Mass Control

It was already past nine in the evening. Graham was out in the street going towards the still busy Koningsstraat, where the peak of the Dodenherdenking celebration would take place in about an hour. He was walking as quickly as he could with his face covered by an intimidating skull mask; his dark brown robes were blown by the night breeze.

"Val, the premonition I just got was truly concerning. I need to advance tonight in order for us to protect ourselves. Good thing my Deity is almost pleased. I just need to make a few more people do my bidding. The problem is, the order must have a purpose, so I can't just randomly order strangers to do pointless tasks," he said seriously.

He increased his pace and arrived at the intersection between Raadhuislaan and Kruistraat. Graham turned left and crossed the street safely to the opposite side.

"According to my divination, the members of the Pale Society have begun actively searching for us. Although we always make sure not to leave any clues, we still can't be careless. Not to mention the fact that they are stronger than us. Thus, I need to advance tonight if I can," he muttered some more.

Graham arrived at another intersection and this time, he took the street on his right side. He was now already in Koningsstraat, and there were more and more people gathered there despite the late hour. Almost all of the people were still in costumes, including himself.

"We might even need to hire someone strong to protect us, Val. I can only think of Agatha. She should already be in a contract with a President Rank Deity by now,"

The people he passed by were looking at him with mixed looks in their faces, although most of them were covered by their masks. It was a strange sight to see a person wearing a scary-looking costume darting in a hurry while talking to himself.

The further in he walked in the street, the more crowded it became. In the center of Koningsstraat, there was a square similar to the one on Raadhuislaan but smaller. In the middle of the square, there was a tall orange monument with numerous tulips on top of it made out of gold. In the center of the monument was a giant bell made of brass that would ring only when the bell ringer wished so. Because of its appearance, people called it the Gouden Tulp.

"There are more people than I expected," he muttered, "I wonder if our beloved neighbor is also here,"

Graham hadn't been able to get ahold of his neighbor earlier despite ringing the bell countless times. Only after using divination did he find out that the man was currently outside on Grotemarktstraat. He didn't know his current whereabouts, however.

"He must be out stealing again," he said and then chuckled.

Graham arrived at the square not long after. There were already many people gathered around the monument, each of them holding a sky lantern that was burning with its orange light. The atmosphere at the square in that cold and dark night was tranquil and solemn. The breeze that had been blowing just some distance away was completely gone now.

"According to divination, our target tonight should also be here. His house is just two streets away from this place, so there is no way he won't show up," he muttered quietly and then went back to enjoying the sight.

The flames from the candles were burning gently. The orange glow that they were emitting was like fireflies dancing in a dark forest. The white paper lantern played the role of keeping the flames protected, like cages that prevented them from going wild.

The expressions of the people holding the lanterns were solemn. There was a longing in their eyes that was visible despite the masks and face paintings covering their faces. The warmth of the lantern gave them hope in the cold night.

The tradition in the Republic was for the people to release the sky lanterns exactly at ten o'clock. It was believed that that exact hour was when the boundary between the physical world and the afterworld was the thinnest, so their messages would be conveyed to the other side.

Graham walked closer to the center of the square and sat on a vacant bench that was only available because the previous person had to leave in a hurry. He watched his surroundings carefully, looking for suitable people for the plan that he had in mind, while also trying to locate his target. He also looked at his watch from time to time to keep track of the time. In just a few seconds, the clock would strike ten.

Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!

Exactly at ten o'clock in the evening, the bell ringer pulled the rope and made the giant brass bell ring. The loud chime resounded in the area and struck the heart of all the people present there. At the same time, they raised their hands and released the lanterns to the sky while saying their messages for the deceased.

"I hope papa knows that I am living happily now,"

"I wish to see you again, my dearest Aerith..."

"Milou, please be happy in dog heaven..."

"I hope this lantern will find you and guide you home..."

Wished upon wished were chanted in unison and the lanterns flew higher and higher. The countless lanterns floating in the sky looked like hundreds of stars twinkling and dancing, and the flames painted the night sky orange. The people below bathed in the orange light and the glow was reflected in their eyes.

"Val, this is a magnificent view. I don't remember when the last time we saw something this beautiful was," muttered Graham admiringly.

The lanterns flew even higher up above until they looked like tiny stars embellishing the dark sky. When they reached a certain height, suddenly all the lanterns burst simultaneously in a pretty explosion. Orange flames were burning in the sky for a second before disappearing completely, thus marking the end of the Dodenherdenking.

Once the sky returned to normal, some of the people directly left the square while many others stayed and hung around. The sounds of chattering and laughter filled the area.

Graham, who had seen the man that was his target, quickly got up and initiated his plan.

...

In a busy square, a man was walking with two bodyguards behind him. The man's eyes looked sharp and intimidating. He was walking proudly as if he had nothing to fear in this world. The man was wearing a white suit while his black hair was neatly combed to the back. He was Zeger de Witt, who had just attended a dinner at one of the government officials there and was enjoying the show afterward.

"There are more people this year than last year. That is very good," he said to one of his bodyguards with a tattoo on his face.

"Yes, sir," replied the bodyguard shortly.

