Chapter 72

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The wooden puppet’s face was painted red and yellow to resemble a common clown. The corners of its mouth were lifted high, revealing an unusually comical smile. When its lips parted, a deep, dark cavity appeared.

Klein, locked in its gaze, felt his hair stand on end as an intense horror surged uncontrollably in his heart. Everything before his eyes dulled, as though he were viewing the world through a thick, brown glass. As Klein’s thoughts gradually slowed, he instinctively wanted to call for help, but his neck felt constricted as if held tight by a rope. No sound could escape. Even a single word was trapped in silence.

Just then, Captain Dunn noticed Klein’s sluggish movements and gave him a heavy push. Instantly, the brown glass before Klein’s eyes shattered. He managed to spit out the word that had been lodged in his throat—help.The word reverberated through the carriage, panicked and sharp.

“It’s getting stronger,” Klein murmured in a certain tone.

One must be extremely cautious when near a strange Sealed Artifact like 2-049, lest they fall into terrifying peril. No, it was impossible to guard against it completely—it could only be avoided through other means!

“That’s normal,” Ayer Harson said steadily, nodding.

Lorotta chuckled softly. “It seems to like you. Don’t worry. It’s relatively less dangerous among the Grade Two Sealed Artifacts.”

As she explained this in her naturally languid voice, the puppet rose. Its joints were so clearly defined they almost mimicked human movement. It began tottering toward its left side, moving slowly and laboriously, like a rusted steam engine in dire need of lubrication.

It's the robot dance again..., Klein thought, and a new theory began to form in his mind about the source of 2-049’s danger.

It seems to assimilate the living things it controls.

If I hadn’t beenawakenedin time by the others, would I have become a human-sized puppet—a real-life Barbie doll?

Just as these thoughts flooded Klein’s mind, Dunn pushed Ayer Harson awake. The captain bent and straightened his arms, then pointed in the direction the puppet was slowly moving. “That way!” he commanded Leonard, the carriage driver.

Leonard couldn’t drive the carriage through buildings, so he maneuvered around the block. As they proceeded, 2-049 constantly adjusted the direction that it was facing, persistent in its role as a compass for the Antigonus family.

Seeing this, Klein—who never ceased his arm exercises—felt like laughing amid the tension.

I heard that 2-049 was created by the Antigonus family... Is this an act of loyalty or the perfect example of screwing your own people over?

Leonard drove the carriage through the streets according to Ayer Harson’s intermittent instructions, heading steadily in one direction. Whenever the strange puppet 2-049 approached the edge of the carriage, Ayer Harson would pull it back and reset its path. Each time that happened, the puppet’s mouth split open wider, and two people would simultaneously fall under its influence.

Gradually, Klein’s nervousness began to subside. He no longer found Artifact 2-049 as terrifying as before. As long as more than three people continuously maintained their arm movements and made sure to wake their partners in time, 2-049 was merely a puppet with slightly unusual properties.

The carriage moved swiftly and soon arrived at the dockside, where clusters of warehouses stood. After circling a few times, they confirmed that 2-049 was heading toward a grayish-white warehouse at the far end of the cluster. Ayer Harson’s expression turned solemn. He carefully picked up the puppet and, with deliberate caution, stowed it back into the black chest.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Under constant, ferocious knocking, Ayer Harson repeatedly woke up again and again with the help of Borgia and Lorotta as he flipped the mechanism lever with great effort. He then injected his spiritual energy into the lock, activating the symbols of stars and the crimson moon. When the invisible seal reappeared, Ayer let out a long, heavy breath of relief.

“Let’s get out,” Captain Dunn Smith said in a low, measured voice. “Leonard, secure the horse here.”

Dressed in trench coats, suits, or shirts, the six of them left the carriage and walked toward the innermost warehouse. As they moved, they stretched and bent their arms almost in synchrony—a comical, ludicrous energy that Klein mentally dubbed the “Nighthawk Awkward Dance Squad.” He could only inwardly complain to ease the absurdity of the situation.

There was, however, no other choice. According to his observations, the effects of 2-049 first manifested in the upper body. To detect these changes in time to prevent exposing themselves to further danger, their only options were bending and straightening their arms, turning their necks, or shaking their bodies. The latter two, however, made one look like a hooligan, while simple actions like blinking or tapping a brow were either too subtle or too exaggerated. Thus, this awkward dance was the best, albeit odd, method available. Klein sighed in resignation and followed Captain Dunn Smith and company forward.

As they approached the warehouse door, Klein’s anxiety deepened. No one knew what kind of change the notebook would bring to Ryer Bieber! If the situation deteriorated, Klein dared not pin his hopes on a second transmigration. Moreover, while chopping ingredients earlier, he had discovered that he was still capable of bleeding and injuring himself. His recovery speed was ordinary. He wasn’t some invincible monster.

