章 20: Chapter 20: Sacrifice
Nephelia approached Damien with a handkerchief in her hand.
"Here, darling," she said in a soft voice.
He remained motionless, his red eyes staring at his fallen foe. As he regained some of his usual composure, he was surprised by his own actions. He enjoyed giving school bullies their comeuppance, but he never thought he had a tendency to rip out their spines.
He wasn't some damned predator out to collect trophies!
He accepted the handkerchief with a nod and wiped his dirty face and neck. When he was done, Nephelia offered him some clean clothes, which he gratefully accepted.
"Thank you, Nephy."
As Nephelia watched, Damien crouched down beside the corpse. His attention was focused on a particular spot on the creature's torn chest.
Slowly, as if exhaling its last breath, the torn muscles parted, and from this "mouth" floated a dark orb. Inside this sphere, faint arms of purple flame seemed to be dancing. The dense darkness was subtly changing, like sunlight reflecting off a sea of oil.
"What is that?"
Damien recognized the object, though he had never seen it before. In the novels he read, there was almost always talk of "Magic Cores". They were said to be able to forge artifacts of great power or increase the strength of whoever absorbed them.
Damien reached out and grabbed the core before it fell to the ground. It was light, about the size and weight of half an egg.
Nephelia reached over and placed her small hand on his hair, stroking it gently.
"You might have guessed, they're as cliché as you can imagine." She explained in a flat tone. "It's an Ascendant Core. Upon death, an Ascendant's power transforms into these spheres, just like noble vampires. However, they also have differences."
"What are they?"
Nephelia did not immediately answer Damien's question, but led the two people into a secluded corner. Then she spoke:
"I don't know exactly... there are several things. But most importantly, I don't know the safe way to absorb them. If an Ascendant consumes them, they might lose control or their life, so it's not as easy as it sounds."
For Damien, Nephelia was like his trusty walking dictionary, or a Wikipedia that always provided him with the information he was looking for. But this was the first time Nephelia had come across a subject that baffled her.
Damien sighed. All the ways to become stronger seemed so cruel. So he asked:
"Who knows this method?"
"Helene must know the answer. Even the leaders of the great factions should be aware of such things." She pouted and clicked her tongue secretly. Nephelia made no attempt to hide her irritation. "That big-breasted cow ignored my question instead of giving me a straight answer."
Big-breasted cow? For a moment, Damien was puzzled by the strange phrase, until the image of Helene's ample breasts came to mind.
He smiled wryly, stroked Nephelia's head affectionately, and said, "Well, if the higher-ups are so secretive about revealing details, there must be an important reason."
When Damien, Nephelia, and Camille reached the back of the room, Nephelia pointed straight ahead without any preliminaries:
"This is..."
Damien followed her curiously. Behind the window of the old house, only faint moonlight glimmered. In the middle of the room, dimly lit by the moonlight spilling in, a magic circle caught the three people's attention.
Unlike the magic circle at Helene's headquarters, this drawing on the floor was disturbingly realistic and vivid. Fresh blood and small pieces of flesh outlined strange symbols.
A severed head lay in the center. To the right, an arm; to the left, another. In front, the dismembered torso; behind, the legs.
"I see. He wanted to make a sacrifice." Nephelia murmured quietly.
Damien silently surveyed the scene. As his mind wandered far away, he asked pointedly, "To whom is this sacrifice being made?"
In front of them was a dusty desk, upon which rested an electric lamp that gave off a faint yellowish glow. Nephelia picked up a worn notebook from the table and took the opportunity to speak:
"Not every divine being is worthy of respect. Like humans, gods can be driven by ego, arrogance, or anger in their imperfect nature. They can work both good and evil according to their changing moods. But there is another kind of god. Gods who seek only chaos and harbor all the bad parts of the world."
"These we call 'Evil Gods'. And the way to sacrifice to them is to sacrifice someone or something you hold most dear."
If Damien didn't fully understand what was at stake, seeing this girl reduced to a mere sacrifice for a twisted god made his thoughts darken.
This world had no mercy for the weak. Damien had learned that lesson early as a child, and even more so now. Only the powerful could trample others with impunity. For the rest, silence was their only option.
That was the harsh reality. Even if humans and other races pretended to be civilized with their laws, the law of the jungle still reigned among the supernatural.
Before he became a vampire, he had been ignorant; but from now on, every day could be his last if he did not become stronger. Not even his sister would be safe if some lunatic wanted to use her body as an offering.
This thought hardened his resolve.
'It's not just about money anymore, it's about survival. I need to gather the ingredients for my next pills. Since I'm already an Ascendant, there's no turning back now.'
"Hmm?" Nephelia let out a thoughtful sound as she read the first few lines of the notebook she had taken earlier: "This thing might come in handy after all. It looks like there's more to this 'incident' than meets the eye."
Damien went over to take a look. The contents were explicit:
[The Xe'arth God promises to give you whatever you ask for in exchange for a treaty. Your misfortunes have earned his mercy: adulterous wife, rebellious daughter, financial ruin, death before your time.
Do you want immortality? Health and wealth? All you have to do is kill your wife, drink her blood and sacrifice the flesh and blood of your daughter. Trace this ritual cycle...]
The steps were detailed, including a drawing of the magic circle. At the bottom was an incantation to contact the god. And that incantation read:
[Virtuous among the shadows, you whose power extends beyond the boundary. Lord of darkness and destruction, ruler of lost souls].
Damien finished reading and blinked, 'In a world where mysticism exists, desperation can drive anyone to explore the forbidden.'
"Virtuous your ass, motherfucker." Damien spat contemptuously. Nephelia let out a chuckle.
"Anyway, let's go back." The girl handed the notebook to Camille, "Someone left this here on purpose. Whoever it is, they want to spread the 'cult' of this Evil God."
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