Chapter 108: A ‘Tailor-Made’ Ritual

Chapter 108: A ‘Tailor-Made’ Ritual

After thanking Arianna, Klein immediately gave up control over Hvin Rambis, making it impossible for him to maintain the marionette state.

Thus, this demigod of the Spectator pathway collapsed to the ground with a thud, becoming a corpse.

Arianna lowered Her head and glanced at him. The darkness in Her eyes deepened.

Hvin Rambis’s body immediately became like a pencil drawing, erased inch by inch by an eraser. In the end, only that icy-blue metal cylinder remained.

Next, glimmers of light seeped out from the void, rapidly gathering together to form a peculiar object.

It was the size of a fist, shaped much like a heart, yet its surface was covered in grayish-white folds, like an alternative kind of brain. Across every fold, countless symbolic signs and strange patterns stretched and layered, penetrating the surrounding environment and connecting to a world difficult for Beyonders of other pathways to see.

This was the Beyonder characteristic left behind by a Manipulator.

Madam Arianna used the process of concealment and reverse concealment to quickly extract Hvin Rambis’s Beyonder characteristic… Klein was stunned for a second before understanding.

At that moment, Arianna said with a calm expression,

“The mental imprints inside it have all been cleared away.”

“Thank you, Madam Arianna.” Klein bowed, not surprised in the slightest, as though he had long since been prepared.

His decisive abandonment of the marionette had been because he had foreseen that something similar would happen next.

In truth, his original plan had been to bring Hvin Rambis above the gray fog while still in marionette state and have him hold the Unshadowed Cross, allowing the Beyonder characteristics of Manipulator, Dreamwalker, Hypnotist, and the like to separate out level by level. This way, not only would Miss Justice no longer have to worry about where to buy the materials before becoming a demigod, even the extraordinary dog at her home would have a chance to improve—Audrey had earlier briefly mentioned to Dwayne Dantès that Susie had made the second-largest contribution to her breaking free of Hvin Rambis’s control.

However, Klein later considered that he definitely could not bring Hvin Rambis above the gray fog inside this concealed world, under Arianna’s gaze, because that would directly expose the fact that he was The Fool. And once he left this place, no matter where he “teleported” to, there was a chance Adam would discover him through Hvin Rambis’s existence.

Since that was the case, directly abandoning the marionette before Arianna was unquestionably the better option. At the very least, there was a high chance this angel would help Klein clear away the mental imprint inside the Beyonder characteristic in passing.

And this did not affect Klein’s original plan. He could completely find some random materials, turn Hvin Rambis’s Beyonder characteristic into a problematic potion, then pour it onto an ordinary item, allowing the item to mutate by absorbing the potion.

Once he obtained such a Sealed Artifact, he could then bind the Unshadowed Cross to it. By controlling the timing well, he would be able to make the corresponding Beyonder characteristics separate out level by level.

As for the mental corruption produced during the process, he did not need to worry. The Unshadowed Cross could purify it as well!

As Klein picked up Hvin Rambis’s Beyonder characteristic but found himself unable to put it into the iron cigarette case, he could only stuff it casually into his pocket. Arianna’s gaze turned toward the icy-blue metal cylinder, and She said at an unhurried pace,

“It comes from the cosmos. It is best that you do not use it. Even carrying it should be avoided as much as possible. Otherwise, there will be gazes cast upon you, causing you to unknowingly suffer corruption and develop mutations.”

“From the cosmos?” Klein found this description inexplicably familiar.

Very quickly, he remembered the source of that familiarity.

It came from Yellow Light Venithan’s prophecy of the apocalypse, recorded in the Abraham family’s Records of the Spirit World:

“Gazes will be cast down from the cosmos. The earth will split apart, and everything in the world will no longer exist.”

The apocalypse… Is this Sealed Artifact’s origin connected to the source of the apocalypse? What exactly does the cosmos represent here? And what is its relationship with the astral world? A series of questions formed in Klein’s heart, making his expression considerably more solemn.

Facing his question, Arianna gently nodded.

“Yes. The cosmos.”

“Is it the cosmos above our heads?” Klein raised a hand and pointed at the dark-black night curtain embedded with the enormous crimson moon.

“Yes,” Arianna gave an affirmative answer, yet offered no further explanation.

Klein thought for a moment, then asked again,

“Are there many malicious existences there, existences trying to destroy this world?”

Arianna’s gaze swept over his face and finally stopped at his eyes.

“I cannot give you an answer.

“There are some matters where the more you know, the more easily you are ‘infected’—from body to soul. Wait until you become an angel before exploring the specific answers.”

The more you know, the more easily you are ‘infected’… Klein experienced a long-lost chill up his spine.

Regarding which Sealed Artifacts Hvin Rambis possessed, Klein had not asked the Magic Mirror Arrodes in advance, afraid that he would leave traces and be detected by Adam.

When facing a King of Angels, no amount of caution was excessive!

Seeing that Arianna would not reveal anything more, Klein turned and pointed at the icy-blue metal cylinder.

“How should this item be handled?”

The ascetic leader’s description made him slightly afraid to bring this Sealed Artifact above the gray fog to “disinfect” it.

