[Death] Sequence 7 Potion Formula (7k)

[Death] Sequence 7 Potion Formula (7k)

Through the thin daylight, Ron could still clearly see what the corpse lying there in a nun's habit, sleeping coldly with a peaceful expression, truly looked like.

Seeing the familiar scars on her arm, as though they had been torn open by blades—

This was Idrila!

The gold-threaded white robe on her body was exactly the same as Idrila's. Even the "Glimmer Earring" that had once been used to release spirituality and condense Consecrated Dewdrop hung from her earlobe...

Even the extraordinary item was identical?

Ron stared at the corpse lying on the ground in astonishment and rubbed his eyes.

But the corpse was certainly not going to vanish just because he rubbed his eyes... "Idrila" still lay there coldly, as though she had never lived.

Ron was certain that in Magic Vision, whether it was the magical radiance on this Idrila corpse or anything else, everything seemed to indicate that she was not a fake.

She was a genuine corpse of a [War] sequence extraordinary being.

And considering the Scorched Earth Sanctuary nun's robe she wore, as well as that unmistakably genuine, identical extraordinary item—the "Glimmer Earring"—

Perhaps anyone who saw this corpse would suspect that Idrila was dead!

That "anyone"... even included Idrila herself.

Beside Ron, Idrila had clearly been struck hard by Father Harvey's icy words.

She trembled slightly, visibly panicked.

"Th-this, what is this..."

"H-how could this..."

"I..."

She muttered to herself, no longer knowing what she was saying. She merely spat out scattered syllables, as though she had forgotten how to speak.

In a daze, her heartbeat slowed further and further.

As though frozen inside an ice cellar, Idrila's blood seemed to be slowly ceasing to flow. Her bright eyes gradually dimmed, like clear sapphires being stained with haze.

Gradually, they seemed about to lose the luster of life.

At the same time, Ron looked at Father Harvey, who held a lantern glowing with green fire and stared solemnly at Idrila.

Then he looked at Idrila, whose body was trembling as though she had fallen into some bizarre state, and immediately understood what had happened.

Sure enough... Idrila was still alive.

Theoretically, anyone who saw that corpse might suspect Idrila was dead... but that did not include Ron.

In the Potion Era, perhaps many incomprehensible things that resembled magic truly did happen.

It might not have been uncommon for a dead person to return to the world of the living and behave no differently from an ordinary person...

But no matter how convincing those dead people were, no matter how much they resembled the living, there had to be one prerequisite.

That was, the dead person who returned to the world of the living had to possess some "Mystery" that defied life and death!

No matter how they crossed the boundary between life and death, whether through the power of a Contained Artifact, the power of an extraordinary being, or even the might of a god—

In the end, it all had to rest upon "Mystery."

And if Idrila possessed such a wondrous "Mystery" that allowed her to cross life and death...

Why had [Fantasy Dissolution] not directly dissolved her when Ron had interacted with Idrila before?

Clearly, the fact that [Fantasy Dissolution], a power inherited from the [Anti-Mystery Equation], had not reacted in the slightest to Idrila's life proved that she was a real, living person!

What was more, Ron recalled Idrila mentioning that Scorched Earth Sanctuary still had its own cemetery—

If Idrila had truly died, why would Father Suul have hidden her in the Lost Church?

Even disregarding how he had looked as though he wanted to offer Idrila up as a sacrifice, even if he were a normal person with no interest in sacrificing her, he should have buried her in Scorched Earth Sanctuary's own cemetery!

The current situation was merely Father Harvey's deception...

Ron's guess had not been wrong in the slightest. Father Harvey truly held an extremely deep hostility toward Idrila, even attempting to kill her with this excuse and such an incomprehensible, bizarre method...

But since Ron had already been prepared, he naturally could not let him succeed.

Ron had actually given Father Harvey plenty of chances... but the man had fought without honor and now still wanted to commit murder. He had truly brought death upon himself and could not be spared.

Looking at Father Harvey, who was coldly staring at Idrila from not far away, Ron decisively pulled Idrila to his side and dragged her back—

Then, Ron directly threw a thumb-sized black glass sphere in front of Father Harvey.

