Part 2 The Faceless Man Chapter 7 Klein’s Ritual of Sacrifice
Trying? “Justice,” Audrey said with a moment of excitement, nodding haughtily and gracefully:
”I’d be happy to cooperate.”
As a “spectator”, she clearly remembered that Mr. “Fool” had only used “try” in two things, one was to pull himself and the “inverted hanged man” into this mysterious space. “The first was when he pulled himself and the Hanged Man into this mysterious space, and the second was the time he gave his name and let the two of them try to pray, and the results were successful enough to reveal some of the essence of k.
What will be the attempt this time? It was really something to look forward to! Audrey restrained her impatience and tried to be a competent “spectator”.
Try …… “Hangman” Alger’s spirit suddenly tightened, wary of the “Fool’s” proposal.
What does k want to do, and what is k’s real purpose? Will this be good or bad for me? Thoughts came and went, and Alger’s mind was filled with the rapidly decaying image of “Hurricane General” Zillinger’s death.
In the end, he lowered his head and replied obediently:
”Your wishes are my expectations.”
Next to him, Derek “The Sun” looked at “The Inverted Man” and then at “Justice”, wondering why they were so sensitive to the so-called “attempt”. ” was so sensitive.
Klein’s fingers tapping the edge of the long bronze table paused and smiled:
”The attempt will make your dealings simple and safe, and sufficiently secretive.”
He tilted his head slightly to look at the “Inverted Man” and said, not too quickly:
”Do you remember the ritual of sacrifice that ‘Sun’ described?”
Klein intentionally mentioned this matter to show his own candor, making it difficult for the members of the Tarot Club to think that the sacrifice ceremony he was about to offer came from the description of “The Sun”, and that he had gone through all the trouble of deceiving a template for the sacrifice ceremony.
”Remember, I’ve had my usual exposure to that.” Alger replied honestly, but his heart fluttered in his chest.
Since the orthodox gods rarely responded to similar rituals, the word “sacrifice” had often been equated with evil gods and demons since the Fifth Age!
Thinking of the terrible consequences that might result from this, the “upside-down man” felt that he was walking on the edge of the abyss, and if he was not careful, he would fall down, be corrupted, and be devoured.
Klein followed the predetermined plan without going into too much explanation, nodding slightly:
”My idea is that you go through the ritual and sacrifice the extraordinary material to me, and I will bestow it to Miss ‘Justice’, and this form of transaction will be beneficial to both of you.”
It can still be like this? Audrey was instantly a bit dumbfounded, feeling that this was beyond the limits of her imagination.
However, she soon came to her senses and figured out the advantages of this way and the divine essence hidden underneath the seemingly simple operation!
Mr. “Fool” is great! Our Tarot Club is really different from other secretive organizations! We exchange supplies and materials in the way of the gods! Audrey was close to saying “Praise the Goddess” in her mind, but eventually changed it to praise Mr. Fool.
Alger grew more and more wary and went into a mode of calm reflection:
”Dear Mr. ‘Fool’, what do I need to do?”
He tried to analyze the true purpose of the “Fool” from the flow of the sacrifice ceremony.
Klein pressed lightly with his right hand:
”As I said, this is just an attempt and may not be successful, so your cooperation is needed.”
”First, you prepare an altar, it doesn’t have to be too complicated, it can be very simple, the only requirement is to inscribe or draw this symbol.”
As he spoke, a curtain of light appeared in front of him, on which was the mysterious pattern formed by the combination of the “Pupil-less Eye”, a symbol of concealment, and the “Twisted Threads”, a symbol of change, the pattern behind the Fool’s high-backed chair.
After experimenting with spiritual materials, Klein was sure that the sacrifice ceremony he designed could create an illusory gate on top of the gray fog, similar to the summoning gate, only that his own power could not build a stable passageway, and he was unable to use it to invoke the special characteristics of the mysterious space on top of the gray fog, so that the sacrifice could be completed.
Therefore, he has 90% certainty that the ceremony can finally succeed, the only question is, with ordinary materials containing spirituality can build a channel, or must be extraordinary materials, enough extraordinary materials?
Let Miss Justice and Mr. Hanging Man bear the consumption of this experiment. …… Anyway, they knew from the very beginning that the Tarot Club itself was a product of experimentation, and there were other attempts that were foreseeable in the future. Other attempts are predictable, and attempts inevitably fail, even the gods are no exception …… Klein decided to pass on the cost.
As the “Inverted Man”, “Justice” and “Sun” tried to memorize the symbol, Klein laughed softly and said:
”If you forget, you can pray to me, and then you will be able to ‘recall’ it.”
”Yes!” Audrey replied in a brisk tone.
With Mr. Fool, the ceremony was no longer a chore! she thought pleasantly.
Seeing the Inverted Man nodding along, Klein continued his description:
”Secondly, follow the normal procedure, but no additional burning of herbs, application of holy oils, no picking of a specific time, chanting of my name will suffice.”
