Chapter 898: Response

After setting up the candles, Colin Iliad found a piece of pure silver

and picked up a carving knife beside it. With steady strokes, he carved

out a palm-sized charm vessel.

Then, he followed Derrick Berg's description, drawing the secret symbol

of The Fool on both sides of the silver piece.

The entire process was completed quickly. If an observer was watching,

they wouldn't have been able to discern his actions. Yet, the final

product didn't show any flaws. It looked like a piece of art that had

been slowly carved out.

Right on the heels of that, Colin Iliad found another bottle of mercury.

Directly using his powerful spirituality, he guided the liquid inside to

trickle into the charm and fill all the patterns. He prevented the

mercury on the side facing down from dripping due to gravity.

Repeating the process, he made a second charm. Colin Iliad placed them

in front of the candles and placed a translucent ringed worm on each of

them.

Compared to him standing up silently, the present Colin's every move was

stable, calm, and firm. He didn't show any signs of hesitation, just

like how he faced powerful monsters that came out of the darkness.

After finishing the ritual, he took two steps back and removed the

crossed swords that were hanging from the wall. He stabbed them into the

crevices of the floor tiles at the door.

He then closed his eyes and muttered. Pure and thick beams of light

emerged out of the void as they enveloped the two swords with a holy and

glorious feeling.

The light beams increased in quantity, slowly transforming into liquid

water that flowed across the cracks in the floor tiles and the walls,

forming a "cage" that isolated him from the outside.

As a senior Demon Hunter, Colin Iliad didn't wish to take such

precautionary measures when holding a ritual. This was because there was

a tiny chance of angering the target, bringing about dangerous

developments. However, he had no choice but to do so because he needed

to be certain that even if the ritual failed, even if The Fool was an

existence filled with malice, and even if he were to die at the altar,

he would not bring too much harm to the City of Silver.

In regards to the defensive power of the "cage," Colin was rather

confident because this directly stemmed from a god-like Sealed

Artifact---a crown which the Giant King Aurmir wore: "Proof of Glory!"

This was one of the main reasons why the City of Silver could survive

wave after wave of monster assaults in the Dark Ages.

With all his preparations completed, solely using his spirituality,

Colin Iliad used his desk as an altar and created a sacred and clean

environment that no one could disturb. He then lit the three candles.

The pale yellow light flickered as they reflected in his eyes. He bowed

his head and scattered the plant powder, monster hide, and fur into the

candle flame or lit them and threw them into a cauldron so as to please

the secret existence he was about to pray to.

Such acts weren't rare in the City of Silver. Known to all, there were

rituals held that targeted the Creator, but from time to time, certain

residents would be enticed by unknown existences during their patrols or

exploration, tempted to hold all kinds of rituals.

Most of the latter was a passive act, but there were a few that were

done proactively. On the one hand, the cumulative despair of not

receiving any response from the Creator had made them eager to grab onto

any other existence to rely on, and on the other hand, many generations

of the six-member council had come to a common consensus that the

Creator who had abandoned the land might very well not return again.

Seeking out other alternatives was something that had to be expedited,

but unfortunately, such attempts only led to nothing or death, nothing

else.

And it was because of this reason that regardless of the difficulties

faced or how many times they discovered cities that were destroyed

because of "evil gods," the City of Silver continued their exploration

of regions that were further away.

As for Colin Iliad himself, the discovery of the outsider, Jack, brought

him an indescribable sense of surprise and hope. The encounters when

they explored Afternoon Town and the prophecies of the Kings of Angel's

ploy and the ecclesiastic had made him feel a more pressing sense of

urgency. He no longer held hope for the Creator's return.

With the two reasons combined, along with Lovia's and Derrick's

abnormality, as well as the prophecy of the apocalypse, as Chief of the

six-member council, senior demigod and powerful Demon Hunter, Colin

Iliad had no choice but to attempt to dance on the edge of a knife. He

had no choice but to consider making a transaction with a hidden

existence.

Silently exhaling, Colin took a step back and chanted with a

weather-worn tone, "The Fool that doesn't belong to this era.

"The mysterious ruler above the gray fog.

"The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.

"I pray to you, praying for the strength that stems from mystery, and

praying for the bestowment that stems from good luck. I implore you to

make these items on this altar turn into charms..."

Just as Colin spoke with a cadence of mystery, he saw the altar in front

of him immediately turn dark. It was as though an indescribable godhood

was emanating from the candle in the middle.

The candle's flame instantly burgeoned, but it failed to light the

surroundings. Instead, it made everything turn illusory, making

countless shapes produce seemingly nonexistence transparent shadows as

they covered every inch.

High above this illusory world and countless figures, there were seven

lustrous brilliances of different colors spiraling. They seemed to

possess immense knowledge.

