Lord of the Mysteries

8 p.m., Harvest Church.

After changing back into his usual attire, Klein looked around once as he pressed down on the edge of his hat. Then, he walked into the hall and headed for Emlyn White who was standing before three rows of candles on the right side of the hall.

At the vampire’s feet was a black suitcase, its surface was seemingly covered with a layer of a wall of spirituality.

Upon sensing Detective Sherlock Moriarty coming in, Emlyn was first pleased before revealing an alarmed look.

He bent down to grab his suitcase and took a few steps back, closing the gap he had with Father Utravsky who was focused on praying.

Are you afraid that I’ll rob you of the Beyonder ingredients… Klein stopped three meters away, then he smiled and said, “Let me first verify if it’s the two ingredients I need.”

Emlyn White ran his hand through his hair, lifted the leather case to his chest and undid the buckle.

The wall of spirituality shattered as a result, turning into a light breeze that blew through the prayer hall.

Klein, who had long activated his Spirit Vision, immediately saw bursts of strange and dazzling light. It was the spiritual radiance released by many Beyonder characteristics.

There were two small boxes inside the suitcase. One was made of tin and had many patterns on it. It looked spartan and heavy. The other was only a cardboard box.

Holding the black leather suitcase in one hand, Emlyn opened the slightly tarnished silver-colored tin case. The item inside looked like a yellowish brown peeled walnut with the grooves and ridges of a brain.

Along with the flickering of the candle flame, its appearance constantly changed. Sometimes it would turn gray and appear wrinkled. At other times, it would turn dark brown and extremely smooth. The colors would interweave, outlining a featureless “face.”

At the sight of it, Klein felt the power of the potion, which he had completely digested and assimilated, stir a little, like a magnet encountering an opposite pole.

He was able to control his body with his Clown powers as he suppressed the feeling of attraction. He knew deep down that the item was a genuine mutated pituitary gland of a Thousand-faced Hunter.

It seems like what Emperor Roselle speculated in his diary is possible, that High-Sequence items of the same pathway would unconsciously draw Low- and Mid-Sequence Beyonders to them, with a tendency to draw them together… Although the Thousand-faced Hunter’s mutated pituitary gland is still very far from a High Sequence and doesn’t have that kind of special force of attraction, it contains enough Beyonder characteristics. Moreover, I’ve digested the Sequence 7 potion. When the person and ingredients are sufficiently close, such a phenomenon will appear…

I didn’t notice it before because, firstly, the corresponding Beyonder ingredients are of low quality, and secondly, my own strength is lacking, and I wasn’t of a high enough Sequence… Right, every time I digested the potion, an illusory starry sky would appear around me. There were many resplendent lights within, and they would pull one another in an attempt to converge… This might be a scene of the law of convergence of Beyonder characteristics of the same pathway, and the greater the “quality,” the stronger the pull…

Then, will Beyonder characteristics of similar pathways conform to this law?

Klein’s expression didn’t change as he recalled the records in Roselle’s diary, and combined with his three experiences of digesting potions, he was able to determine the existence of a certain law.

Emlyn White glanced at him warily, quickly closed the tin box and opened the paper box next to it.

The paper box was padded with thick cotton, and in the center of the box was a glass bottle that could hold 200 milliliters of liquid. The bottle was half-empty, while the rest of it was filled with a viscous liquid that could change its color based on the change of light.

“Any other problems?” Emlyn closed the paper box.

“Let me confirm once more.” Klein took out a gold coin and let it spin between his fingers, as though it had a life of its own.

Ding!

The gold coin bounced up and fell down again, landing in Klein’s palm.

It was heads, indicating a positive response.

Klein nodded slightly and took out stacks after stacks of notes from various pockets. They were in ten-pound, five-pound, and one-pounds denominations.

“1,450 pounds.” Klein placed the pile of cash on a nearby piece of furniture.

“Retreat a few steps, no, five steps!” Emlyn called out cautiously.

Klein smiled, raised his hands, and took five steps back.

Emlyn cautiously moved closer, checking to see if there was any blank paper in the stack of cash.

After doing a slight count, he threw the leather suitcase in his hand towards Klein.

Klein was startled and with his agile moves, he accurately caught the suitcase.

He was afraid that the blood of the Thousand-faced Hunter would seep out after the bottle shattered.

And Emlyn White took the opportunity to collect the bills and quickly retreated to the side of Father Utravsky.

Only then did he heave a sigh of relief and seriously checked the amount and their authenticity.

At the sight, Klein recalled the scene and suddenly felt ashamed.

He and Emlyn had made a perfectly fine Church of Mother Earth cathedral look like the scene of an arms or drugs trade…

After confirming the condition of the two ingredients, Klein snapped his fingers, igniting a match he had specially separated in his clothes and allowed the soaring red flames to envelop his body.

When the flames descended back down, he had already disappeared.

As he often met Emlyn White at the Harvest Church, he didn’t mind if Father Utravsky found out that he was a Beyonder who had helped him eliminate his dark personality. He even felt that this would give him some form of friendship.

Emlyn, who was counting the money, looked up and was stunned for a good two seconds.

