Chapter 57: Secrets of the Grimoire, Oracle of Ravings

Luo Wei had hurried away for a more significant reason than the primal, instinctive urge of the heretic Claudia to flee in the presence of an Inquisitor.

She had reaped a bountiful harvest tonight and could not wait to settle her accounts.

“I didn’t expect the Grimoire of Forbidden Curses to have such a use…”

Chanting the True Name, expanding the Domain, burning souls…

In other words, as long as enough souls were ignited to offset the Domain’s consumption, she could turn a massive profit.

After sending Claudia back to her slum hideout to recuperate, Luo Wei briefly recalled the situation. She felt that the syllables uttered by the Goddess of Pure Beauty sounded somewhat familiar.

“Is that some kind of language exclusive to the gods?”

As she pondered, Luo Wei’s gaze fell back upon the Grimoire of Forbidden Curses.

She finally remembered why it sounded familiar.

“It’s these Incantations…”

Every Incantation in the Grimoire used the language of the mortal world to mimic the pronunciation of that divine tongue.

That was why they appeared distorted and twisted—virtually meaningless to the ear, yet possessing extraordinary power.

Unfortunately, Luo Wei had not truly mastered the divine tongue. She recited the Grimoire’s incantations in her mind several times, but nothing unusual occurred. No sudden epiphany or understanding of their true meaning struck her this time.

After tinkering for a while, she still couldn’t decipher the specific meaning behind the Grimoire’s contents.

However, one thing was certain: her current development of this book likely didn’t even cover one percent of its potential.

“Something recorded in the ‘Forbidden’ archives is indeed extraordinary.”

She recalled the Starlight Domain from earlier, filled with ignited souls and indescribable astral flames…

Looking at it from another person’s perspective, Luo Wei couldn’t help but sigh. It was a truly bone-chilling scene.

She was just glad she was the one who caused the commotion.

As for whether Eliana would reveal the secret of the Grimoire, Luo Wei wasn’t worried. If Eliana had intended to speak, she wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of deceiving the other Enforcement Guards and bringing Claudia to a private clinic for treatment.

From this incident, it was clear that Eliana had some friction with the officials of Kolun County—to the point where she lost her position as an Inquisitor despite her great achievements.

“Probably due to Etheline’s meddling behind the scenes…”

Even so, Eliana had gone to Chaworth Manor alone to face the heretics, refusing to abandon her duty.

In the corrupt Kolun County, where even Councilors consorted with cults, a righteous Enforcement Guard like Eliana was a rarity. She truly deserved the title of Inquisitor.

Luo Wei’s focus returned to the candlestick on her desk. The raging fire clearly indicated the wealth she had acquired this time.

“Candlelight…”

Luo Wei had started with only 2.5 units of Candlelight. Now, it had surged to 20 units.

The Domain duration was roughly 30 seconds. Sustaining it required 1 unit of Candlelight every 5 seconds, totaling a consumption of 6 units.

She carefully recalled the specific income from the ignited souls and performed a simple calculation.

First, the Candlelight provided by ordinary people was negligible; it would take thousands, if not tens of thousands, to see a noticeable increase.

A Sequence 9 Transcendental provided between 0 to 1 unit. The two noblemen brought by Etheline were likely Sequence 8, providing 2 and 3 units respectively.

For some reason, Hume, a Sequence 7, provided very little—only 2 units. Perhaps it was because Luo Wei had blindsided him right before his death, forcing him to sacrifice all his knowledge to the Lord of Ravings as a Price.

Fortunately, Etheline’s soul was truly valuable, providing a total of 6 units. She had not let Luo Wei’s efforts to kill her go to waste.

“It seems the stronger the Transcendental, the more Candlelight their soul provides… but overall, it’s far less than what I get from Dominion.”

A fully ignited Sequence 7 like Etheline only yielded 6 units, whereas a Sequence 9 like Claudia, if fully Dominated, could provide a staggering 20 units.

If Claudia were simply ignited, she’d probably only yield 2 units—a mere consolation prize.

No wonder the Evil Gods in legends preferred trading for souls through deception and seduction. The quality of souls obtained through those methods was on a completely different level. The difference between direct ignition and full Dominion was tenfold.

“If I get the chance, it’s better to acquire and dominate souls through transactions.”

Thinking this, Luo Wei sighed, “This time, I’ve really become an Evil God…”

The 20 units of Candlelight burned fiercely, coalescing into a blaze that illuminated everything in the small room.

