Chapter 142
Grand Sin Ritual to Seal Phantom Demon
“What should I do?” Yulia asked softly, obediently.
Even after hearing that Eivass intended to extract the Phantom Demon from her body, she didn’t believe he wanted to kill her—even though, with current technical knowledge, it was impossible to extract a Phantom Demon while ensuring the host’s safety.
It wasn’t that Yulia believed Eivass possessed such technology.
It was because Yulia’s heart told her that Eivass would never harm her, no matter what.
They had grown up together, relying on each other during the most difficult and lonely times, and had never left each other’s side afterward. Although they weren’t blood-related, their trust in each other surpassed that of most families.
“Take out that amulet, Yuli,” Eivass said, taking the still-warm amulet. He smiled and asked Yulia, “Are you curious about what’s inside?”
“I think it might be a Flame Essence,” Yulia analyzed seriously. “Judging by the amulet’s thickness, temperature stability, and heat accumulation, its main material should be a Flame Essence imbued with fire-attribute mana.
“It gives off a subtle spicy scent, and the sustaining material might include ginger or cinnabar; however, after accumulating heat, it doesn’t feel scalding, so ruby or amber should be used as a stabilizing material, possibly with sapphire added for a calming effect.”
The girl’s voice was as soft and sweet as a fairy tale, yet her words were calm and rational.
“You’re a genius, Yuli,” Eivass praised her without reservation.
Just by touching it, she could roughly deduce the materials he had used.
Eivass wasn’t surprised. He knew Yulia was a rational and mature girl.
Although she always acted soft and cuddly in front of him, it was just her way of acting spoiled.
He had seen Yulia when she studied. She would diligently write down dense notes in different colored pens with neat and elegant handwriting.
When Yulia asked her foster father for advice on certain matters, she was always very serious. She would engage in earnest discussions about professional topics, her delicate little face always set in a serious expression, her pen in hand rarely stilling.
Yulia’s bedroom contained almost no toys.
Girls in this era were fond of dollhouses and playing with exquisite dolls. But Yulia’s only toy was a peculiar stuffed bear, which looked as if it had been cut in half from the front with a knife and then sewn back together with thread.
Besides a large number of books and study notes, Yulia’s bedroom also contained items that even boys her age might not be interested in.
In addition to a complete set of the best alchemy equipment, her bedroom housed an astronomical telescope, numerous electronic components, and some woodworking tools. Yulia’s bookshelves were entirely self-made, carved with intricate patterns.
Earlier, she had been interested in bicycles. However, her body didn’t support her riding a bicycle or going out. Furthermore, her status as a young lady didn’t permit her to play with emergent toys like bicycles, which were considered vulgar.
So, after her own research, Yulia made an elf-style bicycle model using wood and iron chains. If she rotated the pedals by hand, the suspended wheels could even turn.
“After today, you’ll be able to escape this body,” Eivass said seriously, drawing two Tarot cards from the amulet that were stuck together on their fronts, thus appearing blank.
He held the card between his right thumb and index finger, placing his thumb on his side—keeping the Hanged Man upright above and the Sun reversed below. He then signaled Yulia to press the other side with her right thumb and index finger.
It was time to begin.
Eivass took a deep breath. He couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.
This matter concerned Yulia’s safety. She, however, trusted Eivass completely and was therefore calm. It was Eivass who felt a bit trepidatious.
But he knew he had to remain calm.
So, he began to steadily inject his mana.
When Eivass’s mana injection exceeded ten points, the entire card became hot and scorching. It emitted a faint red glow, like a piece of red-hot iron.
As Eivass continued to inject fire-attribute mana, the Tarot card, still an ordinary object, was directly burned to ashes by the flames.
Yet, even so, an invisible rope seemed to connect Eivass and Yulia. They were pinching something in the void, and a golden-red stream of light flowed back and forth between them, swaying left and right.
As Eivass further injected mana, he began to softly chant, “I beseech the Candlemaster, the God of Holy Number Three, the God of Sin Thorns Binding the Body, the God who Burns the Body and Drives Away Darkness.
“——I solemnly call upon you!
“Please watch over the fire of my soul, as you watch over the candle flame in the corner.”
Eivass’s chant was not yet over.
“I respectfully entreat the Fallen Heavenly Envoy,” Eivass raised his voice abruptly without pause, solemnly declaring, “The Heavenly Envoy of Great Sin, the Fallen Heavenly Envoy—
“I have understood my transgressions, and I am willing to bear the brand of sloth!”
When Eivass simultaneously performed two prayers with entirely different targets, the ritual collapsed due to the conflict.
Sin Scholars were most likely not priests, so they did not possess the prayer skill.
