When he eventually finds out that the Lord he worships is actually that big toad he thought was a messenger between worlds, who knows what he'll feel?
Hastur finally relaxed his tense mood.
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The bonfire burned fiercely, with more than thirty people forming a circle, devoutly offering their humble wishes to their Lord.
For the first stage, Hastur and Maric did not intervene; the real focus was on the second stage and the final stage.
Tonight was the final ritual, and in addition to the usual three stages, there was an extra stage, Blessing.
Each believer could receive a blessing from the Lord they worshipped, and only after receiving this blessing would the thirteen-night ritual be considered complete.
The first stage ended, and as usual, Count Richard was responsible for the second stage.
This time, Hastur focused his attention on the crystal ball said to be able to communicate with both reality and the world of the dead.
Count Richard had introduced the ball, claiming he obtained the crystal ball under the guidance of the Lord, which led him to plan this thirteen-night blessing ritual.
In mysticism, crystal balls are often used as mediums to communicate and link two different worlds.
They can also enhance the lacking spirituality of the user. For example, fortune-tellers with insufficient skill often rely on such external objects to successfully complete their divinations.
If any accident were to occur later, smashing the crystal ball might interrupt the ritual.
Count Richard's every movement was the same as last night, with no other unusual behavior. That massive toad-like spirit world creature appeared again, and with the blow of the brass whistle, those messengers from the spirit world caused the surrounding temperature to drop by several degrees.
Every time Hastur saw this scene, he couldn't help but feel amused.
He thought these spirit messengers were really unlucky, being disturbed every night, awakened only to find no messages to deliver, and forced to wait idly for the ritual to end.
With Count Richard's ceremonial declaration, they moved to the third stage, the sacrificial dance.
This time, Hastur excused himself from participating, instead watching cautiously to prevent any unexpected changes.
Everything went as usual, and the third stage also ended without issue.
Count Richard stood before everyone, his face full of excitement and emotion, and said: "We are all followers of the Lord. We have already offered our most devout faith to Him, and now the Lord shall respond to us, granting us His blessings for the life ahead."
"The Lord loves the world, and the world loves the Lord!"
Count Richard shouted the impassioned slogan, and the followers present also went into a frenzy, chanting in unison, "The Lord loves the world, and the world loves the Lord."
"What a talent, to learn and use it so quickly," Hastur praised in his heart.
As the atmosphere reached its climax, Count Richard, as the organizer of the ritual, decided to be the first to receive the blessing of the Lord himself.
He wanted all followers to witness what a true miracle was.
Hastur tightened his grip on the large wooden stick, silently approaching Count Richard's side, while Maric kept his full attention on the spirit world creature.
Count Richard stood at the center, arms open, eyes closed, adopting a welcoming posture toward the spirit world creature.
The other followers formed an outer circle, hands stretched flat with palms facing upward, eyes closed, chanting words like "rest in peace, blessed afterlife, progress for the living."
At this moment, the previously motionless spirit world creature finally acted.
It moved its massive body, opened its mouth, completely toothless, and slowly approached Count Richard's head.
Count Richard seemed to notice something was wrong. He had not yet received a blessing, but his scalp itched and his whole body felt cold?
He secretly opened one eye slightly and glanced, seeing that huge mouth seemingly about to swallow his head. Instinctively, he took two steps back, looking in horror at the spirit world creature.
"Devout follower, it is time for you to dedicate your life to the Lord."
A familiar voice echoed in Count Richard's mind, it was the voice of the Lord from his dreams!
Count Richard exclaimed in shock: "My Lord, why are you a big toad?"
In his dreams, the Lord wore a gray robe engraved with countless undead. His face was shrouded in a thin mist, concealing His true visage. His arms were slender, his right hand held a great sword of judgment for the undead, and his left hand cradled a blue crystal ball.
Countless undead sang hymns for Him, praising His mercy and majesty.
The River of Shadows, flowing through the entire underworld, crawled at His feet.
He delighted in patiently instructing every devout believer, with a heart that guided them forward, beneath His majestic exterior.
His image was towering and awe-inspiring, nothing like this toad in front of him!
This was merely His messenger, an envoy traveling between the two realms to deliver messages.
It was absolutely not the true Lord!
It must be trying to usurp the Lord's position!
Bang! A dull swoosh sounded overhead.
Count Richard stared blankly as a large wooden stick swept past the top of his head, striking the spirit creature's head directly.
Its head was shattered!
"What are you standing there for? Quickly get these people out of here!"
Hastur tugged the stunned Count Richard, retreating with him.
