LOM: Lord of Mysticism

Welch's place in Tingen was a detached house with a garden.

Klein followed Dunn down the carriage and then along the pathway blanketed by the dim yellow light, entering Welch's rented place through the ajar metal gate.

Facing the main entrance was a cemented road that led straight to a two-floored house.

There was a garden on the left and a lawn to the right. The pleasantly faint fragrance from the flowers mixed with the cool scent of the fresh grass was relaxing.

As soon as he stepped in, Klein peered around. He felt that in the garden, somewhere in the lawn, on the roof, behind the swing, or somewhere in a dark corner, something was observing him.

There was clearly no one here; yet, Klein felt as if he was on a crowded street. This strange contrast—this peculiar feeling—tensed him up.

"Something's wrong!" He couldn't help but exclaim to Dunn.

Dunn's expression remained unchanged as he walked beside him. "Just ignore them."

Since the "Nighthawk" had said so, Klein tolerated the chilling feeling of not being able to notice the perpetrator despite being followed, spied on, or observed. Step by step, he arrived at the main entrance of the house.

As Dunn reached out to knock on the door, Klein turned around. Flowers swayed in the wind without a person in sight.

"Come in, gentlemen." A seemingly ethereal voice came from inside the house.

Dunn turned the doorknob, pushed the door open, and said to a woman on the sofa, "Daly, any results?"

The chandelier in the living room was unlit. A set of two leather couches surrounded a marble coffee table.

On the table was a lit candle, but the light emitted a cobalt blue glow.

In the middle of the sofa sat a lady in a hooded black robe with blue eyeshadow, and an exposed silver bracelet with a hanging white crystal pendant worn around her wrist.

Daly, the "medium" with uncanny beauty, took a quick glance at Klein with her emerald eyes and then looked at Dunn Smith. "The original spirits have all disappeared, including those of Welch's and Naya's. Right now, all these little rascals know nothing at all."

Spirits? Spirit Medium… All the invisible things that were spying on him previously were spirits? There were many of them? Klein removed his hat and placed it across his chest, bowing slightly as he said, "Good evening, Madam."

Dunn Smith sighed. "Daly, this is Klein Moretti. See if you can get anything out of him."

The medium, Daly, shifted her gaze onto Klein and pointed at a single armchair. "Please, take a seat."

"Thank you." Klein nodded, taking a few steps, and sitting down obediently.

Whether I survive, whether I get through this successfully, or whether I have my secrets exposed will all depend on whatever happens next. Klein could only place his hopes on his inherent specialness.

Next, Dunn sat on the two-seater sofa opposite Klein. Daly took out two thumb-sized glass bottles from her waist pouch.

She smiled at Klein as she said, "I need a bit of help here. After all, you are not an enemy; I can't treat you harshly. That might make you uncomfortable or put you in pain. It might even leave some serious aftereffects on you. I will give you some fragrances, making you feel tender and smooth, which will allow you to let loose bit by bit so that you can truly indulge in those feelings."

"Eh?" Klein had a complex expression on his face.

Seated across him, Dunn laughed and said, "Don't be weirded out. We are different from the fellows from the Church of Storms. Here, the ladies can also verbally tease men. In this regard, you should be able to understand. Your mother was a devout believer in the Goddess. You and your brother used to attend Sunday school at Church."

"I understand. It's just that I never thought that she would be such a... such a..." Klein gestured, as he could not find the right words.

Dunn curved the corners of his mouth up and said, "Don't worry. Actually, Daly seldom does this. She just wants to use these methods to calm you down. She prefers corpses over men."

"You make me sound perverted," Daly interjected.

She opened one of the little bottles and dripped a few drops onto the bright blue candle flame.

"Night vanilla, slumber flower, and chamomile, all distilled and extracted to form this aromatic floral essence. I call it 'Amantha;' it means tranquility in the Hermes language."

As they chatted, the candle flame flickered, evaporating the floral essence and filling the room with its aroma.

A beautifully enchanting aroma found its way into Klein's nostrils. He became calm as if he were gazing into the darkness of the silent night.

"This bottle is called the Eye of the Spirit. Barks and leaves of drago and poplar trees are sun-dried for seven days and decocted three times. Then, they are immersed in Lanti Wine. Of course, there would be several incantations while we're at it." As Daly described the liquid, the amber substance dripped onto the cobalt blue candle flame.

Upon smelling the ethereal scent of the aromatic wine, Klein noticed that the candle flame was dancing wildly. The luster of Daly's blue eyeshadow and blush shone oddly, to the extent of him seeing double.

"This is a great helping hand for Mediumship. It is also a floral essence that is sufficiently enchanting… " As Daly explained continuously, Klein felt as if her voice was coming from all around.

Bewildered, Klein looked around and realized that everything was swaying. Even his body was swaying as it phased away before he began floating.

