Adam and chills

Max did not think about the positive side of the situation as in case the angel had found a way to read his thoughts, all his plans would be exposed. Instead, they cleared out his mind almost completely, letting the Unity energy controlled by the combined souls of Samuel, Max, and Unity itself to move his body.

This way, he was not actually thinking of anything while performing everything according to his plan.

"I- I can explain."

"…Explain what? Why you are here at the most crucial part of my plans? Or why and how you have been leaving the planet and returning without being obliterated by Them."

"I can explain everything. But most importantly, killing me will only ruin more of your plans. Instead, letting me live will increase the chances of your plan succeeding. Look, I have no interest in the… pathways… that are joined with yours. But I really need to see what happens here. And I am indeed that desperate. Enough to call out to Him."

Max said as his eyes clanked at the monocle in his breast pocket, slightly sticking out such that Adam could see it, despite the grey cloak.

"Desperate enough to call to Her," He said as he looked over at the red moon that was somehow rising on the horizon despite night not being anywhere nearby.

"Look man, I know you like everything going according to your plan. But killing me will only make things worse. How about we continue what we have been doing until now? You know, maintain the status quo."

Adam ignored the threat about the monocle. However, when Max glanced at the red moon, his innocent eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly.

Suddenly, Max could move again. And Adam retracted his fingers that were only millimetres from his eyes. Max saw that Adam's apparent frown had a tinge of a smirk mixed in as though he was watching something incredibly amusing.

'Did he just smile… and not in the hiding-you-emotions kind of smile?' Max mused for a moment.

"Interesting. You have chosen to take Her support. Of all the beings you could ask help from… you chose Her. Perhaps that is why you survived out there. It matters not. For you have formed a connection with an important character."

"No. I refuse. And even if you try, you will fail just like you have been until now."

Max knew that Adam had been trying to pull Max into his 'plot' for his advancement ritual. And he refused to be part of something like that, having his life manipulated at the whims of an insanely strong King of Angels, like Klein, but without a certain True God looking over him and protecting him constantly.

Plus, he did not have the plot armour that Klein had.

'In exchange though, I have a super strong Outer God, an Ex-pillar at that, as my backer… of some sort at least.'

Without much of a warning, Adam vanished with the usual, "We shall see."

The line somehow reminded Samuel of the notoriously unsuccessful Team Rocket from back on Earth.

'Still untouched by Ademisaul… no contact as of yet. No contact for the past 1 month or so. It should be fine… right?'

…

Meanwhile in the Blackthorn Security Company

Klein instinctively reached for his pockets. He held the Flaring Sun Charm in one hand and Azik's copper whistle in the other.

He acutely noticed that the cold, gentle Beyonder feedback of the latter had vanished as if it was being suppressed by an invisible power. However, the former was still warm and comforting.

Making use of this comforting feeling, Klein entered a half-cogitation state. He blocked out his feelings of worry and didn't leave anything to chance. He turned and shot a look at Leonard Mitchell, then tipped his chin toward Megose.

He then controlled his expression with his Clown abilities and smiled at Megose, "Do you want coffee, black tea, or nothing at all?"

Megose stroked her stomach as if she was listening to something. "A cup of warm water. I suddenly thought of chatting with you guys about Lanevus. I have the feeling that you know a lot."

"Who told you that?" Leonard was no longer the frivolous guy that he usually was. His smile had turned rather stiff.

Megose suddenly giggled. "My child told me. He knows a lot. He's very smart!"

Klein fought back the urge to curse. He turned to the partition and signalled to Leonard to keep Megose calm. Leonard forced a smile and pointed toward the sofa.

"That's exactly what I'd like to talk about. We want to have a chat with you about Lanevus."

Behind the receptionist's desk, Rozanne looked on in confusion. She suddenly realized that she didn't need to do anything. Klein quickly made his way past the partition and directly pushed open the door to Dunn Smith's office, then closed the door with a bang.

He saw Dunn looking shocked before turning serious and saying in a heavy voice, "Captain, something serious has happened. I know what Lanevus meant by a bomb!"

Dunn stood up and pointed outside, "Megose?"

He had obviously heard Leonard's shocked exclamation, but he was unable to see the looks of fear and cold sweat on his teammates' faces.

Klein nodded and explained quickly, "I tried to activate my Spirit Vision to observe Megose to ascertain her mental condition, but my spirituality stopped me from making the attempt. It kept 'warning' me not to look, that I would die if I did so! This made me recall a saying, 'You may not look directly at God.' Even if the foetus in Megose's stomach isn't an evil god attempting to descend upon this world, or the spawn of an evil god, it's definitely a legendary creature."

"Captain, connecting this to the black altar in Hood Eugen's memories, to his Psychiatrist abilities, to the tragic world as described in Lanevus's letter, I think that my guess is quite close to the truth: Lanevus obtained a ritualistic magic linked to the True Creator from an Aurora Order member. With Hood Eugen's help, he turned Megose into a vessel to gestate a certain power. Then, this power will make use of the resentment, oppression, and gloominess surrounding the factories to quickly grow until maturity. In other words, the ritual itself needs this resentment, oppression, and gloominess in order to succeed!"

