Kapitel 28: Chapter 27 - Sacrifice Ritual (Part 1)
Above a building, a scaly creature gazed at the city with its predominantly red vision. Like thermal vision, it saw heat signals everywhere, represented in its view as golden flames. The more intense the gold, the more heat emanated from their bodies.
Its long, thin, saliva-covered tongue slowly slid over teeth the size of knives, a beastly look full of greed reflected in its reptilian eyes.
In the shadows behind the creature, dozens of other eyes opened, all very similar to the first creature, with the only difference being the color of their scales.
Imps. Dozens of them.
They let out low growls and roars, saliva dripping from their mouths and onto the ground.
All were looking at a specific location: Forest Park.
Leading these imps was a female demon covered in purple scales, with impressive horns and purple eyes. She was Thalassa, a low-ranking demon.
Thalassa had come only because another imp had died, but looking at the place, she widened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. In her eyes, Forest Park seemed bathed in an extremely nauseating white light.
This light caused an extremely strong feeling of repulsion within her; she already knew what it was—Sacred Energy.
This made her extremely happy. Finally, after a week, she had found a trace of the damned exorcist. However, at that moment, she did not dare check the place personally. If the exorcist was still there, she would die, of that she had no doubt.
Someone who could exorcise an infernal duke was not something she, a low-ranking demon, could contend with. If she dared to go ahead and encountered the exorcist, she would die without any suspense. So, instead of heading straight to her death, she retreated and quickly returned to the established meeting point in the human world.
But upon arriving at the meeting point, she found that everyone was already there, including Baron Azragoth himself.
A heavy and serious atmosphere hung in the air.
"Baron, I found traces of the exorcist in Forest Park." Ignoring the tense atmosphere, Thalassa spoke, but her voice only made the atmosphere heavier.
"You weren't the only one, Thalassa," Azragoth responded calmly, his voice making Thalassa's eyes widen in surprise. "Grimnir, Draziel, and Lyris found the same trace a few minutes ago."
Thalassa finally understood why everyone seemed so serious; even a ten-year-old could tell that the whole situation was a trap orchestrated by the exorcist.
Divide and conquer. It was an old strategy that worked very well, regardless of the era, as long as you were the one doing the attacking. If you were the team that split up, you were the one close to death.
"What do you want to do, Baron? It's obvious he wants to separate and attack us," Thalassa asked, her voice tinged with calm. She wasn't a child to panic in such a crucial moment. Everyone present had at least hundreds of years of experience; even the most foolish, Grimnir, knew things were more serious than ever.
Previously, they had hoped the exorcist priest would be arrogant and underestimate them, mere small demons, but the opposite happened. The exorcist was not only cautious but also extremely cunning.
Honestly, they all had the option of going together, but what would they do if there was an ambush waiting for them, and they arrived only to find an army of exorcist priests and nuns?
So, splitting up, though risky, could preserve their forces, even if just a little. After all, when the other side is strong, you simply don't attack head-on; that's suicide.
"I'll request instructions from the Infernal Duke," Azragoth said after a moment of pondering. Whether it was an ambush or not, as long as they had enough numbers, he could increase their chances of victory.
And in Hell, what was most expendable was numbers; the Seventy-Two Infernal Legions were mostly composed of imps and low-ranking demons.
This was one of the reasons they could fight against the Seven Angelic Legions. Even if the other side had higher quality, Hell could compensate with infinitely larger numbers.
However, summoning a large number of demons required opening a hole in the Veil that protects the human world—something that would need a ritual, a very specific ritual.
—A sacrificial ritual.
When Azragoth's voice fell, the tension in the atmosphere eased significantly; they remembered they had an Infernal Duke behind them providing support!
Even if the Exorcist was strong and summoned a battalion of Church Exorcists, they could fight, even though doing so in the human world was highly risky.
With that, the Demon Baron left, leaving the four low-ranking demons alone, waiting patiently. Everyone remained silent; no one wanted to say anything.
After a while, about an hour, Azragoth returned, his expression grim and serious, making the hearts of the four demons beat extremely fast.
"Kidnap a hundred humans; we'll start a sacrificial ritual in honor of Duke Belial." When Azragoth's voice reached them, everyone's faces changed drastically.
They finally understood why Azragoth wore such a grim expression. What they were about to do was extremely risky—so risky that it would make Portland an extremely dangerous place in the near future.
Even the cruelest among them, Grimnir, couldn't help but take a deep breath. He might be cruel and bloodthirsty, but he wasn't stupid.
Don't get it wrong; none of the demons present had any qualms about taking a hundred insignificant human lives. They were afraid of the death that would follow the ritual.
Once the sacrificial ritual began, it was almost certain that the Seventh Angelic Legion, stationed in the Seventh Heaven, would descend to the human world for the first time in over a thousand years.
"How many imps and demons will arrive after the ritual?" Thalassa asked with an extremely grim expression. She was dead; she just didn't know when and where.
"Ten thousand," Azragoth replied, his expression even grimmer.
The number Azragoth mentioned made the four low-ranking demons widen their eyes. It might seem like a lot, but it was quite the opposite.
It was far too few!
Ten thousand imps and low-ranking demons were nothing more than trash before the angelic legion. All ten thousand demons would be exterminated the moment they clashed with the enemy; they wouldn't last even through the first wave of attacks.
"Why so few!?" Draziel, a low-ranking demon with the appearance of a middle-aged man covered in scales, asked with an expression full of anger and disbelief.
"The Sixth Circle of Greed has entered a civil war. Prince Mammon, along with Prince Baal, attacked Duke Belial's Legions," Azragoth spoke in a cold yet calm tone.
"Damn it, and right now!!!" Grimnir growled, roaring in fury, causing the walls around them to tremble.
No one complained about Grimnir's behavior; they were equally furious and frustrated.
As for fleeing, none of them entertained the idea. Not when their souls were bound to Hell. The Infernal Duke only needed to pull them back, and they'd return to Hell. So escaping was entirely futile.
It was better to die in the upcoming war than to be taken back to Hell. At least they would die without pain, but if they were taken back to Hell as traitors, they would suffer greatly before finally dying.
The entire situation meant they were as good as dead.
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My mom turns 46 today, so if anyone is reading this chapter on 5/8 and is celebrating her birthday, I wish her/he a happy birthday!!!! 🎉🎉🎉
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein