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The obsidian dagger pierced her chest as effortlessly as if plunging it into tofu. Jinseong began to move the dagger, carving a design into her heart.

As if cutting through something soft and delicate, he sliced her skin without drawing a single drop of blood, sketching a semicircle over her breast. The nightgown she wore was reduced to rags, unable to serve its purpose, as the thin layer of fabric peeled away to reveal her pristine white chest.

Jinseong treated her small breast as if it were a canvas, using the obsidian dagger as a brush, painting on Ella’s skin in a body painting fashion.

And finally, when abstract and hieroglyphic-like designs were etched, he halted his hand and pulled the obsidian dagger out, gripping the air.

*Crack!*

Then, a sound like something being torn apart echoed as Ella’s chest gradually opened. Without a drop of blood spilled, a grotesque meat chunk floated into the air, its shape resembling something that could haunt nightmares.

It was a teratoma.

Jinseong gazed at it and spoke.

“Congratulations on your emergence from the egg.”

With unrestrained determination, he began to cut the meat chunk with the obsidian dagger.

*Snip.*

*Snip.*

The lumpy, seemingly meaningless exterior of the meat chunk was sliced away like cutting jewels, eventually forming a singular shape.

A form resembling that of a person.

At a glance, it looked like a fetus, or differently, a newborn infant, its shape was that of a delicate newborn.

Shockingly, the meat chunk emitted a faint vibration.

Its heart was beating.

Just as Jinseong had done to Ella, he began to carve patterns into the meat chunk using the obsidian dagger. However, unlike Ella, he only etched one symbol, that of a cross with a handle.

It was the Egyptian hieroglyph, Ankh (☥).

He placed the meat chunk beside Ella.

Then, he clenched his hand, summoning a multitude of boxes buried underground.

*Thud!*

*Thud!*

With a heavy sound, the boxes fell before Jinseong, their lids popping open on their own.

Inside the opened boxes were objects resembling human organs.

3D cell-cultured organoids.

But that wasn’t all.

In another box, substances that compose humans were crudely stuffed together, with lime powder and charcoal dust floating on the surface of water.

Some boxes were filled with what looked like blood packs, others contained collagen fibers, and others held special culture solutions rich in mana.

Jinseong reviewed the materials obtained through connections and wealth from the great witch, lifting the obsidian dagger high into the sky. He waited quietly until the obsidian reflected the sun’s light, and when it sparkled and descended towards the altar, he shouted loudly.

“As the blazing sun is eternal, so shall its grace be!”

The dreadful human sacrifice, the offering, brought down the sun’s blessing.

That grace was now descending upon Ella.

Originally intended for the diviner, the grace concentrated solely on Ella, the sole survivor. Moreover, rather than dissipating to enrich the surrounding area and vanish into nothingness, the symbol of the “sun” was reinforced by Jinseong, allowing it to focus on Ella without loss.

As the warm light descended upon the altar, Jinseong maneuvered the obsidian dagger, channeling the light.

Like adjusting a concave mirror to focus light into a single point, he illuminated Ella’s body, then the meat chunk, and sent it back to the sky in repetitive motions.

And then.

*Fwoosh.*

As if his actions bore fruit, flames erupted.

Ella and the meat chunk began to burn.

The red flames surged high, eventually turning so dark that their forms disappeared. And soon after, they vanished.

*Crackle.*

With a sound of sparks, the flames that had disappeared regurgitated Ella.

Ella was completely naked, having shed the nightgown she wore.

However, what was peculiar was that her appearance was slightly different than before.

Ella, who had seemed like she could become a corpse at any moment, was now revitalized. The wounds she bore were nowhere to be seen, her skin now pristine and unblemished, as if she had just been born.

Furthermore, the pain she had felt earlier vanished, and she lay with her eyes closed, tranquil, breathing evenly.

Beside her, the meat chunk was engulfed in flames, the fire appearing unsatisfied with merely consuming it, gradually moving to engulf the boxes. First, it ignited the box with lime powder and charcoal dust, followed by the box containing the organoids.

Still not satisfied, the flames continued to move, incinerating the entire set of boxes.

Like a gluttonous spirit, it greedily devoured everything.

As the boxes burned, the flames at the altar grew ever larger.

What had been the size of a fist now swelled to the size of a head, and then to that of a child.

Only upon reaching about half of Ella’s size did the flames seem satisfied, only to suddenly diminish and regurgitate something.

*Crackle!*

With a sound of sparks, what was regurgitated was a girl.

A girl with the same white hair and white skin as Ella.

In appearance, she resembled Ella as though they were sisters or perhaps mother and daughter.

The girl lay peacefully, mirroring Ella’s calm countenance, breathing evenly.

And as the girl exhaled, the sun began to retract its light, completing its role, and soon the bright light lingering over the altar disappeared.

The blessing of Crom Cruach had come to an end.

“Truly, much has been gained.”

Jinseong smiled.

Ella, who should have died, had survived.

Danbi had obtained her own body, rather than remaining in Ella’s.

Moreover, the remaining power of the sun was concentrated in the obsidian dagger.

If he wished, he could harness the sun’s power to create a powerful divine object, or siphon off the strength to enhance Iarin’s abilities, and even provide some benefit to Iserin.

It was a situation with nothing but gains.

Everyone was happy.

How could this not be a good thing?

“Om Mani Padme Hum.”

Jinseong recited a mantra for the diviner who had given him so many gifts and vanished.

If the previous invocation was for the repose of the departed, this time it was a gesture of gratitude.

But did the diviner receive that gratitude and become angry?

A coarse retort flew towards Jinseong.

*Whoooooosh!*

A battle axe, breaking the sound barrier.

* * *

The axe slicing through the air literally tore through the void.

With a red aura swirling like flames, the axe traced a massive crimson line as it soared toward the altar, aiming to obliterate the head of the presumed shaman standing there.

*Boom!*

However, just before the axe smashed into the shaman’s head, a haze rose, slightly altering the axe’s trajectory, and several layers of energy barriers sprung up to block it.

Noticing the honeycomb-patterned designs on the energy barrier, it appeared a projectile-defensive artifact had been employed.

“You blocked it.”

Yet, the middle-aged man who threw the axe muttered with an impassive expression.

“Well, if it’s a guy with nerves of steel, you have to at least stop this much.”

“Wouldn’t it be a bit dull if I performed such a ritual without even getting a greeting?”

The middle-aged man spat out the cigarette he had been chewing and glanced at the forest.

The smell of blood vibrating painfully in his head.

The structure that appeared to be an altar.

And the human form lying upon it.

All of it was proclaiming that a human sacrifice ritual was being carried out within the crimson pillar.

“Heh, right. For a bastard who dares to do such trash in the presence of Mother Russia, at least this much should be endured.”

He had no idea why the shaman conducted a human sacrifice ritual.

He wasn’t some weakling country, so why had he dared to carry out such a ritual in Russia?

He had no clue what thoughts were swirling in his head or how inflated his ambitions had become.

But one thing was certain.

Those who engage in such misdeeds deserved to have their heads shattered.

He crushed the cigarette that fell in the snow beneath his boot.

“Let me show you the taste of the organ!”

With the man’s command, the multi-barrel rocket launched, spitting fire.

 

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