Lanevus?
Several Nighthawks on duty looked at each other. One of them suddenly remembered last month's evil god descent incident in Tingen and thought of the still-fugitive wanted criminal, exclaiming aloud.
"The Lanevus from the 'Aurora Order'?"
"That's right. The letter also mentioned that he possesses divinity from the 'True Creator.'"
The Nighthawk who came to report could feel his colleagues' incredulous gazes turning toward him. He had felt the same when receiving the telegram.
The captain who took the envelope tore open the seal, pulled out the decoded telegram paper, quickly scanned it, then raised his head.
"Has the telegram been confirmed? Is the intelligence source reliable?"
He was a Sequence 6 "Spirit Warder" of the Sleepless pathway. Before being transferred to Backlund, he was a captain in another city and had handled multiple major city-wide incidents, but he was still very wary of the "True Creator," especially after the Aurora Order created a disaster in Tingen last month.
"We verified the reporter's intent through a sealed artifact. The content of this report letter is true—well, at least he himself believes it's true. But further divination didn't work."
The captain nodded, unsurprised. This matter likely involved an evil god, so the difficulty of divination was predictable.
"Moreover, this afternoon a letter was dropped in the mailbox at the entrance of St. Samuel's Cathedral. The content matches the report letter forwarded from Sivellaus Field. They verify each other, so I believe the report information is genuine."
The Nighthawk who entered to report also handed over the other letter to his captain. After the latter hurriedly finished reading it, he stood up, had the reporter take his position, and walked toward the door himself.
"Fortunately, 'The Sword of the Goddess' Lord Cesima is in Backlund. We don't need to wait for support from the Holy Cathedral. I'll report to him now. You all prepare as well—there may be a major operation tonight."
"Yes, Captain."
The remaining Nighthawks all responded.
Watching the sky outside the window gradually darken, Angel drew the curtains and began preparing dinner.
This was earlier than her usual dinner time, but she had to reach the East Byron Dockyard after nightfall, so she could only eat early.
Today she had attempted divination multiple times to confirm the Nighthawks' operation time, but all failed due to insufficient information.
However, she could confirm that the Nighthawks would certainly act as quickly as possible after receiving the information, and the optimal time would be tonight. This would avoid the daytime when workers were all working and would be most favorable for the Nighthawks, who were primarily of the "Sleepless" pathway, to display their abilities.
Even if by chance Lanevus was sleeping, they might be able to capture this fugitive alive...
"But they'd better not capture him alive. Having to sneak into the Chanis Gate to kill someone would be rather difficult."
Angel viciously bit into the bread in her hand, as if it were Lanevus.
...
After finishing her simple dinner, she returned to the basement and put on the equipment she had checked many times yesterday—the revolver loaded with "Storm Gathering" inserted in the holster at her waist, with the substitute wand tied beside it, the short dagger secured at her back, spare bullets and cut paper figures placed in her pockets, the magic mirror hidden close to her body, the magic pocket watch tied to her left wrist, and the "Hidden Holy Symbol" hanging from a citrine pendant on her right wrist.
Putting on the "Ring of Madness," she watched her pale gold hair instantly turn into inconspicuous black.
Except for the "Crimson Eye" obtained from the dead Rose Bishop, she had brought all the weapons and equipment she could carry.
Angel took the eyeball from the bullet box. As soon as it touched her skin, she sensed all the nearby life forms, including residents in the adjacent apartment, pedestrians passing by on the street, and even small animals in the sewers.
Based on their positions displayed in her mind, Angel could even guess what these people were currently doing.
In the city, a mystical item that could observe other life through walls was extremely powerful. Unfortunately, this polluted eyeball constantly emitted annoying whispers that made people involuntarily listen, yet nothing could be heard clearly.
Most importantly, Lanevus likely possessed the True Creator's divinity on his body. Approaching him with an Aurora Order mystical item would be like alerting the enemy.
After hesitating repeatedly, she still threw the eyeball back into the bullet box and placed it in the hidden compartment in the basement.
Turning off the lights and locking the door, Angel came to the street, hailed a hired carriage, and headed toward the dock district adjacent to the bridge area.
Then she switched to walking, gradually approaching that massive building on the banks of the Tassock River under the cover of night, and the clock tower beside the docks that pierced the clouds.
If she reached the top of the clock tower, she should be able to see most of the dock district, and she could quickly learn of any Nighthawk actions...
But she didn't go to the clock tower. If she knew the view there was good, wouldn't others know too?
If the Nighthawks acted cautiously, they would very likely place corresponding observers there, responsible for reconnaissance and responding to emergencies—possibly more than one person.
She no longer had a Nighthawk identity. There was no need to meet these "former colleagues." What if they recognized each other? Wouldn't that be even more awkward?
Bypassing the clock tower, Angel came to the dock union dormitory—a brick-red two-story building. The first floor had a hall and various functional facilities, while the entire second floor was divided into separate rooms. Some were still lit, with figures moving inside.
She pretended to be a pedestrian, wearing her hood, hands hidden under her cloak, eyes straight ahead, slowly walking past the dormitory.
Tonight, she only planned to be a quiet observer.
Walking through the alley beside the dormitory, she came to a three-story office building. She nimbly climbed from the back to the top floor and found a corner that couldn't be observed from the clock tower—that commanding height—but where she could see the dormitory where Lanevus was hiding. She crouched down, covered her whole body with the black cloak, and fixed her eyes on that brick-red building.
The Nighthawks would launch their operation at any time, and she waited here patiently.
Good thing I ate dinner before coming, otherwise under the influence of the "Ring of Madness," I'd probably be starving by now...
Angel looked up at the clock tower and found the hands had passed 0 and were pointing to 1, meaning it had passed Sunday and entered Monday morning.
There was a figure at the top of the clock tower peering around. Even with her dark vision, Angel could only vaguely make out the person's movements. They also seemed to be watching the dock union dormitory, standing there for over two hours since around 11 o'clock.
This Nighthawk observation post gave Angel great confidence. Otherwise, after waiting half the night, she would almost think the Nighthawks had canceled the operation.
Withdrawing her gaze from the clock tower and looking back toward the dormitory building, she was surprised to see a huge object floating over from across the Tassock River. It was olive-shaped, over 20 meters long, painted black to absorb moonlight. If not for the two giant propellers rotating behind it, even with her dark vision, she would have difficulty distinguishing it from the night sky background.
This was an airship!
The huge propellers rotated rapidly, propelling the airship to hover above the East Byron Dockyard. This behemoth had somehow been treated to make no sound at all. Only when the airship slowly descended to almost the same level as her position could Angel barely feel a hint of stirred breeze.
The airship was wrapped in cotton fabric covering the internal gas bags, with light alloy supports forming a grid pattern on the surface. The metal compartment suspended below extended several machine guns, a large-caliber cannon, and even several bomb release ports.
At this moment, these weapons were all aimed at the brick-red building that seemed small by comparison.
"It seems the Nighthawks have invested quite a bit today—they even brought an airship. Is the military involved in the operation?" Looking at the fully armed airship not far ahead, Angel pondered. "But are they planning to directly cover Lanevus's hiding place with firepower? There are quite a few civilians inside."
Soon, the Nighthawks' actions proved Angel's worry was unnecessary.
Three figures in black trench coats appeared below the airship. Angel could see they all wore conspicuous red gloves.
This directly indicated their identity—Red Glove squad members.
And the leader carried a silver-white metal case, with his trench coat collar turned up high, covering his neck and chin.
Angel instantly confirmed his identity—"The Sword of the Goddess," Cresta Cesima!