Colors blended like an impressionist painting—the reds were redder, the blues were bluer, and the blacks were blacker—appearing more defined than usual. It was dreamy and hazy, and distinct murmurs from the surroundings came through.

Klein's vision was locked onto a pair of eyes that were crystal clear like emeralds. On a blurry "sofa" sat Daly in a black robe.

Eccentrically, her gaze concentrated on Klein. "Let me properly introduce myself. I am the Spirit Medium, Daly."

Klein intentionally behaved and muddled, "Hello there…"

"The mental worlds of humans are extremely vast. Many secrets are hidden within the mind. Look at the ocean—what we know about it is all on the superficial level. But in reality, deep in the ocean, there is a larger unseen portion. Other than islands and oceans, there is the vast sky that symbolizes the spiritual world.

You are the spirit of your body. Not only do you know of the islands above, but you also know of the things hidden beneath the sea, as well as the entire ocean.

Anything that exists leaves some traces behind. The superficial memories of the islands may be wiped out, but what is left under the sea and the entire ocean will definitely have a corresponding projection left in it…"

Daly went on and on, bewitching Klein. The vague surrounding winds and shadows took on similar forms. It was as though Klein's spirit was fully exposed in the form of an ocean, waiting for him to search and discover.

Klein watched patiently as he 'churned' the ocean occasionally, and then, in an airy voice, he replied, "No, I can't remember. I have forgotten."

Daly tried to guide him once again, but the clear-headed Klein was unaffected.

"Okay. We shall end here. You may leave." The airy voice lingered, and Daly disappeared. The wind and shadows began calming as the ethereal smell and subtle aromatic scent became more distinct again.

The colors returned to their normal state, and the fuzzy feeling was no longer around. Klein opened his eyes, which he had no memory of closing, and noticed that the candle with the bright blue flame was still before him. Dunn Smith was still resting comfortably on the couch. Same for Daly with the black-hooded robe.

"Why did you use the theory that belongs to that bunch of evil madmen, the Psychology Alchemists?" Dunn furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Daly.

Daly put away the two small bottles and replied calmly, "I think it's pretty accurate. At least it corresponds with some of the things I've made contact with before."

Without waiting for Dunn's reply, Daly shrugged. "This tricky fellow did not leave a single trace behind."

Upon hearing this, Klein heaved a huge sigh of relief but petentiously asked, "Oh, it's over? What happened? It felt like I just took a nap."

"Just take it as such." Dunn interrupted him and looked at Daly. "Have you examined Welch's and Naya's bodies?"

"The corpses can tell us a lot. It's such a pity that Welch and Naya had indeed committed suicide. So, the force that drove them to it is to be feared. Not a single trace was left behind." Daly stood up and pointed at the candle. "I need some rest."

The cobalt blue glow vanished, and the house was instantly inundated with a blurry shade of crimson.

"Congratulations. You can return home now. But do remember: do not reveal this incident to your loved ones. You have to promise this," Dunn said as he led Klein to the door.

Klein asked, "Is there no need to examine the curses or the trails left behind by the evil spirits?"

"Daly didn't mention anything about it, so there's no need for it," Dunn answered simply.

Klein calmed down but asked hurriedly, "How can I be sure that I will be free from trouble from now on?"

"No worries." Dunn twitched his lips. "Based on statistics of similar incidents in the past, eighty percent of the survivors of an incident do not experience any horrifying after-effects. Yeah… This is based on what I know, roughly... more or less."

"Then... there's still one fifth of those poor souls." Klein did not want to try his luck.

"Then you can consider joining us as civilian staff. This way, even if there are any precursors, we can discover it in time," Dunn said casually as he approached the carriage. "Or simply become a Beyonder. After all, we are not nannies. We can't babysit you all day long, even having to watch what you do with women."

"Can I?" Klein questioned the statement.

Of course, I did not expect much. After all, how was it even possible to be a part of the Nighthawks so easily and obtain the power of the Beyonders?

Dunn paused and turned his head sideways to look at him. "It's not that you can't... It depends…"

The transition in his words shocked Klein; he stared blankly beside the carriage before answering, "Really?"

Dunn laughed lightly; his gray eyes were hidden in the shadow of the carriage.

"You don't believe me, huh? Actually, when you become a Nighthawk, you lose a lot. For instance, freedom.

Even if we don't talk about this now, there is another issue. Firstly, you are not a member of the clergy or a devotee. You can't pick whatever you want or choose the safest approach."

"And secondly…" Dunn held onto the handle as he hopped onto the carriage. "Among the cases that we—us, the Mandated Punishers, the Machinery Hivemind, and other Judiciaries—have to deal with annually, a quarter of them were a result of Beyonders who lost control."

A quarter… Beyonders who lost control? Klein was dumbfounded.

Just then, Dunn turned slightly. "And among the quarter of cases, a large number of them are our teammates."