Chapter 128 - 128: A Failed Performance

It was the Red Priest tarot card! A surge of joy rose in Edward's chest, but he kept a respectful demeanour, bowing deeply. "Thank you very much, Lord Medici." The dust twisted again, forming blood-red letters as though written in fresh gore: "Hurry back and help me break the seal!" "Of course!" Gripping the Blasphemy Slate card tightly, Edward gave another deep bow. "Then I'll take my leave. Take care, Lord Medici." Whoosh— A gust of wind swept across the dusty floor, lifting the grains into the air and scattering them once more. CRACK! The underground world returned to utter darkness and silence, as if no one had ever set foot there. ——— This trip had gone far smoother than Edward expected. He hadn't thought the True Creator's presence would be so effective with Medici. That was a Card of Blasphemy—an entire pathway to godhood recorded on it—and Medici had just handed it over without hesitation. In truth, Medici's true loyalty lay with the Ancient Sun God. After the deities carved up the remnants of the Sun God, he didn't choose Adam, who inherited the Sun God's divinity, but instead turned to the True Creator, born from the Sun God's corpse. Alongside Ouroboros, Medici had followed the True Creator with unwavering faith...and ended in utter ruin. Hence the now-famous line: "Conspirators die of loyalty." Edward took out the Red Priest card. As he poured spirituality into it, scarlet rays of light shone from the surface, constructing a palm-sized illusory book. The book flipped open page by page, revealing lifelike portraits of Roselle Gustav—vivid and full of colour. In some, he wore a hunter's outfit; in others, he raised his middle finger; sometimes, he walked through burning buildings; and elsewhere, he stood behind intricate traps. The images showed him in all sorts of attire, doing all sorts of things. "Sequence 0: Red Priest." "Sequence 1: Conqueror." "Sequence 2: Weather Warlock." ... "Sequence 9: Hunter." Edward chuckled. "Next, time to test [Silverfish]." He gently traced the card's engraved lettering with his fingertips, feeling the faint texture slide under his skin. "Use [Silverfish]." His selected target was the Iron-Blooded Knight, a Sequence 4—though he'd failed before when trying to 'consume' a character from Groselle's Travels, so he was mentally prepared for this to fail as well. For now, he simply wanted to confirm whether the abilities on a Card of Blasphemy could be consumed at all. Yet—there was no reaction. Not a failure. Just...nothing. It felt exactly like those times at Hogwarts when he'd tested the ability on mundane, non-beyonder books. "[Silverfish] can't consume powers from the Cards of Blasphemy?" Edward's face darkened immediately. He had placed high hopes on this card. Impossible. Even though the Cards of Blasphemy card couldn't compare to a true Blasphemy Slate, it shouldn't be this inert. Not even a ripple of power? He muttered, "Surely this card isn't fake?" Although he said it aloud, deep down he didn't believe that. Why would Medici, of all people, keep a fake Card of Blasphemy? ...Wait a moment. Just because the Red Priest card was real, doesn't mean the one he gave me was also real. A sudden flash of insight pierced Edward's mind—something he had overlooked in the joy of acquiring the card. Logically, after ingesting the Secret Suppliant potion today, after being parasitized by the True Creator, and then using that to persuade a cunning schemer like Medici into handing over the card—especially with a god and three Sequence 1 evil spirits involved—shouldn't that have caused at least some digestion of the potion? But so far, he'd only sensed the slightest loosening. Completely unreasonable. Unless...the entire 'smooth' operation was just his own illusion—he had never persuaded Medici, and he had never actually received the Card of Blasphemy. Medici, or rather the tripartite evil spirit, had just played along in an elaborate act to gain his trust and get him to gather the three blood samples needed to lift the seal. In that case, this performance was undoubtedly a failure. With that realisation, Edward set down the card, flicked out a coin, and silently chanted: "This Card of Blasphemy is genuine." —If the card truly possessed high-ranking mystical power, the divination would likely fail outright. Clink! The number faced up. A denial. It was fake! And in that instant, Edward's joy outweighed his disappointment—because it meant [Silverfish] hadn't failed to consume a Card of Blasphemy's power; it had only failed to consume the fake card Medici had given him. Excellent. Truly Excellent! A true conspirator indeed—when you think you've tricked him with a clever scheme, you've already stepped into the trap he laid for you. Even the endorsement of the True Creator couldn't stop him from pulling the rug out from under you. Still...wasn't he worried that I might discover the truth, refuse to help find the blood, and even report him to the Church in a fit of rage? Hmm…From his perspective, it did seem like there wasn't much to worry about. In the original story, this was exactly how he tricked both Klein and Sharron—on the surface, asking them to help unseal him, while secretly plotting something else, and eventually managing to escape with the help of Ince Zangwill. He'd figured out that what Edward truly desired was the Card of Blasphemy, not the potion