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The fairies that sprang out of the circle began to gradually take form.

Just like smoke billowing from the ground, they gradually expanded their bodies, forming hands and feet, their round bodies swaying side to side as they flailed their short limbs. Then, just like a turtle stretching its neck, one of them elongated its neck, grinning with a mouth resembling that of a lamprey, packed with jagged teeth.

*Ker-rrr!*

A sound that seemed like the giggle of playful babies.

Innocent and pure, a sound untouched by the world’s dirt.

Yet, no matter how you looked at it, the sight of each one gleefully gnawing on a wisdom tooth in their hands was far closer to that of a monster than a child.

*Caw-kaw!*

With each nibble on the wisdom tooth, the appearance of the tooth fairies gradually changed.

More limbs sprouted, their bodies grew larger, wings appeared, and they developed claw-like pincers reminiscent of a crab’s.

Only after their transformation included long, tentacle-like appendages serving as legs did their metamorphosis conclude.

*Kii-yar-giggle!*

What emerged from the mouths of these transformed tooth fairies was far too chilling to be considered baby-like, yet lacked the malice to be dubbed evil. Nevertheless, it stirred human fears, causing every hair on one’s body to stand on end.

Taking on a bizarre appearance that thoroughly stimulated the uncanny valley, the tooth fairies began to circle the altar. They appeared as if they were wolves eyeing their prey or individuals readying for some ritual.

And as if to match such a sight, the music flowing from the MP3 began to transform.

The grotesque melody suddenly burst into life, becoming more dynamic, morphing into an increasingly terrifying tune. Sharp notes pierced the sky, like a heartbeat racing toward the heavens, while the thundering of the tympani echoed all around.

The vibrations were so immense that they caused a waterfall of blood pouring to the ground to tremble, splattering droplets everywhere, and even eliciting a violent bout of vomiting from the diviner who struggled to regain composure.

The dreadful cacophony escalated around the altar, and the flickering flames danced wildly as if driven mad by the discord. The forest’s red light only amplified this madness, almost conjuring the delusion that some unseen evil being was impatiently demanding blood.

And with the rising sound, the tooth fairies began to dance in unison.

Centering around the altar, they spread out like blooming flowers, extending their arms only to retract and transform into the shapes of buds, much like the sun flickering its flames all around.

Jinseong quietly observed as the tooth fairies began to whirl around her. Then, he pulled a piece of flesh from his bosom.

The tiny piece of meat was tinged blue and black, giving the impression that it had gone bad and emitting a foul stench that suggested eating it could lead to dire consequences.

He lofted it into the air and into the mouth of the fainting Ella.

Almost immediately, her face contorted in agony, and her body began to show signs of distress. Her eyelids swelled, cold sweat oozed from every pore, and her complexion paled as if her blood were being drained.

At one point, even her fingers trembled as if they were seizing, marking a situation that could hardly be considered normal.

Upon seeing this, the tooth fairies abruptly stopped dancing and turned their heads as one.

What they saw was the diviner.

The diviner, swinging a wooden axe through the air while continuing to dance the ritual dance required for the occasion.

Desperate to control the ritual, the diviner paused his dance centered around the altar and glared at the tooth fairies, who were extending their lamprey-like mouths toward him, muttering a curse.

“Damn it…”

With a curse, the diviner shook his body, scattering the entire set of tarot cards on the floor.

The scattered cards all turned over, showing their backs intentionally, as the diviner moved his feet to arrange ten of them into a specific shape.

It was the Celtic Cross spread used primarily in tarot.

He flipped the fifth card from the Celtic Cross.

The drawing depicted Major Arcana number 10, The Wheel of Fortune.

A card featuring an enormous wheel floating in the sky, symbolizing cycles, fortune, and fate, yet…

“Reversed, huh?”

Flipped upside down, it indicated not an opportunity for escape but an indication that escape would be difficult. However, the diviner refused to give up and kicked it toward the tooth fairies, and the card spiraled toward them.

*Caw-kaw!*

The tooth fairy, seeing the whirlwind approach, chuckled mockingly, spreading insect-like wings and taking to the air in unison. They twirled about as if playing with the whirlwind like some amusement ride. And when the vortex dissipated, they tilted their heads in an almost mocking way, as if asking if there was nothing more.

