The pupils of Botis's eyes had already turned deep black, and they were frozen in a look of indescribable fear. It made Klein's heart palpitate when he saw it, as though he could feel the intense changes in Botis's emotions before his death.
After a series of inspections, together with "divination," he confirmed that these two eyeballs didn't contain any Beyonder characteristics, but they contained a strong corruptive force and a power that came from an unknown source. It could be used as a medium for curses, and it could directly affect the target. It was a rather dangerous spiritual material with an extremely long "expiry date."
I can't bring it with me for extended periods of time. Otherwise, I might be weakened mentally, have nightmares every day, and suffer a physical mutation... Klein casually summoned a square metal box and placed Botis's two eyeballs into it.
He didn't attempt to purify it, because once the item was shattered and purified, there would be nothing left. It would be too wasteful.
Due to the fact that there was nothing wrong with the Worms of Star and that it was also a material that Klein understood the most, he quickly turned his attention to the black pocket.
The results of "divination" surprised him because it was a so-called "interspatial" object.
The pocket only had the size of an adult man's palm. But in actual fact, it had the size of the two-bedroom apartment that the Moretti family had rented in Tingen in the very beginning. It was big enough to hold many things.
This was made by Botis using the powers of a Secrets Sorcerer. In essence, the pocket wasn't an object but an entrance.
...First, a region in the spirit world is distorted and isolated using "Space Concealment"; then, use the chaos created when the spirit world overlaps with reality. As long as there are proper coordinates, one can directly reach their destination, opening the "door" to that hidden area and entering this pocket space...
This is very similar to the method needed for sealing the Box of the Great Old Ones. However, one door is in the spirit world, while the other is in the real world. This results in a Sealed Artifact or mystical item inside the Interspatial Pocket to also affect the wielder...
From the looks of it, it doesn't seem to be of much use, as it can't eliminate the negative effects... Besides, I'm in the Forsaken Land of the Gods and can't connect to the spirit world. There's no use to having such a pocket...
Also, I have to reinforce the power of "Space Concealment" from time to time. Otherwise, it will gradually lose its effectiveness... It's only suitable for demigods of the Apprentice pathway, or an organization that has demigods of the Apprentice pathway or Sealed Artifacts that provide the relevant support...
The name "Interspatial Pocket" is too lame. I wonder how Botis named this item... Let's call it "Traveler's Bag"... After confirming the degree of danger, Klein conjured a fake hand and placed it into the black pocket.
Pitter-patter! A bunch of gems poured out as the fake hand was retracted and landed on the long, mottled table. The crystal-clear red, blue, green, white, black, and translucent colors instantly filled his eyes.
...I should've predicted this... The corresponding materials of the Apprentice pathway are gems—all the gems... The expression on Klein's face turned spirited as he sighed with a smile. He reached out with his other hand and picked up a few gems to feel the weight and texture.
Apart from these, there were also quite a number of spiritual materials in the Traveler's Bag. Some were commonly used, while others were relatively rare.
The Box of the Great Old Ones, the Secrets Sorcerer's Beyonder characteristic, nine Worms of Star, Botis's eyeballs, Traveler's Bag, and large amounts of gems and materials... This operation can be considered quite a harvest, enough for everyone to split it fairly...
Unfortunately, Botis had the ability to "Record" Beyonder powers and certain states. There's no need for him to bring too many Sealed Artifacts and mystical items with him. That would result in many negative effects... As a demigod, he should have a few good Sealed Artifacts. I wonder if they're hidden somewhere in the spirit world or at the Aurora Order headquarters... It's a pity that Botis's soul had just collapsed as well, preventing me from using spirit channeling on it... Klein shook his head and immediately returned to the real world. He found a hidden spot, put down the lantern, and set up a bestowment ritual.
He wanted to see if he could bring 0-61—the Box of the Great Old Ones—to the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
If he could, he could attempt transforming the entire City of Silver into toys and placing them on the first level of the Sealed Artifact. He could directly send it to the outside world through the sacrificial and bestowment rituals. This way, he could bypass the Giant King's Court and Dark Angel Sasrir, and could ingeniously complete the Miracle Invoker ritual.
After performing a series of tasks, Klein was done with his preparations as he reached out his right hand. He pulled out another himself before his actual body leaped into the fog of history and hid in the void of a time before the First Epoch.
He was worried that the Box of the Great Old Ones would cause a random death the moment it passed through the sacrificial and bestowment door.
In the fragments of light deep in the grayish-white fog, Klein took four steps counterclockwise and returned above the gray fog, responding to his own prayers.
After the mysterious ancient door of sacrifice and bestowment took form, he slowly opened it. He waved his hand, summoning the Box of the Great Old Ones that was enveloped by layers of forcers, throwing it into the gap behind the illusory door, towards the boundless darkness behind the door.
At that moment, the void's darkness suddenly became corporeal, as though it formed an invisible barrier that blocked the door that had just opened. It floated in midair, unable to move forward.
