or sitting, and their auras had already turned cold.
The lantern's light flickered, illuminating the staircase that led downwards. Klein retracted his attention and steadily walked deeper underground.
He didn't run, afraid that he would trigger an extreme reaction from the seal's core.
The darkness grew thicker, and the eerie blue light from the elegant candlesticks on both sides grew weaker. It gave him the illusion that they were about to be extinguished, and when that happened, the pure darkness might bring about an unimaginable and terrifying change. Klein endured this instinctive fear and finally finished walking down the staircase, arriving at the second level underground.
With his Wraith's night vision, Klein discovered that there were strange walls made of steel, bricks, mud, and silver. They were separated into different areas. Some areas were open, while others were tightly shut. Each of them had a Sealed Artifact.
With the lantern in hand, he turned left. Klein's eyes suddenly lit up as he saw a burning flame and bright red coal and charcoal.
The area was in a half-open state. Inside, there was a bathtub-shaped object made of steel. The bottom was hollowed out and stuffed with anthracite, charcoal, and all sorts of combustibles.
They kept burning, causing the steel bathtub to emit gurgling sounds. Water vapor emanated from it and gathered at the ceiling, condensing into liquid droplets that fell like rain.
An item that needs to be submerged in hot water to be sealed … And the Keepers have to periodically add charcoal to prevent the flames from extinguishing … Hmm, if there's a Sealed Artifact that can constantly emit high temperatures, it can be combined to make the seal simpler … Klein glanced at the steel bathtub. Hoping that no accidents would disrupt his plans, he approached it and used a tool to add a portion of the coal that was piled outside into the fire.
When he looked up, he swept his gaze through the corner of his eye and saw that there were silver metal items under the hot water in the steel bathtub.
Together, they looked like a heavy full-body armor, and there were dark red blood stains and red spots that couldn't be washed away.
1 — 42 … The blood of an ancient god … It's now stored in the Baekeland diocese for a long period of time … Klein had seen this Sealed Artifact before, and the corresponding information immediately surfaced in his mind.
Just as he was about to retract his gaze, he saw the unadorned silver helmet.
The visor of the helmet had been pulled down, making it appear dark inside. At that moment, Klein felt a gaze penetrate through and cast at him.
He shuddered and hurriedly took two steps back. His heart was beating quickly and chaotically.
Not daring to size it up any further, Klein calmed his emotions and cast his gaze forward. He steadily took a step forward and left the area.
After passing through a few sealed areas, his spiritual perception was triggered. He felt that something to his right was summoning him. Furthermore, it produced thumping sounds that resembled the expansion and contraction of a heart!
Indeed, the Antigonus family's notebook has been waiting for me … Klein calmly confirmed his previous judgment. He followed the beckoning of the nothingness, changed directions, and approached it.
In just two to three minutes, he saw a room with a half-open stone door. It was dark inside, without any light.
Under the illumination of the lantern, an empty bookshelf formed from white bones entered Klein's eyes. On it was an ancient notebook with a hard, pitch-black cover.
It was the Antigonus family's notebook!
"Hornacis … Flegrea … Hornacis … Flegrea …" An illusory voice drilled into Klein's ears, making him certain that he had found his target!
Everything went smoothly, but Klein didn't dare to be careless or rash. He carefully entered the room and slowly approached, afraid that the measures to seal the Antigonus family's notebook would cause him harm.
Therefore, when he closed the distance, a hand suddenly extended out from his chest. It was a hand with a dark red sleeve!
It was Wraith Señor's hand.
One of the rules of a Marionettist was to use a marionette as much as possible. If anything were to happen, the marionette would bear the brunt of the problem!
At that moment, there was a sudden thud from the door, as though someone had walked in!
Klein's pupils dilated as he pounced at the bone bookshelf without any thought, allowing the marionette's hand to quickly grab the Antigonus family's notebook. At the same time, he reached his right palm into his pocket, about to open the iron cigar case and wear Creeping Hunger. He wanted to teleport away before the seal's core reacted!
During this process, the scene at the door naturally surfaced in his mind.
A hooded figure dressed in a classic robe stood there. Her face was beautiful, but it was expressionless. Her black eyes were deep, but they lacked any spirituality!
The high-ranking member of the Church who directly wiped out Mr. A and stopped the Great Smog of Baekeland? Why is she hiding underground? This doesn't make sense! Just as Klein's horror surged, he instinctively lowered his head to look at his body.
His body was like a pencil drawing that had been erased by an eraser. It was quickly erased, and before it touched the Antigonus family's notebook, it had completely vanished.
PS: Seeking monthly recommendation votes on Monday. I'll also thank Mr. Y for giving the True Creator a birthday.
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