Klein coughed twice. "Uh…could you be a little more specific?"
Edward chuckled. "Roughly speaking, an old, powerful angel-level being was injured and had no choice but to parasitise Leonard's body. Leonard provides him with a small portion of life force, and in return, this being guides and helps him grow rapidly."
…This…this is literally every cultivation protagonist ever!
Klein was stunned. I thought having access to the Grey Fog made the only one with a unique cheat—turns out everyone around is out here hacking the system!
Miss Justice: Born with a money buff. Never short on cash.
Edward: No visible "cheat," yet he can already fight demigods. Can you believe that?
Miss Death: A seven-year-old Sequence 5 who hosts three Sequence 1 evil spirits.
Leonard: Has a literal angel grandpa living in his body.
Mr. Sun: Hails from the mysterious Forsaken Land of the Gods.
Miss Magician: Seems like a normal newbie in the Beyonder world—no money, no resources, no background. But…does hearing murmurs under a full moon count as a cheat?
The Hanged Man: Only he hasn't shown any "cheat-like" traits so far…
After managing to suppress the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Klein asked, "So…what do you want to collaborate with Leonard on?"
Edward replied casually, "I want to hunt down a demigod from the Marauder pathway."
Klein: Wow. Just wow. Incredible. Apparently demigods are pigs to you—just sothing to be hunted at will, huh?
"We'll visit the Captain first, then go see Leonard," Edward said, shrugging. "You probably don't know this, but ever since I knocked Leonard out back in Tingen, he's always believed I was a traitor—one of the culprits behind your supposed death."
"I an…I'd have thought the sa," Klein said honestly. "Actually, I've always wondered—why did you knock him out? I thought you had so secret plan. But no—you just knocked him out and left."
Edward chuckled, brushing it off. "That's a story for another ti."
"So, are we heading to the Captain now?"
"Let's go."
———
Dunn now lived in the East Borough of Backlund. These days, aside from occasionally taking detective commissions to earn so pocket money, he mostly went on missions with Daly.
He was quite happy to receive the two guests, quickly ushering them into the house and preparing sothing for them to drink.
"Who's here?" a lazy voice called from inside.
A mont later, Daly appeared barefoot from the bedroom. She wasn't wearing her usual hooded robe, but simple pyjamas. Her face was bare—no eerie eyeshadow, no theatrical rouge. She looked fresh, clean, and—stunning. The two n almost didn't recognise her at first glance.
"Oh—it's Edward and Klein."
Daly yawned. "Morning."
Ohhh~ Both n imdiately turned to look at Dunn with gleeful, gossipy expressions.
Dunn's face turned slightly red, though he tried to keep his composure. "Daly's lease ended. I had a spare room, so she's staying here temporarily. She'll move out once she finds a suitable place."
Klein turned to Daly with a grin. "Miss Daly, what kind of place are you looking for? I might have a few vacant rooms on my side."
"Hmm…"
She leaned against the wall, pinching her chin in thought. "Monthly rent no more than 10 soli. Preferably a two-story detached house, in Empress Borough, the North Borough, or Hillston Borough. Oh, and free gas, if possible."
Klein's mouth twitched. You're not house-hunting—you're making a wish.
Actually…you're not planning to move at all, are you?
anwhile, Edward couldn't help but admire how effective Audrey's psychological counselling for Daly had been lately.
"Ahem."
Dunn cleared his throat. "So what brings you here?"
Edward explained, "Captain, I plan to visit Leonard. While I'm at it, I want to tell him—and Klein's brother and sister—that you two are alive."
Dunn blinked. "Why so suddenly?"
Edward briefly outlined his plan to collaborate with Leonard and explained the misunderstanding.
Daly chid in from the side, "Leonard already knows Edward is in Backlund. He's been searching for him every day."
Edward was surprised. "How did he find out?"
"Probably through Cesimir," she said with a sly smile. "You forget—it was Cesimir who recomnded you to join the Tingen Nighthawks team. I heard Leonard was asking him for answers during his Red Glove training…even got physical a few tis."
Bold move!
"Cesimir was frustrated too. You were placed in the Tingen team by Backlund's orders. He also wanted to know why you 'betrayed' the Church."
"Until recently, when they ca to Backlund and went straight to Archbishop Anthony—but he wasn't around."
Edward now understood. Just a few days ago, Cesimir had told him that the higher-ups had cleared him of being a traitor—but hadn't revealed the whole story. To avoid further trouble, they simply told Leonard that Edward was in Backlund and let him look on his own.
Edward smiled. "Then he'll be pleasantly surprised when I show up myself."
Daly added cheerfully, "I'll go help you call him over."
Klein and Dunn exchanged a glance. Why does this feel like we're teaming up to ambush Leonard?
———
2:30 P.M.
After another round of etings with the Machinery Hiveminds, everyone had to accept a hard truth:
The Desire Apostle who assassinated Duke Negan had most likely already escaped Backlund.
Which ant the joint operation had officially failed.
This was a heavy blow for Leonard. Everyone had placed their trust in him, even letting him control the silver armour—but in the end, all he'd managed to kill was the Desire Apostle's decoy pet.
Of course, that wasn't the only thing weighing on him. Two of his enemies—Ince Zangwill and Edward—were still missing. And the deaths of the Captain and Klein…remained unresolved.
