Late at night, in Tingen City, on the plaza in front of the inpatient building of the asylum.
Lanevus casually placed his fiancée on a table in the plaza, letting her beautiful face directly touch the cold tabletop.
"This," he said, pointing at the table, "is equivalent to an altar."
"And this," he continued, pointing at Caesar, "is equivalent to the sacrifice."
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?!" a man who looked like an asylum guard shouted as he ran over from the other side of the plaza.
Lanevus paused, glanced at the guard, and then put on a sincere smile. "Ah, I'm terribly sorry. My fiancée suddenly had an episode, and I was in a hurry to save her, so I rushed in."
"Then you should quickly take her inside; there should still be an on-duty doctor," the guard said. Hearing this and seeing the unconscious girl, his vigilance relaxed considerably. "I'll show you the way."
Before he could finish speaking, Lanevus swiftly rushed over to him and plunged a gleaming dagger into his heart.
The guard, completely unprepared for the attack, twitched a few times with a distorted expression before dying.
"Pfft."
Lanevus pulled out the dagger, and blood spurted from the wound, splattering all over his face and body.
"Why didn't you wait for me to act?" Hood Eugen seemed exasperated. "Haven't you caused enough trouble already?!"
"Ah, my apologies, my apologies. He just interrupted my fun," Lanevus said with a casual laugh, pointing at the guard's corpse. "Since it's such a coincidence, he can be the sacrifice."
Caesar hadn't expected the unexpected guard to take a blow for him.
As the night wind blew, his heart grew colder, watching the two begin to prepare the altar. Lanevus enlarged the guard's wound, letting the blood from his body flow into a puddle on the ground. Hood Eugen, meanwhile, constructed a Wall of Spirituality, severing the connection between inside and outside.
"Hold this, and raise it high."
Lanevus handed the gas lamp to Caesar. Caesar feigned confusion, obediently took the lamp, and held it high above his head. The orange light illuminated the space around the table, revealing the unconscious blonde girl on the table and the bleeding corpse of the guard beneath it.
"I'm going to wake my fiancée now. Use your ability to hypnotize her," he said to Hood Eugen.
Seeing Hood Eugen nod, he patted the girl's face. His hands were stained with blood, and consequently, several horrifying bloodstains appeared on the girl's beautiful face.
"Mmm, where am I?"
The girl groggily awoke, but as she opened her eyes, she heard a crisp ringing sound and immediately became dazed again.
"Megose, my dear fiancée, it's me," Lanevus whispered sweetly into her ear, like a lover, while smearing the foul-smelling blood of the deceased on her face. "Look, aren't we in bed at home right now?"
"Lanevus…"
The girl's name seemed to be Megose. Hearing her fiancé's voice, a blissful smile appeared on her hazy face. "I love you so much…"
"I love you too."
Dipping his finger in blood, Lanevus rapidly drew sinister and chaotic patterns on the tabletop—a magic array for summoning an evil god. Hood Eugen stood by, listening to Lanevus's sweet words and watching his actions, a look of disdain in his eyes.
Caesar, out of the corner of his eye, glimpsed the magic array. He was surprised to find that Lanevus drew it so quickly and accurately. The array had three centers: one for the caster, Lanevus; one for the recipient, Megose; and the last, naturally, for the True Creator, represented by his Holy Emblem.
"Is it ready?" Hood Eugen's tone betrayed his tension as he watched the blood-drawn array gradually take shape.
"It is."
Lanevus finished the last stroke, jumped to his designated position, and then leaned down to Megose, saying, "My dear, I want to have a child with you."
His tone was deeply emotional, yet his eyes showed no fluctuation whatsoever.
"Lanevus, I'm willing to do anything for you."
Poor Megose had no idea; hypnotized, her eyes were hazy, and she smiled shyly.
Caesar saw Lanevus's lips curl into a mocking arc once more. He stood up and loudly prayed in Hermes:
"The Lord that Created Everything,
The Lord who Reigns Behind the Curtain of Shadows,
The Degenerate Nature of all Living Things"
The world grew Dark and quiet. The blood on the magic array became intensely crimson, especially the Holy Emblem representing the True Creator; the simply drawn rose seemed almost alive, swaying under the gas lamp. The dead guard's body slowly merged into the Darkness, disappearing without a trace at some point.
Lanevus took out an iron box from his embrace, dispelled the Wall of Spirituality sealing it, and a heavy, almost tangible sense of resentment emanated from within.
"These are extreme emotions collected from the slums through a ritual," he explained to Hood Eugen with a smile. However, Hood Eugen only pressed his lips together, his face pale, saying nothing, a few drops of sweat beading on his forehead.
"No need to be nervous," Lanevus said, still looking relaxed even at such a moment. "The ritual will go smoothly."
He placed the box on the True Creator's Holy Emblem and opened the lid. Black resentment surged out, spreading in all directions. But before the black mist could dissipate, a blood-red glow suddenly lit up on the magic array, drawing the black mist back in. The black mist coalesced, gradually forming a shape.
It seemed to be a human figure.
This figure slightly turned its head, as if scanning everyone with non-existent eyes. Perhaps it was Caesar's illusion, but that gaze lingered on him for an extra moment.
Boom!
Caesar's mind was once again assaulted. Fortunately, the tide had appeared in advance, blocking most of the shock. Without a doubt, this phantom was from the True Creator!
Seeing the black shadow, Hood Eugen gasped and took a step back, but he still held the bell tightly.
"Well done," Lanevus praised him. Then, looking at the black shadow whose details were unclear, he continued to chant in Hermes:
"May the Lord's benevolence always be on earth, may the Lord bestow His grace, bringing divine offspring to the pure maiden."
Accompanied by the prayer, the black figure made another movement. He raised his arm, extended his index finger, and a pure yet corrupted glimmer flew from his fingertip, slowly drifting towards the reclining Megose.
Caesar sensed extreme danger in that glimmer. Without a doubt, it was a trace of the True Creator's divinity!
Megose was still immersed in a beautiful dream, calling out her lover's name, completely unaware that disaster was about to befall her.
"God's grace!"
Lanevus stared intently at the faint light with greedy and excited eyes, watching with anticipation as the light flew towards his fiancée.
The ritual, the ritual was about to succeed!
Just then, Caesar moved without warning.
Swish, swish. He pressed his fingers onto the magic array, stained with its blood, and quickly and accurately drew. In just a few strokes, he altered the array's original patterns, swapping the positions of the caster and the recipient.
Lanevus, mouth agape, was eagerly awaiting the descent of divinity into his fiancée, when he suddenly saw the faint light make a turn and fly into his own mouth.
With a gulp, he unconsciously swallowed it.