Lord of Mysteries: The New Black Emperor

Chapter 74: Closing the Case

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Upon entering the Nation of Disorder, Hobert no longer held back, presenting all of his "memories" to 2-355.

In the scene, the enormous figure was blurry, but even within the Nation of Disorder, Hobert didn't dare to look directly at it.

Then, beyond the transparent sky of the Nation of Disorder, a massive city appeared. The city seemed engulfed in towering flames, floods, unstoppable plagues, violent earthquakes, and an elusive yet terrifying aura.

Hobert felt the resonance of the Nation of Disorder, and his spirituality was suddenly enlightened. It was another Sefirah! It was the City of Calamity!

The City of Calamity charged fiercely toward the Nation of Disorder, and for a moment, the heavens and earth crumbled, and everything fell into chaos.

The sky and land, day and night, the old town and clock tower within the Nation of Disorder were all dislocated from their original positions.

This resulted in the current scene where the sky and land were intertwined, and day and night coexisted.

Although Hobert did not dare to look at the giant outside the sky, he began to speculate about its identity. The Celestial Worthy? God Almighty? The Oldest One?

Only these three entities could, without clear reason, control one Sefirah to collide with another.

At this moment, the scene before Hobert shifted again. Due to the violent collision of the two Sefirahs, 2-355 fell into the real world in the form of a stone.

After an unknown amount of time, the stone was picked up by a Beyonder on the Apprentice Pathway because it came from the Nation of Disorder, making it a naturally mystical object.

The following scenes depicted several figures, though none of their faces were clear.

In a battle between Beyonders, the owner of the stone was killed by someone emitting a dark holy light. As the Apprentice Pathway Beyonder's blood spilled onto the stone, it gained the ability to twist space. Along with the blood, the unwillingness of the Beyonder also seeped into the stone, giving it a faint sentience.

Hobert speculated that the person emanating the dark holy light was likely Solomon or someone from the Solomon family.

Next, Hobert, through his spiritual insight, sensed that if he injected the power of the Nation of Disorder into 2-355, the abilities of this sealed artifact would be further enhanced.

However, Hobert chose not to do so because the sealed artifact did not yet fully belong to him. Strengthening it could wait until it was entirely his.

After learning the origins of 2-355, Hobert used a bestowal method to bring it out of the Nation of Disorder.

Hobert rested for a while, waiting for his spirituality to recover before heading to the Obsidian Bar to return 2-355 to Daly.

The Obsidian Bar was where Hobert and Daly would meet in the future, as Hobert wasn't part of an evil organization, nor was he a regular informant. Instead, he was more like a collaborator with goodwill toward the Nighthawks.

Thus, their meetings weren't too secretive or overly cautious.

Daly, sipping her beer, asked, "Have your investigations yielded any results?"

The Obsidian Bar had a high-end decor. Located in the northern district, its main clientele were middle-class individuals, a stark contrast to the bars in the East Borough.

The bar had a faint floral scent at the counter instead of the stench of feet and sweat.

There weren't many customers in the morning, making the bar feel spacious.

Sitting beside Daly, Hobert pointed to the stone box and lowered his voice, saying, "It was once held by a Beyonder on the Apprentice Pathway. The stone gained its ability to twist space when that Beyonder was killed."

Daly was surprised, not expecting Hobert to have made such a discovery. "Can you tell me what method you used to investigate it?"

The Nighthawks had tried several divination methods yesterday, but they couldn't figure out the origins of 2-355.

Hobert smiled and said, "Of course, but you'll have to issue me an 'External Personnel' certificate first!"

Daly half-joked, "It's not impossible."

"Alright, I'll be waiting for your certificate," Hobert replied with a smile as he stood up to leave.

He found a restaurant and spent 2 soli 7 pence on a reasonably delicious lunch. Then, he took a carriage to the police station in the western suburbs, where he requested part of the Henry family's assets as compensation for his client.

Usually, such claims weren't given much attention by the police, and it might take one or two months for compensation to be approved.

However, because of the unique nature of this case—and more importantly, because the officer attending to Hobert was Daniel—the process went smoothly.

Daniel, though ignorant of the Beyonder world, had experienced the events on the second floor of the Henry house. He understood that Hobert must be someone from that mysterious world.

At the time, Hobert had solved the issue on the second floor with just two gunshots, but when the special department arrived, Hobert and his team fired twenty or thirty rounds inside the house!

About twenty minutes later, a man with a scar on his face emerged from the house, looking somewhat disheveled, which was enough to show that they had dealt with something even more terrifying.

With Daniel's cooperation, things went smoothly. In just over two hours, Hobert obtained 20 pounds from the Henry family's assets.

After thanking Daniel, Hobert took another carriage to the Polly family.

When he arrived, Hobert glanced at the Henry house, where the doorframe had been cordoned off with police tape, and two officers were standing guard in the yard.

In his conversation with Mr. Pollyi, Hobert learned that the Nighthawks had visited again that morning.

Of course, Mr. Polly wasn't aware of the Nighthawks; he simply mentioned a carriage bearing the Sacred Emblem of Evernight had arrived again.

It seemed they were checking to ensure there were no more loose ends at the Henry house.

"It was Henry's dog that dug a tunnel between the Henry and Ailey family basements. That's why the Henry family's dog would sometimes emerge from the Ailey home," Hobert explained. "So the ones who should compensate you are the Henry family, not the Aileys."

At first, Mr. Polly was puzzled, wondering why the Aileys hadn't noticed this. But as he saw Hobert take out 20 pounds in cash, any remaining doubts vanished.

Hobert said, "This is part of the Henry family's assets that I just retrieved from the police. Ten pounds is to compensate for your loss, and the other ten pounds is my commission."

He shook his head, jokingly adding, "I nearly lost my life for that 10-pound fee yesterday!"

Originally, Mr. Polly had given up hope of receiving compensation, but when he got the 10 pounds, he was overjoyed. Yet, seeing Hobert pocket his own 10 pounds, Mr. Polly couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

On the way back, Hobert once again sensed the looseness of his potion. As expected, every time he completed a commission, his spirituality became more active.

On Saturday morning, as Hobert arrived at the law firm, he saw Mr. Robin and his cousin waiting at the entrance before he even got out of the carriage.