“So, what needs to be done now?”
Having fully understood the current situation and adjusted his mindset, Shard asked. The current circumstances did not seem any more perilous than when he had just been held at gunpoint.
“Find the ritual nodes.”
Miss Annette pulled at her skirt to cover her feet and took a pinch of shimmering powder from a small pocket at her waist. She placed the powder in her palm and gave it a gentle blow with her lipstick-coated lips; the powder scattered, appearing to hover in the air under the light of the gas lamps.
The blood mist had already blurred everything before their eyes, and now with the addition of that dust, the corridor became even more hazy. Miss Annette removed her ruby hairpin, tapped it lightly with her finger, and handed it to Shard
“I am going to use the Document-grade Relic, [Truth Dust], to enter an illusionary realm to cooperate with another version of myself. We will search for the ritual nodes through different perspectives; it should take about five minutes. During this time, you must hold my token to indicate the direction for my return, otherwise, I will fall into the crevices of the Dreamland.”
“I only need to hold it?”
Shard asked, gripping the hairpin tightly.
“You cannot stray too far from the third floor, otherwise, I will lose my connection to the token. The token can only be held by a conscious living being; if I hadn't found you just now, I would have gone to the garden to catch a cat or a fish. Remember, Detective, there are only seven minutes left until the descent of the Evil God—[Lord of the Blood Banquet], and I will remain in the illusion for five minutes. During this time, do not contact anyone. Wait patiently.”
She paused, her expression turning solemn
“If I do not return within five minutes, leave through the main staircase. The Orthodox Church's Sequence 9 Beyonder squad downstairs will be able to protect your safety. I am sorry, Detective; you, who only possesses a single sequence, should never have been dragged into this matter.”
She pursed her lips.
“It’s fine. After all, I am here too.”
Shard gripped Miss Annette's hairpin, his expression very serious. He didn't know what would happen next, but since he was already standing here, there was no reason to leave
“Although I have only just awakened from Blind Ignorance and have not had much contact with this civilization, since I cannot leave, I am a part of this place. I ought to do what I should do.”
Of course, the fact that the danger didn't sound as immense as it seemed was also a reason.
The purple-eyed Divination girl's lips curled into a smile. She blinked and spoke as if having made a decision
“If I do not return, and the Doctor and the others are also killed, then the only safe place tonight will be under the protection of the Beyonder squad of the Orthodox Church of [The Old Man with the Lantern], the [Church of the Sun and Earth].”
They were that squad of dozens of people; Shard had encountered them twice tonight.
“To be more precise, the safest place is by the side of the youngest lady in the squad, Eluna Bearce.”
“Why?”
Shard also thought of that somewhat nervous, long-haired brown-haired girl. Miss Eluna Bearce's hair color was very similar to Miss Annette's, but the Diviner had short hair.
“Because she is the Chosen One, the protagonist of the first movement of the poem cycle *Whispering Stanzas*... one of the thirteen Chosen Ones.”
“What?”
Shard asked back, suddenly realizing the importance of this information
“Thirteen again? No, that's not the point. What are the *Whispering Stanzas*?”
“I haven't even told the Doctor and the others these things, but if we survive, I would be happy to explain them to you later. Now, there is something more important to do.”
The purple-eyed Diviner shook her head slightly, then turned and walked toward the corridor where the crystalline powder was hovering. Her figure vanished into the bright yellow light along with the illusory powder and phantoms, and the blood mist refilled the space the crystalline powder had just occupied.
Only the astonished detective remained
“What does that mean? That Miss Eluna Bearce is a Chosen One? Ancient Gods, Sin Gods, Witches, Relics, Words of Sublimation, *Whispering Stanzas*... what exactly is going on with this world? It seems like something major is about to happen in the era I have arrived in.”
In this moment, the silent manor seemed to contain only Shard as a living person. Fighting should clearly be happening on the second floor beneath his feet, yet not a single sound reached him. Standing in the blood mist of the corridor, a skin-crawling sense of danger forced Shard to want to find a place to hide.
But Shard did not dare enter any of the rooms; he only found the banquet hall on the third floor, the room where Doctor Schneider and the other two were confronting Madam Lasoya.
As soon as he approached, the voices in his mind took turns warning him of the appearance of the four elements. Furthermore, Shard saw dense runes and chains upon the grand double golden doors.
He did not dare to decipher those runes, fearing he might faint at such a critical moment.
“Four minutes left, and then Miss Annette can return.”
Shard thought to himself, standing nervously at the entrance of the banquet hall to wait. The banquet hall faced the central main staircase of the Lakeview Manor mansion; he was deeply worried that after the cultists defeated the Orthodox Church's Beyonder squad, they would storm the third floor.
“It isn't midnight yet. Is this situation considered good luck for tonight?”
He thought of unimportant things in his mind, constantly checking the time with his pocket watch.
He wanted to take out that book, [*The Puppeteer's Script*], to flip through it; perhaps he could find a way to resolve tonight's incident through the final use of this Keeper-grade [Relic].
But perhaps Shard's good luck had finally run out; before he could take out the small book, the silent manor finally made a sound.
In the next moment, a startling explosion erupted from the banquet hall beside him, shattering the tranquility of this moonlit night.
The two golden doors were breached amidst flames and dust, and Shard, who was at the door, was blown directly backward. He crashed into the wall at the side of the staircase, spitting blood, and tumbled to the cold floor along with a portrait of a bearded nobleman that had been hanging on the wall.
“Oh!”
He tried to crawl up amidst the dust, but felt his body was no longer under his control; this blow had definitely caused internal injuries.
And it was then that he finally discovered the truth behind the explosion. The blonde writer lady flew out from the banquet hall amidst the explosion; it was her body that had broken through those two large doors. Now, Miss Louisa lay at the staircase near Shard, half her body slumped in a pool of blood, her life uncertain, her long golden hair gradually being stained by the blood.
“I knew it wouldn't go smoothly.”
Shard endured the intense pain in his left arm and chest to pull himself up. He reached out to touch the blonde girl's face, using the incantation [False Immortality] to ensure she wouldn't die within the next half hour.
He wanted to support Miss Louisa and flee to the other end of the corridor. Although he didn't have time to check his pocket watch to confirm the time, he knew Miss Annette was about to return, and he could not leave the third floor now.
Another loud boom came from the banquet hall, and the white steam of a manifested Life Ring dispersed the blood mist, almost obscuring the entire entrance. Shard heard Priest Augustus's roar and his prayers to [Mr. Dawn]; one could hardly tell that this old man possessed such strength.
“Run, quickly!”
Doctor Schneider's voice called out to Priest Augustus from deeper within the banquet hall, but in the next moment, the Life Ring behind the priest was struck by a pillar of silver light. He stumbled out of the room into the corridor, where he also saw Shard and Miss Louisa.
Although Shard had changed his clothes and was wearing a mask, Priest Augustus knew it was him
“How did you—”
“The explanation is very... *cough, cough*.”
It wasn't just Shard; even Priest Augustus coughed up blood, and the metallic scent of blood in the air suddenly intensified
“Not good, the God-descent ritual is about to begin. We must leave, quickly.”
The priest tried to help Shard and Miss Louisa up, but he was also heavily injured; he had only been forcing himself just now. After only two steps, he fell heavily, actually fainting. Shard reached out to touch the priest as well; he now had a very bad premonition.
(End of Chapter)