Among the known supernatural paths, only one was clearly documented as possessing true parasitic abilities.
The Thief path.
At higher stages, a practitioner could attach their soul to another being, hiding inside a weaker host to recover, observe, or evade pursuit.
Yet whatever was lurking inside Leonard had gone completely unnoticed by Crestet.
Even after Crestet's recent advancement.
That meant the hidden presence was, at minimum, operating at a level far beyond ordinary operatives.
Possibly far higher.
George chose not to expose it.
Not because he was afraid.
But because unknown pieces were sometimes more valuable than dead ones.
If the entity proved cooperative, it could become an information source.
And information was something the Churches were notoriously stingy with.
After Old Neil's recovery, George and Crestet did not immediately return to Backlund.
Crestet had another task in Tingen.
He was there to evaluate Klein.
Specifically, whether Klein had fully stabilized after consuming his initial potion, and whether he qualified to receive the next-stage formula.
Klein had always believed the Church only stockpiled formulas tied to the Night path.
That wasn't entirely true.
The Church of the Night also maintained special reserves for two additional paths.
One was the Corpse Collector path.
The other was the Diviner path.
They possessed several mid-tier specialists in the Corpse Collector line.
As for the Diviner path, although most of their members were still low-ranking, the Church clearly had access to higher-stage formulas.
They even maintained breeding grounds for sirens, a rare species required for a critical advancement ritual.
Crestet made sure to mention all of this casually.
It was bait.
An invitation disguised as conversation.
George acknowledged the information but gave no commitment.
He had no desire to bind himself to any Church.
Not while it meant living beneath the constant gaze of a god.
After Klein passed the evaluation and received approval for advancement, George and Crestet boarded the train back to Backlund.
Before parting ways, Crestet relayed the Church's final stance regarding George's request for future Diviner formulas.
"The Church is willing to provide them," Crestet said. "Under two conditions."
"First. You assist us in eliminating enemies of equivalent rank."
"Second. You help us recover operatives who have lost control."
No money.
No direct purchases.
Only service-for-service.
George considered it for less than a second.
"Works for me."
Killing cultists and saving the unstable were things he planned to do anyway.
If anything, it aligned perfectly with his current goals.
Back in Backlund, life continued smoothly.
Another week passed.
The Tarot gathering met again on Wednesday.
The main topic remained Zellingus.
Justice's hired investigators had located him once, but were discovered and nearly killed.
The trail went cold again.
Sunday arrived.
A grand ball was being held at Duke Nigan's estate in the Queen's District.
The Barton family had received an invitation.
Inside the carriage, Chris Barton checked her makeup for the third time.
"By the Steam God… I never imagined we'd be invited to a duke's ball."
Jack Barton sat opposite her, equally tense.
"Neither did I."
His current position was respectable.
But nowhere near duke-level respectable.
Even his direct superior hadn't received an invitation.
Jack frowned.
"Do I actually have some powerful patron I don't know about?"
He had noticed things.
Colleagues being overly polite.
Supervisors treating him with unusual care.
Rumors.
Whispers.
Some even claimed he was the illegitimate child of a royal.
He didn't believe that.
He looked exactly like his late father.
But lately, a new possibility had begun to bother him.
What if his father…
Had been someone far more important than he'd ever known?
...
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