Lord of Mysteries:The Good Witch

In the study on the second floor of the Moretti family's rented house at 2 Daffodil Street, about ten meters away, Klein Moretti carefully used a silver knife to establish a wall of spirituality, sealing off the room to prevent his actions from affecting his brother Benson and sister Melissa next door.

During the day, he had felt two invisible forces envelop him, similar to when he used the "luck enhancement ritual" to enter the gray fog space. This was accompanied by faint, illusory whispers and the appearance and disappearance of four black dots on the back of his hand.

He judged that members of the Tarot Club had successfully performed ritual magic, contacting the "Fool" through his self-created incantation. However, while at the Black Thorn Security Company, Klein didn't dare perform the luck enhancement ritual to respond to the plea in front of numerous Nighthawks. Instead, he waited until nighttime when he returned home and his family members were asleep to prepare to enter the gray fog space and check.

Reciting the incantation he had long memorized and walking four steps counterclockwise, the "Fool" arrived at His temple.

The gray fog space remained unchanged from last time, but among the numerous deep red stars, two were flickering with a special light.

Is it The Hanged Man, or the other two ladies? Klein pondered as he extended his spirituality to touch one of the flickering stars.

The images and sounds contained within immediately entered his brain. Along with faint, distant pleading voices, blurry images appeared as if obscured by a layer of fog.

It was a young woman in a black robe, in a shabby basement, facing an altar with four lit candles and four offerings placed on it, her hands clasped together as she silently recited something.

From the surroundings and the strand of golden hair peeking out from under the black robe's hood, Klein deduced that this was a member of the Tarot Club, Miss "Justice."

It worked! This self-created ritual magic indeed pointed to himself, to the "Fool"!

Klein felt a surge of secret joy. The success of the ritual magic confirmed his authority within the gray fog space, giving him more confidence in his subsequent actions.

He steadied his excited heart and attempted to answer "Empress's" plea in the image.

"I understand."

"I understand."

Even the next morning, as Angel arrived at the Black Thorn Security Company in a daze and sat in the reception room enjoying the coffee brewed by Rozanne, the low, mysterious voice of the "Fool" from the previous night still echoed in her mind.

In the steam era without television or internet, Angel, with nothing to do at night, had gone to bed early. But just as she entered her bedroom, a crystal-clear image suddenly appeared in her mind, uncontrollably: the "Fool's" body hidden behind the gray fog, and His response to the ritual.

Compared to directly entering the temple in the gray fog from the real world, this feedback method that affected her daily life made her feel more fearful.

Undoubtedly, this was an incredibly powerful being. Even if not a deity, it wasn't far from one.

Had she become the initial believer of this powerful entity?

Unsure whether this was good or bad, Angel quickly let it go. After all, resistance was futile, so she could only...

"Ah, Angel, you're here."

The captain of the Nighthawks, Dunn Smith, emerged from behind the partition inside the reception room. Seeing her stirring her coffee and staring blankly at the empty sofa in front, he greeted her.

"Good morning, Captain," Angel snapped back to reality, put down her coffee cup, and returned the greeting.

"The Sanctum's reply has arrived," Dunn briefly stated his purpose. He glanced at Rozanne, who was pretending to read the newspaper carefully behind the reception desk but kept sneaking peeks in their direction, and said, "Let's talk in my office."

"Rozanne, if Klein arrives, tell him to come to my office as well."

Rozanne, who had been feigning concentration, quickly nodded in agreement, then watched as Dunn and Angel disappeared behind the partition one after the other.

She knew that the Nighthawks had many higher-level secrets that she, as a civilian staff member, couldn't know. Still, she couldn't help but prick up her ears, trying to hear the conversation from deep within the room. Unfortunately, the sound of the door closing left her disappointed, and she lowered her head.

"Have a seat," Dunn said as he entered his office and sat down in the high-backed chair. Angel closed the door behind her and didn't stand on ceremony, sitting down across from him, waiting for him to continue the previous topic.

"The Sanctum sent a telegram reply yesterday morning, but due to the matter with 'Instigator' Tris, I didn't tell you immediately," Dunn explained while taking out a telegram paper from the drawer. He cleared his throat and read its contents.

"In response to the Nighthawks Tingen City Division, your application to promote new member Angel Granjer to full member status has passed our identity verification and experience review. We hereby reply, approving Angel Granjer to become a full member of the Nighthawks Tingen City Division."

Putting down the telegram, Dunn Smith said with a serious expression, "As a full member, your weekly salary of 3 pounds will immediately double to 6 pounds, and will gradually increase with years of service. You will also obtain the status of a probationary inspector in Awwa County."

"I believe you are already clear about the regulations you need to follow. Last time, I said you could wait until the Sanctum's reply to make your decision. So now, what is your decision?"

Angel had already made up her mind and naturally wouldn't back down now. She nodded with an equally serious expression, took a deep breath, and answered, "I am willing to become a full-fledged Nighthawk."

"Congratulations, Miss Angel Granjer. You are now our official member," Dunn Smith once again displayed his familiar smile, extending his right hand to shake Angel's simultaneously outstretched right hand.

