When Elder John and the others reached the upper levels of the spiral tower, the thick scent of blood hit them. The sight of the gruesome carnage before them caused the elders to pause, their expressions freezing.
"Was this Celia’s doing?"
Elder Lyles frowned. Only that mad witch could have dealt with these cult executors so swiftly and brutally.
"It doesn't quite look like her style..." Elder John sniffed the air. Besides the scent of blood, there was a pungent smell of black powder.
He stepped forward to inspect the remains and quickly made a judgment.
"Though the bodies are mangled... they seem to have been torn apart by firearms. However, the power of this alchemical weapon is... immense."
"Celia wouldn't use a gun." Elder John’s tone became much more cautious. "That leaves only the Hermit. We must be careful later; the opponent possesses a secret weapon specifically designed to kill mages..."
"You're being a bit too cautious, John."
Elder Lyles curled his lip. He didn't think much of the Hermit, a young man who had only just begun learning magic. "It just looks intimidating. The fact that he had to prepare such a weapon only proves his personal strength is weak."
"In the end, the Hermit is just a low-tier mage. How could a mere low-tier mage possibly turn the world upside down?"
Elder Lyles was still most wary of the Ash Witch. He had heard that not long ago, Elder Hall of the Restorationist faction had been turned to ashes before her without even the strength to resist...
Just then, the demon leader arrived on the platform, leading a group of mercenaries.
He surveyed the gruesome scene, his lips curling into undisguised contempt. He felt these human mages were nothing special.
A high-level demon sneered, "You can't even handle two mere traitors? This is it? And you call yourselves the successors of the great magic era of the Second Era?"
Elder John ignored the demon's mocking gaze. Instead, he noticed that the mercenaries brought by the demons had also suffered heavy casualties, clearly having taken a significant hit in the previous trap-filled maze.
The elders exchanged glances, greed flickering in their eyes.
The intelligence personnel sent out earlier had already quietly returned with crucial information. They finally understood why the demons were making such a fuss...
It turned out that deep underground, there might be a massive treasure left behind by the ancient demon empire!
Despite the constant friction between the two sides along the way, the cult had forced a 'cooperation' with the demons to reach this place together, as the elders had already begun forming their own schemes...
Killing the Hermit was Samantha’s absolute order, and they would continue to carry it out. But if they could seize this opportunity to snatch the demon army's treasure... it would undoubtedly be a huge help to the Council of Elders, whose financial situation was currently worrying.
Of course, such an act would also greatly replenish... the increasingly empty private vaults of the elders themselves.
While the elders exchanged knowing looks, the demon leader was urging the remaining mercenary teams forward. Large numbers of mercenaries poured into the spiral tower below.
"They’re trying to seize the initiative!" Elder Lyles lowered his voice, his tone urgent. "They have the advantage in numbers and surely want to get ahead of us to control all the strategic positions in this building."
Elder John was in no hurry. He gave a cold laugh. "Don't rush. Let them go down first. They can wear down Celia for us. We just need to wait patiently for the right moment..."
...
The middle platform of the spiral tower was dimly lit, with the sound of chaotic footsteps echoing through the wide corridors.
Ansu noticed that the pursuers behind them had changed from cultists to a ragtag group of fierce-looking mercenaries.
The strength of those mercenaries was inconsistent, but the demons mixed among them were more troublesome. After all, the magic talent of demons was much higher than that of humans.
But none of this was a problem for the Witch, who possessed the beauty of raw power.
Ansu watched as Celia’s figure flickered like a ghost between stone pillars and shadows. Under the surge of her immense mana, she left a trail of corpses wherever she went. Neither mercenaries nor demons could last a single move. Screams and the roar of magic explosions intertwined incessantly.
"Celia..." When she caught up with the group after covering the rear, Ansu gave a helpless smile. "You can't fight like that! Not only is it a waste of mana, but if you kill them all, what if they get too scared to keep chasing us?"
"I didn't even use that much mana?" Celia paused, looking back at the carpet of corpses and the trembling mercenaries hiding in the distance, afraid to approach. "Hmm... it seems I did intimidate them a little?"
"You think?" Ansu couldn't help but rub his temples. He was still counting on sacrificing all these high-quality 'sacrifices.' If Celia killed them all before he even started, what was he supposed to do?
