Chapter 402: Banquet Host Ceremony
When the holy object is sealed, it will not reveal any obvious characteristics of the Tao.
Minister Griffith obviously hadn't finished unsealing it yet, otherwise this thing would have been "exploded" from the corpse by Lily.
So, it wasn't surprising that the Arbitration Office, the Inspection Office, and the Supervisory Bureau hadn't found anything after three rounds of investigation. After all, no one dared to touch the holy image. They probably wouldn't even dare to touch it.
Although the number of Ennead Gods and Heavenly Officials is limited, the number of apostles is not small.
The Church of the Nine Pillars allows the worship of all current Nine Pillars and their apostles, and does not restrict the belief in the Celestial Master and his apostles. Only the dwarves, like those who conduct formal worship activities or simply initiate sacrifices to the Celestial Master and his apostles, are considered illegal.
——There are so many apostles. Who knows which one is legitimate and which one is illegal?
Perhaps an inconspicuous holy image is actually the mortal appearance of the Celestial Official or even the Nine Pillars of God, or an incarnation that they once used!
For example, placing an icon from the time of Arthur, the Silver Crowned Dragon, in a room, and then placing an icon of the Ursa Major higher up, level with the icon of another Ennead, would undoubtedly constitute blasphemy. Furthermore, if one lacked a deep understanding of religious studies, they might mistake Arthur for a knight under the Silver Crowned Dragon and discard both the Ursa Major and Arthur icons.
No matter how you handle it, something serious is likely to happen.
Therefore, according to the procedures, such matters are usually handed over to professionals from the Church of the Nine Pillars to handle.
Now Aiwas came in to check under this name - there was no doubt that he was a professional.
It was easy to find evidence, even if there was none. Aiwass knew this, and Ligeia knew this too.
Aiwass first had a big meal with Lily and Ligeia in Griffith Manor, making himself full, and drank a lot of wine until he could smell of alcohol.
When night fell, Aiwass had Ligeia seal all the doors and windows and draw the curtains, thus creating an artificially dim environment, with only a ray of moonlight falling before the statue.
Then he asked Ligeia and Lily to retreat to a distance and remain on guard.
Ligeia was also obviously interested in this.
She had previously discovered that Aiwass had a deep understanding of religion and ritual. At least, he could help her preside over a grand ceremony like "molting and rebirth," something an ordinary priest would definitely not be able to do.
Under the gaze of Ligeia and Lily behind him, Aiwass, who reeked of alcohol, solemnly lit a candle, sprinkled a handful of black pearl powder in front of the statue, then took off all his clothes in front of the candlelight and stood in the moonlight - this was a necessary step in the ceremony, and the whole process had to be witnessed by multiple witnesses of the opposite sex.
Two people is the minimum situation.
The best candidates that Aiwass could choose were Ligeia, who could actually be his grandmother, and Lily, who was too familiar to him.
There are many ways to unseal a holy relic. Complex rituals can be used to force the unsealing, or the apostle can be called upon to do so. In folk tales of chivalry, the brave man obtains the holy sword and is recognized by it. This is actually the knight's recognition of the brave man's perseverance and courage, thus unsealing the relic.
In the game, it is just an unblocking task that is not too troublesome.
However, as long as you can receive this quest from the Apostle himself, it can actually be initially unlocked. At least this item itself can be used and equipped, but the equipment and suit attributes are not fully unlocked.
——In other words, Aiwass now only needs to call Sister Sasha to come in person.
Minister Griffith, a law mage and blood mage, could not do this, but it was easy for Aiwas, a priest.
Iverson took out a glass of excellent red wine - this was also taken from the Griffiths' house. Because it was of the best quality, Iverson deliberately did not drink it, but left it for Sister Sasha.
Then, Aiwass bit his left middle finger and injected a drop of blood and two points of light magic into the wine.
