Chapter 47 Four Paintings

In fact, considering the conditions for this summoning, Lu Mingfei asking his first question was not entirely out of the question.

After all, tonight's astrological and celestial phenomena did not match the requirements for summoning the "Central Yellow Emperor of Vast Origin." Due to the lack of proper conditions, Lu Mingfei had not even been able to set up the most basic altar, managing to hold on purely through his proficiency in conducting ritual magic.

In truth, most extraterrestrial divine monarchs actually asked for very little. Their being summoned to Earth was essentially a form of "self-funded tourism."

Did anyone seriously believe that their own pitiful amount of magic, vitality, and sanity points would be enough for a great entity that transcended dimensions and time, eternal and indestructible, to cross light-years of vast distance and descend?

Surely not?

In fact, the reason why rituals for summoning evil gods required specific astrological and celestial alignments was to better transmit accurate signals to those great beings, letting them know your location and your needs.

Of course, these great deities lingering in the cosmos were fundamentally rooted in disorder and madness. Even if one summoned them using the correct methods, the result would most likely be nothing but destruction.

Yet, over endless ages, order could occasionally be born from disorder through coincidence, and from time to time, deities that seemed understandable and communicable would appear.

Hastur, the "Unnamable," whom Lu Mingfei had summoned this time, was precisely such an entity.

In truth, he had no real confidence as to whether he could summon a projection of the "Unnamable," because the directional coordinates he had transmitted were entirely wrong. This was nothing more than a gamble.

He was gambling on whether the "Unnamable" had been paying attention to him all along.

Fortunately, he had won the gamble; that great entity had indeed not ceased its gaze upon him since the ritual at the Norton Pavilion.

Though it didn't seem particularly lucky.

Lu Mingfei weighed his options and posed his second question:

"I wish to know the current locations of Nono,酒德亚纪 (酒德亚纪 / 酒德亚纪 / Norn / 酒德亚纪), and Ye Sheng."

The emerald-green saint did not speak this time. Instead, pale and monotonous images, as if faded, suddenly flashed through Lu Mingfei's mind:

In the first picture, Nono, dressed in a deep purple skirt suit and wearing ten-centimeter Mary Jane high heels, was lying with her fair legs splayed across a completely dark space. Her slender, well-rounded legs were encased in deep purple stockings, reflecting a faint, ethereal green glow.

What the hell was anyone supposed to make of that?

Lu Mingfei scratched his head in frustration, but the imagery in his mind had already switched to the second.

On a gloomy, rainy night, a Caucasian man with brilliant blonde hair and features as handsome as an ancient Greek sculpture was holding twin pistols, locked in a standoff with a soft-featured Asian girl.

It was Caesar and 酒德亚纪 (Jiude Yaji).

That stubborn Brother Caesar, who had run away alone, had not only managed to avoid being caught by the evil entities from his "prophetic dream," but had actually managed to grab hold of their tails.

His powers of observation and execution had given Lu Mingfei a huge surprise. Caesar really lived up to his illustrious reputation as the "Academy's Number One" before Lu Mingfei had appeared.

But where on earth was that place filled with lush greenery and a highway?

Lu Mingfei had been at Kassel College for less than a week, and his range of activities had never once left the campus. He genuinely had never been there!

Every piece of information provided by this mysterious entity radiating emerald light was incomplete, a feeling that left Lu Mingfei somewhat discouraged.

Yet he quickly stopped feeling discouraged, for following the visions of Nono and Jiude Yaji, the third picture—corresponding to Ye Sheng—appeared.

A giant, disgusting slug-like creature.

Its entire body was covered in metallic spikes. These spikes grew and wriggled in an unsettling manner, emitting nauseating colors;

And this bizarre, slug-like monstrosity possessed a round, thin mouth, a soft, foamy face, and three eye-stalks atop its head. Those three blood-red, malignant eyes were staring unblinkingly at Lu Mingfei, who dared to peer upon it.

Unconcealed, malicious psychological contamination.

"Ahhhhh, damn it!!"

The veins on Lu Mingfei's temples and neck bulged, his entire face flushing red from the extreme strain. He collapsed to his knees, saliva involuntarily dripping from his mouth, his hands clutching desperately at his hair as he tried to banish the manifested imagery.

Yet this act of self-harm was nothing more than a pathetic self-deception. Even though Lu Mingfei had ripped out a handful of bloody hair with each hand, the scene within his mind continued to reflect just as before.

The emerald saint on the second floor of the Amber Pavilion showed no expression of "pleasure" or "mercy" at Lu Mingfei's pathetic state. He merely looked down upon everything below with absolute indifference, slowly withdrawing his withered middle finger.

There was one last chance to ask a question.

A girl as cold as ice moved her slender legs in quiet strides, approaching the kneeling Lu Mingfei. Expressionless, she formed her hand into a blade, her delicate hand descending with precise, unerring force onto the back of Lu Mingfei's neck, hoping to temporarily end his pain and this madness.

It was Zero.

Aside from Lu Mingfei, she had a heart as pure as ice and, having undergone a ritual once before, was the person best adapted to all of this.

To a large extent, she was the one who had saved Lu Mingfei last time, and now, she hoped to save him once more.

However, Lu Mingfei, whose physical fitness was mediocre even among ordinary people, did not collapse and lose consciousness as Zero had anticipated.

Whether driven by transcendent willpower or the support of some other mysterious force, after being struck precisely and forcefully on the back of the neck by Zero's hand-blade, Lu Mingfei's body pitched forward, only to immediately catch himself with his hands, trembling as he knelt upright.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Zero's expressionless, plain little face, forcing words out through clenched teeth:

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Zero pressed her cherry-colored lips together, her pale blue eyes, pure as a lake, staring fixedly at Lu Mingfei without a word. Her hand struck down as a blade once more!

Lu Mingfei violently shuddered, veins bulging on his face.

There was only one question left, an opportunity he absolutely could not afford to give up!

"Y-Your Excellency, the third question, I..."

Suddenly, a chaotic chorus of cell phone ringtones erupted throughout the hall. Ringtones, buzzing alerts, the ticking of old-fashioned telephones, and unknown number notifications sounded all at once in the dozens or hundreds, making it feel as though one were standing amidst a suddenly starting percussion band.

The oppressive, dead silence of the Amber Pavilion abruptly "came to life."

Ignoring it all, Lu Mingfei articulated every word with deliberate slowness:

"I wish to obtain... I wish to obtain a way to free myself from my current predicament..."

The emerald lama vanished, and a picture slowly emerged in Lu Mingfei's mind:

Treetops, shining stars, and red—vast expanses of red!

And what else...

Lu Mingfei tried to look closer...

Suddenly, an explosion!

A violent blast! The deafening roar caused Lu Mingfei to lose his hearing instantly, his mind turning completely blank as the blinding glare of fire illuminated the pale faces within the Amber Pavilion.

The fourth, incompletely manifested picture shuddered and rapidly began to fade.

Then, piercing alarms resounded across the campus. In the night, every building—including those within the Amber Pavilion—suddenly lit up, thoroughly shattering the tranquil darkness.

Someone else had breached the campus.

Lu Mingfei's eyes bulged, a thick, coppery taste of blood filling his mouth.

God damn your mother!