Part 2 The Faceless Man Chapter 96 Two against One
A certain illusory feeling passed away, and Klein saw the strange candle he held in his hand again, saw its pitch-black wick and pale flame.
The floor that had just been shattered by the Knight of Dawn, the destroyed chairs, and the chopped off one of the candles were restored to their pre-battle state, and it was impossible to see where any damage had been sustained.
Bishop Utrafsky, who had originally stood on the opposite side of the room, had at some point sat down in the first row of chairs, and was crouching forward with his back bent, his head buried, and his hands clasped tightly over his temples on both sides.
Tick!
Tick-tock!
Sweat slid down his face and dipped away at his feet, where the ground had been moistened to a large extent.
Feeling that the strange candle had been snuffed out by Klein, Utravski winced violently and raised his head in the other man’s gaze.
His slightly cloudy eyes were streaked with tears, and traces of weeping crisscrossed his much wrinkled face.
But his eyes were wistful, joyful, and clear.
If the “giant” bishop had seemed tall and heavy before, now he was only physically heavy, no longer spiritually heavy.
It was as if Klein had seen a newborn baby.
Those tears were the proof of a new birth.
The corners of Father Utravski’s mouth hooked up a little, smiling kindly:
”You are much more powerful than I expected.”
”No, it’s only because I had enough knowledge in advance to prepare accordingly, whereas in the past you not only didn’t know what your opponent was good at, but you were also weakened quite a bit. If I were to do such a fight with you in the real world, all I would be thinking about would be how to escape.” Klein replied frankly.
A prepared “magician” and an unprepared “magician” are very different concepts …… he silently added in his heart.
Bishop Utravsky did not dwell on this issue, and said with a sense of relief in his body:
”Thank you, my friend.”
”As promised, I will give you the recipe for the ‘Apothecary’, in addition to a magical item.”
As he spoke, he produced an item that resembled a combination of a needle, hose, and container from the coat pocket of his brown clerical uniform.
”You have two choices, this is one of them, I didn’t know its name when I got it, and I haven’t thought of naming it afterward, you’ll be able to use it to draw a tube of blood, your own blood, and wait until the critical moment, then infuse it back in, in this way, your fatigue will disappear, your illnesses and injuries will be alleviated, and all your qualities, such as strength, speed, and balance, will be briefly but great improvement.” Bishop Utravski pointed to the item in his hand and said.
”So, what about its limitations and pitfalls?” Klein asked rationally in return.
Fr. Utrafsky glanced at the mysteriously patterned needle and hose and elaborated:
”After drawing out that tube of blood, you will be weak for twelve whole hours, and the return infusion will not produce any effect during these twelve hours, of course, the specific time limit is not so precise, and it increases or decreases according to the individual’s physique and state, in addition, it’s best not to use it too often, not more than once a week, otherwise the returned blood, in addition to bringing strength, will also cause you to lose your mind for a short period of time , and the very short intervals between blood draws will also make weakness your characteristic.”
”Aside from that, it has the added problem that once carried around for more than half an hour, you will become somewhat neurotic.”
Fortunately, Bishop Utravski did not draw blood beforehand, otherwise, the past he was able to use this to return to losing, my hope of winning will become very, very low …… Klein was the first to flash such a thought.
Immediately, he frowned slightly, quite worried about the negative effects of that magical item.
Whether it was losing one’s mind for a short period of time, or being weak for twelve hours, as well as becoming a bit neurotic, they were all hidden dangers that didn’t seem to be too much of a problem, but Klein, who had seen out-of-control people and listened to the ravings of the Evil God, believed that the extraordinary’s mental state was very important, and that it was quite easy for it to cause out-of-control phenomena if it operated at a low point for a long period of time, or if it appeared to have frequent anomalies, even if that extraordinary mastered the playing method!
”What about the second option?” Klein said after two seconds of silence.
Bishop Utrafsky pulled out an anciently shaped brass-colored key from his other coat pocket and smiled:
”It’s called the ‘Universal Key’, and it can help you open all locks that don’t contain mystical power, as well as a small portion of locks with transcendental effects attached to them, and where there are no locks or doors, it can still open a passageway that doesn’t belong to reality, huh, provided that there are no limitations of extraordinary power, and the barrier isn’t not too thick.”
”Its spirituality is completely internalized, and when it is not in use, it is difficult for the extraordinary to see how it differs from an ordinary key.”
Father Utravski stood up again, leaving Klein with no choice but to look up.
The “giant” bishop took a step forward, came to the front of the wall on one side of the church hall, and pressed the “universal key” against the masonry.
He gently twisted it, and the whole person was like entering into the water, and then rippled, penetrated the wall, and went to the outside.
Immediately afterward, Bishop Utravski returned to the church hall in the same manner, returning to Klein’s line of sight.
”Have you figured out which magical item to choose?” The tall priest asked, looking down.
”Well, what is the hidden danger of the ‘master key’?” Klein asked with deliberation.
Bishop Utrafsky smiled gently:
”Those who carry it will occasionally get lost.”
