The girl gradually pieced together a little of the truth.
Snap.
The last book closed, and Vanessa leaned back in her chair, deep in thought.
Organizations that ate raw flesh and blood were uncommon, and most accompanied the practice with extremely cruel rituals. If it was merely a matter of mixing in some blood...
The girl quickly narrowed the possibilities, until all the clues pointed to a secret society called the "Mourning Poetry Society."
This society believed that the [spirit] of life existed within flesh and blood, and that consuming flesh and blood was a form of [sacrifice].
In the past, Vanessa would only have regarded this as a bizarre eating disorder, but at the sight of the word [sacrifice], she could not help quietly changing her mind.
Was this sacrifice connected to the sacrifices in supernatural rituals?
The books offered no further information. This poetry society had little influence, and even when it was mentioned, it received no more than a passing reference.
Vanessa did learn one piece of good news, however. Although the Mourning Poetry Society held bizarre beliefs, it had not been classified as a cult.
Although they regarded flesh and Spirit Vision as one, they had no traditions of cannibalism or anything of the sort. Instead, they pursued, with near-obsessive dedication, making raw meat... delicious?
Strange as it sounded, they believed that eating raw meat also meant swallowing its spirit, which had given rise to a peculiar idea: if they failed to make the meat taste good, then that cow, sheep, or fish would have died for nothing, and they would suffer retribution...
Devoutly swallowing delicious flesh and blood during a ritual, on the other hand, could purify the soul as well.
Thus, although this society had long since been investigated, it had never been designated a cult. Their most outrageous behavior amounted to no more than what Vanessa had witnessed: mixing their own blood into raw meat and eating it.
Moreover, these rituals were performed only within the society and had not affected anyone else.
They sounded like a bunch of somewhat twisted gourmets...
Vanessa felt somewhat relieved. At least it was not the worst possibility she had imagined.
The next time she saw Winnie, she would have to ask her about it properly.
And... she needed to prepare a decent gift for this dear friend.
After returning the books to their places one by one, Vanessa left the library.
Looking at the familiar campus paths, she felt an impulse rise within her.
To be honest, she really wanted to walk around some more and relive old times.
But when she looked down at her bedraggled appearance, so out of place here, she ultimately just turned away dejectedly and left.
There would be another chance... She could come again next time, and bring Winnie along, too, tell her stories about her days at school. She really, really loved this place.
But she would have to get some more presentable clothes.
Vanessa's thoughts wandered aimlessly. She had no further plans and intended to return to the hospital. Perhaps she could go look for a gift for Winnie?
Supernatural powers, sacrifice... those heavy, dangerous words made her instinctively want to retreat.
She wanted to read through some more material, take a few days to settle her feelings, and leave it for a few days...
Her thoughts abruptly broke off.
Her legs seemed to take on a will of their own, striding forward without allowing any objection and carrying her in another direction.
In the mansion, Elliot, who could wait no longer, hurriedly sat down before the Difference Engine. He had not even bothered with breakfast.
"Come on, come on, come on, today's the day! Complete the sacrifice and let's see what supernatural powers look like!"
Vanessa soon realized that she was walking toward the Clock Tower District.
Perhaps... that entity wanted to control her and make her read?
But she soon sensed that something was wrong.
After arriving at No. 37 Pine Resin Alley, Vanessa did not head for the attic. Instead, she turned toward the kitchen and lifted the basement hatch.
Her expression gradually grew terrified.
The girl had a vague idea of what that entity wanted to do.
When Vanessa saw herself kneeling on the floor, setting up a Sacrifice Ritual according to the book's description, her terror reached its peak.
"No way..."
"W-wait, I... I haven't decided whether to make a sacrifice yet!" Her voice trembled in the cold basement air.
"Those books might be lying!"
"At least let me finish reading them!"
"I haven't memorized the whole Sacrifice Ritual yet!!"
The girl's voice took on a sobbing note. There were so many books in those chests, and she had only skimmed through them. She was still some way from mastering them completely.
Vanessa's words naturally appeared on the Difference Engine's brass dials, but Elliot merely glanced up at them before looking away without a care.
"What are you babbling about? Can't understand you. Get sacrificing!"
Vanessa was, of course, utterly unwilling, but her body was forcibly controlled. She took the Folding Knife from her pocket, cut the back of her hand, and began drawing ritual symbols with her blood.
The Sacrifice Ritual did not require many preparations. Or rather, all that was needed was to have the offering ready.
And the best offering was oneself.
According to "The Sins and Punishments of Sacrifice—Those Pitiful Extraordinary Ones," sacrificing oneself produced far better results than anything else.
If sacrificing an ounce of someone else's flesh and blood yielded one unit of power, the return from sacrificing one's own was at least 1,000.
Moreover, power obtained by sacrificing others carried various hidden dangers, though the book did not specify what they were.
Naturally, the best pigment for drawing a Sacrifice Ritual was one's own blood.
The ritual given in the book was extremely intricate to draw, and it had to be reproduced without the slightest error. It really would have been difficult without some grounding in art.
An entire chapter of the book was devoted to explaining how to draw it using various specially made tools, including precisely graduated compasses, special curved rulers, plumb lines for alignment, and so on.
These tools were all stored in another chest, but Vanessa did not take them out.
She simply dipped her finger in blood and drew, without even picking up a brush, smearing the blood directly onto the floor with her finger!
Straight lines were as sharp as cuts from a blade, curves flowed as though formed by nature, and intricate geometric shapes and blasphemous symbols spread wildly across the cold stone, interweaving into an enormous array that exuded an intensely ominous air. The entire process was lightning-fast, with an inhuman, suffocating, mechanical efficiency.
Vanessa watched, dumbstruck.
She could never have drawn such straight lines herself. Right now, she was like a precision machine.
In mere moments, most of the Sacrifice Ritual had been drawn, leaving only the most crucial blank space in the center.
"To whom shall the offering be made?"
Elliot rubbed his chin and began to think.
A sacrifice naturally required a recipient: someone to receive the [offering].
"The Sins and Punishments of Sacrifice—Those Pitiful Extraordinary Ones" referred to them as "Great Beings" and broadly divided them into three categories.
One was the "True God," the beings of order worshipped by the Seven True God Churches.
The advantage of sacrificing to a True God was stability. What one sacrificed and what one received were more or less fixed, things were unlikely to go wrong, and there were established religious orders ready to accept one as a supernatural.
Another was the "evil gods," a general term for all dark, forbidden, and unknown entities beyond the radiance of the True God.
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