Kneel Down and Call Me Dad

The prayer ended.

Krista raised her voice, drawing everyone's attention. "People of God, it is time once again to offer sacrifices to God."

At once, the entire venue fell silent.

Sacrifice meant death.

Though they were followers of the Evil God's demons, that did not mean they were unafraid of death.

At every sacrificial ceremony, they worried that they might become the unlucky offering.

"Do not be afraid, everyone. This time, we have two new sacrifices for God. There is no need to choose a victim from among ourselves."

Hearing that, everyone could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Gazes fell upon Bruce and Oliver, who were bound hand and foot, their eyes unable to conceal their gloating.

As long as they were not the ones dying, it did not matter who did.

"Bruce, what should we do?"

"Oliver, leave it to fate."

They had been tied up layer upon layer, their limbs numb from the lack of circulation. There was no chance of breaking free and escaping.

Their only hope was that Allen would descend from the sky and save them.

Now, that seemed limited to fantasy.

At that moment, Krista approached gracefully, casually pointing The Blade of Redemption at them as she asked, "I'll give you one chance. Whoever volunteers to be sacrificed first will let the other live five more years."

The two lowered their heads in silence.

Neither could decide another person's life or death. At least, their moral standards would not allow it.

And sacrificing oneself required tremendous courage.

"Kill me first."

After a long silence, Bruce slowly raised his head. "Oliver, if possible, please take my remains back to Wayne Manor and bury me beside my parents."

"Why do you get to be the hero?"

Oliver roared, "If anyone dies first, it should be me. I should have died at sea with my father anyway. Let me return to the ending I was meant to have."

"No, listen to me. As long as you are alive, there is hope. You still have family waiting for you, while I am only an orphan."

"Bullshit! Just because you are an orphan, that makes you noble? That makes you a hero?"

Their faces flushed as they argued, each willingly offering to die in the other's place.

The sight kept the cultists silent. No one spoke to interrupt them, and they could not help but marvel at their noble character. In their place, they would only think of desperately clinging to life.

"Shut up."

Krista said impatiently, "You are both going to die anyway, so what are you arguing for? I'll make the choice for you."

"You die first."

She strode resolutely toward Bruce, whose face had already turned ashen.

"I hope you make it quick," Bruce pleaded calmly.

"I'm sorry, but the sacrificial ritual requires you to die in pain."

The reason the cultists feared being chosen as sacrifices was that the entire process was worse than death.

If it were just one clean slash, perhaps they would not fear death so much.

Several cultist guards moved Bruce before the fragment, where Krista would subject him to inhuman torture.

"You should feel honored to ascend into God's embrace."

Krista raised The Blade of Redemption high, her expression solemn and grave, as though she were about to conduct a grand ceremony.

"The only thing I feel honored about is being reunited with my family."

Bruce spoke with disdain, his expression resolute in the face of death. He had already prepared himself to die generously.

Since they could not see eye to eye, Krista stopped wasting time and slowly brought The Blade of Redemption toward Bruce's face.

The first step: flaying.

The sacrifice had to be drenched in blood, as though undergoing a baptism of blood and fire.

Just as the blade was about to touch his cheek, Krista frowned deeply.

Bruce opened his eyes in confusion. He saw only that she was straining to press the blade down, yet it never managed to touch his skin.

"What is going on? Is God dissatisfied with the sacrifice?"

Krista was utterly baffled. It was as if an invisible wall of air prevented The Blade of Redemption from falling.

The next second, an immense force suddenly struck her from the waist.

Before she could react, her entire body was sent flying sideways.

At the same time, Bruce's eyes widened.

Because Allen appeared out of thin air without warning.

"Hey, hey, hey! Didn't expect me to be invisible, did you?"

How could a normal person possibly expect that you could turn invisible?

Even abnormal people apparently would not think of it either.

"Kill him and take back The Blade of Redemption."

Having recovered her senses, Krista angrily ordered the cultists. She suddenly realized that The Blade of Redemption was already in his hand.

Allen turned and seized the other fragment. He tapped it with The Blade of Redemption, producing a crisp sound, then said playfully, "Why do I feel that squares are more fun? I hate circles the most."

"Do not be afraid. The fragments cannot be damaged again. Attack together and reclaim the sacred relic and divine weapon!" Krista urged anxiously.

However, Allen took out the other fragment and combined the two into one, restoring the complete Floros Emblem.

In an instant, silence descended. No one dared make another move.

Now their weak point was in someone else's hands.

Allen threatened, "Release Green Arrow, or I'll chop the emblem into eight pieces."

"Destroy the emblem, and Alessa will not spare you either," Krista warned coldly.

"She sent me."

"..."

Well then, they were accomplices.

Krista was instantly left speechless. Then a plan came to her, and she suggested, "Exchange him for the emblem."

Allen looked at the golden emblem, then at Oliver, and said decisively, "Kill him. I am not handing over gold that is already in my hands."

Before Krista could panic, Oliver, whose hope had just been rekindled, could no longer sit still. He shouted, "Allen, I am the heir to the Queen Group. Save me, and I'll transfer one hundred million dollars into your account afterward."

"Listen to that. Am I the kind of person who abandons friends for money?"

Allen said seriously, "Release them immediately, right now, or it will be time for the female lead to make an appearance."

The force with which The Blade of Redemption struck the golden emblem increased slightly, each tap seeming to hammer against everyone's hearts.

Under that invisible pressure, Krista finally nodded in agreement.

Oliver regained his freedom and immediately untied Bruce.

"What else do you want?"

Having someone hold her weakness over her felt terrible. Krista could only keep yielding.

Allen's sleazy grin foretold that he was about to do something unreasonable again.

"Kneel down and call me Dad."

The moment those words fell, Bruce and Oliver abruptly turned to stare at him, wondering if he really had to take things that far.

Judging by her appearance, she was old enough to be his grandmother. Her actual age was probably at the level of a great-great-great-grandmother—a truly ancient mature beauty.

The cultists could not help sighing at Allen's peculiar tastes.

Krista gritted her teeth in fury. "I would rather die than let you humiliate me."

If you did not want to be respectable, someone would help you be respectable.

The cultists did not care about that. It was not them acknowledging a father, after all, and they began persuading her one after another.

"Cult Leader, just say it once. It is no big deal."

"Cult Leader, your humiliation in exchange for everyone's survival is great and sacred."

"Cult Leader, do not force me to kneel and beg you. What is wrong with saying it once?"

"Yeah, yeah. Say it, and at worst, everyone can call you Mom."

"Cult Leader, you may be willing to die, but we are not."

Those words of moral coercion made Krista's anger and indignation seem ready to turn into flames in her eyes.

In particular, the guards holding electric batons were stepping closer and closer even as they tried to persuade her.

All of a sudden, she felt the humiliation of being abandoned by everyone.