Unable to repay my student loans, I had no choice but to work part-time as a demon hunter.

Chapter 98 Ritual Against Ritual

"You went down the only staircase and then reappeared at the top." Gordon rubbed his forehead. "Green Manor was already suspected of tons of crimes. Now it's destroyed geometry."

To Gordon, Shireen's position kept moving downwards, but to the naked eye, she reappeared at the original point.

Gordon continued testing.

Shirin's situation has been confirmed; people who climb the stairs will return to the starting point. The second time, he needs to check if the distance has increased, if the path turns back from the middle, and if the rope will suddenly break.

He sent three patrol officers down with ropes to measure the distance, with one end of the ropes fixed to the top of the stairs.

They walked down the rope, taking about 67 steps, and then the three of them came out of the entrance again. The rope was neither knotted nor turned back; it was still in their hands.

Gordon observed the rope curiously and found that it looked different from different angles.

Viewed from the side, it appears to have broken off in mid-air.

From the front, one can vaguely see that it connects to the bottom of the stairs, and one can glimpse the outline of the area beneath the stairs.

Clearly, space has been folded up on some level, like a snake that has eaten its own tail.

Martin went even further; he ignored the stairs and went straight to studying the entrance.

He first let the patrolmen enter the staircase, then hung the painting back up, turned the bronze turntable again to seal the entrance, and then ordered the patrolmen to go down.

After a series of footsteps, they shouted, "There's no path down there!"

"What do you mean?" Gordon shouted.

"It's blocked; it looks like it bumped into something."

Even though they were about three or four meters apart, they were tapping on the invisible barrier in front of them, but the sound came directly from in front of Gordon, as if he were standing right behind the painting.

Martin removed the huge mermaid painting, and the patrolman immediately stepped out from where he had been, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

He insisted that he was always going downhill, but after reaching a certain step, he could no longer proceed.

Gordon listened carefully; the vibrations were transmitted normally, and the subtle structures deep underground, the wandering crowds, and the blurry, enormous monsters were all clearly discernible.

He raised the oil lamp and observed carefully.

A layer of dim light enveloped the staircase passageway, an unusually complex structure. Gordon knew perfectly well that a guided spiritual force existed here.

Someone used the ritual to alter the characteristics of the entire staircase.

"Martin, it's time for some cigarettes."

"—Everyone, step back." Martin turned around and inspected some of the items in Olivia's boudoir.

He ultimately chose the hair residue on the comb Gordon had found, a whale oil lamp, and a pillow from the bed. These items represented the person, the place, and things she had been in constant contact with, in order to establish a stable anchor point as much as possible.

Martin placed the evidence on the ground and knelt down on one knee.

[Crime Scene: Silent Testimony]

The Green Shade Mansion suddenly fell silent. White smoke rose from the gaps and edges of the furniture, converging into blurry figures, chasing and replaying the past.

Gordon recognized Olivia's silhouette.

She was dressed in a dress that resembled a gown. She was first having a heated conversation with a servant beside her, a shadow that looked like Eileen. She even seemed to grab Eileen's hair and push her down, but a moment later she walked over to Eileen, gently stroked her hair, and gestured for Eileen to get down by herself.

Next, Olivia began setting up the ritual, placing the spiritual crystal on the steps, putting two maps in the center, flipping them, covering them, and flipping them again, with the maps constantly overlapping.

Finally, she took out a smooth-edged stone and kept scraping it on the drawing, removing a certain mark as she walked down the stairs.

With each wisp of smoke cleared, a flight of steps was enveloped in a gray mist.

This staircase was then given special characteristics.

As the white smoke dissipated, the solidified dust in the bedroom began to settle again.

Gordon took a deep breath and listened again to the noise from all directions.

"A ritual," Martin concluded. "It involves imbuing a person with a spiritual essence, defining a region, and then erasing the starting point. The specifics are unclear. I feel like I've heard this ritual somewhere before."

"Can it be cracked?" Gordon asked.

"No. Preserve the scene and await the ritual experts. Do not attempt to enter again tonight."

"7

Martin ordered four patrol officers to guard the entrance.

"We have to get in tonight," Gordon insisted.

"Unless you can break it open." Martin pointed down.

"I know someone who probably knows what to do—but if I could ask her for help, it would be a waste of my face and favors, Martin—"

"I will definitely remember your contribution."

"I'm not that petty, Martin, you underestimate me."

"Then I will delete it."

"You should still write it down; it's better to remember."

Gordon returned to Bachelor's Road.

The lobby of the Blackwood Hotel was brightly lit, with waiters moving about and several guests checking in.

Gordon walked up the spiral staircase covered with a dark red carpet to the fourth floor and knocked on Eve's door.

