LOM: Lord of Mysticism

Sirius Arapis resides at 19 Howes Street.

While memorizing the information, Klein keenly noticed something.

Welch stayed on Howes Street, and the Divination Club is also on Howes Street, where the cloth merchant named Sirius Arapis also lived.

Klein felt that he had linked the clues together.

He was originally confused as to how Welch would be acquainted with Hanass Vincent since this son of a banker wasn't particularly interested in mysticism. But according to magazines, middle-class and wealthy residents would often pay a visit to their neighbors in order to form a social circle. 

There was an opportunity for Welch and the cloth merchant, Sirius, to get acquainted since they both lived in Howes Street.

Perhaps Hanass Vincent wanted to sell his ancient books, and thus, Sirius introduced him to Welch, who was an undergraduate in the History department.

In Hanass' dream, there was the figure of the "True Creator." For him to know the proper incantation format shows that he was very deep into the realm of mysticism, and the possibility that he might have even been a member of some secret organization cannot be dismissed.

I cannot rule out the possibility of him joining some secret organization under Sirius's influence.

Klein didn't need to use divination to gauge the credibility of the information—it was already evident.

The reasoning was straightforward. It was a known fact that someone had sold the notebook to Welch. Although the identity of the seller remained unknown, now there was this man, Sirius, who lived near Welch, had connections to mysticism, and was acquainted with Hanass before the latter's untimely death. The pieces fit together. 

There was a reasonable possibility that Sirius had been the one to sell the notebook. Perhaps he had stumbled upon it and decided to make a quick profit by selling it to Welch. Or perhaps there was more to his past than met the eye. Whatever the truth, Klein was certain of one thing: as long as Sirius was apprehended, the mystery could be unraveled.

Even if his real name isn't Sirius Arapis, nor does he work as a cloth merchant, and he doesn't live at 19 Howes Street, he definitely resides somewhere nearby.

With these ideas in mind, Klein viewed the situation once again with this new train of thought.

The last time he came to Deweyville Library was last Saturday, a day before Selena's birthday party, which was also a day before Hanass Vincent died. Several days have already passed since then, but he hasn't returned the issues that he borrowed.

According to past records, if he only borrowed two issues, he would usually return them the next day.

Could this mean that he knows of Hanass' death and was scared to the point that he no longer dares to come to the Deweyville Library again?

Yes, he started by borrowing several unrelated history books and journals until he narrowed down what he needed, which is very similar to what I had read...

If he had all the necessary information, he could head straight to the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range. Or if he still lacks information and is aware of Hanass' death, he would lay low for some time and show himself again; the incident wouldn't implicate him.

Klein closed the records and returned them to the librarian. He then took out the portrait and asked if they had seen the man. Unfortunately, many people came to borrow books every day, and the librarians don't have any impression of the average person.

"Alright, thank you for your time." Klein put away his badge.

He had no intention of continuing the investigation alone. This wasn't only dangerous but also troublesome. He planned to hand the case over to Captain and his teammates.

"Officer, is there anything else?" a librarian asked.

"No, I will come back if there are new clues." Klein said and made his way to the door. At that moment, he saw a man dressed in a double-breasted coat enter the library with his head hung low.

When they walked past each other, Klein caught a glance of his thick, messy brows and his pair of grayish-blue eyes.

Sirius? Sirius Arapis? Klein froze, never expecting to meet his target here.

He acted as though nothing had happened and continued walking towards the door. It didn't matter if he missed this opportunity as long as Sirius was still in Tingen.

The man in the double-breasted coat arrived before the counter and handed the journals to one of the librarians.

"It's a return," he said in a muffled tone.

The librarian received the journals casually. When he saw them, he stopped.

"Is there a problem?" the man asked.

His question seemed like a spark, causing the librarian to move to the side and shout, "Officer! The criminal is here!"

Klein, who still hadn't left the building, cursed madly in his heart and drew his revolver.

That man turned and broke into a sprint. He didn't head for the door but moved in the direction of the oriel window to the side, as if he wanted to smash through the glass and jump out onto the street.

Klein, who was flustered at first, observed the scene calmly and lifted his revolver, pulling the trigger.

The man in the double-breasted coat abruptly rolled onto the ground in an attempt to avoid the bullet. He pressed down on the ground with his right hand and propelled himself into the air towards the oriel window.

The silver demon hunting bullet tore through the air and penetrated straight through Sirius's back.

Crash! The glass shattered, and Sirius flew out the window, leaving drops of crimson blood on the crystalline glass fragments.

Klein ran over and jumped out the window with the help of a chair.

This was the area lining the back of Deweyville Library's ground floor, and a row of trees isolated a lush green field.

The injured Sirius was running to the side in an attempt to enter a small alley between two buildings. Having not practiced shooting at moving targets, Klein didn't dare to fire blindly. He could only pursue the man.

Tap! Tap! Tap! Following the trail of blood on the floor, he tried to close the distance.

With a corner coming up, the injured Sirius's speed was reduced. Klein, who had been waiting for an opportunity to capture him, hesitated, feeling as though the man in front of him wasn't human but a wolf or a tiger. This was an instinct he had as a Seer and also a warning given to him by his spirituality.

Klein slowed down, scanning the blood on the ground. Compared to the blood he had seen earlier, Sirius's blood was now black.

At that moment, a violent wind overwhelmed him, and Sirius's face was reflected in Klein's eyes.

Thick, messy brows. Grayish blue eyes. Multiple protruding warts. An open mouth with two rows of white teeth.

Sirius was suddenly launching a counterattack!

As the face reflected in Klein's eyes became more visible, he could even smell a particularly putrid stench.

Sirius pounced a distance of seven or eight meters—far more than any normal human being could jump—but as Klein had stopped chasing him, there was still a distance of nearly ten meters between them.

When the distance was shortened to two meters, Klein's nerves tense up. He raised his right hand and fired bullets, raining down on the target's head.

Shooting from such a close distance allowed the silver demon hunting bullets to drill through Sirius's head. Blood splattered everywhere as his face became more and more mangled, until he staggered backwards.

In an instant, Klein had emptied all the bullets in his revolver. But Sirius was not dead and tried his hardest to stand up straight.

Klein lifted the cane in his left hand.

Smack! The sturdy silver-inlaid black cane struck Sirius's neck.

Smack! Smack! Smack! Klein acted by raining blows on his opponent until Sirius collapsed, stumbling onto the ground.

Huff! Puff! Huff! Klein supported himself with his cane, taking deep breaths. His eyes were focused intently on his target, afraid that Sirius would suddenly jump back to life.

Sirius' head had been smashed into a pulp, and the warts gradually receded as his body stopped moving after a few convulsions.

Klein was in no hurry to examine the corpse. He tossed his cane to the side and took out the demon hunting bullets he had on him, reloading his revolver.

He collected himself and fought back his disgust, kneeling to search the pockets of Sirius's coat.