Lord of Mysteries:The Good Witch

A hired carriage raced through the streets towards the dock district. To avoid detection by the "Instigator" Tris, the two Nighthawks opted for an unmarked vehicle instead of their police-branded wagon.

As the coachman's occasional shouts filtered through the window, Dunn Smith, captain of the Tingen Nighthawks, glanced at Leonard Mitchell seated opposite him. Leonard was meticulously checking his equipment - the holster under his arm, the revolver within, and spare ammunition in his coat and trouser pockets. Since their target was only a Sequence 8 Beyonder, they hadn't brought sealed artifacts like during Mrs. Sharon's capture, relying instead on their own abilities and conventional weapons.

Unlike Leonard, Dunn wasn't inspecting his sidearm. In fact, he rarely used guns in combat anymore, carrying them mainly to intimidate ordinary people. After advancing to Sequence 7 "Nightmare", his fighting style had shifted towards true Beyonder abilities rather than physical combat or weapons.

Leonard finished loading his last set of spare rounds into a speed loader and tucked it into his left coat pocket for easy access. Only then did he look up at Dunn, seeming puzzled.

"Captain," he hesitated before asking, "why didn't you bring Miss Granger along? We have Tris's portrait, but she's seen him in person. If he dares show up at the underground market again, she'd be the quickest to spot him."

"Conversely, Tris has also seen her. Wouldn't you be suspicious if someone who rejected an invitation yesterday suddenly changed their attitude and approached you today?" Dunn countered with a smile, having learned the details of their encounter from Angel.

"That's not a reason," Leonard said seriously. "She could act as a hidden lookout, or even watch the entrance from inside the Evil Dragon Bar. We could move in as soon as Tris shows his face."

"You still suspect her?" Dunn asked.

"Don't you?" Leonard replied.

Dunn leaned back, shifting his legs to a more comfortable position. "A newly-initiated wild Beyonder 'Assassin' who reported her non-official mentor, who then mysteriously attacked the Nighthawks' base and died under unclear circumstances."

"Using that as merit to join the Nighthawks, she then 'coincidentally' encountered two other 'Assassins' and an 'Instigator' from the same pathway, trying to direct our attention towards the Theosophy Order through various clues. Are these really coincidences, or is there some ulterior motive?"

Leonard tilted his head slightly, as if listening intently, but his gaze was averted. After a moment, he frowned and replied: "Beyonders of the same pathway easily encounter each other. That's not unusual and doesn't constitute grounds for suspicion... Besides, the battle with Sharon Hoey was extremely dangerous. Even in the same situation, I'm not confident I could win again, let alone emerge unscathed."

"If she had ulterior motives in approaching us and held back even slightly during the fight, you would have found mine and Ms. Daly's bodies when you returned to the company."

"Correct," Dunn nodded, surprising Leonard. "Daly also gave me a detailed account of the battle, emphasizing how Miss Granger saved her twice. Moreover, this time she encountered Tris at the Evil Dragon Bar - if she hadn't told us, we wouldn't have known. Using conventional wanted posters, it's nearly impossible to catch Beyonders from the 'Assassin' pathway who excel at hiding. Just like the other 'Instigator' we're pursuing, Kohl Granger - after nearly two weeks, we have no leads, and even divination attempts have failed."

"At least when it comes to dealing with criminal Beyonders, she's fully committed."

"Then why..." Leonard was even more confused now.

Dunn Smith lowered his voice, seemingly not wanting the coachman to overhear: "I'm not suspicious of her personally, but rather the strange attitude from above."

"Did you know that just yesterday I sent a telegram to the Sanctuary with Miss Granger's background check and battle report against Sharon Hoey, along with an application for her formal membership?"

Leonard leaned forward, closer to his captain. The two whispered in the dim carriage like conspirators.

"Normally, the Sanctuary would reply in about a week. If they needed more information or felt the contributions were insufficient, it could take even longer. Do you remember how long you waited when you joined the Nighthawks?"

"Four weeks? Or five?" Leonard replied sheepishly. That was three years ago when he had just become a Beyonder. His first mission was to help Dunn capture cultists performing evil rituals in secret. Unfamiliar with his powers, he not only lost the target but nearly fell into the river, significantly lowering his evaluation. As a result, the Sanctuary delayed his formal membership approval for a month.

While this was partly due to Leonard's intentional underperformance, it also demonstrated the Sanctuary's strict vetting process for Nighthawk recruits. Even the authority to distribute Sequence 9 potions was delegated to the captain level, but becoming an official Nighthawk required the Sanctuary's approval.

"But this time, the Sanctuary replied in less than 24 hours, early this morning," Dunn continued, seemingly unaware of Leonard's thoughts.

"They approved already?" Leonard raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Dunn nodded.

"Klein Moretti, who joined at the same time, isn't an official member yet. He needs to wait for the Backlund parish to send Sealed Artifact 2-049 and find the Antigonus family notebook to be considered qualified for formal membership."