Bang!

A soft explosion rang out, and an extremely bright flash along with a concussive blast surged forth before Father Harvey.

"What is this—"

Before he could finish, the bright light forced him to cover his eyes. For a moment, his vision was filled with darkness. He had clearly been temporarily blinded and disoriented.

The concussive blast scattered the increasingly dense white fog nearby. Watching Father Harvey cover his eyes with a pained expression, Ron could not help curling his lips into a cold smile.

What was this?

An N11 standard-issue Flashbang Grenade produced by Moen Ideal City's Patrol Bureau!

Corporate technology, kid!

Without hesitation, he grabbed the still-dazed Idrila and retreated, not intending to clash head-on with Father Harvey for the time being.

After all, Idrila, who truly possessed Sequence 7 combat strength, was still in this muddled, absent-minded state.

Ron did not think he was some divine genius capable of challenging Sequence 7 with the power of a half-step Lv. 3. It was better to wait until Idrila regained her senses before preparing to counterattack.

And the wait clearly would not take long. Ron activated [Fantasy Dissolution] and placed his hand on Idrila's forehead—

The next moment, he felt a wave of dizziness, followed by a crisp notification in his ear:

["Setting: Fantasy Dissolution" is being worn away by excessive "Mysticism Influence".]

[Trait Damage: 34%]

The "Mysticism Influence" Idrila had just suffered had actually raised [Fantasy Dissolution]'s damage to 34%?

Ron could not help clicking his tongue, relieved that he had not rashly rushed forward to confront Father Harvey head-on.

The intensity of that "Mysticism Influence" alone proved that Father Harvey was clearly powerful enough...

The instant Ron's hand touched Idrila's forehead, she froze. Her trembling body gradually calmed.

The murky haze that had clouded Idrila's lake-blue eyes also gradually dispersed under the power of [Fantasy Dissolution], restoring clarity to her gaze.

She came back to herself and looked at Ron. That familiar sensation of awakening from confusion immediately made her realize what had happened again.

Did I make Mr. Ron use that lord's blessing again...

No, I can't.

I can't keep acting like a decorative vase, relying on Mr. Ron to use that lord's blessing whenever something happens.

That lord is always watching over Their followers, and you are within that lord's sight as well—this is your chance to prove yourself!

Back in the Field Battle, when you had just entered the [War] sequence, you were a [Soldier] who had never feared battle!

You have to prove yourself, Idrila!

Idrila bit her lip, and her eyes sharpened.

"I'm awake now, Mr. Ron."

She looked toward the fog in the distance. Beneath that hazy mist, she could clearly make out the thin figure of a man holding a green lantern.

"If I'm not mistaken, that may have been a Sequence 7 extraordinary ability of [Death]..."

Idrila murmured, and a hint of scarlet stained her eyes.

Fiery, restless [War] magic rose from her body. Beside her, Ron felt a scorching sensation suddenly emerge from the depths of his heart.

It was as though someone had blown a long horn beside his ear. The faint sound of the horn shook his soul, making him increasingly clear-headed...

And increasingly eager for battle.

Surging fighting spirit welled up within him, followed by power bubbling up from his blood.

"This is the extraordinary ability of a [War Overseer]. I have 'raised the banner' and 'sounded the horn' for you—now, greater spirituality and strength should be coursing through your blood."

"The [War] sequence values combat above all else, Mr. Ron. Father Harvey may already have joined forces with Father Suul. We cannot sit and wait for death..."

Idrila explained quickly before expertly reciting a prayer to [War]:

"Great Lord of War, beating heart of conflict! I offer blood and fire in sacrifice to You. Please grant me the sinews of battle and the spirituality of strife..."

After speaking, she charged without hesitation at Father Harvey, who stood within the mist not far away.

She looked as though she wanted to tear him apart with her bare hands!

This...

Ron could not help staring blankly for a moment. Idrila looked delicate and slender. Though he had long known she was an extraordinary being of the [War] sequence, his image of her had still been something like the "Evening Bell Saint."

Of course, Ron also knew that "Evening Bell Saint" was merely praise from the citizens whom Idrila had helped.

