Chapter 42: The Power of Sacrifice

Several sword strikes missed the eerie eyeball.

The hunting urge overrode my usual caution, and on impulse, I chased its trail, leaping into the pit.

Thankfully, this body’s slender frame barely squeezed through the narrow crevice, sliding down broken bricks and rubble, landing in a dilapidated underground corridor.

The strange eyeball skittered at the edge of my vision.

“No escape!”

I gripped the dual swords, chasing two steps before snapping awake—recklessly pursuing like this was too rash—

“Damn thing…”

I cursed under my breath, unsure if I meant the eyeball or the relentless evil god’s contract.

But there was no turning back now.

I steadied myself, moving forward.

My eyes adjusted to the dark, turning the corridor into a half-collapsed chamber.

I scanned carefully, spotting a faint shadow in a dark corner.

My nerves tensed, then turned to doubt—the thing sat still, as if staring, gazing at an empty wall.

For a moment, it seemed almost human, as if it had emotions—

“Does it… have intelligence?”

A bizarre thought crossed my mind, stirring unease.

Did it flee here in panic, or did it have another purpose—

But whether it had consciousness or not, the evil god’s contract didn’t care—I had to hunt it.

Resolving myself, blood flames reignited on the swords.

I focused, determined to strike true next time.

My bad feeling proved right.

As I swung at it, a purple beam shot from the eyeball, hitting the stone wall opposite.

Like raindrops on a lake, purple ripples spread across the wall.

In a blink, a magic array of nested circles and runes emerged from the ripples—

Buzz!

As the array spun, a strange sound pierced my ears.

My vision blurred, kaleidoscopic afterimages flashing.

My fierce strike hit nothing.

“What—just happened!”

Reality snapped back, only purple light lingering in my eyes.

Raising my gaze, I saw the light swirling around the eyeball, its yellow pupil casting a mocking glint, now floating midair.

Was the eyeball controlling the array, launching a mental attack?

My eyes darted to the wall, the spinning purple circuit reflecting in my pupils, its structure like a precise puzzle snapping into my mind—

I recognized this array—no, I’d been obsessing over it.

Whenever I had a moment, I’d pondered it.

The seal on the ancient ruins scroll matched this array exactly.

Using the evil god’s magic knowledge, I’d deciphered the scroll’s array, piecing together its likely principle:

It wasn’t a sealing spell but a sacrificial array—

Sacrificial magic—I recalled snippets from the novel’s history.

In the ancient era of city-states, such magic was common, used to worship each state’s guardian deity—

Unlike the Radiant God Danno, the empire’s sole true god who shaped all nature, these guardian deities were varied: supernatural beings, deified ancestors, or even priestly fabrications with no real form—

Sacrificial magic’s key effect was imbuing these “gods,” their relics, or statues with divine power.

When offerings and rituals activated the magic, it granted enhancements.

As city-state religions flourished, sacrificial magic evolved into many forms.

When that era ended, the magic faded into history—

I never expected to find its knowledge in the evil god’s black magic, nor to see it here.

My recent studies revealed the ruins scroll’s seal, though scaled down, was a variant of ancient sacrificial magic, ensuring secrecy so none could open it without destroying its contents.

As for the sacrifices—

I’d been stumped, but Darryl’s intel filled the gap.

Those who handled the scroll, driven mad, were unwittingly its offerings.

Seeing this scene, I understood.

The scroll’s sacrifices were minor.

The wildfire-like chaos on the ruins’ surface and this array here marked the end of a larger sacrificial ritual.

The eyeball came to claim the ritual’s empowering force—

“I have to stop it…”

In that fleeting moment, thoughts raced.

I gripped the swords tighter.

The ritual’s completion needed time—I had to act before it finished…

Killing intent surged, magic stirred the flesh.

I meant to swing, but the eyeball’s purple light pulsed, emitting a high-pitched buzz like a sonic wave.

“Ugh!”

I tried covering my ears, but it was useless—the attack targeted the mind.

Worse followed—

Kritiya’s fatal injuries left her body incapacitated.

All my actions relied on flesh magic, requiring constant mental focus to maintain.

But now, with my mind’s stability under assault, those precise controls grew harder.

Attacking was impossible; even walking became a struggle.

“No… not now…”

I staggered two steps, trying to escape the purple light’s range, but after a few meters, I lost control.

The battered girl’s body swayed, collapsing like a wind-up doll, limbs splayed against the wall.

“Damn it!

Now, of all times…”

My face hit the mud, hands immobile, waist locked, no limb responding fully—

I clenched my teeth, feeling the body’s fragility again.

If I didn’t need to split my focus on magic, if the body could move naturally, this handless, footless, flying eyeball couldn’t reduce me to this—

But it was too late for what-ifs.

The eyeball hovered before the spinning sacrificial array, purple light flooding the cramped, crumbling chamber.

Under the mental assault, I could only rely on instinctual control.

Gasping, I shifted barely functional muscles, propping myself against the wall…

My gaze locked on the eyeball, its yellow pupil gleaming with godlike arrogance.

“This thing—dares call itself a god?”

I thought numbly, glancing at the array.

Ancient city-states held rituals far grander, yet their power, posing as miracles, was why they fell to the Radiant faith…

If anything, I might be closer to a true god, linked to an ancient evil god beyond this world—

I froze at the thought—

If it can, why not me?

The eyeball’s power came from the array.

If I could siphon its source…

Yes, I knew how.

The evil god’s black magic included sacrificial rituals and methods to channel their power.

Such power wasn’t for mortals—only robust, pure-spirited beings could endure it.

Mortals faced death or madness.

And me—my mind?

Could I withstand it?

I didn’t know.

Maybe—trusting the evil god’s seed.

Maybe not—this body was shattered, riddled with holes.

Unknown outcomes required action.

With no better option, even a mistake meant doubling down.

Sensing the evil god’s seed, I eyed the array, probing with magic, guiding it as I’d learned—

My magic carried my spirit.

On contact, a cacophony of hellish screams roared in my mind, but to me, it was an appetizer.

I didn’t know if the ritual’s power tilted toward me or if my method was right.

I could only press on—

The eyeball noticed, reacting like a miser catching a thief, raging.

Purple light shifted, mental interference intensifying, but my link to the array held.

Receiving a sacrifice wasn’t precise work—I didn’t need to move or cast perfectly.

Endurance was enough.

The eyeball, wise enough to assess, saw it couldn’t stop me.

Lacking direct attack means, it ignored me, hastening its own progress.

“You won’t get your way…”

I grit my teeth, pushing to my limit.

Gradually, an indescribable, restless power settled on me, like invisible tendrils wrapping around—

Crack!

Amid the struggle, a glassy shatter sounded in my mind.

The ritual’s visions and noises vanished.

“The sacrificial magic—broke!”

I realized—the array, strained by our dual demands, collapsed.

Purple sparks scattered like embers.

Unsure what to do, I looked up, stunned, seeing a familiar figure emerge behind the broken array.

A slightly gaunt face appeared in the dim purple light.

“Nolan!

How—”

His sudden appearance defied reason.

I opened my mouth to question, but my peripheral caught the eyeball trembling midair, a vortex center, light converging until it turned translucent purple.

Before I could speak, the ritual’s backlash and the eyeball’s own mental shock from the collapse hit together.

My mind reeled, like twin hammers pounding, consciousness fading—

My last sight was Nolan leaping awkwardly, stumbling toward me in a clumsy rush.