episode_0198

196. Sacrifice (2)

“Sister!!!!”

Sia, who saw Mion, ran to her in a hurry.

Hooo!!!

Sia’s hand glowed so brightly that it was blinding, and then touched Mi-on’s body.

Then, the dark energy rising from Mi-on’s body seemed to fade somewhat and her face seemed to relax a little.

“Over there, ha…in the sky…!!!”

I went outside and looked up at the sky when I heard someone shouting.

A huge, dark red magic circle with a sticky texture like blood was floating in the sky as if it would cover the entire city.

And if my keen eye was not mistaken, the base of the basic magic circle was similar to the one engraved on Mion’s tongue, but there were other patterns mixed in as well.

“Zion!!! Come out!!!”

Zion, who was sobbing at my call, and Mila, who was supporting her, came out of the dormitory and were startled when they saw the magic circle floating in the sky.

“That…That’s..!!”

“Zion. Is that engraved on Mi-on’s tongue?”

“Go home…!!!”

Thud-!!

Zion, who was observing the magic circle, soon began to grind his teeth and his eyes became fierce.

“What is it?”

Zion, who was gritting his teeth at my question, looked up.

Her eyes were filled with fury, and her golden eyes held a different level of anger than when she spoke of the former Gresha Duchess.

“Contains a ritual used by the family.”

“In that experiment?”

“Yeah, in that experiment. And the effect of that spell…”

After finishing speaking, Zion turns his head to Mion.

“It’s a spell that gathers the life force of PC electronics to a designated location, but the target must be within 1 meter, so why…? I see, it was gathered remotely, centered around the medium connected to the spell. But… why?”

Zion, who was observing the effects of the sorcery and magic and assessing the state of the lukewarm, tilted his head.

Then Julie came to us.

“Cat. Do you know the standards for sacrifices required for magic or sorcery that involves human sacrifice?”

“…..Uhm… Huh?”

Sion pauses for a moment at Juri’s question, and Juri points to the sky and continues talking.

“Right now, it looks like the little guy is trying to offer a sacrifice to summon something or something.”

“…Wait a minute.”

A few keywords were heard from Zion’s mumbling mouth, and Juri and I could hear them.

“Artificial Saintess… Family Experiment… Resurrection of the Demon God…. Demon King….? Juri!! Is there anyone among the people who go to the Guild who was an Explorer?”

At Zion’s urgent question, Juri rolls her eyes and falls into thought for a moment.

“Hmm… As far as I know, most of them are just ordinary people? They came here because they heard rumors that they could make a lot of money in the Labyrinth City. But they’re scared to risk their lives fighting monsters, and they don’t want to work at inns or restaurants… So they usually go to the union.”

“Well…then. How many receptionists or staff members are there at the union?”

At Zion’s slightly trembling question.

“There must be over 300 people? There are some friends who only work as receptionists like your brother, and there are some who work in shifts.”

“Ah….”

Zion sighs at Juri’s words.

“Why? What is the reason?”

“Sacrificial offering. The condition is pure human.”

“But?”

“Explorers in the Labyrinth City will be granted levels and status when they register for relics, and will gain quirks when they level up or explore frequently.”

“Right?”

Zion cleared his throat and added an additional explanation to Juri, who tilted her head as if asking why she was talking about something so obvious.

“If you look at it that way, the explorer is not a pure human body. It is a form that has been imbued with supernatural powers and curses due to the power of the labyrinth. In any case, it is a state that has been transformed from a pure human body.”

“Then what you’re saying is that most of the people working in the union are not explorers but ordinary people who meet the conditions for sacrifice. Is that something like that?”

“…..uh.”

It’s unlikely that the magic circle on his tongue was originally intended to remotely sacrifice union members.

In the end, Duke Grecia saw that the spell was conveniently placed for him to use.

I held Zion in my arms, who was trembling with fear, and called out to her.

“Zion.”

“Yeah, Cain.”

“Are there any other conditions? Like when offering sacrifices or summoning something.”

“Um… A large amount of magic stones? As far as I know, even if you summon it with a normal sized magic circle, it costs a lot of magic stones…. Shit.”

I was momentarily taken aback by Zion’s sudden insults.

Everyone who understood what Zion was saying looked at the magic stones scattered on the street with astonishment.

Charrr-

Magic stones with a soft blue glow began to float into the air.

Soon, it slowly flows into a magic circle floating in the sky.

And it’s spine-chilling to see tens of thousands of magic stones rising up like iron filings drawn to a magnet, not just in the area we’re in, but all over the city.

Yeah. If I was going to kill all the people in this city, I would have unleashed the monsters from the beginning.

We can easily hold out by slaughtering the monsters, but even if that is not the case, we will be able to somehow stop them with the force of the city’s residents.

Even the owners of stores in commercial districts are explorers who have been to the middle floors, reaching level 3 or higher.

“Zion. Check the lukewarm condition.”

“Okay..!”

“Aaah, the magic stones….”

