Shila——
The vicious spikes penetrated the flesh and blood, leaving another meaningless injury on the already scarred body. The murmurs and roars coming from the ears suddenly became excited, and those blasphemous creations seemed to be moved by this. He was so proud of his success that he made a disgusting noise.
Agatha raised her hand and used her cane to fight back the Annihilation Cultist who was covered in bone spurs and had almost completely lost his human form. In her ears, there was a clear and harsh snapping sound.
The sound stunned her for less than a second, and then she realized that it was the sound of her combat cane breaking.
The weapon that had accompanied him for many years was broken, and he had persisted to the last step in the face of endless enemies.
"You have done a good job, Miss Gatekeeper," the disgusting, pretentious voice sounded again, "As a sacrifice, although proper preparation activities are helpful for the effect of the sacrifice ceremony, excessive exercise can Not a good thing."
Agatha held the broken cane and raised her head little by little. The dried blood allowed her to open only one eye. In the narrow and red field of vision, she could finally see the scene in the hall clearly. .
The strange shadow environment faded away, and what appeared in her eyes was the sewer center that had been completely transformed into a sacrificial site. Dirty and blasphemous symbols and traces of erosion could be seen on the walls and corridors in all directions, like some kind of stalagmites or dry branches. Something like something covers the roof above, and on the floor of the hall in front is a huge "pool"——
What was once the ground was now corroded into a huge hole. The big hole was filled with a dark, mud-like viscous substance. The mud was slowly churning, and there were waves of nauseating squirming sounds.
Countless Annihilation cultists are surrounding this hall. They, and the deep demons accompanying them, are like a swarm of insects waiting around the stinking cauldron, murmuring blessings and crazily whispering to the pool of dark mud in the center of the hall. Roar, and the pool of mud becomes more filling and active in this noisy prayer.
This is a sacrifice site, they are waiting for the final sacrifice, and the "sacrifice" in the minds of these fanatics is the gatekeeper of the Frost City State.
They also copied another gatekeeper before, and now that gatekeeper is also arriving at a certain sacrifice site.
"What you think is an action of free will is actually just moving towards a predetermined stage. Don't you think this arrangement is very... aesthetic?"
In the center of the pool of black mud, a young man with short blond hair opened his hands toward Agatha. He still had a handsome face, but his entire lower body had turned into a swollen and squirming pile. At this moment, he was clearly Some kind of "tentacle ends" extended and deformed from the pool of mud, simulating the appearance of humans in a disgusting way.
"Okay, it's almost time. You have adapted to the environment here. Now take a step forward. The time for sacrifice has arrived."
On the edge of the mud pool, a tentacle-like limb gradually rose up. It grew out of the mud, but its end gradually turned into a hard and sharp structure like a dagger.
This life-threatening sacrificial tentacle slowly moved in the direction of Agatha.
But Agatha just looked at it quietly, and suddenly whispered: "It's almost... reached this position..."
She slowly stretched her hand toward her chest.
But in the next second, her movements suddenly stopped.
At this moment, she lost control of her body.
"I know you want to do something, some kind of... action that isn't in our plans."
As her perception suddenly became dull, she heard the blond young man's voice coming from the opposite side. She tried her best to raise her head, but she could only see a little bit of the other person's figure at the edge of her field of vision.
"But unfortunately, in order to prevent the sacrifices from getting out of control, we have been preparing 'safety measures' from the beginning - didn't you notice? You have eliminated so many fakes along the way, and even eliminated a dozen of me Incarnation, all of this... actually just binds you to this mirror city little by little.
"Do you feel that you are becoming more and more aware of the location of this sanctuary? Do you feel that you can 'smell' the smell of us 'heresies' more and more clearly? Then have you ever thought about why there is such a change? ?
"It's simple, you were one of us before you even got here, ma'am."
Agatha finally raised her head. In front of her, the sharp spike was getting closer to her heart, but her body was still unable to move.
Now, she finally understood the reason for the sense of disobedience she had felt along the way, and understood why these cultists sent so many cannon fodder minions to engage in "attrition tactics" against her in vain.
Everything is for subtle pollution.
