Chapter 93 Report and "Acting"
"Belle Clement praised you to the skies in his telegram."
As soon as Angel sat down, Dunn waved the telegram in his hand and said.
"Oh, how did he praise it?"
Angel asked curiously, indeed curious about what others thought of him.
"Hmm," Dunn cleared his throat and read the telegram. "He said that during the attack on the cargo warehouse in the port area, you helped your teammates escape a state of imminent collapse. You also made outstanding contributions in the battle against the Sequence 6 'Rose Bishop', successfully defeating Mr. C of the Aurora Society and nearly killing him. Then, you successfully counterattacked a surprise attack by another 'Mechanical Heart' defector who was carrying a mysterious item, and... um, how did you almost kill him again?"
"Because both of them ran away in the end..."
Angel was also very ashamed. She was sure that she had thoroughly stabbed the traitor of "Mechanical Heart" Thomas, but in the blink of an eye, the other party's body disappeared in the cellar, which made her battle testimony somewhat unconvincing.
As for the tenacious "Mr. C", judging by his various strange flesh and blood magic, his escape from near death is not so surprising.
After concealing some information about the magical item he possessed, "Thirst for Blood," Angel told Dunn Smith about the process of gathering the Nighthawks from various teams at Enmat Harbor and launching the operation in advance without waiting for the Backlund team to arrive. The latter listened carefully and wrote something in his notebook from time to time. This seemed to be his effort to fight against memory loss.
"2-031 'Hand of Declaration'... I've seen this Sealed Artifact. It's a combination of a Beyonder item that appeared after the death of a Mid-Sequence Beyonder from the 'Arbitrator' pathway, and a leather glove. As long as you understand your opponent's abilities and use this Sealed Artifact wisely, its power is second only to the 'Saint's Relic' that guards the Chanis Gate."
Because he needed to conceal the fact that he was carrying a magical item, Angel attributed all the damage and restrictions inflicted on Mr. C during the battle to the Sealed Object "2-031". He thought Dunn would be suspicious, but he also marveled at the power of the "Hand of Declaration".
"The Saint's relic... is that also a sealed object?"
"It's not referring to a specific seal, but rather a protective measure that every Church of the Evernight Church, and all 'Chaness Gates', possess to suppress other seals. The church in Tingen City is called 'Saint Selina Church,' named after a saint who was active during the founding of the Church of the Evernight Goddess. After her death, this saint, who was active in the Third Age, had her ashes interred within the 'Chaness Gate' beneath the church."
"Similarly, part of St. George's remains are buried beneath St. George's Church in Enmat Harbor. They are all called 'Saint's Relics'."
Saints... According to the church's records, only Sequence 4 or Sequence 3 Beyonders are called "Saints," and above them are "Earthly Angels"... Could it be that after the death of high-sequence Beyonders, in addition to releasing Beyonder characteristics, even parts of their remains will become powerful magical items?
"So what powers do these 'saint relics', such as Saint Selina's ashes, possess?"
She finally couldn't help herself and asked the question.
Dunn smiled faintly, which made the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes more obvious, even though this night watchman was only over thirty years old.
"They have no power, they simply represent the glory of the saints who have done great things for the Goddess and the Church."
I don’t believe it…
Angel guessed that Dunn might have told such an obvious lie for confidentiality reasons, but for the same reason, she couldn't ask any further questions. She could only secretly keep this information in mind and let it go.
"Oh, besides Clement's telegram, the Mechanical Heart in Port Enmat also sent a thank-you letter." Dunn patted his head, as if he had just remembered this. He took out another telegram from the drawer and handed it to Angel.
She took the telegram and read it carefully.
"... Thank you to Miss Angel Granger, the Nighthawk, for your timely assistance when Ms. Kavi was attacked, and for severely injuring the defector Tomas in the subsequent battle. Please inform us of any follow-up intelligence regarding Tomas... Hmm, I don't see much gratitude in this. It seems as if you're blaming us for not sharing other information with them in a timely manner."
"Their style has always been like this. The Mandated Punisher was actually even more extreme. Some of their thank-you letters sounded like manifestos. Of course, don't get me wrong, they really are thanking you."
After criticizing the official Beyonders of the Church of the Lord of Storms and the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, the two finally got the topic back on track.
"When you officially became a member of the Nighthawks last week, I told you that you would need to complete a single commission as a 'trial' to join the Nighthawks and gain recognition from the other members."
"Yes, I remember."
Angel nodded and replied that she had no idea why Dunn brought up this matter at this time.
"You completed your mission at Enmat Harbor perfectly. You saved over a hundred people who had been lured and kidnapped, repelled the Sequence 6 Beyonder, and survived to the end. No parts were missing from your body, and there was no hidden risk of contamination or loss of control..."
Dunn paused here.
Angel also thought of Rupert Norman, who had put on the "Hand of Proclamation" in advance and rashly opened his spiritual vision in the cellar, looking directly at the statue of the real Creator.
Fortunately, he didn't have any sequelae in the end...
"...In short, I believe your performance in this mission is enough to prove you don't need to take on other commissions."
"so?"
