"This is the fate of a blasphemer!"
Count Richard stood straight, his face full of disdain and contempt.
-----------------------------------
Born with a knack for showing off in public? Hastur really wanted to give Count Richard another slap, but after glancing at Count Richard's gradually reddening and swelling cheek, he gave up on the idea.
Is that it? Maric was a little dumbfounded. He always felt tonight's matter was handled too smoothly, he barely had to take any action at all!
He only knocked out those followers and didn't even cause harm to that spirit world creature.
That spirit world creature suddenly disappeared, isolated again by the barrier between the physical and spiritual realm.
When it tried to return, Hastur smashed the crystal ball with one strike, destroying the summoning coordinates.
When the contingency it left on Count Richard activated, Count Richard, through sheer willpower alone, ground its avatar out of existence, ending everything completely.
Hastur and Count Richard both played crucial roles in this battle, yet he himself had no particularly dazzling performance to show.
Clearly, among the three of them, he was the highest Sequence and the strongest Beyonder.
"In this kind of situation, what's the usual procedure?" Hastur looked at Maric, seeking his opinion.
"Send them to the Church for purification or purify them on the spot with fire."
Maric slowly approached Count Richard, his gaze unfriendly.
Tonight's matter had been resolved too quickly, making one suspect that spirit world creature might have left something behind on Count Richard.
"What are you trying to do?"
Count Richard subconsciously took a few steps back, covering his aching, swollen cheek and angrily said, "I haven't been polluted at all!"
Maric sneered, curling his lips, "Heh, if it's pollution you can detect yourself, can it even be called pollution?"
Faced with Maric's step-by-step pressing, Count Richard felt some fear but still said firmly, "I am a noble; you cannot treat me like this!"
"You held a ritual late at night, attempting to bring an evil existence into the world. That crime alone is enough to keep you in the Church's prison for life."
"The evil one is that toad, not my Lord!"
"Who knows?"
Unable to win the argument and afraid of Maric's current werewolf state, Count Richard thought to seek help from Hastur.
"Don't scare him for now. Let him first erase tonight's memories from these followers, lest they recall it in the future and easily become polluted."
Hastur, who had gradually recovered from his weakened state, stopped Maric from acting at this moment.
As a Spirit Medium, Count Richard was skilled in memory erasure.
He also knew this chaos was caused by himself, so he worked with extra effort.
Once all the followers had their memories of tonight erased, Maric allowed them to wake from unconsciousness.
Count Richard stepped forward, said a few words announcing that tonight's blessing had ended, and instructed them to pray devoutly at some orthodox Church afterward.
When everything was done, Hastur and Maric then discussed how to handle Count Richard.
Judging from Count Richard's condition, he should not have been polluted or parasitized, but such things are hard to conclude absolutely.
Perhaps when he sleeps tonight, he will still dream of his so-called Lord, and that spirit world creature could still influence him across realms.
The best solution would be to directly execute Count Richard and cut off all possibilities.
But after all, he was a Count, and they did not want to bear the charge of killing a noble.
So they decided on a milder approach, letting him go to a orthodox Church bishops for purification himself.
As long as he donated some money, they would gladly perform the purification ritual for believers.
Count Richard silently listened and finally said he would certainly comply after returning.
"How did a Count like you end up in this situation?" Hastur was curious about Count Richard's story.
"That goes back fifteen years ago." Count Richard sighed and began recounting how he stepped into the Beyonder world.
Fifteen years ago, Count Richard was still a handsome young man in his early twenties. Although he knew of Beyonders, he never thought of pursuing that path.
Until he kindly helped an old man who, before dying, asked him to arrange for his burial and take care of all posthumous matters.
To repay this great kindness, the old man gave him a booklet, which recorded three potion formulas, notes for each Sequence, and quite a bit of Beyonder knowledge.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, he gathered the ingredients, successfully became a Beyonder, a Sequence 9 Corpse Collector.
According to the booklet, to advance to a higher Sequence, one must learn to be a true corpse collector.
He did not fully understand these mystic theories, and as a noble, it was difficult for him to do taboo corpse-collecting work.
Only when he lived in a countryside estate did he occasionally visit nearby villages to practice corpse collecting.
It took about eight years before he experienced the peculiar feeling described in the booklet and drank the potion to become a Sequence 8 Gravedigger.
It was only last year that he became a Sequence 7 Spirit Medium.
It was when he became a Spirit Medium that he heard the voice of the Lord.
Following the Lord's guidance, he performed a ritual and summoned the Lord's messenger, that toad creature from the spirit world.
Then step by step, he developed new believers until he reached this point.
Regarding rituals, this was already the third large-scale ritual he had performed.
The first two rituals had no abnormalities, and both he and his believers could indeed feel the blessing from the Lord.
