Rituals can be interrupted.
Whether it is the mysterious knowledge Jason has learned or the mysterious knowledge he has been exposed to, this can be clearly stated.
But how should we interrupt
The interruption of the ceremony is not a rash action, but requires a corresponding method.
Therefore, when Jason confirmed that the behavior of 'Edward' was completing the 'ritual', he had been thinking about it.
After all, if interrupted correctly, the 'ceremony' can immediately backlash against those who presided over and performed the ceremony.
But what if it's wrong
Those who interrupt the ritual will suffer unimaginable costs.
Even, some costs will be irreversible.
So, Jason was very careful.
Even knowing that 'Edward's' explanation was part of the 'ceremony', he didn't try to interrupt it.
Because this kind of 'interruption' is really too simple and too direct.
With the prudence and cunning shown by 'Edward', will such obvious flaws be exposed
The answer is no.
In the way of interrupting the other party's words, the 'interruption ceremony' should be a trap!
Or to be more precise, Jason believed that the other party's so-called explanation was also part of the 'ritual', and it was a lie at all, in order to make those who entered the 'ritual' blindly interrupt.
This is normal.
Both sides are enemies.
Believe what the enemy says
It is better to believe that the enemy is good.
Of course, there is a more important point!
Jason had absolute certainty and reversed everything at the last moment.
because-
He, Jason, is not dead!
No matter what the final result of the 'ceremony' in front of him is, he, the 'replaced', will definitely die.
And as long as he doesn't die, the 'ceremony' will naturally be interrupted.
As for whether 'Edward' wanted to kill him
Jason was very sure of this.
Since he appeared, although 'Edward' kept smiling, he couldn't hide the malice and killing intent in his eyes.
It was a gesture of immortality.
In fact, it is.
In order to let the ceremony continue, 'Edward' made a decisive move.
Although this is somewhat different from his initial expectation, it will not terminate the ceremony, it just needs to take some effort and bear some costs. 'Edward' thinks he can bear such a loss.
Then-
Click!
With the clear sound of bones breaking, the face of 'Edward' who was ready to welcome the victory with a smile on his face stiffened immediately, and he even fell to the ground.
The short-handled broad-bladed machete in his hand appeared straight in Jason's hand.
The moment Jason held the handle of the knife, he subconsciously danced twice.
Woo, woo.
The blade ripped through the air with a low growl.
It was like the howling of a wronged soul.
It's like the roar of a monster.
Very handy.
as before.
However, Jason could feel that the machete in his hand had become sharper and stronger.
There is no doubt that this is the credit of 'Edward'.
And in the next moment, the hockey mask worn on 'Edward''s face also appeared in Jason's hands.
That kind of cold and comfortable feeling permeated my heart.
It made Jason feel the comfort he hadn't seen for a long time.
Involuntarily, Jason put on his hockey mask again.
Same as before, no difference.
But the moment Jason put on the mask, a coercion that originated from the fear in the creature's heart began to emanate from the mask.
Jason clearly felt the power from the mask.
"good."
He commented like this.
This is naturally also the credit of 'Edward'.
However, 'Edward' credit is not just these.
[Ritual transformation, unarmed combat is upgraded to master level!]
[Unarmed combat (master): The body itself is a powerful weapon, and you are the master of it. You not only rely on fists and feet to fight, but your whole body will be a deadly weapon; effect: physique, strength, and agility +0.3 (proficient, Expert, Master +0.1)]
[Unarmed combat is promoted to the proficient level, and the inherent talent option is obtained: well-trained]
[Unarmed combat is promoted to the master level, and the inherent talent option is obtained: dangerous intuition]
[Well-trained (passive): A lot of fighting training has given you this talent. When encountering unexpected battles, long-term training can make you adapt to emergencies faster]
[Dangerous intuition: long-term training and constant fighting have sharpened your perception of danger to the extreme, effect: perception +0.5]
…
The next moment, a text prompt appeared in front of Jason's eyes.
The skill [Unarmed Combat] has been directly upgraded from the expert level to the master level, and the physique, strength, and agility are +0.1 respectively again.
But what surprised Jason the most was that the master level also had fixed talent options.
And the newly appeared [Dangerous Intuition] directly increased his perception by 0.5.
