When the plot-skips players into the game world

Relics, while sealed, do not exhibit any distinct features of the Path.

Minister Griffiths clearly had not completed the unsealing, otherwise, the relic should have been able to "burst forth" from the corpse by Lily.

Therefore, it is not surprising that even after being examined thrice over by the Arbitration Hall, Supervisory Court, and Supervisory Bureau, nothing was discovered—after all, no one dares to tamper with a divine image recklessly. They probably didn't even dare to touch it.

Although the number of the Nine Pillar Gods and Celestial Marshals is limited, there is no shortage of Angel Envoys.

The Nine Pillars Divine Church allows worship of all current Nine Pillar Gods and their corresponding Angel Envoys, and does not restrict the worship of Celestial Marshals and their Angel Envoys. Only formal worship activities towards Celestial Marshals and their Angel Envoys or outright sacrifices, like those of the Dwarves, are considered illegal.

——With so many Envoys, who knows which are legal and which are illegal?

Perhaps some inconspicuous divine image is actually the visage of a Celestial Marshal or even one of the Nine Pillar Gods in the mortal realm, or maybe an incarnation they once used!

For example, placing an image of the Silver-Crowned Dragon's Arthur in the room, and then positioning an image of the Bear Celestial Marshal and another Pillar God's image at a higher location, would undoubtedly constitute blasphemy. Moreover, if one does not have a deep understanding of religious studies, they might mistake Arthur as a mere Knight under the Silver-Crowned Dragon and dispose of Arthur's image along with that of the Bear Celestial Marshal.

No matter how one handles it, it can easily lead to great trouble.

Therefore, according to procedure, such matters are usually handled by professionals from the Nine Pillars Divine Church.

Aiwass was now here to inspect under that very pretext—without a doubt, he was a professional.

Searching for evidence was easy, and it didn't even matter if there was no evidence. Aiwass knew this, and so did Ligeia.

First, Aiwass went to Griffiths Manor with Lily and Ligeia to have a big meal, making sure to eat until full and drink copious amounts of alcohol until his body reeked of it.

When night fell, Aiwass had Ligeia seal all the doors and windows, drawing the curtains shut. In doing so, he crafted an artificially dim environment, allowing only a sliver of moonlight to fall before the divine image.

Then, he asked Ligeia and Lily to retreat to a distance and stay alert.

Ligeia was evidently interested as well.

She had noticed that Aiwass's expertise in religion and Ritual Studies was profound. At least when it came to officiating the grand ritual of "Shedding and Rebirth," an ordinary Priest couldn't have managed it. Continue reading on My Virtual Library Empire

Under the watchful eyes of Ligeia and Lily behind him, the alcohol-scented Aiwass solemnly lit a candle and sprinkled a pinch of black pearl powder before the divine image, then removed all his garments before the candle flame, standing in the moonlight—this was a necessary step of the ritual, which required the presence of multiple witnesses of the opposite sex from start to finish.

Two people were the minimum.

Aiwass chose the best candidates, one being Ligeia who could practically be his grandmother, and the other Lily who was overly familiar with him.

To unseal a relic, there are many methods. One can use complicated rituals to force the unsealing, or directly summon the Angel Envoy to unseal it. In the folk tales of knights, when a Hero acquires the Holy Sword and gains its recognition, it is actually the knight himself who notices and acknowledges the Hero's resolve and bravery, thereby completing the unsealing.

In games, it's a not too troublesome unsealing quest.

But as long as the task is received from the Envoy itself, it already counts as a preliminary unsealing. The object in question is usable and equippable; it's just that its equipment attributes and set properties are not fully unlocked yet.

——In other words, Aiwass now only needed to summon Sasha the Nun in person.

This was something Minister Griffiths as a Legal Mage and Blood Magus couldn't do, but for Aiwass the Priest, it was effortless.

Aiwass took out a cup of high-quality red wine—also taken from the Griffiths' residence. Because it was of the finest quality, Aiwass had not drunk it but reserved it for Sasha the Nun.

Next, Aiwass bit open his left middle finger, letting a drop of blood mix with two units of light Mana into the wine.

