LOM: Lord of Mysticism

"Blackthorn Security Company." Upon seeing the signboard, Klein walked up the steps, knocking gently on the half-closed door.

The sound echoed slowly but rhythmically, but there was no response; only a faint sputtering sound could be heard.

Klein repeated, only to be met with the same outcome. He switched to pushing the door, making the gap larger as he stared inside—a classic sofa that might have been for serving guests, a soft fabric armchair, and a burly wood coffee table. There was also a girl with brown hair behind a table with her head drooped.

Even though "Security Company" is just a guise, isn't this just... just too unprofessional? How long has this place been out of business? Right, you guys don't have any business... Klein drew closer and knocked on the table just beside the girl.

The girl was holding a newspaper, covering her face. She looked to be in her early twenties, wearing a light green Loen-styled dress, accentuated by laces on her sleeves, collar, and chest.

Tingen City Honest Paper... Klein silently read the title.

"The 'Soaring Express' steam train service commences today and directly connects to Constant City... Ugh, why can't they have one that goes straight to Brindisi Bay? I absolutely detest traveling by ship." The girl pretentiously read from the newspaper; she then lowered the paper and stared at Klein. "Well, hello! And who might you be?"

"Hello, I am Klein Moretti. I am here at the invitation of Dunn Smith," Klein said.

"The Captain... alright, wait here for a moment. I'll go get him." The girl scurried up and went into a nearby room.

She didn't even serve me a cup of water or anything—this level of service awareness is worrying. Klein waited patiently.

After two to three minutes, the girl opened the door. "Mr. Moretti, please follow me. The Captain is on watch at the 'Chanis Gate' and is unable to leave at the moment."

"Okay." Klein quickly followed behind. Chanis Gate, what could that be?

Going through the partition, the first thing he saw was a small corridor, with only three offices on each side. Some of these offices were locked tight, while some were opened, revealing someone who typed non-stop on a mechanical typewriter.

At a glance, Klein noticed a familiar figure—the young officer with black hair, green eyes, and the romantic vibe of a poet—that had investigated his apartment. He was not in official wear; his white collared shirt was not tucked in, making for quite an unruly appearance.

Perhaps he really is a poet. Klein guessed.

The girl pushed open the door at the end of the room and pointed inside. "We still have to go down a few levels."

This office had no furniture in place, only a grayish-white stone staircase that extended downwards. The two sides of the stairs were lit up by gas lamps, and a stable glow dispelled the darkness, giving a sense of harmony.

The girl in front walked carefully. "Although I walk here often, I am still constantly afraid of falling and tumbling down like a barrel. You don't know, Leonard did such a folly; on the first day of becoming 'Sleepless'—the first day where he had yet to master his new powers—he tried to rush down the flight of stairs, and-and he became a cartwheel—haha, it was hilarious; it was the guy that greeted you just now, and this was about three years ago. Speaking of which, I have been with the Nighthawks for five years; I was only seventeen when I joined..."

The girl suddenly smacked her forehead. "I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Rozanne. My father was a member of the Nighthawks who sacrificed himself in an accident five years ago. I suppose we are colleagues from now on—Err, yeah, 'colleague' is the right word... We are not teammates since we are not Beyonders."

"I hope to have the honor, but still it depends on what Mr. Smith has to say," Klein said, sizing up the enclosed surroundings. He felt that they were heading underground—the dampness seeped out from the stone walls was dispelling the summer heat.

"Don't worry; the fact that you came so far means the Captain has agreed. I've always been a little afraid of him, even though he is amiable." Rozanne spoke.

The two soon finished walking down the stairs and reached a stone-paved floor. It was a long aisle; both sides of the walls were mounted with gas lamps.

Klein keenly noticed that there was a "Dark Sacred Emblem" every few meters—the symbol of the Evernight Goddess—a deep black background dotted with sparkling embellishments as they clustered precisely half the crimson moon.

Before long, an intersection appeared, and Rozanne briefly explained. "The path to the left will lead to the Saint Selena Cathedral; to the right are the armory, storeroom, and archives. And straight ahead is the Chanis Gate."

