You’er lowered his head, quickly averting his gaze. Antos, standing before him, seemed to sense something amiss, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. Just moments prior, Antos had indeed felt a distinct tremor emanating from the orb.
Fortunately, Antos didn’t perceive anything amiss. He pinned You’er behind a stone pillar, then unfurled the bat-like wings on his back and ascended to the altar. From the edge of the ominous magic circle, he surveyed the scene below, his gaze utterly cold as it settled upon the nearest maiden.
“You, come up!” His blood-red vertical pupils held a command that brooked no defiance.
The maiden’s legs trembled uncontrollably from fear, yet she was ultimately powerless to defy Antos’s will. She ascended the stone steps, her movements shaky, until she stood before him. Before she could even react, he seized her, his sharp nails lightly grazing her neck and drawing forth a spray of crimson blood.
Antos brought his blood-stained nail to his mouth, extended his tongue, and delicately savored the taste. Afterward, he nodded with a hint of satisfaction.
“Hmph,”
Seeing Antos’s reaction, the maiden knew she had met his criteria, and she couldn’t help but sigh in relief. However, no sooner had her breath escaped than Antos sharply raised his hand and, as if discarding an item of no consequence, flung her into the blood-ink magic circle.
A low wail echoed.
The magic circle began to glow, and the altar trembled slightly in response. Immediately afterward, a terrifying demonic shadow rose from the very center of the formation!
“No… don’t… no!!”
The demonic shadow, wielding a scythe, swung it down without mercy, as the maiden’s eyes widened in ultimate terror.
What followed was a truly horrifying scene: The maiden struck by the scythe bore no physical wounds, yet her eyes instantly glazed over, and her flesh withered in a flash. Finally, she disintegrated into a wisp of ash, scattering across the land.
“Ah!!!”
This sight rendered all the maidens beneath the altar motionless, their eyes vacant. Their fear boiled over, prompting them to shriek hysterically and even attempt to flee.
But where could they possibly escape? Up on the altar and down below, in front of the corridors and behind them, ghouls swarmed, their mouths watering at the sight of the maidens. The few maidens who had completely lost their minds earlier had undoubtedly run into these ghouls, becoming their sustenance.
‘It actually devoured both blood and soul simultaneously!…’
Behind the stone pillar, You’er watched the terrifying demonic shadow in the magic circle with apprehension. He knew that it was the scythe in the shadow’s hand that had instantaneously devoured the previous maiden’s blood and soul.
This signified an eternal damnation, with no hope of reincarnation!
What exactly was that demonic shadow? Why did it devour human blood and souls?
The answer to this question became clear to You’er the second he looked at the blood-ink orb. With the maiden’s blood and soul absorbed, the blood-ink pillar of light enveloping the orb had noticeably dimmed.
It was a seal, a seal upon the blood-ink orb!
The medium to break the seal was precisely the maidens’ blood and souls!
‘Damn it, I must speed up!’
Inside You’er, a phantom blue light surged rapidly along his meridians. His magic had been sealed by Antos just moments ago, and now he had to break through that seal as quickly as possible.
“Next!”
On the altar, Antos remained oblivious to the horrors below, his utterly cold gaze falling upon another maiden.
This time, the maiden refused to move, no matter what. As a result, Antos said nothing, simply waving his hand to unleash a powerful current of air that pushed her into the surging tide of ghouls below…
“Next!”
At this moment, Antos was like the Grim Reaper himself, and, ironically, behind him stood a true harbinger of death.
“Tch! Impure blood!”
The blood of the third maiden was tested; not a virgin, she was met with Antos’s utter disdain. With a flick of his sharp claw, he flung her away, towards the eagerly waiting ghouls, just as he had the second maiden…
The maiden shrieked and cried, but her screams abruptly ceased as the swarm of ghouls tore her body to shreds.
To advance was death, to retreat was death. To satisfy Antos was death, to displease him was still death…
The only difference, perhaps, was the manner of their demise.
