Lord of Mysteries:The Good Witch

Angel woke up, realizing she had fallen asleep on the stone table in the basement due to exhaustion. She remained dazed for nearly a minute before regaining her senses. The dream had been so vivid that she woke up feeling chills down her spine and covered in cold sweat.

Reflecting on the dream, she recognized the middle-aged police officer with gray eyes as the one she had encountered in the police carriage on Iron Cross Street two nights ago. It seemed her desire for official intervention had manifested in a dream where a supernatural police officer invaded her home and she had spilled all her secrets.

Even in this pre-modern society, surely the "Night Watchers" representing official authority wouldn't break into someone's home early in the morning and act like they owned the place, saying "Please sit down"?

Angel carefully packed the special bullets she had made into a box, just as she had done in the dream, and took them out of the basement. She was relieved the bullets were real and not part of the dream, sparing her from having to make them again.

She put the bullet box in her desk drawer and looked out at the brightening sky, planning to wash her face before heading to St. Selena's Church to inquire if the bishop had informed any supernatural organizations about the situation. If the Church of the Goddess of Night was slow to respond, she considered reporting to the Church of the Lord of Storms at the "River and Sea Cathedral."

Opening the living room door, Angel froze once again. "Detective Dunn Smith" from her dream was sitting on the sofa by the bay window, wearing the same black and white checkered police uniform and hat, holding an identical notebook. Seeing Angel emerge from the study, he gently tossed the notebook onto the coffee table, adjusted his hat, and stood up.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself. Dunn Smith, Night Watcher," he said, bowing slightly like a gentleman at a ball.

"H-hello, I'm Angel Granger, though I suppose you already know that," Angel replied, quickly overcoming her initial shock. She realized the "Dunn Smith" from her dream was clearly the same person standing before her, and he had likely "invaded" her dream.

This reminded her of a supernatural creature from her past life known as a "nightmare." However, the man before her had normal features and limbs, unlike the abstract appearance of a "nightmare." Angel concluded that Dunn Smith's potion must have granted him the ability to invade and control dreams. She asked, "Is this your supernatural ability? Do all Night Watchers have it?"

"Not entirely. We each have different sequence pathwayss. I'm on the 'Sleepless' sequence," the brown-haired, gray-eyed officer answered with a smile, completely different from his gloomy and serious demeanor in the dream.

"Sleepless" sounded like a pathways related to night and sleep. Dunn Smith didn't specify which sequence level he was, and Angel didn't press further, but she made a mental note that this sequence possessed dream control abilities.

"In dreams, people often release emotions suppressed in reality, amplifying their dark psychology and making everything in the dream chaotic. But even the most chaotic dreams reflect one's true self. For supernatural beings like me, the real you in dreams is more trustworthy than the conscious you in reality," Dunn explained.

Angel realized why she had answered everything so freely in the dream, as if conversing with an old friend. She had lost control over herself in the dream state.

Dunn Smith continued explaining his abilities. "It may sound frightening, but I only guided your dream a bit to get the answers I needed. You probably don't remember the specifics, but I can assure you we had a pleasant conversation without invading your personal privacy." He winked at Angel humorously.

But I remember quite clearly, even your mockery about my overconfidence in challenging Madam Sharon... Angel was confused. Was she supposed to forget the dream? More importantly, her responses in the dream had been evasive, deliberately blurring the concepts of "Cole Granger" and "Angel Grey." Although she hadn't outright lied, she had used linguistic artistry to conceal her identity beneath other truths.

This was far from the "dream truth" Dunn Smith had mentioned. According to him, she should have become a compliant interviewee after the dream invasion.

Is it because I'm also a supernatural being, so I have some resistance to dream control? Angel wondered, but quickly dismissed the idea. As an experienced supernatural being, Dunn Smith wouldn't have overlooked that possibility.

Then it must be due to my personal uniqueness, perhaps because I'm a soul not belonging to this world? Or maybe...

Angel's mind raced through several theories, but she couldn't confirm any of them. She decided to set aside the question for now.

However, she recognized the obvious advantage of this "uniqueness."

"I... I think I remember some things. You asked me many questions..." she pretended to recall, pressing her hand to her forehead with a pained expression. "Madam Sharon... Oh, right, you've already seen the report?"

