The "Apostle of Desire," once clad in Patrick Jason's skin, halted instantly, gazing around with growing bewilderment. Only now did he begin to sense the approaching danger. He stood at the edge of a garden, where the winter had stripped the plants bare, revealing dark, brown soil. On the street to his right, the usual sparse foot traffic during weekday afternoons moved now with quiet regularity, unnoticed and unremarked. Suddenly, a silver gleam appeared in the Apostle's eyes—approaching from the other end of the garden, a fully armored figure walked steadily. Its left shoulder slanted downward, stained with a patch of solidified blood, exuding an eerie grace; the armor itself seemed heavy, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly. At the mere sight of this blood-stained silver armor, the Apostle felt his breath grow shallow, as though confronting his most formidable adversary. How had it come so swiftly? How had they so quickly uncovered my ruse? The Apostles of Desire regained composure, cooled down, and focused intently on sensing the emotions and desires of the extraordinary being within the blood-stained silver armor. Yet what crushed him was that the armor completely blocked his extraordinary abilities—like touching a stone, like touching the cold, lifeless armor itself! He had to lift his right hand, unfold his vast bat wings, and swiftly gather blue flames within them. At that moment, a flash of silver appeared at the base of his right hand, and his thumb dropped to the ground with a clean cut. Swiftly, swiftly, swiftly—the silver glow flickered—and simultaneously, all nine of his remaining fingers snapped off. His suitcase crashed to the ground with a sharp sound. His pupils instantly contracted to pinpoints. Immediately, he flapped his massive bat wings and took off swiftly in a new direction. Unconsciously, his shadow beneath his feet shrank and vanished into a single point. The "Appointed Desire" had just taken two steps when an endless surge of silver light erupted from within him, like a vibrant fireworks display. The viscous black liquid coating his body rained down in droplets, and his forearm, arm, shoulder, ribs, and neck smoothly separated at clean breaks. The blood at the spot where he stood was the most concentrated, thick and rich, while it spread outward in splashes, forming a magnificent bloom of death. A Sequence 5 powerhouse, a "Desire Appointed" who had just survived an impossible assassination, was thus effortlessly dismembered without any resistance. This was the Level 1 Seal. This was the very Seal "1-42" that had once claimed the lives of over one hundred thousand people! Leonard Mitchell, clad in that dreadful armor, advanced with great difficulty, took in the scattered remains, and raised his voice: "He hasn't fully died yet!" He paused, adding, "Different demons have different traits. This 'Apostle of Desire' has the ability to shadow-shift—he just abandoned his physical form, leaving only his shadow behind." As the "Soul Healer" Sostre instructed some of the night-watch members and members of the "Heart of Mechanism" to "keep ordinary people at a distance," he surveyed the scene, listening intently to Leonard's words. He pulled out his watch, opened it and glanced at the time, his expression serious. "We only have ten minutes. Is that enough? Don't push yourself!" "Absolutely! '1–42' has locked onto him—I can feel its excitement," Leonard replied without hesitation. Sostre spread his five fingers, which were gloved in red, and addressed the others. "You carry hot water, follow Leonard closely. If any issue arises, replace immediately and dig out a 'bath' right there." "And make sure to leave your marks—we'll be joining you shortly." "Thud. Thud. Thud. The blood-streaked silver armor began to run, chasing after them—though it seemed heavy, it moved with astonishing speed. Sostar watched the group with red gloves depart, then turned to Ikonser: "Chancellor Bernard, lead the remaining members of 'The Heart of Mechanism' to that house. Secure the duke's guard and all the other living individuals on-site." "Secure?" Ikonser replied instinctively. Sostar nodded firmly: "How could the 'Apostles of Desire' be certain that the duke would visit that house today—down to an exact time—enabling them to precisely preempt the 'Singers of the Divine Song'?" Ikonser suddenly understood: "Are you suggesting that one of the duke's guards, or someone trusted by the duke, is actually an ally of the 'Apostles of Desire'?" Otherwise, such precise timing would be impossible! The very notion of a successful operation would collapse! "All we can say is