Chapter 14: Chapter XIV: The Descent of God is in Progress
49
Dunn opened St. Selena's urn, and Megose, sensing the mortal threat, glared at him and shouted:
"You're going to kill my child!"
"You must die!"
Bang! Dunn was hurled away by an invisible force, crashing into the opposite wall. The impact cracked the wall, sending bricks flying. He felt a searing pain in his chest and back, his mind momentarily fogged as blood spurted from his nose and the corners of his mouth. Yet, driven by sheer willpower, Dunn clutched St. Selena's urn, allowing the cold, black silk threads to twist around Megose's body, binding her firmly in place.
Ten seconds later, Klein and Leonard burst from behind the partition. Klein held a warm, thin piece of gold, while Leonard's left wrist bore the "vascular thief," his five fingers splayed towards Megose. Sensing the danger, Megose opened her mouth wide, but Leonard's fingers reluctantly closed, his wrist twisting half a circle.
Megose remained silent—Leonard had used the "vascular thief" to steal her ability to speak!
Seizing the opportunity, Klein whispered an ancient Hermetic word: "Light!"
The thin gold charm in his hand suddenly grew hot. Without hesitation, Klein poured most of his spirit into it, and the charm erupted in a dazzling golden light, as if a miniature sun had appeared in his hand! He hurled the charm at Megose, who, sensing the danger, struggled against it!
The reception hall was instantly flooded with light, banishing the darkness and gloom.
Klein and Leonard's eyes widened in shock.
The charm released its full power, the light and sun's energy shining brightly, but—the light was repelled. The charm was knocked aside before it could fully explode, discharging its energy near Megose instead, burning the threads that had imprisoned her.
In disbelief, they turned to see Dunn silently raising his revolver, smoke wafting from the barrel.
50
Dunn slammed into the wall, a haze of uncertainty clouding his vision. It felt as if a pair of hands gently held his shoulders, lifting his arms to help him aim the revolver at Klein, who was powerless against Megose's pursuit.
"Shoot," a voice whispered in his ear, its tenderness wrapping around his heart. "We agreed to kill them."
'Yes, I must kill Klein and Leonard because they stand in the way of the True Creator's descent,' Dunn thought, his mind clouded with certainty as he aimed at the disheveled Klein, the gun tracking his every move.
But then, a cold breath emanated from St. Selena's urn, like a splash of icy water shocking him back to his senses. Dunn suddenly remembered everything. His heart raced, cold sweat soaking his body. The Dream Demon within him trembled, and a sealed memory surfaced: that night, he had wandered into another's dream, receiving knowledge and sealing an inescapable deal. The terms were clear:
"From now on, you are my eyes and ears inside the Nighthawks," the demon had told him. "If anyone prevents God from descending, kill them."
"No..."
"Kill them."
The gentle voice whispered again. Due to the walls and partitions, Klein and Leonard couldn't see Dunn sweating profusely, his distorted face as he aimed the gun at their heads, his finger tightening on the trigger despite the terror in his eyes, his resistance meaningless.
"Don't even think about it...!!!!"
"No, I will... never harm my... teammates!!"
At that moment, Klein threw the charm and shouted: "Light!"
Boom!
As the light bloomed, Dunn felt the force controlling his body waver. With all his strength, he deflected the gun barrel just slightly, pulling the trigger at that moment. The charm was struck by the bullet, the sun-bright beam missing its target. Seizing the opportunity, Dunn immediately withdrew his hand, aimed the gun at his own temple, and pulled the trigger!
"Captain!"
"Captain, what are you doing?!"
He heard his teammates' frantic questions, but his throat failed to produce any sound. There was no sharp pain in his temple—the gun had misfired! He wasn't dead, but everything went dark and silent. Hands grabbed Dunn's cheeks, forcing him to look up.
He was staring into a pair of pure black eyes.
"You broke our deal."
"Your soul belongs to me."
The demon whispered in his ear, hands on Dunn's shoulders, lifting him gently as if straightening his clothes—but in reality, the demon was tearing his spirit from his body as lightly as if removing a garment. Dunn suddenly felt weightless, the deep darkness welcoming him. A faint smile of relief touched his lips as his lifeless eyes closed. He sank slowly into a dark, sweet dream, an unseen force forming a glassy shell around his spirit, enclosing him within it.
Luckily, I didn't... hurt my companions...
... Leonard, Klein... leave... quickly... run...
The glass shell slipped into the darkness, landing softly in the hands of a figure. He glanced at the new acquisition, then placed it on a table.
"Resistance is futile; there is no escape from a devil's bargain," Edward Vaughn said to Dunn. "Break the deal, and your soul is mine. Suicide is surrender, and surrender is a breach of contract. But even if you kill your companions to complete the deal, your guilt will consume you, corrupting your soul, which will still belong to me. From the moment the deal was made, your soul was already mine."
"Mr. Nightmare, you have a rather glorious soul... But just now, did the Eternal Blazing Sun glance here?"
