"You…you're kidding, right?!" Bradley blurted out nervously. I could see the fear on his face and the beads of perspiration that formed on his brow and neck. He backed away instinctively, eying the other party members warily. "You want to sacrifice another one of us for your stupid ritual? Even though it already failed?"
I understood his anxiety. Bradley knew how unpopular he was in the party. In some ways he was even hated more than I was, what with his lecherous behavior and inability to keep his lust under check. The girls in particular kept their distance from him. If they were to repeat the ritual, then he surely would be the first candidate they would sacrifice this time.
However, Miranda shook her head with a snort.
"Don't worry, you won't make a good sacrifice anyway. Haven't you been listening? The best sacrifice is someone with a pure and clean heart. Someone who is good, kind and helpful. Scum like you wouldn't be able to generate the kind of darkness you need…especially since you wouldn't feel as much betrayal and pain if we were to sacrifice you. Fear, yeah, maybe rage and hatred, but the pain and despair you feel wouldn't be even a fraction of what Klein experienced."
Bradley looked relieved at that, but he suddenly glared at her.
"Hey!" he barked. "What do you mean by scum?!"
"Aren't you scum?" Irene asked, feigning innocence. "Do you really think we wouldn't know what you do with all those girls in every village, town and city we visit? And did you really think we wouldn't notice the way you look at us girls?"
Bradley turned away, mumbling darkly under his breath, but he didn't deny it.
"Also, sacrificing yet another party member would reduce the combat effectiveness of our group." Herman frowned. "Even if we were to recruit other members to replace the losses, it would take some time for them to gel with our party and get them up to speed."
"It's not like there's any party member here who is appropriate for the sacrifice," Miranda muttered. Everyone shot her a glare, but nobody said anything.
"We've been relying way too much on Klein before," Alan remarked softly. "Our combat effectiveness will inevitably drop."
"Well…if we can strengthen Herman, then he will make up for it!" Irene insisted stubbornly. She turned to Miranda. "So how do we conduct the ritual this time?"
"More importantly, who are we going to use in place of the sacrifices?" Yvonne asked, leaning against the pulpit lazily.
Miranda revealed a Machiavellian smile before gesturing to the altar all around her.
"Did you not wonder why I suggested we visit this church?"
Everyone exchanged confused glances, but no one had an answer. All save Alan, but if he had some idea, he chose to remain silent.
"Because it's a safe place?" Bradley ventured.
"Well, it is…in a sense. But like I said, we need pure and innocent people as sacrifices to make the best use of the ritual, to produce the optimal degree of darkness." Miranda's smile widened. "And who is purer and more innocent than the devoted followers of the church?"
"You plan to sacrifice priests and priestesses?" Irene asked, horrified. Not at the atrocity, it seemed, but at the implication that she might be sacrificed along with them – judging from how she was hiding behind Herman and narrowing her eyes suspiciously at Miranda, anyway.
"No, just the masses who attend church. If we sacrifice a bunch of priests, the church might latch onto what we are doing. They'll launch an investigation. Priests and healers are a precious resource, after all. They won't let us get away with it. However, if it's just the normal worshippers who attend mass every weekend, then…why would the church care? It's a time of war. It's natural for large numbers of people to disappear or die at any time. They won't investigate too deeply for mobs and cannon fodder."
"Ho…" Yvonne was grinning. "I like the way you think, girl."
Alan nodded. "That is indeed the most effective way to cover this up."
"I'm glad you think so." Miranda beamed. She turned to Irene. "I have arranged with the priest for this church. You'll take over the prayer meeting tomorrow. I'm sure we'll have a record turnout for mass – everyone in this village will surely wish to meet a priestess from one of the Hero parties."
"…understood." Irene looked uneasy, but she nodded. There was no turning back now. "Are you going to sacrifice all of the worshippers?"
"That's right," Miranda confirmed. "This time, we'll go for quantity over quality. The more people fall into despair and suffer rage, pain and hatred, the greater the darkness."
For a moment, it seemed like a shadow had been cast upon her, with only her eyes and mouth showing – like demonic slits.
"Think about it…the moment they learn that their precious Hero and his comrades, who they believe have been fighting for their sakes and protecting them all this time, betray them and sacrifice their lives. The amount of negative emotions produced…it would be fantastic."
