Chapter 2340: Red Moon in a Dream

Chapter 2340: Chapter 2340: Red Moon in a Dream

"Very simple, no problem."

Dorothy nodded, and then Luvia said to Miss Galina:

"After I leave Tobesk, Shard will only have you all by his side. Although Tobesk and Moon Bay’s matters aren’t much entangled, please take good care of Shard while you’re staying here."

"Of course."

The Duchess also nodded, while Shard complained:

"Why do I sound like a child?"

Luvia ignored Shard’s complaint:

"Shard, you should go to Moon Bay ahead of time tomorrow morning, as the target of the ’One-shot Deadly Pistol’. Also, inform the witches in the estate that the Belindel Estate should have defensive measures to prevent ’illegal intrusions’ like mine, remember to have them pause the ritual temporarily."

"Alright."

Shard also nodded, and then felt that Luvia, arranging everything so heroically, was inexplicably....cool. For now, he could only think of this adjective.

"There’s one last thing."

The purple-eyed girl said again, but this time with a smile at the corners of her mouth, looking at Shard with laughter in her eyes:

"If I remember correctly, last Sunday you used up your perfume bottle again, now is that bottle even a third full?"

"Yes, you all didn’t see the situation at that time, in dragon form any spellcasting is more powerful, but the consumption is greater."

The three ladies exchanged glances and all laughed:

"Then you’ll be busy tonight, to cope with the potential crisis, and both your Transformation Spell-Dragon and Moonlight Ring: Giant Form consume a lot of spirit....Put Mia in the wardrobe or hand her to the maid, don’t run any experiments this time."

Shard blinked, looking at the open bedroom door, and gently nodded his head.

As the night deepened, the busy Miss Maids were also preparing to rest at No. 6, Saint Delan Square.

The first floor is different from upstairs, it’s not divided into two different rooms, but an entire large dwelling. Therefore, although there are quite a few maids taking care of Miss Galina daily and assisting her with government affairs, the master bedroom has enough space for eight single beds, and each of the two large side bedrooms can fit five or six single beds for them to rest.

Tifa wasn’t present, so Miss Marsha Scott, with her long black curly hair, temporarily took on the role of the Head Maid. She was the last to return to the room, and after turning off the lights, she found that the other seven hadn’t slept yet.

"Aren’t you going to sleep?"

Although there was no light in the room, the Witch Followers had excellent "dark vision". She just mouthed the words slightly, and the others understood. So, the young girl with brown straight hair on the adjacent bed pointed in the direction upstairs, and then everyone showed an ambiguous expression together.

The nights in Tobesk are always so profound. By the time the cat curled up and fell asleep in the temporary cat’s nest made of Shard’s old clothes inside the bedroom wardrobe, the girls on the bed were either holding onto Shard’s arm or leaning in his embrace to sleep, the ritual Shard set up in the bedroom before sleeping was glowing faintly under the bed.

They all knew that Shard had set up a ritual, and they listened to Shard’s request to each have their own pillow tonight—underneath which was a red crescent-shaped ornament. He was worried that he wouldn’t see her, but the girls would.

So when Shard fell into a deep dream, the ritual circle on the floor gradually lit up with a glimmer, and the red crescent under the pillow also flickered slightly with light.

What’s more, Shard, on a whim, had placed the three "key stone tablets" for opening the "Silvermoon Library" under the bed, and now the three stone tablets were also dyed red by the light of the ritual.

However, in the dream, Shard did not encounter anything strange. The vast deep blue starry sky was above him, and he stood on that familiar endless field, looking up at the huge silver moon disk and the stars.

The gentle night breeze blew through, and feeling at ease, Shard asked suspiciously:

"So, did it fail?"

"She" smiled gently:

"Perhaps you should take a walk around instead of just looking at the moon."

"That makes sense."

Shard had tried wandering casually in this dream of the Silvermoon, but no matter which direction he went in the past, the scenery that brought peace to his mind remained unchanged. Sometimes he even felt that he would eventually create a new Maze Lock based on this dream.

But this time, after casually taking a few dozen steps in a direction, he surprisingly came upon an eerie little grove ahead.

All the trees in that grove were leafless, and the branches were claw-like, resembling the gnarled fingers of evil witches told in stories.

The Outlander in the dream sensed something intruding into his tranquil dream. It was his habit to use the Arcane Technique "Dream of the Moon" before sleep to restore his state, and he felt entirely capable of banishing this forest and the scenery behind it, but he chose not to.

