Lord of the Mysteries

Leonard’s singing sounded like a lullaby as it lightly resounded through the doors and into the winding wooden stairwell.

Klein’s mind immediately turned torpid. He felt like he saw a silent moonlight and serene rippling lake.

His eyelids rapidly turned heavy as if he were about to fall asleep standing.

Amid these indistinct sensations, he also felt a strange, formless, and indifferent focus on his back. It felt like he was wandering the spirit world himself.

A baffling sense of déjà vu suffused as Klein suddenly found his train of thought once again. With his strong spiritual perception and extreme familiarity with Cogitation, he barely escaped the influence of the Midnight Poem.

However, he remained serene and could hardly evoke any emotions.

Soon, Leonard stopped singing as he turned his head with a smile.

“I’m considering asking Captain’s permission to apply for a Feynapotter lute. How can there not be an accompaniment when singing?

“Heh heh, I’m just kidding. I can hear them asleep.”

The black-haired, green-eyed Nighthawk with his poetic vibe took a stride forward and walked to the door that separated them from the kidnappers and hostage.

He suddenly moved his shoulder and threw a punch at the door’s lock.

Crack!

The wooden board around the lock shattered in a muffled manner.

“This requires precise control.” Leonard turned his head and smiled. He then reached his hand into the hole and opened the door.

Klein, who had regained consciousness, was not as confident as him. He reached under his armpit, drew his revolver, and turned the cylinder, making sure that he could shoot at a moment’s notice.

As the door swung back, he saw a man sleeping on a table with a gun by his feet. Another man was rubbing his eyes in a daze while trying to stand up.

Bam!

Leonard slid forward and struck the awakening kidnapper unconscious.

Klein planned to enter as well when he suddenly sensed something. He turned around abruptly and faced the stairwell.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Footsteps were approaching from below. It became clear that “something” was a hatless man in a brown coat circling the stairwell in his progression toward the third floor while hugging a paper bag of bread.

Suddenly, he stopped. He saw a gun’s barrel aiming at him with a metallic luster.

His pupils reflected a young man dressed in a halved top hat, black formal suit with a bow tie of the same color. It also reflected the cane which rested along the rail and the dangerous revolver.

“Do not move. Raise your hands. Three, two, one…” Klein’s tone was deep but relaxed.

He held the revolver with both hands as he tried to imagine the man as a target from his practice.

Amid the tense atmosphere, the man in the brown coat threw the bag of bread and slowly raised his hands.

“Sir, is this a kind of a joke? Has there been a misunderstanding?” He stared intently at the finger that Klein had placed on the trigger as he forced a smile.

temporarily unable to determine if he was an accomplice or a neighbor, but he did not reveal any abnormalities.

out and noticed the man in the stairwell. He

as he suddenly raised his foot and kicked the bag

coldly pulled the trigger like

Bang!

burst out from the man’s left

ground and attempted to escape from the second floor; however, Leonard had already reached his hand towards the handrail before leveraging himself

thud, Leonard landed

as Leonard swatted away some of the blood that had splattered

“Nice shooting.”

corner of Klein’s mouth twitched in an indiscernible manner as he caught a

visual, auditory, or tactile senses after consuming the Seer potion,

Klein nodded in thought as he watched Leonard find a sharp

room. They saw Elliott Vickroy jolt awake from the gunshot

used against Elliott. Bunched together, they were thrown in a corner. The lack of rope was

who had been shot in the shoulder was bandaged, but Leonard disdained getting his hands dirty, so he did not help him extract

stammered in pleasant delight when he

right. Very precise.” The genuflecting Leonard answered

Klein lowered his revolver and said to Elliott, “We are mercenaries hired

saved?” Elliott

quite harshly in the short few hours of being a kidnapping victim. He did not have the kind of rashness someone his age normally would

up and said to Klein, “Go downstairs and find some patrolling cops. Get them to inform the tobacco merchant. I do not wish to walk out with a child and

the aftermath, nodded. He put away his revolver, picked up his cane, and walked

had a nagging feeling that he had forgotten something. In addition, he heard Leonard say to Elliott,

…

laughter and walked out into the streets. With the

not use his badge and identification as a member of the Special Operations Department; instead, he used his identity as a

for him holding a gun, he was not worried at all. He had received an all-purpose weapon usage certificate the day before yesterday. His application was accelerated by going

looks and one of them left to gather reinforcements and inform the Vickroy family. The other

the policeman was not paying attention. Klein was to sneak out of

time. Let’s leave first,” the Nighthawk with the poetic bearing explained with

was making it clear that he would take any responsibility for any repercussions, he did not

where the kidnappers

daze. He found it incredulous that news would come so fast. It felt like

heard a crisp snap as he

its windows open. The

Leonard closed the

right hand and

was a pleasure working with

think we are on that good terms… Klein politely shook his

kidnapping case to be resolved so quickly. All he could do was marvel at the capabilities of Beyonders. Even though he was just a half-assed Sequence 9 Beyonder, he was able to do many inconceivable

aristocrats after a clash of swords,”

Klein had many aristocratic

with Mr. Klee? If he believes that

total of 100

was no doubt about their providing of the kidnappers’ location from their ‘meeting’ from

us, money isn’t that important,” said Leonard with

important