s

Invocation

Elizabeth's eyes widened, the horror she felt gripping her heart was visible. She even caught her breath in her throat, stopping to breathe.

She tried to look for Melissa, but the other one was in a further part of the corridor.

— Klein, isn't that the deity worshipped by the so-called Aurora Order? The True Creator! You told me about him — Melissa recognized the name with much fanfare in her voice.

When Klein explained to her about the secret organizations spread throughout the world, he placed great emphasis on the part about an organization that worshipped a God they said was Omniscient and Omnipotent.

The True Creator, to whom lunatic believers prayed to find a promised land.

— True Creator... — Elizabeth became even more terrified.

True Creator... Surely she wasn't in the organization... Melissa should have gotten it wrong if that were the case, so there was only one other option. Selena was in contact with a worshipper of the Aurora Order...? How did that happen? — Klein thought with concern, however his face did not show it.

How am I going to deal with this?

Melissa is next to me and Benson is downstairs, if I leave here to warn the captain, everything might get worse and end up affecting everyone present...

Uh... Selena is a mysticism enthusiast, so there must be candles and some ingredients here...

As soon as he hurriedly concluded what he was going to do, he could hear a brief laugh coming from the room.

— Melissa, come with me. — Klein said, he had no time to explain so all he could do was signal with his hands, pointing to the door at the end of the corridor.

Melissa just nodded, not knowing what would happen, but she did not lose her calm.

Her brother had told her some things about normal people who suddenly went crazy when they came into contact with the mysterious world and died, so she was afraid that her friend was no longer herself.

Elizabeth didn't even seem to hear anything after a few moments. She was like some kind of rag doll that had simply lost all movement in her body.

She shrank back as she backed up against the wall with her hands covering her ears and grabbing her hair as if she were going to pull it out right there.

She seemed to be crying out softly, as if she were whispering a prayer:

— Spirit that revolves this world.

— The grace of the True Creator.

— The eyes that look at fate.

Her eyes didn't lose their brightness, but they were replaced by something strange. It was as if all the contradictions and none of them were there, there was no feeling.

Seeing this, Melissa was horrified. She clenched her hands in an attempt to keep her mind clear.

She had some idea of the madness, but she never imagined it was so terrifying at this level.

— Miss Elizabeth? — Klein almost frowned when he saw the young woman's condition.

Elizabeth relaxed a little, her face so calm that it was impossible to imagine that she was on the verge of madness.

When she clasped her hands together, she looked like some kind of faithful believer.

— Klein, are they going to be okay? — Melissa asked as she passed the delirious Elizabeth.

Klein, who was opening the door, didn't turn his head as he answered:

— I'm not sure. But I need your help to try to help her, her situation is much more abnormal than it should be.

He tried to sound calmer so that his sister wouldn't panic or anything. He himself didn't have much hope that Selena would survive in such a bad state.

Even though he had experience, Melissa had none and her actions were unpredictable. She could even end up dying if something went wrong!

Why didn't you play Charlie Charlie instead? It would be much easier to exorcise. — Klein mocked as he pulled out the revolver that was hidden inside his suit.

— Alright! — Melissa spoke without any hesitation.

When Klein opened the door with his cane in hand

With Spiritual Vision activated, he could see Selena kneeling on the floor holding a mirror so tightly that her fingers were white.

There were sinister dark green energies invading her, deteriorating her soul into something more twisted.

Klein cautiously walked over to her to check the mirror.

It was Selena who was reflected in the mirror, but it was also her entire body. Her face showed a terrifying expression, hidden under her red hair.

She was like a lunatic, her face as serene as an unattainable peace for all humanity.

— Melissa, get some vials and herbs from the other side. It could be any. — Klein spoke in a grave tone as he walked over to a desk.

After that, he rummaged through one of the drawers and took out two candles with soft scents and placed them in the upper left and right corners of the desk.

They were symbols representing the Crimson Lady, the Goddess of Midnight.

She managed to find seven bottles with very mild scents and picked them up with her hands all at once.

Finally, she managed to find seven vials with very light scents and took them all at once.

— I will perform a suspension ritual along with something similar... Selena will be in a sealing circle after I start, so she will not interfere.

— You should learn it too, so pay close attention to what I'm going to do. — Klein quickly explained as he opened a few vials and placed a third candle to represent himself.

He even thought he wouldn't be able to do it, but he ended up remembering that he had received strange knowledge since the day of his transmigration.

They were like rituals more advanced than a normal Seer could perform, so he ended up doing them.

The sealing circle was one of them. The seal applied with the ritual he knew already trapped Selena without having to attract her anywhere.

I never thought that the strange knowledge I received about rituals in my mind would be so useful... — he narrowed his eyes as he placed a silver bowl in front of the third candle.

— Did Selena say anything to you about who taught her about these rituals? — Klein asked as he took out a full moon essence.

Melissa gave a thoughtful look, her eyes looking a little sharper under so much reflection.