"That's correct. We received the letter forwarded from the police station last night, as well as your confession to the bishop at St. Selena's Church. By reviewing police records and your testimony in the dream, we can essentially confirm that the eleven murders and seven deaths or disappearances from three mass incidents in Tingen over the past year are all related to Cole Granger, with Sharon Hoey, Madam Sharon, as the mastermind," Dunn Smith explained, pointing to the documents on the table. "When my colleagues come down, you'll accompany us to the Night Watchers' branch in Tingen. I can't say it's the safest place in Tingen, but it's certainly more suitable than here."

It seems the outcome is the same as in the dream; he doesn't intend to let me participate in the battle against Madam Sharon... Wait, colleagues? Coming down?

Angel was about to argue further when she suddenly realized something was amiss.

"Ah, they've arrived," Dunn Smith said, looking past Angel's shoulder. Angel turned to see two figures emerging from the shadows at the corner of the staircase leading to the second floor.

Angel found the situation absurd. She had woken up to find three strangers in her home. Were the Night Watchers having a team-building exercise at her place?

The woman in front wore a black robe with a hood, which was now lowered, revealing blue eyeshadow and rouge on her face. She held a candlestick in one hand and a copper goblet in the other.

Close behind was a male police officer, about 20 years old, wearing the same black uniform as Smith, but with all buttons undone, revealing a vest and fitted shirt underneath. He wasn't wearing a hat, had short black hair, and his green eyes conveyed a sense of rebelliousness.

"Daisy Simone, Leonard Mitchell, both Night Watchers," Dunn Smith briefly introduced them to Angel. "You've come down so quickly?"

"Leaving you alone with this beautiful young lady for too long would make Leonard and me jealous," Daisy Simone said as she entered the living room and sat on a sofa, setting down the candlestick but keeping the goblet in hand.

"Ahem..." The young police officer, Leonard Mitchell, followed into the living room and stood in a corner near Angel, clearing his throat awkwardly but politely before responding, "Captain, there's nothing unusual upstairs. Just ordinary furniture and clothing. There is a hidden compartment in the main bedroom floor, but it's empty. Miss Daisy's 'spiritual communion' didn't detect anything either."

"To be precise, even the normal 'spirits' in this house have disappeared, as if they left with something. New 'spirits' are reluctant to approach this place. I tried divination, but it yielded nothing. Hmm, I'm becoming increasingly curious about this Cole Granger," Daisy said softly.

The empty compartment must be where Cole Granger kept his notebook, which is now on the table in front of us... And he mentioned 'spirits'? Does he mean souls, or is it referring to something else? Does this mysterious lady have the ability to communicate with souls?

Angel recalled Dunn Smith's earlier comment about "everyone having their own sequence pathways" and guessed that this lady might be a supernatural being on a different pathways, possessing abilities more "extraordinary" than an assassin's night vision or lightness.

This person must also be a supernatural being, though it's unclear what abilities he has... She glanced at the young police officer from the corner of her eye. Noticing her gaze, the black-haired young man introduced by Dunn as "Leonard Mitchell" looked back and gave a slight bow in greeting.

Three supernatural beings working together, including the "Sleepless" Dunn Smith who could directly invade dreams and blur the line between illusion and reality – if Cole Granger were still alive, they would only need the "Sleepless" to hold him in a dream while the others easily entered the house. He would have no chance of escape.

This seemed to be the Night Watchers' combat strategy, nearly invincible against a single target.

As Angel pondered how to counter such a strategy, Dunn Smith spoke again: "Since we haven't found anything here, let's take this young lady back to Black Thorn Security Company. It's partly to protect her, and also to prevent any information leaks before the operation."

"Operation" – Angel caught the key word. It seemed that before she woke up, the Night Watchers had already reached a consensus to take action against Madam Sharon.

She had wanted to participate, using Cole's memories to increase the chances of success against Madam Sharon, preferably killing her on the spot. This would not only eliminate a supernatural being with unknown sinister plans but also prevent her true identity from being exposed.

However, after witnessing their combat method, especially Dunn Smith's dream invasion ability as a "Sleepless," Angel felt her participation might be unnecessary. Although she wasn't sure about the combat capabilities of the "Spirit Medium" Daisy Simone and the young officer Leonard Mitchell, the fact that they were working with Dunn Smith suggested they were no novices.

There was no need for her to insist on helping, especially since these people might not fully trust her.

Angel observed the three's seemingly casual but subtly surrounding positions and came to a conclusion.