Chapter 306
Deep beneath the city, far into the winding filth-stained sewage system, was a vast underground chamber carved by unnatural hands.
The air was heavy with rot and old blood. Faint red lights glowed from runes carved into the stone walls, and the stench of decay was mixed with incense and burnt flesh. At the center of the chamber stood a man, his bare body covered in deep red tattoos and cuts, each one pulsing faintly as if alive.
His skin was slick with blood, dried in patches across his chest and arms. His eyes were calm, but there was a slow, unnerving smile on his face. Around him stood five women, all cloaked in long robes of dark red, their faces partly hidden under veils.
"It seems we have intruders," the man said quietly, still smiling as he looked ahead at nothing in particular.
"What a joyous occasion."
"Should we eliminate them?" one of the women asked, her voice low and steady.
"Eliminate?" he repeated, tilting his head slightly. He looked down for a moment, his fingers twitching.
Then he let out a faint sigh. "No. How can we? We’ve been waiting for this.It has been ages and we have been waiting for the right moment to strike. If we kill them now, who will carry the message?"
"What about others?Since we have been losing so many people,we should make up the numbers and preach the words of the Crimson Goddess."
"Let the world know the magnanimity of the Goddess who soothes one soul from all kinds of I’ll feelings."
He turned and walked slowly, his bare feet splashing in the shallow, filthy water. His voice grew colder. "This city is proud. Too proud. The people think they’re safe behind their walls, behind their gods. But they’ve grown soft, blind. We’re not here to kill. We’re here to turn them. They will follow the truth once they taste it."
The women remained still, their eyes fixed on him.