The Seal of Heaton is a very famous magic of the Church of the Sun. Since the parchment could be carried by a high-level sorcerer of the Church of the Sun, the magic was certainly not a simple one.
Its naming does not refer to the inventor. "Hiton" is a rune in ancient language, which means "immovable", "solid" and "protection". Therefore, "Hiton Seal" is also called "Immovable Seal".
The magic of "Sigils" mostly comes from the extraordinary power of the Fourth Age. The Fourth Age was a dark and terrifying era. The material world was in constant war, cannibalistic alien creatures were rampant, and dark species enslaved people. "Sigils" specifically refer to the need to use five fingers to make rune-like movements when casting a spell. Later, it was improved in the Fifth Age of Witches and integrated into the system of ring magicians in the Sixth Age.
This magic requires a level of 6 or above to learn. No materials are needed to cast the spell, but the caster needs to hold a sword as a medium, whether it is a physical sword like the Night's Watch or a spiritual weapon like the Moonlight Greatsword.
With one hand, insert the sword into the ground under your feet with an inclination of no more than 30 degrees, and with the other hand, make a seal gesture with the thumb and middle finger touching, the little finger bent, and the ring finger and index finger crossed.
After activating the Spirit Rune, a circular golden shield will appear around the body. The shield can resist almost any form of attack - fate attacks are of course not defenseable, and the strength of the "Immovable Seal" depends on the amount of spirit. Even if the spell is released at the moment of attack, the broken metal shield will cause more powerful burst damage to the enemy.
Counterattack requires good timing, which requires repeated practice. The only drawback of this precious defensive magic is that you cannot attack the enemy while casting the spell, and you must stand still and wait until the opponent stops attacking before stopping the spell to counterattack, or use the right opportunity to break the shield and counterattack.
"But even so, this is still a pretty good thaumaturgy, and it's very useful to me."
Xia De said to himself, looking down at the last learning requirement:
"Sun, Strength, Shield, Gold, these four runes are OK, but they must be miracles or enlightenments, not whispers or blasphemies... Strength? Isn't it the last rune of my low-level sublimation language?"
Xia De has already included the Hiton Sign in his to-be-learned list. His current magic covers almost all aspects, except for the lack of defensive magic. This time he just made up for the shortcoming, and he could further adjust the spellcasting system after entering the middle ring.
After sorting out his harvest, at three o'clock in the afternoon, Shad took the cat in a carriage to Miss Carina's manor. The witch was still waiting for Shad's story.
There are some things that can be told to Luvia, but not to Miss Carina. But at least this time, Shade admitted most of the things, at least letting Miss Carina know that it was not Yin Luna who defeated Joe Yin Barton in death, but him.
"Ha, I knew it must be you, otherwise you would have no reason to be there!"
Miss Carina was very happy to have verified her guess. She played with her red sideburns, listened to Shad's story from Wednesday night to Thursday morning, arranged afternoon tea, and told Shad more details about the follow-up of the Battle of Midhill Castle.
The problem of the narrow space was basically solved, and Yin Luna also brought the news of the death of the chosen one, letting the church know that the place belonged to the spiritual group. Therefore, the most critical issue after the Middle Castle War was not the next chosen one, but the identity of the thirteen-ring warlock "God Summoner", and the reason why the two gods suddenly appeared, fought on Mount Xikar, and then suddenly left.
Of course, the church captured some of the vampires who participated in the god-summoning ritual, but the problem was that most of them didn't know why the gods appeared in the form of saints, and they didn't know why they suddenly left.
Of course, although the coming of the blood-sucking god did not cause any damage except destroying some trees and rocks, the church still arrested those blood-sucking species on charges of "organizing illegal rituals" and "using prohibited items", and what awaits them is the punishment of the Inquisition.
Every time a god descends in the material world, the details will be recorded by scholars of the Orthodox Church and the Thaumaturgy Academy and passed down as part of the history books. Shade was very curious about how this incident would be written. After all, in theory, except for him, Grace and Helen, no one knew the full truth of this incident.
