When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 510

Chapter 510: Chapter 400: Rites of the Banquet Master Chapter 510: Chapter 400: Rites of the Banquet Master Relics, while sealed, do not exhibit any distinct features of the Path.

Minister Griffiths clearly had not completed the unsealing, otherwise, the relic should have been able to “burst forth” from the corpse by Lily.

Therefore, it is not surprising that even after being examined thrice over by the Arbitration Hall, Supervisory Court, and Supervisory Bureau, nothing was discovered—after all, no one dares to tamper with a divine image recklessly.

They probably didn’t even dare to touch it.

Although the number of the Nine Pillar Gods and Celestial Marshals is limited, there is no shortage of Angel Envoys.

The Nine Pillars Divine Church allows worship of all current Nine Pillar Gods and their corresponding Angel Envoys, and does not restrict the worship of Celestial Marshals and their Angel Envoys.

Only formal worship activities towards Celestial Marshals and their Angel Envoys or outright sacrifices, like those of the Dwarves, are considered illegal.

...

——With so many Envoys, who knows which are legal and which are illegal?

Perhaps some inconspicuous divine image is actually the visage of a Celestial Marshal or even one of the Nine Pillar Gods in the mortal realm, or maybe an incarnation they once used!

For example, placing an image of the Silver-Crowned Dragon’s Arthur in the room, and then positioning an image of the Bear Celestial Marshal and another Pillar God’s image at a higher location, would undoubtedly constitute blasphemy.

Moreover, if one does not have a deep understanding of religious studies, they might mistake Arthur as a mere Knight under the Silver-Crowned Dragon and dispose of Arthur’s image along with that of the Bear Celestial Marshal.

No matter how one handles it, it can easily lead to great trouble.

Therefore, according to procedure, such matters are usually handled by professionals from the Nine Pillars Divine Church.

Aiwass was now here to inspect under that very pretext—without a doubt, he was a professional.

Searching for evidence was easy, and it didn’t even matter if there was no evidence.

Aiwass knew this, and so did Ligeia.

First, Aiwass went to Griffiths Manor with Lily and Ligeia to have a big meal, making sure to eat until full and drink copious amounts of alcohol until his body reeked of it.

When night fell, Aiwass had Ligeia seal all the doors and windows, drawing the curtains shut.

In doing so, he crafted an artificially dim environment, allowing only a sliver of moonlight to fall before the divine image.

Then, he asked Ligeia and Lily to retreat to a distance and stay alert.

Ligeia was evidently interested as well.

She had noticed that Aiwass’s expertise in religion and Ritual Studies was profound.

At least when it came to officiating the grand ritual of “Shedding and Rebirth,” an ordinary Priest couldn’t have managed it.

Under the watchful eyes of Ligeia and Lily behind him, the alcohol-scented Aiwass solemnly lit a candle and sprinkled a pinch of black pearl powder before the divine image, then removed all his garments before the candle flame, standing in the moonlight—this was a necessary step of the ritual, which required the presence of multiple witnesses of the opposite sex from start to finish.

Two people were the minimum.

Aiwass chose the best candidates, one being Ligeia who could practically be his grandmother, and the other Lily who was overly familiar with him.

To unseal a relic, there are many methods.

But at that moment, the Banquet Master could see Aiwass praying before Sister Sasha’s holy icon and thus knew that Aiwass wasn’t seeking him.

So, he let Sister Sasha come in person.

As expected.

Aiwass immediately felt dizzy, his body pitched forward, and he lost consciousness at once.

Lily instinctively rushed over, intending to catch Aiwass.

But she had only taken a few steps when she stopped in her tracks.

Before Aiwass, the holy icon began to shine with dazzling crimson light—the next moment, a translucent, gentle-natured nun emerged from it, holding the collapsing Aiwass in her arms.

—This was not a spiritual summoning, but a direct descent of her true form!

She wore a black silk eye mask and black silk gloves, and was also wrapped in the heavy garb of a nun.

She cradled Aiwass tenderly, straightening his head.

Then, she softly touched his head, caressing from the back of his skull down to his neck.

A streak of crimson light flowed into Aiwass’s body along with her touch.

Shortly after, Aiwass was faintly roused back to consciousness.

He was “revived by suffocation.”

He felt his mind clear and his vitality surging and boiling—as if he had taken a stimulant, filled with vigor and desire, and the blood vessels in his scalp and neck visibly swelled and pulsed.

However, his reasoning had weakened significantly, with a noticeable decrease in thought speed and level of calm.

This was temporary exhaustion, needing roughly a day to recover.

His whole body turned a bright red, akin to the blush of someone immensely embarrassed—or perhaps as if he had unleashed The Eight Gates.

Under the rapid pulsation of vigorous vitality, Aiwass’s muscles swelled, and there was even an obvious physiological reaction.

Fortunately, he was facing away from Lily and the others, so at least nothing unseemly would be seen.

And the moment Aiwass opened his eyes, Sister Sasha had already vanished like a hallucination.

Confirmed as more than mere illusion were Ligeia and Lily, who had been watching from the sidelines!

This was why witnesses were essential for the ritual—if there were no witnesses, Aiwass would have experienced nothing but a grand dream, waking up only to temporarily exhaust his reason in an effort to recover his vitality to its peak state, with no other effect.

But now...

At the place where the nun had disappeared, atop the holy icon...

there was a pure white butterfly fluttering alone.

Bathed in the moonlight, it reflected an aura of utmost purity and sanctity.

Only against the room’s moonlit wall, reflected with countless butterfly-like shadows, did it seem like a swarm of butterflies dancing together.