d

Conclusion of the Case

Even after a day of that discovery about Melissa, Klein didn't say anything else about the mysterious world to his sister.

She was already shaken and needed time to digest everything he had said, especially with so much information at the same time.

Benson had left for work very early, Melissa went to study and soon after Klein left the house, going straight to the Blackthorn Security Company, finally returning after some rest.

When he entered, he saw the enthusiastic Rozanne waving for him to come closer.

— Good morning, did you sleep well? — she asked before Klein had a chance to say anything.

He nodded, the corners of his mouth raised in a slight smile.

— Yes, I'm much better now. I don't think I've slept so well in a long time, I'm totally rested. — Klein, who hadn't "slept" in a long time, was completely at peace.

He saw a trace of anxiety in Rozanne, that typical expression of someone who is ready to tell the biggest gossip of the year in every detail.

— What happened? — Klein had a sudden bad feeling in his heart.

— You know when the Captain said someone would come and get the strange artifact he brought back from the battle with Ray Bieber? So, the one who came to take the notebook is a high-ranking member of the Order Hunters! A commander! He also came to see the end of the notebook case.

— I heard that he has a surname connection with a very important person, apparently it's his sister.

Uh... Is there a Demigod here? ... Mr. Medici was a Demigod?! — Klein put the pieces together under Rozanne's watchful eye.

Rozanne didn't even wait for an answer before continuing:

— You see, it seems that Your Excellency has some friendship with a certain someone... Isn't that right?

Her accusatory tone was clear, as if Klein had raised a sign in front of the Khoy River with the following words written on it:

"Worship the True Creator! Fear the lying Churches that blaspheme the Lord!"

How does she know that I've met Mr. Medici before? — Klein frowned indiscernibly.

— Your Excellency is very calm. He even asked about you… Aren't you going to tell me how it happened? — Faced with Rozanne's accusation, he was fortunately quick-witted.

Klein came up with an irrefutable excuse in less than a second:

— It's just that I met him a long time ago, but I didn't know anything about him. I joined the Nighthawks less than a month ago and I still haven't finished reading the files Mr. Neil gave me.

She assessed him briefly before nodding, believing his words.

— I heard he's quite famous at sea! Especially around places like Bayam. He even picked up a Vice Admiral when he was out there with his sister.

— Leonard was the first one to run off to hide in the main room after accidentally meeting the commander, it seems that Your Excellency scared him to death. — Rozanne laughed — Of course, that presumptuous poet just didn't count on Your Excellency already being in the place he thought of hiding.

This is called karma. — Klein didn't feel any pity for Leonard.

This was what he deserved after irritating him so much!

— Anyway, it seems that they're calling you to the captain's room too. Oh, call Leonard too, the captain didn't even get to see him today after he disappeared somewhere. — Rozanne sighed.

She felt sorry for the others for having to deal with someone high up, but fortunately Klein knew him so there was no way the situation could get that bad.

Suddenly, Rozanne felt a little consideration for Klein.

How could someone so young get into so much trouble at the same time?

Not just Klein, but Leonard and the other Nighthawks. The cases of supernatural activity had only increased recently, and it seemed that everyone was only getting into more and more trouble.

As she watched him descend the stairs, she could only mutter:

— Everyone getting into so much trouble...Tsk, what's wrong with people these days?

...

As Klein descended the stairs, a wave of bad foreboding hit her heart.

As soon as she reached the end of the stairs, he found a somewhat shaken Leonard leaning on the railing.

He was sweating coldly, drops running down his forehead without stopping. His face had lost all color, as if he had seen an unimaginable horror hidden somewhere in the church.

Seeming to finally realize it, he raised his head to the side without even wanting to look at his friend.

— Leonard, what happened? — Even though he knew, Klein still asked.

— Nothing... — the poet recovered after a few seconds.

Nothing? It looks like you saw your own death. — Klein retorted in his heart as he looked at Leonard's stiff and forced smile.

— The captain told us to go to his office. — He decided not to bring up the subject of Leonard's fear of Medici.

Since Medici was high up in the ranks, the others should be nervous right now, but Leonard's reaction was too much.