Dunn considered Klein's words seriously for nearly twenty seconds before nodding with a solemn expression. "I'll ask for assistance from the Holy Cathedral immediately. Let's hope that the baby in Megose's stomach can still wait! Of course, we can't just sit back and do nothing. Tell Leonard to keep Megose calm and keep her company. Notify Mrs. Orianna, Rozanne, and the rest. Get all the non-combatants to evacuate!"

"I'll head to the back of Chanis Gate after I send the telegram. We have to prepare for the worst, which is if Megose's baby is born before the arrival of reinforcements from the Holy Cathedral. As Captain of the Tingen Nighthawks, I have the authority to use Saint Selena's ashes during emergencies!"

'Saint Selena's ashes, the ashes of a High-Sequence Beyonder, the core seals within Chanis Gate,' Klein's worries eased a little.

He quickly thought of other things, "Captain, we can also ask for reinforcements from the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind; they should have similar holy items!"

Klein suddenly had a stroke of inspiration as he muttered to himself, "Lanevus's case was originally under the purview of the Mandated Punishers. Old Neil and I were there to help when one of their senior members lost control."

As he spoke softly, his voice grew to a crescendo. "Captain, can you ask the Mandated Punishers if the member who lost control was tracking or keeping Megose under surveillance?"

"Are you suspecting that he lost control because he got corrupted by the baby in Megose's stomach? They were responsible for Megose when the investigation was happening," Dunn answered seriously.

"We cannot delay any further. Go to Mrs. Orianna and the rest. I'll take this time to send a telegram to first ask for assistance from the Holy Cathedral, then I'll inform the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind. Yes, I'll also have to send a telegram to the police department and see if they can come up with an excuse to evacuate the citizens nearby."

"Alright," Klein had taken a few steps out of the room when he suddenly recalled something.

He thought about the coincidence of Megose's sudden visit. The image of the building with the red chimney appeared in his mind.

He turned around quickly and said to Dunn, "Captain, one more thing. Do you remember the coincidences I told you about? The clue to the Antigonus family's notebook in the house opposite the kidnapping, Ray Bieber who didn't make it out of Tingen in time, Hanass Vincent exposing himself because of a coincidence, and how a member of the Aurora Order lost his life because he chanced upon me, etc."

"All these coincidences are very subtle and hard to detect, but the fact that Megose suddenly came looking for us right after we discovered Lanevus's letter is too obvious and direct. This coincidence was already laid bare before us, it's no longer hidden! I think that the person behind this will soon take centre stage!"

"Also, why would Madam Sharon take the risk of killing Member of Parliament Maynard? Is this also a coincidence?"

Dunn thought about it and gave a solemn reply, "I'll include this point in the telegram."

Klein didn't waste any more time. He exited the office and went straight for the accountant's room on the opposite side. While doing so, he recalled the warning given by Mr. Death regarding The Fool's follower, which as it turned out, was him in this case.

He also recalled the wards of Mr. Azik. It felt like all the puzzle pieces were coming together slowly, but there was one crucial piece that was stopping him from seeing the whole picture clearly. And that one piece was the mastermind behind everything. Who was it truly?

Mrs. Orianna was preparing the budget for the last three months of the year. She wanted to complete it in advance just in case the Captain forgot about it again. When she saw Klein enter, she greeted him with a smile.

"Lad, what claims do you have to submit today?"

Klein exhaled, "Mrs. Orianna, we will be on vacation today. Go back home immediately."

Orianna froze for a while, looking at the serious face before her in a daze. A few seconds later, she stood up in a fluster.

"Alright."

Klein added in a hurry, "Help me inform the rest of the clerks in the office and the armoury. I'll inform Rozanne."

"Yes!"

Orianna didn't even pack. She grabbed her handbag and hurried out of the accounting office. She turned and stared at Klein after entering the corridor.

She drew a crimson moon near her chest and said, "All of you will be blessed by the Goddess!"

'Thank you,' Klein replied in his heart.

He made his way past the partition into the receptionist area only to see Leonard chatting with Megose about Lanevus, his expression rigid. Klein leaned toward Rozanne as he filled up a cup of warm water.

He then whispered, "Go home, it's dangerous here. Come back tomorrow."

Rozanne opened her mouth in shock but closed it again after seeing Klein's stern expression. She lowered her head and packed for about ten seconds before picking up her bag and leaving the receptionist area.

Just as she was walking past Klein, she bit her lip and whispered, "To be honest, I respect the Nighthawks as much as I hate other people who become Beyonders."

After seeing the clerks evacuate the Blackthorn Security Company, Klein brought warm water to Megose, bent his back, and placed it on the table in front of her.

"I have something to settle, I'll be back soon."

As he stood up, he took the opportunity to lean in towards Leonard's ear and whispered, "Keep her here."

Leonard clenched his teeth and widened his mouth into a grin. He continued his conversation with Megose and noticed that Megose was getting a little restless, as though she was losing her focus.

…

Outside the company, Max also noticed this, and his heartbeat sped up. It was finally happening. This was one of the first scenes in the novel that horrified him. Even the descriptions of some truly gruesome scenes like exploded body parts did not affect him mentally as much as this single scene that was about to happen.

'Literal chills… every time!'