The sight of the Royal Museum filled Odis with a sense of foreboding...
The date was October 1349... Klein Moretti had already arrived in Backlund at this time.
Odis had never sought out Klein or other Tarot Club members, preferring to avoid unnecessary adventures in this world.
But now, in the dead of night, Bernadette had brought him to the Royal Museum... during the 'Roselle Commemorative Exhibition' no less...
He doubted this was a sightseeing invitation...
...
Outside the museum, Bernadette once again tilted her head as if listening to something.
Then she turned and pressed a slender finger to her lips... a silent command for silence.
Odis tried to speak, but he found that his lips were sealed shut.
Next, Bernadette's fingers danced lightly in the air. When she raised her index finger, Odis' left leg lifted involuntarily.
A lift of her middle finger, and his right leg followed. His limbs were no longer under his control...
Odis could only sigh inwardly, simultaneously awed by the power of a 'Demigod' and the sheer strangeness of her abilities... {T/N Bernadette is still a Sequence 3 Demigod at this point in time...}
Bernadette then mimed pulling up a hood, and from the void, a black cloak materialized over her shoulders, rendering her form indistinct.
An identical cloak appeared over Odis and concealed his presence as well. Like a marionette, he was forced to follow her as she led the way.
Before them stretched an illusory path that was dotted with faint starlight.
This path made the museum walls intangible, allowing them to stride straight into the heavily guarded exhibition, past even the 'Church of Steam and Machinery' Beyonders that were stationed at every corner...
Four 'Machinery Hivemind' squad members stood watch on the rooftop, two of which were equipped with Sealed Artifacts... yet, none of them noticed Bernadette or Odis.
Inside, the starry path formed ascending steps.
Climbing them, Odis found himself transported to the museum's second floor... inside a reconstructed replica of Roselle's study...
He and Bernadette perched atop towering bookshelves, facing a specter-like figure with greasepaint smeared across its face.
Odis would've smirked if his lips weren't sealed shut...
'So it's really Klein! I'm witnessing The Fool himself in the act of theft!'
Klein, or rather, an astral projection of himself, reached for two bookmarks tucked inside a volume.
Bernadette didn't intervene immediately. She simply waited until Klein had secured them within his spectral form before suddenly raising a hand.
*Waaa...!* *Waaa...!* *Waaa...!*
A distant ghostly wail which sounded like an infant's cry from another realm echoed through the hall.
Klein's projection froze mid-motion...
From the corner of his eye, he spotted two hooded figures (one male, one female) looming above him.
"Why only take the bookmarks?" Bernadette demanded sharply.
Klein strained against invisible bonds but couldn't break free, pinned helplessly by the desk.
"How did you know to take them?" she pressed.
Then, the greasepaint on Klein's face twisted into an exaggerated grin.
In the next instant...
*Poof*
...his translucent form vanished, bookmarks and all...
Visibly startled, Bernadette lurched forward... And within seconds, her figure blurred as she too disappeared, chasing the trail of Klein's fleeting Spirituality.
Left alone, Odis blinked...
'Uh… what about me?'
Suddenly, he heard shouts echoing from the corridors as 'Machinery Hivemind' squad members mobilized.
Odis had two choices:
One, he could just surrender... He had friends within the ranks of the 'Machinery Hivemind', so he wouldn't be thrown behind the 'Door of Truth'... Plus, he'd free him from Bernadette...
But stolen exhibits + his presence = interrogation, surveillance, and maybe even Demigod-level scrutiny...
{T/N: I don't know what this 'Door/Gate of Truth' is... Any ideas? The Kanji used here is "真理之門"...}
Or he could just run...
Decision made, Odis yanked off his hood and flipped his coat inside out, tearing open the lining to reveal a hidden octagram drawn in spirit-infused powders and inks.
At its center lay a small but costly 'Ahonar Crystal' (a 'Door' Pathway material) flanked by gemstones at each nodal point.
This was his emergency escape tool, another product of his research...
As the footsteps neared, Odis channeled his Spirituality into the array–
...only to freeze.
Where Klein's projection had stood, a wisp of grayish-white mist coalesced into a palm-sized orb.
Simultaneously, an ethereal glow emanated from Odis' body, warping reality around him.
'The Celestial Worthy's gray fog… Is it resonating with my weekly research realm?' {T/N: It seems he's not yet aware that it's actually the 'Knowledge Moor'...}
Before he could process further, the orb shot into his chest.
Odis braced for agony, but felt nothing... Frantically checking under his collar, he found no marks.
The 'Machinery Hivemind' Beyonders were at the door...
With no time to ponder, Odis activated the array.
The Crystal tore open a passage to the Spirit World, and he leapt through, still clutching Bernadette's discarded cloak...
What followed was a nauseating whirlwind of colors and sensations. Before he could even glimpse the Spirit World's landscapes, he was slammed onto solid ground...
Every bone in his body screamed in protest.
Gasping, Odis rolled onto his hands and knees and vomited violently until only bile remained...
Dizzy and drained, he leaned against a lamppost and surveyed his surroundings. He had landed in a narrow alley roughly ten kilometers from the museum.
"This still needs refinement..." he groaned, staggering upright.
He needed to leave the West Borough, fast. But as he steadied himself against a wall, a cool voice remarked:
"You're quite resourceful," Bernadette materialized a few paces away, "Yet no matter how you flee, finding you is trivial."
'You want to trade blows, huh? Then...'
Odis eyed the Queen Mystic's flawless silhouette and said, "Did you catch the bookmark thief?"
...
{T/N: Here's a chapter I attempted in a spur of the moment... Please point out any mistakes you see and I'll fix them. Though, please be aware that Webnovel erases all comments in a modified paragraph...}