Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 272 Sacrifice

Reddish bloodlight shot from the ground into the night sky, forming a peculiar red pillar of light, illuminating the night of Tobesk. Thick blood mist surged in all directions, and within just a few minutes, the whole city was engulfed in blood fog.

People fell into a deeper slumber amid the sweet scent of blood, as the moon was obscured and the starry sky no longer twinkled. Only the Circle Sorcerers who realized something was amiss from the very start managed to stay awake in the rapidly spreading blood mist. However, the mental pressure from the imminent complete appearance of the Saint directly assaulted the Transcendents' exceptionally sensitive senses, and no one could endure for long.

In the cemetery of the outskirts, Mr. Copus stood at the door of the Tomb Guardian's cottage with a coffin on his back, quietly watching the red blood mist drift towards him;

In Dawn Chapel, the chapel radiated Sanctity's glimmer to repel the blood fog, and the Clergy Members hastily organized a Prayer Ceremony, the choir's singing rising in panic. No one noticed that the venerable and respected Priest Augustus stood alone at the chapel's entrance, his body surrounded by holy white light that gradually kept the blood fog at bay from the chapel;

At Schneider Psychological Clinic, the unfortunate middle-aged doctor who had left the party under Shard's guidance cowered in a corner of his bedroom with a hideous expression on his face. Black flames enveloped him, preventing the blood fog from approaching, with decaying green mold spreading from the ground and walls he touched, and shadows and frantic flames protecting him;

At Old John's Antique Shop, the aged shopkeeper radiated a brass-like glow, sighing as he looked up at the night sky gradually covered by the blood fog. He wanted to step out of the shop but suddenly paused, his gaze turning towards the city center:

"Damn it, I really am getting on in years. Am I dreaming right now? Could anything more absurd happen today?"

In the heart of the crimson column of light, around Earl Maupassant's mansion, flocks of blood crows danced in the blood fog. Countless bizarre flesh monsters, with indescribable twisted forms, arrived with the blood fog. The roaring twisted creatures burst out of the estate and fought with the Circle Sorcerer squad of the True God Church near the mansion amidst the blood fog.

Fortunately, they only emerged from the mansion; otherwise, the city would have had no survivors within minutes.

Iluna Beath didn't know why things had turned out this way. After bidding farewell to Shard and Luviya, she quickly reached her squad near the mansion and handed over clues that there were still a second and third Divine Descent Vessel in existence.

Captain Moody Robinson immediately dispatched people to notify the squad inside the mansion and together with the other members of the squad, comforted her that even if there were Divine Descent Vessels, as long as the "grand feast" itself was disrupted, the ritual would still not be able to proceed smoothly.

Almost at the same time as their conversation, the crackdown inside the mansion officially began. And as the first thread of blood shot out from the third floor towards the city, more and more bloodlines centered on the mansion connected with certain points in the city.

Thousands of citizens in Tobesk who had long been drinking the discounted milk from the Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company were drained of blood and died in their sleep in an instant, constituting a grand feast offered to the Evil God. Thus, with the Earth's vibration and the howling winds, the Blood Feast officially began, and the blood fog swallowed the entire city.

Iluna Beath didn't know why things had turned out this way; tonight's intrusion into the Ruins was supposed to be the most dangerous, and the church's crackdown on the Cultists was expected to be foolproof. But she knew what she had to do.

The blood fog engulfed them, and the monsters that appeared in the mist left the squad no time to pay attention to what was happening inside the mansion. The brunette clenched her teeth and ran towards the mansion, leaving her squad behind.

Discover exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

A golden Ring of Fate appeared behind her and then, the high-speed spinning Ring transformed into the Balance within the golden Glimmer. No one had time to pay attention to her anymore, and the luster of the Golden Scales made the indescribable creatures lurking in the blood fog instinctively stay away.

She successfully crossed the streets, feeling an increasingly intense headache, and gritted her teeth as she entered the mansion.

Iluna Beath knew she did not have the power to confront a god, but The Chosen One's power could surely make some impact. Entering the mansion meant sacrifice, but someone had to do it at this moment.

The blood fog in the mansion's courtyard was even thicker than outside, with guests fainting in droves on the ground. And as the young woman drew closer to the mansion building, even though she had not yet seen or heard anything, her body was already trembling instinctively.

She knew what was on the third floor, knew what she was about to face, and understood the consequences of her actions.

But someone had to do something, and even as "The Chosen One", Iluna Beath did not see herself as a so-called Savior. However, from the knowledge she had acquired, she vaguely knew her power could slightly affect the Saint, so she came. She might die, but she still came.

On the first floor, guests collapsed in droves, vaguely reminding her of the wheat harvesting she had seen in the countryside during her childhood.