None of the other party members objected to it. Herman and Irene looked uncomfortable, but they held their hands and steeled their resolve, nodding their agreement. Yvonne looked delighted while Bradley was extremely relieved that he hadn't been chosen as the sacrifice. Alan remained impassive as ever, his face hard to read because it was hidden underneath a mask.
"We are in agreement then." Miranda was laughing like the mad mage she was. "There's no turning back, no backing out now. We're all in this together. Let's do this!"
"Yes!"
"Yeah."
"All right."
"Okay."
"Understood."
Wow…what bastards. They didn't even bat an eyelid or balk at sacrificing so many commoners. Maybe Herman and Irene did, but what use was their hesitation and conflict when they went along with this farce in the end? Actions were louder than words or thoughts.
I watched, powerless to stop them. Glancing up, I couldn't see the Dragon God, but I knew he was somewhere listening.
"Why are you showing all this to me?"
"Because you have to make a choice."
"What choice?"
"You will see."
Gee, that was helpful. I shook my head and forced myself to calm down. Already, the sun was rising, the Dragon God having fast-forwarded time to get to the main point. I watched in accelerated motion the villagers attending mass, droves of worshippers and devotees flocking to the church just to catch a glimpse of Irene, the beautiful and fair priestess of Herman's party.
Miranda was correct, it seemed. There were so many followers that they all barely fitted in the church. Within the hour, all of them had gathered, squeezing on the pulpits. There were so many that many were forced to stand, crowding against each other and craning their necks to look at the altar.
Irene stood there, her head bowed and her long, blond hair flowing down her cassock. She clasped her hands in prayer, leading the session. Once she was done, she raised her head and smiled brightly, causing the church attendees to swoon.
"In these days of darkness, while the demons plague our borders and threaten to invade our lands, we are in need of strength." she cast her sapphire gaze across the great hall. "As ashamed as I am to admit it, even the Heroes are hard-pressed to throw the darkness back. You might have heard of our crushing defeat a few days ago, when we attempted to conquer the Demonic Emperor's castle."
There was a fearful silence as the worshippers exchanged anxious glances.
"But rest assured, the Heroes will not give up! We will not rest until we defeat the demons. We will do our best to protect you."
"OH!" The church worshippers roared in approval, throwing their hands into the air. Women bowed their heads and clasped their hands in prayer, children cheered and men stamped their feet.
"But we cannot do this alone. Therefore, as embarrassed as I am to do so, I would like to ask for your assistance."
Irene spread her hands humbly.
"You have it!" one of the men shouted. At his voice, everyone broke into cheers of encouragement.
"That's right! If there's anything we can do to help, tell us!"
"We will do whatever we can!"
"Anything for you, our dear priestess!"
"Is that so? Thank you very much, everyone!" Irene smiled even as she shed tears. The bitch was such a skilled actress. She placed a hand on her chest. "I'm really moved by your selflessness."
"Don't worry about it!"
"Yeah! We will do our best! We will do our part!"
"We'll do anything!"
"What do you need us to do, honored priestess?"
For a moment, Irene's brilliant smile hardened and turned extremely cold. The temperature in the church hall plummeted. Raising her hands, Irene proclaimed coolly.
"I need all of you to die for the Hero."
For a moment, there was a long silence. The church attendees stared at Irene in disbelief.
"W…what?" one of them finally spoke up. "Honored Priestess, you are joking, right?"
"Did we hear her right?"
"No way. That's impossible. She couldn't possibly have told us to die, right?"
"This has to be a joke, right?"
There was a loud bang at the back of the church. One of the devotees was trying to push the doors open, only to find them locked. Try as he might, they wouldn't budge, so he resorted to kicking it. Even so, they stubbornly remained jammed.
"We…we are lock in," he gasped, pale.
There was a panic and many of the attendees rushed toward the exit, hammering at the door and yelling desperately.
"What's the matter?" Irene asked, tilting her head, that sickening innocent smile still on her beautiful face. "Didn't you say you will do anything?"
"Y…you can't just ask us to…die!" one of them protested hotly.
"That's too much!"
"Let us out!" a woman wailed. "Please…we will do anything, but please don't take our lives!"
"You're supposed to be the Heroes!" another church attendee shouted. "You're supposed to protect us!"
