Outside the window, in the night, was actually the garden of the Dawn Church. Xia De could see the huge holy emblem of Mr. Dawn formed by blooming flowers in the center of the garden through the window. The holy emblem was illuminated by a circle of candles along the edge of the flower bed.
He took a deep breath of the air from outside the window, and after a long while, he said, "I was also present when the doctor used Sublimation Words. That power was a bit too terrifying."
"Of course. Normally, using Sublimation Words requires a combination of large rituals and magical potions to unleash its strongest power. And even with prepared use, it will definitely lead to a permanent decline in lifespan, a weakening of power, and a short-term decrease in mental resistance. There's even a saying that using the power of Sublimation Words makes it more difficult to engrave Ling Runes. Bill used it forcibly with the mindset of certain death this time. If it weren't for your spell, his situation would probably be even worse. Perhaps the woman confronting us at the time didn't expect him to be so crazy."
The Priest sighed.
"So, how many times has the doctor used Sublimation Words?"
Xia De inquired again and received the answer that it was only the first time.
After asking about the doctor, he brought up the other two young ladies in the group:
"Is Miss Annette with Miss Louisa now? Do you know Miss Louisa's address? I think I should go see them."
He was actually uneasy about the whispering chapters and the Thirteen Chosen, and he wanted to see the purple-eyed Diviner immediately.
"Won't we see him when we go to see Bill tomorrow?"
Although Priest Augustus said so, he still gave the address, then continued the previous topic:
"Last night's situation was not bad. Annette stopped the ritual in time, and you didn't collapse in front of the evil god's shadow. Even Mrs. Lasoya, who saw our faces, was killed by you."
The conversation reached this point, finally arriving at that strike under the Silver Moon last night. Xia De carefully chose his words, wanting to speak, but the Old Priest shook his head, with an expression that said, 'I understand you.'
"Everyone has their own secrets, just as I have secrets I cannot tell you. So if you don't want to explain, you don't need to explain. We will keep your secret. No one will know that The Masked Man Under the Silver Moon was you.
But I must advise you, young man, power comes at a price. I don't know what price you paid to do such a thing last night, but you must not be tempted by power."
"Yes, sir."
Xia De replied very seriously, then couldn't help but ask, "Since you mentioned Mrs. Lasoya is dead, what about the Silver-Eyed One? Has Mercury Blood been destroyed because of this?"
He still remembered that the Silver-Eyed One was protecting Mrs. Lasoya at the time.
"The Silver-Eyed One was seriously injured and escaped the Church's encirclement before the Thirteenth Ring 術士 s of this diocese arrived. I heard the news not long before you woke up: the Church suspects that the Blood Spirit School, which fled to the New World decades ago, sent people to help them. Heh~ another group of even crazier madmen has arrived."
Xia De had heard about the Blood Spirit School from the two professors at Saint Byron's, and the man who shot under the grape arbor yesterday also mentioned it.
"But no one knows what we did, so there's no need to worry about retaliation from Mercury Blood or the Cultists who worship the evil god Blood Feast Lord. Let the Church's Ring術士s worry about such things. The rest is none of our business. The ritual to summon that evil god requires many complex conditions, such as 'Gluttony' and 'Night Banquet,' etc., so nothing will happen again in a short time. This is very good."
The Old Priest nodded, but there was still some worry on his face:
"It's just that more than one person saw you kick that kick last night. The Church actually believes you are a Twelve Ring or even Thirteenth Ring 術士, which is really a headache. For the next few months, you probably need to be careful not to let people connect you. Such things are hard to explain.
But you did well. You had a Masked Man on your face, the clothes on your body weren't your own, and you even remembered to use illusion to pull the Silver Moon behind you to conceal your figure. The Church now calls you 'The Masked Man Under the Silver Moon' and also attributes the headless Ring術士 corpse in the garden maze to you. The Church believes you are a Ring術士 proficient in the Miracle element of Silver Moon... Detective, did you want to do this all along? Is that why you were so well-prepared, even carrying the dice of destiny, so the Church couldn't Diviner your identity?"
When asking the last question, the Old Priest's tone became lighter.
"No, it was just a coincidence."
Xia De shook his head and said that everything last night was caused by the good luck brought by the dice of fate. Unless the attack of fate was bounced back again, such a thing would not happen again.
He stopped stroking Mia and looked at his hand under the orange cat's dissatisfied gaze:
"Last night's power... indeed cannot be used anymore. I don't think I will miss that power either..."
The Old Priest showed an expression that said, 'just as I thought.'
Xia De actually felt very guilty about deceiving his friend, but the matter of the path of divine sublimation absolutely could not be known by others. Becoming a god was tempting to everyone, and if this path was only for him, Xia De would not let anyone know this secret.
"It's good that you understand the price of power, but having power is certainly not a fault. Your kick last night was quite excellent. I think after this incident, your understanding of your core Ling Rune will probably be deeper, and you might even have a chance to create Miracles yourself."
Priest Augustus's tone became a bit more cheerful as he walked towards the clothes rack in the room to get Xia De's coat (Note):
"So last night's outcome was actually very good. We jointly stopped the evil god, and surprisingly, we didn't expose our identities. You killed Mrs. Lasoya, experienced power, and the price was just sleeping for a day. I really should pray to my Lord, Mr. Dawn. This is truly incredibly lucky."
Of course, there were also some imperfections. Doctor Schneider failed to obtain the forged philosopher's stone, and he certainly wouldn't get the high bounty on the "Mrs. Lasoya" killed by Xia De, or even that relic ring.
But nothing is perfect. Now that everyone is safe and sound, it's already very good.
Moreover, compared to the pounds and that ring, he now had a more important goal, a goal more important than becoming very wealthy in this steam age:
"Divinity... twelve sublimations... becoming a god..."
The Priest didn't know what Xia De was thinking and continued to speak to himself:
"Speaking of which, last night was really a coincidence. The five of us actually appeared there without prior discussion."
"Yes, what a coincidence."
This shouldn't be caused by his "luck"; after all, it would have been better if the others hadn't appeared.
"But Bill's luck is still the worst."
The Priest shook his head and sighed.
"Priest, what do you mean?"
Xia De asked curiously.
"As before, if everyone acts together and one person gets injured, it's most likely Bill. If many people get injured, then the most severely injured is most likely Bill. That he could meet you and successfully have you join our group is probably the luckiest thing he's experienced this year. Oh, may God bless him."