Chapter 21: Aftermath and Invitation

At Black Thorn Security Company on Zotland Street, the commotion downstairs quickly subsided after several night watchmen returned from their patrol. Dunn Smith presented his credentials, and the police officers on scene began dispersing the crowd. Learning it was just a security company's training exercise that forgot soundproofing measures, the concerned North District residents gradually departed, restoring the street to its nighttime tranquility.

"So, just the three of you killed Mrs. Sharon?" Dunn Smith asked slowly, surveying the devastated reception room.

Frey and the others who had returned with him to Black Thorn could hardly believe this was the same place they had left an hour ago. 

The room reeked of gunpowder. Bullet casings and shattered glass littered the carpet, leaving nowhere to step. The decorative mirror on the wall was reduced to its copper frame with jagged remnants clinging to the edges. The once-smooth walls were riddled with bullet holes. Ice spears still impaled the sofa and overturned tea table, their frost yet to melt. A chill swept in through the window, making everyone feel as if transported to winter.

The formerly cozy, familiar reception room now resembled a post-war ruin.

At the center lay a body on its back, the upper half covered by a tablecloth. The perfect curves of the chest revealed it to be female, tempting one to imagine the marvelous sight beneath. However, the blood staining the cloth quickly dispelled such thoughts. Only Dunn approached the body with a grim expression, crouching to lift the cloth for a look.

"Yes, thanks to Miss Daisy being here. Her spirit-channeling successfully restrained Mrs. Sharon, or we wouldn't have stood a chance," Leonard said, standing by the window. The room's only intact sofa had been given to Daisy, and he was too polite to fight the exhausted Angel for the remaining chair. So he maintained his gentlemanly demeanor, resting against the wall.

"Miss Daisy is just spiritually exhausted and resting. Other than that, we're practically unscathed," Leonard explained helpfully, noticing Dunn's gaze repeatedly drifting to Daisy on the sofa.

"Ah, yes... I'm just glad we didn't send Daisy along. Otherwise, with just the two of you, it would have been difficult to face Mrs. Sharon... By the way, where's Cohen? He didn't come out from the Chanis Gate to help, did he?"

Hearing the captain's awkward change of subject, Leonard exchanged a knowing glance with Angel sitting nearby, as if to say, "See, I told you so."

Under Dunn's stern gaze, he quickly wiped the smirk off his face and answered seriously: "Of course not. I suspect the gunshots were heard down there, but everyone knows the Chanis Gate is more important than anyone. He wouldn't have come out to help."

"Good. Now report what happened here. Seeka, go to the police station across the street and ask Inspector Victor to come over. Tell him there's been an attempted murder, the intruder was killed in self-defense, and hint that it involves many of Tingen's political figures. Luo Yao, go relieve Bredt at the armory and have him come clean up the reception room. Frey, return the 'Blood Vessel Thief' to the Chanis Gate."

The men dispersed to carry out their orders, leaving the reception room.

Dunn stood by the sofa where Daisy rested, listening to Leonard's detailed account of the battle. His gaze occasionally swept over Mrs. Sharon's body, the sleeping Daisy, and Angel resting in a chair nearby, his brow furrowing and relaxing intermittently.

Meanwhile, Bredt, who had been relieved from his post, returned with Frey to the reception hall. After exclaiming, "My God, what happened here? Even robbers couldn't have wrecked the place this thoroughly!" Bredt began sweeping up the broken glass. Seeka also returned with a middle-aged police officer.

The newcomer wore a standard police uniform with two stars on his shoulder. He was tall but thin, with a short black beard.

Seeing him enter, Dunn greeted him: "Sorry to trouble you again today, Victor."

"As if you ever don't... Good heavens, what happened here?" Inspector Victor, as he was called, exclaimed upon stepping into the reception room, echoing Bredt's earlier sentiment.

"It's like this: Last night we received a case transferred from the police station. Cole Granger, residing on Daffodil Street, was suspected to be involved in over a dozen murders and cases of incitement to murder..." 

Dunn briefed Inspector Victor on the whole affair, even leading him to Mrs. Sharon's body for a closer look.

