Chapter 94: Sacrifice And Repentance
In a dark forest untouched by the breath of civilization, a group cloaked in dark red robes was driving a cart.
They had so much cargo that the unpaved forest road didnt even make the cart rattle.
Eventually, the group reached the end of the forest.
The end of the forest?
It was an illogical term. The place they reached was still covered in thick undergrowth. But it was aptly called the end of the forest.
The boundary of darkness appeared.
Even though the sunlight was blocked by leaves, it was still broad daylight. It was a clear day without clouds.
Yet none of them questioned the phenomenon that defied reason. Their abilities, granted under the name of the deity, led them through the darkness. Who would dare to commit sacrilege against the will of the deity?
Without hesitation, the group led the cart into the darkness.
Oh, deity.
The man leading the group soon found an ornamental object in the darkness, his face lit up with emotion.
The entrance to the dungeon.
No, it wasnt a dungeon entrance.
It was the entrance to a temple.
A place to offer sacrifices with the heart of an unblemished shepherd, to summon the deity to this land filled with chaos, and a house to invite the apostles who would convey the holy voice.
Brothers.
The one leading the group, who was also in charge of the offering, Bishop Nikolai, turned back.
How many are to be sacrificed?
Nine.
A stout young man lifted the cloth covering the cart.
Ugh! Mmmph!
There, people were tied up and lying down, terror-stricken.
Ropes made of hair and leather. Black wounds. However, none of the limbs of the sacrifices were missing or damaged.
They were top-quality offerings for the deity.
Randolph. Truly worthy of the archbishops attention. To prepare such fine sacrifices.
Its nothing.
The youth, Randolph, bowed his head and covered the cart again.
Three years after converting, the stout brother, with rare black hair and eyes in the southern conflict area, had a reputation.
Rumored to surpass other brothers in strength, dealing with the troublesome heretics of the Holy Kingdom, his fame within the order was such that even Nikolai, who converted earlier, felt jealousy.
Sacrilegious thoughts.
Nikolai shook his head vigorously, trying to dispel his murky thoughts. How dare he feel jealousy towards a brother in the palace of the deity. The deity always tested Nikolai, even though he had become a bishop.
Lets enter.
Nikolai turned and entered the temple.
Indeed, this was not a dungeon but a temple.
As they went deeper underground, Nikolai and the entire order felt a warm energy filling their bodies. It was the power of the deity.
Oh, oh!
Nikolai felt a hot energy in his eyes. He had sent sacrifices to the side of the deity several times, but this overwhelming feeling never became familiar.
Everyone present was crying.
The brothers of the order were crying out of emotion.
The sacrifices were crying, eaten away by fear.
But there was one person who did not shed tears.
Whoooosh-
Walking for a while, a wide space appeared with a gust of wind.
Black flames hung on the walls, and between them was a stone altar.
Place the sacrifices on the altar.
Nikolai pulled out a handkerchief from his robe and wiped his tears.
Then, he took an obsidian dagger from his robe.
Nikolai could slice flesh and remove organs with his bare hands, but he chose to use a tool. He wouldnt dare to commit the barbaric act of not using a tool in the presence of the deity.
Kuooh!
Perhaps resonating with Nikolais heart, the obsidian dagger began to gleam, feeding on the fear of the sacrifices.
A murky energy was sucked into the dagger, and finally, all the sacrifices were placed upon the altar.
Now, all that was left was to cut open the hearts of the sacrifices with this darkness-infused blade
I almost forgot.
Nikolai almost skipped an important step, getting carried away by being so close to the deity.
Kneeling on the stone floor, Nikolai held the dagger.
One bow.
One bow!
Two bows.
Two bows!
Nikolai and the brothers, including Randolph, began to bow their heads to the ground. Thud- Thud- Thud-thud-thud-thud! After seven bows, they finally raised their heads and stared straight ahead.