that this reason is the most probable—there's no ruling out the possibility that the 'Apostles of Desire' might conceal a master seer behind the scenes." Sostar said no more, simply leading the second wave of night-watchers, following the marks, to reinforce his comrades ahead. Ikonser maintained a serious expression, leading the remaining members of the "Heart of Mechanism" back to the lady-in-waiting of Duke Nigen. He looked up at the pale sun veiled behind the thin mist, knowing that the course of events throughout Beckland, the entire kingdom of Roon, and indeed the world itself, would now be irrevocably altered. The "Apostle of Desire" gasped with pain, feeling as though he might instantly plunge into a realm of uncontrolled chaos. He steadied himself a moment, not bothering to reduce the severity of the crisis, and continued his desperate flight, fearing that the dreadful, blood-stained silver armor had already silently closed in behind him. In the hazy dream realm, Caine saw a dark underground passage, a living shadow, a form that seemed to be solidifying into flesh but kept failing, dust particles shedding off from its surface. The scene then lifted, revealing the ground level and a towering church. Saint Wind Cathedral... Caine opened his lightly closed eyes, grasping the situation of the "Apostle of Desire": The man had not been captured, yet he appeared severely wounded, his condition unstable and strangely unusual. His suitcase was gone—likely abandoned when he was injured. Caine thought briefly, then used divination to recall the map of Beckland, bringing it vividly before him. Likewise, he produced a rough layout of Beckland's underground network. — He had long been actively gathering such materials, with a particular focus on the eastern district, the area around the Beckland Bridge, and his own district, Joewood. Through persistent effort, he had already achieved the first phase of his goals, fully understanding the primary layout of the sewer network. To refine it further would require an extremely long and sustained commitment. At times, Klein even considered潜入 the Beckland City Hall to directly steal the relevant design blueprints. Based on two maps and the images he had seen during his earlier "dream divinations," Klein noticed that the "Apostle of Desire," Beleth, had not fled toward the Tassock River as expected, but instead headed directly toward the Hillsdon district, seemingly intending to cross through there and enter the Queen's district, which features an artificial lake. "Thus, he is getting closer to me every day," Klein thought suddenly, and an idea formed. Though I can't be certain which underground passage he'll take, I can judge based on my divination methods... He's severely injured, in an unusually strange condition, and his sensitivity to disturbances has weakened significantly. At close range, it's not impossible to locate him—since I've seen him in his true form and can detect certain traces of his presence. Searching for people? That's my specialty. I must do something—can't let him just walk away! Time is still on our side. After assessing the severity of the situation, Kline made up his mind and returned to the real world. Then he vanished into the air, leaving the Crag Club from a different direction. Now that Caine could fly, he moved with exceptional speed, yet without stirring a single breeze—because he was a spirit. He "swept" past a tree, carrying off a dry branch. Using the memory of Jason Beleia's true form, the faint scent he had retained, and the handkerchief as a medium, Caine employed the "divination staff method," combined with the layout diagram, swiftly pinpointing the sewer passage Jason had taken. Diving into the dark, foul-smelling depths, Caine swiftly navigated through numerous narrow corridors and entered a broader stretch. The dark river flowed, its mingled odors filling the air around him; he occasionally adjusted his course, closely pursuing Jason Beleia. ... "Apex of Desire" nearly lost control again, pausing and pressing tightly against the damp walls and cold pipes, striving to calm the bloodthirsty and murderous impulses within. Huffing, puffing—the slender shadow now subtly rising and falling. At that moment, he suddenly turned his head to gaze at the place he had just passed. The dark, full-body armor and the black crown first caught his eye, outlining an image of unparalleled dignity. Behind that figure, a cloak of weightless texture swayed gently with each step as he moved forward. ………… "Right nearby!" A heavy, blood-stained silver armor slowly climbed the iron stairs and entered the sewer from the entrance.