Principles and Return

Under the bear's paw was a young man who didn't seem to be in his thirties. He had short black hair and his gray eyes were filled with coldness. However, Ebner could still see a hint of indignation and puzzlement in his eyes.

Unwilling to be suppressed to the point of being unable to move, he was puzzled as to why a giant bear would suddenly appear.

Upon seeing this, the giant bear that was transformed from Lilith's Tears revealed a human-like smile. It looked rather horrified. Then, the two humans present heard a deep voice coming from the bear's mouth. "I'm here to negotiate."

Negotiate? Is this how you negotiate?!

If not for the fact that he was already at a loss for words, the serial killer would've definitely cursed.

And the reality was that as the giant bear's claws exerted force, he fainted from the pain.

"I'm sorry, my 'negotiation' is unilateral and doesn't require your participation." A regretful expression appeared on Ebner's bear face.

Towards this kind of "serial killer" who killed people to please the devil, he didn't show any mercy at all. He didn't kill him immediately because he wanted to prepare for better mediumship effects.

Dr. Daxter Guderian, who had been watching from the side, couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth. He had "read" the serial killer's thoughts the moment he fainted. He had magically followed the man's train of thought and lampooned inwardly,

Mr. Killer, you're wrong. There really is such a method of "negotiation" in reality… For example, Feysacians like to do it…

In the Southern Continent, the Feysacians often chose to "negotiate" only after beating their enemies until they were completely helpless. Therefore, their diplomatic skills had always been despised by Loen and Intis.

After pressing "fainting" on the serial killer, Ebner gave him a simple "treatment" to prevent him from dying prematurely. Then, he looked at Dr. Daxter Guderian, who was obediently in front of the Spectator. As he simulated his powers, he solemnly said, "You only remember that you were rescued after being attacked, and you didn't see the actual process."

As a low-level member of the Psychology Alchemists, Daxter, who had just advanced to Sequence 8 Telepathist, naturally knew that the bear in front of him was using a psychological cue to change his consciousness, and he also had the ability to resist to a certain extent.

However, he didn't do so. Instead, he opened up a portion of his Body, Heart, and Mind and completed the cue.

His past experiences told him that the more he knew, the more dangerous it was.

What a smart man! Ebner marveled inwardly. Then, without any delay, he cast a few earth-related spells and used mud and some plants to create a coffin-like soil crate. He then stored the serial killer inside.

After doing all of this, he used the giant bear's powers to use "Underground Slink." The ground beneath his feet immediately softened, turning into a "swamp," allowing his body and the crate to sink as they had fallen into a sea.

As his figure disappeared, the ground quickly returned to normal without any signs of softening.

Daxter Guderian snapped back to his senses and recalled the attack. He felt his heart beating wildly in his left chest.

He took a few deep breaths and, relying on his Spectator powers, maintained his calm and thought.

Although I don't know who saved me, since I was attacked, it means that I became the target of some Beyonder or organization…

And I'm just a Telepathist who doesn't have the ability to fight head-on. The Psychology Alchemists backing me wouldn't fight against an unknown Beyonder for a low-level member like me…

Therefore, I only have one choice left. It's to rely on my identity as an informant to seek the protection of the official Beyonders…

Yes, I can head straight to the police station and get them to help me contact Inspector Klein Moretti.

With this in mind, Dr. Daxter Guderian didn't dare delay any further. He returned to his room to pack his belongings and money before leaving the mental asylum to rush to the police station.

But before he could walk out the door, he saw a middle-aged man in a gray trench coat walk in.

His temperament was very similar to Captain Dunn Smith whom he knew.

"Nighthawks?" Daxter asked before the man could speak.

The person was none other than the acting Captain of the Tingen Nighthawks, Aiur Harson. He was taken aback by what he heard as he gave the man a deep look before nodding. "Yes… Dr. Daxter Guderian, did you encounter anything special?"