Before the tooth fairies could pounce, the diviner flipped over the second card and the sixth card.

The second card revealing the problem was Major Arcana number 11, Justice.

The card depicted a figure sitting between two strangely carved pillars, clad only in fine cloth. A straightened sword gleamed silver, while the scales held in the other hand remained parallel as if that was their intended position.

However, the two-edged sword, which should have faced the enemy, was instead directed toward the diviner.

“Another reversal?”

The reversed justice indicated that the current situation was unfavorable for him.

The forest, which should have been the diviner’s home ground, had turned into a space that unilaterally imposed losses upon him, rife with accusations stemming from his poor judgments that had thrown everything off balance. Furthermore, it warned that the untainted sacrifice had been sullied and that a proper ritual could no longer proceed.

It was indeed the worst scenario.

But beneath the ground, there lies a bottom.

The sixth card flipped for an opportunity revealed an even more horrific outcome.

It depicted a man standing on one leg, hands bound behind his back.

The man’s smile seemed resigned, or perhaps enlightened, exuding a soft glow. Moreover, the pillars against his back flaunted fresh green leaves sprouting all around, presenting a picture that, at least from that one angle, bore no reason to feel unpleasant.

Except for the fact that the man should have been hanging there.

“Reversed….”

Major Arcana number 12, The Hanged Man.

When upright, it symbolizes sacrifice and offering.

But in the reverse position, it signifies meaningless sacrifice and punishment.

The diviner cried out, tears of blood streaming down his face.

“You monster! What have you done?!”

The upside-down Justice and Hanged Man were revealing the truth.

Ella was so contaminated that she could no longer be sacrificed, and this human sacrifice ritual had now become meaningless.

Even if Ella were sacrificed, you’d gain nothing of what you seek.

This place was no longer a sacred ritual space, but rather your execution ground.

The divination foretold his horrifying demise.

And Jinseong, as if affirming that ominous reading, increased the volume on the MP3.

“Aren’t I helping with your ritual?”

Jinseong smiled.

“I’m just playing some music for you, yes? Ah, by any chance, do you dislike classical?”

Igor Stravinsky’s work.

The Rite of Spring.

A composition based on the primitive religious rites of Russia.

It interpreted a human sacrifice ritual conducted in honor of the Spring and Sun.

If one considers that the diviner’s human sacrifice ritual offers a tribute to Crom Cruach, the god of sun and fertility, it was quite a fitting combination.

However, this Rite of Spring demanded a ‘pure virgin.’

Once entering the second part of the Rite of Spring, Le Sacrifice, the effects would only amplify the offering of a pure virgin.

For Jinseong, who didn’t want Ella to die and wished for the diviner to lose control of the ongoing ritual, it was an unwelcome scenario.

Thus, he had to make Ella impure.

“Quis potest facere mundum de immundo?”

What does purity mean?

Does it simply mean abstaining from carnal relations?

If so, does that mean a newborn baby, a child, a mature virgin, and a middle-aged bachelor past prime all hold the same value?

Absolutely not.

A person who has never held the hand of the opposite sex, yet grown old, has been whittled down by the tempests of the world, thus decreasing their purity.

And though a mature virgin may exist without a single blemish, the stamp of the world is undeniably upon them.

One could argue that while a child is less tainted, the nature of humanity contributes to the accumulation of karma over time.

A newborn baby, untainted by the world and free from karma, stands as the purest being.

So, what is tainted, and how do we become marred?

What dirties us, and what instills the stains within humanity?

Jinseong understood that answer.

Living a life with a corpse-like body, the horrible pain and the decaying flesh were inherently filthy and contaminated.

Body, soul, spirit.

If just one becomes tainted or twisted, everything could spiral into disarray!

It was akin to a three-legged pot; if one leg is broken, the entire thing topples over.

It’s easy to cause issues with the body.

In the past, people believed illness was a form of impurity, thus a sick person was seen as tainted.

Therefore, the ill would visit temples, bathe to cleanse themselves, and perform prayers to achieve ‘purification,’ freeing themselves from their sickness and emerging anew in a clean body.

