Chapter 86: Prayer

Chapter Eighty-Six
Prayer

So-called “interruption-style” ritual magic referred to rituals that a Beyonder could, according to the situation, interrupt partway through, first complete some other matter, then return after finishing it and still obtain the intended result.

This was a technique derived from over a thousand years of ritual magic development. After all, many higher-level rituals required a great number of steps. They might take one hour, two hours, or even half a day to complete, and throughout such a process, it was very difficult to guarantee that no one would disturb the practitioner or that no accident would occur.

After the blood-soaked lessons of one predecessor after another, and after feedback from one failure after another, ritual magic capable of being “interrupted” had become mainstream at higher levels, indirectly influencing some lower-level rituals as well.

But being “interruptible” did not mean one could interrupt whenever one wished, or interrupt however one wished. The practitioner had to follow the theories of mysticism and master the corresponding techniques. Otherwise, ritual failure was unavoidable, and one might even draw a terrifying backlash.

According to Klein’s understanding, it was like this: once you had successfully gained a deity’s attention, and that deity was waiting for you to speak the content of your prayer, you suddenly said, “Wait, let me go to the washroom first.”

Then congratulations. You would never need to visit the washroom again.

Hoo…

Klein exhaled, keeping himself calm.

Although he had performed the “luck-changing ritual” many times and had even designed a corresponding process for Justice and the Hanged Man to try, this was still his first true practice of ritual magic that conformed to proper standards.

Glancing at the silver-inlaid cane leaning against the edge of the bed, Klein picked up a third candle and placed it at the very center of the desk, using it to symbolize himself.

After that, he placed Selena’s silver ritual bowl before the third candle, using it in place of a cauldron bearing a sacred emblem. To the left of the bowl were hydrosols and essential oils containing moon flowers, deep-sleep flowers, and similar plants. To the right were a small dish of salt, a little silver dagger, a sheet of imitation parchment, and a water-dipped quill.

Fortunately, Selena’s supplies are fairly complete. Otherwise, I truly would not be able to finish the setup. And Old Neil’s quick rituals are not something a Seer can perform…

From this, Selena really is a rather experienced mysticism enthusiast… Mm. If she were not experienced, she would not have been able to cause a mess like this…

She is only sixteen. She must have been exposed to this for at least a year, yes? Who brought her in?

As thoughts fluttered through his mind, Klein picked up Selena’s cup from the bedside, poured in clean water, and set it beside the coarse salt.

He took out his pocket watch, snapped it open, and glanced at the time. Then he delayed no further, outlined layer upon layer of spheres of light in his mind, and swiftly entered meditation.

Within the flower-scented room, invisible wind suddenly began to spin. Klein, having put away his pocket watch, saw his pupils abruptly darken, turning from brown to black, as though he could see the soul of every observer.

He reached out and pressed his palm near the upper-right candle. Silently, he recited in his heart:

“Evernight Goddess, you are the Lord of Crimson.”

While silently reciting, Klein extended his spirituality. After rubbing the wick several times, the candle suddenly caught fire. Within its yellowish glow appeared a faint, tranquil blue.

“Evernight Goddess, you are also the Empress of Misfortune and Horror.”

Following the same method, Klein smoothly lit the second candle at the upper left.

“I am your faithful guardian, the shield against danger in the night, the spear that pierces evil in the silence.”

Whoosh!

The third candle, which symbolized Klein himself, began burning.

Its flame did not waver in the slightest. Klein picked up the little silver knife and imitated Old Neil’s manner, using the incantation together with coarse salt and clean water to complete sanctification.

Then he allowed the spirituality accumulated within him to gush from the silver dagger’s tip and fuse mysteriously with nature.

Holding the little silver knife, Klein circled the bedroom once. At the position occupied by the bed, he used his knees in place of his feet, sealing the place with an invisible barrier.

The light from the streetlamps outside vanished instantly, yet the crimson moonlight continued to shine quietly.

Klein returned before the desk, picked up the quill, and used spirituality together with ink to draw the incantations and symbols meant to avoid misfortune.

Once he had finished, he set down the items in his hands and dripped one drop each from several bottles of hydrosol, flower essence, and essential oil onto the three candles.

Hiss!

Faint mist spread outward. The room immediately gained a deeper layer of mystery.

After burning several kinds of herbs in sequence, Klein took a step back amid the mingled fragrances and began reciting the incantation corresponding to interruption-style ritual magic:

“Evernight Goddess, nobler than the stars and more eternal than eternity;

“I pray for your favor;

“I pray that you favor one of your faithful believers.

“I pray for the power of crimson;

“I pray for the power of misfortune and horror;

“I pray that you allow your faithful believer Selena Wood to break free from evil contamination and from misfortune’s entanglement.

“I pray to you. Please wait a moment. Please wait for that unfortunate girl.

“…”

“Moon flower, herb belonging to the red moon, please pass your strength into my incantation!

“Deep-sleep flower, herb belonging to the red moon, please pass your strength into my incantation!

“…”

After reciting the incantation, Klein closed his eyes and repeated it seven times in his heart.

Seeing no abnormality at the altar, he grasped the silver dagger again and retreated step by step until he reached Selena’s bedroom door.

He tapped his chest four times, drawing the sign of the crimson moon. Then he turned around and raised the silver dagger.

Spirituality once again gushed from the tip, cutting the shape of a door into the invisible wall.

Klein knew that, at this point, even if he opened the door, it would not disturb the peace and sanctity of the altar.

He took out his silver pocket watch with vine patterns, checked the time, and rehearsed the later process in his mind.

…

Inside the sitting room on the second floor.

Elizabeth, whose body trembled faintly, kept lifting her head to glance at the wall clock. Beneath the light of two gas lamps, she silently calculated the time.

