Chapter 238 Blood Ritual [3]

Chapter 238 Blood Ritual [3]

238 Blood Ritual [3]

"Ugh."

Leon awoke with a massive headache.

Every part of his body ached, and his mind was numbed as he tried his best to recall the circumstances that led to his current situation.

"Kh...!"

His expression twisted the moment that he recalled and his eyes flared open in anger.

'That fucking traitor!'

His chest boiled over as he felt his body stiffen.

In the last moments, he remembered getting backstabbed by Kaelion.

'That bastard...!'

It was hard to describe the anger that Leon was currently feeling, but had it not been for him, they would've had a chance at escaping.

"Kh!"

Leon tried to move his body but found himself constrained. Yet again, his mana was sealed, and no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't move at all.

"....Looks like someone is awake."

A deep and brittle voice echoed throughout.

Finally, Leon raised his head and his expression crumbled at the sight that greeted him.

'Here again.'

He was back in the church.

Not only him but everyone else that had accompanied him.

They were all currently chained to the wooden rows that faced the massive altar in the middle. There, Leon could see a blood-red circle at the center as it glowed ominously.

The glow seemed to throb in time with his own racing heartbeat, filling him with a sense of impending dread.

<nulli>'What is that...?'

Staring at the circle, Leon felt an ominous feeling.

He wasn't sure about what exactly it did, but every part of his body screamed danger.

"Are you curious about what that is?"

The Archbishop spoke while staring at him. Leon raised his head to match his gaze. He didn't say anything and remained quiet.

It was such defiance that made the Archbishop smile.

"What you see is merely the start of the cleanse. Each and every one of you will be subjected to it. But before that."

The Archbishop raised his hand and stared at his ring.

Leon frowned at his behavior, but before he could even say a thing, the Archbishop looked around in happiness.

"Ah! Looks like more people are waking up. Good, good. This is a good thing."

Indeed, looking around, Leon noticed the others slowly waking up.

"What's going on...?"

"Where am I?"

"Ukh."

They had looks of confusion on their faces as they woke up, and Leon's expression sank when in the corner of the room, he spotted a certain figure standing by the corner with an expressionless look.

'It's the traitor...!'

Leon clenched his teeth tightly at the sight of him.

He wasn't the only one who spotted him, with the others also showing similar expressions, but Kaelion stood in the same spot without much of a change in his expression.

It was as if he hadn't noticed them at all.

Leon felt his blood boil at the sight, but he forced himself to calm down.

<nulli>'It's not over yet.'

There were still several things that he could do to get out of the situation.

For that reason, taking a couple of deep breaths, Leon's expression turned sharp. He looked around before suddenly freezing.

His eyes locked towards a certain corner.

'Uh...?'

Two blue eyes stared back at him.

<nulli>'Isn't that?'

Leon's heart froze for a split second as he processed the situation.

Soon, his eyes widened.

"The preparations are almost ready. All that is left is for everyone to undergo the trail of the forgotten minds for one last time."

Finally, the Archbishop turned around, revealing his murky white eyes. In that moment, I nearly lost my breath as his gaze locked onto me briefly before shifting toward the other cadets.

"I've separated you all in certain rows to distinguish those that still have more than two halves of the blood in their body from those that only have one quarter left."

The Archbishop's gaze scanned the first row.

"Fourteen already down to their last life. Hmm."

He suddenly smiled while looking at them. He had just raised his hand and was about to do something when a voice interrupted him.

"Wait!"

All eyes turned in the direction of where the voice came from.

<nulli>'It's him.'

I recognized the one responsible in an instant. With gray eyes and handsome features, it was hard not to miss him.

"Oh?"

The Archbishop turned his attention towards the gray-eyed person.

For some reason, staring at him, I started to have a bad feeling as the sweat that had accumulated on the side of my face grew more pronounced.

<nulli>'It can't be, right...?'

".....What are you planning on doing?"

He spoke, staring at the Archbishop with his intense gray eyes.

<nulli>'Maybe not.'

Thankfully, my worries didn't seem to come true.

At least not yet. I couldn't be too certain just yet.

"Me? Isn't it obvious?"

The Archbishop turned to look towards the altar. His expression shifted, turning more fanatical as he looked toward the pulsing magic circle.

".....I'm trying to get closer to my god! I've been preparing for the past few decades, and now...! Everything is almost ready! You all will be the catalyst for my ascension, and so you should rejoice!"

His voice reverberated loudly within the confines of the church.

"You can think of it as an honor!"

<nulli>'He's completely lost it.'

I drowned out the noise from the fanatic as I looked around the place and tried to look for the exit. Having glanced at the map beforehand, I knew that it was here, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't see where it was.

<nulli>'Hidden?'

....Was the exit hidden?

The thought crossed my mind and I looked in the general direction of where the exit was labeled to be.

My heart sank when I noticed that it was right behind the altar.

<nulli>'That's annoying.'

It was, but what other choice did I have?

I needed to think of ways to sneak behind and reach the exit.

<nulli>'There must be some sort of secret lever or way that can help me reach the exit.'

I licked my lips which had gone dry.

"How certain are you that you're going to succeed?"

"Hahaha."

The Archbishop suddenly laughed, his voice slowly subsiding into a cold snort.

"I've been preparing for quite a long time. All preparations have been made accordingly. You can give up hope in trying to waste time in hopes of getting reinforcements to find you. Even the strongest person will struggle to find you."

"....."

Silence ensued following the Archbishop's words.

I stared at the gray-eyed person. He didn't seem to be looking at me, and yet, at the same time, I felt like his gaze was directed at me.

It didn't make sense, but it brought a certain sense of urgency within me.

<nulli>'I need to figure out how to get out now!'

".....Like I said."

He soon started to speak, his even tone sending chills down my body.

"How certain are you that everything will go smoothly?"

Slowly, two gray eyes locked in my general direction and I felt my entire body stiffen on the spot.

Meeting his gaze, he smiled and my heart sank.

"Especially when someone managed to infiltrate the place without you knowing?"