Chapter 150 "Sacrifice"
"We are the guardians, but also a group of pitiful people who are constantly fighting against danger and madness."
When Angel opened the door and returned to his home, isolated from the noisy streets, the words Dunn Smith said at the funeral still echoed in his ears.
She did not change out of the black dress she wore to the funeral, but slumped down on the single sofa next to the bay window in the living room, her posture even lazier and more tired than usual.
It was already Monday noon, and two full days had passed since "Sword of the Goddess" Creste Cesimma came to Tingen to examine the two Night Watchmen.
But the scene of Old Neil lying on the cold floor of the alchemy room covered in blood, the pained look in Dunn's eyes as he looked at her, and the expressions of the Tingen team members who either exclaimed in disbelief or gritted their teeth in silence were still deeply imprinted in her mind.
There were also Luo Shan's tearful questions, the sleeping flowers in front of the grave, and the epitaph on the tombstone...
"If you can't save her, then be with her."
This is the latest sentence in the diary that the Night Watchmen found in Old Neil's house after his death.
Old Neil had no other living relatives. After his death, the team conducted a customary search of his residence, revealing from his belongings that he had been striving to resurrect his beloved, his deceased fiancée, Sally. He felt his younger self wasn't strong enough to heal his fiancée's grave illness through ritual magic, and, consumed by guilt and regret, he constantly sought the aid of various mystical powers.
The life refining and resurrection ritual that Old Neil obtained from the "Hidden Sage" has also been proven to be a naked evil ritual. Apart from sucking the life of the user and requiring him to obtain more blood for sacrifice, it has no other function.
No, perhaps pollution and loss of control themselves are the effects of ritual.
From this perspective, it might be a good thing for the entire city of Tingen that he was found to be contaminated at the Night Watchers' base and lost control in advance in front of the senior deacon who was capable of controlling the overall situation.
Good things...
Angel closed his eyes in pain, remembering the moment when Dunn broke Old Neil's neck.
——————
A crimson light flashed, and the Queen reappeared in the mysterious gray foggy space, sitting on a high-backed chair beside the long bronze table.
Beside her and opposite her, Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man also took their seats in the same manner.
Mr. Sun... He seemed to have arrived earlier than the others, his hands already resting on the edge of the table, his body motionless...
Angel stared blankly at the people in the Tarot Club, not even having the energy to greet them. His mind was working subconsciously, analyzing what was happening before him.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool, and everyone."
"Mr. Fool, I have obtained another page from Emperor Roselle's diary."
"Mr. Sun, have you got the formula for the Mind Reader?"
Zhengyi still greeted everyone with full of energy and quickly got to the point.
The tall and burly Taiyang nodded slowly and replied, "I've already obtained the formula for the Mind Reader, but how should we trade it? Should I tell you directly?"
Before he finished speaking, a piece of parchment with curled edges and a snow-white quill appeared in front of him.
A quill pen, not a fountain pen? Was it a fool's joke, or was it to suit Mr. Sun's usage habits... Was his location so remote that even common industrial products were difficult to obtain?
Angel guessed as he watched Sun skillfully hold the quill and write the formula on the parchment.
The two quickly completed the transaction for the formula, and Justice also materialized the diary of Emperor Roselle that she had found in the same way and handed it to Mr. Fool. She then accepted the information about the follower that the Fool gave her. This follower would receive an additional 300 pounds in cash from Justice from this transaction.
Angel and the Hanged Man watched the three-party transaction coldly.
As the number of Tarot Club members gradually increases, the frequency of transactions involving only a small number of people will also increase. The kind of information that was previously made public simply for sharing will probably become less and less.
Tarot Club is becoming more and more "mature".
"You can communicate freely now."
As the Fool finished reading the diary, the quiet gray foggy space became lively again.
"Ms. Queen, I've already obtained the extraordinary item you asked me to find, the 'Blood of the Black Abyss Demon Fish,' but I'm not sure if it's 'all' of the blood. The seller said there's no standard quantity in the mystical sense."
