Chapter 176: Call of the Veil

'Follower? How did I gain two followers?' Calvin stood silly staring at the notification floating in front of him.

A sense of foreboding then came over to him as he slowly turned to look at Heisenberg and Ricardo.

Ricardo had this teary-eyed look on his face as he clenched his fists and said, "From now on, even if you ordered me to climb a mountain of swords or swim through a river of fire. I wouldn't hesitate to obey your orders nor question them!" Ricardo had gone all the way out with his display of gratitude and he even deeply bowed to Calvin.

With the art of Mana Manipulation, Ricardo's Origin would surely become sturdier. When that happened, then he would be able to gather more mana inside the mana pool of his origin. Having more endurance also meant that he'd be able to ascend even faster than the others. Of course, the scarcity of ascension materials was still there, but having a cheat like this was always appreciated.

The art of Mana Manipulation basically guaranteed the two of them a solid foundation for their ascension.

Heisenberg made a sidelong glance and he cringed the moment he saw Ricardo's display of gratitude.

'What the fuck? Am I going to be outdone by a scaredy-cat like this brat, Ricardo?' Heisenberg started to sweat.

He was a prideful man indeed.

'But am I supposed to bow my head like that and declare similar words? Fuck it... I'm too old for that!'

Heisenberg lifted a bitter smile and stared at Calvin.

Calvin noticed Heisenberg's gaze and a teasing smile swiftly appeared on his lips. Calvin might not be that good at reading the hearts of people, but it didn't take a genius for anyone to notice that Heisenberg was internally struggling against something. Considering the current situation, it was easy to understand what he was thinking.

"Old man, are you not going to thank me, yet?" Calvin teased and laughed.

Heisenberg's face immediately turned red out of embarrassment.

"Fucking hell, you cheeky brat..." Heisenberg glared at Calvin, but there was this awkward look of not knowing what to do on his face.

In the end, he awkwardly scratched his bald head and said, "Thank you..."

"What?" Calvin pretended not to hear it, "Did you say anything?"

Ricardo was about to bust his guts out for trying to suppress the laughter that threatened to come out of his mouth at any moment.

Heisenberg noticed that Ricardo was enjoying this situation as a spectator and he directed a fierce glare at the latter.

Ricardo immediately stood frozen. A bitter smile was on his lips as he turned his gaze away and pretended to be looking at the scenery.

But what was there for him to look when there was nothing around them other than a bunch of abandoned houses and darkness?

Heisenberg was exasperated as he stared at Calvin. The look on Calvin's face seemed as if he wasn't going to let it go until Heisenberg properly expressed his gratitude. Fortunately, Calvin seemed to have gone a change. He decided to let Heisenberg off as a smile crept up his lips.

"All right, I understand... Say no more." Calvin patted Heisenberg's shoulders, "I always knew that you were a man of action, Heisenberg. If you want to show your gratitude to me, you should know how to be sincere, right?"

There was no hint of malice at all when Calvin said these words, but when it landed into Heisenberg's ears. He could seem to feel an ominous sense of foreboding. Glancing at Ricardo, he realized that the latter had already devoted himself to helping Calvin in this crazy plan of his.

"Shit... The brat's gone crazy for Calvin..." Heisenberg muttered to himself.

The three soon settled for a plan and they walked towards the direction of the village center. Heisenberg was still on the lead, the only difference was that he was holding a piece of paper in his hands. The paper contained various information about the taboos in the Village of Tulog that must never be violated.

One of the taboo was to never walk with your left foot first, so the movements of the three were in sync. With Heisenberg at the helm, Calvin in the middle, and Ricardo bringing up the rear. The three looked as if they were a bunch of burglars about to break into a house and steal some valuables.

Of course, they weren't here for such things.

They had a plan to do and it was about to commence.

The three soon reached the place where Heisenberg and Ricardo last encountered the Sabbath.

No words were exchanged between the three as Heisenberg took the initiative and started chanting.

Several jade bottles were in his right hand as he crushed them in an instant. Then, he wiped the blood that dripped out of his hand as he made the sign of the All-Encompassing Light on his chest.

Three dots and a chant...

"The faith in the All-Encompassing Light shall be eternal and its devotees need not fear the darkness."

"Emerge, the veil that which blinds those that do not believe..."

