Chapter 13: Compass Puppet
William didn't know where they were going, but he was prepared to act at any moment. All the members of the team were tense and nervous except for Lorotta, who looked at everything indifferently.
After a few minutes, and several attempts by 2-049 to turn them into dolls, which would have been funny considering who they were, they reached their destination.
It was a typical Tingen house, but the door had the symbol of the Tingen Police Department on it. This indicated that entry was prohibited to everyone except authorized personnel.
Dunn produced a lock while continuing to do the elbow exercise with his other arm.
The first to enter was Aiur Harson, who was the one carrying the chest. As soon as he walked through the door, 2-049's punches intensified, and Dunn's movements began to slow. William went to act quickly and gently pushed the Captain, but not before noticing that Klein's movements slowed as well. Luckily, Borgia woke Klein up in time.
"Didn't you say it could only affect one person at a time?" Fear was evident in his voice and William understood it. If Klein had relaxed for a second and stopped doing the exercises because Dunn was being affected, he could have turned into a statue.
"With this, we can confirm that Ray Bieber is a descendant of the Antigonus family." Aiur Harson answered his question. "When 2-049 comes across the trail of a member of that family, he goes into a frenzy and can affect two people at once."
'So it really is a living creature?' William pondered the implications of this information.
"Let's go, 2-049 will get us to Ray Bieber as long as he hasn't left Tingen." Lorotta indicated and everyone nodded.
They walked outside while listening to the loud bangs coming from inside the chest.
'So, this was just to check that this Ray Bieber guy is part of the Antigonus family?' William tried to remember if he knew anything about this family. 'Wait, I remember that is the name of one of the most important families of the Fourth Epoch. However, it seems that they disappeared without a trace.'
Of course, he had started studying the history of this world as soon as he became a Beyonder. Knowledge has always been important, and more so in a world with supernatural powers.
They returned to the carriage. Aiur Harson then looked out the window to make sure there were no civilians nearby who could be affected by the Sealed Artifact.
He placed the chest on the ground and flipped the mechanical switch to disable the seals. Everything got so quiet that they couldn't even hear their own breathing.
They did not stop the exercise even when a high-pitched groan echoed throughout the carriage. The chest fell as a slender brown arm extended out of the chest. It was about the length of a child's finger. Two arms pressed forward one after another as an object about the size of a normal human being's palm appeared bit by bit.
2-049's face was painted red and yellow, like a clown. The Sealed Artifact stood up and focused its gaze on Klein, revealing an exaggerated and terrifying smile.
William felt the horror coming from the puppet. He immediately moved to shove Klein, who had slowed his movements. The guy recovered and took a few deep breaths.
"He is getting stronger." His voice didn't contain a bit of doubt. William nodded unconsciously.
"It is normal." Aiur Harson confirmed.
Lorotta laughed at him.
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"He seems to like you. Don't worry, this Sealed Artifact is relatively less dangerous than the other Grade 2 ones."
Leonard and Dunn just watched in silence until 2-049 got to his feet with rusty movements.
"Over there!" Dunn exclaimed to Leonard, pointing in the direction the puppet began to point.
Thus, every time they had to deviate, they used 2-049 as a compass. The carriage took them quickly to the port, where the warehouses were.
Aiur Harson then put 2-049 back in the chest and activated crimson symbols that William assumed were some kind of seal.
They all let out a sigh they didn't know they were holding. The seven got out of the carriage, and Leonard tied up the horse.
All seven continued to do the exercise. There was something oddly comical about the situation, and William almost laughed, though it was probably because he was so nervous about what they were going to do next.
"Klein, divine if there is any danger in the warehouse. It'd be better if you could tell the level of danger," Dunn said as he turned his head to Klein.
He had no fear, and William only could respect him for that.
Klein followed the Captain's instructions. He extended his right hand to his left cuff and removed the silver chain that had a hanging piece of topaz.
'Oh, this is the first time I'll see Klein's Beyonder power.' William decided to take his mind off the battle that was to come.
Klein held the silver chain with his left hand and allowed the topaz to hang down naturally. Simultaneously, he moved his right arm, but with a much smaller range of motion.
When the topaz stabilized, he half closed his eyes, outlined the spherical light, and entered Cogitation. He then mumbled, "There's danger in the warehouse."
He repeated the same phrase seven times and then opened his eyes. The topaz was slowly moving in a clockwise circle. The topaz began to spin faster and faster and Klein gave his reply in a deep voice.
"There is a great danger inside."
William tensed. This was going to be his first true test as a Beyonder, his first indication of whether or not he could survive in this world.
Just as he was about to put away the topaz pendulum, Leonard Mitchell, who had maintained his silence, suddenly spoke.
"Divine if there is danger around us also." Dunn nodded in agreement. "Yes, I am worried that the Secret Order will not give up and that it has placed Ray Bieber's house under constant surveillance. They could have followed us here and could cause trouble at a critical moment."
"There is danger all around us." She felt like she skipped a beat. "Someone has interfered when I tried to determine the intensity of the danger."