Lord of the Mysteries

The Cathedral of Serenity looked particularly beautiful at night. It complemented with the crimson moon high up in the sky that coldly illuminated the land.

Leonard entered his single room, took off his two red gloves, and tossed them onto a wooden table.

With a grim look, he sat in front of the patterned glass window, his back facing out as he bathed in the moonlight.

After ten seconds of silence, he said softly, almost gritting his teeth, “So you’re a Parasite!”

Leonard’s voice echoed faintly in his own ears, muffled by obvious anger, tension, a sense of loss, and fear.

In the blink of an eye, a slightly aged voice resounded in his mind.

“You can say that.”

“What exactly do you want? Are you a being that’s leeching my life through your parasitic means? Or are you waiting for me to become stronger, so you can directly devour my Beyonder characteristic, just like cultivating a humanoid potion?” Leonard’s voice was suppressed, but in no way slow.

The slightly aged voice in his mind laughed.

“I’m your fortuitous encounter; didn’t you always think so? You believe yourself to be unique and the protagonist of this era…

“In fact, you aren’t acting as arrogant and self-conceited as you usually do. Ultimately, you’re wary of me. Hehe. After I taught you the acting method, you didn’t even focus on studying it. All you did was a very superficial attempt at it. You wasted a very long time before you digested it and even hid it. You didn’t pursue the Nightmare potion.

“It was only after you met with the spawn of the True Creator and suffered a setback were you willing to advance to Sequence 7. Your regret has made you hallucinate.

“Leonard, think about it carefully. Would I not understand the Church of the Evernight Goddess? When I dealt with them, even the so-called Chanis hadn’t even been born yet.

“Would I not know that the Church of the Evernight Goddess knows of Parasites? Would I not realize that the Red Gloves would grasp certain secrets to prevent the infiltration of High-Sequence Beyonders?

“But did I ever stop you from joining the Red Gloves?”

After a few brief changes in expression, Leonard finally fell silent, saying nothing.

The voice in his mind laughed again.

“Do you feel like you have aged faster than your real age? No, right? I can live for at least another hundred years. I’m not in a hurry to take over my host’s life.

“As for your Beyonder characteristics, humph. We aren’t even in a similar pathway that allows exchanging. If I swallow it, it would be equivalent to drinking poison, making me half-crazy and increasing my chance of losing control. Do you think that I would do that?

“Evernight is grouped with Giant and Death, while my Beyonder pathway’s goal is that of the Apprentice and Seer.”

Leonard looked at his body which was illuminated by the crimson moonlight. After some thought, he asked again, “What exactly do you want to do? What is your purpose?”

The slightly aged voice in his mind sighed.

“Didn’t I already tell you?

“I’ve suffered tremendous damage, and I need a host to recover slowly, and I have to hide from a terrible enemy… The Nighthawks, the Church of the Evernight Goddess, is quite a good choice for a host.”

Leonard lifted his head, looked at the ceiling for a few seconds, and said in a deep voice, “Will you be discovered by the archbishops, high-ranking deacons, or other Sealed Artifacts?”

The slightly aged voice replied leisurely, “If Parasites were so easily discovered, that high-ranking deacon named Cesimir wouldn’t have just given a warning and not send all of you to be checked.

“Of course, Parasites do leave traces. The Church of the Evernight Goddess has the means to determine this, but it’s relatively complicated and troublesome. It will cause certain losses and substantial danger. It might even affect that Goddess, so before you become a high-ranking deacon, making you qualified to participate in meetings for the upper echelons of the Church, and interact with Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts, there’s no need to worry.

“By then, I should’ve recovered and embarked on my own journey.”

Leonard listened with a serious expression. After a while, he said, “You have a terrifying enemy? Who is he?”

The slightly aged voice chuckled and said, “I don’t know his name, but I do know his last name…”

“What is it?” Leonard asked.

The slightly aged voice suddenly became low and deep.

“Amon.”

…

The area south of the Bridge, 46 Riverbay Avenue.

The owners of the house that were enjoying their dinner heard the tinkling of the doorbell.

The only maid came to the door, and through the peephole above the door’s lock, she saw a policeman in a black-and-white checkered uniform.

She opened the door and asked somewhat fearfully, “Sir, is there anything I can do for you?”

The cop was none other than the disguised Klein, who was attempting to take the initiative to perform. He was here to confirm that the partners of the vampire, Emlyn White, the ones living at 48 Riverbay Avenue, and the people who entrusted Stuart with the mission, were law-abiding monsters.

Yes, law-abiding monsters! Although this doesn’t sound right and sounds a little funny, it’s how I would react with my true thoughts… Klein emphasized in his heart.

The police uniform he wore wasn’t a fake that he specially tailored. It was a product of his ordinary clothes and hallucinatory effects.

A Magician had to do what a magician would do!

