The Hermit " Cattleya " and " Justice " Audrey had made some contingency plans for the return of the "0" level Sealed Artifact of Botis, or rather, its restoration to normalcy, since they were not confident that they could kill a Demigod in such a short time.
If Botis hadn't fallen into the trap and suffered a series of " Mental Plague," " Sleeping Beauty," " Frenzy," and fatal blows, leaving him in a state of madness and insanity, he would have had many opportunities to simply " Teleportation " away, and there would have been no way to stop him.
In that case, Cattleya and Audrey could only wait for Botis to return to the "safe house," release Fors, and wait for the " Eye of Mystery Prying " on Fors to give feedback, and then exert influence remotely to create an opportunity for the " Magician " to Summon Historical Void Projection.
At this moment, facing Botis, who was clearly beyond redemption in the out-of-control passage, and his frantic attempt to fully activate the "0" level Sealed Artifact, Cattleya in the center of the scene and Audrey, lurking outside the forest, simultaneously made similar movements: they took out a slightly transparent, dark talisman and uttered a Jotun's word:
"Star"!
This is a " Teleportation " talisman, which Klein created himself based on the patterns, symbols, and emblems " Record " in the " Lemano's Travel Notes ".
Since the " Sefirah Castle " can mobilize the power of the " Marauder " pathway, there's no reason why it can't respond to the prayers of the " Apprentice " realm!
As for the materials needed for the talisman, both the " Mystic " Cattleya and the " Traveler " Fors had some knowledge of them, so there was no need for Mr. The Fool to teach them separately.
Just as Audrey and her companion were about to activate the spell to " Teleportation " away, intending to return in a minute or two to check on the situation, Butis, with a cruel smile and eyes full of Botis, suddenly froze.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open the third layer of the " Box of the Great Old One "!
It was extremely heavy, as if it were enveloped and suppressed by layers of power, making it impossible to open.
This makes it seem to Botis like he's trying to open a new world, not a box.
A moment later, as if sensing something, the madness in his eyes faded, replaced by extreme surprise, horror, and fear.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, one ball of light after another slid off Botis's body. When they touched the ground, they turned into insects formed from glittering starlight.
These insects curved their bodies into semicircles, creating a wondrous radiance, like a series of illusory doors.
Botis, which was transforming into an incomplete Mythical Creature Form, suddenly and uncontrollably collapsed and disintegrated.
With two sharp cracks, his eyeballs fell to the ground, gathering dust.
These two eyes, frozen in an indescribable terror, remained remarkably intact, unlike any other part of the body.
Thus, a Sequence 4 " Secrets Sorcerer " died.
Snap!
The " Box of the Great Old One," with its silver-black surface and inlaid with various gemstones, landed next to Botis's two eyes, just like the kind of jewelry box commonly found in aristocratic households.
Above the Gray Fog, inside the ancient palace, Klein breathed a sigh of relief and put down the " Sea God Scepter " with a look of doubt.
He was just about to mobilize the power of the " Sefirah Castle " to unleash the " Lightning Storm " at the Angel level to prevent Botis from opening the third layer of the " Box of the Great Old One," but the " Saint of Secrets's " counterattack, which dragged everyone down with him, failed, and he encountered an unexpected defeat right from the start.
After " Judgement " Hugh left the first battlefield, he immediately prayed to " The Fool " as planned. Klein took this as a reminder and seized the opportunity to enter the Gray Fog and monitor the battle through the crimson stars corresponding to " The Hermit " and " Justice ".
During the transfer to the second battlefield, " Justice " Audrey also took the opportunity to pray, so that Klein could use her crimson star to directly interfere with the real world.
This explains why Audrey herself arrived at her destination a little later than " The Hermit " Cattleya.
"According to ' Magic Mirror ' Arrodes, the third layer of this ' Box of the Great Old One ' contains something terrifying. I thought the ' True Creator ' gave it to Botis to create a terrible disaster at a crucial moment, thus revealing the true nature of an evil god. Who knew it couldn't be opened at all..." Klein glanced at the deep red star representing " The Magician " and found that it was covered with a layer of black ash, seemingly solidified, so much so that he couldn't see the scene inside or confirm the state of Miss " The Magician ".
This was the first time he had encountered a similar situation, which shows the complexity and strangeness of the " Box of the Great Old One ".
The " Sleeping Beauty " magic and the " Spear of Longinus " he had seen earlier also gave him some ideas:
After learning about the extraordinary ability of " Mysticism Re-enactment " at a private gathering, Klein overturned his previous assumptions about Bernadette's Fairy Tale Magic.
He had initially thought that it was something the Emperor had created specifically for his daughter based on Earth's fairy tales, or that Bernadette had deliberately created it after her father's death, based on the fairy tales he had told her, to express her grief. But now it seemed that the answer was probably not like that; some fairy tales from before the First Age might simply be "mysteries."
This means that those fairy tales originated from real mysterious events, which circulated among the people, gradually became stories, were Record by Author, and were further processed.
