Scorna –

The vicious spikes pierced through the flesh, leaving another senseless blow on the already scarred body, and the murmurs and roars in the ears suddenly became excited, and the blasphemous creatures seemed to be triumphant at the blow, and made a disgusting noise.

Agatha raised her hand and used her staff to repel the bone-covered Annihilation Cultist, who had almost completely lost his human form, and a crisp, piercing snapping sound rang in her ears.

The sound stunned her for less than a second, before she realized it was the sound of her combat staff breaking.

The weapon that has accompanied it for many years is broken, and in the face of an enemy that is simply not endless, it has held out to the last step.

"You've done a good job, Miss Gatekeeper," the disgusting, pretentious voice sounded again, "as a sacrifice, while proper preparation contributes to the effectiveness of the sacrificial ritual, excessive exercise is not a good thing. ”

Agatha held her broken cane and looked up little by little, the dried blood allowing her to open only one eye, and in the narrow, reddened field of vision, she could finally see what was happening in the hall.

The eerie shadow environment faded away, revealing to her the center of the sewers that had been completely transformed into a sacrificial ground, with foul and blasphemous symbols and traces of erosion everywhere on the walls and corridors, as if some kind of stalagmite or dry branch covered the roof above, and on the floor of the hall in front of her, a huge "pool" -

It had been the ground, but now it had corroded into a huge crater, and the pit was filled with a pitch-black mud-like viscous substance, which slowly churned and squirmed, and there was a disgusting wriggling sound.

Countless Annihilators surrounded the hall, and they, and the shadowy demons that accompanied them, were like swarms of insects waiting around the stenching cauldron, muttering prayers and roaring madly at the pool of pitch-black mud in the center of the hall, and that pool of mud became more and more full and alive in this noisy prayer.

This is a sacrificial scene, and they are waiting for the final sacrifice, and the "sacrifice" in the minds of these fanatics is the gatekeeper of the Frost City-State.

They had copied another gatekeeper before that, and now that gatekeeper was arriving at a sacrifice site.

"You don't think that the act of free will is actually just going to the predetermined stage, and you don't think that this arrangement is very ...... Aesthetic? ”

In the center of that pool of black mud, the young man with short blond hair opened his hands to Agatha, he still had a handsome face, but his entire lower body had turned into a swollen and wriggling accumulation, and at this moment he was a kind of "tentacle end" that stretched out and deformed from the pool of mud, simulating the appearance of a human in a disgusting way.

"Alright, it's almost time, you've got used to the environment here, now take a step forward, it's time to sacrifice."

At the edge of the pool of mud, a tentacle-like limb gradually rose, and it grew out of the mud, but its end gradually turned into a dagger-like hard and sharp structure.

The tentacles of the life-threatening sacrifice slowly moved in the direction of Agatha.

Agatha just looked at it quietly, and suddenly whispered, "Almost...... It's ...... to get to this location."

She slowly reached out to her chest.

But in the next second, her movements suddenly stopped.

In this moment, she lost control of her body.

"I know you want to do something, some kind of ...... Actions that are not in our plans. ”

In her sudden dull perception, she heard the voice of the blond young man coming from the other side, and she tried her best to raise her head, but she could only see a little figure of the other person at the edge of her vision.

"But unfortunately, in order to prevent the sacrifice from getting out of control, we have been preparing 'safety measures' from the beginning - didn't you notice? You've gone all the way, you've eliminated so many fakes along the way, and even wiped out a dozen of my avatars, all of ...... In fact, it just binds you to this mirror city a little bit.

"Do you feel more and more aware of the location of this sanctuary? Think you can 'smell' us 'heretics' more and more clearly? Have you ever wondered why this change is happening?

"Quite simply, you were already one of us before you got here, ma'am."

Agatha finally lifted her head, and in front of her, the sharp spike was getting closer to her heart, and her own body was still unable to move.

By now, she finally understood what was going on with the sense of disobedience she felt along the way, and why these cultists had sent so many cannon fodder minions to engage in "attrition tactics" with her in vain.

Everything is for the subtle pollution.

