Chapter 9: James Names and War!

Klein could feel it, his senses screaming at him to stay as still as possible, even though the creature was long-gone. They told him not to move. Not to breath. Not to even think.

And he did exactly that for the next 10 minutes until the creature was long-gone from Backlund.

"Mr. Sherlock Moriarty… I'm afraid you will have to come with us," a man in black priest robes, flanked by 3 others in similar attire surrounded Klein.

Sensing their auras, Klein did not hesitate and immediately pulled out the Sun-Flair Charm.

None of these were official Beyonders, likely followers of some evil god's church. He could not put his trust in such people, who knew if the next moment they would brainwash him into becoming part of their cult.

'Well… I'm not sure I should be one to talk about cults…' Klein lampooned while having his eyes closed for a few moments, enough for the charm to take effect and blind everyone.

"Argh! MY EYES!"

Taking this moment, he simply flickered to the nearest flaming wreckage in the surroundings before doing it again and again until he was far away to pulled out his silver-topaz crystal and let it loose while repeating a line in his mind.

'Phew. Counter clockwise…' Klein muttered before continuing to run.

These people were not official Beyonders. They could not openly investigate him with the help of the local governmental bodies or police officers. They would have to handle him from the shadows to get the information they needed.

Together with his divination abilities and knowhow with such methods, it was unlikely they would be able to find him if he changed locations of residency.

'This will cause another hit to my already struggling budget…' Klein huffed in exasperation at the sudden turn of events.

He had been living in his current location as Sherlock Moriarty for quite some time now, having successfully built his identity, connections and even a certain amount of investments to build future wealth…

'Oh, how feeble such mortal treasures are in front of true power. Strength. Without being high enough on the Sequence ladder… I am nothing but an ant on a leaf, floating helplessly on the high sees between infinitely powerful beings…'

Klein sighed at his own powerlessness. At the same time, he also felt the dread of the white creature. His strongest trump card was the space above the grey fog. It had allowed him to survive many hurdles, including the brief meeting with the man from the past with the cross on his chest… And yet the blood from the blood moon had broken through, almost killing him if not for the female voice that saved him.

'That voice…' he had a suspicion on who exactly the voice belonged to, but refrained from thinking about that any further.

Instead, his mind wandered off to how the white creature, 'killed' the blood on the moon with a single attack.

"Just what kind of creature was that?" Klein muttered as he sneaked into his home, and took away his belongings before leaving a note of absence for his landlord, Mrs. Sammer, and left the area entirely.

From Minsk Street in Cherwood borough to Gunstedt Street in the same borough, Klein found a suitable location to rent only a few streets from his previous location on a newspaper, and rented it.

Of course, he did so under a different name…

"So, lad… are ya sure ya want this house…"

"Yes. And once again, I must apologise for approaching you this early in the morning," Klein smiled apologetically as the orange light from the sunrise hit the side of his face.

"Oh bullocks. No issue here lad. Now, what is your name… ya know, for the contract."

"James, James Names."

"…to each their own I suppose lad. Yer parents must'a had a good ol' laugh about that…"

"Haha, I get that a lot…" Klein acted sullen which caused the crazy-haired old-man with an eye-patch to unconsciously ignore some inconsistencies in Klein's story, allowing him to rent for a relatively cheap cost at such short notice.

…

In the Royal Court of Giants, an ancient and mysterious location hidden in the Hornacis Mountain Range…

A man stood silently, with a gentle and perfect face, exuding a sense of harmony and flawlessness that made him seem almost unreal. His features were androgynous, blending both masculine and feminine beauty in an ethereal way.

He had golden hair, which shone like sunlight, and mysterious golden eyes that seemed to contain the vastness of fate itself. His presence was calming yet unsettling, as if he existed beyond human comprehension.

His golden gaze turned to the moon as ripples of reality washed over the endless cosmos, turning the blood moon to its original white moon.

Curiosity flickered in his eyes, then replaced by dread, confusion, joy, conspiratorial glint, before finally settling on a calmness once more.

"A gap in power causes those being oppressed to rise up to take the empty throne. The throne of a pillar is not one to be filled easily. Mortal wars are one thing… Wars between Great Old Ones… now that is not one to miss~" a soft mile appeared on his face once more as though everything in the universe was under his control.