Cecilia, Is It Because of Him?

While Bishop Terry led his forces in surrounding the auditorium.

The Echo of Truth Cult had piled every living and dead person they could find right in the middle of the black magic circle.

As he gazed at the mountain of corpses, Ansu felt a terrifying power building within the magic circle.

The sky outside had grown darker. Thunderstorms rumbled among the clouds, and a heavy, oppressive atmosphere hung over the entire Benalu City.

"Faster!" a cultist underling ordered the others. "Get a move on! If we don't gather enough offerings to please the gods, They'll get angry!"

Ansu's gaze shifted from the corpses to the students bound nearby, trembling with fear.

Some were sobbing, some had already fainted from fright, and others kept their eyes shut and prayed, hoping the righteous gods would save them...

These students weren't so different from him. They were all just numbers in a cruel death toll in the game's background.

Ansu took a deep breath. He realized that he wasn't just changing his own Fated Death...

"What are you thinking about?" Cecilia quietly approached him.

Ansu noticed that the stench of blood on her was even stronger. That was because she had just single-handedly repelled three assaults by the Inquisition.

She really was the Echo of Truth's strongest fighter.

In fact, if not for that Divine Descent today, with her here, the Church wouldn't have stood a chance against the Echo of Truth Cult.

"Hmm... I was thinking..." Ansu looked toward the magic circle. "So living and dead people can both be used in this blood sacrifice?"

Wouldn't that make the people who ran crematoriums and morgues invincible?

"They can both be used, but the forbidden power we borrow will be greatly diminished."

Cecilia leaned against the second-floor railing and joked with a smile, "If a living person is the main course, then someone half-dead is only a dessert. As for a corpse, it might not even count as stale leftovers."

Ansu murmured, "Looks like the gods are picky eaters too..."

If they didn't make sure the evil gods had a good meal, They might flip the table...

"Don't you have anything to do?" Samantha asked as she walked over. Seeing Ansu chatting and laughing with Cecilia, she couldn't help looking annoyed.

"This is the most critical moment for the survival of the Order. If you can't contribute in battle, go downstairs and lend a hand."

Ansu wondered why the old woman was so annoying. Did she only hit menopause after three hundred years?

But there was no way he could talk back to her. She was his boss's boss, after all.

"Fine, I'll go help out. Move some corpses or something..."

He pursed his lips and slowly went down the stairs.

Samantha was displeased by Ansu's lazy attitude, but when she saw Cecilia watching the boy's back the whole time, she grew even more irritated.

She suddenly felt as if the wings she had carefully nurtured were slipping out of her control.

The feeling of losing control put her on guard. After all, the girl had that kind of bloodline...

"Cecilia, this assistant you picked is rather unusual, isn't he?"

Cecilia looked away and studied her teacher's expression, growing wary.

She knew her teacher well enough to recognize that she was suppressing her anger.

"Hmm... He's pretty ordinary. Nothing special."

Cecilia smiled faintly. "He thinks a little ability makes him better than everyone else. Toys like that are novel at first, but once you get bored of them, you should throw them away~"

"If you don't mind, then I'll add him to the sacrifice list," Samantha said out of the blue.

"What!" Cecilia's expression changed instantly, and she fixed her gaze on Samantha.

But a moment later, when she saw her teacher's mocking, half-smile, Cecilia realized she had overreacted.

"Concern makes you lose your composure. Seems you don't really feel nothing for him, despite what you claim." Samantha sneered. "Cecilia, you've changed quite a lot lately. Is it because of him?"

"Of course not." Cecilia furrowed her brow and looked straight into her teacher's stern eyes. "Teacher, please stop making jokes like that! I'll handle my own affairs."

Samantha narrowed her eyes, her gaze growing colder. "Cecilia, don't think that just because I've indulged you all this time, you can do whatever you please. Don't forget our mission! Don't forget why we exist!"

Cecilia suddenly felt a headache coming on. She lightly pressed a hand to her forehead and looked away.

"I understand..."

"As long as you're alive, I'll keep the Echo of Truth Cult in check for you."

As for that so-called "mission," she honestly had no interest in it.

Samantha snorted and said nothing more.

She slowly descended the stairs, narrowed her eyes, and looked again at the student who had made Cecilia act so strangely.

Ansu suddenly felt a prickle at the back of his neck. He turned around and noticed Samantha's gloomy gaze.

That old woman... Was she planning to kill me?

Looks like I'll have to be more careful around her when I get back to reality...

The academy auditorium.

The blood sacrifice was proceeding in an orderly but tense manner, while the Church outside seemed to have figured out what the cult wanted to do. Its assault grew even more ferocious.

Ansu thought to himself that he had no idea which side's god would prove stronger in this simulation...

The Echo of Truth wasn't well prepared, and the quality of its offerings was poor. It might lose.

But for some reason, the Church outside still hadn't unleashed its full power either.

They had clearly brought their "holy relic" with them, yet they still held back and kept sending clergy to their deaths...

Were the conditions for casting Divine Descent especially strict? Or was something wrong on the Church's side?

The fighting between the two sides went on for nearly half an hour.

Just as Ansu grew more and more puzzled...

A dazzling white light suddenly blazed forth. Every cultist present instinctively covered their eyes, and some even started screaming.

"Divine Descent! The Church is about to cast Divine Descent!!"

A chaotic, anxious mood spread through the crowd. Ansu covered his eyes and felt the corrupt magic power being rapidly dispelled.

The two sides' attempts to summon their gods—the Echo of Truth had fallen behind.

"Quick! It's too late! Activate the sacrificial array now!" Samantha immediately stepped forward.

She and all her trusted followers stood around the black magic circle, eyes squeezed shut as they began chanting a long, obscure summoning incantation that included the name of the evil god.

The sinister, terrifying power at the center of the magic circle immediately spread outward.

The evil god seemed to have sensed the insignificant creatures present. Under Their gaze, Ansu was overcome by a crawling, bone-deep discomfort. Goosebumps covered his body, and his heart pounded wildly.

The students' sobbing abruptly stopped. Ansu felt the terrifying power devouring them.

Once the Echo of Truth's sacrificial ritual began, the Divine Descent, with its rather long "casting time," finally came down.

Holy light collided with corrupt power. These two devastating forces seemed ready to tear everything apart.

"Ansu!"

Cecilia's voice came from behind him. Ansu turned around and saw her looking this panicked for the first time.

"Something's wrong... We're going to lose!"

She grabbed Ansu tightly. "The Order can't withstand the holy light at all. We have to get out of here!"