If the request wasn't too complicated, Outer God rituals were actually pretty simple. All you needed was to chant the Outer God's true name over a half-decent altar. The easiest one, the God of Pleasure, didn't even need an altar. Just saying the name was enough. Luxford had basically been using the God of Pleasure Cassian's ritual as an instant-cast ability.
Of course, it was also extremely dangerous. Any mortal who so much as thought an Outer God's name would get corrupted. Even angels, the highest-ranking beings below the Righteous Gods, weren't immune. Luckily, Luxford still had his high-tier status as a player, so he didn't need to worry too much. At worst, the corruption would just slap a debuff on him. It's not like the game would actually drive a player insane.
The ritual required the sacrifice to be unable to resist, and the tree of flesh on the altar fit that bill perfectly. The starlight consumed it whole. To everyone watching, it looked like an invisible monster was devouring it bite by bite.
The hymn was cut short, and the crowd of believers fell into a panic, until the strawmen stepped forward to restore order.
"Something's gone wrong with the ritual! Protect the Master!"
Strawmen who'd been hidden on all sides instantly surrounded Luxford. The ritual had been completed in the blink of an eye. Luxford already had what he wanted. But you had to commit to the act, so he instinctively pulled both witches into his arms, scanning the area with a wary look.
That's when he noticed Nepheli's body had gone completely rigid. She'd been like this since the moment the ritual began.
Even though Nepheli looked like a mature beauty, she was actually quite timid. When she was little, she could only sleep well if she was next to Luxford.
He'd overlooked something. The ritual was genuinely horrifying. The people of this world had long since gone numb to it, and Luxford, operating with his gamer mindset, didn't think twice about it either. But Nepheli had barely been exposed to this world's horrors. Her sense of right and wrong was still relatively normal, so naturally a scene like this would terrify her.
"Don't be scared..."
Luxford pressed Nepheli's face against his chest and held her close. Feeling his warmth, she gradually came back to herself, and only then did the tears start falling.
Renna, on the other hand, was way calmer. She clung tightly to Luxford, not because she was afraid, but simply because she wanted to snuggle.
Holding both witches in his arms, Luxford turned his attention inward and pulled up his status screen.
The leveling system in "Hymn of the Apocalypse" was more like a Souls game. Each level-up only gave you one stat point. It didn't do much for your combat power. So after weighing his options, Luxford had chosen to lay low. Instead of actively grinding for levels, he'd stayed hidden and played the long game.
And today was the day that long game finally paid off.
======
Name: Luxford
Level: 2
Strength: 7
Stamina: 8
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 14
Mana: 5,060 / 5,060
Accessories: None
Blessings: Disillusionment
=====
The average adult's stats were all around five. Luxford hadn't found many chances to level up over the years, he'd been too busy setting things up. Getting this far through training alone was already pretty impressive.
Mana was the most valuable stat in the game. Besides leveling up, the only way to get more was through equipment and accessories. The higher your level, the harder it got to keep climbing, so rather than wishing for raw combat power, asking for mana was the smarter long-term play.
This time, he'd scored a full five thousand points of mana. To put that in perspective, a super-tier magic spell capable of leveling an entire city only cost around a thousand. Even then, back in the game, Luxford had needed a bunch of temporary mana-boosting items just to cast one.
As for the Disillusionment blessing, its effect was simply allowing the user to hit certain intangible things. Only the practical-minded God of Greed offered it. It seemed pretty useless, and honestly, it mostly was. But there was a side quest boss that normally couldn't be beaten until endgame, and this blessing made the fight way easier. The boss's drops were incredibly powerful, and this was the speedrun strat Luxford was counting on.
"It's an Outer God! Pray to the God of Abundance, now!"
Luxford was also quick to shout out a solution, though it was really more for his own benefit.
The God of Greed wasn't about to be that generous. There was no way he'd just hand over enough mana to surpass an angel, even if Luxford had sacrificed nearly a hundred thousand people to him.
A beam of starlight fell on Luxford next, but before his mana could be taken back, the prayers erupting all around him made the blood-red moonlight blaze even brighter, until it swallowed the starlight whole.
There was an upside to dealing with zealots. Even after something this catastrophic, these devout nutcases could snap right back into formation and start praying in an orderly fashion, successfully calling on the God of Abundance for help.
Luxford glanced up at the sky. The stars were unusually bright. He knew from the game's lore that those so-called stars were actually the eyes of the Outer Gods. The crimson moon, on the other hand, represented the Righteous Gods.
"Master, is it safe now?"
Once things seemed to stabilize, the strawman at Luxford's side spoke up. Luxford nodded, and the man let out a sigh of relief.
The Outer Gods were far more terrifying than the Righteous Gods in terms of raw power, but they were bound by the rules of the world, heavily restricted. Unless someone like Luxford provided coordinates, like he'd just done, the Outer Gods couldn't interfere with this world. That was the only reason the Righteous Gods could keep them in check.
"The ritual has failed. There's no point in everyone sticking around, it might actually be dangerous. Those fanatics who worship the Outer Gods will stop at nothing."
"Let's all head home. The merciful God of Abundance won't hold this against us."
That was the perk of having a high position. Nobody would suspect Luxford. A few words from him and the crowd dispersed. And if there was an investigation? He'd be the one running it.
Better yet, the strawmen, divine messengers themselves, were now escorting Luxford, the actual culprit, safely home.
The whole way back, Nepheli clung to Luxford's hand. She couldn't bring herself to look at the strawmen flanking them. She just stared at his hand, following closely in his footsteps, terrified of falling behind.
...
Once they were home, Renna flopped onto the couch and tossed her white over-the-knee stockings on the floor without a second thought. It wasn't until Luxford bonked her on the head that she grudgingly picked them up.
Compared to Renna, Nepheli was much more ladylike. Even the way she took off her stockings was elegant, nothing like Renna, who just grabbed the toe and yanked them off before balling them up.
Luxford didn't see the maid anywhere. It wasn't until he walked into the bathroom, grateful that this world at least had toilets, that he found her. His maid was kneeling in front of the toilet with a deadpan expression, mouth wide open and tongue out, clearly waiting for Luxford to... do something. So Luxford awkwardly shut the door and backed out.
The maid's name was Astrid. In the game, she always had that same cold expression, wore black robes, and kept her hair over one eye so only a single red eye was visible. Players all assumed she was the ultimate ice queen. But after she became Luxford's maid, he learned the truth.
She was secretly a massive freak. She'd do the weirdest things with a completely straight face, and her... interests were so out there that they actually killed Luxford's appetite for anything. What just happened was tame by her standards.
"Master, I'm hungry..."
Renna grabbed Luxford's hand again and started shaking it, whining like a kid. They were at home now with no outsiders around, so whatever. She could call him whatever she wanted.
"Astrid's in the bathroom right now. Once she's done cosplaying as a toilet, tell her to make dinner. And make sure she knows I will not be participating..."
Luxford waved Renna off and started thinking about his next move.
His sacrifice to Pluton, the God of Greed, might fool the Church of Abundance, but it wouldn't fool Pluton's followers. They'd definitely be able to track him down by the trace of Pluton's presence on him.
Luxford knew plenty of ways to deal with that, and it was already part of his plan. The side quest boss he was planning to kill was one of Pluton's followers.
Right now, he had a massive pool of mana but hadn't learned any powerful magic. That was fine, though. Luxford reached under the table, and when his hand came back up, he was holding a shotgun.
This world didn't just have magic. It had martial arts and firearms too. Guns couldn't compete in high-level fights, but not everyone was an angel. The vast majority of mages were flesh and blood, and they couldn't tank a bullet.