Yet, it still couldn’t dispel the darkness outside the inner door.

That ancient-style door frame acted as a boundary; the light from the burning flames was completely severed at the line, unable to transmit even a sliver of brightness into the abyss beyond.

It seemed the intensity of the Candlelight was still insufficient.

As for the outer door Claudia had once entered, Luo Wei wanted to wait until she had her own body before opening it.

Otherwise, the sight of a strange orb rolling around Kolun County would be far too shocking.

Luo Wei chose not to pour all her Candlelight into the Wisdom Core to activate its incantations. Having realized a new use for Candlelight, she knew she had to keep a trump card in hand.

Maintaining the Starlight Domain cost Candlelight, and igniting the souls of the living required even more.

Moreover, based on the calculation from partially igniting Etheline, burning a living soul cost roughly ten times more than what was gained from burning a dead one.

In other words, to burn Etheline to death directly while she was alive would have required 60 units of Candlelight…

A ten-to-one conversion rate. Unless it was an emergency or she lacked any other means to kill a being, such an action was quite inefficient.

If it weren’t for this restriction, Luo Wei could have exploited a perpetual energy glitch, scouring the world for cultists to use as fuel.

“It’s another combat method, just very expensive.”

Even now, Luo Wei couldn’t have burned Etheline to death directly even if she exhausted all her Candlelight.

“Just in case, I’ll save the Candlelight.”

In addition to the Candlelight, there were the memories.

She didn’t even need to mention the memories of Hume and the two Priests; Luo Wei had effectively stripped the Dream Sanctum bare of its secrets. There was little she didn’t know.

However, Hume’s memories confirmed one point: the Divine Envoy of the Dream Sanctum was incredibly mysterious. He rarely appeared and never revealed his true face.

Only the Divine Envoy knew the details of several top-secret locations within the Shelter. Even Hume only had a superficial understanding, guessing they were related to the Divine Envoy’s promotion ritual.

The Divine Envoy was also a Sequence 7 Transcendental, but he should have already prepared for the advancement to Sequence 6. For some reason, he had delayed the process.

“Is Clecia also the key to the Divine Envoy’s advancement to Sequence 6?” Luo Wei mused. She had a good impression of the cute little sister; not just for Claudia’s sake, but if possible, she really wanted to help her.

Signs indicated that her situation was very special—far more complex than merely being a “patient.”

Poor Claudia hadn’t even scratched the surface of the truth.

Etheline and the other Crimson Troupe members were more intriguing.

Even though burning the souls only left one-tenth of the memories intact, Luo Wei could still use these fragments to piece together the woman’s true intent for coming to Kolun County.

It was to transform all the local elites and nobles into Blood Slaves, thereby seizing control of the city.

Blood Slaves followed every command of their master. Combined with the charm of Etheline’s flawless physical form, she could have made the nobles obey her without the current need for secrecy and caution.

If her plan had succeeded, Kolun County would already belong to Etheline.

Furthermore… after completing all this, the Dream Sanctum, which had entrenched itself here, would have been kicked out of the game.

“It seems to be related to the current state of the Kingdom of York… and someone she called ‘His Highness’? Wait, is she planning a coup under the guise of ‘purifying the court’?”

Given the crumbling state of the Kingdom of York, a few rebellions weren’t out of the question.

“Regardless, it has nothing to do with me for now.”

After settling her gains, Luo Wei turned her attention back to Claudia’s condition.

The information stream showed that while the injuries hadn’t healed, they were gradually improving. The old surgeon lived up to his reputation; even simple bandaging and medicine were very effective.

The night outside the window was fading. The faint blue light of dawn spilled across the broken windowsill. Everything in the Slums remained as it always was.

Who could have guessed that not far away, in the outskirts of Downtown, a horrific cult ritual had occurred, affecting noble lords who usually sat high above the rest?

“It’s already daylight. Time is about up…”

Luo Wei pondered for a moment, lifting Claudia’s finger to look at the faint, shimmering thorn marks on it.

She had to prepare for the worst-case scenario: that the Dream Sanctum had already labeled Claudia a traitor.

If that were the case, Luo Wei would immediately restore Claudia’s mind, dump the mess on her, and focus solely on researching how to create a body.

After all, with a new way to obtain Candlelight, the remaining light from Claudia wasn’t that important. She’d take what she could, but she wouldn’t waste excessive energy on it.