On the second floor, the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer "Sunlight Greatsword" Mr. Hog Lendel of the Sun Church, along with one of the few who managed to stay awake, struggled to drive a broken Ritual Sword into the floor. She knew it was a level 0 Relic, capable of restricting the Saint's range of activity for a short time. It seemed the current situation wasn't as bad as it could be.

The blood fog grew denser, and her steps heavier. The Golden Scales, transformed from the Ring of Fate behind her, were becoming weaker in resisting the blood fog, but the brunette persisted through the spiritual and physical agony to reach the third floor.

Finally unable to bear the pressure, the Three Ring Sorcerer collapsed on the carpeted floor. It was a blood-drenched carpet that would seep blood at the slightest touch, with a sinister red seemingly imprisoning thousands of spirits.

She collapsed at the stairwell, unable to control her limbs, her blood as if boiling in her veins, the headache nearly screaming out of her, but she still painfully lifted her head to look towards the third floor.

Where there should have been corridors and rooms, now a long table with a snow-white tablecloth was set in the expansive banquet hall. Countless human mummies wrapped in white cloth hung from the ceiling, like lambs to the slaughter.

Ding-dang~

The crisp sound seemed to explode directly in her head, signaling the start of the feast.

On the empty table, silver and goldware containing fresh human organs appeared one by one, and amidst the thick bloody fog, the sweet scent of food wafted through.

At the far end of the long table, a slightly blurry figure in a red formal dress was elegantly using a knife and fork, enjoying the delicacies on the table…

She closed her eyes, and blood started flowing from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth at the same time:

"I understand now, not yet fully descended, this is the Evil God…"

"The Evil God!"

Suddenly, a golden beam of light appeared before her eyes, and the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer, 'Sunlight Greatsword' Mr. Hog Lendel, rushed up from the second floor. The middle-aged man also had blood pouring from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, but he still held a dazzling golden greatsword and ran past Miss Beath. The light from the Sunlight Greatsword filled Miss Beath, who was also a follower of the Sun God, with joy, but the middle-aged man only paused beside her before stopping abruptly in his tracks.

His golden greatsword vanished as he entered the blood-red banquet hall, uncontrollably walked to the food-laden table, pulled out a chair, and sat down, motionless.

Iluna gathered her strength:

"Mr. Rendell's appearance signifies that the Relic downstairs can now be activated… This is the power of God… Shard…"

She lay on the carpet, and perhaps only a few seconds passed, or perhaps decades, when suddenly, the sound of a roar came from outside the window, followed by over ten figures crashing through the walls of the banquet hall amidst Holy Light. The high-rank Circle Sorcerers from the Church of Dawn, the Church of Creation, the Sun Church, the Peace Church, and the Church of Nature, a total of the Church of the Five Gods, appeared almost simultaneously in the Tobesk Parish. Iluna recognized some of them, but many others she was seeing for the first time.

They gathered together and stormed into the Blood Feast. In that moment, Iluna thought she could hear the sounds of dozens of different Sublimation Incantations being recited. An odd white Holy Light enveloped those who knew they were destined to sacrifice themselves, and as the Sublimation Incantations unfolded, the spatial anomalies overlapping the hole in the wall nearly covered the blood-colored banquet hall on the third floor.

Destined to sacrifice themselves here, but if even a second's delay could be forced upon the descent of the True God, that would be a victory for humanity. Just as in past days, when there were only a limited number of encounters with the descent of the Evil God, they had already erred once and this time there could be no hesitation.

"Cough cough~"

The figure manipulating the knife and fork at the end of the table coughed, and the Sublimation Incantations all came to a halt. Just like the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer, the moment they stepped into the place they were engulfed by the bloody fog, all losing control of their bodies and rigidly looking for their own seats.

"No!"

Iluna struggled to rise, using the ground for support, and finally, people noticed that there was still someone here.

"God should not dwell amongst mortals."

The one-eyed girl said as she spat blood, not daring to look at the ethereal figure at the end of the table, but her words were incredibly firm:

"The balance of the material world has been disrupted by you."

The Golden Scales behind her rose above her head, and its golden glow allowed the high-rank sorcerers of the church to temporarily regain their ability to move.

"Iluna?"

"Beath?"

"The Chosen One has appeared!"

"Oh, God, are the 'Whispering Verses' true?"

Various Arcane Techniques, Sorceries, and Divine Arts flickered with Spiritual Light, but the power of God still suppressed everything in this blood-red banquet hall.

After briefly breaking free of control, the people at the long table retained only the ability to speak, closing their eyes and bowing their heads, teetering on the edge of consciousness, unwilling to perceive their surroundings.

The brown-haired one-eyed girl, however, stiffly rose, silently pulled out a chair from the long table draped in a white cloth, and sat down.

The sound of the chair being dragged was not harsh, and she too took a seat.