Even if he told the truth, most people probably wouldn't believe it unless he turned into a god to prove himself. The blood-sucking god planned for two eras, involving many gods and indirectly affecting many historical events. In the end, it was not for the subversion of the Orthodox Church, not for the spread of faith, not for the secrets of the ancient era, but just for a cup of blood wine that he couldn't get. No rational person would believe this.
"It is said that the church is discussing whether to set last Wednesday as a special holiday in Midhill Castle. Countless souls left the boundary between life and death under the guidance of the gods, which in itself is worth commemorating."
The witch said this while enjoying her afternoon tea, which brought the matter to a perfect end.
As for the fact that Helen and Grace were seriously injured, they were well concealed with the help of Mother-in-law Cassandra and Sister Defulin. The actions of the two little red butterflies that night did not attract much attention. Except for the people in Cassandra's auction house, no one even knew of their existence.
"But isn't Night's Watch your sword? Why does the church think it's the Godcaller's sword?"
It was four o'clock in the afternoon. Even in late autumn, the sun had not yet set. Shad and Miss Carina were sitting at a round table on the terrace on the third floor of the manor. There was a teapot and snacks on the table.
Mia was sleeping soundly on Shade's lap. Shade was lamenting the cold weather when he suddenly heard the witch's question and immediately answered:
"Because it's hard to explain who gave the Night Watch to Yin Luna, so I asked her to treat me as a Godcaller."
"But according to the information I received, the 'Godcaller' who appeared at the narrow church was indeed holding the Night Watch."
The witch asked again.
"Oh, that was a mistake by the church. In the narrow chamber, they thought I was a Godcaller and that I was deliberately suppressing my power, but in fact I am really just a three-ring warlock. As for the Godcaller..."
Tifa poured new tea for Shad's cup. Shad thanked her softly, and the black-haired maid smiled at him. Smelling Tifa's perfume again, Shad recalled what happened at breakfast today and kept his expression restrained:
"I guess the God Summoner has actually been on Mount Sikar in the real world since Wednesday evening, waiting for the arrival of the blood-sucking Duke."
People always avoid mentioning the name of God directly, so "the blood-sucking Duke" can refer to the blood god.
"I see, that makes sense. But according to the church's description, your performance in the narrow space was really good, and the power you exerted was at least at the level of a mid-level person who was about to be promoted."
The witch said again, seeing that she couldn't find any flaws in Shade, and Tifa stood beside Shade and handed him a napkin, she smiled and said:
"Come to think of it, Tifa didn't come to see me right away after she came back this morning. Instead, she went to change her clothes. I think there might be something wrong."
"Miss, when I was serving Mr. Hamilton breakfast this morning, I accidentally spilled some on the hem of my apron."
Tifa explained softly that of course she lied, she had sprinkled the eggs in the wrong place and that they were only the steaming eggs.
"Is that so?"
The witch's fingers tapped the table unconsciously, her eyes hovered over Tifa's chest, and suddenly asked:
"Shad, are you satisfied with your breakfast?"
"Um?"
Xia De was lost in memories from the early morning. No matter how well he controlled his expression, his face immediately turned red:
“Satisfied, very satisfied.”
Miss Carina smiled and shook her head:
"The young knight and the maid in her prime love each other, but because of the beautiful mistress, they can only comfort each other and cannot vent their passion. Even if he sits face to face with the mistress, he can only communicate with the cheating maid with his eyes. At the same time, he has to try his best to please his true lover, and endure his passion for the two ladies in torment... Tsk tsk, the plot of the knight novel I just thought of, isn't it great?"
What she said was definitely not the plot of a novel, otherwise Xia De would still be very interested in reading this book.
How about calling it "Detective Knight's Tale"? A stranger with the sin of "promiscuity"~
"She" asked with a smile, and seemed to be in a good mood.