She was only an ordinary sanctuary nun who had once earned military merit on the battlefield and thus advanced into the extraordinary...

But now, seeing how fierce she looked...

Well, all he could say was that she truly deserved to be an extraordinary being of the [War] sequence.

Ron sighed inwardly and immediately followed Idrila.

Idrila, who had rushed forward first, was already locked in combat with Father Harvey. Her seemingly frail fists threw out shockwaves with nearly every punch as they slammed into Father Harvey's body with repeated bangs.

Sequence 7 of [War] appeared to completely overpower Sequence 7 of [Death] in close combat. Even with all his strength, the priest, who was still rubbing his eyes, could not steadily receive Idrila's punches and could only retreat again and again, knocking over quite a few gravestones.

The role-playing of a [Gravekeeper] had been etched into Ron's heart. He instinctively used [Vector Manipulation] to set the gravestones they had knocked over back upright, then picked up some ownerless stones from the ground and began firing "black shots" from behind Idrila.

In this battle, as a Lv. 2, he truly could not serve as the main force. Supporting Idrila, a Sequence 7 [War Overseer], was what he should be doing right now.

Chunks of earth and stone shot through the air under [Vector Manipulation], striking Father Harvey's body with precision.

"Cough, cough..."

Though those stones, which were comparable to rifle bullets, failed to pierce Father Harvey's body, the impacts still clearly hurt badly enough to twist his face.

"You... do you know what you're doing?"

Looking at Ron, who was hiding behind Idrila and throwing stones, the coldness in his tone finally changed.

Anger entered Father Harvey's voice, along with a trace of grievance that was difficult to discern:

"Controlling undead souls that have returned from the world of the dead and disturbed the living world is the duty of extraordinary beings. Are you going to defy the Secrecy Act as well?"

"The Secrecy Act"?

Sorry, but the first time Ron had heard about the "Secrecy Act" was from the very "undead soul disturbing the living world" in Father Harvey's mouth.

Using such an excuse to kill someone was truly pathetic...

If it had not been Ron here, someone who could confirm that Idrila was genuinely alive, and if he had hesitated long enough for her heart to truly stop under that bizarre influence, Father Harvey's Trickery would have succeeded.

Ron no longer wanted to listen to Father Harvey babble any more nonsense—

Was he supposed to watch Father Harvey bury Idrila under the excuse of "controlling undead souls"?

What a joke!

Ron sneered, battle intent surging through his heart, and without hesitation fished out more than ten pebbles, launching them at Father Harvey's vital points from tricky angles.

After another stone struck his chest, causing him to fail to block Idrila's punch in time and take several heavy blows, Father Harvey glared furiously at Ron before turning his head away resentfully and no longer paying attention to the man shooting him in the back.

He looked coldly at Idrila. His eyes, which had been scorched red and white by the Flashbang Grenade and were nearly unable to see, had gradually recovered.

He no longer relied on the physical prowess granted by [Corpse Collector] to fight Idrila at close range. Instead, he suddenly became light.

Idrila threw a punch at Father Harvey, but in that instant, it strangely passed straight through him.

Father Harvey became slightly translucent for a moment, then swiftly drifted backward as though carried by the wind. The lantern in his hand gradually ignited with brighter, ghostly green light—

"I never expected you to become a Sequence 7 Wraith. I should report this to the Fog City Church..."

"But I alone will be enough... I will not allow you to leave the world of the dead and run rampant among the living—"

Father Harvey muttered, his gaze toward Idrila becoming colder and more resolute.

"The dead should have the awareness of the dead. Let the living return to the living, and the dead return to the dead... You should enjoy eternal peace in the Silent Court."

"Help me, dead of the cemetery!"

As he spoke, green light burst from the lantern in his hand. The cold mist condensed into a thick, frigid cloud.

Just looking at that cloud of dense fog made Ron feel an icy chill crawl down his spine.

Switching back to [Ashes of the Age of Gods] and looking through Magic Vision, he could see extremely dense [Death] magic within the fog—

That lantern was clearly a Contained Artifact belonging to the Lost Church, held by Father Harvey!

