My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 140 "Extortion"

Meanwhile, in the shadows, Ram was whispering to Father Crescent Moon:

"Is that really true?" Father Arcmoon asked with some doubt.

Ram nodded and said sincerely:

"It's true."

"If that's the case, this person probably won't be of much benefit to Blankog..."

Father Arc Moon pondered for a long while, then smiled helplessly:
"In that case, I'll play along with your act."

……

At this moment, Uriel took a deep breath, his hands trembling slightly, and slowly unfurled the scroll, aiming it at the altar in the center of the courtyard.

In an instant, the scroll began to tremble very subtly, but it never stopped.

A blinding silver light surged out from the scroll, causing Jules to instinctively squint.

Under the impact of the light, several "cracks" appeared out of thin air in the space around the altar, like a mirror about to shatter.

Jules and Ram watched this scene with bated breath, while Father Crescent had already left without anyone noticing.

"It has to succeed, otherwise how am I supposed to extort men from them and conscript them..." Jules muttered to himself.

As the light intensified, the air around the altar gradually solidified into a semi-transparent mirror, covered with cracks.

Something that seemed to be from another world was churning within it, and these images were all too familiar to Jules—the very same ones he had seen before on the mirror of the idol.

Uriel was blinded by the light, and the scroll in his hand shone even brighter, as if it were about to unleash all its power.

click-

The sound of the mirror cracking rang out.

Immediately, the scroll exploded along with the slightly illusory mirror next to the altar!

The blinding light enveloped the entire courtyard, making it seem as if the sun had set rather than as if it were daytime.

In this light, Jules, Ram and Uriel were blinded, and some law of revelation temporarily closed all the gates between the worlds.

And their eyes, too, were shut off as a door.

When Jules opened his eyes again, he saw a picture frame lying in front of him, split in two.

However, the mirror inside has disappeared.

Seeing this, he knew that Father Arcmoon had taken care of things.

"Well then, it's time to start the blackmail..."

He looked at Uriel with a leisurely air.

At this moment, the latter was staring intently at the emerging picture frame, his eyes glazed over, showing no interest whatsoever in the return of Le and Ram.

After a long pause, he suddenly shouted nervously:

"Where's the mirror?!"

Uriel turned his head sharply, his eyes filled with a murderous rage.

If someone familiar with him were here, they would understand that Uriel was now intent on killing.

But Jules simply shook his head slightly and smiled faintly:

“Mr. Uriel, calm down, calm down.”

Seemingly realizing his lapse in composure, Uriel's expression twisted for a moment. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, but his words still betrayed his anxiety:
"Where did the mirror go?! I need the mirror! How am I supposed to take that bronze mirror back to its master if it's gone?!"

A bronze mirror? Now I know what this guy was looking for—it's that half-piece of mirror made of orogenic ore…

Yule coughed and said:
“Mr. Uriel, the mirror is not in my possession, but I know how to obtain it.”

Since Uriel wanted the bronze mirror, not the mithril mirror, it wasn't impossible for him to reach some kind of "cooperation" with the other party.

After all, he really wanted to meet the "master" behind him...

Marry? Lolita?

The mere combination of these two words caused his murderous intent to surge instantly.

A girl who looks no more than ten years old, but whose mental age corresponds to her appearance, will be married to a high-ranking nobleman?

He absolutely did not believe that Lolita would willingly be "married" to him in such a short time.

Therefore, the most likely explanation is that the other party intends to use some form of coercion!
He had always suspected that the "antique" that Uriel was looking for—that is, the mirror—was for Matilda.

It is highly likely that Matilda had become Lolita's guardian at this point.

But based on Jules' current understanding of Matilda, it is highly unlikely that she would betray a friend for personal gain, given that she would risk her life to protect him based on a vague promise.

The ins and outs of this matter are quite debatable.

He must return to London no matter what!

Upon hearing Jules' words, Uriel's somewhat reddish eyes lit up, and he rushed to Jules' side, urgently saying:

"Tell me quickly, how did you get it?!"

Jules shook his head and said:
"You know that the spirits of the clergy from back then exist in this monastery, right?"

“Of course I know,” Uriel frowned. “Could it be that some audacious wandering spirit stole this bronze mirror?”

