Chapter 185 : Sacrifice (1)
Sacrifice (1)
The next day, at dawn.
The outskirts of Greysel territory.
A secret meeting room of criminal organizations, deep within the underground waterways.
"Ugh... I'm so tired I could die."
The boss of the Black Spider Syndicate grumbled as he entered the meeting room, his eyes bleary.
"I didn't get a wink of sleep all night. The bed in the hideout is crawling with bedbugs."
The boss of the Black Hook, who was beside him, scratched the back of his head with his hook hand and agreed.
"Same here. Grrr...! My whole body itches like crazy! Ian Greysel! Because of that damned brat, I'm sleeping in a sewer I never would've dreamed of! I'd rather sleep on an ashtray! I'm having all sorts of 'wonderful' experiences, I tell you!"
"Still... Maybe tonight we can sleep in a proper bed for once? If Ian Greysel is dead... our organizations can finally breathe easy, at least for a bit."
"Of course! Naturally! Do you know who we hired? No less than the Reaper, the top executive of 'Reapers'! No matter how capable that brat Ian is, if you slit his throat in his sleep, what could he possibly do?"
"Let's check to be sure. That's why we gathered here. If the Reaper succeeded, the brat's head should be on the round table by now."
"Right, right. Seeing with your own eyes is a hundred times better than hearing about it. Let's get a move on!"
The bosses gathered and hurried toward the meeting room.
Soon, the inner meeting room.
They saw something like a round bundle placed at the center of the round table.
"Ooh!"
"There's something!"
The bosses' faces brightened.
"Ian Greysel! Is that the brat's head?"
"What else could it be? Let's open it up!"
"The Reaper really brought us that brat's head!"
"Ha ha ha ha! Money really is the best! Even the lord of the Seven Great Martial Families, defeated for a mere 600,000 gold... just like that!"
One of the bosses roughly untied the round bundle.
― Swish!
"Now! Let's spit on that smug face of his...! Huh?"
"...?"
"...!?"
In an instant, the boss's hand froze.
And a heavy silence fell over the underground meeting room.
"Uh...?"
A dumbfounded sound escaped the Black Hook boss's lips.
What was in the bundle was, unmistakably, a severed human head.
But...
It wasn't the expected ashen hair, nor the face of a young blue-eyed youth.
The eyes rolled back white, the expression frozen in terror.
"Th-this is...! H-heuk!"
It was the man who, up until last night, had sat at the round table with them and led the plot to assassinate Ian.
"D-Don Black Sand!"
"How could it be Don Black Sand's head!?"
The severed head of the Black Sand Society boss was sitting right in the center of the roundtable.
"H-hiiieeek!"
"W-what! H-how! What's going on!!"
The bosses freaked out, stumbling backwards in horror.
Why was it Don Black Sand's head and not Ian's!
Did the first-rate assassin Reaper fail... or betray them!?
"N-no!"
But before that.
If Don Black Sand's head was here...
"Our location's been discovered!! We have to run, right now...!"
A quick-witted boss shouted.
― KABOOOOOM!!
The thick steel door and walls of the underground sewer exploded and crumbled.
"Gyaaaah!"
"What the hell!!"
Countless torches appeared through the thick dust.
Knights wearing crimson armor and swordmasters wearing violet magitech suits poured in.
The Red Herald Knight Order of Rubenstein.
The Violet Corps of Bellator.
They were the punitive force Ian had quickly dispatched based on information he had read from the assassin Reaper's blood.
"All the filthy rats were holed up here."
The vice-captain of the Red Herald Knight Order drew his sword from his belt and shouted.
"This is the command of the lord of House Greysel! Exterminate the pests that infest the territory!"
"Yes, sir!!"
― Swish, swish, swish!
― Slice! Thud!
"W-wait...! Gyaaah!"
"N-no! Aaaaargh!"
The underground sewer instantly became a one-sided slaughterhouse.
The leadership of the criminal organizations that had been gnawing at Greysel territory for decades fell helplessly under the onslaught of blades and clubs.
It was the moment the rotten parasites infesting the territory were completely purged.
* * *
"... So."
The headquarters of the Cult of Pride.
Inside the cult leader's chamber, with ceilings towering endlessly high and walls lined with marble.
A man lounged crookedly on a massive golden throne, resting his chin on one hand and staring coldly at his subordinate—the Cult Leader of Pride, Superbia.
"You're telling me even Goldman was taken out."
"Y-yes, Cult Leader."
The archbishop, prostrated below, reported with cold sweat drenching his brow.
"Not long after Albrecht was killed in the northern empire, now even Count Goldman has gone out of contact in western Hisperion. The vast cult funds he took with him are also... all... ugh..."
"Hah."
Superbia twisted his mouth into a scowl.
"So, after Albrecht, even Goldman disappoints me. I was generous enough to grant them the title of Archbishop of Pride and give them special treatment. Yet those worms couldn't even live up to something as petty as that. Pathetic, utterly pathetic."
"Y-yes, it is most shameful and deplorable as an archbishop myself."
"But it doesn't matter."
Superbia twisted his lips as he spoke.
"I never had great expectations for those insignificant fools. Their failure and deaths were all anticipated within the scope of my grand plans."
"..."
The prostrated archbishop swallowed dryly.
'If it was anticipated... shouldn't you have taken precautions ahead of time?'
The information network lost with Albrecht's death, the astronomical funds that vanished with Goldman...
From the perspective of the Cult of Pride, this was not just a painful loss—it was a devastating blow.
