Chapter 085

Alvin went straight to North Borough, and went to the building adjacent to the Saint Samuel Cathedral, in which the Crimson Moon Security Company had an office.

In there, he saw a standard looking office, and a person he did not recognise at the counter.

"Can I help you?" asked the person.

"Yes. I am looking for Captain Gordon" said Alvin, displaying the Nighthawk's informant badge.

This was an office of the Nighthawks, which Alvin was recently told of as he was being trusted more.

Down the hall, the third office to your right" said the person, to which Alvin thanked him and went in.

In the third office down the hall, he saw Gordon looking through some documents.

"Ah, Alvin. Did you come to return the Mirror of Malicious Thoughts? The same time expires shortly. We should seal it soon" said Gordon.

"Yes sir. I accomplished the objective that I wanted to use the mirror for. But I also made an unexpected discovery. Someone is trying to kill me, and I recognise the person" said Alvin.

"Really? Who?" asked Soest.

Alvin felt the familiar feel of the sensation that came by when he wanted to reveal the secret well up. Hence, he shook his head.

"Do you remember what happened?" asked Gordon, now sitting up, a bit more serious.

Alvin nodded.

"Did you that person get some blood or hair from you?" he asked.

Alvin shook his head.

"Well, that narrows it down. We can break that if the person who made you commit to the secret is not a Sequence 4. He isn't, is he?" asked Gordon.

Alvin was about to answer negatively, but he couldn't due to the familiar feeling welling up again.

"The fact that you are having thoughts about telling me assure me that it's not. Come with me" said Gordon, as he led Alvin deeper into the hall. Eventually, they went through a tunnel, that Alvin concluded was towards the Saint Samuel Cathedral from the direction.

They soon were in an enclosed room with a few vents outside, which looked like a modified confession room.

"Stay in the centre of the room. Pray to the goddess" said Gordon as he left.

Alvin went to the middle of the room and sat on the small couch there. He then started saying some random scriptures from the books about the Evernight Goddess, careful to avoid saying her honorific name.

After a short while, a small beam of light started emitting from the ceiling.

"You should be able to talk now. Tell me what happened" said Gordon.

"Well, it happened on the day you met. A young boy came into my bar, asking to find his missing father. I didn't have anything to do, and I knew his father from a previous transaction as a generous man, so I accepted" said Alvin, now without being interfered with the need to keep a secret.

"The guy then gave me the Provoker potion formula, and after giving a warning to the boy, he left. The boy was devastated, but we both were under the influence of the secret, so we couldn't tell anything. I was unable to broach the subject, until today, where a whole other matter related to this confrontation arose because the Mirror of Malicious Thoughts detected his intent to kill me" finished Alvin.

And then, he proceeded to explain the anomalies of the house.

After a while, Soest opened the door and beckoned him outside. He then said, "You managed to injure and almost kill a Sequence 7 when you were Sequence 9. It's not uncommon, but still very rare. I am impressed" said Gordon.

"It was a mix of luck and caution" said Alvin humbly

"Let's go back to the office. Our unit is rather free, so it's just as well we have a new mission" said Soest, as he started leading Alvin back to where they came from.

Very soon, Alvin was sitting in the office of Soest, along with Rico, Raleigh, Hannah, and Donald.

"Well, we may have found traces of the Aurora Order. This mission will be very dangerous. I will assign a mission to you in a moment, and you can apply for Sealed Artifacts if you meet the criteria for their use. Alvin, tell them what happened" said Gordon in a solemn tone.

Alvin was about to tell that he couldn't tell it outside that room, but he realised that he could now speak freely.

"A secret is no longer a secret once a person who isn't in on the secret knows of it. As I, who already knows the secret is here, in my presence, you can freely divulge the secret. While that Pathway's secret keeping abilities can restrict Sequence 7s at Sequence 9, it has plenty of loopholes one might exploit" said Gordon noticing Alvin's confusion.

Alvin nodded in understanding, and then proceeded to tell the whole story once again.

"Now that you heard the incident, we should begin shortly. Hannah, you should go to the address given by Alvin and see the alleged scene of the abduction. Rico, you go with her. Use the distress signal if you run into trouble. Remember, the response time is 3 minutes. Donald, you have Alvin show you the approximate location of the malicious thoughts he felt, and disguise yourself and do a preliminary scouting of the area. Raleigh, you go with them, but stay father back. In case of an accident, you go up and help them. I will report to the higher ups and get permission for a raid. We leave in 10 minutes, and regather here in 1 hour. Make your preparations" said Soest, upon hearing which all of the group shuffled out.

"Alvin? You stay, I have something to tell you" said Gordon.

"What is it captain?" asked Alvin.

"While we were bypassing the restriction, we noticed something wrong with you" said Gordon.

"What? What is it captain?" asked Alvin, his mind whirring.

"Could there have been another luck controlling mark in the sword that transferred to me? Was there another tracker on the Red Castle? Was there an arrangement of Death inside the Red Castle that secretly corrupted me? Or did Baron Bramis use any secret means on me?" wondered Alvin.

"It's nothing, I just noticed that your spirit body is a little damaged" said Gordon.