Above the endless gray fog, in the magnificent and ancient palace.
The warped picture of the Lord of Storms, one that's suspected to be left behind by a Rose Redemption member... Hmm, Red Angel Medici is one of the founders of Rose Redemption... Klein sat in the high-back chair belonging to The Fool as he silently looked at the crimson star representing The Hanged Man.
Using his feedback, he had basically confirmed that the one possessing Ince Zangwill was the Red Angel evil spirit!
In the eternal silence, Klein silently sat at the seat of honor of the mottled table as though he had become a deity's statue.
After an unknown period of time, he nodded indiscernibly and slowly exhaled.
His figure vanished and returned to the real world. He continued his nap without thinking of any plans or considering anything related to Ince Zangwill.
He slept till the next morning and got out of bed. He repeated his habits over the past few days, walking to the window barefooted and drawing the windows.
On the streets outside the hotel, Danitz, who had dressed up like a West Balam native with an extra hooded cloak, held his iron-black boxing glove close to his chest before rushing to the square on his right. Based on his previous report, Klein knew that he was meeting one of the local ruling factions today to understand their stance on the arms deal.
Anderson didn't follow. He had ruffled his parted short blond hair in a mess as he leisurely strolled around the perimeter of the square, sat down, and wore a funny-looking puppet over his left black-gloved hand and began putting on a ventriloquist act for the people who walked by.
The man and puppet each had different voices as they mocked each other with witty remarks. It was quite good at attracting attention.
The only problem was that it was done in the Intis language and not Dutanese. Few people understood it, so after standing around to watch for a moment, they walked off.
Klein focused on the Fog Sea's Strongest Hunter with the same expression as before. His eyes betrayed how deep in thought he was.
East Balam, in the temporary office for Soest's Red Gloves.
Cindy, who had long, wine-red hair, walked in with a few telegrams as she said excitedly, "New clues!"
"What clues?" Soest put down the white porcelain coffee mug in his hand as Leonard and Daly cast their gazes to the door.
As Cindy handed the telegram to her captain, she said, "Emperor Roselle's quote ‘wherever he steps, whatever he touches, whatever he leaves, even unconsciously, will serve as a silent witness against him,' really makes sense. We've found people witnessing Ince Zangwill in several places, forming a complete trajectory. "From this, we've realized that Ince Zangwill's thoughts seem to be contradictory. He often approaches the colonies of Intis, staying for a short moment, before leaving it. He then approaches it once again and leaves it repeatedly as though-as though..."
Isn't this what Klein mentioned? That his actions are inconsistent? Leonard was delighted as he offered a better description for Cindy:
"As though he's oscillating."
"Yes, oscillating!" Cindy heaved a sigh of relief and began describing the findings, "In addition, Ince Zangwill has killed a few Intis military spies and has purchased several Beyonder ingredients. It's unknown what he's trying to do."
This... Leonard deliberated and said, "Which pathway's Beyonder ingredients are being bought by Ince Zangwill?"
"They are from the Warrior, Hunter, and Bard pathways." Cindy pointed at the few telegrams that Captain Soest was reading.
Indeed, there's the Hunter pathway... Having failed to find an excuse to get his teammates to take notice of Hunter-related clues, Leonard exhaled silently and no longer had any doubts regarding Klein's theory. He believed it to be the truth!
Next, how should I make everyone realize that Ince has been possessed by an evil spirit of the Hunter pathway... Leonard fell into deep thought. He waited until Soest finished reading the telegram and handed it to the other teammates before he came up with something. He decided to take a risk.
Before he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at Daly Simone. Dressed in a Spirit Medium's attire, this lady lowered her hand slightly, indicating that he shouldn't be too anxious, and to stop whatever he was about to attempt.
Ma'am Daly is telling me that it isn't time, that I should wait for a better opportunity? Amidst his hesitation, he saw Daly flick the telegram in her hand and looked around the room.
"I have an idea."
"What is it?" Soest asked.
Daly smiled.
"I suspect that Ince Zangwill is possessed by an evil spirit."
She... She just said it like that... She will be suspected! Leonard jumped in fright.
Without waiting for Soest, Cindy, and company to raise their doubts, Daly continued, "Ince Zangwill was once a Gatekeeper, and now, he's a Nightwatcher. His body can accommodate evil spirits and use their powers. Furthermore, he also has 0-08's help. If I were him, I'd definitely try to seek out stronger evil spirits and raise my strength as much as possible.
"This way, before he obtains complete control over the evil spirit, there will be backlashes. Ince Zangwill will take actions that seem contradictory. This can explain what's mentioned on the telegram.
