Sevenfold Sacrifice

The requirements for the Moulting Ritual are somewhat complicated... but the Ring Angel and the Butterfly Angel are ultimately Celestial Masters, not Pillar God.

The ritual to invoke them doesn't yet require the selection of highly precise items like incense, crystals, or statues. Simply state your request clearly in the message, without asking if they're there.

Under Iver's direction and assistance, Meg chose Large Ritual Array.

She wrote her request in Elven Language and accurately in Elvish on the inner circle: I now need to use the power of the Butterfly Angel to complete the Moulting Ritual to combat aging. If you are willing to help me with this, then I will embark on an endless path of transcendence, and the path of transcendence I have chosen is "transcending myself".

Then draw an inner Ritual Circle to separate this part of the text on the outer ring.

Then, she inscribed a perfect serpentine pattern, the symbol "∞". A huge floor-length mirror was to be placed in the center of the symbol, dividing the infinity pattern precisely in two without severing the outer Ritual Circle.

Then, on the outer edge of ∞ and within the inner circle of the second Ritual Circle, the names of the thirty-six apostles are written, serving as witnesses to the ritual. A different butterfly or butterfly specimen is then placed on top of each name.

Then, following the order in which the ∞ pattern was drawn, place seven special items along the outer edge of the symbol, starting from the point where the stroke began.

"—Seven items that can represent your entire life so far. They must contain some meaning, symbolize your past, and be cherished and loved by you. The more you value them, the higher the success rate of the ritual."

Iver cautioned, "Ideally, it should be something like a turning point in your life... but the ritual will destroy these items, so be prepared."

"Yes, I brought it. I just went home specifically to find these things."

Meg sighed, her usually loud and deafening voice becoming unusually soft, like a normal conversation.

Her words became much clearer as a result. "Luckily, I'm a sentimental person, so I didn't throw those things away..."

As she spoke, she walked outside the ceremony area. She took the items out one by one from the bag she had brought.

"I can't find the things from earlier. They were probably left behind during the moves."

Meg said with a touch of nostalgia, "This is the earliest thing I could find..."

As she spoke, she took out a copper pocket watch that was somewhat rusty, but not very noticeable.

"What's this?"

Iver asked, somewhat puzzled.

"... This should be considered my first love."

Meg sighed. "Unlike you, I wasn't born on Glass Island. I grew up in a small village and didn't move to town until high school."

She sounds a bit like Senior Hai Na Iver thought.

She seems to have gone to the town when she was in middle school; before that, she had been living in Eagle Cape Village.

"Later, I graduated and was admitted to the Royal Law University. My boyfriend at the time gave me a pocket watch. His grandfather was a watchmaker. It was a gift from his grandfather to him, and he gave it to me."

"They said that when you get to Glass Island, the clocks there must be very expensive... but when I got to Glass Island, I found that there are Clock Tower everywhere."

Meg whispered as she placed it at the starting point.

"It represents my leaving the place where I was born, leaving the people who love me, and coming to Glass Island all alone."

The old man's gaze softened, and his voice became as steady and gentle as that of a normal elderly person.

The second item is a diploma from the Royal Law University.

Seeing Iver's curious gaze, Meg generously opened her diploma and showed it to him.

Personal Tactics Department, School of Public Security and Law, Major in Inspection.

Meg Danai. Graduated in 1828.

This was the first time Iver had learned of Ms. Meg's real name—he had only just learned that Meg was not her surname, but her first name.

It's 1898 now, which means... this is a graduation certificate from seventy years ago. Back then, Her Majesty the Queen was probably still just learning to speak.

So, is Ms. Meg really ninety years old this year?

She looked so young and vibrant, yet she appeared to be more than ten years older than Her Majesty the Queen lay in her sickbed...

The third item was a beautiful solid gold ring, inlaid with a thin ruby the size of a fingernail.

"This is my wedding ring... It is also a supernatural item that can quickly heal my injuries."

Meg said softly, "It is also the last thing my husband left me."

"When we got married, we had nothing. But he said he had to give me some tokens to prove our relationship... so he gave me his best possessions."

