Celicia, Is It Because of Him?

At the same time Bishop Terry led his team to surround the auditorium.

The Echo of Truth Cult piled every living person and corpse they could scavenge into the center of the black magic circle.

Looking at the mountain of corpses, Ansu felt a terrifying power brewing within the magic circle.

The sky outside the window grew darker, thunder rumbled within the clouds, and a stifling, oppressive atmosphere enveloped the entire Benalu City.

"Hurry up!" a minor cultist leader commanded the others. "Move faster! If we don't collect enough sacrifices to please the god, He will be angry!"

Ansu's gaze shifted from the corpses to the trembling students who had been tied up.

Some were wailing, some had fainted from fear, and others were closing their eyes and praying incessantly, hoping that the righteous gods would save them...

These students were, in truth, no different from himself; they were all just cruel death statistics in the game's background.

Ansu took a deep breath, realizing that he was not just changing his own Fated Death...

"What are you thinking about?" Cecilia walked over quietly.

Ansu noticed that the scent of blood on her was even stronger, a result of her having single-handedly repelled three sieges by the Inquisition.

She was truly the strongest enforcer of the Echo of Truth.

In fact, if not for that Divine Descent today, the Church would have been completely unable to do anything against the Echo of Truth Cult with her around.

"Hmm... I was just thinking," Ansu looked toward the magic circle, "so this blood sacrifice ritual works with both the living and the dead?"

Wouldn't people running crematoriums and morgues be invincible then?

"It works with both, but the forbidden power borrowed will be greatly diminished."

Cecilia leaned against the second-floor railing, laughing as she joked, "If a living person is the main course, then someone half-dead is just an after-dinner dessert. As for the dead, they probably don't even count as spoiled leftovers."

Ansu muttered to himself, "It seems the god is a picky eater too..."

If they didn't keep the Evil God well-fed and satisfied, he might just flip the table...

"Do you have nothing to do?" Samantha, who had walked over, looked annoyed at seeing Ansu chatting and laughing with Cecilia.

"This is the most critical moment for the survival of the cult. If you cannot contribute in battle, then go downstairs and help."

Ansu thought to himself, why is this old woman so annoying? Does it take three hundred years to reach menopause?

But he couldn't talk back to her; after all, she was the boss's boss.

"Alright, I'll go lend a hand, move some corpses or something..."

He curled his lip and slowly walked down the stairs.

Samantha felt dissatisfied seeing Ansu's slacker attitude, but when she saw Cecilia's eyes lingering on the boy's back, she felt even more stifled.

She suddenly had the feeling that the wings she had painstakingly cultivated were gradually slipping out of her control.

This sense of losing control made her wary; after all, this girl possessed that kind of lineage...

"Cecilia, the assistant you chose is really quite special, isn't he?"

Cecilia withdrew her gaze and watched her teacher's expression, feeling a sense of alarm.

Knowing her teacher well, she recognized this as a sign that the woman was suppressing her anger.

"Hmm... he's average, nothing special."

Cecilia gave a faint laugh. "He relies on having a bit of ability and is always arrogant. Toys like this are fresh at first, but once I get bored of playing with them, I'll just throw them away~"

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

"What!" Cecilia's expression changed instantly, and she immediately locked her eyes on Samantha's movements.

But the next second, seeing her teacher's mocking, half-smiling expression, Cecilia realized her reaction had been a bit excessive.

"Concern leads to chaos. It seems you don't care about him as little as you claim," Samantha sneered. "Cecilia, you have changed quite a lot these days. Is it because of him?"

"Of course not." Cecilia furrowed her brows, staring straight into her teacher's majestic eyes. "Teacher, please don't joke with me like that again! I will handle my own affairs."

Samantha narrowed her eyes, her gaze growing colder. "Cecilia, don't think that just because I have always indulged you, you can act recklessly. Do not forget our mission! Do not forget the meaning of our existence!"

Cecilia felt a headache coming on; she gently touched her forehead and looked away.

"I know..."

"As long as you are alive, I will keep an eye on the Echo of Truth Cult for you."

As for that so-called "mission," she truly had not the slightest interest in it.

Samantha snorted coldly and said no more.

She walked slowly down the stairs, narrowed her eyes, and looked once more at the student who had made Cecilia act so out of character.

Ansu suddenly felt a prickling sensation on his back. He turned around and noticed Samantha's gloomy gaze.

This old woman... could she have developed the intent to kill me?

It seems that after returning to reality, I should be even more cautious in front of her...

Academy Auditorium.

The blood sacrifice ritual was proceeding in an orderly and tense fashion, while outside, The Church seemed to have realized what The Order was planning, causing their assault to become significantly more ferocious.

Ansu secretly wondered which side's god would prove more powerful in this simulation...

Echo of Truth was not well-prepared, and the quality of the sacrifices was poor, so they might end up losing.

Yet for some reason, The Church outside had not yet unleashed their ultimate move.

Even though they had already brought their 'holy relic' along, they kept holding it back, choosing instead to keep sending clergy members up to die...

Were the casting conditions for Divine Descent too harsh? Or had something gone wrong on The Church's side?

The battle between the two sides lasted for nearly half an hour.

Just as Ansu was becoming increasingly puzzled...

A blinding white light suddenly flared, causing all the cultists present to cover their eyes in unison, with some even beginning to scream in agony.

"Divine Descent! The Church's Divine Descent is starting!!"

A sense of chaotic anxiety began to spread, and Ansu covered his eyes, feeling the filthy magical power being rapidly dispelled.

Between the two sides 'summoning their gods', Echo of Truth was a beat too slow.

"Hurry! There's no time left! Activate the sacrificial magic circle now!" Samantha immediately stepped forward.

She and all her confidants stood on the perimeter of the black magic circle, eyes tightly shut, and began chanting a long, obscure summoning incantation that contained the name of the evil god.

In the center of the magic circle, that sinister and terrifying power suddenly began to spread outward.

The evil god seemed to sense these ants, and under Its gaze, Ansu felt an immediate, bone-deep discomfort; goosebumps broke out all over his body, and his heart hammered wildly.

The wailing students suddenly fell silent, and Ansu felt that terrifying power beginning to consume them.

After the sacrificial ritual of Echo of Truth began, the Divine Descent, which had a rather long 'wind-up', finally descended.

The power of holy light collided with the filthy energy, these two destructive, overwhelming forces threatening to tear everything apart.

"Ansu!"

Cecilia's voice appeared behind Ansu, and he turned his head, seeing her with an expression of panic for the first time.

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

She gripped Ansu tightly, "The Order is no match for the power of holy light, we have to leave, now!"