Rorsted Archipelago's capital, the "City of Generosity," Bayam.
Alger Wilson walked along the bustling street.
Having brought his ship back to port for repairs and finished his debriefing at the Church of Storms, he'd declined his crew's invitation to find entertainment at the "Red Windmill" and was now heading alone to the local underground market.
Since he'd already obtained the "Wind-blessed" Beyonder characteristic, Alger planned to try his luck at the market, searching for the remaining auxiliary materials.
Just thinking about his imminent advancement to Sequence 6 made his heart burn with excitement.
But just as Alger reached the market entrance and hadn't yet gone inside, boundless gray mist suddenly surged before his eyes.
Deep within the mist, a figure resembling [Temperance] maintained a prayer posture, telling The Fool of his needs.
[Temperance] is in the Sonia Sea?
After listening, Alger's heart lurched violently. He nearly changed expression right there on the crowded street.
That was the [Blood Reverend], an extremely dangerous person identified by the royal family.
Wherever he went, he stirred up storms of blood. And what kind of insane request was this? To directly buy a ship and sacrifice it to his location?
Ships are so big, can they even be sacrificed successfully!
"If it's inconvenient for you, you may refuse."
Mr. Fool's voice came from above the gray mist, sounding so lofty and profound.
"Huff..."
Alger took a deep breath and steadied himself.
He had to admit that [Temperance] being at sea was an established fact.
What he could do was use this situation to maximize his own interests.
"Respected Mr. Fool, please tell [Temperance] that I can help him, but he needs to pay me a commission of 300 pounds for this."
He said respectfully in his mind.
Bayam was one of the most prosperous islands in the Sonia Sea, with countless ships coming and going.
Whether second-hand ships of dubious origin or newly built sailing vessels from the shipyards, everything was available.
As a pirate captain, he had access to many such channels.
"I understand."
Mr. Fool said flatly.
The gray mist quickly withdrew, and the bustling market appeared before Alger once more. This time, however, his expression wasn't as relaxed as before.
---
Sea of Ruins, on an unknown island.
After some time, Silas received the information relayed back by The Fool:
[Justice] could help him order a ship, but due to her position, it would be difficult to explain why she'd buy a ship without reason, and even harder to sacrifice it.
[The World] was currently sailing at sea and couldn't buy a ship.
Fortunately, [The Hanged Man] had both the channels and the availability to help, but would charge a 300-pound commission.
"Respected Mr. Fool, please tell [The Hanged Man] that I accept his terms.
Please have him buy me a sailing vessel that can accommodate about ten people, and also bring some sailing instruction manuals."
He said through the virtual persona created by Ma'am M.
After ending his prayer, Silas looked at Anderson, who was waiting nervously nearby, and smiled.
"Good news. The ship should arrive in a while. When it does, you'll perform the ritual."
"Alright."
Anderson said, half happy and half worried.
The happiness was naturally because there was news of the ship.
The worry was due to his concerns about performing the ritual himself.
"So, about the misfortune on me, do you have any ideas?"
He asked expectantly.
"I can try."
Silas said.
Thanks to the knowledge in the Secrets Suppliant potion, he had some understanding of Ouroboros's abilities, but there was still a huge gap between that and actually removing the misfortune.
However, he had another method.
Silas instinctively raised the "Revolver of Luck," looking at the peculiar holy emblem engraved on the gun's handle.
That was the pattern left by a high-sequence Beyonder he'd accidentally encountered during Duke Negan's assassination.
The latter was currently hiding inside an ordinary pregnant woman.
Based on the fact that the other party could manipulate fate and that the holy emblem's shape was similar to Ouroboros's, Silas boldly judged that He had a high probability of also being a Snake of Mercury!
Especially after the intelligence Miss Sharron had provided, he became even more certain of this view.
The misfortune brought by one Snake of Mercury might be eliminated by another Snake of Mercury! He could pray to Him and thus obtain a solution!
The only question was, with only a holy emblem and no knowledge of the other party's honorific name, how could he establish contact?
Beyonders of other pathways might feel helpless, but for a Secrets Suppliant specialized in rituals, this was completely manageable.
Under Anderson's gaze, Silas drew out his silver ritual dagger. Then he pulled up his sleeve and began carving that holy emblem onto his own skin.
"Hiss..."
He heard the Hunter gasp, knowing the other was startled by his actions.
But he couldn't be bothered to explain. He lowered his head and continued carving until the emblem's pattern was completely finished.
He deliberately didn't activate his healing ability, instead letting blood seep from the wound where the holy emblem was carved.
Blood was a medium rich in spirituality.
Next, Silas lit two candles and planted them separately in the beach sand, placing his wounded arm in the middle.
The candle in front represented himself, the distant candle represented that Snake of Mercury, and the bloody holy emblem in between was the channel connecting both sides.
The blood belonged to Silas, the holy emblem belonged to the other party.
Silas stared at the holy emblem, chanting in a low voice, forcibly using this method to concentrate his mind and enter a dream-like meditative state.
This was a flexible application of the "Mysticism Ritual." If the other party was also willing to respond, they would meet in the dream.
Silas gradually sank into the dream.
He suddenly became lucid, and was quite certain he was asleep.
All around him was desolate wilderness, with a black tower rising abruptly.
Is that guy inside the spire?
Silas thought to himself, walking toward the pitch-black tower and quickly entering it.
The first floor of the tower was unexpectedly spacious, with nothing inside. Silas climbed the spiral staircase upward, planning to check the top of the tower.
However, the moment Silas looked up, he suddenly froze, then stood completely still.
Inside the hollow interior of the tower was an unimaginably enormous silver-white serpent.
The giant serpent had no physical scales.
Its entire body was covered in dense patterns and symbols that ultimately formed interconnected wheels.
The wheels at the serpent's tail and head each had only half, looking quite uncoordinated.
But if the silver-white serpent could bite its own tail, the wheel would be complete.
At this moment, the giant serpent was clinging to the inside of the tower, looking down.
Silas's head was only a dozen centimeters from its enormous mouth, which naturally gave him quite a fright.
But after calming down, he realized the giant serpent made no further moves. It simply watched him with crimson eyes, seemingly waiting for him to speak.
Silas thought for a moment, then spoke directly:
"Excuse me, how can I eliminate the curse of misfortune brought by Ouroboros's mural?"