Angel had guessed what Dunn was about to say, but he still asked cooperatively.
"So you can join us for the dinner tonight."
"Are you having a dinner tonight?"
"Don't you know?" This time, it was Dunn who was stunned. He rubbed his eyes. "Didn't Klein tell you? He single-handedly completed a commission yesterday morning, helping Sir Videl escape the resentment of a sick worker who died. He completed the 'trial' before you. Tonight's dinner is to celebrate him."
Hmm, just now, due to the negative effects of the "Magic Pocket Watch", there was a lot of chaos. Maybe Klein forgot to tell me?
"Anyway, at six o'clock in the evening, at Old Vail Restaurant, don't miss the delicious food."
Dunn said this with a smile, but then his expression suddenly darkened as if he had thought of something else.
"It's a pity that Daly couldn't attend. She had originally planned to come from Enmat Port to congratulate you and Klein after hearing about this. But she received a last-minute notice and was transferred to the Backlund Diocese."
Captain, are you sure Ms. Daly came to Tingen because of me and Klein?
but……
"Transferred to Backlund? I just came back from Enmat Port and haven't heard of this."
Angel began to doubt his memory again. Could it be that the memory loss symptoms of "Nightmare" would be contagious to the people around him, or that the memory of his lost day had not completely returned to his mind?
"I only learned about this from a telegram. When Clement reported Saturday night's battle to the Cathedral, Daly made another special request. It seems she discovered during the battle that she had fully mastered the Psychic potion and plans to advance to Sequence 6 in the near future."
Sequence 6... The first person Angel thought of was Madam Sharon, who had the guts to break into the Nighthawks' base alone, and then Mr. C, the "Rose Bishop" who had escaped after being burned into a pool of flesh.
Is Dailey Simone, this extraordinary person who is only in her early 20s, about to enter the same realm as these people?
"You should know that the internal regulations of the Nighthawks are that after taking each stage of potion, you must wait three years and undergo strict inspections to ensure that it does not get out of control before applying for the next stage of potion."
"For someone with average talent like me, three years is often not enough. It took me three years to advance from 'Sleepless' to 'Midnight Poet,' and a full nine years to advance to 'Nightmare.' Now another three years have passed. I wonder how many more years it will take before I can master this sequence of potions and attempt to advance."
Dunn's face turned bitter when he said this. He rubbed his fingers, leaned back, and changed the position of his legs before continuing.
"Daly and I, or rather, most Beyonders, are different. She seems to possess a unique talent for mastering and digging potions. Just one year after becoming a 'Corpse Collector,' she submitted a special application, passed the rigorous examination, and took the next stage of potions in advance, becoming a Sequence 8 'Gravedigger.'"
"It only took her one year to advance from Sequence 8 to Sequence 7 Psychic. She's only 24 this year, and has been a Beyonder for exactly five years. The Holy Church must have judged that she still has ample opportunity, so they transferred her to the most important diocese."
He advanced from Sequence 9 to Sequence 7 in just two years. This is very similar to Cole Granger. Could it be that Daly has also figured out a way to quickly digest potions?
Angel thought of the mysterious "psychic" Daly, who wore eye shadow and dressed up, and began to understand the secret of her rapid promotion.
"Since Daly has a knack for quickly mastering potions, why don't you ask her?"
"Of course I asked. She made me a 'nightmare', a real 'nightmare'..."
Dunn's eyes were a little confused under his light brown bangs. He had obviously been confused by this answer for a long time and could not find a real way to interpret it.
Becoming a "nightmare"...
Hearing this tip, Angel understood. Daly must have mastered the "acting method" or a similar summary of experience. However, it is very likely that like Kavi, who swore not to reveal the law of immortality of Beyonder characteristics, she also needed to abide by a similar oath. Therefore, she could only give some indirect advice to Dunn, who had stayed at Sequence 7 for a full nine years.
But why did the Church want to block this knowledge? The Nighthawks did this, as did the Mechanical Heart. They made every Beyonder who knew the secret knowledge swear not to reveal the secret (although Kawi proved that this oath was not absolutely effective), even if it would reduce the Beyonder's success rate of safe and rapid promotion.
If the law of immortality of Beyonder characteristics might cause internal strife among official Beyonders, and concealing it from the lower classes is understandable, then why should the "Acting Law," a code that has been proven to be effective...
Wait, I learned about the "Acting Method" from Cole's memories and Mrs. Sharon's teachings before I joined the Nighthawks. It's not restricted by the church...
A light seemed to appear before Angel's eyes.
"A nightmare has to become a true 'nightmare,' a psychic has to consider himself a true 'psychic,' and a fortune teller has to actively practice 'divination' in his spare time... Is becoming the character represented by the potion's name the key to mastering the potion?"
She pretended to talk to herself and whispered these words softly.
Dunn Smith's gray eyes froze like frozen lake water.
"...Nightmare, become 'nightmare'..."
He lowered his head and fell into deep thought, no longer speaking.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Angel did not disturb Dunn, but gently moved the chair away, opened the door and walked out.
Just as the office door closed, Angel seemed to hear Dunn whisper something.
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