"Sometimes I wonder... did they fail to slay the dragon because they lacked that one ring? Back then, I often tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and when I did fall asleep, it was all nightmares. Sometimes, when I was alone, I would cry like a little girl. Looking back now, it's really something to miss."

"I was twenty-five years old then. I became a widow on my first day of marriage."

The fourth item was a broken sword in the Elven Style. Iver immediately recognized it as identical to Hai Na's sword.

The fifth item was a collar. The collar was inscribed with "Heber Danai".

"This is my griffin collar. They symbolize my joining and leaving the Bureau of Supervision."

Meg said softly, "After it died in the line of duty, I refused the opportunity to be knighted and awarded armor, left the Bureau of Supervision... and went to the Law Court. After all, although I am not a real Law Mage, I can still use Law Spell. And I use it much better than a recent college graduate."

"At that time, I was thirty-six years old. I thought that the most glorious, healthiest, and strongest time of my life had passed, and what remained was just a slow burn. Like a cigarette that had been smoked down to the butt. If I didn't throw it away soon, it would burn my fingers."

"I was confused for a long time, and in the end I realized that everything I went through was because I wasn't strong enough."

"If I am strong enough, then he will not die; if I am strong enough, Herbert will not die either. So I..."

She laughed as she said this, and honestly replied, "I took advantage of my position to secretly read the Grimoire."

"It was extremely dangerous; I nearly died several times. But I always felt that even dying on the path of pursuing the Way was better than rotting in the Archive Room. So in the end, I pulled through."

The sixth item is a green dragon scale.

It is emerald green and pure, like jade, but its withered appearance makes it resemble a sliced and dried melon rind.

"This is proof of my dragon-slaying. I was 45 years old that year."

And the last item—

Meg took her necklace off her neck.

It was an ordinary-looking silver necklace, except for the triangular pattern of Avalon.

"I originally wanted to become the Grand Guardian. But the Grand Guardian needs his own griffin, otherwise it's hard to get to the scene in time. Besides, I'm restless and can't sit still, so I'm not suited to spending all my time peering through the Eye of Avalon ... So, in the end, I became the Grand Arbitrator."

"And after I succeeded as the Grand Arbitrator, Sofia gave me this gift. It looks very much like the Eye of Avalon, but its most precious feature is..."

Meg paused slightly at this point. "It was personally crafted by Sofia."

She placed the last item in the last position of the Infinity Ring, right next to the first one.

Finally, Meg stood steadily inside one of the circles of the ∞ symbol, looked at herself in the mirror, and cut open her wrists, letting her blood soak into the ∞-shaped grooves.

As the blood slowly flowed from and filled the groove, Iver, standing outside the Ritual Circle, began chanting the ritual. "Sacrifice seven memories, bid farewell to the past! We respectfully invite the Ring Angel, the Ouroboros Angel, the Infinite Angel to descend—"

As Iver chanted, the seven items were ignited one by one, transforming into seven clusters of dark purple flames.

They all flew up, disappearing into the mirror in clusters, forming a circular pattern. When the last ball of fire disappeared into the mirror, the mirror turned purple, and Meg and the flames in the mirror vanished.

In the Deep Purple ocean, a huge, eternal ring of gold and black emerged.

From this side, it appears to have remained stationary. But if you focus your gaze on one spot, you can see that it is constantly rotating.

Meg then began to express her plea. "I pray for the power of transformation and ascension, I pray for the miracle of shedding my skin!"

"I will surpass myself, and my steps will never stop—"

After she finished speaking, the Elven Language between the two Ritual Circle was lit up, emitting a faint glow.

Immediately afterwards, the giant serpent with its tail rumbled and changed—it twisted its body and transformed into an infinity symbol resembling ∞.

Meg felt a searing pain on her tongue. An infinity symbol was branded onto her tongue, signifying that the contract was complete.

Power from the Ring Angel surged continuously from the mirror, turning the blood on the ground into a transparent purple liquid. On the other side of the mirror, within another circle of the infinity symbol, the liquid rose and solidified into a giant egg.

At this moment, Iver continued chanting at just the right time, "We respectfully invite the Butterfly Angel!"

"Angel of Transformation and Appearance Change, Angel of Old Death and New Life— "

Chapter Two is still around 2 PM, meow~