Lord of Mysteries:The Good Witch

In the northern district of Tingen City, on Zotlan Street, a four-wheeled police carriage adorned with the emblem of "crossed swords and a crown" slowly drove into the parking lot beside the police station.

"Do you operate out of the police station in Tingen City?" 

Angel stepped down from the carriage only after adjusting her hood. She looked around; the parking lot was next to the police station in the northern district, where five identical black carriages were neatly parked. There were also several empty spaces, indicating that the actual number was far greater than what was currently visible.

"Of course not. We're just borrowing the police's carriage. They can't handle cases involving extraordinary individuals, so we often need to be on call," Dunn Smith replied as he jumped down from the driver's seat. Noticing that the coachman watching over the parking lot had come over to tend to the horses, he abruptly changed the subject: "Our 'company' is at No. 34, just diagonally across in that three-story building."

The coachman seemed familiar with Dunn and his companions, greeting several "Night Watchers" without even glancing at Angel before heading off to care for the horses.

The four of them exited the parking lot, with Dunn leading the way, followed by Dali holding a wine glass and Angel curiously looking around, while Leonard brought up the rear.

The northern district was indeed Tingen's most prosperous area. It was now morning, a peak time for foot traffic, with carriages frequently traversing Zotlan Street. After waiting for a while, they finally found an opportunity to cross the road together.

The ground floor of No. 34 Zotlan Street was a shop facing the street, but its door was tightly shut and there were no signs around, suggesting it had been closed for quite some time. Dunn led Angel up a side staircase and around a corner to the second floor.

On the wall hung a vertical sign: "Black Thorn Security Company."

This was indeed the name Dunn had mentioned earlier; it appeared that the "Night Watchers" operated from this location. The name had a classic "mercenary group" feel to it. Considering the long historical legacy of the Night Goddess Church, it was likely that this name had been in use for many years.

Dunn Smith pushed open the main door and waited until everyone had entered before closing it again.

Before Angel was a spacious reception room that contrasted sharply with the simple sign outside; its interior was quite luxurious. On the reception desk directly opposite the entrance were papers and pens for guest registration along with scattered documents and newspapers. To one side stood a natural wood-colored coffee table surrounded by a set of sofas and soft-backed chairs. A large gas lamp overhead emitted a soft glow; if not for the absence of staff at the reception desk, she might have thought she had entered a high-end hotel lobby.

"Today is Sunday; otherwise, there would be someone at the front desk," Dunn explained when he noticed Angel gazing blankly at the reception room. "So you'll have to make your own tea."

He then turned to Leonard, who was trailing behind: "You go return the sealing item downstairs first, then go notify Fry and Loya at their homes that there's an operation tonight; their leave has been canceled."

The young Night Watcher nodded and took the copper wine cup referred to as a "sealing item" from Dali's hands before leaving through a side door.

"Dali, how do you plan to arrange things? You don't need to participate in tonight's operation..."

"I'll stay here with you tonight, but I need to rest during the day; I don't have your 'Sleepless' privilege of not needing sleep." Dressed in black robes, Dali yawned and appeared utterly fatigued after handing over the copper cup.

Dunn nodded in agreement: "Then you should go rest in the duty room on the third floor; I'll wake you up before we act."

After Dali left through another door, only Angel and Dunn Smith remained in the hall.

"As for you," Dunn seemed to just remember there was someone beside him; he patted his police cap and said to Angel: "Before we carry out our operation to capture Lady Sharon, it's best if you don't leave here. This will ensure your safety as much as possible. Even if Lady Sharon manages to escape capture, she wouldn't dare come to disturb us 'Night Watchers.'"

He pointed towards a partition in the center of the hall: "The room in the middle of that corridor is a lounge; there won't be many people there on Sundays. You can rest on one of those sofa beds. I'll send a female 'Night Watcher' to keep you company shortly; if you need anything, you can let her know. But don't wander into other rooms; other 'Night Watcher' members don't know you, and if they mistakenly think you're an intruder, it could lead to unnecessary harm."

Accompany me? More like keep an eye on me...

Angel muttered inwardly but nodded in understanding.

Seeing that Dunn had no further business with her, Angel prepared to leave the hall for the lounge he mentioned, hoping to catch up on some sleep during daylight hours.

"Wait! There's one more thing!" Just as Angel reached for the left-side door, Dunn called out behind her.

"I almost forgot; tell me everything you learned from Cole Granger about Lady Sharon's extraordinary abilities—whatever you remember."

Dunn Smith pulled out a small notebook from his police uniform pocket and plopped down onto one of the reception room sofas.

"Are we not discussing this in dreams? You trust me so much?" Angel returned to stand in front of Dunn and sat across from him on a soft sofa, relaxing her body.

Dunn's gray eyes fixed on her as he slowly said: "I do trust you; besides, our interests align—you wouldn't want Lady Sharon to escape punishment either."

Trust me or trust that 'sealing item'... I'll play along for now...

From her earlier interactions with Leonard and Dali in the carriage, Angel guessed that this copper wine cup known as a "sealing item" likely functioned similarly to a lie detector—allowing its holder to judge whether what someone said was true or at least believed to be true by them.

However, she had no intention of lying now; Dunn's judgment was correct—Lady Sharon indeed represented their common interest—but there were also some divergences: For 'Night Watchers,' capturing Lady Sharon alive would be ideal as it would not only resolve her status as an extraordinary individual beyond legal reach but also provide information about her connections with witch cults. This could potentially expose more collaborators behind her and disrupt all witch cult schemes within Tingen.

