I am a mage, with an infinite mana bar!

Seeing this, Sirin no longer hesitated. She plunged her spear into Rigel's neck and ripped it apart, breaking his neck bones to pieces.

The head, covered in silver hair, rolled off and tumbled down the stone steps, its silver hair stained with blood.

He must be dead.

But Lynn's inspiration seemed to be torn apart by something, leaving him with an unbearable headache.

He covered his forehead, and when he looked up again, a faint green light shone all around him. Rigel's headless body convulsed and fell down, and the eerie red light on his body had completely disappeared.

Charlotte's breathing became increasingly rapid, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. It was clear that she was about to give way to the domain of "Natural Sacred Heart".

woo woo woo...

The sacrificial offerings within the ring of flesh and blood emitted whimpers, a mixture of human voices and animal roars that sent chills down one's spine.

Their irregular flesh and blood, half-melted and half-solidified, gradually lost their luster, like plants that were gradually withering.

The plant continued to wriggle, as if sensing its impending death, struggling with the instinct to live while yearning to be free from this curse-like torment.

With the death of the ritual performer, their life force will also be completely extinguished.

Eli raised his staff, his green eyes looking at Lynn and Charlotte with a confused expression. "Could I... could I go save them? Among those adventurers, there might be Tana's teammates..."

Her voice was soft but hurried, "I still have plenty of magic power, enough to use Healing Spell many more times. Oh, and I also brought a lot of mana potions..."

As she spoke, she tried to take out a magic potion from her staff to replenish the magic pool in mid-air.

"That's impossible," Charlotte said calmly, but Lynn could see a hint of panic in her blue eyes. "The Sacred Heart of Nature guarantees that creatures within its domain will not be interfered with by the 'unnatural.' Eli, your life magic is also subject to this restriction..."

She closed her eyes briefly and said softly, "I can dispel the domain, but that could very well allow evil to rise again. And even if you could save their lives, they would never be able to return to their original state."

In other words, no matter what choice is made, those who have become sacrifices cannot be saved...

Lynn remained silent, feeling inevitably ashamed.

He had promised Tana he would do his best to save her teammates...

Watching helplessly as the sacrifices that made up the flesh-and-blood ring completely lost their life force, becoming a shrunken, withered mass, Charlotte took a deep breath and released the domain of "Nature's Sacred Heart".

She put the incomplete jade fruit back into her entwined staff.

Everything returned to calm, and even the stench was eliminated.

Under the moonlight, it was a desolate scene.

After checking around and confirming that Rigel and the offerings were all dead, the group decided to leave first, with Charlotte leading them to a nearby safe area to rest for the night.

I'll report the incident to the Magic Association and the Adventurers' Guild when I return to Colin Town tomorrow.

Charlotte summoned the wolf again, preparing to carry the group away.

She walked silently toward Rigel, her blue eyes lingering briefly on his mud- and blood-stained head before turning to his headless corpse.

They looked around, as if searching for something.

As she extended her vine-adorned staff and brought it close to the corpse's chest, the staff suddenly emitted a green light.

Charlotte's pupils contracted slightly, and just as she was about to do something, Rigel's corpse suddenly burst out with a strong red light!

boom!

She was blasted back several meters, but fortunately, Xilin caught her nimbly, preventing her from getting hurt.

woo woo woo...

In the darkness of night, a chilling cry suddenly broke out.

Lynn looked incredulously at the source of the crying.

Beside the stone altar, a slender body covered in blood knelt on the steps.

His neck was still completely bare.

He reached out with both hands and finally found the head that had rolled onto the ground and into the weeds.

His head, covered in blood and grime, was covered in silver hair. His purple eyes were filled with sorrow. His face was wrinkled and dry, as if all the blood had been drained from him. He opened his mouth to sob, but no tears came out.

Under the shocked gazes of the group, Rigel raised his head with both hands and reattached it to his body.

Crackling sounds—the sickening grinding of bones—kept coming from the air.

call out!

Urshi, her face cold, fired her arrow, along with a fire arrow conjured by Lynn.

An arrow pierced his forehead, and flames burned his chest.

But Rigel seemed oblivious, his eyes fixed intently on the blond druid who was already riding on the back of the demon wolf.

"Charlotte... my bride, didn't you accept my proposal and agree to be her 'vessel'?"

He muttered to himself, then turned his head and looked around the altar with a crackling sound. Seeing that the flesh and blood ring had completely withered, he immediately covered his face with his hands and wept bitterly.

She was still clutching the white veil that the blonde girl had left behind.

"I failed again... No, teacher, you're right! I'll always be a useless piece of trash..."

He curled his fingers, digging them into the flesh of his face, his nails slowly tearing at his skin until blood and tears streamed down his face.

Through his fingers, he gazed at Charlotte with a bewildered look.

"...If you refuse to be the 'vessel,' then whose womb should I use?"

As he spoke, he looked down at his flat stomach and then chuckled.

"He has completely turned into an undead creature," Charlotte said, frowning.

Eli managed to calm himself down and immediately began chanting a spell, casting [Blessing] to once again enchant Sirin and the other two with Radiant Enchantment.

At the same time, arrows, spears, and daggers, gleaming with golden light, came flying in succession.

But it was too late.

A great flash of blood shone brightly on the stone altar!

The surrounding rings of flesh and blood were drawn by the blood-red light, gathering towards it like a flowing tide.

The intense aura of death forced Sirin and Liam to take several steps back.

At the same time, Rigel, engulfed in blood, cried out, "My lord, mother of countless children, I willingly offer my filthy soul to you, beg you to lead me to that place of true harmony!"

He was like a passionate poet, a performer on stage, who was suddenly swallowed up by the vortex of flesh and blood.

"Run!"

Charlotte shouted breathlessly, and at the same time, she leaped onto the back of a dire wolf beside Lynn, grabbing Lynn's arm and pulling him behind her.

The wolf's back was broad, and its fur was stiff and prickly.

Lynn, however, had no time to dwell on these thoughts. He turned to look at his teammates, where Charlotte had already whistled, ordering the remaining dire wolves to come and fetch them.

Urshi nimbly leaped onto the back of a dire wolf, while Sirin and Liam rode together on the other.

But the wolves hadn't run far when they suddenly turned their heads and looked at the vortex of flesh and blood deep in the valley.

They seemed to be drawn by something, and even Charlotte's powerful control magic lost its effect.

Charlotte pursed her lips, pulled a short dagger from her pocket, and quickly made a cut on her fair arm.

To Lynn's astonishment, she raised her injured arm, blood gushing out.

The wolves that had been drawn by the ritual immediately turned around, their eyes glowing green as they stared at her bleeding hand.

Guided by Charlotte's blood, several demon wolves and the giant-horned white stag that Eli rode climbed the low mountain and escaped the area under the moonlight.

Lynn and Charlotte rode together on a dire wolf. Lynn was almost thrown off during the ride, but Charlotte managed to catch him in time.

After fleeing down the mountain in one breath, the wolf's running pace became much more steady.

Suddenly, a deep, hoarse roar came from behind, the sound seemingly mixed with the cries of countless living beings.

Lynn looked back and saw a huge figure appear on the mountaintop under the full moon.

Its body shape was completely irregular, like a haphazardly sculpted fleshy doll, its body swollen like a tumor.

As if sensing Lynn's gaze, its skinless surface suddenly opened up with countless slits, radiating a blood-red light.