While they walked, Dunn suddenly raised his free hand and pressed his palm down, halting everyone more than ten meters from the warehouse door.

“Klein, divine whether there’s any danger inside the warehouse. It’d be best if you could gauge the degree of danger,” Dunn instructed, his deep gray eyes unwavering.

Klein nodded imperceptibly and paused his arm exercise. He reached his right hand into his left sleeve and removed a silver chain with a yellow crystal.

As he continued to bend and extend his right arm in a reduced range of motion, Dunn quickly watched for any sluggishness, ready to nudge him if needed.

Holding the silver chain in his left hand and letting the yellow crystal hang naturally. At the same time, he continued to bend and extend with his right arm in a much smaller range of motion.

When the yellow crystal stilled in the air, he half-closed his eyes, visualized a spherical light, and entered a trance. He silently chanted:

“There’s danger in the warehouse.

“There’s danger in the warehouse.”

...

He repeated this incantation seven times.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the yellow crystal slowly turning in clockwise circles. It spun faster and faster, and eventually, Klein felt as though it was practically pulling on his left hand. “There’s danger—grave danger,” he intoned, giving his honest result. In his system, clockwise rotation confirmed danger while counterclockwise meant the opposite.

To other Beyonders, even a Mystery Pryer, using pendulum dowsing could only determine if there was danger, but they would be unable to obtain additional information regarding the level of danger.

Meanwhile, Klein discovered that when he performed spirit dowsing, the pendulums spinning speed revealed the intensity of the response.

Although not extremely precise, it allowed for a rough assessment of the situation.

As expected of a Seer potion...Klein was rather pleased with the outcome.

Just as he was about to put away the yellow crystal pendulum, Leonard Mitchell—who had maintained silence at the back of the group—suddenly spoke, “Do another divination to see if there is danger in our surroundings.”

Dunn nodded in agreement. “Yes, I’m worried that the Secret Order won’t give up and may have placed Ryer Bieber’s hideout under constant surveillance. They could have followed us here and might cause trouble at some critical juncture.”

Klein took a deep breath and entered a calm, ethereal state once again. When the silver chain stilled, he recited in his mind:

“There is danger in our surroundings.”

...

“There is danger in our surroundings.”

...

He repeated it several times until, finally, when he opened his eyes, he observed that the yellow crystal pendulum had first moved counterclockwise with difficulty, then suddenly paused and began moving clockwise.

“There is danger in our surroundings,” Klein spoke cautiously, his nerves reactivating. He realized someone had tried to disrupt his divination but had lost the unseen confrontation.

No sooner had he finished speaking than an orange-yellow fireball—about the size of a fist—hurtled toward the group at blazing speed.

Captain Dunn, who had already drawn his long-barreled revolver before Klein’s divination, promptly raised his hand, aimed, and fired.

Bang!

The fireball didn’t seem to be affected by the gunshot but continued its original trajectory, as though it were forcing everyone to scatter from their spots.

Klein originally thought nothing of any troublemakers following them. After all, there were six Beyonders present, including experts in Sequence Eight and even Sequence Seven. It was a lineup that was practically unstoppable in a small city like Tingen.

But when the fireball smashed down, he came to a sudden realization.

For them, the most dangerous enemy was not the one tailing them, the person who had tried to disrupt their mission, or even Ryer Bieber, in his unknown state in the warehouse—but Sealed Artifact 2-049!

Once they dispersed and became embroiled in battle, they wouldn’t be able to wake one another in time. Then they would all turn into real-life puppets!

As these chaotic thoughts bombarded him, Leonard yanked Klein aside, and they both rolled on the ground away from the fireball.

Klein didn’t have time to lament his clothing. He saw the Nighthawks split into two groups, remaining orderly even as they dodged.

Poof!

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The orange fireball smashed onto the ground but didn’t stir a single speck of dust. It disappeared as though nothing had happened.

An illusion?Just as this thought came to him, Klein saw Ayer Harson lift the black chest and throw it at least ten meters away.

“Keep your distance! And watch over it!” Ayer shouted.

Before he finished, Leonard and Borgia had separately approached it from different directions. They each stood at least seven meters from the chest to prevent anyone else from getting near.

Dunn and Lorotta both drew their guns. They stood beside Ayer Harson, who had drawn a thin silver sword, and formed a semicircle as they rushed toward where the fireball had come from, all the while keeping an eye on their flanks.

Seeing this, Klein, who had left his cane behind in order to

maintain his arm movements, immediately heaved a sigh of relief. He realized he had overlooked an important matter.

Artifact 2-049 had a limited range of influence. As long as they maintained a sufficient distance from it, they need not worry about the danger it posed!

Klein jumped up at once. He stuffed his yellow crystal pendulum into his pocket with one hand and, with the other, reached into his shoulder holster and drew his revolver.