Lord of Mysteries

Chapter 86 Prayer

The so-called "interrupted" ritual magic refers to the ability of an extraordinary person to interrupt a ritual as needed, complete other tasks first, and then return to continue after finishing, still achieving the desired effect.

This is a technique that has evolved over thousands of years of ritual magic. After all, many high-level rituals require numerous steps and may take an hour, two hours, or even half a day to complete. It is difficult to guarantee that there will be no disturbances or accidents during the process.

Through the painful lessons learned by predecessors and the feedback from repeated failures, ritual magic that can be "interrupted" became mainstream at higher levels, indirectly influencing lower levels as well.

However, being able to "interrupt" does not mean that you can interrupt it whenever you want or however you want. You must follow the theories of mysticism and master the corresponding techniques. Otherwise, the ritual will fail and you will inevitably suffer a terrible backlash.

According to Klein's understanding, when you successfully gain the attention of a deity, and while He is waiting for you to say what you want, you suddenly say, "Wait, I'm going to the restroom first," then congratulations, you will never need to go to the restroom again.

Huff... Klein exhaled, trying to remain calm.

Although he had held many "transfer rituals" and designed corresponding procedures for "Justice" and "The Hanged Man" to try, this was the first time that a real, regulated ritual magic had been practiced.

Klein glanced at the silver-inlaid cane leaning against the edge of the bed, then picked up the third candle and placed it in the center of the desk as a symbol of himself.

Next, he placed the small silver bowl used for Selena's ritual in front of the third candle, replacing the large cauldron with the holy emblem. On the left was a bowl containing hydrosols and essential oils from plants such as moonflower and deep sleep flower, and on the right was a dish of salt, a small silver dagger, a piece of parchment, and a quill pen dipped in water.

Fortunately, Selena had a lot of things, otherwise there would have been no way to complete the setup. And Old Neil's kind of quick ritual was not something a "diviner" could do... So it seems that Selena is a rather experienced occult enthusiast... Well, if she wasn't experienced, she wouldn't have caused such a mess... She's only sixteen years old, and she's been involved in this for at least a year... Who introduced her to this? As Klein's thoughts wandered, he picked up Selena's cup from the bedside table, poured in some water, and placed it next to the coarse salt.

He took out his pocket watch, snapped it open, glanced at it, and without further delay, sketched out layers of light spheres in his mind and quickly entered meditation.

An invisible wind suddenly swirled in the room filled with the fragrance of flowers. Klein, who had already put away his pocket watch, suddenly turned his eyes deep, from brown to black, as if he could see into the soul of every person who looked at him.

He stretched out his palm and placed it against the candle in the upper right corner, silently reciting in his mind:

"Goddess of the Night, you are the Crimson Lord!"

As he silently chanted, Klein extended his spirituality, rubbing the candle wick repeatedly. After several repetitions, the candle was suddenly lit, its dim yellow light tinged with a tranquil pale blue.

"O Goddess of the Night, you are also the queen of calamity and fear!"

Using the same method, Klein successfully lit the second candle in the upper left corner.

"I am your loyal guardian, a shield against danger in the darkness, a spear that pierces evil in the silence!"

Teng!

The third candle, symbolizing Klein, began to burn.

In the still candlelight, he picked up a silver knife and, mimicking Old Neil's mannerisms, completed the sanctification with incantations, coarse salt, and water.

Then, he let his accumulated spirituality burst forth from the tip of the silver dagger, merging with nature.

Holding a silver knife, Klein walked around the bedroom (where the bed was, he used his knees instead of his feet), sealing the place with an invisible barrier.

The streetlights outside the window disappeared instantly, but the crimson glow remained quietly shining.

Klein returned to his desk, picked up a quill, and, using his spirituality and ink, drew incantations and symbols to avert calamity.

After finishing all this, he put down what he was doing and dripped a drop of hydrosol, flower essence, and essential oil onto each of the three candles.

Noisy!

A light mist filled the room, instantly adding a touch of mystery.

Several more herbs were burned in succession. Klein stepped back amidst the mixed fragrance and began chanting the incantation corresponding to the "interrupted" ritual magic:

"The goddess of the night, more sublime than the stars, more eternal than eternity;"

"I pray for your favor;"

"May you look upon one of your faithful followers."

"I pray for the power of Crimson;"

"I pray for the power of calamity and fear;"

"We pray that you will deliver your faithful follower, Selena Wood, from the defilement of evil and from the entanglement of misfortune."

"I beg you, wait a moment, wait for that unfortunate girl."

……

"Moonflower, herb of the red moon, please transfer your power to my incantation!"

"Deep Sleep Flower, herb of the Crimson Moon, please transfer your power to my incantation!"

……

After reciting the incantation, Klein closed his eyes and repeated it seven times in his mind.

Seeing that there was nothing unusual about the altar, he gripped the silver dagger again and retreated step by step until he reached the door of Selena's bedroom.

He tapped his chest four times, drawing a crimson moon, then turned around and raised his silver dagger.

Spirituality burst forth once more from the tip, carving the shape of a door into the invisible wall.

Klein knew that at this moment, even if he opened the door, it would not affect the tranquility and sanctity of the altar.

He took out a silver pocket watch with a vine pattern, checked the time, and began to rehearse the subsequent procedures.

…………

The living room on the second floor.

Elizabeth, her body trembling slightly, would occasionally glance up at the wall clock, silently calculating the time in the light of the two gas lamps.