Nikolais heart raced faster. His breath became ragged. Hurry, hurry! He wanted to cut open the flesh of the sacrifices and take out their hearts.
O deity! I offer these sacrifices to you
But Nikolai couldnt finish his sentence.
Whats this?
Doubting if he was seeing a hallucination, Nikolai squinted his eyes.
Thanks for the welcome.
The sacrifice, who should have been lying neatly on the altar, was looking down at Nikolai.
What is that?
Black eyes, black hair; Nikolai recognized that face. It was one of the sacrifices who, until moments ago, was tied up naked in the cart.
But now, the sacrifice was neither tied up nor naked. The uncontrollable sacrifice was wearing the attire Nikolai despised the most.
The heretical priests robe.
Nikolais eyes burst with blood vessels.
Your name!
Nikolai, enraged, infused the dagger with darkness.
He must kill this blasphemous intruder immediately.
How the curse was broken was irrelevant. How dare a mere dog of the Holy Kingdom How dare he invoke the deitys name without responding!
Ill skin you alive for disrupting the holy ritual. Ill make your death as painful as possible.
Creak-
It wasnt just Nikolai filled with murderous intent. The brothers behind him, also enraged, drew their darkness-infused weapons.
Why arent you coming in? Itll be dawn soon.
But the sacrifice was indifferent to their rage. Shiron, the sacrifice, spat on the floor while looking at the dark followers.
This made Nikolais blood boil. To defile the always-clean temple, how dare he! The brothers immediately charged at Shiron to kill him.
Really good at listening. Its not enough even if they all attack at once.
One, two, three, four, five. One head.
Shiron assessed the enemys strength and drew the holy sword from his chest. Keeeng- The holy sword drawn from his chest began emitting a light that annihilated darkness.
Step back- Shiron took a step back and thrust the holy sword at the first one.
It was a simple sword technique, but the first enemy couldnt dodge because of the blinding light.
Crack- The holy sword crushed the enemys skull. The trajectory of the sword twisted. The explosive strength of his arm. The head couldnt withstand the force and was torn off.
Thump!
The torn head hit the second ones head. The heads collided and burst simultaneously.
Two down.
But it wasnt over yet. Even though the light from the holy sword destroyed darkness, the enemies began to adapt to the light. Staggering- Charge! They charged again, maintaining formation.
But Shiron was already quite far from them.
He put his hand on his shoulder and drew a spear. The spear he drew was the Fire Spear, Ornot. It didnt have the power to annihilate darkness like the holy sword, but it was quite useful.
Hup!
Using the elasticity of his whole body, he threw the spear. Whoooosh! The blazing flames rushed towards the enemy. The Fire Spear pierced an enemy. But it didnt stop there. The spear, after piercing one, burned the one behind as well.
Only two left. One of them was the leader of the group.
Kheuk!
However, Shiron didnt have to do much as the number of enemies decreased to one. Nikolai must have sacrificed his comrade to the obsidian dagger.
Brother may you find peace.
Nikolai, while drawing his dagger, shed tears. This was a sincere emotion, unmingled with hypocrisy.
Crazy bastard.
Shiron briefly exclaimed and ran towards the enemy. As he ran, he threw the dagger. The obsidian, fed by the sacrifice, extended darkness on its own. Kkang- Nikolai didnt have to use any special sword technique. The darkness reacted on its own.
Ssst
Shiron hesitated and stopped his charge, not out of fear but because the speed of the darknesss reaction was beyond his imagination.
Kahaha! Witness the power of the deity!
Damn it.
Shiron sweated. He had faced bishops wielding powers in the past, but the blessing of rage was active back then. Now, without the blessing of rage, it was tricky. It wasnt impossible, though.
Hoo
Shiron took a handkerchief from his pocket and bit down on it to activate the blessing of rage. He gripped the handle of the holy sword as tightly as the clenched teeth.
Tadadadak!
