She had tried, and tried, to face those horrific memories with a heart that had grown stronger, even changing herself until she no longer resembled who she used to be. But in that moment, she suddenly realized that nothing had changed.
"Was I... fooled again?"
Her lips moved, but she couldn't say anything else. Tears welled in her eyes, yet she couldn't even manage a miserable sob. She simply closed her eyes slowly. After a brief moment, for no apparent reason, she forced a smile.
A soundless, resigned, self-mocking smile.
"There's not much time left. Please, go on ahead."
Seeing her accept her fate, Kaishoku Shugaku felt a faint sense of discomfort and revulsion. At last, she drew two blades from her sleeve, ready to draw blood and perform the ritual that had already been delayed.
She approached the offering before her, excited by the scheme she had set in motion.
Without a doubt, she had accomplished something great. She was about to kill an exorcist whom even the Divine Gate had no choice but to value.
An exorcist who was both powerful and weak.
From the Kaishoku family's information, the Shepherds' intelligence, and the offering's behavior, she had finally pieced together what was strange about this offering.
There really was a deity called the Silver Ball, but it was no true god. It was a conscious entity sealed within the Gate of the Underworld. The Shepherds believed in such beings and hoped to break the seal and release them, earning their favor and becoming their shepherds. As for what the sheep were, that went without saying. This being had found the offering before her and bestowed great power upon her. That power came from the Magic Tool; only a deity could create something so astonishing.
The tales of the