"Full members need to take turns guarding the 'Chanis Gate,' and can have one day off per week, which you can choose yourself, but it's best to keep it fixed. This week's shift has already been arranged, so you don't need to take a turn for now. However, we have other tasks scheduled for today, and you may need to be on duty here to handle any emergencies."

After the brief "promotion ceremony," Dunn Smith immediately resumed his role as the Nighthawks captain and began assigning tasks.

"Also, now that you've become a full member, I can speak more openly about some things. Old Neil mentioned that the caliber of the ammunition you use for your handgun is different from others, which increases the logistical difficulty. I suggest you standardize your ammunition caliber as soon as possible. Later, go to him to receive a new handgun, but you can keep your current one for now. You can turn it in after you're familiar with the new weapon."

Angel wasn't surprised to hear Dunn's words. She had heard Old Neil mention this when she was collecting ammunition before, but due to her habit of using it, she hadn't paid much attention. Now that she had become a full member, it seemed it was time to make some changes and integrate into the group.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave," she said, preparing to leave the office. But as expected, just as she took two steps, she heard a "Wait a moment" from behind.

As expected... Captain, do you perhaps have symptoms of premature aging?

Angel turned back with a questioning look.

"Did I forget to tell you that full members need to complete a task alone to gain the approval of other companions?"

Seeing her shake her head to indicate she didn't know, Dunn continued with a smile, "Usually, I would assign tasks involving extraordinary factors, but given your excellent combat performance in dealing with Mrs. Sharon's attack, I think a general task can substitute."

"Don't worry, this isn't an official regulation and won't affect your evaluation among the Nighthawks. It's just... well, some internal requirements of our Tingen team."

"Alright, Captain. Is there anything else?" Angel made a mental note of this "initiation task," deciding to inquire about the situation from other team members when she had the chance.

"No, you may leave now."

Having learned from the experience of being called back repeatedly last time, she deliberately slowed her pace and even peeked back into the office while closing the door. Dunn was writing something in his notebook and, sensing her gaze, looked up curiously towards the door.

"Really, there's nothing else," he said helplessly.

Angel made her way to the armory, where Old Neil wasn't studying those pages of Roselle Emperor's diary this time, but was brewing his hand-ground coffee with an old set of cups.

Hearing that she had come to exchange for a small-caliber revolver, Old Neil explained with a wry smile, "I just mentioned it to Dunn when he went to the police station to collect next quarter's bullets. I wasn't complaining about the logistical difficulty. You can absolutely continue using your original caliber weapon."

"It's fine, I've been thinking about changing it for a while anyway," Angel said insincerely. After all, the gun change was already set in stone, and although she felt it was a pity, there was no need to make Old Neil feel that his slip of the tongue had caused this outcome.

Moreover, from the perspective of logistics management and replenishing ammunition during combat, the advantages of using weapons of the same caliber were obvious. Previously, Angel had been reluctant to change due to her familiarity with the .45 caliber handgun, but she had also been somewhat hesitant. Now, taking the opportunity of becoming a full member to switch to the same weapon as other Nighthawks wasn't bad.

Seeing that Angel didn't mind, Old Neil breathed a sigh of relief and took out the key to the armory. He quickly produced a brand new revolver, and perhaps as compensation, included two full boxes of regular ammunition of the same caliber, as well as ten "monster-hunting bullets" stored in a metal box, along with a corresponding shoulder holster and speed loader.

These exquisitely crafted silver bullets had intricate patterns on their surface. They were said to have effects similar to Angel's self-made special bullets but lacked the enhanced repeated attack effect. Instead, they possessed additional damage against spiritual bodies.

"You don't need to turn in your old gun either. Just use it as a backup weapon during the transition period. Last time, you exchanged your old gun for a new one, which didn't really count as receiving your own weapon. This time, I'm making up for that," Old Neil said as he handed the revolver and all its accessories to Angel, watching her sign her name in the record book.

"No... Well, thank you. I'll turn in the old one when I'm used to this new gun."

A revolver wasn't worth much, and Angel didn't want to leave a bad impression of being greedy in the minds of the senior team members. She was about to refuse, but then had a change of heart, feeling that Old Neil's words made some sense. She would need some time to get used to the new gun, so it might be better to keep the old weapon for now.

She gripped the new revolver to test its feel, then opened the cylinder and loaded the .38 caliber bullets one by one. This revolver could hold six rounds, one more than her previous large-caliber revolver, which might take some time to get used to, to avoid the habitual action of reloading after firing five shots.

The shoulder holster didn't fit well either. Angel turned her back and adjusted it for a long time before securing it in place. She tucked the new gun into the holster, pressed the remaining bullets into the speed loader and put it in her pocket. Only then did she bid farewell to Old Neil and leave the armory.

Under the illumination of the lights on both sides of the underground passage, Angel retraced her steps back to the crossroads connecting the church, the Chanis Gate, and the Black Thorn Security Company.

"Tap-tap-" Uniform footsteps came from the direction of the Chanis Gate. She turned her head to look and saw a comical scene before her eyes.