Lord of the Mysteries

At the gates, Walter used the light from the street lamps and discovered no one was outside through the gaps. The street was silent.

For an instant, Walter suspected if he had heard wrong and that the doorbell hadn’t rung!

He composed himself, and he quickly walked to the servant quarters at the back of the compound. He woke up a few servants and got them to carry double-barreled hunting rifles to begin patrolling the main building so as to prevent any bandits or burglars from infiltrating.

Walter didn’t immediately get the police, because nothing had happened yet. The doorbell from earlier might’ve been a prank from a tramp.

Meanwhile, under the nearby sewers, the infiltrator was holding onto the metal handles as he slowly headed down into the unlit area.

He soon came to a halt, leaned back onto the moss-covered wall, and slowly slid down to sit down on the dirty ground.

His eyes closed again as though he was still in an unconscious state. In front of him, a middle-aged man wearing a dark red coat and an old triangular hat instantly appeared. He was none other than Klein’s marionette, Wraith Senor.

Senor bent down, rummaged through the infiltrator’s pockets and found 7 soli and 11 pence, as well as tiny cloth bags containing different kinds of powders.

Inside the room, Klein remotely controlled his marionette from dozens of meters away. As he identified the powder, he discovered that his theories were correct. They were all herbal powder in the Death domain. And a portion of them could be used for spirit channeling!

He was very likely to be a Beyonder from the Corpse Collector pathway that hailed from Balam. Even if he hadn’t reached Sequence 7 Spirit Medium, it was very normal for him to prepare the corresponding herbal powders, essential oils, and extract. After all, these materials weren’t only used for spirit channeling.

Immediately, Klein controlled Senor to set up a ritual to pray to The Fool.

Then, he went above the gray fog to respond, allowing Senor to complete what followed.

After doing all of this, he returned to the real world and continued controlling Senor, allowing him to channel the spirit.

Passing through a storm of glimmers, Klein saw the infiltrator’s spirit. He appeared listless, blurry, and translucent.

“What’s your name? What faction do you belong to?” Senor asked with a deep voice.

The infiltrator answered blankly, “Godotpos. I belong to the Black Skeleton Gang.”

Black Skeleton Gang. I believe it’s a gang that’s active around the border of East Borough and the dock area close to the Backlund Bridge area. It’s mainly filled with people of Balam heritage. Although they aren’t as barbaric and boorish as the Zmanger Gang, they aren’t strangers to violence… As Klein recalled the intelligence he had previously gathered, he made Senor continue asking:

“What do you mainly do? Why are you looking for Richardson?”

Godotpos answered in a muddled state, “We are fighting for God.

“We were originally members of the Balam Nation Reestablishment Society. We established the Black Skeleton Gang to grasp various intel and obtain funds. Apart from that, we also have another mission. It is to seek out any items related to Death, and send it back to the Southern Continent.

“This time, we obtained verified information that in Earl Wolf’s collection is a mask taken out from the Eggers family mausoleum. This family is a descendant of God.

“For this mask, we need to send someone to infiltrate Earl Wolf’s household as a servant or infiltrate during one of the balls and banquets he hosts. And Richardson is an excellent choice. He has no history with any of the other organizations, and he’s an experienced servant.”

The servants of nobles are often “inherited.” It’s obviously not easy to infiltrate… Only short-term employments will be made if there’s a sudden need for plenty of manpower…

Speaking of which, there really is such a situation. At the ball today, a few ladies had mentioned that some nobles who are financially tight will sell lots of their lands and manors, and also dismiss nearly all their servants, leaving fewer than ten to serve them, so as to barely maintain a decent lifestyle. When there are large-scale balls or banquets that require manpower, they would spend money to hire a bunch of temporary workers from the Family Servant Assistance Association to keep up a front…

Also, Earl Wolf actually has a mask from the descendants of Death’s family. I recall Mr. Azik’s last name to be Eggers… Unfortunately, I don’t wish to be disturbed by any accidents at the moment; otherwise, I might’ve come up with a way to help Mr. Azik obtain that mask… Klein mumbled silently and made Senor continue asking:

“How do you know Richardson?”

Godotpos said blankly, “We got to know each other at a manor in East Balam. Back then, we were both slaves.

“Among the slaves, there are people who secretly spread the faith of Death. Richardson, his mother, and I couldn’t help but become believers of Death in such a life. We secretly joined an organization that had a lot of influence among the slaves there.

“Later, Richardson’s mother passed away from an illness, and he was brought to Backlund, while I stayed in East Balam before I found an opportunity to escape.

“A few years later, I was sent to Backlund, and I chanced upon Richardson. H-he actually forgot about his mother’s death and the abuse he had once received. He forgot his faith towards God, and had his will eroded by what he called a peaceful life!

