World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 162 The Band's Past

Ocean Fantasy Dormitory is one of the dormitory buildings in the School of Art.

Barry was a little confused, but since the patrol routes on the map included the art academy, he agreed to Lin An's suggestion.

Upon arriving at the dormitory entrance, Lin An deliberately looked at the address he had found yesterday in a state of mental relaxation, but unfortunately, the person was not in the room.

"Lin Dou!"

Continuing his mission along the route, Lin An suddenly heard a familiar voice. He saw Sang Sang and two other men dressed in similar trendy clothes passing by and rushing towards him without saying a word.

"Your friend?" Barry asked.

Lin An briefly explained the situation. Seeing Sang Sang approach the two of them and curiously look at Barry, the latter hesitated for a moment and did not call the police to drive the three away to prevent unnecessary panic.

"We're heading into the art academy anyway. Why don't we follow them?"

"Uncle, are you here to visit our band too?" Sangsang waved to her two companions. "You two show Lindou and the uncle around first. I have something to take care of and will be right back!"

After saying that, she ran off down another road on her own.

"Youth is wonderful. Sigh, I'm already an old man." Barry sighed. "It's a pity that when I was young, I couldn't even gather four friends, let alone form a group to debut."

"If our team ever forms a band, you'll definitely be the bassist."

"That's going too far, Lin."

"Come on, you two are both going too far." The bassist rolled his eyes. "Can't you see me?"

"Just kidding. Young man, looks like your band's main selling point is having a bunch of handsome guys, huh?" Barry gave a stern warning followed by a sweet treat.

"The person who just greeted you was a woman," Lin An suddenly added.

"female?!"

Barry was clearly out of touch with the latest version. He kept recalling Sang Sang's appearance and attire, and Lin An's words echoed in his mind, causing his shattered worldview to reassemble.

The art academy has four floors. Its exterior walls resemble a colorful universe, covered with unique and vibrant creative street graffiti. The interior is more like a living organism brimming with artistic cells, with various artworks hanging, displayed, and played everywhere.

From paintings to photography, from sculptures to installation art, from saxophones to pipe organs, from classical music to hip-hop, everything showcases the talent and innovative spirit of university students.

The music academy is on the left, while the art academy is on the right.

While chatting with the two band members, Lin An kept scanning the people around him in his "empty mode," but still couldn't find any other mysterious figures.

With the investigation yielding no results, Lin An simply interrupted the bassist and drummer's current conversation.

"Where is your former lead singer, Deval Ramsden?"

"Dezi?" The bassist shook his head in surprise, his dreadlocks cascading down his back. "What do you want with her?"

"Perfect synchronization, let's defeat the Seventh Apostle, the Music Angel, together."

"what?"

"Just asking a few questions," Lin An said. "You're friends, right? Do you have any leads on her movements?"

Upon hearing this, the bassist and drummer exchanged a glance, and the former suddenly put his arm around Lin An's shoulder.

"Idol, if we tell you what's going on, would you agree to participate in our performance? Pinky promise?"

"I'll say what I want to say, and if I don't want to say anything, I'll switch to social media."

"Ah this..."

The drummer scratched his head for a while before finally speaking: "Actually, we're not familiar with Dezi... Are you trying to find out why he left the band?"

"I don't care. Barry, are we still on patrol?"

"Yes, the music academy is on the fourth floor, the art academy is on the fourth floor, and then turn left after you go out to the astronomy academy."

"wait wait wait!"

Seeing that Lin An had parted ways with them, the band members quickly caught up with him and poured out all their grievances and entanglements, trying to move Lin An.

“My idol, here’s what happened. Sangsang likes to ride motorcycles, but one day he was hit by a drunk driver. The doctor said that he was very likely to be paralyzed from the waist down or even become a vegetable.”

"To our surprise, his injury healed completely in less than a few weeks, which was a medical miracle. The hospital couldn't find an explanation either, and told us that Sangsang had a strong self-healing ability. Fortunately, they didn't detain him for research."

"Later, Sangsang was discharged from the hospital safely. That was when Dezi and he were at their most intimate. They were always talking and laughing together, which made us so angry that we wanted to quit the band!"

At this point, the drummer whistled.

"Until ten days ago, they suddenly had a big fight, and I thought it was just a normal quarrel. Who would have thought that Dezi would really leave, and Sangsang was depressed for a few days, and then started looking for a new lead singer."

The bassist interrupted, his voice tinged with resentment.

"To be honest, I've disliked Dezi for a long time. He's always acting crazy, swearing all the time, and dragging Sangsang to nightclubs every day. I'm not saying this to be mean, but he at least got into the University of Ann Arbor. Rock and roll is a hobby. Is there really anyone who takes being an unemployed hippie as their graduation goal?"

Their account was more detailed than Lin An's investigation, because the online sources only mentioned that Sang Sang was accidentally injured, took a few weeks off, and was discharged from the hospital, without mentioning that her injuries were serious and that she was almost paralyzed.

A miraculous recovery...

