Megose.
She was the first real boss Klein encountered in the original story—a vessel for the descent of the True Creator's offspring and the direct cause of the Tingen Nighthawks's near annihilation. (Of course, this was all orchestrated by Ince Zangwill.)
But according to that third-rate writer's arrangements, wasn't she supposed to wait for an opportunity to attack Blackthorn Security Company and help him obtain Saint Selena's ashes?
Why had she suddenly come to Backlund, knocking on his door in the middle of the night?
Could it be that their previous encounter at the Divination Club had put him on Ince Zangwill's radar? But his goal was to obtain the ashes and ascend to demi-godhood—why would he be targeting me? And besides, the quill's interference shouldn't be able to reach across cities…
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, KNOCK.
Megose resumed her persistent knocking. Her impatience was growing, the knocks becoming louder, her fingernails now scratching at the door, producing a sharp, grating sound.
By now, Edward had assessed the situation. Fighting was out of the question. Running?
If she had managed to track him all the way from Tingen to Backlund, she likely possessed some kind of extraordinary tracking ability. If he ran, would he have to keep wandering aimlessly, never settling down?
And if she was being so 'polite' as to knock today, what was stopping her from launching a direct attack next time?
Suddenly, he froze.
No, something's off.
Megose had caused such a massive incident in Tingen because the official forces there were too weak. But this was Backlund! If he reported her to the Church, within minutes, multiple demi-gods would descend upon her and resolve the issue.
Not only that, but this would also indirectly alleviate the crisis for the Tingen Nighthawks, repaying Klein's life-saving kindness. A win-win scenario!
No time to waste!
With a quick Apparition, Edward reappeared a few hundred meters away from Saint Samuel Cathedral.
The cathedral was still brightly lit, its glow against the crimson moon adding to its mysterious yet reassuring presence—probably because the moon and the night were both symbols of the Goddess.
"As an undocumented 'wild' Beyonder in this world, I should be avoiding the Church like the plague…Yet here I am, delivering myself to their doorstep. I wonder if my fellow transmigrator, the Evernight Goddess, has taken notice of me. And if so…what does she think of my existence?"
Edward pulled out a pen and paper, quickly scrawling the words "A descendent of an evil god has appeared in the Empress Borough." Just as he was about to slip it under the door, he paused.
Since every Church had diviners among them, his real identity might be uncovered.
Better to play it safe.
He took out the Polyjuice Potion he had brewed earlier, downed a sip, and transformed into an unremarkable passerby. Then, he rewrote the message on a fresh piece of paper and placed it at the entrance of the cathedral.
To ensure he caught their attention, he banged on the door several times.
But then another thought struck him—what if the clergy were already asleep at this hour?
After hesitating for a moment, he picked up a nearby rock…and hurled it at the stained-glass window.
CRASH!
The sound of shattering glass echoed sharply through the silent night.
Without missing a beat, Edward teleported to Holy Wind Cathedral in Cherwood Borough, belonging to the Church of the Lord of Storms.
Unlike the ever-bright Saint Samuel Cathedral, this one was shrouded in darkness.
He left another note. And—just to be thorough—hurled another rock.
Finally, he arrived at Saint Hierländ Cathedral in St. George Borough belonging to the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery and repeated the process.
"Do it and run. Damn, this is exhilarating!"
After completing his triple-hit mission, Edward retreated to the southern part of the bridge district, the area closest to Empress Borough, and watched from the shadows.
The first responders turned out to be the Church of Storm's hot-headed zealots—though it was possible that the other Churches were just keeping a lower profile. Unlike them, the Lord of Storms' followers arrived with thunder and lightning.
That night, Empress Borough was in complete turmoil.
By the next morning, The Backlund Daily had dubbed it "Empress Borough's Sleepless Night."
But whether Megose and the evil god's offspring in her belly had been dealt with…Edward had no idea.
———
[Noon, the Next Day]
Edward returned to the villa, exhausted from staying up all night.
In the courtyard, Susie was lying under a tree, rolling on her back and basking in the sunlight.
The moment she saw him, she leapt to her feet, shook off the grass clinging to her fur, and spoke, "Audrey says that because of what happened last night, Earl Hall won't let her leave the house. You'll have to go on your own today."
Edward blinked innocently. "Last night? What happened last night?"
Susie sat down and pondered for a moment. "Apparently, someone provoked all three major Churches at the same time. I didn't catch the details."
Edward was dumbfounded.
"I was reporting the descent of an evil god, and that somehow turned into me provoking the Churches? And not just one, but all three?"
Yes, okay, I broke some windows. But that was to get their attention faster!
These people have no sense of priorities!
Though indignant, Edward kept a mild smile on his face. "I see. Thanks for letting me know, Susie."
Susie happily wagged her tail, expectantly looking at Edward.
"Ah, right. Here you go."
He pulled out a piece of dried chicken meat. Susie snatched it and bolted away.
Damn, she's really gotten used to being fed chicken, huh?
After staying up all night, Edward was mentally and physically drained. But now that the three Churches had their eyes on Empress Borough, it was probably the safest place to be.
"Man, what a mess."
———
[Evening—Fors and Xio's Apartment, Backlund Bridge District]
Xio entered the apartment to find Fors sprawled on the couch, a manuscript covering her face, looking every bit like a lazy salted fish.
Unable to hold back, Xio remarked, "Don't tell me you've been lying there all day again?"
Fors peeled the manuscript off her face and muttered, "Nonsense. I wrote a whole…." She glanced at her manuscript, then, attempting to sound confident, declared, "Half a page!"