It is about time…

As she whispered soundlessly to herself, she turned her head and looked at the lively girl with wine-red hair. Selena’s dimples were deep, her smile brilliant, and she could speak happily with every friend around her.

Yet the more this was the case, the more afraid Elizabeth became. That cold, horrifying “Selena” in the mirror seemed to remain inside her mind, impossible to forget.

I cannot wait any longer! I have to act!

Elizabeth abruptly stood. Under the astonished gazes of the others, she stammered a smile.

“Selena, I—I have a surprise for you. For you. Come out with me for a moment.”

“Really? Didn’t you already give me my birthday gift?”

Selena held the mirror face-down and stood with some surprise.

“A surprise is—is not supposed to have any—any signs in advance.”

Elizabeth felt that she truly had no acting talent whatsoever.

She did not say more. Taking the lead, she walked toward the sitting-room door, while Selena followed behind her with a doubtful smile.

Melissa watched her two friends leave, and her brows unconsciously drew together.

Elizabeth is very strange today…

After she met Klein, she became even stranger…

Just now she suddenly ran out, saying she urgently needed to use the washroom. But why did her expression look so panicked?

…

Outside Selena’s bedroom door.

Elizabeth inhaled deeply and said to the girl before her, “Let us go into your room.”

“Elizabeth, I feel that you are very nervous. Very afraid. Why?” Selena asked in puzzlement, seeing her friend’s body tremble uncontrollably.

“Excited. Yes, excited!”

Elizabeth glanced at the mirror in Selena’s hand, half-turned, and knocked on the door: one long, two short.

“Why are you knocking…?” Selena grew even more confused.

Creak. The bedroom door opened. Klein appeared before the two girls, dressed in a black tailcoat and wearing a half-top silk hat.

“Surprise? This is the surprise?”

Selena’s mouth opened halfway, and her mind went blank.

At that moment, Klein suddenly reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into the room. Elizabeth stared, frozen in place.

At the same time, Klein pointed with the silver dagger. Spirituality surged outward, swiftly mending the cut door-shaped passage.

The invisible wall of spirituality sealed the room once more, hiding Selena’s scream inside.

Bang!

Klein slammed the door shut, not even looking at Selena before rapidly returning to the desk.

The girl with wine-red hair stopped screaming and lifted her head, sweeping her gaze around the room.

Her eyes swiftly turned cold. Her skin gradually paled. White, sinister, sharp nails grew rapidly from her ten fingers.

By this time, Klein had already returned to meditation. While dripping one drop each of moon flower extract onto the three candles, he loudly recited:

“O supreme Lord of Crimson, great Empress of Misfortune and Horror;

“I pray that you bestow your favor;

“Favor your lost lamb, Selena Wood!”

Amid the incantation, he picked up the sheet of imitation parchment and brought it toward the candle symbolizing the supplicant.

Woo!

He felt an icy wind behind him. He felt a heavy power come crashing down.

The parchment ignited. Klein threw it into the silver bowl, while his body, already prepared, dropped low, avoiding the fatal swipe.

Woooo!

The sound of wind became abnormally fierce. Klein felt his spirituality pour outward like a tide, and he could not stop it at all.

He saw the parchment burning inside the silver bowl with a tranquil, deep black. He heard the sound of something heavy falling behind him.

Thud! Clang!

Two sounds came almost without interval. Wisp after wisp of black-green, intangible gas plunged into the silver bowl and vanished within that illusion-like darkness.

Klein half-rolled aside and rose smoothly, drawing the revolver from beneath his arm. But when he focused, all he saw was the adorable wine-red-haired Selena lying on the floor, while the silver-plated mirror had fallen onto the carpet and shattered into countless fragments.

Those fragments no longer reflected Selena. They honestly showed the ceiling, and Klein’s silhouette.

At that moment, with spirit vision still active, Klein saw that all the evil black-green within Selena’s aura had vanished. Everything had returned to normal, though it was much weaker than before.

Hoo…

He had only just breathed out when pain began stabbing through the center of his brows, then through his head.

The stabbing pain spread through his entire body, making him want to roll over the floor.

Klein’s fists clenched violently. Vein after vein bulged on the backs of his hands, all of them pitch-black, like writhing worms.

At the same time, he heard soundless screams. He heard murmurs that tore at his spirit.

Only after a dozen seconds did he finally recover. His forehead and back were covered in cold sweat.

“The ritual magic just now emptied my spirituality and nearly caused my Beyonder power to lose control?”

Klein roughly judged the situation.

This incident also made him realize that he seemed to have digested quite a bit of the residual spirit inside the potion. If he had calculated based on the strength it had possessed when he had first consumed the potion, he felt that he would never have been able to withstand what had just happened. He would have collapsed directly into a monster.

The acting method really is very useful…

Klein lightly tapped his glabella and wiped away his sweat.

He turned toward the altar, tapped his chest four times, and spoke loudly:

“Praise the Goddess!”

Then he extinguished the candles one by one and swiftly tidied the altar.

After casually placing the items back on the desk, he used the silver dagger to remove the sealed wall of spirituality.

Woo!

Wind echoed, and silence retreated. Klein let out a long breath, still deeply afraid of what had just happened.

“If I had not rehearsed the process and completed the ritual smoothly, things would have become troublesome… And even now, I still do not know who the opponent was, or what the enemy was…

“Fortunately—mm, fortunately, the room has a carpet. My rolling did not damage my clothes…”

He shook his head and reached out to open the wooden door of Selena’s bedroom.

“How is it?”

Elizabeth took two steps back and asked nervously.

Klein looked at her frightened expression. Removing his half-top silk hat, he smiled gently.

“I have corrected the error in her magic mirror divination. The matter is resolved.”