A sinister voice erged from Kidopriest's mouth.
Ashu just stared at him calmly. No provoking words could disturb his true thoughts—his primary focus was on finding a way out. The seal on his body acted like an airtight barrier, preventing him from manipulating or using his Magical Essence. Indeed, for the past several years before reuniting with Anna, he had been in a similar state. Now, he was just back to being a mortal.
"Mr. Ashu, don't you recognize ?" Kidopriest was annoyed by Ashu's lack of panic. How dare a lowly farr from the bottom of society be so calm? Had sleeping with a witch made him so arrogant?
As he spoke, Kidopriest leaned in closer, as if worried that the dim light in the underground lair would prevent the now-mortal Ashu from seeing him clearly. He longed to see expressions of fear, desperation, doubt, or conflict on Ashu's face, just like he had seen on Carol's.
But Ashu had no ti to indulge Kidopriest's twisted desires.
"I recognize you, Kidopriest. Where are we, and did you summon here?" Ashu asked dismissively.
Hearing this, Kidopriest explained with the confidence of a man who held all the cards. "This is the Cidi Cult, but it wasn't who summoned you; it was Carol, a woman you abandoned and left to suffer."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not a saint. She turned herself into a monster, and I wasn't going to wait for her to kill . Was I supposed to let her do that?" Ashu's resolve was unshakable. He wasn't about to let so idle words make him question his past actions. Guilt? Inner demons? He couldn't even fathom why anyone would have such things.
Seeing that Ashu wasn't buying it, Kidopriest quickly added, "But who drove her down that path?"
"It was wizard Ula-Ula." Ashu replied without hesitation. "And I killed wizard Ula-Ula. If Carol's family had any decency, they should be on their knees thanking ."
Kidopriest stared at Ashu, impressed by his stubbornness. No wonder Ashu was the toughest nut to crack in Gorn Village. Even when captured, he still acted like he was in charge.
"You're wrong, Ashu," Kidopriest said, deciding to be more direct. He realized that neither Carol nor Ashu could be swayed. Carol was like a mindless pig, and Ashu was so self-assured that he found every argunt valid. "Right and wrong are not decided by the parties involved but by the will of the gods. The gods have deed you guilty for lusting after a beautiful witch and abandoning your plain fiancée, Carol. Your actions led to Carol being exploited by evildoers. You are the original sinner."
Ashu's eyes flashed with disdain, but he didn't imdiately respond. He knew that arguing right and wrong with soone like Kidopriest was futile. He needed to find a more practical way out.
"Gods? Where are your gods? Why don't they show themselves and make the judgnt?" Ashu countered, hoping to find a weakness in Kidopriest's response.
Kidopriest gave a mirthless chuckle. "The gods don't need to appear. Their will has already been conveyed to you through . All your sins will be settled here."
Ashu understood that this conversation would lead nowhere. He needed to find other ans, perhaps by exploiting the Cidi cultists around him.
"Original sin? Carol chose to obey her parents, and her parents chose to trade their daughter for wealth. I disagreed, so the deal was off long ago."
"Excuses!"
Kidopriest pointed at Ashu, feeling that if he continued, Ashu's mouth would overturn his entire accusation. "Enough talk! Let the gods decide!"
With that, two Cidi cultists quickly stepped forward, lifting the sealed Ashu and carrying him to the statue of the Cidi god.
Ashu stared directly at the statue without flinching. Unlike the statues of the holy Cultivator Guild, this statue of the evil god depicted a monster with a leopard's head, a human body, and the wings of a griffin.
At that mont, the Cidi High Priest, also with a leopard's head, approached. He stood to the side, between the statue and Ashu.
"The Cidi god will judge your original sin."
Ashu looked at the High Priest's attire. If it weren't for the current sinister and bloody environnt, he would have asked if he had just returned from a sex party.
Although the High Priest said the god would judge, the statue of Cidi showed no signs of movent. It had no power to judge original sin. Ashu realized that these people had sothing else in mind.
The altar could summon people, so why not summon others? This place was covered in blood and flesh, yet why did the cruel cultists talk so much to him instead of just killing him? Why did Kidopriest obsess over his so-called original sin?