"Emerge, the veil that which hides the truth from those who deliberately seek..."

"Emerge, the veil that conforms with the light and so with the darkness..."

"I summon thee!"

Heisenberg's eyes opened and a spark of divine light surged from his pupils.

The mystical ingredients dotted at three separate locations on his body seemed to burn with a crimson hue as a ball of darkness manifested above the skies of the Village of Tulog. The ball of darkness squirmed, it felt and looked eerie, yet if one stared at it long enough. They would notice that the ball of darkness was nothing but a speck of dust when compared to the light that cast its shadow.

Yes, the ball of darkness was a mere shadow of the All-Encompassing Light.

And its name was the veil.

Heisenberg had just done the Call of the Veil.

While the Emperor's Veil turned Calvin invisible in the eyes of every being unaffiliated to evil...

The Call of the Veil separates an area from the rest of the space. Veils were mostly used by Predators and Priests to hide their activities from the world by rendering the area surrounded by the veil—invisible from the outside.

This was done to obscure any activities done by the Priests and Predators alike against the supernatural so that the civilians wouldn't witness supernatural beings in accordance with the church's strict laws in regards to the regulation regarding the exposure of civilians to the world of the supernatural.

The Call of the Veil was indeed a convenient technique for the church to hide their antics, but what did the veil have to do with Calvin's plans?

It was everything!

The effect of the Call of the Veil might've sounded unselective, but conditions could actually be added upon the activation of the veil in order to cater to a specific goal. This condition was the key to the success of Calvin's plans. Since he wanted to lure the tiger out of the mountain and turn into the oriole behind the mantis and the cicada, they must be able to deploy a veil with certain conditions.

The woman's crying voice was able to scare the Witches from attacking Heisenberg and Ricardo.

In short, the woman's presence alone was terrifying enough for the Witches that they were forced to abandon their prey in a panic.

If the woman's crying voice alone was able to elicit such a reaction from those Witches, then they must use the Call of the Veil to prevent the Witches from hearing the woman's crying voice.

Once that was done, then the first half of Calvin's plan could be considered to be a success.

What would happen afterwards would depend on the eventual result of the clash between these two tigers in a single mountain.

Yes...

Since Calvin and the three couldn't possibly beat the owner of the crying voice.

They were planning on luring the owner of that crying voice out, then have her meet with the Sabbath.

Supernatural beings like the Sabbath were the representation of resentment, cruelty, and violence. Even if they were scared, as long as the enemy was already in front of them and they knew that they had no chances of escaping. What other choices could they possibly make other than to fight to the death?

This was the situation that Calvin wanted to create, and honestly...

He felt incredibly excited.

'I wonder how much benefits I can squeeze out from the clash of these monsters... Will I be able to let the Mortician ascend into Purveyor once this plan succeeds?'

The smile on Calvin's face was deepening as time went by.

Heisenberg and Ricardo stared at each other.

They really couldn't comprehend what was going on inside Calvin's head.

He was about to go into the territory of a monster that was even more terrifying than the Sabbath, yet he could still have such a laidback smile?

Does he really know what he's getting himself into?

Does he even have a sense of danger?

Heisenberg could only shake his head.

Ricardo also couldn't do anything other than prepare for the upcoming commencement of the plan.

The ball of darkness overhead started squirming as it spat out a veil of dimmed light that covered half of the village.

Heisenberg could forcefully cover the entire village, but since it wasn't necessary. He knew better than to carelessly squander his stamina.

When the veil of dimmed light struck the ground, Heisenberg and Ricardo turned to look at Calvin's direction.

He was gone. He was now invisible to the eyes of the world outside.

The veil was now in effect.

From now on, unless Calvin exited the boundary of the veil...

Heisenberg and Ricardo wouldn't hear his screams for help.

"You're on your own now. I wish you luck, Calvin." Heisenberg silently prayed to the Goddess.

Ricardo made the sign of the God of Medicine and Poison, Aesculapius on his chest.

"Bless you, Calvin..." He whispered into the air.

The two inwardly prayed for the wellbeing of Calvin in their hearts, but they soon discovered that they should've prayed for their own safety.

It was because at this moment...

A piercing shriek rang through the night.

A shriek filled with anger, fury, and resentment.

Three silhouettes made a mad dash towards the two from the corner of the street.

It was the Sabbath...

They were here at last!