Chapter 605 - The Mighty Bone Dragon
Why do I get the feeling you're acting guilty and deliberately changing the subject?
Keeping this thought to himself, Klein cautiously inquired, "What kind of commission? You know my principles, Talim—I don't want to get involved with high-ranking figures."
"I know. You said the sa when asked to investigate the 'Black Emperor' vigilante and that Tarot-thed organization," Talim replied seriously. "That's why I declined on your behalf when that important figure recently wanted to hire you to investigate soone. But this matter has nothing to do with him—it's my personal request."
"Thank you, Talim." Though curious about the noble's intentions, Klein decided to let sleeping dogs lie and asked again, "So what do you need from ?"
"You rember that lady who chased
here last ti?" Talim carefully began.
Not only do I rember, she's now my believer—actively compiling scriptures no less. My only true blessed lives with her.
Keeping these thoughts to himself, Klein simply nodded for Talim to continue.
"Soone wants to et her... but I've lost contact. I need you to find her whereabouts." Talim produced a slip of paper. "This was her previous address—perhaps a lead."
Klein recognized the villa where Talim had secretly t Lina. Since then, Lina and Xio had relocated twice—a trail most detectives would lose.
"Would this 'soone' happen to be that important figure?" Klein pressed.
"No... it's... well, Sherlock, I can't disclose that. But I swear it's unrelated to any powerful individuals." Talim looked apologetic.
"No matter. I'll look into it." Klein smiled. Refusal might arouse suspicion now.
Whether to inform Lina depends on divination results from above the gray fog.
When Talim reached for his wallet to prepay, Klein waved him off. "Paynt can wait until I find leads. Though you could help sell my bicycle company shares to a good buyer."
He'd ntioned this during his last Quelaag Club visit—a tily reminder.
"Mr. Frami Cage won't disappoint you!" Talim chuckled.
...
Above the gray fog, "The Fool" manifested pen and paper to write:
"Danger awaits Lina if she ets Talim."
Placing Talim's address note beside the statent, he let the citrine pendulum hover over the words.
After ditation and proper procedure, the pendulum swung vigorously clockwise—clear affirmation of significant danger!
Who wants to et Lina? Are they threatening her, or is the eting itself hazardous?
Both startled and unsurprised, Klein tried a new statent:
"Ince Zangwill orchestrated Talim's search for Lina."
The pendulum denied this.
Not Ince's sche then...
A third attempt:
"Reporting Talim and Prince Edessak's suspicious activities to the church endangers the informant."
The pendulum's frenzied clockwise spin confird extre peril—whether he, Xio, or Audrey acted as whistleblower, even church protection would fail.
What conspiracy surrounds Prince Edessak? Ince alone couldn't warrant this... Are gods playing chess here?
This suspicion cented Klein's resolve to avoid Talim's affairs entirely.
As for Lina... he decided to wait one or two weeks before explaining the situation's pros and cons, letting her decide whether to et Talim.
If Lina contacts Talim imdiately after his request to , it would reveal our prior connection... Perhaps the danger is temporary—by then, eting might be safe. They've t before after all...
If my deductions are correct, Talim is likely under constant surveillance by so powerful entity. Everyone he contacts, including , probably falls under observation—though casual acquaintances like
would receive less scrutiny than Talim himself... Unless I attempt to officially report him...
As for surveillance thods... Could it be "0-08"? Lina must have counterasures against it, explaining why her previous etings with Talim were uneventful...
After I cursed Ince Zangwill with the "Misfortune Crystal" Mr. Tower lent
during the Aurora Order's "Abyss of Flesh" ritual, perhaps Ince suffered severe damage, forcing a change in surveillance thods? This new approach might be less comprehensive than "0-08" but more dangerous?
Sighing, Klein let his spirituality descend, vanishing from the ancient palace above the gray fog.
Tomorrow he'd begin investigations—not into Lina's whereabouts, but as cover to track down Baron Larry instead. Though troubleso, that matter seed far safer than Talim and Prince Edessak's affairs. Ard with the "Psychic Breath" charm, Klein felt confident about apprehending the man who'd nearly hard his sister.
...
December 13th, Monday, 3:15 PM
In the basent of Backlund's Fragrant Estate, a disheveled, exhausted Ebner gently lifted a massive skeleton wreathed in black mist, its eye sockets burning with azure flas, sealing it into an ornate golden card. He officially renad it from "Bones of Sophia" to "Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
Who says a bone dragon can't have blue eyes? With a demigod psychic dragon's skeleton as base material, changing its "skin" is child's play.
"After over two weeks... finally complete! And it exceeds expectations!" Ebner admired the card while reviewing the bone dragon's tested capabilities, swelling with pride.
The primary skeleton ca from a Sequence 3 "Dreamweaver's" draconic form, retaining partial "Manipulator" abilities—even inheriting the "Dreamweaver"-level "Psychological Concealnt" to create illusory cover. However, this required Ebner to temporarily rge with it via his "Pure White Eyes."
Two operation modes existed:
Basic Control - Like partnering with a telepathically-linked companion, granting limited abilities: "Dreamwalking," "Mind Deprivation," and "Psychic Breath"—plus lee bone... combat. This low-consumption mode lasted as long as Ebner could sustain his "Pure White Eyes," which blocked the corruptive vision of its demigod-bone composition and City of Calamity aura—lethal without such protection.
Fusion Combat - Temporary rging via spiritual resonance granted near-full "Manipulator" capabilities plus necromantic spells. Even Ebner's own learned skills could be amplified through the bone dragon. However, the physical and ntal strain limited this mode to five seconds—beyond which bodily mutations beca irreversible.
The sole disappointnt was lacking the demigod undead's "Spirit World Traversal"—though Ebner reasoned even if present, the five-second fusion limit would make it suicidal for long-distance travel.
Checking the clock at 3:30 PM—likely during Tarot's sharing segnt—Ebner decided to skip this week's eting entirely. Having missed two already, one more wouldn't matter. By next Monday, perhaps "The Fool" would advance to "Faceless," resolving his spirituality issues.
Storing the card, Ebner headed for the teleportation altar—a long-overdue bath at the Indor hot spring estate awaited. Two weeks of nonstop work had left him... aromatic.
(End of Chapter)
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