Chapter 142: The Sinful Ritual of Sealing the Phantom Demon
"What should I do?"
Yulia asked softly and obediently.
Even when she heard that Aiwass wanted to extract the phantom demon from her body, she did not think that Aiwass wanted to kill her - even though according to current technical common sense, the phantom demon could not be extracted while ensuring the safety of the host.
It wasn't that Yulia believed that Aiwass actually possessed this technology.
But Yulia believed from the bottom of her heart that Aiwass would never harm her in any way.
They grew up together, depended on each other in the most difficult and lonely moments, and never left each other. Although they were not related by blood, the trust between them was even greater than that within most families.
"Bring out the amulet, Yuli."
Aiwass took the still warm amulet and asked Yulia with a smile, "Are you curious about what's inside?"
"I think it might be a fire spirit."
Yulia analyzed carefully and said, "Judging from the thickness of the amulet, its temperature stability, and its heat accumulation, its main material should be flame essence infused with fire-attributed mana.
"It has a subtle spiciness, perhaps due to ginger or cinnabar. However, after the heat builds up, it doesn't feel scalding hot, so ruby or amber must have been used as a stabilizing ingredient, or perhaps sapphire for its calming effect."
The girl's voice was as soft as a fairy tale, but her words were calm and rational.
"You're a genius, Yuli."
Aiwass praised generously.
Just by touching it, she could roughly infer the materials she used.
Aiwass was not surprised because he knew that Yulia was such a rational and mature girl.
Although she always acts soft in front of him, she is actually just acting coquettishly.
He had seen Yulia studying, carefully writing down densely packed notes in neat and beautiful handwriting using pens of different colors.
When Yulia asked her adoptive father questions, she was always very serious. She would seriously discuss the direction of her major, her delicate face always stern and her pen never stopped writing.
There are almost no toys in Yulia's bedroom.
Dollhouses were popular among girls of that era, and they loved playing with elaborate dolls. But Yulia's only toy was a strange little bear doll that looked like it had been cut in half from the front and sewn together with string.
In Yulia's bedroom, besides a large number of books and reading notes, there are some things that even boys of her age might not be interested in.
In addition to a complete set of the finest alchemical instruments, her bedroom also contained an astronomical telescope, a large number of circuit components, and some carpentry tools. Yulia's bookshelves were all made by herself, and they were also carved with intricate patterns.
She had previously been interested in bicycles, but her body wouldn't allow her to ride or go out. Furthermore, her status as a young lady didn't allow her to play with such indecent new toys as bicycles.
So Yulia did some research and made an elf-style bicycle model out of wood and chains. If you crank the pedals, the raised wheels will even turn.
"After today, you will be able to get rid of this body."
Aiwass said this seriously, and pulled out two tarot cards from the amulet, the front of which were glued together, making them appear blank.
He held the card between his right thumb and index finger, and placed his thumb on his side, keeping the Hanged Man upright on top and the Sun reversed below. He then gestured for Yulia to do the same with her right thumb and index finger on the other side.
It's about to begin.
Aiwass took a deep breath. He couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
After all, this matter concerned Yulia's safety. She completely trusted Aiwass, so she was calm. Aiwass, on the other hand, was a little nervous.
But he knew he had to remain calm.
So he began to inject his magic power steadily.
When Aiwass's mana infusion exceeded ten points, the entire card became scorching hot, emitting a faint red glow, like a red-hot iron block.
As Aiwass continued to inject fire magic power, the tarot cards, which were still ordinary objects, were directly burned to ashes by the flames.
Even so, Aiwass and Yulia seemed to be tied together by an invisible rope. They grasped something in mid-air, and a stream of golden-red light flowed back and forth between them, swaying back and forth.
As Aiwass poured more power into his mind, he began to chant in a low voice: "I call upon the Candlelighter, god of the number three, god who binds the sins and burns away the darkness.
"—I solemnly call you!
"Please watch over the fire of my soul as you would watch over a candle in a corner."
But Aiwass's chant did not end there.
"I respectfully invite the Fallen Angels."
Without pausing, Aiwass suddenly raised his voice and solemnly declared: "Minister of Sin, Minister of Fall—"
"I am aware of my sins, and I am willing to bear the stigma of laziness!"
When Aiwass performed two prayers simultaneously with completely different goals, the prayer ceremony collapsed due to the conflict.
Scholars of the Great Sin are unlikely to be priests, so they do not possess the Prayer spell.
Because the moment the ritual was completed, a breath of energy was already being drawn in—and because the ritual collapsed immediately upon connection, it would not disturb the Nine Pillars or the Fallen Angels.
