831 Just Inches Away (1/2)

Upon seeing Leonard, Klein's back muscles instantly stiffened. His nerves tensed up like a fully-drawn bow that could snap at any moment.

He remembered very clearly that Leonard had a Marauder pathway angel, Pallez Zoroast, parasitizing him. ”He” could sense the uniqueness about his body and, from that, see through his disguise.

If that Grandpa were to inform Leonard of the problem with the Keeper in front of him, that would be troublesome. I'll just have to hope that my dear poet is afraid that his secret will be exposed and that he would feign ignorance… Back in Tingen, although he often said that everyone has their secrets and that there's no need to worry about it, that's all regarding matters pertaining to the Church. Who knows if he suddenly feels the need to uphold justice and decides to be loyal and take the risk to expose me. After all, this matter is very similar with Ince Zangwill's… At that moment, Klein's forehead nearly broke out into a sweat.

To be frank, he never expected to encounter Leonard while heading to Chanis Gate because he was a Red Glove and not an ordinary Nighthawk. There was no need for him to be on duty, so there wasn't a need for him to be here at that moment in time.

However, Klein immediately thought of a crucial point.

The one who could detect his uniqueness was Pallez Zoroast and not Leonard Mitchell. The former's attitude was more important!

The Grandpa knows that I know of ”His” existence. Once ”He” exposes my disguise and pushes me into a corner, ”He” has to be prepared to be exposed by me. When the time comes, we will definitely be trading blows with each other, benefiting no one. And for an angel from the Marauder pathway who doesn't believe in the Goddess, there's no need for that… If I were ”Him,” I would pretend that nothing had happened. I wouldn't even remind Leonard Mitchell, leaving my safety to be decided by my host… As he quickly cleared his train of thought, Klein composed himself and walked over towards the red-gloved Leonard Mitchell.

Leonard indifferently looked at the Keeper with grizzled sparse hair. He couldn't help but raise his right hand to cover his mouth and yawn.

He has nothing better to do because he doesn't sleep at night, so he'd gone to the duty room to play cards with the person on duty? What a perfect Sleepless… Klein roughly understood the reason for the Red Glove poet appearing.

He recalled the reactions of the Keepers when they met Nighthawks in Tingen. He silently nodded his head at Leonard and drew a moon with his right index and middle finger, tapping his chest four times in a clockwise manner.

Leonard used the same action in response as he passed by the Keeper without noticing anything.

Klein silently exhaled as he maintained his usual pace and gait until he reached his destination.

The iron-black double door was heavy and cold. Engraved on it were seven Sacred Emblems appearing as though nothing could stir it.

Klein turned his body to the side and took two steps to the side. He knocked on the Keeper's door, and under the gaze of the Nighthawk on duty, he opened Chanis Gate.

The darkness deep inside immediately surged out. Even though there were silver candles with engraved patterns burning silently inside, they were unable to disperse such a feeling. And the ghostly-blue flame accentuated the deathly silence.

Meanwhile, Klein felt that something invisible in the darkness was grazing past his skin and entering deep into his body. It passed through the boundary of reality and illusions, connecting to Wraith Senor.

Suddenly, without even activating his Spirit Vision, he saw black threads covering the area behind Chanis Gate. They were gently swaying, either bundled or extended out as though a lady was spreading out her hair, or some monster was flailing its tentacles.

Klein walked forward with a deadpan expression. After entering the sealed land, he turned around and closed Chanis Gate.

At that moment, all the sounds outside were completely cut off. The silence inside was like a kingdom of the dead. It made him imagine and feel fear. Klein was reminded of himself occasionally watching the darkness in bed with his eyes open. He didn't dare to sleep even though he hadn't heard any ghost stories.

It's no wonder the Goddess has the title of Empress of Horror… Klein cast his gaze to the side and raised the lantern in the corner, lighting it with great familiarity.

Dim yellow light immediately poured out before being tainted with a ghostly blue.

Klein, who was wearing a black clergyman's robe, wasn't in a rush to head for basement two to search for the Antigonus family's notebook. Instead, he stayed behind the gate and patiently waited.

He was doing so in the event that the Nighthawks were in urgent need of something but could only wait until daybreak since they were unable to retrieve them at night.

Based on his experience, Keepers were most easily disturbed in the first five minutes of them entering Chanis Gate. As long as he survived that period, and as long as there weren't any additional accidents, the normal retrieval process of materials would happen after eight. That was the standard working hours of the Nighthawks and civilian staff.

In other words, once Klein lasted the first five minutes, he wouldn't be disturbed by the Nighthawks for the next two hours. Of course, he didn't have that much time for his operation. The Church of Evernight opened at eight, and the servants would wake up an hour or an hour and a half ahead of time to get down to work. After half-past six, the other servants could realize that one of them was missing!

Time ticked by as Klein's heartbeat couldn't help but speed up. He found the five minutes excruciating.

Finally, his countdown finally ended as he cast his gaze towards the stone stairs in the darkness. it was the passage that led to the second floor.

At that moment in time, there was no one in here that could restrict him!

At this stage, Klein believed that he had overcome 70% of the difficulties. The remaining 30% consisted of how he would leave after obtaining the notebook.

Of course, there was always a certain chance for all kinds of accidents to happen. Klein didn't wish to be careless as he raised a lantern and walked to the stone staircase.

To other Beyonders, the first level behind Chanis Gate was actually a lot more attractive than the Sealed Artifacts. There were all kinds of Beyonder ingredients, potion formulas, and secret knowledge here. There were even captured heretics that had been apprehended, as well as unaffiliated Beyonders. Be it trying to be rich, to advance, or to rescue their companions, an infiltrator just needed to search around this level.

However, Klein needed to head deeper inside where the dangerous items were sealed.