On Friday, the chimes of the night rang out softly, as if coming from an extremely distant place.
Ebner arrived at the central park on Williams Street as agreed and quickly fixed his gaze on a young gentleman with neatly combed black hair and deep brown eyes.
He had the features of mixed heritage, but his appearance leaned more toward that of a Loenese.
But that wasn't what drew Ebner's attention… What he really noticed were the iron-black gloves the gentleman wore, the dark-golden sunbird brooch pinned to his left chest, the pitch-black badge on his right chest, and the pure black revolver in his holster.
"The 'Sun Brooch', the 'Confession' revolver… those gloves should be the ones taken from Heras during the 'Capim case', a mystical item that appeared in the original work with the ability of a 'Disciplinary Paladin'...
"As for that other badge, I don't know where Klein got it… but based on preliminary 'analysis', it should be something from the 'Sleepless' pathway.
"Adding in the 'Breath of Mind' charm he must be carrying… Klein is fully armed…
"Also, the form he's taken—if he wore gold-rimmed glasses, he'd have a bit of a Gehrman vibe."
While Ebner was observing Klein, Klein was also observing him and mentally grumbling:
Another new look? Who's the Faceless one here, me or you?!The reason he recognized that this scholarly man, who looked like a teacher, was Mr. Tower, was because the latter had already begun silently chanting the Fool's honorific name.
Since the details of the operation had long been finalized above the gray fog, the two merely exchanged glances as they brushed past each other—signaling the official beginning of the operation.
Entering a nearby sewer, Ebner smoothly unsealed a finely-crafted card and summoned the "bone dragon." He then rode it into "psychological invisibility" and made his way to an abandoned chapel in the middle of Williams Street.
—That was their predetermined strategy: "The World" and "Temperance" would act openly, while "The Tower" stayed hidden in the shadows, lying in wait for danger and ready to act at the right moment.
The abandoned chapel was cramped. Withered vines covered the walls, feces and debris were scattered everywhere, stone piles and dead grass intermingled, and gray stones lay strewn across the floor.
Thankfully, the bone dragon was undead, and its spiritual body was unaffected by terrain—otherwise, even in its "psychological invisibility" state, it would surely have been noticed.
At that moment, in a half-collapsed corner, a middle-aged man in tight black clothing was digging a tunnel from a concealed opening underground, using excavation tools.
But suddenly, as a dark, sunken underground palace appeared before him, the man—overcome with elation—suddenly became aware that someone was silently watching him.
It was a person without eyes, without a nose, without a mouth, without eyebrows, and without ears!
The man—Rafte Pound, Baron of the Undead—had his pupils contract sharply. A paralyzing sensation rose from below his waist, shot up along his spine, and stabbed into the back of his head.
He didn't think twice. He threw down all his tools and frantically scrambled backward.
His elbows slammed against the ground with loud cracks, scraping into bloody messes, but he felt no pain.
Finally, Rafte Pound retreated from the tunnel and returned to the abandoned chapel.
Just as he let out a breath of relief, he ran right into Sharon and Klein—who had come to stop him from continuing his excavation.
Seeing Miss Sharon, dressed in a gothic court gown and wearing a petite black soft hat, with a face so pale it was nearly transparent, soft golden-blonde hair not quite human, and blue eyes slowly approaching—Rafte Pound staggered back several steps, nearly tripping over a stone.
In a setting like this, meeting someone like that—no one would believe you hadn't encountered a ghost… Though, in a certain sense, "Wraiths" really were female ghosts.
Just then, he seemed to recall something, and suppressed his fear. His expression became a mix of anxiety and hope, excitement and expectation:
"You… You're the evil spirit from the underground palace?
"Yes, it must be you!"As expected, my judgment wasn't wrong. With the appearance of the true 'Black Emperor', the glory of the 'Blood Emperor' will surely return!"
Black Emperor? Don't tell me you're referring to the gentleman thief 'Black Emperor'? Baron Pound, you seem to be misunderstanding something… Even if my spirit bears some traits of the 'Black Emperor' after being strengthened by the card… That's the Black Emperor of Roselle, which has nothing to do with the Emperor from your war of the Four Emperors…
Hiding in the shadows and watching Sharon improvise, Klein couldn't help but complain inwardly.
He and Sharon had originally planned to use spooky tricks to scare Rafte Pound away, so that he would never again dare to snoop around the underground ruins—but the man's reaction had been a bit beyond their expectations.
