novelonline Chapter 3892 "A Bloodstained Deception"
Chapter 3892 "A Bloodstained Deception"
Chapter 3892 "A Bloodstained Deception"
Shad picked up his glass of juice:
"In that sense, the authority of the Red Moon overlaps with the authority of creation."
"Yes, but the two are not entirely the same. Most of the knowledge you gained from me in the past was related to combat, but that does not fully reflect the fundamental nature of Crimson Moon. Your shapeshifting technique, the [Active Soil] that turns soil into flesh and blood, and the [Blood Seed Parasite] that you obtained from the False Man, are more in line with the power of Crimson Moon."
As she spoke, Denise picked up half a steak with her fork and threw it on the ground. Then, as the steak wriggled, it turned into a red rabbit and ran to Shad's feet.
Shad felt it for a moment:
"Although it has no soul, it is full of vitality and spirituality; this is not a simple transformation."
"This is a mutation in flesh and blood caused by the Red Moon."
Daniste explained:
“I know you don’t need much power in this area, but in order to feel the essence of the moon more deeply, you will need to come into contact with this power when you reach the tenth ring.”
The two continued chatting about the moon while eating their late-night snack. The snack included steak, so nothing went to waste, as Danist was genuinely quite hungry. The night's exertion had been intense, and she intended to continue with the second half of the game later, so she naturally needed to recover her strength.
After having a late-night snack, feeling she needed to rest a bit more, Danist went to the study with Shad. She asked Shad to hold her and look through the books with her.
Since we've just discussed the nature of the red moon, Daniste, enjoying the pleasant night, told Shad a very interesting fairy tale:
"The red moon shines on the forest, and in its crimson light, the squirrel, the fox, the rabbit, and the hedgehog plan to distribute the large pile of pine cones they have found together to each of the animals."
All four animals wanted more. The rabbit thought it had contributed more, the fox thought it was the only one that hadn't stolen any, the squirrel thought it needed more pine cones the most, and the hedgehog thought it was the strongest and deserved more.
So they asked the wise owl for a solution. The owl, looking at the pile of crimson pine cones illuminated by the red moon, decided on the fairest method: one of the four animals would choose to divide the pine cones into four piles, and the other three animals would then choose which piles of pine cones to divide.
Up to this point, the story seemed perfectly normal to Shad, praising the role of fairness and wisdom. But then the story took a bizarre turn.
"In the end, the fox was chosen to divide all the pine cones into four portions. But the cunning red fox played a trick; it cut off its own flesh and blood, disguising it as pine cones under the red moon, making three of the portions of pine cones look like more."
The rabbit, hedgehog, and squirrel indeed chose the three piles of pine cones that looked like they had more, so the fox mocked them and took the pile that actually had the most pine cones. The other three animals were furious, so they rushed at the fox and cut off pieces of his flesh, trying to use his blood and flesh to make up for their pine cone deficit.
Under the crimson moon, the blood-stained treasure drove the four bandits mad. They fought each other fiercely until they all fell to the ground. The traveler who had been asked to help devise a plan to divide the treasure ended up with everything, carrying the blood-soaked loot away into the distance.
After Daniste finished telling the story, Shad blinked:
"I admit this story is thought-provoking, using the animals splitting a pine cone to reveal the self-destruction brought about by human greed, deceit, and violence. But can this really be called a fairy tale? And can children even hear this?"
The sorceress smiled:
"I'm only telling the darker version of the story. In the more common version, what's disguised as a pine cone is actually fox fur plucked from a fox, not flesh and blood."
In a common version of the ending, the clever fox is punished by having all its fur plucked by the other three animals, while the four robbers, metaphorically represented by the animals, do not all die; instead, the traveler takes advantage of their fight to steal their treasure.
Danist asked:
"Look, isn't this a standard fairy tale? It's simple and easy to understand, it teaches a lesson, and the story itself is very interesting."
"Yes, if it's just fox fur, the story has a fairytale feel to it. What's the name of the story? Is it 'A Bloody Horror Story' or 'The Night of Devouring Flesh and Blood'?"
Shad asked, and the sorceress laughed:
"What strange names are these? The most common name for this fairy tale is 'The Bloody Deception,' which is widely circulated in the eastern part of the Old World. Adults use this story to warn children not to be greedy, and even more so not to be cunning, otherwise they will be the ones who suffer in the end."
The girls all knew that Shad sometimes displayed a certain lack of common sense, so Denise didn't ask Shad how he could not have heard the story:
"Shad, your childhood education is not my responsibility. I brought up this story because some researchers believe it also contains a metaphor about the red moon. After all, March hangs in the night sky, but the story only mentions the red moon."
