In an urban corner, a deserted church houses an ancient stone altar with many cracks scattered across the perimeter.
"Ooaa..."
Four little girls sit on the altar, their hands and feet bound, weeping as they cover their eyes with a black cloth.
Large amounts of flickering candles are placed around the alter, illuminating the black-clad figures with their flickering flames.
In unison, they slowly turn around in circles as each of their mouths opens, their blank expressions unchanged.
"Good, evil, love, hatred... All is meaningless" a voice speaks up.
"Everything shall be balanced."
Behind the sacrificial altar, Doll silently offers his prayers.
He prays not to an infamous sect devoted to an unknown god, but to the almighty deity known as "Ruiner."
Being referred to as the "Lord of Balance" by mankind, Doll is slender and slender just like a stick, yet his eyes sparkle with light.
Doll is the chosen priest of Ruiner and will personally guide tonight's ceremony to honor the glory of this Outer God.
"These daughters, despite their origins... Daughter of aristocrats, daughter of a university principal, daughter of an ordinary employee, or of a poor family, but are considered equal now. They symbolize thousands of sacrifices."
"All things, in the end, revolve around balance" Doll adds.
"This sacrifice is certain to have grand success, and we shall achieve one step closer to the Divine realm."
Priest Doll, his slender body shaking, was extremely excited.
The next time, he must implement the same conditions to sacrifice four boys... in the name of true balance.
The little girls' faces are awash with tears and their bodies tremble in fear.
The daughter of the youngest, dressed in luxurious aristocratic garments, has already defecated in her pants.
Taped and unable to shout, they simply await their eventual outcome on the altar.
"Let's start!"
Doll is almost on the brink of a hearty chuckle.
In this moment, the main doors of the church are unexpectedly pushed wide open.
Irrespective of the strong, soothing sunlight flooding the dreary space, a figures walk inside.
Confusion spreads through the face of the cultists.
At the entranceway of the church, a woman in a white mask appears, carrying a sizable blade, as if she just appeared from thin air.
This is Kaytlyn.
Hunter remains calm and expressionless as she beholds the chaotic sight before her. She understands the whole situation instantaneously.
[ Real combat mission · Kill the Cultist ]
Kaytlyn's fingers wrapped around her sword, and she pulled it out from its sheath.
"Count your sins carefully!" she yelled out, and Doll wanted to take out a demonic weapon from his chest.
Time suddenly froze, and everything was still and motionless. In Kaytlyn's eyes, everything was tinted a mysterious, dark blue.
One second, two seconds...
Everyone was in a state of immobility, and Kaytlyn even walked over to the altar behind her.
"Ba!"
A startling flash of black suddenly split the Sacrifice Doll and the weapon he held in half. In that moment, his shocked eyes witnessed the large amount of flesh and blood scattered in all directions.
"Ah, Lord Sacrifice!" screamed the Cultist group, caught off-guard by the horrific sight before them.
Those young girls eyes were blocked. they didnt see gruesome scene, but still understood what was going on and became extremely frightened.
Kaytlyn slowly withdrew the black greatsword, leaving an ominous feeling in the air.
In reality, Kaytlyn's mind was also filled with confusion and doubts. The power of the Dark Blue World was unimaginable. The Doll was also an unquestionable Beyonder, but he didn't even have a chance to react before his death.
"How come? Lord Doll died!" the Cultist group was stunned by the unbelievable sight before them and ran in every direction. Very quickly, Kaytlyn's body followed, swinging her great sword relentlessly around them. She did not hesitate to catch up with every Cultist. Blood and flesh sprayed over the sword as she hunted them down.
The fight was over in a flash.
More than ten Cultists were brutally killed by Kaytlyn's black greatsword, leaving no crumbs of evidence. The sight of the messy place made her feel disturbed and slightly nauseous. She understood that it was not possible to complete such a swift Hunt. She let her mouth hang open, and suddenly realized that she had taken the initiative to call out "Mission completed."
"Wait a minute" she wondered, "just now, I did take the initiative to call it out"
Kaytlyn suddenly found that she had regained control over her body.
"End?" she thought in confusion.
Looking at the four trembling little girls on the altar, she realized that they were still blindfolded, unable to comprehend the terrifying events that just took place. The screams and shrieks were too much for their young minds to process.
But they also heard a voice, speaking in a dull, emotionless voice, like that of a cold-hearted warrior from heaven. Even without any one controlling her, Kaytlyn knew what to do next. She took the initiative to untie the rope.
