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*****
"Old Neil lost control?"
Inside the gray mist space, George received the news from Klein.
Klein's expression was pained:
"When Old Neil was young, he had a fiancée-to-be named Celeste, but she suddenly fell seriously ill and was untreatable.
He risked leaking the secrets of Beyonders to try and save her with ritual magic, but he still failed.
Now, because he was influenced by the whispers and enticements of the Hidden Sage, he tried to use life-alchemy to resurrect Celeste, eventually losing control and turning into a monster.
The Captain and I used a Sealed Artifact to temporarily restrain him and have locked him in the basement of the Nighthawk base."
"Quite the devoted soul," George sighed.
"Don't worry. As long as he isn't dead, I can restore him."
In his view, whether it was familial love, friendship, or romantic love, all would gradually fade with the passing of time.
To still be unable to forget one's lover after several decades—he truly was devoted enough.
"That's good then."
Klein breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Old Neil was his closest colleague among the Nighthawks; he had taught him a great deal of occult knowledge and was practically half a teacher to him.
Therefore, he truly did not wish for anything to happen to Old Neil.
"The Captain has already sent a telegram to the Holy Cathedral. I expect they will seek you out very soon."
"Alright. Keep Old Neil under control; I should be able to arrive by tomorrow morning."
George nodded and then left the gray mist space.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for someone from the Church to arrive.
It was an old acquaintance—Crestet Cesim, the High Deacon known as the "Sword of the Goddess" who had visited Tingen last time.
In fact, it was only natural. The Cathedral was less than a hundred meters from his house; once the telegram was received, it was only a short walk away.
Crestet was sent because he was relatively familiar with George.
Last time, when they went to Enmat to restore a Nighthawk who had lost control, it was also Crestet who came to find him.
"The advancement was successful?"
George noticed the significant increase in spiritual energy within Crestet's body and asked as he sat up from his crib.
When they returned from Enmat, Crestet had mentioned he was preparing to consume the potion to advance to Sequence 4.
"It was successful."
Crestet nodded with a smile.
George smiled back:
"Congratulations. What brings you to see me this time?"
"Old Neil, a Nighthawk from Tingen City, has lost control. We would like to ask you to make a trip there with me."
Crestet quickly explained the reason for his visit.
"Old Neil, eh? No wonder I felt his mental state was a bit off before. I didn't expect him to actually lose control."
George feigned a realization.
Soon after, the two of them quickly departed in a carriage toward the station.
As for his home, with the Nighthawks' capabilities, it wouldn't be easier to fool his parents for a day or two.
His parents wouldn't notice he was gone at all.
---
Inside a private compartment on the steam train, George was chatting idly with Crestet.
As one of the nine High Deacons of the Church, Crestet naturally knew many secrets and a vast amount of occult knowledge.
Every time George spoke with him, he gained quite a bit.
During the round trip to Enmat last time, he had managed to fish out a lot of useful information.
"Old Neil seems to be of the Mystery Pryer pathway. I heard that Beyonders of this pathway lose control very easily?"
"That's not wrong to say. Because Beyonders of the Mystery Pryer pathway—or more accurately, the Hermit pathway—are chased by knowledge; they are forcibly instilled with it."
Crestet nodded.
"Chased by knowledge?" George's face showed a look of confusion.
Crestet explained:
"The Mystery Pryer pathway, or to be more precise, the Hermit pathway, originally belonged to an ancient organization from the Fourth Epoch called the Moses Ascetic Order.
They believe in an impersonal deity known as the Hidden Sage.
In the early days, the Moses Ascetic Order was a very respected organization. They had a good relationship with us and were one of the few Beyonder organizations recognized by the churches.
The members of the organization used asceticism to resist losing control and to neutralize the remaining influence of the potions. They kept strict secrets and adhered to morality and precepts.
They believed that people would continuously reincarnate after death. They persisted in morality, the pursuit of knowledge, and strict secrecy.
Every member, after becoming a 'Mystery Pryer,' had to observe five years of silence—learning to be still in order to practice and improve their concentration.
Their motto is: 'Do as you will, but harm no one.'
Their members all believe that 'All things are numbers' and chase knowledge itself.
However, one day, the Hidden Sage they worshipped was corrupted by a certain Evil God and became a personified Evil God.
He began to chase every member of the Moses Ascetic Order, every Beyonder of the Hermit pathway, forcibly instilling a vast amount of occult knowledge into their minds.
They either endure it through sheer willpower, or they are transformed by the Hidden Sage and lose control, turning into monsters."
He revealed this partly so George could better treat the Nighthawks who lost control after understanding these details, and partly as a return for George's goodwill.
George only charged 150 pounds to treat the Church's Nighthawks and would actively return the precipitated Beyonder characteristics. This could be said to be quite sincere.
Therefore, he was willing to provide some "remedial lessons" during their chat to this powerful child who lacked common sense regarding the Beyonder world.
"Knowledge chasing people? There's such a good thing?"
George's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
For a normal Beyonder, being forcibly instilled with knowledge from a deity would undoubtedly be excruciatingly painful. But for him, such a problem simply didn't exist.
If he had known earlier, wouldn't he have been able to fleece the Hidden Sage dry if he had chosen the Hermit pathway?
But it wasn't too late. Once Old Neil's Beyonder characteristic precipitated, he could use that characteristic—which was influenced by the Hidden Sage—to divine the Sage himself.
While this wouldn't fleece the Hidden Sage dry, it should still yield a significant amount of occult knowledge.
The more occult knowledge he obtained, the faster he could convert magic from other worlds.
The next morning, the two arrived at the Blackthorn Security Company in Tingen City, which served as the headquarters for the local Nighthawks.
Under the reception of the Nighthawk Captain, Dunn Smith, the two went to the basement room where Old Neil was being held.
At this moment, Old Neil had turned into a disgusting, viscous, blood-colored mass of liquid covered in dense, short black hair.
His white-haired head was connected to the liquid, and a pair of eyes had grown on his forehead and cheeks respectively—cold, lashless eyes.
"We used Sealed Artifact 3-0611 on Old Neil."
Dunn looked at Old Neil, his eyes filled with sorrow.
Old Neil was currently the teammate who had been with him the longest in the Nighthawk squad; the others had gradually died or lost control during missions over the years.
He could only say that it was fortunate George existed; otherwise, he would have lost another teammate who was like family.
They, the Nighthawks, were guardians, but they were also a group of pathetic wretches who constantly fought against danger and madness.
(End of Chapter)