Uh… Mr. Medici can see that shadow? — Klein narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

It was possible, but not even Crestet Cesmirir could identify anything abnormal about Leonard.

The poet coughed lightly, composing himself before saying:

— We have to go get Sekka too.

Klein gave him a questioning look, waiting for him to explain.

— Sekka? Rozanne didn't mention that. — he said as he recalled their entire conversation after arriving at the security company.

— Uh… Old Neil must have forgotten to tell you. He was the one in charge of passing on some information to Rozanne in the morning. — Leonard simply answered without much detail.

— She should be in the break room. — he added quickly.

With Leonard reluctantly following Klein, they arrived to call Sekka Tron.

The poet suddenly opened the door to the break room.

— Good morning, Klein and good morning, Leonard. Are you two okay? — Royalle greeted as Leonard poked his head out to look into the Nighthawks' break room.

At the round table near the window, Kenley, Sekka Tron, and Frye were playing some kind of card game.

On the table, there was a +4 specially placed by Kenley who looked serious.

Even in the excitement of playing Uno, a game that is really well-known for ending friendships, everyone was a little too quiet while Royalle had a strange expression.

Frye was as quiet as ever, but this time even he seemed a little distressed.

The air felt like ice as fragile as glass, it was as if everything could crumble if someone said a single word.

Impressively, Frye put a +2 card on the table and soon after, Sekka played a +4.

— Damn it... Do you hate me? I had bet 2 pounds on it... Sekka, you didn't ask Klein to divine anything, did you? Klein, tell the captain if you were coerced into saying anything to Leonard, Sekka or Royalle! They had bet two pounds too! — Kenley reached into his deck to draw ten cards with a sad expression.

— Who guessed what? I'm innocent — Klein instantly retorted.

As always, the blame for something going wrong in a bet was placed on the fortune teller!

Royalle couldn't help but laugh and Leonard, who would probably be laughing at this moment, looked like he was walking to his own execution.

— They're calling you to come with us, Sekka. — Leonard warned in a more relaxed tone than before, seeming to finally recover a little from the horror he felt earlier.

Kenley, who was flush with cards, played a green six and Frye put down a green +2.

Sekka Tron nodded slightly, placing the cards in a corner, but not without first playing a +4 that would go directly to Kenley.

Soon, the three Nighthawks followed the confusing corridors of the underground until they reached the office in silence.

Klein's pensive state was broken when he saw the man with wavy red hair sitting on the sofa next to the window.

Long hair the shade of blood.

Medici!

He was reading something in his hands, but his attention was on Klein.

— Klein. — The man identified him without even needing to look again.

He might have been trying to capture some strangeness in Klein, but his face was very impassive and, at the same time, not very serious, looking very calm.

It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Even Leonard didn't dare to try to keep his usual frivolous behavior, even staying very quiet.

The poet sat down on the couch next to Sekka Tron, who had already made his way to sit on the couch the moment he stepped into the room.

— Good morning, Mr. Medici. — Klein greeted politely.

Dunn's cloudy eyes showed slight surprise, but he didn't say anything about it.

— You already know each other…

— Leonard and Sekka, as you may know, this is one of the commanders of the Order's Hunters, the Knight of Iron and Blood. A true demigod. He is Your Excellency, Medici.

True demigod... I don't even know if that's true. — Medici retorted in his mind.

While Leonard still seemed suffocated by the presence of Klein and Medici in the same place, he was probably talking to himself in his mind, panicking.

Klein silently sat down on the same sofa as Leonard and Sekka Tron.

The room seemed like a block of ice, becoming completely silent and no one seemed willing to say a single word.

As some looked at each other,

Finally, Dunn Smith spoke very calmly:

— Since the three of you were involved in the Antigonus case, I thought it best to call everyone here.

Everyone stood still in the blink of an eye, Klein was calm because he was at least somewhat familiar with the demigod.

The green-eyed poet looked at his feet with a mixture of horror and regret, as if he had been caught red-handed setting fire to a bishop's robe.

Sekka just kept looking neutral, not even seeming to be too affected.