The cloud of fog drifted through the air and directly enveloped Idrila.

In that instant, Idrila's previously advantageous situation was immediately reversed.

The spirituality in her body suddenly became extremely weakened. Her legs went soft, as though all her strength had been drained away, and she collapsed to the ground.

Meanwhile, many illusory spirits around Father Harvey suddenly gathered together, seemingly forming "ghosts" in response to his call...

Ron did not doubt in the slightest that if Idrila were completely enveloped by that fog or seized by those "ghosts," she would surely be led into utter silence by [Death] magic.

Good... good thing Father Harvey isn't focusing on me.

With Lv. 3 [Vector Manipulation], perhaps I have a chance to reverse this dense fog in this instant...

And if I target that lantern as well... there's a chance!

His finger pressed against the Silver-White Collar around his neck, ready to activate the "Ability Amplifier"—

But a familiar aged voice sounded behind Ron and Idrila:

"Harvey... I have never heard of a Lost Church priest committing such an atrocity—treating an innocent person as one of the dead and unreasonably depriving her of her life."

An elderly gentleman in a dark navy robe strode over with his cane, visibly furious.

The Star-Moon Pendant at his waist shone brilliantly. In an instant, Ron felt the daylight from above suddenly turn cool, smooth as moonlight...

Extremely surging spirituality flowed from the Star-Moon Pendant. Under its sea-blue radiance, Ron could clearly see the incorporeal ghostly masses around Father Harvey, which had previously only been perceptible through his spiritual senses.

Those ghosts seemed to have been granted physical forms and now stood there blankly... while the surging cloud of fog also stiffened, becoming like a dry clump of flour before falling directly to the ground and shattering into dust.

What ability was this?

Ron was somewhat stunned, but he could clearly see that abundant [Death] magic still surged within those solidified ghosts and the flour-like clumps...

Though they had changed form, they still retained their essence. They were simply no longer as aggressively hostile as before.

Was it the power of the Star-Moon Pendant, or an extraordinary ability that Elder President Elvis could use as an extraordinary being of the [Truth] pathway?

Ron pondered this and did not press the button on the Silver-White Collar around his neck.

"Elvis, have you become so muddled that you would shield an undead soul that has risen from death?"

At that moment, Harvey looked at Elder President Elvis in disbelief, while Elvis was clearly furious.

"Undead soul? What a joke... I thought there was merely some misunderstanding between Ron and you. I never imagined that you truly wanted to kill Little Ily!"

"How could she be one of the dead—by [Truth], even her spirituality has never changed!"

He spoke, unable to stop himself from muttering:

"You too, Suul too... I really don't know what you people are trying to do. It's as baffling as if you're dreaming with your eyes open..."

With an angry wave of his hand, he hauled up Idrila, who had collapsed limply on the ground with her spirituality exhausted, intending to leave with her and Ron.

"If you have anything to say, take it to your diocesan bishop afterward... I'll write a report and have Charles send the whole lot of it to Fog City!"

"You're utterly muddleheaded, Elvis..."

But Father Harvey had no intention of letting Idrila go. In an exceptionally grave tone, he said:

"This deceased absolutely cannot leave the Lost Church today. This is no joke. I must send her back to the Silent Court."

"The dead should remain where the dead belong... If she stays in the mortal world for too long, she will surely bring misfortune!"

As his words fell, an unknown number of spirits appeared around him once more, clutching white mist as they shrieked and lunged at Idrila.

"You..."

Elvis was somewhat stunned. Looking at Father Harvey's lantern blazing with light, clearly unwilling to let the matter rest, he was momentarily at a loss.

How long had it been... How long had it been since supernatural beings from the orthodox churches had come into conflict?

The Secrecy Act demanded many things of them, and they had many enemies to face—

Inherently evil supernatural creatures, cultists who worshipped the old gods, and illegal supernatural beings...

Elvis had long grown accustomed to those. But he had never imagined that one day, his enemy would be a supernatural being who believed in the same orthodox god!

Father Harvey's actions did not look like he intended to hold back... He had even regarded Chairman Elvis as an enemy to be killed!