"This corresponds to the prophecy of the stars returning to their proper places. Mystery has never left; it has always been there. It's just that during the 'Earth Age' before the First Era, it was suppressed or sealed by some force..."
"If that's true, then some legends and stories on Earth can be explained from another angle... No wonder there's the ' Spear of Longinus '... I wonder if Peach Blossom Spring involves mystery. I'll tell the ' The Hermit ' lady later and see if she can create new magic based on this..."
"I wonder if Bernadette became a ' Mystic ' before the Emperor's fall. If she did, it's hard to say whether these Fairy Tale Magic were created by the Emperor, who had transferred to the ' Mystery Pryer ' pathway Sequence 1, or by the ' Mystery Queen ' Bernadette herself... But in any case, the Emperor must have discovered in his later years that these fairy tales also belonged to the mystical and that he could draw power from them. Hmm, Bernadette didn't have a corresponding diary, so I can't see the Emperor's reaction and speculations at the time..."
Was one of the reasons he insisted on going to the Moon to verify something?
"It's a pity that most myths are false and you can't draw power from them, and the same goes for novels in the internet age..." Klein sighed softly, leaned back in his chair, and continued to focus on the battlefield.
Within that collapsed forest, " The Hermit " Cattleya and " Justice " Audrey, faced with Botis's transformation, tacitly abandoned the infusion of Spirituality and instead used spells.
Audrey, still in her " Dragonification form," remained hidden in the darkness outside the forest, wary of possible accidents and the official Demigod who might have sensed the commotion and come to investigate.
The " The Hermit " Cattleya was propelled by the wind towards the area where Botis had died, carefully avoiding the " Box of the Great Old One ".
Since the " Scribe " can use a variety of abilities, and Demigod- level Sealed Artifact often have extremely strong negative effects, Botis only kept a black pocket besides the " Box of the Great Old One," which seemed to be part of the robe he was wearing.
In addition, there were the Beyonder Characteristic that were gathering, the two eyeballs, and about ten " Worm of Star." Most of the " Worm of Star " were destroyed.
Considering the terror displayed by the " Box of the Great Old One " and the Botis was a high-ranking member of the Aurora Order and perhaps blessed by the gods, Cattleya did not rashly pick up those items, fearing that something unexpected might happen and cause the situation to develop in a bad direction.
During their private gathering beforehand, they discussed how to handle similar situations. The idea was to offer a sacrifice to Mr. The Fool first, and then distribute the items above the Gray Fog, since contact with many items without knowing their negative effects could bring unknown dangers, and Botis possessed was most likely a level 0 Sealed Artifact.
At this level of Sealed Artifact, sometimes the mere knowledge of its existence and the understanding of certain information can lead to sudden death.
According to Leonard, the " The Star," it is best not to touch, inquire about, describe, or spy on such Sealed Artifact; only a truly high-ranking being can suppress them.
Without hesitation, Cattleya took out silver candles and other ritual items from the various hidden pockets of her purple-patterned black robe and began to set up the sacrificial ceremony in a simple manner.
During this process, she pinched her lips, whistled, and created an invisible servant to help her, setting up the altar in just ten seconds.
After quickly reciting the name of " The Fool " and opening the " Door of Sacrifice and Bestowal " with Spirituality materials, Cattleya breathed a slight sigh of relief. She then had the Invisible Servant bring over the " Box of the Great Old One," the black pouch, the two eyeballs, the Beyonder Characteristic of aggregation, and the nine " Worm of Star," placing them on the altar.
With a whooshing sound, these items flew up and passed through the illusory door.
Upon seeing this, Cattleya immediately pinched her lower lip with her thumb and forefinger, preparing to whistle again and cease maintaining the presence of the Invisible Servant.
At the sound of the pleasant whistle, the "servant" remained motionless, seemingly no longer related to Cattleya.
The Hermit Cattleya, twitched her eyelids slightly, then clenched her right hand into a fist and brought it to her lips, preparing to use the " Magical Horn."
At that moment, a blazing, silvery-white mass of interwoven electric snakes appeared out of nowhere at the altar, forming a destructive Storm that enveloped the Invisible Servant.
All of this quickly subsided, and the mutated servants were completely destroyed.
Cattleya sighed, lowered her head, and sincerely thanked Mr. " The Fool ".
Then, following the procedure, she ended the ceremony, packed up her belongings, and used the " Snow White " magic, which is closer to prophecy, to clean up the scene and eliminate any traces.
At this moment, " Justice " Audrey had already used the previous " Teleportation " spell to leave the scene.
Cattleya looked around, and considering that Mr. The Fool might need things to be a little more ceremonial, she pulled a card from a hidden pocket in her robe and threw it into the middle of the collapsed woods.
The card is half-inserted into the soil, revealing the image of an old man carrying a glass lamp, exploring alone with a cane.
The Hermit, a Tarot card.
P. S.: Wishing everyone a happy last day of 2019.
PS2: I recommend my friend Heng Sao Tianya's new book, "The Chart of Creation," which redefines words and tells a story of transformation. It's very interesting, over 300,000 words, and definitely worth reading.