Arianna calmly said,

“My suggestion is to sacrifice it to the Goddess. Combined with your previous contributions, exchange it for the thing you want.”

Klein nodded very slightly.

“I understand.”

After he expressed his gratitude again, Arianna’s figure was swiftly erased and vanished inside the dark garden where the crimson moon was so enormous as to be abnormal.

Yet this concealed world did not collapse because of that.

Klein silently watched for several seconds. Thoughtfully, he took out candles and other ritual items he carried with him, swiftly arranged an altar, and sacrificed that icy-blue metal cylinder to the Evernight Goddess.

At the end of the ritual, amid a howling gust of wind, the ashes of burning herbs and the surrounding soil rose at the same time and fell on the blank part of the altar.

The ashes and soil connected with one another, forming word after word:

“Sequence 3, Scholar of Yore.

“Main ingredients: one pair of eyes from a Fregara’s Hound, also known as a Sefirah Castle Watcher; one flocculated heart of a Demonic Wolf of Fog.

“Supplementary ingredients: one hundred milliliters of Fregara’s Hound blood; thirty grams of frost-white crystals from a Demonic Wolf of Fog; and a large number of true ancient historical records…

“Advancement ritual: Completely break away from reality for at least three hundred years. After one has already become history and no longer belongs to the present era, consume the potion.”

This… Klein could not help blinking, suspecting that he had misread the description.

The phrase “does not belong to the present era” directly made him think of one of his honorific names:

“The Fool that doesn’t belong to this era!”

I was suspended on that strange door of light for far more than three hundred years… In a sense, have I already completed the ritual and only need to consume the potion at the end? That mysterious space above the gray fog really is closely connected to the Seer pathway… Could it be something evolved from the Uniqueness? For a moment, Klein felt both delighted and solemn, because he did not know what kind of price had been marked upon such a “gift.”

Sigh. When I become an angel, I really want to jump to a neighboring pathway and avoid walking the planned road… For other Bizarro Sorcerers, the greatest difficulty of this advancement ritual should be how to live for three hundred years. After all, this is not a pathway known for its long life… Also, leaving reality for three hundred years would easily drive a person mad. For a Bizarro Sorcerer who already stands at the edge of personality fracture, the danger of madness and loss of control cannot be small… Klein looked at the Scholar of Yore potion formula, and thoughts surged uncontrollably through his mind.

Only after an unknown length of time did he end the ritual and put away the corresponding items.

As he walked toward the outside of the garden, the enormous crimson moon and the pitch-black night curtain faded one after another, vanishing inch by inch.

Then he saw flowers belonging to autumn, saw sunlight falling upon them, and saw the blond-haired girl waiting between the house and garden.

Joy appeared in Audrey’s eyes, and the corners of her mouth lifted unconsciously.

Klein nodded to her. His figure was suddenly enveloped by scarlet flames.

Elsewhere in the garden, streams of flame likewise rose into the air, though not obviously.

When the firelight scattered, Gehrman Sparrow’s figure had already vanished. The lingering traces of crimson moon and night curtain also disappeared completely.

Audrey stared blankly for several seconds, then withdrew her gaze thoughtfully and entered Viscount Glaint’s residence.

After she brought Susie and the servants with her, rode a carriage away, returned home, and found a chance to be alone, she received The World’s invitation to “meet,” just as expected.

…

Above the gray fog, inside the palace.

Justice Audrey looked at The World, Gehrman Sparrow, and asked—not especially anxiously,

“What was Hvin Rambis’s true purpose?”

From Gehrman Sparrow’s previous calm and composed behavior, she had long since known that Hvin Rambis had already been resolved.

Klein answered frankly,

“First, to investigate whether there was someone behind Xio’s and Fors’s actions. Second, in the process of the princes showing friendliness toward Earl Hall’s family, he wanted to use suggestions so that you would not become an obstacle. In essence, this was an attempt to divide the three Churches.”

Audrey and Mr. World opposite her had already discussed this aspect earlier, so she did not need to seek additional explanation. She instead asked,

“Then why did Hvin Rambis, this demigod, personally come to find me?”

Klein smiled.

“To conceal himself from the guards arranged by Earl Hall, and to hypnotize a Hypnotist quietly and with certainty, a Sequence 5 might not be enough. Therefore, having a demigod act directly was the safest option. And since you knew Hvin Rambis and had contact with him before, you were least guarded against him.

“To be frank, if you had not been cautious enough, and if Susie had not been an undiscovered helper, the entire matter would have proceeded smoothly without either of us noticing—until next Monday.”

Justice Audrey did not put on a thick mask. With emotions slightly complicated, she half-smiled and half-sighed.

“So I have already become this formidable…”

It now required a demigod to have overwhelming confidence against her.

“Even more formidable than I imagined. You actually hypnotized a demigod—a demigod who specializes in hypnosis,” Klein praised with a smile.

Audrey unconsciously pressed her lips together, a faint smile appearing on her face.

“That was mainly thanks to the Luck Stealer charm you gave me. Hmm, my Hypnotist potion seems to have completely digested because of it…”