The three men then proceeded to leave the square towards the parking lot. However, as he was just about to take a step away, a group of people suddenly came towards him with admiring eyes.

"Mr. de Witt! I am a huge fan!" said a woman who was smiling from cheek to cheek.

"Mr. de Witt, can I get an autograph?" asked a man wearing a mummy costume.

"Sir, can I work for you?" asked another woman with a witch costume.

The two bodyguards took initiative and stood in front of Zeger de Witt, actively shielding him from the people.

"Don't get physical with them," he ordered calmly.

Shit! I am using my public identity so I can't use my ability rashly. Who the fuck are these people?

More and more people gathered around him, preventing his leave. They were asking him all sorts of questions and saying things that made no sense to him.

"Alright. Who ordered you to come and see me?" Zeger de Witt finally asked once the crowd had calmed down. He had had no chance of speaking because of the barrage of questions from them.

"No one. We want to see you because we are your huge fan!" said the woman who was wearing the witch costume.

That's bullshit... There must be someone behind this.

Zeger de Witt started looking around to spot any abnormal movements, but the wall of people was blocking his view.

With this many people watching, I cannot just turn into a puddle of blood and get away with it. Dammit. If I don't get out of here soon my plan will be ruined!

He gestured at his bodyguard to try to create a path for him to slip out. The two big men then starting shoving people to the side, but there were just more people to take their place, rendering their effort futile.

"Mr. de Witt, please don't go anywhere. We're all you need," said a man wearing a black dog mask and costume. There was a dog collar around his neck.

Zeger's expression almost showed disgust, but he quickly controlled himself. He was a politician, so he absolutely had to mind his appearance in public.

"Mr. de Witt, sir, can I get an autograph?" asked a man wearing a ghost groom costume.

Zeger wanted to yell at the man but he held back. Instead, he just took out a pen and his small notebook and quickly signed it. He tore off the page with his signature and gave it to the man.

"Thank you, sir! We love you!" said the man after getting the signature. After that, the man left through the gap that the crowd made just for him.

So that's how I can get rid of them!

Zeger de Witt smiled and readied his pen and paper. However, after waiting for a while, nobody else asked for a signature. They were all just staring at him with admiring eyes like a group of fangirls meeting their idol.

"Mr. de Witt, let me have your baby!" shouted a woman from the back. He couldn't see her face because of the hair blocking it.

Zeger de Witt showed a disgusted expression for a split second before he quickly got rid of it.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, there was a wave of sleepiness that swept over the whole area. Everyone fell asleep just in mere seconds. Zeger de Witt was also feeling very sleepy, but he quickly made his blood boil so he could stay awake, although now he was feeling extreme anger. He quickly calmed down and watched the square that was full of people lying down on the pavement.

"Just when I was thinking about why you hadn't shown up, you are here holding a little meet and greet with your fans," said a mocking voice that came from a hooded figure of a man in the distance. He was walking towards Zeger who was the only one standing in the square.

"Shut up! Let's get out of here," he said irritatedly and then hurriedly left the square. He didn't care about stepping on sleeping people now that no one was watching.

"Who did this and for what reason?" asked the hooded man, but his voice didn't contain concern. It was full of curiosity and intrigue instead.

"I don't fucking know, but if I find out, they are dead," he replied in anger.

...

Valentine was running away as quickly as he could while remaining concealed. There was a cut on his wrist that was slowly healing. He had very quickly placed anti-divination in the area when he felt the dangerous presence of the man coming in the distance.

"G, your Deity should have been please by now, right?" he muttered while running. He didn't even look back.

The thin yellowish mist enveloping his body concealed his presence. His figure was moving fast in the dark night, wearing the intimidating rotten skull mask and majestic robes. Once he got far enough, the Concealment lost its effect so he quickly reapplied it.

Valentine ran very quickly and arrived at his apartment building not long after. He climbed up the stairs and swiftly unlocked the door to his home.

"*panting* We're finally home. It feels like we always end up running like that every time," he complained and then sat on his comfortable sofa without even turning on the light.

Valentine closed his eyes and focused on controlling his breathing. After a while, he fell asleep and Graham woke up. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling in the dark.

"Thanks, Val. I didn't expect Zeger de Witt to be meeting up with someone that dangerous. I wonder if Zeger himself is actually as powerful as the man but he is hiding his aura. It must be the case since he is a public figure,"

Graham lied down in a star position with his two hands stretched far to the sides.

"At least I finally managed to please my Deity. I can perform my ritual tonight, so we will have more chance of staying alive under the watch of the Pale Society," he said in relief.

"But it was exhausting to persuade that many people at once. I even exhausted my Order to spread the influence to the nearest person so I didn't have to do it one by one."

He felt both physically and spiritually exhausted and let his body rest for a bid. He kept staring at the ceiling while letting his mind wander. After a while, he had finally recovered a little and proceeded with what needed to be done.

Graham sat straight in a meditating position. He got rid of all the distracting thoughts and focused only on his spirituality. He controlled his breathing and quickly got it in a steady pattern. Slowly, he felt something coming from the tip of his tongue and he let it out without constraints.

"Kaymen vefa Ronove!"