"Utterly unreasonable!"

Elvis frowned deeply and slammed his cane against the weathered bricks beneath his feet. The spirits and white mist, which should have been illusory, immediately materialized and gained physical properties.

Then, wielding his cane as though it were a sword, the old gentleman fought the materialized ghosts and gradually entered the dense white mist thickened by that lantern.

Two important figures of Evening Bell City—a Sequence 7 priest and the president of the association—had inexplicably become mortal enemies and begun fighting without holding anything back.

At that instant, Ron felt a strange and subtle sensation.

It was like the ending of some drama, where the final boss arranged a decisive battle with the reclusive elder of the protagonist's group, and the two strode straight onto the battlefield without another word, as though they would fight all the way to the edge of the universe...

No, that wasn't right.

The next moment, Ron came back to himself.

Forget about fighting to the edge of the universe. What if Chairman Elvis capsized in a gutter?

Even if he looked a little stronger than Father Harvey, blades had no eyes. Once they truly started fighting, who knew who would win or lose?

If something really happened, that would be troublesome...

Fortunately, less than a minute had passed. Clearly, nothing could happen in so little time.

Thinking this, Ron entered the dense mist as well...

But before long, he saw a scene that left him dumbfounded—

Father Harvey was dead, lying on the ground just like that, his heart pierced through by Chairman Elvis's cane. Blood stained the nearby tombstone red.

The lantern burning with Necromantic Fire had also shattered beside the tombstone, reduced to dim fragments.

Not far away, Chairman Elvis had likewise fallen to the ground. Icy ghost claws had raked across his chest and abdomen, disemboweling the venerable old man.

One minute! Not even one minute!

How had they ended up fighting like this? In less than a minute, one was dead and the other grievously wounded, both reduced to such a miserable state?

Ron frowned at Elvis. Though he could still see the old man's chest rising faintly, with such severe injuries, he would likely die without immediate treatment!

Thankfully...

Ron looked around. After confirming that no one in the dense mist was paying attention, he secretly took out the bottle of Nanomedical Spray—

He did not know how such grave injuries were treated in this era, but Ideal City's advanced technology could surely save a life.

Even if this thing could not function at full capacity due to something like "Mysticism Influence," it should still be able to keep Chairman Elvis alive...

With that thought, Ron did not hesitate. He picked up the Nanomedical Spray and sprayed it over Elvis's torn chest and abdominal wounds.

Only after watching Chairman Elvis's horrific wounds heal with astonishing speed and hearing his breathing stabilize did Ron let out a sigh of relief and turn his gaze elsewhere—

He looked at Father Harvey, whose heart had been pierced by the cane and who could not possibly be any deader.

If he understood correctly, Father Harvey's death should cause his supernatural characteristic to precipitate...

As Ron pondered this, only a moment passed before he saw a translucent lump precipitate from the blood gushing from Father Harvey's chest.

Through Magic Vision, he could clearly see the cold, dense death magic within that mass!

Ron stepped forward and cautiously picked up the translucent sphere.

The next moment, he felt a cold, clammy sensation emanating from it.

At that moment, the cold, clammy sensation did not merely spread into Ron's palm. Like a disease clinging to the bone, it seemed to want to follow his blood throughout his entire body...

Ron hurriedly took out an iron cigarette case he had prepared when leaving the association and placed the translucent supernatural characteristic inside.

A subtle burning sensation arose from his chest. Ron immediately pulled out the magic book from inside his clothes and opened it, only to see new words appearing on the page—

[Potion Formula]

[Death] Sequence 7 "Spirit Medium"

"Potion ingredients: 10g Ghost's Ashes + 70ml holy water + 30ml pure water + one piece of 'Holy Shroud.'"

"Method: Place Ghost's Ashes into the holy water, filter it with the Holy Shroud, then drip the filtered clear liquid into the pure water."

At that moment, both Ghost's Ashes and the holy water had begun to glow.

Clearly, with only a Holy Shroud left to obtain, Ron could advance to [Death] Sequence 7, "Spirit Medium," and reach Lv.3!

(End of chapter)