Zion quickly ran back to Mion, and Mila was feeling sorry for the countless magic stones floating in the air.

After all the magic stones were sucked into the magic circle.

—-!!!!!

Kugugugugugugugu!!!!!

The entire city began to shake violently and a terrible aura began to envelop the entire city.

“No…. This is…!”

“Everyone…come into the building!!!”

Kyle, Julie and Number 2 were screaming with a thoughtful look on their faces, and I could feel it too.

The ‘sound’ that Julie had been talking about coming from the upper floors was echoing throughout the city.

and.

It was dawn, just as the sun was breaking, but a black energy was overflowing from the center of the magic circle.

The surroundings were covered in pitch darkness due to the energy flowing like a curtain, wrapping around the city walls as if flowing liquid.

Kugugugugugugu!!!!

Soon, a second loud vibration rang out, and a pointed spire appeared, surrounding a huge portal in the center of the city.

“What kind of Demon King’s Castle is this…”

No joke, even though I was so far away, I could feel the strong magical energy coming from the spire.

and.

Kieeeek!!!

KEEEREC!!!!

Monsters I had never seen before began to swarm me.

The number was smaller than the horde of monsters seen on the first floor, but the aura they gave off was ominous.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!!!”

At my shout, all the combat personnel and even Juri’s subordinates who had gone to rest got equipped and formed a formation.

“Over there…we are…!!”

“Hold on with the supplies you gave us!!”

“Yes….”

We saw the above and shouted to the people in the next building who came out of the building and started fighting.

*

*

*

*

The battle was not easy, even to say the least.

Juri and Kyle told me that the monsters’ appearances and abilities were something they had never seen before, and that their powers were only at the third level or higher.

Even though nearly 100 people fought with all their might, there were many casualties.

“Ho…Recovery!!”

Wooow!!!

Although the number of people that can be treated at once has increased, Gahora Sia’s limits based on physical strength status are quickly being reached.

“Milla!!! Hurry up!!”

“Yes… Yeseeet!!!”

“There! I told you to bring box number 2!!”

“I’m sorry!!”

“I’ll be out for a bit. Keep stirring!”

“Yes!!!”

In the meantime, Zion, who had confirmed that Mi-on’s condition had stabilized, had the non-combat personnel bring all the alchemy tools down from the third floor and were making potions in real time in the large restaurant kitchen.

And when he feels that the battle situation is unfavorable due to his excellent hearing, he drinks a potion, runs outside, and casts a wide range of magic.

“Brother Kyle!!!”

“Brain…!!!”

Pazuzuzuzu …

Kyle, who had been exploring without any problems since he gained the protection of swordsmanship from level 1, gained the protection of lightning at level 4, and lightning started shooting out from his sword in streams.

“Claude!!”

“Let’s go!!! Holy Sword Open!!”

Chaaang!!!!

And at the same time, a brilliant light shone from Claude’s sword standing next to Kyle.

“Everyone, throw ice potions!”

“””◦”Throw!!!!””◦””

Chaenggrang!!

Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk!!!!

At my direction, the people at the rear threw freezing potions, and the area froze.

“Mr. Kyle!! Claude… Now!!!”

“Eeee!!!”

“Die!!!!!”

Kkaaa …

As the two of them swung their swords with all their might, a loud explosion occurred that shook the earth, and a considerable number of monsters seemed to evaporate and disappear.

“Ugh… gasp… It’s endless.”

“That’s right, bro.”

Claude and Kyle sat on the floor for a moment, gasping for breath, not knowing when they had become brothers again.

“The two of them step back for a moment to conserve their stamina and Lauren..!”

“Yeah! Everyone, please give me some fire potions!”

“Yes!!”

While Lauren was buying us time by effectively using elemental magic using Zion’s potions, we felt the presence of people approaching us.

“That’s…. a church?”

From afar, knights and priests wearing symbols of the goddess on their armor and robes were approaching us.

“Cain..! Those bastards…!”

“Wait a minute. Wait, Claude.”

He greeted the members of the sect, stopping Claude, who was about to draw his sword and run away.

A middle-aged, bald-headed priest stands at the head of the group.

I came forward as his representative and asked to talk to him.

“You sent your paladins to capture our comrades the other day, and are you doing it again this time?”

A middle-aged man, who had been looking slightly embarrassed by my words, lowered his head.

“There were many mistakes. That is not the position of the church, but the actions of apostates.”

“You were trying to get information from the explorers through the backdoor and secure their identities, saying things like “the next saintess” or something. Weren’t you the same as the guys who worked with the union leader?”

“That’s…”

It must be desperate.

Since the labyrinth was created a thousand years ago, there has not been a single saint or saintess, let alone a stigmata, that has been said to be a miracle of the goddess on the continent.

Even though it was difficult to obtain divine powers through exploration, the goddess cult gradually declined.

It may not be something that the anonymous guys would do, but they were desperate and would have done anything.

“Let’s hear the circumstances.”

“Thank you…!”

Let’s hear where you speak and where you shit.