Lord of Mysteries

Chapter 412 Arrives in Succession

He seems to have Byron blood...a university lecturer...it is indeed Mr. Azik, not someone with the same name...Based on the information provided by old Kohler, Klein has basically confirmed that the wanted person is Azik, who is suspected to be a descendant of the Grim Reaper.

"Then the question is, who or which organization is looking for Mr. Azik?"

"The Cult of Souls, whose ultimate goal is to resurrect Death? And Ince Zangwill, who prefers to be the mastermind behind everything?"

"It's not quite the latter. Ince Zangwell has the sealed artifact 0-08, which can make the target act according to their own description and achieve their desired goal through a series of coincidences. He has absolutely no need to rely on gang members and bounty hunters to find Mr. Azik..."

"Wait, what if this was all part of the arrangement by the sealed artifact 0-08? Ince Zangwill found himself being targeted by Mr. Azik, but he wasn't confident of winning in battle, so he used 0-08 to create a conflict between Mr. Azik and a certain force, hoping to eliminate the enemy indirectly. And this bounty was issued by that force... It's very possible!"

"However, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Cult of Souls, or that Mr. Azik, in his pursuit of revenge, may have had some contact with them, but major disagreements arose between the two sides regarding matters such as resurrecting Death, ultimately leading to a break..."

Klein instantly thought of two possibilities and their corresponding reasons.

He picked up his coffee, took a sip, and then said to old Kohler:

"Could you find out who posted this bounty and the exact price? If it's suitable, I might keep an eye out for it."

"No problem." Old Kohler didn't think there was anything wrong with Klein's request.

In a sense, there is no essential difference between private detectives and bounty hunters. The only difference lies in their methods of expression. The former can do even trivial things like catching adulterers, finding cats, or walking dogs, and they prefer reasoning to violence.

After Old Kohler finished recounting his other observations, Klein, following the Night Watchman's tutorial, briefly taught him some techniques for extracting information and emergency response plans for specific scenarios.

"I should head to the docks now. Thank you, Detective Moriarty, for giving me back my wonderful life!" Old Kohler picked up the worn-out soft hat from the table and sincerely thanked him.

In his view, the detective not only provided him with a well-paid job, but also taught him many useful things. Even if the other party no longer needed informants in the future, these skills would be enough for him to barely survive in the East District, especially as he got older and less able to do heavy work.

A good life? In my opinion, you currently have only the most basic life a person can have... After watching old Kohler leave the cheap coffee shop, Klein sat there in a daze.

This was the first time he had heard his friend's name from someone else since arriving in Backlund, and also the first time he might have had the chance to track down Ince Zangwell!

For the past three months, especially after killing Lanius, Klein's main goal had been to digest the potion and improve himself.

Because he knew very well that there was an insurmountable gap between himself and Ince Zangwill, who was probably already a high-sequence powerhouse. Revenge could not be rushed, especially since the sealed artifact 0-08, which was chilling just to think about, made him not even have the idea of ​​approaching or investigating it.

Scenes from the Blackthorn Security Company in Tingen City flashed back into Klein's mind, the gleaming leather shoes as vivid as if they were right before his eyes.

Klein tilted his head back, slowly exhaled, picked up his scarf and hat, and walked out of the cheap coffee shop.

…………

Outside a somewhat dilapidated house in the Hillston district.

Klein stepped down from the carriage, adjusted his hat, and headed straight for the gate.

This is Essinger Stanton's home.

The great detective wrote to Klein a few days ago, inviting him to come over and discuss a murder case.

Klein, preoccupied with financing his bicycle project, politely declined the offer, saying he was too busy. However, Isengard Stanton paid no heed, stating that the case had reached a dead end and there would be no breakthrough in the short term. He expressed his eagerness for Sherlock Moriarty's visit and his anticipation for a thought-provoking exchange.

Klein had no choice but to consult the oracle to find an auspicious date for visiting the other party, choosing the closest one after the negotiations, which was this afternoon, and then replied to the other party to finalize the matter.

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

Klein rang the doorbell twice and stepped back to wait.

After a dozen seconds, the door creaked open, and Isengard's assistant smiled:

"Good afternoon, Detective Moriarty. Mr. Stanton is waiting for you in the living room. Would you like coffee or tea?"

The assistant was slender, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and appeared both refined and professional.

Klein looked up at him and said:

"Black tea, please, with less lemon slices."

"No problem." The assistant led Klein into the living room and pointed to the doorway to the sitting room. "I'm sorry, our servants are all temporary. They happen to be off today, so I'll have to trouble you to go there yourself."

