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Hobert paid the fare and, after the carriage had moved away, climbed over the wall into the abandoned factory with Xio.
This place was already on the southern outskirts of Backlund, secluded and perfect for shady dealings.
By now, the sun had set. After surveying their surroundings and finding no signs of danger, Hobert and Xio quickly dashed to the front of the factory building.
Just then, a crow dropped in front of them.
Hobert gave it a brief glance, noticing no visible injuries on the crow. It seemed as if it had simply grown too tired to fly.
Looking up, he saw crows still circling overhead, much like vultures anticipating a feast.
Both of them had an ominous feeling, and Hobert, leaning against the factory wall, said, "I sense an evil power. The ritual Zacary mentioned in his letter is unlikely to be a prayer to the Seven Orthodox Deities."
Xio paused before replying, "I'm good at fighting, but not so much at dealing with evil forces."
Hobert said, "Since neither of us feels any immediate danger, it means that Zachary's ritual, while evil, isn't highly dangerous.
"Still, to be safe, if either of us senses any danger, we'll immediately retreat and report to the Church!"
The spiritual intuitions of an Arbiter and a Lawyer might not be as sharp as those of a "Seer" or "Listener," but they were still good enough for basic danger detection.
Moreover, reporting things was a standard skill in the Tarot Club, and Hobert had no qualms about using it in this situation.
Xio nodded, and without further delay, the two of them sprang into action.
The factory was empty, with only some dusty debris piled against the walls. It was clear that anything valuable had been sold off before the place was abandoned.
Hobert drew his gun and flipped off the safety, while Xio pulled out a stiletto hidden in her pant leg. The two made their way directly to the stairs. Before they even reached the second floor, they heard faint sounds coming from above.
Their muscles tensed up. Since there were no warnings from their spiritual intuition, they decided to go all out. Xio took the lead, with Hobert following closely behind, and they charged up the stairs.
No matter what potion Zachary had taken, Hobert and Xio, both at Sequence 9, were confident they could take him down.
Fearing that Zachary might be armed, Xio, upon reaching the second floor, leapt forward with agility, rolling to draw attention.
Hobert was right behind her, aiming his gun at the source of the noise, ready to fire.
But there was no fierce resistance as they had anticipated. Hobert swallowed the "Don't move!" that had been on the tip of his tongue.
In a dilapidated office, there was indeed a figure. His hair was disheveled, and his face was as dry and wrinkled as a mummy's. His body was covered in sores, and he was pacing back and forth in front of a crude altar, completely absorbed in the act.
Xio took out Zachary's portrait from her pocket. She could barely recognize the man pacing before them as Zachary.
Hobert said, "Something's wrong with him." He seemed on the verge of losing control.
Only now did Zacary appear to notice Hobert and Xio. His left eye was dull and lifeless, but his right eye flickered with a strange light.
As Zacary's right eye fixed on Hobert and Xio, they both felt an intense sense of dread, as if they were being watched by something filthy and malevolent.
Hobert quickly said, "Don't look into his eyes!"
He averted his gaze to avoid contamination.
Zachary let out a dry, sinister laugh. In a solemn tone, as if proclaiming a divine revelation, he said, "I've seen it! I've seen the kingdom of God!
"On a golden land, I hold a torch and look out over the kingdom of God! The ancient deities roam the land, towering and massive, blocking out the sky, exuding the foul stench of suffering!
"Enormous crows circle above, carrying human skulls in their beaks, feasting on the souls of the dead..."
His words were like a curse, causing Hobert and Xio to feel an unbearable headache.
With trembling hands, Hobert fired a shot, and the loud bang jolted him and Xio out of their nightmare-like state.
Clearly, Zachary had been influenced by some powerful evil entity. Hobert's first shot missed, so he fired two more, finally hitting Zachary in the stomach.
Zachary collapsed to the ground, too weak to continue his vile speech.
But he immediately began crawling toward the altar, muttering, "The Lord that Created Everything, The Lord who Reigns Behind the Curtain of Shadows, The Degenerate Nature of all Living Things!"
"I beseech the power of corruption..."
The altar began to change subtly, as if some malevolent force was descending.
Hobert rushed forward and finished him off, shooting Zachary in the head at close range.
This guy had been trying to invoke the power of the True Creator! Was he seeking death?
With Zachary's muttering interrupted, the corrupting force gradually dissipated.
The crows in the sky let out a collective screech and finally stopped circling, perching on nearby trees to rest.
Xio exhaled deeply. Although she didn't fully understand ritual magic, she realized that Hobert's swift actions had prevented the evil force from descending, saving them both.
Still uneasy, Hobert holstered his gun and dismantled the makeshift altar built from abandoned tables.
He glanced again at the twitching corpse, speculating that Zachary had likely consumed a "Secrets Supplicant" potion.
Sequence 9 Secrets Supplicants were among the most prone to losing control. The True Creator's influence on low-level Beyonders was immense, evident from Zachary's ramblings in his letter.
Additionally, their heightened intuition made them hear things they shouldn't hear and see things they shouldn't see, making them prone to madness.
Because of this high intuition, Secrets Supplicants could easily grasp ritual magic, but performing rituals for evil beings often led to either unnoticed contamination or a complete change in personality.
Xio, suppressing her disgust, briefly examined the body, confirming that Zachary was indeed dead. She glanced at Hobert and said, "We've hit a dead end again."
"Not necessarily!" Hobert leaned against the wall to catch his breath, then picked up three candles from the floor and lit them according to the ritual's requirements.
The tension of his first kill and the adrenaline from their brush with death left his muscles trembling slightly.
But now, time was of the essence. Hobert, drawing a symbol representing the Evernight Goddess in the center of the candles, asked Xio, "Miss Arbiter, have you ever heard of mediumship?"
Xio's mouth fell open. "You can do mediumship?"
For a wild Beyonder, mediumship was an advanced form of ritual magic.
Hobert smiled. "If Zachary were alive, I wouldn't dare try it with my current spiritual state. But now that he's dead, it's much easier."