Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 231 The Strange Neighborhood
Backlund, Hilton District.

Klein and Allen arrived at Ryan Thomas's house, where his mother, a grieving old woman, opened the door for them.

"Dr. Allen, this is..."

She looked at the unfamiliar bearded man next to Allen and asked in confusion.

“This is my friend, Detective Sherlock Moriarty,” Allen introduced to Klein. “I specifically asked him to come here to find the missing Thomas.”

Good morning, madam. I hope I can be of help.

Klein tipped his hat in greeting.

"Welcome, Mr. Moriarty." The old woman's eyes flashed with gratitude as she welcomed the two into her home. She said to Allen, "Thank you so much for caring so much about Ryan."

As Allen comforted the old woman, he followed Klein, watching him search the entire house. His detective friend seemed very cautious, carefully examining every corner before lowering his head in thought and remaining silent.

"Sherlock, have you discovered anything?"

Allen couldn't help but walk over and ask in a low voice.

Klein did not answer immediately.

As a Sequence 7 Beyonder, he detected no trace of mystery in the house, let alone any dangerous aura related to the true creator.

Perhaps it's because the crime scene wasn't located here, or it was simply an ordinary case.
In truth, Klein couldn't be certain that this matter was related to Lanluus; the only suspicious point was Ryan Thomas's identity—an obstetrician. Considering Lanluus's pregnancy cycle, the evil god's offspring in his womb could indeed be born soon.

Let's find the person first.

Klein thought for a moment, then turned to the worried old woman. "Excuse me, could you give me one of Dr. Ryan's personal belongings? I can borrow a hunting dog with a keen sense of smell; perhaps it can help me find some clues. Also, I need his photograph."

He certainly couldn't borrow a hunting dog; he was just using that as an excuse to get his personal item for divination. Alan had no idea that his detective friend wasn't actually good at reasoning, solving cases entirely by relying on the citrine pendant wrapped around his wrist.

Dr. Thomas's mother, of course, did not refuse and found a stethoscope that her son used daily and a recent photograph for Klein. In the photograph, Ryan Thomas had a kind, round face and small eyes.

“Allen, leave the rest of the investigation to me. You don’t need to come along.”

Leaving Thomas's house, Klein, holding a stethoscope, said to Allen, "I might be going to dangerous neighborhoods later, and with you there, I'll have to protect you. Besides, as a colleague, you've already done enough."

These were just excuses he used to get the other person away so he could use the divination more easily.

"I understand. I hope you can find him."

Dr. Allen said sincerely, then put on his hat and left in a hurry.

After watching the other person walk away, Klein hired a carriage at the street corner. He didn't tell the driver the exact location, but simply told him to drive forward. The carriage was charged by the hour, and the driver had no objections.

In the swaying carriage behind, Klein held a stethoscope in one hand and a cane in the other, using the divination technique of "cane divination" to find Ryan Thomas's exact location.

The good news was that the divination had worked; he could now pinpoint the other person's location. The bad news was that Ryan's current location was quite far; the carriage had left the Hilton district and the Joewood district, eventually heading east into the chaotic Backlund Bridge district, which, along with the East District, formed Backlund's slums.

While performing divination, Klein instructed the coachman to change course.

After a while, the cane guided the carriage around a street, which confirmed that Ryan Thomas was currently located in this building.

"Slow down, and circle around here one more time," Klein said to the driver.

He was very careful not to get out of the car, but instead observed the street outside through the window.

There are many bars on this street, but perhaps because it was morning, although the doors were open, there weren't many customers. The bartender listlessly tidied up the shop, yawning from time to time.

I don't see anything wrong.
Klein muttered to himself, the only problem being that there were a lot of streetwalkers here. And shouldn't they usually be resting in the morning?

Thinking about this, he seemed to realize that something was wrong.

Klein then instructed the driver to continue forward, and after crossing a street, he disembarked and booked a room at a cheap inn. After taking some precautions, he walked four steps counterclockwise in the cramped room, arriving above the gray fog.

He wanted to perform divination in this more mysterious place to see if he could get more details.

Soon, Klein appeared behind the long bronze table. He conjured paper and pen and wrote a divination statement on it:
"Rian Thomas's current situation."

Holding a stethoscope in one hand, he kept chanting divination phrases in a low voice, and soon he entered a dream.

Many images then appeared.

Klein saw a tired man walk out of the hospital. He had a kind, round face, exactly like the one in the photograph—it was Ryan Thomas himself. As he walked down the street, he was suddenly harassed by several streetwalkers. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that these women's movements seemed somewhat stiff, like puppets.
In the next scene, Thomas is forcibly taken to a dark place by seemingly frail streetwalkers. Then, as if he sees something lurking in the darkness, his expression immediately turns to extreme terror.
Before the scene could shift to the other side, Klein's dream abruptly ended.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

That's about it.

Klein concealed the part above the gray fog, only describing his dream to Luzer. "I tried to perform divination on Lanius afterward, but I didn't see anything."

"This actually explains the problem."

Lu Ze frowned. "Lanlus has the aura of an evil god on him, which can interfere with divination."

"I think so too."

Klein nodded.

In particular, as the offspring of evil gods gradually complete their gestation, their interference with divination becomes even more powerful.

However, Lanius is indeed going to give birth.
Lu Ze thought to himself strangely.

He kidnapped the obstetrician, probably so he could successfully deliver his divine child. Was he planning a C-section? After all, there was no corresponding exit.

"If I'm not mistaken, those streetwalkers also have problems."

Lu Ze said, "One of the Rose Bishop's abilities is to create flesh and blood servants. Those streetwalkers were probably killed by Lanluus long ago and were just acting as his puppets."

"So that's how it is. Luckily, I didn't get off the bus rashly."

Klein asked with a mixture of fear and disgust, "So, what are you planning to do?"

Now that they've confirmed Lanius's location, what's their next step?

(End of this chapter)