The door didn't open immediately, but the sound of flowing water could be heard from inside.

Eve was clearly using the brass bathtub that Gordon had seen during the day; she appeared to be raising her arm from it, water splashing and flowing.

"Who?"

"I."

"Ah—Mr. Vic, so you came to see me because you couldn't sleep."

Speaking of which, ever since he started using Shallow Dream's Rhythm, Gordon has indeed felt no sleepiness at all.

-

However, fatigue will still accumulate, and you'll just stay up rather than sleep.

"Yes, yes, if you don't help me, I definitely won't sleep well tonight."

A series of suggestive sounds emanated from inside the room.

Someone got up and left, their footsteps making a slapping sound on the ground, and they gently wiped their hair with a towel.

Then she opened the door, and a fragrant scent wafted out. The fabric was clinging tightly to her body because it was wet, and the only button was stretched out of shape.

Gordon's first impression was that the room was too bright. Eve lit more than a dozen candles and placed them around the room, with the angles of the light carefully designed to illuminate even the area under the bed.

"Mr. Vic?" she smiled.

"The police have sent twenty men to wait for you. You're finished."

"?" Eve's eyes curved slightly. "Arrest me?"

"There's a blockade in the basement of Green Shade Mansion, with interconnected routes. We need an expert in the occult."

"Then why did you say I was finished just now?"

"Because once you agree, you'll be forced to work overtime with us."

Gordon quickly introduced the hidden entrance and loop route of Green Shade Mansion.

He particularly emphasized the things Martin reconstructed, including the overlaid map, the spiritual crystals, and the staircase that leads to the end and back to the beginning.

She had intended to confirm more facts, but Gordon went on to explain everything in great detail.

Eve closed her eyes and thought for a moment.

When she thinks, she is quiet and focused, as if extracting information from an infinitely thick book.

“The Lost Road Ceremony.” She said softly, “It’s a ceremony used in the southern continent to protect tombs, it weaves a road together from beginning to end.”

"How do I untie it?"

"Knowledge comes at a price, Mr. Vic, you're certainly more adept at that than I am."

"I will try my best to persuade that investigator whose face is as hard as stone. If he doesn't offer enough rewards, I'd rather take the solution you're about to tell me to my grave."

"And what about you? My words will be etched in your mind. You will remember a message of immeasurable value."

"Isn't it enough that I helped you get back to Lundnium?"

"Because I'm looking forward to—something more, something more special."

"How so?"

“I want you to believe me, Mr. Vic. This is a vast and dangerous world, and people like us, from humble backgrounds, should help each other even more. Gordon, although we haven’t known each other for long, I feel we are essentially the same.” Eve brushed the dust off Gordon’s shoulder.

"What's the similarity? Have you ever seen a line of people collecting relief meals at 3 a.m.?"

"I made a living by doing other people's homework during college."

"I survived for seven days on a single piece of dark bread."

"Same here, I only drink water."

"I'm working hard to pay off my student loans."

"Me too. I just paid it off last year. 179 gold pounds, 9 silver pounds, and 37 copper cents."

The two looked at each other for a moment, both feeling a certain familiarity; they had both once had no other choice. Gordon suddenly felt a surge of competitiveness; Eve had paid off her student loans, and he really did have to.

"Okay, I admit you look a little similar." Gordon straightened up, took a deep breath, and said, "—If you want something more special, I'll do my best."

"That's enough," Eve said softly. "Now I'm going to tell you about the ritual of enlightenment used to open the way."

It requires the crystallization of light-phase spirituality, the sacrifice of wondrous objects once used for navigation, and the illumination of the path to the true destination with light that dispels illusion.

"Wait a minute," Gordon said while taking notes, "we should go together."

"————" Eve looked out the window.

At 11 p.m., Lundnium was shrouded in darkness, and the gaslights on the streets appeared particularly dim in the fog.

"It must be very dark in the basement of Greenwood Mansion, won't it?" she whispered. "Including the dark road leading to Greenwood Mansion, the shadows inside the carriage. I don't like the dark, Gordon. I can't walk with you in that shadow."

Source-type disease? The thought flashed through Gordon's mind.

"I will remember the contents of the ceremony," Gordon assured him.

"Aren't you going to try to help me overcome my fear?"

"The root cause of the disease cannot be overcome; it can only be controlled. You can only try to avoid stimulation as much as possible. If I were your attending physician, I would not deliberately provoke you or force you to prove how resilient you are."

Eve was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"—The light of the Unfading Ritual is a one-way path; if you return after entering, you must perform the ritual again."

"Therefore, those who go in should ideally finish all their work at once."

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