Whispering Verse

We took a horse-drawn carriage from Rufu Lane and didn't arrive at our destination until sunset. After Shade jumped off the carriage, he thanked the coachman and looked at the western sky.

From his point of view, one-third of the huge and frightening dusky sunset had been hidden behind the Sikal Mountain. Because of the direction, it's like the sun is setting at the foot of Mount Sikal. Combined with various local rumors and stories, this look is really scary.

Because the ceremony was to be held in this famous haunted house, the [Spiritual Cult] cleared the venue early. Not only were the ceremonies arranged in the nearby mountains and forests to prevent ordinary people from accidentally breaking in, but they also sent people to hold hands at important intersections to ensure that tonight's ceremony would not cause any accidents due to external forces.

A ceremony worth 3,000 pounds just for the material cost must be considered a large ceremony. When Shade got off the carriage, he had already seen many nuns and monks wearing silver crown-shaped eye patches in the deserted courtyard of the manor. They were carefully checking the surrounding environment and using chalk or sterling silver scepters to mark the ground. Outline the texture.

Their clothes are very similar to Sister Devlin, the leader of the order. They are all wearing dark nun uniforms with a silk shawl of the same color as the nun uniforms. It's just that their hair color is normal, not as gray as Sister Devlin's, as if she has lost her vitality.

Miss Carina said that members of the [Spiritual Order] who are qualified to wear silver crown eye patches are the backbone of the order. At this time, Shade alone saw more than a dozen people. Fortunately, Sister Devlin only charged Shade for the ritual materials. Otherwise, Shade and the doctor would have to sell their belongings to afford so much labor. cost.

The middle-aged monk, whose eyes were covered with gauze, was already waiting for Shade at the gate of the manor. Shade followed him through the courtyard where the ceremony was being prepared and entered the mansion whose walls were covered with ivy and morning glories.

The mansion was unexpectedly not as cold as Shade expected. The floor had probably been swept, and there wasn't much dust visible. Numerous nuns and monks were painting complex runes on the walls, outlining connected lines, or walking while holding silver bells and shaking them.

The sound of the bell was exceptionally clear, and every time it rang, Shade felt relaxed.

[It’s not about relaxing your mood, it’s about cleansing your soul. 】

"Soul cleansing?"

Shade looked curiously at the middle-aged nun passing by:

"It seems that the ring magician groups that can exist for a long time have their own unique techniques."

The [Spiritual Cult] is renovating the entire manor for the ceremony, which is more troublesome than Shade thought, and it also makes him realize how much he owes. In the future, he will definitely be willing to help this organization that helped him, but now he should save Priest August first.

As he walked deeper into the mansion, Shade noticed an imperceptible mist spreading in the corridor. But the density of the fog is very uniform. When it reaches the deepest corridor on the first floor, the density still remains subtle and difficult to detect.

The temporarily fixed "entrance" is on the wall at the end of the deepest corridor on the first floor of the manor. Complex ritual arrays have been drawn on the walls on both sides, and Sister Devlin is standing there quietly, waiting for Shade. The other three high-circle nuns wearing silver eye masks were kneeling in front of the wall. One person holds a long-handled silver bell, another person holds a parchment roll, and another person puts his hands on his chest, whispering unknown incantations to keep the "entrance" stable.

"Mr. Watson."

Sister Devlin nodded to Shade. Seeing Shade looking at the wall, she asked softly:

"Can you see the entrance too?"

"Yes, I have the [Space] Spirit Rune."

Shade said, and the nun paused unexpectedly before using ancient grammar and asking in an elegant and almost toneless voice:

"We rely on our eyes to capture spirituality to see the location of the entrance. So in the real vision with the power of [space], what does the entrance in front of you look like?"

Shade stared at the wall and took another look:

"I saw a black terrifying vortex, and white fog was floating out of it. I couldn't stare inside the vortex for a long time. I could feel the terror, coldness and malice towards the living on the other side."

After saying that, he looked away. The black vortex on the wall gave him a completely different feeling from Darkness's black vortex. It's hard to say which one is more dangerous, but neither is clearly something that should be touched lightly.

"Can you detect this fog?"

Sister Devlin was even more surprised. Of course, her expression and tone did not show this:

"The appearance of this fog means that the boundary between the world of the dead and the world of the living is penetrating here. The fog here is too thin. In theory, except for the nuns of the order, only the owners of the [Death] Spirit Rune can see it. To this fog.”

"I have magical powers related to eyes."

Shade briefly explained and then asked:

"Please allow me to thank you again for your help. So, when will the ceremony start after sunset? I have nothing to prepare."

Although he didn't eat dinner, he was not a lazy Mia cat, so it didn't matter if he missed a meal.

