Lanerius, Pregnant!

Late at night, in the plaza in front of the inpatient building of the Tingen City Asylum.

Lanerius casually placed his fiancée onto a table in the plaza, letting her beautiful face make direct contact with the cold surface.

"This, shall serve as the altar."

He pointed at the table and said.

"And this,"

He pointed at Luther, "shall serve as the sacri..."

"Who are you people, what are you doing here!"

Rapid footsteps echoed from the other side of the plaza as a man dressed like an asylum guard ran over, shouting as he approached.

Lanerius's words faltered. He glanced at the guard, then immediately put on a sincere, smiling face. "Ah, I am terribly sorry. My fiancée suddenly had a seizure, and I was in such a rush to save her that I broke in..."

"Then hurry up and take her inside; there should still be a doctor on duty." Hearing this and seeing the girl looking completely unconscious, the guard's vigilance relaxed significantly. "I'll show you the way..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Lanerius dashed to his side with lightning speed and plunged a cold, gleaming dagger into his heart.

The guard had never expected an attack from the other party; he twitched with a twisted expression before dying.

"Pfft."

Lanerius pulled out the dagger, and blood sprayed from the wound, splattering all over his face and body.

"Why didn't you wait for me to act?"

Hood Eugen appeared exasperated. "Causing such a scene, do you want even more trouble?"

"Ah, sorry, sorry. Who told him to ruin my mood?" Lanerius laughed casually, pointing at the guard's corpse. "Since it's such a coincidence, let's just use him as the sacrifice."

Luther had not expected that the unexpected guard would end up taking a knife for him.

The night wind blew, and his heart grew colder. He watched as the two began preparing the altar. Lanerius widened the guard's wound, letting the blood from within flow into a pool on the ground. Hood Eugen constructed a Spiritual Wall, isolating the area from the outside world.

"Hold this, keep it high."

Lanerius handed the gas lamp to Luther. Luther feigned a dazed look and obediently took the lamp, holding it high above his head. The orange light illuminated the space around the table, revealing the unconscious blonde girl on the table and the bleeding corpse of the guard lying beneath it.

"I am going to wake my fiancée now. Use your ability to hypnotize her."

He said to Hood Eugen.

Seeing the latter nod, he patted the girl's face. His hands were stained with fresh blood, leaving several terrifying streaks of red across the girl's beautiful face.

"Mmm, where am I?"

The girl woke up in a daze. As she opened her eyes, she heard the crisp sound of a bell and immediately became entranced.

"Meigao'ous, my dear fiancée, it's me."

Lanerius spoke in the sweet tone of a lover, whispering into her ear while smearing the foul-smelling blood of the deceased onto her face. "Look, aren't we in our bed at home right now?"

"Laner...ius..."

The girl's name seemed to be Meigao'ous. Hearing her fiancé's voice, a happy smile bloomed on her dazed face. "I love you so much..."

"I love you too."

Lanerius dipped his fingers in blood and quickly drew strange, frenzied patterns on the tabletop—a magic circle used to summon the Evil God. Hood Eugen stood to the side, listening to Lanerius's sweet nothings and watching his movements with a look of disdain.

Luther glanced at the magic circle from the corner of his eye and was astonished to find that Lanerius was drawing it both quickly and accurately. The circle had three centers: one was the caster, Lanerius; one was the recipient, Meigao'ous; and the last was, naturally, the descending True Creator, represented by his holy emblem.

"Is it ready?"

Seeing the blood-drawn circle gradually taking shape, Hood Eugen's tone betrayed his nervousness.

"It is."

Lanerius finished the final stroke, jumped to his designated position, and leaned down to say to Meigao'ous, "Darling, I want to have a child with you."

His tone was deeply emotional, yet his eyes remained completely devoid of ripples.

"Lanerius, I am willing to do anything for you..."

Poor Meigao'ous had no idea; under hypnosis, she smiled with a dazed and shy expression.

Luther saw the corner of Lanerius's mouth curl into a mocking arc once more. He stood up and chanted loudly in the Hermes language:

"Lord who creates all, Master behind the veil of shadows, The degenerate nature of all living beings..."

The world turned dark and silent. The blood on the magic circle became incredibly vivid, especially the holy emblem representing the True Creator; the simple drawing of the Rose seemed to come alive, swaying under the gaslight. The corpse of the dead guard slowly merged into the darkness and vanished, though it was unclear when.

Lanerius took an iron box from his coat, dispelled the Spiritual Wall sealing it, and a heavy, tangible sense of resentment radiated from the box.

"This is the extreme emotion collected from the slums through the ritual."

He smiled and explained to Hood Eugen, but the latter only pursed his lips, his face deathly pale, sweat beading on his forehead as he remained silent.

"No need to be nervous."

Even at a time like this, Lanerius remained relaxed. "The ritual will go smoothly."

He placed the box onto the holy emblem of the True Creator and opened the lid, causing black resentment to surge out and scatter in all directions. However, before the black mist could dissipate, a blood-red radiance suddenly ignited on the ritual circle, sucking the black mist back in. The black mist gathered together, gradually forming a shape...

It seemed to be a human silhouette.

This silhouette turned its head slightly, as if scanning everyone present with non-existent eyes. Perhaps it was just Luther's illusion, but that gaze seemed to linger on him for a split second longer.

Boom!

Luther's brain felt the impact once again, but fortunately, the tide had already appeared in advance to block most of the shock. There was no doubt that this phantom came from the True Creator!

Seeing the Black Shadow, Hood Eugen was startled and took a step back, yet he still held onto the bell without letting go.

"Well done."

Lanerius praised him, then looked at the Black Shadow whose details were obscured, continuing to chant in Hermes language:

"May the Lord's mercy walk upon the earth, may the Lord bestow His grace, and bring a holy heir to the pure maiden..."

Accompanying the prayer, the black silhouette made another movement. He raised his arm, extended his index finger, and a speck of pure yet Degenerate light flew from his fingertip, slowly drifting toward the reclining Meigao'ous.

Luther sensed extreme danger from that speck of light; there was no doubt that it was a spark of divinity from the True Creator!

Meigao'ous remained immersed in a beautiful dream, calling out her lover's name, completely unaware that a catastrophe was about to descend upon her.

"The God's grace!"

Lanerius stared fixedly at that glimmer with greedy and excited eyes, watching with anticipation as the light flew toward his fiancée.

The ritual, the ritual was about to succeed!

Just at this moment, Luther moved without warning.

Swish, swish—he pressed his fingers onto the ritual circle, dipped them in the blood on the formation, and drew quickly and accurately. With just a few strokes, he altered the original patterns of the ritual circle, swapping the positions of the caster and the recipient.

Lanerius had his mouth wide open, waiting in wild ecstasy for the divinity to descend into his fiancée's body, when he suddenly saw that glimmer take a turn and fly straight into his own mouth.

With a gulp, he involuntarily swallowed it down.