It made him feel like all his recent efforts had been in vain—as if he were completely useless.
Tsk. Giving up so easily? ca Pallez's voice in his mind.
"I'm not giving up!" Leonard said at once. "Sure, I'm feeling frustrated and like a failure—but I haven't given up! How could I give up?!"
"Then keep improving your strength!"
Pallez snapped. "Your digestion progress with Nightmare isn't looking good at all."
Leonard mumbled, "But I've been training, participating in operations, and investigating those two guys…"
"You know full well," Pallez sneered, "that the performance of a Nightmare involves entering others' dreams while in a sleeping state. Look at what you've been doing lately."
Leonard lowered his head. "I'm sorry, old man."
"You're not apologising to —you're apologising to yourself. To Klein and to Dunn!"
"…"
Leonard clenched his fists tightly.
Just then, a figure approached—it was Miss Daly, dressed in her signature hooded black robe.
Leonard always held a deep respect for her. Though he didn't fully understand the relationship between Dunn and Daly, he knew they had been close. He'd seen her crying during the Captain's funeral.
Daly spoke up, "Leonard, co with to the East Borough."
"What's going on, Miss Daly?"
"There's an extraordinary incident. We need your Nightmare ability."
Leonard asked in surprise, "Is it related to the recent mass disappearances in Backlund?"
Lately, a number of people had gone missing in Backlund. Originally, the Church of Evernight had assigned the case to the Nighthawks. However, due to lack of progress, the Red Gloves had been called in to assist.
"No. You'll understand once we're there."
"…Alright."
Pallez said coldly, "Sothing's off."
Leonard frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Heh. If this extraordinary incident really required a Sequence 5, she wouldn't have brought just you—she'd bring a whole team."
"That's not necessarily true, is it? You're overthinking this."
To this, Pallez replied with just two words: "Heh heh."
The two of them boarded the Red Gloves' designated carriage and headed for the East Borough.
Leonard wanted to make small talk, but as soon as Daly got into the carriage, she closed her eyes and said nothing. Left with no choice, he leaned back and tried to nap. He was exhausted from the sleepless days spent hunting down the Desire Apostle.
——
He had no idea how much ti had passed when—
Suddenly, the carriage jolted to a stop.
Leonard's eyes flew open. "What's going on?"
Before Daly could respond, Pallez urgently said, "It's an ambush! Let take over!"
"What?!"
"There's no ti!"
At that mont, Daly looked toward Leonard and said calmly, "Leonard, soone wants to see you."
Leonard replied flatly, "I don't want to see them."
Daly blinked. "What?"
But before she could press further, Leonard—or rather, Pallez wearing Leonard's usual expression—smiled and said, "Who wants to see ?"
Daly opened the carriage door, jumped down, and smiled sweetly. "Co down and see for yourself. But I'm warning you—try not to get too emotional."
"…Why so secretive?"
Leonard stepped down, still full of doubt. He saw that they were on a relatively remote street with no one in sight. The coachman was already slumped against the carriage, fast asleep.
"Good afternoon, Leonard."
Edward, Klein, and Dunn stepped out from behind a nearby corner. Dunn and Klein had shed their disguises and appeared as their true selves.
The three of them were prepared for every possible reaction: disbelief, anger, shock, joy…
But all Leonard did was pause slightly, then say calmly, "Good afternoon, Edward, Klein… Captain."
The other three were stunned.
That wasn't how it was supposed to go! Even if you believed imdiately that Dunn and Klein were alive, shouldn't you show so emotion?!
Then Leonard said, "Edward, can I speak with you alone?"
The mont he spoke, Edward understood. He gave Klein and Dunn a look and said, "Captain, Klein—give us a mont."
The two of them walked off together. Edward frowned and asked, "Old man, what's the aning of this?"
Pallez snorted, "I should be asking you that."
"I just wanted to clear up Leonard's misunderstanding. He's always thought I betrayed the Church and helped kill them. I figured showing up with Klein and the Captain would explain everything."
Edward then frowned in confusion. "But why didn't you tell him the truth all this ti?"
"Because I wanted to use that hatred to change his forrly lazy personality."
Pallez's tone was calm and detached. "What happened in Tingen gave him not only hatred—it gave him motivation. If he loses that driving force, I fear he'll return to his old self."
Edward nodded in realisation. "So you kept the truth from him on purpose?"
"Yes. At least until he reaches Sequence 5, I think it's better if he keeps that fire alive."
"But…isn't that a bit too cruel?"
"Cruel?" Pallez scoffed. "It's just a grudge that doesn't actually exist. Better that than having him reach the apocalypse still a mid-sequence ant. Hah! Didn't he always fancy himself the protagonist? I'm just giving him the chance to beco one."
Edward raised a brow. "So…you really are training Leonard like he's your own student?"
Pallez didn't answer directly, but continued: "You seem to know quite a lot about . I've been aning to ask—how did you discover my presence? And why do you know so much about ? Are you perhaps a student of one of my old friends?"
"…Sort of."
Edward offered a vague answer. "Everything I know about you ca from a mysterious and great being I worship."
"Oh? Who?"
Edward smiled faintly. "That's a secret."
———
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