"No, that must be the Mysteries. It seems I must change my plans..."
51
Dunn didn't pull the trigger. It took him a few moments to press the barrel against his temple again, and finally, his unfocused eyes regained their light.
"... I was influenced by the Offspring of the Evil God," he gasped, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth into the urn. Megose, who had begun to struggle, was suddenly restrained once more.
"Do you still have the charm? I'll keep her under control—activate it quickly!"
Klein hesitated for a moment. The captain's condition didn't seem right, but under the influence of the Evil God's heir, no one could remain completely normal. His spiritual intuition gave no warnings, and the critical situation left no time for doubt. Fortunately, Klein had a second Sun Flame Charm at hand. He subconsciously followed Dunn's urgent command, drawing the charm from his pocket, imbuing it with spirituality, and uttering the majestic ancient Hermes incantation, raising his arm to throw it at Megose.
"Don't listen to him!" An old voice cried out, "Run!"
"Klein!" The Midnight Poet suddenly roared, lunging forward to tackle Klein, who was about to hurl the charm. Both men lost their balance, tumbling together and sliding two or three meters across the floor. The Seer who is muttering the spell froze his lips as he watched in horror as the thin threads binding Megose vanished. In an instant, Megose lunged at them, barely missing Leonard's toes.
If Klein had stayed where he was, Megose would have torn him apart.
Megose's arm had morphed into a sharp bone blade, her fingers twisted into claws capable of shredding flesh. She struck where Klein had just been standing, her claws leaving deep gouges in the floor. Klein's face paled as he quickly threw the Sun Flame Charm in his hand. This time, the golden light erupted in the right place, engulfing Megose, who had no time to evade!
Taking advantage of the moment, Klein and Leonard scrambled further away. Megose turned into a blazing ball of fire, thrashing on the ground, her terrible screams echoing. The scorching heat and light washed over them, dispelling some of the fear gripping their hearts.
"How did you know to push me away?"
"Instinct, pure instinct! And it was right!" Leonard panted as he helped Klein to his feet. His actions had been fueled by adrenaline and instinct, and now, fear gripped him.
Leonard rubbed his arm, relieved—until the old voice rang in his head again, more serious than ever. He froze in place as if struck by lightning: "Run! Stay away from him—away from him! Pray to the Evernight Goddess! Pray! Quickly!!"
Dunn released his hold on the urn, letting it roll to the ground. The golden flames on Megose's body gradually died out, and apart from her grotesquely swollen belly, nothing human remained. The resentment of the Evil God's heir, thwarted from being born, was directed at the two Nighthawks. Both Klein and Leonard felt a chill run down their spines, instinctively reciting the goddess's name in their hearts.
"You're not fully mature yet; he's too impatient." 'Dunn' nudged the urn with his foot, ignoring the two Nighthawks as he glanced at the bustling town outside through a gap in the wall, nodding in satisfaction. "I'll help you."
'Dunn' raised his hand, palm up, and clenched his fist tightly.
——
The peaceful day was abruptly shattered, as if the illusion of calm was suddenly ripped away. The catalyst for this chaos could have been the thieves fleeing in panic, pulling out their guns and inadvertently shooting a police officer. The bullet entered his eye socket, lifting off his hat and half of his skull, splattering blood on the bodies of passing gentlemen and ladies. Or perhaps it was the nobleman at a banquet who, after a violent coughing fit, spat out a large blood clot before collapsing and dying in it. His bodyguards, in an attempt to maintain order, only added to the chaos as the falling chandeliers and distant gunshots ignited the festering panic. Maybe it was a simple street brawl that spiraled out of control, ending when a thug's dagger slashed the neck of a homeless man, releasing a torrent of blood and fear.
Everything was set ablaze, and the city teetered on the brink of destruction.
Screams erupted, and fear and confusion spread like a plague. People fled aimlessly through the streets, their cries mingling with the gunfire that felled the officers meant to keep order. Their bodies, left in pools of blood, only deepened the terror that gripped the city.
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion—perhaps a gas leak had ignited—sending bright yellow flames roaring from the corner of the lower street. The simple shacks made of dirty cloth became perfect fuel for the fire, and within minutes, half a block was consumed by flames. The wind carried the fire further, engulfing the entire lower street.
Panicked horses threw their coachmen from their saddles, and runaway carriages crashed into walls. The cacophony of screams, wind, cries, prayers, and burning fires drowned the city in chaos. In mere moments, half of Tingen was plunged into bloodshed and anarchy. Those desperate to survive rushed home or fled to churches, but the stampedes and overcrowding only added to the rising death toll.
The true cause of this madness, lay two streets away. When the "Angel of the Abyss" clapped his hands, a dark world briefly flashed from the spirit world and merged with Tingen's ground. The city was silently severed from the real world, and as the sun dimmed, everyone unconsciously wandered through the black plains of the abyss. The Angel observed it all and calmly uttered a single word:
"Chaos."