Wait... Since when was Sekka Tron involved in the madness of the notebook case? — Klein noticed this detail.

— The first case was the death of Welch and Naya, followed by Klein's attempted suicide and Lily Chekky's suicide... Sekka Tron and Leonard were the ones who investigated Lily's death, which led the investigations to Klein and consequently resulted in everything that happened. — Dunn summarized the situation so that no one would be too confused.

Suddenly, Klein felt someone poke him.

— Klein, how did you meet him? — Leonard asked quietly, trying not to draw the attention of the others.

— We've known each other for a long time, that can be discussed at another time. — Medici answered in Klein's place, seeming quite confident in his words.

Since he didn't say anything else, no one asked how or when exactly such a thing could have happened.

Klein could only complain inwardly that Leonard had asked him about this, thinking that a high-ranking person could not have heard his questions.

Dunn looked tired, but continued speaking:

— During some investigations these days, Olive Bieber's body was found near the West Burgh. The corpse was in a shallow and somewhat organized grave. Her brother buried her after her death.

The captain paused for a moment, seeming to remember some detail.

— Klein, they found a letter with your name on it. It was in a part near Olive Bieber's grave. It seems that they really have been watching you for a long time to have a chance to get the notebook. Since it doesn't seem to have anything important, see if you can find any clues later. — he said, handing the yellowish letter to Klein.

There really was nothing unusual besides his name written on one side of the unopened letter, so Klein decided to guess when he got home.

— Fortunately, Bieber's death happened before he woke up. After all, he may have some interest in what happened to you.— Dunn said, seeming to reflect a little.

— Klein, what would you have done if Ray Bieber really survived and had finished the ritual? — he asked as he silently assessed him.

Thinking deeply about the situation, Klein had many ideas popping into his mind like an explosion.

— We could make Ray Bieber think he was in control, guiding his way past the failed 2-049 trap so he would think he had escaped the church's gaze. After that, we should wait for some time to pass.

— At some point, Ray Bieber would have to try to advance, and when he tried to buy in black markets to advance, a Beyonder from an organization would appear in a very subtle way. This certain Beyonder would offer him the ingredients for a reasonable price... Even with so much distrust, Ray Bieber accepts.

Klein narrowed his eyes very calmly, his ideas working like a machine at full steam.

— It was a trap. Bieber managed to escape, but not without injuries and the worsening of his already very bad mental condition. He hides again, so paranoid that he can't even trust the people who pass him on the street. Even his neighbor was coincidentally involved with an old Beyonder case, in fact, he is an undercover officer searching for Bieber... So many things start to happen, coincidences and madness. Bieber can't bear it, so he runs away again.

— Even so, Ray Bieber finds himself entangled in another place with his growing madness and fear. He even manages to create unstable ties with lunatics from secret organizations and another opportunity to advance appears again. This time it is more realistic and Bieber does not think it is a trap, after all the seller of the ingredients is very suspicious. After a conversation, the seller still seems skeptical about the veracity of Bieber's words, even so he is still willing to make the deal as long as Bieber takes all the money.

— Since Ray Bieber's critical sense is dazed after so much distrust and his mental state is completely broken, he could not refuse, especially when the official Beyonders have never forgotten his case. Everything seems to be leading him to the edge of the cliff, even if he did not accept and fell into the trap because he for being mentally hurt, he would succumb to madness sooner or later. It is a matter of time. In that prolonged state, Ray Bieber would go crazy.

— Everything before the final trap was just to make sure he would have no chance of escaping. It takes a while to really expand the mental wound and weaken a Beyonder belonging to the Seer Pathway to finally leave him with no way out. Sure, it would be kind of hard to fully implement this method and it is very cruel, but it is a more subtle plan that certainly would not cause harm to innocent civilians. In any case, Ray Bieber would end up dead, insane or imprisoned by the Church regardless of his steps.

Klein paused for a moment, as if he was reflecting quickly in his own mind. Perhaps even his terrifying logic was too normal for him.