"I was just about to look for you! I was attacked just now." Daxter quickly recounted what had just happened, but there was no sign of the giant bear in his description.

Aiur frowned when he heard that. He didn't fully believe what the man said. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Dr. Guderian… Are you a Beyonder?"

Daxter didn't expect her to ask such a question. Confused, he said, "Of course, I'm an informant that you Nighthawks have developed…"

At this point, he seemed to think of something and said in enlightenment, "Yes, my identity should still be confidential. You can ask Klein Moretti. He's my contact."

Informant? Why didn't the document that was handed to me mention this… Puzzled, Aiur shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, Klein has already died in the line of duty…"

"What?!" Daxter's eyes widened. He recalled the scholarly young man and couldn't help but feel a little regretful. He sighed and said, "It's no wonder he hasn't contacted me for more than a week…"

He paused and ignored the sorrowful topic before saying, "Captain Dunn Smith can testify for me."

"Unfortunately, Dunn has already died in the line of duty… along with Klein," Aiur looked at him and said helplessly.

"Huh?" This time, Daxter was speechless.

"So, Mr. Daxter, you have to come back to the office with me… Maybe Frye and Royale can prove your identity."

When Daxter heard this, he instinctively wanted to escape. This was because he had long learned from the crazy member of the Psychology Alchemists, Hood Eugen, how unaffiliated Beyonders would be treated by the officials. He wasn't afraid previously because of his identity as an informant, but now, this identity might very well be gone!

However, before he could do anything, he suddenly woke up and saw his lounge. Everything that had just happened seemed like a dream.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

…

The "coffin" made of soil quickly traversed the underground and soon arrived at a rather spacious "node" he had chosen in advance.

Holding back the unpleasant smell that came from his nose, Ebner dispelled the "bear" mode brought about by Lilith's Tears and returned to his human form.

Following that, he quickly set up a wall of spirituality and began to perform a dual process of mediumship and retroactiveness on the dying serial killer.

A moment later, Ebner opened his eyes and snapped the neck of the young man in the coffin without hesitation.

While waiting for the Beyonder characteristic to appear, he wore the clothes that he had hidden in the sewers, and he tidied up the information he had just obtained through spirit channeling.

The dead youth's name was Kalos Andariel. He was a member of the Blood Sanctify Sect and was also a member of the Devil family, Andariel.

The reason why he had killed so many people and held the "Shadow of Adaba" ritual was to summon the projection of a high-ranking Devil named after Emperor Roselle, so as to obtain some knowledge and information from him.

As he was only a Sequence 7 Serial Killer, the projection he could summon wasn't very powerful either. Therefore, he didn't expect to start a massacre in Tingen to please the other party. He was purely using them.

The reason why the 1322 tragedy at the Rorsted Archipelago's Leshi Town happened was that there was no Beyonder team in the town.

Heh, so it's some organization that has offered a bounty in the Blood Sanctify Sect. They're using an Abyss card created by Emperor Roselle as a reward to complete a designated assassination…

After hearing the news, this Kalos Andariel was both salivating over the Abyss card, and he was also worried that it was a trap. Therefore, he thought of summoning the Devil, Adaba, who was rumored to have interacted with Roselle, to ask him about the exact function of the Card of Blasphemy, as well as the intelligence regarding the bounty organization…

"Tsk, tsk. I think that even if that Devil named Adabao knew, he wouldn't dare tell you… Well, I can't be sure. Who knew that such things have the same thoughts as humans."

After roughly figuring out the cause and effect of the matter, Ebner silently muttered to himself. Then, he stored the Beyonder characteristic that had just seeped out with a tin box. Only then did he simulate Psychological Invisibility and climb out of a nearby sewer with the corpse of the serial killer.

After dragging the corpse to a spot not far from the Blackthorn Security Company, he wrote a letter using the tone of a Doctor of Strange and threw it to the side. Only then did he slowly return to the inn and take another shower to remove the smell of the sewers.

