Chapter 122

After questioning some more, Alvin found out the whole story. Isabella and Sophia were identical twins. Their brother, Dennis, became a Beyonder back before they moved to Backlund. He had the formula for the Sequence 9 Assasin, which he found along with the materials by luck. He became a Beyonder, and was doing very well for himself back in the village. He in fact introduced both his little sisters to the Beyonder world, and the three of them became a deadly trio of assassins who punished the so called 'bad people' from the local gangs. Since they knew of the acting method, due to some book about Beyonders Dennis found, they weren't in any danger of losing control.

Unfortunately, the 'bad people' who were left all relocated or ran away shortly after the three went on an assassination spree. Thus, the two sisters were unable to digest the potion. Added to the fact that while Dennis had the potion formula for his advancement, he wasn't able to progress due to the utter lack of materials or means to procure them, especially those of higher Sequence back in his hometown, as the Beyonder gatherings and materials were severely lacking there. Hence, he put the idea of moving to Backlund in his father's head.

While they were inexperienced Beyonders from many angles, they did have some knowledge of the churches and official Beyonders. But they weren't too worried, as Dennis had an anti divination item. On an occasion where a few official Beyonders visited the town to investigate the frequent killings, they confirmed the effectiveness of this anti divination item.

But considering that the anti divination time could only cover one person, and that the official Beyonders in Backlund may be numerous and more powerful, Dennis decided to use a ritual he learnt from the book about Beyonders he had. Using a bunch of methods like burning their hair together and making a doll sprinkled with their blood, Dennis set up a method where the divination pointing towards them would get messed up, due to the interference of the other person. And to this end, the sisters both assumed the same identity, of Isabella. Sophia pretend to run away, while in fact they both came to Backlund. They created a hideout near their new house, where one of them would stay. Thye would frequently switch identities while staying in the house.

They both assumed the same identity as an assassin in the circle that their brother found, and would alternatively go on missions, while the other stayed at home to provide cover. The brother also joined in on the assassinations, though his cover was that he was searching for a job. So far, they had excellent success, and managed to accumulate quite a bit of resources and reputation in Backlund's assassination circle.

Two weeks ago, Dennis had gone missing without a trace. Along with the bounty hunter and the police who were looking for him on the bright side, the sisters tried to search for him among the contacts they developed. But they did not find any trace of him, and almost clashed with some shady forces in their search.

At that time, a woman called Diane found then. She helped them distance themselves from the situation, and gave them a letter from their brother. From the contents and the handwriting, they recognised it as genuine. Apparently, he had gone on a mission that would require a lot of time.

Diane told them that their brother had handed her the money from the previous missions, and she would take over the duties of accepting missions and collecting commissions that their brother used to have.

They were suspicious at first, but gradually warmed up to her after they saw how sincere she was over an extended period of time.

Alvin also found out about the green flame. A week ago, Diane had apparently clashed with a mysterious man during a mission. The man shot some green flames at her, and she was forced to flee. But she later found that some of the green flames had accumulated in her abdomen, and would intermittently cause her problems. They wanted to solve it, but did not have any trusted circles of their own to speak of.

Alvin processed all the information he received. Apparently, Dennis was a Sequence 8 Instigator when he went missing. He had the Sequence 7 formula, but did not know its name, due to it being scratched off from the Beyonder book. He went missing a week ago, and Diane, a previously unknown Beyonder was now helping them unreservedly, while the brother went on a 'long mission'

Knowing what he knew about the Demoness Pathway, Alvin was convinced that Diane was in fact Dennis, who managed to collect the main ingredients for the potion he already had, to successfully advance.

On the other hand, he was interested in knowing about the green flames. If she clashed with him, she was likely to be able to give a description of him.

Alvin was eager to hunt down this guy. And it was not just to curry favorability with the Nighthawks and Machinery Hivemind, he genuinely disliked these guys who willy nilly could destroy half a street if they felt like. One could never be sure if these lunatics decide to target his house, or the university, and get Cheryl or Naomi hurt.

According to what he learnt from Sophia, Diane would come by once in a while to the house, and she even used the room that belonged to her.

Alvin was not only interested in her in order to be able to get some clues about the green flame lunatic, but also that he was interested in the Beyonder book she held in her possession. The ritual to disrupt divination by confusing the location of two sisters seemed very advanced, and Alvin who was lacking in that department hoped to get that and more, not to mention that he would love to have the formula for Sequence 9 Assassin. While the Sequence 7 of this pathway was a trap, Sequence 9 were the best if he quickly wanted to train some fight ready Beyonders.

But considering that the Machinery Hivemind already had a plan to attack the factory in place which he was also supposed to be a part of, Alvin decided to postpone further delving into this until another time.