Moreover, illness meant straying from the norm.

It encompassed not only germs and viruses and hereditary diseases but also fungal or parasitical infections.

Utilizing such means was Jinseong’s specialty.

Even without massacring, he could easily disintegrate a person’s physical body.

“The altar needs a sacrifice. You understand that, right?”

Jinseong laughed as he met the diviner’s gaze.

To some, he might have resembled a child squashing an ant without an ounce of guilt, while to others, he appeared a joyous youth overjoyed to fulfill justice. Alternatively, he could have looked like a murderer reveling in someone’s gruesome death or perhaps a torture expert relishing in the sweet sound of someone’s screams.

What could one even call that?

How do we define it?

“This… this can’t be happening.”

The diviner found himself at a loss for words, staring at the grinning Jinseong.

A grin that gleefully looked forward to his destruction.

“What exactly is wrong?”

“I just wanted to show my kin, that child! The child who never came to be!”

“I simply wanted to grant them light!”

“Lacking talent and potential, they’ll only accumulate more evil as they live!”

“And they have! I can handle it! Countless humans have died, bleeding out to save that child!”

“The scent of their blood clings to that child’s soul!”

“Raised with resentment since childhood!”

“Is it so wrong to offer up that worthless being, living only to feed on youth?”

Within the piercing dissonance, the diviner screamed.

“Human sacrifice? What’s wrong with that?”

“Someone like you wouldn’t cringe at human sacrifice, right?!”

“I’m envious of the sacrifice, am I?! R-right?! Am I?!”

“You’re well aware of how much you could gain from that worthless creature, aren’t ya?!”

“That’s why you intervened, isn’t it?”

With anger in his bloodshot eyes, the diviner stared daggers at Jinseong.

“What’s wrong with you?!”

“What does it have to do with you?”

“You’ll even gain a strength boost for your sister!”

“Don’t you get it or not?!”

“With that one, everyone will be happy.”

“Your sister’s enlightened mind will flourish.”

“Her vitality will be boosted, enhancing her physical abilities.”

“I’ll draw closer to becoming a hero.”

“The innocent child who never took a breath will gain life.”

“We’re talking about a child who will undoubtedly yield better results than that wrong from the beginning!”

“That worthless one must die for the future child to thrive!”

“We can’t coexist! It’s fundamentally wrong, so they must die cleanly and grant their pure body to that child!”

Jinseong showed no reaction to the diviner’s words.

Instead, he held his breath, erased his presence, and simply lingered there like a bug attracted by the smell of blood and death.

Meanwhile, the tooth fairies slowly approached him, perfectly timed as the second part of The Rite of Spring, Le Sacrifice, started to play from the MP3.

“Oh dear.”

“Damn it….”

The diviner sensed the fate approaching.

The ritual could not be halted.

It had already progressed enough, and if the sacrifice wasn’t made by sunrise, the ritual would “take” its offering from among those participating. And the only one conducting the ritual was the diviner.

Jinseong, after all, was merely the one providing the altar, incapable of being a sacrifice.

The diviner could not flee.

Crom Cruach represents fear and slaughter, the sun and fertility.

Even if he were to run, as long as he stood where the sun shone and the land brimmed with fertility, the required offerings would be collected from him, the priest conducting the ritual and the lone participant.

Moreover, in order to quell his fury, he could not attack Jinseong.

Fighting another shaman while paying the toll of life and energy in real-time due to the ritual would almost be akin to committing suicide.

But could he continue the ritual?

With the sacrifice tainted and sullied, what would be the point of continuing?

How could he safely finish performing the rite while offering a sacrifice?

“Sigh….”

The diviner sighed, gazing at the tooth fairies swirling around him.

The tooth fairies danced around him, their grotesque movements included twists, hand flails, and claw brandishing as they jumped about gleefully.

The diviner quietly looked down at himself.

Clothing free of blemish.

His skin, unmarred despite the pandemonium.

Instead of the smell of blood or the scent he should naturally exude, he emitted a subtle fragrance of lotus flowers.

The diviner saw it.

He witnessed the terrible illusion of Crom Cruach’s pattern grinning at him.

 

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