Under the crimson moon, the people and animals are blurred, real and illusory; flesh and blood can be disguised as pine cones. All of this hints at events in the story, perhaps phenomena both real and illusory, caused by the power of the crimson moon.
After she finished telling the story, she asked Xia De, who was holding her:
"Once we return from Mount Karas, you should have some time to settle down and study, right?"
"There are still some things to take care of. I promised Claire and Margaret some things."
Danesther could guess what it was about:
"It's okay, you'll always find time to study here. I can offer you a separate elective course that will earn you credits. Speaking of which, haven't you fallen behind in your studies since the end of the year?"
"While you have some free time afterward, remember to catch up on your required course assignments. Otherwise, even with my help, you'll be in big trouble before the summer exam week."
"Understood, Danist."
The eighteen-year-old redhead smiled; she felt she had rested enough.
"So, do you still want to continue reading here?"
She looked up at Shad, and Shad read her thoughts in her eyes:
"We've seen enough, let's go back to the bedroom and rest."
"Can't I rest in the study?"
"Of course, but isn't the table a bit hard? And the carpet is a bit too dirty."
“It’s okay, I know you can keep my feet off the ground.”
(Mia is running.)
Xiaomia thought that Shad, who hadn't come home on Friday, would definitely be back early Saturday morning, but when she actually saw Shad, it was already 10 a.m. on Saturday.
The cat was a little angry, so it decided to ignore Shad, lying on the back of the sofa and watching him without saying hello. But after Shad petted it a few times, Mia started rubbing against Shad's hand as usual, so Shad didn't realize that his cat had been angry.
Although they were to depart for Mount Karas on Monday, and Daniste said that this trip was a college mission that would give Shadgar practical credits, Shadgar himself did not need to prepare anything extra.
All the materials for the ritual were provided by Daniste, so Shad only needed to carry his usual weapons and tools. Therefore, he thought he could take advantage of the next two days to learn that card magic.
He had already taken a shower at Denise's, so after returning home and tidying up briefly, he took Mia out to Quill Street.
After having lunch with Dorothy, the two went together to Dr. Schneider's clinic.
It was Saturday, and the fog in the city wasn't as thick as it was in the depths of winter, but the sky over Tobesk remained overcast. The group meeting, which had been suspended for two weeks, finally resumed that afternoon; although Luvia was absent, the other four were present on time.
The doctor seemed to be in a good mood, which may be related to his recent business success.
"The detective has finished his business in the Southern Snow Mountain. I need to remind everyone that it is now the middle of the month of the Rising Wind. Half of the first half of 1855 has already passed. Everyone must pay attention to the progress of your studies this year."
"Detective, I know you've skipped grades in the past, but this year your progress is slower than last year."
The doctor was repeating what Daniste had warned him about the night before, and Shad knew they were right:
"I'm going out on a college mission with Professor Daniste on Monday, and I'll catch up on my classes when I get back."
Are you coming to the conference again next Saturday?
"It should be fine, it won't take up a whole week."
"That's good."
The doctor nodded, gave Father Augustus and Dorothy a few more instructions, and then said:
"I was planning to take advantage of everyone's free time to take on a few more bounty missions in the area. Unfortunately, the fortune teller isn't here, and without her assistance, we shouldn't take any risks."
However, things weren't exactly uneventful. In response to the impending Civil War, the college issued a notice warning correspondence students not to get involved and risk trouble for themselves and the college.
At the same time, the start of the war will also lead to more frequent activities by illegal ring warlock groups such as the Tyranny Club, the World Eater Legion, and the Conspiracy Council, as well as neutral ring warlock organizations such as the Lyraqin Alliance, which are particularly active during the war.
The academy warned us to stay away from such trouble and focus on our studies and Ringwitch rank. If any correspondence student is found using supernatural powers to directly participate in wars between ordinary people, the academy will send someone to deal with the offender.
As the doctor spoke, he pulled out official documents and had everyone read them.
Priest Augustus also said:
"The Church also warned its subordinate Ring Sorcerers to stay away from war. Although the likelihood of Church-affiliated Ring Sorcerers actively participating in war is very small, it cannot be ruled out that some may be used by others for various reasons."
Dorothy read the document:
"Even if the academy and the church issue warnings, there will surely be people who profit from this, right? Selling some healing potions and lucky charms is probably a minor issue. What the authorities are worried about is that some people will use this to obtain noble status or to conduct some illegal rituals under the guise of war."
P.S.: The illustration in this chapter is titled "Bloody Deception".