But for Angel, capturing Lady Sharon alive wasn't necessarily good news.

The worst-case scenario would be if Lady Sharon escaped amidst their siege—the likelihood of which was very low given Dunn Smith's involvement as an extraordinary individual—but should such an event occur, Angel would undoubtedly face endless retribution from Lady Sharon and her forces.

Next was if Lady Sharon were captured alive as expected by 'Night Watchers.' With just a bit of inquiry, her fabricated identity as "Angel Granger" would inevitably be exposed. What awaited her next would be an uncertain fate.

The best outcome would be if Lady Sharon died while resisting capture.

This was quite common in conflicts between extraordinary individuals; once both sides stopped holding back and fully unleashed their powers in battle, it usually ended with one party's death.

This was also why Angel attempted to participate in combat—armed with "Storm Convergence" bullets and assassin-like combat abilities—though she couldn't control how battles unfolded, she could find an opportunity at battle's end to kill Lady Sharon if needed.

Unfortunately, it seemed that 'Night Watchers' didn't want her involved in capturing Lady Sharon—perhaps out of concern for not wanting witnesses harmed or simply due to distrust towards outsiders.

At this point, she could only settle for ensuring that Lady Sharon wouldn't escape.

If she held back and led to failure during capture operations—not only could those fighting against evil 'Night Watchers' face casualties but also subsequent retaliation from hidden forces would be unbearable for Angel.

"I'm not sure if she has retained some abilities; so what I tell you are just what Cole has seen." Angel preemptively cautioned Dunn against placing too much trust in her information during combat encounters.

Dunn Smith nodded seriously as he listened attentively.

"First off, she advanced from 'Assassin,' possessing all extraordinary abilities associated with 'Assassins,' which are enhanced upon promotion—this includes dark vision, enhanced sight, agile limbs, a light body capable of explosive power in close combat. If your 'Night Watchers' lack similarly skilled close-combat fighters among your ranks, it's best not to engage her directly."

Dunn diligently recorded notes while occasionally asking questions about specific abilities for further clarification from Angel.

"Next is ' Instigator.' It doesn't provide additional combat abilities but enhances those inherited from 'Assassin.' However, 'Instigator' excel at charm and misdirection—using eloquence to incite desires within others and create conflict among them. If she fully utilizes these abilities during battle among your team members... well... how do you counteract this? You shouldn't worry too much about this; it's not significant during direct combat—as long as she's busy dealing with fighting without opportunities to speak. You can enter others' dreams directly—trap Lady Sharon within dreams while your other team members sneak into her room and shoot her ten times or so; any incitement or misdirection won't matter."

During their conversation, Angel recalled memories of several violent incidents instigated by Cole Granger using 'Inciter' abilities against both deceased Cole and currently living Lady Sharon—her hatred deepened further towards them both while introducing 'Inciter's' capabilities carried some emotional weight at last.

"Ahem... The ability of 'Nightmare' isn't quite so powerful; however, thank you for your suggestions—they've given me plenty of inspiration," Dunn Smith said with an odd expression as though recalling something unpleasant before pausing momentarily before jotting down notes again. "Please continue."

So your potion is really named 'Nightmare'... Is it part of 'Sleepless' sequence 8 or sequence 7?

After pondering briefly under Dunn's urging continued explaining Lady Sharon's abilities.

During this time young Night Watcher Leonard Mitchell returned from next door into reception room looking intrigued by their discussion but was promptly sent by Dunn off to gather other team members instead. He appeared lively and spirited—not showing fatigue like Dali did after staying up late—more akin to Dunn himself leading Angel suspecting he too belonged within 'Sleepless' pathway working through nights like it's routine work.

"Next is sequence 7 'Witch'; for 'Assassin' sequence this stage marks qualitative change—just by looking at potion names alone indicates it provides various mystical offensive/defensive capabilities. Lady Sharon has previously demonstrated conjuring frost weapons like spears using enhanced physicality granted by 'Assassin' throwing them effectively with great power; then there's invisibility capability along with 'Mirror Doppelganger,' though unclear how these are manifested but can guess their uses by name alone; 'Witch' also excels at casting curses through others' blood or hair requiring preparation items which likely holds little use on direct battlefield…"

By sequence 7 level knowledge regarding Lady Sharon's capabilities became scarce even for Angel—or rather Cole Granger—as prior knowledge stemmed mostly from being merely apprentice/bed partner rather than equal opponents who rarely exhibited higher-tier combat skills before him.

Finally summarizing: "That's about it! However! Lady Sharon has been an extraordinary individual since before Cole met her likely nearing or even promoted up towards sequence 6 now! You better treat her like one belonging within sequence 6 level don't harbor any false hopes—it's dangerous! Bring more people..."

Dunn Smith swiftly finished writing down last few lines closing his notebook smilingly saying: "Thank you for your reminder—we'll pay attention during battle! In fact I initially planned treating Lady Sharon according methods used against sequence 6 individuals—we will deploy four 'Night Watchers' equipped appropriately with 'sealing items' ensuring we capture her alive! Please wait patiently for good news!"

Hearing this made me feel uneasy instead...

Angel hoped tonight would yield genuine "good news" such as "Lady Sharon unfortunately perished while resisting capture," yet such thoughts couldn't be openly expressed—she could only respond with a bitter smile.