The Traveler's Travel Door allowed Doctor Schneider to appear in Middlesburg for a short time, but because any item with extraordinary power could not pass through the door, in addition to the door's key, the doctor also gave Xia De a suitcase containing casting materials and ritual materials, asking Xia De to help bring them to Middlesburg and set up the outer ritual in advance to assist in weakening the demon's power.
"Is the local Zaras group willing to trade this door?"
Xia De asked, holding the key, and the doctor nodded, patting his chest:
"Don't worry, I have a good reputation locally. They are indeed interested in your mirror; it's a very good tool when encountering pursuit or needing to eavesdrop. But the pounds they can compensate you with, they don't want to exceed 50 pounds, so you two can come back tomorrow night to discuss."
"Hmm?"
Xia De had originally thought he would have to compensate them. Now it seems the value of that Corpse Mirror is indeed greater than he imagined.
"Alright, then I'll come again tomorrow night."
Saying that, he wanted to leave immediately, but after a moment of hesitation, he asked Doctor Schneider, who seemed to have more patients to see later:
"Doctor, are you sure nothing else will happen tonight? If it's not safe, we can wait until Tuesday when one of my friends arrives in Middlesburg before we act."
"No, no, other things might go wrong, but on the matter of the demon, there will be no problem."
The slightly excited expression gradually disappeared, and the doctor shook his head, saying with a hint of melancholy:
"After all, this is a demon."
Since the 'opening the door' time agreed with the doctor was 7 PM, Xia De didn't bother with Mia's dinner. After leaving the doctor's clinic, he went to Feather Pen Street to find Dorothy, entrusting her to look after the cat and promising to pick her up tonight.
"Xia De, are you going on another 'tense and interesting' adventure?"
The Golden-haired girl stood at the entrance of the apartment building, holding a reluctant Mia, and asked Xia De suspiciously. The first volume of "The Hamidel Detective Stories" was about to be publicly released; while Xia De was messing around in Middlesburg, Dorothy was busy with this.
"No, no, this isn't anything dangerous this time. The doctor and I are going to contain a relic, and it's a very good one. When I get my hands on it, you'll definitely be very surprised."
That Demon Hunter's silver sword is indeed very pretty.
"Is that so? With the doctor... the doctor does seem very reliable."
She praised him first, then probed:
"So, do you need me to temporarily return the Youth Everlasting Leaf to you?"
Xia De immediately shook his head:
"Of course not, this time we're just going to contain a relic."
Besides, Xia De still had two pieces in his hand:
"That's it then, I'll probably pick up Mia around ten o'clock."
To prevent the Traveler's Travel Door from losing control, Xia De also had to return to Tobesk by 10 PM to return the key.
He waved goodbye to Dorothy, and the Golden-haired girl stared at Xia De's back, always feeling that what he was about to do wouldn't be so simple.
When he said goodbye to Dorothy, it was already four in the afternoon. Xia De just ate a piece of bread at home, then immediately went to Middlesburg through the basement, and after an hour's journey, arrived at the mountain cliff again. Following the previous method, he fell from the cliff and entered the cave entrance in the cliff that only those holding the parchment scroll could see.
Passing through the long, quiet mountain passage, as rolling hot waves rushed towards him, Xia De saw the stone platform, broken bridge, and bonfire in front of the broken bridge on one side of the mountain cavity outside the passage.
The longsword glowed with silver light, its blade inscribed with the characters "My heart is clear, my sword slays demons." The color of the characters was close to black, and just by looking at them, one could feel the great deeds and complex stories this sword had experienced.
Below the sword, in the bonfire that was now only Ashes, some faint sparks could vaguely be seen flickering.
"This sword is truly pretty... and it's free."
Xia De expressed his most sincere admiration in his heart, and then, amidst "her" soft laughter, he prepared to set up the ritual given by the doctor that could weaken the demon's power.
In the black suitcase, besides the doctor's own casting materials, there were detailed ritual instructions and materials. This ritual originated from the Knowledge of Evil Spirits and demons, and had no effect on the doctor, as demons understand demons best after all.
Among the materials, the most crucial were the third holy water, scarab shells, holy silver, church scriptures that had been used for 15 years, and a blessed red ribbon inscribed with praises to the gods, which the doctor had obtained from who knows where. From the description, this ribbon was actually an ornament from the robes worn by the previous Pope of the Natural Church when presiding over mass.
"The Priest really spent a fortune this time."
While Xia De was busy, the bonfire under the longsword only occasionally sparked, as if trying to rekindle. Xia De kept an eye on it, but until he finished setting up the demon-expelling ritual, no further anomalies occurred with the bonfire.
Of course, the ceaseless whispers tempting Xia De to throw himself into the bonfire and coexist with the flames never stopped, and the temperature here was also a bit high. However, for an Outsider who had seen all sorts of grand scenes, these were not difficult challenges to overcome.
His movements were quite fast; after setting up the ritual, there was still half an hour until the agreed-upon 7 PM. He restrained his curiosity about the broken bridge on the opposite side of this large mountain cavity and stood at the edge of the passage and stone platform, ready to welcome the doctor.