— There are also other means, like a very extreme one. Locate Bieber, surround the entire area so there is no way out and blow everything up, then bring trackers and more bombs to blow up all the debris, but it would take too long. — he added with a thoughtful look

— .... — Medici was speechless, looking strangely at Klein who was in front of him and couldn't help but turn to discreetly look at Dunn, Sekka Tron and Leonard, who seemed to share the same look as him.

At that moment, Ray Bieber seemed like just another puppet in a grand theatrical show full of twists and turns presented by Klein.

That was simply abnormal!

This bizarre boy might actually be an old friend... — Medici thought with cold shivers running down his spine.

Leonard coughed a few times, looking a little distressed and ready to change the subject.

He was probably feeling some doubt about something from the past while also musing a little about Klein's words at the same time.

How could Leonard's focus change so quickly from one thing to another? After spending some time with Leonard, Klein had a suspicion that he might have ADHD.

After a few seconds, Leonardo asked in a forced calm to change the subject:

— Captain, if I remember correctly, when Sekka and I were at Lily Chekky's house, we ended up finding a strange artifact and Sekka brought it here. Don't you think there could be something wrong with it? It might have had some connection, since there was even Welch's name written on a piece of paper near the artifact...

— And if there was something in it? No one examined it.

Hearing this, Medici spoke in a relaxed tone as he looked at Dunn:

— It would be best if you and Sekka Tron checked with one of your superiors. Who knows if there is some kind of corruption in your souls? It is very dangerous to deal with artifacts or corruption.

— Klein didn't have that problem, he is fine. — Sekka replied in the calm tone he always used.

Medici smiled and looked at Sekka and Leonard who was right next to him.

— Of course, he's fine, whole and completely alive. But don't you think it's because of his connection to Antigonus? Klein was already a Seer and had his reasons for putting up with everything.

— Could it be that the Sleepless can handle the loss of control more than other paths and I wasn't informed? Ray Bieber turned into a pile of meat and Klein is standing and uncorrupted, but it's not up to the Nighthawks to know why. This is for your own good.

It was more terrifying not to understand the truth than to actually know it, but it was also better to remain without understanding what was happening.

Everyone involved in the Antigonus case, such as Welch, Naya or Lily, died mysteriously, either by hitting their heads against the wall, drowning or even poisoning themselves.

Notes:The Report

That wasn't just a warning to Sekka Tron, but to Dunn Smith as well.

If they tried to cross the line and end up searching for the truth, they would probably end up dead without even knowing what hit them!

The Nighthawks' role was clear, just to solve the problem superficially without messing with any complications involving corruption or a larger scheme.

As for Klein, Medici didn't doubt that he knew at least some part of what had really happened. He was the only one who survived after all.

This is for your own good… — Klein narrowed his eyes with a bit of a shiver running through his body.

— I'll ask the headquarters so they can try to find any trace of corruption. — Dunn Smith replied, his cloudy eyes seeming to contain a bit of doubt.

Medici nodded with an indiscernible look.

— Of course, it will be necessary to look at the artifact that was in the possession of Lily Chekky, who was a Beyonder who had contacted the Bieber siblings directly and also informed them about the existence of the Antigonus family notebook.

On the couch, Sekka seemed to be silently reflecting on the situation.

— I remember that, Lily Chekky... She was a Beyonder of the Secrets Supplicant Pathway, of the Aurora Order. — Sekka paused for a moment, thoughtful — Lily had a connection to the notebook. She is probably the person who tried to steal the notebook from Klein's house the day he tried to commit suicide, but failed for some reason... And she was also a bait for the Bieber siblings to see if there was a trap in Klein's house... Of course, it is impossible to know why a member of the Aurora Order would be interested in this matter of the Seer Pathway.

Up until that point, there had only been the appearance of the Secret Order and the Order of Mysteries, two organizations linked to the Seer Pathway, so it was understandable that both organizations would be interested in the Antigonus family notebook.

The Aurora Order, however, had nothing to do with the situation!

— Maybe they also wanted the Antigonus notebook or were just interested in an exchange of information... Well, the Aurora Order's involvement should also be reported, no matter how small. — Medici showed no doubt, appearing impassive in his words.

In his heart, a slight distrust grew. Those thoughts came from a sharpened intuition over a long time.