Almost there… she murmured silently, glancing sideways at the lively girl with long, wine-red hair. The girl had deep dimples, a bright smile, and seemed to get along well with every friend around her.

But the more Elizabeth felt this way, the more terrified she became. The cold and terrifying "Selena" in the mirror seemed to linger in her mind, impossible to forget.

We can't wait any longer! We have to act! Elizabeth abruptly stood up, and amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, she stammered with a smile:

"Selena, I... I have a surprise for you. Please come out with me for a bit."

"Really? Didn't you give me a birthday present?" Selena turned the mirror upside down and stood up, quite surprised.

"The surprise is, there won't be, there won't be any, any warning signs." Elizabeth felt she had absolutely no talent for acting.

She said nothing more and walked towards the living room door first, with Selena following behind with a puzzled smile.

Melissa watched her two friends leave, her brows furrowing involuntarily.

Elizabeth is acting strange today...

After she met Klein, things became even stranger...

She suddenly ran out, saying she was in a hurry to get to the restroom, but why did she look so flustered...?

…………

At the doorway of Selena's bedroom.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and said to the girl in front of her:

"Let's go into your room."

"Elizabeth, I sense you're very nervous and scared. Why?" Selena looked at her friend in confusion and noticed that her body was trembling uncontrollably.

"Excited, yes, excited!" Elizabeth glanced at the mirror in Selena's hand, turned halfway around, and knocked on the door, once long and twice short.

"Why are you knocking on the door...?" Selena was even more confused.

With a creak, her bedroom door opened, and Klein, dressed in a black tailcoat and a half-high silk hat, appeared before the two girls.

"A surprise? This is the surprise?" Selena's mouth was half open, her mind completely blank.

Just then, Klein suddenly reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into the room, leaving Elizabeth stunned.

At the same time, Klein's silver dagger flashed, bursting forth with spiritual energy, swiftly filling in the gaps in the cut-out doorway.

An invisible spiritual wall sealed the room once more, concealing Selena's screams within.

boom!

Klein slammed the door shut, and without even glancing at Selena, he rushed back to his desk.

The girl with long, wine-red hair stopped screaming, raised her head, and looked around the room.

Her gaze quickly turned cold, her skin gradually paled, and sharp, white nails rapidly grew from her ten fingers.

Meanwhile, Klein had long since returned to a meditative state, dripping a drop of moonflower extract into each of the three candles while reciting aloud:

"Supreme Crimson Lord, Great Queen of Calamity and Terror;"

"I pray that you will bestow your favor;"

"Have mercy on your lost lamb, Selena Wood!"

Amidst the chanting, he picked up the parchment-like paper and brought it close to the candle that symbolized the supplicant.

Ugh!

He felt a chilling wind behind him, and a heavy force approaching.

The parchment was set ablaze, and Klein tossed it into a small silver bowl, ducking low to avoid a fatal grab.

Oh oh oh!

The wind grew unusually strong, and Klein felt his spiritual energy surging outward like a tide, completely uncontrollable.

He saw the parchment inside the silver bowl burn into a quiet, deep black, and heard a heavy thud behind him.

Thump! Clang!

Between the two almost simultaneous voices, wisps of blackish-green, invisible gas entered the small silver bowl and disappeared into the illusory deep blackness.

Klein rolled to the side, got up, and pulled out the revolver from under his arm. But when he looked down, he saw only the lovely girl Selena with long wine-red hair lying on the ground, and the silver-plated mirror shattered into countless pieces on the blanket.

The fragments no longer reflected Selena; instead, they obediently presented the ceiling and Klein's silhouette.

At this moment, Klein, who hadn't shut down his spiritual vision, saw that the eerie black and green aura within Selena's aura had completely disappeared, and everything had returned to normal, though it appeared much weaker.

Whew... He had just breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a sharp pain between his eyebrows and in his head.

The stinging pain spread throughout his body, making him wish he could roll on the ground in agony.

Klein clenched his fist tightly, the veins on the back of his hand standing out prominently, their color completely black, like wriggling worms.

At the same time, he heard a silent cry, a whisper that tore his own spirit apart.

It took him more than ten seconds to recover, only to find his forehead and vest covered in cold sweat.

"The ritual magic just now drained my spirituality and almost caused my extraordinary power to go out of control?" Klein roughly assessed the situation.

This incident also made him realize that he seemed to have absorbed a lot of the residual spirit from the potion. If calculated based on the initial strength after taking the potion, he felt that he would not have been able to hold on at all and would have collapsed into a monster.

"The 'acting method' is still quite effective..." Klein tapped his brow and wiped away sweat.

He turned to face the altar, tapped his chest four times, and spoke loudly:

"Wow, goddess!"

Then, he extinguished the candles one by one and quickly tidied up the altar.

After casually putting the items back on the desk, he used a silver dagger to break the sealed spiritual wall.

Ugh!

The wind whistled, the silence receded, and Klein let out a long sigh of relief, still deeply shaken by what had just happened.

"If I hadn't rehearsed the process and successfully completed the ceremony, things would have been troublesome... And I still don't know who my opponent or enemy is... Fortunately, well, fortunately, the room was carpeted, so my rolling around didn't damage my clothes..."

He shook his head and reached out to open the wooden door to Selena's bedroom.

"How is it?" Elizabeth took two steps back and asked nervously.

Seeing her frightened expression, Klein removed his top hat and smiled gently:

"I've corrected the mistake she made with the magic mirror, and the matter is resolved."

(End of this chapter)