Chapter 62
I beseech the Candlemaster, the God of Holy Number Three
After Edward left to sleep, Eivass was still somewhat uneasy.
He finally treated Yulia’s body and spirit separately one last time, and once again absorbed that strange magical power.
This time, it was his right arm that was half blocked by it… but as Yulia’s condition stabilized, Eivass no longer felt that sense of power being drawn back when casting the Illuminate Spell.
And as Yulia fell into a deep slumber, the volatile power accumulating in Eivass’s arms began to gradually dissipate. The throbbing pain was rapidly subsiding.
—It was the power of the Phantom Demon, Eivass confirmed.
After the Butterfly fell into a deep sleep, its power dissipated like rootless duckweed.
Just as Eivass couldn’t use the power of the Shadow Demon before obtaining the third level of Shadow Affinity… he naturally didn’t have the Path Trait of Flame Affinity, so the power of the Butterfly was equally fatal to him. It was probably because the process of him healing Yulia inadvertently fit the “Shepherd’s Method,” hence the power reflux—just like blood flowing back after a needle pierces a vein.
…At the current rate, it would take about another hour for the swelling to completely disappear.
He couldn’t sleep for now.
Eivass frowned, tucked Yulia in, and gently pushed her wheelchair back to his bedroom.
Sitting at his desk, he lit a gas lamp.
Gazing at the light, Eivass fell into deep thought. He began to sort through his memories.
He remembered that in his original timeline, Yulia hadn’t lost control prematurely; in fact, her condition had been quite good. Until she actively triggered her berserk state at the end, she had only been a “cute, slightly sickly little sister.”
It was even more impossible for her to have such a severe loss of control as she did today—so severe that if Edward had discovered her a moment later, the Butterfly would have hatched prematurely.
Although there were the “Serial Incineration Cases,” which occurred continuously until the fourth one. And after Yulia died, the incineration cases indeed stopped.
But at the time, these clues were eventually traced back to the Noble Red Society.
…Now, it seemed, that might have been a direction of investigation deliberately misled by Professor Moriarty.
In that timeline, Eivass’s foster father had not left Avalon at this point… With him watching, it was normal for this matter to be suppressed.
“Could it be the butterfly effect caused by James leaving Avalon?”
Eivass murmured softly, “’Forgotten the Seal’… Is that credible?”
He believed Edward hadn’t lied to him.
But he couldn’t say whether James had lied to Edward.
He had no evidence, just a simple thought… As a final BOSS in prototype 0, Old James shouldn’t have been able to forget such an important matter.
Moreover, Eivass vaguely felt that his elder brother also harbored some doubts about this. He had just deliberately told a lie to reassure Eivass.
But to say that Old James had done it intentionally… also seemed unlikely.
Edward’s being called away today was entirely an accident. His foster father had left early in the morning, so he couldn’t have known that Sherlock would take Edward to the Lloyd District that day and wouldn’t return until night; nor could he have precisely determined that Yulia would lose control tonight.
Edward was right. Under normal circumstances, if he had arrived home in time, even if Yulia lost control, it wouldn’t have reached such a critical state, close to death. He would have been able to complete the seal immediately.
In that case, this should have just been a simple coincidence.
Furthermore, Eivass couldn’t think of any benefit he would gain from doing this—if the situation went out of control, it would only bring trouble to the Moriarty Family. This was clearly detrimental to his concealment.
And when his foster father was not involved, Edward was a silent and reliable person. Besides, Eivass also had some understanding of the “Soul Shackles” spell.
Edward’s estimated time should be correct. This seal would indeed be effective for at least a month.
However, this incident sounded an alarm for Eivass.
Relying entirely on plans was unreliable… because there would always be unexpected situations and chain reactions.
Therefore, Eivass decided to start preparing to make blank cards in advance.
Fortunately, he had chosen the Path Trait of “Vessel of Burning and Shining Radiance” during his Advancement Ritual, and his fire attribute mana had reached 44 points. Two more points would be enough for the minimum value required to create a fire attribute blank card—he would store an extra four points and use them all the next day after his mana recovered.
According to Eivass’s calculations, he only needed to reach level 13 to have 46 points of fire attribute mana.
This was not difficult.
Even without using experience points, it would only require leveling up three Mystical Arts by one level each.
If it weren’t for the fact that Eivass had to leave time for the Butterfly to slowly recover its power, he would have been eager to level up directly with experience points tonight—if the Butterfly hadn’t woken up, Eivass wouldn’t have been able to completely seal its consciousness into the blank card. If there were any remnants left inside Yulia, it would be troublesome.
He would do it as soon as he decided.
Eivass decided to make a prototype tonight.
He would select a Tarot Card suitable for sealing the Butterfly, then inject four points of mana into it and save it. This was to save time, so that if he was pressed for time later, he wouldn’t have to wait until the next day to complete the production.
However, he didn’t know which card should be used to seal the Butterfly.
He knew that the demon “Shadow Demon” could only be crafted using the Tarot Card **The Moon**, as the Shadow Demon was a commonly used Summoned Beast in the later stages. But he was not familiar with the Butterfly. After all, in the original historical timeline, the Butterfly was not sealed into a Tarot Card by Eivass; instead, it entered Eivass’s necklace.