Medici kept his doubts to himself, perhaps he could analyze them later.

Leonard seemed to remember a long-forgotten detail, his green eyes lighting up with the light of reason.

He immediately spoke in a very thoughtful tone:

— Speaking of which, there was also a name in a letter Lily was writing on the day of her death. It was a letter to someone named Sirius Arapis. We should send it to the report and open an investigation into that name.

— Okay, so the timeline of all the events is set up to this point. We can continue organizing the case. — Medici spoke nonchalantly as he wrote with a quill on the paper in his hands.

Cases like these that had the appearance of so many Beyonders at once required special attention.

— After knowing that there was no trap, Olive Bieber followed Klein for a few days until she broke into Klein's house to take the notebook at some unknown time and actually stole the artifact... — Dunn added without any doubt reflected in his patient expression.

With a very distracted look, Leonard silently narrowed his eyes. He will calmly remember the day he saved young Elliot.

— So the corruption was too much for Olive to handle and she must have killed herself or Ray Bieber killed her...

— What matters is that all this was happening at the time Klein and I were going to save young Elliot, that was strange and only reinforced Klein's certainty about where the Antigonus family notebook was.

Leonard was sure that something was wrong, not because of intuition or hunches that came from him, but because of a constant reminder that the voice inside his head gave.

— That was too much of a coincidence... It's strange... — Klein remembered the strange way in which the Antigonus notebook was right next to the house where the kidnappers had put young Elliot.

He always had a stressful feeling that everything was distorted, even destiny, every time he came across an event, he was sure that he was entangled in several mysteries.

Even when he almost lost control in the fight against Ray Bieber, he ended up "seeing" a story being written with destiny.

In his vision, it was like something abstract and, at the same time, real. A boundless contradiction that could twist fate, weaving an indescribable tale.

A story... What could it be? What does a book being written in endless chaos mean? — Klein didn't even know what he saw and he couldn't talk about any of it with anyone either, since it was shrouded in gray fog.

— It must be just a coincidence. — Sekka Tron replied with not a single thought reflected in his dark eyes.

Since they had no evidence and both Bieber brothers were dead, there was really nothing anyone could do with the suspicion and they could only rule it out. This event didn't seem to have any relevance to the report.

Medici, however, made a point of writing it down since he had noticed this detail.

— The next event was the fight against Ray Bieber, which resulted in the death of three Beyonders and the appearance of a Demigoddess who had planned a plan from the beginning to steal 2-049 and the corpses...

— About the demigoddess of the Secret Order, she was watching from the beginning. She also used some kind of special ability, that's why none of you noticed anything wrong... A Demigoddess of the Apprentice Panthway.

— The demigoddess had no interest in the notebook for the actions she took, she just wanted to be a silent spectator of the whole plot. — he spoke simply, as if it was nothing serious.

— And to think that she was just watching the situation... She only took the bodies of the other Beyonders and the artifact, but she had no interest in the notebook... — Dunn sighed, his face showing surprise very clouded by calm.

The Nighthawks were never negligent in this regard. They had already expected that a member of the Order of Mysteries would appear at some point, but no one could have imagined that a Demigoddess would appear in such a confusing confrontation!

Even with any preparation or plan, none of the Nighthawks of Tingen would ever be able to defeat a Demigoddess from a secret organization.

Medici smiled before telling the conclusion of the case:

— We can conclude that it was Olive Bieber who stole the notebook and took it to her house. Olive had been following Klein since forever and worked at Khoy University, so she knew where his house was. That's how the notebook ended up in Ray Bieber's hands, so it's not a big surprise.

— Lily Checkky was a bait and the result was her suicide in the Selena Cathedral right after the incident with Klein.

Even so, that story seemed strange to him. How could a case in which even another demigod from a secret organization was interested end so easily?

Speaking of which, there's also Klein and Azik, two probable demigods... There's also the Marionettist and the wandering poet, Leonard... The poet is a different case, he certainly has some hidden secret...

Hey, such strong people don't appear out of nowhere! There's something very wrong happening in Tingen...

