Chapter 74

Them? Upon hearing Raymond's response, Lumiyan was greatly surprised.

He had originally thought that Raymond had drowned in the river on his own, becoming a sacrifice to some existence. However, it now seemed that someone else was involved, not just an invisible force dragging Raymond into the water.

"Who are they?" Aurore asked the question.

Raymond's expression was twisted and stiff, his eyes filled with hatred yet dull. He shouted in extraordinary anger:

"Ponce Benet, it was Ponce Benet and his men!

"They pressed me under the water!"

After Ava and I left the water's edge, Ponce Benet and those thugs appeared where Raymond had come ashore, pressed him into the river, and drowned him alive, making him a sacrifice? Lumiyan pieced together the situation from Raymond's fragmented words.

The entire Lenten Festival had completely turned into a ritual to offer sacrifices to evil entities!

Aurore asked for more details, but Raymond only repeated a few phrases, as if this was all he remembered.

Sigh, we indeed missed the best time for the séance, and can only harvest the residual obsession... Aurore thought for a moment and decided to ask about something Raymond might have a deep impression of, or might not:

"Did they sacrifice you to some existence?

"What are her characteristics, where is she?"

Aurore was smarter this time and didn't directly ask for the full name, only intending to gather some side information to assist in judgment.

She believed that if Raymond's spirit was still conscious during the sacrifice, he would definitely have "seen," "heard," and felt certain things, leaving a deep impression. Otherwise, he wouldn't have.

Raymond stood there, his eyes filled with more and more blood-stained transparent tears.

Lumiyan's face was solemn as he watched him, his hands unknowingly clenched.

Suddenly, Raymond shouted:

"Underground! Under the church!"

What? Aurore almost doubted her ears.

Combining her question, Raymond was clearly saying that the secret existence to whom he was sacrificed was located under the church!

Impossible, it's the Fifth Era, how could a god walk on the earth? Aurore calmed down and believed that Raymond's spirit only had partial obsession and a bit of spirituality, making his answers very chaotic, always fixated on a few points. In other words, he might not be referring to the existence hidden under the church, just a reactive response.

But regardless, whether Raymond was giving a real answer or repeating his obsession, there was definitely a problem under the church, hiding the key part of the sacrificial ritual!

Aurore only hoped that the secret hidden there wasn't too terrifying or exaggerated.

She asked about other things, but Raymond's spirit only repeated "They drowned me," "Ponce Benet," "Under the church," and so on.

Seeing no further gains, Aurore ended the séance, watching Raymond's figure disappear above the candlelight, and the altar's blue hue quickly fade away.

After removing the spiritual wall, she found Lumiyan lost in thought, not speaking.

"What are you thinking about?" Aurore waved her hand in front of her brother's eyes.

Lumiyan forced a smile, his lips curling up:

"I regret not hitting Ponce Benet harder yesterday."

Although he had given Ponce Benet a knee to the gut, causing him great pain, he had considered waiting for the Twelfth Night and not escalating the conflict with the parish priest and others, so he had held back and not directly disabled Ponce Benet.

"There will be an opportunity." Aurore comforted him.

Lumiyan nodded and chuckled:

"Actually, we fell into a misconception. Before Lent, not only were we afraid of escalating the conflict, but the parish priest and others were also afraid. They weren't ready and hadn't started the ritual yet."

In other words, if he had really inflicted irreversible injuries on Ponce Benet, the parish priest and others would probably just pretend to seek revenge without taking real action.

They would endure until Lent, and regardless of whether Lumiyan had offended them, once the Lenten Festival began, everyone in the village who was still normal would be their target.

Aurore understood what Lumiyan meant and nodded lightly:

"You decide how to take revenge on Ponce Benet.

"Right now, what we need to consider is how to survive when the parish priest and others gain powerful strength during Lent, and live until the Twelfth Night."

Lumiyan immediately fell into deep thought about this problem.

Aurore shared her thoughts:

"Currently, there are only two choices: one is to ally with the three outsiders, and the other is to find a way to improve ourselves."

She hesitated for a moment and added:

"If we can confirm that Mrs. Pouali and the cycle are unrelated and she is also trapped here, we can even cooperate with her to some extent."

"Huh?" Lumiyan was quite surprised.

Mrs. Pouali, such a terrifying and evil Beyonder!

Aurore sighed and said:

"A philosopher from my hometown once said, when doing things, one must distinguish between the primary and secondary contradictions and unite all possible forces.

"Yes, there is definitely a problem under the church, hiding key clues. Before Lent, we must investigate, or we might not have another chance."

