Chapter 686: A Hard-to-complete Ritual

After thinking for a moment, Klein, who didn't have an answer, put away

the thin blood crystal when he didn't sense any danger from it. Then, he

bent down to inspect Kircheis's Devil form which had lost half its head.

*I wonder if I can still use this to exchange for a bounty, and if so,

how much can I get... I have no idea who I can contact from the military

over here. Send Oz Kent a telegram? This back and forth, together with

the work he has to do remotely, it's hard to tell if it will finish in

three to four days. I'll be leaving tomorrow... Also, I can't forget the

middleman's cut.* He mumbled, walked to the side, and picked up

the clearly charred half top hat and wore it.

Then, he dragged the heavy and massive Devil's corpse and walked to the

door before reaching out to open the door.

A howling wind blew in, breaking the silence in the room.

Klein tapped his finger joint to deactivate the Spirit Body Threads

vision as he continued dragging the nasty and terrifying Devil's corpse

across the corridor, down the stairs to the first floor.

At that moment, there weren't many people left in the bar. Tables and

chairs were overturned, and there were shards everywhere. It was a mess.

Klein went past the heavily damaged staircase and into the main hall. He

surveyed the area and found the forlorn bar owner behind the bar

counter. Few of the bouncers he hired had remained. Most had scattered

off.

Tap. Tap. Tap... Klein walked over one step at a time with the

Devil corpse behind him bumping into the furniture.

"W-what are you planning to do?" the owner took a step back as he yelled

at the top of his lungs.

His bouncers gathered over, shuddering in fear. Their eyes were darting

around as their bodies revealed their own inclinations. It appeared as

though they would immediately flee the moment any incident happened.

Klein stopped in his tracks, throwing Kircheis's corpse in front of him.

Then, he said in a deep voice, "Can you claim bounty rewards?"

The owner was stunned for a second as he instinctively moved his gaze

down before seeing the huge Devil's corpse which still had some blue

flames lingering around it.

He and his bouncers drew a cold gasp at the same time, many of them

feeling surreal.

This was a real devil!

Apart from its lack of curled goat horns, it looked identical to the

devils described in the Church's bibles or mythical stories!

To ordinary people living in the pirates' playground, it wasn't rare to

witness supernatural powers. Here, their horizons were clearly broader

than the colonies of Oravi and the civilians of the kingdom's native

soil. However, as the owner and bouncers of a bar, they had never seen

real devils before. They even suspected that it was an attempt by the

Church to tarnish unofficial Beyonders.

The owner retracted his gaze with great difficulty as he looked at the

stoic adventurer in tattered clothes.

"I can. Th-they should have the means to determine that this is

Kircheis.

"It's Kircheis, right?"

Klein silently heaved a sigh of relief and silently nodded.

The owner hesitated for two seconds and forced a fearful smile.

"However, it's impossible to get everything. As you know, there will be

some money spent during the process. The fees cost about 30%; otherwise,

you'll have to wait quite a while. After all, 9,500 pounds isn't a small

sum. For Toscarter's pier, it will take at least a week. I-its because

there are pirates frequenting this area, and there are often adventurers

here to claim bounties. Therefore, it constantly has quite a bit of cash

reserves. If you were in Oravi Island or anywhere else, it might take

two weeks or even a month."

9,500 pounds really wasn't a small sum. Klein clearly remembered that

back in Tingen City, the Nighthawks team's monthly budget was only about

1,000 pounds. The budget was even split between the Church and the

police department.

He thought for a moment and asked the bar's boss, "Do you know me?"

"Yes." The owner hurriedly nodded.

Klein swept his gaze across everyone and continued asking, "Can you

figure out where I'm living?"

"Yes, yes." The owner didn't dare to lie.

Klein tersely responded before using a flat and direct tone.

"Send 6,000 pounds to me before noon tomorrow."

*6000 pounds? That's less than 70%. That's about 600 pounds

short...* The owner was taken aback, never expecting the crazy

adventurer to take the initiative to lower the price.

"Can you do it?" Klein asked again.

The additional 650 pounds was his compensation for the bar. After all,

he had left the bar in a mess. However, this wasn't something the crazy

adventurer would say himself. He believed that the bar's owner wasn't a

philanthropist. There was no way he would hand over the excess to

others.

The owner considered it seriously before replying, "Yes!"

Even though the official process wouldn't be that fast, there was

nothing he needed to worry about. This was because he planned on

borrowing some of the money and using his savings to pay the bounty

reward which Gehrman Sparrow wanted.

To be able to earn several hundred pounds at once wasn't something he

would miss out on!

Klein nodded and didn't speak another word. He turned around and walked

to the bar's entrance.

When he came near, he took out a few yellow pennies and threw them onto

a tiny round table that still stood standing.

After some clinking sounds, the pennies spun to a stop. They numbered

eight pence.

While doing this action, the black-suited Klein didn't stop walking. His

figure soon disappeared from the entrance.

"W-what's the meaning of that?" the owner said with a surprised and

blank look.

Most of the bouncers shook their heads with the same expression,

indicating that they didn't know Gehrman Sparrow's motive.

Only a bouncer who had been standing guard by the door thought with a

frown. Then, he said uncertainty, "When he first entered, he took... he

took someone's cup of beer and threw it at Kircheis.

"This is the compensation for that cup of beer, as well as the cup?"

