Chapter 169 Funeral
That afternoon, in the basement of St. Selina Church, in the guard room outside Chanis Gate.
After receiving treatment with ritual magic, Leonard's injuries had improved significantly, but his complexion was still very bad, as pale as if he had lost blood.
The night watchman lowered his head and sat on the chair with empty eyes, not daring to look forward.
Opposite him, Daly Simone, who had hurried over, looked even worse than him. It was as if she had put on whitening makeup, her face was bloodless and her lips were pale.
She had originally received a notice from the Holy Temple and came here to deal with the "increasingly powerful bomb", but she never expected that the first news she heard when she arrived in Tingen was the tragic news of the death of Dunn and others.
The woman didn't yell, get angry, or cry, which only made Leonard more worried.
From time to time, suppressed discussions could be heard from behind the Chanis Gate. The powerful men from the Holy Temple were discussing how to deal with the sealed artifacts in Tingen City. Without the suppression of the saint's relics, even after the seals had been re-arranged, they were still somewhat restless.
Opinions were divided into two camps. Some believed that new holy objects should be brought in as soon as possible to make up for the power of the seal, but others felt that this was unnecessary and that they could simply lower the level of the Tingen City team and transfer those seals with living properties to other parishes, leaving only the parts that were easier to seal.
Leonard outside the door ignored the argument on the other end. He just wanted to stay alone in an empty corner, or even die in the park in the morning. At least this way he wouldn't have to face other people's eyes or his own inner scrutiny.
Daly's face was expressionless, her eyes fixed on the wooden box on the table. Inside the box was a purple-red jelly-like substance. It was the only Beyonder characteristic left by the three sacrificed Nighthawks, a contaminated "witch" characteristic.
It was only then that Daly realized that the girl who fainted from being frightened by her lighting the gas lamp had become a Sequence 7 Beyonder.
She was curious about why Ince Zangwill took away Dunn and Klein's Beyonder characteristics and only kept Angel's.
But none of this matters. When I catch the renegade archbishop and use all the torture methods I know on him, he will definitely tell me everything.
The sound of footsteps came from far away, and then the door of the guard room was pushed open. Luo Yao Laiting, who had black hair and blue eyes and a scar on his forehead that was still bleeding, walked in with a stack of documents.
This morning, she went to the police headquarters to review documents. When she returned, Dunn had already led the other two to the park. While the Night Watchmen were attempting to rescue Tingen City, the "Sleepless One" was also assisting Xijia Teon and the inner watchers within the Chanis Gate in combating the activated seals. Fortunately, the Templar's support arrived in time, otherwise they would not have survived the battle.
"Leonard, this is the document I found this morning. A newly registered construction company was hired by Councilman Maynard to renovate the park. They have a permit to use explosives. I believe that if we follow up on this company, we should be able to find more clues."
What's the point of tracking these down now...
Leonard looked up, on the verge of a sharp response, but he stopped himself at the last moment.
The deaths of the Captain, Angel, and Crane were not her fault.
It was all Ince Zangwill's fault, the defector who absconded with the Sealed Artifact 0-08!
Moving his lips, he expressed the decision he had thought about for a long time:
"Luo Yao, I'm going to leave the Tingen team and apply to join the 'Red Gloves'."
Daly, who was sitting opposite him, shifted her gaze from the table to him.
"The Red Gloves require at least Sequence 7, and the dangers they face are much higher than those faced by ordinary Nighthawks. Furthermore, even if you join them, you may not be able to participate in the operation to capture Ince Zangwill."
Her tone wasn't as sharp as usual, but instead held a hint of concern.
"I'm ready for a promotion."
The corners of Leonard's mouth twitched, as if he was trying to put on an unruly smile, but the attempt ended in failure.
What danger could be more dangerous than today?
I'm willing to face any danger to capture Ince Zangwill!
He gritted his teeth and thought angrily.
Looking at the two people with different expressions, Luo Yao sighed, turned around and prepared to leave the depressing atmosphere in the detention room, but bumped into Coenli who had hurried over.
"Sorry, Luo Yao," the muscular, brown-haired Conley quickly straightened his posture and turned to face Leonard. "Leonard, there are two people visiting from upstairs. A middle-aged man named Benson Moretti and a girl named Melissa Moretti."
Hearing what Cornelius said, Leonard looked at him suddenly, with a hint of panic in his eyes.
