"Friends who often perform sacrifices know,"
An Su earnestly replied, his choice of words remarkably professional,
"if you lack an infant's skeleton, you can substitute it with fresh piglet bones, the Mother Goddess can't tell the difference, and pigs' bones are cheaper, two copper coins per pound in the market."
What do friends who often perform sacrifices know...?
"Are you trying to deceive the great Mother Goddess with pig bones,"
Maka erupted in anger, "This is deceit! This is blasphemy and disgrace!"
Fooling the goddess with shoddy substitutes, even they, as Cultists, couldn't bring themselves to do something so vile, who would use pig bones that cost two pieces of money per pound for a sacrifice!
"Even lying requires a blush,"
An Su replied with vexation,
"What face do you have to still mingle with the Mixed Cult?"
...Maka just felt a lump of old phlegm stuck in his throat.
"I would also like to make a suggestion,"
An Su continued, "The placement of your spirit tower is incorrect, that 'Human-Faced Meat Chunk' should be in the southeast, this will also affect the efficiency of the sacrifice."
He pointed at that mass of meat growing wildly in the distance, its sinister flesh pulsating and swelling with veins, folds of meat forming one human face after another.
The Human-Faced Meat Chunk was already quite a strange and eerie entity, but Maka felt that the child before him was even more bizarre than the meat.
The child was at most fourteen or fifteen, yet he seemed nonchalant, calmly pointing at that grotesque and bizarre thing.
What made it even stranger was the boy's gaze, serious and focused, devoid of superfluous emotion,
He was a sacrifice about to be offered, yet he was discussing how to make the sacrifice more effective with his would-be executioner.
Are kids these days really at this level?
This child wasn't blessed by the Holy Light, a neophyte saint... how could he be more knowledgeable about the Esoteric Religion than Maka himself?
"Of course, it's not your fault, it's a common mistake that many novices make."
An Su was even comforting Maka.
Upon hearing An Su's words, a Believer decided to try it out and moved the Human-Faced Meat Chunk to the southeast.
He immediately felt the indescribable atmosphere around him deepen, a bone-chilling wind that terrified him, and he excitedly said to Maka,
"Boss, it really seems to work."
Maka felt that the career he'd dedicated his life to was being insulted at the highest level.
He prided himself as an artist of sacrifice, painstakingly devoted to his craft for over ten years; he worked hard to solidify the foundation of sacrifice, tackled the challenging problems of it, and sought to glorify the sacrificial practices of the Church of the Mother Goddess.
Maka often kidnapped other people's children, taking them to the borders for sacrifice, but this was the first time a bratty kid called his professional standards into question.
Ordinarily, he took the greatest pleasure in watching those children struggle in agony before their deaths; each time, it filled him with uncontrollable joy,
But today he happened to encounter An Su, such an oddity, neither crying nor making a fuss, speaking even more professionally than a Cultist!
"...What good does this do you?"
"I'm just being kind," An Su said, "after all, it's my altar."
The more professionally the altar was set up, the more benefits An Su reaped, so naturally, he had to point out any mistakes.
It was all his money, after all!
"You know, you know..."
Maka grabbed An Su by the collar, lifted him up to his face; his golden mask pressed tightly against An Su's face, and his bloodshot eyes peered crazily through the eyeholes,
"You know, kids like you, I abduct several each week, do you know what I enjoy doing the most? It's to later visit their parents, under the guise of offering my condolences, to savor the look of sorrow on their faces; it's truly a heavenly delight!"
"I promise, after I sacrifice you, I will also take great pleasure in listening to your dear daddy's wails."
He clutched An Su's throat hoarsely and said, his pupils unnaturally bulging, the corners of his mouth twitching unconsciously, sticking out his tongue, "I promise I'll climax in ecstasy."
"So you like to kidnap children, huh..."
An Su watched him expressionlessly, his blue-green eyes reflecting the other's face,
"Then you're truly lowlife scum with horrendous taste, cheaper than pig bones that go for two copper coins a pound."
But An Su never considered himself a good person, either.
"Sending you to reunite with your beloved Mother Goddess,"
An Su said, "It's a fitting end for you."
Maka slammed An Su to the ground and turned to loudly instruct those around him, "Time's up, prepare to start the ritual."
Boom.
Thunder flashed outside the window, igniting a spread of white light, casting the whole room in a snow-white frost.
When Maka turned back, he saw An Su's satisfied smile clearly highlighted by the lightning.
"The Mother Goddess of Desire and the Moon, the great Matron of Fertility, the Eternal Maternity above the spirit realm."
"This is a hymn for the sincerely devoted, a feast for spirit and soul, a delicacy of blood and flesh."
"Your devout follower, An Su Moningsta, presents this offering, dedicating seventeen heretical dissidents from atop the altar to You—"
"Inviting You to dine with me!"
This incantation was both familiar and strange.
It bore many similarities to the incantations they currently sang.
But it was of a higher priority.
The ritual was completed in an instant.
Maka opened his mouth to say something but found himself unable to utter a word.
It was as if his throat was blocked, with chunks of flesh grotesquely sprouting within, and to his horror, he realized masses of flesh were growing throughout his airways, bursting from his body like bamboo after a spring rain.
His entire body was devoured by flesh, the acute agony tormenting his already shattered nerves.
The same aberration occurred in the low-rank believers around him; their flesh started to grow wildly before bursting apart in clumps, spraying blood and flesh chunks all over the altar, covering everything in red.
As if it were infested with wriggling blood-colored caterpillars.
Only at this moment did unparalleled fear invade his mind.
Maka realized he was being sacrificed, being devoured by the Mother Goddess of Life, just like the countless children he had sacrificed before, plummeting into the eternal Abyss of flesh and blood.
Maka was experiencing the same agony they had endured.
"No... no."
Maka's face twisted beyond recognition, he could only stretch out his hand with all his might, his pupils fixed on An Su, revealing a plea for mercy.
But An Su paid him no heed.
He stood up, wiped the bloodstains from his cheek with a handkerchief, took a few steps forward, and inadvertently stepped on the mass of flesh that used to be Maka, causing An Su to frown.
[A low-rank believer has been sacrificed]
[A low-rank believer has been sacrificed]
...
[A mid-rank believer has been sacrificed]
[Due to the effect of the title 'Newborn' (formerly: Novice Life Blood Sacrificer), the sacrifice effect is increased by ten percent. As the Mother Goddess dislikes altars, this effect is negated]
[You may receive a low-rank blessing]