The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 605

Chapter 604
[Enchantment Card: Treant Anastasia]
“If possible,” Anastasia’s voice, no longer hesitant but dull, came through, “I want to leave with you.”
As she said this, she was still growing.
Her original form was completely covered by the tree—or rather, her body had completely turned into wood.
Eivass looked at her now, unable to see any trace of her past as a young girl within the silhouette of the gradually growing giant tree. Even her voice had become “mature,” as if covered by a thick layer of leather, dull and distorted compared to before.
Perhaps due to trust, perhaps due to affection.
Or perhaps due to her yearning for the world and anticipation of the unknown, she answered directly without even asking what Eivass intended to do.
Eivass smiled slightly, picked out three Tarot Cards, and held them between the fingers of his right hand.
“—The Fool. Ignorant and fearless, revering the future, pursuing dreams, and moving forward freely. Knowing it’s meaningless, yet persisting stubbornly.
“—The Empress. Carefree and leisurely, nurturing and gentle. Boundless and selfless love, likes to take care of others. Also overly inclusive, lacking principles.
“—The Hermit. Wants to illuminate the world but is trapped in place. Content with solitude, actively withdrawing. Illuminating oneself, and also illuminating others. Arrogant, self-conscious, cold in attitude, lacking passion.”
Eivass shifted these three cards slightly, displaying them to Anastasia: “Which one do you prefer? And which one do you feel suits you better?”
Hearing this, Anastasia hesitated for the first time.
It was like taking a personality test, where every option felt about the same.
Knowing that these options held significant meaning, she just couldn’t discern her inner inclination.
Looking at Anastasia, who had already turned into a tree and was growing rapidly into a towering giant tree at a visible speed, Eivass chuckled easily, “It seems that for you, it’s all about the same… isn’t it.”
“… I can accept any of them.”
Anastasia replied, “They all feel like me.”
“Then let me choose.”
Eivass said, and without hesitation, he chose the first card.
The card numbered zero, colored yellow.
It signified the beginning of life, and also the end of something in life.
—The Fool.
“Rather than maternal love and devotion,” Eivass said softly, “a child like you is more suited to this card.
“Consider it… my blessing to you. Go forth with your dreams, bravely.”
For a regular Phantom Demon like a treant, it wasn’t enough to become a Beast of Sin.
But if it were just made into a Follower Card, it would be fine.
Eivass didn’t lack such an ordinary card slot—nor did he lack the materials. Even if it wasn’t used after being made, it could at least prevent Anastasia from being bound by her own fate.
Destined to become a Phantom Demon or something…
—Eivass hated this kind of “destiny” the most now.
If he didn’t have the power to change it, that would be one thing.
But he happened to have the power.
So how could he turn a blind eye and let it be?
“Give me a piece of jade.”
Eivass instructed Sherlock, the Ritual Assistant who was quietly standing in the corner.
Sherlock pouted, but still obediently opened the ritual bag and walked over: “What else? I can go find it.”
“As the beginning of everything, this card doesn’t need overly complex extraordinary materials. It only needs a feather from a female vulture, a pair of well-preserved butterfly wings, a naturally air-dried pinecone, a traveler’s bag used for at least twenty years, and… a bottle of honey wine.”
“I’ll get it right away!”
Madam Grace realized what was happening and then hurried to excuse herself.
Maxim paused for a moment, then reacted, leaning closer to Eivass and Sherlock, and asked, “What else is missing?”
He didn’t ask what Eivass was doing or how he was doing it.
“Everything is missing. I only have ritual materials here. Female vulture’s feather, pinecone, traveler’s bag—”
Sherlock replied, “I’ll go buy them with you—will we still make it to the First Ring in time, Eivass?”
“No need.”
Maxim immediately said, “I have almost everything at home, except for the vulture feather—I’ll go look for it now.”
“…I have the feather.”
Suddenly, Yunus, who had been silent beside them, spoke up and took the feather stuck in his hat.
His expression was somewhat complex: “This should be a female vulture’s feather.”