In the next second, the sharp spike pierced her heart without delay.

In the pool of silt, the blonde cultist raised his hands in the air, and at the moment when the gatekeeper's heart was pierced, he prayed in ecstasy: "The sacrifice has been offered!" The life of this saint will be the first step in the coming of the kingdom of our Lord! Shout the name of the Lord and welcome the Promised Day! ”

In an instant, all the cultists in the hall shouted, and those deformed and terrifying figures who lived in symbiosis with demons fell into ecstasy, shouting the name of the Dark Holy Lord in their madness, and some of them brandished the daggers they carried with them, frantically cutting through their own flesh and blood, and pouring their own blood into the black mud surging in the center of the hall, and even the demons beside them fell into a frenzy, letting out all kinds of crazy and deranged howls!

However, in the midst of such a crazy and chaotic howl, the black matter in the pool of mud only surged violently for a few seconds, and then gradually returned to calm.

The blonde cultist in the center of the "pool" finally noticed something was wrong, and he awoke from his ecstasy, staring in amazement at the pool that was returning to calm, and then at the spike that pierced the heart of the saint, and at the gatekeeper who was standing on the edge of the sacrificial ground.

Scarred, pale-faced gatekeeper.

“…… You don't have a life?! The madman finally lost his pride and grace, and pointed at Agatha in astonishment, "You...... Why are you a corpse?! ”

Agatha looked at him calmly, and at this moment, a smile finally appeared on the corner of her mouth.

"Although I didn't understand your ultimate goal before, as a gatekeeper, how could I not be aware of the disobedience changes in my body......"

As she spoke, she slowly lifted her arm, as if she felt the body gradually regain control as the ritual of sacrifice wore off.

"After realizing that you were trying to lead me to the assembly hall, that this could be some kind of sacrificial ritual for life, I did one thing......

Little by little, she grasped the spike that pierced her heart, her fingers gradually straining, and wisps of green flame flowed between her fingers, seeping into the spike.

She lifted her eyes and looked at the cultists in the pool of mud.

"All heretical sacrifices are based on blood - I drained my own blood."

"You...... Do you know what you've done!? The madman's eyes widened with rage, and the fingers pointed at Agatha trembled violently, "You...... You ......"

"It's okay, it's all trivial," Agatha just smiled and shook her head, more and more flames escaping from her fingers, "It's good to send the fire......

"What do you say......"

The cultist in the pool of mud subconsciously spoke, but before he could finish speaking, another deafening roar suddenly came from the other end of the assembly hall, and the earth-shattering movement instantly destroyed the last holding force in this sacrificial ceremony—

A large gate in the depths of the assembly hall, as well as a large wall next to the gate, was blown away by high explosives!

"Boom!!"

The earth and rocks disintegrated, the cement flew, and the fragments of the gate and countless black strange substances mixed in it swept into the assembly hall like fragments of cannonballs, and the few cultists closest to the door were blown out on the spot, and the remaining cultists exclaimed—

"They've broken through the gates!"

"Impossible! They haven't been able to break through for decades...... How is it possible for a group of phantoms to break their own cycle!? ”

In the center of the muddy pool, the blond-haired leader of the cult turned his head in shock to look in the direction of the explosion, but before he could see the figures rushing in from the opposite side of the Thorn Gate, a green flame rose from the edge of his vision.

He turned his gaze and saw that the sacrifice that was supposed to be offered to the Netherworld Holy Lord had been wrapped in flames, burning in a terrifying spirit flame!

The moment the gate was blown open in the depths of the assembly hall, Agatha finally broke free from the control of the sacrificial rite, and in a very short time, she ignited the fire.

The fuel is herself.

The fire is rising!

Suddenly flooded with green flames, Agatha saw that a large hole had collapsed in the wall opposite the "pool", and a group of sailors-like men burning with green flames like her own rushed into the hall.

The flame on their bodies resonates strongly with the fire lit in their bodies.

Agatha smiled.

Knowledge came into her mind, and she already understood.

In the flames, she slowly opened her hands and raised them upwards as if in court.

"The fire has been lit."

(End of chapter)