”According to others, one should get lost randomly.”
Getting lost? I’m a soothsayer with psychic intuition …… Klein muttered, his heart gradually coming to a decision.
After a few seconds, he spoke:
”I want the ‘Universal Key’.”
He didn’t want to have problems with his mental state and accumulate the risk of losing control.
Unfortunately, ah, what I want most is still that strange candle …… similar to the deepest part of the mind, the lowest level of the dream realm, which is equivalent to my home ground …… He sighed in his heart.
”Good.” Bishop Utrafsky handed Klein the antique brass key in exchange for the strange candle wrapped in human skin.
As Klein scrutinized the magical item, he pointed back and said:
”The apothecary’s formula is in the room, I’ll fetch it while you wait here for a moment.”
Klein nodded in response and took the opportunity of Bishop Utrafsky’s figure disappearing from the hall to pull out a 1p coin and divined whether the other party had lied about the “master key”.
After receiving an acceptable answer, he went to the wall in front of the row of candles and pressed the ancient brass key against the hard barrier.
Infusing it with spirituality and twisting the key, a sudden trance passed before Klein’s eyes, which swirled into clarity.
This time, there were no more burning candles, no more neat seats and straight walls within his sight, only withered dead grass and a muddy field with a little trash, and to the side and outward, there stood a gas street lamp.
”It’s really out.” Klein smiled and nodded, turned his body around, and used the “master key” once again, successfully returning to the church hall.
After another ten seconds or so of waiting, Utravski entered with heavy feet, holding a roll of tawny parchment.
”You may seek an appraisal; if there is a problem, I am always at the Church of the Harvest.” The “Giant” bishop handed Klein the recipe for “Apothecary”.
Main ingredients: horn of adult unicorn Pegasus, 3 grams of venom crystals from Crown Jellyfish …… Klein unfolded and scanned it, responding with a smile:
”I will go and confirm the authenticity.”
For example, to Divination Above the Gray Mist …… he added in his mind.
Bishop Utrafsky nodded gently, stopped speaking, and turned around and walked to the “Holy Emblem of Life” of Mother Goddess of the Earth.
He stretched out his arms and chanted in a low voice:
”Thank you, Source of Life!”
”Praise to you, Mother of all!”
……
Klein put away the “Universal Key” and the “Apothecary” formula, and half-jokingly remarked after Utravski stopped:
”Could it be that my coming was arranged by Mother Earth Goddess?”
What else would you be thanking K for? Klein, the pseudo-Dark Goddess devotee, inwardly tsked.
”Yes, it was all the Mother Goddess’s arrangement, otherwise, the matter of me seeking help wouldn’t have reached your ears, and I wouldn’t have come to Berkland and harvested that ‘Nightmare Candle of the Heart’.” Bishop Utravski smiled gently, without a hint of anger.
Complete and self-consistent believer’s logic, but …… Klein suddenly felt unable to communicate with the other party, pressed his hand to his chest, and made a salute, saying:
”Thank you for your generosity, I should take my leave.”
He straightened his body and flew backward, quickly disappearing into the church hall and disappearing into the Moonflower Street.
Ten minutes later, he saw the golden-colored facade of the Harvest Church again from the other direction, and the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch.
”I can’t go back without divination?” He muttered silently to himself, tempted to stubbornly rely on himself to overcome the matter of being lost.
But his hand was faster than his voice, having already snapped off the branches of a street tree to make a makeshift divination staff.
The “staff method” can be used to find people as well as objects and paths!
This time, Klein finally returned home successfully, and went to the gray fog to confirm the authenticity of the formula and the size of the hidden danger of the “master key”.
……
The next day, Sunday morning.
Klein woke up after breakfast, took out a pen and paper, wrote a letter to Eisinger Stanton, asking him to ask the police department for help in confirming the status of several suspects in the serial murder case four years ago – the target of that case was a single prostitute with a child.
After folding the letterhead and stuffing it into an envelope, Klein affixed a black stamp with a one-penny denomination, dressed, grabbed his hat and cane, and walked out his front door, ready to drop it off at the mailbox at the end of the street.
At that moment he saw Mrs. Starling Sommer, next door, coming out with her husband, Mr. Luke, in full dress.
In front of their door a hired carriage had been parked.
”Good morning, so early for dinner?” Klein asked with slight surprise.
Luke laughed:
”Not really to the feast, more to help out.”
Mrs. Starling added with a slight lift of her chin:
”Mary has successfully entered the Kingdom’s Air Pollution Investigation Committee, and there will be a grand ball tonight, so we’ll have to go early to help.”
Mrs. Mary’s hope is reached? Awesome ah …… Klein sighed with emotion and spoke with a smile:
”Both of you, congratulate Mrs. Mary for me.”
Luke Sommer nodded and said:
”You haven’t read this morning’s newspaper, right? It has published the full membership of the Air Pollution Investigation Committee.”
”The chairman of the committee is Sir Des Shaw and the chief secretary is Mr. Hibbert Hall.”