At the same day and same time, deep in a secluded mountain, a ritual was being held in the depths of a hidden cave.
“Good. Isabel-chan put up a barrier at the entrance, so no one should find us. It feels like we’re doing something naughty; it gets my heart going! Like boom boom!”
The voice’s owner squealed cutely with a wide smile. Her name was Maria Illegal, a powerful vampire from another dimension and another world. She was to be Ange’s opponent during the objection part of her ceremony.
“Indeed. We are in a secluded environment, shrouded by Isabel’s soundproof barrier. No matter what noise we make, no one will hear. As a normal person, it feels like we’ve just made a secret base, and I’m secretly excited.” The deeply dignified voice ended with a rumbling chuckle—it was owned by a rather satisfied-sounding Addams. He was the Wicked God, the only one feared by the chief god and the assigned opponent for Efil’s ceremony.
“Yes, this is quite the lovely location. And allow me to thank you again. This is just a bit of selfishness on my part, and you still did all this for me... It is unusual for me to feel so excited about anything other than Melfina-sama, but I am!” The owner of this third voice did in fact sound very excited despite the fact that her hands and feet were bound so she couldn’t move at all. Her name was Luquille, a crazed fanatic of Mel’s whose faith had been twisted terribly. She was also Mel’s assigned opponent for the wedding ceremony.
“Um, are we really going to do this? I know I love gambling and my Authority reflects that, but I really do think this is one risk we shouldn’t take. Honestly, I’m creeped out, and I’m a true-blue gambler. Which...actually means this is a really good bet!” This voice came from a little ways away, its owner hiding behind a rock. This gambling addict’s name was Patrick Pluto, god of destiny and gambling. He was not participating in the objection system. However...he was necessary for this ritual—a very important member, in fact.
This was a group of four consisting of a self-proclaimed normal person, a self-proclaimed idol vampire, the self-proclaimed greatest supporter of Melfina, and a generally accepted gambler. These four were completely different from each other, but they’d gathered in this remote place, as said before, to conduct a ritual. A ritual to strengthen Luquille.
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“Hey, are you sure about this, Luquille-chan?” Maria asked. “In the worst case, you could die in this dim little cave. A very, very painful and violent death, at that. It would be pretty dramatic, in a sense, but...I don’t want to see a cute girl like you meet such a grisly end.”
“Hee hee hee! Saying things you don’t mean with a full-faced smile like that won’t work. Indeed, it doesn’t resonate in my heart at all,” said Luquille. “More important than any fear of death is my need to be more powerful for the short duration of the wedding. Now, no need to hold back—no matter how much I scream, do not stop. Go through with this to the very end!”
It was probably impossible to break Luquille’s joyous smile, no matter what anyone said. Maria and the others seemed to realize that, as they stopped asking for confirmation.
“Then before we get started, let’s review the steps,” Maria said. “This is a ritual to strengthen Luquille-chan, and the first step is—you guessed it, a transfusion of Maria-chan’s blood!”
With that, Maria whipped her tail about, cutting off one of her own arms. Of course, a large amount of blood gushed out of the severed stump, but other than a startled Patrick, no one present paid the violent act any mind.
“My Unique Skill, Sage’s Blood, resides within my actual blood,” Maria explained. “Multiple generations of first-rate mages would find it impossible to use up even a drop of this blood; that is how much magic power is packed inside it. Of course, it has many other effects too. If you can use it well, it’s possible to re-create immortality or even bend laws and providence to your whims to make the impossible possible. Essentially, it’s a really amazing thing that you can use any number of ways!”
Maria finished that by muttering cheekily to herself that handling it wrong could end in a fate worse than death.
“From what I, as a normal person, can see, Maria’s blood can totally destroy this world’s power balance if it were to be used for something even as simple as a medium for magic or experimentation. If you were to take this into your body, you could expect a definite increase in your strength,” said Addams. “However, there are heavy disadvantages too. If you cannot adapt to Maria’s blood—”
“It could lead to a gruesome death, as I was just told, no?” Luquille interrupted him. “Heh... Hee hee hee! Once again, how wonderful! So, I can get closer to Melfina-sama’s level only by risking a downside of that scale?!”
Finally, Luquille’s emotions were heightened enough for her to start crying. Though this ritual had once been done deep within Trycen’s castle by Tristan as a way to torture Clive, Luquille—the former general of the Magic Knight Order—was currently in a place where she would happily accept it. That showed just how fired up her dark faith was, to place her twisted trust in such a thing.
“That alone is already a huge gamble, but you’re pushing your luck even more, aren’t you?” said Patrick. “The second step is for me to use my Authority to maximize the effect of this whole thing! Don’t you think that’s ridiculous? It’s true that the chances of succeeding aren’t zero, but who would rely on my Authority a second time after managing to make out like a bandit the first time around? Don’t you think that you’re more worthy of being the god of gambling than me at that point? Honestly, this entire enterprise is insane.”
“How strange of you to say, Patrick,” said Luquille. “The power to make my dreams into reality is right there, as long as I go through the barrier of random chance. If I don’t use it now, when will I ever?”
“Oh come on, you nearly died the first time,” said Patrick. “I’ll support you as a fellow gambler, but that doesn’t stop me from being worried for a friend.”
“Leave it there, Patrick. She will not change who she is no matter what you say. You know that better than anyone,” said Addams.
“Yeah, well...yeah...” Patrick reluctantly agreed. His answer was awkward, though, probably because he was talking to his former boss whom he had betrayed.
“Heh! No need to be so worried,” said Addams. “The first step is Maria’s blood. The second is Patrick’s Authority. And no matter the results, I—as a normal fellow—will use my power to lead it all in a good direction. That is my purpose for being here.”
“Huh? I heard about this before. You’re talking about your Authority, right, Addams?” Maria asked. “If I remember right, it’s called Education or something like that? It’s the power of a wicked god, so it’s gotta be amazing, right? Is it amazing? I’m so curious!”
“Oh no, my Authority isn’t much,” said Addams. “It only allows me to help those I recognize as below me make their talents bloom to the fullest in the correct direction. The powers I helped raise among the Ten Authorities were called Authorities, and while the others may have thought they were given by my normal self, they were nothing more than abilities they had always held within, brought to their rightful state. This time, I will be guiding Luquille’s strength to its best state.”
“Wait, then doesn’t that completely eliminate the chance that I’ll die?” Luquille asked. “People grow only because they take risks with real and terrible consequences.”
“You really are better suited to be the god of gambling, Luquille...” Patrick muttered.
At any rate, Luquille’s strengthening ritual was now underway.