He glanced at his attire, transforming his slightly casual clothing into a formal black suit, making the kiss marks on his shoulders and neck disappear. The imagined tie, initially featuring several little Mias against a black background, struck Shard as too informal, so he changed it to a plain, patternless style.

Upon entering the forest, the vast silver moon that seemed to follow Shard slowly turned blood-red.

As he silently traversed the woods, Shard could distinctly feel himself entering the border crevice between the dream and some peculiar realm.

Soon, amidst the standing dead trees, a small clearing appeared, in which lay a not very large circular stone table, flanked by a pair of red wooden armchairs rooted as if sprouting from the ground. ℯℯ𝑙.

"Such a small scene, I thought it would be a castle under the moon."

Shard murmured softly, adjusted his tie, and then walked forward.

There was nothing on the stone table, nor were there other people around. Shard casually chose a chair and sat down. He lightly tapped the table surface with a finger, and the layer of dust vanished, revealing a star map depicting March spanning across the sky.

Shard studied the star map, resembling more a ritual circle, then lifted his gaze to the "Mr. Benhart" seated opposite him:

"Why do you have a wine glass, but I don’t?"

The red-suited "Mr. Benhart" raised an eyebrow while holding a wine glass:

"This is your dream, and I am a guest invited by you. Why should I provide you a wine glass?"

This was indeed logical, so Shard reached out, watching as golden light traces greedily spread from his fingertips all over his body.

Paying no heed to his current state of "Divine Afterglow," he conjured a wine glass from the air with his right hand. Placing it on the table, he watched the red liquid inside gradually rise, then folded his hands together and gazed at the vampire kind across the table:

"I’m quite surprised that you actually agreed to see me."

Even he was surprised by his calm tone at this moment.

"Why be surprised? We have no fundamental conflicts, and you’ve consistently helped my believers, haven’t you?"

In the windless, dead forest under the Red Moon, their voices were clear. "Mr. Benhart" spoke, extending his wine glass-holding right hand, prompting Shard to raise his glass and clink it against his counterpart’s above the round table with a resounding clang.

"What you should consider now is why I want to help you."

The red-clad vampire asked as Shard sipped the red wine in his dream:

"It’s not about asking what chips I have, but asking what I can offer. Let me make clear, Grace and Helen are not up for grabs."

The vampire chuckled softly:

"Why do you think I’d want wine you’ve already tasted? That wine is already ’tainted’ by you; my tastes aren’t quite that poor. Besides, after the encounter at Sicarl Mountain, you’ve won their possession; I won’t renege."

Shard was unaware that his counterpart was reminded of the moment a "cat" scared away the Red Butterfly Sisters’ watchful guardian afterwards.

"Since you’ve come to my dream, you must have considered what it would cost me. Speak, we can negotiate."

Shard put down his glass, as did "Mr. Benhart." Resting both elbows on the table’s surface, his slender, smooth fingers bent sequentially, then folded his hands together:

"I know what you intend, I should say you’re wise, the nameless Firstborn of the Ancient God is indeed worth being cautious about. To summon me, you need at least three vampire kind symbols, a suitable Divine Descent Shell, and ten believers praying for my call—that’s the minimum requirement."

Compared to last year’s God Summoning Ritual on Sicarl Mountain’s lakeside, the requirements for this ritual are indeed low. But holding a ritual doesn’t mean he will necessarily come; a God Summoning Ritual is akin to "opening the door" and "writing a letter," whether it gets a response depends on him.

"Say, what do you really want?"

Shard was prepared to offer a droplet of divinity, even more. After receiving divinity attached to the "nameless flesh" from the ancient battlefield deep in the Ocean, Shard currently has three drops of divinity.

One drop for his ascent from the Seventh Ring to the Eight Ring, one drop for self-combustion. If one drop doesn’t satisfy him, Shard plans to use the "Desecration Cross" to find a way to get another drop, and then meet his needs.

But as it turns out, the Outlander is still uninformed about the Twelve Divinities Path of Sublimation, demonstrating an ignorance towards deities:

"What do I want? Material world wealth and power mean nothing to a being like me. My request is: if this time the vampire kind has a chance to become the ’Brightness’ Chosen One, I don’t require your help, but you must not stop him."

"Mr. Benhart" calmly said, as the Red Moon hanging over the clearing in the dead forest almost dyed their faces completely red. Gold light traces ran through Shard’s eyes, and on the familiar face across the table, the eyes were glaringly blood-red.