Xio poured herself a glass of water and downed it in one go. "Phew…I was dying of thirst!"
Fors yawned. "What's up?"
"Last night, someone smashed the windows of all three major Churches. Apparently, it turned into an all-night chaos with no resolution. Now, there's a bounty out—3,000 gold pounds for the so-called 'Blasphemer.'"
Fors braced herself and sat up. "3,000 pounds?! I've never seen that much money in my life."
A few seconds later, she flopped back down, resuming her lifeless fish pose. "If even the Church had to issue a bounty, this 'Blasphemer' must be really hard to catch."
"That's what I thought too." Xio chuckled. "So while everyone else was busy searching for the 'Blasphemer,' I went ahead and completed several overlooked bounties in one go."
"Impressive." Fors gave her a thumbs-up.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock sounded from outside. Xio immediately became alert and walked to the door. "Who is it?"
"It's me, Edward."
Xio hesitated slightly. "Edward…who?"
"..."
Outside the door, Edward was momentarily speechless.
Did he really have that little presence? He was now being mentioned in the same breath as Amon, labelled as the 'Blasphemer'!
Even he had been stunned when he first heard that title.
Me? A Blasphemer? Does Amon approve of this?
"I'm the Edward who helped you win twice."
"Oh, it's you."
Xio finally remembered. She opened the door, a hint of anticipation on her face. "Have you changed your mind? Are you willing to help me find out who put a bounty on you?"
"Not exactly."
Edward seriously suspected that if Xio found out he was the so-called 'Blasphemer,' she might report him to the Church herself.
Stepping into the room, he got straight to the point. "I have a commission for you. I need you to help me gather some materials. As for payment, I'll sell you a potion formula."
Xio raised an eyebrow. "So let me get this straight: we do the work, and the payment is that you'll sell us something? That's a real win-win, huh? You're learning fast."
"I'm offering the formula for the Apprentice pathway's Sequence 8—Trickmaster."
Fors suddenly sat upright, her eyes widening in surprise. She hesitated before asking,
"But how do we know the formula is real?"
"Uh…" Edward was momentarily stumped.
That was a problem he hadn't considered. The formulas he had previously bought at Mr. A's gathering had seemed reliable, possibly due to the Snake of Mercury's luck blessing. And this time, the formula was one confirmed in the original storyline. But Fors and Xio didn't know that.
They weren't close enough to trust him yet.
After thinking for a moment, Edward said, "You can have it appraised. That shouldn't be too hard for people who frequent the Beyonder circles like you."
Fors frowned. "But appraisals cost money."
At that moment, Xio made a firm decision. "We'll take the commission."
Edward handed her a prepared note. "These are the materials I need."
He flashed a mischievous smile. "Of course, you could also consider it as the Trickmaster formula…but I can't guarantee you won't lose control after drinking it."
"..."
"Also, if you come across any notes from Emperor Roselle, please buy them for me. I want to study them."
Fors felt like she was in a dream.
She had been searching for the Trickmaster formula for so long, and now it had just…fallen into her lap?
If she advanced to Sequence 8, wouldn't she finally be able to hear the murmurs of the Crimson Moon clearly? Wouldn't she be able to free herself from this suffering and return to normal?
But Sequence 8 formulas cost at least 450 pounds. Given that Trickmaster might have an even higher price, plus the materials required, the total could be around 1,000 pounds!
Yet all she had was less than 200 pounds.
No! I can't keep going on like this! I need to make money—fast!
Fors repeatedly hyped herself up, then marched to her desk with the determination of someone heading to the execution grounds. She spread out her manuscript papers, picked up a pen, and began furiously writing, completely forgetting that Edward was still in the room.
Xio shrugged. "Hmm, this kind of sudden burst of motivation usually doesn't last more than half a day for her. Hopefully, this time will be different."
Edward couldn't help but laugh.
Fors's attitude was exactly like how he had felt every Monday morning when he had to get up for work in his past life.
"Well then, I'll head out to gather your materials. I'll contact you as soon as I have news."
Unlike Fors, Xio was swift and decisive in her actions. However, just as she reached the door, she turned back and asked, "Right, where do you live? How should we contact you?"
Edward gave her his current address, while inwardly realizing something:
So far, I've only dealt with Audrey. Whenever I needed to find her, I'd just Apparate over. But now that I'm getting involved with more people, I can't just keep teleporting all the time… What if someone needs to find me?
Do I need to get a messenger?
But who could teach him the summoning ritual?
With the handful of people he knew, none seemed capable of it.
Hmm…Miss Bodyguard Sharron should know, right? Should I try my luck with her again?
It just so happened that he also needed to visit the Bravehearts Bar to ask Caspars to take him to an underground Beyonder gathering.
In Lord of the Mysteries, two major underground gatherings were explicitly mentioned in Backlund—one was hosted by Mr. A, and the other was run by a detective known as the Eye of Wisdom.
Since Mr. A hadn't announced any new meetings recently, his only option was to try his luck at the Bravehearts Bar.
Speaking of luck…
Should I get Will Auceptin to bless me again?
…Forget it.
Both Adam and the Evernight Goddess had hinted before:
"Every gift from fate comes with a hidden price."
Although that useless Silver Snake wasn't on the same level as those two, he was still a powerful entity. If he chose to 'invest' in Edward, it was bound to come with a purpose.
It might be called an 'investment,' but in reality, it was a transaction. And the true price of the deal wouldn't be paid by the present him—but by his future self.
It was essentially…taking out a loan on his future fate.
Edward sighed.
"No thanks. I'd rather not get into debt with a deity."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.