Celia looked up at the top of the spiral tower at the shocked demon leader and gave a disdainful click of her tongue. "They're just too weak..."
"Compared to you, anyone would seem weak..." Ansu’s expression became even more speechless. "My dear Witch, please, improve your acting! To meet the standards of the sacrificial ritual, we need at least three hundred sacrifices. If we don't have enough, we'll be in big trouble!"
"My dear Mr. Ansu, I've already been holding back as much as possible, okay?" Celia shook her head with a laugh. Seeing him plead so earnestly, she could only nod helplessly. "Fine, fine, I'll act! I'll try to make it look convincing."
After Ansu finished his instructions to Celia, the situation in the subsequent chase and flight finally changed.
Celia began to carefully control her mana release. Both her stability and accuracy seemed to plummet. The magic offensive that had been unstoppable suddenly appeared much less terrifying.
Of course, with Celia’s strength, anyone who dared to rush forward was still taken down the moment they showed their head. However, the subtle change did indeed make it feel as though her mana was no longer sufficient to maintain high-intensity spellcasting.
The group continued to flee downward 'in a panic.' Ansu quietly gave the Witch an approving look.
"You're acting very well this time!"
Celia glanced at the pursuers who were maintaining a certain distance from the group. She waved her hand, using a thick shield to block various arrows and magic attacks again.
"It’s all thanks to the director's guidance~" Celia laughed. she looked back at Ansu, who had been counting something the whole way. "How is it? Is the number enough now?"
"Hmm... the cult pursuers are just under a hundred, roughly eighty people. But the demons brought a lot more. There should be three or four mercenary groups among them, at least over two hundred and fifty people..." Ansu kept tallying the heads like a reaper calling names, his excitement growing as he counted.
This was definitely enough!
"Lure them all to the bottom of the temple, and then..." Ansu grinned sinisterly.
Celia also broke into a wicked smile. "Sacrifice everyone!"
...
The demon leader stared at the corpses littering the path, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.
By now, the chase had reached its end, but his subordinates had suffered severe losses. Yet, not a single one of the five people on the other side had died! If this continued...
The demon leader let out a deep sigh, forced to admit he had vastly underestimated the strength of those two cult traitors. No wonder his 'allies' had sent so many experts to hunt them down...
A high-level demon whispered beside him, "Lord Shadow... the people from the Echoes of Truth have been following closely behind..."
Shadow Demon glanced back and sneered, "Those old fogies obviously want to wait for us to exhaust each other so they can jump in and reap the benefits."
By now, the intentions of those old foxes from the cult were more than clear. They must have discovered the existence of the demon army's treasure...
After a moment of thought, Shadow Demon decided to compromise with the cult. "Send someone back to deliver a message. Tell those cult elders that we are now willing to cooperate."
"But..." The high-level demon hesitated.
Shadow Demon’s eyes glinted with cold light. "I know your concerns. No matter what designs they have on our race's treasure, we must set them aside for now—prioritize dealing with those troublesome characters below! We'll deal with the rest afterward!"
After a brief negotiation between the two sides, Elder John and Elder Lyles stepped forward. Under the hostile gazes of numerous demons, the two calmly gazed at the incredibly massive circular plaza before them.
"It looks like a dead end..." Elder Lyles couldn't help but smile. "Let's see where the Hermit and Celia can run now! They're dead!"
The Hermit and Celia were standing at the edge of the circular plaza, resting. While they observed their opponents, the group on the other side was also looking over.
The two sides faced off across the circular plaza. At this moment, the cult traitor, the Hermit, even extended a middle finger and began to mock them with a provocative sneer...
"Damn it, he’s still so arrogant when death is at his door?" Elder Lyles looked at him in annoyance. "John? Should we move?"
"Wait..." Elder John remained cautious. His gaze continuously scanned the entire plaza, and he suddenly asked:
"Shadow Demon, what exactly is this massive plaza used for?"
Shadow Demon didn't bother with the two elders. He just kept staring at the temple altar at his feet, which was covered in ancient runes, his gaze thoughtful.