It's like a call that was just made but was hung up before it went through.
At the moment when the prayer collapsed, two completely different auras caused by the failure of the prayer poured into his card.
In theory, it was a punishment.
But punishment itself is also a force.
——The Ritual of Mortal Sin is a ritual that simultaneously borrows the power of the Nine Pillars of God to suppress the phantom demon, and borrows the power of the mortal sin to seal the phantom demon!
The brilliant and scorching breath of the candle flowed from top to bottom, from Aiwas' eyes into his body. His eyes suddenly burst and bled, and two lines of blood and tears slowly slid down.
The crimson aura, with Aiwas as the medium, flowed into the top of the illusory bond between Aiwas and Yulia as he guided it.
The cold, dark aura of the Fallen Angel slowly rose, guided by Aiwass beneath the bond, transforming into a tray.
Black and red auras entwined, constantly modulating. An increasingly violent scorching storm roared in all directions, and Lily couldn't help but step back repeatedly, shielding her face with her hands.
As Aiwass's magic power continued to slowly inject into the void, the phantom demon in Yulia's body finally woke up.
Her originally red pupils suddenly brightened, and her expression changed: "What are you doing?"
The Flame-Rebellious Butterfly felt a strong threat.
A powerful suction force came from the void where the two people's fingertips were touching. It was an extremely familiar yet extremely warm feeling.
"Yulia" looked like she was about to glare at Aiwas fiercely, but she didn't look fierce at all at the moment.
And Aiwass just stared at it expressionlessly.
Soon, Yulia's expression became pitiful again: "Save me, brother, I'm dying——"
"You won't die. Neither you nor Yulia."
Aiwass replied softly.
Then, he called out the name of the phantom demon: "Butterfly of Rebellious Flame!
"I now call upon your name, and brand you with the mark of laziness!
"My life is your life, my fate is your fate—
"—Obey me, the Phantom Demon of the Way of Devotion!"
Aiwass's voice boomed and was as majestic as a god.
The aura of the Fallen Angel slowly moved between the two of them and pushed towards Yulia.
It's just a bridge built with a little dark magic power, but it's enough to communicate with each other's hearts.
A crimson illusory chain emerged from Aiwas's heart and quickly pierced into Yulia's body.
It was a chain constructed by Aiwass's "soul" and "fate", an extremely fragile thing condensed from the entire life Aiwass had experienced so far.
Only this thing... can resonate with the phantom demon after it enters his body.
At that moment, Aiwas's eyes went dark.
He seemed to have hallucinations, and it seemed as if he had gained some of Yulia's memories.
Or rather, that was the memory left behind when the "Butterfly of Rebellious Flame" controlled Yulia's body—
Most of them showed Yulia gasping for breath, huddled in a corner, and coughing. Her clothes and blankets were gradually burned to a scorch, and white smoke was rising from her body.
In other cases, flames burst out of her body uncontrollably, and behind her there was a faint stream of flames forming butterfly wings.
And Aiwass also saw the familiar "warehouse".
That was the warehouse where the explosion occurred.
Yulia staggered forward, her body covered with cracks like cracked porcelain, and she coughed violently from time to time, coughing up large clumps of dark red powder.
The powder floated in the air, like butterfly scales or ruby fragments.
Like red stars filling the night sky, they look very beautiful in the dark warehouse.
And they continued to absorb the flames bursting out from the cracks in Yulia's body, becoming brighter and brighter.
When the density and brightness reach a certain level, it explodes!
Yulia was blown away by the air wave and fell to the ground.
Her back was hit hard, and she curled up on the ground in pain, coughing violently. But she couldn't cough up blood, only red powder and occasional flashes of flames.
Julia's suppressed cough filled Aiwas' ears.
"I want to...get healthy..."
Her voice was heavy and she whispered, "I want to live..."
And the next moment, Aiwas's vision entered darkness.
In the complete darkness, Yulia was curled up naked and sleeping in the crimson crystal.
The crystal shell seemed to be filled with blood, now covered with cracks. Silver-white runes were etched on it, sticking to the crystal like tape barely holding together a broken vessel.
Yulia floated in the crystal with her eyes closed. Her body was covered with hideous wounds, and the blood seemed to flow from them, as if to extinguish the flames gushing from them.
She was in so much pain...
"I'm here to save you."
Aiwass' heart palpitated a little, and he murmured softly: "I caught up with...Yuli.
"You will survive. I swear."
Floating in the void, Aiwass slowly raised his illusory hand and gently pressed it on the red crystal.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