"In addition, haven't we been puzzled as to why Ince Zangwill has been trying to contact important members of the Numinous Episcopate, and we had come up with various theories? Perhaps getting them to help him exorcise, purify, or completely control the evil spirit is his goal!"
Soest thought for a moment and deliberated over his words.
"That possibility cannot be ruled out, but this is fundamentally a subjective theory of yours... How did you come up with this? Which details gave you the inspiration?"
Leonard became nervous as Daly chuckled.
"This is a woman's intuition. It's just like how I know your thoughts, as well as those of the rest of you at times.
"Besides, since this is a discussion and analysis, we should list down all the possibilities. We should then eliminate the possibilities based on the actual investigations. This will aid us in finding the correct answer. Therefore, we need to let our thoughts wander. No matter how ridiculous the idea is, we must dare to propose it!
"From the various details we obtained from our feedback, I believe my theory is the most likely one."
Ma'am Daly sure is good with words. At least, she has convinced me... She raised the theory of an evil spirit's possession to protect me and direct the risk towards herself? On this matter regarding Ince Zangwill, she seems willing to take on everything... Leonard became enlightened as he felt poignant.
After hearing Daly's reply, Soest nodded slightly.
"Indeed, since this is a discussion, we shouldn't limit our thoughts.
"The possibility of an evil spirit possession scenario is quite high. I'll report this to Her Excellency Goddess's Eye. I'll leave it to the archbishop and high-ranking deacons to decide the subsequent investigations. After all, we know too little about 0-08."
"The Red Gloves team led by Soest discovered Ince Zangwill's abnormalities from the feedback from various telegrams. Daly Simone used this opportunity to mention the assumption of an evil spirit's possession and had received a unanimous agreement.
"She claimed it to be a reasonable theory, but she was already in the know. She had learned it from Leonard Mitchell, who has a Parasite, and Leonard Mitchell's information source came from a letter sent by Reinette Tinekerr. Who could be the one who mailed it?
"Meanwhile, Leonard Mitchell and Daly Simone had already suspected that the evil spirit possessing Ince Zangwill belongs to the Hunter pathway..."
A classic quill dabbed in black ink was writing rapidly on an ordinary notebook as though it was held by an invisible hand.
Suddenly, a silently pale hand reached out and grabbed the quill.
The owner of that hand had dark blond hair with facial features akin to a classic sculpture. One of his eyes was so blue that it was nearly black, and the other was filled with small but obvious blood vessels.
He lowered his wrist and continued writing:
"But is this the truth to the matter? Will everything develop according to what Daly Simone, Leonard Mitchell, and Soest's Red Gloves team have in mind?"
In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, in Nois City which couldn't be illuminated by the lightning.
The figures looked over without making any sound, giving Derrick a fright. He nearly stopped the illumination effect as he dodged to avoid facing them directly.
However, having trained from a young age, and with his experience over the past year, he didn't end up flustered. He didn't rush to end it as he forcefully held back his horror and waited for the Chief to give the next order.
Two dark green, complicated symbols appeared in Colin Iliad's eyes. He took in the streets that were blanketed with faint mist and the seemingly normal figures which didn't take any action.
Suddenly, he grunted and genuflected, his hands grabbing the two swords that were stabbed in the ground.
At the back of his neck, his bluish-black skin swelled a little as indescribable and complicated mysterious symbols appeared. They were half illusory and half real as they crept to either higher or lower levels.
At the same time, Shepherd Lovia let out a painful grunt as she raised her hands and held her head, vomiting some blobs of squirming flesh and blood.
Her palms and her body seemed to have silver armor strangely appear, overlapping on top of her.
"Stop," Demon Hunter Colin muttered softly one second later.
Derrick hurriedly ended the illumination and allowed the thin mist to cloak the figures, allowing the dead silence to once again blanket the ancient Nois City.
Everything quickly returned to its former form as Colin Iliad slowly got up. He cast his heavy gaze at the tower, cathedral, and other buildings that could barely be made out through the thin mist.
"It's a bit different from my last expedition. I'm not sure why there are such changes either." Demon Hunter Colin retracted his gaze as he surveyed the team members. "Do you have any ideas or thoughts?"
Shepherd Lovia had already crouched down to pick up the blobs of flesh and blood that had fallen to the ground. However, she wasn't in a rush to stuff them into her mouth, to munch on them before swallowing. She offered, "We can change directions and explore Nois City's other entrances. Perhaps we might discover something."
She had been maintaining her silence and kept the attitude of a spectator the entire journey. This was the first time she was voicing out her thoughts and giving her point of view.
