Part 2 The Faceless Man Chapter Two Hundred and One: The Apostle of Desire
At the same time Stuart raised his gun and took aim, the alert Klein had already realized it, and fell forward with the other party’s movements almost indistinguishable from each other’s, and flung himself to the ground.
Bang!
Stuart, who was clearly out of control emotionally, pulled the trigger, and the bullet grazed the side of a private detective’s face and hit the wall, drilling into it.
Brushing it off, the rest of the detectives drew their own revolvers in response to the excitement, seeming to look at anyone as an enemy, and the scene was chaotic.
Among them, Stuart and one of the P.I.’s faces were red, veins bulging, eyes burning with a “flame” of fear and anger, as if they had turned into so-called demons.
Just then, Caslana let out a low growl:
”Stop!”
Her voice was not loud, but it was so powerful that everyone in the room shuddered and unconsciously tried to comply.
There was a brief moment of silence, but the mood of the crowd did not seem to have improved materially, and Klein had rolled to his feet in the other direction, his own revolver in hand.
His thoughts were racing, and, not wishing to hide anything, he intended to rely on his illusionary powers to calm several of his visitors.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang at first.
Ding, ding, ding!
Several private detectives jerked their heads, and a few moments of clarity came into their eyes.
The light ringing of the doorbell was like a pot of cold water poured over their heads.
Stuart looked at the revolver in his hand and whispered blankly:
”What was I just doing ……”
The Official Extraordinary One had struck? Crane sighed in relief, lifted his revolver, and approached the gate.
He had just gripped the handle, and the appearance of the person outside the door had naturally appeared within his mind.
It was Eisinger Stanton, with gray temples, a thin face, a deerstalker hat, and a black overcoat.
The great detective’s face was a little pale, and his left arm was padded high up near the shoulder.
He was indeed all right! Klein was pleased, then became cautious – he still remembered “Master of Secret Puppets” Rosago turned into a familiar police officer to swindle the door.
With his finger on the trigger, Klein pulled the door open and took two steps back.
Eisinger Stanton smiled and nodded at him:
”Thank you for your visit this afternoon, or else an injured me might not have been able to continue playing hide-and-seek with that demon.
”You saved my life.”
Is this …… the correct interpretation of the phrase “it is good to visit Eisinger Stanton”, that going to see him this afternoon will help him out of his predicament? And what about the “appropriate visit” in the following days? Straying from the scene of a murder to avoid suspicion? Klein was momentarily amused.
Without letting his guard down he stepped out of the way:
”What exactly happened?”
”Later.” Eisinger suddenly lowered his voice and let out a laugh, “Did you wish to discuss Extraordinary Person-related topics in front of Stuart and the others?”
So you just so naturally mention Extraordinary People to me? As well, the fact that I could stand still for more than ten minutes with the owner of that demonic dog is enough to show that I am no ordinary man …… and that I have previously offered advice that deliberately points to demonized animals …… Crane did not move and lagged two steps behind Eisinger Stanton.
As soon as they saw this great detective, Caslana and her assistant Lydia sighed in relief, and Stuart and the other private detectives also showed reassuring expressions.
”Mr. Stanton, are you alright?” They asked one after another.
Eisinger moved his left arm slightly and said:
”A little bit injured, but not too serious.
”Well, everyone take it easy, things will pass soon, the police are waiting for the guy in the darkness of the neighborhood.”
”Is it because of that serial murder case?”
”Have you locked up the suspect yet?”
”Will he hurt innocent people?”
……
The private detectives scrambled to ask.
Eisinger pressed down with his right palm:
”Don’t be in a hurry, I’ll tell you all in detail and truthfully, but before that, there are a few questions I need to find out from Sherlock and Kaslana, so let’s go into the sitting room for a few minutes.”
His long-accumulated authority kept the detectives from retorting, and each took a seat.
While they still weren’t reassured enough, there was no longer the problem of restlessness and emotions getting out of control at any moment.
Entering the sitting room and closing the wooden door, Klein looked at the airtight room and suddenly thought of something:
This is the perfect environment to use a “biotoxin vial” type of item!
Coughing …… Klein cleared his throat, walked across the room and opened the glass window.
He still hadn’t let his guard down against Eisinger Stanton, and he didn’t even think Kaslana was trustworthy.
Eisinger looked around and took Klein’s easy chair directly, then chuckled:
”I’m getting older, I still like to sit like this.”
Klein sat down to the single sofa and asked again:
”Mr. Stanton, what exactly happened?”
Eisinger glanced at Caslana behind the coffee table and said:
”We are both Extraordinary Ones, so I won’t lecture on common sense concepts.”
”Extraordinary people?” Caslana looked first at Klein and then at Eisinger, slightly surprised but not too surprised.
So you’re an Extraordinary One as well… how come you were stumped by a weak ghost in the first place and didn’t even see what the problem was… hmmm, maybe it’s the sequence of not being good at dealing with spectral grudge-type creatures… …Klein responded to Kaslana’s gaze.