At this moment, Jason's attributes are changed to: strength 3.8, agility 3.6, constitution 4.5, spirit 2.6, perception 6.2.
Crunch, crunch!
Feeling the communication between the knowledge in his mind and his body, Jason clenched his fists, feeling the changes at this moment.
The body changes little, but the change in perception is extremely obvious.
The latter affects the former.
Strong perception enables Jason to better control his own changes.
At the same time, you can also grasp the surroundings.
At least, the current Jason can judge that the 'Edward' whose 'neck' was broken by him in front of him is not dead.
Even if the other party has no breathing or heartbeat.
But the flow of blood is still there.
in a different way than usual.
"The power of the 'Reincarnation Ritual'?"
Jason guessed.
Then, cut it down with a single knife.
He can confirm that the 'Transformation Ritual' has been interrupted, and that it backfired on 'Edward'.
Just now he just broke the neck of 'Edward', but didn't break the opponent's strong heart before.
The heart burst directly under the backlash of the 'ritual'.
Woo!
The machete with a short handle and a whistling passed over the neck of 'Edward'.
puff!
The head of 'Edward' flew far away.
However, there was no spray of blood.
After the headless 'Edward' rolled several times quickly, it stood up.
Then, as if taking off a 'coat', 'Edward' got out from this tall and strong body.
Edward, who was covered in some kind of mucus, looked quite embarrassed, and the tall, strong body, with the head flying far away, began to wither after Edward got out.
While breathing, it turned into something like a 'snake slough'.
No!
To be precise, 'human slough'!
Edward touched the mucus on his face.
At this time, Edward finally lost the smile on his face.
All that's left is anger, spite, and... disbelief.
Edward was convinced he had decapitated Jason.
Can a person live without a head
Obviously impossible.
So how did Jason live
Could it be a 'ritual'
Involuntarily, Edward began to associate, and the way he looked at Jason also changed.
"So it is!"
"It's not just me who discovered that!"
"You found out too!"
"It's no wonder that after you wrote the good "Cross Street Stalker", it became mediocre. Not only did your writing skills decline, but you also lacked logic. It turns out that your energy was devoted to the study of the 'mysterious side'."
Edward nodded as he spoke, the surprise and disbelief in his eyes began to disappear.
Edward has seen and experienced the power of the mysterious side.
With that kind of magical power, no matter how many things go against the norm, it is normal.
Jason came back to life.
Isn't he resurrected too
There is nothing surprising about this.
But there was one omission, and Edward was brooding.
"You have mastered a considerable degree of 'mysterious knowledge', and your own perception is superior, and you even have skills and rituals similar to applied perception! Because only in this way can you combine the two, divination, and deduction to my perfect plan So, you naturally played tricks, you didn't stop everything from happening, and you didn't act rashly, you just waited quietly, waiting for me to show my flaws!"
"I didn't even think that my opponent was also a 'mysterious person'. This was my biggest mistake!"
There was resentment on Edward's face.
Jason frowned behind the mask.
He really wanted to say, if you think too much, things are not like this at all.
However, Jason didn't speak.
He didn't mind the enemy thinking a little more.
Because it is good for him.
Edward continued talking.
"You are very smart to catch my flaw!"
"This is as it should be. You know when to interrupt my 'ritual'."
"I also know that the flaw of 'interrupting speech' that I deliberately exposed before is a trap."
"but!"
"Do you really think you have everything under control?"
Edward's voice became high-pitched. He pointed his cane at Jason and said word by word, "Do you really think I didn't plan for the worst?"
"Tell you!"
"What I have completed is not just the 'reincarnation' ceremony!"
"There are others!"
After the voice fell, Edward disappeared in place.
The next moment, when Edward reappeared, he was already standing behind Jason.
Edward 'emerged' from Jason's shadow.
The cane of the former king of Cherry City was still pointing at Jason, with a little bit of deep light blooming from the bottom of the cane.
This brilliance was like the light of a firefly, but Jason, who was 'illuminated', felt as if a mountain was pressing on him, but Jason didn't care.
Under the hockey mask, Jason's nose twitched.
He smelled the aroma of 'food'.
It was Edward's cane.
Jason was sure that this cane was a very ordinary cane before.
