Chapter 59 · Too Frightening for a Demon
In my name, I summon thee from the darkened sky, summon thee from the corpses of white bones, summon thee from the foul river of blood. In my name, I forsake the gods and offer the blood, souls, and flesh of all.
Within the pitch-black cave, as Carolien's low, distorted chanting rang out, a blood-red Magic Circle began to take shape on the ground, little by little. The adventurers he had gathered around him immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Their bodies were bound in place by the Magic Circle, leaving them able only to watch as their skin was torn apart bit by bit. Amid the intense pain, bright-red blood flowed down their skin onto the ground. Their flesh became dark-red liquid and dripped away, exposing their white bones to the air.
Fear, along with the pupils that seemed to reach deep into their souls, made everyone begin to scream and howl without end. They watched with their own eyes as their companions completely dissolved into pools of liquid, seemingly absorbed by the Magic Circle beneath their feet, leaving behind nothing but a ghastly white skeleton.
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! Big Brother Carolien, what are you doing? This isn't the plan you told us about!"
A skeleton covered in bloody flesh wailed as it looked toward Carolien. Its pupils, flowing from its eye sockets, were filled with disbelief. As its mouth opened and closed, large amounts of dark-red liquid dripped onto the ground, while the pungent stench of blood filled the entire cave.
"Isn't it? No, no, no. There's nothing wrong with it. For a bunch of lowly adventurers like you to offer yourselves to Lord Karolien is your honor."
The dark-red light shone across Karolien's face, which wore