Justice said to Angel with doubt in his voice.
"Indeed, unless you specify the required quantity in grams or milliliters, many extraordinary materials in mystical terms will exhibit this strange property. The blood of two Black Abyss Demon Fish of different weights will inevitably differ in quantity, but this does not affect their effects."
Recalling the knowledge in his mind, Angel replied.
This is also a common problem when purchasing the main ingredients for potions: the seller is likely to take advantage of this uncertainty and secretly withhold some of the ingredients.
Fortunately, the blood of the Black Abyss Demon Fish has a magical property. Once it leaves the body of the demon fish, it becomes difficult to separate.
"That's no problem. I'm always available for a trade," Zhengyi breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Since finding this material is my way of thanking you for answering my questions, I'm prepared to charge half the purchase price, which is 350 pounds."
Half is 350 pounds... meaning the blood cost her a total of 700 pounds?
Angel was a little shocked. The main ingredients of Sequence 7 potions were already so expensive.
She also remembered that Daly had given her the "Agate Peacock Egg" without hesitation at a price that was almost free. Even without considering the premium, it saved her more than 500 pounds.
If I have to pay for both extraordinary materials myself, the 1,000 pounds in my bank account won't be enough...
Lamenting his own poverty, Angel nodded and agreed to the transaction price.
But what happened next puzzled the two traders.
"How should I give you this item? Do you provide me with an address and I'll send it there, or do you come to the address I provide to pick it up?"
Zhengyi asked calmly, as if neither method mattered to her. Indeed, this wealthy young lady must have had her servants handle the relevant matters, so she wouldn't be bothered by them...
But I'm different. I only have my home address, and unlike Mr. Hanged Man, I can't easily name all sorts of "friends" or "acquaintances." Providing my address to someone would be like exposing my current location. And if I were to come to their house, I'd have to leave Tingen City, or even Ahowa County. At a time like this, when Old Neil was in trouble, applying to leave the base must have been incredibly difficult...
Angel had a headache. After Old Neil's out-of-control incident, she desperately wanted to upgrade her sequence as soon as possible. This was not only the key to improving her strength and avoiding being targeted by evil gods and secret sects, but also to protecting her teammates and important people around her.
But this cannot be based on revealing one's whereabouts.
Just as she was thinking silently, she heard the sound of knuckles hitting the bronze table.
The four Tarot Club members present all turned their gazes towards the head of the long table, where Mr. Fool had just lowered his right hand from tapping the table.
“Haha, it looks like you’ve run into trouble again,” Mr. Fool chuckled, his gaze sweeping over the two members on His left. “Ladies, are you willing to cooperate with me on this matter and make another attempt?”
Another attempt?
Angel thought of His "attempt" to pull everyone into the gray fog space, and His "attempt" to communicate through ritual magic. What will it be this time?
"What kind of attempt is it?"
Justice asked hesitantly.
"It's simple. It's no more difficult than communicating with me through ritual magic."
The fool spoke in a light-hearted tone, as if what he was talking about was just a trivial matter like eating and drinking.
This also slightly dispelled Angel's inner resistance. There was the example of Old Neil and the "Hidden Sage" before. Even though the Fool had a "close relationship" with everyone, she was still somewhat resistant to the new ritual magic.
"If the attempt is successful, Miss Justice can 'sacrifice' a specific item to me, and I will then 'bestow' it on Miss Queen. I think this form of transaction will be beneficial to both of you."
“Sacrifice” and “Give”…
She suddenly realized that the Fool's request for such an attempt at this moment was simply to help solve the biggest problem she was currently facing.
If successful, Justice can ritually sacrifice "all the blood of the Black Abyss Demon Fish" to the Fool, and the Fool will then bestow it upon himself. It will act like a transit station, allowing two Tarot Club members to conduct a physical transaction without revealing any of their information.
Let a god-like being serve as a transit station...
She felt a little frightened and a little excited.
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