Seeing only half a head remained under the tablecloth, Victor's facade of composure finally cracked, revealing a look of sheer horror.

"It really is Mrs. Sharon, Sharon Hoyt... I saw her at the mayor's charity gala. She was the belle of the ball. I can't believe she was involved with a cult. Those old fogies will have nightmares when they find out."

"Let's hope their nightmares aren't disturbed by a half-headed Mrs. Sharon," Dunn quipped darkly, his expression impassive.

"Victor, you're the first to know besides those directly involved. I'm sure you understand what that means. Later, I'll have two team members accompany your officers to search Mrs. Sharon's home for evidence of her crimes. They'll handle anything related to Beyonder powers, and you can include everything else in your report."

As he listened to Dunn Smith, the color rapidly returned to Inspector Victor's ashen face. Perhaps only the prospect of imminent achievements and power could help one overcome fear so quickly.

Angel watched coldly from the side. This Inspector Victor clearly collaborated often with the Nighthawks and knew more than an ordinary person should. But even he couldn't imagine that a socialite like Mrs. Sharon was a high-sequence Beyonder. Dunn quickly seized control of the situation, achieving his desired outcome.

You'd make a better manipulator... Angel thought to herself.

Having swiftly agreed on everything, Inspector Victor prepared to leave eagerly. He needed to return to the police station to organize his force and seize any potential "evidence" from Mrs. Sharon's home before news of her death spread.

Seeka and Frey followed Victor, intending to accompany the police to Mrs. Sharon's residence. They would collect any items related to Beyonder powers, preventing the searching officers from coming into contact with such things and causing new casualties.

"This body... Mrs. Sharon's remains, how should we handle them?" Victor asked, pausing at the reception room door as if just remembering.

"As usual, we'll examine it to ensure no Beyonder powers pose a threat to ordinary people before handing it over to the police," Dunn replied without looking up, crouched beside Mrs. Sharon's body for a closer inspection.

"Good, good, then I'll be off. Looks like we're in for a busy night..." Victor stiffened at the mention of "Beyonder powers," hastily bidding farewell before quickly departing the security company, as if being chased.

Dunn ignored the hurriedly departing Inspector Victor, continuing to focus intently on Mrs. Sharon's body on the floor. His concentration was so intense that Angel almost thought it was Miss Daisy lying there instead.

"Bredt, hold off on the cleaning for now. Help make some tea for the captain and us. We're all thirsty after a long night," Leonard said to Bredt, who was still tidying up the reception room.

Seeing this, Leonard said to Bredt, who was still cleaning in the reception room.

Your excuses are so clumsy... Angel knew something ordinary people shouldn't see was about to happen, which was why Leonard had found a reason to send Bredt away. But that didn't stop her from mentally giving the poor performance a low score.

After Bredt left, Leonard also stood by Mrs. Sharon's body, arms crossed, looking down in observation.

Though Angel didn't approach, her gaze focused on Mrs. Sharon's body, curiosity piqued.

Under the watch of the three, points of black light gradually appeared around Mrs. Sharon's corpse, floating in the air like dust, moving without wind.

These black "dust motes" gradually became denser, eventually obscuring the body. Then, as if gathered by an invisible hand, they formed a spherical object about the size of an eyeball.

No, it was an eyeball. Its outer sclera was milky white and bloodshot. Without eyelids, the pupil was wide open, slowly rotating. As its gaze swept over Angel, she felt a chill run through her body.

Fortunately, this wasn't a living abomination. After rotating in the air a few times, the "eyeball" lost its buoyancy and fell straight onto Mrs. Sharon's shapely body. It rolled off onto the carpet, traveling a short distance before being snatched up by Dunn, who had been crouching nearby waiting for this moment.

He pulled an exquisite wooden box from his coat's inner pocket and carefully placed the "eyeball" inside. The moment he closed the lid, the chill permeating Angel's body vanished.

This reminded her of the mysterious jelly-like substance left behind in the basement of Cole's house the night she first awoke in this world. Undoubtedly, this was the Beyonder characteristic left behind after the death of the Sequence 6 Mrs. Sharon.