“To avoid me, he deliberately made mistakes and kept switching employers, but how could he have guessed that his former companion is no longer an ordinary human!”

Everyone has the right to choose as long as they don’t harm others. However, Richardson and I are two different kinds of people… In the room, Klein closed his eyes and made Senor ask in a deep voice, “What’s the organization that is very influential among the slaves?”

Godotpos hesitated for a moment and said, “The Eternal Life Society. Those who believe in Death will obtain eternal life in the Underworld once they leave the real world that’s filled with pain and sorrow.”

Eternal Life Society… I’m aware of this. It’s a branch of the Numinous Episcopate… As a former Nighthawk, Klein knew quite a lot about such matters.

He continued controlling Senor to interrogate Godotpos, and he obtained plenty of information regarding the Eternal Life Society, East Balam Nation Reestablishment Society, and the Black Skull Gang while confirming that Godotpos and his gang had their hands covered in the blood of the innocent.

After finishing the spirit channeling and clearing up any traces, he waited thirty minutes before letting the Wraith enter Godotpos’s body, controlling him to climb out of the sewers and returning back into the shadows of the streets.

And at this point, the servants in 160 Böklund Street, who were wielding double-barreled hunting rifles, were no longer as vigilant while doing their patrolling rounds. They seemed to believe that any latent danger had passed.

Klein pretended as though he didn’t notice anything as he continued sleeping in his master bedroom. However, he had already set up a ritual to summon and respond to himself. With Azik’s copper whistle, the iron cigar case, and Creeping Hunger, he silently left his residence in the form of a spirit.

He followed behind Godotpos and constantly maintained a distance of eighty meters. By using his marionette to possess this “hostage,” he made him circle to another street and board a rental carriage by the side of the road.

About an hour later, Godotpos returned to the headquarters of the Black Skeleton Gang, a tiny house situated near the docks.

There were plenty of firearms stashed away here, with several operatives that were sent from the East Balam Nation Reestablishment Society. They formed the upper ranks of the Black Skeleton Gang.

Following the method that was agreed upon, “Godotpos” knocked on the door, and he said to a member who came towards him, “Richardson has submitted.”

“Very good.” The member inattentively shot Godotpos a glance, made way for him, and gave him passage.

“Godotpos” surveyed the area and found the high-yield explosives and a bunch of rifles stacked in the corner of the house. A few of the top brass of the Black Skeleton Gang were gathered together, discussing something.

“Godotpos, want a smoke?” The member from before handed him a cigarette.

This was a cigarette fashioned to the preferences of the Southern Continent. They were made from dried tobacco leaves mixed with tiny amounts of herbs.

Godotpos received the cigarette and casually picked up a box of matchsticks from the table, took out a few sticks, and lit them.

Then, he threw the few burning matchsticks to the corner where the easily flammable explosives were.

“…”

Everyone present looked at Godotpos with a dumbfounded look, momentarily at a loss as to what had happened.

Rumble!

On a public bench dozens of meters away, Klein sat there as the flames blazed behind him, a hot gust of air swarming out of the house.

A few seconds later, Senor in his dark red coat appeared beside him, with some signs of being burned.

The Wraith held his hand to his chest and bowed before returning inside the gold coin inside the iron cigar case.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to pick up the Beyonder characteristics; otherwise, it wouldn’t appear like an accident… It’ll definitely be suspicious if the upper echelons of the Black Skeleton Gang don’t have any Beyonders… Klein silently sighed as he cleared any traces before ending the summoning and returning above the gray fog.

The next morning, he got up and washed up as though nothing had happened. He then waited for his valet to bring in a change of clothes.

Richardson entered in silence as he finished his work skillfully.

Following that, he took a step back and bowed his head.

“Sir, after serving you this week, I wish to resign.”

He typically received a weekly salary from Housekeeper Taneja.

“Why?” Klein looked at himself in the mirror as he adjusted his vest.

Meanwhile, he leisurely thought, Not bad at all. You know how to resign by your own volition and not bring trouble to your employer…

Richardson had already thought of an excuse.

“I believe I’m lacking in ability to be a valet. At last night’s ball, I realized how lacking I was when I was interacting with the servants of the other guests.”

Klein smiled.

“Everyone begins with zero experience. Few grew up with experience. Consider it again, and give me your final answer tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.” Richardson didn’t speak further as he took the initiative to leave the room. He went to the first floor to help his employer pick up the morning papers.

During this process, he would always first flip through it and place the most interesting articles at the top.

While flipping through, his gaze froze as he focused on an article:

“An explosion happened at 79 Dirham Street in the Backlund Bridge area. It’s suspected to be related to the Black Skeleton Gang…

“According to the police, all the upper echelons of the Black Skeleton Gang died in this accident, including Lima, Moreira, Godotpos…”

This… Richardson shook his head, suspecting that he was dreaming.