......
After taking a Cultist hostage without the need for a car, Kaytlyn drove with the little girl and the group to the nearby fast food restaurant.
"I will remove yall blindfolds now. Don't be afraid, don't scream, someone will come to take you home soon" Kaytlyn told the young girls.
She patiently waited until the little girls emerged from the disturbing blood and grime at the church before agreeing to escort them out blindfolded.
Once their blindfolds were removed, they stared at the masked woman, clad in a black coat and wielding a large sword.
"Go to the other side of the food store and wait" Kaytlyn ordered the group, opening the car door and leaving them behind. A dark shadow was left behind as she disappeared.
Looking back at her, the little girls seemed amazed. "That woman just saved us. She's very beautiful!" the chubby, round-faced young girl exclaimed.
"I think we should wait here for a bit" another little girl suggested.
This young aristocrat, adorned in gorgeous attire, was easily frightened. But now, she has become quite spirited in the midst of the dire circumstances.
On her own, she began comforting the three other people and spoke in a voice meant to bring them reassurance.
"Don't be afraid. Everyone, we are completely safe inside this fast food restaurant. My father is a nobleman, so the Bureau of Enforcement Night Watcher will be coming to get us soon."
The other three girls were stunned, realizing the nobility of their friend's origin. However, the young noble girl's confidence was soon revealed as a facade.
"Ah, so even nobleman's children piss their pants!" the chubby, round-faced girl screamed wildly.
————
Kaytlyn did not actually leave, but instead secretly hid on the neighboring roof, quietly observing the actions of the little girl group.
She would not leave till the Night Watcher arrived.
She herself had slain more than ten Balance Cultist members, including an important Priest-level cadre, which had been causing much trouble.
Originally, her only adversary was Black Star.
Now, she had a new enemy.
Black Star was a clandestine wicked union within the Aether, worshiping a fearsome Outer Deity, Chaos Stars. It was present in numerous independent cities, had a long history, and penetrated into every level.
Kaytlyn's hands gripped tightly, her emotions building up inside.
If it hadn't been for Black Star, her family would not be in this poor position now.
The Tower of Babel was undoubtedly able to stand up against the opposing force, even with its overwhelming strength. It could provide her with supernatural abilities, which was a trade-off for the organization and made it many enemies.
Kaytlyn was now an adult who had worked hard but no returns.
At least, what she was currently being forced to do was something positive.
Suddenly, she couldn't help but wonder...
If one day in the future, she were forced to do extremely unwilling things?
————
Aoi calmly held his cell phone in the classroom and briefly checked Weekly Quest.
Game prompt: A copy of Self-discipline mode has opened.
"Like this, I can activate Self-discipline without using my hand to wield 'Nightblade' every time" he thought.
For a mobile game, being able to self-discipline is crucial. As the number of operators increases in the future, Aoi felt he wouldn't be able to manage each operator's task daily. In that sense, Self-discipline was truly civilized!
As missions proceeded, he could let "Nightblade" operate herself.
After completing this mission, the Cultist Sacrifice dropped an ordinary R Card.
"Silver Pistol (R)" Aoi thought, "lame." In his mind, this kind of thing was normal, but getting SSR cards constantly was too lucky. On top of that, he also got 30 Reputation points, which could be exchanged for 30 Source Force points. That was sufficient to roll gacha once.
Aoi wasn't in a rush and had saved up to x10, then used gacha. If he hadn't saved, he would definitely not roll gacha solely out of personal passion.
Despite the requirement for Source Force points in various basic constructions, Aoi often struggles to gather them.
Finding a balance in building constructing and before using gacha is an educational dilemma.
Even though he failed many times, and had already passed through the"Tower of Babel", Aoi's grasp of the internal paths was very good.
What should he do now?
Aoi had originally planned for "Nightblade" to go to the hot spring, but discovered her Mood and Loyalty had both increased by 1 point. "In the event of an innocent rescue mission, there will be a chance of Operator loyalty and mood boosting." Consequently, he decided not to give her a hot spring bath for the time being.
Being able to save 10 SF points is still beneficial.
"For the next few days, I'll focus on completing Daily and Weekly tasks" Aoi thought to himself.
He reminded himself: "You have to try harder, Nightblade. If you become too lazy, you'll end up in the warehouse breathing in dust."