亚洲综合中美

‘He should be here,’ Igna waited, the clock showed a few seconds before midnight. The second hand carried its partner, the minute hand onto the big ’12’. Noises spawned out of the main church. A rhythmical tap pulsed, leaving the lows at Igna’s ears.

“I would be worried if I were you.”

“Mysterious Dealer,” Igna paused.

“I doubt you’d come,” the dealer emerged from the side-church, “-but I’m glad you did. I need your strength,” he narrowed, “-King of Hidros.”

“...”

“I will accept the silence as an admission. Bear in mind, my liege, I bear no ill-will towards you or your family. Rumors have told how his majesty treats adversaries, and I’m sure not a foe. I will cut my rambling short,” he wrapped around and stood shoulder to shoulder, “-the main church’s conducting a ritualistic sacrifice. Today’s victim,” he pulled a photo, “-is this lady.”

.....

‘Stephanie,’ Igna watched, “-so?”

“My liege?” the dealer struck himself, “-my apologies, I thought his majesty would be more caring toward an ally?”

“Not really,” he strained, “-does her life matter?” The taps turned howls; an aura blazed across under the many stars, “-to that matter, does yours matter?”

The king’s pressure gathered, “-how are you?” he grabbed the dealer’s jaw and pierced through the man’s terrified gaze, “-who are you and who do you work for. You will tell me everything,” fear glazed his eyes, the man fell on his knees.

“My name’s Adam, my code name is Luso. I work for the Empire’s Central Agency.”

“What’s your purpose?”

“I’m under orders to infiltrate the Frontline. The agency’s objective is to uncover the truth about the new continent.”

“How did you know?”

“I was briefed by a member of the Hidrosian Intelligence unit.”

‘Seriously?’ he exhaled, Adam fell sideways and curled, the cries were slow and silent. ‘The ritual sounds interesting,’ a snap, ‘-haven’t done that in a while,’ came a smirk, a concealment spell completely erased the presence. ‘Only a Watcher can see through my disguise,’ he scaled the main church and entered through the main tower. There, under a massive bell, vexingly narrow stairs gave in an equally narrow alley. Robed figures roamed the halls – many held candles and a few common religious items. ‘-The combination doesn’t reflect any deity I can remember?’ he followed the chatty-robed figures.

“Today’s a full moon.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s hard to see with the clouds. The head priest is out of town. She had errands to run.”

“Really? The archbishop’s not here?”

“No. I heard she left with a distressed look.”

“My, I wonder what could have gotten her worked up.”

“Okay, shut up,” the pace slowed just before growingly loud hums, “-keep your eyes down and look through the peripherals. Don’t stare at anyone. It’s easier to look at the girl, especially since they’re naked.”

“You and your morbid fantasies. I so wish God has a cure for your kind.”

“No cure for this curse baby,” they entered a greater hall. It looked normal. Benches lined right and left, a carpet ran down the middle, and at the front stood godly symbols and an altar. The infrastructure was right in its design with one glaring discrepancy; ‘-it’s underground.’ The hooded figures joined the others. ‘-How could the noise travel so far out?’ and in said observation, Igna wandered his gaze for an answer, ‘-no physical means, I suppose it is magical?’ *See the unseen, feel the unfelt, knowledge deep within, awaken for I order so; Eye of Truth.* ‘Ancient runes,’ he widened. Strings of ancient writings joined a folly a ball; a rubber ball. ‘-The amount of power it holds is nothing,’ he gulped, ‘-what’s with the grandiose gathering circle? They have no sense in their action, there’s no purpose and no order. What in the world is happening?’

A deep-velvety blue hood walked from the crowd, “-gather my comrades,” it echoed, the voice cracked at ‘ga’. He cleared his throat, “-Today we pay our tribute to the god of death.” Igna comically took a seat in the audience and watched. “-From our offers of pig’s blood to the innards of chicken and pregnant cats; we have offered lives to the greater demon for his blessing. We want the destruction of the Church. I want vengeance against the people who led my father into his reclusive shelter. I will see to their destruction personally. Ishta is better without a god, tis better served with vices. Money, greed, lust – such are the worldly gain I possess; such is the way I wish to forge ahead. We will invoke a demon, we will contact the dead, and today,” he unwrapped a rectangular shaped red cloth, “-we shall do what no man has done,” he chanted, the book hovered by the aid of hidden strings.

‘Are they serious?’ the entourage counted elites from the rich circle. Few faces he recognized from the disastrous dinner. ‘SSY, Information Search.’

“Today we bring a sacrifice!” light deadened.

‘This guy,’ plenty of information arose on the man, ‘-Newhon Dextor. A wanted criminal charged with fraud and theft. He’s a scam artist, a great one at that.’ The story clicked, ‘-it ties together. The secret the ECA is after is his location. He’s scammed notable families including the Imperial court. I wouldn’t like being in his shoes.’

A gagged lady was thrown onto the altar. Her flesh was visible to the masses. Few at the edge of the crowd motioned their companions, ‘-they’ve never seen a woman before?’

“Please settle down,” he lunged forward, the book hovered at his side, “-As Magus of the Order of Fiend, my duty is to transmit my knowledge and wisdom to my students. Summoned entities are akin to genies. Once summoned, they’re duty-bound to their masters. Some used for carnal pleasures, others for conquest; the possibilities are endless,” he leaned over her illuminated body and grabbed a dagger, “-to complete the ritual, I shall sacrifice this virgin to the god of death!”