That was impossible, Medici was sure that there could be a person behind the curtains, otherwise so many coincidences wouldn't be possible!

Klein's yellow eyes darkened in thought.

From the looks of it, this was almost the definitive end to the investigation into the Antigonus family notebook.

Whether it was the deaths or the reason why the Antigonus family notebook ended up in Ray Bieber's hands, all the mysteries of the case seemed solved.

This was strange, it made an indescribable feeling invade Klein's heart.

It's clear that the person who may have set it all up is still in hiding... — he thought, unable to help but realize how terrifying this fact was.

Whoever had planned or at least instigated the Antigonus notebook case had simply passed unscathed under the noses of all the Nighthawks and still treated everyone involved as characters in a story being written.

Even so, Klein had no way of telling anyone about this. He had no choice but to even be able to say his suspicions.

If he were to tell the Nighthawks his suspicions, what might he say about how he found out? Klein couldn't talk about the gray mist, so he could only give hints.

When Leonard had said how suspicious everything was, Klein had thrown out a bait-and-switch by saying how strange the coincidences were, but it seemed the others hadn't noticed so clearly.

— I'll send all the information to the higher-ups, Sekka, you should go and guard the Chanis Gate. — Dunn said as he stood up, heading straight for the door.

Since the telegram was in the Blackthorn security company's area, there was no other choice but to go there and wait a while for the answer.

After Dunn Smith left with Sekka Tron, the room became eerily silent just like before. Everyone stayed quiet in their respective places without even thinking about making noise.

After a few seconds, Medici broke the silence with simple words:

— Klein, how are your siblings?

Huh? How do you know that? Ah, Mr. Azik must have mentioned Melissa and Benson's names at some point when they talked. — Klein concluded without thinking much.

Even though they didn't know anything, they still pretended to know each other since they couldn't even explain how they felt so familiar with each other. It was a tacit and unspoken agreement between Medici and Klein so that the Nighthawks wouldn't find anything too strange.

The same thing happened with Azik, he and Medici began to exchange some information when they talked.

— Melissa is studying about the Age of Steam and Machinery, she will take a study test at the end of August to test her abilities. — Klein replied calmly as he looked at the man across the room.

The moment he saw the two talking, Leonard slipped out.

When the door closed, Medici and Klein looked at each other for a moment, both of them still had many doubts about each other.

— You have been a Seer since birth, right? Are you sure you are really a Sequence 9? — Medici asked calmly as he put the document aside.

Klein was grateful that he had not mentioned Melissa or anything like that, so he answered without concern:

— I don't know.

It was true, he really didn't know his own exact Sequence.

Technically it should be Sequence 9, but he could even see the strings of the puppeteer of the Secret Order and could also move like a Clown.

— Okay. — Medici spoke simply, not caring about Klein's concealment of information.

In his opinion, that Seer was not someone to be underestimated so he would not try to seek too much information from him.

— Azik told me that you were very polite and kind, the best student he has and that you never caused any problems for anyone... I'm sure he never heard your plans for Ray Bieber even once. — Medici changed the subject, remembering the terrifying conversation from before.

It was a smart plan, but no one with normal logical reasoning would say something like that!

— What? There was nothing wrong with that... It was a well-structured plan that wouldn't harm anyone other than Ray Bieber. — Klein retorted, not even concerned with the horror he was stating at that moment.

The way you said something like that so lightly as if rights and laws for everyone didn't exist... That reminds me of someone... No, a demon coming straight from the underworld... Frank Lee... — Medici couldn't help but remember the horror of seeing a ship that sprouted goat meat mixed with milk mushrooms.

That was the first time he hoped he would never have to see anyone again in his life, but unfortunately he always had to go to the Future to exchange some information with Cattleya and consequently met with Frank Lee.

— ... You really have a non-existent psychology... I've never seen anyone talk about terrorism, mental and physical torture as if they were casually mentioning that they were going to buy bread. Not even a total lunatic would think of blowing up several buildings and controlling someone's life as if they were a puppet. — Medici replied, almost starting to laugh in disbelief.

