After hearing Mrs. Samanka's terrified scream, everyone froze briefly, then burst into laughter tinged with mockery.
The middle-aged man standing nearby said with a smile, "Respected Lady Number One, have you been under so much stress lately that you're hallucinating?"
"How could a normal human have a mouth growing out of their ass?"
Opposite the middle-aged man, a fair-skinned young woman spoke with even greater scorn.
"My dear Number One, I'm beginning to question your devotion and discernment."
"Judging by how quickly this medium was swallowing just now, he'll certainly produce more holy communion than the others."
"Could your heart be harboring blasphemous thoughts, causing you to mistake a pile of holy communion for a monster?"
At this point, the woman's voice dripped with sanctimonious sweetness.
"When someone's heart is full of filth, everything they see is filthy too."
The others immediately voiced their wholehearted agreement. "Lady Number Three is absolutely right!"
"Lady Number One's faith has clearly begun to waver!"
"Number One's capacity to receive blessings is too low. She no longer deserves to join us in a Ritual of this caliber."
Clearly, even this little group that huddled together for comfort had its own internal struggles.
Lady Number One's privilege of receiving holy communion first was something the other members coveted.
If they could get rid of Lady Number One, everyone behind her would move up one place!
For the eleven people behind her, ruining Number One's reputation benefited every single one of them!
The people she had always considered family offered her no comfort now, only scorn and ridicule.
This made Mrs. Samanka even more frightened and furious. "You! You... I'm not lying! Go look for yourselves if you don't believe me!"
Just then, the middle-aged man presiding over the Ritual smiled and calmed everyone down.