Bad News

Chapter 34: Bad News

"To think that the Captain would even congratulate me... I thought he would scold me." William came out of Dunn Smith's office with a look of relief.

He might seem like he had acted rashly in fighting with Madam Sharon; however, this had allowed the capture of a Beyonder as dangerous as she was, so they wouldn't blame him for anything. Furthermore, the Nighthawks constantly lived on the brink of death, either from battles or from the possibility of losing control.

William put a hand to his left eye and felt the vertical scar.

"Yes, I was very lucky. However, this will probably be one of the many injuries I will receive if I continue down the path of the occult."

His will no longer wavered, but it grew stronger. At that moment, he felt that a part of his potion had been digested.

"That's right, a Berserker walks in a straight line without hesitation." A smile spread across his face. 'I must not rush things, but I will digest the potion as soon as possible, and then join the Red Gloves.'

He had already ordered a new sword, remembering that Sharon had destroyed the old one. Dunn assured him that this time they would give him a higher-quality one. The Church was beginning to take a real interest in William.

A rookie who had figured out the acting method on his own, as well as reaching Sequence 8 in a few weeks, and now he held off a Sequence 6 Beyonder by himself until reinforcements arrived. If it was the Church of the Lord of Storms, it was likely that they would try to control its growth, but the Church of the Evernight Goddess was a bit different.

The first of the two tried to keep the Beyonder loyal through a more restrictive system, which slightly stopped the growth that their members could have. The second one, on the other hand, had a policy of helping its members improve, but this had other consequences. For example, Ince Zangwill had taken advantage of this to steal a dangerous Artifact and escape with it.

'I should practice when I get home.' He thought, and so he did.

A few days passed and William went to eat at the Moretti's house. At first, there had been a certain distance between the two brothers of Klein and William, but that was broken after they went several times to each other's houses. Not only did he get along with them, but he also met Kenley's fiancée, when Kenley introduced her to him.

Kenley was quite a cheerful man, especially considering that he was a Nighthawk, he and his fiancee loved each other very much, and William was glad that life was working out perfectly for both his friends and himself.

"Old Neil has been sick for quite a few days," Rozanne informed them. "We're going to visit him at noon, will you come?"

"Old Neil is sick? That's pretty weird." William rubbed his chin. Beside him, Klein nodded in agreement.

"Poor Old Neil, his wife passed away long ago, and his son lives far away. In these cases, he has to stay alone in his house." Klein heaved a sad sigh.

Rozanne looked at him in surprise.

"Wait, how long has Old Neil been married?"

They both looked at her, stunned that she didn't know about it.

"We have been going regularly to his house, he told us that his late wife had liked to play that big piano he has in the living room," William explained.

Rozanne frowned strangely. "This is weird, I don't remember any piano in his house the last time I visited."

These words echoed through the completely silent room. Both Nighthawks tensed. Klein took out a metal coin.

"There is something wrong with Old Neil's current situation."

Then he flipped the coin, and it fell. The portrait of George III appeared.

All three paled.

"No, Old Neil can't have lost control. He's always so calm, and has a lot of experience." Rozanne tried to convince herself, but William and Klein had already started running toward Dunn's office.

The Captain nearly spilled coffee on himself at the sudden intrusion, but he didn't scold them.

"What happened?" He questioned in a serious tone.

"Captain, my divination tells me something is wrong with Old Neil." Klein quickly explained that, on the day he had become a Beyonder, he had seen a pair of huge eyes behind the old man.

"Why didn't you try using divination earlier?" Dunn questioned as he got to his feet.

"During this time, Old Neil has behaved like a normal person and even worked with me on a mission. It is very likely that he has not lost control yet, but that he is about to lose it." The Seer explained.

The Captain nodded at the deduction.

"Okay, let's go see him right now. You mustn't shake him under any circumstances."

He put on his hat, and the three of them hurried out. Before getting too far, Klein suggested using Sealed Artifact 3-0611.

"Number: 0611.

"Name: Peaceful Hair Strands.

"Danger Grade: 3. Considerably dangerous. It has to be used carefully. It can only be applied for operations that require three or more people.

"Security classification: Official Nighthawk member or above.

"Sealing Method: No direct contact with living organisms.

"Description: A simple decoration formed with many strands of black hair.

"As long as contact is made with a living being without any protection, the living being would lose all their desires and emotions, including, but not limited to Hunger, Anger, Grief, Pain, Envy, Jealousy, Hate, Joy, Satisfaction, Greed, etc

Dunn nodded in approval.

"Right, I almost forgot about 3-0611. I'll go get it at Chanis Gate, you tell Royale to come with you, she should be in the recreation room."

They parted ways, and the two younger ones met the girl.

They explained the situation to him and waited for Dunn at the door.

The Captain returned a short time later with a tangle of black hair in his hand.

"Old Neil had a partner he was about to get engaged to when he was younger, but suddenly she got terminally ill. Old Neil took the risk of divulging the secrets of the Beyonders and attempted to use ritual magic to save her, but was unsuccessful. Old Neil back then was just a beginner in mysticism." Dunn explained the story. "According to the records, the Nighthawks back then were all on high alert, afraid Old Neil would lose control because of this. But luckily, he managed to come to his senses and seemed normal."

Klein drew a crimson moon before his chest from him and prayed, "May the Goddess watch over him."

William, Dunn, and Royale did the same thing.