Klein nodded slightly and stepped outside the living room on the first floor.

As he raised his hand to knock on the door, he suddenly felt something was amiss:

My visit to Mr. Stanton was arranged several days in advance. How could it be that all the temporary servants were on leave?

Klein narrowed his eyes and reached in to pull out a copper penny.

Just then, the living room door opened after being knocked on, revealing a small crack.

In an instant, it seemed as if some seal was broken, and a strong smell of blood wafted out and entered Klein's nostrils.

In his line of sight, the armchair in the living room was overturned and stained with dark red blood, with a book lying beside it, cover up.

With just that one glance, Klein felt as if he were witnessing the scene of a murder.

The title of that book then came into his view:

Legends of the Demons of the West Velas Region

The demon... Just as Klein was about to make a move, a sudden gust of wind swept through the living room, and he quickly pulled the door shut behind him.

Clang!

Klein got a clear view of the entire interior of the living room:

The charcoal in the fireplace had long since burned out, and no longer showed any red glow.

Coffee tables, sofas, chairs, cabinets and other items were overturned or broken, seemingly bearing witness to a fierce battle;

There were numerous bloodstains on the carpet and walls, along with many scorch marks, but no body could be found at the scene, not even any limbs.

Has something happened to Detective Stanton? Klein took a step back, intending to get away from here first.

Almost simultaneously, he felt himself being targeted by someone.

Someone, whose location is unknown, is coldly and indifferently watching him!

If he makes a mistake in his response, he will immediately face a fatal attack!

What kind of auspicious occasion is this for visiting Isinger Stanton? Is my interpretation of the revelation flawed? Klein dared not make any rash moves.

But he wasn't too nervous or flustered. Having experienced many battles and "performances," he knew that the most important thing at this moment was to remain calm.

Tap, tap, tap, Essinger Stanton's assistant came over carrying a tray.

On the tray were a tin teapot and two white porcelain cups.

The assistant froze in place when he saw the scene in the living room.

He looked at Klein, his expression suddenly filled with fear, and said, word by word:

"You killed Stanton, sir..."

With each word he uttered, a piece of flesh would fall off his face, leaving it covered in blood.

As soon as he finished speaking, he was torn to pieces, becoming a mangled corpse, just as he had always been, always in this state, only now he had been stitched back together.

Clang! Crash! The tin kettle and the white porcelain cup fell to the ground at the same time, some rolling and some splashing, while the black tea quickly soaked the surrounding area.

Klein didn't move, just watched it all unfold, because he felt he was still being watched.

The guy who did all this seemed to be waiting for him to make a move before pouncing on him from behind and biting off his neck.

After an unknown amount of time, in the silent and eerie standoff, Klein saw the door to the Isinger Stanton's house open, and a group of police officers in black and white checkered uniforms rushed in.

They discovered the gruesome and horrific dismembered body on the ground, immediately drew their revolvers, and pointed them at Klein at the living room door.

Faced with the dark muzzles of guns, Klein relaxed.

That silent gaze, which felt like a gun to the back of his head, vanished in that instant!

Klein raised his hands and smiled helplessly:

"I won't say anything until I see my lawyer."

…………

Backland Police Department, Hisak Bureau.

Klein, handcuffed to the water pipe, saw Jürgen's lawyer once again.

"I will accompany you during the interrogation." Jürgen's expression remained completely normal, as if Detective Moriarty was simply meant to be there.

Klein sighed and said:

"This is a tragedy. I should be thinking about what to eat for dinner, not chatting with a stern-faced police officer."

His greatest relief today was that, due to the Aurora Society's investigation and the attention of the high-sequence powerhouses of the Rose School, he hadn't brought any extraordinary items with him, and his only revolver had easily slipped through the body search with a "magical" performance.

Once inside the interrogation room, before the officer could even ask him any questions, he recounted in detail how he had received a letter from Essinger Stanton and had come to discuss a case at the officer's request.

"We'll be going to your house later with Attorney Jürgen to retrieve these letters; hopefully, they're still there." The officer in charge of the interrogation then asked, "How did you meet Detective Essinger Stanton?"

Klein answered without hesitation:

"Because of that previous serial murder case..."

He paused for a moment as he said this.

He remembered something: he had always suspected that the demon dog had an owner, and he had once snorted coldly at the scene where the demon dog was killed.

By the way, the book Stanton was reading before his attack was "The Legend of the Demons of the Westvilles"... Could it be that the owner of the demon hound, after a period of dormancy, launched a revenge attack? And Stanton was the person in the police records who provided the main clues or ideas and received the reward! Klein quickly made a guess.

(End of this chapter)