World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 166 A Grand Funeral
"By using mystical arts, the radiation value of the [Mystic Encyclopedia] has increased by 0.2%."

Listening to the system's announcement, Lin An looked up at the sky.

The herbs healed the grotesque tissue that had bulged all over the bodies of the spiritual portraits, reducing their frenzied killing urges and slowing their movements.

Having lost consciousness and physical body, they are already empty shells of soul energy.

At the same time, Lin An felt a mysterious connection between these souls and him.

Despite being rendered harmless by modern methods, the White Witches Wikka still retain the traditions of witchcraft, like the spirit portraits of Deval, capable of creating or summoning familiars or imps to serve as their servants.

However, it was a complete set of witchcraft procedures. The entries Lin An included did not contain any methods for signing contracts with familiars or summoning magical pets. He could only temporarily control these spiritual portraits through the countermeasures of white witchcraft.

Moreover, spiritual portraits are not familiars; they consume the "aura" of the Holy Path and dissipate once there is no continuous sacrifice.

Admittedly, keeping all of these spiritual portraits is not very realistic.

Firstly, Lin An believed that adapting to this "external incarnation" should be done gradually, as raising seven at once would cause him to become mentally unstable. Secondly, the blood consumed by creating seven mental portraits would be no small amount.

But he had no intention of wasting the legacy of Unit 2.

Lin An closed his eyes, immersing his mind in the Philosopher's Stone, while giving instructions to the system.

"Use 'The Complete Book of Magic II - The Creation of Alchemical Puppets'."

This is a new mystical technique that Lin An suddenly comprehended when he connected with the "Dao Embryo," one of the ways to create alchemical life.

Homunculi, also known as the Little Man in a Bottle, the Artificial Man, or the Puppet, are artificial life forms created by alchemists in the Middle Ages, led by Paracelsus.

The Paracelsus Record was made in the following way:
A flask is filled with male semen, various herbs, and horse manure, then sealed. The flask is kept warm by fermentation of the horse manure. After forty days, a transparent object in the shape of a human will appear in the flask.

At this stage, the artificial life form has no physical body, only an illusory, misty humanoid shape. Therefore, the alchemist must continue to feed it with human blood until the humanoid shape has been nourished for forty weeks, and a living human baby will grow out of it.

It looks like a baby born to a woman, but its body is much smaller.

Paracelsus believed that these little people were born alchemists with extremely high skills in "art" and were the best helpers of alchemists because "they were born through art that transcends, so they did not need to learn from anyone."

However, in later generations, another alchemist, Rabbi Samuel, modified his formula, creating speechless, low-intelligence puppets to accompany and serve him.

His formula consists of the soul, blood essence, and the thought of a celestial body, which he pours into a sculpture made of clay or wax to complete the ritual.

The disadvantage of these puppets is their short lifespan, but the advantage is that they have no ability to think or learn, and will not go out of control, thus posing a threat to alchemists.

Lin An didn't have clay, but a metal could replace the base for making puppets—tin.

The small world of the Philosopher's Stone shifted, the celestial bodies representing the seven metal elements rotated, the symbol of Jupiter emitted a faint glow, and energy struck Deval's corpse like a bolt of lightning.

The physical body became the medium, and Lin An separated the spiritual portrait that had initially floated behind Deval and injected it into it.

As energy flowed, a string of characters called "emet" appeared on the corpse's forehead. It can be translated as truth or "the mark of a saint," granting the inorganic life form the power to act.

After doing all this, Lin An controlled the harmless mental portrait to rush towards each floor of the art academy, emitting frightening roars and "thump-thump" drumbeats.

The students who couldn't see the Comors energy body were oblivious, but the Foundation members sitting in the helicopter were terrified.

"Oh no! The ghost has gone on a killing spree!"

With a "buzzing" sound, Reagan and his team were the first to arrive at the art school.

The instant the teleportation ended, they swiftly entered the classroom that had been invaded by the mental images, allowing the students to take immediate refuge.

The students, upon suddenly seeing four monstrous figures, initially thought it was a Halloween prank or costume party.

Before the riot could break out, Reagan and Caroline showed their employee cards, and Hector, without saying a word, picked up two students with his strong arms. Vanessa's blood-red hands, flying everywhere, grabbed the students and pulled them back to prevent them from being killed by the mental portraits.

Meanwhile, the sound of police sirens downstairs reminded the students of the seriousness of the situation.

Given the recent rumors, a small number of people became aware of the situation and evacuated under Reagan's command, while the remaining students who were shouting were forcibly taken away by police officers who stormed into the art school.