"They said they were looking for Klein."
…
"I'm sorry, Klein died at the hands of vicious criminals while protecting Tingen City. He was a hero, a true hero."
In the reception hall on the second floor of Blackthorn Security Company, Leonard lowered his head and spoke in a dull tone.
He didn't dare to face Melissa, who was sitting on the sofa, motionless like a doll, and Benson, who was pursing his lips and had red eyes.
"You should already know that his work is related to the police department. They promised to give his family a certain amount of compensation. Together with the pension from Blackthorn Security Company, it is about 6,000 pounds..." He stared at Benson's legs across from him and spoke incoherently.
Damn, what am I talking about?
Leonard had just thought he could join the Red Gloves and face any danger, but now in front of Klein's brother and sister, he seemed like an underage child.
"Where's Angel? Why isn't she here? She said, she said Klein would..."
The girl's crying voice interrupted his thoughts.
"I'm sorry, Angel also died at the hands of the same criminal." Leonard answered softly. He raised his head and looked at Melissa, who was stunned and tearful.
Benson, who was sitting next to her, opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but finally closed it.
Leonard lowered his head again, avoiding the silent man's gaze. He just hoped that someone else would come to the reception hall soon, anyone, so that he could be relieved from the torment.
After a long while, Benson's hoarse voice rang out:
"Where are their remains? When can we see them?"
"The body... is inside the company. I can take you there right now."
Recalling the appearance of Klein and Angel's bodies, Leonard wanted to ask Melissa to stay in the reception hall, but looking at her unfocused eyes, he couldn't say no.
"Okay, thank you."
Benson rubbed his eyes, which were red beyond concealment, and pulled Melissa to her feet. The latter's movements were stiff and lifeless.
…
A corner of Raphael Cemetery in the North District.
Two funerals had already ended in succession, and everyone gathered around a new grave.
On the tombstone beside the pit was a black-and-white photo of Angel, a half-length photo of her taken when she had just joined the Night Watchers and kept for internal archiving. The young woman in the photo seemed a little shy, avoiding the camera's gaze.
The only relative she registered was her cousin who was studying far away in Backlund. The church had already tried to find her, but due to the lack of detailed information, there had been no results in just a few days.
The Holy Church requested that funerals be held for several fallen Beyonders as soon as possible, which was in line with its usual practice.
Although the Tingen Night Squad expressed dissatisfaction with the inhumane decision of the Temple, they could only bury Angel without the participation of his family.
Leonard came with his teammates carrying the coffin for the third time today. He looked blankly at Melissa and Roxanne crying beside the grave, Benson trying his best to maintain some composure, Tromi staring blankly at the grave, and Daly with a complicated expression and flickering eyes. He felt his eyes were a little sore.
The coffin was placed in the grave. After the pastor's eulogy and their own prayers, several men shoveled up the soil beside the pit and buried the black coffin.
"Big liar!"
Melissa suddenly burst into tears and her legs went weak, and she was about to fall. Luo Shan, who was beside her, quickly supported her.
Leonard suddenly stopped shoveling the soil, then sped up, as if this could calm his excited heart.
After filling the grave, everyone stood in front of the tombstone again to say their final goodbyes.
Next to Angel's grave was another victim who had just been buried, Klein Moretti.
I hope she won't object to our arrangement...
Leonard withdrew his gaze from Klein's tombstone and thought secretly. He suddenly felt a gaze from behind him. He turned around in confusion and scanned the cemetery, but found nothing.
…
On the hillside next to Raphael Cemetery, a man and a woman were looking at the funeral in the distance.
"How do you feel about your own funeral?"
One of them asked.
The other person shook his head blankly, as if he had just woken up from a dream.
"Then let's go. We still have to get to the Quiet Church."
After taking a last look at the crowd immersed in grief, the two figures quickly disappeared without leaving any trace.
…
The sun sets and the moonlight shines. After the hustle and bustle of the day, the Raphael Cemetery now seems even quieter and deserted.
A new tombstone bears three lines of epitaph:
“The best brother;
“The best brother;
“The best colleague.”
Suddenly, the stone slab on the grave was turned over, and a slightly pale hand stretched out from the soil.
It pushed open the coffin lid and dug up the soil above, creating a hole large enough for people to enter and exit. Klein Moretti then crawled out and looked around blankly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