He muttered to himself in a low voice, “My suitcase…

“My tin box…”

…

On the lamp-lit street, a carriage rolled over the puddles and headed for the edge of Empress Borough.

Fors has told her good friend, Xio Derecha, that she had a teacher and had ended up consuming another Apprentice potion.

After confirming that she didn’t have any signs of losing control, Xio looked outside the window at the gas lamps, which weren’t much taller than she was, and asked in puzzlement, “I’ve always wondered why they’re preserved as ingredients and not as a potion. Your teacher could’ve concocted the potion beforehand and brought them here, so there was no need for him to do it on the spot.”

Fors gave a faint smile and said, “I’ve asked him about this before. He said that there are two main reasons. One is that different Beyonder ingredients have different uses, and when they’re made into a potion, they cannot be used flexibly. The second is that when the Beyonder characteristics are solidified, they can be kept forever, but after it becomes a potion, that won’t be the case unless one uses a special isolation technique.”

“Why?” Xio asked in surprise. “This isn’t an ordinary type of medicine or Beyonder weapon in which its spirituality will continue to dissipate and weaken.”

Fors wasn’t in the mood to laugh, but she had no choice but to maintain her smile.

“It’s not a problem about the characteristic loss, but that once Beyonder ingredients become potions, not only can humans absorb them, even other creatures or materials without life can. It’s just relatively slower. For example, if I use a glass bottle to store the potion, it might appear fine, but after a few days, the glass bottle would ‘finish’ drinking the potion, becoming a special mystical item. It might even gain intelligence. Of course, my teacher said that such a situation has very huge side effects, akin to what a Rampager leaves behind.

“The seven Churches and some hidden factions have special isolation techniques, but it’s rather troublesome, and they won’t use it on Low- or Mid-Sequence potions.”

“How amazing!” Xio sighed.

She took another look outside and said in a low voice, “We’re almost there.”

She and Fors were here to attend the Beyonder gathering which Mr. A was holding.

Fors smiled while feeling her heart bleed.

“I hope there’s the Spirit Eater’s stomach pouch.”

Her teacher, Dorian Gray, had taught her the acting method before he left. He even gave her the potion formula for Trickmaster and got her to attempt to find the Beyonder ingredients on her own. If she hadn’t gathered all of the ingredients by the time she digested the Apprentice potion, she could write to him for help.

This left Fors in a rather lost state.

Why did I spend large sums of money to purchase the Trickmaster formula and the acting method?

Up to now, the greatest and invaluable help the Tarot Club has given me were the things Mr. Hanged Man and Miss Justice taught me to take note of, as well as Mr. Fool’s interference in divination. Otherwise, Teacher would’ve long discovered a problem with me, and I wouldn’t have become his student…

Sigh, I’ll just consider it as the price for neutralizing the full moon’s curse…

As the thought crossed her mind, Fors suddenly noticed that the house where Mr. A had his gathering held had visibly collapsed, and there were even scorch marks in many places.

There was a fierce battle here… Who dealt with Mr. A? An official organization? Fors immediately signaled to Xio and instructed the carriage driver outside, “Not here, two more streets up ahead.”

…

“Aurora Order’s base found. Terrorist organization suffers severe setback.”

The next day, Klein saw this article the moment he flipped the newspapers open.

“Let’s hope Mr. A died in this ambush.” He drew the crimson moon on his chest in solemnity.

He had already thrown the Thousand-faced Hunter’s blood and mutated pituitary gland from last night above the gray fog to ensure that they wouldn’t be lost.

Even if I die, they won’t be lost… Klein chewed on a piece of bacon with great ease.

After last night’s transaction, his cash reserves had fallen back below 1,000 pounds, leaving him with only 735 pounds, which was only enough to buy a Deep-sea Naga’s hair. After that, he didn’t have the ability to purchase the Human-skinned Shadow’s characteristic.

Without any better clues or money, Klein rested at home the entire morning. After lunch, he dressed up and headed straight for the Backlund Bridge area.

He had previously made an agreement with Carlson of the Machinery Hivemind to find him at the Lucky Bar near the West Balam dock if he had any intelligence. If the intelligence was especially important and Carlson wasn’t there, he was to go straight to Lever Cathedral. After all, Sherlock Moriarty wasn’t a member of a secret organization, so there was no need for caution.

There weren’t many customers at Lucky Bar in the afternoon, so Klein instantly saw Carlson sitting and drinking alone in a corner of the bar.

He walked over, knocked on the table, and reported with a suppressed voice, “Many people in East Borough are spreading the faith of the original Creator.”

Carlson sipped some alcohol brewed from pure malt and replied noncommittally, “I’m aware.”

As expected… Klein commented silently before smiling.

“I have a clue regarding a Fourth Epoch tomb of a noble.”

“Ah!”

The glass in Carlson’s hand paused as he looked at Klein in surprise, and he unconsciously nudged his thick glasses.

But he noticed that Detective Sherlock Moriarty wasn’t continuing to describe the matter, but looking at the bartender a few steps away while saying with a smile, “One glass of Southville beer.”