Chapter 752
Fleeting Moments (Requesting monthly passes)
“I have detonated the Mark of Wrath four times as per your request,” Alphonse reported proactively on his progress. “That corpse has already shown a reaction!”
“Very good,” Madam Kingsford chuckled softly. She gently caressed Alphonse’s cheek, her fingers pressing against his neck.
“Oh, by the way,” she suddenly said, “do you know what happened on Count Dawn’s side?”
“…My Lord Count?” Alphonse looked somewhat confused. “What’s wrong? Is it about him collecting maiden souls? I do know about that…”
“Ah, then it’s nothing,” Anna gave his cheek a kiss, saying regretfully, “Do you have any plans to… leave Leipzig? Or rather, leave Star Antinomy?”
“That’s impossible! Absolutely impossible!” Alphonse shivered and immediately refused without hesitation. “Father said we are to stay at home during this period! If needed, he wants to be able to summon us at any time! And if we leave Star Antinomy, we’ll be treated as traitors…”
“Is that so…” Anna sighed. “What a shame.”
“…What?”
“Nothing.” Anna kissed Alphonse again, whispering in his ear, “Then perhaps there will be no chance… I was thinking, once you complete the ritual and your consciousness enters that created Corrupted Blood Angel, I won’t have a chance… to play with you properly anymore.”
Corrupted Blood Angel… Just hearing the term filled Alphonse with hope for the future. Anna had told him the story before – in a Blood Pool in Daffodil Territory, a corrupted Blood Angel was being nurtured. The essence of this thing was simple… Because the creation of a Child of the Moon only required the corpses of Extraordinary individuals on the Path of Love. After people died, their souls entered the Dream Realm… Simultaneously, once someone became a Disciple, the tools they used in life, along with their corpses, would be sanctified due to this sacred connection.
In other words, if one could obtain the corpse of a Disciple on the Path of Love – that corpse itself could be transformed into a Child of the Moon! However, because the corpse was already sanctified, the ritual for creating a Child of the Moon could not take effect properly. The Disciple’s power would cover their own corpse through some connection, making it difficult for other powers to influence it easily – otherwise, if some Undead were created from the enshrined Disciples’ altars, wouldn’t that be ridiculous?
And if this sanctity were to be destroyed through a certain ritual, the transformation could be forced. Thus, one could obtain the shell of a Child of the Moon with the power of a Disciple… — This was the Corrupted Blood Angel.
When Madam Kingsford learned that Alphonse needed power, she gave him such a shell, taught him the ritual to remove the sacred protection, and lent him her own accessory. After the Blood Angel’s sanctity was removed, it temporarily became an ordinary corpse. If one mixed their own bone ash into it at this time, then after it transformed into a Corrupted Blood Angel, a part of the consciousness and personality would belong to oneself. Through this method, one could directly bypass the difficult Ascension and obtain the power of a Disciple in one step! At that time, Father’s worries would no longer be a problem!
It was precisely because of this that Alphonse was deeply grateful to the generous Madam Kingsford. He even felt he was falling in love with her… falling in love with this Witch, who was at least sixty or seventy years old and known as “more evil than demons.”
“…Then, why don’t you come to my house now?” Alphonse hesitated for a moment before inviting her. “No one is home. I’ve already asked the servants to leave so as not to affect the ritual.”
“I’m afraid I can’t,” Anna said with a smile. “Your house will have guests soon.”
“…Guests?”
“Just now, Count Dawn was killed. The members of the Rose Cross have all learned of this matter.”
“—What?!” Alphonse was instantly shocked and was about to leave the Dream Realm. But Anna quickly grabbed him, and his rapidly transparent body became solid again.
“Madam, I need to prepare for defense quickly!” Alphonse said, his face pale with fright. “The Demon Avatar within Count Dawn is a Winter Demon… It might kill me!”
Winter Demon—that was an evolved form of an Ice Demon, symbolizing the essence of all things perishing through its nature as the Demon of Sloth. It not only surpassed the Child of the Moon in terms of abilities… but even in terms of personal preferences, it harbored hatred for long-lived races such as Children of the Moon, Dragons, and Elves. If the Winter Demon truly escaped from Count Dawn’s body, it would even actively try to hunt Children of the Moon! At that time, the police might not find him, but the demon would come knocking!
“…Don’t worry, it’s because the Winter Demon did not break free from Dawn’s corpse. Otherwise, do you think you could still be chatting with me here so peacefully?” Anna made a joke.
“Th-that’s right…” Alphonse breathed a sigh of relief. But he soon realized who the guests Anna had mentioned earlier were—
“…You’re not going to say that the person who killed Count Dawn wants to come find me, are you?”
“You guessed correctly.”
“Save me—”
“Of course, of course, baby. I will save you…” Anna soothed Alphonse, her lips curving slightly, her smile filled with enchanting magic. “I’ve already set it up – as long as you shout ‘I surrender’! I can teleport to your side instantly.”
“…Wh-why is it this sentence?” Alphonse’s expression was unappealing. “We Children of the Moon are a proud race—”
“Don’t worry, it’s just a secret passphrase. Think about it, normally, when you say this sentence, wouldn’t the other party subconsciously pause? At least they’ll relax their guard… That way, I’ll have a chance to sneak attack them.” Anna explained.
Alphonse found it made sense. He nodded and agreed, “Alright, I’ve got it… So when should I say it?”
“When you feel it’s appropriate. For example, when you feel danger… or when you think the other party has let their guard down.” Anna said, patting his cheek and smiling, “Alright, time for the dream to end…”
The next moment, Alphonse’s eyes snapped open in bed. In his previously empty bedroom, one person had inexplicably appeared. A black-haired girl, about thirteen or fourteen years old, with youthful beauty. She wore a cloak and held a crow in her arms, which gave him a strong sense of unease.
Given Alphonse’s original personality, he was quite accustomed to interacting with these young girls. But because of Anna’s connection, he immediately realized the other person’s identity—this seemingly quiet girl was the culprit who killed Count Dawn! Alphonse’s nerves tensed instantly. “Who are you!”
“What do you think?” Alistair strolled around the bedroom with the crow, observing his collection, and said casually, “Did you set up that ritual? I couldn’t tell… Tsk, why are there so many fairy tale books on the bookshelf? Are you a child?”
“What if it was me… What if it wasn’t!” Alphonse first relaxed a bit – thankfully, the divine corpse in the basement didn’t seem to be discovered. But he immediately tensed up again: This is bad, how does she know I’m the one who set up the ritual?! So, after half-admitting it, he quickly changed his tune.
“Anna Kingsford taught you?” Alistair continued leisurely. Alphonse’s pupils widened in shock – how did she know everything! He hadn’t told anyone about contacting Madam Kingsford! No one knew… not even his father had expressly forbidden him from contacting Madam Kingsford! If it weren’t for the fact that his father was truly out of options, he would never have dared to break his father’s taboo…
“Tell me, Alphonse,” Alistair turned back and said leisurely, “or would you prefer to get beaten first?”
“I surrender—” He uttered the secret passphrase without hesitation.
And at that moment. A scarlet magic circle suddenly appeared on his left cheek, and the necklace around his neck screamed like a pressure cooker, emitting an unsettling red light.
“Wait, this is—!” Alphonse screamed in horror. The next moment, the Night Demon in Alistair’s arms suddenly revealed its true form. Two incomplete, withered wings directly embraced Alistair—
In an instant, the sky was covered with dark clouds. Accompanied by a shower of blood and wind, a violent explosion roared. A mushroom cloud slowly rose over the city of Leipzig!
(End of this chapter)
