Mystery: Mr. Witch and Ms. Hunter

Chapter 36 The First Time to Die

Altaïr carefully examined the citrine pendulum. After a few minutes of preliminary inspection, he concluded that it was a pendulum that he was not sure if it was strong enough to be a magical item. Apart from being sturdy, it could at most give him a skill like pendulum divination.

"But if this thing is only so special, Miss Audrey would not have to secretly put it in the book. She could have just given it to me directly..." Altaïr wondered to himself, "Could it be that she doesn't know? Then where did this thing come from?"

After thinking for a while, he decided to hold the "Magic Mirror Divination" ceremony again. He wanted to try to divine the origin of this pendulum!
Of course, this pendulum was not an ordinary thing, so Altaïr had to prepare everything. He first placed a basin of water in the room, and then opened the window to let the red moon's light shine into the room. Then Altaïr found a thin line and carefully hung the silver mirror used for divination so that it just did not touch the water.

Altaïr found a silver knife in the drawer and pointed it at the window, letting the crimson moonlight illuminate every side of the knife. After the blade was filled with the spirituality attracted by this simplified prayer ritual, he gently scratched the taut wire with the blade. In his spiritual vision, the place where the blade touched the wire was stained with crimson spiritual light.

In this way, once something bad is predicted, the thin line will break, and the ripples generated when the magic mirror falls into the water will break the mystical closed loop formed between the water surface and the mirror surface, thus terminating the magic mirror divination ritual.

If I had used this kind of insurance measure when I was divining the origin of the assassin yesterday, Gagran would not have been able to locate me through black magic...Altaïr sighed, but did not stop his hands. He carefully placed the silver knife into the clear water in the basin.

His movements were very gentle, and the water didn't even ripple until he put the entire knife into the water, leaving only the handle leaning against the edge of the basin. During this process, he was always careful not to let his body appear in the reflection of the water.

After completing his preparations, Altaïr reached into his pocket and pulled out a charm made of black bark and silver metal. He took a deep breath, infused the charm with spirituality, and let it burn slowly.

Black flames climbed up the rough bark, and Altaïr carefully moved the charm so that the ashes from the burning fell into the basin. Instead of sinking to the bottom, the ashes clung to the silver knife like a snail, dyeing it a strange gray-black color.

When the spell was about to burn out, Altaïr quickly stopped the spiritual infusion, leaving only the metal sheath that would not burn in his hand. This was a black magic spell, widely used by the natives of the southern continent. They used this spell to alienate the blade, and then cooperated with the reflection of the water surface to guard the house. Once someone appeared in the mirror, the blade would pierce his shadow, causing the same curse damage to the main body!
Once any power seeps out of the mirror, it will be directly harmed by the curse...

Altaïr nodded with satisfaction. He then proceeded with the ceremony as normal, setting up the candles and incense, cleaning the altar, and reverently performing the summoning ceremony. The spiritual passage slowly took shape.

"You are the goddess of the night, higher than the stars, and more lasting than eternity;"

"She is the Lord of Death, the Mother of Secrets;"

"Queen of trouble and terror, lord of sleep and silence;"

"I pray for your enlightenment, and for your bringing down into this silver mirror the secrets of the night;"

"Please tell me the origin of this citrine pendulum."

Altaïr finished his prayer and carefully glanced into the mirror, keeping a watchful eye on his own reflection in case he appeared in the water beneath it.

The surface of the magic mirror became dark again, and then it began to play scene after scene like a movie.

Altaïr saw the black-haired young man handing the note to a kind old man in a black robe drinking coffee, while taking a crystal topaz pendant from the man's hand.
He saw the black-haired young man standing with difficulty in the ruins that looked like they had been swept by a storm. Opposite him, a pale figure wearing a thin black windbreaker tilted his head slightly and said something to the young man with a smile.
He saw a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and dressed in somewhat exaggerated clothes, curled up in the corner of an ancient hall, using this yellow crystal pendulum to divine something. But then, the man showed an exaggerated smile, pulled out his revolver and rushed to the altar surrounded by layers of evil light;
He saw the grim-faced adventurer riding the violent wind and defeating the darkness that swept in from the corner of the block in one fell swoop, and the revolver in his hand blew the enemy's head to pieces...

