Outbreak

"Dog Earl is dead."

"How did it die?"

"Don't know. It lost contact as soon as it arrived in Coburn City."

"Useless trash. It was the most worthless of all the chiefs... That bastard may even have drawn the enemy here. We can't wait any longer. Prepare to begin the ritual."

In the wealthy district at the center of Coburn City, within a luxurious manor, six richly dressed noblemen and women lounged lazily in carved wooden chairs, discussing something in low voices.

Before them stood a large gathering of people in strange attire. All of them exuded an air of mystery, and an invisible magnetic field filled the surroundings.

They were members of the Eclipse Society.

Amid the crowd, a vast sheet of white silk had been spread across an open patch of lawn, upon which a huge magic circle had been drawn in blood.

Enormous iron basins had also been placed around it, charcoal fires burning within.

Seven kidnapped young men and women had their hands bound behind their backs and knelt on the ground, cloth stuffed in their mouths and tape sealing their lips.

Their faces were filled with terror and despair.

"Antelope Earl, you will begin the ritual."

A pale-faced blond nobleman seated in a chair turned to the noblewoman beside him.

"Seven sacrifices born with high Gnosis are not easy to find. Don't let anything go wrong."

"Mm-hm." The noblewoman gave an alluring smile and slowly rose to her feet.

She strode toward the seven sacrifices. The crowd parted on its own, opening a path for her. They watched the noblewoman with eyes filled with fervor and reverence.

"Praise be to our lord, Duke of Sulfur!"

The woman came before the seven kneeling youths, raised both hands, and chanted loudly.

"Our lord's angel—lord Pal Solomon—is suffering