LOM: Lord of Mysticism

After handing out the mission, Klein followed his original schedule of mysticism lessons in the morning and combat lessons in the afternoon. The regularity of his life almost made him forget that he was a member of the Nighthawks. The 'curse' of often encountering supernatural incidents seemed to disappear as well.

It was Saturday, his turn to guard Chanis Gate.

"You can enjoy the coffee I left here or the black tea in the clerk's office." Dunn said.

Klein nodded. "Alright, Captain. You sure are a generous gentleman."

"Those will help you relax. Being tense all the time is not good for your health." Dunn laughed, and as he was exiting the door, he turned around. "I forgot to remind you: do not open Chanis Gate. Remember, no matter what you hear, no matter what happens."

Captain, that's a little scary...

Despite not being dawn yet, the well-ventilated but quiet and dark underground was illuminated by gas lamps. The dim yellow light steadily shone throughout the empty and quiet tunnel.

Klein sat in the duty room to prevent anyone from getting close to the Chanis Gate. His windbreaker and top hat were hung on the clothes rack near the entrance while his cane leaned against the wall where it could be easily retrieved.

He picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. "Fermo Coffee from the Paz Valley, very bitter but very refreshing."

The Paz Valley was located in the Southern Continent, a region that produced high-quality coffee beans. It was currently being fought over by the Intis Republic and the Loen Kingdom. They both built colonist settlements on the left and right banks of the Paz Valley, while the original Paz Kingdom was destroyed.

In the eerie silence, Klein casually picked up a magazine and realized that it was Ladies Aesthetic, which talked about fashion and dating.

"The dress looks nice; she's pretty too..." Klein flipped through it casually.

Quickly losing interest in the magazine, he set it aside and picked up a novel instead.

"Stormwind Mountain Villa, author: Fors Wall," Klein read from the cover.

The book told the story of Lady Sissi, who became a home tutor at the Fruys Mountain Villa. 

"One pound is about half a kilogram... Is this Jane Eyre in an alternate world?" Klein mused.

At first, the novel seemed to be a romance, but soon an evil spirit appeared in the plot. Thinking it was a ghost story, Klein was then surprised when Lady Sissi revealed herself to be a detective and made a brilliant deduction.

When Klein began to settle into the idea of it being a detective novel, the main male character suffered a blow to the head, losing his memory, and the story turned into a heart-wrenching drama. 

So it's Lord of the Mysteries with extra steps? Klein chuckled to himself. 

"…And in the end, it's still a romance book." He closed the novel with a sigh and took a sip of his coffee. 

Never ever mention romance to a Lord of the Mysteries fan.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Suddenly a ferocious knocking reverberated in the corridor. Klein jumped in shock and drew his revolver. He slowly walked to the door to look for the source of the sound.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The thumping gradually became intense. Klein looked at the black outward-swinging gates engraved with seven Sacred Emblems.

"Sounds from beyond the Chanis Gate?"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Klein saw Chanis Gate shake. "It can't be, right? I'm encountering something on my first day on duty."

He recalled the Captain's instruction: do not open Chanis Gate no matter what you hear, unless it is opened from the inside.

The commotion beyond the Chanis Gate grew, but the heavy black metal gates only shook slightly, without showing any additional unusual signs.

"This seems normal. But I nearly died from the shock..." Klein muttered, ready to return to the duty room.

Just then, he heard a sharp grinding noise. He looked at the heavy Chanis Gate bulging outwards as a crack appeared on its surface!

Zing! In the jarring noise, Klein saw a figure. Its height was about the length of a man's arm, wearing a classic, black, miniaturized regal gown with an obvious stain on it.

It had a not-so-exquisite face, black eyes, and tightly sealed lips. It was a toy cloth puppet!

At that moment the cloth puppet leaned heavily into a small crack and unfurled the paper it was holding.

There were many mysterious symbols on the paper. Together, they formed a vertical eye.

Klein had yet to understand the situation when the puppet was suddenly dragged back by a shapeless force to the back of Chanis Gate.

Creak! Chanis Gate closed once again, and the basement regained its tranquility.

"I have to inform the captain that Chanis Gate was opened from the inside and then closed itself..."

Klein recalled what the cloth puppet was. Since he was an official member of the Nighthawks, he was given the clearance to know about it.

"Number: 0625.

Name: Misfortune Cloth Puppet.

Danger Grade: 3. Considerably dangerous. It has to be used carefully. It can only be applied for operations that require three or more people.

Security classification: Official Nighthawk member or above.

Sealing method: Only needs to be separated from humans.

Description: The cloth puppet is wearing a regal gown that was popular around the year 1300. The gown has a stain that is almost impossible to remove. It is uncertain if the stain was always present.

In a few tragic cases of financial crises recorded in Tingen, the police were informed of the existence of the puppet.

A few Nighthawks accepted the request and started an investigation on the puppet. They determined that it brought misfortune, causing people around it to be unlucky and in danger. It only took two weeks for them to reach the brink of bankruptcy, and finally, they would die one after another.

The puppet isn't equipped with the capability to live. It doesn't have any inclinations of escaping the seal.

Through extended periods of experimentation, it was discovered that as long as one does not come within ten meters of it for more than half an hour a day, they wouldn't be tainted with misfortune. If misfortune has befallen someone, the person will immediately have his situation turn for the better if the misfortune is transferred to another person."

As Klein recalled the information of Sealed Artifact 3-0625, he felt even more doubtful.

Didn't it mention that the puppet isn't equipped with the capability to live and that it doesn't have any inclinations of escaping the seal?

Klein decided not to make any decision on his own and returned to the duty room, pulling a rope.

The rope tightened and the gear spun. A hurried ringtone rang on the second floor of the Blackthorn Security Company. Leonard Mitchell and the other Sleepless who were playing cards in the entertainment room put down their poker cards and ran to the basement.