Saint Selena Cathedral? Then, Zouteland Street is just behind Red Moonlight Street?

Saint Selena Cathedral of Red Moonlight Street was the headquarters of the Church of Evernight in Tingen, a sacred ground where local followers yearned to visit. Along with "Holy Numerics Cathedral" of the Church of God of Steam and Machinery in the suburbs and the "River and Sea Cathedral" of the Church of Storms in North Tingen, they sustained the religious circles in Tingen City and its affiliated towns and villages.

Aware that his status made it unsuitable for him to ask more, Klein only listened silently. They passed the intersection, and in less than a minute, a black iron split gate carved with seven sacred emblems appeared.

"Chanis Gate." Rozanne reminded him and pointed at a room beside. "The Captain is inside. Go on by yourself."

"Alright, thank you." Klein replied.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Come in." He heard Dunn Smith's voice.

Klein opened the unlatched door. There was only a table and four chairs inside. Dunn Smith, with his high hairline, was wearing a black coat and a gold watch chain around his chest, reading the newspaper leisurely.

"Come and have a seat. Have you decided? Are you certain you want to join us?" Dunn asked as he put down the newspaper.

Klein removed his hat and sat beside the table. "Yes, I am certain."

"Then take a look at what people like to call a contract." Dunn took out two contract copies.

There were not many clauses, and most of them had been mentioned by Dunn Smith. The emphasis was on the confidential clause: Violators were tried in the tribunal courts of the Church of Evernight instead of the kingdom's courts.

A five-year contract... Two pounds and ten soli for weekly wages, ten soli as compensation for the risk and confidentiality... Klein read through it. "I've no problem with it."

"Then sign it," Dunn said as he pointed to the fountain pen and ink.

Klein signed on both contracts with his name: Klein Moretti.

Dunn received the contract, took out a stamp from the drawer, and stamped on the end of the contract on a few key parts.

With that done, he reached for Klein. "Welcome; from now on, you are one of us, and please note that the contract is confidential as well."

Klein stood up as well. "So, I shall address you as Captain?"

"Yes." Dunn's said, and after shaking hands, they sat down. Klein's looked at the stamp on the contract that read: "Nighthawk team, Tingen City, Awwa County, Loen Kingdom."

"I can't believe you guys would use the name 'Blackthorn Security Company' as a disguise," he said.

"Actually, we have other signboards." Dunn pulled out a piece of paper from the drawer—stamped with the city government's and the police department's stamps. The contents were as follows: "Seventh Unit, Special Operations Department, Awwa County Police, Loen Kingdom."

Dun explained. "The first four units are the regular police units responsible for general security, like the VIP Protection Unit and Key Installations Protection Unit. And from unit five onwards, they are the ones dealing with supernatural incidents in each city. Our unit is responsible for incidents related to the followers of the Evernight Goddess in Tingen. If there are different types of followers, then we divide the area accordingly; we are mainly in charge of places like the north, west, and the Golden Indus region."

He briefly introduced. "Unit Six of the Mandated Punisher Squad under the Church of Storms is in charge of the pier region, the east, and the south. The university area and the suburbs are under Unit Five, which is the Machinery Hivemind squad in Tingen."

""What happens if someone really comes here due to the 'Blackthorn Security Company' signboard and requests for our services?" Klein asked.

"We'll take those requests; why shouldn't we? As long as it doesn't affect our daily operations," Dunn said humorously. "Any earnings would be considered additional bonuses, so our members are quite willing to take those jobs. Anyway, the market for trivial and troublesome matters such as finding dogs and cats has been monopolized by private detectives."

"So how many people are there in the Nighthawk team?" Klein asked since they were on topic.

"There aren't many supernatural incidents, and there are even fewer Beyonders. There are only six formal members of the Nighthawks in the entire Tingen City, including me. Heh heh, as for civilian staff, there are six, including you."

Klein nodded and asked what he was most concerned about. "So, Captain, what do you mean by Beyonders losing control? Why does it happen?"