The moment the ritual construction was complete, an aura had already been beckoned. Because the connection collapsed immediately upon the ritual’s completion, it did not disturb the Nine Pillar Gods or the Fallen Heavenly Envoy.
It was like calling a phone number that was immediately hung up before it could connect.
The instant the prayer collapsed, two distinct auras, caused by the failed prayer, surged into his card.
Theoretically, it was a punishment.
But punishment itself was also a form of power.
—The Grand Sin Ritual was a ritual to simultaneously borrow the power of the Nine Pillar Gods to suppress the Phantom Demon and borrow the power of Great Sins to seal the Phantom Demon!
The radiant and scorching aura of the Candlemaster flowed down from above, entering Eivass’s body through his eyes. His eyes suddenly burst open and bled, and two streams of blood tears slowly trickled down.
The deep crimson aura, with Eivass as the medium, followed his guidance and flowed above the ethereal bond between Eivass and Yulia.
The cold, pitch-black aura of the Fallen Heavenly Envoy slowly rose, guided by Eivass to the bottom of the bond, forming a tray.
The black and crimson auras intertwined, continuously harmonizing. An increasingly violent scorching storm howled in all directions. Lily couldn’t help but step back repeatedly, covering her cheeks with her hands.
As Eivass continued his slow infusion of mana into the void, the Phantom Demon within Yulia finally awakened.
Her normally red pupils suddenly brightened, and her expression changed: “What are you doing?”
The Butterfly of Heretical Flames felt a strong threat.
A powerful suction force emanated from the void where their fingertips faced each other, a feeling that was incredibly familiar yet incredibly warm.
“Yulia” seemed to glare fiercely at Eivass, but she didn’t look fierce at all at this moment.
Eivass simply gazed at it expressionlessly.
Soon, “Yulia’s” expression became pitiful again: “Save me, brother, I’m going to die—”
“You won’t die. Neither you nor Yulia,” Eivass replied softly.
Immediately after, he called out the Phantom Demon’s name: “Butterfly of Heretical Flames!
“I call your name now, and give you the brand of sloth!
“My life is your life, and my fate is your fate—
“—Obey me, Phantom Demon of the Path of Devotion!”
Eivass’s voice boomed, majestic as a god.
The aura of the Fallen Heavenly Envoy slowly moved from between them, pushing towards Yulia.
It was merely a bridge constructed from a bit of dark-attribute mana, yet it was enough to connect their souls.
A deep crimson ethereal chain emerged from Eivass’s heart and swiftly pierced into Yulia’s body.
This chain was constructed from Eivass’s “soul” and “fate,” something incredibly fragile condensed from his entire life experience up to this point.
Only this… after being struck into the Phantom Demon’s body, could it resonate with it.
In that instant, Eivass’s vision went black.
He seemed to experience a hallucination, or perhaps received some of Yulia’s memories.
Or rather, they were the memories left by “Butterfly of Heretical Flames” when it controlled Yulia’s body—
Most of them depicted Yulia coughing laboriously, shrinking in a corner. Her clothes and blanket were gradually scorched black, her whole body emitting white smoke.
There were also instances where flames erupted uncontrollably from her body, with streams of flame forming butterfly wings behind her.
Eivass also saw the familiar “warehouse.”
It was the warehouse where the explosion had occurred.
Yulia stumbled forward, her body covered in cracks like broken porcelain, coughing violently from time to time, hacking out large clumps of dark red powder.
These powders drifted in the air, like butterfly scales, or like fragments of ruby.
They appeared beautiful in the dark warehouse, like red stars filling the night sky.
And they continuously absorbed the flame streams bursting from the cracks on Yulia’s body, becoming brighter and brighter.
When their density and brightness reached a certain level, they exploded with a bang!
Yulia was blown away by the shockwave, falling to the ground.
Her back was heavily impacted, and she curled up on the ground in pain, coughing violently. However, she couldn’t cough up blood, only red powder and occasionally flickering flames.
Yulia’s suppressed coughs filled Eivass’s ears.
“I want… to be healthy…” Her voice was heavy, and she whispered, “I want to live…”
The next moment, Eivass’s vision entered a realm of darkness.
In complete darkness, Yulia lay unclothed, curled up in slumber within a deep crimson crystal.
The crystal shell seemed filled with blood, but it was now covered in cracks. Silver-white runes were pasted on the crystal, like tape used to patch a broken vessel.
Yulia floated within the crystal, her eyes closed. Her body was covered in ghastly wounds. The blood seemed to flow out from them, or perhaps it was meant to extinguish the flames that surged from the wounds.
So this was her pain…
“I’ve come to save you,” Eivass murmured softly, his heart stirred, “I made it in time… Yuli.
“You will live. I swear it.”
Eivass, floating in the void, slowly raised his ethereal hand and gently placed it on the red crystal.