Unlike when Cole "died," Mrs. Sharon didn't expel an amorphous, gel-like Beyonder characteristic. Instead, it formed into an "eyeball" that seemed almost alive. Angel didn't know which situation was normal, so she tucked this question away in her mind for now.

Playing the role of a newly-minted Beyonder, she asked timely: "What is that thing? Is it some kind of organism?"

"It's a type of Beyonder item left behind when an Beyonder dies... If an ordinary person were to accidentally come into contact with it, they would likely go mad or even die on the spot. That's why I didn't immediately let the police take her body," Dunn explained, turning his head.

"I sent Frey and the others along with Victor to search Mrs. Sharon's home because I was worried the police might come into contact with Beyonder items while looking for evidence or other items of interest, triggering additional incidents."

"Most of the beyonder events we deal with throughout the year are unintentionally triggered by ordinary people. Active attacks by extraordinaries like tonight are quite rare. We haven't encountered any this year at least," Leonard added from the side.

Dunn stood up from Mrs. Sharon's body and returned to the sofa in the middle of the reception room. Seeing nowhere to sit, he remained standing and addressed Angel with a serious expression:

"Mrs. Sharon is dead, but Cole Granger's whereabouts are currently unknown. Tomorrow I'll contact the church, the 'Punisher' and 'Mechanical Heart' of Tingen City to jointly issue a wanted notice. Now, let's discuss your future options."

Options?

Angel felt somewhat confused. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for Dunn to continue.

"For 'survivors' of Beyonder incidents like yourself, especially when it might involve the 'Demoness Sect,' we usually recommend changing your identity, cutting ties with friends and family, and leaving Tingen City to live elsewhere under the church's arrangements. You'd have a brand new, safe, and worry-free life.

"The church's arrangements include some anti-divination and anti-tracking measures, but these protections aren't absolute in the face of extraordinaries with various means. There have been cases where protected individuals were found and killed by cult avengers."

Angel licked her dry lips. This was exactly what she was most worried about.

Dunn seemed very satisfied with her reaction. He smiled slightly and continued speaking more slowly: "The other option is to join us and become a Nighthawk."

Huh?

Angel was stunned.

She had been in this world for less than a week, and the successive events left her no time to consider long-term plans. Especially after Mrs. Sharon's "invitation," she had briefly considered abandoning her identity and residence to flee to another place.

Although she ultimately resolved to confront the threat head-on and achieved a favorable outcome, Angel still felt uncertain about her future life.

Her identity had been forged for forty pounds, with Hagrid of the "Wild Heart" swearing there would be no problems. But it might not withstand scrutiny from the Nighthawks. If she joined them, she would inevitably face stricter background checks. The slightest mistake could expose her identity, resulting in imprisonment at best or sharing Mrs. Sharon's fate at worst.

On the other hand, becoming an official Beyonder would not only provide protection from an official organization, deterring the Demoness Sect behind Mrs. Sharon, but also allow her to learn much undisclosed knowledge about the mystical world, potentially helping her return to her original world.

Moreover, even if she refused to join the Nighthawks, would she truly avoid official scrutiny? After the incident with Mrs. Sharon, she was certainly on the Church of the Goddess's list. Even if she moved to another city, endless surveillance and restrictions awaited her. They might even hope for the Demoness Sect to come after her, allowing them to continue their investigation.

As these thoughts raced through her mind, Angel's gaze flickered to Leonard, who was watching with interest nearby. She recalled his hints about "joining the Nighthawks" during their conversation that afternoon. Clearly, he had already received word of this.

Indeed, from an outsider's perspective, joining the Nighthawks was undoubtedly the best choice. It offered an official identity, legal income, and protection from other extraordinaries—certainly better than living the rest of one's life under an assumed name. Unfortunately for her, running away might be the only answer.

She was about to politely decline when she remembered the words of the mysterious visitor in the confessional at St. Selena's Cathedral that night:

"Those who face their fears and move forward bravely will be rewarded."

Had they anticipated the choice she now faced?

After a moment's hesitation, Angel spoke up under the expectant gazes of Dunn and Leonard.

"Well...

"What's the salary and benefits package like?"