"Going by the pattern from before, Lewis Wien will be holding a gathering sometime this week," Silas said to Fors. "That will be our chance to hunt him down..."
He thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you want him alive or dead?"
"Huh?"
Fors responded, a little confused.
"After all, Mr. X brought tremendous suffering to your teacher and your teacher's family. Simply killing him outright might not be enough to satisfy her."
Silas explained, "Perhaps she'd want to do it herself, slowly working on her enemy, letting that person sink into utter despair, watching himself lose his life force bit by bit until he dies."
As he said this, a cold, twisted smile crept across his face.
This was, in a sense, projecting his own feelings onto others. If he himself had captured Ince Zangwill, he certainly wouldn't let the man die easily either.
He'd want to keep him steeped in endless pain, regret, and despair, tormented in soul every waking moment, until death finally came...
The room was suddenly enveloped by his manic aura.
God of Steam, no, Mr. Fool...
Fors felt the blood in her veins run cold. She was like a mouse fixed in the gaze of a venomous snake, too frightened to move.
"Temperance. Calm yourself."
Fortunately, at that moment the World beside him spoke up, rousing the man from his strange state on his own initiative. "You're scaring the Magician."
Silas snapped back to himself.
"Ah, sorry. Old habit."
He said to Fors, who quickly shook her head. "So, do you need him captured alive?"
"No, just kill him outright, please."
Fors answered.
Taking him alive brought too many risks, ones she wasn't well equipped to handle. Better not to get greedy here. Simply and thoroughly killing him was the safer choice.
Klein agreed with this approach as well, and nodded. "All right. Then keep an eye on your friend, make sure she doesn't attend the gathering that day..."
Creak.
Before he could finish speaking, the sound of the front door opening reached them. Someone was coming in.
Not good!
Fors's expression shifted slightly.
Xio was back early!
If she saw this, saw her sitting in the living room with two grown men, how would she even begin to explain it?
Never mind how awkward the scene itself would look, what if Temperance suddenly lost control and casually wiped Xio out to keep things quiet? That would be the end of everything.
She spun around in a panic, only to find that Temperance had already risen to his feet, reaching out and grabbing hold of the World beside him. The next instant, like a drop of ink falling into an inkwell, the two of them vanished without a trace.
Thump, thump.
At that very moment, Xio had already shut the front door and stepped into the living room.
She rubbed at her short golden hair with one hand and looked up, finding Fors standing frozen in the middle of the room, staring blankly at her.
"What are you doing?"
Xio asked, puzzled.
"Nothing."
Fors answered on reflex, feeling oddly guilty without knowing quite why. "Why are you back so early today?"
"The East District was pretty quiet today. No word from the Golden Mask side either."
Xio answered, shrugging off her coat to reveal the blouse underneath. "What about you, though? Cooped up at home again. Wouldn't it do you some good to get out once in a while..."
"I was working out ideas for a new piece."
Fors immediately protested, and felt herself relax at the same time.
Thank goodness Mr. Temperance had kept his head and taken the World with him when he left...
She was about to keep talking to Xio when she noticed the other woman's gaze drift downward, toward the table.
Oh no, there were three cups on the table!
Fors's nerves snapped taut again, and she found herself following Xio's line of sight to the table almost without thinking... only to discover there was just a single cup there.
Thank goodness.
Fors let out a breath of relief.
"Drinking coffee again? Cut back a little. It's not good for your health."
Xio hadn't noticed the emotional rollercoaster her friend had just been on, and instead frowned at her in mild reproach.
"Ah, right, right..."
The rapid swings of emotion had left Fors feeling utterly drained. She just nodded numbly, not really registering a word of what Xio was saying.
...
Meanwhile, out on the street.
Whip, whip.
Klein flicked his wrist, tossing two cups up and down in quick succession with one hand. His movements were remarkably deft. Even though the cups were still half full of liquid, not a single drop spilled out.
"Meow..."
Luna lay perched on Silas's shoulder, her blue eyes fixed intently on Klein's hand, as though thoroughly fascinated.
"So what's your plan?"
Klein asked, still teasing the cat with the cups.
"I've already got people in place, running preliminary investigations."
Silas answered. "When the day comes, I'll have the Red Gloves seal off the entire area."
He now represented the official Church, meaning he could act openly without worrying about exposure.
Better still, he could draw on considerable resources: plenty of manpower, along with all manner of sealing artifacts from the Church.
Under these circumstances, sweeping up the entire Aurora Order presence wouldn't be nearly as troublesome as it had been years ago.
"Now that's something to envy."
Klein laughed. "I'm going to settle in first, rent a house, hire a butler, some servants..."
To keep up appearances as a wealthy man, he needed to put on the proper show.
"So you'll probably be pretty busy over the next few days, then."
Silas caught his meaning. "All right. I'll be in touch when it's time to move."
"Good luck out there."
Klein laughed, and with a sudden shift in motion, sent both cups flying toward Silas.
Whoosh!
Green flame burst from Silas's hand, catching both cups with precision and burning them to nothing.
The two cups had been used by them both, and destroying them would keep anyone from tracing them back.
Time passed swiftly. A few days later, Lewis finally put out word in the newspaper, announcing that the next gathering was about to begin.
And the Church of the Evernight, which had been waiting for this moment, sprang into action at once.
The Hale team, having just returned from a trip out of town, stayed behind at headquarters to handle any emergencies, while the Soest team and Daly's team set out together with Silas.
Silas had made a few preparations.
Using his authority, he had drawn a suitable sealing artifact along with a large quantity of materials from behind the Charnice Gate.
At that moment, four Red Gloves stood carefully guarding a black case, while Leonard and another man each carried a large bundle of extraordinary materials.
"The Goddess's glory guides our path forward."
"She teaches us to punish the wicked, to guard the night, and to grant her believers peace in their dreams."
Silas kept his expression calm as he addressed the members of both teams, his fingers tapping against his chest in succession, tracing out the path of the crimson moon. "Praise the Goddess."
"Praise the Goddess."
The team members returned the gesture in unison.
Their voices rang out together, their expressions resolute and fervent. Every one of them had been moved by the Deacon's invocation, feeling anew the weight of their duty and honor.
Hm?
Silas's expression didn't change, but something stirred faintly within him.
His Black Knight potion, had it just been digested a little further?