"Lin! Are you alright?"

As for Lin An, when he heard Barry's voice coming from the stairwell, he didn't bother with acting and gave a brief reply.

"I'm okay."

“Is that Ghost?” Barry glanced at Deval, who stood there with skin as smooth as metal. “Whatever you found him, good job. The captain wants us to cooperate with him to take down Ghost.”

"okay."

On the other side, Simon, carrying Mishi, jumped off the helicopter, tracing a graceful arc as they landed opposite Deval.

"Ho ho ho..."

Hearing the strange noise, Lin An manipulated the alchemical puppet to turn its body, staring intently at the two of them with empty eyes, and letting out a hoarse and unpleasant roar.

Facing this legendary wanted criminal, Simon showed no fear. He spread his dark gray wings, and a longsword emitting a faint luster appeared in his hand. He shouted sharply.

"Today is the day you die!"

“No, that’s right! Your days of causing trouble in Dietrich are over!” Mishi chimed in.

"Kill him quickly." Barry hurriedly joined them.

“You wretched ghost, you can’t escape! We have to pin you down here!” Lin An shouted from behind.

The Foundation deployed its strongest team, giving them considerable prestige.

In this way, the Ghost can be considered to have made a magnificent exit.

Although whether it was the previous "Ghost" or the current Deval, it was all me... Lin An thought silently.

Mishi tossed her fluffy orange hair aside. Morning dew swirled and fell to the ground from the tips of her hair. Grass and trees grew, and birds sang and flowers bloomed.

The ground was covered with a lush green carpet of plants, flowers sprouted from the soil, and a song full of the rhythm of life slowly began to play.

“S nam bitheamaid uile d`leas Do'n r`gh bha toirt! (Be loyal to the Queen and receive a gift!)

This sound, when blown into the enemy's ears, is actually a hypnotic countdown.

A fairy ring made of mushrooms blooms like a flower at the feet of the alchemical golem, surrounded by the atmosphere of the fairy kingdom.

As Lin An controlled the alchemical puppet to move forward, he noticed that its steps were circling, and it was walking in a figure eight shape, returning to the starting point, completely disobeying his commands.

Are you being misled?

Mishi's intensive training these past few days has been quite effective. Lin An thought with satisfaction.

Although it lacks direct firepower, even a momentary pause on the battlefield can be fatal.

While the alchemical golem was trapped by the fairy ring, a dreamlike yet indifferent light burst forth. The moon's flawless silver and the dreamlike allure of purple surrounded Simon at the very center, his longsword pointing straight ahead.

This hastily cobbled-together alchemical golem was no match for Simon.

For the sake of realism, Lin An couldn't let the battle be too one-sided.

"System, use the mysterious [Soul Expulsion Ritual] from 'The Complete Book of Magic I: Necromancy, Fertility and the Dark Earth - The Worship Ritual of the Hittites'."

"This entry cannot affect the selected target. Do you still want to use it?" "Yes."

Just kidding, if it actually worked, the captain would be dead!

I just want the ghost to have a grand funeral, but I don't want the captain to be buried in the center position!
However, I didn't expect my radiation level to increase so much, yet I still couldn't kill Sariel using soul magic. Lin An fell into thought, wondering if there were also incompatible relationships between mystical entities, or if it was due to the special nature of the "Lord of Dreams" medium.

A cold and ethereal energy swept over him, and Simon suddenly realized it. He saw the alchemical golem raise its hand, and a pit appeared below him, bottomless and hellish. A violent suction force penetrated his entire body, almost pulling his soul away.

Simon was immediately rendered immobile by Medusa's direct gaze.

"Captain!" Mishi exclaimed, "What's wrong?"

Seeing Simon standing still, the alchemical golem didn't seize the opportunity to finish him off, but roared and charged towards Mishi and Barry.

"Hide behind me, Mishi!"

Although his rating isn't impressive for a fight of this caliber, Barry is one of only two close-combat fighters in the squad.

At the critical moment, Barry stood in front of Mishi, clenching his fists, trying to stop the alchemical golem's charge with his arms.

"Let me help you!"

Lin An volunteered to raise his wand, creating a violent gust of wind that made the alchemical golem struggle to move.

"No...don't get near it! That damned thing...it must be killed with one blow! Now! Immediately!"

A clear whistling sound came from behind. Lin An turned around and a strange scene came into view.

A halo of heaven appeared behind the moon angel's head, blurring his face like a mosaic. Then, an indescribable, sacred, and beautiful flame emanated from Simon's chest.

