Case 12! The demon slayer! At the very moment he saw the body and heard the sound, Cline's hair stood on end, and he knew something bad had happened. Within his line of sight, the living room was adorned with bright yellow accents—everything from the coffee table to the sofa appeared normal, except for the carpet, which had soaked up a fresh pool of blood and was slowly spreading it out. Beside the female corpse, whose abdomen wound was empty, a large black dog crouched, its mouth slightly open, revealing a series of sharp, white teeth that made one shiver. On each tooth, dark red streaks resembling rust were visible—evidence of prolonged feeding without frequent cleaning. At this moment, several of the dog’s teeth were still wrapped in strands of bloodied small intestines, with scattered fragments of fresh meat clustered around. The dog’s head shifted, and its molten eyes reflected Cline, the worker, clearly seeing his carefully composed face. "Hoh!" A defiant roar erupted from the large black dog's throat. Truly an animal! It was Sequence 6's "Demon," on the cusp of becoming one! And yet, none of the preparations I made today were specifically aimed at it. A cascade of such thoughts flashed through Caine's mind in an instant. Suddenly, the black dog's body rapidly expanded, transforming into a monstrous creature towering over two meters high. Behind it, a pair of massive bat wings slowly unfurled, while spiral-shaped horns adorned with mysterious patterns grew at the sides of its ears. Within the moist, gleaming fur, bursts of crimson and blue flames leapt forth, releasing a strong, rich sulfurous scent. At the same time, Caine planted one foot firmly on the ground, advancing instead of retreating, and launched his staff forward with the force of a projectile, charging straight toward the Demon giant dog. Crack! The black Demon dog surged forward with swift precision, its claws tipped with sharp spines slicing through the air, striking Caine squarely on the body. In an instant, its claws pierced through the figure, as if slicing through air itself! Klein's form dimmed and quickly became transparent. It was only a phantom! A illusion conjured by Klein! At that moment, he had already rolled on the ground, moving closer to the bulging window, then pressed and pushed with his left hand, launching his entire body upward and straight into the glass. Once he identified his enemy, he had made up his mind to flee immediately! The demon hound's magma-like eyes instantly flared bright, as though flames were burning within. It opened its mouth, emitting a foul-smelling, crude word in demon tongue, laden with contempt: "Dead!" Pfft! Klein's body froze midair, his heart as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand. The figure suspended in space instantly thinned and faded, becoming a crude paper figure. And upon this paper figure, rusted red stains spread, patchy and uneven. Clang, crack—the two sounds came almost simultaneously. Klein reappeared, breaking through the bulging window, crashing onto the stone-paved street beside it, while the substitute paper figure drifted down, igniting with a sulfurous flame. The demonic hound growled, then surged forward, leaping onto the window sill. A glowing blue-red fireball shot from its mouth, hurling toward the enemy's retreating path. As soon as Klein landed, he immediately rolled again; the blue-red fireball struck beside him but did not explode immediately, as though held back by an unseen force. Boom! Only after Klein had rolled and scrambled several paces away did the fireball expand and burst, shattering the surrounding stones. Seeing the demonic hound charging toward him, Klein had already prepared—opened his mouth wide. He shouted, "Murder! Murder!" "Help! Help!" "Murder! Murder!" "Help!" The sound seemed to carry a special effect, spreading out over the quiet night and wakening residents along the entire street, reaching even the patrollers stationed two blocks away. The demon hound, mid-pounce, halted abruptly, paused for a moment, then retreated back into the room to begin clearing the scene. Meanwhile, Klein's rushing figure vanished instantly amid the cries of "Murder! Save us!" As the hearth in a neighboring building, previously extinguished, suddenly flared to life with a dramatic surge of flames, Klein appeared as if performing a magic act—leaping lightly into the flames and then stepping out with his staff. Using his "Universal Key," he opened doors where there were none, passed through walls, and swiftly fled in a new direction. "Well, when it comes down to it, nothing beats the urgent, heartfelt plea of a non-specialist—compared to the mechanical sound of firing gunshots," Klein remarked, as he produced a bottle of Amande's pure essence and dripped a few drops onto his body. Since the "demon's" original race was canine, he had to be especially vigilant about the ability to track by scent! Thus, he kept walking until he reached another intersection, where he finally paused to survey his surroundings. Observing that this area was relatively quiet and unaffected, he hurried to the sidewalk and hired a rented carriage. Only after the carriage had traveled a considerable distance through the night did