"At ten o'clock tonight, the door to the narrow room can only be safely opened at night. Although tonight is not a night where the silver moon shines, the moon tonight will be extra bright, which can guide you well into another place. A side world.”

Sister Devlin said, then took out a short branch from the pocket of her robe, put it in the palm of her hand and handed it to Shade. Her hands are exceptionally fair and slender, the kind of hands that are very suitable for playing the piano.

"The world on the other side is filled with powers that will corrupt the body. Please take this with you. This is a branch of the Elfwood. It can temporarily protect you before it rots."

Shade had used this thing when he was learning [Elven Poison Removal Technique] last week, and the short branch at that time was almost the same length.

"No need, I have this."

Shade took out his pocket watch and took out the [Eternal Youth Leaf] from the cover. Although her eyes were covered and she was blind herself, Sister Devlin with gray-white hair still nodded:

"It turns out to be the relic [Eternal Youth Leaf]. This is indeed the best choice. You have prepared well."

She stuffed the short branch into the side pocket of her robe again:

"Please leave Priest August's belongings to me temporarily. I need to deal with it so that it can guide you."

So Shade handed the silver pendant that Priest August left in the tomb passage of the underground tomb to the nun:

"This is Mr. Dawn's holy symbol. Will the holy symbol affect the ceremony?"

The Holy Emblem of the Righteous God itself is a mysterious and symbolic symbol. Using the Holy Emblem rashly to join the ceremony will cause great uncertainty.

"It doesn't matter. The Holy Emblem of Dawn can better guide you. The God of Light and Shadow will protect you between life and death."

While handing over the Holy Emblem, Shade took out the doctor's three thousand pounds in cash from his pocket. He carried the cash in a suitcase, so it was the suitcase that was "taken out" from his pocket.

But Sister Devlin did not touch the money, but asked Shade to hand the box to another nun for a while.

All Shade had to do was wait. When the sun completely set, the cult set up a bonfire in the courtyard and cooked dinner, so Shade also ate the hot barbecue.

I don’t know if the personality of the leader affects the way the entire organization acts. Most of these nuns and monks who cover their eyes don’t like to talk very much. But if Shade accosts them, they will respond.

They didn't mind that Shade pried into the secret of this ritual. As long as Shade didn't get in the way, they wouldn't prohibit him from wandering around in this haunted mansion. Unlike No. 6 Place Saint Teresa, which is also rumored to be haunted, this haunted manor is really haunted.

However, before Shade arrived in the carriage, Sister Devlin eliminated the three troublemaking evil spirits, namely Viscount Russell and his two servants.

But this does not mean that Shade cannot understand the story here. After everyone finished dinner together, Sister Devlin did not return to the mansion, but stood alone by the bonfire, folding her hands and facing the huge bonfire in front of her.

The orange-yellow firelight flickered on her gray-black nun's robe that seemed to be made of silk, and also illuminated the silver crown-like jewelry. If you cover your eyes, you won't be able to judge the other person's mood and thoughts from their expressions and eyes. But Shade didn't need to judge the other person's thoughts. He just had nothing to do and wanted to know the story of what happened here.

After quietly standing next to Sister Devlin and asking the question, the nun answered softly:

"That's not a very interesting story. The evil spirits in the deep forest attacked the manor and scared the baron to death. The baron's unwilling soul turned into evil spirits and killed the two servants who took care of him. Then, the souls of the three people were there. They patrol this manor, but because they cannot leave here and are not very powerful, they are not discovered by the Orthodox Church."

Shade nodded clearly, and then asked curiously:

"But how did you know about this? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry into your secrets, but can the [Spiritual Cult] analyze the past of a soul?"

The nun still kept her hands folded together. She shook her head slightly, her silver-gray hair glowing under the firelight:

"This is my unique talent, which has existed since I became a ring magician. Although my eyes cannot see normal things, when I face a soul that is about to die, I take off the blindfold and 'look' at them with my eyes. You can see fragments of their past.”

"Oh~ this is really amazing."

Shade praised sincerely.

"According to the Order, this is the special ability of my 'other self' to see death. For ordinary people, this will bring misfortune, and for ring magicians, this will inevitably make me transcend. I am getting closer and closer to death. It was the Order that saved me. The Order’s special way of prayer and spiritual practice allowed me to understand how to understand this ability. Cold death is not scary.”

Shade nodded and did not continue to ask. The other party is an eleventh-level warlock. Being able to say this to him already shows that the other party trusts him.

But this brief conversation also gave Xia De new doubts. This special ability to "see death" seems to be connected with the chosen one.

If the third upcoming chosen one really corresponds to "death", then in addition to Priest August, Sister Devlin seems likely to be the chosen one of death.