Chapter 409: The Thirteen Apostles
The McDougal Grimoire
Metropolis. Inside a luxurious penthouse suite at the Fergus Hotel.
The amber lighting cast a hazy glow over the extravagantly decorated room. Light and shadow shifted as a figure descended from the second floor.
The sound of footsteps grew closer, and Siobhan became increasingly nervous. She clutched the hem of her dress, her anxiety mixed with a hint of curiosity.
Luke Shaw!
He had suddenly called her at noon today, arranging to meet her here. Did he have some kind of ulterior motive? If so, what should she do?
I should have asked Linda to come along.
Clap!
A worn, tattered parchment book landed on the table. Luke, wearing a bathrobe, rubbed his brow. An occasional flash of bloodthirsty, red light flickered in his weary eyes.
"The McDougal family produces witches, so I assume you are one of them."
Siobhan nodded, watching him cautiously.
"This ancient parchment book is likely what the Crone was looking for. You are skilled in magic. Open it and see if anything is hidden inside."
Siobhan was stunned.
"Are you sure?"
"That is for you to decide."
Siobhan fell silent, cautiously picking up the ancient book. She had come to Metropolis for the sole purpose of finding this book to break the Crone's curse. She never imagined that after all her searching, the book had been in Linda's boyfriend's hands all along.
If she had only known sooner, her family might not have died.
Thinking of the events of the previous day, tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
The McDougal family, a heritage of thousands of years, was gone, with only her left. How could she face her deceased father?
"You'd better hurry up!"
A husky voice pulled her back to reality. She looked up, and a pair of beast-like eyes met hers, seemingly ready to devour her whole.
"Are you... are you alright?"
Luke glanced at his watch. "Ten minutes left."
Siobhan said no more, opening the ancient book and quickly flipping through it. The more she read, the more shocked she became. The book contained many forbidden-level spells, such as sacrificial arrays to summon Lucifer, the Lord of Hell; necromancy to communicate with the God of Death; top-tier corpse-puppet creation methods; and the ultimate soul magic—The Thirteen Apostles.
No wonder the Crone sought this ancient book; even a Demon Lord would find such powerful magic irresistible.
"Mr. Shaw, I suggest you destroy it."
"Oh?"
Luke raised a brow. "Why?"
"Do you know what's written in there?"
Luke picked up a glass of wine and took a sip.
"A section on demon summoning arrays, a section on soul magic. The rest is unclear—it's written in another language."
Siobhan was startled and couldn't help but ask, "You understand Demon Tongue?"
"Ms. McDougal, don't waste time. I came to you for a specific magic in the book."
Luke sat up straight and asked, word by word, "The Thirteen Apostles. Have you heard of it?"
Siobhan nodded slightly.
"When I was little, my father mentioned it. The Thirteen Apostles is the ultimate soul magic. It uses unimaginable means to divide the soul into thirteen parts, each an independent personality and consciousness. The primary body and the split souls share information. If the primary body dies, it can be resurrected through a split soul. Essentially, using this magic grants you thirteen extra lives. However..." She paused, then continued,
"The Thirteen Apostles has extremely high requirements for the soul. Even demons in Hell can only manage one or two split souls—it's incredibly difficult to master. Furthermore, this magic has severe side effects."
Luke hesitated, then asked casually,
"What side effects?"
"Backlash. There's a risk that the split soul could devour the master. Second is negative emotions. Splitting the soul is essentially a process of death. Every time you split it, the feeling of fatigue intensifies. In addition to that, it can also derive violence, cruelty, bloodlust, and madness..."
As she spoke, she abruptly stopped, her eyes wide as she stared fixedly at Luke.
Fatigue, violence, cruelty—weren't those exactly the symptoms Luke Shaw was exhibiting right now? Could he have practiced The Thirteen Apostles? Impossible! Her father said that no human could ever master that magic.
Luke ignored the shock in her eyes and continued,
"How can the side effects be eliminated?"
"I don't know. No one knows. Humans cannot possibly master that magic."
While speaking, she secretly sized him up, filled with many questions, but ultimately held her tongue.
After a moment of silence, Luke placed a bank card on the table.
"That's your consultation fee. You may leave now."
Siobhan nodded obediently. At the door, she turned and said,
"Negative emotions should not be allowed to accumulate excessively. It is best to find a way to vent them."
Luke raised his hand. After she left, he called Dio.
"Send them up!"
The Venting
After leaving the room, Siobhan was still dwelling on what had just happened.
Just then, the elevator door opened, and two youthful, beautiful, and voluptuous women stepped out. One of them looked slightly familiar, seeming to be the female supporting actress in a certain movie.
Siobhan initially paid them no mind, but as she pressed the elevator button, she was suddenly jolted. There was only one suite on this floor: the penthouse where Luke was staying.
...
In the dimly lit bedroom, three bodies tumbled across the bed. Heavy, slightly pained gasps rose and fell, only ceasing after the red sun rose again.
The next day, at noon, the pale-faced girls left the room. One of them stumbled slightly as she exited the door; had the person next to her not caught her, she might have fallen flat on her face.
The two glanced at each other, neither speaking.
No one wanted to mention the experience of the previous night, nor did they want to know the other's name.
The casting couch was a constant reality in Hollywood. The moment Vino Green decided to develop her career in the US, she was mentally prepared. She just never expected the person exercising the power to be the founder of Tesla and ShowMe—Luke Shaw!
The nineteen-year-old billionaire, the person of the year with infinite potential.
When she saw that the person she was to "serve" was him, a flicker of fantasy crossed Vino's mind. Unfortunately, that fantasy was quickly shattered. He was like a crazed beast, over and over, without the slightest mercy. If there hadn't been an alternate person next to her, she might have died there.
Stepping into the elevator, Vino habitually checked her makeup in the reflective wall. The girl next to her kept her head down and said nothing. It wasn't until they were nearing the ground floor that she spoke up:
"Are you here to pay off debt, too?"
Vino didn't want to talk. If she could, she wanted the other girl to forget her face. As a third-tier Hollywood celebrity, she didn't want last night's experience to become a stumbling block on her path forward.
The two left the Fergus Hotel together and walked to the nearby underground parking lot, where Dio was waiting. He handed each of them an envelope.
"I don't need to explain the rules. If either of you leaks a single word, you'll be responsible for the consequences."
Vino opened her envelope. A flash of joy crossed her eyes when she saw the contents. Then, she scoffed, walking away with the haughty stride of a swan.
In contrast, the other girl was much quieter. She checked the I.O.U.s inside the envelope, one by one. Once confirmed correct, she let out a long sigh of relief.
With these documents, she could finally escape the people who were bothering her and continue her sports career.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!