And now
It turned out to be delicious.
Some kind of 'ritual' to cover up the smell
Jason guessed excitedly.
Since it is possible to cover up a piece of 'food'.
Wouldn't that disguise more 'food'
Thinking of this, Jason's saliva began to secrete involuntarily.
He was full of anticipation.
Edward looked at the restrained Jason, but his heart was full of resentment and hatred.
This kind of resentment and hatred is ten times stronger than when he chose Jason's "Cross Street Stalker".
After all, when choosing, he chose on his own initiative.
but now
All of this is the layout of the person in front of him!
That's right!
It's all about the layout!
Edward, who had thought of something just now, looked at Jason's back and gritted his teeth.
"You must have noticed something from my original changes. Therefore, before I chose "Cross Street Stalker", you began to influence me subtly, which made me choose your book."
"I have to say, what you did was really clever!"
"I didn't find out until now!"
"wrong!"
"It's not like this!"
"You shouldn't have started to influence me at that time, it should have been earlier!"
As Edward said, he suddenly denied what he had just said, and then a look of bewilderment appeared on his face.
"I have been wondering why I suddenly came into contact with the special knowledge of the 'mysterious side' when I knew about that incident. It turned out that this was all arranged by you."
"You came into contact with the special knowledge of the 'mysterious side' earlier than me, and your talent is also quite outstanding, so you naturally knew about that."
"For that matter, you have the same fear in your heart as I do."
"So, you also started to save yourself."
"It's a pity that you are very talented, but you don't have enough 'financial resources' to collect and buy more materials. Therefore, you need someone who is also tortured by fear but is extremely rich. Then, you I was chosen."
"So it is!"
Edward took a deep breath and looked at Jason's back with fear in his eyes.
It never occurred to him that everything about him was just someone else's arrangement.
Such a person is simply too scary!
Absolutely cannot let the other party live!
"However, you missed one thing!"
"Not only am I richer than you think, but I'm even more talented!"
"After I confirmed the existence of the 'mysterious side', I bought several strange items in a short period of time and completed several 'rituals'. You feel uneasy, you are afraid that I will exceed your control, so , you made a secret move, interrupting my crucial 'ritual', and severely injured my sanity, so I had to use the 'reincarnation' ceremony!"
"At that time, I wondered why I failed even though I was fully prepared, and I happened to have measures to make up for the failure."
"I'm glad for that."
"And now I'm still lucky!"
"I'm glad I found out not too late!"
Edward stopped here.
He has fully understood the cause and effect of the matter.
Now
Naturally, he wanted to kill Jason.
Get rid of this Jason who manipulated his life!
"go to hell!"
"You man who manipulates other people's lives at will!"
Edward roared, and the cane in his hand stabbed straight out.
Jason, who was restrained by a special force field, had no room to dodge at all. The cane pierced straight into the back of Jason's heart, which was able to resist the explosive-level defense. Not even a second.
puff!
The cane that pierced Jason's heart protruded directly from Jason's chest.
However, this is not the end.
Edward let go of his cane, took a few steps back, and twisted the ruby ring on his hand.
boom!
A large amount of flames spurted from the ring, directly submerging Jason.
The flames blazed.
laugh!
When burning, the unique sound of fat is heard in the flames.
"Die!"
"go to hell!"
"I'm going to make you dead!"
Edward roared and twisted the ring again.
Immediately, Lie Yan became more fierce.
"Jason!"
John and Brian in the distance exclaimed, but apart from exclaiming, they couldn't do anything, and the dots of fluorescent light that belonged to the walking stick also shrouded them.
"Since you can't become my knights, you can also die."
Edward said to the two of them coldly.
He raised his finger slightly, and the restrained John and Brian pointed their guns at each other.
The two struggled.
But compared with the power of that bondage, it is really too weak.
It is useless at all.
Seeing the muzzle of the gun so close at hand, John and Brian showed helplessness on their faces.
Death, they have thought about it more than once.
But I didn't expect this to be the result.
Just when the two were about to give up, suddenly the dots of fluorescence on their bodies disappeared.
The two regained their freedom.
And amidst the sound of burning flames, there was also a sound, as if there were bursts of chewing noises—
Crunch, crunch.