Klein didn’t monitor 48 Riverbay Avenue because he believed that Emlyn White’s companions had long since moved away.

As monsters and non-humans, moving to another residence was the most basic thing to do after a comrade disappears for several days!

They had to suspect that Emlyn White was captured by the Nighthawks, the Mandated Punishers, or other official Beyonder organizations, and it was necessary to assume that he might be dead at any moment.

Therefore, what Klein wanted to do was to perform an investigation by conducting a survey.

He maintained the arrogance of a low-ranking policeman towards an ordinary citizen. Without taking off his hat, he slightly raised his chin and said, “I have something to ask your master.”

The maid entered in a fluster and quickly brought back a man in his thirties wearing a thick shirt.

“Officer, what would you like to ask me?” the man asked nervously.

Klein stood at the door and looked inside.

“Do you know the residents of Unit 48?”

“I do.” The male owner was stunned for a moment before asking, “What happened to them?”

“They’re involved in a case. You have to tell me everything you know,” Klein said with a straight face.

His face was also disguised, augmented with slight hallucinatory effects. It was to ensure that he looked distinct from the great detective Sherlock Moriarty.

The male owner suddenly came to a realization.

“It’s no wonder they moved away so hurriedly more than a month ago… Most of the residents of Riverbay Avenue and the neighborhood knew the Whites and their son. He was a handsome but eccentric young man.

“Mr. White is an excellent physician and is good at using all kinds of medicine and bloodletting therapy.”

“Bloodletting therapy?” Klein returned with a question.

“Yes, although this has been regarded by many newspapers and magazines as an old medical skill that had no effect, anyone who received Mr. White’s treatment were cured. However, Mr. White also said that except for him, the other doctors who practice bloodletting therapy are quacks.” The owner gave his viewpoint.

The bloodletting therapy is to accumulate food for themselves, isn’t it? The only thing that is useful was the medicine… This vampire family relied on bloodletting therapy to help treat patients while receiving “food” as compensation. If there weren’t many patients, or if their blood was very unhealthy, would they consider going to a distant hospital to steal blood from a blood bag and drink it? For such monsters, they really are law-abiding… Klein nodded in understanding.

The emotional color changes in his Spirit Vision told him that the man wasn’t lying.

Seeing that the police officer didn’t refute him, the man continued, “Mr. White and his wife are very nice people. Although they can’t cure those who are seriously ill, they’re still pretty good doctors for all the residents who live nearby…

“Was their child, Emlyn, involved in a case? That young man was too silent, as though he looked down on us. He’s always hiding at home, and I have no idea what he’s doing… Officer, are you hot? It’s so cold outside.”

He probably just hides in the day and comes out at night… Klein wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, “I’ve been walking around here all day because of this case!”

Next, according to his designed survey, he learned everything about the Whites and their son.

One family at a time, he knocked on the door, asked questions, compiled answers, and came to the conclusion that the White family was indeed kind, amiable, and law-abiding.

It doesn’t seem like a description of a vampire… Klein looked up at the crimson moon which was piercing through the clouds, ready to make a final confirmation.

He removed the hallucinatory effect from his body and started divining.

After making sure there was no danger, he went around to the side and climbed into the house at 48 Riverbay Avenue.

Others might not know who had taken Emlyn White away, ultimately afraid of being followed up by an official “visit” from official Beyonders, but Klein knew what was going on and wasn’t worried about a trap.

As he entered the second floor, he used the moonlight to see that the rooms were in disarray. Many things hadn’t been taken away. Through these things, he could imagine the haste in which their owners had left.

He even found some precious books on herbs in a study, including some popular countryside folk recipes.

As he walked, Klein entered one of the bedrooms, and shadows came into view.

He jumped in fright, imagining that he had been ambushed. He almost snapped his fingers to light the match that had been thrown outside.

Fortunately, no attacks occurred.

The crimson moonlight shone through the window, covering the entire room. Klein was finally able to clearly see what those black shadows were.

They didn’t have any spiritual luster, and they were figurines of varying sizes!

The biggest one was only slightly shorter than Klein. It was a girl wearing a gorgeous long skirt. Her sleeves and collars were covered with lace and ribbons.

This female figurine was obviously more like one of wax. Her facial features were vivid and lifelike, and her golden hair and red eyes were alluring and beautiful.

The smallest one was only the size of a normal person’s palm. It was a woman wearing silver body armor. She looked valiant and heroic while looking magnanimous and beautiful.

As his eyes swept past each figurine, Klein suddenly remembered something.

Under the influence of Roselle, the development of figurine art had two trends: one was the adorable type, allowing them to have a change of clothes; while the other strove to be more realistic.

Klein looked around and couldn’t help but exclaim, “These figurines are not cheap!

“Don’t tell me Emlyn is a vampire who is obsessed with figurines?”