“Your Holiness, the power of the divine spell is weakening. I will prepare to offer a new prayer,” the priest inford.
“Do so,” ca the terse reply.
After the priest left to tend to the barrier spell, Sang-je’s expression soured. Already?
The report of the weakening barrier spell was akin to the news that the firewood had burned out and the campfire was on the verge of extinguishing. Sang-je was well aware that sustaining the barrier required a continuous supply of human life force. However, the rate of consumption far exceeded his expectations.
With the Holy City’s vast expanse, maintaining the spell consus an extensive amount of resources. Should I have restricted the barrier to just the palace? No, that wouldn’t suffice, Sang-je mused, ntally calculating the logistics. At the current rate, over a hundred individuals would need to be sacrificed each month. Utilizing prisoners or drawing from orphanages and slums would soon reach its limit. Once exhausted, new victims would have to be found, inevitably leading to resistance, especially if they weren’t rootless individuals or from the lowest classes.
I need to strategize for the long term, Sang-je concluded.
Initially anticipating a protracted siege of the Holy City, he had believed the kings wouldn’t react significantly for several months. Sending envoys to summon Jin and Flora was a tactic to sow discord among the kings, not an expectation of imdiate compliance with his demands.
Furthermore, considering Jin’s pregnancy with the heir of a king, the Fourth King wouldn’t easily relinquish his claim. Only after Jin gave birth, at the earliest, would he consider sending her to the Holy City.
Or they might attempt negotiation by sending Flora alone, Sang-je considered, assuming Flora was held in the Hashi Kingdom.
I’m not in a hurry, Sang-je smiled. How long would it take for the kings to grow desperate? A few years? Perhaps ten?
Ten years might seem lengthy for humans, but for Sang-je, it was rely a mont.
Should I use them as sacrifices? Sang-je pondered, thinking of the descendants of an ancient tribe known as sorcerers. Since they were despised within the Holy City, their deaths wouldn’t stir much controversy.
No, it would be troubleso if Alber sensed sothing, Sang-je thought, noting the recent quietness of Alber, likely out of fear that her descendants might be targeted.
However, the silence itself was unsettling. I need to see what she’s up to, Sang-je resolved, annoyed by Alber’s presence, which couldn’t be underestimated.
“It’s better to use the kingdom’s people as sacrifices rather than the Holy City’s citizens,” Sang-je decided, summoning Pides and issuing instructions.
“Pides, I have an important task for you,” Sang-je commanded.
“Command , Your Holiness,” Pides replied dutifully.
“The enemy within is more dangerous than the enemy outside. We must restore order in the Holy City. Identify and confirm the residences of all those who were not born and raised here,” Sang-je ordered.
“I will carry out your orders,” Pides affird before leaving.
Sang-je watched Pides depart with satisfaction. While Pides seed more obedient than before, if Sang-je had observed the look in Pides’s eyes as he turned away, he might have harbored different thoughts. There was a determined glint in his eyes, the look of soone who had seized an opportunity.
I have a reason to leave the Holy City, Pides thought to himself, his thoughts consud by the ssage he had received through Anika Katie from the Ars family. It was a single word: “Co.” He interpreted it as an instruction to depart from the Holy City.
Following Sang-je’s orders, Pides, accompanied by soldiers, ticulously investigated those who were originally from the kingdom and now resided within the Holy City. To avoid arousing suspicion, he focused diligently on his task. However, by sunset, he had not encountered anyone who seed to be an agent of the Ars family.
” The sun will set soon, so let’s call it a day,” Pides instructed his soldiers.
“Yes, Holy Knight,” they responded dutifully.
After dismissing the soldiers, Pides absentmindedly reached into his jacket pocket. His expression flickered montarily before he calmly withdrew his hand. Returning to the Holy City, he reported to Sang-je before retiring to his quarters. There, he retrieved the paper from his pocket.
“When did this get here?” Pides wondered, recalling a collision with a boy earlier as he ran around a corner.
Unfolding the paper, he found a few brief sentences, yet the content was shocking. “A monster wearing a fake shell is masquerading as a god and deceiving everyone. The kings have united to destroy it.”
As he read the cryptic ssage, an image from the underground prayer room flashed in Pides’s mind—a massive scale protruding from one wall. A chill ran down his spine, and he gritted his teeth to stifle a scream.
***
Eugene finally tore her eyes away from the spellbook she had been reading repeatedly.
“A dark heart?” she murmured to herself.
No one could grasp the wanderers’ warning as profoundly as she did. She had foreseen a future where the fake Eugene manipulated larks to bring about the world’s destruction.
Eugene had surmised that in that bleak future, the imposter failed to summon the true Eugene’s soul. Instead, they likely encountered Mara through so twist of fate and utilized a spell to control larks. However, what puzzled her was why the imposter had resorted to indiscriminate attacks on people and their hos, earning the ominous label of a demonic incarnation.
Amplified malice. Hatred towards the world, Eugene mused, piecing together the fragnts of her vision.
Always yearning to embody the true Anika Jin, yet perpetually falling short, the imposter’s despair and rage must have reached a boiling point, unleashing extre malice triggered by the spell.
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