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Chapter 134: The Incantation That Burns Money (Fourth Update)

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Upon hearing Caine's response, Elizabeth suddenly felt a bit tense and unconsciously sped up her speech: "Could you please help me determine the exact cause? If possible, even better—if we can identify a specific solution..." Divination, at best, offers only directional guidance, and often in symbolic, vague terms that are prone to misinterpretation. Of course, you're fortunate—while I am indeed a diviner, I am also a true mystic scholar. Caine muttered a few brief criticisms under his breath, then spoke formally and seriously: "Since this is related to dreams, I recommend using a method specifically focused on dream divination." "Certainly, certainly," Elizabeth nodded gently, as if responding to a small, steady meal. Caine maintained his serious, professional demeanor: "I'll need you to sleep here and relive that dream—will that be all right?" "Absolutely," Elizabeth said, pressing her lips together and answering without hesitation. But she quickly stammered, adding, "Yet, yet I, I can't guarantee—I certainly will, I will definitely have that dream." "Only a try," Klein soothed her with a gentle smile. Then he pointed to the armchair by the side of the "Ruby Amethyst" divination room. "Please." "No, thank you. I'll just sleep here." Elizabeth gently shook her head, crossing her arms in a protective posture. "Whenever I feel tired at the school, I often do this—lean back and nap during breaks." As she spoke, she used her arms as a pillow, leaned forward, and rested her forehead against the edge of the table. "Very well, you may as well pretend I'm not here," Klein smiled, observing the dynamics of her energy and emotional tone to gauge whether she had successfully fallen asleep. "Hmm." Elizabeth closed her eyes, tucked her face into her arms, and made a conscious effort to breathe evenly. Klein said nothing further. He leaned back against the chair's backrest, and the room instantly became profoundly still and serene. That brought a sense of inner peace, quieting the outer calm. After a while, upon confirming that Elizabeth had entered sleep, Caine withdrew a thin, semicircular silver plaque from his coat pocket. The plaque was inscribed with complex Hermesian words and various symbolic signs, numbers, and markings that were difficult for ordinary people to decipher. This was Caine's successfully crafted "dream incantation" from yesterday morning! At the same time, he had also completed two "sleep incantations" and two "soul-soothing incantations." The former used rectangular silver plaques, while the latter employed triangular ones, allowing him to easily distinguish them by touch during intense combat. "Red!" Caine murmured, uttering an ancient Hermesian word. This was his designated activation incantation. Since there were further stages involving the infusion of spirit, it didn't need to differ from others—only necessary to be memorable and concise. Amid the resonant, enigmatic voice, Klein felt the "Dream Sigil" in his palms grow light, as if momentarily losing its weight. Once the spiritual essence flowed into it, he immediately placed the sigil upon the table before him. A transparent flame rose silently, enveloping the sigil and burning with a deep, serene black. This black swiftly spread, instantly engulfing both Klein and Elizabeth. Seizing the opportunity, Klein entered a meditative state, using his spiritual awareness to perceive a vague, ethereal ellipsoidal sphere ahead. Surrounding this sphere was an endless expanse of deep black, making it appear exceptionally solitary. Without delay, Klein extended his spiritual presence toward the somewhat insubstantial light sphere. Gradually, the scenes around him began to invert and flicker, then stabilized into a broad, ochre-toned plain, upon which numerous horses and humans lay dead, scattered with blood and weapons. Elizabeth wore a court gown with lamb's-wool sleeves, her hat draped with a light veil, gazing around in bewilderment. As soon as she spotted Cline's figure, a smile of surprise bloomed on her face: "Mr. Moretti, it's wonderful to see you again! When I first went to the divination club with Selena to consult the listings, I had a suspicion that the entry for Cline Moretti was you. I visited several times afterward, but since I was always busy with my classes, our schedules never aligned... " "Until the summer break, when I became more free, I was unexpectedly taken by my parents to Ramde for a holiday." "You must be able to help me, surely?" Listening to the girl's stream of words, Cline was momentarily taken aback: It seemed Elizabeth had suspected him of working part-time at the divination club, and had even come specifically to see him several times—yet she had shown absolutely no signs of surprise when he appeared! Well, the surprise is genuine—it actually masks my true feelings... Indeed, everyone is honest in their dreams, except for me, this "Fool" of a man. As his thoughts unfolded, Elizabeth's dream shifted: a tall knight, over one meter ninety, stepped forward, dragging a broadsword that reached the ground with each deliberate step. The knight wore black full armor, and as he moved, a soft metallic clinking echoed. Two glowing red flames spilled from the seams of his face mask, fixed firmly on both Caine and Elizabeth. A