The Miracle Time Perception allowed Xia De to know the exact right time. When seven o'clock arrived, he meditated on the Traveler's Travel Door as instructed by the doctor, then plunged the metal key into the air. He turned it twice to the left, then twice to the right.
With a "click~" sound in the air, Xia De released the key and stepped back, seeing the key, as if floating in the air, "grow" upwards and downwards into that ancient brown wooden door with a metal base.
The door was pushed open, and the scene behind the door was not this mountain cavity, but Doctor Schneider's warm and comfortable bedroom.
"Is it ready?"
The doctor behind the door poked his head out and asked. Seeing Xia De nod, he confidently stepped over the threshold:
"Is this Sicar Mountain? This is my first time here. Look, it's really dark here."
The doctor snapped his fingers, and two fireballs flew out, hovering above the stone platform, illuminating the area.
"I don't even need to look, I can smell the demon's stench."
Smiling at Xia De, Doctor Schneider walked around the door, his black boots treading on the ground beneath his feet. Rubbing his hands, he eagerly came to the edge of the broken bridge and looked at the bonfire under the silver sword.
He took a deep breath, a satisfied expression on his face:
"That's right, Detective, this is indeed the Evil Spirit - Arsonist Sokfis, mimicking a Flame Demon!"
"Doctor, you have three minutes and two seconds left."
Xia De remained standing at the edge of the connection between the passage and the stone platform, waiting. While reminding the doctor, he curiously looked at the open door. Behind the door was the bedroom on the third floor of the doctor's clinic, and according to the characteristics of this relic, only a user coming from the other side of the door could pass back through this side of the open door. So, although Tobesk was only "one step away" from Xia De, if he wanted to return to Tobesk, he still had to walk an hour on the mountain path to that ruined tower in the mountains.
"Alright then, Detective, you just stand there and don't move. No matter what you see next, please don't panic."
"Doctor, I'm no longer the ordinary person who knew nothing when I met you this summer."
Xia De said, then saw the doctor take off his black coat and throw it to him, wearing only a white shirt:
"I hope not to tarnish my image in your heart."
The doctor said softly, his back to Xia De.
"What kind of form..."
He promptly shut his mouth, because he saw the doctor roll up the sleeve of his right shirt, revealing his arm. Then, he cupped his right hand with his left, his right palm facing the bonfire under the silver sword.
The shadow on the wall clearly showed the doctor's right hand stretching and lengthening, then his palm suddenly split open, the enormous mouth even causing his hand to swell by a circle.
"The Human Pus's Demonic Mouth! The doctor has even mastered this."
Xia De thought to himself, and from the current state, Doctor Schneider's efficiency in utilizing "Human Pus" was even stronger than that of Ivan Darkness back then.
The Chosen One of Darkness uses his dark talent to forcibly coexist with the demon. Your friend directly devoured the demon's power, transforming it into his own strength. This is a fundamental difference.
Xia De nodded, watching as the gaping mouth enveloped the bonfire where the longsword was plunged.
From the gray embers, where only tiny sparks remained, flames immediately shot upwards, attempting a final resistance. But the doctor's right hand, licked by the terrifying flames, seemed unaffected, continuing downwards, trying to swallow the Ashes of the bonfire in one gulp.
"Be careful."
"She" said gently.
"Be careful of what?"
With a soft hum, the longsword plunged into the bonfire vibrated. Silver light shot skyward, almost illuminating the entire mountain cavity.
At the same time, the black runes on the sword's body actually lit up from bottom to top. It was a bright yellow light, and the bright yellow runes on the silver-glowing sword body appeared even more dazzling.
"My heart is clear, my sword slays demons!"
The doctor shouted, reciting the inscription on the sword in Demonic language:
"This sword actually has hostility towards me too, I'm a good person! Oh, damn it!"
Thousands of silver sword rays sprayed from the vibrating sword body in all directions like raindrops. Doctor Schneider screamed, pulled back his arm, hugged his head, and darted into the passage behind Xia De without looking back. The silver sword light followed him closely, but fortunately, the doctor had a layer of black hard shell on his back, which blocked a few of the hits.
Xia De, being wiser, turned sideways and hid behind the half-open door. Without the effect of spatial power, this door was almost "indestructible" while open, thus naturally blocking the attack for Xia De.
"Doctor, there are one minute and fifty-three seconds left. What's going on?"
The doctor's retreat also caused the sword to return to normal. Xia De turned to check Doctor Schneider's condition; although he looked a bit dishevelled, he wasn't actually injured because he ran fast enough.
"No, this sword is more powerful than I imagined. Detective, we can only pull out that sword first, release the Flame Demon, and then I'll devour it."
The doctor poked his head out from the passage behind him, beckoned the two fireballs above his head closer to the sword, and after confirming it no longer reacted to the outside world, he came to Xia De's side with lingering fear, seemingly not daring to approach it again.
"Pull out the sword? Who will pull it out?"
Xia De looked at the doctor in confusion.
"What do you think?"
Those blue eyes looked at Xia De:
"Detective, there are only you and I here. Do you think it's possible for me to touch that sword?"
The firelight overhead cast their shadows on the ground, both shadows severely distorted, and the shadow representing Xia De's right hand pointed to himself:
"You mean me?"
