With the teleportation nodes and prerequisite skills in place, Ansu’s preparations were finally complete.
【Sacrificial Art (Mastered) (Progress: 500/500)】
【Slaughter Sacrifice (Grand Black Magic Ritual)】
【(Prerequisites: Ancient Enus, Sacrificial Art, Ritual Magic Knowledge; Other Requirements: Demon blood, altar, massive number of sacrifices)】
"Everything is ready. Now we just wait for the prey to walk into the trap!" Ansu couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation. He recalled the golden, shimmering altar from his simulation and the memory of him excitedly spinning Celia around in his arms.
"Once this is finished, countless treasures and the most precious magic texts will be ours!" Ansu turned to his companion. "Celia, are you excited? Do you like it?"
Seeing Ansu’s excitement, Celia smiled along with him. "Mhm, I’m excited. I like it."
Ansu began to daydream about their future 'great endeavor' once more.
With this level of wealth, what did the Echoes of Truth even matter? He could lead the Witch and build an even more powerful organization, secretly influencing the entire continent's affairs. In the coming dark era, he would carve out a brilliant future for the two of them.
Celia had listened to Ansu’s ramblings on the road and knew he had a grand vision. Naturally, she also harbored beautiful daydreams of her own.
Of course, the beauty of it was mostly because... Ansu had to be part of that endeavor.
Thinking about working alongside Ansu in the future made the corners of her mouth curl up involuntarily.
It was wonderful...
It felt as though her life was suddenly filled with new things to look forward to.
"In that case..." Celia watched Ansu, asking with a playful smile, "You won't be mentioning resignation to me anymore, will you?"
Since it was their joint business, he shouldn't be resigning for the rest of his life.
"I'm resigning right now," Ansu said suddenly, his expression turning serious.
"Huh?" Celia blinked, thinking she had misheard.
But seeing that Ansu’s expression didn't waver in the slightest, the light in Celia’s eyes instantly turned cold.
"Ansu, what did you just say?"
"I mean..." Ansu’s face shifted instantly into a bright, beaming smile. "After I resign, I'm going to be the boss! A grand business like this should have talents like Professor Duncan working for us. I don't want to be an employee anymore!"
Celia breathed a sigh of relief internally, then gave him an annoyed glare. "Don't tease me like that next time! Ansu, I don't like you joking about such things. I'll think you're testing me!"
"Right, right..." Ansu gave a helpless smile. It seemed he shouldn't provoke Celia in reality anymore.
"And besides, what kind of boss would you be?" Celia poked Ansu’s chest, giggling mischievously. "Don't think about lording it over me. You’d be better off as the boss's wife."
"Wait..." Ansu looked at her, speechless. "How can a man be the boss's wife? That doesn't sound very dignified."
"Why not?" Celia narrowed her eyes. "If you want to be the boss, you’ll have to wait until the day you can actually beat me!"
"That day will come," Ansu replied with a proud grin. "As the saying goes, the tables will turn! Sooner or later, I will defeat the arrogant Witch! Just you wait!"
He would win!!
Celia chuckled. "I'll be waiting."
While the two were chatting idly, something suddenly flickered in Ansu’s pocket. It was a magitech device enchanted with communication runes, developed by Professor Duncan. He had given one to each team member before they set out.
Ansu pulled out the device, and Professor Duncan’s tense voice came through.
"Ansu! Where did you two run off to?"
"Get back here! My instruments detected people coming from above. A lot of people! Almost all of them are mages!"
Ansu and Celia exchanged a look, their expressions turning serious.
It seemed the cult pursuers, or perhaps the demon remnants as well, had arrived at the upper levels of the ancient ruins.
"We need to go back first!" Ansu said immediately. According to the plan, they had to lure all the pursuers down. Professor Duncan and the other two certainly couldn't handle the responsibility of being 'bait.'
"Alright!" Celia immediately headed toward the other end of the corridor.
The spiral tower wasn't just a large set of stairs; every level had spaces for sacrifices and living quarters for slaves. The teleportation nodes were placed in a room within the inner living area.
Ansu followed closely, leading Radish. Celia grabbed Ansu’s hand and began chanting under her breath.
Teleportation magic was indeed a demanding ritual to cast. Celia recited a long, obscure incantation, and a circle of deep blue magic runes suddenly manifested around them.
After about fifteen seconds, a magical glow enveloped them, and the two humans and one horse vanished from the lower levels of the spiral tower.
Returning to the upper levels, Ansu saw Eddie and another student, Leon, preparing alchemical bullets. They let out a sigh of relief when they saw Ansu and Celia appear.
"You're finally back!" Professor Duncan hurried over. "Those guys are getting closer. There are too many of them. The traps and living corpses on the upper levels won't hold them for long!"
Celia stared at the wide platform leading to the upper levels. She could feel the continuous surges of mana drawing closer; the pursuers were advancing at an incredible speed.
"Let's go, head down!" Ansu called out. To make the act convincing, they had to retrace the path to the underground altar.
Just as the team picked up their pace and rounded the first corridor of the spiral tower, the pursuers finally appeared.
The first to enter Ansu’s sight were several cult executors acting as scouts. They were incredibly agile, moving almost like blurring shadows. When they locked onto Ansu’s group, a flash of joy crossed their faces.
"Elder John! Elder Lyles! We found the Hermit and the others!"
From the direction behind them, a violent surge of mana erupted from the upper ruins, and the voices of the elders grew closer. "Quick! Catch them!"
The cult executors responsible for scouting suddenly accelerated, their movements becoming almost invisible to the naked eye. They intended to slow down the Hermit’s group and wait for the main force to arrive.
Celia sneered and stopped in her tracks, glancing back. In the next instant, a near-instantaneous gravity magic crashed down. The executors, who had relied on their speed, were suddenly forced into the light, struggling to move.
Ansu worked in perfect harmony with her, pulling out the 【Mage Killer】. This exquisite revolver, already loaded with alchemical bullets, was prepared for this exact moment.
Ansu could sense the bewilderment of the executor in front of him. After all, using a firearm against a mage was rare and generally considered unwise.
Cult executors were mostly low-level mages, so almost everyone knew the cost-effective 【Shield spell】. The moment Ansu raised his gun, a shimmer appeared on the executor’s body—the sign of the 【Shield spell】 taking effect.
But then, something occurred that caught all the cult executors off guard.
With a roar like thunder, the revolver easily shattered the executor’s 【Shield spell】. The massive kinetic energy even sent the man flying backward.
Ansu sneered and pulled the trigger again without hesitation.
The executor, having lost his balance, was hit directly in the abdomen. His body seemed to implode, snapping in half in mid-air. Steaming fragments of organs flew everywhere, and crimson blood sprayed out like a fountain.
"Holy crap, this gun hits that hard?" Even Professor Duncan, the designer of the weapon, was stunned. "This is way more effective than low-level magic!"
"Professor, I actually increased the powder charge a bit later on," Ansu explained while aiming at the other executors.
As they were locked onto by the muzzle that represented death, every executor showed a look of despair.
Terrifying gunshots rang out in succession as one mangled corpse after another collapsed.
One shot to break the shield, one shot to blow the head!
Two shots to take down a low-level mage!
Ansu looked at the scattered remains with satisfaction. His 'anti-cultist treasure' had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
"Alright, alright, stop gloating!" Celia stepped forward and grabbed Ansu’s arm. "Once those elders catch up, that gun won't be as useful. Let's go!"
"Okay..." Ansu looked at the tense Celia and gave a helpless smile, following closely behind her.
Rate on N.U.