Or rather, there was no “Butterfly” Summoned Beast available in the game. This was Eivass’s own sister, who was prepared to be resurrected, so how could she become your pet—although she was never successfully resurrected even after Eivass died.
So before that, he had to conduct a simple test to divine the Butterfly’s Adaptability.
The materials for a blank card were two different Tarot Cards. They were glued together to become a “blank” card.
The base card represented the essence and core traits of the Phantom Demon, while the symbol card represented one of the Nine Pillar Gods. It was a card that could restrain and suppress this card.
Using the power of the Nine Pillar Gods to suppress the Phantom Demon, so that it would be sealed and become a “Great Beast.”
This was equivalent to using the guise of the Nine Pillar Gods, having the gods suppress the Phantom Demon for him, while he could command it freely without fear of rebellion—this method of “utilizing true gods” was the unforgivable Great Sin of a Sin Scholar.
But he had to admit, it was quite effective.
Theoretically, this kind of test should be performed by the person concerned or by forcibly breaking it using the exclusive Mystical Art of a Sin Scholar. However, after treating Yulia, Eivass had a reflux of some of the Butterfly’s power into his body. At this moment, he could be considered “Yulia,” so he had another way to take a shortcut.
That was divination.
Although Eivass was not a person who adapted to this Path and had no precognition, this kind of thing didn’t always require precognition.
He was a Priest, close to the gods.
—He could just ask the Candlemaster directly.
The prayer ritual was also a ritual. The bonuses from the Demon Scholar’s Ritual Arts could also increase the success rate.
He was quite good-tempered, and asking a small question occasionally should not anger him…
Eivass opened a brand new deck of Tarot Cards, shuffled them simply, and then laid them face down in a line on the table.
He lit a new candle, clasped his hands together, and prayed respectfully to the Candlemaster in his heart as preparation.
Then, he took out a new Ritual Knife and symbolically passed it over the candle flame, indicating that he had been purified.
Immediately after, Eivass cut his left thumb with it.
An abnormally hot and scorching blood gushed out immediately, like a broken fried egg.
Eivass smeared his blood horizontally across the Tarot Cards laid out in a line, from the first card to the last, all of them touched by a little blood.
He did not treat himself immediately, but remained in a bleeding state and began to shuffle the cards seriously and repeatedly.
“I solemnly invoke you, the noble fire-stealer!
“The God of Holy Number Three, the God of Sin Thorns Binding the Body, the God of Burning Body and Chasing Darkness—the Stag of the Candlemaster!”
Golden red radiance flashed in his pupils as he earnestly prayed, “I beseech you to descend into the candle flame!
“I am a newcomer to the Path of Devotion, a Priest of the Nine Pillar Gods! I am Eivass Moriarty!
“Please protect my spirit, just as you protect the candles and fires in the corner; please ignite my light, just as you watch over all the candles and fires in this world.
“I offer my blood now, in pursuit of true knowledge. I swear this blood is shed for the benefit of others. May the Candlemaster and His Emissaries respond to me…”
After he finished speaking, he paused for a few seconds.
Because Eivass suddenly felt a slight dizziness. He had the feeling of being watched by something, which made Eivass’s spine tingle and his heart skip a beat.
And the palms of his hands, without any injury, cracked open silently.
A large amount of blood seeped out, completely dyeing the Tarot Cards red.
But Eivass was not flustered in the slightest.
This phenomenon clearly indicated that an Emissary had descended into the Material Realm.
Because his spiritual vision was insufficient, he could not see the other party’s existence. But this anomaly told Eivass that it had arrived.
The other party was watching him within the candlelight.
Not wanting to waste the other party’s time, Eivass immediately began to inquire, “Please reveal to me the essence of the Phantom Demon’s power within my blood.”
“Please reveal to me the essence of the Phantom Demon’s power within my blood.”
“Please reveal to me the essence of the Phantom Demon’s power within my blood.”
Because the Candlemaster was the God of Holy Number Three, Eivass deliberately repeated it three times.
At this time, the shuffling in his hands had just finished one round.
Eivass solemnly drew one Tarot Card from the top of the deck.
The Candlemaster would tell him three answers, which were three cards.
These three cards could all serve as the base for the blank card, but the power they brought would be slightly different.
—The first blood-stained card was The Lovers, reversed.
After Eivass finished looking, he placed the card over the candle flame, indicating that he would not reveal the secrets told by the Emissary to others.
The blood-soaked Tarot Card easily turned into ashes.
And Eivass immediately drew the second card.
—The Hanged Man, upright.
He did not interpret it immediately—that would be disrespectful to the Emissary.
Eivass cleared his mind and immediately drew the third card.
—The Sun, reversed.
Recommending a friend’s book, “My Senior Brother Is Right,” by Jun Tou, to help them reach ten thousand subscriptions~
Synopsis:
“Disciple, you have the potential of a great immortal!”
When his master said this and sent Song Yin into the alchemy furnace, Song Yin understood.
To revitalize the glory of the righteous path, is our generation’s unshirkable duty!
