OBS Chapter 3902 The Fire and Ashes of Death Summoning Spirits
Chapter 3902 The Fire and Ashes of Death Summoning Spirits
Chapter 3902 The Fire and Ashes of Death Summoning Spirits
After a week apart, Shad naturally put on a good show this Saturday night. Dorothy even had Lacey help out halfway through, but overall the girls were very satisfied.
"It seems Professor Daniste isn't all that great, otherwise you definitely wouldn't be so excited tonight."
As for the three matters that Shad had to deal with, he decided to visit Sister Daphne first.
So, on a leisurely Sunday, after having breakfast with Dorothy, he set off alone.
They traveled through Midhill Castle to the mountain peaks, where a light snow was falling. However, Sister Daphne was unusually absent from the underground shrine today. Following directions from the other nuns, Shad descended the steps, passed through the lower gate, and found the nun beside a tombstone at the edge of the circular plaza.
One side of the square is a cliff face, and the other side is a sheer drop. The tombstones below the cliff belong to the modern-day fire-bearing nuns. Sister Develine brought her here before and knew that the graves in front of her were those of the previous generation of nuns.
Shad did not speak to disturb Sister Daphne, who had her head down, and it was unclear whether she was mourning or thinking about something else.
He stood beside Sister Daphne for a full twenty minutes before she finally spoke softly in the snow:
"Has the trip to the Moon Tower come to any conclusion?"
Shad then recounted the story of the "moon egg" again, but Sister Daphne did not press him further. Instead, after he finished speaking, she reached out her right hand and grasped the dark golden scythe that the Ring of Fate had transformed into:
"The flames guide us on our journey; come and experience the new power of the thirteenth ring."
Since the nun had extended an invitation, Shad naturally wouldn't refuse:
"Alright, but Sister, you must go easy on me. I can't beat someone with a thirteenth ring like you."
As he spoke, he also summoned his Moonlight Greatsword. Then, the two came to the center of the square, bowed to each other according to dueling etiquette, and the two figures, enveloped in flames, collided on the snowy mountaintop.
No one used their full strength; the clanging of weapons was merely death and moonlight colliding repeatedly under the cover of flames.
Is this considered flirting?
"She" asked in the wind atop the mountain, which Xia De thought shouldn't count.
After a battle in the cemetery below the sacrificial site, Shad gained a basic understanding of Sister Daphne's power, now that she had reached the thirteenth ring. She had ascended through death and could now perfectly fuse the power of the "First Flame" and "death" into one.
The fused black flames truly possessed the power to "incinerate everything." As for death itself, the nun had also come to fully comprehend the true meaning of death and ending as a living person.
"Destined Death" has been transformed into divine magic and mastered by her. From this point on, the chosen ones who are destined to die are ready to face their final fate. Unfortunately, the other chosen ones are not yet ready.
The return of the third-to-last flame also brought her new power. Thanks to the continuous recycling of the flames and the enhancement of its power by the strange fire and firewood provided by Shad, the Primordial Flame is now far stronger than it was during the death story.
The use of basic fire magic had become second nature to Sister Daphne. And those powerful fire spells and mystical arts were simply skills she could learn effortlessly.
Only power rooted in the "First Flame" possesses unique abilities exclusive to the Fire-Bearing Nuns. And through that fate of [death], the nun's special ability this time is a black flame.
As the flame appeared in her palm, Shad felt its icy chill the moment his gaze touched it. It was the "fire of death," a symbol of death, devoid of warmth, capable of destroying the soul.
"This black flame is what I gained when I advanced to the thirteenth ring. It contains both the light of primordial fire and the coldness of true death."
The nun spoke softly, and Shad then tried to touch the flame, but withdrew his finger just before it touched it:
"Forget it, I'm not a cat like Mia, so I shouldn't be too curious."
Sister Daphne had shared her insights with Shad many times in the past, but this time, Shad couldn't master the "Fire of Death." It was a perfect combination of the power of the Fire-Bearing Sister and the power of the Chosen One of Death; no matter how talented Shad was, he couldn't control this power without the right status.
Sister Daphne used this power during the Battle of Fate to continuously destroy the outer shell of the Doomsday Serpent.
"It's truly remarkable that death and fire can coexist in such a way."
Shad wasn't disappointed; instead, he praised them. The two were sitting in the center of the plaza where the nuns' cemetery was located, with the Ash Greatsword stuck between them, forming a bonfire.
The snow was still falling heavily. The nun gently shook her head, then said:
“Besides this death fire and destined death, I also gained another power in that death. I am not yet proficient in this power—I can summon souls that have been burned by flames back to ashes.”
This also seems to fall under the category of "spirit summoning," except that because of the involvement of the First Flame, the summoned soul has an ash body.