Dinner at the manor was around seven o'clock, and there was still a long time before dinner, but they did not talk about Midhill Castle anymore. Miss Carina suggested that since the weather was nice, they should go out for a walk. So she took Shade and the maids on horseback to ride around the nearby farms and introduced Shade to the daily income sources of the manor outside the city.
Then, under the strong late autumn sunset, the red-haired witch proposed a horse race with Shade. The servants who followed, even Tifa who was holding Mia, could not participate. Only Shade and she walked along the country road from Little Hangleton Village all the way back to the main gate of the manor.
The sound of horse hooves was urgent. It was no surprise that Shade lost. Even though Miss Carina was intentionally controlling her speed, the horsemanship of the noble lady who had received equestrian training since childhood was not comparable to Shade's.
But when he rode his horse laboriously after the witch, watching the afterglow of the setting sun cast over the country road, and watching Miss Carina's figure running towards the sunset, that scene with the texture of an oil painting was probably enough to put the most perfect end to this "dead" autumn.
There was a room specially reserved for Shade in the manor, with all the necessary clothes and daily necessities. Shade thought nothing would happen tonight, but after dinner, when he was chatting with Miss Carina in the study about the taste of the dessert, the red sun fruit shipped from Carsenrick, there was a knock on the door.
Tifa went to open the door. The maid outside the door whispered to Tifa, and then Tifa returned to the sofa:
"Miss, His Highness has arrived."
After saying this, he glanced at Shade. Shade thought Miss Carina had something to discuss, so he picked up the cat and was about to stand up, but the Duchess asked him to sit down:
"Just let her come directly. The female officials accompanying her will be accommodated on the first floor, and the personal servants can come with her."
Tifa answered softly and walked out of the room. Shade asked in surprise:
"Who's coming? Is it okay for me to be seen here?"
"Shad, what nonsense are you talking about? Now half, no, four-fifths of Tobesk are saying that you are my lover. Does your presence in my manor really have any impact on the rumors?"
Miss Carina said with a smile, then stood up and moved from sitting across the coffee table from Shade to sitting on Shade's left.
Mia, who was lying on Xia De's right side, felt the sofa vibrate slightly. She raised her head and looked around, then continued to lie down.
It had eaten a very full dinner, so it needed to lie down and rest for a while to digest the food so that it could catch up with Xia De's midnight snack.
Xia De wanted to ask who was coming, but the witch who was close at hand asked again:
"You've been running around Midhill Castle all night. I don't think you've gained anything. Let me see what new skills you have acquired."
Seeing her request, Xia De did not refuse. After thinking for a while, he raised his right hand, palm down, and five fingers slightly bent. As some red shadows swayed on the back of his hand, a red butterfly appeared on the back of Xia De's hand.
The butterfly fluttered its wings slightly and landed there very steadily. Shade shook his palm lightly, and it flew closer to the witch. After Miss Carina extended her right index finger, the red butterfly landed on her finger, and the witch smiled even more beautifully than the butterfly:
"very nice."
The spell Red Butterfly Illusion is somewhat different from the Moon Shadow Illusion that failed due to the awakening of Miss Fiona Drago. The latter comes from the power of the Silver Moon and focuses more on eliminating sounds and hiding shapes at night, while the Red Butterfly Illusion can not only be used at any time, but also focuses on creating various wonderful illusions.
Even though they are both illusions, there are actually very few similarities between the two.
As Shade was thinking, the door of the study opened. But the first person who walked in was not Tifa, but the red-haired, menacing-looking princess.
Leithia Cavendish was wearing a complicated princess dress, as if she was attending some important business event. Her high heels made a dull sound on the carpet. When she entered the room and was about to speak, she saw Shad and Miss Carina sitting next to each other on the sofa, and of course she also saw their intimate actions.
She took a deep breath, and for a moment, Shad thought she was holding a Higgs headstone in her hands, and that they were all dragons on the couch.
Fortunately, there was no dragon roar at this time, because the Cavendish family is a pure-blooded human family:
"Good evening, Shad."
The tone of this sentence is very gentle.
"Aunt, you called me here tonight, is this why? To let me see Xia De appear in your manor so late?"
