"Your cooperation with the Enmat Port police seems quite close," Angel observed.
Her injured right hand was already wrapped in bandages, and she watched as strands of blood gradually seeped through the white gauze.
The doctor who had treated her wound was brought by the police. He had strictly followed the rule of "don't look at what shouldn't be seen, don't ask what shouldn't be asked," and after carefully treating her injury, had left in a hurry.
The other police officers—more than a dozen of them—had already left the warehouse under Andrew's command. He had gone to coordinate with the police force, managing the aftermath of their operation.
The officers had skillfully cleaned the scene, binding the warehouse guards behind their backs after they'd been awakened from the dreams induced by "Nightmare." Over twenty ragged, sallow, and emaciated quasi-slaves had been rescued from underground. They had been locked up in the warehouse for so long that they'd lost all hope of escaping alive. Now, seeing daylight and feeling the night sea breeze on their faces, some broke down crying on the spot.
Looking at the "results" of her efforts, Angel felt the wound on her hand didn't hurt quite as much.
"You saw our situation," Clement replied. "We're extremely short-handed, and Enmat Port has too many transients and ill-intentioned Beyonders. These larger operations require Nighthawks from multiple cities to provide support. If we don't closely cooperate with local police, we'd accomplish nothing."
He added, "It's not just us—'Mechanical Heart' does the same. Of course, the Church of the Storm has a stronger presence in Enmat Port. They have more personnel, even enough to spare for sea missions."
Clement was suffering from the side effects of "Goddess's Gaze." His face showed profound weariness, but he still forced himself to sit at the edge of the police wagon's steps, watching the busy officers.
Church of the Storm, worshiping the "Lord of Storms," with stronger forces in coastal cities... Angel recalled her knowledge of mysticism and nodded to show understanding.
"After they finish cleaning up the scene, we still need to retrieve the Beyonder items left by those two Beyonders," Clement continued. "Especially those from that Sequence 6 'Rose Bishop,' Mr. C. He belongs to the middle sequence Beyonders—the more dangerous kind of pathway. If ordinary people touch the items he left behind, it could easily cause secondary disasters. Thomas's mystical item also needs to be recovered and returned to the Mechanical Heart..."
Clement yawned, his weariness becoming more apparent. This suggested that his injury before taking "Goddess's Gaze" wasn't as minor as it had appeared. He would likely need ritual magic treatment upon their return.
Angel suddenly remembered she was still holding Thomas's pocket watch and was about to hand it over to Clement when she noticed Andrew hurrying toward them.
He had changed into a police superintendent's uniform, complete with a police cap, appearing much more mature than when he was in disguise earlier. But the panic on his face undermined Angel's new impression of him.
"Captain, something's not right..." Andrew began, then realized there were still police officers nearby and immediately lowered his voice. "The 'Mechanical Heart' ex-member you mentioned—his body is gone!"
Back in the warehouse cellar, Angel's nose once again caught that faint smell of blood.
Because of the "Aurora Society" crucifix set against the wall and the inverted male statue, ordinary police were prohibited from entering this cellar. At this moment, apart from Angel, Clement, and Andrew standing at the door, there were no other living souls in the cellar with its collapsed ceiling.
The corpse of Thomas, which had been lying not far from the door, had vanished without a trace. Only a much larger bloodstain remained in its place.
Frowning, Clement walked closer to the bloodstain and squatted down. He stretched out his hand to wipe a few spots, then carefully examined his fingertips.
"Some fresh blood, but there are clots in the middle—it flowed out after death..."
Angel was equally confused. She could confirm that Thomas, whose heart had been pierced twice in succession and then consumed by "Bloodthirst," couldn't have survived. But aside from the body somehow resurrecting and walking away on its own, there was no explanation for what they were seeing.
Could someone else have stolen his corpse while the Nighthawks were gone and before the police entered the warehouse?
Wait a minute...
Angel suddenly realized something and ran toward the pile of rubble in the center of the cellar.
Clement also sensed what she was thinking and stood up to follow her.
"Andrew, help move these stones!" he called out as he arrived in front of the charred meat pieces left behind by "Rose Bishop" Mr. C. These "charcoal" remains still lay obediently where they had fallen, but Clement's frown didn't relax as he called for his teammate's assistance.
Leveraging her status as an injured person, Angel supervised alongside Clement. When Andrew moved away several pieces of rubble, she stepped forward, using her dark vision to search for Mr. C's remains.
Sure enough...
Under the stones, only red-and-black mixed bloodstains smeared on the ground remained.
About two-thirds of "Mr. C" was already gone.
"Hmph, 'Rose Bishop'..." Unlike his confident snort during battle, Clement's expression was now extremely grim.
"This guy was blasted into meat chunks and burned completely, yet still survived. His vitality is incredibly tenacious. I suspect he waited until after the battle, after we left, then secretly devoured Thomas's freshly dead body to recover part of his strength. He must have used the exit left by the collapsed ceiling to escape."
For a Sequence 6, even if the warehouse front door was blocked by police, he would have various methods to leave here...
Angel looked toward the gap in the ceiling and the rows of unclosed ventilation windows above the warehouse, trying to guess Mr. C's escape route.
"What about divination? Can we use it like 'Mechanical Heart' did to find Thomas?" Angel remembered that earlier, "Mechanical Heart" had used some kind of sealing item to locate Thomas's hiding place, although they had ultimately been unsuccessful.
"Very difficult," Clement replied. "'Rose Bishop's' flesh magic can alter his appearance, even hide within others' bodies, evading most search methods. When they use such techniques to hide, even divination will give vague or misleading answers."
Truly a bloody and terrifying Beyonder ability. This pathway seems to mainly involve techniques using flesh and blood...
Angel surveyed the blood and body tissue splattered across the cellar, recalling Mr. C's self-harming battle style. She began to understand why the "Aurora Society" was classified as a cult.
"Moreover, divination targeting such hidden cultists carries very high risk," Clement continued. "Earlier, Rupert merely glanced at the idol used in their ritual with spiritual vision and almost lost control. Divination requires closer contact with the target through the spirit world—it's far more dangerous."
He sighed, seemingly giving up on tracking Mr. C further.
"We can only report this matter to the cathedral and have them send the 'Red Gloves' to track him. Those people and the 'Aurora Society' are old enemies—they're familiar with their hiding methods."
Angel felt disappointed as well. Such a Beyonder who worshiped evil gods and was proficient in flesh magic had escaped alive—who knew how many tragic events harming innocents he might cause in the future?
During the battle, Thomas had ambushed her from the darkness and later collapsed the cellar. She had been so exhausted just dealing with that threat that she'd had no time to verify Mr. C's condition. She never imagined the tenaciously alive "Rose Bishop" would escape so easily.
"What about Thomas?" Andrew asked. "Does he count as missing or dead?"
He had excitedly come down to inspect the team's battle results, only to discover that both Beyonders' corpses were missing, which left him quite disappointed.
"We can only report him as missing to 'Mechanical Heart,'" Clement said. "We have no evidence of killing him. Reporting him as dead wouldn't make sense. That mystical item was probably also taken by Mr. C..."
Angel felt her breath catch.
She subconsciously touched her coat pocket. Inside the bullet case, that pocket watch suddenly seemed to burn hot against her skin.