Aiven's words startled the bishop on the other side of the confessional, as the bishop in charge of the confessional was responsible for collecting intelligence on extraordinary events that might occur around believers.
However, it was the first time the old bishop had seen someone use the confessional to report a heretic, and having experienced many things and being well-informed, the old bishop greatly suspected whether this young man making the report had already been corrupted by an evil god.
After a moment of silence, just as Aiven was about to speak again, the old bishop said:
"You are a devout believer of the Goddess, and the Goddess will surely bless you. Leave the confessional now, turn left, and you will see a Door. The first room on your right after entering is my office. Please wait inside; a specialized bishop will come to find you. Remember not to wander around once you are inside."
Upon hearing this, Aiven knew that the old bishop wanted to stabilize him, a potential cultist of an evil god, but he didn't mind. He stood up and respectfully said:
"As you command!"
After speaking, he picked up his cane, placed his hand on his chest, bowed slightly, performed a salute, and then left the confessional, turning into the room the old bishop had mentioned.
After confirming Aiven had left, the old bishop quickly pulled some ropes nearby, summoned a priest, and instructed him to notify the Nighthawks about the situation, while he himself remained calm, pretending as if nothing had happened, waiting for the next confessor.
Just then, Klein Moretti had already consumed the Seer potion in the morning and learned how to use "Spirit Vision" and other knowledge. He emerged from underground and saw his captain, Dunn.
Captain Dunn was also giving Klein his final instructions:
"You must remember, curiosity kills the cat, and it also kills the Beyonder. Do not try to investigate whispers that shouldn't be heard or existences that shouldn't be seen."
"Understood, Captain!" Klein knew this was another reminder from the Captain about Beyonder losing control.
But just as Klein was about to take his leave and go home for a good night's sleep to recover the mental energy he had expended from practicing "Spirit Vision" all morning, Leonard, with his poetic demeanor, rushed over and said to Dunn:
"Captain, a priest from the church sent a message. A believer of the Goddess wants to report a heretic who worships an evil god. The old bishop is worried that this believer might have been in contact with the heretic and could be corrupted, so he asked us to take a look!"
Dunn was also an experienced Nighthawk, having dealt with many Beyonder incidents, but this was the first time he had heard of someone who had been in contact with an evil god's follower voluntarily coming to the church to report them. After all, most people, even if they noticed such things, would likely keep their distance and avoid them, or in rare cases, actively join to gain Beyonder power.
Moreover, cultists are usually very cautious. Those who would expose themselves are typically potential followers who have passed their tests. Dunn found it hard to imagine that an ordinary person could withstand the test of an evil god's follower without being problematic themselves, let alone dare to come to a righteous church.
Dunn thought for a moment and said directly to Leonard: "It's not out of the question that this is a trap set by an evil god cultist. To prevent any accidents, you and Old Neil should have the priests evacuate the relevant believers as quickly as possible, and also have the other clergy stay far away from that room, evacuating to the Black Thorns Company. You go first; I'll be right there."
Leonard glanced at the weary-looking Klein, nodded in agreement, and turned to leave in a hurry.
Seeing that something like this had happened at the church, Klein couldn't pretend he hadn't heard and just go home to sleep, so he proactively said:
"Captain, I'll go too. Although I'm not good at combat, I have demon-hunting bullets that can cause damage. After all, the situation is unclear right now, and one more person means one more strength." As he spoke, Klein patted the revolver hidden under his armpit.
Dunn hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded in agreement, then instructed:
"You go to the church now and help Leonard and Old Neil evacuate the crowd. I'll go to the Chanis Gate to retrieve a Sealed Artifact and will be right there."
Klein didn't waste any words and immediately went through the tunnel to the church to help evacuate the crowd.
Soon, the ordinary congregants in the church were evacuated, and the clergy and bishops without Beyonder abilities also went through the tunnel to the 'Black Thorns Company' on another street.
Meanwhile, Leonard, Klein, and Old Neil stood guard outside the room where Aiven was, carefully maintaining their vigilance.
After a short while, Captain Dunn appeared before Klein and the others, holding a messy but dark clump of quiet hair and several Black Night Church robes.
"Sealed Artifact 3-0611, quiet hair. It can make anyone who touches it lose all desire. It won't be triggered unless it's directly touched with the flesh."
Klein had just consumed the potion and didn't understand this Sealed Artifact, so Leonard explained it to him in a low voice.
Klein looked at the gloves Captain Dunn was wearing and nodded solemnly, indicating that he understood.
Captain Dunn clearly had a plan for how to handle this matter. He directly handed the quiet hair to Leonard and then said:
"Right now, the situation is completely unclear. The person inside might have been in contact with an evil god cultist. He might or might not have been corrupted. If I rashly pull him into a dream, it might instead trigger the problems within him.