spectral consciousness—still far from that of a spirit-being—had not yet reached the level of an evil spirit. At this moment, Caine, already in a spiritual state, no longer needed to activate his spiritual sight. In the internal classification of the Night Watch records, residual resentment and lingering dissatisfaction were considered the weakest and easiest to manage among the soul-related phenomena. Then came the shadows and the wraiths, followed by the more troublesome evil spirits—some of the most terrifying were said to be no weaker than high-tier power holders. Thinking of this, Caine stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Elizabeth, then firmly planted his right foot, causing the dream to shatter instantly. A multitude of glowing, firefly-like lights scattered everywhere. Caine's spirit returned to his body, and his eyes once again perceived the dimly lit "Ruby Amethyst" divination chamber, the table adorned with various divination tools, and the "dream incantation" that had burned down to mere ashes. Watching this scene, recalling that the sigils of the Night Goddess's domain were all made of pure silver, Caine felt a pang of sorrow—this was truly a costly affair! Even without factoring in his labor costs, just considering the materials alone, each one averaged between six and eight soules! Well, thinking about the extraordinary beings of the Eternal Sun Church, it felt more balanced—after all, they work with gold. The corresponding metal of the Sun domain is gold. At that moment, Elizabeth softly nodded, slowly awakening and settling back upright. She glanced at Cline with a slight hesitation, asking, "Mr. Moretti, has the divination come to any conclusion?" "Indeed it has," Cline nodded seriously. "Within no more than a week, the nightmares will vanish on their own." I'll report this to the captain and have him dispatch someone to Lamde town promptly," Cline added mentally, though he didn't say it aloud. "Really? That's wonderful! Thank you so much, Mr. Moretti!" Elizabeth suddenly became excited and animated, then abruptly furrowed her brow. "What's wrong?" Cline asked with concern. "Nothing at all—just that I must return home." She slowly produced the prepared one-soule paper coin, placed it on the table, then, holding her hat with grace, formally bid Cline farewell. After leaving the red agate oracle chamber, she moved lightly toward the staircase outside the main door, hurriedly shaking her arms and whispering in distress: "It's so numb, so numb..." As for the detective fees incurred in searching for Dastur Goodriean, due to the matter involving the Red Chimney, he found it difficult to mention them and deeply regretted not having engaged two separate detective firms at the time. Dunne seemed not to have picked up the subtle implication hidden by Caine, and simply nodded gently. "What happened in Adimissor?" Caine exhaled silently and provided a detailed account. "Adimissor had a dream in which he saw blood spreading across the ground, bodies everywhere, including himself—so frightened that he was deeply shaken." Dunne spoke slowly, as though pondering. "As a seer, what do you believe this signifies?" "It signifies a disaster—a widespread one. Beyond that, I have no further information, and Adimissor's dreams may not all carry symbolic meaning." Caine replied thoughtfully. "I will submit this to the Hall and see what they have to say." "Dunne shook his head with a touch of self-mockery," "This isn't something I'm particularly good at." Without further ideas, Kline shifted to describe Elizabeth's ordeal with the restless spirits. "The town of Lamd—does the young lady believe in the goddess?" Dunne asked, pondering. "Yes," Kline confirmed. "Then we're all set. We'll head straight to Lamd and have dinner there, yes—let's bring Fley along as well. His abilities prove especially useful in matters involving the dead and spirits." Dunne rubbed his temples, striving to recall whether he had missed anything. ——If Elizabeth does not venerate the goddess of Night, then the case must be transferred to either the 'Penitent' or the 'Heart of Mechanism'; should her faith even fall outside the three major churches, it would then fall under the jurisdiction of the 'Heart of Mechanism' responsible for the suburban areas. Klein said nothing, remained silent for a while, until Dunn added, "Also, since we're operating as a team of three, we can request the use of the seal '3–0782.'" "3–0782"? Klein struggled to recall and finally remembered that the corresponding seal was the "Varied Solar Holy Emblem." This emblem's extraordinary effect appears to last for an exceptionally long time—its function is to continuously purify corpses and spirits within a fifteen-meter radius. However, it also purifies the souls of ordinary people. Research data shows that if an ordinary person remains within this fifteen-meter range for one hour, they will become a mere devotee who knows only how to praise the sun. The limit for extraordinary beings is six hours. As for spirits and corpses, they disintegrate within less than a minute. Wait—did the队长remember the seal's designation?... Goodness, I feel my memory is falling behind his already. Klein was suddenly struck dumb, nearly finding a noodle to hang himself on. At that very moment, Denys Smith leaned back, his gray eyes deep and thoughtful, asking, "Have you gone to the divination club again? Have you felt any changes lately?"