A faint light shone through the narrow stained-glass window high up, making the darkness in Morse Church seem a little more visible.
Klein placed his hat on his knees, leaned his legs against his cane, and sat quietly in the first row of chairs on the left side of the aisle, looking straight ahead at the altar.
There was no statue there, only a huge dark sigil, with a deep black background and brilliant embellishments, surrounded by exactly half of the crimson moon.
On the wall behind the sigil, there were one after another holes, allowing the outside sunlight to shine in, condensing into pure, miniature highlights, which connected with the nearly dark environment around them, transforming into the lofty starry sky.
No matter whether it was the Goddess of Night, the Eternal Sun, or the Lord of Storms, all the orthodox deities had not left specific images for worship; what could be offered and worshipped were only their symbols... This seemed to be another manifestation of "not looking directly at the gods"... Klein allowed his thoughts to wander, not urgently seizing the opportunity to create the "Solar Flame Spell" while alone guarding the seal "3-0782".
He believed that such a thing must be done carefully, patiently, and with anticipation. Within the first dozen minutes, Leonard and Cohenli might come in to remind of certain precautions.
In the extremely quiet atmosphere, time passed quickly. Suddenly, Klein came to his senses, took out a silver pocket watch with vine patterns, snapped it open, and glanced at it.
It's been twenty minutes... He whispered silently, placed the half-height silk hat and the black silver-handled cane aside, and stood up to walk to the relatively secluded corner near the altar.
He first faced the side of the altar, but as soon as he saw the huge dark sigil and the sacred scene resembling a projection of the night sky, he felt inexplicably uneasy and uncomfortable, so he turned around and faced away from the altar.
Then, Klein took off the seal "3-0782" worn on the inside of his black tailcoat, bent down, and placed this dark golden ancient emblem on the ground.
After looking at the abstract "sun" symbol, Klein took out a small section of mixed sandalwood candles, placed it directly below the seal "3-0782".
This was the binary ritual method he learned from "Eternal Sun": using items closely related to the deities to directly symbolize them, and using candles to represent himself.
Taking a breath to ease the slightly tense mood, Klein took out the items needed for the ritual one by one, including a carving knife, two thin gold sheets, the mixed extract of "sun" scents with black edges, gold-edged sun flowers, white-edged sun flowers, and rosemary powder.
After all this, Klein skillfully used the ritual silver dagger to guide the spiritual flow, circling the simple "altar" and creating an intangible, sealed wall.
He crouched down, placed the silver dagger, extended his right hand, and with the friction of the spirit, ignited the symbol of himself, the candle.
In the flickering and dim yellow light, Klein picked up the "sun" scent, dropped a drop onto the candle flame.
Suddenly, a mist of illusion spread, carrying a hint of the smell of sunlight.
After burning the powder of gold sandalwood and rosemary, Klein took out the carving knife and gold sheets, stood up, took a step back, and recited in ancient Hermes language:
"The blood of the Eternal Sun."
"You are the unextinguishable light, the embodiment of order, the god of contract, the guardian of commerce." ...
The Unfading Light, the Avatar of Order, the God of Contract, the Guardian of Commerce, are all part of the name "Eternal Flame". Without the prefix "Eternal Flame's Blood", the ritual would require a divine response to proceed. In that case, Klein suspected that "Eternal Flame" would recognize him as the insolent one who dared to look directly at it. At that time, Leonard and Cohenli would only see a pile of black ashes.
Moreover, the ritual must be conducted in the ancient Hermes language, a sacrificial language directly derived from nature. Only this unguarded but highly effective language can allow the incantation to bypass "Eternal Flame" and point to "The Variant Sun Emblem".
At the same time, since it is stealing the power of the deity, Klein cannot predict in advance whether the matter will go smoothly. He believes that it will bring him face-to-face with the deity again, so he can only hold his breath and carefully recite the subsequent incantations:
"I pray to you;"
"Pray to bestow upon me power;"
"Bestow upon me the power to complete the Sun Flame Spell."
"Eternal Flame's Blood, please transfer your power to my spell..."
"Golden Hand柑, the herb belonging to the domain of the Sun, please transfer your power to my spell..."
...
As the incantation drew to its end, Klein suddenly felt something brightening before his eyes.
The dark golden, ancient emblem burst into a blazing light, like the sun descending upon the earth.
Klein immediately found himself enveloped in extreme heat, his hair quickly becoming scorched, as if on the verge of burning.
His feet seemed to be bare, standing on the yellow sand that had been scorched by the midday sun, while his face and body were repeatedly washed and polished by the swirling hot winds from all directions.
In that instant, he felt he had to do something, to channel and express that burning power, otherwise, he would become a human candle.
Without needing to think, Klein raised his hands and, with his thoughts boiling like a hot porridge, relying on the cooperation of his spirit and the wind, following the instinctive memory and the guidance of the ritual, began to draw symbolic symbols, corresponding spiritual numbers, magical identifiers, and ancient incantations on the front and back of the gold sheet with a carving knife.
Outside the church, Leonard was standing in the shadows, avoiding the direct sunlight of the afternoon.
Suddenly, he noticed that the sunlight had intensified, just like the hottest days of early July.
He narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky, seeing that the blue "curtain" was cloudless and free of dust, so clear that it was breathtaking.
"Strange weather." Cohenli on the other side noticed the change in the sunlight as well.
Leonard was about to chuckle in response when he suddenly tilted his head to the side.
His eyebrows slightly furrowed, and his gaze surveyed the church.
"Fortunately, Rosanne isn't here. Otherwise, she would complain that the sun has darkened her skin." Leonard withdrew his gaze and smiled.
