Mage Manual

Chapter 209: Chapter 183: Sacrifice All Heretics! Chapter 209 -183: Sacrifice All Heretics! “You are just Ash Heath.”

How come this name sounds like a curse now?

Name: Ash Heath, Gender: Ash Heath, Crime: Ash Heath?

Ash, filthy and grimy, was tied up and lying on the ground, the pain in his back surged like a tide, so painful he could only whimper, having no energy to refute the words of Eternal Damnation.

The necromancer next to him said sympathetically, “So it was true when you said you were framed before, Ash. I thought it was just one of your cold jokes, back then I even thought the leader of the Four Pillars God Sect had a sense of humor.”

“I think he’s just stupid,” Igula coldly remarked, “You still can’t see the situation clearly at this point, your life is in their hands and yet you dare to bargain. Would a lumberjack fear a tree because the handle of his axe is made of wood?”

“All you can do is flatter and please, to make yourself another axe for them, yet you act like a cockroach trying to jump onto their face. It’s a miracle they didn’t squash you on the spot. Love it or leave it; they don’t lack for foreign laborers. Even children in the orphanage know to bow their heads and take the job at times like these, only you would ask about salary and a labor contract…”

Harvey initially wanted to argue in defense of Ash, but noticing Ash just glared resentfully at Igula muttering curses only he could hear, Harvey prudently chose to keep quiet. Ash was injured and needed a distraction, Igula’s provocation perfectly inflamed his emotions, making him forget his physical pain.

However, Harvey felt that Igula’s scolding was odd—if Ash had really acted on the words of Eternal Damnation, the ones screaming now would be him and Igula. Why was Igula taunting with a tone of frustrated expectations as if he wished Ash would survive by stepping over their corpses?

“Oooh… …”

“Let go of me, Daddy, Mommy—”

“Oooh, oooooh, waah! I want Mommy, Mommy!”

The shrill and noisy voices of children filled the hall, Harvey and Igula both showed expressions of distaste. It wasn’t that they disliked the Divine Sect harming children, but they were annoyed by the noise of the children—Blood Moonians had very low tolerance for young annoyances.

After listening for a while, Igula suddenly asked in a low voice, “Why are they all calling for Daddy and Mommy, are they heroes here?”

Watching Igula and Harvey ask such a question like illiterates, Ash almost wanted to laugh.

Though it was also his first time hearing the parental titles of this nation, from the tone alone Ash knew who they were calling for, as parental titles were those most common syllables.

“Yes, just by saying those words, Mommy and Daddy would sacrifice their lives for you.”

Harvey became serious, “We aren’t from this nation, will Mommy and Daddy protect us too?”

Ash wanted to continue teasing them, but for some reason suddenly felt dispirited and did not answer. The crying children were brought around them, also bound by the Miracle Chains, their cries thunderous—some sobbing quietly, others bawling. Each one was a delicate young child, not as tall as a wheel, almost the same size as Eternal Damnation on the Silver Throne.

“Do children have value as sacrifices…?” Igula quietly asked.

“Within the Four Pillars God Sect, children symbolize ‘purity.’ Only children, yet untouched by societal corruptions, can harbor pure evil, pure goodness, pure hatred, pure joy, like flawless gemstones,” Ash recalled Heath’s criminal record and his expression turned grim, “They are not the best sacrifices, but they are the easiest to find.”

“Hey, look at that girl,” Harvey suddenly said.

Ash looked over and saw a very cute, delicate girl with white hair, thinking that Harvey had become somewhat normal, although still a bit creepy, but at least his focus was on someone alive.

However, he quickly understood Harvey’s point—the white-haired girl was too calm.

She wasn’t crying nor was she petrified; instead, she was calmly observing her surroundings. Noticing the gazes of the three villains, she blinked and instantly put on a pitiable and adorable expression, invoking a strong protective instinct in others, as if she was hoping for a hero to rescue her from danger.

“Drama queen,” Igula disdainfully provided the accurate assessment, with both Harvey and Ash quite disappointed—they had thought that the little girl had some tricks up her sleeve given her composure, only to find out she was just acting cute.

During their conversation, the robed believers cleared a large space in the middle for them, and the suspended plate directly above them suddenly thundered, releasing four rivers of flame that spiraled around them, forming four concentric circles. The blazing Fire Ring isolated them from the outside world.

Ancient and strange hymns echoed in the underground hall:

“Billions of splendors, billions of incarnations, billions of possibilities…”

“Messenger of snow and wind, pure azure, suppressing the abnormal…”

“Eternal scorching heat, Eternal Life, forever adrift…”

“Fantastical freedom…”

“Let this sincere prayer be guided by the merciful and holy Four Pillars, humbly seeking their insightful judgement!”

After the believers finished praying, the eternally cute, naive voice slowly resounded: “The oracle’s indicated sacrifices have now been gathered.”

“In the name of Selena Bright, offer to the Gods of Four Pillars the sacrifices within the Fire Ring—three from the Exotic Realm, sixteen pure souls!”

It was over.

Igula sighed inwardly. He hadn’t expected to survive the prison escape, nor the pursuit from the Crime Hunting Hall, only to die in a sacrifice by the Four Pillars God Sect.

Rounding up, it was as if he had died by Ash’s hand.

If only I hadn’t hit on this newbie in the prison… If only I hadn’t seen him as prey…

Igula suddenly laughed, extinguishing the flicker of regret in his heart—compared to rotting in Shattered Lake Prison, he’d rather play his part in the grand Blood Moon Judgement and a glamorous prison escape, then die.

He owed thanks to Ash Heath, who had freed him from the dull prison life and set him on a dazzling trajectory toward death.

It was said that after evil people die, their souls must traverse the seven layers of Hell and endure endless torment before finding rest in the Void Realm, with all the resentful souls harmed by them eagerly awaiting this perfect chance for revenge, ready to repay the evil people tenfold, a hundredfold for the disasters they had caused.

Dear Cult Leader, with your impressive achievements, there must be many in Hell eager to play games with you. But don’t worry, I’m a bad guy too, so I’ll join you in dealing with them.

Igula turned his head to look at Ash, but he saw no fear on the Cult Leader’s face. He seemed to have some other reliance, trembling as he straightened his back, proudly lifting his head and loudly saying to the space above:

Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.

“In the name of Ash Heath, offer to the Gods of Four Pillars the sacrifices outside the Fire Ring—all the believers in the underground hall!”