The next second, the sharp spike pierced her heart without any delay.
In the mud pool, the blond cultist suddenly raised his hands. At the moment when the gatekeeper's heart was pierced, he uttered an ecstatic prayer: "The sacrifice has been offered! The life of this saint will be the first step in the coming of our Lord's kingdom." ! Shout out the name of the Holy Lord and welcome the promised day!"
In an instant, all the cultists in the hall shouted, and those horribly deformed figures who co-existed with the devil fell into ecstasy, shouting the name of the Holy Lord in the madness, and some waved the daggers they carried. They frantically cut their own flesh and blood, injecting their own blood into the black mud surging in the center of the hall. Even the demons around them fell into a frenzy, making all kinds of crazy howls!
However, amidst such crazy and chaotic howling, the black substance in the mud pool only surged violently for a few seconds, and then gradually returned to calm.
The blond cultist in the center of the "pool" finally noticed something strange. He suddenly woke up from his ecstasy and looked at the pool that was returning to calm in amazement. Then he looked at the sharp thorn that pierced the saint's heart and looked towards to the gatekeeper standing at the edge of the sacrificial field.
The scarred, pale gatekeeper.
"...You have no life?!" The fanatic finally lost his arrogance and grace, and pointed at Agatha in astonishment, "You...why are you a corpse?!"
Agatha looked at him calmly, and at this moment, a smile finally appeared on her lips.
"Although I haven't figured out your ultimate purpose before, as a gatekeeper, how could I not notice the inconsistent changes in my body..."
As she spoke, she slowly raised her arms, as if as the sacrificial ritual expired, she felt that the body was gradually returning to her control.
"After I realized that you just wanted to lure me to the assembly venue, and that this might be some kind of sacrificial ceremony to demand life, I did one thing..."
She grasped the sharp thorn that pierced her heart little by little, and her fingers gradually tightened, while wisps of green flames flowed between her fingers and penetrated towards the sharp thorn.
She raised her eyes and stared at the cultist in the mud pool.
"All heretical sacrifices are based on blood - I drained myself of my own blood."
"You...you know what you did!?" The fanatic's eyes widened in anger, and the finger pointed at Agatha trembled violently, "You...you..."
"It doesn't matter, it's all trivial," Agatha just smiled and shook her head, more and more flames escaped from her fingers, "It would be great if I could send the fire..."
"What did you say..."
The cultist in the mud pool spoke subconsciously, but before he could finish his words, another deafening roar suddenly came from the other end of the assembly hall. The earth-shattering movement instantly destroyed the last remaining force in the sacrificial ceremony— —
A gate deep in the assembly hall and a large wall next to the gate were completely blown away by high explosives!
"boom!!"
The earth and rocks disintegrated, cement flew into the air, and the fragments of the door and countless strange black substances mixed in swept into the assembly hall like fragments of cannonballs. The few cultists closest to the door were blown out on the spot, and there were even more remaining ones. The believers exclaimed——
"They broke through the gate!"
"Impossible! They haven't been able to break through for decades... How could a group of phantoms break their own cycle!?"
In the center of the mud pool, the blond cult leader turned his head in shock to look in the direction of the explosion, but before he could see clearly the figures rushing in from the opposite side of the Thorn Gate, a green fire rising into the sky appeared in his field of vision. The edges rose.
He turned his eyes and saw that the sacrifice that was supposed to be offered to the Holy Lord Netherworld was actually wrapped in flames and burning in a terrifying spiritual flame!
The moment the door deep in the assembly hall was blown open, Agatha finally broke free from the control of the sacrificial ceremony. In this very short period of time, she ignited the fire.
The fuel is herself.
The spiritual fire rises!
In the field of vision that was suddenly filled with faint green flames, Agatha saw that the wall opposite the "pool" had collapsed to create a large hole, and a group of people who looked like sailors, their bodies burning with the same green flames as themselves, rushed into the hall.
The flames in their bodies resonated strongly with the fire ignited in their own bodies.
Agatha smiled.
Knowledge entered her mind and she already understood.
In the fierce flames, she slowly opened her hands and raised them upward as if to welcome him.
"The fire is lit."
(End of chapter)