"Oh? So you want us to risk our lives to protect you commoners and mobs, while you remain hiding safely in your villages? Isn't that unfair?" Yvonne couldn't resist emerging from behind the altar, her voice filled with scorn.
"T…that's…"
"It's only right that you contribute to the defense of the kingdom too, right?" the huntress sneered. "How is it fair that we are the only ones exposed to danger?"
Nobody bothered to argue with her. They continued hammering on the door, trying to get out. Sighing, Miranda stepped out of the shadows and shook her head.
"It's useless. I've sealed you all in the church. None of you will be getting out."
"Please! Mercy! Please show us mercy!"
"Spare us! Spare our lives!"
"We'll do anything you ask! Just don't kill us!���
"More," Miranda moaned, savoring the tension in the atmosphere. "We need more despair! More fear! This is excellent!"
She then grinned and snapped her fingers. Chains of pitch blackness descended from the rafters and fell upon the screaming church attendees, entangling them. They struggled and thrashed about, but to no avail.
"The rage! The hatred! The shock and fear! Despair! Pain! More!" Miranda was shouting gleefully now, raising her hands to the ceiling. "Excellent!"
"No!"
"Please…please!"
"UGH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAH!"
The writhing church attendees screamed and thrashed about in agony even as the vitality was sucked right out of them. Within seconds, the majority were reduced to desiccated corpses, their withered skin stretched tight over their bones. Their hair fell out, their arms and legs shriveling and losing mass. Even as they suffered, Miranda continued to cackle.
"My, my…" Yvonne chuckled, looking amused. "Looks like the ritual's working this time."
Only Irene looked away, looking disturbed. She shut her eyes and whispered several prayers. Probably seeking forgiveness from the gods…but whatever guilt she seemed to possess rang hollow especially since she actively participated in this massacre.
In less than five minutes, every single church devotee was dead, their vitality sucked dry by the ritual, their life force flowing through the chains of darkness that were coiled around their bodies. Miranda watched the flow of energy, mesmerized, then she turned to another figure in the darkness.
Herman.
"This is all up to you now, Hero," she said in a light tone before pointing at him. A beacon of holy light tore through the ceiling of the church and engulfed the stationary Herman, imbuing him with power. He watched, fascinated, as the holy magic seeped into his body.
"Amazing…this power…" he clenched his fists. "This feeling…this avalanche of holy magic…I feel more robust than before!"
Without thinking, he swung a hand and accidentally demolished the wall behind him. A whole section of the church collapsed.
"Whoops. It was just a casual flick and already I did so much damage…"
"You're so strong now, Herman!" Irene gasped like a fangirl, her eyes wide in wonder.
"That's only natural," Miranda declared proudly. "Now this is what the ritual should have done. Congratulations, Herman."
"I'll make sure that their sacrifices will not be in vain," Herman vowed, staring at the desiccated corpses strewn all over the remains of the ruined church, still bound by the chains of darkness.
Fuck you. You should never have sacrificed them to begin with. I suddenly realized why they sacrificed me. I would never have agreed to this atrocity and would have fought tooth and nail to stop them, even if I had to betray the Hero party.
"What do we do with the bodies?" Alan asked, still hidden in the shadows. Nobody bothered to look for him because they knew they wouldn't find him. "How do we dispose of them?"
"Simple." Herman held up a fist, gathering holy magic into his hand. He swung it and unleashed a colossal tide of golden mana that swallowed the entire church, disintegrating the structure and everything within it. The pulpits, the corpses, the altar…everything was gone.
"If anyone asks, we'll just say the demons did it." Miranda nodded in approval. "The plan is foolproof."
"Man, that is some amazing power-up, though!" Bradley slapped Herman in the back. "With this, you should now be able to defeat the Demonic Emperor!"
Herman looked up at him, and then turned to look at everyone, touched.
"I couldn't have gotten this far without any of you," he said. He grinned and flexed his hands. "Now, it's time for the final battle. We'll finish this once and for all."
Nodding in unison, the party members moved out.
While watching them, I sensed the presence of the Dragon God hovering behind me. Turning around, I caught sight of cold, baleful eyes drilling into my relatively tiny and insignificant figure.
"Now," the Dragon God boomed. "You will have to make your choice."