‘Virgin?’ Igna held his mouth, the dagger plunged, her movements dulled. Blood flowed, and the altar leaned forward, allowing the blood to follow a path into a bucket. The room’s energy shifted suddenly. The overhanging lights toggled; darkness swallowed the area. ‘To whom do I bear the pleasure of meeting?’ a translucent figure materialized above her body, “-who summoned me?”

The disciples dropped to their knees. The Magus stepped forward and extended his right hand, “-Heather, my lord.”

“What is it you wish, Heather?”

“I wish for wealth, my lord. I wish for knowledge, and lastly, I wish for immortality.”

“The pillars of greed, the doctrine of the Order of Fiends. Very well,” it clapped, reigning the room’s amber lighting, “-I grant thy wish, o’ knowledgeful one.” The body disappeared, leaving the blood in the shape of a skull.

“Such is the power of this grimoire,” he exhaled, “-I admit, my wishes were selfish,” he touched his neck; “-I brandish the entity’s symbol. Therefore, I know my wish will come true. My disciples, I wouldn’t dare leave without passing down my knowledge. Thus, I offer this, my greatest treasure. The Velian Grimoire. Its teachings are complex and hard to decipher. The words it contains are of pure power. Tis hard to understand the vastness. Such is the way of the magus. By the Order of Fiend, you must understand the Velian Grimoire’s teaching and preach the sacred words. Knowledge is power, this is why I will only accept inner disciples from tonight’s circle. You ARE the chosen ones. You WILL become masters of your destiny,” *snap,* a door lit, “-those willing, reach into that door and offer something of equal value to the means thee wish to obtain.”

The mass hall emptied. Igna remained speechless, ‘-they didn’t kill Stephanie. The crowd’s collective worth ranged in the tens of million. What entity did he summon, an actor hung from the ceiling? The blood was fake, and the symbol was arranged. They’re a band of rogues, serious scam artists. I heard their kind existed... why am I impressed? I should have known Istra would hide their kind as well.’

Disciples turned inner disciples. A sense of superiority instantly took their character – they changed. “-By yielding my materialistic gains, I was able to become a truth-seeker. I see the world’s nothing more than an illusion. What I wish to attain can be reached with will and knowledge. Spreading our Magus’s word is the only way,” mumbled one. The curious Igna snuck into one of the meetings and saw the Magus sitting face to face against another. He held a pendulum, the latter swayed left and right – the moment the person focused, the pendulum flashed, showing deadened eyes briefly. ‘-A real artifact?’

“By yielding my materialistic gains, I became a truth-seeker. I see the world’s nothing more than an illusion. What I wish to attain can be reached with will and knowledge. Spreading our Magus’s word is the only way. Repeat my words,” he ordered.

“By yielding my materialistic gains, I became a truth-seeker. I see the world’s nothing more than an illusion. What I wish to attain can be reached with will and knowledge. Spreading our Magus’s word is the only way,” any sense of logic dived out of the room. They signed a contract and paid in the six figures. ‘-The artifact’s wiping their personalities. A shell of a human...’ he leaned closer, inches away from the sways, *flash.*

‘Where am I?’ a white plain stretched, ‘-seriously?’ he facepalmed, ‘-I looked into the artifact. Guess I’m trapped in whatever spell it has,’ he tapped his fingers, ‘-three, two, one,’ he clapped, *Break,* the dimension shattered, ‘-much better,’ not even a second passed. Another clueless shell exited. ‘A pendulum made from the Eye of Irelia, the wife of Dregna the Demon-King, the forgetful vixen. Her story goes like this; Demon King Dregna had a fetish for physical torture. Irelia was said to scream the loudest when they slept. Her screams were music to his ears. After a few weeks, she got used to the pain and eventually stopped screaming. To rekindle his flame, Dregna ordered Irelia to be cursed with a new spell, one of daily erasure. He specifically ordered her memories about their time shared in bed to be erased. Her screams returned and were said to shake the whole castle, just over the brooding laughter of Dregna. Her body was split into pieces after she died, the amount of curse Dregna injected into her mortal womb was dangerous enough for him to desecrate her body. Stricken by grief, the demon-lord fashioned jewelry, and there came the Pendulum of Irelia, containing the power to erase particular memory,’ the newfound knowledge came from a blue thread. ‘-To know the passing of time eternity,’ he sighed, ‘-I baffle myself on how powerful I am. Far as it seems, the Pendulum’s not being used to its greater capabilities. I wonder where he got his hands on a potentially Relic-tier artifact?’

“Three hours past midnight,” said a voice down the corridor, “-Dextor, we’ve got ’em.” He rose from his seat and stretched, “-another day, another scam. Tonight was hard, I feel like shit,” he exited the room and headed towards the voice. There, a group of people gathered on modern couches and faced the fireplace, “-the Order of Fiend,” added one sarcastically, “-to teach the rich how to live.”

“Drop the act,” he sighed and poured whiskey, “-the night was hard enough,” he squared onto Stephanie, “-isn’t that right, recruit?”

“Piss off,” she waved her hand jokingly, “-I thought I was going to die back there.”

“No, you’re worth more alive. I mean, no one suspected we’d swap the bodies. To a scam well done,” he rose his glass.

“To a scam well done,” they cheered.

“As for the moment of truth,” a smaller fellow stood before the fireplace, “-the total gain is... drumroll please...” they joined, “-5 million in assets and 1 million in cash!”

“HELL YEAH!”