Lanevus, Pregnant!

Late at night, in the square before the inpatient building of Tingen City Asylum.

Lanevus casually placed his fiancée on a table in the square, letting her beautiful face rest directly against the cold tabletop.

"This is the equivalent of an altar."

He pointed at the table.

"And this—"

He pointed at Luther. "This is the equivalent of a sacri—"

"Who are you? What are you doing here?!"

Hurried footsteps came from the other side of the square. A man who looked like an asylum guard ran over, shouting as he did.

Lanevus paused, glanced at the guard, then put on a sincere smile. "Ah, I'm terribly sorry. My fiancée suddenly had an episode. I was in such a hurry to save her that I broke in..."

"Then hurry and take her inside. There should still be a doctor on duty." Hearing that and seeing the girl unconscious, the guard relaxed considerably. "I'll show you the way, uh..."

Before he could finish, Lanevus darted in front of him and plunged a coldly gleaming dagger into his heart.

The guard had never expected the attack. His face twisted as he convulsed a few times, then he died.

"Pfft."

Lanevus pulled out the dagger. Blood sprayed from the wound, splattering his face and body.

"Why didn't you wait for me to make a move?"

Hood Eugen looked furious. "You've caused so much trouble already. Wasn't it troublesome enough?"

"Ah, sorry, sorry. He ruined my mood, after all." Lanevus smiled casually and pointed at the guard's corpse. "Since this happened so conveniently, we'll use him as the sacrifice."

Luther had not expected that the unforeseen guard would take the blow meant for him.

The night breeze blew, and his heart grew ever colder as he watched the two begin preparing the altar. Lanevus widened the guard's wound, allowing the blood in his body to pool on the ground. Hood Eugen constructed a Wall of Spirituality, cutting off contact between the inside and outside.

"Take this. Hold it high."

Lanevus handed the gas lamp to Luther. Luther pretended to be dazed, obediently took it, and raised it above his head. The orange-yellow light illuminated the space around the table. On it lay the unconscious blonde girl, while beneath it lay the bleeding corpse of a guard.

"I'm going to wake my fiancée. Use your ability to hypnotize her."

He said to Hood Eugen again.

After seeing him nod, Lanevus patted the girl's face. His hand was stained with blood, leaving several horrifying streaks across her pretty face.

"Mmm, where am I?"

The girl woke groggily. But as soon as she opened her eyes, she heard a crisp ringing of bells and immediately became dazed again.

"Megose, my dear fiancée, it's me."

Lanevus whispered by the girl's ear in the sweet tone of lovers, smearing the dead man's foul-smelling blood across her face. "Look, aren't we in our bed at home right now?"

"Lane... vus..."

The girl's name seemed to be Megose. Hearing her fiancé's voice, a blissful smile appeared on her hazy face. "I love you so much..."

"I love you too."

Dipping his fingers in blood, Lanevus rapidly drew bizarre, mad patterns across the tabletop. It was a ritual array used to summon an evil god. Hood Eugen stood nearby, listening to Lanevus's sweet nothings and watching his movements, his eyes filled with disdain.

Luther studied the ritual array from the corner of his eye and was startled to find that Lanevus drew it both swiftly and accurately. The array had three centers: one was Lanevus, the caster; one was Megose, the recipient; and the last was naturally the descending True Creator, represented by His Sacred Emblem.

"Is it ready?"

As the blood-drawn ritual array gradually took shape, Hood Eugen's voice carried a note of tension.

"It's ready."

Lanevus completed the final stroke, stepped into the position where he was supposed to stand, then bent over Megose and said, "Darling, I want to have a child with you."

His tone was deeply affectionate, yet his eyes did not ripple in the slightest.

"Lanevus, I'm willing to do anything for you..."

Poor Megose had no idea. Hypnotized, she smiled shyly with unfocused eyes.

Luther saw the mocking curve rise at Lanevus's lips once more. Lanevus straightened and began praying loudly in Hermes:

"The Lord that Created Everything,

The Lord who Reigns Behind the Curtain of Shadows,

The Degenerate Nature of all Living Things..."

The world became dark and quiet. The blood in the ritual array turned incomparably scarlet, especially the Sacred Emblem representing the True Creator. The simply drawn rose seemed almost alive, swaying beneath the gas lamp. The dead guard's corpse slowly merged into the darkness and had vanished at some point.

Lanevus took an iron box from his chest and removed the Wall of Spirituality sealing it. A heavy resentment, almost tangible, immediately emanated from the box.

"These are extreme emotions gathered from the slums through a ritual."

He explained to Hood Eugen with a smile. Yet the latter merely pressed his pale lips together without speaking, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"Don't be nervous."

Even at a time like this, Lanevus still looked relaxed. "The ritual will go smoothly."

He placed the box atop the True Creator's Sacred Emblem and opened the lid. Black resentment surged out and scattered in every direction. But before the black mist could disperse, a blood-red radiance suddenly lit up from the ritual array and sucked it back in. The black mist gathered together, gradually taking shape...

It seemed to be a human silhouette.

The silhouette turned its head slightly, as if sweeping its nonexistent eyes over everyone present. Perhaps it was Luther's illusion, but that gaze seemed to linger on him for an extra moment.

Boom!

Luther's mind suffered another impact. Fortunately, Tide had appeared beforehand and blocked most of the shock. Without question, this phantom came from the True Creator!

Seeing the shadow, Hood Eugen staggered back a step in fright, but he still did not loosen his grip on the bell.

"Nicely done."

Lanevus praised him, then looked at the black silhouette whose details could not be made out and continued chanting in Hermes:

"May the Lord's love ever walk upon the earth. May the Lord bestow His grace and bring sacred offspring to the pure maiden..."

Along with the prayer, the black silhouette made another movement. He raised an arm and extended his index finger. A speck of pure yet degenerate light flew from his fingertip, drifting slowly toward Megose, who lay on the table.

Luther sensed extreme danger from that faint light. There was no doubt that it was a trace of the True Creator's Divinity!

Megose remained immersed in her beautiful dream, calling her lover's name, wholly unaware that Catastrophe was about to descend upon her.

"God's gift!"

Lanevus stared greedily and excitedly at the glimmer, watching expectantly as it flew toward his fiancée.

The ritual... the ritual was about to succeed!

At that moment, Luther moved without warning.

Swish, swish. He pressed his fingers against the ritual array, dipped them in its blood, and drew quickly and precisely. With only a few strokes, he altered the array's original patterns and switched the positions of the caster and recipient.

Lanevus had his mouth wide open, waiting in wild delight for the Divinity to descend into his fiancée's body, when he suddenly saw the glimmer curve through the air and fly into his own mouth.

With a gulp, he swallowed it without realizing.