he truly feel at ease, knowing the "demon" could no longer catch up. The "Universal Key" truly is peculiar—it managed to lead me all the way to the murder scene, and henceforth, I must use it with utmost caution. Indeed, it's an animal transformed into a "demon." Where did it obtain its magic potion and recipe? Does it have a human companion? And how exactly did it select its targets for the series of murders? Well, once this point was established, it would be much harder for it to carry out further attacks, and the chances of it being caught would significantly increase... One after another, thoughts and questions arose in Caine's mind, while the carriage swiftly moved along the broad, empty roads, passing between one gas lamp and another. Suddenly, Caine had a sudden inspiration, and a vivid image naturally formed in his mind: pea vines stretching downward from the sky, interweaving to form a dense forest path, while the driver remained completely unaware, steering the carriage steadily over these green plants. Oh no! Without hesitation, Caine rushed toward the window, eager to leap onto the street. Thud! The carriage shook, and he was pushed back. At the same time, the pea vines actually began to hang down. Caine furrowed his brows, trying to command the flames to ignite the carriage, yet his snapping fingers failed to produce any sound. At that moment, the surroundings had grown unusually quiet—even the sounds of hooves stepping on green foliage and wheels rushing past had faded away. Caine struggled to remain calm, gazing out the window to see the carriage now traveling along a road woven by bean vines, rising into the air. This wasn't Beckland, he thought, blurring his eyes slightly. Just then, the carriage came to a stop, and outside, the bean vines formed suspended beds like seats. A pair of black leather boots hung down from there, and a soft, yet emotionally neutral voice reached Caine's ears: "What were you doing just now?" It was the woman from the museum—the one suspected to be a high-tier strength—she hadn't recognized him, though he had previously disguised himself as a man using the Azk copper horn. She must have come in response to the cry for help. Caine's thoughts now surged with remarkable activity. He deliberately swallowed a lump of saliva and said, "I'm a private detective. I've been working with several friends on the recent series of murders." "I have a magical item called the 'Universal Key'—it can open doors and even pass through walls, though it often leaves me lost." "It was precisely during this journey that I stumbled directly onto the crime scene, since I wasn't facing the right opponent—I had to run while shouting for help." Every word I said was true... Klein silently added to himself. After finishing, there was a brief silence outside, yet he felt as though a gaze had pierced through the carriage, through the obstacles, directly examining the items he carried. Fortunately, I'd taken precaution and left the Azk copper whistle and bookmark behind in the gray mist... At this very moment, Klein felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Caution and care truly pay off! After that indescribable, intensely oppressive silence, a soft, emotionless female voice finally spoke: "The key carries a certain curse—it is not mandatory; do not use it." As soon as she finished speaking, everything around them suddenly transformed. The pea vines, the forest path, the pathway leading into the sky—all vanished. The carriage continued moving along the street, passing through the elegant, iron-black gas lamps. Klein had been holding his breath the entire time, until the carriage reached the vicinity of the East District, where he paid an eight sou fare—normally, rented carriages do not enter any street within the East District, as they are often robbed. In the one-room apartment on Black Palms Street, Klein changed into fresh clothes and went straight to bed, without attempting to return to Minster Street after midnight—the twelfth murder had occurred, and the situation in Beckett must now be even more tense; there would surely be numerous checks and inquiries outside. He didn’t immediately head up into the gray mist to investigate the secret of that “bookmark,” behaving instead exactly as he had described to the mysterious woman—just a low-tier private detective with some exceptional abilities. “Tonight has been quite unexpected, quite thrilling—really, I only wanted to steal something… well, most of the problems must be attributed to the ‘universal key,’” he chuckled to himself, and soon drifted off to sleep. The letter without postage that came with the newspaper was a water bill that needed to be paid by Klein himself. He glanced at it briefly and casually set it on the coffee table, then returned to the second floor to boil water and take a bath. Only when the steam filled the bathroom did he seize the opportunity, stepping backward four paces and entering the gray mist. Inside the majestic, unchanging ancient palace, Klein sat down and picked up the bookmark depicting the image of Emperor Roscel. "It was no easy task to finally get you," he murmured, gently running his fingers over the hard paper surface, without speaking further.