The flames engulfed his entire body, binding his soul like golden ropes, while a protective aura permeated the air, dispelling the sun goddess's forceful attraction from the underworld.

When Simon stood up, the intense light almost blinded Lin An.

The boy's handsome face remained serious, but this appearance was striking because he looked so perfect that it was hard to tell whether he was male or female; he seemed to be a combination of the two.

The illusion vanished in a flash, and Lin An's tried-and-true Hittite ritual lost its effect.

Although the [Soul Expulsion Ritual] is not the most destructive ritual, watching the soul vortex it created vanish into thin air still shocked Lin An.

Sariel's characteristics...

It's more like a "passive" approach than a mystical art.

Lin An believed he would never lay a hand on these three companions, but combat experience was never too much, and who knew if he would encounter other angels with the medium of the "Lord of Dreams" in the future.

"Ghost, I will never let you continue to steal anyone's soul like you did just now!"

Simon picked up the angel's longsword, flapped his wings, and charged at the alchemical golem once more.

The instant Lin An made it raise its hand, Simon's figure suddenly changed position, teleporting behind the puppet and raising its longsword to slash down.

At that moment, the howl of wolves rang out.

"Ouch——!"

Barry choked him, and the sound waves spread outwards. Lin An immediately felt his body filled with power, and Simon's moonlight surged and became more abundant, with firefly lights scattering like the tail of a comet.

War Cry?

Lin An, who was watching the battle, narrowed his eyes. The "Lord of the Earth" could also enhance the energy and mysterious power of others.

So, if we gather a bunch of "Lord of the Earth" mystics, can we infinitely amplify our power?
After a series of twists and turns, Lin An felt it was time to let the alchemical golems leave the stage. He couldn't let Simon continue fighting, lest Simon discover his weakness.

"Pfft!"

The alchemical golem seemed caught off guard by Simon's attack, and its chest was pierced through on the spot.

The purple flames burned from Simon's longsword all the way to the puppet's wound, but were blocked by the tin and could not go any further.

This spiritual flame only works on humans.

Simon frowned. The light that represented purification and sealing had no effect on the ghost!

How evil must this person be!

Upon closer inspection, the ghost's body was somewhat...

Unfortunately, Simon couldn't get a good look and was suddenly struck hard. The ghost merely snorted coldly, raised its hand with a trembling hand, and pointed at Lin An not far away, seemingly wanting to use the same trick on him again and suck away his soul.

"Don't even think about it!"

Simon's pupils contracted sharply. He strained his arms and thrust his longsword upwards from the wound, severing bone and tearing flesh. His wings flapped wildly, generating energy that even blew the railings at the edge of the rooftop to pieces.

"Crash..."

The sound of muscle tissue being destroyed one after another rang out. The angel's sword went all the way up until it drew a straight line, and Simon suddenly felt a lightness in his hand.

The ghost's body had been split in two, the wound extending from the center of its ribs all the way to its left shoulder. The next moment, as if it had finally realized what was happening, blood spurted out.

"Guah——!"

As the longsword slashed down, Lin An sensed that the connection with the alchemical golem was about to collapse, and that it was on the verge of collapse. He then manipulated it to retreat to the edge of the rooftop, severing the connection at the same time.

The text above the puppet's head turned into "teme," a reverse carving of "truth." The spiritual portrait flew out of Deval's corpse and was collected into the Philosopher's Stone by Lin An without leaving a trace.

The tin surface regained its pale human skin color, and blood gushed from the severed wound like a waterfall.

Using inertia, Deval took a step back with his increasingly weak legs and fell backward from the rooftop. His falling into the abyss was the last thing everyone saw.

"Ping——!"

A few seconds later, a slight thud came from downstairs.

Thus, the battle between the Foundation and the Ghost came to an end.

Lin An and his companions peered over the railing and saw that Deval's body was twisted beyond recognition, with only one stiff hand outstretched as if searching for something, but there was no one beside him.

Sang Sang has been taken away by ambulance and rushed to the hospital.

Upon confirming his body, the group breathed a sigh of relief.

The "Ghost," who had cast a shadow over the Foundation for three whole months, has finally been killed...

With Deval's second death, Lin An took the opportunity to break the counterspell of the white magic, and after chasing the students' spiritual portraits, he paused and floated out of the window.

The aura of the portraits was completely dissipated under Lin An's influence; they slowly melted and dissipated, like the aurora borealis streaking across the sky.

The four looked up at the strange yet poignant scene before them, a mix of emotions and a sense of unreality washing over them. Only Lin An clapped his hands lightly.

“Oh my god.”

(End of this chapter)