And above these seven lustrous brilliances, there was an endless

grayish-white fog, and sitting above was an ancient palace that looked

down upon everything.

Demon Hunter Colin temporarily forgot everything else as he stared

intently at the scene above the altar. It was as though something that

only existed in books or ancient tomes had taken a step through the

illusory and entered reality, appearing before him.

If he recalled correctly, this was likely the projection of the spirit

world.

Before the disaster, before the time the Creator abandoned this land, it

was easy to observe and enter the spirit world!

The spirit world now only existed in the City of Silver's textbooks and

various records, but no one could touch it!

At this moment, a creaking, illusory sound sounded. The ancient palace

that overlooked the gray fog and spirit world seemed to open its doors.

Right on the heels of that, Colin saw the unformed charms in front of

the candle produce a grayish luster. Their patterns were then "lit up,"

as they intercrossed with each other, suddenly bursting into a blinding

radiance, enveloping the pure silver foils and the ringed worms.

The dark world above the entire altar also instantly warped.

Everything was quickly restored to normal as two strange black

crystalline charms appeared on the altar. They were like a pair of eyes

of some existence that silently observed the world.

Demon Hunter Colin was taken aback as he retracted his gaze and bowed

his head. With a deep voice, he said, "Thank you for your blessings;

"Praise you."

He didn't delay as he immediately ended the ritual and removed the seal.

After doing all of this, this City of Silver Chief of the six-member

council returned to the desk and picked up the two charms made from the

two Amon avatar remnants.

At this moment, his mind was still fixated on the scene he had

previously seen.

Based on his knowledge in mysticism, those that were situated high in

the spirit world were mentioned to be the Seven Lights in ancient tomes.

They were believed to be close to that of deities, but none of the

records indicated what was above the Seven Lights or what the gray fog

represented. They didn't indicate what the ancient palace which was

enveloped by the gray fog while overlooking the entire spirit world

represented.

And during the entire ritual, Colin Iliad only felt that The Fool he was

praying to was staid, mysterious, and almighty, nothing like the evil

beings who often liked to express their powers as though eager to

showcase something.

Such a performance had a close parallel in the records of the City of

Silver---the Creator!

As he looked at the charms in hand and his condition, the grizzled Demon

Hunter Colin suddenly closed his eyes as figures flashed past his mind

for some reason.

They were his father, mother, elder brother, younger sister, oldest son,

youngest son, daughter, and oldest grandson whose lives he had

personally ended.

This already old Chief remained silent for a very long time before he

suddenly sighed softly.

"It's been 2,583 years..."

After 2,583 years, the City of Silver had finally received a normal

response.

In the library in the steeple.

Derrick was in the ancient myth section he often browsed when he saw a

notebook he had never seen before.

This notebook's cover was made from a particular monster's hide. There

were clear patterns on it, and the pages inside were old and yellowed.

The records included the experiences of the original author when he

encountered different monsters.

These monsters were mostly accessible among the City of Silver's

textbooks. Even their special traits were the same. However, the

thoughts and experiences from the numerous battles left Derrick reading

in relish as he read seriously.

As he flipped through it, he suddenly noticed a monster named

"Shapeshifter."

Such monsters didn't come equipped with the intelligence to communicate,

but they were adept at setting up traps to deal with targets.

Furthermore, they could disguise as others, using what seemed like

fascinating methods to complete a hunt...

The notebook's owner had commented on them as being bizarre and

dangerous.

*This is very similar to Mr. World's guess of the Bizarro Bane's

traits... Could Shapeshifter be the Bizarro Bane?* Derrick felt

delighted as he quickly read the rest of the entry. He discovered that

this type of monster lived towards the north, in a faraway city's ruins.

And the monsters in that area's darkness were powerful and terrifying.

Even the six-member council wasn't able to deal with some of them;

therefore, after two attempts, the City of Silver paused any exploration

of the area. To date, exploration of the area hadn't been resumed. Due

to such reasons, the City of Silver's textbooks didn't make mention of

the unique monsters there.

After reading the record, Derrick subconsciously flipped the notebook to

the last page, wishing to know who had experienced the two harrowing

explorations.

As he flipped through it, he saw a name: "Colin Iliad."

Desi County, Eskelson Harbor.

Klein returned to the real world, rubbed his temples, and collapsed into

bed.

To give the City of Silver's Chief a better impression of The Fool and

generate more trust, he had proactively added some special effects when

responding, expressing the might of the mysterious space above the gray

fog during the secret deed ritual and sacrificial and bestowment ritual.

This expended quite a sizable amount of his spirituality, exhausting

him.

*I'll find food for Creeping Hunger when I wake up. I'll let it have a

good nap above the gray fog...* Klein thought in his stupor and

soon fell asleep. He was woken up by his rumbling tummy after sleeping

from morning to the afternoon.