”Remember, recite it in ancient Hermetic or Giant language, and accompany it with the following prayer statement:”
”Your faithful servant prays for Your watchful eye;”
”Praying that You will receive his devotion;”
”Praying that You will open the gates of the kingdom.”
”When the chanting is complete, combine the spiritually-containing material with the vibrations of the natural forces caused by the incantation and wait for my response.”
”If this step does not work, change the material containing the spirit to an extraordinary material and try again from the beginning.”
”The Inverted Man” Alger listened quietly, feeling that his earlier suspicions were probably close to the truth:
”The Fool is in a certain predicament!
The reason why K gave a tantalizing attempt, step by step, was that he wanted to use himself and “Justice” and “The Sun” to slowly break free, and at the end of the day, K might come down to the real world!
This is also the real purpose of k to pull people into this mysterious space, agreed to set up the Tarot Club!
Even without his previous guesses, after hearing about this bit by bit trial and error sacrifice ceremony and comparing it to previous attempts, Alger believed he would have come to the same conclusion.
The only thing he couldn’t understand was that Mr. Fool, with his powerful dependents, didn’t need to use himself or Justice or the Sun, as the dependents themselves could have made similar attempts. I’m sure there’s something here I don’t know yet.
There must be a secret that I don’t know yet, and I can’t guess it yet……. The attempt must be hidden enough, and k’s dependents are being watched by some beings? “The Inverted Man,” Alger floated for a moment.
Klein finished describing the ritual and asked in a low but slow voice:
”There must be a definite time for the sacrifice ritual, Mr. ‘Inverted Hangman’, when are you going to attempt it?”
This was different from answering prayers where the reply could be delayed, the stable channel created by the sacrifice ritual could only exist for a short period of time, so Klein had to wait above the gray mist in advance.
”For the time being, I only have this extraordinary material, the Seven-Colored Lizard Dragon Pituitary, and there are quite a few materials containing spirituality …… Mr. ‘Fool’, when the party is over, I’ll try the first one right away, and if it fails, I’ll go and collect other extraordinary materials, and after I have a harvest, I will inform you in a prayerful manner to determine a time.” As Alger spoke, he couldn’t help but glance at Ms. Justice.
As the “audience”, Audrey instantly understood his meaning and replied without hesitation:
”If you need to pay for additional extraordinary materials, I will compensate you afterward, well …… I can’t guarantee that it’s the specific material you wish to get.”
Worthy of being a rich “Justice” lady, the “Fool” Klein at the head of the bronze table couldn’t help but sigh and spoke with a low smile:
”Deal struck.”
He looked over at “Justice” and thoughtfully said:
”When Mr. ‘Inverted Hanging Man’ succeeds in his attempt, I will tell you about the ritual of requesting the bestowal.”
”Okay!” Audrey had great confidence in Mr. Fool’s abilities.
After answering, she had a sudden thought that the exchange of money seemed to be able to go through this method as well, of course, provided that the attempt was successful.
I don’t know if items that don’t have spiritual properties will work,…… I’ll ask Mr. Fool again when I succeed in my attempts,…… Audrey’s mouth curled up slightly as she thought of the beautiful scene ahead.
Seeing that the topic of sacrifice and bestowal had come to an end, she deliberated for a few seconds before speaking again:
”Mr. ‘Fool’, I have found two ladies suitable for our Tarot Society, they are both extraordinary, have their own circles and resources in Bakerland, and are secretive enough to have a good character, would you be willing to let them join the party?”
”Justice” wants to boost his power within the Tarot Society? This was the most instinctive thought of Alger “The Hanged Man”.
Derek “The Sun” was interested, and looked sideways at Mr. “The Fool”, waiting for K’s answer.
Klein was slightly embarrassed, in his previous thought, the members of the Tarot Club should not know each other, and then, each of them will develop a certain number of subordinates, forming a relatively tight organizational structure.
In this way, even if a certain member was exposed, captured, or psychic, it would not affect the Tarot Club too much.
However, the description of “Justice” just now coincidentally hit his weak point, he was hoping to know the extraordinary people who have different circles and resources in Bakerland, so as to find clues about the Secret Society and Lanlvus.
If you do it through “justice”, the other side will eventually have some reservations. …… But I’m not sure if chanting my name alone will allow me to pull them into the gray mist. …… In order to keep up the image, Klein didn’t think too much about it. image, Klein didn’t think too much and adopted a delaying approach.
He said flatly:
”This requires a certain amount of examination.”
”Ms. ‘Justice’, you let them know my name in a covert, non-revealing way without revealing yourself, and take an interest in it.”
Audrey responded excitedly when she saw that her proposal was close to being accepted:
”Yes, Mr. ‘Fool’!”
After a few more exchanges, the party ended, and the Sun, the Hanged Man, and Justice returned to their respective homes, while Klein remained above the gray mist, waiting for the sacrifice.