Klein frowned slightly as he watched this scene. He tried to stir the powers of Sefirah Castle and use the power at the level of an angel to push it forward, but he was unable to get the Box of the Great Old Ones to break the barrier.
...Indeed, the Forsaken Land of the Gods is sealed. It's just that I'm closely related to Sefirah Castle, so I could use it to respond. However, this cannot exceed a certain limit. Klein nodded slightly. He retrieved the Box of the Great Old Ones and threw it onto the junk pile.
Then, he conjured The World Gehrman Sparrow and got the fake person to give the detailed information of the Box of the Great Old Ones to Ma'am Hermit and Miss Justice.
This was to remind them to bring the Box of the Great Old Ones back to the real world within 24 hours, and to release The Magician Fors.
While doing so, Klein had informed Miss Justice to sacrifice some top-grade ice-cream to the Snake of Fate's Blessed before praying for the bestowment of the Box of the Great Old Ones. As for The Hermit Cattleya, she didn't need to make any external requests due to her having "Brief Luck." However, she needed to complete everything within a few minutes and sacrifice the Box of the Great Old Ones above the gray fog once more.
...
Backlund, in the border between East Borough and the bridge area, in an apartment that had been in disrepair for years.
Leonard, who was wearing red gloves and a black coat, was leading his team members to check the scene.
As the reserve force of the Church of Evernight, they were undoubtedly filled with energy at nearly ten at night.
"Captain, there's a serious crack on the walls here. Some of the walls have even been shattered. This apartment might not hold after the hurricane season next summer." The wine-red-haired Cindy came over and reported to Leonard.
Leonard scanned his surroundings with his green eyes and nodded slightly.
"Thankfully, this place is dangerous to begin with, and it has been abandoned for a long period of time. However, it's very strange that even tramps don't live here."
Cindy thought for a moment and said, "Captain, do you mean that there are Beyonders using this apartment, so they're secretly chasing away the tramps who sleep here?"
Another Red Glove, Bob, happened to be checking the bottom of the wall and casually added, "And then, they had an internal strife that developed into a battle. Something was then ignited?"
"That possibility can't be ruled out," Leonard answered in a professional manner. "But have you noticed? Every place in this room has signs of corrosion, and there's a lack of the remnants left behind by tables and chairs that should exist. It looks too empty... This doesn't look like something a Low- or Mid-Sequence Beyonder can create. I suspect that it might involve a higher level of power."
After a series of inspections and discovering many abnormalities, the Red Gloves team under Leonard failed to find any further clues. They could only return to Saint Samuel Cathedral first.
Just as they arrived underground, a bishop came to look for Leonard, asking him to bring two members upstairs for a meeting.
Leonard nodded thoughtfully. Without asking anything, he led Bob and Cindy through a secret passage into Saint Samuel Cathedral.
Following that, they followed the spiral staircase and under the illumination of the crimson moonlight, they arrived in a room with many people. It was equipped with a blackboard.
With just one glance, Leonard realized that there were quite a number of people who had worked with him before. They were from the Mandated Punishers, the Machinery Hivemind, and MI9.
Then, he noticed the three demigods, Horamick Haydn, Randall Valentinus, and Anthony Stevenson, as well as a black-haired, golden-eyed man who was clearly at the same level as them.
Without waiting for Leonard's greeting, Saint Anthony stood up in his red-patterned black robe and said in a deep voice, "There was a high-level battle in the outskirts of Backlund. There was a terrifying contamination present, as well as a tarot card—The Hermit.
"I noticed that you've done some investigations regarding the large number of incidents involving tarot cards. You had also raised a corresponding theory. Now, please give everyone here a detailed introduction."
"...The Hermit card?" Leonard expressed his true astonishment, but this was mostly because he was tasked with such a mission.
Ahem. He cleared his throat, walked to the blackboard, and turned to face the demigods and Beyonders of the three Churches and the military. He drew a crimson moon on his chest.
After organizing his words, this Red Glove Captain said solemnly, "In the past two to three years, the incident involving tarot cards that really caught our attention was because of Lanevus's death. He was embroiled in a conspiracy that attempted to allow the True Creator's descent, and his body was covered with tarot cards.
"After that, the tarot cards appeared on the Capim case again. However, this time, there was a change in the arrangement of the tarot cards. It emphasized Judgment and The Emperor...
"...Back then, I linked these matters to an organization that suddenly believed in The Fool in Backlund. As you know, The Fool is the starting card of the tarot cards."
This bold guess made several demigods and many other Beyonders nod slightly. They felt that this might indeed be related to some level of mysticism.
Leonard paused before continuing, "And below The Fool, this organization might have quite a number of official members. They use tarot cards as code names, such as Judgment, The Emperor, or The Hermit of this incident..."
As he spoke, Leonard picked up a deck of cards that he used as a demonstration and randomly picked one.
He glanced at it and chuckled.
"Such as... The Star."