Clearly, this was not a random summoning but a targeted one, using Carol as an anchor.
Their goal was directly him.
What did they want from him?
Ashu reflected on himself. A few acres of farmland? The scientific knowledge of cultivating fruits and vegetables? His unique constitution that didn't align with the Cultivator Guild?
Or was it because of his relationship with Anna?
Could it be that they coveted the knowledge of the Witch's Guild but were afraid to go after Anna, so they targeted him instead?
But Anna had ntioned that she held many pieces of evidence, allowing them to pass as external mbers of the Witch's Guild. This implied that the Witch's Guild did review knowledge leaks. How would the Cidi cult disguise themselves to use this knowledge?
Anna already knew the location of the Cidi cult's base. Even if they obtained the knowledge of the Witch's Guild, they couldn't use it without facing a devastating strike from the Witch's Guild.
Moreover, Ashu's mind didn't hold much of the Witch's Guild's knowledge. His skills were all granted by the system.
Just as he thought this...
Ashu suddenly paused. There was indeed a piece of unassuming knowledge from the Witch's Guild in his mind.
It was the super version of the basic cultivator knowledge that the system returned to him during Anna's first lecture. This knowledge was enough to enable soone without spiritual perception to embark on the path of cultivation.
Perhaps.
Kidopriest had misunderstood. Ashu had indeed embarked on the path of cultivation, but his rapid progress wasn't due to the basic knowledge. It was the system's Critical Return that had rocketed his Magical Essence manipulation skills and granted him exclusive super abilities. If an ordinary person were to cultivate using that basic knowledge, it might take them an exceedingly long ti to advance.
"Slap—"
Suddenly, the Cidi High Priest made a noise, trembling and putting on a show. "The Cidi god has passed judgnt. The one with original sin, you must hand over everything related to the witch and remarry Carol."
Indeed.
Ashu's suspicions were confird. But, remarrying Carol seed like an unnecessary step. She had already transford into sothing else.
Ashu thought for a mont and decided to buy more ti. "You summoned like this; I didn't have ti to bring anything related to the witch."
The Cidi High Priest looked at Kidopriest. At the latter's prompting, he continued, "Besides physical items, you must now hand over intangible things, or you will face the divine punishnt of the Cidi god."
Pretending not to understand, Ashu asked, "I'm just a farr; I don't understand what you're talking about. Could you explain it more simply?"
"Damn it..." The Cidi High Priest muttered angrily but quickly regained his composure. "You don't understand? Ignorant fool, go tell the Cidi god that."
With that, two Cidi cultists imdiately lifted Ashu and carried him toward the altar.
As they walked, the Cidi High Priest followed behind, saying, "The Cidi god will strip your soul and make you suffer for six days in hell. If you co to your senses and tell us what we need to know, you can use the last remaining day to plead for your survival."
Ashu was thrown onto the blood-soaked altar. His body was sealed, and he couldn't use his Magical Essence. Two Cidi cultists held him down, making it impossible for him to move. Even if he struggled, he couldn't overpower the cultists, who had their own Magical Essence.
He wasn't sure if the Cidi High Priest's words were true, but these people did have the secret ritual to summon him from thin air. Such a bizarre and mysterious ritual made it hard to say what else might exist.
Regardless, he needed to find a way to buy more ti. If he could delay, he would have three chances to escape:
Find an exit and use his own initiative.
Anna would notice his disappearance and use the vast array of Witch's Guild skills, possibly receiving a skill from the system that could break the seal.
The Forest Elf was still growing, and the next racial skill might be one that ignores seals.
Of course, there was a fourth option.
Anna had ntioned that if one believed in Cidi, the god could fulfill the summoner's desires. The god could summon any woman the summoner wanted in front of them, making her appear naked, or make the object of the summoner's affection fall in love with them.
He couldn't summon Anna, but what if he summoned the Divine Mother Goddess? The question was whether using the evil god Cidi to summon the Divine Mother Goddess would trigger her exorcism chanism, sending a divine punishnt to destroy this base.
If that didn't work, he could settle for summoning "any woman he wanted," which left a lot of room for maneuver.
Reviews
All reviews (0)