The maidens lowered their heads, their gazes dim and vacant. They no longer struggled or thought, resembling livestock awaiting slaughter.
“Bastard! You despicable bastard! I will… I will never forgive you!”
Timobi had never witnessed such a cruel spectacle. The rage in his chest could no longer be suppressed; he roared and charged onto the altar.
“Timobi, don’t go!”
You’er’s gaze flickered, but at that moment, his voice clearly couldn’t reach Timobi.
“Hmm?”
Antos was slightly surprised that this brat actually had the courage to charge at him. However, his surprise was overshadowed by mockery for Timobi’s overestimation of his own abilities.
“Your bloodline and soul are for sacrificing to the Sacred Death Orb. Just stay put quietly until the seal is broken, brat.”
Having spoken, Antos flapped his bat wings, blowing Timobi off the altar.
“Bastard, bastard… I’m not afraid of you! If you dare, duel me!”
Timobi was thrown into a daze, but he quickly scrambled back to his feet, swaying, and charged towards the altar once more. He was then swatted away by Antos again, only to get up and continue his charge…
Timobi knew he was weak. He wanted to protect the innocent here, to protect his elder sister You’er, and this was the only way he knew how: as long as Antos hadn’t killed him, he would fight to the bitter end.
Timobi possessed this stubborn streak now.
“You stinking brat, do you really think I wouldn’t dare kill you?”
With Timobi causing such a ruckus, Antos couldn’t continue his “sacred” sacrificial ritual. Finally, when Timobi, his face bruised and battered, charged up for the umpteenth time, Antos’s patience completely ran out.
“Since you insist on seeking death, I shall grant your wish!”
Gripping Timobi’s neck, Antos bared his fangs. While extracting Timobi’s bloodline now would result in a slight loss of purity, the impact would be minimal.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
“Hmm?!”
Just then, two sword rings tore through the air, spinning rapidly towards him. These were sword rings formed from two frost-blue ice swords, their sharpness palpable even from a distance.
“Trivial tricks.”
Even as the sword rings locked onto him, Antos let out a cold sneer. He spread his bat wings and flapped them, not retreating in the slightest, straight towards the two sword rings. His seemingly delicate flesh wings proved harder than steel, and amidst a cacophony of grating “squeaks,” the blue ice sword rings dissolved without leaving a single blemish on his wings.
“Sword Wind Thrust!”
Feeling the pressure on his bat wings vanish, Antos moved to retract them. However, no sooner had they opened than an ice sword, wreathed in a fierce current of wind, thrust directly towards his brow.
Having first unleashed two [Sword Whirls] and then, unexpectedly, a powerful impact sword technique, [Sword Wind Thrust], You’er had arguably used every trick in his arsenal. Yet, the results were far from satisfactory.
The ice sword was firmly caught in Antos’s hand, and the powerful wind current on its blade extinguished in an instant.
Indeed, the disparity in their cultivation realms was simply too vast.
“Are you also seeking death now?” Antos narrowed his eyes, staring at You’er, who stood before him, ice sword in hand.
“Does it make a difference, whether it’s sooner or later?”
You’er retorted calmly, his gaze carrying a hint of mockery. Icy magical energy surged in his palm, condensing into a fourth ice sword, which he swung in a diagonal slash.
Ssssh! Ssssh!
The ice sword struck Antos, but left no mark. Instead, the sharp spikes on Antos’s bat wings lightning-fast pierced You’er’s body.
“Heh heh, there was a difference before, but now there isn’t.”
Antos used his bat wings to pierce both of You’er’s shoulders, suspending his body in the air and rendering him immobile.
Antos chuckled coldly. Originally, he had planned to offer both You’er and Timobi as sacrifices after weakening the seal’s power with the virgins’ blood, as that would ensure the most perfect bloodline absorption by the magic orb. However, even with a slight imperfection, the loss wouldn’t be significant.
After all, a powerful bloodline flowed within both of them.