"The Sanctuary's stark difference in treatment of the two new members is strange, even considering that Angel Granger assisted in killing Sharon Hoey, a confirmed 'Demoness Sect' member at Sequence 6. Their response is too unusual, as if..."

He tried to find the right words to describe the Sanctuary's unusually swift decision.

Leonard interjected: "As if they were waiting for your telegram application?"

"Mm..." Dunn opened his mouth, wanting to use his own words, but ultimately repeated Leonard's phrase, "Exactly, as if they were waiting for my telegram."

"But what does this have to do with not letting her participate in the arrest operation?" Leonard asked curiously, seeing that the captain didn't suspect Angel herself. "It's not for her protection or something, is it?"

"Didn't I say? Her presence could alert Tris and cause him to flee early," Dunn replied, his grey eyes twinkling with amusement, as if their hushed discussion had occurred in a dream rather than reality.

Then why did you go on about all that... Leonard thought, dumbfounded, still feeling that the captain was withholding something.

As the two stared at each other, the carriage slowly came to a stop with a "Whoa" from the coachman.

The small window at the front of the carriage opened, and the coachman's muffled voice asked, "Gentlemen, the road ahead is blocked. If you're heading to the Evil Dragon Bar, you'll have to walk from here. Or do you need to go somewhere else?"

Seeing the two men wearing coats on such a hot day and whispering suspiciously in the carriage, the coachman assumed they weren't upstanding citizens. Not wanting to be caught by the police, he asked out of professional courtesy.

"What? Blocked?" Leonard exclaimed, ignoring the coachman and rushing out of the carriage. Dunn followed closely behind. They circled around the carriage and looked towards the Evil Dragon Bar.

The usually quiet daytime bar entrance was now crowded with people, with more constantly exiting, only allowed to leave after face checks by two armed men flanking the door.

Most of those crowding the entrance appeared to be traders expelled from the underground market. Despite their discontent, they obediently followed orders under the "guidance" of firearms. Moreover, several burly men in uniform stood at vantage points, carrying grey-white mechanical boxes with pipes connecting to peculiar, complex rifles in their hands. These gunmen's eagle-like gazes swept the surroundings, their occasionally aimed weapons effectively increasing compliance.

"High-pressure steam rifles?" Leonard muttered. "It's over. With such a big operation, Tris must have fled."

Ignoring the crowd of already-screened people at the bar entrance, he scanned the surroundings, trying to spot their target among them.

But Leonard knew it was futile. If he were Tris, having luckily escaped the Evil Dragon Bar and the encirclement of these brawny men, he would naturally flee as far as possible, not daring to linger.

Dunn Smith seemed calmer than Leonard. He glanced towards the bar entrance, and upon recognizing someone, walked over with his hands in his coat pockets. However, his furrowed brow betrayed that his mood wasn't as stable as it appeared.

"Swain, what's going on here?" he asked the leader of a small group standing by the bar entrance. The man wore a worn navy officer's coat and was quietly giving instructions to the others. His messy short brown hair looked unwashed for a long time, with grease gleaming in the sunlight.

Hearing Dunn's question, the brown-haired old man turned, his blue eyes meeting Dunn Smith's. It took him a few seconds to recall who Dunn was.

"Ah, Dunn Smith, long time no see," he said.

The brown-haired Nighthawk captain nodded in acknowledgment and asked again, "What's happening? Did the attempt to capture that 'Instigator' fail?"

After considering all possibilities, this was the only reason Dunn could think of that would cause such chaos in the entire underground market, even bringing out the high-pressure steam rifle operators from "Machinery Heart".

Swain seemed to have been holding back his anger, which Dunn's words ignited. He cursed vehemently before answering, "It's all those steam freaks' fault. One of Machinery Heart's informants spotted that 'Instigator' brazenly shopping and haggling in my market. Instead of notifying my people, he hurried off to report to his superiors, probably for that hefty reward."

"As a result, Tris noticed something was amiss, likely because the informant had been staring at him before leaving. He vanished before the main force arrived."

The old man spat, glaring at the crowd by the bar entrance, unsure if the informant he was cursing was among them. "If he had just notified me or the 'Mandated Punisher', we could have kept an eye on him. Now look at this mess, what's the point of screening ordinary citizens? Tris is probably not even in the dock district anymore."

Perhaps due to their different positions, Swain, as the owner of the Evil Dragon Bar, could vent his emotions here, while Dunn, as a Nighthawk, needed to focus on the case itself. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Was Tris still haggling before he escaped? Have you questioned the person he was trading with?"

"I may be retired, but I still know how to do my job," Swain shook his head. "There's no useful information. He was only looking to buy shadow lizard scales and golden datura flowers, or their juice."

Neither are extraordinary items... Dunn mused silently. Could he be preparing materials for some ritual, having just committed the Clover tragedy and hurrying to Tingen to continue his crimes?

Or perhaps...

Considering the "Instigator's" abilities, Dunn made a bolder guess:

Had Tris already met some advancement conditions by inciting passengers on the Clover to kill each other, and was now preparing a potion for his next sequence?