“Somewhat close,” Jules said, his smile brightening as he saw the other party had taken the bait. “Let this gentleman tell you the specifics.”

After saying that, he lowered his head and began to recite in a language that Uriel could not understand.

Uriel shuddered, thinking Jules was about to break off relations and attack, but sensing no threat around him, he breathed a sigh of relief, his brow furrowed.

"Who are you talking about?"

“The original Father Crescent Moon,” Ram added at the opportune moment.

Uriel glanced at Ram, said nothing, and continued to look at Jules.

“Interesting. I’ve never heard this language before… I wonder what secrets this Blankouge is hiding.” An interested look appeared in his eyes.

Little did he know that Jules was not actually reciting any mysterious prayers at that moment, but was simply reciting a text from his high school textbook.

It's still using Chinese!

When Jules saw Uriel's bewildered and wary expression, he knew that this move had successfully intimidated him.

He lowered his head, continuing to talk, while subtly making a hand gesture, unnoticed by anyone—

Besides the priest who had been preparing for a long time.

Upon seeing this gesture, the priest in the shadows chuckled softly, drawing upon the final power of the ritual.

The surrounding air suddenly turned cold, and a bone-chilling cold spread out.

The once clear sky was now strangely shrouded in a crescent moon emitting a ghostly light. The moonlight, like silver frost, spilled into the courtyard, casting a mysterious veil over everything.

“This is…” Uriel looked up at the sky in astonishment, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Is this the power of the crescent moon?
As the moonlight shone, a faint silver glow began to appear on the ground of the courtyard. The light gradually converged, forming strange patterns.

These interwoven patterns formed the outline of a giant mirror.

In the mirror, light and shadow seemed to be flowing, and some blurry figures could be vaguely seen moving within it.

Immediately afterwards, a deep chanting sound came from all directions, the sound ethereal and far-reaching, as if it had transcended the boundaries of time and space.

As the chanting began, a phantom figure slowly emerged from the outline of the mirror—

It was Father Arcmoon. His body emitted a soft blue light, like a phantom under the moonlight.

Beneath his feet, the mirror shimmered. With each step he took, ripples spread across the mirror, transforming into countless tiny specks of light that floated in the air.

"After hundreds of years, finally there are new guests..."

Father Arc sighed softly, his words filled with the vicissitudes of life.

However, Uriel suddenly tensed up, staring intently at Father Arcmoon, and said:

"You are not a living person."

As a superhuman, he could naturally tell that there was no trace of a living person on the other party!

Father Arc smiled:
"I am nothing but an immortal wandering soul."

Uriel frowned slightly, about to say something, when Father Arcmoon continued:
“I know why you have come, but that mirror is now trapped in the gap between reality and illusion, controlled by an evil spirit formed from the other half of my soul. To obtain the mirror, you must defeat that evil spirit.”

This was actually a pre-arranged story between Jules and Father Crescent.

The mirror was something Father Arc Moon had managed to hide, since this place was still within the sphere of influence of the ritual.

Although the illusion has been transformed into reality, he can still control the ritual to a certain extent as a "backup plan" deliberately left behind by the past ritual master.

The body of Father Crescent Moon was buried in the morgue that Jules had seen in the Mirror World.

Jules intended to dig into the ruins after escaping, but Father Crescent warned him that ordinary clergy had become wandering spirits, forever lingering in the monastery, and how could a priest be spared?
In that morgue, souls, utterly twisted by the curse of the ghouls, were transforming into terrifying evil spirits, unabashedly unleashing their malice upon the outside world.

At the same time, Father Crescent also answered one of Jules' questions—why, as everyone said, there were many wandering spirits here before, but now there are very few.

Because they were all devoured by that evil spirit!

If this continues, Father Arc Moon roughly estimates that the evil spirit's strength will likely be at the third tier.

Although Jules felt he could defeat him head-on, he always tried to conserve his energy whenever possible.

He had long noticed the lanterns in Uriel's hands that could dispel wandering spirits.

This lantern seems to be quite lethal to spirits; if used to deal with that evil spirit, it would surely be twice as effective.

So he devised this plan—to capture Uriel as a laborer, to clear the way for him, and to help him fight the evil spirit, without damaging his relationship with Uriel!
After listening to Father Arcmoon's words, Uriel fell into a long silence.