That strike had indeed hit the spirit creature's head, but it felt like hitting a cloud of mist, with no real force behind it.
The head that had been smashed apart dispersed like mist and then reformed, returning to its original state once more.
It was a spirit creature, a phantom traveling between two realms, a creature without a true physical body.
Physical damage was useless against it.
This was also why Maric's and his own attacks were ineffective.
Having its intended food snatched away enraged the big toad.
Layers of black mist spread from every part of its body, and the surrounding temperature dropped once more, even coating the ground with a faint layer of white frost.
This was a sign of death energy.
"It still can't cross realms right now, take this chance to destroy the ritual!"
Maric made a clear judgment, and Hastur had already swung his club toward the crystal ball at the center of the ritual.
The rolling black mist turned into a wall, blocking in front of the crystal ball, it too knew the importance of the crystal ball.
Meanwhile, the continuously spreading black mist diffused in all directions, quickly engulfing the still-unaware believers. Their eyes instantly lost all focus, their bodies swaying as though they were Zombies.
Zombie-like? Maric knew well how to deal with such situations.
He transformed into a werewolf, moving at extreme speed, weaving through the crowd, knocking each of them unconscious with a single claw strike.
Even the believers who hadn't yet been touched by the black mist were knocked unconscious by Maric, to prevent any trouble or interference later.
Seeing this, Hastur stirred his spirituality and silently shouted in his heart: "No spirit world creatures are allowed here!"
A golden light seemed to flow along his spine, and the rule immediately took effect.
The void rippled like a lake, swallowing the big mist-spewing toad whole.
The black mist dissipated, the nearly extinguished bonfire rekindled, crackling as though everything had returned to normal.
Slap! Hastur smacked the still-stunned Count Richard across the face, waking him up completely.
"You worshiped the wrong Lord!"
"No, the Lord is not wrong, it's that filthy toad daring to usurp His position!"
Count Richard, now fully awake, was filled with uncontrollable rage.
Especially at that moment, he still heard the familiar voice of his Lord in his mind.
The Lord urged him to use his body as a bridge to connect with the spirit world and welcome His true arrival.
Count Richard sneered at this. The true Lord was the Lord of the Dead, the great sovereign of darkness. He was omnipotent, why would He need someone to guide Him back?
A fake is a fake! What god asks His believers for help? This had to be that accursed toad trying to tempt him!
Its very existence was an insult to the Lord's majesty!
At this moment, Maric sensed a fluctuation from the spirit world rapidly approaching, and he told Hastur to move away from their current location.
But Hastur did not retreat; instead, he stepped forward and smashed the now-unprotected crystal ball with his club, also sweeping away the three candles.
The fluctuation from the spirit world weakened instantly.
Was it over? Maric carefully sensed the area again, scanning all around, confirming there was nothing abnormal.
Yet the temperature remained just as cold, nowhere near normal.
He immediately activated spirit vision and scanned the surroundings again.
He saw Count Richard undergoing changes; behind him, that toad-shaped spirit creature had its limbs clinging onto his back, its huge belly swelling and contracting as if preparing something.
This must have been the spirit creature's contingency plan left on Count Richard.
"Open your spirit vision! It's on Count Richard!"
Hastur followed the instruction, activating his own spirit vision, and slapped Count Richard again, saying sternly: "If you don't want to die, hold on to your sanity!"
Count Richard also heard Maric's shout.
After Hastur's slap, he took several deep breaths, suppressing his anger.
Although not proficient in mystical knowledge, he still knew that these evil entities fed on human negative emotions, accelerating their growth through them.
His earlier anger had been exactly the nourishment it craved.
"Your existence taints the Lord, and I shall deliver death's judgment in His stead!"
Count Richard's voice was cold, his expression stern, and he slowly closed his eyes.
He was also a Beyonder. Although he had never really fought anyone, he knew very well the abilities of his Sequence.
A spirit medium was not only for communicating with spirits of the dead but also for subduing unruly spirits and passing judgment on them, this was also one of its abilities.
"No spirit world creatures are allowed here, and all harm done to them is doubled!"
As Count Richard fought the spirit creature, Hastur silently enacted a second rule.
With two rules active at once, he could clearly feel his spirituality almost drained, his body staggering, nearly collapsing.
Fortunately, the effect was remarkable. With Hastur's assistance and his own Beyonder ability, Count Richard forcefully burst the spirit creature's belly, completely destroying its projection.
"This is the fate of a blasphemer!"
Count Richard stood straight, his face full of disdain and contempt.