Chapter 128: Quill of Alzuhod
"Your Excellency Cesim, we have arrived in Tingen."
Inside the train carriage, Al Hazen spoke.
"Mm."
Opposite him, the man with short blond hair was burying the lower half of his face behind a high collar, resting with his eyes closed. Hearing the call, he slowly opened his emerald-green, tranquil eyes. "What time is it now?"
"Twelve-twenty."
On the other side, Lorota pulled out a pocket watch and shook her head. "We're late."
"Who could have predicted the train would actually be delayed?"
The gentlemanly Al Hazen shrugged. "According to the railway station staff, due to human error, there was a problem with the train scheduling in Tingen City, and several trains were blocked in the station at the same time... Heh, if this were in Backlund, such unprofessional behavior would have cost the dispatcher their job."
"It will in Tingen too."
Borgia said coldly.
As they conversed, the train had entered the station and come to a halt. The Nighthawks stood up from their seats one after another, got off the train, and followed the crowd toward the station exit. After exiting the station, the crowd dispersed, becoming less crowded, and the view before them suddenly opened up.
Crestet carried a silver-white metal suitcase, and the people around him seemed to instinctively keep a distance from him.
Suddenly, his brow furrowed, and he instinctively looked into the distance.
His spiritual intuition seemed to convey an ill omen.
"Everyone, head to the Blackthorn Security Company at top speed immediately."
He suddenly ordered.
Al Hazen was about to call for a driver to hire a carriage, but he was taken aback by Crestet's command. When he looked at the High-ranking Deacon, he found that the man's figure was already surrounded by invisible ghosts, floating up and swiftly gliding away into the distance.
People came and went in front of the train station, but the ordinary citizens didn't notice the strange sight at all, continuing with their own business.
The Nighthawks were surprised by Crestet's sudden departure. Remembering the order he left before leaving, they didn't dare to delay. They immediately hired a nearby carriage, demanding the driver set off at top speed immediately, promising generous pay!
The coachman, overjoyed at luckily landing a big job, whipped the horses vigorously. The carriage carrying the Nighthawks then lunged forward, charging out of the station square amidst the curses of pedestrians who hurriedly dodged, passing by another slowly moving carriage.
Inside the slowly moving carriage, a passenger sat calmly, holding up a notebook with a pale palm and slowly flipping through it.
Accompanied by the swaying of the carriage, the handwriting on every page of the notebook was clearly displayed before him:
"Because he needed a certificate of mental health, Lu Ze rondall was forced to stay overnight in a hospital ward. Based on reasonable logic, the doctor arranged for a seemingly harmless patient—Hood Eugen—as his roommate for tonight."
"To attempt the ritual of descending the spawn of an Evil God, Lanevus sought out Hood Eugen tonight. Using his roommate as a sacrifice was a natural decision."
"The generous Ince Zangwill planted half a skull of a descendant of Death inside Lanevus's fiancée's body. Tonight's ritual will proceed smoothly."
(Followed by several lines of heavily blacked-out marks)
"The wife of Pound, the manager of the William Transportation Company in Tingen City, has recently been suspecting him of having an affair. Today, their conflict unexpectedly erupted. Their argument made Madam Pound determined to investigate her husband's mistress."
"Due to the recent assassination of a banker's son, security companies and detective agencies are very busy. Madam Pound searched everywhere and finally found the Blackthorn Security Company in a remote corner of Zouteland Street, successfully placing a commission."
"That night, Leonard Mitchell and Lu Ze rondall will infiltrate the transportation company. They do not know the secrets hidden within this company. Their infiltration has already been discovered by Madam Sharon of the Demoness Sect. Out of caution, she decided to send an Assassin under her command to silence them, which is very reasonable."
"Lu Ze rondall will die due to the sudden assassination..."
(Again, several lines of blacked-out handwriting.)
"Unbelievable! Lu Ze rondall was stabbed in the chest but did not die. His body holds a peculiar secret!"
(Flipping forward several pages)
"The Bishop of Saint Selena Cathedral takes the human trafficking case very seriously because he learned earlier today of a similar situation in Enmat Port. As a responsible Bishop, he naturally linked the two matters together and sent a telegram to the Holy Cathedral, reminding them that there might be a connection between the two."
"In his report to the Holy Cathedral, he took the initiative to mention the participant in this event—Lu Ze rondall, who cleverly discovered the problem. This was a matter of course."
"Under the Bishop's unintentional push, Lu Ze rondall was arranged to go on a business trip to Enmat Port to investigate the human trafficking case. Ince—"
Zangwill possesses the relevant information. There is a mad and extremely dangerous Oracle of the Aurora Order in Enmat Port. The result of their trip will be nothing but Death."
