238 Blood Ritual [3]

"Ugh."

Leon awoke with a massive headache.

Every part of his body ached, and his mind was numbed as he tried his best to recall the circumstances that led to his current situation.

"Kh...!"

His expression twisted the moment that he recalled and his eyes flared open in anger.

'That fucking traitor!'

His chest boiled over as he felt his body stiffen.

In the last moments, he remembered getting backstabbed by Kaelion.

'That bastard...!'

It was hard to describe the anger that Leon was currently feeling, but had it not been for him, they would've had a chance at escaping.

"Kh!"

Leon tried to move his body but found himself constrained. Yet again, his mana was sealed, and no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't move at all.

"....Looks like someone is awake."

A deep and brittle voice echoed throughout.

Finally, Leon raised his head and his expression crumbled at the sight that greeted him.

'Here again.'

He was back in the church.

Not only him but everyone else that had accompanied him.

They were all currently chained to the wooden rows that faced the massive altar in the middle. There, Leon could see a blood-red circle at the center as it glowed ominously.

The glow seemed to throb in time with his own racing heartbeat, filling him with a sense of impending dread.

<nulli>'What is that...?'

Staring at the circle, Leon felt an ominous feeling.

He wasn't sure about what exactly it did, but every part of his body screamed danger.

"Are you curious about what that is?"

The Archbishop spoke while staring at him. Leon raised his head to match his gaze. He didn't say anything and remained quiet.

It was such defiance that made the Archbishop smile.

"What you see is merely the start of the cleanse. Each and every one of you will be subjected to it. But before that."

The Archbishop raised his hand and stared at his ring.

Leon frowned at his behavior, but before he could even say a thing, the Archbishop looked around in happiness.

"Ah! Looks like more people are waking up. Good, good. This is a good thing."

Indeed, looking around, Leon noticed the others slowly waking up.

"What's going on...?"

"Where am I?"

"Ukh."

They had looks of confusion on their faces as they woke up, and Leon's expression sank when in the corner of the room, he spotted a certain figure standing by the corner with an expressionless look.

'It's the traitor...!'

Leon clenched his teeth tightly at the sight of him.

He wasn't the only one who spotted him, with the others also showing similar expressions, but Kaelion stood in the same spot without much of a change in his expression.

It was as if he hadn't noticed them at all.

Leon felt his blood boil at the sight, but he forced himself to calm down.

<nulli>'It's not over yet.'

There were still several things that he could do to get out of the situation.

For that reason, taking a couple of deep breaths, Leon's expression turned sharp. He looked around before suddenly freezing.

His eyes locked towards a certain corner.

'Uh...?'

Two blue eyes stared back at him.

<nulli>'Isn't that?'

Leon's heart froze for a split second as he processed the situation.

Soon, his eyes widened.

<nulli>'.....He made it here.'

Leon was a little surprised, but he soon calmed down.

He looked around him and narrowed his eyes. Something soon became clear to him.

<nulli>'There's a chance that he isn't here to save us, but rather, he's here to escape by himself.'

Leon wouldn't blame him if he did so. He held no expectations in the first place. He had already seen the true faces of some of the people from the Aurora Empire.

In the first place, they were a nation that respected the strong and prioritized their well-being at the expense of others.

.....There was simply no way for them to think about helping others unless it benefitted them.

For that reason, Leon felt his heart sink.

<nulli>'So in the end, nothing changes.'

Leon's expression turned grim.

Still, the situation wasn't all too bad for him. In fact, it could turn well in his favor.

<nulli>'I can free myself if I want to. The real question is what to do after. I think I know what to do now.'

Leon closed his eyes and pretended to look away.

At the same time, he started to think of the best timing.

The best timing to reveal 'his' appearance...

***

The moment our gazes met, for a brief moment, I thought he was going to reveal my appearance to the Archbishop. I felt my entire body stiffen up at the thought.

However, it was much to my surprise to see him turn his head around and ignore my presence.

<nulli>'....Does he expect me to save him?'

Was that the reason why he turned his attention away from me?

I pursed my lips.

Unfortunately, that wasn't possible.

<nulli>'I don't have the skills necessary to do such a thing.'

"Hoo."

I took a deep breath before leaning back against the exit.

'....I was careless.'

The fact that he had spotted me meant that I had almost exposed myself to everyone. I was lucky that the person who spotted me was one of the people who had been kidnapped into this place. Otherwise...

"Ugh."

Owl-Mighty was gone, but I could already imagine the look it was giving me.

Closing my eyes, I started to focus on my appearance and clothing.

My mind wandered back to the two people that had left moments prior and my appearance started to change.

It took several minutes for my appearance to stabilize, and only then did I finally stand up and mustered up the courage to move beyond the door and enter the church.