Shiron charged straightforwardly towards Nikolai. Without any special footwork or transcendent physical abilities, the encroaching darkness easily started tearing into Shirons flesh.
Damn painful.
But the more it hurt, the angrier he got. He wanted to kill that bastard right now. His blood boiled in his chest, and the skyrocketing blood pressure made him slightly dizzy.
Thump, Thump! Bang!
With each step, his leap grew stronger. The ground caved in. From the upper left to the lower right, a straight line of light was drawn.
Ah
As the darkness reached out, a line of light was drawn across Nikolais body. Bulging. Where the light passed, red blood spurted out, and with a thud- an arm fell off, followed by Nikolais upper body collapsing to the ground.
Aaaaargh!
Nikolai screamed in burning agony, late to arrive. In his eyes, he could still see his standing lower half.
And next to it, a bloodied young man.
Ugh. Annoying.
Shiron muttered irritably as he walked towards Nikolai. Darkness surged from the hand still holding the dagger, but the light of the holy sword repelled it.
The brightness of the light made Nikolai want to close his eyes. But before he could, numerous slashes were drawn in front of him.
The light illuminated the darkness, and finally, the darkness subsided. Nikolai was completely dead.
Son of a
Shiron cursed as he brightened the light of the holy sword to its maximum. Whooosh- The filth clinging to the holy sword was enveloped in holy flames and burned to ashes without leaving a trace.
Then he plunged the sword back into his chest.
There was no special reason to put the holy sword back inside him. It was partly to ensure that no one knew of its existence but also because the holy sword was unnecessary for the upcoming task.
Shiron looked at the crumbling corpse of the dark follower, burning into ashes. Something sparkling in the light of the burning spear caught his eye.
Shiron hurriedly bent down. Sifting through the ashes, he found a black glass fragment.
[Exceptional Shard of the Deity]
Heh, heh.
Shiron started chuckling, shoulders shaking. The [Exceptional Shard of the Deity] was one of the material items he had been gathering over the past 5 years through various endeavors.
Finally
A bitter smile formed on Shirons lips. It was an expression of joy, not an act or performance, but an emotion born from genuine happiness.
I can go home.
Sir.
I can go home.
My lord.
Hoo.
My, my lord.
What?
Shiron frowned and quickly turned his head. There, a large man stood with a frightened expression, unable to meet his eyes.
Whats wrong? Randolph.
Can I can I go now?
Randolph of Geochang. A man one head taller than Shiron was now showing a completely servile expression to a man ten years younger.
I did everything as you said, my lord.
Hmm
You said, my lord, if I led you to the temple, you would let me go. I have sincerely repented following your teachings.
Well. Didnt you just shed tears in front of the altar?
If I hadnt cried, I would have been suspected toooo!
Randolph screamed and began to cry like a child. In a blink of an eye, two of his fingers were broken.
Ah, aah!
Talking back? You know what you should be saying, right?
Im sorry, I was wrong!
Randolph knelt down and grabbed the hem of Shirons garment. It wasnt a deliberate action. His body reflexively knelt down, knowing that provoking this madman would bring even greater pain.
He envied his brethren, who died without a chance to react.
My mind has changed.
Shiron, looking at Randolph holding onto his pant leg, smiled broadly.
Lets go to the repentance hall.
Pardon?
Were going to the Castle of Blessings to properly repent.
But thats not what you said. Ill die there. Ill be burned at the stake.
Dont worry. Thats all in the past. Recently, Castle of Blessings has started actively encouraging the conversion of heretics. But before that.
Whack-
Shirons fist struck Randolphs head.
Thump! Whack!
Randolph couldnt comprehend what was happening.
Why why was he being hit? Didnt he say he was sending him to the repentance hall? Wasnt it all over?
Randolph whimpered, twitching his lips.
What are you doing?
What do you think? Im erasing your memory. You colluded with me, remember.
Shiron continued to hit Randolphs head until he lost consciousness.