Sharon paused for a second, just about to ask something else, when Baron Pound's gaze suddenly went blank. He took several quick steps to the side and stood before a still-intact stone wall.
This... Something really did go wrong... Klein and Sharon simultaneously sensed the abnormality and each took action—one slightly raised his right hand, drew his revolver, and pulled out a charm, holding it tightly as crimson moonlight spilled across the ruins of the small chapel.
Rafte Pound, however, didn't even look at them. He rammed his head into the wall directly, over and over, until blood streamed down from his forehead and he fainted.
Immediately afterward, he crawled back up again, his eyes now bloodshot for some unknown reason.
The baron extended his tongue and licked the crimson liquid flowing down his forehead, sighing in intoxicated delight:
"The blood of the Tudors… so delicious, truly intoxicating.
"This will greatly enhance my hatred and temporarily expand the boundaries of my seal."
Thanks to prior planning, Klein remained calm. He pointed his revolver at him and asked sternly,"An evil spirit from within the ruins?"
That evil spirit gave him a glance, smiled, and nodded.
"You guessed right.
"I originally assumed you were weak and tried to corrupt your spirit, enter your dreams, and seduce you into freeing me. Who would've thought—heh—you're someone with secrets too."
Straight to the point... Fortunately, everyone present except the evil spirit was a member of the Tarot Club, so the so-called "secrets" could be blamed on Mr. Fool...
While feeling relieved, Klein immediately countered, "What is it that you want?"
The evil spirit didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked up, glancing at the remaining section of the chapel's dome and sneered:
"The one hiding up there is one of your companions too, isn't he?
"He hides well, and that refined undead item of his is quite powerful. That's your trump card, I suppose? But are you sure that relying on this kind of toy is enough to threaten me?"
As he spoke, he looked at the charm clenched in Klein's hand and mocked:
"If I didn't still need something from you, I'd let you see what real terror is!
"To make the calm detective and the restrained wraith piss themselves from fright—now that would be fun!"
I really should have listened to Mr. Tower and brought a monocle… then we'll see who frightens who…
Klein could tell the other party was using mockery to suppress their morale—trying to make them feel utterly outmatched so that any future demands he made wouldn't be easy to refuse.
And the fact that he had to resort to this meant his current state wasn't exactly great…
Still, even knowing that, it was maddening—and there was no good way to respond. All Klein could do was hope Mr. Tower's preparations were thorough enough.
At that moment, Ebner—whose hiding spot had been exposed—naturally revealed himself as well.
As for the bone dragon, it remained in stealth, in case its massive form frightened nearby residents.
Ebner was equally displeased by the three-in-one evil spirit's comments—after all, "calm detective" could very well refer to him too.
Looking toward Ebner, who was slowly landing, the evil spirit once again sneered:
"Not riding your little toy anymore?
"Its greatest power lies in displaying an incomplete mythical form, but I just so happen not to fear that."
Ebner gave him a deep look and said nothing. He simply took out the "Magic Mirror," then lifted his sleeve to reveal the "Tears of Lilith" pendant hanging at his wrist. Finally, he smiled and said:
"I suggest you reorganize your wording—and at least try to be polite."
The evil spirit looked at the two items, fell silent for a few seconds, then said:
"If you unleash the power within those… you'll die too!"
Though this sounded like a threat, his tone had clearly softened quite a bit.
Ebner gave him a meaningful look, then pushed back his hair with his fingers, revealing a barely visible silver thread on his forehead. He smiled and asked:
"Do you recognize this?"
The evil spirit went silent again for a long while, before dropping his arrogant tone entirely and sighing:
"I was just an innocent victim, harmed by Alista Tudor's ambition. Because of the restraints of my corpse, I've been trapped in that underground ruin for nearly or over two thousand years.
"I want you to help free me—let me become a free and unbound spirit. I swear, I will not harm the innocent."
Klein was dumbfounded by the evil spirit's drastic shift in attitude. While growing more curious about the two items in Mr. Tower's possession, he also couldn't help but marvel inwardly: As expected of the Earth Mother's Blessed… powerful artifacts just keep appearing!
Ebner, meanwhile, pinched the pendant known as "Tears of Lilith" in his hand. Under the evil spirit's tense gaze, he seemed to ponder for a few seconds, then smiled and asked:
"An innocent victim of Tudor's ambition?
"Then… are you Sauron?
"Or Einhorn?
"Or perhaps… Medici?"