A wealthy businessman with a gentle smile, an elegant and mysterious magician, a bookish scholar, their figures appeared in the magic mirror one after another, making Altaïr almost fascinated.

This seemed to be the growth process of a great being... This pendulum had been worn by Him for a long time, so it naturally had some extraordinary effects? Altaïr guessed in his heart. He tried to put himself in the other's perspective and once again gained a new understanding of His power.

Finally, the image in the mirror suddenly stopped at a scene that Altaïr was familiar with. It was the deep, boundless gray fog from before. A gentleman whose face could not be seen was sitting at the bottom of the long table, facing the shadow of The Fool at the top. The crimson stars behind him were unusually bright, like countless crimson moons.

He is Mr. World...

Altaïr was startled and wanted to end the divination, but he was surprised to find that his body suddenly became uncontrollable. His thinking became sluggish in an instant, and every joint seemed to be filled with a lot of cement, making it a luxury for him to move his fingers.

His body fell forward uncontrollably, as if an invisible force was lifting his ankles, trying to hang him upside down from the ceiling like dried bacon! Altaïr wanted to call for help, but found that he couldn't make a sound. All his thoughts were stolen by the mysterious force as soon as they came into his mind, and he couldn't resist at all!

In Altaïr's consciousness, after a very long time, he suddenly heard a dull sound of something heavy falling in his ears, and then what occupied his senses was the cold and wet touch from under his body and the tearing pain in his chest.

Altaïr struggled to get up. The magic mirror had fallen to the ground, the basin was crushed by his body, and the silver knife was stuck directly into his chest, with the handle not even halfway into his chest. Blood gushed out, and half of the floor of the room was covered with his blood and spilled water.

Why am I not dead... Altaïr was a little confused, and then he had a feeling and took out the necklace that Miss Audrey asked him to pass on to Venata from his pocket.

Fortunately, I have the recovery ability provided by the "Indulgent Rose Heart", otherwise the knife would have taken my life... However, if it weren't for the mysterious power hanging me upside down, the shadow happened to enter the basin, and the severe pain from the spirit diluted the effect, allowing me to struggle and directly break the thin line. I'm afraid I would have been hanged on the ceiling now...

Altaïr gave a bitter smile. Although the prepared measures would work in a slightly different way, as long as they worked, he would be very grateful.

Altaïr pulled the knife out of his chest, and the blade caught on the bone, causing him to almost faint from the pain. After about two minutes, the necklace had almost healed his wound, and he finally recovered, threw the necklace aside, and leaned against the bed, breathing heavily.

I didn't expect this pendulum to be so dangerous... Mr. World was at least an angel, but just divining his existence would cause fatal damage... Altaïr took off his bloodstained clothes and changed into light home clothes while thinking wildly. These few small movements made him feel exhausted, so he had to stop and rest.

Recalling the information that appeared in his mind at the moment of divination, Altaïr exhaled a breath of bloody air and sighed in his heart. Although he was seriously injured by the divination just now, this divination was not without gain, and it could even be said to be quite fruitful.

First of all, because his divination ability was not very strong before, and he did not use it often, he was not very clear about the harm caused by divination. Even though he had seen Miss Audrey, he still subconsciously thought that such things were far away from him.

"But now I am the 'Queen' of the Tarot Club... Similar things will happen one after another. This is a lesson that is neither too light nor too heavy. This lesson alone is worth the money!"

Altaïr kept this in mind: Do not divine anything that might involve higher beings.

For an "assassin", a lesson is a compensation more valuable than anything else!

Let me explain here. Altaïr did not die because the divination pointed to the "world". In Crane's setting, the "world" is the favored one of the "fool" to outsiders, and it is only at the angel level, so it can get double anchors. Moreover, the male protagonist has joined the Tarot Club here, and has established a connection with Xiao Ke to some extent. He is a person invested by Xiao Ke. Xiao Ke gives him things as rewards, not punishments. What's the point of giving him a pendulum and then killing him after divination? It's like I give you a box of Lego and then put a bomb in the instruction manual. There is no need to kill the person you invested in. What's more, investment is not an anonymous gift. After giving it, at least he should know who sent it, otherwise it would be a waste of investment. Finally, this is also a foreshadowing, which will be revealed at the end of the first volume. Please be patient.

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(End of this chapter)