"Huh...?" The high-level demon beside him seemed to think of something and suddenly said excitedly, "Lord Shadow, I have a plan!"
Shadow Demon immediately looked at him. "Speak!"
The high-level demon hurried to his leader's ear and whispered, "The entire spiral tower was the Great Arena of the former Enus Empire. A thousand years ago, tens of thousands of arena slaves lived here. We used endless slaughter and combat to satisfy the desires of the gods and pray for their blessings..."
Shadow Demon frowned and interrupted immediately, "I know that. I don't need you to give me a history lesson!"
"Yes, Lord Shadow..." The high-level demon got straight to the point. "This circular plaza is our altar. Why don't we do as they did a thousand years ago and initiate a sacrificial ritual again? We can sacrifice all five of them to the god directly!"
"A sacrificial ritual?" Shadow Demon looked surprised. He lowered his voice and pressed, "What are the requirements for the ritual? Can we do it?"
"Of course!" The high-level demon smiled confidently. "Don't forget, my ancestors had noble demon blood. I am naturally very familiar with the most important sacrificial matters of the demon empire! And... after activating the altar, we can also take care of these cultist allies of ours along the way!"
At this point, the high-level demon intentionally or unintentionally swept his gaze over the two cult elders, his smile instantly turning sinister.
"Heh, they want to covet our demon treasure? Then let them be buried alongside those two traitors!"
"Good, good!" Shadow Demon said 'good' twice. He excitedly patted the high-level demon’s shoulder. "Whatever the ritual needs, get it done quickly! I’ll lead the team back up immediately! It’s all up to you!"
"The sacrificial ritual isn't that difficult as long as we meet a few requirements!" The high-level demon was equally excited. "First, we need someone who, like the high priests of old, knows Ancient Enus and possesses Ritual Magic Knowledge. Second..."
"We also need demon blood to activate it, and sacrifices must be placed upon the altar..." The high-level demon watched the other side of the circular plaza, where the opponent seemed to be performing a somewhat familiar action...
He squinted his eyes and finally saw clearly. The Ash Witch, who had killed countless of their mercenaries, was clutching a small dagger in her palm...
"Yes, yes! Demon blood must be used like that to activate it. The blood must drip onto the altar!" The high-level demon didn't seem to realize what was happening yet, continuing to explain proudly to Lord Shadow. "And then... we need to recite a long incantation—Great God of Death, Lord of Darkness, Avatar of the End of All Things..."
"Great God of Death, Lord of Darkness, Avatar of the End of All Things!" Ansu smiled as he stood within the altar, slowly reciting the ancient and obscure Ancient Enus.
Celia clenched her blood-stained palm, standing behind him with great anticipation.
"May your will guide our destiny..."
"Your kingdom is the endless night, your breath is eternal rest; the undead never sleep, and darkness is eternal!"
When the sounds of these incantations reached them, the smile on the high-level demon’s face slowly vanished.
Wait!
That’s not right?
What you're saying... seems to be the words I wanted to say?
"Fool! We've been tricked!" Shadow Demon retreated in terror and fury, wanting to leave the range of the circular altar. "They want to sacrifice us! Quick! Stop them!!"
All the demons and mercenaries, all the cult members, fell into a panic.
Upon learning that they were actually the ones being sacrificed, the elders turned pale with shock. Elder John charged frantically toward the other side of the altar, wanting to stop the Hermit from finishing the sacrificial incantation.
However, it was already too late.
Because Ansu’s mouth was faster!
"Your humble servant prays for your blessing and protection here..."
Ansu looked at the terrified crowd, smiling, and finally recited the last line of the sacrificial incantation.
"Here—I present these sacrifices to you."
【Slaughter Sacrifice (Grand Black Magic Ritual)】
【Initiated】
In an instant, the entire underground temple shook violently. The ancient stone walls roared, as if the entire earth were trembling.
Immediately afterward, endless demon undead surged out from the altar. The nether light symbolizing death spread outward like a tide, submerging the entire space in an instant...
Elder John noticed in despair that the moment the nether light submerged him, a faint magical glow instantly vanished. That was the effect of a teleportation circle...
The figures of Ansu and his party had already vanished from this spiral tower that was about to be filled with slaughter and death.
Rate on N.U.