“There’s no need to badmouth your former lead singer. Maybe she’s the one who cured Sangsang,” Lin An said. “How could that be!” The bassist and drummer shrugged in unison. “During that time, Dezi did nothing but drink, act out, and try to call back Sangsang’s soul. She attended all sorts of parties. She didn’t mind making a fool of herself, and she was well-liked everywhere she went.”

Listening to their complaints, Lin An figured out the whole story.

This former lead singer named Deval Ramsden is 99% Ghost Unit 2!

Moreover, similar to what was discussed on the World Tree Forum, Unit 2 awakened the mysterious prototype of the "Way of the Saints".

The religion originated in the Lower East and was initially created by missionaries who wanted to convert thousands of Yoruba people who had been brought to the New World by slave traders by using the Saviour Bishops, so that they would decorate their homes with pictures of saints and the Son of God, and hold Mass and prayer services.

Unexpectedly, these slaves from the Southern Continent later learned a completely different, ineffective version.

They used statues of saints, yet still worshipped the gods in a way reminiscent of the South, using sacred images to pray for help from the unseen spiritual world.

The descendants of the slaves continued to practice this new religion, which spread widely and was called "the Way of the Holy Ones".

The core of the Holy Way is to interact with the Holy Spirit Orisha and receive His power through the medium of the saints. There are seven saints in total: Obatar, Elekhu, Chango, Ogon, Oshorn, Yemaia, and Oya.

They possess different celestial bodies—a concept borrowed from Greek and Roman doctrines—and control various aspects of human life, thus the magic that believers receive from them varies.

However, the gifts are time-limited, and believers must strengthen the saint's aura through continuous sacrifices.

The sacrificial ceremony lasts for seven days. During this time, the offering is kept motionless in a room, waiting for it to expel the impurities from its body and meet its final death.

The believers kill these offerings—chickens or cattle and sheep—and place their severed heads on top of the altar, cook their organs, and eat them.

Most importantly, the blood of the offerings will be preserved and sprinkled on the worshippers.

Through this sacrifice, the saint attached to the worshipper will strengthen his aura by consuming the blood of the offering, further solidifying his connection with Orisha, thereby making the witchcraft mastered by the worshipper even more powerful.

The second machine used the sage's witchcraft to extract the blood of a sacrifice, enhancing its power and allowing Sang Sang to recover quickly without any aftereffects.

The core of the Holy Way is constant sacrifice. It is likely that after tasting the benefits once, Unit 2 will begin to use mystical arts to kill indiscriminately.

Due to the secrecy and the incredible speed at which the second machine killed, its victims were scattered throughout the city of Dietrich, allowing it to repeatedly escape capture and punishment from the Foundation and the police.

As Lin An was thinking, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He has another question.

"Deval...isn't she a woman?"

"She, uh, he is psychologically transgender, but in reality, he is a man, though he dresses and perceives himself as female. To avoid creating conflict, we usually refer to Dezi as 'she'."

Lin An was not entirely surprised, as the Holy Way is a religion that has always been known for its "female orientation and female norms," ​​and women can hold the highest leadership positions.

Moreover, their doctrines are very lenient, and their followers include a large number of homosexuals, transgender people, and queer people.

Very good, now Unit 2 is undoubtedly the prototype of the Holy Path.

"Stop, I don't quite understand." Barry, who had been watching the drama unfold, frowned. "Let me sort out the relationship between Sancher and Deval... One of them is a woman and a man; the other is a man and a woman?"

"Sangsang appears to be a woman, but he actually perceives himself as male and is heterosexual; he is attracted to women. Dezi appears to be a man, but he is actually a woman and is also heterosexual, so he and Sangsang became a couple. Is it complicated? I think it's alright."

"Isn't it just a couple?" Barry said, revealing the truth.

"Shh! Uncle, do you want to get into trouble for talking like that on our university?" the bassist quickly interrupted. "That's called being a 'spoiled couple'."

"Uh……"

Barry was speechless. He was about to speak to Lin An when he suddenly heard Lin An speak.

“Barry, I just remembered something.” Lin An ran up the stairs. “You and the two brothers chat for a bit.”

"Send me a message when you're done, and I'll have the captain and Mr. Modigliani come over to clean up the mess," Barry replied calmly.

Lin An made an "OK" sign.

Working with Barry is convenient, and this kind of trust that maintains a sense of distance is exactly what Lin An needs.

Although he admired the captain's character, Simon was too righteous, while Barry, who was both righteous and wicked, made Lin An more comfortable to be around.

In air mode, Lin An discovered the exact location of Unit 2; he was currently on the top floor of the art academy.

Just as I approached the rooftop, a shrill, piercing voice rang out.

"Sancher, Sangsang! I love you to death!"

"Bullshit! Get lost, or I'll call the police!"

"You filthy bitch, don't push your luck! This is the last warning! Get back to my side!"

"Ping!"

Lin An kicked open the door, causing the entangled couple to turn around abruptly.

"Young man, your tea has arrived!"

After scanning the area, the system affixed a panel to the legendary Ghost Unit 2.

Just as he had guessed, this person was one of the seven saintly mediums of the Holy Path, the maternal spirit Yemaya, the daughter of the moon, and the master of soul magic and sorcery!
(End of this chapter)