Chapter 1941 – 1941. Dark Moon
“Ritual magic, including human sacrifice, requires proper preparation. This request is too sudden, and since I’m not prepared at all, you’ll have to wait about 30 minutes.”
I said calmly.
-30 minutes? That’s a bit long.
-I’ll definitely wait. I already bet money on it succeeding!
-A demon summoning human sacrifice? You can’t see that even if you pay. Of course, I have to watch.
-I’m writing a thesis on human sacrifice at that university, so this is perfect.
-30 minutes is enough time to prepare snacks.
-Still, I’m bored. Why don’t we play with the criminals? As long as we don’t kill the ones we’re going to use as sacrifices.
-No, no. In human sacrifice, the condition of the sacrifice is as important as the exact ritual. If the sacrifice is top-notch, they sometimes respond to the call even if the ritual is lacking.
-So, if you succeed in human sacrifice, will the demon grant any wish?
-It depends on the demon. If one of the 72 demons is summoned, it’s a real jackpot.
-Dude, seriously? Summoning one of the 72 demons with 167 bandits? Get real.
-At best, a low to mid-level demon will appear. That’s if it succeeds. The host is a 7th-grade mage, so he’ll succeed.
-Just because he’s a 7th-grade mage doesn’t mean he’s good at everything. Even if he’s a 7th-grade mage, the host is an elemental mage. Has he ever even done ritual magic? I bet on failure.
The chat was noisy. Self-proclaimed experts appeared en masse and began showing off their knowledge of demon summoning and human sacrifice. Some of them seemed to know quite a bit, making it hard to dismiss it all as nonsense.
I called the staff together.
“We need to make an altar.”
“…Master. It’s hard to make one in 30 minutes.”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s crude. The important thing is the symbol of the altar itself. Decorate the altar plausibly with the existing materials. And find some suitable rocks, carve them into pillars, and place them near the altar. Make it look like a temple. Wash the sacrifices clean, but don’t dress them.”
“A temple. Are you perhaps conducting a ritual for a god?”
“No, the target of the summoning is a demon. There isn’t much difference between gods and demons. The most important magic circle is something I’ll take care of, so start working.”
The staff disappeared.
I went to the place where the altar would be set up. The most important thing was the ritual magic circle. If I drew the magic circle properly, I wouldn’t even need an altar. The altar was like an aid to the ritual. It was something that drew the target’s attention and slightly increased the probability of success.
‘If the target is a demon, it’s better to draw the magic circle with blood.’
It goes without saying, but not just any blood would do. The blood of special creatures like unicorns was better for rituals than human blood.
‘I can’t get unicorn blood right now, and ordinary human blood would only backfire. The blood of low-level beings is the same.’
The best blood was, of course, the blood of someone with high mana affinity.
‘My blood is the best material here.’
Since I’m doing this, I have to succeed to save face and make money. I decided to draw my blood to increase the success rate.
‘I won’t need too much.’
I tore my palm with a small knife and collected the blood in a bucket. I waited a bit in that state. The staff began to decorate the altar. I drew the magic circle behind the altar, in a place where it couldn’t be seen. I had no intention of showing the magic circle to the viewers or the staff.
‘The completed magic circle is a skill and an asset. Why would I give it away for free?’
If the ritual succeeds, the Black Serpent will be very curious.
‘Black Serpent. It must be Kagoron.’
Kagoron, an 8th-grade black mage. The leader of ‘Venom Fang,’ a black mage organization that mainly operates in the southern part of the continent. One of Kagoron’s nicknames was Black Serpent.
‘He’s a guy I want to kill when I get stronger.’
It’s infuriating that he’s trying to use me, but I was even more greedy for the artifact Kagoron possessed. But he’s an existence I can’t even dream of right now.
“The sacrifices?”
“They’re being washed as a group.”
I picked up the tablet and checked the screen and the chat. On the screen, naked prisoners were being hit by a forced water bomb. The reaction in the chat wasn’t bad.
-LOL, group shower, sweet.
-Wow, look at that woman’s boobs. Amazing.
-Isn’t that redhead on the right a waste? I’ll buy her if you sell her. I can pay up to 10 million credits.
-That woman for 10 million credits? Are you crazy? I wouldn’t buy her even for 100,000 credits.
-There are no beauties.
-If there were beauties, would they be used here? They could make money steadily as prostitutes. The host is a money-grubber, so he 100% took the beauties.
-But why are they being washed? Aren’t they going to die anyway?
-Because they’re sacrifices. You wash fruits and meat before eating them, right?
-Washing meat makes the juices fly away.
-Ah, yes. Enjoy your dirty meat.
The sacrifices, soaked in water, came in. They looked like livestock being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
*Click!*
I snapped my fingers.
Small knives that had been prepared in advance soared upwards by telekinesis. The knives flew towards the sacrifices and slightly cut their necks. Just enough to draw blood, not enough to be dangerous.
-??? What are you doing now?
-He’s designating the sacrifices. So the demon doesn’t get confused with the other humans there.