formulas on it. So if Edward wanted the Red Priest card, he'd have to help him break free. Lastly—and most importantly—Edward bore a piece of the True Creator, and it was the real deal. Although it was only the "Son of God," and though communication was impossible, it still symbolised Edward's identity and allegiance—the two were clearly allies, not enemies. If Edward really managed to release him one day, Medici might genuinely give him the Card of Blasphemy. "Whew—" Even though he felt deeply frustrated, he didn't have much of a temper left. In fact, he was already beginning to think about how to locate the descendants of the three bloodlines. "Forget it, better send this mad deity on me back first." ——— [Mr. A's residence] The "transfer ritual" for the True Creator went quite smoothly. Though "He" held Edward in high regard, "He" had no real interest in continuing to parasitise his body. After consuming all the spirituality provided by the Secret Supplicant potion, "He" returned without hesitation to Mr. A's body. "You brought the Lord out for something?" He clasped his hands again, asking casually. "Just a personal errand. But if it succeeds, it might benefit the Lord in the long run." Mr. A nodded with a neutral expression. "I see." "Well, thank you for today." Edward pressed his right hand to his chest, bowed slightly, and began to step away. "Wait." Mr. A suddenly spoke. "I used to have a subordinate named Yurigus. He was originally in charge of the vessel our Lord first chose to descend into—Lanevus. But not long after accompanying Lanevus to Tingen, he suddenly chose to defect." "I suspect his betrayal is related to that evil god who corrupted the Saint of Secrets." Damn. You're just casually calling the rational persona of the True Creator an "evil god"? "If you happen to find him, bring me his head, and I'll reward you handsomely. He's a large man—once a Sequence 6 Rose Bishop. That's his portrait on the table." Edward picked up the image and gave it a glance. "You people at the Aurora Order have so many members—why do you need me for this?" "He knows The Order too well. Always senses something's off and escapes before we can act. And I'm currently...not in a convenient position to take action." He smiled faintly at that. "And as for why I'm asking you—it's because Yurigus is likely looking for you as well." Edward raised a brow. So I'm a hot commodity now, huh? "I understand. Anything else?" There was no further response. ——— Back at the inn, Lilith immediately clung to him. Sniffling, she sniffed Edward all over with her little nose, clearly upset—her big kitty had been leaving her behind for the past couple of days. Was he seeing other cats out there? "Edward, did you go catch mice? You reek of dirt." "Mm, didn't catch mice, but I did become one for a while—digging around underground." "Become a mouse?" Lilith blinked her large eyes in confusion, clearly puzzled about how her big cat could have anything to do with mice. He was clearly a cat! "Did Miss Lilith behave while staying home alone?" She shook her head without hesitation. "Miss Lilith is a cat. Cats don't behave!" "Mischievous cats don't get dried fish or chicken chunks." She raised her chin defiantly. "Miss Lilith can catch mice herself." But right after saying that, she immediately shrank back, asking cautiously, "There really won't be any dried fish or chicken? Miss Lilith can eat just a little…" "Hahahaha." Edward laughed heartily, rubbing her head. The mental strain from all the 'madness' of the past two days seemed to vanish in an instant. He immediately pulled out a piece of dried fish and handed it to her. "Here. Go enjoy." Lilith hesitated, as if worried this might be her "last supper." Edward leaned back on the couch, pulled out a paper and a pen. "This attempt at Acting…was undoubtedly a failure. But the Red Priest card—there's still a chance, provided I unseal them and let Medici out." He wrote 'Medici' on the notebook. "So what would be the consequences of releasing them early?" In the original story, Medici was eventually released by Ince Zangwill, then parasitised his body, causing significant trouble for Klein—though, now that Ince had lost the Quill of Alzuhod, maybe he didn't even have that power anymore. Hmm? Could this actually be the reason Adam (through the Twilight Hermit Order) gave me this task? The Red Priest represents the god of war. While the three-in-one isn't truly a deity, they're the highest authority when it comes to war. And Adam would need a grand war to complete his ascension ritual later on. Besides, as long as the True Creator doesn't turn on Edward, Medici likely wouldn't stand against him either. And since Medici had a grudge against Amon, he probably wouldn't become Klein's enemy either (in the original, their collaboration was more of a strategic deal). From that perspective, releasing Medici might not be a bad idea. The only real variable…was the unpredictable balance between the True Creator's rational and insane personas. "But isn't that exactly what the Roleplay of a Madman is all about!" With that thought, his decision was more or less made. Scratch, scratch, scratch… Edward quickly wrote down three names on the paper: Sauron, Einhorn and Medici. The next challenge would be finding the direct descendants of those three families—and acquiring their blood! ——— [Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.