This sentence is to suppress anger.
Shade noticed that Lecia used the term "aunt", but generally she used the term "Miss Carina".
"Of course not. Didn't you recently obtain the logistics management rights for the New World Development Corps? Saladil County plans to purchase the specialty aromatic flowers from the New World on a long-term basis as alternative spices, so I want to discuss business with you."
The red butterflies on the witch's fingertips dissipated, and she waved her hand for Leicia to sit down:
"That's why I called you here. But it's already so late, I think you don't have to go back to the Yodel Palace tonight, you can just stay at my place tonight. Speaking of which, little Lesia, you have never stayed at my place since I returned to Tobesk this time.
Leicia calmed down and walked to the sofa, sitting opposite Shade. She smiled and nodded at him, then asked Miss Carina with a stern face:
"If it's an important matter, why did you call me here at this time? Wouldn't it be better to do it during the day?"
"I met with my private tailor in the morning to discuss winter fashions. I wanted to order a few new dresses. I don't plan to return to Saladil County this winter. In the afternoon, I talked with Shade about some... private matters and riding skills. Yes, riding. Dinner was also eaten with the knights, so I didn't have time during the day."
The witch smiled and said, motioning Tifa to pour tea for Resia:
"Lecia, you are a grown-up girl now. Why don't you stay away from home at night? Oh, it's very safe here, and the bedroom is very comfortable."
"It's okay to stay here tonight."
Leicia looked at Shade again:
"Why is he here?"
"Lecia, have you forgotten the royal etiquette? This is my friend, please be polite. And I've already said that this is a private matter."
Judging from her expression, the Duchess was really happy at this moment, because she asked again:
"I heard that Xia De is also your friend? I think you must be happy to see him here, right?"
Shade was very worried that Lecia would fight with Miss Carina. Judging from the current situation, this was definitely not impossible.
"Oh, ladies, listen to me for a minute."
So for the safety of Lecia, and for the safety of himself and Mia, Shade spoke up:
"Lecia, I'm here to talk to Miss Carina about the Midhill Castle. I'll be there on Wednesday night."
Her Royal Highness's face changed, but she was relieved when she saw that Xia De didn't look injured:
"I knew you would go to Midhill Castle again for some inexplicable reason."
"Also, I will be staying here tonight as well. I will be sleeping in the guest room on the third floor. Don't worry, it's just me and Mia in the room."
Xia De picked up the cat beside him. The cat stretched its body like water while being picked up. It squinted its eyes and saw the familiar human, so it meowed at Leicia as a greeting.
"Since you have something to discuss, I will step aside for now. However, if you have time in the evening, I would like to talk to you. I have something very important to discuss."
Shade said, and stood up.
Miss Carina said:
"But Leicia cannot stay overnight in your room. If my nephew knew that his daughter slept with her aunt's lover while staying overnight at her aunt's house, Diana would definitely not invite me to her next tea party."
But this sentence did not make Leicia angry. Her Royal Highness, with a reserved smile, picked up the teacup in front of her and even thanked Tifa:
"If I wanted to stay in Shade's room, why would I have waited until now... Detective, what's glowing on you?"
"Um?"
Xia De looked down and saw something glowing in the inner pocket of his coat. After unbuttoning it, he found that it was a page of manuscript paper used to communicate with the college.
Unfolding it, a new roll of parchment was delivered. After reading the text on it, Shade said with some surprise:
"Miss Danister wanted to talk to me about something. She asked me to use the ritual to project it to the academy library as soon as possible."
"Dannister? The sorcerer of thirteen rings?"
Miss Carina was very surprised:
"You are just taking correspondence courses at St. Byrons, aren't you? How come you know the academy's librarian? Since it's the projection ceremony, Tifa, go help Shade prepare, don't delay things."
Shade said goodbye to the two ladies, then hurriedly followed Tifa out of the study.
Miss Carina looked at Shade's back as he left and suddenly asked:
"Lecia, what do you think of Shade?"