"You are merely Yaxiu Heath."
Why did it feel like this name had turned into an insult?
Name: Yaxiu Heath. Gender: Yaxiu Heath. Crime: Yaxiu Heath?
Yaxiu lay bound and disheveled on the ground, waves of pain surging through his back. It hurt so much that he whimpered and groaned, in no mood or state to argue with the Everlasting Presence's words.
Beside him, the necromancer remarked sympathetically, "Turns out it was true when you said you were framed, Yaxiu. I thought it was just your personal running gag. Back then, I even thought the leader of the Four Pillar Cult had quite a sense of humor."
"I'd say he's just plain stupid," Igola said coldly. "Failing to see the situation even at this point. Your life is entirely in their hands, yet you had the nerve to try bargaining. Would a woodcutter fear a tree just because his axe handle is made of wood too?
"Clearly, your only option was to flatter and fawn so you could become their axe as well, yet you insisted on jumping into their faces like a giant cockroach. It's a miracle they didn't swat you dead on the spot. Take the job or beat it—they were never short of a single migrant worker like you. Even little brats in the rearing institute know when to bow their heads and take the offer; only you would ask about the salary, benefits, and labor contract..."
Harvey had wanted to put in a word or two in Yaxiu's defense, but seeing Yaxiu just staring resentfully at Igola while muttering curses only audible to himself, he wisely kept his mouth shut. Yaxiu was injured and needed a distraction; Igola's provocation happened to rile him up, making him mad enough to forget the physical pain.
Still, Harvey felt Igola's scolding was a bit strange. After all, if Yaxiu had actually obeyed the Everlasting Presence, the ones screaming in agony right now would be him and Igola. Why did Igola sound so sarcastically exasperated—as if lamenting that iron wasn't steel and shit wasn't a hot meal? Did he actually hope Yaxiu would survive by stepping over both their corpses?
"Waaah..."
"Let me go! Daddy, Mommy—!"
"Sob, sob... Waaah! I want Mommy, Mommy!"
Harsh, noisy cries of children filled the hall. Harvey and Igola simultaneously showed expressions of disgust. They weren't disgusted that the Four Pillar Cult targeted children, but rather at the noise the children made—Blood Moon people had always possessed an extremely low tolerance for cubs.
After listening for a moment, however, Igola asked in a low voice, "Why are they all yelling for Daddy and Mommy? Are Daddy and Mommy heroes around here?"
Seeing Igola and Harvey ask such a question like a pair of illiterates, Yaxiu suddenly felt an urge to laugh.
Even though it was also his first time hearing the words for parents in this country, Yaxiu knew who they were crying for just from their tone. After all, the words for parents across the world were almost always those same common syllables.
"Yeah. As long as you call out those words, Daddy and Mommy will dedicate their entire lives to you."
Harvey grew surprisingly earnest. "We aren't from this country. Will Daddy and Mommy protect us too?"
Yaxiu originally wanted to keep teasing them, but for some reason he suddenly lost interest and didn't answer. The weeping children were brought over around them, likewise bound by miracle chains. Their cries shook the hall; some sobbed quietly while others wailed at the top of their lungs. Every single one was a lovely, delicate young child, no taller than a carriage wheel, looking roughly the same age as the Everlasting Presence on the silver throne.
"Do young children have any value as sacrifices...?" Igola asked softly.
"In the Four Pillar Cult, young children symbolize 'purity.' Only children untainted by society can harbor pure evil, pure good, pure hatred, and pure joy, just like flawless gemstones." Recalling Heath's criminal record, Yaxiu's expression darkened slightly. "They aren't the best sacrifices, but they are the easiest to find."
"Hey, look at that girl," Harvey suddenly said.
Yaxiu looked over and saw an exquisite, adorable white-haired little girl. He thought to himself that Harvey had actually become a bit more normal—still perverted, but at least the subject was alive.
However, he quickly realized what Harvey meant—the white-haired girl was far too calm.
She wasn't crying, nor was she paralyzed with fear. Instead, she was coolly observing her surroundings. Noticing the gazes of the three great villains, she blinked and instantly put on a pitiful, endearing expression that stirred a fierce protective instinct, appearing to pray for a hero to deliver her from danger.
"Drama queen," Igola evaluated accurately with disdain. Harvey and Yaxiu were also quite disappointed—they had assumed the little girl had some hidden trump card to remain so composed, but it turned out she was merely playing cute.
As they spoke, the black-robed cultists cleared a large open space in the center. The hanging brazier directly above them suddenly boomed, pouring down four rivers of flame that swirled around the group of sacrifices into four concentric circles. The blazing rings of fire cut them off from the outside world.
An ancient, eerie chant echoed through the underground hall:
"Countless rays of radiance, countless avatars, countless possibilities..."
"Messenger of wind and snow, pure azure, subduer of the sinister..."
"Everlasting heat, eternal life, endless wandering..."
"Illusory freedom..."
"With utmost sincerity we pray, respectfully entreating the Four Pillars' sacred mercy to look down and perceive all!"
Once the believers finished their prayers, the Everlasting Presence's sweet, childish voice slowly sounded: "The sacrifices decreed by the oracle have been gathered.
"In the name of Serena Bright, I offer to the Four Pillar Gods the sacrifices within the rings of fire—three people of the foreign realm, sixteen people of purity!"
*It's over.*
Igola gave a silent sigh. He had never expected that instead of dying during the prison break or at the hands of the Sin Hunting Hall's pursuit, he would meet his end in a sacrifice of the Four Pillar Cult.
Rounded off, it was practically equivalent to dying at Yaxiu's hands.
*If only I hadn't struck up a conversation with this prison newcomer back then... If only I hadn't treated him as prey...*
Igola suddenly smiled, snuffing out the faint flicker of regret rising within him. Rather than rotting away in Shattered Lake Prison, he preferred performing in the grand Blood Moon Trial and the magnificent prison break before meeting his end.
He had to thank Yaxiu Heath; it was the latter who had pulled him out of that dreary prison life and set him on a dazzling path to death.
It was said that after evil people died, their souls had to pass through seven hells and endure every manner of torture before they could find rest in the Void Realm. All the vengeful spirits harmed by the wicked were waiting for this prime opportunity for vengeance, eager to repay the calamities they had suffered tenfold and a hundredfold.
*My dear cult leader, with your illustrious record of achievements, plenty of people in hell will surely come looking to play games with you. But that's fine—I'm a bad person too. I'll stick with you to deal with them.*
Igola turned his head toward Yaxiu, only to see no fear on the cult leader's face. As if he still held a trump card, Yaxiu shakily straightened his back, lifted his head with pride, and called out loudly toward the space above:
"In the name of Yaxiu Heath, I offer to the Four Pillar Gods the sacrifices outside the rings of fire—every cultist in this underground hall!"
Chapter 183