Friends Who Sacrifice Often Know

"As friends who sacrifice often know," Ansu replied earnestly, his tone and word choice remarkably professional.

"If you're short on infant bones, you can substitute fresh piglet bones. Mother Goddess of Life won't be able to tell the difference, and pig bones are cheaper, only two copper coins a pound at the market."

What kind of friends sacrifice often?

"Are you trying to fool the Great Mother Goddess with pig bones?" Maca roared, furious. "This is deceit! This is blasphemy and disgrace!"

Such a despicable act as faking it and fooling the goddess was something even they, the Esoteric Cultists, wouldn't do. Who uses two-copper-per-pound pig bones for sacrifices?

"Still shy even when lying," Ansu retorted, disappointed. "What face do you have to hang around with the Esoteric Cultists?"

Maca felt a lump of phlegm stuck in his throat.

"I have another suggestion," Ansu continued. "The placement of your Spirit Tower is problematic. That [human-faced flesh lump] over there should be in the southeast direction. This will also affect the efficiency of the sacrifice."

He pointed to the mass of monstrous flesh that was growing wildly in the distance. Veins pulsed and swelled on its grotesque body, and small human faces formed in the folds of flesh.

The human-faced flesh lump was already a bizarre and eerie thing, but Maca felt that the child before him was even more unsettling. This child was at most fourteen or fifteen years old, yet he acted like nothing was wrong, calmly pointing at the strange and grotesque evil object.

What was even more unsettling was the boy's gaze, serious and focused, devoid of any extra emotion. He was a sacrifice about to be made, yet he was discussing with his captor how to make the sacrifice more effective.

Have children these days reached this level?

Wasn't this child a blessed Acolyte Saint of Holy Light? Why was he more of an Esoteric Cultist than himself?

"Of course, it's not your fault. It's a common mistake for beginners." Ansu even tried to comfort Maca.

A believer, hearing Ansu's words, decided to try it out and moved the human-faced flesh lump to the southeast. He immediately felt the unnamable atmosphere around him deepen, chilling winds raising goosebumps. He then happily said to Maca, "Boss, it seems to have actually worked."

Maca felt that the career he had dedicated his life to had suffered the ultimate insult. He considered himself an artist of sacrifice. For more than a decade, he had worked diligently, painstakingly researching, striving to solidify the foundations of sacrifice, tackling its difficult problems, and working hard to promote the sacrificial cause of the Mother God of Life Cult.

Maca often kidnapped other people's children and took them to the border to sacrifice, but this was the first time a brat like this had questioned his professional standards. Normally, his favorite thing was to watch the struggling expressions of the children on the brink of death. He would always be overjoyed when he admired them. But today, he had encountered a freak like Ansu, who neither cried nor fussed, and spoke more professionally than he, an Esoteric Cultist!

"...What good does this do for you?"

"I'm just being helpful," Ansu said. "After all, this is my altar."

If the altar was set up more professionally, Ansu would get more benefits from it, so of course, he had to point out the mistakes. It's all my money!

"Do you know, do you know?" Maca grabbed Ansu's collar and lifted him to his face. The golden mask pressed tightly against Ansu's face, and the blood-red eyeholes were filled with madness.

"Do you know, I kidnap several children like you every week. Do you know what I love to do most? It's to visit their parents afterward, under the guise of condolences, to admire the sad expressions on their faces. It truly makes me feel heavenly!"

"I promise, after I sacrifice you, I will also listen carefully to your father's wails." He said hoarsely, gripping Ansu's neck, his pupils bulging unnaturally, his mouth twitching involuntarily, sticking out his tongue. "I guarantee I'll climax with pleasure."

"So you like kidnapping children." Ansu stared at him expressionlessly, his pale green eyes reflecting the other man's face. "Then you truly are a scumbag with low taste, cheaper than pig bones at two copper coins a pound."

However, Ansu never considered himself a good person.

"I'll send you to reunite with your beloved Mother Goddess," Ansu said. "It's a fitting end."

Maca threw Ansu to the ground and turned to loudly order those around him, "It's time, prepare to begin the ritual."

Rumble.

Lightning flashed outside the window, erupting in a burst of white light that illuminated the entire room, making it as white as frost. Maca turned back and saw Ansu's satisfied smile, perfectly outlined by the lightning.

"Mother Goddess of Desire and the Moon, Great Mother Goddess of Fertility, Eternal Motherhood above the Spirit Realm."

"This is the Hymn of the Utmost Sincerity, this is the Feast of Spirit and Soul, this is the Delicacy of Blood and Flesh."

"Your devout follower, Ansu Morningstar, offers a gift, dedicating seventeen dark heretics upon the altar to you—"

"Inviting you to dine with me!"

The invocation felt both familiar and strange.

It bore many similarities to the invocations they sang now.

But its priority was higher.

The ritual was completed in an instant.

Maca opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found he couldn't.

His throat felt blocked, flesh lumps growing wildly within his airway. He was stunned to discover that his entire trachea was growing flesh, bursting forth like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Flesh and blood consumed his entire body, sharp pain stimulating his already ruined nerves.

The same anomaly occurred to the First-tier believers around him. Their flesh and blood also began to grow wildly, then burst apart in chunks. Blood and flesh instantly splattered all over the altar, a sea of crimson.

It was like being covered in writhing, blood-colored caterpillars.

At this very moment, unparalleled terror descended upon his mind.

Maca realized he was being sacrificed, being devoured by the Mother Goddess of Life, just like the countless children he had sacrificed, falling into an eternal abyss of flesh and blood.

Maca was experiencing the pain they had felt.

"No, no."

Maca's face contorted beyond recognition. He could only stretch out his hand with all his might, his eyes fixed on Ansu, his pupils revealing a look of pleading and pity.

But Ansu paid him no mind.

He stood up, wiped the bloodstains from his cheek with a handkerchief, and took a few steps forward. He accidentally stepped on the pool of flesh and blood Maca had become, causing Ansu to frown.

[One First-tier believer sacrificed]

[One First-tier believer sacrificed]

[One Second-tier believer sacrificed]

[Due to the effect of the title 'The Newborn' (original name: Novice Blood Sacrificer of Life), the sacrifice effect is increased by 10%. Due to the Mother Goddess's dislike of altars, this effect cancels out.]

[Low-tier blessing can be obtained]