Eisinger chuckles:
”I once studied abroad in Lemberg for four years, where I was exposed to the transcendent world and became a follower of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.
”After returning to Berkland, I gradually built up a good relationship with the military, with the Church of the Goddess of Night, and with the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, but I still didn’t dare to truly reveal my identity because the Substitute Punisher would definitely purge me as a cultist, and the other official organizations wouldn’t directly help me in this matter because that would be the same as starting a war with the Storm Lord’s Church.
”Not bad for a tyrant’s church.”
”Tyrant?” Klein asked casually.
Eisinger took out his pipe, but only sniffed the tobacco flavor:
”This is the name we call the Storm Lord within our church.
”Well, let me get back to today’s events, the person who attacked me and sent you the threatening letter is the owner of the serial murderer from before, heck, you should know that that murderer is a black dog of the ‘Demon’ sequence, especially Sherlock, you were the first one to point out that the demon could be an animal. ”
Klein smiled, not denying or admitting it. Caslana likewise just crossed her arms and said nothing.
Eisinger instantly shook his head and lost his smile:
”You don’t have to worry, I’m not an enforcer, and as a follower of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, I can’t preach or formally establish an organization in Berkland, I can only use you and people like you to help.”
In other words, you can take the fall for us? Klein flirted in his heart.
Seeing that they still didn’t admit it, Eisinger continued:
”The owner of that demon dog is a Sequence 5 powerhouse, er, as far as I know, the Sequence 5 of the ‘Demon’ pathway is called the ‘Apostle of Desire’, and is able to utilize and manipulate the emotions and desires of every person, inducing them to fall.
”When facing the ‘Apostle of Desire’, one should never have too strong of emotional fluctuations, or too obvious of desires, or else one will immediately be remotely controlled by him, or plant the seeds, or directly catalyze them.
”This will cause a person to be exposed to a multitude of problems, gradually degenerate, or lose control of their emotions at critical moments and be unable to fight back …… This is only part of the ‘Apostle of Desire’s’ extraordinary ability, and I confirmed this aspect in my battles with him. ”
Hearing this, Klein understood one reason why the other party had put the threatening letter and made provocative gestures in a hugh way:
He wanted to provoke himself and make his emotions take a drastic swing, thus accomplishing the purpose of planting the seeds of depravity or catalyzing his emotions and letting it explode out of control!
It would make his subsequent attacks easy and effortless!
Luckily, I am an extraordinary person who has seen and experienced a lot of things, and was only on guard and cautious …… Stuart and the others should have seen the threatening letter and experienced a more obvious emotional change, and thus were planted by the “Apostle of Desire”! ……
If they were not stabilized in time, the scene would have become chaotic from the inside, so that the official extraordinary people around them would not be able to react in time, leaving plenty of opportunities for the “Apostle of Desire” ……
The slow time I felt at Eisinger Stanton’s house was amplified by a sudden surge of caution, nervousness, and alertness?
Klein thought back to earlier with a pang of gratitude.
”So that’s what it was ……” Kaslana also seemed to understand a lot of things.
Eisinger rubbed the corner of his forehead and said:
”I then almost got manipulated by him and was injured as a result, after which I utilized a magical item and played hide-and-seek with him inside the house until Sherlock visited and there was a stalemate between the three parties, and only then did I get a chance to catch my breath.
”My poor assistant was looking forward to returning to Lombard for the Mass service in the New Year.”
At that, he let out a long sigh.
”When the police arrived, I took advantage of the opportunity to escape, and later used the river to get off the trail.” Eisinger added, turning to say, “Sherlock, Kaslana, what are you going to do about it?”
Caslana was silent for a moment and said:
”Mr. Stanton, what do you suggest?”
Eisinger said:
”Accept official protection first, so that the ‘Apostle of Desire’ will not dare to act, and hope that he will be captured or killed soon.
”If that idea doesn’t materialize and the officials can’t send people to protect us all the time, then we only have two choices, one is to change our and our family’s identities with their help and live in a different place, but no one can guarantee that the ‘Apostle of Desire’ won’t find out, or we can just join the appropriate official organization and Become a peripheral member, which will also have a change in identity and residence, but is much safer.”
Join the appropriate official organization? The Mechanical Heart? Or go to places like Lemberg Marcy and join the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom? Wouldn’t that make me a believer of three surnames, no, three families? Klein inexplicably felt a sense of absurdity.
He asked for advice thoughtfully:
”Is there no other way?”
Meanwhile, Kaslana’s expression did not change, not knowing what she was thinking.
Eisinger Stanton rubbed his pipe and said:
”There is, and that is for us to join forces and create an opportunity to identify and stall the ‘Apostle of Desire’ as quickly as possible.
”The perfect outcome, of course, would be to strike and kill him outright.”