The main reason Luo Wei still used Claudia’s identity was that if she could remain undercover, she might find an opportunity to strike the Dream Sanctum with something massive.

When the time came, Luo Wei could simply activate the Starlight Domain and harvest them one by one, reaping a bumper crop of Candlelight.

“Let me think, what kind of story should I weave…”

As the melody of the Resonance Lullaby was softly hummed, invisible thorns spread across Claudia’s fingers. The ensuing slumber carried her soul toward the dream between reality and void—the Shelter of the Dream Sanctum.

When Luo Wei arrived at the Shelter again through Claudia’s soul, she immediately noticed that the atmosphere was starkly different.

As her vision cleared, Luo Wei found nearly all the Dream Priests gathered in the cathedral’s nave, including the other two High Priests.

Everyone’s expression was solemn and grave, but as “Claudia” appeared, many couldn’t help but show a hint of shock.

“You… are still alive?”

Mura, the senior member, was slightly agitated and stepped forward to greet her, but the other two High Priests immediately blocked him. They scrutinized “Claudia” with judging eyes, attempting to find any suspicious ripples in her soul.

Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, they couldn’t find a single flaw.

While Claudia’s churning thoughts weren’t as fanatical as her teacher Hume’s, they were at least far from traitorous.

She remained loyal to the Lord of Ravings, her faith no weaker than any other priest present.

“Impossible…”

High Priest Ayne knit his brows. “Claudia, if you didn’t choose betrayal, how on earth did you survive?”

“Inquisitor Eliana wouldn’t let any Sanctum believer go—though I don’t believe she could have killed everyone alone, especially Etheline. That woman is incredibly difficult to handle.”

The other High Priest, Lucius, adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose and spoke seriously.

“It was Teacher… Teacher saved me…”

Luo Wei broke into tears immediately. From her perspective, she told the story with added color and detail, her persuasive linguistic skills even moving Mura to tears.

In Luo Wei’s description, Etheline had betrayed them, forcibly interrupting the Dream Sanctum’s ritual, which caused Hume to suffer a backlash.

Hume fought desperately to retaliate but was killed by Etheline, using his final strength to send Claudia away.

After that, she had fallen into a coma from her injuries and had only just woken up, rushing back to report these matters.

“……”

Everyone present fell silent, though the two High Priests remained suspicious.

While the story made sense—and indeed matched their impression of the Crimson Order’s behavior—it still felt off.

The other Priests looked at Claudia with disdain and hostility due to previous events. Perhaps Mura was the only one among them truly willing to believe Luo Wei’s tale.

“Regardless, the ritual failed. The responsibility falls on you and Hume,” Ayne said coldly. “The Dream Sanctum is currently in a precarious position. For such a vital mission to fail when entrusted to you, there must be appropriate punishment.”

Mura was about to argue when the icon of the Lord of Ravings atop the dome suddenly glowed faintly.

The members of the Dream Sanctum had gathered in the nave specifically to wait for the Divine Envoy to return from the Deep Abyss and adjudicate the matter.

At this moment, every Dream Priest stood with solemn expressions. As a profound shadow slowly separated from the icon, they chanted softly,

“Praise the Ravings!”

The Divine Envoy slowly descended to the floor, his ghostly gaze igniting.

This time, he didn’t scrutinize everyone. Instead, he fixed his gaze directly on Claudia.

The two High Priests hurried forward. Ayne spoke immediately,

“Lord Divine Envoy, regarding Hume’s ritual…”

Before he could finish, the Divine Envoy spoke slowly.

His eyes never left “Claudia” for a moment, as if she were the only person in the entire hall worthy of notice.

“I remember… your name is Claudia?”

“Yes, Divine Envoy.”

Luo Wei manipulated Claudia to look up at him, but this time, she didn’t view him through Claudia’s sight.

She had learned from Etheline’s memories after she was ignited that the woman had noticed her peculiar gaze. While Etheline hadn’t deduced the truth from it, there was no guarantee others—like the Divine Envoy—wouldn’t.

When it was time to be cautious, Luo Wei wouldn’t be careless.

“Lord Divine Envoy, it is indeed Claudia…”

The other High Priest, Lucius, spoke up again. He wanted to secure a conviction before Mura could speak.

The reason was simple.

Someone had to take responsibility for the failed ritual. Since Hume was dead, this “black pot” of blame had to be carried by Claudia.

But before he could continue, the Divine Envoy spoke once more.

“Follow me. My Lord… has personally handed down an Oracle, and it concerns you.”