So, we will approach him as church clergy. I will assess the situation and pull him into a dream. If there's any abnormality, Leonard is responsible for controlling him with 3-0611, Old Neil is responsible for quickly setting up a ritualistic magic to stabilize his condition, and if Old Neil fails, Klein will fire the demon-hunting bullets. Understood?"
"Understood!" Klein and the other two said in low voices. Then, they took the robes Dunn had collected, pretended to be church clergy, and opened the room Door.
But what Klein didn't expect was that as soon as Captain Dunn and his teammate Leonard entered the room and saw the young man who had come to report, they froze on the spot, while he and Old Neil were somewhat bewildered.
Aiven saw the four people suddenly enter the room and immediately locked onto Klein, who had black hair, brown eyes, and a strong scholarly aura. He exclaimed in surprise:
"Klein? Why are you here? Have you mastered mysterious Beyonder powers?"
When Klein heard Aiven call his name, he also felt that the person in front of him was somewhat familiar. It took him a while to remember that the person before him was the dream lover of many girls at Hoy University, and he had met him at his classmate Welch's house, where Welch had introduced them.
It was just that the original Klein felt inferior due to the gap between his family background and the other party's, so he rarely initiated conversations with him. Therefore, their relationship wasn't intimate, but they were considered acquaintances.
Seeing Aiven greet him with a look of pleasant surprise and excitement, Klein suppressed his awkwardness and said to Aiven, the original Klein's acquaintance:
"Hello, Aiven!"
"Mr. Aiven, you said you had clues about a heretic. Why didn't you mention it when we went to your house this morning? Instead, you ran to the church to report it?"
Leonard's words came just in time, diverting Aiven's attention and easing Klein's tension and embarrassment from encountering an acquaintance of the original Klein.
Aiven glanced at Leonard but didn't answer his question. Instead, he swept his eyes across the clerical robes worn by Dunn and the others, raised an eyebrow, and smiled as he retorted to Dunn:
"Should I address you as Officer, or as Bishop?"
Dunn's deep gray eyes stared at Aiven, as if trying to see into Aiven's heart. After a long moment, he finally spoke:
"You can call me whatever you like; after all, we do have police prepared by. Did you report the heretic just to draw us out?"
Dunn recalled how he had pulled Aiven into a dream that morning, and Aiven had revealed his desire to find them in the dream. He had even planned to remind the relevant police department personnel to be more vigilant, but he didn't expect Aiven to be so proactive, showing up at their doorstep just a few hours later.
Aiven smiled and nodded, but then quickly shook his head and said with a laugh:
"Ever since I started university, I've been fascinated by mysticism and mysterious Beyonder powers. And I've always firmly believed that the church must possess Beyonder power.
A few days ago, I heard that Welch and Naya had an accident. Through an acquaintance at the police station, I secretly examined their bodies myself and became convinced that they must have encountered a mysterious evil force.
The obituaries and news about them published early in the newspapers proved that my speculation about your existence was correct.
And this morning, after you left, the more I thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. What kind of police officer would unauthorizedly investigate a murder case that the higher-ups had already closed?
And Welch and Naya were both believers of the Goddess, so I decided to come here to test you out.
Sure enough, you were all tricked out by me!"
As he spoke, Aiven's eyes playfully scanned the four people in front of him, and he grew more and more smug.
Dunn and the others looked at the triumphant Aiven, and all fell silent.
Having hunted eagles all their lives, they were finally caught by an eagle in the eye. The Nighthawks went to great lengths to conceal their identities and Beyonder powers from the public, yet they never expected to be collectively tricked out by someone. It was truly humiliating.
At the same time, Dunn felt a bit fortunate that the person who came to their Door was just an ordinary mysticism enthusiast. If it had been a scheming cultist, it would have been disastrous. He decided that after this matter was resolved, he would go back and report to his superiors, admit his Error, and request disciplinary action.
Just as Dunn and the others were silent, Aiven excitedly asked Klein:
"Klein, how did you join them? What are the requirements to join? Can I join?"
Klein didn't know how to answer and could only look at Captain Dunn.
Dunn looked at the expectant Aiven and said in a serious tone:
"This is not something you should know, Mr. Aiven. The Beyonder circle is very dangerous, and I don't recommend you join it. Furthermore, it's not easy for us to recruit you because your brother once personally came to our Door and specifically instructed us not to recruit you into this circle, and he did so as an official Beyonder!
So, if you truly want to become a Beyonder, you can go find your brother, not us."
"Ah????"
Aiven's mouth fell open, and he looked at Dunn somewhat dumbfounded. This answer was something he had not expected.
He knew that his original Klein's brother was very capable, so much so that Mrs. Sharon actively tried to win him over to leverage his influence.
But he really hadn't expected Robert Horn to be a Beyonder. Aiven had previously only regarded him as a spokesperson for a political force, much like Earl Hall in "Lord of the Mysteries," who, though influential and respected, was not a Beyonder.
But he hadn't expected to hear such unexpected information from Dunn.