…

After a while, Captain Aiur returned to the company with Dr. Daxter and a few reinforcements from the Machinery Hivemind and the Mandated Punishers.

The moment they approached, their spiritual perception was triggered as they looked at a mud chest around the corner.

As for Aiur, his eyes were even sharper. His attention was soon focused on a piece of paper in front of the suitcase.

With a heavy expression, he picked up the letter and read it. Then, his brows eased a little as he muttered to himself in confusion,

"Who exactly is this Doctor Strange?"

…

After showering and lying in bed, Ebner felt the "feedback" from the Nighthawks, but he was still far from his expectations of "acting." However, he had already expected it and wasn't disappointed. He only concluded,

"It's true that 'reputation' helps in digestion, but the impression the Nighthawks have of me this time is that 'knowledgeable' is probably just a bonus. 'Mystery' and 'danger' are probably their main ideas. That's why the feedback is negligible.

In addition, I'll use "knowledge" to help others resolve "problems," but not directly take action to help them resolve them… The situation this time is relatively urgent, so forget it. Next time, I can stay in the shadows. It's better not to show my face.

Yes, regarding the complete acting of a Polymath, I have a theory… That is, I use the knowledge I have accumulated to solve the problem for others, and the people who receive help will proactively spread my reputation of being a "Polymath," and then others will seek my help in the name of being Polymath… This cycle should be complete acting… Of course, the early stages of knowledge cannot be omitted. Otherwise, once the "Polymath" doesn't live up to its name, the "acting" cycle will end.

"The key to the acting of a Knowledge Keeper is to 'defend.' By informing suitable people of the appropriate knowledge, it will allow the knowledge to continue.

"As for a 'Polymath,' it's more about using knowledge to resolve more problems, reflecting the inherent meaning of 'omniscience to omnipotence.'

"Although this guess is only my subjective assumption at the moment, I can still find some evidence from my original assumptions.

For example, that demigod from the Church of Knowledge in West Balam, Lucca. He's a famous "Wisdom" in the Resistance. The leader of the Resistance has to seek his advice on arms dealing… This might be the result of his "acting" before he became a demigod.

In addition, there's no need to mention Vice Admiral Iceberg. Her title of being "knowledgeable" and "strict with her knowledge" is known even by Alger, who doesn't have much of a relationship with her. It can be seen how widely it has spread.

"To put it simply, the acting of a Polymath is to make me appear holy in front of others to show off my knowledge, right?

"Alright, I'm familiar with that."

Ebner sighed slightly and gave a self-deprecating comment. Then, he used Cogitation to force himself to sleep.

…

At the same time, a dossier regarding Doctor Strange was also sent to the various Churches by the Nighthawks, the Machinery Hivemind, and the Mandated Punishers.

However, since no one had seen the appearance of Dr. Strange, nor could they determine his strength, and from his standpoint, he was more inclined toward the officials, so the level of danger wasn't high, so it didn't garner much attention.

…

On Wednesday morning, Ebner left Tingen on the earliest train and arrived in Backlund at noon.

As soon as he returned to his villa at 28 Kingst Street, before he could take off his hat, his butler, Mr. Skade, came over and reported,

"Detective Bryan, Duke Negan's secretary came to you before."

"Duke Negan's secretary?" Ebner was taken aback. Why is he looking for me? Does this snitch know that I just killed a member of the Devil family?

"Yes, he said that out of gratitude for your contributions at the ball, the duke had bought your former residence and was going to give it to you as a gift of gratitude. Well, he came to you to sign for the house," Mr. Scard recounted meticulously.

So it's because of this… I thought Duke Negan was so petty that he only wanted me to bear the brunt of his reputation… So it turns out that there are still some substantial benefits.

Ebner was enlightened. He didn't have any special feelings for the original Klein's home, so he only nodded slightly and asked, "Mr. Skade, who else came to me?"

"Apart from Miss Xio, only one of Detective Zreal's subordinates, a child named Ian, came here once," Mr. Skade replied after some thought.