In the eye of the storm that determined Tingen's fate, the Nighthawks' building was eerily still, almost dead silent. Klein maintained a backward dodge stance, seemingly frozen, though a closer look revealed slow, almost imperceptible movements. The baby in Megose's womb thrived on the negativity of the chaos, while Leonard stood on a clock smeared with shadows, its second hand seemingly welded in place, stretching time to its limit.
In this crisis, Pallez squeezed out what little power he had left, barely stabilizing Megose's heir and the undeveloped evil god who is focused on absorbing nutrients. He saved Leonard and Klein from the brink of death.
"You're not Amon, but there's still a living Worm of Time?" The demon turned to Leonard with interest. "You're more valuable than this Mr. Nightmare. I never expected a hidden Sequence One in Tingen."
Leonard gritted his teeth.
The bizarre expression on Dunn's face deepened Leonard's fear. In this almost static world, something wearing the captain's skin approached step by step, its once deep gray eyes now filled with malicious joy. "You may need help. I can help you escape Amon's tracking, and I can help you catch some lonely Amon as a snack. You hate and fear him, don't you? The gaze of the Goddess of the Night has not yet fallen, and the Eternal Blazing Sun has withdrawn its gaze. Staying here will only lead to the burial of the city and the birth of a god."
"The emperor you once swore allegiance to was once my ally, wasn't he? We could actually work together..."
Leonard was horrified by the secret knowledge he had just heard, and his fear and rejection of the mysterious being parasitic on him intensified. Isn't the imminent god the "True Creator"?! The old man's allegiance was to his ally, so wasn't the old man the companion of the being before him, the enemy of the Nighthawks and even the Seven Gods?! Wasn't he the one who led the wolf into the fold, rendering all struggles and efforts mere entertainment in his eyes? Regret consumed Leonard as he reached for his pouch, contemplating self-judgment and atonement.
"Don't be rash!" Pallez growled. His voice, like thunder, interrupted Leonard's guilt and self-blame. "Use your brain! Didn't you realize he deliberately told you this news?! He left out the key part to provoke us and lead you into despair. Otherwise, he could have said more and made you blow your head off on the spot!"
"You seem to understand demons well. I'm starting to believe we could work together." "Dunn" smiled.
"Who are you?!" Leonard finally found an opening to speak. "What happened to the captain?!"
"Dunn" looked at him and spoke in a voice that Leonard couldn't hear.
"Bastard! Are you insane?! Don't ask him!" Exhausted, Pallez took away Leonard's hearing. "Don't listen, don't look! If you accept anything from him, willingly or unwillingly, he'll strike a 'deal' with you or even forge a 'contract'!!"
"This is like the Roselle tragedy you read about in church school, where a little girl traded one of her sweets for the lives of an entire city! Your captain must have accidentally received something from her and paid the price with his soul!"
The thought of paying with his soul made Leonard's face go pale.
"I think it's a win-win deal, don't you?" the demon grinned. "Isn't it wonderful? My friend won, I completed part of the ritual and got some candy, and the little girl won the life of her enemies."
At that moment, as Pallez's successor teetered on the edge of death, Edward Vaughn felt a strange sensation. He looked up and noticed a tinge of red mingling with the pale sun in the sky. Slowly, the red overtook the sun, inch by inch. The black sky seemed to come alive with stars, spreading from the corners like a lifted curtain, covering everything in a layer of night.
"The Evernight Goddess stands higher than the cosmos
and more eternal than eternity.
The Mother of Concealment,
The Empress of Misfortune and Horror,
Mistress of Repose and Silence."
The power of tranquility descended from the heavens, drawing "Dunn's" gaze away from Leonard to the soothsayer in the corner. The soothsayer, moving with great difficulty, chanted the name of the Goddess of the Night over and over again at a normal pace in the slowed world.
My abyss has been invaded, he realized. After all, I am just an angel.
"I pray for your attention; I pray for your descent."
"The child of the evil god has been born. I pray that you save the city."
So, she really is here... The Abyss Angel smiled, shaking his head as the crimson moonlight enveloped the entire city.
————————
Edward's plans change process:
Initial Plan: Arrive, address the anomaly, and leave.
Arrival: Discover that anomaly 0-08 is present, prompting further investigation.
Discovery: Read Ins Zangwill's notes and realize that this small place has many hidden troubles, leading to the decision to stay longer.
Control: Take control of Dunn, believing the situation is secure and foolproof.
Modification: Upon noticing the Sun Flame Charm, adjust the plan. The original idea was to carry out a blood sacrifice on the entire city in reality to promote to Sequence One.
Revised Plan: Instead, with the rudimentary form of the Kingdom of the Divine, attempt to divide reality and plan to swallow Tingen in the abyss, leading to the promotion.
Unexpected Development: Klein recites the honorific name normally, unexpectedly drawing the attention of the Goddess of the Night.
Reluctance: Despite feeling weary after revising the plan multiple times, Edward acknowledges that the task still needs to be completed.
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