<nulli>Tak! The moment I stepped into the church, my footfall echoed loudly through the hollow space, echoing off the walls.

The sound was jarringly loud, making me almost cringe as it disrupted the oppressive atmosphere, heightening the sense of unease that settled over me.

It took every bit of my willpower to keep my face from changing.

"....."

I sighed in relief once I saw that the Archbishop was still staring at the altar with his back turned against me.

Having already analyzed the situation beforehand, I knew what I needed to do and moved towards the far ends of the church, and stood next to the other followers.

"....."

I kept my back straight as I did, and in the process, my eyes darted across the room in hopes of finding the exit of the place.

<nulli>'Where is it? Where is it?'

".....It's nice to see that everyone is slowly coming to their senses."

The Archbishop suddenly spoke, drawing my attention. I kept my expression firm as I strained to listen, every word of his seemingly keeping me on my toes.

For some reason, it almost felt as though they were directed at me.

"There were a few hiccups here and there, but we're all here and that is all that matters."

His gaze never left the altar as he spoke, and it was at that moment that I laid my eyes on it.

Just like in the picture, it pulsed in a deep red glow. As if entranced, I found myself staring at it longer than I should've and only managed to catch myself when I noticed a few glances directed at my eyes.

"....."

I swallowed in silence and looked away.

Unfortunately, those gazes persisted. In fact, they grew more numerous as the back of my neck started to tingle.

<nulli>'Don't look. Don't look. Don't look '

"The preparations are almost ready. All that is left is for everyone to undergo the trail of the forgotten minds for one last time."

Finally, the Archbishop turned around, revealing his murky white eyes. In that moment, I nearly lost my breath as his gaze locked onto me briefly before shifting toward the other cadets.

"I've separated you all in certain rows to distinguish those that still have more than two halves of the blood in their body from those that only have one quarter left."

The Archbishop's gaze scanned the first row.

"Fourteen already down to their last life. Hmm."

He suddenly smiled while looking at them. He had just raised his hand and was about to do something when a voice interrupted him.

"Wait!"

All eyes turned in the direction of where the voice came from.

<nulli>'It's him.'

I recognized the one responsible in an instant. With gray eyes and handsome features, it was hard not to miss him.

"Oh?"

The Archbishop turned his attention towards the gray-eyed person.

For some reason, staring at him, I started to have a bad feeling as the sweat that had accumulated on the side of my face grew more pronounced.

<nulli>'It can't be, right...?'

".....What are you planning on doing?"

He spoke, staring at the Archbishop with his intense gray eyes.

<nulli>'Maybe not.'

Thankfully, my worries didn't seem to come true.

At least not yet. I couldn't be too certain just yet.

"Me? Isn't it obvious?"

The Archbishop turned to look towards the altar. His expression shifted, turning more fanatical as he looked toward the pulsing magic circle.

".....I'm trying to get closer to my god! I've been preparing for the past few decades, and now...! Everything is almost ready! You all will be the catalyst for my ascension, and so you should rejoice!"

His voice reverberated loudly within the confines of the church.

"You can think of it as an honor!"

<nulli>'He's completely lost it.'

I drowned out the noise from the fanatic as I looked around the place and tried to look for the exit. Having glanced at the map beforehand, I knew that it was here, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't see where it was.

<nulli>'Hidden?'

....Was the exit hidden?

The thought crossed my mind and I looked in the general direction of where the exit was labeled to be.

My heart sank when I noticed that it was right behind the altar.

<nulli>'That's annoying.'

It was, but what other choice did I have?

I needed to think of ways to sneak behind and reach the exit.

<nulli>'There must be some sort of secret lever or way that can help me reach the exit.'

I licked my lips which had gone dry.

"How certain are you that you're going to succeed?"

"Hahaha."

The Archbishop suddenly laughed, his voice slowly subsiding into a cold snort.

"I've been preparing for quite a long time. All preparations have been made accordingly. You can give up hope in trying to waste time in hopes of getting reinforcements to find you. Even the strongest person will struggle to find you."

"....."

Silence ensued following the Archbishop's words.

I stared at the gray-eyed person. He didn't seem to be looking at me, and yet, at the same time, I felt like his gaze was directed at me.

It didn't make sense, but it brought a certain sense of urgency within me.

<nulli>'I need to figure out how to get out now!'

".....Like I said."

He soon started to speak, his even tone sending chills down my body.

"How certain are you that everything will go smoothly?"

Slowly, two gray eyes locked in my general direction and I felt my entire body stiffen on the spot.

Meeting his gaze, he smiled and my heart sank.

"Especially when someone managed to infiltrate the place without you knowing?"