The sacrifice had to be a demigod, with the blood of a powerful god, if possible.
Divine water was harder to get than a living sacrifice.
It was a nationally guarded secret and only the strongest demigods had access to it.
Getting it was impossible for normal demigods unless they read the novel like Neo.
He checked the map on the Akashic Record(Internet).
"Dammit, why is the Okahama Beach so far?"
Neo took a bullet train.
It took him eight hours to reach the city where the Okahama Beach was located.
After getting off at the station, he visited the beach and bought scuba diving gear from a rental shop.
Before diving, he took a short break.
"I feel like shit."
He was tired.
His body was too weak.
Just travelling was enough to make him feel like he ran a 100Km marathon.
He wished he could get someone else to bring him the Divine Water.
But the place where he was going to get it was a secret that, if leaked, could start war between nations.
Divine Water was too precious.
Everyone wanted to get as much of it as possible.
"Okay, I'm ready."
Neo took the boat to the location he remembered.
He wore the oxygen mask and dove into the water.
The sea was neither cold nor hot.
He could see schools of fish.
Some fishes were bright in colors, some had stripes, while some were large and moved alone.
Since he was near the beach, he reached the seabed fairly quickly.
He began his search for the sea cave.
By the time he found the entrance to the sea cave, he felt he was about to die from exhaustion.
After making sure the entrance was not marked, he entered the narrow space in between the coral reefs.
It was tight.
If he had been a bit less thin, he would've not been able to enter it.
Neo arrived inside a water cave.
There was air inside the cave. He removed the respirator and inhaled.
The cave was dimly lit, thanks to the glowing fungi. It had a small pond in the center.
"Looks like the mermaids haven't found this place yet."
He knew it when he saw the cave's entrance unguarded, but seeing the empty cave confirmed his suspicions.
In the novel, this cave would've been found by the mermaid kingdom and become a part of their property.
He did not know when it was supposed to happen.
This place came into play when a villain, gravely injured by the protagonist, came across it by luck and killed the guard mermaids to use the Divine Water to heal and strengthen himself.
The villain wreaked havoc on the mermaids' country and was later defeated by the protagonist.
Due to the incident, the protagonist was able to grow closer to the princess of country of mermaids.
"Now all of this Divine Water is mine."
Neo did not feel guilty for stealing the Divine Water.
No Divine Water = No way for the villain to save himself = The mermaid kingdom is not destroyed
He was solving the problem at its source by taking the Divine Water.
Moved by his own heroic spirit, he poured the Braham liquor into the pond and threw the herbs into it as well.
The herbs quickly melted, and a sweet aroma, containing the liquor's traces, wafted in the cave.
He removed his clothes and stepped into the alcohol-flavored pond.
The only thing left was a sacrifice.
Well, the sacrifice was….
Neo.
The plan was simple.
Neo would sacrifice himself to revive himself.
It was a loophole in the ritual.
But Neo believed he, the son of Hades, the God who ruled over Death, should have at least this much leeway.
The Grim Reapers would not nitpick. Probably.
"If it doesn't succeed, I'm dead."
He took deep breath to calm himself.
Truth be told, he was not using himself as a sacrifice because he did not have a demigod to sacrifice.
There was no shortage of bastards who deserved death.
However, to increase the chances of resurrection ritual's success, the sacrifice had to as close as possible, physically, emotionally and spiritually, to the soul targeted to be revived.
Who was the person who was similar to him in appearance, had similar values, and lived a similar life?
Neo himself was that person.
Hence, sacrificing himself was the best choice.
After submerging himself in the pond, Neo had completed all steps.
Now, he had to kill himself, negotiate with the Grim Reaper, and return.
"Here goes nothing."
He closed his eyes and activated his Unique Skill.
Death.
It was cold.
Neo felt he suddenly appeared in a winter region.
At the same time, his innards were burning.
The waves pulled him along.
He opened his eyes when he felt something touch his back and found himself on a beach.
The sky was pitch-black with three gigantic red eyes looking down from high above.
The sand was black, sticky, and rancid.
The air was hard. Every time he took a breath, it felt like he was pushing solid stones through his lungs.
This place was the Underworld.
The place where the souls came after death.
There was no heaven or hell, just endless pain in this hellish place after one's lifetime came to an end.
Neo looked at himself.
For some reason, he had a body.
While he was wondering why he had a body a grating voice screeched against his eardrums.
"You are here, O Child of Monarch."
A figure cloaked in darkness rowed towards him.
Its body was hidden in the cloak's darkness; only the two spheres of blue flames were visible, which Neo thought of as its eyes.
"Come with us, O Child of Monarch. We will help you cross the River."
The figure raised its hand to bring Neo over when it suddenly stopped.
"This smell…. O Child of Monarch, why do you carry the scent of sacrifice?"
Its voice turned chaotic, like the screeching of a banshee.