LOM: Lord of Mysticism

Klein repeatedly bent and extended his arm as he watched Dunn push open the Keeper's room with his body sideways.

Everything in Klein's vision turned slow. Even his arm actions shared the same fate.

He saw Captain Dunn stop in his tracks. He came close to him, extending his palm out slowly before pushing him in the shoulder.

Suddenly, Klein's thought processes and vision were restored to normal at the same time.

"What happened?" he whispered amid his confusion.

"Observe carefully." Dunn said.

The moment he finished his sentence, he walked into the Keeper's room. Klein followed closely behind and saw four other people in the room; they were either seated or standing.

One of them was the Midnight Poet, Leonard. The other three were people Klein had never met before. However, all of them shared a common trait. They were all doing the extending and bending arm "exercise" with utmost seriousness.

"Klein Moretti is someone with a miraculous connection with the Antigonus family's notebook." Dunn gave a brief introduction.

Then he pointed to the other three strangers. "These lady and gentlemen are colleagues from the Backlund diocese. They escorted Sealed Artifact 2-049 here. This is Madam Lorotta, Sequence 8 Gravedigger. She is a master sharpshooter."

At that moment, the black-haired woman who looked about thirty nodded at Klein in a friendly manner.

She looked good. She was dressed in what appeared like male attire—a black coat with a white shirt, tight black trousers, and black leather boots.

After Klein exchanged greetings, Dunn pointed to a man seated behind the desk.

"Aiur Arson, he's someone like me."

Klein saw Mr. Aiur Harson in his gray windbreaker turn sluggish with his arm motion.

Amid Klein's daze, he saw Lorotta push Aiur Harson, and the gentleman's actions returned to normal.

Klein greeted the middle-aged Aiur Harson.

"Borgia," Dunn said as he pointed to the last Nighthawk.

Borgia was a cold man with a slashing scar on the side of his face, and his eyes were sharp.

"Let's set off. The faster we end this, the faster we can seal 2-049," the handsome Aiur Harson said as he stood up.

"Alright," Dunn turned and looked at Leonard Mitchell. "You'll be in charge of driving. It is best not to involve Cesare with matters like this."

Cesare was the clerk in charge of procuring and collecting supplies for the Tingen Nighthawks while standing in as a carriage driver and was also the one who drove Klein to Welch's home to meet the Spirit Medium Daly.

"No problem." Leonard stopped acting frivolous and nodded seriously.

At that moment, Klein saw Aiur Harson bend over and pick a black metal chest.

The chest was carved with resplendent stars and the crimson full moon. It was as though there was a formless barrier around it.

Thump!

Thump! Thump!

Violent knocking sounds suddenly erupted from the black chest, and its surface bulged time and time again.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

It was as though something horrifying had awakened within the chest and was pounding wildly. The sound of the knocking was beaten into the hearts of everyone present.

Is it alive? Just as Klein thought, he saw Captain Dunn's arm exercises turning sluggish.

Borgia, the Nighthawk from Backlund, pushed Dunn's shoulder, allowing him to recover.

Klein followed Dunn's lead and behind the five Nighthawks through the tunnel and up the stairs to the second floor of the Blackthorn Security Company.

Kenley replaced Dunn in his watch over Chanis Gate. Leonard had gone ahead and notified everyone in the front of the building, so Rozanne and the rest had all made their way to the third level.

Klein heaved a sigh of relief when he reached the carriage and looked out the window. "Won't 2-049 affect the ordinary people on the streets?"

From their journey underground to the carriage, Sealed Artifact 2-049 had already caused six sluggish incidents, two of which were targeted at him. He had been jolted awake by Captain Dunn and Leonard Mitchell, respectively.

"No worries, 2-049 is only capable of influencing one person at a time and will target humanoid creatures within five meters of it first. The closer you are to it, the easier it is for you to be chosen. As long as there are three people surrounding it, people who happen to be around when the carriage steers past will not be affected," the black-haired lady Lorotta explained.

Dunn and the rest of the Nighthawks did not speak on the journey to Ray Bieber's house, paying close attention to each other's condition. Only Lorotta wore a nonchalant look.

Soon after, the familiar building finally entered Klein's line of sight. The group of six carefully made their way to the third level.

The door to Ray Bieber's house was labeled with the Tingen Police Department's symbol, indicating that entry was forbidden to unauthorized personnel.

As Dunn did his stretching exercises, he took out a key and opened the newly changed lock, then turned around, allowing Aiur Harson, who was carrying the black chest, to enter first.

Thump!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The Sealed Artifact in the black chest knocked violently once again. This made Aiur Harson's arm waver from side to side uncontrollably.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Klein quickly noticed that Captain Dunn's movements were becoming sluggish. He was about to wake him up when a buzz sounded in his brain. His brain became numb; the scenes before his eyes played as though they were in slow motion.

Didn't they say that... that it only affects one person at a time... Klein struggled to think.

At this moment, the prepared Lorotta and Borgia woke each of them up respectively by pushing them.

Having his thought processes and vision restored, Klein looked around with lingering fear and blurted out. "Didn't you say that 2-049 can only affect one person at a time?"

"When Sealed Artifact 2-049 enters its berserk mode, it can affect up to two people at once. We can confirm that Ray Bieber is indeed a descendant of the Antigonus family," Aiur Harson said.

Lorota looked at Klein. "2-049 becomes very agitated when it meets a descendant of the Antigonus family, even if only their scent remains. Its abilities would also increase considerably. I believe you would be able to understand its feelings."

Klein asked curiously, "So, is it a living creature?"

Lorotta smiled. "You'll know in a while. As long as Ray Bieber hasn't escaped Tingen, 2-049 will lead us to him."

The Nighthawks walked around the room.

Amid the loud and violent thumping from the chest, they locked the door, walked down the stairs, and returned to the carriage.

After confirming that there were no pedestrians in the area, Aiur Harson placed the black chest on the ground and twisted the mechanical switch to release its spiritual restraints.

The violent thumping stopped suddenly, slipping the entire carriage into silence.

Klein held his breath as the black chest opened slowly, making a creaking sound.

The chest fell as a slender brown arm extended out of the chest.

Two arms pressed forward one after another as a small object appeared bit by bit in front of everyone.

It had clear elbow, finger, and knee joints. Covered in an oil-stained brown cloth, its face was painted with the colors of a clown—red and yellow.

It was a wooden puppet with a strange appearance. 2-049 lifted its head and looked at Klein with its black eyes, and its rigid mouth slowly parted to reveal a clown-like smile.