According to Aurore, most churches in this world have underground areas, some used to store sealed objects, others to bury important people's remains. Although the church in Cordu Village had neither sealed objects nor important people to bury, it was still built with a considerable basement according to regulations.

"Alright." Lumiyan agreed, "I'll talk to the three outsiders tomorrow."

He then mentioned Raymond's state:

"Why does he only say those few phrases? Didn't we successfully summon his spirit?"

Aurore sighed again:

"Séances have a critical time window, within one hour of death.

"After one hour, the deceased's spirit will quickly dissipate, losing its original memories and retaining only the most unresolved thoughts, emotions, and images. In the professional terms of my hometown, this is called 'obsession.'"

Lumiyan nodded slightly:

"During the next cycle, if we summon Raymond at the beginning, will it count as within one hour of death?

"Wait, why does Raymond have memories from the previous cycle?"

He realized the issue: after the cycle restarted, shouldn't Raymond have forgotten about being drowned?

This stumped Aurore, and she pondered carefully before saying:

"I think it counts.

"At this point in time, it's not yet Lent. According to the timeline, Raymond hasn't been drowned yet and shouldn't know who the murderer is. However, because he lost his body and can only exist as a spirit, he is considered dead and retains some obsessions. Therefore, the Raymond we summoned earlier remembered certain events from the previous cycle.

"In short, Raymond's state, due to losing his body, became special, allowing him to retain some memories when the cycle restarted!

"Ha, it's like a bug in the system."

The cycle had a small error because Raymond's body was sacrificed, Lumiyan roughly understood his sister's point.

Aurore then laughed:

"From this, it seems the force causing our cycle is very mechanical and rigid, not controlled by its original owner, and is operating on its own. Otherwise, it could have specifically handled Raymond's spirit."

At this, she seemed a bit more relaxed:

"Ha, in that case, we still have some hope of breaking the cycle."

Influenced by his sister's mood, Lumiyan's gloomy state brightened a bit:

After so much effort, they finally saw a glimmer of hope.

The two tidied up the altar and went upstairs to the study, where Aurore taught Lumiyan the corresponding Hermes and ancient Hermes words, word by word, following the chaotic and incorrect ritual sequence he had written down.

Some of these words Lumiyan already knew, so his progress was decent.

Under the bright desk lamp, Aurore occasionally explained the pronunciation and structure of the words to her brother, and sometimes, while he was reviewing, she made the candles they would use next with musk, cloves, blood, and other materials.

While diligently studying, Lumiyan occasionally looked up at his busy sister, feeling as if they had returned to their original warm life, with no more cycles or evil gods.

The night outside was calm.

...

In the bedroom filled with a faint gray mist, Lumiyan woke up.

He quickly got out of bed, went to the desk, and took out paper and pen, writing down the ancient Hermes and Hermes words he remembered in the incorrect order, and finally giving them the correct numbering.

After doing this, Lumiyan sighed in relief and looked around.

On the wooden table near the window, four items were placed: two grayish-white musk candles made by Aurore (one with Lumiyan's blood, one without), a bottle of gray amber perfume, a small metal bottle containing saffron powder, and a silver dagger provided by Aurore.

The lady indeed brought them in... Seeing this, Lumiyan felt much more at ease.

He took these items, found a homemade incense stick from Aurore, went downstairs, and placed them on the dining table, then went to the kitchen area to get a glass of water and a dish of coarse salt.

The materials for the ritual were now ready.

Aurore had worried before bed that her brother didn't have the symbols for requesting blessings, which he needed to draw on the parchment and burn to inform the target deity of his desires. But she thought that since the mysterious lady didn't mention it, it probably wasn't necessary, as the essence was to pray to the power within Lumiyan, which could directly "hear" all the prayers without needing additional "documents."

Looking at the items on the dining table, Lumiyan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

He no longer hesitated, placing the grayish-white candle with his blood in the position representing the deity on the altar, and the other in front of him.

Following the order of deity first, then human, he lit the candles using the method of spiritual friction. Lumiyan, not very familiar with the process, consecrated the ritual silver dagger and created a spiritual wall.

As the spiritual energy gushed from the tip of the ritual silver dagger, connecting with the surrounding air, he had a mysterious feeling that this was truly the essence of mysticism.

Soon, the spiritual wall was complete, and Lumiyan's spiritual energy was drained by half.

Using the incense found at home and his own meditation, he made his senses ethereal, entering a state suitable for performing ritual magic.

With a sizzling sound, Lumiyan dripped the gray amber perfume and saffron powder into the candle representing the deity.

A strange fragrance filled the air, making everything seem magical.

Lumiyan glanced at the cheat sheet next to the altar, took a step back, looked at the burning candle, and shouted in ancient Hermes:

"Power of destiny!"

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