Pava Court... Cleves didn't directly respond to the woman behind the telegraph office door. He turned his head to look at Gehrman Sparrow, waiting for him to make a decision.
In the eyes of this former adventurer, it was already an extremely difficult task for a group of over a dozen people to return to the White Agate safely and smoothly. He couldn't and shouldn't be distracted trying to help someone find another person at a time like this. However, he was also well aware that the current pillars were Gehrman Sparrow and 'Flamer' Danitz; only they had the authority to agree or disagree.
Klein was silent for two seconds before speaking in a voice neither too loud nor too soft: "What does he look like?"
He believed that having more intelligence would help them escape this mist-filled, bizarre little city, so he casually asked. As for whether he would actually keep an eye out, that depended entirely on what happened next.
While asking, Klein reminded himself not to delve too deeply, lest he accidentally trigger the danger lurking in
Between understanding the situation and avoiding risk, he had to walk a tightrope—neither too much nor too little, neither left nor right, perfectly balanced.
This might be easy or difficult, because no one knew what changes would occur once a step was taken. He could only rely on experience and intuition to make judgments, ready to fall into a trap at any moment. This kept Klein's mind stretched taut and his thoughts sharper than ever before.
In the thick darkness and sparse fog, the door of the telegraph office remained tightly shut. The woman inside paused for a moment before saying: "He is a very handsome man. "He has two eyes, two ears, a nose, and a mouth."
Why does this answer sound so creepy... There's probably something wrong with this woman, too! According to the customs of Bansy Harbor, she shouldn't even have replied! 'Flamer' Danitz had a strong urge to kick the door open, rush into the telegraph office, and check the situation inside.
Just then, he saw Gehrman Sparrow raise his hand to press down on his hat, turn, and walk to the side.
"Church of Storms," Klein said concisely, naming their destination.
He didn't bother with whatever problem the woman in the telegraph office had, just as he didn't investigate what secrets the owner of the Green Lemon Restaurant and the diners staying there might be hiding.
The wind was getting weaker and weaker, but the fog remained unchanged. The candlelight inside the church faintly illuminated the high, narrow windows, like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm.
After Klein used the 'Sun's Corona' again,
Soon, they arrived outside the Church of Storms. The two large doors were tightly shut, without a crack.
Glancing at the Holy Emblem of Storms on the door, Klein raised his hand and knocked three times in succession.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A man's voice, slightly wary, immediately came from behind the door: "Who is it?"
"Gehrman Sparrow," Klein answered directly.
He had already recognized the speaker as Captain Ireland.
"Why are you here?" Ireland asked again, not opening the door.
Klein held his cane and said calmly: "You helped me pay compensation to the 'White Shark'."
Ireland was stunned for a moment, finding it a bit funny. Then he preliminarily confirmed that the person outside was indeed Gehrman Sparrow. At the very least, no matter how good a monster was at disguise, it shouldn't know about something that was strictly between the two of them.
He was still hesitant until Cleves, Uldi Branche, Donna, and others spoke up one after another, finally putting his mind at ease. He told his first mate Harris to undo the locks and open the door.
The heavy creaking sound echoed far into the distance. Klein saw Ireland wearing a sailor's cap, holding a straight sword in one hand and a blunderbuss in the other.
"There's trouble here too?" Klein asked sharply, connecting this with the earlier circumstances.
Ireland first moved aside to let Donna and the others enter, then pointed to the prayer hall and said: "Pastor Jess, whom I knew, died inside. His head was severed from his body. Bishop Miller is missing, and so are several other pastors. Also, the church's servants have all vanished."
A pastor dead, a bishop missing, and the entire church devoid of living people? This is a pretty big problem... Klein gripped the cold Azik Copper Whistle, his mood growing heavier.
Of course, he was well aware that the pastor and bishop were not the main force of the Church of Storms in handling the supernatural incidents in Bansy Harbor. Beneath this church, there must be a team of six to eight Beyonders, the 'Mandated Punishers', as well as a variable number of Sealed Artifacts. Even a High Sequence Beyonder might not be able to silently neutralize this force in such a short time.
As long as they were still alive and could still use the Sealed Artifacts, the situation wouldn't deteriorate too severely... So, what was the 'Mandated Punisher' team doing right now? Klein, drawing on his experience as a former Nighthawk, began to speculate based on standard procedure.
As he was thinking this, he followed Ireland to the grand prayer hall and examined the body of the deceased pastor.
Jess's death was tragic. It looked like his head had been cut off while he was still alive. Unlike the monsters outside, his esophagus and head were separated.
In Klein's Spirit Vision, the pastor had no lingering spirit left. Even if he tried to channel the remnant, it would be very difficult.
Was it the peculiarity of the murder method itself, or had the proper treatment been applied... The difference from the monsters outside—was it because the killer was in too much of a hurry? Based on the situation at the scene, Klein completed his previous speculation.
He thought there were two possibilities. First, a locally sourced, living
However, this did not explain the strange behavior of the residents of Bansy Harbor.