As the portal began to open, an ominous, clawed hand emerged, gripping its edges. Moments later, a massive demon stepped through. Its towering form was both terrifying and majestic, adorned with large horns curling backward, leathery wings spread wide, and four slithering tails lashing about. Three smaller demons followed, their glowing red eyes scanning the room with malicious intent.
Liam's grip tightened around the staff core as he frowned. "What's the purpose of this? And why are there three more demons here?"
"Relax," Ray said in a calm tone. "Wait and see."
Before Liam could question further, the main demon roared and lunged at him with razor-sharp claws. However, its attack was abruptly stopped by the floating symbols forming a glowing barrier around Liam. The impact sent ripples through the magical shield, but it held firm.
"So, that's why you made me prepare all that," Liam muttered, understanding the barrier's origin.
"Exactly," Ray replied.
Liam glanced at the enormous demon, then back at Ray's gem. "Now what? What am I supposed to do against that?"
"Point the red gem at it and say 'Ja helm.'"
The demon sneered, its voice a guttural growl. "I am Haryok, one of the strongest demons of the Demonrealm. How dare you summon me without—"
"Ja helm," Liam interrupted, pointing the gem at the demon. A bright white ray shot out, piercing through Haryok's chest and leaving a smoldering hole where its heart should have been.
Liam smirked. "I'm Liam. And I don't care who you are."
The smaller demons froze, their red eyes wide in astonishment. But their shock quickly turned to rage, and they charged at Liam, their claws and fangs aimed to tear him apart.
The floating symbols flared up once more, blocking their attacks effortlessly. Liam stepped back, glancing at Ray. "What now?"
"Say 'Requiem of Passion,'" Ray instructed.
Liam hesitated but obeyed. The moment the words left his lips, the smaller demons began to convulse violently, their bodies writhing in agony. But Liam staggered as a wave of weakness washed over him.
"What's happening to me?" he demanded, struggling to stay upright.
"Overuse of mana," Ray explained. "Ja helm is a high-cost attack that uses 50% of your total mana. Requiem of Passion is a powerful restraining spell, and its cost scales with the number and strength of the targets."
Liam grimaced. "Great. Now I'm too weak to do anything. What about the ritual?"
"The final ritual doesn't require mana," Ray reassured him. "It needs a sacrifice. If the sacrifice is sufficient, it won't take any more from you."
Liam straightened up slightly, despite his exhaustion. "We're doing the ritual now?" Liam says activating Avarice to absorb the demon.
"Yes. Start by writing on the walls with the blood," Ray instructed.
Liam dipped his fingers into the bucket of blood and began scrawling the strange symbols Ray recited. Though he didn't understand them, he followed the instructions meticulously. The symbols glowed faintly as he worked, illuminating the dim room.
"Now for the ground," Ray continued. "Take the staff cores from the bear, treant, and demon."
Liam reached into Avarice, pulling out the massive bear's corpse first. It thudded heavily onto the ground, nearly filling the room. He worked quickly, extracting the bear's staff core—a smooth, oval-shaped gem. Next came the treant, its sharp, irregular core requiring extra effort to remove. Finally, he pulled the demon's body from Avarice, retrieving its large, purple gem with a grimace.
"Done," Liam said, his hands slick with blood.
"Now crush them into powder," Ray ordered.
The bear's and demon's cores were easy to crush, but the treant's jagged edges forced Liam to use his Divine Shield. Eventually, all three cores were reduced to fine powder.
"Sprinkle the powder in a circle on the ground and draw these shapes." Ray guided him through creating an intricate ritual circle filled with arcane symbols.
Liam completed the pattern and stood in the center. "Now what?"
"Recite the words written on the walls," Ray said.
Liam took a deep breath and began to chant. The strange words twisted awkwardly in his mouth, but he pressed on. As he finished, the room fell eerily silent.
The powder on the ground began to stir, lifting into the air and swirling around him. It glowed bright red, flowing into the circle and then into Liam's body. A sharp, burning sensation spread through him, and his vision darkened.
"Ray… what's happening? What about the tournam—" Liam's words were cut off as he collapsed to the ground.
Ray sighed. "Don't worry, I'll handle it."
He looked down at Liam's unconscious form and muttered to himself. "When I evolved, I took more from him than he realizes. Not because I wanted to, but because I needed it."
A humanoid figure began to take shape in the room—a faceless being born from Ray's power. He examined his reflection in a nearby mirror, sighing again.
"This is the price. Systems aren't supposed to have bodies, but Sin Skills break the rules. Pride, activate."
The faceless figure solidified. Though featureless to himself, Ray knew that others would see a face they trusted or loved, a side effect of his Sin of Lust.
He turned back to the room, uttering strange incantations. The smaller demons vanished one by one. With a wave of his hand, he activated Avarice, consuming the corpses of the bear, treant, and demon.
As the room returned to its pristine state, a booming voice echoed from outside.
"BREAK TIME IS OVER!"
Ray groaned, his faceless head tilting back. "Of course. Perfect timing…"