The Abyss Cultists’ Blood Sacrifice

“Senior, what’s happening?”

Ziyao utterly disregarded etiquette, her senses overwhelmed by the vast number of lives fading away. It was as if those lives were being devoured by something unseen, their lingering resentment beginning to twist reality itself.

Atop the palace, the Empress stood, her brow tightly furrowed as she gazed at the chaotic areas within the Imperial Capital.

“Ziyao, have you ever heard of the Abyss Cultists?”

“It’s them? Someone actually dared to cooperate with them?” Ziyao’s expression changed drastically.

The Abyss was the very enemy of order! Legend had it that six deities spent ten millennia to individually suppress the Abyssal monsters wandering the continent, sealing them back into the chasm. If those inhuman entities had remained on the continent, life as they knew it would never have found the soil to flourish. Yet now, someone had allied with the followers of the Abyss. Truly… they courted death.

“One Blood-robed leader, four Black-robed. They’ve truly gone all out this time,” the Empress ground out, her killing intent barely contained. “A blood sacrifice. Their collaborators provided the raw materials. From the very beginning, their objective was to utterly annihilate the Imperial Capital.”

“Those assassins weren’t the true operatives at all. They were merely pawns, their sole purpose to activate the blood sacrifice array. Now, the array has been activated. Although the summoning circle has been sealed within a mirrored dimension, it will soon breach this blockade.”

“We cannot allow a single life to perish in the Imperial Capital now, not even those Abyss Cultists. They are seeking their own demise. If we kill them, the blood sacrifice will be completed, and an attack from the Gods will level the Imperial Capital.”

However, showing mercy to those fanatics would not earn their gratitude. They simply needed to draw their weapons and slash their own throats, and a Demon God would appear.

Their only current obstacle was that the summoned Demon God would manifest in the mirrored dimension. If Roland was willing to pay a hefty price, the Demon God might even be sealed away again. This was unacceptable to them. Therefore, they needed to delay—to stall until the vortex broke through the mirrored dimension. Summoning the Demon God then would be a decisive, unpreventable strike.

“My Forbidden Spell can prevent anyone from dying,” Ziyao declared, taking a step forward.

“No, you can’t sustain it.” The Empress shook her head. “The Imperial Capital is too vast. Without ample preparation, your Forbidden Spell cannot cover such a wide area.”

“But…”

Indeed, there was no way. The Imperial Capital was simply too immense. She was merely an ordinary girl who had just become a Sage. While Forbidden Spells were powerful, her magical reserves were insufficient to expand the magic to encompass the entire capital.

“Is there truly no other way?”

“You should take Aiya and leave the Imperial Capital first. I will continue to find a solution,” the Empress said calmly. The Emperor had already been escorted out of the capital by the Imperial Guard. Now, she was the highest authority here. If, in the end, no solution presented itself, she would issue the order to abandon the city. As for the residents, they would be left to fend for themselves.

“…Alright.” Ziyao’s fists clenched, then relaxed, her reply muffled by resignation.

She hadn’t expected those individuals to resort to such methods. The countermeasures she had prepared were utterly useless against these tactics. No one could have imagined that humans would collaborate with Abyss Cultists. Even demons, being intelligent creatures, stood on the same front as humans when it came to the Abyss.

Neither Ziyao nor anyone else had considered what it would be like if the attackers were Abyss Cultists. Blood sacrifices invariably required prior preparation. The Imperial Capital’s security was excellent; any large-scale disappearances would have certainly alerted the Emperor and his forces.

However, this time, they had brought enough sacrifices directly. There were no precursors, no way to defend against it. This was a decisive blow. Whoever was behind this had no intention of giving Roland a chance to react. Similarly, they had left no escape route for themselves. After the Gods destroyed Roland’s Imperial Capital, they would be the first target. At that point, no one could protect them.

To ally with the Abyss meant facing the consequences.

Just as Ziyao was about to return for Aiya, a small, golden figure appeared behind her.

“Aiya? How could you…” Ziyao started to ask why Aiya was here, but she quickly realized the girl before her was not Aiya. Aiya’s eyes were the color of sapphire, whereas this girl’s eyes were red, just like her own. Yet… it seemed the only difference between her and Aiya was their eye color.

“Who are you? What happened to Aiya?”

“She’s fine, Lotia. Please listen to me first.” The girl held an exquisite staff. She cast a reluctant glance at it before handing it to Ziyao. “That lady over there, please calm yourself. I stand with you.”

Dark light gathered in the Empress’s hand. She could feel that this girl before her was her daughter’s body. But Aiya couldn’t be like this. Then only one possibility remained… this entity had occupied Aiya’s body.

“Who exactly are you? Why have you taken over Aiya’s body!” the Empress demanded coldly. In her eyes, Aiya was far more important than the residents of the Imperial Capital.

“Who I am isn’t important.” The girl’s urgency seemed genuine. “Lotia, if you use this staff, you should be able to expand your domain to cover the entire Imperial Capital.”

“I hope you’re not lying to me.” Ziyao looked at the girl. For some reason, she felt a strange familiarity with her. “Also, my name is Ziyao.”

With that, she grasped the staff.

A colossal surge of magic flooded her body, yet she felt no pain. It was as if this magic had always belonged to her. There was no time for contemplation. Ziyao unhesitatingly unleashed the magic that had materialized in her mind.

An enormous magic array manifested beneath her feet, blue lines extending in every direction. In an instant, the entire Imperial Capital was enveloped by the formation.

If one were to look down from high above the Imperial Capital at this moment, they would see a colossal, white-haired phantom spreading its arms, embracing the entire city within its protective hold. In this moment, the Imperial Capital would defy the arrival of death.

This was the domain of a deity, a gentle God who would not abandon a single life, even if those individuals were unforgivable villains. She treated everyone equally, even though she understood that some did not deserve her protection. Yet, she would still do it.

“It works, just as I thought.” The girl looked with delight at Ziyao, who had already soared into the sky. Then, she turned to the Empress. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ceres. I am the creator of humanity, the Lord of Radiance. Now, please listen to me. Our time is running short.”

Even with that staff, Lotia would not be able to sustain it for long.