"Of course, the Quill of Alzuhod cannot affect such a distant range for now. Ince Zangwill, who wrote this passage, was merely expressing his beautiful vision. The Death of three Nighthawks would bring a huge loss to the Tingen team, and Dunn Smith would become mentally unstable as a result..."
(Another section of blacked-out handwriting, written with great force.)
"Once again! Lu Ze rondall has escaped the shadow of Death once more and returned to Tingen!"
(The following pages are flipped through quickly)
"An uninvited guest has come to Tingen; she is Madam M from Enmat Port. Out of desire for the power within Lu Ze, she came to Tingen, moved into Lu Ze's home, and controlled his family."
"It turns out Lu Ze rondall has on him..."
(Below are several lines of messy handwriting and splattered ink, as if the person who wrote this was greatly frightened, unable to even hold the pen steadily)
(The hand flipping through the notebook paused for a moment upon reaching this page)
(Following immediately below is handwriting that is extremely neat, with polite and standard language)
"The Quill of Alzuhod prioritizes its own safety above all else. It has no specific malice toward Lu Ze rondall and has absolutely no desire to understand any of his secrets. All consequences shall be borne by the writer, Ince Zangwill, himself."
"Again, all consequences shall be borne by the writer, Ince Zangwill, himself."
"Madam M craves Lu Ze's body and wants to take it for her own. After drinking Sharon's healing potion, her body's injuries were alleviated. While she was out to implement her plan, she happened to encounter Ince Zangwill by coincidence."
"The two knew each other before, and under the current circumstances, they also had similar goals. They quickly reached a cooperation. Driven by Ince Zangwill and implemented by Madam M, they jointly launched an attack on the Blackthorn Security Company."
"Madam M used a forbidden ritual, peeling off her own skin and using her ability to lodge part of her spirit within it, creating a special Holy Scripture. This ritual will be very successful, and Lu Ze rondall will not notice it at all."
"Her followers followed her to Tingen."
"After a tragic battle, Madam M faked her Death and transferred her remaining spirit into the Holy Scripture. Ince Zangwill used the Quill of Alzuhod to find out the Holy Cathedral's subsequent processing results..."
(Below is the relevant Holy Cathedral's response regarding the handling of Lu Ze, including the list of Nighthawks coming to take Lu Ze away)
"Madam M's plan is very bold and crazy. She not only wants to seize Lu Ze's body but also wants to take the opportunity of spiritual precipitation to directly advance to Sequence 5 Shepherd. Her subordinates have already prepared all the materials for her, including a potion to re-decompose the [Rose Ring] into characteristics, as well as the remaining materials."
"Due to scheduling problems, the train station in Tingen City will send a delay request toward Backlund today."
"Only part of Madam M's plan succeeded; the despicable Ince Zangwill hid some information. She will go out of control during the ritual, causing terrible harm. To deal with this overly dangerous, out-of-control Monster, Dunn Smith decided to use the Tingen Nighthawk team's most powerful force—Saint Selena's Ashes. This is a correct and reasonable decision."
"After a tragic battle, everyone's consumption was enormous, and Saint Selena's Ashes also suffered severe trauma. All of this matches Ince Zangwill's expectations."
"He easily killed Lu Ze rondall, who had been causing him trouble, Klein Moretti, who blocked him, and Dunn Smith, who held the ashes, obtained the ashes, and left before the Backlund Nighthawks arrived."
"Ince Zangwill arranged a ritual with the remaining characteristics of the descendant of Death, consumed Saint Selena's Ashes, and successfully advanced from Sequence 5 'Gatekeeper' of the 'Death' Pathway to Sequence 4 'Nightwatcher' of the 'Evernight' Pathway. Thus, he gained divinity and became a powerhouse who is half-god and half-human."
"Only, at this moment, he is not yet aware of what price he will pay for this."
The notebook flipping stopped here. Ince Zangwill, with dark gold hair, one blind eye, and deep facial features, stared fixedly at the last line, gazing for a long time without any expression on his face.
A moment later, he picked up a classical-style quill pen and let the nib land on the page.
The quill pen was not dipped in ink, yet it clearly wrote out words.
He simply wrote a sentence:
"The story of Tingen ends here."
"Bang."
He closed the notebook, put it and the quill pen into his breast pocket, and looked out the carriage window. The crowd in front of the train station was surging.
"Customer, I just heard someone say that there seems to have been a gas explosion over at Zouteland Street."
The coachman spoke to him through the small window in front. "The world is truly dangerous nowadays..."
"Yes."
Ince Zangwill nodded slightly, seemingly expressing agreement.