"So you can now summon all those burnt firewood items, like evil spirits and demons, right?"
Shad asked, and the nun nodded:
"Yes, but only a portion of them can be summoned in the form of ashes, or a portion of their power can be unleashed by my hand. The flames will select the most suitable part and power; this is not simply a summoning of the undead."
Shad nodded to indicate that he understood, and then learned that the souls that had been burned by the nuns in the past could also be summoned, but Sister Daphne herself would have to search for the ashes left behind by the burned souls in the flames.
So Shad began to imagine the scene of Sister Daphne's battle. Although the sister was not the first candidate and her power of death was partially diluted by Iluna, making her impure, her power was no less than that of Joey Barton, the pure chosen one of death, "The Reverse One," because of the flame she possessed.
The "Fire of Death" could not be taught to Shad, but Sister Daphne imparted to him the power to summon ashes. However, the manifestation of this power in Shad's hands was weaker than when Sister Daphne used it herself.
[Stranger, you have acquired the extraordinary art - Ash Summoning: When using necromancy-type abilities, the use of ash as a casting material allows the summoned spirit to temporarily acquire an ash-like body, enabling it to remain there for a longer period. Corresponds to the [True Death] rune.]
This is a very standard ability of the necromancy school. Although Shad has no intention of delving deeper into this direction, this ability is indeed very interesting and may come in handy when investigating the dead in the future.
At this moment, Shad did not realize that it was not only the nuns' enemies who were being used as firewood, but also the heroes who had voluntarily sacrificed themselves to become firewood.
From the beginning of the world to the present day, countless generations of fire-bearing nuns have all met the same fate: to return to the flames.
Sister Daphne seemed to have forgotten about their last meeting—referring to the kiss—and her conversation with Shad on this Sunday morning was no different from usual. However, when Shad was about to leave at 11 a.m., she still called him back, clasped her hands together in front of her and "looked" at him for a full half minute before softly telling him to take care of himself and get some rest.
Although it was just a word of advice, it still put Xia De in a pretty good mood.
He had lunch with Granny Cassandra and the others at Midhill Castle. The old witch and Rita's lives had returned to normal after they returned to Midhill Castle. Granny Cassandra even teased Shad at the table, saying that everyone was waiting for Shad's next "summoning".
After lunch, Shad went out with Grace and Helen. The flaxen-haired witch apprentice had no idea where they went.
All she knew was that the two sisters didn't return until Monday morning, chatting and laughing. Rita Swift was curious about the details of the date but was too embarrassed to ask.
The Red Butterfly girls, completely satisfied, kindly answered the girl's questions. However, they went into far too much detail about private matters, and Rita blushed and told them to stop halfway through; the innocent girl couldn't bear to hear such stimulating things.
"Rita, happiness is something you have to fight for. You can also try inviting your husband out on dates. Make the most of this time when he doesn't have anything important to do."
Helen encouraged her, and Grace also encouraged her:
"Yes, look how proactive that apprentice of the Great Witch of Balance is! Among the witch apprentices of your generation, only her personality can compare with that of the witches of the Fifth Era."
Rita blushed and nodded slightly. Grace was satisfied, then took out a black gem and handed it to her. The gem was not naturally formed; it contained a considerable but pure dark power.
“This is what the gentleman took out of the gift box this morning. He said he wanted us to bring it to you as a gift. We were worried that such a strong dark power would affect you, but now it seems that being simple-minded and innocent is not without its advantages.”
Rita took the black gem and then asked the two sisters:
"When do you think Shad will have some free time?"
Grace and Helen then smiled.
Shad did not present the gift in person, not because he was tired, but because King Larousse III had summoned him to the Yodel Palace and wanted him to investigate a minor matter as a detective.
This was not a commission from the king—he now knew that Shad was a ring sorcerer, and even for Galina's sake, it was unlikely that he would be asked to handle boring cases again.
The commission came from Queen Diana, who was now able to get out of bed and walk around. She wanted to hire Shad to investigate the recent disappearances of maids from her family, the Kindle family.
The Kindle family holds the title of Duke. Ridewich has done its best to investigate this minor case, but unfortunately, there are no leads. So, Galina recommended Shad, which can be seen as giving Shad something to do locally to maintain his reputation as a "famous detective".
Shad was quite pleased to receive the commission; during his past "vacations," he had handled many bizarre cases that didn't involve ring sorcerers. Claire was currently very busy and didn't have time to come to Tobesk; and according to Margaret's schedule, this week was also designated as "unvisitable."
So, after receiving the commission from Queen Diana on Monday noon, Shad officially began his "vacation life," which involved catching up on missed classes and assignments while investigating this seemingly unremarkable case.