The middle finger symbolizes ether, while the left middle finger represents light. Mana injected into this non-mana-storing material is prone to rapid dissipation. Therefore, Aiwass immediately drank half of the blood wine and poured the remaining half onto the statue.
Soon, the black silk covering the holy image was soaked with blood and wine.
As the statue began to emit a slightly intoxicating scent, it also began to faintly shine with a dark golden light.
At the same time, Aiwass began to chant: "I solemnly call you, solo dancer of the three phases!
"The God whose holy number is One, the God who gives birth again after death, the God who sees the long-awaited ignorance—I am as constant as the moon!"
As Aiwass sang, a very strong fragrance suddenly emanated from his body.
Like the finest barbecue and the finest wine, Lily and Ligeia, watching from afar, were instantly captivated. Had they not already feasted, their overwhelming appetites would have overwhelmed their stomachs and overwhelmed their rationality.
A dark red light shone in Aiwas's pupils, and cold sweat broke out on his back, which was a light red liquid like fine wine.
"I beseech you to descend into the moonlight!
"I am Aiwas Moriarty! I am the sweetest fruit, the strongest wine.
"Please peel off the skin and fill the goblet with wine. I will stand alone in the moonlight and dance alone among the thorns.
"Please ask Hengwo and his apostles to respond to me——"
Aiwass prayed: "Please give me desire and blood!"
Prayers to Hengwo have multiple directions, just as the Path of Love has multiple branches, such as the Blood Realm and the Shadow Realm. Aiwass prayed while fully fed and drunken, and since he specifically requested the feast host to respond, the only one who could respond was the feast host.
Because Sister Sasha is not a true apostle, the sacrifice cannot be directed directly to her.
But the host could see Aiwass praying before Sister Sasha's statue, so he knew Aiwass was not looking for him. So he asked Sister Sasha to come in person.
As expected.
Aiwass immediately felt dizzy, fell forward and lost consciousness.
Lily subconsciously rushed over and tried to support Aiwass.
But she had only taken a few steps when she stopped.
The holy statue in front of Aiwass shone with a dazzling blood-red light. The next moment, a translucent nun emitting a gentle aura emerged from it and held Aiwass, who was leaning forward, in her arms.
——It’s not the posture of a descending spirit, but the direct descent of the real body!
She wore a black silk eye mask, black silk gloves, and a heavy nun's uniform.
She held Aiwass gently in her arms and straightened his head.
Then she gently stroked his head, from the back of his head to the nape of his neck. A burst of blood-red light flowed into Aiwass's body as she touched him.
Then, Aiwass was vaguely awakened.
He was "woken up by holding it in".
He felt his mind clear, his blood boiling—as if he'd taken stimulants, brimming with energy and desire. The blood vessels in his scalp and neck bulged and pulsed. However, his rationality had clearly weakened, his thinking speed and calmness noticeably declining. This was a temporary fatigue that would take more than a day to recover.
His entire body flushed, like the cheeks of someone extremely shy; or perhaps, as if he had opened the Eight Gates of Ninjutsu. Under the rapid surge of his surging energy, Aiwass's muscles bulged, even experiencing a noticeable physiological reaction. Fortunately, his back was to Lily and the others, so at least no one would see him doing anything disrespectful.
The moment Aiwass opened his eyes, Sister Sasha had disappeared like an illusion.
The ones who could confirm that it was not an illusion were Ligeia and Lily who were watching nearby!
This is why this ceremony must have witnesses - if there are no witnesses, then Aiwass will just have a big dream, and when he wakes up, there will be no other effect except temporarily consuming his rationality to restore his blood and energy to its peak state as much as possible.
But now...
At the place where the nun disappeared, above the holy statue... there was a pure white butterfly dancing alone.
Under the moonlight, it reflects the purest and most holy white light.
On the walls of the room, where only a beam of moonlight streamed in, countless butterfly-like reflections of the moonlight were reflected, making it look like a group of butterflies dancing together.
(End of this chapter)
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