After a long while, he slowly raised his head and said:
"Is the news true?"

“That is certainly true,” Father Crescent Moon smiled calmly, “but I’m sorry, I cannot offer any assistance.”

Uriel shook his head and said disdainfully:
"It's alright, you don't need to help me, just tell me where that place is."

After figuring things out, his entire demeanor changed, from initial anxiety and anger to a sense of certainty of victory.

Jules could tell that the other party seemed quite confident in dealing with spirits, which made him curious about just how powerful the lantern was.

This also made him even more curious about what level of existence the "master" behind the other party was.

Father Arc Moon smiled and sighed:
"...Come with me."

Ram, being sensible, did not follow, but instead walked towards the entrance of the monastery.

He was completely invisible from beginning to end, so he knew his own limitations. Going with him would only be suicide.

"Uriel...hey." As he left, he watched Uriel's departing figure and couldn't help but chuckle.

In the end, the laughter turned into a sigh.

Although Mr. Jules still managed to screw over that damned Uriel, the final result was still a collaboration between the two parties.

Is it a good thing?

Right? If the bronze mirror can be found, my sister will be saved, and the debt will be wiped clean.

But why is there always this nameless fire burning inside me?

His fist clenched and unclenched, and finally, it fell limply to the ground.

……

Saint-Benedict Monastery, underground.

The entrance to the morgue.

Jules stared at the stone gate before him, feeling as if he had been transported to another world.

Everything on the ground had changed a lot, but the things in this basement seemed to be exactly the same as those in the mirror.

"Alright, be careful. That evil spirit's bloodlust is extremely frenzied. If you get close, you will definitely be attacked," Father Arcmoon warned.

Upon hearing this, Uriel shook his head and took out a lantern from his pocket.

Then, he took a pinch of powder from his small bag and sprinkled it into the lantern through the hole.

In an instant, the lantern shone with a cold light, illuminating almost everything around it, leaving nothing hidden.

Seeing this, Jules chuckled and asked casually:
"This lantern looks quite extraordinary. May I ask where you got it?"

Uriel glanced at it, a smile playing on his lips, and said:

"This is a soul-driving lamp that my master specially made using his immense magical power because he saw how capable I was. I wouldn't have taken it out if I wasn't facing an evil spirit."

The Lamp of Soul Repelling… Jules lowered his eyelids slightly, and walked closer without making a sound, beginning to analyze the lantern in Uriel's hand.

【The Lamp of Exorcism】

[Quality: Third-level rare item]

[Effect: By igniting the scales of a moth, it can dispel all spirits whose power is not higher than its own.]

[Description: When the light shines down, the shadows also fade away.]

Tier 3... Upon seeing the item's rank, Jules's gaze became unusually serious.

This thing actually has three levels?
The "master" behind the scenes, who bestowed this gift upon Uriel, a level one extraordinary being, was actually willing to use a level three artifact.

Moreover, if what Uriel said is true, this lantern was even made by the "master" behind the scenes!
"It seems the person behind this is even more powerful than I imagined..."

Jules suddenly felt some pressure, but after a moment, the pressure turned into motivation.

He wants to become stronger.

He needs to find Lolita.

At that moment, Uriel had already taken the lead and stepped into the morgue.

The lantern in his hand was clearly not the inferior one that had been given to Logan, Cliff, and the others earlier.

The surrounding area was filled with stone coffins of all sizes, all exuding a cold aura.

On the high platform in the very center, an open stone coffin lay quietly.

Jules sensed a dangerous feeling that made his hair stand on end!
At this moment, he finally understood why Father Arc Moon had advised him not to act impulsively.

If we act rashly and carelessly, we could really die here!
A terrifying roar erupted from the stone coffin, and an invisible malice surged towards the group, threatening to tear them all apart.

However, Uriel simply raised the lantern in his hand indifferently and said nonchalantly:

"God said, let there be light."

In an instant, the lights were on.

When the light faded, that pure malice left no trace.

The lantern swayed, reflecting off Yu Le's somewhat somber face.

"Heh, it seems the mastermind behind this is even more powerful than I imagined..."

(End of this chapter)