Camilla was the only one who continued to walk beside him with a worried face.
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“My goodness...”
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Camilla covered her mouth with her hand.
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Her widened eyes expressed her shock. Vera’s reaction was no different.
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‘...This place is already close to the real world.’
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No more stone buildings were in sight.
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All that came into view were walls and floors partially buried in flesh.
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Protruding from those spots were human corpses.
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They were the elderly people.
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The sight raised a question in Vera’s mind.
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‘Where are the children?’
✦ ✦ ✦
Thinking about Camilla’s sister and the child in the prison, there should certainly be a separate place where children were used. However, he hadn’t found any related clues so far.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera reviewed the knowledge he already had.
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Fortunately, he remembered what the chatty Miller had taught him about sacrifices.
✦ ✦ ✦
That annoying chatter was finally useful.
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— What’s important in sacrifices is symbolism. What meaning the offering holds! That’s the focus. For example, see this bone necklace I’m wearing? It overlaps the symbol of a ’bird’ with that of ’death’, forming it into a necklace and imbuing it with the quality of ’shackles.’ Shackles from which not even death can free you, or wings that can’t fly.
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— Hmm, I don’t really understand.
✦ ✦ ✦
— It’s understandable if you are the Saint. Symbolism is often tied to visible characteristics... To put it simply, by using this necklace in a ritual, I can control beings from another world. I bind their free will and keep them under my control.
✦ ✦ ✦
Useless stories were attached to the explanation.
✦ ✦ ✦
The main point of it was one thing.
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‘Symbolism.’
✦ ✦ ✦
The important thing in a sacrifice was symbolism.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera approached the problem from that angle, thinking about the qualities of a child.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘Innocence, potential, ignorance...’
✦ ✦ ✦
Going through each word, Vera’s expression grew serious.
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‘...Purity.’
✦ ✦ ✦
He also remembered something Miller had told him.
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— Purity is one of the most unusual symbols. The concept of purity itself acts as a ’vessel.’ It is often used to summon something or for possession.
✦ ✦ ✦
— Hmm, this is also difficult…
✦ ✦ ✦
— Actually, you don’t need to know this. After all, it’s almost impossible to use the symbol of purity.
✦ ✦ ✦
— Why?
✦ ✦ ✦
— The most representative sacrifice that embodies purity is a young life. There are also many ethically questionable options. Thus, those who use purity as a sacrifice are often special sorcerers. Due to its history, we have to go through more than five evaluations to tackle the symbol of purity.
✦ ✦ ✦
He immediately had a hunch.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘Summoning.’
✦ ✦ ✦
If Alaysia’s ultimate goal was the manifestation of the Tenth, and if all of this was the groundwork for that…
✦ ✦ ✦
If that was also the reason why the children were yet to be seen.
✦ ✦ ✦
Then, one thing did not make sense.
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‘The destruction of the Age of Gods was clearly caused by the Demon King.’
✦ ✦ ✦
Moreover, the period this castle seemed to represent was the end of the Age of Gods.
✦ ✦ ✦
Given that, what should be here was the body of Ardain, but the traces they had seen now suggested that the one who destroyed the Age of Gods was the Tenth.
✦ ✦ ✦
This point was suspicious.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera let out a long breath.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘...I’ll find out when I get there.’
✦ ✦ ✦
There were no longer apostates in the hallway.
✦ ✦ ✦
Tensing his body, Vera spread out his senses and said.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Let’s go inside.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yes...!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Vera began to walk through the corridor that no longer even echoed footsteps, but only emitted the squelching sound of flesh.
✦ ✦ ✦
While Vera was just passing by the prison, Miller spoke with a serious face.
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“His arm...”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yes, it’s decaying.”
✦ ✦ ✦
In front of their eyes, one of the arms that had been tormenting them was melting away.
✦ ✦ ✦
So far, they had discovered about ten.
✦ ✦ ✦
Trevor asked Miller.
✦ ✦ ✦
“What do you think of this situation?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing. There’s no drop in deathly aura.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Miller stared at the spot where the arm had decayed, and finally spoke.
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“Perhaps the others have found some way...”
✦ ✦ ✦
“His Holiness? Or maybe Sir Vera?”
✦ ✦ ✦
At Trevor’s question, Miller shrugged.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Well, what’s certain is that things have started to move, so we should start moving too.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Right! Are you ready?”
✦ ✦ ✦
From inside the doll, Trevor asked.
✦ ✦ ✦
Miller nodded and loosened up.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yes, I think this much preparation is enough.”
✦ ✦ ✦
It was complete chaos around Miller.
✦ ✦ ✦
There was a stake jammed into the floor, and strange markings were drawn on his skin.
✦ ✦ ✦
He had a bone necklace around his wrist, and accessories were floating around him.
✦ ✦ ✦
Miller looked forward with a tense face and smiled faintly.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I didn’t expect to see that here...”
✦ ✦ ✦
Far away, at the end of the corridor, was a room much larger than any they had passed through.
✦ ✦ ✦
At the center of it was the figure of a woman drenched in blood.
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“...It’s the Mother Spirit, the Spirit Queen.”
✦ ✦ ✦
At Trevor’s words, Miller tensed up.
✦ ✦ ✦
“The rest of the spirits will quiet down if we seal that, right?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yes. If the Spirit Queen being bound was the cause, then it makes sense that the other spirits went wild.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Good, good. Let’s go.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Miller’s hand pointed forward, muttering in a language that didn’t seem to be from this world.
✦ ✦ ✦
Trevor unleashed his own divinity to assist Miller, and blue divinity overlapped above the purple smoke.
✦ ✦ ✦
It began to condense at Miller’s fingertips and soon started to glow intensely.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Let’s start with the first beating.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Following Miller’s words, a sphere shot out.