Are you saying I'm beyond salvation? Why are you laughing? Hey, why are you judging me when you are not innocent either? — Klein complained inwardly as he still looked at the demigod across the room.

— I'm not crazy. — he replied with a bit of confusion at being offended so suddenly.

Even though he hadn't aged a bit in these long ten years, Medici had a feeling he might end up getting gray hair if he continued to argue with someone so senseless

He couldn't help but scoff:

— Of course, and I can read minds.

— I feel sorry for Dunn, having to raise a wolf in sheep's clothing. Honestly, I never thought I would find someone who could reach the level of Frank Lee's madness...

— You talk as if I were some kind of demon. If that's the case, you must have a life history as clean and bright as the sky outside. — Klein retorted, understanding that Medici just wanted to mock him.

— ... — Medici couldn't answer him, hearing the sound of thunder outside the cathedral even though he was underground.

In fact, the sky in Tingen was as rainy as ever. Lightning came from all sides, falling frequently and sounding so loud that they could echo beneath the earth.

It seemed like an omen of calamity.

For some disconcerting reason, the two laughed in unison.

...

Dunn had gone to the telegram, Old Neil was in the armory, and Sekka Tron went to guard the Chanis Gate, so the only ones left in the break room were the other remaining Nighthawks.

The Uno deck was huge and had to be divided into several parts. This only happened because there were so many people in the church, so they ended up buying seven different decks and putting them together.

Watching everyone playing Uno excitedly, with the classic pastel-colored cards, Medici seemed to briefly remember the first year after losing his memory.

Since forever, any card game was extremely easy to win, so he never had much interest in it.

Betting was like a trivial thing, just one look from Medici at the situation and he knew what would lead him to victory. What was the point of doing it if every result would be the same?

He didn't really understand the motivation behind the game, or why the others seemed so happy.

Still, it seemed like an interesting idea to play a little Uno now, with the Nighthawks.

— It's a shame I can never play this kind of thing with anyone.— Medici momentarily lamented to Klein, who immediately couldn't help but mentally agree with the red-haired man.

Even so, Klein still felt confused.

Uh... I agree with you... — he sighed in his heart.

He wasn't going to ask the reason for the question, he knew the answer.

It was practically impossible for there to be a card game between demigods or even in Sequence five or six, it was also almost impossible to win against a Seer.

Why? Well, imagine a game where anyone could cheat at any time. Whether it was seeing someone else's cards, being able to create illusions, taking other cards or even messing with another player's psychology, everything was possible!

Really, Royalle was watching me to see if I would cheat the first time and Leonard just sighed thinking that there would be no way to see if I had guessed something...

It also doesn't help that I manage to win every time, it's getting weird playing... Only in these moments luck is on my side. — Klein said sadly, holding back the laugh he wanted to give.

When a new round began after Royalle's victory, Klein and Medici joined the game.

Leonard immediately looked at the cards in his hand and looked suspiciously at Medici, who was next to him, but didn't pay attention to Klein.

He was certain in his heart that Klein would not cheat, however, he had no trust in Medici at all!

Just then, Klein felt a flash in his mind, he immediately knew which card he should play at this moment.

Actually, this is very bad... Technically I'm cheating, right? At least I'm not the only one... Mr. Medici is a demigod, I doubt something like that won't happen! — he sighed in his heart, playing any a blue 2 card that was not what his mind indicated.

Seeing the others' expressions, Medici calmly placed a blue +2 card to Leonard, who had no way to fight back.

The green-eyed poet could only complain in his heart as he picked up a few cards from the huge pile.

After a few seconds, a blue +2 card came from Frye, and Kenley seemed somewhat excited this time.

He calmly played a +4 which went to Royalle, who placed another +4 card on the table.

Klein was quick to retaliate with a +2 and soon after, Medici played a +4 card, leaving Leonard tormented.

— One, two… — Leonard seemed increasingly desolate as he continued counting to the sound of the others' laughter.

They had spent a long time in that game, so long that everyone had countless cards in their hands while Medici and Klein were left with only a few cards.

Somehow, even if it was impossible, the game ended in a draw since the dispute between Klein and Medici never ended.

Notes: