World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 216 The New Tower of Babylon

After an emergency rescue, the New Tower of Babylon was almost empty, with only the unburied corpses gazing sadly at the sky.

As the sun sets and the transparent stars rise, night is about to fall.

Previously, Doris blew a hole in the wall of the New Tower of Babylon, and Lin An flew in through it. A cold wind filled with a faint smell of blood rushed in, and the colorful light leaking through the stained glass illuminated the whole thing.

Despite attending university in Dietrich for three years, he had never visited this iconic tourist building.

Little did I know that my first visit would be just before it was about to collapse.

Lin An squinted and looked around.

The foundation of the New Tower of Babylon was the church bell tower, which had undergone modern renovations over the past two hundred years, complete with cables, incandescent lights, and handrails. However, all of these were destroyed by Doris's angels, leaving only the ruins of the old church.

The marble walls are sharply defined, and the buttresses surround the tall six-pane windows. Floating light shines on the religious murals, and the saints in the paintings look directly at the gazing viewers below, through the lens of reality and illusion.

The soon-to-be-damaged radio played distorted hymns, while the organ's melodious scales flowed gently.

God, we plead here.
May your generosity and divine spirit guide us on our journey.

Our prayers guide us, and our words and deeds teach us.
May every task we undertake begin and end with you.

In the name of God, Amen.

Once inside the tower, Lin An had to float in the air.

The reinforced concrete floors were blown to rubble, and the former souvenir shops, cafes, and convenience stores were reduced to slag mixed with blood and flesh. He could see the church atrium at the bottom from the New Tower of Babylon, which was about ten stories high.

Rocky's true form is hidden below.

Before venturing deeper, Lin An took out the [Devil's Dice] from his chest, held it between two fingers, and tossed it into the air.

"Am I currently being influenced by, or experiencing, a 'prophet'?"

He caught the die in his palm; it landed on the "wrong" side.

Did Rocky not manipulate my thoughts?

Lin An manipulated the flow of energy from the Philosopher's Stone to continue downwards, passing through layers of broken floorboards. The starlight from the spire grew fainter and fainter, and all around was pitch-black darkness.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock..."

Water droplets fell from who-knows-where, their sound echoing clearly in the empty Tower of Babylon.

Upon reaching the bottom of the clock tower, an unusual sound of wind approached, and Lin An looked in that direction.

Six pairs of deep silver wings trembled, a faint moonlight spread, and a holy halo appeared behind the moon angel's head, illuminating the old site of the New Tower of Babylon in place of the stars.

The floor is divided by arcades supported by cylindrical columns, and the walls are decorated with metal badges and diamond-shaped oil paintings, which belong to the church's donors, once prominent families in Dietrich. Dark gold calligraphy introduces the initials of the nobles' surnames.

Simon stands on an altar, behind him an archway consisting of three vertical shafts enclosing a large molded archway.

He gripped his longsword in his right hand, his gaze meeting Lin An's. Just like when they first met, his silver eyes were filled with a gentle and compassionate light, yet also with a resolute indifference and an unusual weariness.

"Captain, long time no see," Lin An greeted Simon. "Some danger is about to occur here, I hope you can leave as soon as possible."

“I know you’re here because of Chairman Emmanuel,” Simon said. “Lin, I’m sorry.”

"It's alright, Captain, go ahead and fight if you want." Lin An held up the Philosopher's Stone, which was slowly spinning, with both hands. "It's just that your occult magic can't hurt me now."

Simon placed his other hand on his chest, made the sign of the cross, and murmured the praise, "May it be so."

After the pollution level rose, he looked like dark silk and wisps of purple candle flame. Lin An didn't know what he looked like in Simon's eyes. The eyes behind those feathers were like countless mirrors, making Lin An stare into the depths of himself, endlessly.

As the praise ended, the silk, still glowing with candlelight, moved, and Simon gripped his longsword with both hands and slashed at Lin An.

He opened his mouth and spoke in a pained voice.

"I'm very sorry."

“There’s really no need to apologize, Captain,” Lin An replied. “Instead of letting you spend your days looking miserable because of self-blame, it’s better to just settle things with me.”

“No, I’m not apologizing for hunting down the [Ghost]. It’s my duty as the captain of the St. Anilov Foundation’s control team.”

Simon shook his head, and purple flames ignited, burning towards Lin An's shadow.

“I apologize to you, Lin. I once believed that life had only one face, but because of my melancholy and harshness, I always ignored the curious new buds that kept sprouting from the tree of youth. Now, I only regret not guiding you to become a more cheerful, enthusiastic, and vibrant person.” The longsword slashed down, making a clanging sound.

Lin An retreated to one side of the hall, distorting his position with his mental illusions, so that Simon's longsword only struck the air and the statues surrounding the red fence.

Upon accessing the captain's panel, Lin An discovered that his contamination level had exceeded 60%, indicating that Simon's mind was beginning to become clouded.

Hopefully, slashing the illusionary ghost a few times will bring him back to his senses.

Rocky is a typical "Dream Master". His rating is only C, but his level of pollution is ridiculously low. Based on past experience, Lin An roughly understood how to control this medium.

It's simple: Freud's three "Is".

The mysterious archetype of the "Lord of Dreams" aligns with an individual's own personality and beliefs, and can be seen as a manifestation of the "superego." The behavior of the awakened mystic reflects the "id," and they then need to balance the weight of the two to understand the essence of the "ego."

For example, Rocky Alberg, a natural god of trickery and mischief, whose actions and thoughts both conform to the archetype and fit his own ideas.

It is precisely because of his young age that he is so pure.

The captain always uses the rational control of the "ego" to suppress the ideals and beliefs of the "superego," causing the "id," which originates from the heart, to lose control and become more polluted.

As long as he breaks free from the constraints and completes a few "punishing evil and promoting good" events, the pollution level will naturally decrease, since Sariel was originally an angel of protection and sealing.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, Lin An noticed that the captain's data in the system remained unchanged. After a moment's thought, he also wanted to say a few words from his heart.

“I understand why you’re saying this to me, Captain, but you’re not the one who made me who I am; it’s my nature. But the past few months we’ve spent together have indeed changed some of my thoughts. I will always remember your rebuke. Goodbye.”

Sensing Rocky's presence so close, Lin An flew to another part of the hall, immersing his consciousness into the little figure in the bottle, and sent it through the archway of the altar.

Rocky stood on a platform paved with smooth red, green, black, and yellow tiles used by the church in the Augustan era, stepping on the carved decorations and shimmering glaze, gazing at a religious oil painting, "The Descending of the Cross."

He turned around when he heard footsteps.

Rocky, now in his true form, was less than 1.2 meters tall, about the same height as the miniature figure in the bottle. His long golden hair reached his waist, and his eyes narrowed mischievously, making him look like an innocent little colt.

Lin An calmly held the Devil's Dice, ready to throw it out to verify its authenticity should his thoughts falter. At the same time, he was prepared to cut off his communication with the little man in the bottle at any time.

“Welcome to the New Tower of Babylon, ghost of Dietrich!” Rocky spread his hands. “Have you decided to cooperate with me, or do you still want to kill me?”

"Die, you brat."

"Pfft, a broken record, huh?" Rocky chuckled slyly. "It's true that this body is my 'original form,' but as long as there are clones, I won't truly die. Unlike that fake 'Mother of Desire,' Doris, I'm a genuine source-level being."

Lin An frowned. This guy was as annoying as a fly and as tenacious as a cockroach.

And Rocky said Doris was a fake "Mother of Desire"...

This shows that the strength she demonstrated does not represent the true source-level all-out effort, and that there is a real "Mother of Desire" in the world.

“I also obtained a quarter of the ‘divine power.’ Although I haven’t fused with it yet and can’t use any power, as long as I have it, it’s enough to deal with someone like you who is just a simple source-level being,” Rocky said smugly.

A quarter of divine power?
This mysterious C-level figure from the origin of a powerful family in the Northwest State has many tricks up his sleeve.

"If that's the case, why don't you deal with Doris yourself? Is it because you don't want to?" Lin An asked calmly.

“Guess why I’m here.” Rocky shrugged. “I’m afraid you can’t beat Doris, so I came here to cover your retreat. After all, my methods can only be used here.”

Only for the New Tower of Babylon?
Is there anything special about this tower?

The little figure in the bottle looked around but found no energy fluctuations. There were no reinforcements lying in ambush, no trace of mysterious items, and Lin An couldn't even find a trace of fluctuations similar to a "formation." It was clearly just an ordinary church ruin.

Is this Rocky's trick, or his true feelings?
“Become a client of the Aske and Embra Heritage Foundation, or I’ll kill you.” Rocky pulled out the dagger he had once used to commit suicide, its cold flames flickering across the frame of the oil painting. “Say yes now!”

"Let me buy it for free," Lin An said expressionlessly.

Rocky stared in shock, startled by the other party's sudden unreasonable demands. After all, he had previously thought that unreasonable demands were his privilege.

"You're so mean! You didn't even let me have my way!"

A surge of resentment rose in his heart, and Rocky angrily raised his hand. The flames "whooshed" and burned away the entire mural. The ethereal aura spread out like a carpet, and the dark song echoed silently, crashing straight into the face of the little man in the bottle.

"Hehe! Go crazy in the aura of the 'Lady with the Lamp'!" the young god of mischief laughed. "I'll make you the grand finale of the next auction!"

Thank you to Ginger Boy, Copper Pea, Flower Green Smoke, Youlongjun, Peerless Beauty Meng Xiaoxiao, Book Friend 20230304140108080, and Unobjective Analysis for the monthly tickets. Thank you all for your recommendation tickets and subscriptions.

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(End of this chapter)