Inside the private room.
Blood covered the floor. A female corpse lay in the middle, with a pentagram drawn on her body. Each of its five points contained a symbol that seemed to radiate mystery.
No matter how you looked at it, it had an evil feel to it.
If this doesn't work, I'll be branded not only a murderer but a cultist too...
Sulu's face was stony as he solemnly chanted the incantation in Ancient Hebraic:
"I beseech the favor of darkness..."
"I channel the power of the moon..."
"O spirits wandering in the darkness... In the name of me, the caster, Sulu Portley, I summon you to return! Awaken!!!"
Ancient Hebraic was the common tongue of the supernatural world, and its tones were strange.
Combined with the low, hoarse incantation, they echoed all around, creating a terrifying atmosphere.
The candle on the table suddenly dimmed. Beatrice's body on the floor seemed to move, though perhaps nothing had happened at all.
"It failed!"
Sulu's head throbbed, and his expression turned grave.
He wasn't even a supernatural being, and this skill was low-level. Failure was only to be expected.
Thud, thud!
Worse still, footsteps were already approaching along the corridor outside.
If I were the mastermind, I'd definitely send someone over to catch them in the act... Well, not quite, but it's the same idea. There isn't much time.
Sulu endured his nausea and headache and recited the incantation again.
Since he'd already started, he had to see it through. There was a stubborn streak in his nature.
And as he grew more practiced, at least he could recite the incantation smoothly now, without stumbling over his words.
Once he found his rhythm, the notes he uttered grew increasingly ethereal, like a hymn from the Underworld.
"Sir? Do you need any help?"
The strange activity in the room had finally attracted attention. A waiter called out from outside the door.
Sulu's head grew heavier. He was down to the final line.
Oh no... I'm afraid it's going to fail again!
A premonition immediately rose in his heart.
Outside, the calls grew more urgent, turning into pounding on the door. They were almost about to break it down.
"...In the name of me, the caster, Sulu Portley... I command you... Awaken!"
Sulu's head was spinning as he uttered the final line of the incantation.
For some reason, as he mumbled those last words, his voice grew faint, and it seemed as if another voice had mingled with it.
As soon as that voice joined in, the pentagram on the ground flashed with a crimson glow.
"It worked!"
Sulu jolted, feeling his mind suddenly clear. "What's going on? I thought it was about to fail! That last voice seemed to have another one mixed in..."
His expression changed in an instant.
Because at the end of the ritual, he seemed to hear another being's mutter: "In the name of the moon!"
Buzz!
But there was no way to undo it now.
The pentagram on Beatrice's body glowed blood-red, then suddenly blazed bright.
Sulu groaned and nearly collapsed to the floor. "Damn it!"
At that moment, he understood something else: he really wasn't a supernatural being!
Although the spell had succeeded, he had no corresponding "mana bar," so it had drained his life force instead!
The 0.9 in the Constitution column of his Attribute Panel plummeted to 0.6 in an instant!
For Sulu, it felt as if a great deal of blood and bone had been ripped from him in a flash. His face turned deathly pale, and he slumped onto the sofa.
Buzz, buzz!
He forced his eyes open and saw that the pool of blood on the floor seemed to have come alive. It writhed and flowed back into Beatrice's chest.
Once all the blood had returned, the wound healed by itself, as if she had never been stabbed.
At the end of the ritual, the pentagram on Beatrice's body rapidly shrank, settling on her forehead as though it had become some kind of mark.
A flash of light, and the mark vanished, sinking into her skin.
Yet Sulu could feel his mind connected to another being, like a rope with a little puppy tugging at the other end.
"It worked!"
Struggling, he gave an order: "Stand up!"
Beatrice's body moved, then rose from the floor. Her expression was blank, and her eyes shifted to fix on him.
This is kind of creepy!
Sulu hurriedly tidied himself up, then opened the door that was still being pounded on, his face full of impatience. "What is it?"
"Uh..."
The waiter outside, who had been looking anxious, nearly stumbled and fell flat on his face. He quickly glanced inside.
Right, a man and a woman, both disheveled. The man was pale. Just how much stamina had he used up?
The waiter looked a little awkward, but still cleared his throat and asked, "Sir, miss, is there anything you need?"
"N...o..."
Sulu had just thought about opening his mouth when a woman's voice came from behind him. It was Beatrice—or rather, the Corpse Princess!
"Sorry for the interruption!"
The waiter smiled awkwardly and hurriedly closed the door.
Sulu turned around, feeling as if he'd seen a ghost. "Shit! You can talk?"
A Corpse Princess was the lowest kind of servant. Put simply, it was a corpse under someone's control, like a puppet in a circus. It was simply impossible for one to speak.
Perhaps masters of Black Sorcery could manage it, but Sulu certainly couldn't!
All supernatural rituals are extremely dangerous, because you never know where they'll ultimately lead... Especially those related to darkness. There's a high chance they'll produce a truly terrifying result...
A piece of Witch Hunting Knowledge surfaced in his mind, making Sulu shudder.
He studied Beatrice. For some reason, he felt that after becoming a Corpse Princess, Beatrice's skin was even paler and more luminous, giving her the air of an icy beauty.
"Stand up, sit down, reach out, lift your leg... Speak... Huh? Why did you stop?"
He tested her again and found that the Corpse Princess he'd created had definitely undergone some kind of mutation. She wasn't a simple marionette; she could follow his orders with a degree of intelligence.
Looks like... I've made something strange! If a ritual mutates, there's a ninety-nine percent chance of a bad result!
"Forget it!"
Sulu checked the private room and saw that the blood flowing back earlier had been a huge help. Apart from being somewhat messy, not a drop of blood remained. Even the blood on his and Beatrice's clothes had returned to the corpse.
He immediately put on his coat and ordered Beatrice to follow behind him. Then they left the private room, one after the other.
First, I'll go somewhere crowded and walk around, then leave this place—far away!
Sulu and Beatrice parted ways as if they were a couple, while he secretly gave her an order.
The unspoken meaning of the order was: Make me an alibi, then go die far away.
An ordinary Corpse Princess would "power down" and collapse if it got too far from its caster, but this one was clearly different.
Because of the mutated Corpse Princess's unpredictability, Sulu had no desire to study her. He just wanted to stay as far away from trouble as possible.
I'm sorry, Beatrice. May your soul rest in peace!
Watching her walk away, Sulu breathed a sigh of relief, tightened his clothes, and prepared to find a crowded place to calm down and establish an alibi.
This matter... won't end here...
Damn it... How did my date turn into this? That waiter's smile really pissed me off. Sure, there was blood in the private room, but that's not how I wanted it, you bastard!
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