It was a very warm feeling, leaving them energized and full of vitality after every blessing, with even minor illnesses being cured.
Because of this, he had unwavering faith in the Lord.
"Have you ever considered that the one guiding you from the very beginning might have been that toad messenger?" Maric couldn't help asking.
"Impossible!"
Count Richard answered firmly and said disdainfully, "With such an ugly creature, how could it possibly be the Lord! It must have taken advantage of the Lord's inattention, trying to secretly steal the Lord's place!"
"Not only did it try to impersonate the Lord, but it also dared to mimic the Lord's voice! If I ever catch it, I'll skin it and roast it on a fire rack!"
Hastur narrowed his eyes.
Grilled bullfrog, sprinkled with lots of seasoning, it would definitely smell amazing.
Maric looked at Count Richard as if he were insane: "Do you even know what kind of existence a spirit world creature is?"
"Isn't a spirit world creature still just a creature? Can't it be killed?"
"…"
Maric found it difficult to continue talking with this nobleman who lacked mystical knowledge.
"Thank you both for your help tonight, so that the divine power of my Lord was not desecrated. I am willing to offer a token of gratitude within my means."
Before leaving, Count Richard mentioned a reward, which made Hastur and Maric's expressions soften considerably.
Knowing how to repay kindness, that's what makes a good noble.
Count Richard paused, then awkwardly said, "My understanding of the Beyonder world is limited, and I don't have any particularly special items, only some gold pounds and a bit of land."
"I know these things are rather vulgar, but they are the best rewards I can offer right now."
Some gold pounds? A bit of land?
Was this a new way of flaunting wealth?
Hastur sighed inwardly. Right now, he actually preferred these "vulgar" things; if Count Richard really gave him a Sealed Artifact, he wouldn't dare to use it.
Maric felt the same as Hastur. He lightly coughed and said, "We believe in the sincerity and generosity of a noble."
"Would a reward of 1000 gold pounds be acceptable?"
Count Richard looked uneasy, feeling that compared to his title, this reward seemed a bit cheap.
But he had spent a lot recently, coupled with poor plantation management that reduced his income compared to previous years, and he wasn't good at investing, so his available cash wasn't much.
1000 gold pounds, that meant 500 for each person, which was still a significant fortune.
Hastur and Maric didn't refuse this offered reward.
Only when Count Richard clarified that it was 1000 gold pounds each did they marvel, "Truly worthy of being a Count, so wealthy!"
Count Richard obviously didn't carry such money on him, so he invited Hastur and Maric to his manor as guests while also delivering the reward.
Hastur declined the invitation and instead let Maric accompany Count Richard back to the manor to fetch the money, while instructing Maric to be careful.
Tonight, his spirituality was nearly exhausted, and he didn't dare take any more risks.
After sending off Maric and Count Richard, Hastur prepared to return to the lake, rest, and wait for Maric's good news.
Carrying his large wooden club, he followed the same path back to the lake. He had just sat down to rest when a voice reached his ears.
"If something like this happens again, you can call me."
"Miss Sharon, you were nearby all night?"
"Mm."
In the hazy moonlight, Sharon floated down lightly from the treetop, landing across from Hastur, separated by a bonfire.
Even in such a dense forest, not a single speck of grass or leaf clung to her; she was perfectly clean and spotless.
"Alright, if I encounter this kind of dangerous situation again, I'll be sure to notify Miss Sharon in advance."
"No, I'm talking about opportunities to earn 1000 gold pounds."
"…" Hastur's gratitude faded, replaced by a complicated expression, so Miss Sharon was also very poor.
Sharon didn't speak further; she just glanced at Hastur quietly, then shifted her gaze to the bonfire.
The firelight reflected on her face, was it slightly red?
Hastur rubbed his eyes gently and looked again, only to see a calm, utterly expressionless face.
Was that just an illusion?
"Miss Sharon, were you secretly watching our backs tonight?" Hastur changed the topic.
"At first, yes. Later, I encountered a malicious Beyonder."
There were actually others spying from the shadows! Hastur frowned. "Did Miss Sharon identify that Beyonder?"
"He didn't clash with me, only faced off from a distance, and left after you resolved that spirit world creature."
After thinking for a moment, Sharon said calmly, "He should be from the Secret Supplicant's pathway, possibly from the Aurora Order."
Aurora Order? Could it really have been Mr. A?!
Hastur's heart skipped a beat, a chill running down his back.
Why would Mr. A appear here?
Was he specifically targeting me?
Or was this ritual itself connected to the Aurora Order?
A flood of question marks popped up in Hastur's mind, and the more he thought about it, the more fearful he felt.
If Miss Sharon hadn't appeared tonight, would Mr. A have attacked him?