—This was Yunus’s most beloved hat, and he had kept it in good condition precisely because of that.
Eivass nodded, “Many poets used vulture feathers.
“Because the Horus people believed that vultures had no males. They thought female vultures conceived from the wind… From this perspective, a female vulture could be seen as the ‘wife of the wind,’ and bards revered wind-like freedom. They would call themselves ‘children of the wind,’ thus wearing the mark of their mother.”
As Eivass spoke, he reached out and took Yunus’s hat.
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, “This is the last thing he left you—it should have a special symbolic meaning for you, can you bear to part with it?”
“…If it can help others and save them, I think that would be its greatest meaning.”
Yunus said.
“This is the only thing you’ve said that sounds like a man since I met you,” Eivass commented with a low chuckle.
As he spoke, he removed the feather.
The wind-element Mana from “Enyo’s Essence” surged from Eivass’s right index finger.
The light green Mana instantly shattered the feather and then injected it into the piece of jade.
Immediately after, the jade also shattered—
Under Eivass’s precise control, the wind carried the Mana and debris, wrapping the Fool card layer by layer.
—Yes, although the treant seemed quite stable, like an unmoving mountain, it was actually a wind-element and light-element Phantom Demon.
And if the Fool card was used to make it, it could only be of the wind element.
Maxim and Grace also returned quickly with the items.
Eivass placed the pinecone into the traveler’s bag, then put the card in as well. He then opened the honey wine and began to chant:
“I invoke the Twin Mirrors! The divine number of two, the god without eyes or self, the god of pure beauty immaculate—”
As Eivass chanted, he poured out the wine and continuously infused his Mana into it.
The wine did not drip directly onto the traveler’s bag.
Instead, as if dripping into water, it suddenly spread out in the air. The golden honey aroma descended, enveloping the traveler’s bag like a mist.
The traveler’s bag visibly began to shrink, eventually becoming only a palm-sized bundle, covered in golden honey.
Eivass placed the bundle under the still-growing Anastasia tree, quietly watching her continue to grow larger under the moonlight.
Before Anastasia completed her Sublimation, she was still just a mortal and not yet a Phantom Demon. But the moment she fully petrified, she became a Phantom Demon in the Material Realm—rather than entering the Dream Realm. For this reason, it was possible for Phantom Demons to exist in the Material Realm who had not successfully ascended, and burning her tree body would ensure her successful ascension.
Soon, Anastasia became still.
And everyone waited there quietly.
The latter half of the night passed like flowing water.
At Eivass’s request, Yunus played a gentle and melodious tune on his new harp.
And amidst this gentle, almost cautious music, the sun rose.
Under the light of the first morning sun, the great tree suddenly turned a brilliant golden color—then shattered like fireflies, all of it pouring into the traveler’s bag.
When all the radiance dissipated, Eivass stepped forward and opened the small package, which had returned to its normal color.
Inside lay another Fool card with a completely different image.
It was a person dressed in green, with horns on their head, who didn’t look very intelligent. A pinecone, like a rope, was wrapped around the neck of a winding crystal double snake staff.
Eivass beckoned slightly, and the card flickered dimly and bright, instantly moving into Eivass’s hand, displaying its attributes.
[Enchantment: Treant Anastasia (The Fool)]
[Level: 40]
[Path of Devotion, Attribute Wind]
[Requirement: Wind 3]
[Action, Recast, Summon, Immediate Effect]
[Effect: Transforms a tree into Treant Anastasia. The Treant is considered a summoned creature. When the Treant is on the field, it continuously heals all allies within range, and controls plants to periodically control enemies within range.]
[Effect: Use again. When Treant Anastasia is on the field, summon Moon Spirit Anastasia. The Moon Spirit is considered a summoned creature and can exist for ten minutes. When the Moon Spirit is on the field, the Treant’s effect changes to “Grant a protective barrier centered on the Treant.” The barrier is considered a force field, ritual, and shield, resistant to all damage types except “divine,” “flame,” and “unholy.”]
(End of Chapter)