The bar fell into silence once again. Although the owner and bouncers

couldn't accept such an explanation, they had the baffling feeling that

this matched the style of the crazy adventurer, Gehrman Sparrow.

*Another set of clothes ruined. That's nearly 9 pounds... Thankfully, I

made quite a lot this time... Yes, I'll have to make another set

tomorrow...* After turning into another street, Klein stopped

and observed himself.

He wasn't in a rush to return to the hotel he stayed at. He first

followed the information provided by the head honcho of the Loen's New

Party, Molsona, and found a policeman who was controlled by drugs. The

man helped the gangs commit several sordid deeds, to the point of

creating a scheme to kill a witness. He channeled his spirit to confirm

his crimes before allowing Creeping Hunger to enjoy a true feast for the

day.

After doing that, Klein returned to his hotel via a carriage and entered

his room.

After setting up the altar, he used a ritual to send Creeping Hunger and

the thin blood crystal above the gray fog.

Sitting at the end of the long bronze table, Klein didn't hesitate to

pick up the glove and release the soul of the Priest of Light.

This Sequence 5 powerhouse had a thin face and an elegant bearing. He

was an amiable elder, and he wore a simple white clergyman's robe. He

bowed to express his gratitude to the mysterious existence who was

concealed by the gray fog.

Klein gently nodded as a response. Then, he conjured pen and paper and

wrote down the divination statement: "The potion formulas for the

Sequences above the Sun pathway's Sequence 7."

Leaning back into his seat, he began using dream divination to

communicate with the spirit.

The grayish world quickly changed. He saw the Priest of Light roll open

a piece of brownish goatskin in a room filled with sunlight. On it was a

formula written in ancient Feysac: "Sequence 6, Notary.

"Main ingredients: 1 set of crystallized roots of the Tree of Elders, 5

feathers of a Spirit Pact Bird.

"Supplementary ingredients: 100 ml of Radiance Spirit Pact Tree's juice,

1 golden-rimmed sunflower, 1 white-rimmed sunflower, 5 drops of Aqua

Fern juice."

After the scene paused for a few seconds, ripples surfaced again,

outlining an opulent hall filled with golden statues.

Inside the hall, a man covered in pure light that prevented one from

looking straight at him said to a half-centenarian elder, "This is the

potion formula for the Priest of Light. Remember, dispel the darkness

and praise the sun."

The elder received it in excitement and spread open the ancient

goatskin.

"Sequence 5, Priest of Light.

"Main ingredients: red comb of a Dawn Rooster, a pure white Brilliance

Rock.

"Supplementary ingredients: 5 grams of Rosemary, 7 drops of fingered

citron juice, 10 ml of Rock Water, 60 ml of a King of Dawn Rooster's

blood.

"Ritual: In pure darkness, bury your entire body in ice that usually

doesn't melt, before consuming the potion."

The scene quickly vanished without any additional content.

Klein wasn't surprised. He knew very well that when it involved the

domain of a demigod, the seven Churches would often directly provide the

potions and rituals without giving them the formula.

At this moment, the Priest of Light's figure had mostly dispersed due to

the forceful spirit channeling.

His painful expression eased as he raised his head and spread out his

arms as though he was embracing sunlight.

"Praise the sun!" the Priest of Light closed his eyes as he piously

said.

Those were his last words as his Spirit Body rapidly disintegrated and

plummeted into the gray fog before completely disappearing.

A pious believer... Klein sighed in comment. Following that,

he recalled what he had seen in the dream and recorded the formula.

*The main ingredient of a Notary is the root crystal of the Tree of

Elders... I remember that Miss Justice's Psychiatrist potion requires

the fruit of the Tree of Elders... From the looks of it, the Spectator

and Sun pathways might be interchangeable at High-Sequences... The

difficulty of the Priest of Light's ritual for most people is to find

ice that usually doesn't melt, but it's different for Little Sun. To

bury a living person in pure darkness in the Forsaken Land of God might

lead to one's disappearance. A method to avoid this has to be figured

out... Dispel the darkness and praise the sun is the acting

method?* Klein considered for a moment before picking up the

blood crystal produced by Kircheis's body.

After a few seconds of consideration, he wrote down the corresponding

divination statement in a serious manner: "Its origins."

Holding up the item and the piece of paper, Klein chanted softly once

more and entered a dream.

In the gray, blurry world, he saw the gigantic sailboat, the Death

Announcer, with its bow and stern curving up high. He saw Kircheis climb

up a soft ladder and arrive on the deck.

Just as this Desire Apostle found his footing, a sticky black fog

emanated from the deck's cracks. It was filled with a corruptive smell

that enveloped Kircheis within it, corrupting and tainting all the

shimmering objects on him, including his body.

The gas quickly contracted and entered Kircheis's chest. The color

gradually turned red, as though it was a bloodstain.

Finally, everything was restored to normal. Kircheis genuflected as he

said to the deck, "Your will is my will. Great Death Announcer!"

Following that, the scene shattered as Klein opened his eyes.

He sat straight and looked at the thin and long blood crystal. In

thought, he silently said, The Death Announcer is alive?

A Sealed Artifact with living traits?

*This crystal is the source of its control over its crew, and it comes

equipped with an intense corruptive force. Therefore, mystical items of

low levels will be corrupted by it?*