— Yes. She was talking about her mysticism teacher when she got weird... She said he was a respectful man, very wise. His name was something like Vincent something...

— No, Hanass Vincent.

Klein felt a chill spread like an extremely heavy thunder through her body.

Hanass Vincent, that man from the Divination Club!

— Hanass Vincent? From the Howes Street Divination Club? — Klein asked in an intrigued tone, his eyes almost showing a hint of understanding beneath the only apparent calm.

— Yes! ... Wait, you said you stayed on Howes Street because of that thing about acting as the name of the Sequence, so you know him? — Melissa immediately became suspicious, her voice even contained a lot of seriousness.

It was very strange for her to hear that, especially after knowing about some matters involving Klein's case, like Ray Bieber and things like that.

The Aurora Order was very active, which was suspicious given what had happened before in the Bieber case, but this time it really did seem like a mere incident.

— That's what happened… He even explained about a type of mirror divination, but it was the orthodox way. — Klein explained without much detail, focusing on what he was doing.

Now that I think about it, I remember that his astral body was very strange! Hanass Vicent really was a member of the Aurora Order… — He narrowed his eyes indiscernibly.

On the altar were several herbs on the left and on the other side a plate of salt, a silver dagger, a piece of fake goat skin and a quill dipped in ink.

When he finished arranging the altar with moonflower essential oils and others, he took out a mug of tea.

He poured pure water and placed it next to a plate of coarse salt.

— This is really elaborate... — Melissa, who was in front of the altar, muttered thoughtfully.

After that, Klein entered a state of Cogitation. He saw distorted lights appear in his line of vision.

Whoss!

The wind invaded the room that was almost completely covered in darkness.

— Goddess of Midnight, you are the Lady of Crimson!

— Goddess of Eternal Night, you are the Empress of Disaster and Horror!

— The Lady under the high sky, noble and more permanent than eternity itself, The Goddess of Eternal Night.

This was one of the many prayers to Her, given in one of the teachings of the Church of Midnight only to the Nighthawks.

— I am your loyal guard; the shield that protects against danger in the dark night...

He continued the ritual with many words, praying until finally a strong wind blew through the windows, lifting the thick curtains.

Selena gave a high-pitched scream, being pulled from some sort of door that came directly from the mysterious world, even dragging herself with her nails digging into the earth, it still wasn't enough.

— Ah!

She let out a scream that could echo deep into one's soul.

Selena let out a howl mixed with a frantic laugh before simply stopping moving.

As the dark green threads were expelled from Selena's body, an indescribable veil of mystery enveloped everything as if it had emerged from some ancient past era, as inexplicable as the cosmos, but also inexplicable.

It was certainly terrifying, but it was also divine, just demonstrating the minimum of an unimaginable existence.

Along with that, it was heavily mixed with an endless serenity extending into every corner.

— Supreme Lady of Crimson, Great Empress of Disaster and Horror.

— I pray that you grant your grace.

— Show your loving grace to the lost lamb, Selena Wood!

Whoss!

A goatskin from the ritual caught fire at that moment, but everything calmed down.

Klein's dark eyes returned to their usual color.

When Selena's limp body fell onto the mirror, Melissa looked to the side with Spiritual Vision just to check if her friend was alive.

— They're alive and well... Wow, this is really strange. I thought they were going to die... — Melissa muttered as she turned to Klein, who was dismantling the altar.

When she took out the last candle, Klein remembered something very important.

The two of them couldn't stay up there!

— I'll explain what happened later, but first we have to go down and pretend nothing happened. — he said in a hurry.

As soon as she heard this, Melissa didn't hesitate to go to the door and pull out the twisted piece of metal she used to break down the door earlier.

Since there were no pockets on her dress, she simply handed it to Klein, who put the piece of metal in the other inside pocket.

If people looked at us like that, they would probably think we were wanted criminals or something... — Klein felt like a real thief on the run.

Melissa was the first to go out to look around while Klein closed the door.

When the two were ready and walked through the various corridors, Melissa accidentally bumped into a very tall man.

— Sorry sir, I hadn't seen you. — She said in a calm tone, not seeming anxious at all.

The man looked like he was going to try to push Klein or Melissa at that moment, but he quickly backed away.

He looked at them, his skin was very pale. On his chubby forehead, several drops of sweat were dripping down every moment.

His black hair was soaked, as if he had been exposed to the freezing rain for a long time. He also wore glasses with almost round lenses, which covered his brown eyes.

— You should watch where you're going, imagine if you could lose your minds because of that?

He smiled, seeming to be mocking them.

Klein and Melissa looked at each other, thinking the same thing.

This man had to be crazy.

— Children like you shouldn't go around so clumsy. Rough as you are, you didn't survive for long. — The man had a touch of authority in his voice.

— Sir, I don't know what you're talking about. — Klein pretended not to understand a single word, turning around with Melissa who was still in disbelief.

