Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 476 The Failure to Summon the Messenger

Captain's cabin of the HMS Hit.

Inside the spiritual wall, Lu Ze burned the herbs in the metal cauldron to ashes and dripped essential oil into the candle that symbolized him. As a result, a mysterious and ethereal fragrance began to fill the air.

He's going to try to summon the messenger.

Messengers are essentially beings that live in the spirit world. They are familiar with the environment of the spirit world and can move freely within it. The "spirit world traversal" that extraordinary beings need to advance to the middle sequence to use is instinctive for them, so they can easily overcome the barriers of distance to deliver messages.

Before the ritual began, Luze mentally reviewed the summoning spell provided by Klein.

Although he could create his own incantations based on the principles of rituals, that might cause unnecessary trouble, so it would be better to use the already proven and reliable "mature experience".

The first part of the summoning incantation is fixed and must include descriptions such as "wandering in the illusion" or "roaming in the upper realm," referring to the spirit world. The specific descriptions in the second and third parts depend on the summoner's needs.

Regarding this part, Klein specifically reminded Luze to be careful. Because spirit beings are unpredictable; some have twisted personalities and harbor malice towards the living; others carry toxins or curses, capable of harming people even without malice. Therefore, when summoning, the description of the messenger in the incantation must be very clear and precise.

However, since Lu Ze had served as a cryptic priest, there was no need to worry about his control over the ritual.

He stared at the burning candle, took a step back, and then spoke loudly in ancient Hermes:
"I!"

"I summon in my own name:"

“A spirit that wanders in illusion, a friendly creature that can be driven, a powerful being with a strong sense of responsibility.”

The first two sections imitated Klein, while the third section of the incantation was Luze's own creation. The incantation took into account both the messenger's strength and quality, so there was no need to worry about being attacked during delivery, and it also ensured that the messenger would deliver the letter to the target.

"boom!"

As the incantation was uttered, the candle flame instantly turned a chilling green, and a strange entity seemed to slowly emerge from a membrane into the real world. It resembled a giant snake, except that it had grown a pair of membranous wings on its body.

It has wings, so it can probably fly. With its size, its strength is also guaranteed. While it may not look as flashy as that four-headed lady, it's still quite good.

Lu Ze thought to himself, then spoke in a deep voice, "Would you be willing to become my messenger?"

"Hiss."

The giant snake raised its head, flicking its tongue as it turned its head toward him, seemingly confirming the summoner's identity.

However, in the next instant, a strong emotion suddenly surged in the giant serpent's vertical pupils. Without hesitation, it turned its head, rapidly flapped its wings, and disappeared into the void.

"boom!"

The candle flame then burst and went out, leaving only a wisp of white smoke rising slowly.

".ah?"

Lu Ze was stunned.

Things happened so fast and without warning that it took him a second or two to process what was happening.

what happened?

Did that spirit creature escape?

Why? Didn't I successfully summon him? If you don't want to be my messenger, you can refuse, and we can part ways amicably. There's no need for you to run away so violently!
Lu Ze walked silently to the altar, looked around, and finally confirmed that the creature had indeed left.

Since the summoning of the spirit world creature was successful, the ritual itself was probably not the problem. Perhaps the creature was simply unusual and unwilling to act as a messenger. Thinking this, he lit the candles again and chanted the incantation once more.
"I!"

“I summon in my name:” “Spirits wandering in illusion, benevolent beings at your disposal, and extraordinary beings willing to be messengers.”

Luze slightly modified the description spell so that the summoned creature would definitely be willing to become a messenger, and wouldn't run away like before.

"boom!"

The candle glowed with an orange light, and a hound-like creature quickly emerged. Much smaller than the giant snake from before, it had six legs. As soon as it entered reality, it began to run around happily, its ears flapping, appearing very energetic and cheerful.

Well, she's quite pleasing to the eye.
Lu Ze seemed to be infected by the other person's happiness and asked with a smile, "Would you like to be my messenger?"

The illusory dog, which was running happily, stopped and looked at Lu Ze.

"squeak!"

It let out a mournful cry, tucked its tail between its legs, slid along on all six legs, its belly pressed against the ground, and desperately fled in the direction away from Lu Ze. In this way, it disappeared into the void in terror and was nowhere to be seen!

"This"

Even if Lu Ze were slow on the uptake, he should have realized something was wrong by now. The creatures of the spirit world seemed to be afraid of him and rejecting him.

He was surprised by this.

In Tingen, he also performed a ritual to summon spirit beings and successfully communicated with them. If even a Sequence 9, the lowest level of spirituality, could accomplish this, why is it now impossible for those at Sequence 4 and above?

After that, Lu Ze tried several more times. Although he tried to modify the incantation to describe things like "spiritual strength" and "willingness to communicate with people," all the summoned spirit creatures resisted him. In the end, even after he finished reciting the incantation, none of them were willing to respond.

Is this even possible?
Lu Ze ended the ceremony with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

Standing before the ravaged altar, he fell into deep thought.

What went wrong?

Luzer didn't believe it was Klein's fault for deliberately providing him with incorrect incantations. Because he had been a "secret incantation master," he was certain the ritual's procedure and incantation setup were logical.

In other words, the problem may lie with oneself.

In Tingen, Luzer was able to communicate with spirit beings; in Backlund, he became a shepherd and communicated with "Red Light" El Moria. Not long ago, he even entered the spirit world due to spatial turbulence on the island, and nothing unusual happened.
So the question arises after advancing to Sequence 4. Did my body undergo some kind of change after becoming a Black Knight?

Lu Ze thought of the shadow beneath him, and of the tower rising from the sea.

Oh, right, red light!
"brush."

He swiftly pulled a paper effigy from his robes and placed it on the altar. Then he took out two more candles, lit them along with the previous one, and sprinkled essential oils and other substances into the altar. After completing the preparations, he opened his mouth and chanted in ancient Hermes:

"I!"

"I pray in my name."

"I pray to communicate with 'the eternal light of the spirit world, the embodiment of endless knowledge, the red of authority and will'."

As the prayer was recited, Lu Ze saw the three candle flames expand simultaneously, merge into one, and form a gate of light.

A cold wind blew by, and all the items on the altar floated into the air, while the paper figure stood up unsteadily, bathed in a rich and clear red light.

A red light descended.

(End of this chapter)