The middle finger signifies the Aether, and the left middle finger pertains to Light. Mana poured into such non-mana-storing materials dissipates swiftly. Thus, Aiwass immediately drank half of the blood-laced wine and poured the rest over the divine image.

Soon, the black silk enveloping the divine image was soaked by the blood and wine.

As the image began to exude a slight intoxicating aura, it also started to glimmer with a faint dark gold light.

At the same time, Aiwass began chanting, "I call upon you solemnly, Dancer of the Three Aspects!

"God of the Holy Unity, God of Birth and Death, God of Enduring Obscurity—Eternal Self as of the Moon!"

As Aiwass chanted, a potent fragrance suddenly oozed from his body.

It was like the finest roast meat or an excellent wine—Lily and Ligeia, observing from a distance, immediately felt an intense allure. Had they not already feasted, they likely would have been ravaged by such overpowering hunger, their guts tormented and their reason overwhelmed.

Amid the glow of Aiwass's dark red pupils, his back began to sweat profusely, and that sweat was a pale red liquid akin to fine wine.

"I beseech You to descend beneath the moonlight!

"I am Aiwass Moriarty! I am the sweetest of fruits, the fiercest of liquors.

"Please peel away the outer skin, indulge in the goblet. I will stand alone in the moonlight, dance solitary among the thorns.

"May the Eternal Self and its Banquet Master respond to me—"

Praying, Aiwass said, "Please grant me desire and vitality!"

Prayers to the Eternal Self could take many directions, just as the Path of Love had branches like the Domain of Blood and the Realm of Shadows. With Aiwass praying in a state of satiation and inebriation, and specifically calling for the Banquet Master's response, only the Banquet Master could answer him at that moment.

Since Sister Sasha was not a true Angel Envoy, the rites couldn't be directed at her specifically.

But at that moment, the Banquet Master could see Aiwass praying before Sister Sasha's holy icon and thus knew that Aiwass wasn't seeking him. So, he let Sister Sasha come in person.

As expected.

Aiwass immediately felt dizzy, his body pitched forward, and he lost consciousness at once.

Lily instinctively rushed over, intending to catch Aiwass.

But she had only taken a few steps when she stopped in her tracks.

Before Aiwass, the holy icon began to shine with dazzling crimson light—the next moment, a translucent, gentle-natured nun emerged from it, holding the collapsing Aiwass in her arms.

—This was not a spiritual summoning, but a direct descent of her true form!

She wore a black silk eye mask and black silk gloves, and was also wrapped in the heavy garb of a nun.

She cradled Aiwass tenderly, straightening his head.

Then, she softly touched his head, caressing from the back of his skull down to his neck. A streak of crimson light flowed into Aiwass's body along with her touch.

Shortly after, Aiwass was faintly roused back to consciousness.

He was "revived by suffocation."

He felt his mind clear and his vitality surging and boiling—as if he had taken a stimulant, filled with vigor and desire, and the blood vessels in his scalp and neck visibly swelled and pulsed. However, his reasoning had weakened significantly, with a noticeable decrease in thought speed and level of calm. This was temporary exhaustion, needing roughly a day to recover.

His whole body turned a bright red, akin to the blush of someone immensely embarrassed—or perhaps as if he had unleashed The Eight Gates. Under the rapid pulsation of vigorous vitality, Aiwass's muscles swelled, and there was even an obvious physiological reaction. Fortunately, he was facing away from Lily and the others, so at least nothing unseemly would be seen.

And the moment Aiwass opened his eyes, Sister Sasha had already vanished like a hallucination.

Confirmed as more than mere illusion were Ligeia and Lily, who had been watching from the sidelines!

This was why witnesses were essential for the ritual—if there were no witnesses, Aiwass would have experienced nothing but a grand dream, waking up only to temporarily exhaust his reason in an effort to recover his vitality to its peak state, with no other effect.

But now...

At the place where the nun had disappeared, atop the holy icon... there was a pure white butterfly fluttering alone.

Bathed in the moonlight, it reflected an aura of utmost purity and sanctity.

Only against the room's moonlit wall, reflected with countless butterfly-like shadows, did it seem like a swarm of butterflies dancing together.