He dragged her with him to get away from that macabre and strange man.

When the man reached out his hand to try to pull one of them, a hoarse voice echoed through the hallway:

— Laneuvus, come on. — It was a very low sound, but Klein and Melissa heard perfectly what had been said.

Lanevus? The same Lanevus who guessed that he would trick Glacis with a proposal about a gold mine in Hornacis? — Klein recognized him with increasing caution.

— Melissa, if we need to escape, let's go through the window ahead. — he whispered in a serious tone.

Melissa was on edge, her nerves almost jumping out of her body, which was very cold with tension.

With a cold gaze fixed behind them, Klein and Melissa could only continue walking, pretending that nothing was happening.

The two of them didn't take even a second longer to leave the second floor and fortunately they didn't need to jump out of any windows.

When they reached a corner of the party room, Melissa nudged him silently.

— Klein, what just happened? — she asked a little confused.

— I don't know... But that guy was a total charlatan! — Klein stated with great certainty.

— Seriously? I thought he was going to kidnap us... — Melissa admitted with great suspicion growing in her heart.

She sighed internally with many thoughts swirling in her mind.

— So, wouldn't it be better if we stayed with Selena and Elizabeth? We could even see their condition with our own eyes... — she decided to ask something else, wanting to relax a little from what had happened a few seconds ago.

— No. You're not an official Beyonder. If an official showed up and checked you out, you'd probably be discovered. — he answered calmly, but there was a lot of worry in his mind.

The last thing that could happen was for them to find out about Melissa.

— I see. What now? — Melissa frowned — Don't tell me there's a chance an evil entity will emerge from the bathroom mirror upstairs when we least expect it?

— What? I'm sure the True Creator is like Blood Mary. — Klein stared at his sister with some surprise. He hadn't expected that answer.

— Huh? Blood Mary? Who's that? — Melissa raised her eyebrows in confusion.

— A legend created by Emperor Roselle. — Klein remembered without any surprise that his compatriot had also brought this legend to this world.

He continued unhurriedly:

— Well, Gods from above the world, who probably see humans as vermin, must not pay attention to what happened today.

— Of course, we cannot in any way try to attract Their gaze, so what happened today cannot happen again.

— Right. — She nodded firmly. She would ensure that Selena would never have another idea of invoking the honorific name of evil gods.

Fortunately, the matter was already over.

— Just to be sure, tell Elizabeth not to try to recite his honorific name and if it happens again, call me, but if you can't do it, then perform a ritual for the Goddess. I will teach you all the steps when we get home. — Klein added just in case.

Suddenly, the two siblings looked to the side at the same moment, in the direction where Benson was.

He was talking to a few people, but one of them in particular had just come down from the second floor, right after Klein and Melissa were in the corner.

This woman with very short red hair seemed to be staring at them silently and at the same time looking at the others who had come from the second floor a short time ago.

— She's a Beyonder. — Klein stated as he looked directly at the astral body that looked more like a machine releasing steam at every moment.

Several inexplicable pieces of gears seemed to be turning in a complicated way, forming a connection between all that consciousness filled with a calm and ethereal sound.

— She's one of the Machinery Hivemind. An officer was actually here this whole time and she must have noticed something abnormal upstairs. — Klein sighed in his heart.

Luckily, Melissa and I left right after dismantling the altar!

Now he just needed to tell his version of the facts to Dunn Smith without including Melissa's presence.

— What if she suspects me? — Melissa couldn't help but ask.

— Do you know how to deceive others? — Klein seemed to be really considering this option.

If Melissa couldn't do it, he really was very skilled at fooling others.

— Okay, maybe pretending to sprain my ankle would be better, I can do that. Or do I have to faint right here or at another time? — Melissa seemed very enthusiastic about giving several options.

Sis, you really are very smart... — Klein gave an almost disconcerted smile, she was really a lot like him.

_ I don't think we need to be so extreme... Maybe we should just have a quick talk if she comes to us. Well, fainting should only be in case the situation gets too... — Klein stopped talking abruptly.

He immediately changed the subject as if he had never mentioned it. Klein directed the subject to the strange man upstairs they had bumped into.

— Really? I think it would be easier for him to fly away than to actually be able to think normally... No, even thinking would be impossible. — He formulated a conversation in the same instant.

Melissa didn't hesitate to join in the act, there was even a hint of intrigue in her voice:

— I've never seen a person talk so much nonsense in my life. If I see anyone else like that in front of me, I'll drag them to the banks of the Khoy River and drown them right there!

_ Who's going to drown who? — Benson, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, asked with apparent confusion.

— Benson! We need to tell you something. — Klein immediately turned around with a very thoughtful look.

Benson raised an eyebrow.

— I see you and Melissa almost cursing someone with insults, what happened in the minutes I wasn't here? Did you get into trouble again? — He was on the verge of bursting out laughing.

What kind of view do you have of us? — Klein was speechless, completely stunned.