The intense sunlight gradually dimmed after a few minutes, and everything returned to its original state.
Inside the church, Klein's carving knife was making the final stroke.
As the magic symbol representing "light" was completed, the spirituality on both sides of the gold sheet suddenly connected as one, and was contained to the innermost part of the metal.
No, this was even closer to divinity... Klein finally got rid of the scorching and intense heat, and calmly examined the two "Sun Flame Charms" in his hand.
The golden color on the surface of the charms had become dim, the patterns were ancient and complex, and a warm and moist feeling was gradually seeping out, penetrating Klein's skin.
"Good, I finally have a rather powerful trump card." Klein murmured silently.
He set the opening incantation for the "Sun Flame Charms" in ancient Hermes language as "Light".
I want light, and there will be light... He self-mocked and put the "Sun Flame Charms" in another pocket, not placing them together with the "Sleeping", "Requiem", and "Dream" charms, as that would affect the latter and reduce the duration for which their effects could be maintained.
"Well, the power of 'Sun Flame Charms' can be preserved for at least a year, or even longer." Klein gathered his thoughts and looked at the "Mutated Sun Holy Emblem" on the ground.
Seeing that its surface had not changed, the warm and pure feeling was still assimilating the surroundings, and Klein let out a sigh of relief, quickly completing the ritual's conclusion and removing the spiritual barrier.
Until this moment, he had the time to check himself, and found that his undershirt was almost soaked through, his face was covered in sweat, and the edges of his hair were slightly curled.
Fortunately, fortunately... Klein sighed in relief, gathered his belongings, and returned to his original seat, falling asleep sitting down until being awakened by the footsteps.
He suddenly opened his eyes, instinctively touched the "Sun Flame Charms", confirming if it was still there.
"Your condition isn't too good?" Leonard who entered the church asked.
Klein rubbed the corners of his forehead and stood up, smiling:
"Because it's almost at the limit."
He took out the silver pocket watch, looked at it, and then said: "Just right. It's your turn to guard the seal object '3-0782'."
Before he finished speaking, Klein took off the "Mutated Sun Holy Emblem" and calmly handed it to Leonard. After watching him walk out of the church, Leonard regained his serious and composed demeanor and carefully examined the seal "3-0782". His expression gradually became confused, revealing obvious confusion.
After taking turns to guard, the three night shift workers set off on their return journey.
Before this, they had asked the priest Smyle to keep an eye on the situation in the town at all times. If any suspected ghostly incidents occurred again, they were to send an urgent telegram to the Church of Saint Selina immediately.
At 7:20 p.m., they finally arrived at Zotlan Street and handed over the seal "3-0782".
After confirming that the captain had not noticed anything unusual, Klein left the Black Thorn Security Company in a cheerful mood and returned home before 8 o'clock.
He took out the key and opened the door. Suddenly, he saw a strange figure.
This was a girl clearly under the age of twenty, wearing an old grayish-white dress, diligently cleaning the restaurant.
She had black hair and brown eyes. Her eyes were small and her nose was not prominent. Her features were very ordinary. Who? Klein was momentarily stunned, but then he realized that this might be a maid who came to do some household chores.
At this moment, Benson lowered the newspaper and looked at his brother, smiling and speaking:
"Companies that don't allow their employees to leave work on time are always repulsive."
"But the salary it offers can heal this wound," Klein replied with a smile.
When the 300 pounds for "Justice" Miss was received, he informed Benson and Melissa of the matter, telling them not to worry too much about the family's financial situation... Klein thought as he steadied his walking stick, took off his hat, walked towards the living room, and lowered his voice:
"Have you made a decision?"
He had divined with the information of the three maidservants yesterday and got a conclusion that was all suitable. So he handed over the decision-making power to his brother and sister.
"Yes, Bella, weekly salary of 5 shillings. She is very willing and has the ability to learn cooking. She hopes to become a domestic cook in the future, and then her weekly salary will double. Her father is a worker at the Steel Union Factory in Tinggen City, and her mother is a laundry worker." Benson replied with a light laugh. "Of course, another reason why I and Melissa made the decision was that the other two maids were all believers in the Storm Lord, and only she was a devotee of the Goddess. Personally, I don't reject the believers of the Storm Lord, but Melissa is a little reluctant."
Melissa's attitude wasn't dislike. A more accurate description would be that she felt sorry for her and was angry at her not fighting back. Yes, it's what Lu Xun said! Klein recalled his sister's consistent behavior and a smile appeared on his face.
Benson didn't say any more, put down the newspaper, stood up and said:
"Since you have returned, let's enjoy dinner." ...
The next day, Klein entered Blackthorn Security Company in a very good mood.
"Good morning," Rosan said, glancing around. "Old Neil is ill. How about we go and visit him at noon?"
"Old Neil is ill?" Klein asked in surprise.
Could it be that the purgative ritual caused severe constipation?
Well, judging from his vague knowledge of "the acting method", it's possible that he suddenly fell ill... As people get older, if their mental state becomes fragile, their physical condition is likely to deteriorate as well...
Rosan nodded vigorously and said:
"Yes, someone has asked the captain to take a leave on his behalf."
Klein nodded slightly and said: "Then let's go visit him at noon. By the way, Old Neil is also very pitiful. His wife passed away early, and his children don't know where they are busy in any city. After getting sick, he can only lie alone and helplessly at home."
He was recalling the first time he visited Old Neil's house.
When hearing Klein's lamentation, Rosan widened her eyes and asked in astonishment:
"When did Old Neil get married?"