And yet he shamelessly brushed it off as within expectations, acting calm.
But the archbishop somehow managed to swallow those thoughts deep in his throat.
If he dared voice them here, that arrogant master's hand would see his head fly off at once.
"Rise. Archbishop."
Superbia stood up, his white robe billowing.
"I will move personally. I'm sick and tired of leaving things to the incompetent."
"Y-you yourself!? W-where? Where should I follow you?"
The archbishop asked carefully, and a sinister smile curled at the corner of Superbia's lips.
"I'm going to kill Sloth."
"... Excuse me?"
Sloth?
Could it really be the Cult Leader of Sloth?
"Do you mean Acedia?"
He was saying he would kill another cult leader of the same cult!?
"That's right. The cult has been in chaos, with a mysterious wild beast stirring things up. Greed, envy, wrath, gluttony, lust—all have been struck. At a time like this, decisive and certain action is needed above all else."
Superbia clenched his fist tightly.
"Acedia. If that lazy, foolish bastard is left alone, he'll soon be eaten by the wild beast. Before that happens, it's better for me to take him and use him as a sacrifice. Even if his abilities are unimpressive, as a cult leader, he'll be a sufficient sacrifice to summon our great master, the Grand Duke of Pride, to this world."
Superbia stomped down from the throne.
"Follow me, archbishop! From today, the Cult of Sloth will be absorbed by Pride. Let's go!"
And a few days later.
The headquarters of the Cult of Sloth.
― Squelch!!
"Keuh, kuhuhuhuhuk!?"
A dreadful death rattle, mixed with blood, burst from the mouth of the Cult Leader of Pride.
"... C-Cult Leader!?"
The following archbishop froze in terror on the spot.
A slender, delicate hand had pierced straight through the massive chest of Superbia.
In that elegant hand, Superbia's throbbing heart was clenched.
"K-keuk...! Y-you...!"
Superbia looked at the beautiful boy who had pierced his chest in disbelief.
Eyes half-closed, unfocused. Disheveled, curly hair.
With features delicate enough to be mistaken for a girl at first glance.
It was Acedia, the Cult Leader of Sloth.
"Ahh... It's finally over."
Acedia yawned long and muttered wearily.
"You barge in while I'm sleeping, make a scene... screaming about killing me, making a ruckus until the end. In the end, you die by my hand. Superbia."
"G-gah...! I-it can't be...! I—! To s-some brat like you...! Guh, kuhuk!"
Superbia foamed at the mouth, aghast.
Acedia of Sloth was considered the weakest among the cult leaders.
He had never participated in battle, had no interest in expanding his power, had the fewest subordinates, and merely slept, a useless, indolent fool.
On the other hand, Superbia of Pride was considered the strongest among the cult leaders.
He had two dragon hearts transplanted into his mana circle, had mastered eighth-circle dark magic, possessed a powerful physique, powerful ancient martial arts, and his authority granted him a broken ability: against those with less demonic power, he was literally "invincible."
But now—
Superbia of Pride had had his chest pierced and his heart stolen by Acedia of Sloth.
Defeated, purely and openly, in a head-on confrontation.
"How..."
How could Sloth possess such overwhelming and destructive demonic energy?
How could a guy who had slept for over a hundred years possess more demonic power than himself, who had two dragon hearts?
"Yaaawn... you're having a hard time accepting it, I see, Superbia."
Acedia whispered indifferently into Superbia's ear.
"You should have gathered demonic power more efficiently. While you idiots were busy making enemies, I set up a system where I could get strength just by lying still."
"W-what...?"
"Going around abducting prey and squeezing out their demonic power is just too much work. You didn't have to go through all that trouble. Fools."
Acedia raised his other hand.
From his fingertip, a crimson, spore-like demonic energy blossomed.
"Fungus."
"...!"
"You know the dragons and ancient creatures that hibernate for hundreds of years? All you have to do is secretly plant these demonic energy mushroom spores while they sleep. Then the fungi will slowly, so slowly the host doesn't even notice, take over, turning them into vessels for my demonic power."
Acedia smiled lazily.
"Twelve. That's how many dragons I've devoured. All while lying in my bed."
"N-no...! Guh..."
Superbia's eyes filled with despair.
Acedia stroked Superbia's heart gently.
"Well... thanks to you, that's one less hassle for me. I'll use your heart gratefully. It'll help speed up the Grand Duke's summoning. You came all the way to my bedroom just to die. These diligent types really are all fools."
― Snap!
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Acedia tore Superbia's heart out roughly.
Superbia's massive body crashed to the floor of the audience chamber.
Thus ended the brief, pitiful tale of Pride.
"H-hiiieeek!!"
The archbishop, who had watched the scene unfold, screamed and tried to run for his life.
"Ah... forgot about you. Such a hassle."
Acedia snapped his fingers.
― Squelch!
"Urk!!"
In an instant, red fungus exploded from the archbishop's body, engulfing him in mushrooms.
"Yaaawn..."
Acedia let out a long yawn and placed Superbia's heart on the altar.
"With this much... now I can open the gate."
The massive demonic power he had gathered with fungus over hundreds of years.
Now, with Superbia's massive magic heart added to it.
It was a moment where he possessed enough magic to incarnate a demigod in this world.
"I'll open the gate soon... so the rest is up to you now..."
The cult leader of Sloth looked up with bloodshot eyes at the dimensional rift seeping open in the air.
"O Grand Duke."