-They’re naked, so even if they wanted to be confused, they wouldn’t be, right?
-Beings like demons have a different perspective than humans, you idiot.
-Why are you cursing? You bastard.
-Using telekinesis magic, which is the epitome of inefficiency, like that? He’s indeed a 7th-grade mage….
-So bizarre, lol. Ah, lol, I’m so excited. Will a succubus demon appear?
-Start already!!
-Why aren’t you showing the magic circle? It’s hard to see because it’s hidden by the altar.
-So, what kind of demon are you summoning? Does anyone know?
-That’s Bael’s magic circle. Who is Bael? He’s a demon who exists at the highest level among the 72 demons. In short, he’s a demon king.
-Nonsense. The magic circles of the 72 demons are basically forbidden knowledge. Among them, Bael’s is top secret. Only a national leader would know it. Of course, the magic circles of the other 72 demons are also secret.
-Lol, isn’t it said that there are less than 20 magic circles that are managed?
-If it’s the Black Serpent, he probably knows a few of the 72 demons’ magic circles.
I checked the viewers’ reactions one last time.
I straightened my clothes and opened my mouth.
“I will now begin the human sacrifice demon ritual. If the ritual succeeds, a demon will be summoned and grant a wish in proportion to the sacrifice. However, the wishes that can be granted are limited depending on the summoned demon’s abilities. In a way, it’s closer to a transaction.”
I put away the tablet and focused my concentration.
Demons are not demons for nothing. They attack the summoner more often than they make deals with them.
‘Let a low-level demon appear.’
I prayed inwardly and opened my astral.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
One of the sacrifices screamed and ran away. The sacrifices, who were already trembling, tried to run away as if it were a good opportunity.
I clicked my tongue.
“Subdue them.”
The staff simultaneously aimed their guns at the sacrifices and pulled the triggers. Non-lethal bullets poured onto the sacrifices.
I approached the one who screamed first and kicked his head.
“You’re going to die anyway. Did you think you could live if you ran away?”
“Ah, but it’s not a demon! If your soul is taken by a demon, you’ll suffer eternally in hell! Please, just kill me! I don’t want to suffer even after death! Please!!”
“Do you believe such nonsense? Why would a demon bother tormenting the souls of bugs like you?”
“Is it… really just a rumor?”
“…It would depend on the demon. Your fate is already decided, so stay still. If you act up again… I’ll show you that the hell you’re so afraid of exists in this world.”
If I proceeded with the ritual like this, it seemed like there would be problems, so I waited for the chaotic atmosphere to calm down while observing the reactions.
-I knew it would be like this. It’s a relief that they were subdued right away.
-If you’re really offered to a demon, will you suffer eternally in hell?
-It depends on the demon, as the host said. Some demons want human suffering, and some absorb the soul itself.
-Ah, the flow was interrupted.
-Host, are you watching the chat? Communicate a bit?
-If you want to communicate, send a donation message. Donation messages are at least 100 million, lol.
-The host only answers donation messages.
「The Black Serpent in the cave has donated 100 million credits!」
「The ritual magic circle is hard to see.」
“Black Serpent-nim. Thank you for the donation. I deliberately hid the magic circle. I can’t reveal Black Serpent-nim’s valuable knowledge to the world.”
The Black Serpent didn’t send any additional donations. That was a relief. It would have been more troublesome if he had tried to interfere every step of the way.
I resumed the interrupted ritual. I walked to the altar and opened my astral.
*Whoooosh.*
The ritual magic circle drawn with my mana and blood resonated. If it had been an incomplete magic circle, it would have creaked and been unstable here.
‘The one I drew is a complete magic circle. At least, it won’t fail because of the magic circle.’
The astral connected from the magic circle. Spiritual energy extended from the magic circle and connected to the sacrifices. The bodies and souls of a total of 167 people were connected to the magic circle.
The magic circle began to emit a gloomy red light, and an evil and terrible energy gathered between the altar pillars, forming a door.
I, who was leading the ritual, was sweating profusely. This place was now connected to the demon realm. The energy of the demon realm was flowing out. Some of the staff were sitting down and trembling. The sacrifices, on the other hand, were as quiet as mice. They knelt on the floor and bowed their heads as if it were natural. From the moment they were offered to the demon, they were the demon’s slaves, the demon’s food, and the demon’s toys.
*Crack, crack, crack, crack!*
Space twisted and tore. This wasn’t my power. I had only sent the signal. Opening the door to the demon realm was entirely up to the demon.
The demon responded to the call.
A demon emerged from the torn space. A small body of 1 meter. A face similar to a goblin. It was an imp, a lowest-level demon.
‘That’s it!’
The imp was a 4th-grade demon. Even if things went wrong, I could kill it.
“Heh heh… heh…?”
*Thud!*
With a gruesome sound, something long and thin popped out of the imp’s body and pierced it.
“How dare you block my path, are you out of your mind?”
A sweet, mocking female voice filled the space.
